Balanced Favorites (All Glory to Arcanine)

[NastyJames]

So, this is the OU team I've had the most luck with, which makes me pretty happy, since I just picked the pokes I liked. I really wanted to try to hit the roles I find most important, Physical Attacker, Special Attacker, Wall, Annoyance, and... well... a cool Dragon.

I'll say right now this team is VERY leftover heavy, and it bothers me a lot. It works very well, but I can't help but feel cheap. So if you want to point that out, go ahead, but it's hard for me to see different options. As always, opinions and constructive criticism are well received by me :D

Arcanine @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Morning Sun
- ExtremeSpeed
- Close Combat

*Psychical Attacker

As you may know, my absolute favorite Pokemon. My friends tried to sway me from using him in OU, even going as far as suggesting I use that disgusting ape Darmanitan instead. Well I say nay! Haha. I love the suggested EV spread I received, but wouldn't mind tweaking it a little.
Flare Blitz is here for obvious reasons. I do hate to see Arcanine take any recoil, but I can't argue with the power this move puts out.
Morning Sun may not be the smartest choice, in fact I know many people prefer the 4 attack Arcanine, but I do like keeping him around as long as possible, and with the right prediction and a little luck, it's turned battles in my favor
ExtremeSpeed is great for revenge killing obviously, but I find the neutral damage to be high enough that it works in many different situations.
Close Combat, just because I didn't want Wild Charge. It has come in handy a FEW times, but not much. Very open to someone suggesting another move, just not Wild Charge. Don't get me wrong, I'll keep it if you all think that's what's best!

Milotic @ Leftovers
Trait: Marvel Scale
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Scald
- Ice Beam

*Wall

Milotic is just so damn pretty. I love the whole Negative Gyarados thing it has going for it. I played just a tad with the suggested EVs to get Milotic's SpA up to 240. Not a huge difference, but it has helped a few times.

Rest and Sleep Talk. Marvel Scale makes Milotic a beautiful RestTalker, and that's no secret. As if the strategy was solid enough, Milotic comes along and increases it's Def while sleeping. Beautiful.
Scald because I really dislike Hydro Pump. I know the accuracy isn't really that low, but it seems to screw me over more often than not, and having the burn chance of Scald is nice
Ice Beam is a decent move, and gives fairly nice coverage. It isn't perfect, but I've gotten a few Freezes, so I can't complain

Haxorus @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Rivalry
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 220 Spd / 252 Atk / 36 HP
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail

*Cool Looking Dragon

Haxorus may not be the strongest, fastest, or best dragon, but design wise, he's my favorite. The suggested EV's for this build have done me quite well, and as long as I use him smart, I'm rarely disappointed. I went Scarf instead of Band because this guy doesn't need that much help in the attack department.
Superpower simply coverage. I can't honestly say I've even used this once, but the day could always come when I need to.
Outrage... duh
Earthquake I don't have much to deal with electric types, and one of these coming off of Haxorus is quite scary
Aqua Tail is for coverage, just in case there is a Fire type I can't handle, as they can be a little tricky sometimes too

Gengar @ Black Sludge
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Disable
- Substitute
- Sludge Bomb
- Shadow Ball

*Annoyance

Gengar is a childhood favorite of mine. From design to implication, this is by far the coolest ghost in my opinion. He is great at annoying opponents, and has great SpA should the need arise.

Substitute and Disable is a devious combo that I allowed to annoy me for far too long before taking the reigns myself. It feels good to be behind the wheel >:D
Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball are probably the two best STABs to put on him, given the decent secondary effects they could incur.

Espeon @ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute

*Special Attacker/ Magic Bounce

My *second* favorite eevelution, right behind Umbreon. I just felt I could use Espeon better. Magic Bounce and that great SpA are good incentives too. With the Spd investment, I don't get out-sped often either

Calm Mind and Stored Power is preferred by me over Psychic, as I have swept quite a bit after just two Calm Minds.
Shadow Ball is lovely for Ghost counters, and that's about all I've had to use it for so far
Substitute is used if I lead and know they are going to try a hazard, hoping I have Synchronize instead of Magic Bounce. It usually leads to a win

Scizor @ Leftovers
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Roost
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite

*Physical Attacker/ Clutch Sweeper

Scizor, O how I love thee. Ever since Blue got one in the Manga, I've respected this beast. While I use mine a little differently, Blue's Scizor is the main reason Nasty James has a Scizor.

