Team: Cigarettes in the Theatre

Hello. 'Cigarettes in the Theatre' is a team I've been using for a while now and is definitely one of my more successful teams. Peaking at #5 on the Smogon ladder is a decent achievement, and a previous variant of the team was used in my Smogon World Cup of Pokemon tryout, and with it I managed to make the UK team.

This is a balanced Sandstorm team, with a defensive core of Gastrodon and Skarmory to deal with Rain teams and Sand teams respectively. I guess the main sweeper of the team is Excadrill, with Salamence executing Skarmory and Gliscor, and Gastrodon effectively neutering Rotom-W and other bulky waters to pave the way for Excadrill's sweep. Offensive Rain threats are also kept at bay by Gastrodon, who walls most of them with ease. Other defensive threats are generally dealt with by Whirlwinding around to rack up hazard damage and then just dealing as much damage with Salamence before bringing in Excadrill to clean up. Although this team appears pretty standard now, at the time it was pretty anti-metagame, utilising the incredibly rare Chople Tyranitar and Gastrodon. Due to the rapid increase in popularity of these 2 Pokemon, this team is not as successful as it was when I used it as my main team. Rain teams are now much more well-equipped to deal with Gastrodon, by using the likes of Grass Knot Starmie and Thundurus and playing more conservatively with Ferrothorn. The same is not true for Salamence however, which the vast majority of teams are horribly under-prepared for, making this team still very potent for use in the current metagame.

Please note that the comments under each team member were written when I first posted this team in the Smogon RMT forum a few weeks ago, so some of the references may be a little outdated. The metagame has actually shifted quite a lot over the last few weeks, most notably with the rise in popularity of Tabloo-like teams (Skarm/Heatran/Roserade/Gastrodon/Filler/Filler), and most of this was written before this surge in popularity of non-weather teams.

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Tyranitar (F) @ Chople Berry

Trait: Sand Stream

EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef

Sassy nature (+SDef, -Spd)

- Stealth Rock

- Pursuit

- Flamethrower

- Rock Slide

I'll admit I'm not a massive fan of Chople Tyranitar, as ScarfTar is up there as one of my favourite sets in the game. However, it isn't really suited for this team. The change to ChopleTar has been pretty recent, and currently I was using ScarfTar with Stealth Rocks since I had literally no where else I wanted to put it on the team. I eventually decided to change set when I realised that Tyranitar was barely getting any oppurtunities to set-up Stealth Rock, as most of the time it would just be switching to Pursuit away Dark-weak Pokemon such as Starmie, Gengar, and Latios, and it doesn't really force that many switches otherwise. I chose ChopleTar over the standard Special Defensive set because Thundurus is just that ridiculous. Even with Gastrodon and Excadrill it can be annoying to handle. 

The set is pretty self-explanatory but I'll go through it anyway. Stealth Rock is a staple move on pretty much any non-choiced Tyranitar this Generation because it helps deal with so many threats. Although the team doesn't have a spin-blocker, Sun teams with Volcarona get put under a lot of pressure by having Stealth Rock up on their side of the field as it means they are effectively forced to bring-in Forretress and Rapid Spin. This gives me a free turn to do whatever I want, such as set-up Sand again with Tyranitar or attempt to set-up one of my Swords Dancers, both of which give the team a huge momentum boost. Stealth Rock also makes Thundurus, Tornadus, Dragonite and opposing Salamence easier to deal with. The decision between Pursuit and Crunch is always difficult for defensive Tyranitar, as Crunch is especially useful against Reuniclus, whereas Pursuit is infinitely more useful against Latios. I decided to go with Pursuit here because Scizor already deals with Reuniclus very well, and it can also be dealt with in a pinch by just keeping the offensive pressure on with Excadrill and Salamence. Flamethrower is here as an extra way to hit Ferrothorn and Skarmory in-particular, once again aiding an Excadrill sweep. Rock Slide is chosen over Stone Edge because the extra power isn't really needed whereas the increased accuracy is greatly appreciated against Volcarona and Thundurus. The EV spread is just me being lazy. I decided to go with 252 HP / 252 SDef when I first tested the set and it worked, so saw no reason to look into a more efficient spread.

Skarmory (F) @ Leftovers

Trait: Sturdy

EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 Spd

Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)

- Spikes

- Brave Bird

- Roost

- Whirlwind

Skarmory forms a great defensive duo with Gastrodon, who takes Fire Blasts and Thunderbolts aimed at Skarmory all day, while Skarmory takes the Grass Knots and other Grass-attacks that Gastrodon despises. On a broader spectrum, Skarmory walls most Sandstorm sweepers and Gastrodon handles the Rain sweepers, meaning that I have most of the metagame's top threats covered between just 2 Pokemon.

