No items, Kalos bred Tournament team

[13ulbasaur]

Hey there! Sorry for the boring name, I figured it would be better to point out that this team is made for a weird ruleset. Anyway! I'm preparing myself for my first ever tournament that will be held locally later this year, and since this is my first tournament I want to try my best. However, it has weird rules, as a result I can't easily test out the team (sorry rule 6!) to find flaws and there are so many things I am worried about that my brain sort of overloaded. Which is why I thought I would come over here and ask for some opinions and advice on my team. A copy of ORAS is first prize! A lot is at stake!



The rules are as follows:

• 6v6 Singles Match
• No items
• Must be Kalos Bred/Caught (National Pokedex)
• No legendaries

There are no tiers or whatever clauses except for the ones that apply in game, so there will be stuff like Swagger, evasion, Baton Passers and whatnot.

Note: All the EVs and calculations are made at level 50, not 100, as this will be in game.

Blaziken
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Low Kick
- Flare Blitz
- Stone Edge
- Protect

Where Blaziken was initially added as a nice Mega attacker before the tournament runners changed the rules again to make it no items including Mega Stones, I decided to keep Blaziken in anyway. As thanks to Speed Boost and it's nice attack stat, it can dent some nice holes in teams. The moves are somewhat self explanatory. I chose Low Kick over High Jump Kick, as I just didn't want to risk the recoil. Stone Edge is to allow me to bop Talonflames or Dnites who want to be cheeky and switch in.

Sableye
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 116 SpD / 140 Spe
Timid Nature
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Foul Play
- Recover

Sableye was added thanks to my fear of Swagplay Klefki or other shenanigens in a tournament like this, and I love its overall utility with prankster Will-o-Wisp. The EVs and Nature allow me to outspeed 0 speed investment Klefki by 1 point to Taunt them before they can do any funny business. The rest was dumped into Sp.Defense because Will-o-Wisp's burns should patch up the defensive side.

Dragonite
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Fire Punch
- Extreme Speed

Dragonite was chosen to be my dragon of choice, as thanks to Dragon Dance, Multiscale and the lack of any Choice Scarfs, it can do some nice work on one or two boosts. Fire Punch allows me to get Scizor, Skarm and Ferro who may wall me otherwise. Extremespeed gives me nice priority against opposing priority users who want to take Dragonite out once it is weakened, and because priority is always nice, especially when its ESpeed.

Rotom-Wash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 SpA
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Thunder Wave

Rotom-Wash was to help deal with Talonflame and other Pokes that threaten Dnite and Blaziken. Without a Chesto Berry, I didn't really want Rest, and it being Kalos bred meant it can't have Pain Split, so I simply opted to have T.bolt in alongside Volt Switch for the extra powers. The EVs and Nature allow Rotom-W to OHKO physically defensive Skarmory, assuming at least 1% of its Hp is gone so that Sturdy doesn't count and deals a bit above 50% to Mandibuzz so it cant roost stall forever. T-Wave was chosen over Will-o-Wisp, as Sableye already has Will-o-Wisp, so might as well use T-Wave to cripple speedy Pokes or fire types/special attackers that Will-o-Wisp can't do much to.

Mamoswine
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 172 Atk / 84 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Freeze-Dry
- Stealth Rock

Mamoswine was chosen as the Stealth Rocker, for its ability to set up rocks and deal with Quagsire and Gastrodon who can't be hit by Rotom, thanks to Freeze-dry being a special move, not be completely destroyed the moment it gets burnt by a Scald though losing the amazing power in Icicle Crash does kinda suck, but the aforementioned threats would wall my team otherwise. The EVs in Sp.Attack allow Mamoswine to perfectly OHKO Quagsire after SR damage with Freeze-Dry. Ice Shard and EQ are fairly self explanatory, priority is always nice, EQ is always nice. Thick Fat since its Thick Fat and pretty good to hopefully let Mamo live a hit.