Roost because the longer he lives, the more pokes he subdues
The next three moves are truly mandatory on a sweeping Scizor, so I won't bore you with what you already know. He gets shit done.


So there you have it! Perfect? Not quite, but I am pleased with how it plays, and pleased that I was able to use Pokemon I love. Please! Tell me your thoughts!

 

[Ulriken]

Hi, pretty interesting team, so here are my thoughts:

The first thing I'll suggest is to switch out Ice Beam for Toxic on your Milotic. Milotic is currently your only reliable way of handling rain, but it can't dish out much in return via resisted Scald/Ice Beam. Toxic will allow it to damage your opponent while it spends its time endlessly recovering health.

I wouldn't hope too much that your opponents expect Synchronize Espeon, as Magic Bounce is used on 96% of its sets (and I bet the other 4% are mistakes). I know since these are your favorites that you're probably not too interested in changing anyone out, but I think you may need to look into more reliable ways of laying hazards, as well as preventing them, particularly with a Fire-type sweeper.

To this effect, possible major changes I see are :
Haxorus --> SR setting Garchomp
Still gives you a cool dragon, while also a reliable way to get Stealth Rock down (which is invaluable in the current game). Going without a scarfer is not really ideal though, so by putting a Choice Scarf on Arcanine you can take advantage of his solid coverage (with Wild Charge + Close Combat) while also patching up his mediocre speed. Espeon could then be changed to a spinner of your choice, though I suggest Starmie. Scizor does a good job taking down many of Starmie's counters, and Garchomp can take advantage of any Electric attacks aimed at Starmie for a free switch.

You could also opt to solve both hazard problems in one slot, by switching in Forretress for Espeon, with a moveset of Stealth Rock/ Rapid Spin/ Volt Switch/ (Spikes-Gyro Ball-Earthquake). This will also help handle opposing Dragons better, and Forretress can use its slow Volt Switch to tank a hit and bring in a counter safely. The last move is up to you, I placed it in the order I'd suggest though, as all sweepers enjoy extra hazard support, but Gyro Ball keeps Forretress from being complete Taunt bait.

If you decide you don't want to switch anyone out, you might also want to consider a bulkier set on Espeon (Physically Defensive could go well with your Calm Mind moveset). Otherwise I think this is a pretty solid team.
Hope I was able to help a bit, best of luck.

 

[NastyJames]

I greatly appreciate your input!

I'm a big fan of trying toxic on Milotic, I just never thought of it, haha. As for Garchomp, it's something I used to rely on heavily, so I'm more inclined to use a dragon I never really played with, i.e. Haxorus. And I suppose hoping people expecting a Synchronize Espeon may be a little absurd lol.

 

[blizzarddd]

if your arcanine goes down, and with rocks up, that won't take long, volcarona can be a problem, as at +1 it outspeeds hax and OHKOs. can't really think of something to fix that at the moment

 

[NastyJames]

It'll out-speed even scarfed Haxorus??? I honestly didn't know that. I haven't come across too many Volcarona's if you can believe it.

 

[QuickBH]

It'll out-speed even scarfed Haxorus??? I honestly didn't know that. I haven't come across too many Volcarona's if you can believe it.

Volc has 100 base speed +1 and it takes out even Haxorus. I agree with Ulriken. SR Chomp seems the best for you, since it can take a hit from Volc as long as it isn't HP Ice, and if it is HP Ice he doesn't have Giga Drain which means Milotic can take at least one hit. Scald could do okay but I recommend replacing Ice Beam with Dragon Tail. Since it prevents any dangerous setups, especially Volcarona. You can just phaze out dragons anyways so I mean not having Ice Beam isn't that big of a deal.

 

[NastyJames]

Well poop. I think Dragon Tail is probably a good call. I don't know why I didn't think of that of myself. That's a great way to counter that Volcarona problem!