[HGSS OU] Northern Lights

Discussion in 'Team Showcase' started by Kevin Garrett, Nov 23, 2011.

  1. Kevin Garrett

    Kevin Garrett New Member

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    Northern Lights

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    Art by icepick. Thank you!

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    Introduction

    This is a team I like to call Northern Lights and it's one of my favorite DPP OU teams. I had no intention to post it, but in light of its recent success on ladder I feel like it is time. I am starting to see other players use this team and have run into some mirror matches. Nothing about it is really secret anymore, which is why I rarely use it in tournament battles anymore. With that being said, this team is more of a showcase than anything else. Don't hold back your opinions on that account, though. It is a great team, but it is obviously far from perfect.

    The origins of this team go back to World Cup of Pokemon in 2009 when JabbaTheGriffin gave me his team to compete with after the metagame caught up with my Kevin, Please Come Home team. Some time after that, Latias was banned and the team was no longer legal in standard play. I toyed with the team for a while and eventually created the team you see here. Starmie seems like it would be a natural fit in place of Latias, but it's not that simple. It is not able to stand up to Scizor the same way Latias could with Reflect and it is not able to shuffle the opponent's team with Roar.

    I was also uncertain about the set that headlined the team in the first place, Charge Beam Rotom-H. It was no longer a surprise to anyone. Defensive Rotom-H would be able to reinforce the defensive core of the team. Then it became clear that I would need to have something to abuse Toxic Spikes. Suicune seemed like an interesting choice because it could stand up to almost everything Latias was able to cover. The move set of Suicune is what makes this team the success that it is. Calm Mind Roar Suicune is an absolute terror, but I will explain it in depth later.

    Aside from a few other minor tweaks, I came to my final product. It is a team that pays homage to its origins, but has a completely unique style that manages to separate itself from its predecessor. There are a couple threats on paper that look like it can give it trouble, but this team has a high ceiling as far as potential goes depending upon the user. Just about every individual threat can be covered through skillful play, which is why I think it has been able to be so successful on ladder. I peaked at #1 on the Pokemon Online leaderboard with a rating of 1661 and eclipsed the next position by more than 200 points. Now let's take a look at this team in a little more detail.

    Team

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    Roserade @ Focus Sash
    Trait: Natural Cure
    EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
    Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
    - Hidden Power Fire
    - Toxic Spikes
    - Sleep Powder
    - Leaf Storm

    Roserade was always one of the best leads in DPP OU and it still is today. The reason for its effectiveness is that it has a diverse set of attributes. It has a reliable sleep inducing move, a power STAB Leaf Storm, and great team support with Toxic Spikes. It works best against slower leads, but it is capable of taking on faster leads. For Azelf and Aerodactyl, Leaf Storm is generally the move of choice for the first turn since you will likely see either Taunt or Stealth Rock, but you can try Sleep Powder if you want to shoot for the stars. You will also want to use Leaf Storm against Machamp and then switch out to Rotom-H in case they have Bullet Punch. Infernape and Ninjask are the only common leads that you will definitely need to switch out against.

    Ideally, you can keep Roserade healthy for later on in the game. It is valuable for doing a number of things such as absorbing Trick and Toxic Spikes, which is why you will either want to attack or switch out on the first turn against opposing Roserade leads. Mirror matches or even just teams with similar strategies will hinge on gaining the upper hand down the stretch. Similar to BW OU, if you are able to win the Toxic Spike war, you should be good to go providing you have executed the rest of the team properly. Roserade also does a good job easing pressure from some threats late in games. Breloom is a good example because it is outsped by Roserade and it resists both of its STAB moves. It is also a good check for Suicune as a last Pokemon, which could be bothersome if you allow your opponent to make all the right moves.

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    Suicune @ Leftovers
    Trait: Pressure
    EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
    Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
    - Rest
    - Calm Mind
    - Surf
    - Roar

    Suicune is the star of the show and largely responsible for dictating the team's style. It is an open ended Pokemon who's role with vary depending upon the style of your opponent's team. If you are facing a stall team, Suicune is the end game solution. You will want to make sure you have all your entry hazards up after the defeat of their Rapid Spinner. Then it is Suicune's time to take over. It is faster than all the standard phazers on stall, which guarantees you will keep all your boosts. Providing you have Toxic Spikes down at the very least, it will easily beat Blissey heads up. The more you are capable of setting up, the better off you will be because they will try to get Toxic on Suicune and switch to their phazer when you use Rest.

