Team Pokepals [An OU Friendship Team]

[scarloc]

Team PokePals! [OU friendship RMT]​

Intro: Welcome to team poke pals. An OU team made by Scarloc, Eon Friend, and dracoflare who has unfortunately gone to college, meaning we can’t battle or talk to him for a year. So, before we lost communications, we decided to create one final team.​

At A Glance: ​

Team Building Process:
· Well. Eon came up with the idea for a Dragonite sweep. So Dragonite.

· Dragonite needed a partner. It didn’t need to sweep, just cause switches and possibly eliminate key members. This took awhile but we decided on Jirachi.

· Now we needed a lead. One who could set up rocks easily and counter Machamp. We all used Donphan a lot as it was capable of keeping mence in check (not needed now, but can help with Dragonite) and it rarely failed getting up rocks too. So we created our own EV spread and used it as a lead.

· Well, our team was looking good. But bulky waters and bulky grounds could cause our team a lot of trouble. Breloom could out speed and hit hard with STAB move. He also resisted water and ground moves which was nice.

· We needed a special attacker now. One who could hit hard and fast. I had swept lots of unprepared team before with Gengar, and so, made it on our team.

· Now we had almost finished. But. If the team was around Dragonite, it might need to switch in a lot. Stealth rock was trouble so a rapid spinner.
This was tough to choose. After along time, we settled with Starmie. Eon has seen Atticus’ Starmie, so we decided to use that one. (Sorry Atticus).

That took me about 3 hours to do thanks to my laptop crashing and internet failing.

Closer Look:

Donphan @ Lum Berry
204 HP, 252 Attk, 52 Spe
· Ice Shard
· Stealth Rock
· Earthquake
· Roar
Me, Dracoflare and Eon friend are all familiar with Donphan. When Salamence was killing our pokes, this thing stood up to him in all the bloodshed. With great defenses and ice shard, he makes a great lead. The EV’s here are different from the standard ones, but they work fine. First of all, max attack was standard. It enabled many KOes and had a lot of power, even with Ice shard. 120 base attack is great, higher than Lucario, and you have seen his power. The 52 in speed in to out run Anti lead Machamp. Whilst only 48 is needed to outrun standard anti lead, many are investing in another 4, total 8 speed EV’s. With 52, Donphan out runs 8 EV’s variants. The remaining are placed in HP for overall bulk. Earth quake is a standard STAB move, hurting lots of things. It will dent things like Scizor even with his 70/100 defenses. Ice shard is for priority, keeping in check Flygon and Dragonite. It also helps with Roserade and Yanmega and focus sash users (Azelf etc.) Roar gives me the ability to shuffle teams and switch out problematic leads.

Azelf. Switch to Jirachi whilst it taunts and flinch it back to hell.

Aerodactyl. Again go to Jirachi on the taunt and flinch it.

Swampert. Set up rocks as they usually set up as well. Water fall and Ice beam are both 2HKO. I can out speed as they run relaxed and Earthquake for a 2HKO.

Machamp. They Dynamic Punch, which I take thanks to Lum. I out speed and 2HKO with Earthquake.

Metagross. Set up rocks. Earthquake is a 2HKO even with Shuca. Watch out for explosion.
I’m not going to go on with the other bulky leads (Tyranitar, Hippowdon) as they are similar to gross and pert.

Side Note: Hippowdon can shuffle with roar which is a pain. But I have many hard hitters to take it out in one hit.
Ninjask. It can set up but I will break subs with Ice Shard. If it baton passes, then ice shard will kill it before it can.

Yanmega. A whole kind of different pain. Bug Buzz 2HKO. I set up rocks, then Ice Shard. If it is running speed boost then I’m in trouble. Jirachi usually does it. Tinted Lens is out sped and killed by Jirachi too.

Roserade. Set up rocks while it puts me to sleep. Wake up next turn ice shard while it sleeps me again. While it sets up, go to Starmie, ice beam for the kill, then rapid spin away. If it just attacks, then switch to Jirachi to flinch it.

