Getting my Priorities Straight — an ORAS WiFi Team

Question

One and all, gather round, and behold! My first attempt at a real, competitive team, for use in ORAS WiFi Singles!

…yaaaaay…

Well, don't hurt yourselves.

Team Summary

For my first WiFi team, I wanted to use Pokémon common in simulator play but not in WiFi (with one or two necessary exceptions). The thing about VGC-styled battling is that there are no tiers – every conceivable Pokémon tossed in one metaphorical mixing bowl. This can be both a blessing and a curse, and anything can happen. In one Battle Spot battle, I beat a Groudon with Rotom-W and another time I was wrecked by Reuniclus. So, not knowing exactly what to prepare for, I just tried to cover as many bases as possible, and some bases that could be exploited by more experienced players.

Teambuilding

I began with a Poké that I'd always wanted to see in action: Mega Gyarados. I knew that the combination of Intimidate on the first switch-in and Mold Breaker after that, plus his amazing offenses and decent defences, that he would be a solid starting place for the team. The plan was to use him as a pseudo-Special wall to switch into things he resisted.

Now that I had my pseudo-Special wall, I knew that I needed a good Physical wall. After a recent Showdown! replay that I'd seen, I was immediately awestruck by the defensive powers of Tangrowth. I knew that this green mass of spaghetti was perfect for the team.

Since I had Tangrowth, I figured that some hazards would be a nice way of helping my paranoia about Talonflame and Mega Charizard Y. To counter these two specifically, I chose Heatran. He'll run as my lead most of the time, putting Stealth Rocks up and Taunting other leads. I gave him Air Balloon to remedy his ugly Ground weakness.

Another Pokémon that I've always wanted to use popped into my mind after the addition of Tangrowth: Breloom. At first I was averse to the idea of including him because of the whopping Flying weakness I would have, but later on I decided "What the heck?" and put him on, just to see where the team would go. I would prefer the Technician build, but that's difficult to obtain via trading, so I opted for the equally viable Poison Heal set.

I found myself sort of wedged in a corner by Fairies, so I added Scizor, a Pokémon with extreme firepower of epic proportions. The combination of priority, power and a plethora of resistances made him an [almost] perfect addition to the team. His only drawback was adding to the team's notably massive Fire weakness, but felt confident that the combination of Gyarados and Heatran could protect the other three.

Here was where the team took a turn: I (reluctantly) booted out its founding member, Gyarados. I came with the realization that there was a more powerful physical Water Pokémon, one that came with nice resistances, a wider movepool, and didn't need to use my Mega slot. Enter Azumarill. The water rabbit lowered my Fairy weakness, as well as offering a faster way to kill Fire-types than Gyarados with Aqua Jet. It also graces the team with Fairy typing, helping beat back the relentless Fighting-types. RIP Gyarados. Welcome to the team, Azumarill (it was Azumarill that inspired the team's name, but more on that later).

I was stuck. There was only one position to fill, and it needed it to be everything I needed. It needed it to be a semi-Special attacker, be Speciallly defensive, be able to spinblock in order to keep rocks up, and be easily accessible. Tough shoes to fill. I toyed around with Gengar (Special attacker and spinblocker, but zero bulk.), Mega Gengar (Same as regular.), Mega Latias (Fills both Special categories but cannot spinblock.), and Rotom-Wash (Yuck, everyone uses him. Still, whatever keeps my wins above my losses.). Finally, after a little inquiry on the DB, I was helpfully informed of Mega Sableye. He immediately nuzzled his evil little behind into my team, and I was finished.

In-depth description of the team is continued in an answer. Please do not upvote :P

Answer 1

I am really happy that you have implemented my suggestion! Thank you! Onto the rate.

As you are planning to play ORAS Wi-Fi Battles with this team, a very real threat that this team struggles with is Greninja. That overpowered frog can hit 5/6 of your team super-effectively (HP-Fire variants murder Scizor) and outspeeds your entire team outside of priority. Unfortunately I can't suggest much to counter it as it has no counters (outside of Porygon2 which I doubt you will use) and you most probably would have to keep Sableye healthy and make sure it has a CM or two by the time it comes in.

