ORAS OU A beginner's first competitive pokemon team

[IraBoR]

Hello everyone! First I'd like to start this by saying that prior to testing and making the team that i'm about to show you, I had 0 competitive pokemon experience. Eventhough my experience was close to 0, I wanted to give it a try because I loved the pokemon games so much! After reading a lot quite a bit of forum posts, watching youtube videos and testing different versions of the team on pokemon showdown, I think I put a decent team together (or at least I hope!). The things that I say here are things that make sense in my head so they might not be true ^^''

Sorry in advance if my English is not very good. English is not my first language.

Here's what I came up with:

Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Hammer Arm
- Thunder Punch

I wanted to build my team around this guy. I watched some youtube videos and in those videos they often said to pick one pokemon and build your team around it. The set for Metagross is fairly standard and in my eyes pretty self explanatory though I wasn't sure on what to do with my 4th move (either bullet punch, ice punch or thunder punch). Upon playing I felt that I had the most need for Thunder punch than the other moves.

I wanted to cover Metagross his weaknesses. So I figured I would need pokemon who can take dark-,fire, ground and ghost moves. Because my head couldn't think of one pokemon who covered everything, I decided to choose two pokemon who can cover everything.

Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off

Azumarill is used to cover dark and fire moves. I chose Azumarill because I wanted aqua jet so that I have at least 1 priority move (which from what I read was needed in every team). I chose Knock off over superpower because my metagross already has a fighting move and knock off is really usefull to remove annoying items for metagross like Rocky Helmet.

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- U-turn

Hydreigon was chosen because it covered the ghost and ground weaknesses that were not covered yet. I was switching a lot between Choice Scarf and Choice Spec for this pokemon but because I just wanted my Hydreigon to kill anything that can possible get in the way of my Metagross I chose the Choice Scarf to outspeed almost everyone.

I believe I now have what is called a core. What is left for me is to cover the weaknesses of my team while keeping in mind that I need some defensive/special defensive pokemon.

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

So I heard a lot of people say that Landorus-Therian is really strong. I myself have experienced this aswell so I thought that he would be a great asset to my team considering he is a good defensive pokemon with two immunities. I also read that entry hazards are really important in competitive. While playing with Landorus-TherianI realised why this pokemon is so strong. He can do some damage while taking a lot of hits and he is also my go to lead in basically every match.

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Earth Power

I used the Teammagma.net's teambuilder to figure out where the weaknesses of my team were in terms of typing. My team still had a 4x weakness to fairy (because of my Hydreigon) which I needed to cover. I was unconfortable with switching my Metagross in because I wanted him to be my win condition in every game and considering I do not have any heals in my team, every bit of damage matters. That's why I decided to go for heatran. I did not have any pokemon that had fire type moves and upon playing I realised how important taunt is. I also liked the fact that I could put toxic on him so that I can put a timer on some tankier pokemon that I cannot one shot.

Goodra @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Thunderbolt

So this last slot was actually the most difficult for me. I covered all of my weaknesses so I did not really have anything concrete to search for. So I decided to look at my team in a different way. I realised that I missed a special defence pokemon. Knowing almost nothing about what pokemon excels in what I just googled 'special wall pokemon'. When I finished reading a couple forum posts I decided to go with Goodra. I thought that it was overkill at first to put an Assault Vest on Goodra but it can live super effective moves that are also have STAB. I chose a little bit of an odd move: HP grass. My reasoning behind it was that I did not have anything against a ground/water type pokemon.

I hope I followed the RMT rules and please tell me if this team is good or I just straight up missed the point of competitive pokemon. I played quite a bit with this team and although i'm not very high rated on Pokemon Showdown (1324), I have a lot of fun playing with this team because I win quite a few of my battles!

Thanks in advance!

 

[TorterraX]

Hey IraBoR!
First off I'd like to say welcome to Smogon and to competitive battling!
I think your team is fairly good, especially since it's your first one, and I believe some simple tweaks could make it better still.
I'd like to point out that I'm not an expert in ORAS OU, being primarily a BW OU player, so take my advice with a grain of salt (I still do have some ORAS experience, fear not :P). However, I'm a pretty seasoned competitive battler and I am sure that some of my advice can be helpful! So without further ado, let's start out:
(Oh and bear with me, my ''s'' key is not working correctly so there might be a few missing s!)