Infernape. Take fake out. EQ while it taunts. Go to Starmie while it sets up rocks, then rapid spin, KOing it and clearing rocks.

Dragonite @ Lum Berry
[Jolly] 24 HP, 252 Attk, 232 Spe
· Dragon Dance
· Dragon Claw
· Earth Quake
· Fire Punch
Eon had the idea of a sweeping Dragonite and since Salamence had gone up to Uber, this idea has become more realistic. Whilst this is not the ‘star’ of the team, it is the main sweeper and a powerful one at that. Dragon Dance is the set up move boosting Attack and Speed at the same time. The idea is to come in on something it can scare off. Dragon Dance and sweep. If possible get off two Dragon Dances to destroy everything which is easy seeing it’s great bulk. Dragon Claw over Outrage as this thing needs to sweep. If it’s locked into Outrages, it’s easy to set up on or revenge kill. The confusion can also hurt, can we don’t want to waste the Lum on confusion. Earthquake for type coverage hurting many things very hard after a DD. Fire Punch over roost as this is the sweeping Dragon Dance not bulky. Yache berry is an interesting option but usually Lum is more helpful as Celebi survives Fire Punch after two Dragon Dances and uses t-wave. Lum clears it and continues the sweep. It’s also a check against burns from things like Blissey. The EV’s are straight forward. 252 attack to hurt as much as possible. 232 speed to outrun scarf heatran who could other wise hurt with dragon pulse. It also out speeds jolteon. The remainders are put in HP for overall bulk

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
[Jolly] 4 HP, 252 Attk, 252 Spe
· Iron Head
· Ice Punch
· Thunder Punch
· Trick
I now know why everybody hates this thing. The king of hax! We needed another poke to help Dragonite on his way to victory, and it should be a steel. After a long time, we chose Jirachi for one reason. Iron Head. Anyone who has used Jirachi knows just how many times this thing flinches. It can stack up damage with repeated iron heads and let another poke finish it off. It is great at wear down ranks to the point where we can walk through the other team with no hassle. The EV’s are simple. High attack and max speed to speed tie with Flygon. The moves are for maximum type coverage. Iron head is basic powerful STAB, flinching to death everything that isn’t very bulky. Thunder punch is for Gyarados and Starmie who it can revenge kill. Ice punch is to revenge DD nite who is another problem as flinching won’t work. Unlike most sets, this one doesn’t have fire punch. Lucario is not a threat with Gengar and Starmie. Scizor is controlled by Donphan and Dragonite. Trick is great on things like crocune who takes Thunder punch. It disables Celebi and Blissey allowing many open sweeps from Starmie, Gengar, Breloom, and Dragonite.

Gengar @ Expert Belt
[Timid] 4 HP, 252 Sp. A, 252 Spe
· Substitute
· Shadow Ball
· Focus Blast
· Thunder Bolt
In search of another special attacker, we found Gengar. However with stealth rock and sandstorm everywhere, we wouldn’t use Life Orb as it would die quickly. Substitute was a fine choice, giving him almost ‘an extra life’ as it KOed scarf Tyranitar whilst it only managed to break its sub. Substitute also gave Gengar some more bulk and saved it on tough situations. But, we still needed power. We wanted expert belt for a) The extra power, b) The ability to feign a choice specs (however I couldn’t have had a sub up before). Leftovers would’ve been good for some more bulk, but Gengar is frail anyway, and with Subs losing him 25%, he would need to be around a long time to recover that 25%. Shadow Ball is for STAB, hitting lots of things that don’t resist it hard. Focus Blast is for the fighting coverage and with Shadow Ball, no pokemon resists both. It also lets me take out scarf T-tar and Lucario, who can switch in if they think I’m speced and haven’t seen a sub yet. Now Thunder Bolt is chosen over HP Fire for the chance to take out bulky waters. It stops Gyarados switching in and even though we have a bulky water counter, it never hurts to have a second check. HP Fire may help with Scizor, but that’s about it. Thunder bolt also hit’s Skarmory the hardest.

