Hi all,
Since I've been active over the last year or so, a bunch of people have noticed that my registration date doesn't really jive with what I play or am known for. Truth be told, I joined Smogon back actually in like 2006, played for a little while on that classic simulator NetBattle, and then quit for most of a decade.
However, when I did play, I recall the main generation being ADV, and I loved it. I still remember, however vague, predicting a switch for the first time and attacking with a coverage move, it's sort of notable doing that when you hadn't fully developed critical thinking capabilities by that point. Since I've come back, though, I've found that I am actually straight trash at ADV (and most older gens) despite enjoying playing them a lot. I usually have used super standard teams aped from replays when I've played lately, but I tried to build a team on my own for my own use.
So, I guess this is like a note, it's not an RMT from some well established player with notable ability, I actually am really looking for help on this team and would like to make it better.
Set Explanation
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 68 SpA / 188 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Curse
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Rest
Curse Swampert seemed like a really fun mon to use, considering it's not seen super often anymore. I went with a SpDef set to live various HP Grasses (think Jolteon) and KO back if necessary. Swampert has enough SpA to OHKO Salamence after a turn of sand damage, just a small benchmark I thought I'd hit so I don't have to deal with taking two HP Flyings or whatever, and also does moderate damage to Celebi's on the switch, hopefully forcing a Recover as I switch out.
Aerodactyl @ Choice Band
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
Standard CB Aero, explanation for why I thought I'd use it above. Move choices are obvious enough for anyone remotely familiar with the tier, didn't go Adamant because I don't really feel like losing speed ties to scary things.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Earthquake
Standard Forry, used to keep hazards off my field and on the opponents. Honestly, I haven't found a huge amount of times I've actually clicked HP Bug - is it really necessary? Went with EQ over boom so I can beat Magneton 1v1, as I don't want to eat Toxics or HP Grasses with Swampert.
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 16 HP / 192 Atk / 120 Def / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Bug]
Dragon Dance Tyranitar as elaborated on above, went with HP Bug coverage to ensure I can beat Celebis. The DD set hits some pretty important benchmarks with the EVs, so I didn't change much aside from a few more Speed EVs in order to beat that very same dex set. In a tournament setting I would likely throw on even more EVs just to creep - but at what point does going Jolly become beneficial? This is something I'm not sure how to tell, I think I have enough ways to beat Gengar but Dugtrio is a bit more problematic, so maybe it is appropriate here?
Gengar @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 172 HP / 148 SpA / 188 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Punch
- Giga Drain
- Hypnosis
Again, EVs hit some pretty neat things already, though I could realistically drop some HP (lives a Metagross Meteor Mash) considering I have Forretress and Swampert as defensive switch ins. For now, I'll leave it unless suggested otherwise. Three attacks and Hypnosis seems to work best, but WoW is definitely an option over Giga Drain, I figured. Also offers me some Skarmory counterplay, which the team sort of struggles with otherwise.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Spe
Bold Nature
- Psychic
- Leech Seed
- Heal Bell
- Recover
Gives me another ground switchin, can wake resting Swampert up, Leech Seed lets me setup on more targets if they stay in for a turn. Celebi is also my main answer to water types, but sometimes they still get out of control especially CM Cune. Though Celebi is bulky enough to take the occasional Ice Beam, I do think I probably need better anti-water gameplan, as having to pivot from Forretress to Celebi on Beam -> Surf/Pump gets kind of miserable.
Conclusion
So basically I think I have a fundamental idea here, but in practice it's been underwhelming. While I've certainly just been outplayed my fair share, I know a good amount of skill can be made up for with creative and solid teambuilding. If I am looking to do well in ADV competition moving forward, I'll need better teams, and being able to build myself will help me a lot more in that.
I am currently finding myself struggling a good deal against CM Sweepers and general stall + phazing. If anyone could offer ideas, please let me know and I'd be glad to implement them.
Thanks
Since I've been active over the last year or so, a bunch of people have noticed that my registration date doesn't really jive with what I play or am known for. Truth be told, I joined Smogon back actually in like 2006, played for a little while on that classic simulator NetBattle, and then quit for most of a decade.
However, when I did play, I recall the main generation being ADV, and I loved it. I still remember, however vague, predicting a switch for the first time and attacking with a coverage move, it's sort of notable doing that when you hadn't fully developed critical thinking capabilities by that point. Since I've come back, though, I've found that I am actually straight trash at ADV (and most older gens) despite enjoying playing them a lot. I usually have used super standard teams aped from replays when I've played lately, but I tried to build a team on my own for my own use.
So, I guess this is like a note, it's not an RMT from some well established player with notable ability, I actually am really looking for help on this team and would like to make it better.
I named this team after the famous warship Yamato, thinking that it'd be cool to use a powerful sounding underwater creature. Knowing I wanted to build around one of my favorite mons, Swampert, I looked for a set that would be both slightly different than normal but still hopefully viable.
In thinking of things that have strong grass coverage, I was most concerned with Celebi and Giga Drain Gengar. With Swampert being pretty slow, it'd be nice to add speed to the team so I'm not constantly on the back foot, basically asking to receive unfortunate luck. Something that could scare out both of these, while still hitting HP Grass Tyranitar was Aerodactly. Additionally, decent type synergy between them made Aero seem a logical choice.
Considering I wanted Pert to be the centerpiece of the team, I really didn't want it constantly switching in on spikes should I let them go up. Swampert and Aero cover fire types well enough (as well as them not being super common to begin with) so I added Forretress to compress spinning as well as hazard laying of my own.