    It plays much differently against balanced and offensive teams and quite possibly shines more playing against these styles. Suicune is a magnet for Celebi, Shaymin, and Vaporeon. It's incredible how weak they can become just by switching into Spikes and then being Roared out a couple times. At the end of the day, if you have at least a boost, you can take a hit to either finish them off or to stack more entry hazard damage on them by using Roar. Against heavy offensive teams, Suicune will act more as a cushion for the rest of the team since mono Water attacking coverage doesn't go a long way. It is usually my first switch for Dragonite to scout their set. Suicune also does a great job annihilating Rain Dance teams in combination with Roserade and Blissey.

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    Blissey @ Leftovers
    Trait: Natural Cure
    EVs: 200 HP / 252 Def / 56 SpA
    Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
    - Stealth Rock
    - Softboiled
    - Seismic Toss
    - Ice Beam

    The set for Blissey on this team fits perfectly. Blissey can get up Stealth Rock so easily and its one of the better users of the move because it will beat Rapid Spin Starmie one on one. Seismic Toss has twice as much PP as Recover so the disparity in Stealth Rock PP to Rapid Spin is a moot point. It can set up on any special attacker in the game. You should be careful around Heatran, though. If they already set up Stealth Rock and don't have Leftovers, you may want to use Suicune to push them around. It won't mind taking an Explosion nearly as much as Blissey would. Shaymin and Zapdos are probably the two special attackers you won't want to use Blissey as your primary check to after you have Stealth Rock in play. Skarmory does a better job handling Shaymin and Rotom-H will be able to outstall Zapdos. The reasoning behind this will be in their respective sections.

    Ice Beam has an astounding amount of usefulness on Blissey. The first things that come to mind that it is perfect for is Taunt Gliscor and Pain Split Gengar. It gives Blissey the ability to knock Dragonite and Flygon flat on their back on the switch. There are less obvious uses for it, though. Blissey makes a decent check to Breloom in certain situations. If they already used Spore on something and they don't have a Substitute, then you can take Seed Bomb quite well to eliminate it unless they are very healthy. Ice Beam is also great because it has a 10% chance of causing a freeze. This gives you a chance to win against something like Wish Calm Mind Jirachi if you were unable to set up Suicune alongside it or cripple it with Jirachi.

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    Skarmory @ Leftovers
    Trait: Keen Eye
    EVs: 252 HP / 240 SpD / 16 Spe
    Impish Nature (+Def, -SpA)
    - Whirlwind
    - Spikes
    - Taunt
    - Roost

    Skarmory is the driving force behind the team with its Spikes stacking and phazing. I gave it a multipurpose stat spread to allow it to take special hits from Shaymin and Roserade, while still being able to take an attack from something like Swords Dance Scizor. The thing that probably stands out the most on this set is Taunt. It's not completely meant to prevent the opponent from getting up entry hazards, but it is effective against other Skarmory and slower Stealth Rock users. Taunt does a fantastic job of shutting Blissey down, which can otherwise use Softboiled or Wish multiple times before being taken down. This helps open the door for Suciune to sweep. The two of them have excellent synergy since I will normally go to Skarmory whenever a Grass-type comes into Suicune without any boosts.

    Besides slower defensive Pokemon, Skarmory is mostly responsible for tackling Dragon-type threats. It is usually my first switch when the opponent brings in Kingdra or Flygon. As aforementioned, I will normally go to Suicune first against Dragonite just to scout its set before I commit Skarmory to that defensive assignment. Dragonite runs a mixed set much more frequently than Flygon does and Dragonite will hit harder as well. Other Pokemon that I will use Skarmory as my first option defender include Tyranitar, Snorlax, and Metagross. Tyranitar is usually holding a Choice Scarf, but if it's Band I will be able to Roost off Stone Edge because they are typically running HP EVs instead of Speed. I use Leftovers as the item on ladder, but in tournament competitions I tend to use Shed Shell because of the value Skarmory has on the team.

