Ok, I know I have a banned move on this team (Minimize), but I only plan to use this team in casuals with friends who don't mind if I use the move. Personally I don't think the move should be banned as there are definitely enough direct counters to Minimize, but I get why it is banned. I'll also post my alternate moveset for my minimizing pokemon, and that would be the set I would use in a competitive set.
Also, I'm not entirely sure on all the EVs of my pokemon, as I'm not using a shoddy program or anything and I've only recently gotten interested in more competitive pokemon battling. So instead I'll just list the general stat areas where I've been putting EVs, if I remember them. I don't for all my pokemon. I know that makes it hard to rate, but try to give feedback if you can. Any help is appreciated.
So here's my team:
1). Drifblim: EVs in HP, spec. att, speed. Held item: Leftovers (alternate for non-casual play: Chesto Berry) Ability: Unburden
Moveset: Minimize, Stockpile, Shadow Ball, Baton Pass (alternate set for non-casual play: Stockpile, Shadow Ball, Baton Pass, Rest)
Strategy: The basic idea behind the casual set is to get minimized quickly so that you have the time to get 3 stockpiles. Once you get 3 minimizes and 3 stockpiles it's very, very hard to ever kill drifblim, especially with leftovers. Then STAB Shadow Ball until an unfavorable matchup, at which point I baton pass the minimize and stockpile buffs to another pokemon (this team has multiple options for this pass, I'll note which pokemon work particularly well with the buffs). Drifblim is the catalyst for the entire team, and if he doesn't die early, it's very hard to lose.
For a non-casual set where minimize is banned, I've made a slight modification to a standard ChestoRest Drifblim by switching calm mind for stockpile, and adding in baton pass. This way I can not only get the awesome def. and spec. def buffs from stockpile, but also the speed doubling from unburden when I use rest and wake up from the chesto berry.
*Most of the time Drifblim is my lead, although in certain situations I have other leads that I will note as such
2). Carracosta: EVs: can't really remember, but they're mostly in def, spec def and spec att. Ability: I forget the name, but it's not sturdy. I think it's called Solid Rock, it weakens the damage taken by super effective moves. Held Item: Not sure yet, but right now just expert belt. Will probably put something more beneficial on eventually
Moveset: Surf, Rock Slide, Earthquake, Shell Smash
Strategy: So far, Carracosta is the best pokemon on my team to receive the minimize/stockpile baton pass from drifblim, although it might not work as well with the stockpile/unburden pass. His slow speed actually works in his favor because Shell Smash is almost sure to go second. With his ability and 3 stockpiles, Carracosta won't take that much damage on the first turn, and after a shell smash he becomes one hell of a sweeper from the 2x buff to att, spec att and speed, along with maintaining a 2x buff to def and spec def. STAB Surf and Rock Slide are great damage dealing moves, and earthquake provides extra type coverage against electric counters. Generally a minimized, stockpiled, shell smashed Carracosta is near impossible to take out. And if he gets out speeded, another shell smash makes him near invincible.
3). Hippowdon: EVs: spread across HP, def, spec def and attack. Abilty: Sand Stream. Held Item: Leftovers, but open to other ideas.
Moveset: Earthquake, Stealth Rock, Ice Fang, Roar
Strategy: Pretty standard Hippowdon here. I try to keep Hippowdon from being my lead as it nullifies Drifblim's leftovers because sand stream does as much damage as the leftovers heal, but he makes a decent baton pass recipient, especially if I'm using the tourney-legal set so he gets the stockpile and unburden buffs. Roar becomes especially useful because of the rest of my team (but I'll explain that when I get there). Ice Fang stops flying counters, and STAB Earthquake generally wrecks things. Standard Hippowdon.
4). Forretress. EVs: Spread in HP, Def, and Spec def, with a few points in Att. Ability: Sturdy. Held Item: Not sure yet, might use leftovers, maybe brightpowder.
