Atticus
Atticus
Intro:
So a lot of people have been asking me what exactly I used against the frontier, and due to popular demand I've decided to retire I suppose one of my favourite teams: StrongBOTs. This team is basically a reincarnation of one of my older teams from the chomp era and really is nothing special, simply put, it's just pure offense.
The Team
ROCKBOT (Azelf) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 8 HP/6 Atk/252 Spd/244 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Psychic
- Trick
ROCKBOT starts things off with its ridiculous speed. Now, I originally ran the standard focus sash Azelf when I began, however after getting completely destroyed by scarf Breloom I realized I wanted a lead that could out speed virtually everything and so scarf was chosen. I soon found that this set was much more effective than I thought it would be. Firstly it puts me at an advantage right off the bat when facing stall as I immediately cripple one of their walls, secondly if I save Azelf for later in the match with scarf intact I can explode on whatever tries to set up on me thanks to its insane speed, specifically stuff like Gyarados, Kingdra, Latias etc. I chose psychic over U-turn/any other attack because I wanted to be able to deliver consistent damage to bulky Pokemon (especially Rotom-A). This set however does have its problems, specifically with Heatran/Roserade/Metagross leads. If I’m feeling ballsy, I sometimes trick hoping they SR but usually I just go to Starmie right away for Heatran/Metagross and simply psychic Roserade right away. Interesting fact though, max attack gross cannot KO Azelf with Meteor Mash, in fact maximum damage is 99%!
DRAGANBOT (Flygon) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw/Fire Blast
Flygon is a damn good Pokemon despite what a lot of people say and it's very important to my team thanks to its useful resistances. When I build any offensive team a ground Pokemon is almost always essential as I need something to absorb incoming Thunder Waves and electrical attacks which otherwise slow down any offensive team. Now I decided to run Choice Band simply because he just wouldn't inflict enough damage with scarf. I also enjoy the raw power of a Banded Outrage which hits like a truck to anything that doesn't resist it and is very useful for weakening/killing bulky Pokemon such as Machamp/Suicune. The fourth move is always up for debate, normally I use Dragon Claw however sometimes I run Fire Blast simply because Skarmory is a giant asshole to this set.
STARBOT (Starmie) @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 6 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin
- Hydro Pump
LO Starmie with Rapid Spin was originally the Pokemon that I wanted to base this team around after someone had told me he had immense difficulty facing it while using stall. I have to say if I predict properly it can really frustrate a person using stall as Hydro Pump will 1HKO some Rotoms after SR and Rapid Spin is really self explanatory as it will spin away all their entry hazards. It can also throw players off guard as when they see LO recoil they immediately think that I don’t have Rapid Spin which I promptly use afterward. That’s not to say though that Starmie is only useful for slowing down stall, its an all round, great Pokemon once Blissey is out of the picture. The power of LO Hydro Pump has simply shocked me as it has killed some Tyranitars after SR, and has inflicted heavy damage to Scizor.
HOTBOT (Heatran) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Atk/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Explosion
- Hidden Power [Grass]/Dragon Pulse
STARBOT's partner in crime. It's not really Heatran's typing that help Starmie (although the two compliment each other decently) but really it's Heatrans ability to scare users into bringing their special wall (ie Blissey/Latias) and then explode right in their bloated faces. If done properly, it opens up a path for Starmie/Rotom-h to sweep. Heatran's typing is also really exceptional in regards to helping my team; the ability to eat up fire and ice attacks is really nice, not to mention it's a great switch in to ScarfRachi who otherwise can really hurt my team. The fourth move is a bit of a toss up although I generally use hp grass 70% of the time simply because I like 2KOing Vaporeon, killing Swampert and sometimes even badly hurting Suicune.
