Selfless Machines

Preview




Introduction

Today, I'd like to post my current OU team, Selfless Machines. The name of this team comes from Pierce the Veil's Album.. Now, as you can see, only half of my team are Steel-typed. How does this title make sense? Each member of my team are named after monsters the Yu-Gi-Oh! archetype Vylon. Said archetype, to quote the wikia, "appear as angelic, vaguely humanoid machine(s)". Our machines help each other, as this team fuctions like a machine. If one member falls, the others will fall too. This team relies on the assistance of every member to keep the pressure on the opponent, causing them to make a crucial mistake and seal the game from there.

The hazard-setting Pokemon are named after the Tuners of the archetype, or in this case, the three-dimensional figures. The sweepers are named after the Sychro monsters of the archetype, or in this case, the phonetic pronunciation of Greek letters. There is one Pokemon in this team who is using a pretty obscure set and is the backbone of the team, in which she is named after the Union monster of the archetype, being a four-dimensional figure. The star of the team is named after the archetype itself.

In Detail




Sphere the Ferrothorn

Item: Leftovers
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 90 Def / 168 SpD
Nature: Relaxed (+Def, -Spe)
-Spikes
-Power Whip
-Protect
-Leech Seed

Sphere is the first of my two hazard-stacking Pokemon. Spikes is an amazing move in this metagame, as it can make many 3HKOs into 2HKOs or even 2HKOs to OHKOs. Power Whip is the offensive move of my choice, as it allows me to combat Rain a bit better. While Gyro Ball could give me the edge against Dragon-types, this team doesn't have much problem with them. Leech Seed allows me to deal with the Dragon-typed Pokemon who are locked into Outrage. It also helps with the team's longevity, as only one of my Pokemon have an instant recovery move.

Even though Sphere is my Physical Wall, the EVs allow Ferrothorn to take hits from the Special side, as Rain is a dominating playstyle. The HP is maxed to deal with hits from both sides of the spectrum.





Prism the Heatran

Item: Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD /
Nature: Calm (+SpD, -Atk)
-Stealth Rock
-Lava Plume
-Roar
-Protect

Prism is the second of my hazard setting Pokemon. Prism takes the very important job of being my one and only Special Wall. With Prism's spectacular typing, it can easily set up hazards and check an array of threats, including physically based threats like Scizor. Stealth Rock is the move of the metagame. If your team does not have this move, chances are, you won't succeed in the ladder. Lava Plume is the attacking move of choice, as it has the very crucial burn chance, which makes Prism a psuedo-mixed wall. Roar allows Prism to phaze his threats and rack up hazard damage so my sweepers can come in and do their stuff. Protect is an important move, as there are many Choiced Pokemon in this metagame and it allows me to scout their move and go to an appropriate counter. If they overpredict and get locked into the wrong move, like Scizor's Bullet Punch, for example, I can easily Roar whatever they send in.





Delta the Starmie

Item: Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt
-Rapid Spin

Delta is an excellent name for this Pokemon, as rivers and water go along together as much as Delta and her team. The move set is extremely standard, Hydro Pump is preferred to Surf, as I need as much power as I can get, seeing as Terrakion and Tyranitar, two big threats to this team, get a Special Defense boost. Ice Beam and Thunderbolt provide perfect neutral coverage and Rapid Spin removes hazards.

The set, while being a generic 252/252/4 sweeper EV spread, is more than the eye can see. 4 EVs are in Defense, as it helps against priority users and the most important thing of all, allows Delta to live 11 turns of Life Orb recoil rather than 10. While the chances of this happening are very low, it's better to be safe than sorry.





Alpha the Scizor

Item: Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
-Bullet Punch
-U-Turn
-Superpower
-Quick Attack

Scizor, OU's #1 Pokemon, is the glue of all of my teams. Alpha has the role of being the priority user and my main Physical attacker. The first 3 moves are very staple. Bullet Punch for STAB and checking big things like Terrakion, U-Turn for grabbing momentum and Superpower to round out the coverage. Quick Attack is more valuable than Pursuit in this meta, as Quick Attack can revenge kill many Rain and Sun Pokemon like Politoed, Volcarona and Keldeo, who would resist Bullet Punch.

