semi-charmed life (lu rmt)

[49th Parallel]

Greetings one and all to my obligatory introductory RMT. For those who do not know me, I take this chance to introduce my character, give you, the reader, a quick look into my playstyle, and hopefully offer a little insight for this and that. Not without the ability to offer up a team that may need a touch of crowd-sourced improvement, of course That being said, I shall delve into the team itself.

Teambuilding Process:

Upon a quick inspection of the tier here, I quickly decided that with proper support, Moltres could break down a vast majority of the metagame. A massive Special Attack, a suitable Speed stat, and typing that offered both numerous opportunities to switch in as well as excellent dual STAB all warranted a solid choice to build a team around.

What? Vulpix is LU? Welp, I suppose I that's happening then. Vulpix enables Moltres to hit so much harder than he normally could, it's obscene, in addition to allowing him the privilege to stay in on bulky Waters (bar Lanturn). Backed by his ability to enable alternate sweepers, namely Chlorophyler's, and his ability to indirectly ward off opposing weather to prevent irritating residual damage, Vulpix was a pretty natural choice.

After pulling two Fire-type Pokemon in a row, a Rapid Spinner was a must. Thus enters Hitmonchan, possibly my favourite spinner of the tier. His mix of power and bulk allows him to serve as an excellent pivot and utility for my team, not to mention his ability to bring a cold stop to Sucker Punch users such as Absol, which naturally plague most Sun teams.

Well, from that point there lay the dilemma of my lack of entry hazards. What's more, a lack of satisfactory defensive pivot meant that just about every time CB Aggron, or something along those lines, switched in, something was bound to go down. Rhyperior fit neatly into this slot, enormous bulk and all.

Upon this point, I decided that I needed to address the lack of Ground-type resistance on my team. Rhyperior can shrug off the occasional attack here and there, but multiple attacks...somewhat daunting. However, I would rather not drop a slot on my team for some lacklustre fool without any offensive presence. So keeping with my Bulky Offense motif, I decided upon Tangrowth. His natural bulk offered several opportunities for him to switch in, and his lack of respect from an offensive aspect simply begged for his use.

With my last slot to act as the "glue" of my team, I sought, well, a Dragon-type. Their assortment of of useful resistances and excellent STAB make for a solid addition to most any Sun team. With that in mind, I scooped up what I personally consider to be the best Dragon-type of the tier, Druddigon. His variety of useful moves+impressive bulk and attack prevent him from turning into dead weight of any sort.

The team, granted it's name from a song by Third Eye Blind (and covered by Four Year Strong, but I digress), is more or less a burst of creativity, which resulted in a team that is generally enjoyable to use...and may or may not have resulted from "alternative means", but that's neither here nor there. I'll take the time now to give shout-outs to Blade (he'd rather me refer to him as Nero, but I suppose that's tough .-.), Sweetie Luv, and Bass, whom helped in testing the team, as well as doing my dirty work by taking these teams to the server to test. Though they didn't actually encounter battles in the appropriate tier, they still put up with this nonsense while battling against even OU teams, even managing to pull some wins out of it (even with Bass-like hax issues ). Finally, with this and that out of the way, let's proceed on to the actual content.

@

Calm | Drought | Female

248 HP | 208 SDef | 52 Spd

Fire Blast | Toxic | Will-O-Wisp | Roar

Though most certainly not my "designated lead" by any means, Vulpix seemed the best place to start as any with this RMT. Unfortunately, due to a lack of any apparent offensive prowess, saying her options are limited is far and away the understatement of the year. However, I would never let such a detail prevent her from becoming dead weight on my team. With a fair level of special bulk, complimented by Eviolite, Vulpix serves as my primary special pivot. This bulk allows her to switch in on Pokemon such as Moltres and Houndoom, effectively neutralizing them as threats. From that point I have the liberty to utilize his abilities as an adequate status platform, spreading Burns or Poisons to wear down opposing walls or neuter dangerous offensive threats, or simply phazing out the foe to rack up damage from Stealth Rock and such. Fire Blast remains there solely for obligatory STAB, though it rarely sees much use, considering it's limited damage output. The EVs are used to maximize bulk, while giving him enough speed to outpace uninvested Base 70's. Plain and simple, not all to much to elaborate upon.