STOVEBOT (Rotom-h) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 42 HP/252 Spd/216 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Trick
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
What was originally Zapdos in the chomp era has now been replaced with Rotom-h! The main reason being is Lucario: Flygon cannot survive a +2 Extremespeed (something Garchomp could do) so I needed something that could stop Luke dead in its tracks and threaten to KO it. Scarf Rotom-h truly is one of my new favourite Pokemon, Thunderbolt+Shadow ball offer excellent coverage and can really wreak havoc after Blissey is dispatched and if not, Trick works wonders. The ability to switch into fighting/ground attacks makes it fairly easy to switch in and cause damage however I generally don't like using rotom early in the match unless I really need to. The reason being is of course the dreaded Tyranitar and Scizor. The EVs are slightly different than the standard Scarf Rotom as this one allows Rotom to survive a scarf Heatran’s Fire Blast after SR which therefore allows me to continue Thunderbolting the ever common Heatran switch in.
KILLBOT (Scizor) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 224 HP/252 Atk/32 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit
- Bullet Punch
And finally we have Scizor, a Pokemon I'm sure you're all very well aware of. Scizor's role early in the game is simply to scout and deal damage with U-Turn however mid to late game is where it becomes really important, its resistances allow me to switch in to things fairly easily. Scizor is a fairly good Salamence check (who otherwise destroys me) as SR+Bullet Punch+LO recoil means Salamence dies although I do usually have to sacrifice Scizor but it’s worth it. When playing with this team what I usually do is try to get everything within Starmie/Rotom-h's KO range (although this is not always the case). Scizor aids that by weakening/killing things with bullet punch. The EVs I use are slightly different, as I run a bit more speed then usual simply because Scizor has become such a threat to the game (as shown by it being #1 in usage) that so many Pokemon such as Machamp/Tyranitar and plenty of others are now aiming to outspeed Scizor, and I just do not want that to happen. And yes I know 1 v 1 with another Scizor I lose due to Superpower however I've rarely had that situation ever arise and more often than not its been a Bullet Punch war between my Scizor and the opposing one, in which case I have the advantage in speed.
Conclusion:
So there you have it folks, a simple, yet effective offensive style team tailored for Dppt. I have to say I’ve had a large degree of success with it as proven by going 7-2 in the frontier and producing consistently good numbers on the ladder although as with most teams, it does have its fair share of problems as I will go through with the threat list but before I get to that I'd figure I'd show the transition between my old team from about a year ago and my current team.
Team YacheChomp and Friends: July 2008
Team StrongBOTs: July 2009
So a lot of people have been asking me what exactly I used against the frontier, and due to popular demand I've decided to retire I suppose one of my favourite teams: StrongBOTs. This team is basically a reincarnation of one of my older teams from the chomp era and really is nothing special, simply put, it's just pure offense.
The Team
ROCKBOT (Azelf) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 8 HP/6 Atk/252 Spd/244 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Psychic
- Trick
ROCKBOT starts things off with its ridiculous speed. Now, I originally ran the standard focus sash Azelf when I began, however after getting completely destroyed by scarf Breloom I realized I wanted a lead that could out speed virtually everything and so scarf was chosen. I soon found that this set was much more effective than I thought it would be. Firstly it puts me at an advantage right off the bat when facing stall as I immediately cripple one of their walls, secondly if I save Azelf for later in the match with scarf intact I can explode on whatever tries to set up on me thanks to its insane speed, specifically stuff like Gyarados, Kingdra, Latias etc. I chose psychic over U-turn/any other attack because I wanted to be able to deliver consistent damage to bulky Pokemon (especially Rotom-A). This set however does have its problems, specifically with Heatran/Roserade/Metagross leads. If I’m feeling ballsy, I sometimes trick hoping they SR but usually I just go to Starmie right away for Heatran/Metagross and simply psychic Roserade right away. Interesting fact though, max attack gross cannot KO Azelf with Meteor Mash, in fact maximum damage is 99%!
DRAGANBOT (Flygon) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw/Fire Blast
Flygon is a damn good Pokemon despite what a lot of people say and it's very important to my team thanks to its useful resistances. When I build any offensive team a ground Pokemon is almost always essential as I need something to absorb incoming Thunder Waves and electrical attacks which otherwise slow down any offensive team. Now I decided to run Choice Band simply because he just wouldn't inflict enough damage with scarf. I also enjoy the raw power of a Banded Outrage which hits like a truck to anything that doesn't resist it and is very useful for weakening/killing bulky Pokemon such as Machamp/Suicune. The fourth move is always up for debate, normally I use Dragon Claw however sometimes I run Fire Blast simply because Skarmory is a giant asshole to this set.
