This is a team I've been playing with for about a week now that's gotten me more consistent wins than any other team I've used so far, but I'm still stuck at about 1700 on the ladder, so I'm looking for some advice.
Thundurus (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
- Knock Off
- U-turn
I put this guy first on my list because he's almost always my lead. Thundurus isn't the bulkiest so a utility set might sound odd, but the reason I like him more than other utility options is because he's so much faster that he's not meant to take hits. Most opposing leads get walled by Taunt, then I get a free Twave/Knock Off on whatever switches in before U-turning out. It makes it very easy to gain momentum at the beginning of the battle. Knock Off also kills Magic Bounce Espeon, who is a very common switch-in. I like U-turn over Volt Switch so I don't have to run a -Def/-SpDef nature in order to get good damage out of his offensive moves, plus it can't be blocked by Ground types.
Conkeldurr @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- ThunderPunch
- Knock Off
Ever since I started running this, seeing Rotom-W in team preview has been a moment of delight because they always try to check me with WoW, often allowing me to sweep. Thunderpunch is mainly for hitting Azumarill and Togekiss as they switch in who would otherwise wall this set. It's even better when Azu tries to set up BD on me and then dies instantly.
Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Wish
- Heal Bell
- Toxic
- Ice Beam
The first half of the 2003 nostalgia duo. Wish support does wonders for this team, like allowing Thundurus to come back in the middle of the game and cripple revenge killers with Twave/Knock Off. It can also allow Talonflame to come in while SR is up and then immediately heal the damage off, which is critical since many teams rely on Talonflame always being at 50% HP in order to check it. I like Heal Bell for covering the odd Toxic and Sleep that get thrown around, though I admit it's often counterintuitive with Guts on Conk. Ice Beam 2HKOs Gliscor who loves to try and set up against me, and Toxic lets me stall out other walls.
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Defog
The other half of the 2003 core. Skarmory is still a fantastic wall, continuing to check new offensive threats like physical MLucario and MPinsir. Not much else to say about this set, anyone who's played since Gen 2 knows what Skarmory is and what it does. Defog is just an added bonus this generation that I'm happy to put over SR/Spikes since my team doesn't really rely on those.
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SAtk
Naughty Nature
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Fire Blast
Ttar is basically here for Talonflame and MCharizard. The EVs can probably use tweaking, or maybe he should just be scrapped entirely, but he counters those two threats so well I'm hesitant to move him out. Aside from being a designated check for certain things he doesn't do much, though, so I'm open to suggestions on this slot.
Talonflame @ Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
- Bulk Up
I've played pretty much every version of Talonflame (SD, CB, utility, etc.) and this one is my favorite. It's really impressive how well he can take physical hits after one Bulk Up, and then Roost guarantees anything that can't deal at least 50% will lose. The speed EVs are designed to guarantee I can revenge kill max speed MLucario as long as it doesn't carry Extremespeed, rest goes into HP to increase survivability while I take recoil damage.
Threats:
-Aegislash is a pain in the ass, particularly with King's Shield. I have to cripple it with Taunt before I can do anything since my only indirect attacker is Tyranitar, who loses to Sacred Sword/Iron Head and gets outspeed by any Aegislash with speed investment.
-Fairies in general are really annoying to this team. I can wall or cripple most of them but I can't do much in return. I've tried looking for a spot in someone's moveset that I can run a Steel move, but no one really has a spot except maybe Ttar, who's weak to Fairy and slow.
-Since my two main attackers are physical, any teams with a few things that can tank multiple physical hits are troublesome. I can usually cripple them with Thundurus and then wear them down with Conk, but it's not easy. Fortunately I don't run into this problem often.
Thundurus (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
- Knock Off
- U-turn
I put this guy first on my list because he's almost always my lead. Thundurus isn't the bulkiest so a utility set might sound odd, but the reason I like him more than other utility options is because he's so much faster that he's not meant to take hits. Most opposing leads get walled by Taunt, then I get a free Twave/Knock Off on whatever switches in before U-turning out. It makes it very easy to gain momentum at the beginning of the battle. Knock Off also kills Magic Bounce Espeon, who is a very common switch-in. I like U-turn over Volt Switch so I don't have to run a -Def/-SpDef nature in order to get good damage out of his offensive moves, plus it can't be blocked by Ground types.
Conkeldurr @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- ThunderPunch
- Knock Off
Ever since I started running this, seeing Rotom-W in team preview has been a moment of delight because they always try to check me with WoW, often allowing me to sweep. Thunderpunch is mainly for hitting Azumarill and Togekiss as they switch in who would otherwise wall this set. It's even better when Azu tries to set up BD on me and then dies instantly.
Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Wish
- Heal Bell
- Toxic
- Ice Beam
The first half of the 2003 nostalgia duo. Wish support does wonders for this team, like allowing Thundurus to come back in the middle of the game and cripple revenge killers with Twave/Knock Off. It can also allow Talonflame to come in while SR is up and then immediately heal the damage off, which is critical since many teams rely on Talonflame always being at 50% HP in order to check it. I like Heal Bell for covering the odd Toxic and Sleep that get thrown around, though I admit it's often counterintuitive with Guts on Conk. Ice Beam 2HKOs Gliscor who loves to try and set up against me, and Toxic lets me stall out other walls.
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Defog
The other half of the 2003 core. Skarmory is still a fantastic wall, continuing to check new offensive threats like physical MLucario and MPinsir. Not much else to say about this set, anyone who's played since Gen 2 knows what Skarmory is and what it does. Defog is just an added bonus this generation that I'm happy to put over SR/Spikes since my team doesn't really rely on those.
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SAtk
Naughty Nature
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Fire Blast
Ttar is basically here for Talonflame and MCharizard. The EVs can probably use tweaking, or maybe he should just be scrapped entirely, but he counters those two threats so well I'm hesitant to move him out. Aside from being a designated check for certain things he doesn't do much, though, so I'm open to suggestions on this slot.
Talonflame @ Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
- Bulk Up
I've played pretty much every version of Talonflame (SD, CB, utility, etc.) and this one is my favorite. It's really impressive how well he can take physical hits after one Bulk Up, and then Roost guarantees anything that can't deal at least 50% will lose. The speed EVs are designed to guarantee I can revenge kill max speed MLucario as long as it doesn't carry Extremespeed, rest goes into HP to increase survivability while I take recoil damage.
Threats:
-Aegislash is a pain in the ass, particularly with King's Shield. I have to cripple it with Taunt before I can do anything since my only indirect attacker is Tyranitar, who loses to Sacred Sword/Iron Head and gets outspeed by any Aegislash with speed investment.
-Fairies in general are really annoying to this team. I can wall or cripple most of them but I can't do much in return. I've tried looking for a spot in someone's moveset that I can run a Steel move, but no one really has a spot except maybe Ttar, who's weak to Fairy and slow.
-Since my two main attackers are physical, any teams with a few things that can tank multiple physical hits are troublesome. I can usually cripple them with Thundurus and then wear them down with Conk, but it's not easy. Fortunately I don't run into this problem often.