by Sasami Sat Jul 18, 2009 4:52 pm
First off, please don't bump topics. It's not necessary if the topic is already on the first page. Sometimes our usual team raters are just busy and can't reply right away, be patient =).
Anyways, I would try out Sleep Powder on Roserade (probably over Shadow Ball). Otherwise you're going to find it tricky to get down your Toxic Spikes. This way, you can hopefully put a Pokemon to sleep and then start layering your spikes. For the item, I would try a Focus Sash so that you're guaranteed to live at least long enough to Sleep Powder. Unfortunately, a couple common leads do beat Roserade (most notably Azelf). If you're faced with an Azelf lead, go straight to Tyranitar. The sandstorm will destroy the Azelf's sash and you can OHKO. Unfortunately, it'll still get up Stealth Rock, but at least you'll KO it.
The Gyarados set is good but I actually know of another one that might fit your team better (the one you have should be ok, though). If you get the chance, try out a Bulky Gyara set like this:
Adamant 156 HP / 108 Atk / 100 Def / 144 Spe
Dragon Dance
Waterfall
Stone Edge/Earthquake
Taunt
The main reason I suggest it is Heracross. Heracross can defeat every Pokemon on your team and it benefits from Toxic Spikes because of it's ability. Gyarados will keep Heracross under control (not completely but better than how the team is now). It'll also help out a ton against Lucario and Salamence.
For the item, Life Orb is good for the set you have now. If you try out a bulky set, Leftovers is better.
Tyranitar looks fine although I'm very surprised you got rid of Pursuit. Pursuit is a great attack since you can OHKO Pokemon like Latias, Gengar, and Azelf without them being able to escape. If you start having trouble with any of those guys, try out Pursuit. Oh, and for the item, keep the Choice Band on it that I gave you. The raw power makes up for his lack of speed.
While Protect is a decent move, Blissey would benefit more from having another attack. Try Flamethrower (for Scizor switch-ins, mostly) or Ice Beam (gives you great type coverage and kills the dragons). Seismic Toss is also an option but the move isn't as useful as it once was. Blissey should always have Leftovers.
Your team lacks Stealth Rock right now. This is a problem because Gyarados needs your opponent's Pokemon to take some extra damage to ensure certain KOs. Therefore, I'd give Metagross Stealth Rock instead of Hyper Beam. Also, while Zen Headbutt isn't a bad move, Metagross actually has better options. Bullet Punch, Earthquake, Pursuit, Explosion, and the elemental punches are all better. Try the one that seems to fit your team best. Your Metagross would probably do best with Leftovers but you could try Life Orb.
Togekiss looks a bit out of place on the team, to be honest. It seems very random. Since you're going to be poisoning everything with Toxic Spikes or Toxic, how do you expect to paralyze things with Thunder Wave? Also, the Sandstorm that Tyranitar sets up will severely shorten it's longevity. Your team is also quite slow at the moment and could use more speed. Therefore, I'd recommend replacing Togekiss with something else.
One option would be Flygon. It's immune to Sandstorm and because of it's typing, it only has one weakness and many resistances and immunities. It's pretty fast and you could actually give it a Choice Scarf to make it extremely speedy. A set like this would be useful:
Adamant or Naughty with a Choice Scarf
80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
-Earthquake
-Outrage
-Stone Edge/Fire Blast
-U-Turn
Earthquake and Outrage are great STAB moves that can be used to sweep late-game. U-Turn is good earlier in the match for scouting. Stone Edge gives you great type coverage and power while Fire Blast is useful for Pokemon like Skarmory, Bronzong, and Forretress.
If Flygon doesn't work out and you want a different special sweeper, another option would be a scarfed Gengar with something like Shadow Ball/Thunderbolt/Focus Blast/Explosion or Trick.
Home
@Focus Sash
@Leftovers
@Choice Band
@Leftovers
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