Tomas Elliot

Since Technician Breloom is a thing.

Sheer Force is coming soon: Mantine already takes quite a bit from +2 Ice Punch, once we are able to run the same set, but with Sheer Force as an ability, that and a few other checks/counters will have to be afraid...

I concur to this. Substitute isn't really beneficial on Lopunny, and Ice Punch can hurt VERY hard guys like Gliscor and Landorus, who otherwise can give you a headhache...

I concur. I honestly cannot bring myself to consider a team complete, if it lacks a Fire-Water-Grass core. You have a Fire-type and a Water-type, I definitely need you should get a Grass-type...

They make us europeans sad all the time...

Which is why I said, let's have them a hour or two earlier/later. I wasn't expecting anyone to make massive changes just for me, but I don't think that a hour would make that much of a difference for american people... While it would make a HUGE difference for me! And now on the team: for now two choice items have worked fine for me, simply because Scizor only ever uses Bullet Punch anyway, just like Salamence only ever uses Outrage anyway... And come on S isn't that broken, it has a bit more choice, but that's it...

Oh. The topic said only 8:00 EST and thus, since I know most americans reason in 24 hours format, I thought that meant 8 AM... Well, 8 PM is even worse for me because it means 2 AM GMT+1, and at that hour, if I am not already asleep, I am out with my friends... So yeah, my request of organizing Theme Tours at a hour that keeps in mind european people's instances still stands! ... But let's not forget this is mainly a RMT topic...

