Team Building Process
Atlas (Machamp) (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: No Guard
EVs: 250 HP / 236 Atk / 16 SDef / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
Bullet Punch
DynamicPunch
Payback
Stone Edge
Nails every opposing lead with either DynamicPunch or Stone Edge. Pay back is there for Azelf but they have a tendency simply to just set-up rocks to avoid activating the double-power effect of Payback. Somewhat susceptible to Trick-leads. He runs 8 Speed EVs to outrun those who only use enough Speed to outrun Blissey, which is 4.
I have been considering replacing Payback but I really need something that can at least dent Rotom, which can easily annihilate the rest of my team.
If you have a bulkier spread I am all ears, I'd like to be able to withstand a Zapdos' Thunderbolt and nail it with Stone Edge.
Why did you name him "Atlas"?
In greek mythology Atlas was a Titan who held the skies over the earth with his incredible strength. Incredible, TITANIC strength? Sounds like Machamp to me.
Nereus (Vaporeon) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 10 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
Ice Beam
Protect
Surf
Wish
Can more or less come in on anything, really. It's that bulky. When she comes in on Bulky Grounds I opt for Wish or Ice Beam. I rarely have issues with his performance. I don't run max HP because then Vaporeon reaches 464 HP, which is divisible by 8 and limits the number of times I can switch in if Spikes and/or Stealth Rock is up.
Starmie's Thunderbolt is a 3HKO, Heatran's Explosion doesn't KO at full health, but Wish means that Metagross doesn't have to worry as much when it comes in to wreck shit. Even when the team fails I occasionally manage to win matches solely because Vaporeon is impossible to kill.
Why isn't this on every team?
Why did you name him "Nereus"?
This was inspired again by Grecian mythos. Nereus is the oldest Titan, and he fathered the Nereids: the aquatic nymphs.
Shaman (Breloom) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 14 HP / 252 Atk / 244 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
Focus Punch
Spore
Stone Edge
Substitute
Breloom annoyed the shit out of me in Generation 5, but I haven't really thought much of it until now. I used to use Leech Seed rather than Seed Bomb but found myself missing the extra coverage.
It helps me a bit with annoying Trick pokemon and turns them into ticking time bombs. All the speed lets me outrun neutral base 100s without investment and Spore them.
On Pokemon Online it becomes much easier to handle after a single Spore because of Sleep Clause, but it's hard to stop on WiFi. Indeed, many Rage-Quitters rage quitted rage-quittingly, as I did when I saw a Breloom. But this was many moons ago, and I digress...
Why did you name him "Shaman"?
It's an English word this time. People go to shamans because other their crazy magic, but most of them are just crazy and can induce such craziness with psilocybin mushrooms. I was also considering Dionysus.
Astraeus (Metagross) @ Life Orb
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 60 HP / 252 Atk / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
Agility
Earthquake
Meteor Mash
Zen Headbutt
The rest of my team doesn't really take to too kindly to Bulky Waters, except Breloom really. They don't harm us, they just wall Metagross unless I run ThunderPunch. Gyarados can be especially troublesome. I usually use Life Orb but paranoia about Will-O-Wisp and Thunder Wave has lead me to think that I should be using a Lum Berry.
With 136 Speed EVs it hits 210 Speed. After an Agility boost it reaches 420, which is enough to outrun and exterminate Choice Scarfed Heatran and ourrun and smash Adamant Scarfed Lucario and Modest Scarfed Moltres. The rest is put in HP and Defense for extra bulk.
Why did you name it "Astraeus"?
Astraeus is the Greek deity of astronomy. Meteor Mash? Sounds pretty astronomical to me, and my opponents see stars after I use it. Haters gonna hate.
Zeus (Rotom-W) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 108 HP / 148 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
Hydro Pump
Shadow Ball
Thunderbolt
Trick
At the behest of IronBullet93, I replaced Gliscor with a revenge killer Rotom. His explanation is better than anything I could write:
If a shape-shifting Thunder and Water-based psuedo-legend doesn't scream "Zeus" to you, you have problems.
