Sample Teams

Offense first. This is the finished-product half of Building Aggressive Offense: four illustrative, fully Gen-3-legal team skeletons — not tournament-proven lists, but honest archetype blueprints — each one a different answer to the same question — how do I delete the SkarmBliss + bulky-Water + Snorlax backbone and sweep before it recovers? Every set below is a verbatim canonical Smogdex set (the exact ones the teambuilder ships), so the blocks import clean and stay legal (no Choice Scarf, no Stealth Rock, Spikes-only hazards, type-based physical/special split). Treat them as starting points to learn the engine, then tune to taste.

How to read each team. Title + archetype → win condition → lead/opening plan → the 1–2 game-deciding sequencing calls → six set blocks (each with its load-bearing job + one non-obvious interaction) → speed/hazard plan → key threats to watch. The four archetypes, in order: trap-the-walls DragMag HO, Explosion-momentum DDTar Offense, trap-the-counter ZapDug Special Offense, and grind-them-down Special Spikes Offense.

Legality (gen3ou). Choice Band is the only Choice item; no Life Orb / Focus Sash / Choice Scarf / Choice Specs. Spikes is the only hazard; Defog does not remove it. There is no Terastallization. Steel resists both Ghost and Dark (Crunch and Shadow Ball are resisted, not neutral, by Skarmory/Forretress). Sleep / Species / Evasion / OHKO clauses apply; the OU banlist is the entire Gen-3 Uber tier. See Mechanics & Fundamentals.

Index

1. DragMag HO — trap Skarmory and Blissey, then sweep with two boosters
2. DDTar Offense — Explosion momentum into a Dragon Dance Tyranitar clean
3. ZapDug Special Offense — Beat-Up-trap Blissey, free the Calm Mind Suicune sweep
4. Special Spikes Offense — stack Spikes, spinblock, phaze, and grind through Blissey

Team 1 — DragMag HO

Archetype: Spikeless DragMag Hyper Offense — trap the walls, then sweep. Built on the DragMag engine (Magneton + a physical setup sweeper) doubled up with a second trapper so both halves of the SkarmBliss core get deleted on demand.

Win condition. Two trappers remove the two pillars that wall this team’s sweepers: Magneton traps and kills Skarmory (the Flying-immune phazer that stops physical setup), and Choice Band Dugtrio traps and Earthquakes a chipped Blissey or a weakened Tyranitar. With both walls gone, Salamence and Calm Mind Suicune have no switch-in and accumulate the game. Trapping is the whole point; everything else is a closer.

Win-con selection matrix. vs physical-wall cores (Skarmory + Swampert) → Magneton deletes Skarmory, MixMence Fire Blast / HP Grass overloads the rest; vs special walls (Blissey) → chip her, then Choice Band Dugtrio traps and Earthquakes the remains so Suicune can Calm Mind; vs fat balance → trade Snorlax Self-Destruct or Skarmory chip into a free setup turn.

Lead / opening plan. Default lead Skarmory as an offensive suicide lead — Taunt the opposing lead out of its own hazards/status, drop a Spikes layer if the turn is free, and chip with Drill Peck before it dies. Vs an obvious opposing Magneton lead, lead Salamence instead and pivot Skarmory in later only when Magneton is accounted for.

Game-deciding sequencing (the 1–2 calls).

1. Trap in the right order. Send Magneton at Skarmory before you commit Salamence to a sweep — a live Skarmory phazes your boost away. Save Dugtrio’s trap for the moment a chipped Blissey or Tyranitar is the only thing standing between Suicune and a sweep; don’t spend it early on a healthy throwaway.
2. Snorlax is your momentum brake, not a wall. Curse it up into a slow backup sweeper if the game stalls, and hold Self-Destruct as a wall-removal trade that hands Salamence or Suicune a free entry.

