Feb 12, 2016, 07:15 AM
Your team is pretty good as it is.
Honestly, just run Mental Herb Smeargle if the Taunt thing is that big of an issue. Not many people head on attack it without either using Mega Kangaskhan or double targeting it. Also, King's Shield is a better option over Ice Beam as it cripples physical attackers, preventing them from possibly OHKOing Smeargle the following turn. I also suggest running Crafty Shield over Quick Guard on Smeargle because people are actually opting for status moves that disregard Quick Guard's protection (like not using Prankster Taunt but instead a normal Taunt). King's Shield more than not hinders Talonflame's damage output plus Crafty Shield blocks Talonflame's Taunt (which I've been seeing a lot on the ladder). Don't forget that Crafty Shield also stops Will-o-Wisp, Twave, Dark Void and all those other status moves so it works out better in the end in my opinion.
Wolfe Glicke's Politoed set works out better in the long run. Firstly, to pull off Perish, you need to have Protect to burn a turn. Scald does Hydro Pump's job plus Charizard can't retaliate in the rain under Shadow Tag. It is rendered useless. The idea of Perish is to KO the opposition with Perish so Ice Beam is pretty redundant here plus it doesn't even OHKO Salamence (the defensive Politoed set WHICH YOU SHOULD BE RUNNING).
Honestly, scrap Ludicolo for something that can take out powerful attackers (Kangaskhan, Salamence, Hydreigon, Metagross, Terrakion etc.) because these guys stop Perish Song with ease by just overpowering your team. Either that or you can run Whimsicott/Liepard/Sableye to support Gengar better but it is good to have a more stable offensive backbone than to make yourself reliant on Ludicolo who basically needs rain to be useful.
Staraptor cannot pull off Toxic stall. It simply lacks the bulk. Moreover, defensive Staraptor isn't even a viable set. I'd suggest running a Choice Scarf Reckless variant with Double Edge, Close Combat, Brave Bird and either Final Gambit or U-turn. Heat Wave literally does nothing because Staraptor lacks the stats required to run any form of special attacks. By the way, Close Combat from Staraptor doesn't OHKO Mega Kang so keep that in mind.
Again, Wolfe Glicke's set works best for Gothitelle. You won't be getting many openings to set up plus Gothitelle's job is to prolong Perish Song by supporting its team mates (mainly Politoed). If Perish Song is up and you're trying to pull of a Calm Mind set up, it'd be pointless because you have to switch out the turn Perish Song ends. Gothitelle is Taunt bait so you are very unlikely to get a Taunt off in any situation.
Not a bad team in general
Honestly, just run Mental Herb Smeargle if the Taunt thing is that big of an issue. Not many people head on attack it without either using Mega Kangaskhan or double targeting it. Also, King's Shield is a better option over Ice Beam as it cripples physical attackers, preventing them from possibly OHKOing Smeargle the following turn. I also suggest running Crafty Shield over Quick Guard on Smeargle because people are actually opting for status moves that disregard Quick Guard's protection (like not using Prankster Taunt but instead a normal Taunt). King's Shield more than not hinders Talonflame's damage output plus Crafty Shield blocks Talonflame's Taunt (which I've been seeing a lot on the ladder). Don't forget that Crafty Shield also stops Will-o-Wisp, Twave, Dark Void and all those other status moves so it works out better in the end in my opinion.
Wolfe Glicke's Politoed set works out better in the long run. Firstly, to pull off Perish, you need to have Protect to burn a turn. Scald does Hydro Pump's job plus Charizard can't retaliate in the rain under Shadow Tag. It is rendered useless. The idea of Perish is to KO the opposition with Perish so Ice Beam is pretty redundant here plus it doesn't even OHKO Salamence (the defensive Politoed set WHICH YOU SHOULD BE RUNNING).
Honestly, scrap Ludicolo for something that can take out powerful attackers (Kangaskhan, Salamence, Hydreigon, Metagross, Terrakion etc.) because these guys stop Perish Song with ease by just overpowering your team. Either that or you can run Whimsicott/Liepard/Sableye to support Gengar better but it is good to have a more stable offensive backbone than to make yourself reliant on Ludicolo who basically needs rain to be useful.
Staraptor cannot pull off Toxic stall. It simply lacks the bulk. Moreover, defensive Staraptor isn't even a viable set. I'd suggest running a Choice Scarf Reckless variant with Double Edge, Close Combat, Brave Bird and either Final Gambit or U-turn. Heat Wave literally does nothing because Staraptor lacks the stats required to run any form of special attacks. By the way, Close Combat from Staraptor doesn't OHKO Mega Kang so keep that in mind.
Again, Wolfe Glicke's set works best for Gothitelle. You won't be getting many openings to set up plus Gothitelle's job is to prolong Perish Song by supporting its team mates (mainly Politoed). If Perish Song is up and you're trying to pull of a Calm Mind set up, it'd be pointless because you have to switch out the turn Perish Song ends. Gothitelle is Taunt bait so you are very unlikely to get a Taunt off in any situation.
Not a bad team in general
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