Hephaestus (Heatran) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 156 SpD / 100 Spe
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
Earth Power
Lava Plume
Substitute
Toxic / Stealth Rock
Heatran is my Anti-Electric pokemon. With the given EVs he has maximum special bulk and laughs at Jolteon, Zapdos and Rotom who give Metagross a hard time while walling them all day erryday. The Speed EVs let him outrun Rotom-A without speed investment and cripple them with Toxic. Substitute gives me something to hide behind to avoid retaliation in the form of Pain Split and/or Thunder Wave. He generally doles out all that Special Defending goodness that my team otherwise lacks while completing the Vaporeon / Gliscor defensive core.
Why did you name him "Hephaestus"?
The Olympian metalworker, forger of the Gods, Hephaestus worked with steel and heat all day. To those of you who think Heatran is ugly, then yeah, great. That works too.
Some Threats
Retired Team Members
Eleionomae (Swampert) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
Avalanche
Earthquake
Roar
Stealth Rock
Roar gives me a way to avoid those troublesome set-up sweepers. Swampert with this spread usually run Relaxed with Ice Beam but with Relaxed you aren't outrunning anything at all anyway so you might as well just use Avalanche off a higher Attack stat, am I right?
Why did you name her "Eleionomae"?
Eleionomae are what the Greeks called nymphs that inhabited wetlands and swamps.
Iris (Togekiss) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 70 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
Air Slash
Fire Blast
Thunder Wave
Roost / Wish
Without Thunder Wave my team is woefully low on Status. Fire Blast gives me an extra oomph in raw power and has a 60% chance of burning things I choose not to paralyze. It's not like there's anything Aura Sphere hits that Fire Blast doesn't aside from Tyranitar and Heatran.
Her EVs are fairly standard. She has maximum HP, enough Defense to make Scizor's Bullet Punch a 3HKO and the rest of her EVs have been invested in Special Defense.
Why did you name her "Iris"?
Iris was a messenger of the gods. I thought it fit because Togekiss is a Flying-type. Plus, she was a goddess of rainbows, and Togekiss only appears in times of joy and sunshine and puppies and such according to its Pokedex entries.
Harpy (Gliscor) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
Earthquake
Roost
Stealth Rock
Taunt
Gliscor seriously suffers from 4 Moveslot syndrome, but c'est la vie. I use Taunt to replace Swampert's Roar in that it protects me from set-up sweepers while also allowing me to scout the opponent's next move, which is fairly critical to ensure Metagross' safe entry.
Why did you name her "Harpy"?
Don't you ever get tired of asking? Harpies are savage little ladies that just give people a hard time, man. But then again, what ladies don't? Am I right, guys?
Import
I decided I wanted to return to Generation 4 because everything about Generation 5 is a complete and utter clusterfuck at the time of me writing this. I've always liked Metagross' design, so I figured why not build a team around him?
Machamp has proven time and time again that he is able to handle any and every lead that Generation 4 has to offer, except maybe other Machamp leads. And Starmie, but fuck Starmie.
Metagross is easily walled and countered by Bulky Grounds, and the best way to counter a Bulky Ground is with a Bulky Water. Vaporeon's ridiculous HP Stat means that not only can it survive a metric-**** ton of full powered attacks but it's ability to Wish and Protect lets it stall opponents and keep my team at peak health.
I wanted a bulky core of defensive pokemon, and Vaporeon really hates being on the receiving end of Electric attacks from the likes of Jolteon and such. My team would need a Bulky Ground-type. With Hippowdon's Sand Stream being detrimental to Vaporeon's health and Gliscor suffering severely from 4 Moveslot syndrome, I opted for Swampert, whose resistances to Rock and Electric-type moves are appreciated.
Of course, with two Bulky Waters I really wanted a Grass-resistance, and I needed more Status-inducing moves so Metagross would be able to thrive, and feared my team was too slow to handle some of the threats of this Metagame. While there are many, many Pokemon that fit these criteria, I opted for the most annoying. The pokemon that everyone loves to hate: Togekiss.