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    Rotom-H @ Leftovers
    Trait: Levitate
    EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
    Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
    - Thunderbolt
    - Shadow Ball
    - Rest
    - Sleep Talk

    Rotom-H is the team's source of Rapid Spin protection. The only Rapid Spin user it fears is an offensive Starmie. I can deduce its set when it switches in as long as I have Toxic Spikes in play. If I have most of my entry hazards in play, I will usually go to Rotom-H no matter the situation. The reason for this is because it puts them in a coin flip prediction to use Hydro Pump/Surf or Rapid Spin on the second turn. I will normally stay in if Starmie can't switch back in because Jirachi can finish it off. Bulky variants of Starmie fall short of a 2HKO and are not problematic to deal with. Other common Rapid Spin users can't hurt Rotom-H on their own. Hitmontop can use Foresight, but with Toxic damage adding up and getting a Thunderbolt in against it means it can only effectively Rapid Spin once.

    The biggest thing Rotom-H handles is Breloom. On paper this team may seem a vulnerable to Breloom, but in practice it performs well as long as you play the team correctly. Rotom-H will take the Spore and use Sleep Talk. This is where its beautiful to have two attacks. Breloom doesn't have a great chance of escaping its attacks. After a few turns I will Rest and control my own sleep status for the remainder of the game. If they don't have Seed Bomb, they don't stand a chance to beat me. Gyarados is the other main physical sweeper Rotom-H is responsible for. There isn't much it can do to it besides get a flinch, in which case I have Jirachi as my failsafe. Be careful of Tyranitar when you use Rotom-H. It is bulky enough to survive Choice Scarf variants, but it's a huge momentum boost if you can properly prediction between Crunch and Pursuit. If you suspect Tyranitar will switch in, it wouldn't hurt to switch to Skarmory before you can even be presented with a situation like that.

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    Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
    Trait: Serene Grace
    EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
    Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
    - Ice Punch
    - Fire Punch
    - Iron Head
    - ThunderPunch

    Jirachi is here to make sure nothing gets through the defenses. It has outstanding coverage that will eliminate a number of threats. Pokemon like Lucario that have no certain counter on this team are handled wonderfully by Jirachi. Between Spikes and Life Orb, I will either phaze it before it boosts or sacrifice something that isn't vital to win the match and go right to Jirachi. If Dragonite can somehow manage to defeat Suicune, Blissey, and Skarmory, Jirachi is there to finish it off. Jirachi will outspeed Agility Empoleon, so if it gets a critical hit on Blissey I am still in the game. It may also outspeed Agility Metagross and Swift Swim sweepers depending upon their stat spreads, but those are covered well by the rest of the team.

    Iron Head works great with Toxic Spikes on the field. It could turn needing multiple flinches into just one or two. Serene Grace is a major troll ability for all its moves. The most common threat this team could potentially lose to is Wish Calm Mind Jirachi. Using your own Jirachi is one way to handle it. If it manages to come in on anything besides Suicune, which will manhandle it one on one, I go right to Jirachi for Fire Punch. Once it has a burn, I can either finish it off right there with Jirachi or go to Blissey and waste their Wish PP. If your opponent has a Jirachi, make sure you can identify its move set as soon as possible so you can form your plan of attack before it can do any major damage. If there is one possible change you are looking to make, you can try to use Trick over ThunderPunch. That will remove your easy finish on Gyarados, but help against set up sweepers.

    Importable

    Roserade (M) @ Focus Sash
    Trait: Natural Cure
    EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
    Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
    - Hidden Power [Fire]
    - Toxic Spikes
    - Sleep Powder
    - Leaf Storm

    Suicune @ Leftovers
    Trait: Pressure
    EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
    Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
    - Rest
    - Calm Mind
    - Surf
    - Roar

    Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
    Trait: Natural Cure
    EVs: 200 HP / 252 Def / 56 SAtk
    Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
    - Stealth Rock
    - Softboiled
    - Seismic Toss
    - Ice Beam

    Skarmory (M) @ Leftovers
    Trait: Keen Eye
    EVs: 252 HP / 240 SDef / 16 Spd
    Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
    - Whirlwind
    - Spikes
    - Taunt
    - Roost