Starmie @ Life Orb
[Timid] 4 HP, 252 Sp. A, 252, Spe
· Hydro Pump
· Thunder Bolt
· Ice Beam
· Rapid Spin
Sorry Atticus, we stole your Starmie. If the team has Dragonite as a main sweeper, then we need a rapid spinner. After LOTS of trouble, we decided on Starmie as a rapid spinner. It gives stall teams hell as rapid spin blows away hazards and Life Orb Hydro Pump OHKOes scarf Rotom-a after SR. People don’t suspect rapid spin with life orb, but their game plan must immediately change once I rapid spin. Hydro Pump OHKOes scarf t-tar on the switch meaning that if t-tar is the only Starmie counter on their team it’s probably game right there. Thunder bolt is the ‘Bolt’ in Bolt-Beam. It hits weakened Suicunes and Vaporeons (who rarely invest highly in Sp.Def) well and stops Gyarados from switching in, another plus. Ice beam is the ‘Beam’ in Bolt-Beam and hits Breloom and other grass types. Starmie also works as another status absorber as things such as Cresselia (who is ridiculously bulky) pose a threat to offensive teams with t-wave.

Breloom @ Toxic Orb
[Adamant] 12 HP, 252 Attk, 244 Spe
· Spore
· Focus Punch
· Seed Bomb
· Stone Edge
This is where it gets complicated. Eon Friend and dracoflare use the spore + 3 attacks Breloom as their play style is reliant on prediction. I however can’t predict, so I use set up sweepers. So we have two Breloom sets. Please don’t say things like ‘choose one Breloom and stick with it’ or anything like that as both do the same job, just are used differently. This is the spore + 3 attacks:

We needed a good status absorber despite the presence of Starmie. Moreover we wanted a physical attacker and a good stall breaker. Just one turn for toxic orb to activate and 12% recovery per turn is amazing. Breloom's typing also allows him to be one of the only non-flying type pokemon to resist the rock-ground attacking combo, and 80 def isnt too shabby, so he can take a good hit from something like Tyranitar's dual STAB on the switch, heal 6% even with sandstorm on (due to poison heal) and threaten back with spore. 100% chance to put opponent to sleep is very welcome on many if not all of Breloom's movesets. Once the opponent is asleep, prediction comes into play, as the opponent is unsafe with any switch in to a 3 attacks Breloom. Focus punch, seed bomb and stone edge provide amazing neutral coverage, Toxicroak being the only pokemon to resist all 3 of those attacks. Breloom is also a great check against Hail Stall Walrein, as Walrein rarely carries ice attacks and if no substitute is present, spore will stop him and stone edge is resisted by almost no pokemon on a hail team (albeit the horrible accuracy of stone edge on a Snow Cloak switch in will be frustrating). Also, poison heal allows healing even against a hail team and sandstorm team. Other unique utilities of Breloom include the splendid incapacitation of a few curse tanks (sleep talk will mess things up though) and his stall breaking expertise. Overall, Breloom makes the match very interesting with his unparalleled method of posing a threat and the intro of prediction warfare once that spore is used. We are not using substitute here as I prefer trading safe play behind the substitute for another extra move to give a huge amount of coverage. His defences are not that good, but once in, can be a big threat to an unprepared team and mess up a somewhat prepared team too (by the way, Honchkrow is very agonising and his presence leads to even more prediction play).

This is the Swords Dance set used by me:

