[HGSS OU] Precision Strike - Hodou Masaka

Discussion in 'Rate My Team' started by Hodou Masaka, Jun 20, 2010.

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  1. Hodou Masaka

    Hodou Masaka Member

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    First, the txt file (team described in more detail later)

    Togekiss (M) @ Leftovers
    Trait: Serene Grace
    EVs: 80 HP / 176 Spd / 252 SAtk
    Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
    - Thunder Wave
    - Air Slash
    - Fire Blast
    - Roost

    Gliscor (M) @ Leftovers
    Trait: Sand Veil
    EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 Spd
    Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
    - Taunt
    - Stealth Rock
    - Roost
    - Earthquake

    Vaporeon (M) @ Leftovers
    Trait: Water Absorb
    EVs: 188 HP / 252 Def / 68 Spd
    Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
    - Wish
    - Protect
    - Surf
    - Roar

    Snorlax (M) @ Chesto Berry
    Trait: Thick Fat
    EVs: 168 HP / 120 Def / 220 SDef
    Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
    - Curse
    - Earthquake
    - Rest
    - Crunch

    Gengar (M) @ Choice Scarf
    Trait: Levitate
    EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
    Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
    - Shadow Ball
    - Thunderbolt
    - Trick
    - Destiny Bond

    Starmie @ Life Orb
    Trait: Natural Cure
    EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
    Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
    - Ice Beam
    - Hydro Pump
    - Thunderbolt
    - Rapid Spin

    Introduction:

    The hardest part of creating this team was adhering to what I wanted to do with it -- I created this team for use in the actual DS games, and I wanted it to be a team I could realistically build in-game, without having to use Pokesav. Because of this, I unfortunately had to restrict myself from taking advantage of two of the typical OU player's greatest weapons: Hidden Power, and Pokemon that couldn't be bred (like Heatran, Jirachi, Celebi, etc.) Many of the sets actually do come directly from Smogon, but that's because oftentimes that's what works best for me.

    The team's focus is on being able to resist heavy offense from the opponent while picking off their major players as opportunities arose. I attempted to combine aspects of stall teams with aspects of bulky offense -- while Gliscor and Vaporeon have great synergy and can work together to keep the team from taking too much damage, Snorlax, Togekiss, and Gengar each take advantage of the opportunities opponents will invariably leave for them to come in and harm the other team. If any of them dies, it's the perfect time for Starmie to come in and shift the team's focus to a quick offensive, partially avoiding the issues caused by losing the team's defensive synergy. Because it's designed to exploit the weaknesses of an opponent's team, this team probably shouldn't be used by players until they somewhat understand the common threats of OU. If you can use the team effectively, it should provide a lesson in the importance of understanding your opponent's strategy, actively planning against it, and making your team work together to defend against threats.


    The Team:


    [​IMG]

    Togekiss (M) @ Leftovers
    Trait: Serene Grace
    EVs: 80 HP / 176 Spd / 252 SAtk
    Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
    - Thunder Wave
    - Air Slash
    - Fire Blast
    - Roost

    An odd choice for a lead, sure. It only has a small chance to prevent Stealth Rocks on most Pokemon, but I've always got Starmie for that if it becomes an issue. The primary reason for using Togekiss is to find an opening from which to start working around the opponent. Togekiss has far more bulk than many players would expect, which allows her to remain steady against just about anything that isn't super-effective against her. This forces the opponent to bring out something that can easily kill Togekiss in order to avoid sessions of painful flinch-therapy -- which, depending on the enemy, is either Gliscor or Vaporeon's cue to come out. Togekiss is also the preferred switch-in for early Ghost and Ground attacks, as Snorlax wants to avoid physical threats and burns early on, and Gengar is easily trapped.

    [​IMG]

    Gliscor (M) @ Leftovers
    Trait: Sand Veil
    EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 Spd
    Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
    - Taunt
    - Stealth Rock
    - Roost
    - Earthquake

    Taunt Gliscor is just such an incredible wall and team-shuffler that I couldn't deny it a place on this team. It complements the electric weakness held by half of my Pokemon by turning it into a perfect opportunity to keep the battle in my hands, as well as easily switching in to most physical attack types. As soon as it gets the chance to come out, it needs to set up Stealth Rocks, as Vaporeon and Gliscor are excellent at forcing switches and love the free damage. Taunt is its best weapon against Pokemon like Blissey that might try to Toxic it, and can prevent Pokemon like Breloom from setting up.

    [​IMG]

    Vaporeon (M) @ Leftovers

    Trait: Water Absorb
    EVs: 188 HP / 252 Def / 68 Spd
    Bold Nature
    - Wish
    - Protect
    - Surf
    - Roar

    The second half of the efficient Gliscor/Vaporeon combo, it covers Gliscor's weaknesses and, like Gliscor, it can take a wide range of physical blows with little effort. Wish and Protect are excellent for ensuring Vaporeon is healed reliably, and Wishes can also heal the rest of the team if needed. Surf is the necessary STAB attack that also ensures Vaporeon can't simply be Taunted out of play, and Roar will assist in phazing and wearing down the other team. If you don't think Roar is necessary, Toxic is also a good option that does the same minus the whole "phazing" part.