@

Timid | Flame Body | N/A

4 Def | 252 SAtk | 252 Spd

Fire Blast | Air Slash | Hidden Power [Grass] | Roost

The self-proclaimed star of the show, and possibly the greatest threat of the tier. If it weren't for such an outstanding weakness to Stealth Rock, it would easily be UU. Outlandishly high Special Attack allows Moltres to practically 2HKO the entire tier, and respectable natural bulk mean it isn't even a simple glass cannon. Moving on, the set in itself is fairly simple, Roost+3 Attacks. Fire Blast is pretty safely my primary "spam" STAB, and can safely burn through most of the common special walls of the tier (pun very much intended) in one or two hits. Air Slash, while not being all too important, still remains my most reliable method of hitting Flash Fire Pokemon, in addition normal Fire- and Dragon-types out of the sun. More so, the excessive flinch rate offers a decent method of granting a little "free damage", which helps overcome certain walls. Hidden Power Grass rounds off it's coverage, hitting Rock- and Water-type Pokemon harder and more reliably than either alternative. Lastly, Roost provides reliable recovery, which while seeming somewhat minor at first, essentially makes this set work. It allows Moltres to shake off LO recoil, which can extend it's lifespan long enough to pull off a sweep, or possibly to show up late-game as more than simply death fodder. More so, this allows allows me the ability to stay in and fight off threats like Defensive Lanturn and 2HKO with Hidden Power Grass at my discretion, something that would be otherwise impossible without the support of Roost and Sun. Lastly, I promptly snatched up Flame Body over Pressure with the prospect of crippling a U-Turning foe in a switch-in, effectively deterring opposing Volt-Turn cores from acting so hastily (+crippling Fighting-types I switch into).

@

Adamant | Iron Fist | Male

128 HP | 252 Atk | 4 SDef | 124 Spd

Rapid Spin | Drain Punch | Ice Punch | Mach Punch

I've likely been caught saying this before, but Hitmonchan is simply a specimen of versatility. Powerful, deceptively bulky, and generally versatile in use, I can be sure to rely on Hitmonchan for a variety of tasks. Of course his primary use on this team is to serve as my Rapid Spinner, enabling Moltres and making for an easier switch to Vulpix. However, this doesn't stop him from serving other purposes. Priority in the forme of Mach Punch also allows him to check Sucker Punch users such as Absol and Houndoom from safely threatening to revenge-kill any singular member of my team. What's more, Drain Punch allows Hitmonchan to not only prevent Rock-types such as Aggron and Rhyperior from raining on my parade, but actually reliably recover near all lost HP from it, abusing their natural bulk for myself. Ice Punch rounds of the coverage, hitting Flying-types (as well as irritating Victreebel) for SE damage, while retaining the boost from Iron Fist. The EV spread given allows him to outpace + Nature Base 50's and lower (including most standard walls) while maximizing Attack, with the rest tossed into bulk.

@

Adamant | Solid Rock | Female

120 HP | 252 Atk | 48 SDef | 88 Spd

Stealth Rock | Rock Blast | Earthquake | Megahorn

Rhyperior takes on the role of Stealth Rock-er of the team, though he serves quite a few additional kindnesses to this team. Por orejemplo, he also acts as my primary check to birds (Swellow, Braviary, etc.), as well as my primary momentum-killer for Manetric, among others. What's more, there are just about zero things that can safely switch in on him. Well, I suppose that's an exaggeration, Gligar and Air Balloon-toting Steel-types have little to worry about, my mistake. The point of the matter is that little to no Pokemon can handle the attacks Rhyperior dishes out. As far as the set itself is concerned, I run Rock Blast over Stone Edge to grant him the utility to beat Pokemon relying upon Substitute due to subpar bulk, as well as making quick work of most "suicide leads". Megahorn offers an excellent move to take a chunk out of incoming Tangrowth, Claydol, and such, either forcing them out or simply dispatching them, making most everything a good deal easier for me. The EV spread offers maximum offensive capabilities, enough speed to outpace minimally invested Base 50's, and enough HP to hit a Lefties #, with the rest dropped into Special Defensive to better receive specially oriented Fire-types attacks.

@

Adamant | Chlorophyl | Male

8 HP | 252 Atk | 4 Def | 244 Spd

Power Whip | Rock Slide | Sleep Powder | Growth

If not Moltres, Tangrowth is probably this team's MVP. However, it is not exactly in the same sense as one might expect. Upon first inspection of the set, one might consider it to a sweeper of sorts. However, it is important to keep in mind that Tangrowth is an offensive utility 'mon first, with a sweep being more an afterthought than anything else. With that in mind, I present to you one of the most underrated Chlorophyler's in the metagame. Often tossed aside for his less than phenomenal speed stat, Tangrowth is denied the respect it so rightfully deserves. Not only does it possess hugely potent Attack and Special Attack scores, but his continental physical bulk grants him the luxury of switching on Pokemon like Primeape without fear of U-Turn, setting up even with priority users in the opponent's wing, etc. With those kind of credentials, taking stray Earthquakes that may have bothered my teams is a cakewalk for him, even with such a meager investment in bulk. One would hardly believe his Power Whip hits as hard as it does, which is just the reason I get a grin on my face when Sceptile switches into it and takes upwards of 40%. Rock Slide offers awesome SE coverage against Bug-, Fire-, and Flying-type Pokemon, only notably missing out on coverage against Klinklang. Sleep Powder is just, you know, Sleep Powder. When it isn't missing taking a potential threat out of the match, it's allowing me to set up a Growth in front of Spiritomb or a Fire-type. However, on the off chance that I can't put to sleep an opponent trying to cripple Tangrowth with status, or I've simply already used up my Sleep Powder, Lum Berry allows me to set up right in front of what might have been a game-changing status move, which is a huge game-clincher at times. Now dome of the more seasoned players may question my use of Growth over the more consistent Swords Dance. The reason for this is actually largely a facade. For those who don't know me, I have such a penchant for feinting this, or faking that, that most conventional players never have a bloody clue what I'm trying to accomplish. But the simple truth of the matter is that keeping the opponent in the dark is something I do best, and that can really be seen with this set. Growth allows me put up the ruse that I hold the Hidden Power Fire, which scares the opponent into keeping their Steel-types out, and more importantly, lure Fire-types in.

