Sky Drop is an amazing move. On the first turn, you and an opponent go into the air, where neither the pokemon that attacked nor the pokemon designated as the target can take any actions. On the second turn, if the opponent's pokemon goes first, its attack fails. If your pokemon goes first, it lands, dealing a 60 power move (with STAB except in the case of Mew) to the opponent, before finally allowing the opponent to make an attack.
In single battles, this may seem a mere stall tactic, and a risky one at that, but in Triples, Sky Drop can shine to such an extent that I am almost surprised it hasn't been banned. This, in numerical order, is my team, a gimmick of epic proportions that harnesses the amazing potential of Sky Drop.
Already you must be thinking that this team is somewhat lacking in synergy. This is because the overall strategy is more important on a team with as many gimmicks as this one. Critics of gimmicks, no matter how good they are, should probably stop reading now. A post that says "this team is a gimmick" is meaningless to me. Still, I did consider synergy to some extent. That’s why I used Haxorus instead of a Linoone with Gluttony, a Salac Berry, and Belly Drum. Without further ado, I present...
The Sky Drop Team
Clefairy @ Eviolite
Ability: Friend Guard
Nature: Calm
EVs: 252 HP, 200 Def, 56 SpDef
- Cosmic Power
- Stored Power
- Wish
- Follow Me
Clefairy is a very potent member of the team, and an awesome gimmick in and of itself. The idea is to use Cosmic Power as many times as possible, healing with Wish as needed. After 6 Cosmic Powers, Clefairy can provide an insane amount of support. First of all, its ability, Friend Guard, makes every pokemon on my team get an effective 25% boost to both defenses. It also runs Follow Me support, drawing attacks toward it and allowing other pokemon to get their stats up. Stored power is the last benefit – after 6 Cosmic Powers, its amazing 260 power means that even a pokemon as weak as Clefairy can do some damage if the situation requires. Even with Eviolite, I would never dare try something like this unless I was sure Clefairy could make it through the first few rounds. For that, I rely on Sky Drop support (which I’ll explain later) and the fact that the opponent usually will not abandon his or her strategy to go after a Clefairy. The EVs minimize the total damage, so this Clefairy can take a surprising amount of pain after just 2 or 3 Cosmic Powers.
Omastar @ White Herb
Ability: Swift Swim
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpAtk, 252 Spe, 4 HP
- Shell Smash
- Blizzard
- Surf
- Protect
Sky Drop gives you basically one free turn to stat-up, and there is, in my opinion, no greater stat-up move than Shell Smash, doubling speed and offense at only the cost of a hold item. I originally wanted to Baton Pass, but that was a waste of move slot, and I wanted a serious special sweeper on the team. Thus, it was Omastar that beat Gorebyss by a narrow 1 point of base SpAtk and 3 points of Spe. Blizzard and Surf are pretty much the only special moves that affect more than one pokemon and that are learnable with Shell Smash. Protect is a staple of Triple Battles that should be given a move slot whenever possible.
Aerodactyl @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 HP
- Sky Drop
- Hone Claws
- Earthquake
- Protect
Aerodactyl is my first and fastest Sky Drop user. It usually occupies the center position in case it needs to Earthquake something, but it could be on the side if I want one of the Kamis to eject, bringing in Omastar or Haxorus. I think it’s worth it to use Life Orb, as Aerodactyl isn’t going to survive much anyway. Hone Claws gives it a much-needed stat-up move that I can fall back on. Protect of course, is needed whenever possible in Triples, whether to survive a Surf or simply to bide time. Aerodactyl won’t last more than 10 turns, but most of my Triples battles are shorter than that anyway.
Haxorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 HP
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Protect
EdgeQuake may be common in Singles, but in Triples, EarthSlide is pure gold, especially when you have the insane power of a +1 Haxorus. If you can get in a Dragon Dance, there is little to stop you from destroying the foe’s entire team, with some help from Sky Drop. Haxorus is obviously in the same class as Clefairy and Omastar, being one of the 3 pokemon on this team that uses Sky Drop as a means of setting up. Protect is a must, although I was tempted to throw in a hyper-powered Dragon-type move.
