Hello everyone! I am need of your assistance because my team has a really great track record on WiFi battles, as I play exclusively on the 3DS with people around the world with their game cartridges, but I am missing that one little extra ingredient to really smash my opponents. Anyways my team is a voltturn team and I have loved this play style since BW. Please remember that this is an in-game team and thus switching everything out or magically acquiring eggs moves isn’t a simple task.
Lead/Revenge Killer
Hydreigon w/Choice Scarf
Modest 4 Atk/252 SpA/252 Spe
Dark Pulse
Draco Meteor
Flamethrower
U-Turn
This is largely the stock Revenge Killer Hydreigon from the strategy dex but I chose Flamethrower over Earth Power as it still took care of Bisharp and I really needed a fire type move. I used to use Fire Blast but I kept missing at the worst time and decided to move on even though Fire Blast is really only going to work for Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Bisharp. I have come across a lot of Whimsicotts as of late and they love taking Flamethrower to the face. One of my favorite tactics with this guy is to repeatedly switch him in and out using U-Turn playing mind games with my opponent and chipping away at their Pokemon. I have been wondering for a while now if the Rash or Mild nature would be preferable because of all the U-Turn’ing however the damage calculator only shows a tiny increase (~4%) on neutral hits so I don’t believe it to be worth my time. Hydreigon is my absolute favorite Pokemon in the franchise and I will not replace him. ;-)
Physical Wall/Stall Breaker
Gliscor w/Toxic Orb
Impish 252 HP/200 Def/56 Spe
Earthquake
Toxic
Roost
U-Turn
Gliscor has proven himself time and again as being a huge pain in the tail for my opponents and winning me some battles. That is when he isn’t destroyed by a surprise Ice attack. I really tried to run the Fling/Acrobatics idea but I could never hit my intended target. Because of Poison Heal and Roost Gliscor has returned from the brink of death so many times I have had opponents rage quit on me several times. I do struggle in a last man standing fashion with certain Pokemon like Skarmory where I am unable to damage or affect them but they same can be said about their attacks. I love that Gliscor is a bit fast for a wall which can be helpful in stalling out Stone Edge/Rock Slide PP but I wonder if there is more value to be gained by removing the Speed EV’s and putting them in Special Defense.
Physically Offenisve Pivot
Scizor w/Scizorite
Adamant 252 HP/252 Atk/6 Spe
Bullet Punch
Superpower
Roost
U-Turn
Scizor is much like Gliscor however his mega evolution has significantly more natural bulk so I use him primarily is an offensive pivot unlike Gliscor who is a stall pivot. The surprise move is Superpower because many bulky steel or normal types like to think they can switch in on a predicted Swords Dance. I have often wondered if Knock Off or Swords Dance would be preferable because of their utility and that I have to switch out after the stat drops.
Special Wall/Status
Rotom-W w/Leftovers
Calm 252 HP/6 Def/252 SpD
Hydro Pump
Pain Split
Thunderwave
Volt Switch
This is my primary special wall and he works perfectly with Gliscor and Scizor. The only thing he is missing is access to Scald. I chose Thunderwave over Will-O-Wisp because I have noticed over time that while the burns hurt, Rotom-W often takes a hit that breaks him in order to status the opponent. Using Thunderwave I have the ability to Pain Split afterwards and Rotom-W can keep on going. I really wish Rotom had access to Scald…
Clean Up/Set Up Check
Greninja w/Life Orb
Naïve 252 Atk/6 SpA/252 Spe
Water Shuriken
Rock Slide
Ice Beam
U-Turn
I know this is where some folks are going to lose their minds. Not only has Greninja been deemed an Uber for reasons I don’t understand, but I am going with a Physically based mixed set instead of a special one. I chose this particular set up because I have a problem handling Infernape, Volcarona, Charizard Y, and Terrakion which is where Rock Slide and Water Shuriken come in. Ice Beam is there for good solid coverage however I am hopelessly walled by Empoleon and other steel types.
