0RLY
A great conversation filler at bars and parties
It was a KOTC tourney in NJ, 32 entrants, double elimination. A buddy of mine kinda just told me about it the night before, picked me up at 9:00 AM and passed me a DS with a new copy of Pokemon Black. I had to actually play through the game and get my first badge just so I can trade/battle with it. Once I arrived at the venue, I rev'd up Pokegen on his laptop and had to make some mons on the fly. I ended up taking too long and automatically lost round 1 for obvious reasons. When my buddy finished his first round, only then was he able to put the generated Pokemon on his acekard to trade over to my team:
Wobbuffet @ Leftovers
Shadow Tag: Timid
32 HP, 112 Def, 112 Sdef, 252 Spe
- Counter
- Mirror Coat
- Encore
- Tickle
This is a team full of trappers. They're here to protect and guarantee the success of my core. By eliminating key members of my opponent's core and their primary threats to mine, I can guarantee my core will beat the remnants of their team. Wobbuffet is too easy to play; he's pretty much automatically worth at least 1 KO. With Encore and Tickle, I can turn even the bulkiest of SR leads into a suicide lead with the help of Dugtrio's Arena Trap. It's like Baton Passing Mean Look, without the middleman!
Dugtrio @ Expert Belt
Arena Trap: Jolly
4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spe
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Aerial Ace
Wobby's best friend. With the help of his Encore, even the frail Dugtrio can reliably set up Stealth Rocks and still get a KO. Aerial Ace is here because Virizion and Breloom are both very popular and must be addressed. Being able to revenge kill after most losses helps me keep the score even, thus never at a disadvantage.
Magnezone @ Leftovers
Magnet Pull: Modest
160 HP, 236 SpA, 112 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- HP Fire
- Substitute
- Thunder Wave
160 HP puts me at 321, which is 1 HP above a leftovers number, which allows me to make 4 subs - not that it really matters. 112 Spe puts me at 183 speed, 1 pt above standard Skarmory. Magnezone is not only my 3rd trapper, but also part of my defensive core and my drag2mag offensive. There are just so many dreams that come true after Skarm and Ferro go down. Sub lets me get off another beefy attack after his job has been accomplished. Thunder Wave, though does not really help my defensive nor offensive core, is here to support Wobbuffet's Encore. It's also pretty handy for slowing down Terrakion so my Dragonite can answer him.
Dragonite @ Choice Band
Multiscale: Adamant
252 Atk, 4 Sdef, 252 Spe
- Outrage
- Extremespeed
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
The lack of Roost on Multiscale Dragonite may be strange at first, and to be honest it kinda still is. My theory at the time was that Multiscale is better than Salamence's Intimidate, and that Extremespeed makes up for the 20 base speed difference - being able to beat Mamoswine. Dragonite is a member of my defensive and offensive core. Early game, he softens up my opponent's team, often baiting out their Skarmory into the clutches of Magnezone. Late game, he cleans up with Exspe. During the tournament, this guy was my LVP. If I were to change 1 thing about this team, Dragonite would be it.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Natural Cure: Timid
32 HP, 252 SpA, 224 Spe
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
Status absorber, spinner, fantastic coverage, insane speed, Starmie does it all. Starmie pretty much demands a special wall, forcing Ferrothorn out and into Magnezone's... magnets. This guy alone threatens everything on a sand team save for their bulky water and scarf Landorus - who is easy to identify by whether or not they attempt the u-turn. 32 HP yields 269, which is pretty efficient with LO and 224 Spe lets me outrun Tornadus. I'm not running max because I don't expect to see other opposing Starmies. Alongside Dragonite, Starmie reveals my opponent's main answer to my final sweeper.
Kingdra @ Chesto Berry
Swift Swim: Adamant
156 HP, 136 Atk, 216 Spe
- Dragon Dance
- Rest
- Outrage
- Waterfall
It's not too hard to identify Kingdra as my team's sweeper. That's why he usually gets bombarded by status, and thus makes use of the Chesto Rest set. 216 Spe puts me right above base 80s, so I can compete with dancing Dnites. Having Kingdra also results in pretty much free wins against rain. Sand also has no answers once their steels are gone, since there are no Water types that can beat Kingdra, except Rotom-W.