The EV spread brings a mix of bulk and offense. The 8 Speed EVs allow Scizor to outspeed Scizor, but taking another 8 from Scizor's HP and putting in into its Speed would be acceptable as well, as 8 Speed Scizor is pretty common. Though, my team isn't weak to Scizor, so 8 Speed is just fine.





Tessaract the Gliscor

Item: Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 180 HP / 48 Atk / 104 Def / 176 Speed
Nature: Impish (+Def, -SpA)
-Earthquake
-Roost
-Substitute
-Baton Pass

Tessaract is the unique Pokemon of my team. SubPass Gliscor is a Pokemon that you don't see too often these days and it works really well. Part of my team's success is because of this scorpion right here. My advice to any metagamer is to always have a Pokemon who is different than Standard. Now, I'm not suggesting full blown gimmicks, but something that can catch people off guard and can grant you a push in momentum. An example is Sceptile in Gen IV OU, where Gliscor + Vaporeon + Scarf Tyranitar was as staple as Ninetales + Venusaur + Volcarona. Even though Sceptile lives in UU, it could easily outspeed and OHKO all 3 of the Gen IV core with its Life Orbed Leaf Storm.

Now, back to the set itself, Earthquake is the obligatory offensive move in this set. Roost allows me to be in nice condition, as Poison Heal doesn't heal fast enough. Substitute allows Gliscor to beat Pokemon who either rely on status/Leech Seed (Ferrothorn) or inaccurate moves (Rotom-W). It also eases prediction, as for example, a Landorus-T who uses Hiden Power [Ice] to beat Gliscor will probably use U-Turn after they break my Substitute, as they expect me to switch to a counter. But, since I outspeed, I can easily go for another Substitue, scouting if they will go for the HP Ice again or go for the U-Turn. If they go for U-Turn, I'm behind a Substitute and they're in a bad position.

Baton Pass is the crux of the set. It allows me to abuse the defensive synergy of my team in many ways. It allows Ferrothorn to set up hazards more comfortably or SubSeed. It allows Heatran to Roar away many things behind a shield. It allows Starmie, Scizor and Jolteon to have the "bulk" they need to go through teams without a care in the world. This strategy is also the safest way for Starmie to spin hazards.

The EVs here are what makes this Pokemon so unique. Big thanks to Fireburn, as he helped make this EV spread. Tessaract's Speed EVs allows it to hit 270 Speed, which outspeeds everything up to Adamant Toxicroak, a big threat to my team. The Attack EVs allow me to safely OHKO said Toxicroak with Stealth Rock damage. The rest of the EVs are put into Defense and HP to provide bulk. The Speed EVs and the Attack EVs are more than just Toxicroak countering though, as it allows Tessaract to quickly get up Substitutes, Roost up in a pinch and even break through teams on her own. This type of balanced Baton Passing is what makes this team so great.





Vylon the Jolteon

Item: Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD /252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+SpA, -Atk)
-Thunderbolt
-Volt Switch
-Signal Beam
-Hidden Power [Ice]

What other than a Electric-type himself than to represent the mighty team. Vylon is the definition of sweeper. This team was designed on a Jolteon sweep and it has evolved to something even greater than that, a balanced force. Thunderbolt is the force used to clean teams, while Volt Switch is used early-mid game. In addition to that, Volt Switch allows me to scout out who is their Jolteon counter and provides me with the fundamental VoltTurn strategy with Scizor. Signal Beam is used opposed to Shadow Ball, as it allows me to get passed Specially Defensive Celebi and Gengar is easily hit by a Thunderbolt anyway. Hidden Power Ice is the HP of choice, as Gliscor, Landorus and Dragons are more common than the the Water/Ground Bulky Waters.