The six

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
Adamant Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
- Spikes
- Drill Peck
- Hidden Power Ground
- Taunt

Job: offensive suicide lead — Taunt + a Spikes layer + chip before it trades. Non-obvious: this is the Offensive Spikes Skarmory — fully invested 252 Atk / 252 Spe Adamant rather than the usual defensive spread, so it actually hits: HP Ground (physical in Gen 3) threatens opposing Magneton and Tyranitar on the trap, Drill Peck is real STAB chip, and Taunt stops the mirror from out-hazarding you turn one. It is meant to trade, not to wall.

Magneton @ Magnet
Ability: Magnet Pull
Modest Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Fire
- Thunder Wave
- Substitute

Job: the engine — Magnet Pull traps Skarmory and kills it with HP Fire. Non-obvious: HP Fire (special) hits Skarmory (Steel/Flying) for 2× and roasts opposing Forretress on the trap; the canonical Trapper set runs Magnet (a small Electric-move boost on Thunderbolt) over Leftovers, Thunder Wave to drop speed control as it traps, and Substitute to dodge the Roar/status it would otherwise eat while it does its job. Magneton’s own Steel/Electric typing means a Ground-immune partner matters — note Dugtrio is not that partner (Dug is grounded).

Salamence @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Naive Nature
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Dragon Claw
- Brick Break
- Hidden Power Grass
- Fire Blast

Job: the MixMence wallbreaker / primary wincon once Skarmory is gone. Non-obvious: this is the canonical Mixed Salamence — Fire Blast and HP Grass are special (off the 252 SpA), Dragon Claw is the physical Dragon STAB and Brick Break the physical Fighting coverage, so it overloads the physical-wall core from both sides: Fire Blast cooks Skarmory (Steel/Flying, 2×), HP Grass hits Swampert (Water/Ground) for 4×, and Brick Break punishes Blissey/Tyranitar on the switch. Intimidate also buys safer pivots into physical attackers.

Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Modest Nature
EVs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
- Calm Mind
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power Grass

Job: the special wincon. Non-obvious: this is the all-out Offensive Calm Mind Suicune — Hydro Pump over Surf for maximum break, and HP Grass (special) is the anti-bulky-Water tech that means even Swampert (Water/Ground, 4×) and opposing Suicune/Vaporeon can’t sit on a +1 Cune. Ice Beam (special) is the Salamence/dragon insurance — Ice hits Salamence (Dragon/Flying) for 4×.

Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
Adamant Nature
EVs: 204 HP / 224 Atk / 60 Def / 8 SpD / 12 Spe
- Curse
- Return
- Shadow Ball
- Self-Destruct

Job: special-side pivot, backup setup sweeper, and a Boom that opens a sweep. Non-obvious: this is the Offensive Curse Snorlax — Thick Fat blanks the Fire/Ice attacks that would otherwise check it, and Curse turns it into a slow secondary wincon that the special walls can’t break; Shadow Ball (physical in Gen 3) is for the Gengar that would otherwise spinblock-and-pivot freely, and Self-Destruct is the held-back wall-removal trade that hands Salamence or Suicune a free entry.

Dugtrio @ Choice Band
Ability: Arena Trap
Adamant Nature
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power Bug
- Aerial Ace
- Rock Slide

Job: the second trapper — removes a chipped Tyranitar/Blissey on demand and, at base 120, revenge-kills most of the unboosted field — everything short of the base-130s (Aerodactyl, Jolteon). Non-obvious: this is the standard Choice Band Dugtrio — EQ traps and OHKOs a weakened Tyranitar (Rock/Dark, 2× to Ground); HP Bug chips Celebi/Starmie; Aerial Ace is the never-miss button into Heracross (Bug/Fighting — Flying hits it 4×); Rock Slide rounds out the coverage. Note Dugtrio cannot trap Flying/Levitate mons (Skarmory, Zapdos, Salamence, Aerodactyl, Gengar, Claydol).

Speed-control plan (≥2 layers): natural (Skarmory and Salamence both 252 Spe, Suicune 228 Spe, Dugtrio base 120 revenge), status from the trapper (Magneton’s Thunder Wave drops paralysis as it traps), boosting (Suicune Calm Mind does not raise Speed, but Salamence’s offensive presence and Snorlax’s Curse force switches). Hazard lane: opportunistic single-layer Spikes off the Skarmory lead; this is a trap-and-sweep team, not a hazard-stack team, so Spikes is a bonus, not the engine.