Metagross
I'd definitely slap Ice Punch on this set. I think it'll be much better to choose it over Thunderpunch, because it is metagross' only way to reliably KO defensive Garchomp (who wrecks Meta otherwise), and to check other threats such as Landorus and Gliscor, the latter which I'll talk more about later as I feel it can be a major threat to this team.
With M-Meta great speed tier, a lot of the time you'll be able to outspeed threats, but as Normal Metagross' speed is awful, if you find than when you Mega Evolve you get hit too hard you might wanna consider Bullet Punch for its priority, but I feel that most of the time the loss of coverage will not be worth it. Earthquake is also an option you didn't put in your list and that can be used effectively, especially if you need a Heatran counter.

Azumarill
Ah Azumarill; good and simple. It's a very effective revenge killer, and as you said it covers some of M-Meta's weaknesses. Great choice overall. Personally though I prefer Superpower over Waterfall; Aqua Jet will still hit pretty hard even on neutral hits, and Superpower gives you some much needed coverage. Even if M-Meta has a fighting move you might want to have some on other mons because some particular threats will wall your team otherwise, particularly if M-Meta is dead. Even if it's not dead, you're basically giving a free switch-in to the opponent by switching to M-Meta. For a specific instance, yesterday I was having a battle where I had my Banded Azu against a Ferrothorn, and none of my Pokemon who were left were great switch ins to Ferro. Superpower rapidly KOed him, whereas if I didn't have Superpower he would have most likely been able to setup Seeds and support the rest of his team. Anyway, it comes down to preference too, as I prefer dropping some raw power in favor of some coverage (especially since Aqua Jet has priority too)

Hydreigon
Not much to say here, Hydreigon is a pretty fantastic special attacker, however since you run Scarf you could always consider getting Modest nature and you'll still outspeed a great deal of the metagame. A life Orb set is also good because it has great power and lets you handle switch-ins instead of switching yourself. If you're ever looking for a bulkier sweeper Dragonite could also replace Hydreigon, though that might just be me because I find Dragonite to be fantastic.

Landorus-T
Pretty great set here, however I'd like to say that imo Stealth Rock would be better on Heatran, as I will explain in his entry. Furthermore if you use it as a lead, be careful as a lot of pokemon have coverage (ice, water) that can heavily cripple him and limitate his sweeping ability later on.

Heatran
Alright, so here's the deal: having used Heatran I can say this is a pretty awesome lead. As you pointed out, Taunt is very important but the main thing here is that, when Heatran is used as a lead, it can deny opposing entry hazards by using taunt along with his good speed, basically netting him a free turn (assuming the opponent's lead switches) to set up Rocks or use Toxic. Just be careful as some leads have Earthquake which will, in most cases, OHKO you so beware that and switch if you think your opponent has it. Lando-T can be a great switch, just make sure that he won't hit you with ice coverage. I'd would personally replace Earth Power with Stealth Rock, and if you miss the ground coverage that badly, consider getting it on Hydreigon or M-Meta.

Goodra
Pretty solid choice for a wall, just be careful as Knock Off is very common and will limit your walling capabilities. I would run Sludge Bomb over HP Grass since 1) HP Grass doesn't offer that much coverage and 2) If Heatran is down, fairies are a big threat to your team and mons such as Clefable can switch in on you and setup in your face. Though if it is the case, try to predict the switch to 2HKO them as otherwise they'll still setup and wreck Goodra.

Threats to your team:

Gliscor​

My biggest concern here, I feel Gliscor might be a big threat to your team. You lack any form of ice coverage so if Hydreigon and Goodra are down it can wall you to no end, bar maybe Azu but then he can just Toxic stall you. Plus if he runs Earthquake he wrecks your Heatran and M-Meta. Ouch. Beware of that, definitely try to slap some ice coverage here and there (as I said, Ice Punch on M-Meta, and maybe Ice Beam on Goodra)

Fairies​

As I also pointed out, if a few of your key Pokes are down, fairies can setup on you pretty easily and sweep the remainder of your team. So if you spot a Clefable or Diancie on the other team, careful not to lose Heatran or you're pretty screwed, also Sludge Bomb on Goodra would be nice to have.

Rain Teams​

That is a very specific counter to your team and obviously no team can get around that to an extent, so just be careful if you happen to face one. A few defensive pokemon can wall some of yours, maybe setup or else. Thinking Jirachi, Tentacruel, but as Weather Teams are a rare instance in ORAS OU don't be too concerned about that, just be aware of it. M-Meta loves rain though as it pseudo-negates its fire weakness.

That's pretty much all I can think of for now, if I think of anything else I'll edit, otherwise I hope that can help you, if you ever have further questions feel free to ask and I will reply, and good luck on the ladder!

 

[LucarioOfLegends]

Welcome to Smogon!