By having Sableye as a Mega you actually open up more options for your team. Thanks to Magic Bounce, the opponent would be afraid to use Status moves on you as they risk giving you a free switch. That diminishes the need of a status absorber in your party, and you can probably replace the Poison Heal Breloom with a Focus Sash Technician Breloom for the extra power boost in Mach Punch. About the Focus Sash breaking, you do not have to worry about it too much as Mega Sableye simply prevents Stealth Rock or any Entry Hazards on your side of the field.

This team also struggles a bit against Bird Spam (Talonflame-Staraptor-Mega Pinsir) cores as nothing outside of Mega Sableye and Heatran wants to take a Brave Bird or two.Talonflame can set up a SD on Scizor and proceed to spam Brave Bird. Perhaps you can replace Tangrowth with Regenerator Slowbro as it helps to mitigate your fire weakness and provides a secondary check to Bird Spam while keeping Regenerator utility.

Heres a set:

Slowbro(M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP/ 232 Def/24 SpDef
Bold Nature
-Scald
-Ice Beam/Fire Blast/Psyshock
-Slack Off
-Thunder Wave/Toxic

By running Ice Beam you have a secondary check to Mega Salamence, Fire Blast for Ferrothorn, or just Psyshock for STAB. Take your pick :)

EDIT: Alternatively, Breloom may not actually be suited to your team as it magnifies the Flying and Fire weakness of this team. Perhaps you can replace it with Physically Defensive Garchomp which also helps to mitigate the team's weakness to bird spam and provides another switch in to fire moves. (Credits to Fated Fathom ♠ who suggested this)

Here's a set:

Garchomp (M) @Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpDef
Impish Nature
-Earthquake
-Dragon Tail
-Stealth Rock
-Fire Blast/Toxic

With Rough Skin and Rocky Helmet, physically inclined opponents will be deterred from attacking as they risk losing 25% of their health. It serves as an excellent answer to Talonflame as it cannot simply click Brave Bird whenever it wants. The choice between Fire Blast and Toxic depends on what you need on your team. Fire Blast is to nail Ferrothorn and Skarmory, but as you have fire coverage in Heatran, perhaps Toxic is better to provide a way to cripple Hippowdon and the omnipresent Rotom-Wash. By switching the Stealth Rock role to Garchomp, you are free to open up more options for Heatran. Perhaps you can switch it to a Specially Defensive set to check Special Attackers better outside of Azumarill. An example of a Specially Defensive Heatran set is this:

Heatran @ Leftovers/Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP/192 SpDef/68 Spe
Calm Nature
-Lava Plume
-Toxic
-Taunt/Roar/Earth Power
-Protect/Earth Power

68 Speed to outspeed Suicune and Mega Venusaur and get off a Taunt/Attack before they set up. Protect is for scouting/getting more Leftovers recovery. You can alternatively run Earth Power to nail other Heatran.

Hope I helped!

Comments

1) Thanks for the tips on Breloom, but he's being replaced with bulky attackerr Garchomp, to help counter Birdspam.

2) Thanks for helping with my Greninja weakness. However, this is over WiFi so people can't pick and choose what Hidden Power thay have, so I think I'm safe.

3) Sorry, but I spent SO MUCH !#@$ time catching and breeding the right Tangrowth, and I can't just replace him with Slowbro. If this team ever makes it to simulator play, then by all means, Slowbro is in!