Desperately needing to find a sixth and painfully aware of how vulnerable my almost-defensive core was to Status-inducers, I decided I needed a Status-inducer of my own. Also being paranoid I lacked raw power and type variety, I chose Breloom.
Update 1
My weaknesses to Zapdos, Rotom, Celebi and Jolteon, however, were quite clear when I went to WiFi. That shit would not fly. Still enjoying Togekiss' ability to inflict status and Swampert's ability to get rocks up while being a defensive behemoth but lamenting their mediocrity against the aforementioned Electric-types, I decided to replace them. So long ladies; you served me well, but not well enough.
Instead, I opted for Gliscor because it's Gliscor. It happily absorbs Fighting, Ground and Electric type attacks aimed at my other team members. Since it's not uncommon for Gliscor to run Toxic it helps force switches in Stall teams, allowing me to get down to business to defeat the Huns.
My defensive core now consisting of Vaporeon and Gliscor, I wanted something that could absorb the Grass-type attacks aimed at Vaporeon while resisting all those lovely types that Vaporeon and Gliscor alone can't handle, like Dragonite's Outrage. Celebi was also giving me a hard time, so I looked to the volcanoes for help.
Update 2
Gliscor's use was really situational; after SR was up I was looking at 3 usable move slots and Taunt was really only useful against things like Gyarados and Suicune, which was only when they didn't blow me away immediately with the STAB Water-moves. I moved to replace Gliscor with Rotom-H as a revenge killer instead, which makes my defensive core Heatran and Vaporeon. The loss of SR is painful sort of, because now I have to find room to add it to Heatran's Moveset.
Bros before hoes.
Machamp has proven time and time again that he is able to handle any and every lead that Generation 4 has to offer, except maybe other Machamp leads. And Starmie, but fuck Starmie.
Metagross is easily walled and countered by Bulky Grounds, and the best way to counter a Bulky Ground is with a Bulky Water. Vaporeon's ridiculous HP Stat means that not only can it survive a metric-**** ton of full powered attacks but it's ability to Wish and Protect lets it stall opponents and keep my team at peak health.
I wanted a bulky core of defensive pokemon, and Vaporeon really hates being on the receiving end of Electric attacks from the likes of Jolteon and such. My team would need a Bulky Ground-type. With Hippowdon's Sand Stream being detrimental to Vaporeon's health and Gliscor suffering severely from 4 Moveslot syndrome, I opted for Swampert, whose resistances to Rock and Electric-type moves are appreciated.
Of course, with two Bulky Waters I really wanted a Grass-resistance, and I needed more Status-inducing moves so Metagross would be able to thrive, and feared my team was too slow to handle some of the threats of this Metagame. While there are many, many Pokemon that fit these criteria, I opted for the most annoying. The pokemon that everyone loves to hate: Togekiss.
Desperately needing to find a sixth and painfully aware of how vulnerable my almost-defensive core was to Status-inducers, I decided I needed a Status-inducer of my own. Also being paranoid I lacked raw power and type variety, I chose Breloom.
Update 1
My weaknesses to Zapdos, Rotom, Celebi and Jolteon, however, were quite clear when I went to WiFi. That shit would not fly. Still enjoying Togekiss' ability to inflict status and Swampert's ability to get rocks up while being a defensive behemoth but lamenting their mediocrity against the aforementioned Electric-types, I decided to replace them. So long ladies; you served me well, but not well enough.
Instead, I opted for Gliscor because it's Gliscor. It happily absorbs Fighting, Ground and Electric type attacks aimed at my other team members. Since it's not uncommon for Gliscor to run Toxic it helps force switches in Stall teams, allowing me to get down to business to defeat the Huns.
My defensive core now consisting of Vaporeon and Gliscor, I wanted something that could absorb the Grass-type attacks aimed at Vaporeon while resisting all those lovely types that Vaporeon and Gliscor alone can't handle, like Dragonite's Outrage. Celebi was also giving me a hard time, so I looked to the volcanoes for help.