Tornadus @ Eject Button
Ability: Defiant
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 HP
- Sky Drop
- U-Turn
- Rain Dance
- Protect
Tornadus serves little purpose outside of being the second Sky Drop user. Because its priority moves aren’t that important, I decided to give it the Defiant ability, which blows up in my opponent’s face if he or she sends out a pokemon with Intimidate (reasonably common in Triples) or uses Leer/Sweet Scent/Growl (although those strategies are not as common these days). U-Turn is a great way to give one of my set-up users a safe switch-in, as is the Eject Button. Rain Dance was there because in Triples, it’s a bit more effective than Taunt and completely messes up Hail, Sun, and Sand Teams. Protect is obvious.
Thundurus @ Eject Button
Ability: Prankster
Nature: Jolly
Evs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 HP
- Sky Drop
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Protect
Thundurus, my last Sky Drop user, was chosen for many of the same reasons as Tornadus: it’s fast, strong, and is one of the pitifully few pokemon that can learn Sky Drop. I went in a different direction on Thundurus, given the large number of non-damaging moves that Thundurus can use, and gave it the ability Prankster. It acts as the back-up for my team, getting rid of some things that can badly hurt my strategies. Thunder Wave is used at the beginning of matches, on switch-ins, and after the opponent uses a stat-up move, to prevent the opponent’s team from being faster than mine. My strategy relies to such an extent on speed that I used a friggin Aerodactyl, so those opponents need to be taken out with priority paralysis. Taunt destroys opposing gimmicks, Tailwind, Trick Room, phazers, and set-up. I had considered Heal Block, but this also destroys healing moves. It's only on one pokemon, rather than on the whole team. As usual, Protect is essential for general strategy, as is Sky Drop.
Strategy
I love this team because, unlike most gimmicks, it’s not unilateral and has many different techniques that you can use. If one of the gimmicks seems riskier, you can try a different one or mix aspects of different strategies. The basic strategies of a Sky Drop Team fall into a few basic groups.
The Reach Gimmick
The idea of this gimmick, the main gimmick of the team, is to get a pokemon to stat-up in safety. To do this, choose a pokemon on one end of the opposing side that is least likely to know reach moves (like Dark Pulse or Sky Attack) or full side moves (like Surf or Rock Slide). For the purposes of the example, let’s say that the scenario looks like this:
Gengar is most likely not going to use a reach or full side move, so I have Aerodactyl use Sky Drop on Salamence and Thundurus use Sky Drop on Metagross (Sky Drop is a reach move). Now, Clefairy is free to use Cosmic Power, with little risk of Gengar being able to harm it.
The Disruption Gimmick
This one is more simple. If the opponent is running an obvious set-up strategy, such if he or she is using a Whimsicott and a Terrakion or anything involving a Volcarona, I’ll use Sky Drop on the pokemon that the strategy depends on, preventing the strategy and most likely gaining a set-up turn in the process.
The Frustrated Follower Gimmick
This one is just plain amusing. Clefairy uses Follow Me, and then one of my Sky Drop users take it up into the air. The opponent’s pokemon are forced to pointlessly attack the space in which there used to be a Clefairy, while my 3rd pokemon uses a stat-up move. This might KO Clefairy, but usually not, especially if I used Wish the turn before, and have some Cosmic Powers up.
The Protection Gimmick
One of my Sky Drop users takes another pokemon into the air to save them from a gruesome fate as the third pokemon clears the field with Earthquake or Surf. This can be used if one of the pokemon used Protect last turn and needs a bit more time to stall, for example. Obviously, this can be used in conjunction with the Frustrated Follower Gimmick.
Conclusion
These gimmicks are just some of the many variations of strategies that this team and other Sky Drop teams can achieve (note, future Sky Drop team makers, that I invented the concept), in addition to obvious strategies like sacrificing Clefairy with Follow Me to provide set-up, having all but one pokemon use Protect to give the set-up pokemon that didn’t Protect decent odds, and straight-up sweeping. There are probably strategies involving Sky Drop that I have never imagined; I don’t think I’ve done anything more than scratch the surface of what teams like this can accomplish.