Specially Offensive/Defensive Pivot
Celebi w/Assault Vest
Calm 124 HP/252 SpA/144 Spe
Giga Drain
Psychic
Earth Power
U-Turn
AV Celebi is a multipurpose member of my team and has proven to be crucial and yet deadweight. The goal behind this Celebi is that she is a lure and status absorber. Many Heatran’s and Gengar’s have fallen before her when I predict correctly which has been pretty frequently. I am usually able to 2HKO a number of “counters” provided Celebi is at full health which further disrupts my opponent’s plan. Add on the near perfect status absorber in her Grass typing and Natural Cure and it might be easy to see what I love her so much. The problem with her is that if her HP gets too low, Giga Drain might not do enough to recover it but I can’t use Recover and the Assault Vest at the same time and without the vest I can’t find that balance of power and bulk. I know that all pokemon have their highs and lows but Celebi appears to have more lows than I care to deal with.
At over 120 battles online I have discovered that I do not have a good switch in for Rock, Dragon, or Fairy attacks. Greninja has corrected some of my deficiencies with certain fire types and Terrakion which is nice so I don’t intend to change him up or switch him out. I don’t have an issue with Stealth Rock or Spikes so I don’t try to remove them and I haven’t really found a good means of setting them either so I choose to get my chip damage in the switching in and out. I have put a great deal of time and effort into maximizing my bulk and recovery at the cost of some offensive pressure but the chip damage does add up rather quickly as I switch forcing them to switch. I do wish to utilize Baton Pass/Volt Switch/U-Turn theme because of the utility it affords me switching around the battlefield but I fear that the missing ingredient will not have that and I think at this point I am okay with it. Thank you for your advice!
Here are some other Pokemon that I have tried out
Bulky Cleric Sylveon (hit like a truck and passed huge Wishes but was brutally slow and frail…)
Volt Absorb Bulky Lanturn (performed rather well overall but too slow)
Assault Vest Eelektross (proved too slow for any use)
Specially Defensive Talonflame (really don’t want this one again)
Forretress (didn’t need Rapid Spin and was rather weak overall)
Pangoro (gives me a Knock Off user and Rock resist but another 4x fairy weakness and is slow…)
Lead/Revenge Killer
Hydreigon w/Choice Scarf
Modest 4 Atk/252 SpA/252 Spe
Dark Pulse
Draco Meteor
Flamethrower
U-Turn
This is largely the stock Revenge Killer Hydreigon from the strategy dex but I chose Flamethrower over Earth Power as it still took care of Bisharp and I really needed a fire type move. I used to use Fire Blast but I kept missing at the worst time and decided to move on even though Fire Blast is really only going to work for Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Bisharp. I have come across a lot of Whimsicotts as of late and they love taking Flamethrower to the face. One of my favorite tactics with this guy is to repeatedly switch him in and out using U-Turn playing mind games with my opponent and chipping away at their Pokemon. I have been wondering for a while now if the Rash or Mild nature would be preferable because of all the U-Turn’ing however the damage calculator only shows a tiny increase (~4%) on neutral hits so I don’t believe it to be worth my time. Hydreigon is my absolute favorite Pokemon in the franchise and I will not replace him. ;-)
Physical Wall/Stall Breaker
Gliscor w/Toxic Orb
Impish 252 HP/200 Def/56 Spe
Earthquake
Toxic
Roost
U-Turn
Gliscor has proven himself time and again as being a huge pain in the tail for my opponents and winning me some battles. That is when he isn’t destroyed by a surprise Ice attack. I really tried to run the Fling/Acrobatics idea but I could never hit my intended target. Because of Poison Heal and Roost Gliscor has returned from the brink of death so many times I have had opponents rage quit on me several times. I do struggle in a last man standing fashion with certain Pokemon like Skarmory where I am unable to damage or affect them but they same can be said about their attacks. I love that Gliscor is a bit fast for a wall which can be helpful in stalling out Stone Edge/Rock Slide PP but I wonder if there is more value to be gained by removing the Speed EV’s and putting them in Special Defense.