12 HP, 252 Attk, 244 Spe
·Swords Dance
Spore
· Mach Punch
· Stone Edge
Dragonite can't be our only set-up sweeper. Breloom does well as a swords dance sweeper due to the priority he gets through mach punch. Quite a lot like swords dance scizor expect without technician and instead, an extra 5 base speed and better coverage and most significantly, a free swords dance due to presence of spore. Mach punch provides great priority STAB although it lacks base power (even though after one swords dance, Mach punch as them same power ac CB Scizor bullet punch). Stone edge is a good secondary move as it gives good coverage alongside mach punch. There are a few problems like speedy ghosts (Gengar and Rotom-A mainly) and flying types (Gliscor for example, although toxic-taunt variant can be set-up on, Gyarados hurts too with Intimidate) who can ruin the assault, but hey! The real set-up attacker is Dragonite here! Breloom only acts a secondary attacker, but he can be darn good at it. He has the capability to sweep aside any weakened team, only problem is..........the team has to be weakened quite a bit. Mach punch also stops those scary Scarf Tyranitars and Dragon Dance Tyranitars and is a great priority attack to have besides, especially off the nice 130 base attack. Overall, Breloom is a great status absorber and a reliable Swords dance set-up...........now if he only had Shadow sneak or Sucker punch...........
Both of these sets were written by Eon Friend, so I would like to thank him for his help in this RMT.

Please Rate
Written By : Scarloc (everything bar Breloom sets, which has been done by EonFriend.)
Team made by: EonFriend, Dracoflare, Scarloc
Alternative Names: Team Draco, Please come home; Team Friendship

 

[scarloc]

copied of Atticus who copied it from Jabba who copied it from KG

Defensive Threats:

Blissey – Breloom loves to set up, even if he switches out with natural cure. Jirachi can flinch or ruin it with with trick.

Bronzong – Breloom can set up. Jirachi can trick or spam iron head on weakened ones. Gengar can take a chunk out with shadow ball and can scout with sub.

Celebi – I hate this thing. +2 Fire punch doesn't OHKO even after SR. Thats ridiculous! He then t-waves everything. Even breloom can't switch in. But... Jirachi can switch in and trick. Weakned ones are taken out by starmies ice beam. Gengar is the first though, as long as i know he won't leaf storm. Sub to stop t-wave and leech seed.

Cresselia –Cress also doesn’t enjoy taking gengars Shadow Ball. Breloom is immune to t wave and can set up. Jirachi can flinch

Dusknoir- Jirachi can flinch (again). Breloom can spore (again). Gengar can sub to stop will-o-wisp, but since gengar is a special beast, it doesn't care for will-o-wisp, though it will get worn down.

Forretress – Breloom. Donphan can fire fang. Dragonite can also set up but explosion...

Gliscor – Jirachis ice punch but beware EQ. Jirachi's ice beam. Many have ice fang so dragonite is out of the question. Few have aerial ace so breloom (my breloom) can do lots of damage with +2 stone edge.

Gyarados - Jirachi's thunder punch as it DD. Mostly, it can't switch in so it's not a threat.

Hippowdon – Hippo is usually a lead so it is outsped by donphan however it won't OHKO. starmie and gengar adn KO with their STAB moves.

Jirachi – Calm mind variants are a pain. I can try and trick scarf but if they have a sub, in for hell. Scarf variants are trouble aswell. Defensive variants are not much, as trick scarf and powerful attack usually wear it down.

Rotom-A – Choiced variants are trouble. Usally brelooms spore can redner them harmless. Starmies hydro pump KOes on the switch. Defensive ones are outsped by gengar and shadow ball leaves them with a hole. Jirachi can flinch too.

Skarmory – Starmie can come in and spin and stuff. It can also t-bolt. Same with gengar. Breloom sets up nicley.

Snorlax – Breloom! Jirachi! Gengar and starmie need to watch out for pursuit.

Sorry, thats all i can do for now. The rest has been copied of atticus and has nothing to do with my team. Only the above.

Suicune – Croncune can get tricked. Other ones have to KOed quickly otherwise they can set up. Gengar hits hardest can and along with starmie will KO almost any suicune with t-bolts with a calm mind or not.

Swampert – See Hippowdon.

Tyranitar – Jirachi! Breloom (if it doesn't have a speed boost). Donphan as well. Starmie KOes on the switch. Gengar can sub whlist t-tar switches in. Focus Blast as it breaks it.

Vaporeon – See suicune... except without the calm minds problem. Except with a breloom weakness as it can spore.

