Rate my OU team

Hi there,

I'm pretty new to competitive Pokemon battling and I wanted to make a very good team. So I really need a lot of help. I also am not that familiar with some rules, so please point them out to me! And please hammer me with critiques, I want to get all the problems out of this team.

Thank You!



So here's my team's lineup:



Coming up with the lineup was very hard. I had made an Uber team before this so I was coming up with OU counterparts to each of the Pokemon, and keep the same playing format/teamwork worked into the team. However, my Pokemon lineup still changed considerably.


I first started with Starmie because it is a great Rapid Spinner, and I wanted speed more than anything.


I then added Skarmory to the team to get a Pokemon who could lay spikes. Skarmory, I think, is a good choice because it is a Pokemon with high defense and can stall a little. It also can team up with Starmie to cover up each others' weaknesses. Like when Starmie is faced with Grass types or if Skarmory is faced with Ground, Starmie can pop out to deal good damage.


Then I added Blissey to add a SpD wall to the team. Also a Stealth Rock setter.


After getting my Utility Pokemon, I decided to dedicate the other half of the team to offensive. I wanted 1 SpA offensive and 2 Atk offensives. So for the SpA I debated between Thundurus-T and Alakazam. I chose Thundurus-T in the end because, even though it is very weak to Steal Rock, it has better Def stats than Alakazam otherwise.


So, moving on to the Atk offensive, Garchomp has always been one of my favorites because of it's amazing Atk stat and decent Def. It also plays nicely with the Thundurus-T, since it has exact opposite type, so it can switch in and out with Thundurus-T.


I needed one more Atk offensive. I was going to choose Haxorous, but I didn't want another Dragon type on my team, since in Showdown, another Dragon type took both Garchomp and Haxorous down with STAB and Super Effective. So I decided to look at Metagross. Since I don't have a Psychic type, it was a good choice I think.


More Specifically:



Metagross:



Cross (Metagross) @ Leftovers
Trait: Clear Body
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Agility
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
- Meteor Mash

I was planning on using Metagross as just a normal Atk offensive. But on Smogon, reading all the articles and reading the movesets and strategies. I felt like Metagross could be a great lead for me. It is slow, but it can pack a powerful punch to start out the game. I gave it 252 Atk EV's to deliver the punch, 252 Spd Ev's to get to doing that and 4 HP EV's to give it extra survivability. Also, I thought Jolly nature would work the best to increase Metagross's speed, because that's really what I'm most concerned with. Also, do you think Scizor or another Pokemon would be a better choice for Metagross? I'm always open to new ideas as long as the Pokemon can fit well into my team.



Metallica (Skarmory) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 216 HP / 40 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Brave Bird

I'm using Skarmory mainly as a Spike setter. So I want it to be mainly defensive and attacking only when necessary and holding out a stall. I'm putting 252 EV's in SDef because Skarmory SDef is really horrible. I put 40 Def EV's in so that Skarmory's Def won't be lacking at all, and then 216 HP for survival rate. With this, I feel Skarmory is pretty much covered in terms of defense and health. So I still have a lot of slots to fill with moves. I chose Roost for Stalling, Whirlwind for Stalling and switching opponents Pokemon for damage by Spikes and Stealth Rock, and lastly Brave Bird to attack the opponent with huge force when I need to or if I'm Kamikaze-ing.



Bliss (Blissey) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Aromatherapy
- Stealth Rock
- Seismic Toss/Toxic
- Softboiled

I like Blissey because it has an insane amount of HP for holding out the opponent's team and slowly weakening them. So for Blissey, I'm going all out support. It's going to set Stealth Rock and then support from then on out. I have Softboiled for healing/stalling and Aromatherapy so that I can easily switch Blissey out, use it, then go back in. I'm debating whether or not to use Seismic Toss or Toxic. Without Seismic Toss, Blissey wouldn't have any attacking moves, but then poisoning the opponent and simply dragging out the battle until the opponent dies is also an option. Please tell me what you think!



StarSpin (Starmie) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Recover

Starmie was the best Rapid Spin Pokemon that I could think of. It has the fastest speed out of the OU Rapid Spinners and it has a decent movepool for defensive/stalling. So I chose Rapid Spin for a move of course. I also got Recover since I would like Starmie to be able to Stall. I also got Scald with STAB and Psyshock for another SAtk move. I used Smogon's guide for Starmie, but I thought it was perfect for the position that Starmie would be playing in my team.