    Rotom-h (Rotom-H) @ Leftovers
    Trait: Levitate
    EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spd
    Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
    - Thunderbolt
    - Shadow Ball
    - Rest
    - Sleep Talk

    Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
    Trait: Serene Grace
    EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
    Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
    - Ice Punch
    - Fire Punch
    - Iron Head
    - ThunderPunch[/HIDE]

    Conclusion

    Since this team has become popular on ladder, I figured I would go ahead and post it. I prefer tournament competition to ladder play these days so this team doesn't serve much use for me anymore. Most people are well aware of this team so I tend to use more creative teams in tournaments. Feel free to give it a test drive if you want. This team is generally considered stall, but it has a fair share of offense as well. It is an interesting style of team to play with. I'd like to thank JabbaTheGriffin for the original version of his team, which is where the roots of this team come from. For some time, this team was nearly as dominant as that team was at its peak, but the metagame is always changing. I want to send this team off on a high note. Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed it!
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2011
  2. 1996ITO

    1996ITO Member

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    Some original sets :)
    But I think you'll have some problems with CB Tyranitar/Any Spinner. Wouldn't WoW be useful? I know it's for opposing Rotom or Gengar. And no Spinners... You won't predict always and Taunting. I cannot give anything D:
     
  3. AnneWintour

    AnneWintour Elitist bundle of sticks

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    How do you handle opposing stall because you lack a spinner and while Rotom does spinblock nearly every spinner I do not see how you can win stall wars easily
     
  4. Kevin Garrett

    Kevin Garrett New Member

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    A good portion of the games I played on ladder were against stall or teams with Spikes stacking. It is inevitable that they will get at least a few layers of their own in play. The major goal to winning against opposing stall is to keep all your layers in play and win the game with Suicune. As long as you have all your layers up there isn't much stall can do except get a critical hit with their Rotom or Trick if they have it, which is obvious to see coming if they don't have Leftovers.
     
  5. george182

    george182 Active Member

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    Nice team and nice ladder ranking

    It's funny people have been desperate to find out yours, Herofsinnoh and Most Wanteds teams, probably because all three of you achieved a huge gap between first and second place, but they are all out in the open now, which is probably why you see people using your team. I think one of this teams great attributes is the way it handles offensive teams so well, with a lead that can get an advantage early on and a Scarf Jirachi that can revenge kill almost anything. But it kind of reminds me of Harry's great team in a way, it looks like it will really struggle against stall teams, especially ones with a poison type such as sp.def Roserade. Your team also seems to have trouble with pokemon such as sub split rotom, or sub charge rotom. I've been using lead roserade myself recently and while its a great lead, it does have quite a bad lead matchup against things like Azelf, Metagross and Machamp.

    So I recommend leading with Skarmory, taunt Skarm makes a good lead and then changing Roserade to a sp.def set.
    Roserade @ leftovers
    252hp/4sp.atk/252sp.def
    - Toxic Spikes
    - Energy Ball
    - Rest
    - Sleep Power/Spikes/Hidden Power/Sludge Bomb

    Sp.def Roserade can set up toxic spikes much easier and is much happier to switch in and absorb them. The final slot is open for anything, I like the idea of Spikes even though you already have them, it just speeds up your stacking and means Skarm can abuse Taunt/Whirlwind against opposing stall, it makes Suicune useful against stall quicker and overall seems more useful to me.

    I also think 16 speed ev's would be useful on Suicune, outspeeding most defensive Rotoms, Cresselias, Other Suicune and 209 agility users
     
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2011
  6. Kevin Garrett

    Kevin Garrett New Member

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    Those are both good suggestions. I have long considered making Roserade bulky and sticking it somewhere else. The current version is good against Machamp leads. If I switched Skarmory to the lead position, I think I would use Brave Bird. The extra Speed EVs are useful too since I don't think 252/252 does anything special that reducing it by 8 EVs would hurt at all.
     
  7. quicksilver

    quicksilver New Member

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    Cool name. I have never really used stall before but will try it out. The team looks pretty good. But I might have put Skarmory in the lead position. But other than that nice team!