Scizor
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Atk / 20 Def
Adamant Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn

Scizor is my defogger, chosen since I wanted a defog/rapid spin user who wasn't fairy or water weak, and, well, was overall decent. Scizor was chosen, thanks to its nice complementary typing with the rest of the team, and MORE PRIORITY. This guy is sort of like an offensive supporter. Roost helps keep it in the game, U-Turn gives some nice momentum and can be annoying paired with Rotom's Volt Switch. The attack EVs are perfect to allow it to just 2HKO Clefable with Bullet Punch while at the same time doesn't really affect most other calcs at all because level 50 works like that, so I could pump some more investment into Defense, just in case. Juust in case.




Overall I'm quite happy on the team at a glance, but I can't help but feel very anxious without a whirlwind/roar/haze user to help with BP or minimize or whatever cosmic power nonsense because Sableye can't be out on the field forever.
I am so extremely paranoid in fact, that I am thinking of running a Haze Crobat or something. It makes my team overall not as good I think, but I'm so terrified.

There is also of course the fact that I could have overlooked big things.

Which is why I'm here, and I really hope that I can get some opinions.
Thanks a bunch!

Some Other Possible Threats:

• Opposing Sableye could be a problem. 5/6 of my team are special attackers, 4/6 will care a lot about burns. I need to scout out whether the Sableye would be more physically or specially defensive, and I then need to preserve Blaziken or Rotom-W for it.
• Evasion, defense and sp.defense boosters can also be a problem if I don't have Sableye out to Taunt them, since I don't have any Roars or Whirlwinds or Hazes on my team.
• Rotom-Wash can also be a problem. Again, 4/6 of my Pokes hate burns, and Blaziken cannot take a Hydro Pump so it will need to be played around carefully.
• Magic Guard + Calm Mind Clefable with Flamethrower. Can stall my Pokes with Moonlight and though Scizor can 2HKO Bullet Punch it, it gets burnt to a crisp by an unboosted flamethrower.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Rocxidi]

This team looks pretty nice, except for two things:

Thunder Wave isn't the greatest move on Rotom, I recommend using Will-o-Wisp instead, or swap Thunderbolt for Will-o-Wisp since Volt Switch works better anyways. Consider Discharge as well.

You're making a huge mistake on Scizor...

WHY DOESN'T IT KNOW ACROBATICS! IT BECOMES SCIZOR'S STRONGEST MOVE! AGH!

Hehe, think about it, though, the damage from Acrobatics exceeds that of any other moves!

 

[13ulbasaur]

This team looks pretty nice, except for two things:

Thunder Wave isn't the greatest move on Rotom, I recommend using Will-o-Wisp instead, or swap Thunderbolt for Will-o-Wisp since Volt Switch works better anyways. Consider Discharge as well.

You're making a huge mistake on Scizor...

WHY DOESN'T IT KNOW ACROBATICS! IT BECOMES SCIZOR'S STRONGEST MOVE! AGH!

Hehe, think about it, though, the damage from Acrobatics exceeds that of any other moves!

Hi! Thanks for the rate! Honestly I really like Tbolt on Rotom, it nets some key KOs that Volt Switch doesn't quite get, and T Waves slowing utility is really handy since Sableye can cover the burns so I'm not quite convinced.

As for Acrobatics, that's a good idea! I can't believe I didn't think of it. I do want some flying coverage. I'd have to give up Roost for it though since Bullet Punch is necessary for fairies and priority and U-Turn is just plain handy. Would sacrificing Roost be worth it? What do you think?

Thanks again!

