Tom's Teams: Ash Ketchum Revamped!
Ah yes, Ash Ketchum, the protagonist of the popular Pokémon animé series and manga entitled The Electric Tale of Pikachu. He and his trusty sidekick, the un-nicknamed Pikachu, have been going strong for 10+ years, and the trainer has picked up a good number of Pokémon over the years, ranging from starters such as Bulbasaur and Turtwig to a herd of 30 Tauros. For all his glory received as a trainer, Ash sets a bad example for gamers in that he regularly uses unevolved Pokémon in big battles. While this works in the cartoon, you try trotting out Turtwig in a competitive battle and see how well you fare. So, what would happen if Ash was a trainer who geared towards competitive Wi-Fi/Shoddy/whatever you use battling? Here's one hypothetical team, going only on Pokémon he's owned in the cartoon series.
Staraptor @ Choice Band
Adamant Nature, 252 EVs in Atk and Spd
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- Double-edge
- U-Turn
That's a lot of power. Ash currently owns a Staravia, but the natural choice is to evolve into the class of the Normal/Flying-types. Staraptor's movepool is incredible, and putting a Choice Band on it not only increases the already unreal power of the first three moves there, but it gives it a chance to keep coming in and out, making best use of its Intimidate. U-Turn is there as a filler move, but it gives Staraptor an easy out after getting a potential OHKO on something like an Exeggutor or Shiftry.
Gliscor @ Leftovers
Impish Nature, 252 EVs in HP, 128 in Atk and Def
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake/X-Scissor/Aerial Ace/whatever
- Knock Off
Ash does have a Gliscor, and lucky for him, it's a very good wall. Roost is a great recovery move, and it takes away half of the Fang Scorp Pokémon's weakness to Ice for at least a turn. Stealth Rock and Knock Off are for annoyance, and your attack move depends on what you want to cover. EQ has STAB behind it, but if you're worried about hitting Flying-types, go with Aerial Ace or something of that ilk.
Tauros @ Leftovers
Adamant Nature, 252 EVs in Spd, 156 in HP, 100 in Atk, Preferred Ability - Anger Point
- Return
- Earthquake
- Zen Headbutt
- Substitute
Ash has 30 of these, so why not use one of 'em? It's tempting to have another Intimidator on the team to help cripple attackers, but the idea of max attack just off taking a critical hit is just too tempting to at least try for some hax-y goodness. The strategy is to keep Subbing until you get a CH, and attack in the interim.
Donphan @ Leftovers
Impish Nature, 252 EVs in HP and Def
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock
Another Stealth Rocker? Well, you can't be too cautious, plus, Donphan learns Rapid Spin and Ice Shard, giving Ash that all important priority move to abuse against faster enemies with the ubiquitous Ice weakness. Plus, you can never have too many STAB Earthquakes on a team.
Heracross @ Wide Lens
Jolly Nature, 252 EVs in Atk and Spd
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
This team has a huge problem with Ice-types and Ice-type moves, so here's Heracross! I slapped a Wide Lens on this bug because of SE and MH's accuracy issues, but you can sub a Life Orb on there if you're confident enough. Swords Dance on the switch, and you've got sweepy power for days. Ash can clean up mightily with this guy!
Pikachu @ Light Ball
Modest Nature, 252 EVs in SpAtk and Spd
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Charm
- Thunder Wave
C'mon, you didn't think I was going to leave Pikachu off this team, did you? Even if Ash stepped into the OU arena, this is one thing he wasn't going to change. Hell, you weren't even allowed to evolve the electric rodent in Yellow, so why do that? Anyway, Thunder Wave is there because Pika gets obliterated by a strong breeze, so you honestly can't be waiting for contact to get paralysis in. Charm helps survivability a bit if you can't get off T-bolt or GK.
Alright, there you go. As always, all comments, questions, criticisms, droolings over Platinum etc. are not only welcome but encouraged.
Staraptor @ Choice Band
Adamant Nature, 252 EVs in Atk and Spd
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- Double-edge
- U-Turn
That's a lot of power. Ash currently owns a Staravia, but the natural choice is to evolve into the class of the Normal/Flying-types. Staraptor's movepool is incredible, and putting a Choice Band on it not only increases the already unreal power of the first three moves there, but it gives it a chance to keep coming in and out, making best use of its Intimidate. U-Turn is there as a filler move, but it gives Staraptor an easy out after getting a potential OHKO on something like an Exeggutor or Shiftry.
Gliscor @ Leftovers
Impish Nature, 252 EVs in HP, 128 in Atk and Def
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake/X-Scissor/Aerial Ace/whatever
- Knock Off
Ash does have a Gliscor, and lucky for him, it's a very good wall. Roost is a great recovery move, and it takes away half of the Fang Scorp Pokémon's weakness to Ice for at least a turn. Stealth Rock and Knock Off are for annoyance, and your attack move depends on what you want to cover. EQ has STAB behind it, but if you're worried about hitting Flying-types, go with Aerial Ace or something of that ilk.
Tauros @ Leftovers
Adamant Nature, 252 EVs in Spd, 156 in HP, 100 in Atk, Preferred Ability - Anger Point
- Return
- Earthquake
- Zen Headbutt
- Substitute
Ash has 30 of these, so why not use one of 'em? It's tempting to have another Intimidator on the team to help cripple attackers, but the idea of max attack just off taking a critical hit is just too tempting to at least try for some hax-y goodness. The strategy is to keep Subbing until you get a CH, and attack in the interim.
Donphan @ Leftovers
Impish Nature, 252 EVs in HP and Def
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock
Another Stealth Rocker? Well, you can't be too cautious, plus, Donphan learns Rapid Spin and Ice Shard, giving Ash that all important priority move to abuse against faster enemies with the ubiquitous Ice weakness. Plus, you can never have too many STAB Earthquakes on a team.
Heracross @ Wide Lens
Jolly Nature, 252 EVs in Atk and Spd
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
This team has a huge problem with Ice-types and Ice-type moves, so here's Heracross! I slapped a Wide Lens on this bug because of SE and MH's accuracy issues, but you can sub a Life Orb on there if you're confident enough. Swords Dance on the switch, and you've got sweepy power for days. Ash can clean up mightily with this guy!
Pikachu @ Light Ball
Modest Nature, 252 EVs in SpAtk and Spd
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Charm
- Thunder Wave
C'mon, you didn't think I was going to leave Pikachu off this team, did you? Even if Ash stepped into the OU arena, this is one thing he wasn't going to change. Hell, you weren't even allowed to evolve the electric rodent in Yellow, so why do that? Anyway, Thunder Wave is there because Pika gets obliterated by a strong breeze, so you honestly can't be waiting for contact to get paralysis in. Charm helps survivability a bit if you can't get off T-bolt or GK.
Alright, there you go. As always, all comments, questions, criticisms, droolings over Platinum etc. are not only welcome but encouraged.