As you can tell from the title and short introduction, I went undefeated in the tournament. I was called a troll by the other players since I pretty much entered the tournament in round 2 with a team I made during round 1 of said tournament. The team also looks like a pile of gen1+gen2 garbage at a glance (especially when the team members are jumbled all out of order in team preview), which makes it even more trollish. Yet there is a ton of synergy involving a small, multipurpose core, and dedicated, versatile answers to the Pokemon that threaten it.
So... rate my team?
Wobbuffet @ Leftovers
Shadow Tag: Timid
32 HP, 112 Def, 112 Sdef, 252 Spe
- Counter
- Mirror Coat
- Encore
- Tickle
This is a team full of trappers. They're here to protect and guarantee the success of my core. By eliminating key members of my opponent's core and their primary threats to mine, I can guarantee my core will beat the remnants of their team. Wobbuffet is too easy to play; he's pretty much automatically worth at least 1 KO. With Encore and Tickle, I can turn even the bulkiest of SR leads into a suicide lead with the help of Dugtrio's Arena Trap. It's like Baton Passing Mean Look, without the middleman!
Dugtrio @ Expert Belt
Arena Trap: Jolly
4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spe
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Aerial Ace
Wobby's best friend. With the help of his Encore, even the frail Dugtrio can reliably set up Stealth Rocks and still get a KO. Aerial Ace is here because Virizion and Breloom are both very popular and must be addressed. Being able to revenge kill after most losses helps me keep the score even, thus never at a disadvantage.
Magnezone @ Leftovers
Magnet Pull: Modest
160 HP, 236 SpA, 112 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- HP Fire
- Substitute
- Thunder Wave
160 HP puts me at 321, which is 1 HP above a leftovers number, which allows me to make 4 subs - not that it really matters. 112 Spe puts me at 183 speed, 1 pt above standard Skarmory. Magnezone is not only my 3rd trapper, but also part of my defensive core and my drag2mag offensive. There are just so many dreams that come true after Skarm and Ferro go down. Sub lets me get off another beefy attack after his job has been accomplished. Thunder Wave, though does not really help my defensive nor offensive core, is here to support Wobbuffet's Encore. It's also pretty handy for slowing down Terrakion so my Dragonite can answer him.
Dragonite @ Choice Band
Multiscale: Adamant
252 Atk, 4 Sdef, 252 Spe
- Outrage
- Extremespeed
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
The lack of Roost on Multiscale Dragonite may be strange at first, and to be honest it kinda still is. My theory at the time was that Multiscale is better than Salamence's Intimidate, and that Extremespeed makes up for the 20 base speed difference - being able to beat Mamoswine. Dragonite is a member of my defensive and offensive core. Early game, he softens up my opponent's team, often baiting out their Skarmory into the clutches of Magnezone. Late game, he cleans up with Exspe. During the tournament, this guy was my LVP. If I were to change 1 thing about this team, Dragonite would be it.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Natural Cure: Timid
32 HP, 252 SpA, 224 Spe
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
Status absorber, spinner, fantastic coverage, insane speed, Starmie does it all. Starmie pretty much demands a special wall, forcing Ferrothorn out and into Magnezone's... magnets. This guy alone threatens everything on a sand team save for their bulky water and scarf Landorus - who is easy to identify by whether or not they attempt the u-turn. 32 HP yields 269, which is pretty efficient with LO and 224 Spe lets me outrun Tornadus. I'm not running max because I don't expect to see other opposing Starmies. Alongside Dragonite, Starmie reveals my opponent's main answer to my final sweeper.
Kingdra @ Chesto Berry
Swift Swim: Adamant
156 HP, 136 Atk, 216 Spe
- Dragon Dance
- Rest
- Outrage
- Waterfall
It's not too hard to identify Kingdra as my team's sweeper. That's why he usually gets bombarded by status, and thus makes use of the Chesto Rest set. 216 Spe puts me right above base 80s, so I can compete with dancing Dnites. Having Kingdra also results in pretty much free wins against rain. Sand also has no answers once their steels are gone, since there are no Water types that can beat Kingdra, except Rotom-W.
As you can tell from the title and short introduction, I went undefeated in the tournament. I was called a troll by the other players since I pretty much entered the tournament in round 2 with a team I made during round 1 of said tournament. The team also looks like a pile of gen1+gen2 garbage at a glance (especially when the team members are jumbled all out of order in team preview), which makes it even more trollish. Yet there is a ton of synergy involving a small, multipurpose core, and dedicated, versatile answers to the Pokemon that threaten it.
So... rate my team?