D/P/Pt BP/Marowak Team

[blazheirio889]

Trying a rather gimmicky team. Main dude here is Marowak, involves Baton Passing, blah blah blah.


Weavile @Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 40 HP/252 Atk/218 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Fake Out
- Pursuit
- Ice Punch
- Brick Break/Night Slash

Basic anti-lead. Fake Out to kill their Focus Sash, and finish it off (hopefully) with another one of Weavile's moves. I'm debating whether I should use Brick Break or Night Slash - I already have a Dark type move, but it's rather situational.


Ninjask @Focus Sash
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 152 HP/106 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SpAtk)
- Protect
- Swords Dance
- Baton Pass
- X-Scissor

Basic BP'er Ninjask. Protect, Swords Dance as the Sash kicks in, Protect again, and then pass to the next Pokemon in line. X-Scissor in case of Taunt, or similar situations.


Jolteon @Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 6 HP/252 SpAtk/252 Spd
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Agility
- Baton Pass
- Thunderbolt

After getting the boosts from Ninjask, I don't think there's much - if anything at all - that'll outspeed Jolteon. Stick up a Substitute and, if I can, use another Agility. Once a Substitute's up, pass to the next Pokemon. Leftovers is to help with repeated Substitutes, Thunderbolt in case of Taunt, yadda yadda yadda.


Marowak @Thick Club
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpAtk)
- Double Edge
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch

The main sweeper. After receiving two attack boosts, up to four speed boosts, and a Substitute, this guy is nigh unstoppable. ...At least I think he is. I've never actually tried this team out yet. ._. I'm debating whether I should switch Stone Edge for Rock Slide because of the accuracy, but I'm pretty sure I'll stick with Stone Edge.


Salamence @Wise Glasses
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 106 Atk/152 SpAtk/252 Spd
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Outrage
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake

Back-up sweeper in case the BPing falls flat. Wise Glasses is for the surprise element, since opponents will probably think it's holding a Choice item once they see that there's no recoil damage. Not to mention I hate recoil. Though I am debating on whether I should switch the item to Life Orb, regardless.


Swampert @Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP/60 Def/198 SpDef
Careful nature (+SpDef, -SpAtk)
- Curse
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Rest

Aaaaa I'm not even sure what to put here. My team is lacking in the defensive department so I dunno. I'll probably kick this off because it takes some time to set up. Anyway, the current strategy is to Curse and raise defense, then attack with whatever fits the situation. Rest when I need to.

Now I'm seriously lacking in the special attack department, and the defensive department, but I'm not sure what to put here. And my team would probably get owned by a bulky Gyarados. Suggestions for mixed wall, special attacker, etc.?

 

[Mustardear]

Ahh, a good ol' fashioned BP team. Looks alright but I'm no expert at judging teams and you'll want to test it, of course.

If there's one thing I can suggest, it is to not use Cursing Swampert as I don't think it would work. Using Curse seems rather counter-productive on a team where the main focus is speed-passing and also it takes quite a while to get enough Curses to start destroying everything. I would suggest using a more regular Swampert with Stone Edge or something if you're scared of bulky Gyarados.

On the other hand, you might want to include a different Pokemon to receive the stat boosts from Ninjask/Jolteon. If the opponent gets a Critical Hit or other kind of luck when you're Baton Passing to Marowak then you'd be left with two perfectly healthy Baton Passers and nothing to pass anything to. Replacing Swampy with a Pinsir or a Heracross could work quite well (or maybe I'm just saying that because I like Bug-types). Anything with low/moderate speed and high attack/sp. attack would be a good choice, especially if it has a different type coverage to Marowak.

There's a possibility that I'm completely wrong and that Cursepert will work wonders on this team. I would test it out on Shoddy Battle or NetBattle before making any changes.

 

[J.T.]

You should probably drop something for a Rapid Spinner, because you absolutely need one to keep Ninjask alive - Stealth Rock will wreck its Focus Sash and basically make it a deadweight. Salamence is hurt by it too, but not to the extent that Ninjask is. Weavile will not be able to stop all SR users, because not all of them are leads, and once Weavile's used Fake Out, the opponent's free to do whatever. Not to mention it gets stopped dead by Metagross, who doesn't wear Focus Sash, resists Fake Out and Ice Punch, and doesn't take significant damage from your other moves. Then it can use Meteor Mash or Bullet Punch to kill Weavile, even with Focus Sash. Oh, and it'll still pull off Stealth Rock, so it'll be a complete waste anyway. It's not like Metagross is uncommon, either - last time I checked, he was the most commonly-used lead.

Jolteon seems to serve little purpose on this team except to pass Speed (which Ninjask does better) and pass low-HP Substitutes. I suppose the Subs could be useful, but there are better options. Drifblim, for example - it's pretty fast after a few of Ninjask's speed boosts, and its Substitutes are huge. You can toss a Berry on it, like Liechi or something, and Pass that when you get the boost (you won't Pass Unburden on, unfortunately). Vaporeon can do the same with slightly lower HP, but it can pass Acid Armor as well, just to give the recipient of your boosts that little bit of extra defense (and by "little bit" I mean "holy crap good luck taking that thing down").

Your team shouldn't be all that worried about BulkyGyara in the first place unless you get rid of Jolteon. Jolteon can survive an unboosted Waterfall on the switch (well, mine has) and still outspeeds Gyarados after a Dragon Dance. It's when the thing gets two Dragon Dances off that you should be worried. If you decide to go with Vaporeon over Jolteon, run either HP Electric or Toxic, and you'll still be able to take it down (although HP Electric's the better option, since Gyarados can Taunt you).