How to beat this team

CB Aerodactyl is the honest hole — the team lacks a dedicated Rock-resist, and Aerodactyl’s Rock Slide hits Salamence (Dragon/Flying, 2×), Suicune (neutral), and Snorlax hard while outrunning the whole roster at base 130. Name it and race it: trap or revenge it before it gets a free turn. Faster offense that doesn’t fold to a single trap (a healthy Salamence/Zapdos that Dug can’t catch) also pressures the two-trapper plan, since spending two slots on trapping leaves only four bodies to actually attack.

Key threats (watch-list)

• Aerodactyl: the team’s worst matchup; no Rock-resist. Rock Slide 2HKOs most of the squad. Revenge with Dugtrio (it’s Flying, so Dug can’t trap it — you only get the revenge if Aero is already on the field and chipped) or out-pace nothing, so play around it with Intimidate pivots and Suicune.
• Gengar: Levitate dodges Dugtrio’s trap and Ice Punch lures Dug in for the OHKO (Ice 2× vs Ground); keep Snorlax’s Shadow Ball and Suicune for it.
• Swampert: resists Salamence’s physical Rock and shrugs off neutral Surf; the answer is HP Grass off MixMence (Grass 4× vs Water/Ground) — make sure Salamence is alive to break it.

Team 2 — DDTar Offense

Archetype: Spikeless setup offense built on Explosion momentum — no dedicated trapper, no Spikes reliance. An illustrative skeleton for the idea that ADV aggressive offense can win on Boom trades plus a single bulky Dragon Dance Tyranitar. Conceptually a Double-Dragon-Dance idea collapsed onto one Tar wincon, fed by a wall of Explosion users.

Win condition. Four of the six carry Explosion or Self-Destruct (Metagross, Cloyster, Claydol, Snorlax). Each Boom halves the target’s Defense in Gen 3 — effectively doubling the hit — so every trade either deletes a wall outright or hands the next mon a free turn. You spend that momentum to chip the Skarmory-based cores down, then Tyranitar Dragon Dances on a forced switch and cleans. Lum Berry + bulk + Sand chip is what guarantees it a setup turn.

Win-con selection matrix. vs physical-wall cores → CB Metagross Meteor Mash + Explosion (high chance to OHKO Skarmory through its Defense halving); vs special walls (Blissey) → Snorlax Curse / Self-Destruct or Tyranitar’s Earthquake on the switch; vs fat balance → Boom-trade twice to strip the walls, then DDTar over the wreckage.

Lead / opening plan. Lead Metagross (CB): threaten an immediate Meteor Mash, fish for the attack boost, and keep Explosion in your pocket as a turn-one wall-delete if they hard-switch a Skarmory in. Vs offense, Rock Slide the frail leads; vs balance, bait the wall and Boom it.

Game-deciding sequencing.

1. Don’t Boom too early. Explosion is a one-time resource on each of four mons — spend each one to remove a specific Tyranitar answer (Skarmory, Swampert, a bulky Water), not to chip something Rock Slide already handles. The goal is a clean DDTar turn at the end, so sequence the trades toward that.
2. Zapdos is your Speed control, not a sweeper. Thunder Wave spreads paralysis to fix the team’s lack of natural Speed; Baton Pass keeps momentum so the opponent never gets a free Spikes turn.

The six

Metagross @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
Adamant Nature
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 128 Spe
- Meteor Mash
- Explosion
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

Job: lead / wallbreaker / Explosion enabler. Non-obvious: this is the canonical Choice Band Metagross — CB Explosion has a high chance to OHKO Skarmory (Steel/Flying) because Boom halves Skarmory’s Defense in the calc; every move here is a physical type (Steel/Normal-Boom/Ground/Rock) so the Band is fully live. Meteor Mash’s own attack boost can snowball if they let it click twice.