Zapdos – Jirachi's ice punch won't OHKO but will hurt. Zapdos can hit back with heat wave. Just wear it down with both SR, repeated ice beams. Donphan is great too with ice shard but fears HP grass.

Offensive Threats:

Sorry, thats all i can do now. Eon will continue with it...

Azelf – Azelf is mostly faced as a lead, so the Donphan-scarfJirachi combo will likely take it out. Switch to Jirachi on the taunt and then U-turn (if we are using it instead of trick) or Iron Head to flinch. U-turn to Donphan and ice shard is the most reliable. The very rare offensive variants are downed by Jirachi's Iron Head flinch no problem.

Breloom – A mediocre threat since spore can be hard to take and our own Brelomm can't do much in return. Best technique is going to Dragonite to take spore and activate lum berry, then try to set-up a sweep or threaten with fire punch. Another way is to let Gengar/Donphan to take the sleep and then put in Jirachi to Iron Head hax even through the sub.

Empoleon- An uncommon one and can be easily taken by Starmie-Jirachi combo, even the Sub-agility variant. Get Starmie to Thunderbolt and keep it going if Empoleon is subbing to activate petaya. Then switch Breloom in on surf, then pivot to Jirachi and that's done with right there. Breloom and Dragonite laugh at any Swords Dance variant.

Gengar – Tricky at times, and will require a sacrifice many times due to lack of Ghost resistance in this team. Non-substitute sets are downed by Jirachi and Dragonite (remember, Dragonite has good sp.def). Substitute ones are a real pain, but if Jirachi flinches him with Iron Head while breaking the sub, it wont be that hard to KO it soon with Donphan's ice shard.

Gyarados –Starmie will take Gyarados most of the time, but requires caution after that Dragon Dance. If it is TauntRados, Breloom will mostly resist the set and can give the sleep treatment. If for some reason we decide to use thunder punch on Jirachi (fire punch on him doesn't do much on many occasions sadly), Gyarados threat becomes non-existent.

Heatran – ScarfTran can mostly be set-up on by Dragonite. If Heatran is not behind a substitute and is not scarfed, Dragonite can come in on any attack other than Dragon Pulse and Explosion. Other wise, Starmie is comfortable taking on most non-scarfed Heatran.

Infernape – Can be very hard at times, but Jirachi can Iron Head flinch (will 2HKO even though it is not very effective), and Starmie can do a better job by switching on his dual STAB and threatening to unleash the hose.

/

Jolteon/Raikou – Horribly hard threats!! Calm Mind Raikhou is really hard to stop, and so is Specs Jolteon. Mostly it comes down to prediction in putting in Jirachi at the right time. This will include a pivot where Donphan takes the thunder bolt and then Jirachi takes the Hidden Power. I'll mostly U-turn to Donphan again to take the thunder bolt and then go to Jirachi again and try to KO with the punches or try to flinch with Iron Head. Thankfully, Life orb recoil will wear down them down quite fast, so that KO won't be so hard. But these two are real problems if things get out of hand.

Kingdra – In rain, it is a demon. Will mostly need well timed switches to take those hits and let the rain stop. Once there is no rain, Starmie can do great against him. Dragon Dancers are well taken by Jirachi, although waterfall does sting a bit. Donphan does a decent amount with ice shard and so does Breloom's mach punch. Dragon Dance in rain is VERY scary and the match is pretty much over if such a thing happens.

Lucario – Gengar can easily come in on Swords Dance and use substitute while he switches. If agility one is up, Jirachi takes him fine. Not taht big a threat actually.

Machamp –Donphan lead is designed to thrash this one, so no problem with that. Otherwise, Jirachi can teach Machamp how hax is really done. Gengar can also get a nice switch and take a good deal out with Shadow ball or pull down his HP with Life Orb recoil by substituting a bit.

Magnezone –Jirachi is a key part of the team and if this comes in on Iron Head, I am in real trouble. Can be a bit dangerous, but Starmie can outspeed Scarfed ones, Breloom can set-up on a few non-substitute ones. Substitute versions are hard and Dragonite might have to take a strong Thunder Bolt to break the sub.

