Playing in a very similar manner to husk's Astral Projection team, I bring to the tables a slightly different bent on offense. By focusing more on priority moves while still using a high-powered offensive,
(Azelf) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 212 Atk/252 Spd/44 SAtk
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
The ever popular suicide Azelf lead, modified for my own purposes since I never found Taunt useful. Psychic for Gengars that try to do something silly and absorb Explosion as well as fighters, while Thunderbolt gets all those lead Gyarados that never seem to expect Azelf to carry it. With all that attack, Explosion puts quite a nasty little dent in all those rocks and steels. Thunderbolt also says hi to lead Aerodactyl, and goes the extra mile against waters late game if I choose not to explode for whatever reason.
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(Lucario) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Close Combat
- Extremespeed
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stone Edge
+Spd Lucario gives me one leg up on all those Adamant ones, as well as insuring myself against those Jolly Mamoswine. HP [Ice] and Stone Edge go a long ways to weakening those Salamences, Gliscors, Gyaradoses, and Zapdoses that are pesky and could potentially stop my Close Combating fun.
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(Garchomp) (F) @ Yache Berry
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Outrage
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
Mostly standard YacheChomp, with Stone Edge over the typical Fire Fang. Since more often than not I end up booming on my opponent's steel Pokemon with Azelf, and the way the remainder of my Pokemon can be *quite* wearing on steel Pokemon in general, I forgo Fire Fang for the ability to get rid of BulkyGyara, Zapdos, Togekiss, Salamence, and so on.
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(Infernape) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Mach Punch
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Fire Blast
Another surprising Pokemon for most, maxed attack allows me to do 70+ to Garchomps with Close Combat, bypassing those Yache Berries, while Mach Punch is a great move for finishing off Lucarios that have taken a little damage here and there (Mach Punch does 70% minimum). Fire Blast is standard fare for steels that take more from the special side, while Stone Edge once again wears out Gyarados, Salamence, and Zapdos quite nicely.
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(Deoxys-e) @ Kasib Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 84 Atk/252 Spd/172 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Superpower
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
Another standard Pokemon with a not-so standard item, Kasib Berry, aka the Ghost resistance berry, ensures that I don't need to stop my sweep just for a ScarfGengar or an opposing Deoxys-E that I would have to worry about Shadow Ball from. That is, if my next Pokemon didn't get them first...
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(Metagross) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 112 HP/184 Atk/212 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Pursuit
- Explosion
- Bullet Punch
- Earthquake
112 HP allows me to survive Jolly Garchomp EQ after taking SR damage once 100% of the time and Explode on it. With a Lum Berry, Pursuit, and Bullet Punch, Metagross is usually employed as a Gengar destroyer as Gengar can walk all over my team otherwise, while Explosion often finishes something off with Metagross' unexpected speed.
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Team overview: the nature of this team, with a glaring triple ground weak, prevents it from switching too often (I switch on average 2 times a game.) Therefore, I'm usually in for quite short battles that must be finished in under 20 turns (if not, something seriously went wrong, lol.) Stealth Rock makes it much easier for me to throw Close Combats around, and helps my fighters OHKO flyers with Stone Edges after they take a hit. More often than not though, I "soften" up walls like Swampert with sacrifices that make it easier to break past the entire team in the long run.
Threat list:
Tyranitar - Lucario, Metagross, Infernape, Deoxys-E, Garchomp, need I say more?
Gyarados - Deoxys-E for ones that get a DD in, Metagross can Explode, while Infernape, Garchomp, and Lucario can take it on after SR damage
Azelf - usually a lead and gone in the first few turns, if it's a late game NP Azelf Deoxys-E + priority moves finish it
Rhyperior - everything I have minus Azelf hits it SE.
Electivire - to quote husk: "I've only got 1 electric move on the team and it comes from a pokemon is faster than electivire even after the motor drive boost. This isn't really threatening otherwise."
Heracross - CB gets beat by everything really, Metagross and Garchomp can take a hit from Scarf and Deoxys-E outspeeds it.
Salamence - see Gyarados
Togekiss - see Gyarados except the part about DDing
Gengar - Metagross kills this 100% for me if it's still around, Deoxys-E can take this on with its Kasib Berry
Garchomp - just hit it hard as you can... is there really a "counter" to this lol
Raikou - he doesn't OHKO any of my Pokemon usually... and then priority can just finish him off.
