RMT: Sunshine, lollipops! Rainbows etc.

[O D I N]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxC7rAkNkRw&feature=player_detailpage#t=11s

Sorry for the poopy quality... ANYWAY!

I'm having moderate success with this team in Pokemon Online, and will attempt to make in B/W later. Looking for some pointers as towards what I should change, add, or fix.

Let's start it off:

Ninetales@Focus Sash
Drought
252 SpA/252 Spe/4 SpD
Timid (+Spe,-Atk)
-Fire Blast
-Solarbeam
-HP Ground
-Hypnosis

Lead/starter. Gets the sun going. Not sure if Focus Sash is the best option, or Hypnosis. Certainly open to suggestions. I figure with Drought/Sun up, Solarbeam is the best option (you'll see that a lot here). Fireblast for painful STAB, HP Ground for type coverage. Hypnosis to try and force switch provided it actually hits.

Tangrowth@Leftovers
Regenerator
252 HP/252 Def/4 SpD
Relaxed (+Def, -Spe)
-Sleep Powder
-Power Whip
-Leech Seed
-Earthquake

My physi wall. I've had success with him in the past, but I think I had Knock Off rather than EQ. I went regenerator rather than chlory because he isn't meant for speed. He's meant to stall. Strongly consider Toxic over sleep powder, but I don't really know what other options I have.

Venusaur@Lifeorb
Chlorophyll
252 SpA/252 Spe/4 HP
Modest (+SpA,-Atk)
-Growth
-Solarbeam
-HP Fire
-Sludge Bomb

Spec. Sweeper. This one uses chlory for speed, and doesn't really need to worry about using a choice scarf (though there are things that still out speed it). Growth to bulk up some scary SpA, Solarbeam for painful STAB, HP Fire for coverage (boost from Drought is nice too), and Sludge for Stab. Open to suggestions for swapping out Sludge. Doesn't seem to fit.

Chandelure@ChoiceSpecs
Flash Fire
252 SpA/252 Spe/4 Def
Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
-Fireblast
-Shadowball
-Solarbeam
-HP Ground

The sole purpose of this Pokemon is to eat Fire. Comes in for a switch if I'm predicting a fire attack on Tangrowth or Venusaur. I'm open to switching this guy (as I already have a Spec Sweeper), but Flash Fire is a must; I just need someone who can eat fire attacks. I suppose a water Poke could do the job. Coverage is pretty good, but I need to remember he has Choice on. >_> Choice Scarf might be a better fit. Considering Flareon/Blaziken/Infernape/Emboar for a Physi Fire poke.

Cresselia@Leftovers
Levitate
252 HP/216 Def/40 SpA
Bold (+Def, -Atk)
-Psychic
-Calm Mind
-Moonlight
-HP Fighting

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my Cressy. <3 HP Fighting used to be Ice Beam on my older Cressy. I think Bold is a better choice over Modest since I can take a few more physi hits, and SpA would be buffed via Calm Mind anyway. Moonlight is great in the sun. <3 Too good. Psychic is for STAB. HP fighting is mostly for Dark coverage, as I've had trouble with them in the past.

Zapdos@Lifeorb
Pressure
252 Def/252 Spe/ 4 HP
(Timid)
-Thunderbolt
-Heatwave
-Roost
-HP Ice

Zapdos is one of my favorite pokes, and is here for Speed and type coverage. Tbolt is great for flyers and water (a problem for my other two fire types), Heatwave for droughty goodness, and HP Ice for more coverage. Roost is to heal up from Lifeorb.


So there we go. Let me know what you guys think. I'd say I have a 50/50 success rate, which I think is pretty good. I just need to remember what I'm doing and why (Choice specs... Need to remember that. >_>).

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

 

[IceArrow]

Very good team.

Have tangrowth use -SpA not -Spe for nature.

Its flawless otherwise.

 

[O D I N]

Groovy, I'll change that.

Anyone else?

 

[kirbyraeg]

I'll tear this team apart (metaphorically) later tonight.

 

[O D I N]

Uh... Thanks.

All feedback is appreciated.

 

[kirbyraeg]

OK, so I actually went and used your team on PO ladder for a while, and it's got a few glaring problems.

