Late to the game with the team of Kincho, the mountain spirit. My team was themed around Japanese folklore-- I was proud of any of you who recognized which poke was which legendary creature!
[spoilerxls][imgxls]http://www.serebii.net/xy/pokemon/678.png[/imgxls]
[bxls]The Nekomata[/bxls]
Yamato the Meowstic (M)
w/Prankster and Light Clay
-Thunder Wave
-Reflect
-Light Screen
-Psychic
[imgxls]http://www.serebii.net/xy/pokemon/275.png[/imgxls]
[bxls]The Tengu[/bxls]
Yakushibo the Shiftry
w/Chlorophyll and Assault Vest
-Leaf Storm
-Rock Slide
-Sucker Punch
-Low Sweep
[imgxls]http://www.serebii.net/xy/pokemon/130.png[/imgxls]
[bxls]The Carp that Reached the Dragon Gate[/bxls]
Ryuuten the Gyarados
w/Intimidate and Leftovers
-Dragon Dance
-Waterfall
-Earthquake
-Ice Fang
[imgxls]http://www.serebii.net/xy/pokemon/571.png[/imgxls]
[bxls]The Nogitsune[/bxls]
Senketsu the Zoroark
w/Illusion and Focus Sash
-Nasty Plot
-Flamethrower
-U-turn
-Dark Pulse
[imgxls]http://www.serebii.net/Shiny/XY/038.png[/imgxls]
[bxls]The Kyubi no Kitsune[/bxls]
Gintaro the Ninetales
w/Drought and Life Orb
-Flamethrower
-Solarbeam
-Hidden Power (ice)
-Will-o-Wisp
[imgxls]http://www.serebii.net/xy/pokemon/303.png[/imgxls] [imgxls]http://www.serebii.net/xy/pokemon/303-m.png[/imgxls]
[bxls]The Futakuchi-Onna[/bxls]
Hannya the Mawile
w/Intimidate and Mawilite
-Swords Dance
-Iron Head
-Play Rough
-Sucker Punch[/spoilerxls]
My team relied a lot on mind games, surprises and on challengers forgetting certain key things (which actually happened a lot). When all that failed, Mawile was there to bust out the muscle.
I was surprised at the sheer number of people who did not remember Meowstic M's prankster, Mawile's typing, or Zoroark's presence on my team. And I actually came to incorporate those things into my strategy, which worked very well. Shiftry's Sucker Punch and Ninetales' Hidden Power Ice came as another pair of nasty surprises.
I'd say that about 9 of 10 of the people I faced were not clued in to Zoroark until he actually showed himself, which proves that Team Preview is easily forgotten in the heat of a long battle. Disguising him either as my bulky support mon or as a huge offensive presence usually allowed him a free space to fire off a Nasty Plot before attacking. Focus Sash was there for backup. Some of the hardest moments to keep quiet were when people would get all baffled and ask me "How do you have a special sweeping Mawile??"
People keep down-talking Meowstic, but that little kitty can tank like a rhino and was key to keeping my sweepers alive and crippling all those greninjas. Mawile and Gyarados managed to do a lot of sweeping, with Shiftry and Ninetales giving good coverage. I came to really like this team a whole lot.
Rotom-W was one of my biggest enemies. I need to stop making teams that are so weak to that jerky little washing machine.
Props to all of you who managed to bring this team down. We loved every battle.