IGRMT Build A Team - Zapdos [v.1]

[Aura Sensei™]

Rotom-W would have been nice, but we already have 5 Pokemon in question who could all fill up one slot, so it would be better to focus on the 5 aforementioned picks.

I'm going to say that we need to impose a Rule so that only 3 Pokemon can be in question for one slot, otherwise it's basically everyone posting different sets and different Pokemon.

 

[Shockking]

This thread needs revival but I'm confused as to what you want to happen now. Please explain.
This could be really fun, but when you started adding voting and restrictions on how many allowed at once you lost me

 

[Aura Sensei™]

Alright, I'll lay everything out.

Firstly, we need to determine Tenta's set through votes, but for now we can just go with Eon's Tenta so this can get a little faster.

We have 3 Pokemon being mentioned for the 4th slot (Houndoom, Magnezone and Alakazam) so we need a few people to vote on what they think will fit best for the current Team (Zapdos, Torterra and Tentacruel). We're still in the stages of voting. Now, the reason I wanted to put a restriction was that, if there was not a restriction everyone would be sugesting different things, and for this to work we need to find common ground, therefore, it's harder to do that if there are more than 3 Pokemon in question for one slot. Geddit? Just drop me a VM/PM if you have any questions.

Anyways, I'm voting Houndoom, like before.

 

[Shockking]

Alright, well I have a couple of questions. For the fourth slot, any reason why you suggested Magnezone when you already knew that Houndoom had your vote? Seeing as the slot being debated was, to quote Eon Master, for a fast special sweeper, Magnezone makes even less sense (not fast). I do agree that it does have great team synergy though. Furthermore, in the toss up for this teamslot, you failed to mention Volcarona who I mentioned as the first suggestion for a special sweeper in this thread. Honestly though, even considering Volcarona, I think they're all great options, with some providing nice synergy or great power besides being really cool Pokémon.
Seeing as you're voting for Houndoom and I assume Eon Master would be too since he suggested it, I'd go for the Nasty Plot route, with the standard EVs, nature, etc.

 

[Aurath8]

Just realised that Eon master didn't post a Houndoom set. I suggest:

Houdoom@Life Orb
Mild
Flash Fire
252 Spatk / 252 Spd / 4 Atk
-Fire Blast
-Dark Pulse
-Hidden Power [Grass]
-Sucker Punch

While Nasty Plot is cool, I often feel that Houndoom is just about to slow to manage that, especially with such terribad defence. So here we have a wallbreaker set, designed to just hit stuff as hard as possible until it dies, hence I chose Fire Blast over Flamethrower. HP [Grass] is really its only other special move, and it helps with Rock types looking to ruin Houdoom's day. Sucker Punch because Houdoom has a decent attack stat of 90 to work off, and is ideal for causing that last bit of damage before sacrificing itself so Zapdos will have an easier time keeping up the pressure (pun intended).
My only worry is that Sucker Punch will be too weak coming off uninvested attack, but considering the target is usually weakened as it is(or a physically weak Psychic/Ghost) I think it'll be fine.

So next we need to address defensive synergy, as there isn't a dedicated wall yet, bar Tentacruel.

 

[Zhanton]

I don't think Houndoom is too slow to use Nasty Plot. If you run Hasty (+Spe / -Def) with 204 Spe EVs, you outspeed all +Spe-natured base-120s (since this is an in-game team and not an s-crmt).

So I'd suggest:

Houndoom @ Leftovers / Life Orb / Wise Glasses
Hasty nature
Flash Fire
248 SpA / 204 Spe / 56 HP
~ Nasty Plot
~ Flamethrower / Fire Blast
~ Dark Pulse
~ Hidden Power [Grass]

Pretty much the same as what Aurath8 posted except with different EVs, nature and running Nasty Plot > Sucker Punch. Also, the given EVs let you hit a Lefties number in terms of HP ((HP - 1) is divisible by 16).

 

[KillerDraco]

Hrm. Personally I would've voted Infernape over Houndoom due to the fact that I love its base 108 speed tier, but whatever.

I'd be more inclined to go the way of Aurath's Houndoom, personally. While Houndoom certainly isn't slow, it's not exactly fast either; base 95 falls short of the "golden standard" base 100. And its physical bulk is just so bad. Maybe it's just because I've had bad luck with NP Houndoom in the past, but I find myself more inclined to just go with a wall-breaking variant along the lines of Aurath's. I'd just forgo setup for a 'Doom that can check more threats outright... though I'd go with a Hasty nature over Mild, but that's just me.

Also, I personally don't think a dedicated wall is as important if it's purely in-game. Maybe if it got bumped up to SC, but IG... I'm not sold on it. A bulky attacker maybe, but a dedicated wall isn't really make or break for in-game purposes.

 

[Aura Sensei™]

So everyone seems to agree on Houndoom. I'd vote for either Houndoom; both are similiar with a slighty adjusted job. Though Aurath's seems a little bit more viable tbh; Houndoom has below average Defense, so setting up NP would be harder if you're to take physical hits.

Have to agree with KillerDraco; we would probably be alright with a bulky Sweeper, ingame you're aiming to attack mainly, a few exceptions being clerics.

 

[Eon Master]

Voting for Aurath's Houndoom set, but with Hasty > Mild. Houndoom can hit hard enough with a neutral nature, but its speed is right in that grey area where you'd much rather have a speed boosting nature.