Physically Offenisve Pivot
Scizor w/Scizorite
Adamant 252 HP/252 Atk/6 Spe
Bullet Punch
Superpower
Roost
U-Turn
Scizor is much like Gliscor however his mega evolution has significantly more natural bulk so I use him primarily is an offensive pivot unlike Gliscor who is a stall pivot. The surprise move is Superpower because many bulky steel or normal types like to think they can switch in on a predicted Swords Dance. I have often wondered if Knock Off or Swords Dance would be preferable because of their utility and that I have to switch out after the stat drops.
Special Wall/Status
Rotom-W w/Leftovers
Calm 252 HP/6 Def/252 SpD
Hydro Pump
Pain Split
Thunderwave
Volt Switch
This is my primary special wall and he works perfectly with Gliscor and Scizor. The only thing he is missing is access to Scald. I chose Thunderwave over Will-O-Wisp because I have noticed over time that while the burns hurt, Rotom-W often takes a hit that breaks him in order to status the opponent. Using Thunderwave I have the ability to Pain Split afterwards and Rotom-W can keep on going. I really wish Rotom had access to Scald…
Clean Up/Set Up Check
Greninja w/Life Orb
Naïve 252 Atk/6 SpA/252 Spe
Water Shuriken
Rock Slide
Ice Beam
U-Turn
I know this is where some folks are going to lose their minds. Not only has Greninja been deemed an Uber for reasons I don’t understand, but I am going with a Physically based mixed set instead of a special one. I chose this particular set up because I have a problem handling Infernape, Volcarona, Charizard Y, and Terrakion which is where Rock Slide and Water Shuriken come in. Ice Beam is there for good solid coverage however I am hopelessly walled by Empoleon and other steel types.
Specially Offensive/Defensive Pivot
Celebi w/Assault Vest
Calm 124 HP/252 SpA/144 Spe
Giga Drain
Psychic
Earth Power
U-Turn
AV Celebi is a multipurpose member of my team and has proven to be crucial and yet deadweight. The goal behind this Celebi is that she is a lure and status absorber. Many Heatran’s and Gengar’s have fallen before her when I predict correctly which has been pretty frequently. I am usually able to 2HKO a number of “counters” provided Celebi is at full health which further disrupts my opponent’s plan. Add on the near perfect status absorber in her Grass typing and Natural Cure and it might be easy to see what I love her so much. The problem with her is that if her HP gets too low, Giga Drain might not do enough to recover it but I can’t use Recover and the Assault Vest at the same time and without the vest I can’t find that balance of power and bulk. I know that all pokemon have their highs and lows but Celebi appears to have more lows than I care to deal with.
At over 120 battles online I have discovered that I do not have a good switch in for Rock, Dragon, or Fairy attacks. Greninja has corrected some of my deficiencies with certain fire types and Terrakion which is nice so I don’t intend to change him up or switch him out. I don’t have an issue with Stealth Rock or Spikes so I don’t try to remove them and I haven’t really found a good means of setting them either so I choose to get my chip damage in the switching in and out. I have put a great deal of time and effort into maximizing my bulk and recovery at the cost of some offensive pressure but the chip damage does add up rather quickly as I switch forcing them to switch. I do wish to utilize Baton Pass/Volt Switch/U-Turn theme because of the utility it affords me switching around the battlefield but I fear that the missing ingredient will not have that and I think at this point I am okay with it. Thank you for your advice!
Here are some other Pokemon that I have tried out
Bulky Cleric Sylveon (hit like a truck and passed huge Wishes but was brutally slow and frail…)
Volt Absorb Bulky Lanturn (performed rather well overall but too slow)
Assault Vest Eelektross (proved too slow for any use)
Specially Defensive Talonflame (really don’t want this one again)
Forretress (didn’t need Rapid Spin and was rather weak overall)
Pangoro (gives me a Knock Off user and Rock resist but another 4x fairy weakness and is slow…)