 

[venom1950]

That Blaziken really doesn't need that much EVs in speed as it has speed boost. Also picking Blaziken to counter Talonflame is not a good idea since it is a Fighting type. I think Rotom-W is enough to take down talonflame. Also Hi Jump Kick doesn't give you recoil if you hit the target. Teach Blaziken Swords Dance instead of Stone Edge.
Also it is a lot better to have a physical ice attacker so instead of freeze-dry you should have Icicle Crash on Mamoswine. And instead of SpAtt EVs invest in HP
Other than that this team is a-ok

 

[13ulbasaur]

That Blaziken really doesn't need that much EVs in speed as it has speed boost. Also picking Blaziken to counter Talonflame is not a good idea since it is a Fighting type. I think Rotom-W is enough to take down talonflame. Also Hi Jump Kick doesn't give you recoil if you hit the target. Teach Blaziken Swords Dance instead of Stone Edge.
Also it is a lot better to have a physical ice attacker so instead of freeze-dry you should have Icicle Crash on Mamoswine. And instead of SpAtt EVs invest in HP
Other than that this team is a-ok

Hi! Thanks for the rate!

Blaziken wasn't chosen to counter Talonflame--that's just silly! Where'd you get that idea? As I said, Stone Edge is to hit Talons and Dnites, common switch ins, on the switch, no way would I stay in on one.
You're right though, SD would be handy but I like being able to bop switch ins, but who can say i'll have the prediction levels to do that? I'll definitely think about it.
And yeah if HJK doesn't miss it's fine. But it likes to miss and I don want to risk losing my big hitter for that.

I feel like you didn't read the descriptions on my Pokemon properly. Freeze Dry was so I could handle bulky waters called Quagsire and Gastroson or my team just gets walled. That's one of the main reasons I chose Mamoswine. Yeah it misses out a lot of power from Icicle Crash but it does mean my team doesn't lose the moment a Quagsire comes out, which is in my opinion a much better trade off.


Also I did some calcs on Acrobatics. X-Scissor still hits harder being stab but acrobatics gives me an SE hit against fighting types which I don't have currently so I'm heavily considering it.

 

[Cosmic Fury]

I know I'm still rusty with this whole sort of thing, being used to playing by "conventional" rules, but I'll give it a shot.

As you mentioned yourself, evasion is going to be a HUGE problem, as well as status. For the first, I would recommend a phazer. Just get something like Skarmory out to set hazards, and use Whirlwind to deal with evasion boosts. Or, get something that learns Haze. That would be able to clear things up very fast.

For status I recommend none other than Espeon. Its Magic Bounce ability makes mincemeat of ANYTHING that tries nothing but status, and it will greatly serve you against opponents who like to use status in an attempt to stall you out.

I'll post other recommendations later, but those are a couple of Pokemon I feel worthy of being mentioned.

 

[venom1950]

Hi! Thanks for the rate!

Blaziken wasn't chosen to counter Talonflame--that's just silly! Where'd you get that idea? As I said, Stone Edge is to hit Talons and Dnites, common switch ins, on the switch, no way would I stay in on one.
You're right though, SD would be handy but I like being able to bop switch ins, but who can say i'll have the prediction levels to do that? I'll definitely think about it.
And yeah if HJK doesn't miss it's fine. But it likes to miss and I don want to risk losing my big hitter for that.

I feel like you didn't read the descriptions on my Pokemon properly. Freeze Dry was so I could handle bulky waters called Quagsire and Gastroson or my team just gets walled. That's one of the main reasons I chose Mamoswine. Yeah it misses out a lot of power from Icicle Crash but it does mean my team doesn't lose the moment a Quagsire comes out, which is in my opinion a much better trade off.


Also I did some calcs on Acrobatics. X-Scissor still hits harder being stab but acrobatics gives me an SE hit against fighting types which I don't have currently so I'm heavily considering it.

Then you could turn your Rotom-W to Rotom-M and you'll have leaf storm. rotom has a better chance to survive against any water/ground than mamoswine.
Again, you have two pokemon that are super effective against Talon and Dnite. You don't really need a third one. You have Rotom and Mamoswine to deal against Talon and Dnite.
Also you could teach Fury Cutter instead of X-Scissor. On the second or third turn it will hit the same as X-Scissor if i'm not mistaken.