Thunder (Thundurus-Therian) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 16 HP / 36 Def / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 200 Spd
Modest Nature
- Agility
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Thundurus-Therian was a really hard Pokemon for me to EV tamper with. I put 252 in SAtk because that's its role on the team. However, for the rest, I had a hard time with. I put 200 Spd to get just enough to outspeed most other OU's. The rest, is for defensive to try to math Def and SDef so that one doesn't fall behind, and the leftovers, I just put into HP. I have Agility in Thundurus's arsenal for the sake of speeding up to match the fast Pokemon of the OU tier. I also have Hidden power ice to attack Ground types which it is weak against. I also have Focus Blast to Rock and Steel. Also Thunderbolt for STAB.


Zeto (Garchomp) @ Life Orb
Trait: Rough Skin
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Outrage
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

Garchomp was very easy for me to select. It has incredible stats in the OU tier and it is very fast. So for EV's Atk and Spd are musts to outspeed and outpower basically, I think, anything in OU, the rest just in HP. I decided to follow Smogon's Sword Dance scheme. It is very nice and makes me consider Garchomp's role a little more. I want Garchomp to be a final sweeper. With Swords Dance, its Atk will go extremely high. And with Outrage as a last resort with STAB Garchomp can pretty much faint anything. However, I'm still considering Haxorous as an alternative for Garchomp since they both have superb stats.


Please tell me what you think and please be as critical as you can or as you need to.

Thank You!
 
Hi will! First let me say you gave it a very good first shout. Is this is your first OU team? It sure is a heck of a lot better then my first run. Unfortunately It does have a few flaws, but lucky you everyone is here to help! Personally I am a newb team rater but I have been playing for a long time so I will give whatever I can to help.

First up, Metagross:

I like this agility set you are running, however leftovers is not right for the job and I suggest you use Life orb over leftovers and you will have an offensive monster to be feared.

Skarmory is in fact VERY GOOD. I wouldn't change him at all. Impressed=me
If you would like for extra stealth rock support I would give it stealth rocks over roost just in case your other "rocker" is KOed

Next up,Blissey:

So the art of stall takes a bit of practice, I wouldn't suggest using blissey in your first team, you will be surprised on how easily it is KOed by anything physical. If you really want to stall then I instead suggest Chansey over blissey with the standard wish set:

Chansey@evolite
Natural cure
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe, Bold nature
~ Wish
~ Protect
~ Seismic Toss
~ Toxic


Now for Starmie:

A great team member but you can't have 2 Pokemon (skarmory and starmie) defend each other like that without at least one of them being a power house. Starmie should instead be your alternative special sweeper to thundurus, and you won't even need rapid spin because I am going to suggest a replacement to him (more on that later).

I suggest this set:

Starmie@choice specs
Trait: Natural Cure
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid
- icebeam
- Scald
- trick
- thunderbolt


Pretty sweet huh? (lol) this will allow you to massively overkill anything that threatens to hurt Skarmory. Trick completely cripples all of it's counters, and the three offensive moves turn it into a monster for dragons, bulky waters, flying types, and fire types!


Time to roast Thundurus:

The weakness to stealth rocks is just killing him, you need a sweeper with way more coverage and reliability. The only thing thunder should EVER be used for is an offensive rain team. A great sweeper that is very similar to thundurus but better for a non-weather team is his brother, landorus. HOWEVER, I suggest you use a pokemon who is much more versatile and will fit better on this team then him. I suggest CM Latios to replace thundurus. Here is the set:

Latios@ Leftovers
levitate
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid
- Surf
- dragon pulse
- psyshock
- Hidden Power [fire]


People won't know what hit 'em. With HP fire you destroy all the steel type counters, any dragon will fear your might with dragon pulse, and you can wreak havoc with your amazing STAB psyshock!

Last but not least is Garchomp

Don't be afraid to use more then one dragon, it may actually help you more then you think. Garachomp is great to finish off this team. I suggest that you only change one thing and that is his move set.

~Fire fang
~Stealth rocks
~dragon claw
~earthquake


You now have a stealth R. setter with massive bulk to back it up! (better then blissey right?). Anyway, this new and improved set will ensure that after you set up your rocks you can go 6/0 with a great move set by the one and only generation 4 pseudo legend!


Last thoughts: LOL, man I suck, I gave you the best help I can but I am not sue if it will help considering my past epic fails, please give me a report back on if I helped so I know better how to help myself help others. :D
 
Thank you SO much for you feedback! I really do like Latios over Thundurus, thank you. And as for Garchomp do you think I should use outrage at all? I was thinking of using it as a last resort/suicide move.

