TEAM:
Timid Levitate Flygon@Flygonite: Bug Buzz/Earth Power/Boomburst/Ancient Roar
Rash Hustle D.Scyther@Focus Sash: Hone Claws/Cross Chop/Icicle Crash/Ice Shard
Rash Steadfast Lucario@Life Orb: Nasty Plot/Aura Sphere/Dragon Pulse/Close Combat
Hasty Lightningrod D.Gardevoir@Magnet: Calm Mind/Thunderbolt/Ice Beam/Nuzzle
Gentle Psycho Call D.Venusaur@Leftovers: Calm Mind/Moonblast/Psychic/Leech Seed
Quiet Huge Power Azumarill@Sea Incense: Aqua Ring/Aqua Tail/Play Rough/Superpower
Natures are completely random, or else by Calm Minders would actually have Defense stats above 80. Movesets are using whatever skills are available at the time. It is a travesty that Lucario doesn’t learn Flash Cannon via level-up despite having higher Special Attack than Attack…
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Specific Problem: So, I tried Hard Mode as by first playthrough of the game, and it was… hard. Multiple times I got bodied by sweepers, but I usually managed to fix that by switching up my lead and using the mon as either setup fodder or avoiding early deaths.
Plan was to take out Electivire and then use Mega Flygon to clean up the rest of the team with Earth Power. In all my 3 attempts, I managed to kill 5/6 or 4/6 units without losing even half my health as Flygon, but then run into Mega Metagross, whose 90 base Speed outspeeds my 31IV 130 base Speed Timid mon and one-shots it. Given that I had good reason to expect Flygon to go first, my plan doesn’t account for Metagross not losing half his health to STAB Bug Buzz and everything falls apart since nobody else on the team even breaks 105 Speed let alone the 110 that Megagross reaches.
Megagross has Meteor Mash/Zen Headbutt/Earthquake/Ice Punch, giving it SE coverage on everyone in my party and box (Onix, Nidorino, Haunter, Ponyta, a gaggle of shitmons I caught for Good Rod) except Azumarill. They both 3HKO each other allowing me to potion stall, but Azemarill is outsped and has to rely on RNG Aqua Tail, which has an unfortunate failure rate and is ruined by crits and thus can’t be my sole plan. Scyther can only land a hit with Ice Shard, and everyone else just crumbles to SE coverage. I all but need a new team or at least a dedicated counter.
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Potential Solutions: This is just stuff I thought up to help. I’m more or less low on ideas and don’t have a single remotely foolproof plan. If some of these could actually work out please let me know:
Trade Kill: I have a Ponyta, and perhaps a sashed Rapidash can Flame Charge -> Flame Blitz. My Ponyta is Adamant with 28 Atk IVs so it may work as a trade kill. That’s assuming its speed isn’t bugged so high as to be unreachable, which may be the case if it outsped soemthing with 40 more base speed, max Spd IVs and a Spd nature.
- New Tank: I’m considering training Steelix as a check, but I’m fairly certain that his Mega Stone doesn’t exist yet so i’m not confident in its ability to tank EQ so i have no choice but to run Air Balloon. Steelix’s only Ground move via moveset is Dig as EQ TM isn’t avaialble and I doubt the AI is going to sit there and spam EQ so I still have no way to put it down, though he’d do some nice chip until the balloon pops.
- Moveset: I could give Gardevoir Livewire to try and paralyze it on switch-in and then sack half my team for the kill, but half his team can absorb Livewire and I have no idea if they insta-absorb it while switched in.
- Items: I’m probably going to give everyone except Flygon Sashes. If I’m going to sack units, I may as well try and get down a Leech Seed or Nuzzle for Chip. I could consider Mega D.Gardevoir, but that’d make Flygon all but dead weight thanks to Base 80 SpAtk, even with Stab Earth Power on most of the gym.