Lucario - Garchomp takes anything, my own Lucario comes in on anything other than CC and beats it, Infernape Mach Punches this, Metagross EQs it, Deoxys-E can take an ESpeed and OHKO back with Superpower, you name it...
Tauros - is this really used????
Starmie - quite often Metagross will need to Pursuit or Explode on this. Once weakened, priority could take it out, or Deoxys-E.
Weavile - I think everything (minus Azelf) beats Weavile one-on-one
Dugtrio - priority????
Alakazam - is this really used???? If it is, just priority it
PorygonZ - Scarf gets priority'd, LO is outsped by half my team but I don't see much of this anymore
Medicham - this is used?
Staraptor - SR + SE + priority, Metagross
Slowbro - this is quite a problematic fellow, usually Metagross will be weakening it with Pursuit/Explosion or Garchomp will sacrifice itself to take this out.
Machamp - I pretty much have to sacrifice a Pokemon first before I can take this out.
Jolteon - doesn't OHKO anything, OHKO'd right back
Aerodactyl - usually a lead and gone within the first few turns, or SR + priority/DX-S
Snorlax - Close Combat, Close Combat, Explosion, Superpower, or Swords Dance + Outrage... lol...
Zapdos - SR + SE usually handles this.
Blissey - see Snorlax
Suicune - usually weakened by a sacrifice then beaten
Sceptile - is this used?
Breloom - beaten by everything except Metagross which has a Lum
Slaking - lol free turns
Tangrowth - this is still used?
Ninjask - almost always a lead, I get SR first and then boom whatever they pass to
Metagross - somewhat annoying, but most of my guys can hit it pretty hard
Heatran - anything not scarf is beaten by everything I have, scarf is beaten by Mach Punch Infernape or DX-S
Celebi - can be very annoying, usually taken out by Metagross or weakened with a sacrifice
Jirachi - annoying if it has Wish+Protect but otherwise it gets taken out fairly easily
Deoxys-S - priority moves, Metagross, Kasib Deoxys-E...
Conclusion: this is a husk team ripoff (lol)
(Azelf) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 212 Atk/252 Spd/44 SAtk
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
The ever popular suicide Azelf lead, modified for my own purposes since I never found Taunt useful. Psychic for Gengars that try to do something silly and absorb Explosion as well as fighters, while Thunderbolt gets all those lead Gyarados that never seem to expect Azelf to carry it. With all that attack, Explosion puts quite a nasty little dent in all those rocks and steels. Thunderbolt also says hi to lead Aerodactyl, and goes the extra mile against waters late game if I choose not to explode for whatever reason.
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(Lucario) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Close Combat
- Extremespeed
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stone Edge
+Spd Lucario gives me one leg up on all those Adamant ones, as well as insuring myself against those Jolly Mamoswine. HP [Ice] and Stone Edge go a long ways to weakening those Salamences, Gliscors, Gyaradoses, and Zapdoses that are pesky and could potentially stop my Close Combating fun.
---
(Garchomp) (F) @ Yache Berry
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Outrage
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
Mostly standard YacheChomp, with Stone Edge over the typical Fire Fang. Since more often than not I end up booming on my opponent's steel Pokemon with Azelf, and the way the remainder of my Pokemon can be *quite* wearing on steel Pokemon in general, I forgo Fire Fang for the ability to get rid of BulkyGyara, Zapdos, Togekiss, Salamence, and so on.
---
(Infernape) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Mach Punch
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Fire Blast
Another surprising Pokemon for most, maxed attack allows me to do 70+ to Garchomps with Close Combat, bypassing those Yache Berries, while Mach Punch is a great move for finishing off Lucarios that have taken a little damage here and there (Mach Punch does 70% minimum). Fire Blast is standard fare for steels that take more from the special side, while Stone Edge once again wears out Gyarados, Salamence, and Zapdos quite nicely.
---
(Deoxys-e) @ Kasib Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 84 Atk/252 Spd/172 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Superpower
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
Another standard Pokemon with a not-so standard item, Kasib Berry, aka the Ghost resistance berry, ensures that I don't need to stop my sweep just for a ScarfGengar or an opposing Deoxys-E that I would have to worry about Shadow Ball from. That is, if my next Pokemon didn't get them first...