Mamoswine – That dual STAB is intimidating, but can be taken by this team. Jirachi can come in on any attack not named earthquake and KO with Iron Head. Starmie also does well, coming in on ice shard and threatening KO with Hydro pump

Metagross – Metagross is another one of those leads which Donphan can counter well. Agility-Metagross will be taken by Starmie if thunder punch is missing, Donphan if ice punch is missing and Gengar if both are missing (I actually mean he can switch in when Metagross uses explosion!)

Salamence - What salamence.

Scizor – Starmie will make a big dent in the steel with Hydro pump. Donphan also doesn't take much from most attacks. Jirachi can take a Banded Bullet punch and threaten back with fire punch.

Starmie – Jirachi's U-turn works really well here. My own Starmie can also join the fun and threaten to win the speed tie. Starmie can decimate the rest of the entire team with that Bolt-Beam combo though, so it is a real toughie.

Tyranitar – Most of the time, Breloom! If we have mach punch, we pretty much have Tyranitar down for the count. Scarf Tyranitar comes in on Starmie most of the time, and Starmie can survive pursuit if it stays in and KO back with Hydro pump. Jirachi also likes to Iron Head flinch or U-turn Tyranitar until he falls (I will U-turn first due to popularity of Babiri berry)

Weavile – Jirachi takes ice shard/ice punch and can Iron head/U-turn to blast him out. That is all (since there isn't much others can do to Weavile), a large threat.

Zapdos –Offensive Zapdos can hurt a bit, but again, Jirachi can do well against it. If they lack Hidden Power ice, Dragonite can get time set-up. If they do have Hidden Power ice, Starmie can switch in and Ice beam for big damage. Scarfed versions are taken well by the Starmie-Donphan-Dragonite combo who resists all of Zapdos' main attacks together.

 

[moussrfacekilla]

Hey Scarloc! (im sad I wasn't included in your shout outs U_U)

I like this teams synergy a good deal. I feel like it will surprise most people who just copy and paste their pokemons set from the smogon sets without realizing that those sets are meant to be suggestions and not a recipe! I find that now a days anti meta-game sets work the greatest, and your donphan lead is one good example of that.
Just a few ideas to consider:

1- you need some type of wall breaking or hazing/pseudo-hazing. Substitue users and set up sweepers can walk all over you once your breloom is dead. I recommend a mixed sweeper to counteract this. I am not a fan of the mixnite set but that would work, or an infernape (also owns magenzone). Lucario is another non-mixed sweeper that breaks walls nicely and was almost made to work with dragonite (immune to ground and resists fire/fighting). Another way to get around set up sweepers/subbers is to use a pseudo-hazer like swampert/suicune/ or hippowdon to shoo away those pesky pokemon.

2- make sure you scout for scizor and tyranitar well, as you have two pokemon VERY vulnerable to pursuit. You could fix this by using empoleon over gengar maybe. gives you another ice resist to protect your dragonite and its a wicked special sweeper.

3- I don't know how hard ice shard hits, but if its enough to kill a Roserade lead then its probably fine, but if it doesn't whats your plan for Roserade leads? When I use my Roserade lead I would sleep first like you suggested, but my next move would not be to set up. I would most definitely leaf storm. So I would suggest you either ice shard right off the bat (if its a 2HKO) or stealth rock then ice shard immediately after lum (if its a OHKO).

all in all: GREAT AND INTERESTING TEAM. good luck! I look forward to smashing you on shoddy er...I mean playing ^_^

 

[Azlanslayer]

Reserved For Future Rate As I Really Want To Rate As Its Interesting With A Donphan Lead But I Gtg So Yeah Later I Will Rate :)

Edit: Now I Can Rate :)

Machamp Is Going To Ice Punch Your Donphan And Its a 2HKO Which Is Excellent 38% - 44.8%.

This Team Is Solid And Only Problem Is Magnezone But TO Handle Aero,You Dont Need To Switch,Just Spam Ice Shard :)

This Team Is Solid And I Love It!