Update 2
Gliscor's use was really situational; after SR was up I was looking at 3 usable move slots and Taunt was really only useful against things like Gyarados and Suicune, which was only when they didn't blow me away immediately with the STAB Water-moves. I moved to replace Gliscor with Rotom-H as a revenge killer instead, which makes my defensive core Heatran and Vaporeon. The loss of SR is painful sort of, because now I have to find room to add it to Heatran's Moveset.
Bros before hoes.
Atlas (Machamp) (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: No Guard
EVs: 250 HP / 236 Atk / 16 SDef / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
Nails every opposing lead with either DynamicPunch or Stone Edge. Pay back is there for Azelf but they have a tendency simply to just set-up rocks to avoid activating the double-power effect of Payback. Somewhat susceptible to Trick-leads. He runs 8 Speed EVs to outrun those who only use enough Speed to outrun Blissey, which is 4.
I have been considering replacing Payback but I really need something that can at least dent Rotom, which can easily annihilate the rest of my team.
If you have a bulkier spread I am all ears, I'd like to be able to withstand a Zapdos' Thunderbolt and nail it with Stone Edge.
Why did you name him "Atlas"?
In greek mythology Atlas was a Titan who held the skies over the earth with his incredible strength. Incredible, TITANIC strength? Sounds like Machamp to me.
Nereus (Vaporeon) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 10 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
Can more or less come in on anything, really. It's that bulky. When she comes in on Bulky Grounds I opt for Wish or Ice Beam. I rarely have issues with his performance. I don't run max HP because then Vaporeon reaches 464 HP, which is divisible by 8 and limits the number of times I can switch in if Spikes and/or Stealth Rock is up.
Starmie's Thunderbolt is a 3HKO, Heatran's Explosion doesn't KO at full health, but Wish means that Metagross doesn't have to worry as much when it comes in to wreck shit. Even when the team fails I occasionally manage to win matches solely because Vaporeon is impossible to kill.
Why isn't this on every team?
Why did you name him "Nereus"?
This was inspired again by Grecian mythos. Nereus is the oldest Titan, and he fathered the Nereids: the aquatic nymphs.
Shaman (Breloom) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 14 HP / 252 Atk / 244 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
Breloom annoyed the shit out of me in Generation 5, but I haven't really thought much of it until now. I used to use Leech Seed rather than Seed Bomb but found myself missing the extra coverage.
It helps me a bit with annoying Trick pokemon and turns them into ticking time bombs. All the speed lets me outrun neutral base 100s without investment and Spore them.
On Pokemon Online it becomes much easier to handle after a single Spore because of Sleep Clause, but it's hard to stop on WiFi. Indeed, many Rage-Quitters rage quitted rage-quittingly, as I did when I saw a Breloom. But this was many moons ago, and I digress...
Why did you name him "Shaman"?
It's an English word this time. People go to shamans because other their crazy magic, but most of them are just crazy and can induce such craziness with psilocybin mushrooms. I was also considering Dionysus.
Astraeus (Metagross) @ Life Orb
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 60 HP / 252 Atk / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
The rest of my team doesn't really take to too kindly to Bulky Waters, except Breloom really. They don't harm us, they just wall Metagross unless I run ThunderPunch. Gyarados can be especially troublesome. I usually use Life Orb but paranoia about Will-O-Wisp and Thunder Wave has lead me to think that I should be using a Lum Berry.
With 136 Speed EVs it hits 210 Speed. After an Agility boost it reaches 420, which is enough to outrun and exterminate Choice Scarfed Heatran and ourrun and smash Adamant Scarfed Lucario and Modest Scarfed Moltres. The rest is put in HP and Defense for extra bulk.
Why did you name it "Astraeus"?
Astraeus is the Greek deity of astronomy. Meteor Mash? Sounds pretty astronomical to me, and my opponents see stars after I use it. Haters gonna hate.