Also, is there any other Rapid Spinner that I could use instead of Starmie? I'm trying to think of all Pokemon I can, but I really like your Starmie set over mine, so I can't think of another Rapid Spinner...
 
Hey!

Solid looking team. I like what you've done so far, but I think you have one major weakness: no Spin Blocker. A lot of your team's success hinges on stacking hazards and sweeping weakened teams with either Garchomp or Thundurus-t. In addition, I think Garchomp and Thundurus-t are a little redundant sweeping wise. You will be unable to set-up on Pokemon Lati@s and powerful Rain Spammers like Scarf Keldeo.

First off, I would suggest Scarf Jirachi instead of Metagross. Metagross is a pretty bad Pokemon in the current Metagame, especially sweeping variants. Other Pokemon like CM Jirachi, Landorus, Lucario, etc completely out-class it at whatever sweeping job you need. Scarf Jirach isn't really a sweeper, but it will give you assurance vs opposing set-up Pokemon. Iron Head can be an annoying end-game move, and U-turn is pretty cool for keeping momentum. Jirachi is also a very good lead, capable of starting a match off well against any kind of team with a U-turn. For your moves, I'd use Iron Head / U-turn / Ice Punch / Zen Headbutt or Trick. Zen Headbutt is a cool utility move allowing you to beat Toxicroak and Keldeo among others. Trick is handy for removing annoying Pokemon like Ferrothorn that threaten Thundurus-t sweeps. For EVs, use either the standard Jolly 252 Spe spread, or try this one: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spd. It's a stronger, longer lasting Jirachi spread, but you should try both to see which fits best on your team.

Next, I would really advocate you switching Garchomp to Jellicent. Jellicent is pretty much the number one option for Spin Blocking these days. I'd use Scald / Taunt / Will-o-Wisp / Recover and 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Sp Def with a Bold Nature. Previously I've advocated running Speed on Jellicent, but Tyranitars are starting to catch on. There's no sure bet to beat Tyranitar, so you minds as well maximize your Defenses. Anyway, Jellicent is really crucial to protect your hazards against Starmie, Forretress, Tentacruel, and others. Otherwise other teams will be able to Spin, and the only Pokemon capable of dealing any damage will be Thundurus-t. Jellicent can provide support against Rain teams too, which is never to be underestimated these days. Blissey maximizes its potential when used sparingly (avoids Trick and Double Switch traps) so allowing it to focus on Special threats while Jellicent neutralizes Rain teams is a pretty big deal.

Before I go, I'd like to recommend you use 252 Def Skarmory. Specially Defensive Skarmory is kind of bad in my opinion. There are a lot of strong Special Attackers that will beat Skarmory anyway, and Skarmory needs all the Defense it can get in order to beat SD Terrakion, DD Dragonite, and others. The Defense EVs certainly come in handy more often than any Special Defense on the Skarmory I use.

Good luck!
 
Thank you SO much for you feedback! I really do like Latios over Thundurus, thank you. And as for Garchomp do you think I should use outrage at all? I was thinking of using it as a last resort/suicide move.

Also, is there any other Rapid Spinner that I could use instead of Starmie? I'm trying to think of all Pokemon I can, but I really like your Starmie set over mine, so I can't think of another Rapid Spinner...
Hey man, you don't need a spinner! I know there is a lot of pressure but it isn't crucial to the team. most of your guys will now take 13% or less from S rocks which isn't that bad. You are in no immediate need of a spinner :)

The best spinners in OU for future reference however are as followed:
~Starmie (for any team and doubles as an offensive monster)
~Foretress (for most offensive teams and stall teams, great against physical walls, and very similar to skarmory with a few modifications)
~Tentacruel (Great for rain teams, ut I don't advise him on a standard team as you have here)

As for outrage "eh" I say, you can really replace D-claw if you want for outrage but I am always hesitant with using it because of how it locks you in.

As for undisputed's suggestion, I fully agree that a spin blocker is important but I would sacrifice Chansey/Blissey instead of G-chomp for a jellicent just because I feel you need more heavy offense as it is clear you have not yet fully mastered the stall tactics required to become a master. (however you are really great for a beginner!). I also suggest Ice beam as oppose to taunt because again I am feeling this team as more offensive then defensive. Master the skills of attacking before you go into further stall and defensive strategies. HOWEVER, he is a registered team rater so maybe I am wrong. As for the jirachi idea, that is great and you should totally use it!
 

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