More of a joke topic than anything else, I made this team last night as many 'Charms members are aware when they battled it. Hopefully it'll serve as a sort-of guide as to what thought processes go through building a team (even though the team is ridiculous) and also dispel the idea that only the overused stuff can do well.
Malkorok (Slurpuff) @ Sitrus Berry
Unburden
Jolly
52 HP/252 Atk/200 Speed/4 Sp.Def
- Play Rough
- Return
- Endeavor
- Belly Drum
Malkorok the Slurpuff is very much a one-trick pony who is only good for one thing: Belly Drumming up and then trying to murder as much as he can before dying or winning the match. The EVs are the key to this set (which I initially screwed up and then had to fix.) First of all, the 200 in Speed + Jolly nature puts Malkorok's Speed stat to 506 at Lv.100 after Unburden is triggered, which is done to allow him to outspeed max Speed Deoxys-S. Max Attack obviously is mandatory. 52 HP EVs puts Malkorok's HP at 318; his HP has to be an even number otherwise Belly Drum won't trigger Sitrus Berry and Unburden by itself as it'll put his HP at 51% if his HP is an odd number, which is why the final four EVs are in Sp.Def instead. This is basically here to show that sometimes very specific EV spreads are needed to maximize a Pokemon's potential.
Michael (Skarmory) @ Shed Shell
Sturdy
Impish
252 HP/232 Def/24 Speed
- Brave Bird
- Whirlwind
- Roost
- Sleep Talk
Anyone who saw this team in action last night will tell you that Skarmory was the star player of this team by a mile. It's basically the standard Skarmory with the exception of the final move Sleep Talk, which not only serves as a brutal surprise for Breloom thinking that Sporing Skarmory will save them from Brave Bird, but also can shut down Spore/Baton Pass Smeargle sets that people seem to like these days, as a Sleep Talked Whirlwind quickly ruins the fun. The reason why Spikes was dropped over Sleep Talk over any of the other moves was simply because it's the least useful move to Sleep Talk off of out of Skarmory's usual arsenal, and the decision certainly paid off.
Gavin (Lanturn) @ Assault Vest
Volt Absorb
Calm
252 HP/252 Sp.Def/4 Sp.Atk
- Discharge
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Volt Switch
Lanturn was one of the first Pokemon considered for this team, and ironically his presence is the only reason Skarmory made it into the team despite Skarmory proving to be by far the most useful member. Choosing team members that work well with each other is crucial in team-building, and Lanturn couldn't ask for a better team-mate than Skarmory, and vice-versa in fact. Lanturn's weaknesses are Grass and Ground; Skarmory resists both types. On the flip side, Skarmory's Electric and Fire weaknesses are blocked by Lanturn, and with Skarmory covering Defense and Lanturn covering Sp.Defense the two make for a brilliant defensive core, a core that ended up being the biggest strength this team has. Lanturn's stats are a bit lacking outside of HP, but thanks to Assault Vest Lanturn can shrug off special attacks with ease now. Since Assault Vest perma-Taunts Lanturn, I decided to stick with attacks that have a high chance of inflicting status effects like Discharge and Scald. Volt Switch is useful for allowing Lanturn to tank an attack and then switch out due to Lanturn's pitiful Speed, defending a team-mate coming in from harm and allowing them free entry to the fight.
Mr. Popo (Drifblim) @ Weakness Policy
Unburden
Hasty
252 HP/128 Atk/128 Sp.Atk
- Acrobatics
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Baton Pass
Drifblim's EV spread is admittedly lazy but with a set like this it's a pain to figure out what spread would work best since it relies on mixed sweeping while also being durable enough to tank, specifically, a super-effective hit to trigger Weakness Policy and Unburden to allow a sweep. Acrobatics hits pretty hard once Weakness Policy is used (especially with +2 Attack) while Shadow Ball and Thunderbolt hit reasonably hard on the special side as well, making Drifblim a pain to wall once it gets rolling unless your name is Tyranitar. Baton Pass is there just in case Drifblim finds itself staring down an opponent it can't reliably take down mid-sweep, allowing it to give the stats to someone else who can finish the job better. Drifblim's bulk, typing that gives it a lot of weaknesses combined with Unburden as the icing on the cake is the reason he was chosen for Weakness Policy here.
DSP (Espeon) @ Life Orb
Magic Bounce
Timid
4 HP/252 Sp.Atk/252 Speed
- Psyshock
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball
- Wish
Offensive Wish-passers are admittedly rather mediocre nowadays since Espeon's Wishes are pretty weak when passing to something like Lanturn, but Magic Bounce combined with this team's lack of instant offensive power makes up for it. Psyshock is standard, Dazzling Gleam for Dragons and Dark-types, Shadow Ball for Ghosts and Steel-types, not much to say about this set really.
Alan Grant (Tyranitar) @ Chople Berry
Sand Stream
Adamant
252 HP/252 Atk/4 Sp.Def
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Roar
- Stealth Rock
Primarily utility-based, Tyranitar was the final member of the team to be confirmed and basically just serves to fill all the gaps left by everyone else. His job is to lay down hazards and then to be as disruptive as possible through combination of Roaring in enemies that are weak against him, inflicting hazard and sandstorm damage in the process hopefully, and then hitting anything trying to flee from him with Pursuit. Stone Edge provides a strong STAB and ensures Tyranitar's monstrous offensive power does not go to waste.
So there you go. This is the kind of madness that goes through my mind, while also demonstrating the kind of thought process that goes through making a team. Using your favourites and stuff you like is fine as demonstrated by the usage of Slurpuff and Lanturn, who otherwise are considered very mediocre, but it's also key to back them up with stuff that compliments them well, such as Skarmory, who has been looked down upon for his severe overuse at times since his debut in Gen II. Feel free to comment and hopefully this team will aid you in making your own.