Skarmory provides entry hazard support with Spikes alongside Tyranitar's Stealth Rock, which, in conjunction with Whirlwind, helps to wear down Skarmory's common switch-ins, such as Magnezone, Thundurus, and Heatran. Although a lot of the top threats this Generation aren't grounded (see: Thundurus, Latios, Dragonite, Balloon Excadrill, Balloon Terrakion), Spikes still has great utility. Brave Bird and Whirlwind are the 2 'filler' moves of the set, but are still pretty much set in stone here as they are both very important. Whirlwind helps rack-up hazard damage to help the sweepers, as well as putting-off Magnezone from wanting to switch-in on Skarmory, and is also useful for getting rid of set-up Pokemon before they get too threatening (for example, Rock Polish Terrakion, DD Dragonite, SD Scizor, SD Excadrill, SD Landorus, CM Reuniclus, and SD Gliscor). Brave Bird means that Skarmory isn't complete Taunt-bait, as well as meaning that I don't get swept by last-Pokemon Excadrill with its Balloon still intact. Brave Bird also deals decent damage to the common Grass-types in OU, including Celebi and Virizion who are 2HKOd and OHKOd respectively with Spikes and Stealth Rock, even with no Atk investment. Although I'm sure there is a more efficient and tailored EV spread out there than the one I am currently using, this is the one I started with and it seems to have been working fine. I opted for a Physically defensive set here as opposed to a Specially defensive set, as most Sandstorm sweepers attack on the Physical side of the attacking spectrum, and Tyranitar can sponge Draco Meteors from the likes of Latios excellently.

Gastrodon (F) @ Leftovers

Trait: Storm Drain

EVs: 252 HP / 20 SAtk / 236 SDef

Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)

- Scald

- Ice Beam

- Toxic

- Recover

Gastrodon can single-handedly wall the 5/6 members of the common rain team, only really fearing Ferrothorn which Skarmory can get free Spikes up against. Gastrodon acts as the team's main counter to Thundurus, as it really can't touch me with any of its common attacks and Gastrodon just removes it with Ice Beams.

In very early iterations of the team, I had an Unaware Quagsire in this spot, but I've never regretted replacing it. Although they share the same typing and they both counter Thundurus, Gastrodon's Storm Drain ability is just too much to pass up, allowing to to act as a counter to Starmie and Azumarill on top of the aforementioned genie. Despite the defensively-inclined EV spread, Storm Drain and Rain-boosted Scald's really pack a punch, and Gastrodon gets a lot of opportunities to fire them off against Rain teams trying to get rid of Tyranitar and Excadrill. With its secondary Ground-typing, Gastrodon has great defensive psynergy with Skarmory, taking on the Thunderbolts and Fire Blasts that Skarmory hates with ease due to resistance and brilliant special bulk. The lack of Earth Power on the set means that Gastrodon can't really hit Rain sweepers back once it switches in, but she forces a load of switches so doesn't really need an attack to hit them anyway, letting Toxic damage, Stealth Rock and Spikes do all the work. Toxic is the filler move on the set, as is here mainly as a way to hit CM Latias on the switch-in, putting a timer on it so it can't really do much, unless it has the rare Refresh.

Scizor (F) @ Leftovers

Trait: Technician

EVs: 252 HP / 40 Atk / 216 SDef

Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

- Swords Dance

- Bullet Punch

- Bug Bite

- Roost

Scizor acts as another Dragon-resist on the team, but unlike Skarmory has a very SDef-focused EV spread, making it an excellent check to the likes of Latios and Reuniclus, which pose some problems to the team otherwise.This set functions similarly to Swords Dance Gliscor, acting as a defensive Pokemon early-game and then pulling off a possible sweep late-game with Swords Dance despite minimal attack investment. The EV spread is obviously tailored with this in mind. 252 HP and 216 SDef EVs means Scizor is never 2HKOd by Virizion's or Reuniclus' Focus Blasts, proving no SDef drops, which means Virizion can be Roost-stalled for Life Orb recoil in a pinch before being finished off with Bullet Punch. Similarly, Reuniclus can be dealt with by setting up Swords Dances and Roosting off damage before finishing it off with Bug Bite. 