1: Walled to oblivion by any special wall, especially Blissey
2: Doesn't have much freedom to switch around, not great type synergy
3: Redundant type coverage on most of your pokemon
4: Does poorly against any other weather team, especially sand

Here's what's good about your team:

Venusaur (arguably the best sun sweeper with almost perfect coverage)
Chandelure (necessary to cover your back vs. Fire-type moves, good power)

Here's what's bad about your team:
Zapdos (doesn't fit this team at all, doesn't add much)
Ninetales' set (its power is too low, or its bulk isn't high enough: depends on your style)
Cresselia (although bulkyCM is pretty good, it doesn't fit on offensive Sun)
Tangrowth (great defense makes it a nice check to physical setup, but it compounds your special weakness and doesn't add much power to your team)

A sun team needs to focus on keeping its weather up so that it can favorably sweep the opponent. To sweep, you need sweepers, and your only sweeper is weather-dependent to even use its STAB move. Everything also only attacks on the special spectrum, which means you can't really muscle through stall teams or any team that uses Blissey/Chansey as a defensive pivot. I'll go through your team step-by-step and break it down.

Ninetales@Focus Sash
Drought
252 SpA/252 Spe/4 SpD
Timid (+Spe,-Atk)
-Fire Blast
-Solarbeam
-HP Ground
-Hypnosis

Lead/starter. Gets the sun going. Not sure if Focus Sash is the best option, or Hypnosis. Certainly open to suggestions. I figure with Drought/Sun up, Solarbeam is the best option (you'll see that a lot here). Fireblast for painful STAB, HP Ground for type coverage. Hypnosis to try and force switch provided it actually hits.

Dual status is probably a better set to run if you're more interested in keeping the weather up. Ninetales doesn't have the attack power to run a 3-attack set with no boosting move.

Ninetales @ Leftovers
216 HP/96 SpDef/196 Spe
Calm / Drought

Overheat
Power Swap
Hypnosis
Will-o-wisp

Defensive EVs give you more bulk, Will-o-wisp lets you weaken TTar and keep your Ninetales alive, and dual status lets you catch your opponent off-guard. Overheat+Power Swap gives you a decently-powered attack that lets you cripple setup pokemon you might otherwise have problems with, such as NP Thundurus. Speed lets you beat base +Spe base 80s so you can burn stuff like Dragonite before they begin setting up.

Alternatively, you could run the same set you have up there but with Nasty Plot instead of Hypnosis and Life Orb instead of Focus Sash. If you do this, don't lead with Ninetales unless you see that your opponent doesn't have any other Pokemon that set up weather.


Tangrowth@Leftovers
Regenerator
252 HP/252 Def/4 SpD
Relaxed (+Def, -Spe)
-Sleep Powder
-Power Whip
-Leech Seed
-Earthquake

My physi wall. I've had success with him in the past, but I think I had Knock Off rather than EQ. I went regenerator rather than chlory because he isn't meant for speed. He's meant to stall. Strongly consider Toxic over sleep powder, but I don't really know what other options I have.

Decent but I'd prefer that you use a more all-purpose physical wall here that won't roll over and die to any special attack, especially since Fire Blast is so common for Ferrothorn:

Quagsire @ Leftovers
252 HP/176 Def/80 SpDef
Bold / Unaware

Encore
Recover
Toxic
Stockpile/Swagger/Scald/Earthquake

Quagsire can catch opponents setting up and Encore it, encore weak moves to give something an opportunity to set up, etc. He's the guy that's probably going to die first that will give you an opening to do some serious damage to their team. He can also do a decent job checking physical attackers with Unaware, which ignores stat boosts in damage calculation. Swagger is a worthy option assuming quagsire is going to easily survive the opponent's attacks, since having to deal with a +2 mon is a pain in the ***. If you're really not comfortable with no attacking moves on this guy, stick Scald or Earthquake in there somewhere over the last slot. Stockpile+Encore+Toxic deals with any pokemon that tries to set up, especially bulkier setup pokemon.

Venusaur@Lifeorb
Chlorophyll
252 SpA/252 Spe/4 HP
Modest (+SpA,-Atk)
-Growth
-Solarbeam
-HP Fire
-Sludge Bomb

Spec. Sweeper. This one uses chlory for speed, and doesn't really need to worry about using a choice scarf (though there are things that still out speed it). Growth to bulk up some scary SpA, Solarbeam for painful STAB, HP Fire for coverage (boost from Drought is nice too), and Sludge for Stab. Open to suggestions for swapping out Sludge. Doesn't seem to fit.

Good, though I'd recommend a couple changes:

1: Run the EVs 252 SpAtk/180 Spe/76 HP with a Timid nature to get the jump on Scarfed Latios, who you can 1hko at +2 with Sludge Bomb. Latias needs a bit of prior damage, but it's also much less common.
2: Replace SolarBeam with Energy Ball for more reliable STAB.