Malkorok (Slurpuff) @ Sitrus Berry
Unburden
Jolly
52 HP/252 Atk/200 Speed/4 Sp.Def
- Play Rough
- Return
- Endeavor
- Belly Drum
Malkorok the Slurpuff is very much a one-trick pony who is only good for one thing: Belly Drumming up and then trying to murder as much as he can before dying or winning the match. The EVs are the key to this set (which I initially screwed up and then had to fix.) First of all, the 200 in Speed + Jolly nature puts Malkorok's Speed stat to 506 at Lv.100 after Unburden is triggered, which is done to allow him to outspeed max Speed Deoxys-S. Max Attack obviously is mandatory. 52 HP EVs puts Malkorok's HP at 318; his HP has to be an even number otherwise Belly Drum won't trigger Sitrus Berry and Unburden by itself as it'll put his HP at 51% if his HP is an odd number, which is why the final four EVs are in Sp.Def instead. This is basically here to show that sometimes very specific EV spreads are needed to maximize a Pokemon's potential.
Michael (Skarmory) @ Shed Shell
Sturdy
Impish
252 HP/232 Def/24 Speed
- Brave Bird
- Whirlwind
- Roost
- Sleep Talk
Anyone who saw this team in action last night will tell you that Skarmory was the star player of this team by a mile. It's basically the standard Skarmory with the exception of the final move Sleep Talk, which not only serves as a brutal surprise for Breloom thinking that Sporing Skarmory will save them from Brave Bird, but also can shut down Spore/Baton Pass Smeargle sets that people seem to like these days, as a Sleep Talked Whirlwind quickly ruins the fun. The reason why Spikes was dropped over Sleep Talk over any of the other moves was simply because it's the least useful move to Sleep Talk off of out of Skarmory's usual arsenal, and the decision certainly paid off.
Gavin (Lanturn) @ Assault Vest
Volt Absorb
Calm
252 HP/252 Sp.Def/4 Sp.Atk
- Discharge
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Volt Switch
Lanturn was one of the first Pokemon considered for this team, and ironically his presence is the only reason Skarmory made it into the team despite Skarmory proving to be by far the most useful member. Choosing team members that work well with each other is crucial in team-building, and Lanturn couldn't ask for a better team-mate than Skarmory, and vice-versa in fact. Lanturn's weaknesses are Grass and Ground; Skarmory resists both types. On the flip side, Skarmory's Electric and Fire weaknesses are blocked by Lanturn, and with Skarmory covering Defense and Lanturn covering Sp.Defense the two make for a brilliant defensive core, a core that ended up being the biggest strength this team has. Lanturn's stats are a bit lacking outside of HP, but thanks to Assault Vest Lanturn can shrug off special attacks with ease now. Since Assault Vest perma-Taunts Lanturn, I decided to stick with attacks that have a high chance of inflicting status effects like Discharge and Scald. Volt Switch is useful for allowing Lanturn to tank an attack and then switch out due to Lanturn's pitiful Speed, defending a team-mate coming in from harm and allowing them free entry to the fight.
Mr. Popo (Drifblim) @ Weakness Policy
Unburden
Hasty
252 HP/128 Atk/128 Sp.Atk
- Acrobatics
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Baton Pass
Drifblim's EV spread is admittedly lazy but with a set like this it's a pain to figure out what spread would work best since it relies on mixed sweeping while also being durable enough to tank, specifically, a super-effective hit to trigger Weakness Policy and Unburden to allow a sweep. Acrobatics hits pretty hard once Weakness Policy is used (especially with +2 Attack) while Shadow Ball and Thunderbolt hit reasonably hard on the special side as well, making Drifblim a pain to wall once it gets rolling unless your name is Tyranitar. Baton Pass is there just in case Drifblim finds itself staring down an opponent it can't reliably take down mid-sweep, allowing it to give the stats to someone else who can finish the job better. Drifblim's bulk, typing that gives it a lot of weaknesses combined with Unburden as the icing on the cake is the reason he was chosen for Weakness Policy here.
DSP (Espeon) @ Life Orb
Magic Bounce
Timid
4 HP/252 Sp.Atk/252 Speed
- Psyshock
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball
- Wish
Offensive Wish-passers are admittedly rather mediocre nowadays since Espeon's Wishes are pretty weak when passing to something like Lanturn, but Magic Bounce combined with this team's lack of instant offensive power makes up for it. Psyshock is standard, Dazzling Gleam for Dragons and Dark-types, Shadow Ball for Ghosts and Steel-types, not much to say about this set really.
Alan Grant (Tyranitar) @ Chople Berry
Sand Stream
Adamant
252 HP/252 Atk/4 Sp.Def
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Roar
- Stealth Rock
Primarily utility-based, Tyranitar was the final member of the team to be confirmed and basically just serves to fill all the gaps left by everyone else. His job is to lay down hazards and then to be as disruptive as possible through combination of Roaring in enemies that are weak against him, inflicting hazard and sandstorm damage in the process hopefully, and then hitting anything trying to flee from him with Pursuit. Stone Edge provides a strong STAB and ensures Tyranitar's monstrous offensive power does not go to waste.
So there you go. This is the kind of madness that goes through my mind, while also demonstrating the kind of thought process that goes through making a team. Using your favourites and stuff you like is fine as demonstrated by the usage of Slurpuff and Lanturn, who otherwise are considered very mediocre, but it's also key to back them up with stuff that compliments them well, such as Skarmory, who has been looked down upon for his severe overuse at times since his debut in Gen II. Feel free to comment and hopefully this team will aid you in making your own.