Please give me advice to improve this Triples team; substitutions are acceptable, but keep in mind that Sky Drop is the focus of the team, so I’d like to keep a large number of fast users of the move. Also, feel free to suggest pokemon, abilities, and items that aren’t available yet. For all intents and purposes, this is a PO team. Thanks!
In single battles, this may seem a mere stall tactic, and a risky one at that, but in Triples, Sky Drop can shine to such an extent that I am almost surprised it hasn't been banned. This, in numerical order, is my team, a gimmick of epic proportions that harnesses the amazing potential of Sky Drop.
Already you must be thinking that this team is somewhat lacking in synergy. This is because the overall strategy is more important on a team with as many gimmicks as this one. Critics of gimmicks, no matter how good they are, should probably stop reading now. A post that says "this team is a gimmick" is meaningless to me. Still, I did consider synergy to some extent. That’s why I used Haxorus instead of a Linoone with Gluttony, a Salac Berry, and Belly Drum. Without further ado, I present...
The Sky Drop Team
Clefairy @ Eviolite
Ability: Friend Guard
Nature: Calm
EVs: 252 HP, 200 Def, 56 SpDef
- Cosmic Power
- Stored Power
- Wish
- Follow Me
Clefairy is a very potent member of the team, and an awesome gimmick in and of itself. The idea is to use Cosmic Power as many times as possible, healing with Wish as needed. After 6 Cosmic Powers, Clefairy can provide an insane amount of support. First of all, its ability, Friend Guard, makes every pokemon on my team get an effective 25% boost to both defenses. It also runs Follow Me support, drawing attacks toward it and allowing other pokemon to get their stats up. Stored power is the last benefit – after 6 Cosmic Powers, its amazing 260 power means that even a pokemon as weak as Clefairy can do some damage if the situation requires. Even with Eviolite, I would never dare try something like this unless I was sure Clefairy could make it through the first few rounds. For that, I rely on Sky Drop support (which I’ll explain later) and the fact that the opponent usually will not abandon his or her strategy to go after a Clefairy. The EVs minimize the total damage, so this Clefairy can take a surprising amount of pain after just 2 or 3 Cosmic Powers.
Omastar @ White Herb
Ability: Swift Swim
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpAtk, 252 Spe, 4 HP
- Shell Smash
- Blizzard
- Surf
- Protect
Sky Drop gives you basically one free turn to stat-up, and there is, in my opinion, no greater stat-up move than Shell Smash, doubling speed and offense at only the cost of a hold item. I originally wanted to Baton Pass, but that was a waste of move slot, and I wanted a serious special sweeper on the team. Thus, it was Omastar that beat Gorebyss by a narrow 1 point of base SpAtk and 3 points of Spe. Blizzard and Surf are pretty much the only special moves that affect more than one pokemon and that are learnable with Shell Smash. Protect is a staple of Triple Battles that should be given a move slot whenever possible.
Aerodactyl @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 HP
- Sky Drop
- Hone Claws
- Earthquake
- Protect
Aerodactyl is my first and fastest Sky Drop user. It usually occupies the center position in case it needs to Earthquake something, but it could be on the side if I want one of the Kamis to eject, bringing in Omastar or Haxorus. I think it’s worth it to use Life Orb, as Aerodactyl isn’t going to survive much anyway. Hone Claws gives it a much-needed stat-up move that I can fall back on. Protect of course, is needed whenever possible in Triples, whether to survive a Surf or simply to bide time. Aerodactyl won’t last more than 10 turns, but most of my Triples battles are shorter than that anyway.
Haxorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 HP
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Protect
EdgeQuake may be common in Singles, but in Triples, EarthSlide is pure gold, especially when you have the insane power of a +1 Haxorus. If you can get in a Dragon Dance, there is little to stop you from destroying the foe’s entire team, with some help from Sky Drop. Haxorus is obviously in the same class as Clefairy and Omastar, being one of the 3 pokemon on this team that uses Sky Drop as a means of setting up. Protect is a must, although I was tempted to throw in a hyper-powered Dragon-type move.