Moveset: Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Rapid Spin, Gyro Ball/Explosion
Strategy: Depending on what I'm feeling, Forretress might be my lead for certain situations. He also benefits well from Drifblim's minimize/stockpile pass, as it pretty much assures that I'll get the 5 turns necessary to fully set up all my spikes. For the fourth slot I'm leaning towards Gyro Ball, as exploding prevents Forretress from coming back in to rapid spin away any spikes or stealth rocks. However, explosion is a good move for a suicide starter, so advice on that is welcomed. The spikes and t spikes set up make Hippowdon's roar even better, as the combination of all those spikes, the toxic poison, stealth rock and sand stream make it very easy to kill things without actually having to do that much work, and can cause me to survive some bad matchups. Yes, Forretress is really weak to fire, but due to sturdy I would at least get either 1 t spike up or if I see I'm going to get near swept, would just use explosion to try to take them out. But then again, I'm leaning towards gyro ball. Thoughts?
Note: At this point, the baton pass shenanigans kind of stop. the other two pokemon on this team are for matchups, and I never really baton pass into them as it's much less useful. These slots are also much more replacable, so I am willing to hear suggestions for better pokemon. And I'm aware that there are some serious counters to this team because it doesn't have full type coverage, but that's just a risk I'm taking. Moving on.
5). Lucario. EVs: To be honest, I can't remember. Probably in speed and spec att. Not sure what I'm doing with held item and I can't remember his ability.
Moveset: Dragon Pulse, Calm Mind, Aura Sphere, ExtremeSpeed
Strategy: Lucario is mostly on this team as another counter to dragons if Hippowdon dies, and to normal type walls like Snorlax and Blissey. I don't usually baton pass into Lucario or use any shenanigans with him, so there's not much to say about him.
6). Musharna. EVs: Don't remember. Probably in HP, Spec att and both defenses. Held Item: Don't have anything specific in mind. Ability: Whatever Musharna's ability is.
Moveset: (Note: I evolved Munna way too soon so I didn't get a lot of good moves. Rookie mistake. I know this set is far from perfect so I'm still trying to find a 4th move) Yawn, Protect, Dream Eater, Psychic
Strategy: Pretty simple here. I use Yawn, followed by protect so that Musharna doesn't die afterwards, then dream eater. I have psychic on there to use when I think sleep is going to wear off, or when I don't have the time to Yawn and I know I can kill with Psychic. I know this is flawed, so I'm willing to change things on this. Possibly take out Dream Eater for rest and use a chesto berry for more reliable and faster healing.
So that's my alternate rules team, along with a possible set for a more tourney-viable team. What do you guys think? I'm new to competitive pokemon, so I understand this team is probably very flawed, but I think there's a lot of potential and synergy here, especially in the first 4 pokemon. Thoughts?
Also, I'm not entirely sure on all the EVs of my pokemon, as I'm not using a shoddy program or anything and I've only recently gotten interested in more competitive pokemon battling. So instead I'll just list the general stat areas where I've been putting EVs, if I remember them. I don't for all my pokemon. I know that makes it hard to rate, but try to give feedback if you can. Any help is appreciated.
So here's my team:
1). Drifblim: EVs in HP, spec. att, speed. Held item: Leftovers (alternate for non-casual play: Chesto Berry) Ability: Unburden
Moveset: Minimize, Stockpile, Shadow Ball, Baton Pass (alternate set for non-casual play: Stockpile, Shadow Ball, Baton Pass, Rest)
Strategy: The basic idea behind the casual set is to get minimized quickly so that you have the time to get 3 stockpiles. Once you get 3 minimizes and 3 stockpiles it's very, very hard to ever kill drifblim, especially with leftovers. Then STAB Shadow Ball until an unfavorable matchup, at which point I baton pass the minimize and stockpile buffs to another pokemon (this team has multiple options for this pass, I'll note which pokemon work particularly well with the buffs). Drifblim is the catalyst for the entire team, and if he doesn't die early, it's very hard to lose.
For a non-casual set where minimize is banned, I've made a slight modification to a standard ChestoRest Drifblim by switching calm mind for stockpile, and adding in baton pass. This way I can not only get the awesome def. and spec. def buffs from stockpile, but also the speed doubling from unburden when I use rest and wake up from the chesto berry.