@

Adamant | Rough Skin | Male

232 HP | 240 Atk | 12 SDef | 24 Spd

Outrage | Superpower | Sucker Punch | Dragon Tail

Finally we move on to the "glue" of my team. Druddigon is an irritant to Volt-Turn, a secondary source of priority, a safe switch-in to bulky Waters, a phazer, and more. He is, dare I say it, the cat's pajamas. Try to prove me wrong, I dare you. In fact, try to make sense of what I'm saying, that would likely be a more reasonable task. In addition to his grandiose pivotal capacities, he can also hit like a tank. With the distinct lack of Steel-types in the tier, backed by this team's ability to dispatch the few there are with ease, I can often shoot off Outrage's without much tact at all, and I can safely say that very few Pokemon want to switch into that. However, for the few who can, Superpower usually makes short work off them, as well as smashing problematic Munchlax. Sucker Punch of course offers Druddigon to safely revenge-kill frailer Pokemon, making opposing Chlorophylers much less worrisome. Lastly, we have Dragon Tail. Though often seen on more defensively inclined Pokemon, it also provides an excellent choice for my offensive set. When in doubt as to what the opponent will switch into, I can Dragon Tail, forcing the opponent out and racking up Stealth Rock damage. Once I've gone for th Superpower, the opponent thinks he/she can simply set up whatever they please while I switch out, when in reality I've just phazed them out. I can't possibly imagine running Dragon Claw over this, the utility of Dragon Tail is just too good to let go. The EV spread given maximizes offensive presence and bulk, with enough speed to beat out minimally invested Base 50's to the punch.

And with that, you have my team. I'd like to thank all of you who have bothered to read through all of this nonsense, and I hope you have enjoyed reading through all of it. Rate, comment, another third thing, whatever you see fit.

A Final Look:

Edited April 12, 2012 by 49th Parallel

[Amethyst]

I'm impressed, both by the effort in creating the team and the RMT itself. Props on that. Also, welcome!

How does Hitmontop use Rapid Spin... okay, whatever. XD

I honestly have little to say in terms of critique of the team itself because I have not played our LU (or any LU (or really anything besides OU)) as much as I would like to be able to say I have, but off the top of my head the greatest threat I can think of might be like, hail teams, with three ice weaknesses, and only one resist, in your weather-setter no less.

[Cloud]

I'm sure I've battled this before. Really nice, man.

[Aero]

Really well thought-out team, kudos to you.

[49th Parallel]

Well, I certainly appreciate all the kind words, thanks As for the Hitmonchan Rapid Spin bit, I really haven't a clue I've been trying to explain to myself for some time now, and nothing readily comes to mind. As for the Ice issue, I did notice that in construction of the team, and simply decided to let it play out. Oddly enough, not as large an issue as one might think. The majority of bulky waters rely upon alternatives coverage moves (Lanturn, Gastrodon, etc.) or simply rely more on Toxic and Scald Burn's to deal damage of any sort (Blastoise mostly). Ice-types, while possessing STAB that can very well trounce my team, also can essentially switch in nowhere, as all my team carries a move to hit them for SE damage. However, if I'm not careful, Sub+Nasty Plot Jynx can clean my team out, and is most likely to biggest threat to this team :x Worst comes to worst, Klinklang would likely make a suitable replacement for Druddigon, though it would open up a bit of hole for Eelektross.

Edited April 12, 2012 by 49th Parallel

[Valkyria]

We gotta LU battle some time. This looks like a very good team. I should point out that Linoone OHKOs every pokemon on your team after a belly drum. It outspeeds Hitmonchan's mach punch and Druddigon's sucker punch, has seed bomb for rhypherior and has STAB extremespeed for the rest. Maybe shift some EVs to defence in Tangrowth?