Chandelure@ChoiceSpecsFlame Plate/Shuca Berry
Flash Fire
252 SpA/252 Spe/4 Def
Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
-Fireblast
-Shadowball
-SolarbeamHP Ice/HP Ground
-HP GroundSubstitute

The sole purpose of this Pokemon is to eat Fire. Comes in for a switch if I'm predicting a fire attack on Tangrowth or Venusaur. I'm open to switching this guy (as I already have a Spec Sweeper), but Flash Fire is a must; I just need someone who can eat fire attacks. I suppose a water Poke could do the job. Coverage is pretty good, but I need to remember he has Choice on. >_> Choice Scarf might be a better fit. Considering Flareon/Blaziken/Infernape/Emboar for a Physi Fire poke.

It's either this or Heatran to absorb fire and retaliate directly, and I think his Ghost STAB is a lot better for your team. Keep as is, but replace the moves with what's indicated. Sub+3 attacks is something this guy can do pretty well, and with a different item choice he can bluff a choice item and reveal the surprise at a time when it's useful. HP Ice is handy to x4 Dragonite, but Ground covers Heatran who you would otherwise have problems with. Your choice to decide which is better for your team.


Cresselia@Leftovers
Levitate
252 HP/216 Def/40 SpA
Bold (+Def, -Atk)
-Psychic
-Calm Mind
-Moonlight
-HP Fighting

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my Cressy. <3 HP Fighting used to be Ice Beam on my older Cressy. I think Bold is a better choice over Modest since I can take a few more physi hits, and SpA would be buffed via Calm Mind anyway. Moonlight is great in the sun. <3 Too good. Psychic is for STAB. HP fighting is mostly for Dark coverage, as I've had trouble with them in the past.

Cresselia does almost nothing useful here (even though it can abuse Moonlight in the sun) because it just gives you even more of a Tyranitar weakness. Since this team has a heavy weakness to stall-ish teams and entry hazards, here's a good pokemon to put in the slot:

Espeon @ Light Clay/Leftovers
252 HP/120 Def/136 Spe
Timid / Magic Bounce

Reflect
Light Screen
Morning Sun
Psycho Shock/Baton Pass

Dual Screens, reflecting entry hazards, and letting you get the good switch via Baton Pass are all reasons that he fits this team better than Cresselia.

Zapdos@Lifeorb
Pressure
252 Def/252 Spe/ 4 HP
(Timid)
-Thunderbolt
-Heatwave
-Roost
-HP Ice

Zapdos is one of my favorite pokes, and is here for Speed and type coverage. Tbolt is great for flyers and water (a problem for my other two fire types), Heatwave for droughty goodness, and HP Ice for more coverage. Roost is to heal up from Lifeorb.

This guy doesn't do very much offensively for your team. Put something in that can abuse the sun better for ya.

Shiftry @ Life Orb
252 Atk/204Spe/52 Def
Adamant / Chlorophyll

Swords Dance
Seed Bomb
Sucker Punch
Low Kick/Explosion

Shiftry is something that isn't dependent on weather to set up its physical sets, and it has the powerful Sucker Punch combo to have a guaranteed hit on opponents even if weather isn't in your favor. Its coverage is good, though you can go ahead and throw on Explosion to give a favorable switch to another teammate.


So there we go. Let me know what you guys think. I'd say I have a 50/50 success rate, which I think is pretty good. I just need to remember what I'm doing and why (Choice specs... Need to remember that. >_>).

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

Suggestions in blue, team overview before the rate. Hope this helps and doesn't make me sound like too much of a ****. Good luck!

edit: made a minor mistake, I thought Xatu's DW ability was released, but it wasn't. Use Espeon instead.

 

[mood4food77]

shiftry learns growth, just something else you can use, it also has base 90 special attack so it's not unusable, giving you the option to run HP fire on it over low kick or something

 

[Wave⁂]

>Not using Swagger on Unaware Quagsire

 

[O D I N]

Thanks for the help Kirby.

I'll try running this team, see how I like it.

Swagger unaware? Someone explain to me please. -_- I'm a little slow.

So far, Quag pisses people off who use a sandstorm.

Oh what's that hippo? You wanna use stockpile? DO IT AGAIN. Also, have some Toxic and Scald.

 

[kirbyraeg]

Thanks for the help Kirby.

I'll try running this team, see how I like it.

Swagger unaware? Someone explain to me please. -_- I'm a little slow.

Swagger gives the opponent a +2 attack boost, but Quagsire's ability Unaware ignores the opponent's stat boosts (beware, it also ignores negative modifiers too), so they either hit themselves with +2(+4/+6) attack or attack normally.

 

[O D I N]

Oh damn, that is tasty. I'll keep that in mind.