    [​IMG]

    Snorlax (M) @ Chesto Berry
    Trait: Thick Fat
    EVs: 168 HP / 120 Def / 220 SDef
    Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
    - Curse
    - Earthquake
    - Rest
    - Crunch

    Curselax is in many ways the pillar of this team. First of all, he provides the sheer special walling ability that Gliscor and Vaporeon lack to some extent, allowing him to switch in on their more dangerous neutral blows. Curse boosts Attack, but that's only secondary to the handy Defense boosts he gets. With 1 Curse, Snorlax survives a banded Scizor's Superpower. With 2, he can continue to set up against Scizor and survives Close Combat from Infernape and Lucario, killing all three with Earthquake. With 3 curses, there remain few attacks in the entire game that can dent him significantly, and he'll be netting 1HKOs on a lot of common OU Pokemon. Chesto Berry is chosen over Leftovers because it allows Snorlax to absorb status, set up, and then fully heal itself in just one turn. It also allows Snorlax to get in one good hit against incoming Breloom. Instead of Earthquake and Crunch, Return and Fire Punch provide more coverage if you prefer, but also require more setup to be effective.

    [​IMG]

    Gengar (M) @ Choice Scarf
    Trait: Levitate
    EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
    Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
    - Shadow Ball
    - Thunderbolt
    - Trick
    - Destiny Bond

    An absolute lifesaver, and one of my favorite Pokemon. Shadow Ball alone is powerful enough to tear through many Pokemon, and since Scarf Gengar's becoming uncommon again, people have a tendency to switch in ill-fated revenge killers like Starmie and Scarf Rotom that aren't expecting to be outsped and killed. Destiny Bond is perhaps the best reason to hold a scarf, however -- unlike Explosion, it's a guaranteed kill with a little prediction and will be able to take out some key Pokemon that Explosion can't (most significantly, Metagross and Tyranitar.) Trick is mostly for the abundance of Suicunes in the game right now, as the team has a little trouble with the Ice Beaming variety, but it can also be used to stop other issues like Celebi. Thunderbolt is purely for DD Gyarados, who will effortlessly sweep if Vaporeon's gone and warrants a move all its own.

    [​IMG]

    Starmie @ Life Orb
    Trait: Natural Cure
    EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
    Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
    - Ice Beam
    - Hydro Pump
    - Thunderbolt
    - Rapid Spin

    The closest thing to an endgame sweeper the team has. With the given EVs and nature Starmie can revenge kill Infernape, Flygon, and Mixmence, among many other significant OU offensive threats. When one of the defensive Pokemon on the team falls, it's usually to something Starmie can take out, and ideally its high Speed allows a sweep to begin from there. Hydro Pump is suggested over Surf because Starmie actually has relatively low Special Attack with a Timid nature. Rapid Spin is useful as well, since the rest of the team isn't fond of entry hazards much and ghosts almost invariably provide opportunities for Togekiss or Snorlax anyway.
     
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2010
  2. calze6

    calze6 New Member

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    Go body slam over crunch as a STABed snorlax is deadly. You may want fire punch though as it can cover steels. A scarfgar needs more coverage so put hidden power ice or fire or focus blast. You are quite bliss weak so I recommend you a fast physical sweeper like salamence.
     
  3. Hodou Masaka

    Hodou Masaka Member

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    I pointed out those attacks on Snorlax as an alternate, I described that I couldn't use Hidden Power on anything on this team (though HP Ice would be good for if you're using it, sure) and I actually don't have much trouble with Blissey as Snorlax can set up on it and Gliscor can handle the Twave variety, and if both are gone Gengar can always Trick it. Blissey's typically more of a setup opportunity with this team than an issue, which is exactly one reason why I feel vulnerable whenever I use Blissey on another team.

    For the last slot, over Starmie, Salamence could work if you prefer it, but I specifically chose Starmie because it easily outspeeds and revenge-kills Mixmence as an easy stepping-stone to a sweep, so if you do that make sure you're still handling enemy Salamence somehow.
     
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2010
  4. Gilad

    Gilad ¯\(°_°)/¯

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    All blisseys think they can wall gengar, but if you use trick, they got PWN.
    i don't think you need bllisey counter.

    Amm, pretty good team, i recommend you to use Body slam and fire punch, ascalze6 said + Surf on starmie, even if Hydro pump got more power, and about 15% Acc less, you got Life orb, so it doesn't matter. Power + Acc > power + Power \ Acc + acc
     
  5. coyotte508

    coyotte508 Well-Known Member Administrator Server Owner Administrator Server Owner

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    I'll read the post more in detail later, but something struck me.

    The EV Set on Togekiss:
    If you make it modest instead of timid, with 76 EVs in speed and only 132 EVs in special attack you achieve the same stats as before. You then have 50 EV leftovers.

    Generally, if you care a bit about the pokémon's main stat (and here you gave it SpAtt EVs) then consider giving it a nature that boosts that stat to greatly reduce the EVs needed in that stat so that you can put them otherwere. Exceptions are when you want to push a pokémon of your team to the maximum in one stat and need both nature + EVs to do it, but that's not the case for Togekiss.
     
  6. Hodou Masaka

    Hodou Masaka Member

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    Hm? What you're saying makes sense, but I have the EVs on Togekiss listed wrong. ROFL. I'll fix that. It's supposed to have 176 speed EVs so it outspeeds everything up to Breloom (who is a HUGE problem if I let it run wild, and often comes out on Togekiss to try and stop it with Spore.) Sorry about that.
     
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