Tyranitar @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
Adamant Nature
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Atk / 180 Spe
- Dragon Dance
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power Bug

Job: the win condition — Lum + bulk + Sand buys a Dragon Dance, then it cleans. Non-obvious: this is the canonical Bulky Dragon Dance Tyranitar — the heavy 248 HP investment (over a max-Atk spread) is what lets it survive a hit and still get the boost off, and Lum Berry eats the one status (Thunder Wave / Will-O-Wisp / Toxic) that would otherwise stop the setup. HP Bug (physical) is the anti-Celebi/Starmie tech that breaks the Psychics and Grasses; Rock Slide is the physical STAB, EQ hits the Steels. After a Dragon Dance it outpaces the bulky and mid-speed field, though not the base-130 revenge killers (Aerodactyl/Jolteon).

Cloyster @ Leftovers
Ability: Shell Armor
Timid Nature
EVs: 72 HP / 8 SpA / 244 SpD / 184 Spe
- Spikes
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Explosion

Job: a one-layer Spiker + another Explosion body + a Salamence check. Non-obvious: this is the canonical Spiker Cloyster — the SpD-heavy Timid spread lets it eat a special hit and still get a layer down, Ice Beam (special) is the dragon insurance (Ice hits Salamence, Dragon/Flying, for 4×), and Cloyster’s Explosion (Normal, physical) is a momentum trade that can blow a hole in a wall even off its modest Attack because Boom halves the target’s Defense. One Spikes layer is incidental chip, not the game plan.

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Timid Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Grass
- Thunder Wave
- Baton Pass

Job: speed control via paralysis + momentum pivot. Non-obvious: this is the canonical Standard Offensive Zapdos — Thunder Wave is the real Speed-control layer (paralysis = 1/4 Speed) since there is no Choice Scarf in Gen 3; Baton Pass keeps the team from ever handing over a free turn, and HP Grass (special) lets Zapdos itself dent Swampert (Water/Ground, 4×) rather than bouncing off it. Immune to Spikes and to Dugtrio (Flying).

Claydol @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Adamant Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Atk / 32 SpA / 8 Spe
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Psychic
- Explosion

Job: spins away opposing Spikes + a fourth Explosion. Non-obvious: this is the canonical Utility Claydol — the Adamant 216-Atk split makes its Earthquake and Explosion actually hurt while it still spins; Levitate keeps it immune to Ground and to opposing Dugtrio’s trap, so it spins safely; its Explosion is the wall-removal trade that opens a DDTar turn, and Psychic gives it a button into opposing Gengar/Heracross. This team spins rather than spinblocks because it doesn’t run Spikes as an engine — it just wants its own field clean.

Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
Adamant Nature
EVs: 204 HP / 224 Atk / 60 Def / 8 SpD / 12 Spe
- Curse
- Return
- Shadow Ball
- Self-Destruct

Job: secondary wincon / glue + the last Explosion. Non-obvious: this is the Offensive Curse Snorlax — a slow backup sweeper that sets up on the special walls (Blissey can’t break it), Return is the boosted Normal STAB, Shadow Ball (physical in Gen 3) handles the Ghosts, and Self-Destruct is the final momentum trade if the game needs one more wall gone before Tyranitar runs through.

Speed-control plan (≥2 layers): boosting (Bulky DDTar after a Dragon Dance outpaces the bulky and mid-speed field, though not the base-130s), paralysis (Zapdos Thunder Wave — the primary fix for no-Scarf speed), natural (Zapdos base 100, Metagross with 128 Spe creeps the slower Steels, Cloyster 184 Spe). Hazard lane: one opportunistic Cloyster Spikes layer + Claydol removing the opponent’s hazards; the team wins on Boom trades, not on stacking its own Spikes.