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(Metagross) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 112 HP/184 Atk/212 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Pursuit
- Explosion
- Bullet Punch
- Earthquake
112 HP allows me to survive Jolly Garchomp EQ after taking SR damage once 100% of the time and Explode on it. With a Lum Berry, Pursuit, and Bullet Punch, Metagross is usually employed as a Gengar destroyer as Gengar can walk all over my team otherwise, while Explosion often finishes something off with Metagross' unexpected speed.
---
Team overview: the nature of this team, with a glaring triple ground weak, prevents it from switching too often (I switch on average 2 times a game.) Therefore, I'm usually in for quite short battles that must be finished in under 20 turns (if not, something seriously went wrong, lol.) Stealth Rock makes it much easier for me to throw Close Combats around, and helps my fighters OHKO flyers with Stone Edges after they take a hit. More often than not though, I "soften" up walls like Swampert with sacrifices that make it easier to break past the entire team in the long run.
Threat list:
Tyranitar - Lucario, Metagross, Infernape, Deoxys-E, Garchomp, need I say more?
Gyarados - Deoxys-E for ones that get a DD in, Metagross can Explode, while Infernape, Garchomp, and Lucario can take it on after SR damage
Azelf - usually a lead and gone in the first few turns, if it's a late game NP Azelf Deoxys-E + priority moves finish it
Rhyperior - everything I have minus Azelf hits it SE.
Electivire - to quote husk: "I've only got 1 electric move on the team and it comes from a pokemon is faster than electivire even after the motor drive boost. This isn't really threatening otherwise."
Heracross - CB gets beat by everything really, Metagross and Garchomp can take a hit from Scarf and Deoxys-E outspeeds it.
Salamence - see Gyarados
Togekiss - see Gyarados except the part about DDing
Gengar - Metagross kills this 100% for me if it's still around, Deoxys-E can take this on with its Kasib Berry
Garchomp - just hit it hard as you can... is there really a "counter" to this lol
Raikou - he doesn't OHKO any of my Pokemon usually... and then priority can just finish him off.
Lucario - Garchomp takes anything, my own Lucario comes in on anything other than CC and beats it, Infernape Mach Punches this, Metagross EQs it, Deoxys-E can take an ESpeed and OHKO back with Superpower, you name it...
Tauros - is this really used????
Starmie - quite often Metagross will need to Pursuit or Explode on this. Once weakened, priority could take it out, or Deoxys-E.
Weavile - I think everything (minus Azelf) beats Weavile one-on-one
Dugtrio - priority????
Alakazam - is this really used???? If it is, just priority it
PorygonZ - Scarf gets priority'd, LO is outsped by half my team but I don't see much of this anymore
Medicham - this is used?
Staraptor - SR + SE + priority, Metagross
Slowbro - this is quite a problematic fellow, usually Metagross will be weakening it with Pursuit/Explosion or Garchomp will sacrifice itself to take this out.
Machamp - I pretty much have to sacrifice a Pokemon first before I can take this out.
Jolteon - doesn't OHKO anything, OHKO'd right back
Aerodactyl - usually a lead and gone within the first few turns, or SR + priority/DX-S
Snorlax - Close Combat, Close Combat, Explosion, Superpower, or Swords Dance + Outrage... lol...
Zapdos - SR + SE usually handles this.
Blissey - see Snorlax
Suicune - usually weakened by a sacrifice then beaten
Sceptile - is this used?
Breloom - beaten by everything except Metagross which has a Lum
Slaking - lol free turns
Tangrowth - this is still used?
Ninjask - almost always a lead, I get SR first and then boom whatever they pass to
Metagross - somewhat annoying, but most of my guys can hit it pretty hard
Heatran - anything not scarf is beaten by everything I have, scarf is beaten by Mach Punch Infernape or DX-S
Celebi - can be very annoying, usually taken out by Metagross or weakened with a sacrifice
Jirachi - annoying if it has Wish+Protect but otherwise it gets taken out fairly easily
Deoxys-S - priority moves, Metagross, Kasib Deoxys-E...
Conclusion: this is a husk team ripoff (lol)
