More Than Conquerors – My Final VGC '15 Team [UNRESOLVED]

Question

"That's no moon."

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We're finally here. The VGC 2015 season winds to a close in August. I will not be attending Nationals this year, but I thought that I might as well go out with a bang, and one more team. The team is themed after one of my favorite songs that we sing in church, and each line of the chorus is a Pokémon's tagline. To avoid religious bickering I will not include that. I did, however, also nickname them all after planets in Star Wars. Please read, make suggestions if you have them, and hopefully learn something about VGC!

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The Conquerors

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Corellia (Salamence)@ Salamencite
Timid | Intimidate
252 SpA / 180 Spe / 76 HP
– Hyper Voice
– Dragon Pulse
– Flamethrower
– Protect

>Corellia is famous for producing the best and fasted starships, as well as being the home of Rebel heroes like Wedge Antilles and Han Solo.

In my opinion, Special Salamence is the best Salamence. I EV'd it to outspeed positive natured base 110s, maxed out Sp. Attack and put the rest in HP. As a happy coincidence, it's just enough bulk to survive HP Ice from offensive Thundurus. Hyper Voice is Aerilated spread STAB. Flamethrower nails Aegislash and Bisharp. Dragon Pulse is secondary STAB that lets me hit targets that otherwise resist Hyper Voice and Flamethrower.

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Coruscant (Bisharp)@ Focus Sash
Adamant | Defiant
252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
– Sucker Punch
– Iron Head
– Knock Off
– Protect

>Coruscant is the home of the Jedi Temple, an order of warriors who fight both with the blade and the mind.

Bisharp summarizes so well with the team. He scares off all but the boldest Landorus and discourages Icy Wind. I chose Focus Sash over Life Orb to improve my Breloom and Terrakion matchups. Iron Head and Sucker Punch are my main moves, and I don't use Knock Off that much.

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Dagobah (Gastrodon)@ Sitrus Berry
Calm | Storm Drain
252 HP / 180 Def / 76 SpA
– Ice Beam
– Scald
– Earth Power
– Protect

>Dagobah, very swampy it is. Much water and mud, it has. Like trying to lift an X-Wing, OHKOing Gastrodon is (unless a Grass-type, you are).

I added Gastrodon to handle the major threats to Salamence and Bisharp (Rock- and Fire-types). Storm Drain gives Hearan access to some free Substitutes. This set OHKOs standard Landorus, Heatran, and Bisharp. It can also OHKO Terrakion after a Close Combat drop and has a decent chance of OHKOing Salamence. It can 2HKO Mawile, Metagross, and Thundurus. The bulk EVs let it survive Double-Edge from Adamant Kang and Jolly Salamence.

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Mustafar (Heatran)@ Leftovers
Modest | Flash Fire
20 HP / 252 Spe / 236 SpA
– Flamethrower
– Earth Power
– Flash Cannon
– Substitute

>Mustafar is a volcanic world covered in a permanent magma storm. Does that sound like Heatran to you?

Heatran was added to provide a solid check to Fairies and Ice-types for Salamence. I chose a simple max speed Substitute set to get some win conditions. I'd never used it before, but I'm thoroughly impressed. Interestingly, I tried Flamethrower over Heat Wave for the accuracy, power, and the ability to hit through Wide Guard. The 20 HP EVs were to set up four Subs, but now that I have Leftovers I'm not sure what do do.

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Kashyyyk (Virizion)@ Life Orb
Jolly | Justified
252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
– Leaf Blade
– Close Combat
– Zen Headbutt
– Protect

Beneath the lush and beautiful forests and lakes of Kashyyyk lies the ferocious hearts and souls of the Wookiees. It looks docile, but hides a warrior's spirit.

Virizion single-handedly checks Kang, Terrakion, Suicune, Rotom-Wash, Conkeldurr, Venusaur and others. I ran Life Orb Virizion a while back, and I prefer it to Expert Belt. The EV spread is generic, allowing me to outspeed base 100s and tie with Terrakion. Close Combat and Leaf Blade are standard STABs. Zen Headbutt is my niche choice and my metagame call.I needed some Psychic coverage. I was shocked to learn that Virizion got Zen Headbutt. This gives me a wildcard that lets me catch opposing Fighting-types off-guard. I haven't used it yet, but I've also never wished I had Stone Edge or Quick Guard.

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Bespin (Cresselia)@ Rocky Helmet
Bold | Levitate
252 HP / 196 Def / 76 SpD
– Icy Wind
– Thunder Wave
– Moonlight
– Psychic

>Bespin is a peaceful world. Cities float gracefully through its elegant mists and clouds.