How to beat this team

Heracross is the single biggest threat. Once Skarmory-less, this team has thin answers to a CB or SD Heracross: Megahorn (Bug) and Brick Break (Fighting 4× vs Tyranitar’s Rock/Dark) tear through the Tar wincon, Snorlax (Brick Break), and Metagross. Offensive Waters with Ice coverage also race the build — they outpace and threaten the Explosion users before the trades pay off. Punish the Choice-locks: a hard-read switch into a CB Metagross Meteor Mash buys a free turn.

Key threats (watch-list)

• Heracross: the named hole — Fighting STAB is 4× on Tyranitar and 2× on Snorlax/Blissey; revenge it with a paralyzed field or a chipped Metagross, and never let it set up a Substitute behind Salac.
• Suicune / offensive Waters: Calm Mind Cune out-bulks the special side and Surf threatens Tyranitar (Water 2× vs Rock/Dark); pressure it with Zapdos (Electric 2× vs Water) and Snorlax before it snowballs.
• Salamence: Cloyster’s Ice Beam (4×) and Zapdos are the answers; don’t let a DD Mence in for free, since this team has no trapper to delete it.

Team 3 — ZapDug Special Offense

Archetype: Spikeless special offense built on the trap-the-counter core — Dugtrio Beat-Up-traps Blissey, and with the universal special wall gone, the special sweepers run free. The canonical ZapDug shell from the trap-the-counter special core.

Win condition. Blissey is the one wall that stops every special attacker in the tier. Dugtrio’s Beat Up chips through her enormous HP (each hit uses a party member’s base Attack, so it ignores her Defense math), and EQ finishes — Blissey deleted. With her gone, Calm Mind Suicune, Zapdos, and Calm Mind Celebi have no special wall to answer them, and Metagross covers the physical side. Trapping is the engine; there is no Spikes.

Win-con selection matrix. vs special-wall cores (Blissey + Snorlax) → Dugtrio Beat Up + EQ traps Blissey, Metagross Explosion removes Snorlax; vs physical-wall cores (Skarmory) → Suicune/Zapdos pressure it specially while Metagross/Tyranitar-less threats break it; vs fat balance → trap Blissey, then double-Calm-Mind (Suicune and Celebi) into a sweep.

Lead / opening plan. Lead Zapdos — it can’t be trapped by opposing Dugtrio (Flying), it pressures the field immediately with Thunderbolt, Thunder Waves a key target, and Roars the Blissey switch around for chip. Set the tempo, then start hunting Blissey with Dugtrio.

Game-deciding sequencing.

1. Beat Up math needs a healthy team. Each Beat Up hit scales off a living party member’s base Attack, so the trap is strongest early before your bodies are chipped. Bring Dugtrio in on a predicted Blissey switch (or after a forced one) and commit the trap while your roster is fresh.
2. Don’t burn the Calm Mind wincons before Blissey is gone. Suicune and Celebi want to set up after the special wall is trapped — Calm Minding into a live Blissey just feeds her Seismic Toss / Toxic.

The six

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Timid Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
- Thunder Wave
- Roar

Job: lead / special breaker / phazer. Non-obvious: this is the canonical Standard Offensive Zapdos — HP Ice (special) is the dragon answer (Ice hits Salamence, Dragon/Flying, for 4×), Thunder Wave drops paralysis speed control as it pressures, and Roar blows the Blissey switch around so she eats repeated pressure and Spikes-free chip. Immune to Spikes and untrappable by Dugtrio (Flying).

Dugtrio @ Choice Band
Ability: Arena Trap
Jolly Nature
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power Bug
- Aerial Ace
- Beat Up

Job: the engine — Beat-Up-traps Blissey and traps Tyranitar. Non-obvious: Dugtrio in ADV is a Choice Band trapper; this build takes Beat Up in the flex slot so it has the Blissey-chip tool the whole team is built around (each Beat Up hit scales off a living party member’s base Attack, so it sidesteps Blissey’s enormous special bulk). Because it is Choice-locked, commit to the move you need — Beat Up to grind Blissey, or EQ to OHKO a weakened Tyranitar (Ground 2× vs Rock/Dark) — and pivot out to re-select. HP Bug hits the Psychics; Aerial Ace never-misses into Heracross (Flying 4× vs Bug/Fighting).

Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Modest Nature
EVs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
- Calm Mind
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power Grass

Job: the primary special wincon once Blissey is trapped. Non-obvious: this is the all-out Offensive Calm Mind Cune — Hydro Pump over Surf for maximum break, and it Calm Minds through Zapdos/Celebi/Snorlax once the special wall is gone; Ice Beam (4× on Salamence) is the dragon insurance, and HP Grass (Grass 4× vs Swampert’s Water/Ground) means even the bulky-Water-and-Ground answer isn’t safe. Hydro Pump still threatens Tyranitar (Water 2× vs Rock/Dark).

Claydol @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Adamant Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Atk / 32 SpA / 8 Spe
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Psychic
- Explosion

Job: spin support + a Ground immunity to pivot Zapdos behind. Non-obvious: this is the canonical Utility Claydol — the Adamant 216-Atk split gives its Earthquake and Explosion real bite; Levitate gives Zapdos (and the team) a safe switch into Earthquake and makes Claydol untrappable by opposing Dugtrio; Rapid Spin keeps the team’s own field clean, and Explosion is a momentum trade to remove a wall the special attackers can’t crack. Psychic is a button into Gengar/Heracross.

Metagross @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
Adamant Nature
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 128 Spe
- Meteor Mash
- Explosion
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

Job: the physical breaker / Explosion body on an otherwise all-special squad. Non-obvious: this is the canonical Choice Band Metagross — CB Explosion has a high chance to OHKO Skarmory (Boom halves its Defense), removing the physical wall that the special attackers don’t care about but the team still must clear; every move is a physical type so the Band is fully live. It’s the answer to opposing Snorlax and Tyranitar that the special core would otherwise grind on.

Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Timid Nature
EVs: 76 HP / 252 SpA / 180 Spe
- Calm Mind
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power Fire
- Psychic

Job: secondary special wincon / cleaner. Non-obvious: this is the all-out Offensive Calm Mind Celebi — a second Calm Mind threat that forces the opponent into defensive-allocation hell once Blissey is trapped (the answer to Suicune often isn’t the answer to Celebi). HP Fire (special) hits Skarmory (Steel/Flying, 2×) and the Steels Giga Drain bounces off, Psychic is the secondary STAB, and Giga Drain’s drain keeps it healthy enough to re-threaten; Natural Cure shrugs status on the switch.

Speed-control plan (≥2 layers): natural (Zapdos base 100 Timid, Suicune 228 Spe, Dugtrio base 120 revenge), paralysis (Zapdos Thunder Wave drops the field to 1/4 Speed), boosting (Suicune and Celebi Calm Mind force the issue), phazing (Zapdos Roar manufactures chip and resets opposing setup). Hazard lane: no Spikes — Claydol spins the team’s own field clean; this is a trap-and-overwhelm team, not a hazard team.

How to beat this team

Gengar lures and deletes Dugtrio — Levitate dodges the trap and Ice Punch OHKOs Dug (Ice 2× vs Ground), so the engine that removes Blissey can be picked off before it works. Keep Dug alive and healthy for the Beat Up math; if it dies early, the special core stalls out on a live Blissey. Faster offense and strong physical attackers (Heracross, CB Aerodactyl) also pressure the special-heavy, somewhat frail squad before the Calm Mind wincons come online.

Key threats (watch-list)

• Gengar: the engine-killer; it can’t be trapped (Levitate) and Ice Punch removes Dugtrio. Claydol’s Psychic is actually super effective into Gengar (Ghost/Poison — Psychic hits Poison 2× and Ghost is neutral, netting 2×), so off base-70 SpA Claydol can pressure or pick off a chipped Gengar — but Gengar outspeeds Claydol and can pivot or Substitute first, so the cleaner answer is keeping Dug out of Ice Punch range and revenging Gengar with the team’s faster bodies once it’s chipped.
• Heracross: Megahorn/Brick Break threaten the special core; Dugtrio’s Aerial Ace (4×) and Metagross revenge it — don’t let it Substitute behind Salac.
• Aerodactyl: outspeeds the field and Rock Slide pressures Zapdos (2×) and the frail special mons; play around it with Claydol and Suicune bulk, since Dug can’t trap it (Flying).