4) This definitely deserves BA if you update it with suggestions for Garchomp. Thanks a mil :D

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Thanks, I did the updates and credited the original idea to the one who thought of it first. No problem, glad I could be of help :D

Answer 2

In-Depth

Heatran@ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 SpA / 244 Spe / 12 HP
- Earth Power
- Lava Plume
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock

My lead 99% of the time, Heatran is here to set up Rocks first, ask questions later. If I'm up against an obvious lead, I Taunt them. Otherwise, I set up Rocks and split. His other job is to switch into obvious Fire attacks aimed at Scizor, Breloom and Tangrowth. Earth Power is to nail slower, non-balloon Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Magnezone. I chose Lava Plume over Fire Blast because of the 30% chance to burn. Taunt shuts down walls, setup sweepers and other leads. Stealth Rock slaughters Talonflame and Mega Charizard Y. Speed EVs allow Heatran to outspeed other leads in order to Taunt first, as well as act as cleanup later in the match. 252 Special Attack for obvious reasons, and the remaining EVs in HP for a wee bit more bulk. I'm not sure how useful Air Balloon is for a lead, but Leftovers is already being used for Tangrowth.

Azumarill@ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk / 240 HP / 16 SDef
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Superpower

Azumarill is the Fairy and dragon slayer of the team, checking Garchomp and especially Mega Salamence, who's exceptionally common in WiFi battles. I opted for the reliability of Assault Vest over the strong yet high-risk Belly Drum. Play Rough is obvious STAB, killing Dragons where they stand. Waterfall is secondary STAB and Aqua Jet is tertiary STAB and good for revenge killing weakened threats. Her purpose is pretty straight-forward, and will most of the time be preserved for as long as possible. Full EVs in Attack for wrecking things, and 240 EVs in HP to add some bulk to her. The remaining EVs go to Special Defence to raise the boost given by AV.

Breloom@ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Nature: Jolly/Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Mach Punch
- Spore
- Seed Bomb

Breloom is my wallbreaker. His job is to force switches with Spore and set up Swords Dance on the switch, then slay everything with +2 Mach Punch and Seed Bomb. He'll also be my status absorber. Meanwhile, he's healing himself with Poison Heal. The EV spread is pretty straightforward, full investment in HP and Attack with the last bit in Speed. For his nature, I could either run Adamant for additional power or Jolly to outspeed uninvested base 70s and below.

Tangrowth@ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SDef
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Leech Seed/Sleep Powder

I knew I needed a Tangrowth after seeing it practically win a game by itself, on the losing side, 2-3. I was giddy when I found the right Mirage Spot, and found a Regenerator Tangela at just 20 encounters. Tangrowth's purpose is to Knock Off the opponent's item, then Giga Drain or Earthquake. Rinse, wash, repeat. For the final move, Leech Seed helps recovery and Sleep Powder forces switches. Sleep Powder is a tad redundant with Spore, but then again you can hardly expect Breloom to be able to switch into many attacks. EVs are basic: 252 HP to beef up both defenses, 232 Defence make it a Physicall wall, and the rest help patch up her awful Sp. Defence a little.

Scizor@ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Def
- Bullet Punch
- U-Turn
- Roost
- Tailwind

Scizor is all about crushing the opposition beneath his shiny metal claws. His job is killing Fairies and scouting. Technician boosts the power of Bullet Punch, and when coupled with LO and STAB, it hits like a slightly above average sized anti-tank mine. U-Turn is for scouting. He functions as my lead when I'm not using Heatran, and the two have good synergy together. Sciz resists Water attacks aimed at Heatran, and Heatran can switch into Earthquake with Air Balloon intact, as well as switching into obvious Fire attacks and gaining a Sp. Attack boost. Roost heals damage from Life Orb as well as minor injuries. I chose it over Swords Dance because of U-Turn. Superpower, Knock Off, Pursuit and Tailwind were all competing for the final move but Tailwind won after I looked over my team and realized that it wasn't particularly speedy. Standard Scizor EV spread. Nothing special here, move along.

