Hey guys! This is my first post on the Smogon forums and my first RMT. I've been competitive battling and on Smogon for quite a while, but I've never actually posted before. I figured I'd go ahead and put together a RMT and see what you guys think! So let's get to the team...Rattata's Ta-Ta's.
FIRST LOOK AT THE TEAM
FIRST LOOK AT THE TEAM
DISCLAIMER: This is a team that I've been using in a tournament with some friends of mine (hence the unrelated name). These Pokemon were all DRAFTED, so I didn't always get to choose Pokemon from the top of the OU rankings to put on my team. Regardless, all of the Pokemon on this team are viable and have fared decently well in the OU ladder, and any recommendations that you have, including upgrading members to more top-tier Pokemon, would be much appreciated!
The Count (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish (+Def, -SpA)
Earthquake
Toxic
Roost
Stealth Rock
Gliscor has been one of my favorite Pokemon to use since his debut in DPPt, and that was before he got his incredible Dream World ability, Poison Heal. I run him as a pure physical wall with 252 HP and 252 Def, although I know I should probably consider running a few more Speed EVs to outspeed certain threats. Gliscor is good at setting up Stealth Rock upon switching into any number of physical threats, and Earthquake and Toxic manage limit the longevity of said sweepers fairly well. Roost provides a more potent and immediate form of recovery than Poison Heal and allows me to scout for potential HP [Ice]s on slower Pokemon while avoid the OHKO. Gliscor does a decent job of checking Talonflame, Landorus-T, Bisharp, and other various physical threats, and the combination of his Toxic and Medicham's dual priority (which I will discuss later) is a great safety valve that has saved my butt more than a few times. In short, Gliscor keeps the rocks up, keeps sweepers from rolling over me, and stays alive as long as he can.
xSPECSe (Latios) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
Draco Meteor
Psyshock
Surf
Roost
Latios pumps out a lot of damage, and is one of my three offensive powerhouses on the team. This guy does a great job of both applying offensive pressure and checking key offensive threats in OU. His typing allows him to safely come in on things like Rotom-W, Heatran, Keldeo, and fire off a Draco Meteor or Roost back up for lost health from Life Orb and hazards. Draco Meteor does an irrational amount of damage to any non-Fairy type that doesn't resist it, and Psyshock does a good job of dealing with Fighting types and specially defensive Pokemon. Surf rounds off the coverage by doing a nice chunk to Heatran and other Steel Pokemon, but I'm thinking the slot might be better used with something like Earthquake, which could hit common Steel types and Heatran even harder. Roost, as previously mentioned, heals off accumulated damage, and I find that hazards don't hurt this team too much, so Defog is mostly unnecessary (and counter-productive if I've set up Spikes). The EVs maximize SpA and Speed, maximizing power and letting Latios outspeed a ton of Pokemon, which is really important for my team since it tends to be more bulky than fast.
One-Eye Joe (Magnezone) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
Thunderbolt
Flash Cannon
Hidden Power [Ice]
Volt Switch
Just your typical, steel-trapping Magne...wait, what, he doesn't have Magnet Pull? That's right, Ol' One-Eye Joe is distinctly NOT your average steel-trapper. And while some might think that a waste of Magnezone's potential or that there's got to be a better answer out there, I can only hope to effectively put into words how much face this thing can wreck. Let's start with his defensive capabilities. Are you aware of how many resistances Magnezone has? No? Eleven. Magnezone has 11 resistances and 1 immunity, affording him tons of opportunities to switch in and provide his teammates some relief. He's also immune to Toxic and Thunder Wave, making him a decent check to certain defensively-minded stallers. Once Magnezone switches in and absorbs a little damage or aforementioned status, the fun begins. If they don't have an Electric-immunity on their team, I'll usually drop a Volt Switch for offensive momentum or a Thunderbolt for some extra pain. If they move before me or switch, they take a STAB, Specs-boosted, Analytic-boosted Volt Switch coming off 394 SpA. It's unbelievable the damage this guy can do. But oh, wait, they have a Landorus, seems like a perfect switch-in to Magnezone. It's faster, immune to his common Electric moves, can OHKO with Earthqu...FLASH CANNON. Nothing is more satisfying than ripping a Flash Cannon right into the face of an incoming Ground-type. If it doesn't straight-up OHKO whatever comes in, it leaves them severely crippled. It also does a bunch of damage to the Lati-twins, and is one of the best ways to deal with a Clefable who thinks she can safely set up Calm Minds all day. Hidden Power [Ice] rounds out the set for coverage, but honestly, I rarely find myself using it and am thinking of switching it out for HP [Fire] or HP [Grass]. All exaggerations aside, this thing is immensely powerful, and it can take out key threats or just do huge amounts of damage to the opposing team. The speed EVs are used to outspeed minimum speed Skarmory, and the rest are placed into SpA and HP to maximize bulk and power.