STARBOT (Starmie) @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 6 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin
- Hydro Pump
LO Starmie with Rapid Spin was originally the Pokemon that I wanted to base this team around after someone had told me he had immense difficulty facing it while using stall. I have to say if I predict properly it can really frustrate a person using stall as Hydro Pump will 1HKO some Rotoms after SR and Rapid Spin is really self explanatory as it will spin away all their entry hazards. It can also throw players off guard as when they see LO recoil they immediately think that I don’t have Rapid Spin which I promptly use afterward. That’s not to say though that Starmie is only useful for slowing down stall, its an all round, great Pokemon once Blissey is out of the picture. The power of LO Hydro Pump has simply shocked me as it has killed some Tyranitars after SR, and has inflicted heavy damage to Scizor.
HOTBOT (Heatran) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Atk/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Explosion
- Hidden Power [Grass]/Dragon Pulse
STARBOT's partner in crime. It's not really Heatran's typing that help Starmie (although the two compliment each other decently) but really it's Heatrans ability to scare users into bringing their special wall (ie Blissey/Latias) and then explode right in their bloated faces. If done properly, it opens up a path for Starmie/Rotom-h to sweep. Heatran's typing is also really exceptional in regards to helping my team; the ability to eat up fire and ice attacks is really nice, not to mention it's a great switch in to ScarfRachi who otherwise can really hurt my team. The fourth move is a bit of a toss up although I generally use hp grass 70% of the time simply because I like 2KOing Vaporeon, killing Swampert and sometimes even badly hurting Suicune.
STOVEBOT (Rotom-h) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 42 HP/252 Spd/216 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Trick
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
What was originally Zapdos in the chomp era has now been replaced with Rotom-h! The main reason being is Lucario: Flygon cannot survive a +2 Extremespeed (something Garchomp could do) so I needed something that could stop Luke dead in its tracks and threaten to KO it. Scarf Rotom-h truly is one of my new favourite Pokemon, Thunderbolt+Shadow ball offer excellent coverage and can really wreak havoc after Blissey is dispatched and if not, Trick works wonders. The ability to switch into fighting/ground attacks makes it fairly easy to switch in and cause damage however I generally don't like using rotom early in the match unless I really need to. The reason being is of course the dreaded Tyranitar and Scizor. The EVs are slightly different than the standard Scarf Rotom as this one allows Rotom to survive a scarf Heatran’s Fire Blast after SR which therefore allows me to continue Thunderbolting the ever common Heatran switch in.
KILLBOT (Scizor) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 224 HP/252 Atk/32 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit
- Bullet Punch
And finally we have Scizor, a Pokemon I'm sure you're all very well aware of. Scizor's role early in the game is simply to scout and deal damage with U-Turn however mid to late game is where it becomes really important, its resistances allow me to switch in to things fairly easily. Scizor is a fairly good Salamence check (who otherwise destroys me) as SR+Bullet Punch+LO recoil means Salamence dies although I do usually have to sacrifice Scizor but it’s worth it. When playing with this team what I usually do is try to get everything within Starmie/Rotom-h's KO range (although this is not always the case). Scizor aids that by weakening/killing things with bullet punch. The EVs I use are slightly different, as I run a bit more speed then usual simply because Scizor has become such a threat to the game (as shown by it being #1 in usage) that so many Pokemon such as Machamp/Tyranitar and plenty of others are now aiming to outspeed Scizor, and I just do not want that to happen. And yes I know 1 v 1 with another Scizor I lose due to Superpower however I've rarely had that situation ever arise and more often than not its been a Bullet Punch war between my Scizor and the opposing one, in which case I have the advantage in speed.
Conclusion:
So there you have it folks, a simple, yet effective offensive style team tailored for Dppt. I have to say I’ve had a large degree of success with it as proven by going 7-2 in the frontier and producing consistently good numbers on the ladder although as with most teams, it does have its fair share of problems as I will go through with the threat list but before I get to that I'd figure I'd show the transition between my old team from about a year ago and my current team.
Team YacheChomp and Friends: July 2008
Team StrongBOTs: July 2009