ORAS OU Dance with Dragons [Hyper Offense Attempt]

[azurerogue]

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Introduction

So this is my first attempt at a HO team. Being relatively new (or rusty, depending on how you see it) to competitive battling I know this is risky. But I've been loving this team. I'm aware of a few problems, but overall it's been performing better than I'd expected. As with my only other RMT, I'm working with a few restrictions (which you do NOT need to observe in making suggested changes, but might help you understand the choices I've made thus far): 1) I enjoy battling in-game as well, though not really competitively, and would like to use this team there and 2) I currently only own Pokemon X so my initial choices are restricted to things I can get there. Over time I will get more games, more pokemon through trades, etc. so please don't restrict suggestions to fit my current needs.

Without much further ado, here's my team (currently sitting just below 1400 ELO on PS!):

The Team

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake

I absolutely love Mega Charizard X, and thus it formed the base of my plans for my team. I went with the standard OU Dragon Dance spread to get good speed and attack. If I can get a chance to set this up (against say Ferrothorn or Scizor which I find quite often) I rarely lose. He has good coverage moves, I think, which allow him (once boosted) to deal with Heatran or various Fairy switches. I'm in love with this moveset, and would rather not add Roost as the rest of the team covers him well, I think. I often try to save him for late in the game, unless a great opportunity to set up presents itself.

Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake

Dragonite is one of my other favorites, and I figured for an attempt at HO he makes a good partner for Mega Zard X, in that he offers a nice way to soften up checks and counters to my Charizard and, if he gets to set up, can also sweep rather nicely. Outrage is often used as a suicide move when their are Fairies left on the enemy team, but I generally save it as long as possible and prefer to rely on Extreme Speed for it's priority or Earthquake for general coverage. I considered moving him to a Choice Band as he rarely gets to set up (as he's used as a softener for Charizard a lot) but there are times when DD comes in handy when I make mistakes with Charizard early on.

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Swords Dance

Garchomp is my suicide Stealth Rocks lead, though he has often proven to be good at sweeping a couple of opponents off the field before he dies. If the opponent leads with Heatran, as an example, I generally forgo SR for a Swords Dance as I expect the opponent to switch out (due to EQ threat) and then he can often clear a few pokemon. Unfortunately, I sometimes mispredict and end up losing my SR because I assume he can set up and do damage and he ends up getting wiped out, but that's rare. I generally only depend on him for SR - anything else (like phazing with DTail) is just gravy.

Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick
- Swords Dance

Honestly, while writing this RMT I'm having a hard time explaining the Weavile's presence on the team, but he ended up here to counter some things I kept running into during testing. His priority Ice move is nice against Dragons who outspeed Dragonite/Charizard before they get to boost, and low kick is nice for Steels I guess. I think Swords Dance is a bit wasted here, as I rarely use it. Also, in writing this RMT I realized I never gave him a nature/EV spread while testing which is a huge **** up on my part. That clears up some of the times I got outspeeded when I didn't expect it. He's also served me well in dealing with Landorous-T.

Bisharp @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Taunt
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch

Bisharp was included to try to help stop Rapid Spin from my opponents, but also because the Taunt/Sucker Punch combo has been nice against mons that I just need to weaken in order to sweep with something else. On top of that he's my main check to slow Fairy types if I don't have something set up already. And Knock Off has never hurt, and seems to have saved my *** on a few occasions.

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin

Starmie made it on the team because I wanted a fast "suicide" Spinner, but also because it's special attack + Thunderbolt coverage makes for a good way to counter some water mons that my team can't otherwise handle. I sometimes wish I had Ice Beam, but that's mostly what Weavile is on the team for, so I gave it up in favor of Thunderbolt.

Conclusion

The team has some big weaknesses that I've found. For example, I once lost an entire match because an opponent Weavile was able to take out just about everything on the team. I don't know if it was Scarfed or what, but I couldn't outspeed it with anything and it just wrecked the team - so that's a point I need to fix. Bisharp was also originally Gengar but it didn't seem to work well with the team so I dropped it. My win/loss ratio has been decent, but I know I could improve this team so I'm looking for any/all feedback and tips.