Swords Dance Scizor is far superior to Choice Band for this team (and just generally in this metagame, in my opinion) purely because it gets so many chances to set-up Swords Dances thanks to a great set of resistances, including Dragon, Steel and Grass allowing it to easily set-up on Choice Specs Latios and Ferrothorn. Superpower is an option over Bug Bite but Ferrothorn is already beaten 1-on-1 with Bug Bite, and Skarmory is well dealt with by Salamence. Without Bug Bite Reuniclus has a much easier time running through the team as well. The priority Scizor brings to the team is incredibly helpful, especially in dealing with Pokemon such as Double Dance Terrakion, who can outspeed Excadrill after a Rock Polish and OHKO everything on the team at +2 Atk. With Scizor on the team, I can OHKO Terrakion after a Close Combat, making it much less of a threat. Even if its defense is still at +0, I can Bullet Punch to break the Balloon before going to Excadrill to revenge-kill provided it hasn't managed to Rock Polish.

Excadrill (F) @ Air Balloon

Trait: Sand Rush

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd

Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

- Swords Dance

- Earthquake

- Rock Slide

- Rapid Spin

I hate Excadrill so much, but it is just brilliant at what it does. Excadrill is the offensive Rapid Spinner of the team, getting rid of Stealth Rock, Spikes and Toxic Spikes which Gastrodon and Tyranitar despise. Excadrill causes loads of switches, giving him a lot of chances to pull out a Rapid Spin, mostly on switches to Skarmory or Gliscor. Starmie was the only other option here, but I opted for Excadrill due to its greater offensive capability with Swords Dance, making him a great spinner early-game and threatening sweeper late-game, something Starmie can't really match.

Excadrill acts as yet another check to Thundurus, beating non-Focus Blast variants one-on-one in both Rain and Sand, and outspeeding all sets when I have the weather advantage, OHKOing with Rock Slide. Its immunity to Thunder Wave means it is one of the few offensive checks to Thundurus that doesn't get crippled as it takes it down. Excadrill also acts as a well needed check to non-balloon and non-Rock Polish Terrakion, easily outspeeding even Scarf sets and OHKOing with Earthquake. Deciding between Rock Slide and Frustration was somewhat difficult, but I decided on Rock Slide for the flinch chance, and also so that Excadrill isn't left completely hopeless against Skarmory. Although Frustration is more powerful against Gliscor and Lati@s, they are often already weakened sufficiently by Salamence/Gastrodon and Tyranitar respectively before Gliscor comes in to finish off the job.

Air Balloon is the item of choice here over Life Orb because of Excadrill's role as the team's Rapid Spinner. With Air Balloon, Excadrill has guaranteed Spikes immunity the first time it switches in, which is important as it means it will be healthier when it tries to sweep later in the battle. Air Balloon means that Gliscor has a much harder time countering Excadrill, particularly if it has already been weakened by other members of the team.

Salamence (F) @ Life Orb

Trait: Intimidate

EVs: 116 Atk / 216 SAtk / 176 Spd

Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)

- Draco Meteor

- Fire Blast

- Brick Break

- Roost

Salamence has been very overlooked this generation due the presence of the other dragons taking up its niches. Latios has a much more powerful Draco Meteor, and Dragonite's new ability Multiscale and access to ExtremeSpeed makes it a better Dragon Dancer. However, MixMence remains just as threatening as it was last generation, retaining its ability to hit hard on the special side without getting walled by Tyranitar and Blissey, something Latios can't consistently match.

Salamence does a great job of removing Excadrill's counters early- and mid-game, OHKOing even the most Specially defensive Skarmory most of the time with Stealth Rock up, and OHKOing standard Swords Dance Gliscor 100% of the time with Stealth Rock up. With Excadrill spinning Stealth Rock away, and with Roost in the 4th slot, Salamence has surprising survivability, even more so with Intimidate buffing his ability to take physical hits, such as Close Combats, Drain Punches and Mach Punches from the various OU Fighting-types. Brick Break is the filler attack of choice here, hitting Tyranitar and Blissey harder than Earthquake while still hitting Heatran for around 60%. The EV spread means Salamence can outspeed all neutral-natured Base 90 Speed Pokemon, focusing the rest of the remaining EVs on power, since Salamence is acting a wallbreaker as opposed to a sweeper. Although Draco Meteor's power doesn't match Latios', it is still incredibly powerful, and very few Pokemon can switch-in on a Draco Meteor and then take a second attack from Salamence, making it a very efficient wall-breaker. Salamence brings a few nice resistances to the team, including Fighting, Fire and Water in particular. As Salamence resists Grass, Fire and is immune to Ground-type attacks, he makes a very good switch-in for Nasty Plot Celebi, who is pretty annoying for the team to face otherwise especially considering the lack of Crunch on Tyranitar.