Mustardear has a good idea in suggesting Heracross. Its typing isn't bad, and its 4x Flying weakness is pretty unimportant because pretty much nothing uses Flying attacks. After some speed boosts and Swords Dances, it'll raise some serious hell. In addition, Guts will boost its Attack even higher; throw a Flame Orb on a Guts Heracross, that thing will wreck some shit.
However, Mustardear is... somewhat paranoid about the critical hit chance on Marowak! Honestly, that problem will apply to absolutely anything he Baton Passes things to, including Heracross and Pinsir.

 

[blazheirio889]

I tested this on Shoddy Battle, and you're right, Jolteon was a complete deadweight. So I got rid of her for a Starmie as a Rapid Spinner, but it isn't doing to well either. I'm considering Forretress, since my Starmie usually dies after two or three hits.

I'm not getting rid of Swampert, though, because that thing has done some clean sweeps with no trouble at all. I was surprised by how well it worked. I may try out Heracross, but then I'm not sure what to drop. But then again, I think I have enough physical sweepers, so do you have any suggestions for a mixed sweeper? Something that can kill Metagross, Scizor, and Gyarados, preferably, because I find I have trouble with those Pokemon especially.

Running out of time so I'll have to cut this post short.

 

[Mustardear]

I don't know many good mixed sweepers but Rotom-H (you know, the oven one) seems to be a fairly good counter to the Pokemon you mentioned.

It is bulky enough to switch into most of Metagross's attacks, resisting Meteor Mash and Thunderpunch, and having an immunity to Earthquake. Even the odd Shadow Ball wouldn't really do too much damage. Unfortunately, it can't stop Metagross from setting up Stealth Rock.

As for Gyarados, if you switch it in on the first turn (before Gyara gets too many Dragon Dances), you should be able to scare it away.

Scizor's attacks are resisted except for Pursuit and Night Slash, the former of which is too weak to do much damage to you as long as you don't switch and the latter of which is very rare to see.

A set of Thunderbolt, Overheat, Shadow Ball and Will-o-Wisp could work well. You'll want to max out HP and put heavy EV investments into Def. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if you can use Rotom formes on Wifi since they would be incompatible with Diamond and Pearl. If they are then you could use Zapdos (good luck if you plan on battling over Wifi) as it works in a similar way to Rotom-H.

Heat Wave from Platinum is essential in taking out Scizor and Roost is a welcome addition to heal off Stealth Rock damage. Thunderbolt takes care of Gyarados fairly well but beware of Ice Fang. The final slot can be filled with Drill Peck if you want a mixed sweeper or a support attack such as Thunder Wave or Roar.

 

[blazheirio889]

Thanks for the suggestion, Mustardear. I'll try out both Zapdos and Rotom when I have time. And I'm not planning to battle on WiFi because I am lazy and can't be arsed to EV train stuff. Easier for me :D

 

[J.T.]

Yeah, Rotom formes are a good option. You should choose something that covers your team's weaknesses; if you're not sure, go with Rotom-H (microwave/fire), since he can cook things like Scizor alive without having to worry too much about Gyarados. Zapdos is nice too, and it can learn Baton Pass through an event - and therefore, on Shoddy as well.
... wait, it can only really Pass Substitutes and Agility, which pretty much makes it Jolteon. Never mind!

Forretress is a bit questionable, since Swampert can already take physical hits like a champ. Try something with a little more special defense would be my suggestion. I've always been partial to Claydol - its SpD is huge, its Defense is nice, and it takes pretty much nothing from any entry hazard (it's immune to both types of Spikes and resists SR). I'm not too sure how well it'd work in OU, though.

If you're having trouble with Starmie, I can let you in on a Starmie set I've been trying for a while. It works surprisingly well as, of all things, a tank (bear with me here).


Starmie @ Leftovers
Bold / Natural Cure
EVS: 252 HP / 196 Def / 62 SpD
- Cosmic Power
- Recover
- Rapid Spin / Thunderbolt / Ice Beam
- Surf / Thunderbolt / Ice Beam

The surprise element of this Starmie has won me numerous battles, and it works well even when the opponent, for some reason, does expect it. Cosmic Power is the big reason it works. Spam it over and over again to launch your defenses sky-high. Recover is one of the most reliable recovery moves in the game, so you can't really pass it up. Rapid Spin would fulfill your major need for a way to deal with Stealth Rock, although it would leave you rather limited in attack options. BoltBeam is a good combination for coverage, but again, you're in the dark when Stealth Rock comes in. And finally, Toxic is an option instead of an attacking move, if you like getting screwed by Taunt users. Another thing that Starmie has to help it out is Natural Cure. This way, Toxic (and if you have Rapid Spin, Toxic Spikes) isn't nearly as much of an issue.

I'm not getting rid of Swampert, though, because that thing has done some clean sweeps with no trouble at all. I was surprised by how well it worked.

Yeah, Cursepert is a beast. I've used one on my standard team for months. I use Avalanche over Rest, though. He's still nice and bulky, but he can also hit dragons, so things like Salamence can't just come in and DD. I think the concern is how well it works with the rest of your team. If it works, keep it; not everything on your team has to be a viable Baton Pass receiver.

 

[blazheirio889]

Alright, I tried out that Starmie, and it's worked very well. ...The thing is now I have absolutely nothing to counter Scizor. I'm not sure if I want to keep Starmie or switch it back for Rotom-H. Alternatively, I could swap Salamence for Rotom-H, since Salamence seems to be doing the least.

 

[J.T.]

Ahhhhh crap forgot about Scizor. Um you could replace Salamence with Rotom-H, that would work pretty well. Another one is to try Heatran. It could work well with some of Ninjask's speed boosts, and Swords Dance could power up its Explosion (like it needs that, though). The only thing you'd need to worry about is getting hit with Brick Break or Superpower on the switch.