 

[13ulbasaur]

I know I'm still rusty with this whole sort of thing, being used to playing by "conventional" rules, but I'll give it a shot.

As you mentioned yourself, evasion is going to be a HUGE problem, as well as status. For the first, I would recommend a phazer. Just get something like Skarmory out to set hazards, and use Whirlwind to deal with evasion boosts. Or, get something that learns Haze. That would be able to clear things up very fast.

For status I recommend none other than Espeon. Its Magic Bounce ability makes mincemeat of ANYTHING that tries nothing but status, and it will greatly serve you against opponents who like to use status in an attempt to stall you out.

I'll post other recommendations later, but those are a couple of Pokemon I feel worthy of being mentioned.

Hi! Thanks for the rate. I understand it's hard to give rates under strange rules, so I thank you very much for your willingness to help.

I actually had a Skarmory as my SR setter initially, since it could Whirlwind and stuff, but Mamoswine was put in under the recommendation of another person since it could deal with Gastro and stuff. I would've gone and used a Defog Skarm instead, but Defog is a TM move from Gen IV so I can't get it.

Espeon is also an idea, i just worry it will not pull its weight in other situations. Overall I'm not too worried about status stalling, I tend to play Stall a lot myself so I think I might know how to manuever around others, it's just the whole evasion/defense boosting thing that concerns me.


See, my problem is that i want to use these Pokemon to help with these gimmicks, but at this point I can't figure out what to do without just making my team sub-par. Blaziken and Dragonite are my hard hitters, Scizor is my defogger and helps with Fairies, Mamoswine is my Gastro/Quag and Dragon check as well as SR setter, Sableye helps me deal with Swagplay Klefki and has lots of utility in Will-o and taunt in general, and Rotom-Wash is just plain useful in countering Acrobatics spam.
That's why I'm all stuck and worried. Maybe I'm being much too paranoid, but I always assume the worst will come for these kinds of things.

I'm more than willing to swap out some Pokes, just can't think about which and how.

On another note, I decided to follow Venom's advice and put SD on my Blaziken. The stuff that gets hit by Stone Edge super effectively gets hit almost just as hard by a Flare Blitz anyway (bar Dnite who resists both stabs) and it gives Blaziken more sweeping potential.

Still considering Acrobatics on Scizor.

Then you could turn your Rotom-W to Rotom-M and you'll have leaf storm. rotom has a better chance to survive against any water/ground than mamoswine.
Again, you have two pokemon that are super effective against Talon and Dnite. You don't really need a third one. You have Rotom and Mamoswine to deal against Talon and Dnite.
Also you could teach Fury Cutter instead of X-Scissor. On the second or third turn it will hit the same as X-Scissor if i'm not mistaken.

I did actually have a Rotom-M on my team before, but it was swapped out for Wash so that Talonflame doesn't destroy my team. I'm slightly confused though, what Pokemon do I have that is SE against Talon besides Rotom-Wash? Rotom's the only Pokemon in my team that resists both of Tflame's stabs and can hit it against two of its weaknesses. If an opponent Tflame gets an SD up I'm done for without Washtom.


Also Fury Cutter is way too gimmicky. In the switch fest that is Singles, I don't think I'll be spamming a move more than twice.

 

[venom1950]

Well you are right about rotom-w,but dnite can survive a couple of talon's hits. it resists one of its stab.
i don't think you should change anything on your team other than maybe switch a pokemon for a healer. it could be very good to keep your Dnite at full health because of the multiscale.

 

[13ulbasaur]

Ehmm, still not too big. Dnite seems too shaky a check, and I mean Brave Bird is the main thing to watch out for and Dnite doesn't resist that and Tflame would be a lot more common of a threat.

Sorry if I sound deflective of your advice. I do appreciate it!

 

[venom1950]

It's fine. That's just my opinion. If you think this is better for you it's ok. I hope i helped in some way

 

[Rocxidi]

Hi! Thanks for the rate!