So, my reason for posting this topic is that I would like to formally complain against the Goddamn americans a mentality that is quite widespread on the internet, but specially here on Reborn: the assumptions that everyone is american. You see, I made this team to take part in the Mono Letter Theme Tourorganized by Luck>Skill, but since the tour took place at a hour picked with only the instances of the american playerbase in mind, I wasn't able to join: 8 AM EST corresponds to lunch time for me, and given that I live alone and I have to keep my flat tidy, prepare my own meals and do my own shopping, that's really inconvenient. Besides, even in the US, how many people are realistically going to be up and online at 8 AM on a saturday? So yeah, I would like to formally request that, from now on, Theme Tours are held a couple of hours later: I don't think having them at 9 or 10 EST would make that big of a difference for the host (and the american fanbase in general), but it surely would make a HUGE difference for me... Please do keep in mind this instance of mine! This being said, I am not gonna need this team anymore, but still I am quite happy with it, because it could hold its own in the current OU tier despite being built with the restrictions of the Theme Tour... So might as well post it here for reviews. AT A GLANCE It is apparent from the first glance that this team was built having in mind the restrictions of the Theme Tour more than an actual strategy. The rules were pretty simple: all six the Pokemon in the team must be of species whose names begin with the same letter, and Mega Evolutions are not allowed. I went with the letter S because I am the kind of guy who likes to have a solid defensive core to back up the heavy hitters, and no other letter could provide me a satisfying core. But yeah, there isn't any particular strategy here, just an anti-lead for general annoyance, a defensive core, and 3 guys who hit hard. The idea is to use Scrafty and Scizor to soften up walls in preparation for the final MoxieMence sweep, while the other 3 members deal with enemy offensive threats... IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS @ Leftovers Ability: Prankster EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD Calm Nature - Will-O-Wisp - Recover - Taunt - Foul Play I honestly find regular Sableye to be more useful that Mega Sableye. Nowadays everyone and their mother lead with either an U-turner or a hazard user, so having priority WoW AND priority Taunt is very important. This little fella is surprisingly resilient, despite its apparently low stats, so with priority Recover and a bit of help from resident cleric Sylveon, it can keep on annoying people untill much later in the game. You need to be careful not to just spam WoW mindlessly tho, because that is an invitation for those set-up sweepers that are not afraid of being burned, like Megazard X, Volcarona and Clefable. @ Leftovers Ability: Regenerator EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA Bold Nature - Scald - Fire Blast - Toxic - Slack Off Another Pokemon whose Mega Evolution makes little sense to me (but maybe it's just that I hate the concept in general). With its fantastic bulk, acess to Slack Off, and the single best ability a defensive Pokemon can desire, Slowbro never dies if you don't misplay, and can answer a plethora of different situations (not to mention the fact that it makes for an excellent Talonflame counter). Scald is the STAB of choice because of the burn chance, Fire Blast is to catch Ferrothorn off guard after it has switched into a Scald (even if, in the context of the tournament, F isn't that great of a letter), Scald is to put a timer on set up sweepers that cannot be burned (like the aforementioned Megazard X), and Slack Off provides recovery which, paired with Regenerator, is a great thing. @ Leftovers Ability: Pixilate EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD Calm Nature - Wish - Heal Bell - Protect - Hyper Voice Most people will tell you that Pixilate Sylveon is better as a special attacker, and quite frankly they are right. But ehi, I needed a cleric and a special wall, and Sylveon was the only Pokemon, whose name begins with S, that could fit the bill. While inferior to both Chansey/Blissey and Florges at this job, Sylveon is still good at passing wishes around (admittedly not as good as fellow Eeveelution Vaporeon, but still), has Heal Bell to cure those poor physical sweepers who are so afraid of being burned or paralyzed, and Pixilate Hyper Voice hits surprisingly hard, for example OHKOing every set of Conkeldurr except the Assault Vest one, which is nice. Plus it's an Eeveelution, so yeah, who doesn't want some added cuteness in their team? @ Assault Vest Ability: Intimidate EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD Adamant Nature - Fake Out - Ice Punch - Drain Punch - Knock Off I wasn't so sure about Scrafty at the beginning. In Gen 5 I was in love with the guy, but whenever I tried to use it, there always was someone who could do its same job, but better: bulkier set-uppers, faster Moxie sweepers, users of Dragon Tail with access to recovery, etc etc. However, in Gen 6 things have changed: firstly, this is the only decent user of Fake Out and Knock Off that I could think of, whose name begins with the letter S; secondly, between the new Assault Vest item and Intimidate now being a thing, Scrafty can finally make use of its all around high defenses while being able to invest not only in HP (which is bandatory for bulk, because Scrafty's HP is kinda bad), but also in Atk. The result is a very good offensive pivot, which can tank a few hits, and hit hard back, healing itself with Drain Punch, crippling foes with Knock Off, and finishing off weakened foes with Fake Out. And no Gliscor nor Landorus are going to appreciate taking an Ice Punch to the face on the switch. Also, this is the closest thing to a Bisharp check I have, not that it makes Bisharp any less of a danger for this team... Fortunately, B as a letter is kinda bad... @ Choice Band Ability: Technician EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD Adamant Nature - Bullet Punch - U-turn - Superpower - Pursuit There is one reason and one reason only why Scizor is here: with any other Pokemon in its place, this team kept losing to Clefable and well, considering that C is a fairly good letter, I couldn't risk being unprepared. Bullet Punch hits hard and has the added value of being a priority move, U-turn provides some scouting abilities, Superpower is for Steel-type bulky sweepers who think they can switch into Bullet Punch and set up (the aforementioned Bisharp and Magnezone come to mind), and Pursuit is to catch Gardevoir off guard, should the opponent think they are better off just switching out in a one-on-one situation. It won't score a kill, but it will hurt badly, and that in general is the role of Scizor, in this SR-less team: soften up walls, paving the way for Salamence. @ Choice Scarf Ability: Moxie EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe Hasty Nature - Outrage - Earthquake - Stone Edge - Fire Blast You have all tried this guy out in Gen 5. You all know what the drill is with him. Early on, it might be a good idea to send him out and try to surprise switches with the coverage moves (Sylveon can help heal off any damage later on), EQ being for Heatran, Fire Blast being for Ferrothorn and Stone Edge being for fliers like Landorus and Zapdos. But in general, what you really want to do with this guy is to keep it benched untill a Pokemon of yours is killed by an opponent that is left with low health: at this point, you send out ScarfMence, you unleash Outrage, and you leave everything to Moxie. Of course you need to remove any Fairy- and Steel-type defensive Pokemon the opponent may have first, but ehi, this is what the rest of the team is for, right? CONCLUSIONS As usual, this is the team: rate, comment, feel free to try for yourself, make clever posts, don't pick fights. If you want to suggest any changes, please do keep in mind the rules of the Theme Tour (only Pokemon whose name begins with S, no Mega Evolutions)! This team was made with those in mind, and I would like it to stay faithful to them... Importable in the spoiler below.