;424; The Ballad of an Ambitious Ambipom ;424;
I've tried retiring. Then I tried just simply giving others advice on their teams. Then, ...then the temptation to build another team ran through my mind and infected my every idea thereafter. So here I am, trying to build a team when I can't decide what Pokémon to make it around. I considered Ubers, but OU was too fun. I considered Rain, but it eventually became boring having the upper hand every battle. Tried stall, but it somewhat bored me. Then I came to the realization that I've always been an offensive trainer rather than a defensive trainer... this made me continue my search for the perfect Pokémon for me to build a team around. Since I couldn't decide, I began to play my HeartGold version and found the old Ambipom I had raised during my breeder days and unintentionally abandoned while in my pursuit of becoming a competitive battler. This resulted in a chain of events that lead to me choosing Ambipom as the team's center. Soon after, I added my always favored personal core of Volcarona, Garchomp & Metagross. Gengar, since having great synergy with both Ambipom & Metagross, was added following the previous three. Last, because Ambipom would be the scout of the team and would therefore need assistance in doing so, Rotom-W came to mind and was literally the best contender for the slot. I began to picture it being in battle before had even the chance to engage in one with this team. Everything seemed to fall into place after I assembled the team as an entirety. My resulting reaction: That's one ambitious Ambipom. Haha.
Ambipom (#Facepalm) @ Silk Scarf
Trait: Technician
Jolly nature
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 SDef/ 252 Spd
- Fake Out
- Double Hit
- Low Sweep
- U-turn
Back in the Gen lV era, Ambipom was one of the most esteemed scouts known to the game. This is one of the reasons that it earned my favoritism during my time playing HeartGold. As a member of my Gen V team, Ambipom displays the same amount of pressure as a sufficient and effective scout as it did in Gen lV. Ofcourse Fake Out is its main reason for being such an effective scout, since it allows Ambipom to foil Focus Sash and Sturdy abusers and expose those whom could possibly bluff a choice item to have an alternative item like Leftovers. Double Hit serves somewhat of an obvious purpose, for which is why I chose it over the typical Return. Return simply makes no sense to me at all when using Ambipom. I'm sorry, but it just never has. Moving on, Low Sweep was chosed over Low Kick bcause I've found the Speed drop to be very useful. That, and because it helps against Scarfed switched-ins like Landorus-T and bulky Pokémon like Gyarados, Gliscor, etc. U-turn is used in times when Ambipom has to flee and scout, or when I simply predict a double switch. It's biggest problem is Mach Punch users, which is made worse now that Iron Fist Infernape and TechLoom have such a prominent popularity. Thankfully, for those who've read my rant, Gengar is on the team to stop such threats from KO'ing Ambipom with impunity.
Volcarona (Hotaru) @ Lum Berry/ Life Orb
Trait: Flame Body
Timid nature
EVs: 4 Def/ 252 SAtk/ 252 Spd
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Quiver Dance
Lets see what people have to say about this member of the team. The typical "Volcarona is so frail without a spinner" is expected. And lets not forget the occasional "Heatran walls this set very badly" comment. Haha. Anyways, with Garchomp & Metagross on the team, Volcarona has little to fear from a Stone Edge or Rock Slide. With Rotom-W, she has little to fear from powerful Water attacks. The synergy is obviously present but rocks are still somewhat of an issue if Volcarona doesn't have the power to syphon it from its opponent with Giga Drain; ofcourse, this is after a few boosts from Quiver Dance. Fiery Dance is a decent STAB while the occasional boost in SAtk is appreciated for the team; coupled with Bug Buzz, it gets the job done pretty quickly. Volcarona is 1/4 of the team's overall core and is the main specially offensive component of said core.
Garchomp (Shark) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Rough Skin
Jolly nature
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 SDef/ 252 Spd
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail
- Dragon Claw
Its set isn't exactly an oddity, but it has never let me down thus far. Outrage is the last resort move and is mainly for late-game sweeping once all Pokémon resistant to the attack have been removed from the opponent's team. That said, I have considered Fire Blast over Aqua Tail so that Garchomp can remove such walls as Skarmory, Ferrothorn & Forretress. Dragon Claw & Earthquake are reliable STABs that occasionally help sweep opposing Pokémon. Garchomp is the main physical attack or the team's overall core and demonstrates this in battle quite well. Not much to be said for Garchomp, as most ways to describe him have already been shown for those whom have ever faced one. Other than being an excellent partner for Volcarona and Metagross, Garchomp is your typical ScarfChomp.
Metagross (Ironhide) @ Leftovers
Trait: Clear Body
Adamant nature
EVs: 252 Hp/ 100 Atk/ 158 SDef
- Bullet Punch
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
Metagross is somewhat the glue of the team's core. With its ability to take Rock, Grass, Psychic, and Ice attacks aimed at the rest of the team, Metagross proved its worth pretty fairly in battle. Metagross has a naturally effective synergy with Garchomp, Gengar, and Rotom-W, which makes them able to come in and switch out pretty easy outside of being hit with some sort of Pursuit. Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash are its main STABs while Earthquake is mainly there to counter opposing Steel types like Jirachi, Heatran, Registeel, and opposing Metagross. Stealth Rock is the team's source of hazard and helps with drawing out the opponent's spinner, making it easier to eliminate them as quickly as possible for the most part.
Gengar (Spookz) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
Timid nature
EVs:4 Def/ 252 SAtk/ 252 Spd
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Substitute
- Pain Split
Gengar is by far the most annoying member of the team with its constant Substitute set ups and Pain Split soon after. Ambipom and Gengar have done a good job of covering each other's weaknesses when my prediction isn't slightly off. Though standard, Gengar's Ghost+Fighting coverage is much appreciated on the team. Gengars role is mainly wall breaking when possible and taking Fighting and Ground attacks for Ambipom & Metagross. On occasion Gengar has taken Grass type attacks for Rotom-W, but since the attack type is rare, it is hardly ever brought in to wall the attacks. Gengar is not part of the core, but does play quite an important role in aiding it.
Rotom-W (Eekz) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
Calm nature
EVs: 236 Hp/ 56 SAtk/ 220 SDef
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-o-Wisp
- Pain Split
Finally, we come to the last member of the team's core. Actually, finally we come to the closing of my team's RMT. Haha. Rotom-W was an obvioud choice for the last slot of the team, but those who have read my rant already know that. Its great synergy with Volcarona, Garchomp & Metagross and ability to complete the VoltTurn strategy with Ambipom made it the go-to Pokémon for the position. Its dual STABs in Hydro Pump and Volt Switch help round off the team's coverages. Rotom-W is somewhat the counter to Rain teams, too, which is yet another reason it is the best Pokémon for the last slot on the team. It also provides the team with the much appreciated burn support with Will-o-Wisp and annoying Pain Split to wear down the opponents who cause it heavy damage.
In closing, this team has been very effective thus far. I have no complaints other that the fact that it lacks a spinner, but I can normally play around the lack of one anyway. While making the team suitable for the current metagame, I tested it out a bit in RMUs and found no more holes than the ones I'd already noticed while making the team. I'm proud to say thst Ambipom wasn't the reason the team has lost, although it has only lost two times one RMUs and hasn't really had many notable battles via WiFi. Still, advice and any suggested changes are appreciated. Hope you all enjoyed reading my RMT and note that I may have misspelled some things, but I'm sure you'll all get the point. Haha.
;424; :637: ;445; ;376; ;094; ;479-w;
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I'll test it out soon.