Also, the only really viable NP Houndoom in-game is SubPlot, just saying. And even then, it's limited as a sweeper because of its coverage. Straight-up NP is usable, but ultimately inferior to SubPlot, and both are inferior to mixed sets (both special-based and physical-based).

 

[Aura Sensei™]

Aurath's Houndoom it is, tbh Hasty is better.

Edit; not really sure what route we should take now, but to me this Team seems a little slow. If I think of something, then yeah, I'll be sure to bring it up. Any thoughts?

 

[Zhanton]

^ Well in terms of a fast Pokemon, can I suggest Mienshao?

Mienshao @ Life Orb / Leftovers / Muscle Band
Adamant nature
Regenerator
252 Atk / 192 Spe / 64 HP
- Hi Jump Kick
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Fake Out

Mienshao gets good synergy with the rest of the team. It resists Rock and can take Rock-type moves aimed at Houndoom and Zapdos, as well as Bug-type moves aimed at Torterra and Houndoom. The given EVs allow it to outspeed +Spe Zebstrika, since there's not much in-game that's faster than Zebstrika. It's a pretty standard Mienshao set. Start off with Fake Out to flinch the opponent. Hi Jump Kick for STAB and Rock Slide for coverage. U-turn lets you switch out and heal off Life Orb and Hi Jump Kick recoil. Life Orb + Adamant + max HP might be overkill though so Leftovers and Muscle Band can be used as the item instead.

 

[Eon Master]

^ What's the point of using Mienshao as our "fast" Pokemon if the spread and EVs we're using render it slower than our Houndoom set? Also, Fake Out, really? Ick. I know its movepool is limited, but Fake Out is just horrible without STAB or Technician. Hell, it's pretty bad in general unless you're talking Ambipom (or Persian), and even then it's better in competitive than ingame.

 

[Aurath8]

^ What's the point of using Mienshao as our "fast" Pokemon if the spread and EVs we're using render it slower than our Houndoom set? Also, Fake Out, really? Ick. I know its movepool is limited, but Fake Out is just horrible without STAB or Technician. Hell, it's pretty bad in general unless you're talking Ambipom (or Persian), and even then it's better in competitive than ingame.

Fake Out is used because Mienshao is going to be switching a lot to abuse U-turn and Regenerator. Fake Out is pretty much free damage in that sense. Mienshao doesn't really have any other options anyway except for Swords Dance, which is incompatible with U-turn+Regenerator.

It may be slower than Houdoom, but it still beats Zebstrika since the AI doesn't know what EVs unless they happen to be on a subway. It's fast enough. Of course, if its beating Zebstrika then some of Houndoom's speed EVs are superfluous. 252 Spatk / 160 Spd / 92 HP on Houndoom anyone?

Oh and +1 to Mienshao if it wasn't clear. And use a Life Orb because Regenerator exists. Not to mention that Mienshao's bad defences means that it needs to get those KO's.

 

[Aura Sensei™]

Mienshao does seem to work, but what about Lucario? It also resists Ice and has a 4x resist to Bug and Rock. Though it can't really do much other than Swords Dance / Work Up / Nasty Plot sets, which is meh, unless we use CMID Luke, even though he's not that viable. Ah well, I don't really remember the EVs, so if someone does please correct me.

Lucario @ Leftovers
Nature: Timid
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Hp / 4 Def / 252 SpD
- Calm Mind
- Iron Defense
- Substitute
- Flash Cannon

Lucario, despite having bad Defenses, has some useful resistances due to it's typing which can make it a decent CMID user. Calm Mind boosts SpA and SpD, so Flash Cannon becomes gradually more powerful whilst I'm setting up. Iron Defense alongside CM makes Luke hard to take down from both sides of the spectrum. Sub is used to protect Lucario from Status and also crits, which is key to Lucario's strategy. Finally, Flash Cannon hits everything in the game for neutral coverage, and at +6 it hits pretty hard.

Yeah, sure, it kinda sucks, but I think a little creativity wouldn't hurt. Otherwise, we can go with Mienshao.

 

[Eon Master]

@Aurath: Free damage is nice, sure, but Fake Out is weak as all hell. I suppose it really doesn't matter for in-game, though.

Oh, and two things. One, SD isn't incompatible with U-Turn/Regenerator. It's just really stupid. Also, Drain Punch could work as well, but since we have Regenerator, it'd be a bit of a waste. If we were using Reckless, I'd be suggesting it, but with Regenerator there's no need for it.

Also, I brought up the bit with Houndoom because Aura Sensai said that the team was "a little slow" in his opinion, so he most likely wanted something faster than Houndoom. Seeing as that clearly isn't the case with him suggesting CM/ID Luke of all things, I'll retract that.

@AS: Why. CM/ID Luke is only good in the Battle Tower of Gen 4. Besides Alex (Noctourniquet) and Ungulateman, I was the only one who used it, so I should know. If we're going to go with Steel/Fighting typing, we might as well use Cobalion (not CM/ID Cobalion, fgs), especially considering that you want speed. Honestly, I'd almost prefer Mienshao.

 

[Aura Sensei™]

I know it would require too much time to set up and have bad results, but I thought it was worth a try. I'm pretty sure I never mentioned the need of Speed, but ah well. It dosen't really come down to my decision anyways.

I agree on Mienshao in that case, with the exception of maybe trying Flying Gem + Acrobatics or Return > Fake Out, simply for how weak Fake Out is. Though Mienshao dosen't have a whole ton of options left.