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 108 HP / 148 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
At the behest of IronBullet93, I replaced Gliscor with a revenge killer Rotom. His explanation is better than anything I could write:
Why did you name it "Zeus"?
If a shape-shifting Thunder and Water-based psuedo-legend doesn't scream "Zeus" to you, you have problems.
Hephaestus (Heatran) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 156 SpD / 100 Spe
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
Heatran is my Anti-Electric pokemon. With the given EVs he has maximum special bulk and laughs at Jolteon, Zapdos and Rotom who give Metagross a hard time while walling them all day erryday. The Speed EVs let him outrun Rotom-A without speed investment and cripple them with Toxic. Substitute gives me something to hide behind to avoid retaliation in the form of Pain Split and/or Thunder Wave. He generally doles out all that Special Defending goodness that my team otherwise lacks while completing the Vaporeon / Gliscor defensive core.
Why did you name him "Hephaestus"?
The Olympian metalworker, forger of the Gods, Hephaestus worked with steel and heat all day. To those of you who think Heatran is ugly, then yeah, great. That works too.
Some Threats
With the replacement of Swampert and Togekiss, I felt confident with my choices. Yet their depature only created more threats. Well, one mostly. You know it, you love it, none other than Starmie!
It can potentially dispatch any one of my Pokemon with a Super Effective move (except Metagross who is hit neutrally by everything, but that low Special defense itsn't doing him any favors). If Metagross is already in and has already used Agility to boost his speed, then Starmie becomes less of an issue.
It can potentially dispatch any one of my Pokemon with a Super Effective move (except Metagross who is hit neutrally by everything, but that low Special defense itsn't doing him any favors). If Metagross is already in and has already used Agility to boost his speed, then Starmie becomes less of an issue.
Retired Team Members
Eleionomae (Swampert) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
Roar gives me a way to avoid those troublesome set-up sweepers. Swampert with this spread usually run Relaxed with Ice Beam but with Relaxed you aren't outrunning anything at all anyway so you might as well just use Avalanche off a higher Attack stat, am I right?
Why did you name her "Eleionomae"?
Eleionomae are what the Greeks called nymphs that inhabited wetlands and swamps.
Iris (Togekiss) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 70 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
Without Thunder Wave my team is woefully low on Status. Fire Blast gives me an extra oomph in raw power and has a 60% chance of burning things I choose not to paralyze. It's not like there's anything Aura Sphere hits that Fire Blast doesn't aside from Tyranitar and Heatran.
Her EVs are fairly standard. She has maximum HP, enough Defense to make Scizor's Bullet Punch a 3HKO and the rest of her EVs have been invested in Special Defense.
Why did you name her "Iris"?
Iris was a messenger of the gods. I thought it fit because Togekiss is a Flying-type. Plus, she was a goddess of rainbows, and Togekiss only appears in times of joy and sunshine and puppies and such according to its Pokedex entries.
Harpy (Gliscor) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
Gliscor seriously suffers from 4 Moveslot syndrome, but c'est la vie. I use Taunt to replace Swampert's Roar in that it protects me from set-up sweepers while also allowing me to scout the opponent's next move, which is fairly critical to ensure Metagross' safe entry.
Why did you name her "Harpy"?
Don't you ever get tired of asking? Harpies are savage little ladies that just give people a hard time, man. But then again, what ladies don't? Am I right, guys?
Import
Code:
Atlas (Machamp) (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: No Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Atk / 16 SDef / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- DynamicPunch
- Payback
- Stone Edge
Nereus (Vaporeon) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 10 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Protect
- Surf
- Wish
Shaman (Breloom) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 14 HP / 252 Atk / 244 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Focus Punch
- Spore
- Stone Edge
- Substitute
Astraeus (Metagross) @ Life Orb
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 106 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Def / 136 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Agility
- Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
- ThunderPunch
Antigone (Gliscor) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 42 Def / 216 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
Hephaetus (Heatran) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 158 SDef / 100 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Lava Plume
- Substitute
- Toxic