[Summer]

Nice team, I can't think up of counters for it excluding rypherior. Rhyperior has rather unbalanced stats and it's speed is just...what do I say. Plus it's typing is an opener for Water/Grass. Even with Solid Rock.

[Bluewolf]

I agree with summer. Either Ryhperior is and attacker or defender, or both.

[49th Parallel]

Oh, comments, cool. Alrighty then,

@Valkyria: While this is largely true (Tangrowth can never be OHKOed by a Jolly +6 Linoone's ESpeed, and can take an Adamant one's about 50% of the time), Linoone can't exactly find an opportunity to set up anywhere. All my Pokemon bar Vulpix can threaten him with an OHKO, and I just instantly Roar out whomever sends a Linoone in on it, and then he's incapable of setting up for the rest of the battle. However, I do need to tread somewhat carefully should I see Linoone paired with Screen supporters.

@Summer: While Rhyperior is practically the definition of unbalanced stats, it usually doesn't play into his use at all. Naturally I'm not switching him into any Special Attacks, but he ability to take practically any given physical attack and hit hard in return is indispensable, not to mention his ability to lay down Stealth Rock. As for his Water / Grass weaknesses, I have sun weakening the former (backed by two sturdy resists), and 4 resists for the ladder, so there hardly come into play for me, unless I get predicted and switch into an HP Grass off CB Entei or something along those lines.

@Icy: He is both lol, Rhyperior serves as an important offensive pivot to this team

[Bluewolf]

Correct you are! Its one the reasons i like Ryhperior, he has both great defense and attack has a high chance of a potential sweeper if bulk up is used. His speed is moderate but attack makes up for.

[49th Parallel]

Update / Bump for critique since I'm playing again. I've since implemented a few changes to my team to smooth out some rough patches here and there:

- After toying around with EVs, I've settled upon 248 HP / 48 Def / 4 SpA / 152 SpD / 56 Spe for Vulpix. This spread allows it the leniency to take a couple clutch hits physically, while still possessing the capacity to sponge special hits well, and add a little oomph to Flamethrower to best BP Scyther (not too common, but definitely annoying, and 4 EVs is a reasonable investment imo).

- I've decided to opt out Fire Blast for Flamethrower, finding the somewhat shaky accuracy and limited PP to not be worth the added power more often than not. Moreover, with legality issues finally being dissipated with BW2, I can safely run Pain Split over Toxic to enhance longevity.

- Once again with the removal of legality issues, I can now run Flame Body with Roost on Moltres, which, while somewhat niche, can thoroughly irritate Volt-Turn chains.

- Finding the added bulk somewhat trivial more often than not, I edited Hitmonchan's spread to 48 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spe, allowing it to beat neutral natured Base 70's.

- With only Vulpix there to sponge special attacks, I found that irritating special attackers (mostly Electric-types) were pretty irritating to handle. That being said, I adjusted Rhyperior's spread to check such threats while still retaining respectable overall bulk and offensive presence, setting him at 120 HP / 84 Atk / 216 SpD / 88 Spe.

- Additionally, finding hitting Tangrowth and Claydol to be rather trivial when both pose very little threat to my team, I decided to opt for Dragon Tail in it's stead, hitting switch-ins for decent damage, shuffling opponents around and generally messing with annoying bulky CM, BU, or Curse users.

- Since the extra 8 EVs of bulk were rather pointless in hindsight, I decided to alter Tangrowth's spread to a simple 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe.

- Upon reevaluating, I found Druddigon's role in the team rather vague, and in trying to ease issues with CS Braviary and Klinklang, I replaced it with Choice Scarf Rotom, also offering me a spin-blocker and reliable pivot and scout courtesy of Volt Switch.

For those who care for it, here's the importable:

Rhyperior (M) @ Leftovers

Trait: Solid Rock

EVs: 120 HP / 84 Atk / 216 SDef / 88 Spd

Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

- Earthquake

- Rock Blast

- Dragon Tail

- Stealth Rock

Vulpix (M) @ Eviolite

Trait: Drought

EVs: 248 HP / 48 Def / 4 SAtk / 152 SDef / 56 Spd

Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

- Flamethrower

- Will-O-Wisp

- Roar

- Pain Split

Tangrowth (F) @ Lum Berry

Trait: Chlorophyll

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd

Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

- Power Whip

- Rock Slide

- Sleep Powder

- Growth

Moltres @ Life Orb

Trait: Flame Body

EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd

Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

- Fire Blast

- Air Slash

- Hidden Power [Grass]

- Roost

Hitmonchan (M) @ Leftovers

Trait: Iron Fist

EVs: 48 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spd

Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

- Drain Punch

- Ice Punch

- Mach Punch

- Rapid Spin

Rotom @ Choice Scarf

Trait: Levitate

EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd

Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

- Thunderbolt

- Shadow Ball

- Volt Switch

- Trick