Rating : *9/10*

 

[Curtains]

Reserved For Future Rate As I Really Want To Rate As Its Interesting With A Donphan Lead But I Gtg So Yeah Later I Will Rate :)

what the hell is this shit just rate his team.

I don't like your donphan lead as it loses to most of the leads in the metagame.Fire fang isnt doing much for you. I would go with a aerodactlyl or lead because its basically the same typing but you get to at least have a chance with most other leads. It looks like a decent team. Breloom is a great pokemon and i use it on almost every team.


edit: after looking at your lead threat list donphan does ok and i might try it when i have the energy, but you can't expect everything to go your way in those situations. Magnezone is a huge pain for this team. Especially sub variants .

8/10 very nice and fun looking team.

 

[Her0]

I think you should use life orb on your gengar for the extra ohko's and 2hoko's that it brings.

 

[scarloc]

@Mousse. I am thinking of your sugestions. But, i am finding trouble putting them in. If i put Lucario or Inferanape then i will have 2 weak to ground( say i put it in Brelooms place then i will los i ground resist too). I i put lucario then 2 weak to ground and 2 to fire (assuming i put lucario in brelooms place). I shall confer these changes with the others.
@Dr Infernape. Can you just please rate this team.
@Curtains. Whilst sub magnzeone is a threat, i can keep it down. I probably shut put this in the team but, as this is an offensive team i will gain momentum. If i have enough, the sub magnezone is useless. If my breloom has a SD, then magnezone, choiced or not, can't switch in.
@Shell shocked. Life Orb's power is similar to expert belt (LO x1.3/Expert Belt x1.2).
As i said, the recoil along with sand storm and SR means i won't last long.

 

[Darkamber8828]

Gengar doesn't take hits. At all. Run Life Orb. If you're really concerned about survivability, use Pain Split.

Also, why use Donphan without Rapid Spin? What does Ice Fang do? 3HKO/4HKO Hippowdon?

 

[Grayheart]

@Shell shocked. Life Orb's power is similar to expert belt (LO x1.3/Expert Belt x1.2).
As i said, the recoil along with sand storm and SR means i won't last long.

Nothing that is weak to standard Gengar will stay in, thus you will never utilize the Expert Belt. Expert Belt is only viable on Pokemon with unexpected or otherwise unpredictable Pokemon, such as Jirachi. Use a Life Orb on your Gengar, it'll die quickly any way you put it.

 

[scarloc]

if gengar is running life orb then it will almost cretainly die. and will be unable to sweep a team. Even if it has expert belt it's still going to get the OHKO and 2HKO it needs. Life orb, even with the added power won't make much of a difference to what it KOes and what it doesn't.
We don't need rapid spin as starmie has it. Ice shard is for the dragons and focus sash as well ans ninjask and roserade. Please read the donphan analysis for more info

 

[NightShadow]

sub gengar isn't supposed to sweep. its best role is to tear though a team's defensive core. leftovers is a better choice. while the loss of power is rather regrettable, the prevalence of sandstorm and your loss of HP from subbing quickly takes down your HP. and lefties doesn't lose out on any important KOs.

personally i think donphan would want rapid spin. it can attack suicide leads to their sashes, then spin their rocks away and at the same time killing them. this also frees up a pokemon slot (replacing starmie).

It’s also a check against burns from things like Blissey

blissey's don't burn :P

 

[scarloc]

oops, meant t-wave or toxic. sorry.
we'll think of leftovers. donphan will lose to things as azelf and metagross if it has rapid spin as it a slow lead. say i get azelf down to a sash and he has SR up, but i don't. he's simply going to explode. even if i rapid spin... if we change starmie, the entier team will change as the synergy is pretty compact.

 

[EonFriend]

Good day everyone.......my first post in the forums......

@scarloc: Thanks for giving me a chance to participate in the making of this team and contributing a bit to this RMT. It was a pleasure.