Tornadus @ Eject Button
Ability: Defiant
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 HP
- Sky Drop
- U-Turn
- Rain Dance
- Protect
Tornadus serves little purpose outside of being the second Sky Drop user. Because its priority moves aren’t that important, I decided to give it the Defiant ability, which blows up in my opponent’s face if he or she sends out a pokemon with Intimidate (reasonably common in Triples) or uses Leer/Sweet Scent/Growl (although those strategies are not as common these days). U-Turn is a great way to give one of my set-up users a safe switch-in, as is the Eject Button. Rain Dance was there because in Triples, it’s a bit more effective than Taunt and completely messes up Hail, Sun, and Sand Teams. Protect is obvious.
Thundurus @ Eject Button
Ability: Prankster
Nature: Jolly
Evs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 HP
- Sky Drop
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Protect
Thundurus, my last Sky Drop user, was chosen for many of the same reasons as Tornadus: it’s fast, strong, and is one of the pitifully few pokemon that can learn Sky Drop. I went in a different direction on Thundurus, given the large number of non-damaging moves that Thundurus can use, and gave it the ability Prankster. It acts as the back-up for my team, getting rid of some things that can badly hurt my strategies. Thunder Wave is used at the beginning of matches, on switch-ins, and after the opponent uses a stat-up move, to prevent the opponent’s team from being faster than mine. My strategy relies to such an extent on speed that I used a friggin Aerodactyl, so those opponents need to be taken out with priority paralysis. Taunt destroys opposing gimmicks, Tailwind, Trick Room, phazers, and set-up. I had considered Heal Block, but this also destroys healing moves. It's only on one pokemon, rather than on the whole team. As usual, Protect is essential for general strategy, as is Sky Drop.
Strategy
I love this team because, unlike most gimmicks, it’s not unilateral and has many different techniques that you can use. If one of the gimmicks seems riskier, you can try a different one or mix aspects of different strategies. The basic strategies of a Sky Drop Team fall into a few basic groups.
The Reach Gimmick
The idea of this gimmick, the main gimmick of the team, is to get a pokemon to stat-up in safety. To do this, choose a pokemon on one end of the opposing side that is least likely to know reach moves (like Dark Pulse or Sky Attack) or full side moves (like Surf or Rock Slide). For the purposes of the example, let’s say that the scenario looks like this:
Gengar is most likely not going to use a reach or full side move, so I have Aerodactyl use Sky Drop on Salamence and Thundurus use Sky Drop on Metagross (Sky Drop is a reach move). Now, Clefairy is free to use Cosmic Power, with little risk of Gengar being able to harm it.
The Disruption Gimmick
This one is more simple. If the opponent is running an obvious set-up strategy, such if he or she is using a Whimsicott and a Terrakion or anything involving a Volcarona, I’ll use Sky Drop on the pokemon that the strategy depends on, preventing the strategy and most likely gaining a set-up turn in the process.
The Frustrated Follower Gimmick
This one is just plain amusing. Clefairy uses Follow Me, and then one of my Sky Drop users take it up into the air. The opponent’s pokemon are forced to pointlessly attack the space in which there used to be a Clefairy, while my 3rd pokemon uses a stat-up move. This might KO Clefairy, but usually not, especially if I used Wish the turn before, and have some Cosmic Powers up.
The Protection Gimmick
One of my Sky Drop users takes another pokemon into the air to save them from a gruesome fate as the third pokemon clears the field with Earthquake or Surf. This can be used if one of the pokemon used Protect last turn and needs a bit more time to stall, for example. Obviously, this can be used in conjunction with the Frustrated Follower Gimmick.
Conclusion
These gimmicks are just some of the many variations of strategies that this team and other Sky Drop teams can achieve (note, future Sky Drop team makers, that I invented the concept), in addition to obvious strategies like sacrificing Clefairy with Follow Me to provide set-up, having all but one pokemon use Protect to give the set-up pokemon that didn’t Protect decent odds, and straight-up sweeping. There are probably strategies involving Sky Drop that I have never imagined; I don’t think I’ve done anything more than scratch the surface of what teams like this can accomplish.
Please give me advice to improve this Triples team; substitutions are acceptable, but keep in mind that Sky Drop is the focus of the team, so I’d like to keep a large number of fast users of the move. Also, feel free to suggest pokemon, abilities, and items that aren’t available yet. For all intents and purposes, this is a PO team. Thanks!
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