*Most of the time Drifblim is my lead, although in certain situations I have other leads that I will note as such
2). Carracosta: EVs: can't really remember, but they're mostly in def, spec def and spec att. Ability: I forget the name, but it's not sturdy. I think it's called Solid Rock, it weakens the damage taken by super effective moves. Held Item: Not sure yet, but right now just expert belt. Will probably put something more beneficial on eventually
Moveset: Surf, Rock Slide, Earthquake, Shell Smash
Strategy: So far, Carracosta is the best pokemon on my team to receive the minimize/stockpile baton pass from drifblim, although it might not work as well with the stockpile/unburden pass. His slow speed actually works in his favor because Shell Smash is almost sure to go second. With his ability and 3 stockpiles, Carracosta won't take that much damage on the first turn, and after a shell smash he becomes one hell of a sweeper from the 2x buff to att, spec att and speed, along with maintaining a 2x buff to def and spec def. STAB Surf and Rock Slide are great damage dealing moves, and earthquake provides extra type coverage against electric counters. Generally a minimized, stockpiled, shell smashed Carracosta is near impossible to take out. And if he gets out speeded, another shell smash makes him near invincible.
3). Hippowdon: EVs: spread across HP, def, spec def and attack. Abilty: Sand Stream. Held Item: Leftovers, but open to other ideas.
Moveset: Earthquake, Stealth Rock, Ice Fang, Roar
Strategy: Pretty standard Hippowdon here. I try to keep Hippowdon from being my lead as it nullifies Drifblim's leftovers because sand stream does as much damage as the leftovers heal, but he makes a decent baton pass recipient, especially if I'm using the tourney-legal set so he gets the stockpile and unburden buffs. Roar becomes especially useful because of the rest of my team (but I'll explain that when I get there). Ice Fang stops flying counters, and STAB Earthquake generally wrecks things. Standard Hippowdon.
4). Forretress. EVs: Spread in HP, Def, and Spec def, with a few points in Att. Ability: Sturdy. Held Item: Not sure yet, might use leftovers, maybe brightpowder.
Moveset: Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Rapid Spin, Gyro Ball/Explosion
Strategy: Depending on what I'm feeling, Forretress might be my lead for certain situations. He also benefits well from Drifblim's minimize/stockpile pass, as it pretty much assures that I'll get the 5 turns necessary to fully set up all my spikes. For the fourth slot I'm leaning towards Gyro Ball, as exploding prevents Forretress from coming back in to rapid spin away any spikes or stealth rocks. However, explosion is a good move for a suicide starter, so advice on that is welcomed. The spikes and t spikes set up make Hippowdon's roar even better, as the combination of all those spikes, the toxic poison, stealth rock and sand stream make it very easy to kill things without actually having to do that much work, and can cause me to survive some bad matchups. Yes, Forretress is really weak to fire, but due to sturdy I would at least get either 1 t spike up or if I see I'm going to get near swept, would just use explosion to try to take them out. But then again, I'm leaning towards gyro ball. Thoughts?
Note: At this point, the baton pass shenanigans kind of stop. the other two pokemon on this team are for matchups, and I never really baton pass into them as it's much less useful. These slots are also much more replacable, so I am willing to hear suggestions for better pokemon. And I'm aware that there are some serious counters to this team because it doesn't have full type coverage, but that's just a risk I'm taking. Moving on.
5). Lucario. EVs: To be honest, I can't remember. Probably in speed and spec att. Not sure what I'm doing with held item and I can't remember his ability.
Moveset: Dragon Pulse, Calm Mind, Aura Sphere, ExtremeSpeed
Strategy: Lucario is mostly on this team as another counter to dragons if Hippowdon dies, and to normal type walls like Snorlax and Blissey. I don't usually baton pass into Lucario or use any shenanigans with him, so there's not much to say about him.
6). Musharna. EVs: Don't remember. Probably in HP, Spec att and both defenses. Held Item: Don't have anything specific in mind. Ability: Whatever Musharna's ability is.
Moveset: (Note: I evolved Munna way too soon so I didn't get a lot of good moves. Rookie mistake. I know this set is far from perfect so I'm still trying to find a 4th move) Yawn, Protect, Dream Eater, Psychic
Strategy: Pretty simple here. I use Yawn, followed by protect so that Musharna doesn't die afterwards, then dream eater. I have psychic on there to use when I think sleep is going to wear off, or when I don't have the time to Yawn and I know I can kill with Psychic. I know this is flawed, so I'm willing to change things on this. Possibly take out Dream Eater for rest and use a chesto berry for more reliable and faster healing.
So that's my alternate rules team, along with a possible set for a more tourney-viable team. What do you guys think? I'm new to competitive pokemon, so I understand this team is probably very flawed, but I think there's a lot of potential and synergy here, especially in the first 4 pokemon. Thoughts?