As one who has used a somewhat similar team myself, Hydreigon and Metagross (commonly called Hydragross) are a true force to be reckoned with, and create a solid Fairy-Dragon-Steel Core with the addition of Azumarill. I'm not the most experienced player out there, but I can at least offer a few pointers to help this team.

Metagross
The only major edit I would put is to replace Zen Headbutt with Ice Punch. Ice Punch hits many different things that could threaten a sweep, such as Gliscor, Lando-T, Dragonite, Garchomp, and whenever you find a Zapdos. I would also say to switch out Thunder Punch for Bullet Punch, but most of your team can't do much against a Keldeo, and Metagross may have trouble against certain flying types without Thunder Punch.

Azumarill
I agree with TorterraX's claim to add Superpower instead of Waterfall, since most steel types in OU can threaten you with your current moveset.

Hydreigon
Its a strong set for it, but I recommend the Life Orb set instead. With this set, you're not forced into choosing one move, so you're not forced to switch into another Pokemon if a Fairy switches into Draco Meteor, giving them a free turn, You also outspeed many Fairies without the Scarf anyways. Additionally, you get Flash Cannon instead of U-Turn, a move that can check many offensive Fairies.

I really don't have any critiques for your other three, so I hope this helps!

 

[Sablenite]

Hello and welcome to the competitive system. This is honestly quite impressive, but can have some minor optimization. Here is a link to a website for sprites if you are interested: http://www.pokestadium.com/tools/sprites

Okay so I increased the def investment on Metagross to guarantee the survival of Bisharp's sucker punch from full since nothing really switches directly into it. Next, I did change Knock Off to Superpower for Azumarill so you can get rid of Ferrothorn much easier. Thirdly, I did a set change for Landorus so it is able to help you apply more pressure to Scizor considering how easily Heatran gets worn down while giving it enough speed investment for neutral nature base 70s (Bisharp, Breloom,and Volcanion). I'm changing Heatran to Talonflame to help better stall break, while still resisting most fairies (Diancie and Azumarill), while also providing another Bisharp check. Lastly, since Talonflame mandates hazard removal, and you have a slight weakness to Keldeo, I'm changing Goodra to a Roosting Latios.

I also encourage testing Bullet Punch on Metagross over either Zen Headbutt or Thunder Punch and using coverage on Latios as you need (either Psyshock or Thunderbolt) and you can even put U-turn back on Landorus if you prefer. Just play what is most comfortable to you.

Importable

Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 240 Atk / 12 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Hammer Arm
- Thunder Punch

Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Superpower

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- U-turn

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 8 SpD / 88 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance

Talonflame
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 172 SpD / 88 Spe
Careful Nature
- Acrobatics
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Taunt

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Roost

Retirees:

 

[TorterraX]

Hello and welcome to the competitive system. This is honestly quite impressive, but can have some minor optimization. Here is a link to a website for sprites if you are interested: http://www.pokestadium.com/tools/sprites

Okay so I increased the def investment on Metagross to guarantee the survival of Bisharp's sucker punch from full since nothing really switches directly into it. Next, I did change Knock Off to Superpower for Azumarill so you can get rid of Ferrothorn much easier. Thirdly, I did a set change for Landorus so it is able to help you apply more pressure to Scizor considering how easily Heatran gets worn down while giving it enough speed investment for neutral nature base 70s (Bisharp, Breloom,and Volcanion). I'm changing Heatran to Talonflame to help better stall break, while still resisting most fairies (Diancie and Azumarill), while also providing another Bisharp check. Lastly, since Talonflame mandates hazard removal, and you have a slight weakness to Keldeo, I'm changing Goodra to a Roosting Latios.

I also encourage testing Bullet Punch on Metagross over either Zen Headbutt or Thunder Punch and using coverage on Latios as you need (either Psyshock or Thunderbolt) and you can even put U-turn back on Landorus if you prefer. Just play what is most comfortable to you.

Importable

Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 240 Atk / 12 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Hammer Arm
- Thunder Punch

Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Superpower

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- U-turn

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 8 SpD / 88 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance

Talonflame
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 172 SpD / 88 Spe
Careful Nature
- Acrobatics
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Taunt

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Roost

Retirees:

Those are good changes, but I disagree on Superpower replacing Knock Off. Knock Off is a powerful move that will make every opponent think twice before switching in on Knock Off Azu. Wouldn't it be better to replace Aqua Jet or Waterfall ince he already ha some water coverage? (Replace waterfall imo)

Also, he said specifically he was using Heatran for Taunt and such, and since he's a beginner I think it would be better for him to keep having a taunt user and experience that move's impact on the metagame.
I agree your changes overall are good, but I feel it just shifts too heavily his team's playstyle from Semi-Stall to Full Offense. Might just be me though.