Team 4 — Special Spikes Offense

Archetype: Spikes-stack + phaze special offense — the grind-them-down plan from the Spikes special offense core. Stack Spikes behind a spinblocker, force switches, and push fast special attacks into KO range through Blissey over a few cycles.

Win condition. Fast special attackers gain far more from Spikes than physical sweepers do, because they force the recovery-spamming walls to switch repeatedly into chip. Skarmory lays the layers, Jolteon and Starmie force switches and Roar/pivot Blissey into the hazards, Gengar’s Levitate + Ghost typing spinblocks so the layers stick, and Sand + multiple layers + phazing eventually pushes Thunderbolt/Hydro Pump into KO range even on Blissey. Tyranitar supplies the Sand and a physical break; Metagross Booms the walls that recover through chip.

Win-con selection matrix. vs Blissey + bulky Water → stack Spikes, Roar the switches, grind special chip until the wall folds; vs physical-wall cores (Skarmory) → Tyranitar Focus Punch + Magneton-less Metagross Explosion; vs fat balance → Spikes + Sand + phaze is pure attrition — the one archetype here that out-chips rather than out-traps.

Lead / opening plan. Lead Skarmory — drop the first Spikes layer, Roar to start the chip cycle, and pivot to Gengar the moment they bring a spinner (Claydol/Starmie/Forretress) so the layers survive. Vs an offensive lead, Drill Peck chip and get the layer down before trading.

Game-deciding sequencing.

1. Protect Gengar at all costs. It is the only spinblocker; if it dies, opposing Rapid Spin clears your Spikes and the entire chip engine collapses. Don’t throw it into a Pursuit (Tyranitar/Aerodactyl) or a CB Meteor Mash carelessly — its 60/60/75 bulk is frail.
2. Phaze, don’t just attack. Roar (Jolteon) and double-switches are what convert one Spikes layer into repeated chip on Blissey. Spread the layers first, then spend turns forcing switches; attacking into a fresh Blissey early wastes the engine.

The six

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
Careful Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
- Spikes
- Roar
- Drill Peck
- Taunt

Job: the Spiker / lead — lays layers and phazes for chip. Non-obvious: this is the canonical Standard Skarmory — the Careful 252 SpD spread lets it sponge special hits while it works, Spikes + Roar is the chip loop the whole team is built around, Drill Peck is its STAB chip, and Taunt shuts off opposing hazards and recovery turn one. (Skarmory phazes with Roar, not Whirlwind, since Whirlwind and Drill Peck are incompatible egg moves in Gen 3.)

Jolteon @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
Timid Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
- Thunder Wave
- Roar

Job: base-130 special speed control + the Blissey-phazer. Non-obvious: this is the canonical Standard Jolteon — Roar on a fast special attacker is the killer tech that blows the Blissey switch back into a fresh Spikes layer every time, forcing the chip the team then converts; Thunder Wave adds a paralysis layer, HP Ice (special) covers Salamence/grounds (Ice 4× vs Salamence), and Volt Absorb gives a free Electric-immune pivot. Untrappable by Dugtrio it is not (it’s grounded) — keep it off opposing Arena Trap.

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
Adamant Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
- Rock Slide
- Focus Punch
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power Bug

Job: Sand setter (the 1/16 chip that stacks with Spikes) + CB physical breaker. Non-obvious: this is the canonical Choice Band Tyranitar — Sand Stream is itself part of the chip engine (non-Rock/Ground/Steel mons lose 1/16 per turn on top of Spikes); every move is a physical type so the Band is fully live, and Focus Punch (Fighting) is the anti-Blissey nuke (Fighting 2× on Blissey’s Normal, and it punishes the switch). EQ hits the Steels, Rock Slide is STAB.