Other Details

How this team works

Jolteon is the fastest non-Scarfed Pokemon in the OU tier. If I can weaken the opposition enough and eliminate the priority users, it can assist me in a clean sweep. Ferrothorn and Heatran set up hazards to assist the sweep. Starmie provides Rapid Spin to freely switch around. Gliscor, Starmie Scizor help Jolteon dent things to the point where a sweep can be obtained.

Another thing about this team that it discourages switching and to put it bluntly, makes the opponent's Choiced Pokemon a liability rather than an advantage. Ferrothorn and Heatran both have Protect, Gliscor has Substitute and can Baton Pass those to other members, thus allowing me to scout. When they switch out because their Choiced Move has been determined, VoltTurn and Baton Pass allows me to get switch advantage and the hazards do rack up. Choice Scarf isn't a problem in a team like this.


The Main Problem of my Team: No Spinblocker

I'm mainly posting this here because this is something that has been bothering me. Is a Spinblocker really necessary? If I remove Heatran or Ferrothorn, I can't get hazards up reliably (and if Ferrothorn uses both hazards, its utility is actually harmed). Without Starmie, hazards get in the way of VoltTurn/Baton Pass. Without Scizor, I lose an important Physical Sweeper and my advantage from priority. Without Gliscor, this team wouldn't be as effective. Without Jolteon, I lose the advantage of having the fastest non-Scarfed sweeper in the game. I'd honestly prefer it if Jolteon stayed, as it is the main reason I made this team. But if it has to go, I understand.

The second reason why I'm posting this team here is that I am aware that this team is not perfect. One of my main problems in team building is being unable to find what intimidates my team. So, any suggestions on how to make this team better is gladly appreciated.




*Credits to kokoloko for the RMT style on the 22th Issue of The Smog and Fireburn for helping me with Gliscor's EVs and encouraging me to post this RMT here*

Hello.

This is a very nice team you have here, with great use of the underrated threat in Sub + Baton Pass Gliscor, so props for that. Anyways, this team has some flaws that I think can be fixed, and hopefully my rate can iron out those flaws. With that said, let's get to the rate. A huge threat to this team is Rock Polish Sheer Force Landorus. If an opposing Landorus gets a Rock Polish up, it's going to OHKO or 2HKO your whole team with its coverage moves. To help remedy this situation, I would recommend using a Calm Mind Latias in place of your Jolteon. I know you don't want to replace Jolteon, but you really need a set-up sweeper of sorts and you need something to take advantage of those entry hazards, so I suggest that you take it out for a spin. Moving forward, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe should have Iron Barbs and not Rough Skin. Moving forward, I would change your Gliscor spread to one of 248 HP / 24 Def / 236 Spe over your current spread. The aftermentioned EV spread allows Gliscor to outspeed neutral natured Lucario, all non Choice Scarfed variants of Heatran most opposing Gliscor and Jolly Mamoswine. Well, that's all I can say for now. I hope my advice helped. Have fun and good luck in your future endeavours!



~Dr Ciel~ (The doctor is OUT)

The biggest flaw I personally see here is against set-uppers--for example, DDmence with a moveset of DD / outrage / eq / fblast OHKOs everything on the team at +1 except for gliscor, which literally can't touch it. Scizor can do good damage with BP, but it can't KO even after SR. Meanwhile, salamence can set up vs ferro, heatran, gliscor, and scizor locked into QA or superpower. I'd definitely recommend getting a scarfer somewhere on the team.

You also mentioned wanting a spinblocker. Well, it's an unusual set, but why not try choice scarf gengar? Trick is useful for crippling most defensive spinners, while the scarf allows it to beat starmie, the only spinner that beats it easily. A good set would be:

This set also conveniently helps with the RPlandy weakness, as gengar is immune to earth power and focus blast while LO HP [ice] has only a 19% chance of even 2HKOing. Meanwhile, Sball gives nice STAB, fblast coverage, and HP ice hits pesky dragons like DDmence. The fblast slot is up for debate though; dbond is awesome on scarfgar to nab a surprise kill on just about anything, including opposing spinners, while tbolt beats gyarados and does a lot to scarfdeo and the like. Your choice though.