Sableye@ Slablenite
Ability: Prankster > Magic Bounce
Nature: Bold
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
- Dark Pulse
- Recover
- Will-o-Wisp
- Calm Mind

The jewel of my team (pun intended). As X3Evanescence so helpfully suggested, Mega Sableye fit every requirement for my team. As fate would have it, I already had a nearly perfect Sableye on hand; I just needed to breed for the right nature. I kicked myself for forgetting my favourite Pokémon (actually, Prankster Sableye had crossed my mind in early development, but never came up later). He uses the classic Mega Sableye set. Recover is to take back all of my opponent's hard-earned damage and make 'em rage. I've recently discovered that Mega Sableye keeps Prankster on it's first turn, which makes Will-o-Wisp all the sweeter. Calm Mind boosts Sp. Attack and Sp. Defence, and when alternated with Recover, makes Mega Sableye nearly unstoppable. I usually use him after the other team's Fairies are gone, then go to town. Dark Pulse is STAB and hits a lot of Pokémon hard after a few Calm Minds.

So there you have it, my ORAS WiFi Singles team. Oh, I promised to reveal the origins of the title. Once I had Azumarill on my team I noticed that three of my Pokés had priority attacks (Mach Punch, Bullet Punch and Aqua Jet). Feel free to make suggestions, but bear in mind that all these Pokémon must be bred/traded, which can get tricky. I hope you enjoyed my RMT and can find the time to rate it.

Comments

Actually on the first turn of mega evolving, Mega Sableye ability changes to Magic Bounce, but you get the Prankster priority. Thats like two birds in one stone only for the first turn of mega evolution.

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They still should be the same right?

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This team is pretty decent actually. It suffers from a big fire and flying weakness though (probably why Stealth Rocks is a good idea) which is major, as these two types are very important in the OU tier and are basically everywhere.

My only suggestion would be to replace Breloom for something else. I agree that it's an amazing pokemon but a staller is just not its suit. And Scizor fills in its primary role as a sweeper really. Lastly it's the cause of your gaping weakness so it might have to be a good idea to bid it farewell.

Things you could replace it with are Dragon types (gives you very handy Fairy/Dragon/Steel core) like Garchomp and that stuff. If you'd rather want a status absorber though (which you have to think about; half your team fears a burn) you could go for Gliscor which offers a similar role compared to your Breloom, only better.

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Although you do have 1 check for it, Talonflame can be a HUGE problem with Heatran gone. Other than that, a nice team.

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@It's a secret! - Yeah, preferably they should stay the same, but one change is ok

@Fated Fantom - Just saying, this isn't an OU team specifically, it just happens to have all OU Pokémon. This is for WiFi Single battles. That aside, what Dragon would you recommend? Preferably, they should be able to do something about Talonflame. Atm, I have Adamant Garchomp and Adamant Multiscale Dratini (no ESpeed :( though). And Breloom isn't really meant to stall, he's just mean toforce a switch, setup SD, and break the other team >:) I guess I wasn't clear.

@ FallenFury - can you recommend a couple Pokés not named Rotom-W that can deal with Talonflame? Why can't Azumarill do it?

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OU = OverUsed
OverUsed = Used a lot
Over used in OU = Pretty much everywhere (even wifi)

That aside though, Breloom adds to your weaknesses more than correct them. I won't say that it's not good, but it isn't running it's best set and can be walled easier. As for the Dragon choice though, you've got your picks. Physically defensive Garchomp with Stealth Rock is a good option if you ask me, it makes Talonflame think twice before spamming Brave Bird (the recoil can be terrible with Stealth Rocks, Brave Bird, Rough Skin and possibly, Rocky Helmet). It also ensures rocks are not removed as easy by the opponent. And it forces a lot of switches (<.< it didn't ever ruin me... believe me >.>)

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Thanks for the tips! The only problem will be finding an HA Gible. With Breloom gone, is it best to put Sleep Powder on Tangrowth? And should both Heatran and Garchomp run SR?

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I have an E-Speed Dratini, I can breed it for you if you'd like :3

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That would be fanatastic! Preferably Jolly, then I can breed the HA from there.

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I was planning on breeding the HA first and giving you a breedject from there XD