Gengar @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Timid Nature
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Punch
- Hidden Power Grass
- Explosion

Job: the spinblocker that keeps Spikes on the field. Non-obvious: this is the all-out Offensive Gengar — Levitate + Ghost typing means Rapid Spin fails into it (the spinblock is the team’s keystone), and the max-SpA spread lets it spinblock and punch back. Thunderbolt/Ice Punch/HP Grass are its special offense (its STAB Shadow Ball is physical, so it attacks specially off-type here): Thunderbolt cooks Skarmory and Waters, Ice Punch hits the Dragons and grounds, HP Grass nails Swampert. Explosion is the emergency momentum trade. Protect this mon — without it the Spikes are removable.

Metagross @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
Adamant Nature
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 128 Spe
- Meteor Mash
- Explosion
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

Job: physical breaker + Explosion to delete a wall the special chip can’t crack. Non-obvious: this is the canonical Choice Band Metagross — CB Explosion has a high chance to OHKO Skarmory (Boom halves Defense), which matters because this team has no Magneton to trap it; pair the Boom with Spikes already down so the next attacker walks into an open field. Every move is physical-typed — the Band is fully live.

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Timid Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin

Job: the team’s own spin management + fast special cleaner. Non-obvious: this is the canonical Offensive Starmie — it keeps your field clean (Rapid Spin spins your way) while pressuring with Bolt-Beam off max SpA; it’s the cleaner that picks up the KOs once Spikes + Sand + phazing have softened the back half. Hydro Pump threatens uninvested Tyranitar (Water 2× vs Rock/Dark); Natural Cure shrugs status on the switch. Note this is the team’s only spinner, so it doubles as insurance if Gengar can’t keep the opponent’s hazards off you.

Speed-control plan (≥2 layers): natural (Jolteon base 130, Starmie base 115, max-Speed Gengar base 110), paralysis (Jolteon Thunder Wave drops the field to 1/4 Speed), phazing (Jolteon/Skarmory Roar as de facto tempo control), chip-as-pressure (Spikes + Sand force the slow walls into KO range without needing to out-speed them). Hazard lane: hazard-stack — Skarmory lays Spikes behind Gengar’s spinblock, Jolteon/Starmie Roar/force switches to convert layers into chip; this is the one team here whose Spikes are the win condition, not a bonus.

How to beat this team

Spin the Spikes away. If an opposing Claydol / Starmie / Forretress gets a clean Rapid Spin off — especially by removing Gengar first (Pursuit it on the switch with Tyranitar/Aerodactyl) — the chip engine stalls and the special attackers lose their math. Out-offense the somewhat passive setup turns: the team spends tempo laying layers and phazing, so a fast aggressive opponent that races it before the chip accrues (DD Tyranitar, CB Aerodactyl, fast Calm Mind Suicune) can win before Spikes pay off. Blissey with Aromatherapy + reliable Soft-Boiled also drags out the grind — overload her with Tyranitar’s Focus Punch.

Key threats (watch-list)

• Opposing spinners (Claydol / Starmie / Forretress): the engine-killers; keep Gengar alive to spinblock, and use Starmie to re-clear your own side if they trade Gengar away.
• Aerodactyl: Pursuit traps the fleeing Gengar (Ghost) and removes the spinblocker; it also outspeeds the whole team. Sacrifice priorities matter — don’t let Aero get the free Pursuit.
• Tyranitar: opposing DD Tar races the chip plan and Pursuit removes Gengar; pressure it with Focus Punch (4× on Rock/Dark), Starmie Hydro Pump (2×), and Jolteon-paralysis tempo before it sets up.

Pilot summary — picking your archetype

All four share the same thesis from Building Aggressive Offense: you cannot brute-force the SkarmBliss + bulky-Water + Snorlax backbone, so you either trap the wall that stops your wincon (DragMag, ZapDug), explode it off the field (DDTar), or out-chip it with Spikes and Sand (Special Spikes). Read each member’s threat dossier for the full set spread and EV reasoning, and cross-reference the common cores page for the engine each team is built on.