I wanted a different "speed" of setup sweeper, something that with a free turn could become difficult to handle. Additionally, I wanted something that scared out Celebi with a free turn, so I went with Tyranitar, who is also just generally one of the best mons in the tier.
With sand + hazards, I thought it'd be a good idea to add a spinblocker to keep my momentum with timely predicts as well as make sure repeated switches bring things into Aero or +1 Tyranitar range. Gengar is a thorn in the side of many teams, and can help spread status, bringing stuff to that nice 2/3rds health range where setup sweepers can really take advantage of.
Finally, I realized I was getting straight bossed by water types at this point. Cleric Celebi gives me a bit of counterplay there, as well as a generally annoying mon to pivot in and out of. Additionally, Celebi and Gengar give me solid fighting and ground switchins to help Tyranitar pick a good time to setup.
In thinking of things that have strong grass coverage, I was most concerned with Celebi and Giga Drain Gengar. With Swampert being pretty slow, it'd be nice to add speed to the team so I'm not constantly on the back foot, basically asking to receive unfortunate luck. Something that could scare out both of these, while still hitting HP Grass Tyranitar was Aerodactly. Additionally, decent type synergy between them made Aero seem a logical choice.
Considering I wanted Pert to be the centerpiece of the team, I really didn't want it constantly switching in on spikes should I let them go up. Swampert and Aero cover fire types well enough (as well as them not being super common to begin with) so I added Forretress to compress spinning as well as hazard laying of my own.
I wanted a different "speed" of setup sweeper, something that with a free turn could become difficult to handle. Additionally, I wanted something that scared out Celebi with a free turn, so I went with Tyranitar, who is also just generally one of the best mons in the tier.
With sand + hazards, I thought it'd be a good idea to add a spinblocker to keep my momentum with timely predicts as well as make sure repeated switches bring things into Aero or +1 Tyranitar range. Gengar is a thorn in the side of many teams, and can help spread status, bringing stuff to that nice 2/3rds health range where setup sweepers can really take advantage of.
Finally, I realized I was getting straight bossed by water types at this point. Cleric Celebi gives me a bit of counterplay there, as well as a generally annoying mon to pivot in and out of. Additionally, Celebi and Gengar give me solid fighting and ground switchins to help Tyranitar pick a good time to setup.
Set Explanation
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 68 SpA / 188 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Curse
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Rest
Curse Swampert seemed like a really fun mon to use, considering it's not seen super often anymore. I went with a SpDef set to live various HP Grasses (think Jolteon) and KO back if necessary. Swampert has enough SpA to OHKO Salamence after a turn of sand damage, just a small benchmark I thought I'd hit so I don't have to deal with taking two HP Flyings or whatever, and also does moderate damage to Celebi's on the switch, hopefully forcing a Recover as I switch out.
Aerodactyl @ Choice Band
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
Standard CB Aero, explanation for why I thought I'd use it above. Move choices are obvious enough for anyone remotely familiar with the tier, didn't go Adamant because I don't really feel like losing speed ties to scary things.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Earthquake
Standard Forry, used to keep hazards off my field and on the opponents. Honestly, I haven't found a huge amount of times I've actually clicked HP Bug - is it really necessary? Went with EQ over boom so I can beat Magneton 1v1, as I don't want to eat Toxics or HP Grasses with Swampert.
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 16 HP / 192 Atk / 120 Def / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Bug]
Dragon Dance Tyranitar as elaborated on above, went with HP Bug coverage to ensure I can beat Celebis. The DD set hits some pretty important benchmarks with the EVs, so I didn't change much aside from a few more Speed EVs in order to beat that very same dex set. In a tournament setting I would likely throw on even more EVs just to creep - but at what point does going Jolly become beneficial? This is something I'm not sure how to tell, I think I have enough ways to beat Gengar but Dugtrio is a bit more problematic, so maybe it is appropriate here?
Gengar @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 172 HP / 148 SpA / 188 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Punch
- Giga Drain
- Hypnosis
Again, EVs hit some pretty neat things already, though I could realistically drop some HP (lives a Metagross Meteor Mash) considering I have Forretress and Swampert as defensive switch ins. For now, I'll leave it unless suggested otherwise. Three attacks and Hypnosis seems to work best, but WoW is definitely an option over Giga Drain, I figured. Also offers me some Skarmory counterplay, which the team sort of struggles with otherwise.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Spe
Bold Nature
- Psychic
- Leech Seed
- Heal Bell
- Recover
Gives me another ground switchin, can wake resting Swampert up, Leech Seed lets me setup on more targets if they stay in for a turn. Celebi is also my main answer to water types, but sometimes they still get out of control especially CM Cune. Though Celebi is bulky enough to take the occasional Ice Beam, I do think I probably need better anti-water gameplan, as having to pivot from Forretress to Celebi on Beam -> Surf/Pump gets kind of miserable.
Conclusion
So basically I think I have a fundamental idea here, but in practice it's been underwhelming. While I've certainly just been outplayed my fair share, I know a good amount of skill can be made up for with creative and solid teambuilding. If I am looking to do well in ADV competition moving forward, I'll need better teams, and being able to build myself will help me a lot more in that.
I am currently finding myself struggling a good deal against CM Sweepers and general stall + phazing. If anyone could offer ideas, please let me know and I'd be glad to implement them.
Thanks