Blaziken wasn't chosen to counter Talonflame--that's just silly! Where'd you get that idea? As I said, Stone Edge is to hit Talons and Dnites, common switch ins, on the switch, no way would I stay in on one.
You're right though, SD would be handy but I like being able to bop switch ins, but who can say i'll have the prediction levels to do that? I'll definitely think about it.
And yeah if HJK doesn't miss it's fine. But it likes to miss and I don want to risk losing my big hitter for that.

I feel like you didn't read the descriptions on my Pokemon properly. Freeze Dry was so I could handle bulky waters called Quagsire and Gastroson or my team just gets walled. That's one of the main reasons I chose Mamoswine. Yeah it misses out a lot of power from Icicle Crash but it does mean my team doesn't lose the moment a Quagsire comes out, which is in my opinion a much better trade off.


Also I did some calcs on Acrobatics. X-Scissor still hits harder being stab but acrobatics gives me an SE hit against fighting types which I don't have currently so I'm heavily considering it.

Acrobatics does 110 power plus Technician. X Scissor does 80 + STAB. Acobatics is stronger.

Consider Greninja with Hydro Pump, Ice Beam, Extrasensory, and Grass Knot. Deals with Quaggy and many other things.

 

[13ulbasaur]

Acrobatics does 110 power plus Technician. X Scissor does 80 + STAB. Acobatics is stronger.

Consider Greninja with Hydro Pump, Ice Beam, Extrasensory, and Grass Knot. Deals with Quaggy and many other things.

STAB is x1.5. 0.5 of 80 is 40. 80+40 = 120.
Technician doesn't apply if it's not <60. Acrobatics becomes 110 without an item, thus it isn't boosted by technician and remains at 110 power.
You can check out the calcs yourself if you'd like.

I have actually been considering Greninja. It can even learn Haze, I learnt, so if I felt like being that paranoid I could throw haze on it but Greninja's coverage is too amazing. I could toss out my Dnite for it, though I do lose sweeping potential, it does mean I can still deal with a bunch of stuff since basically every Dragon is slower but Greninja has a lot less of an attack stat (but I guess it's alleviated with the whole Protean thing) which means that without a Life Orb he misses a bunch of key KOs and without Focus Sash gets bopped and dead. Hoo, scary.

Without Dnite though I don't have something that can actually hit Rotom-W for over 50% of its health and I have another Poke that just gets OHKOd by it. Which is a concern. I also kinda like being able to fall back on Dnite's Multiscale to just wreck something for a turn haha.

I'll try to think up some movesets to see how it can fit in. Ice Beam for sure for Dragons, Grass Knot for sure for those darnded Quags, will check what type coverage would be beneficial for my team.

Having ice beam and grass knot actually opens up for having either a different Stealth Rocker actually so I have a lot to consider.
Having one less physical attacker would also be good. Less threatened by burns. :)

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Rocxidi]

Acrobatics has 55 base power though, sorry for the confusion. It gets doubled but doesn't lose the Technician boost because Technician is determined by base power, which is 55.

 

[13ulbasaur]

Acrobatics has 55 base power though, sorry for the confusion. It gets doubled but doesn't lose the Technician boost because Technician is determined by base power, which is 55.

Technician applies after the base power of the move is changed.
Without item, base power becomes 110.
Thus, itemless Acrobatics is not affected by technician.

Relevant calcs:
252+ Atk Scizor X-Scissor vs. 0 HP / 36 Def Bidoof: 271-319 (104.6 - 123.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Scizor Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 0 HP / 36 Def Bidoof: 249-293 (96.1 - 113.1%) -- 75% chance to OHKO


The same applies to Pursuit as well. It gets the Technician boost if the Poke stays in, but it doesn't if it switches out and Pursuit's power is boosted.

 

[Rocxidi]

I'm afraid you're right. Don't use Acrobatics. It sucks.