EDIT: I've also just realized that once Starmie is out Keldeo just seems to completely wreck my team - so I should deal with that...

I appreciate your time, thanks for feedback.

Importable Below (not sure how to make it "spoiler" like)

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake

Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Swords Dance

Bisharp @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Taunt
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch

Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick
- Swords Dance

Starmie @ Expert Belt
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin

 

[AGuyWithPants]

Hey man. You have a great team going on here. Hopefully some of these changes that I suggest can help this team become even better ^_^

First of all, changing Garchomp to a more defensive set gives you a Stealth Rocker as well as a decent check for strong fighting types like Mega Lopunny, which your team really fears as it can 0hko 3 pokemon while hurting the other 2 alot as well. A set of 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe will be great on it as it allows you to outspeed Bisharp and also serves as a decent check for Talonflames and Mega Lopunny that dont run Ice Punch.

Secondly, Im not sure you really need Taunt on Bisharp. It would be better for you to make it your trapper as both Latis can freely drop Dracos on this team without fear. You do lose some power by doing this but it does relieve alot of pressure on your sweepers. A change of Blackglasses to Assault Vest and then changing Taunt for Pursuit will help a great amount here.

Also, Swords Dance feels like a wasted move here with the plethora of Physical Attackers you already have. Giving it Knock Off over Swords Dance gives you a great STAB move that hits extremely hard and hurts any water pokemon that may want to switch in into your Ice type moves.

With hazards like Stealth Rock being a massive danger for your team, a more bulkier spinner works better because you may repeatedly need to come in and spin against bulkier teams in general. This Starmie set is very helpful for this as it serves as a better Keldeo check as well as having recovery to allow it to switch in again and again.

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 16 SpD / 244 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Reflect Type
- Recover
- Rapid Spin

TL;DR

1) Change Garchomp's set from 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe to 252 Hp / 164 Def / 92 Spe
2) Change Bisharp's item from Blackglasses to Assault Vest and also change Taunt to Pursuit
3) Change Weavile's move from Swords Dance to Knock Off
4) Change the set of your Starmie.


I know that these changes may change your team from a more offensive team to a more bulky offense team but I do feel that it makes this team alot more consistent. I hope you go through this rate and find it helpful :).

 

[azurerogue]

Thanks for the suggestions. It does change the nature of the team a lot, but they all seem like logical changes so I'm currently implementing them and will give it a test run this evening.

Thanks again for taking the time to rate o7

 

[MaestroDeSWAG]

Thanks for the suggestions. It does change the nature of the team a lot, but they all seem like logical changes so I'm currently implementing them and will give it a test run this evening.

Thanks again for taking the time to rate o7

Actually, it doesn't really change it that much. The biggest change is chomp, but other than that, very little is changed. Taunt isn't exactly that useful (from my experience) on Bisharp for a couple reasons which I'll explain in a bit, you needed a stealth rocks layer, so chomp was adjusted for that, and your team really needs means of reliably getting rid of rocks, so Starmie was adjusted. Rather than completely changing the feel of the team, the changes suggested allow you to better support the core of the team. It is still very offensive, and none of the members were actually changed, just the sets. This is a cool team tho, I like it a lot. But the changes suggested are honestly pretty much crucial; SR is basically mandatory, and while you could instead run sash lead chomp w/ SD, bulkchomp checks you a way to beat Lando T, which otherwise stops Zard X pretty reliably, zard loses half its health to rocks pre mega and 25% after, and dragonite loses 25% and multiscale from rocks, so the ability to consistently remove rocks is absolutely crucial, and the Bisharp set helps to beat stuff like scarf Latios, which would otherwise plague you.