I think the coolest thing about Cress is that she has two forms of speed control. I chose Thunder Wave first, but soon realized that it could be Taunted and that Landorus and Thundurus were immune to it. So I chose Icy Wind as a secondary option to avoid Taunt. Having both allows me to work around Defiant and Wide Guard as well. Finally, I opted for Moonlight over Protect to slightly improve my Sun matchup, letting me heal myself in Charizard's face an chip away with Psychic. This EV spread survives the strongest special attacks (2HKOd by Specs Hydreigon Dark Pulse), as well as physical (Jolly Salamence has a 2% chance to 2HKO with Double-Edge). Rocky Helmet hasn't been as useful as I thought it would be, so I've been considering Safety Goggles to guard against Spore.

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Leads

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+

One of my favorite leads from a while ago, Storm Drain can give Heatran a free Substitute against Suicune and Milotic. It also gives me two Earth Powers to take down opposing Heatran, who tend to give my team some grief.

+ OR

This lead gives me some immediate offensive pressure, and the two check each other's weaknesses nicely. Bisharp greatly discourages opposing Intimidates and Icy Wind chip damage, while Salamence threatens Fighting-types and Virizion can surprise them with Zen Headbutt.

+

My best chance against Sun teams. Cress can Moonlight rediculous amounts of health while Heatran can set up a Sub against pretty much any popular Sun Pokémon. Cress can also provide Thunder Wave support to help my comparatively slow Heatran.

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Comments

would you like some suggestions or did you just want get this team out there.

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Suggestions are good. If not just minor moveset / item suggestions, only replace Pokémon if you have solid reasoning.

Answer 1

Teambuilding

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I started with my favorite (viable) Mega Evolution, Salamence. I knew his Aerilate Hyper Voice was a deadly force, and I wanted to use it to its full potential.

After looking over the weaknesses of Salamence, I concluded that the opponent would likely try and bring him down quickly with Fairies and Intimidators. Bisharp popped out at me as the best 'Mon for the job.

Both of my Pokémon were now pretty frail, so I needed someone to add for bulk, as well as take care of Rock and Fire opponents. I've used Gastrodon before and he didn't disappoint.

Using Gastrodon gave me the idea of having a FWG core. He's awesome alongside Fire-types thanks to Storm Drain. I toyed with Arcanine and Rotom, but I already had Intimidate and didn't want another Rock weakness, so Substitute Heatran hopped aboard.

I added Terrakion for some Fighting coverage and some speed. He checked Kangaskhan and let me spam Rock Slide.

I put Clefairy on for some redirection, speed control, and overall bulk. She gave me another way to let Heatran set up win conditions with Substitute, and helped my frailer Pokémon with Friend Guard.

Terrakion was too much of a burden, bringing a third Ground weakness, so I changed him to Virizion to help me better check bulky Waters and still keep the Fighting coverage.

Clefairy was pretty much a deadweight, getting KOd way too quickly and not really doing much. I realized that I didn't even need redirection that much, so I changed Clefairy to Cresselia to keep speed control and bulk.

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Threats

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Sun in general gives me a hard time, but the hardest part is removing Charizard from the field. Cress can stall him out with Moonlight + Psychic, while Salamence can also deal respectable damage with Dragon Pulse. Interestingly, Charizard can't scratch Heatran, so playing against hard Sun can pretty much garuntee a free Substitute.

Heatran can cause serious issues if I predict wrong. His Heat Wave hits Virizion and Bisharp hard, while Earth Power can damage Bisharp. Gastrodon is my go-to check for Heatran, but the rising popularity of HP Grass does quite a number on him. Virizion is also a decent check with Close Combat, but is beaten by Chople Berry variants.

Amoonguss can Spore my entire team except Virizion, which is why she has Zen Headbutt. Still, I would like some more answers to him, which is why I'm contemplating Safety Goggles on Cress.

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There's my final team of 2015. So far it's brought me relatively good success, but there's always room fo improvment. Let me know your thoughts and qualms!

Comments

First off, great team! Lefties on Heatran is a good choice imo, I dunno why people don't use it too often (played correctly, it can set up a fifth sub).
Amoonguss is usually accompanied by a set-up sweeper, just saying. This means that your team could be weak to anything that comes alongside Amoonguss. Eg - DDance Tyranitar, Tailwind setters etc.

I'm rather inexperienced, so you may choose to ignore all of that :P

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No, no, that's great. My only problem is killing the little bugger. Clefairy? Piece of cake. Togekiss? Lol. But Amoonguss? WHY WON'T YOU DIE???

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How are your Trick Room math ups with this team btw :o

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I've face two TR teams, and I can usually stall it out with Bisharp and Gastrodon. HailRoom is hella scary, though. I can beat it if I stall out TR and then get a Flamethrower off with Heatran, but otherwise Aboma kinda stomps all over the team if Bisharp can't come.

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Well.. since AD hasn't posted this himself, I might as well do it on his behalf :P. He thinks you have a weakness to Trick Room, and that pokemon like Jellicent would case major trouble to your team.

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Good to know… tell him I said thanks.