@curtains: Yes, Magnezone IS a threat, so thanks for pointing it out! We'll see if we can try to combat Magnezone, but it is only dangerous when it comes in on scarf Jirachi. For the most part, Dragonite can take it with the his respectable Sp. defense as long as there is no Hidden Power ice. Scarf Magnezone is also out-sped by our Starmie all the time and Hydro pump will hit hard. But one way or the other, Magnezone is a problem and we'll think of a suitable way of combating it. Secondly, Donphan lead DOES do well against many leads. He loses only to Azelf, Scarf Jirachi and Bronzong. He is amazing against Machamp, Metagross, Gliscor and Aerodactyl to name a few leads. He does have great lead synergy with our Jirachi too.

@mousserfacekilla: If we really need a good way to stop opposing set-up sweepers, I think roar in Donphan's 4th move slot will do, but we are still not convinced with that since rapid spin can come in to free a slot for Starmie to get a replacement should we need one. The pokémon you suggested sound great but the only problem is that we can't find any replacement spot in our team.

@all those who spoke about Gengar's item: I think NightShadow has the right idea that sub Gengar is meant for stall breaking and that leftovers is a suitable item. In a typical scenario with a Life Orb, this is what will happen: "Gengar switches in and loses 12% due to Stealth Rock. He uses substitute while opponent switches to lose 25%, sandstorm damage loses another 6%. He attacks to KO opponent and loses 10% Life Orb damage and 6% sandstorm damage too." So that will leave Gengar with only 40% of his health left.....and that is low. So I guess we can use leftovers to create a stall-breaking duo between Breloom and Gengar. That should do.

@all those who spoke of Donphan's 4th move: Very hard to decide between Rapid Spin and Roar as both have their pros and cons on an offensive team. Starmie tends to be a better spinner though, but if Donphan learnt rapid spin, we will have more flexibility to decide who our water type will be.

Currently, we are experimenting with U-turn on Jirachi instead of Trick since we already have a good stall-breaking battery and U-turn can also scout for stuff like Magnezone, Heatran and Scizor. We are also trying Roar/Rapid Spin on Donphan.

Keep up the rating posts guys, it is a real help for all of us.

 

[moussrfacekilla]

I think roar and rapid spin on a donphan lead would be very nice. I think you could also do ice shard (I like the priority, as I would never expect it) and probably earthquake giving you coverage on the following leads:

smeargle (assuming lum berry)
roserade
metagross
aerodactyl
jirachi
tyranitar (lol at ttar leads)
electrode

you might need to switch on:

machamp (to starmie maybe or gengar for the dynamic punch then dragonite for payback)
swampert (to breloom)
azelf (to your psychic killer)
bronzong (if its levitating)

 

[scarloc]

mousse: this thing is mean to counter machamp. It outspeeds and 2HKOed. azelf, jirachi can flinch. bronzong can get fire fanged.

@ Infernape. We switch to jirachi as they taunt, then flinch them to hell. Meaning no rocks

 

[Lucien Lachance]

I have never seen a Donphan lead and it seems to work well.

Might I suggest using U-turn >> Trick on Jirachi? I used that Jirachi as a lead and I really think U-turn helps as you can send it out and lure like an EQ or FB and switch to a pokemon to soak it up or counter while dealing some damage.

The rest of the team looks very very nice but everyone is using that Starmie XD. it's not too stolen.

 

[Azlanslayer]

Scarlox,Lead Infernape Doesnt Even Taunt...Use EQ And Ice Shard Will KO Infernape...But When You Are Using EQ,He Will Get Rocks Up Already >_>..But You Have a Rapid Spinner Which Is No Problem :)

Good Luck!

 

[scarloc]

infernape, infernape leads do carry taunt to act as a suicide lead. so i can attack while they taunt, switch while they set up, and rapid spin everything away.
this is also a bump.

draco, that is for another day. remember oaks words. 'there is a tima ad place for everything, but not now!'

 

[scarloc]

bump. final bump

 

[Scorekeeper]

<Pr0t0type>: What's Donphan's nature?