 

[dream light]

Hey azurerogue, this is interesting. Given your title I assume that you built for hyper offense so I'll rate it from that perspective. That said if you're more inclined to build blky offense the other raters (AGuyWithPants ty) have covered that angle quite well so if that's your inclination you can ignore my rate :]

A few things jump out to me immediately about the team:

1. Mega Gardevoir. You can pressure it using Weavile and Bisharp but if it gets an opportunity to use Hyper Voice it gets a kill. Like everything drops to it. Azumarill is similarly threatening: you have no immediate options to KO it and have to sack multiple mons to KO it, plus it checks both CharX and Nite pretty hard even if they've set up. IIRC you need to wear it down to 73 give or take to KO with +1 Blitz but Char is not a check. Altaria + Talon also does a good job against you as your team stands right now.
2. Like you mentioned before, Weavile is very threatening with Low Kick. I'm thinking a Scarfer is necessary to check it properly, as otherwise it will OHKO everything with Icicle Crash / Knock / Low Kick unless you win a speed tie with your own Weavile. This team is also a tad slow sitting at 383 on its highest mon. Hai Mega Lopunny and Mega Zam = D
3. Hippo balance and stall are pretty hard to break through; if the opponent gets the rocks up early and keeps Starmie out/eliminates it (ScarfTar/Bisharp) then Weavile will be extremely limited.

To remedy these, I propose the following changes/additions:

1. I recommend HW Scarf Jirachi > Bisharp. This gives you both a source of speed, a switch in for strong Fairies and Lati@s dracos, and a way to restore your setup sweepers in a pinch depending on matchup. This could be crucial against balance, for example, which might have Slowbro to Thunder Wave Char X. It can also outspeed and beat Weavile provided it doesn't switch into a Knock Off, which destroys it. It can also take one Waterfall or Play Rough from CB (not well though) and flinch Azu to death which is huge because nothing else can take a hit from it without being crippled (Starmie, for instance might take a Waterfall but will then potentially be at too low of HP to Spin). Bisharp is interesting here but you already have Weavile, which while not a switch in can Pursuit trap the Latis and spam Knock Off. Which leads me to my next recommendation:
2. Knock Off + Pursuit > Low Kick + Swords Dance on Weavile. You have two setup sweepers on this team and while three or more sweepers can be good (heavy offense) offensively speaking Weavile doesn't hit many targets that Char + DNite can't break through. All three struggle with Fairies and Azumarill in particular. If you have to sack three mons to deal with Azu then you've probably already lost the game. Outspeeding and whacking the Latis is pretty important for this team because aside from my previous recommendation, ScarfRachi (which doesn't like Dracos and checking Fairies) is the only switch in.
3. Thunderbolt Offensive Spinner > Reflect Type Starmie. Reflect Type is odd on this team: like, it works but it loses significant momentum, which gives threats like Weavile more switch ins. It's also not beating other big threats to hyper offense like Drill here:
   252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Starmie: 274-325 (84.8 - 100.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock. Even with the investment in HP it doesn't take a lot of punishment really and can't deal with Azu or Keldeo well as is, being at most able to stall Keld with recover while getting blown back by Azu Play Rough.

I think that's about it. I think that these changes more or less improve this team's ability to maintain momentum and offensive pressure on the opponent while avoiding obliteration by Weavile and Gardevoir; naturally they're still big threats but they can be played around more.

If tldr,

HW ScarfRachi > Bisharp
Knock Off + Pursuit > Low Kick + Swords Dance on Weavile
Offensive Spinner Starmie > Reflect Type

Sets

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
- Rapid Spin

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
- Trick / Zen Headbutt / Fire Punch

EDIT: Didn't see your own edit lol, have adapted appropriately.

 

[azurerogue]

Hector, so sorry to be late on the reply. I had thought I'd written one, but I guess not. The changes you suggested (especially the Weavile changes) have helped the team so much. I've currently kept Bisharp (mostly because this team was ALSO testing for an in-game team and I don't currently have access to Jirachi), but I see the logic there and (now that I'm done testing) will likely make the switch for PS! battles as Jirachi seems like an excellent addition to the team.

Thanks so much for your HO-specific rate as it really improved the team, I think.