I'M BATMAN (Roserade) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm (+SpD, -Atk)
Energy Ball
Spikes
Sleep Powder
Rest
This is the slot that I've been filling with random other Pokemon in the tournament that I've been playing, and I've finally settled with Roserade. I was desperate to get a Grass-type on my team for the sake of being able to absorb Spores, Sleep Powders, Leech Seeds, etc, and Roserade ended up being available. But to be honest, I'm surprised at how much I like her and how effective she's been. I run her as a special wall with 252 HP and 252 SpD, and she and Jellicent form a pretty decent specially defensive core together (despite the fact that I run Jellicent with physical defense). Roserade tends to lead for me if I think they will lead with a Pokemon that she can outspeed and put to sleep; she often ends up keeping Stealth Rock off the board in the early-game. She can then proceed to set up a layer of Spikes or two, depending on whether or not I think she can take a hit from the incoming switch. If not, she has plenty of opportunities to come back in, absorb a special attack, and either set up more Spikes, put a Pokemon back to sleep, dish out a decent chunk of damage with Energy Ball, or heal up with Rest and then switch out to cure the sleep. Roserade handles things like Greninja, Keldeo, and strong Electric types well, but their coverage moves (Ice Beam, Icy Wind, HP [Ice]) often end up giving her some problems, unless she can put them to sleep and let something else deal with them.
Squishy (Jellicent) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold (+Def, -Atk)
Scald
Shadow Ball
Will-O-Wisp
Recover
Jellicent was one of my favorite go-to's in Gen 5, and she seems to have fallen from grace since then due to the rise in popularity of Dark types and the Knock Off buff. However, her typing is still invaluable in checking key threats, such as Keldeo, Azumarill, Mamoswine, Scizor, and Talonflame. Running Will-O-Wisp and 252 HP and 252 Def EVs makes Jellicent an ever better physical wall, capable of shutting down some of the most threatening physical threats in the metagame, although her natural bulk allows her to take weak neutral special attacks very well too. Scald is good for a little damage and for burning potential switch-ins, and Shadow Ball gives some extra coverage against Psychic-types and types that resist Scald. I've also run Hex and Taunt before; Hex has incredible power if I manage to burn the opponent, but it's not as reliable as Shadow Ball. Taunt does a great job of shutting down slower stall team Pokemon, like Chansey and Ferrothorn, but I find I often end up not using or needing it. Recover, obviously, let's Jellicent sit in and stall all day. Jellicent pairs well with Roserade and Magnezone, absorbing the Fire, Ice, and Fighting attacks that they hate, and she often ends up saving the game with a much-needed burn against big threats.
Duck Face (Medicham) @ Medichamite
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
High Jump Kick
Psycho Cut
Fake Out
Bullet Punch
Mega-Medicham is an extraordinarily powerful wallbreaker, as most people know. A High Jump Kick (that hits) shatters most offensive Pokemon and does a lot of damage to walls. If Medicham gets the opportunity for a free switch and can outspeed the opponent, something is going to be taking a lot of damage, even if they resist Fighting. Ghost types are obviously a slight problem, but with the ban of Aegislash, Ghost types are much less common, and Psycho Cut can be used to take out an incoming Gengar. Fake Out is used for chip damage and to scout how much damage Medicham can do with his other attacks. It's a good way of getting Medicham a free Mega-evolve as well, and it works well in combination with burn and poison damage as well, giving Toxic the opportunity to both do more damage and rack up another turn. Bullet Punch may seem like an odd choice since I already have Fake Out for priority, but it acts as an incredible safety valve, allowing Medicham to essentially have an 80-base power priority attack for types that don't resist Normal or Steel. In combination with burn and poison, it has saved me countless times from a late-game offensive threat. It also makes short work of Mega-Gardevoir. Psycho Cut is a good alternative to High Jump Kick for Fighting resistant or immune Pokemon, and is used over Zen Headbutt because its higher accuracy is a good backup for the potentially detrimental High Jump Kick. Medicham's EVs maximize Attack and Speed for obvious reasons, allowing Medicham to outspeed a decent number of Pokemon that it can't kill with priority attacks alone.
So that's my team! I like this team and can't change it around too much in the tournament that I'm in, but I would love suggestions that might improve it on the OU ladder. Let me know what you guys think! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