Other than that, this team seems p solid. I might suggest using a bulkymie set, since otherwise you'll find yourself being worn down very quickly. Offensive mie is nice though for the sheer power. Either way, hope I helped and GL with the team!

Hey!

Looks like you've got a solid looking, no-weather team. You've obviously put a lot of thought into it, so good work! Unfortunately, the biggest thing that pops out to me is Gliscor. I just don't understand the need. In theory, Sub-Passing is a cool idea, but I've never had much success with it in practice. Furthermore, what Pokemon are you trying to support with Substitutes? Jolteon? Sub-Passing is ideally for allowing a Pokemon get a free set-up turn. One example is CM Keldeo. They have good synergy, and Keldeo is often able to nab a free CM or two. You don't have any set-up Pokemon like that, so I think Gliscor is the weak link. At the very least, you could make much better use out of that slot.

Accordingly, I'm going to suggest the standard Taunt-WoW Jellicent instead of Gliscor. I envision your team being able to play off resistances and Hazards for most of the match, and then Jolteon is the star of the show late-game. Jellicent is going to help you in a lot of ways. First, it's a great defensive Water-type, and it will help complete your Heatran / Ferrothorn core. LO Starmie should be treated more like a sweeper than an a defensive Water because it's pretty weak. Second, Jellicent will be your Spin Blocker. You mentioned that you needed a Spin Blocker, and I definitely agree with you. Protecting your hazards while forcing switches with your defensive core will be key. Jellicent can also help ease the pressure on Ferrothorn. Lots of Rain teams are running Toxicroak, Scald, or some other unfriendly Ferrothorn measure, so having a counter to those is also important.

On Jolteon, you may consider a slightly different EV Spread. 80 Def / 252 Sp Atk / 176 Timid still outspeeds every relevant threat in OU (besides other Jolteon). I could see it coming in handy against teams that rely on priority to take out Jolteon. 80 Def EVs can really go anywhere, but you never know when you might want to take Scizor Bullet Punch or a weak Celebi Giga Drain.

Good luck!

Hi there.
It is a very interesting team, I appreciate much Gliscor subpass, I can't really rate your team because it seems very correct, but I see a weakness against Breloom SD or SubPuncher because Gliscor does not have Ice Fang, if the opponent uses Sword Dance you can't do anything, Jolteon is OHKO by Mach Punch, and Scizor can be OHKO after Stealth Rock or Spikes, (+ 2 + 252 Life Orb Technician Breloom Mach Punch vs. 248 HP Atk / 0 Def Scizor: 281-331 (81.92 - 96.5%) - guaranteed 2HKO) Ferrothorn is OHKO by Mach Punch and Heatran also, I suggest you Zapdos on Jolteon, Zapdos is a very good pokemon for your team, it tank perfectly Breloom because it resists against Mach Punch/Bullet Seed and can kill him with Heat Wave/Hidden Power Ice.

Then even if you possess Heatran you are very disadvantaged against Volcarona because you can't kill it with Lavaplume and you do not have Toxic, if the opponent has Roost, he can let all his Pokémon die and keep Volcarona last to finish the team, I suggest you swap roar with Toxic, now you can toxic Volcarona even if it has roost, and you can wall him.

Now I notice that you can be very disadvantaged against Reuniclus CM, I explain you: you have Scizor but it does not have roost to heal and if you put Scizor on Reuniclus the opponent will switch, but as you do not have Pursuit on Scizor the opponent can choose to kill Scizor gradually with the Stealth Rocks or in attracting him with a pokemon to weaken it, after the opponent can set up with Reuniclus and finish the team, because Reuniclus is 3HKO by Shadow Ball Jolteon Life Orb after a Calm Mind, (252 SpA Life Orb Jolteon Shadow Ball vs. +1 252 HP / 4 SpD Reuniclus: 156-185 (36.79 - 43.63%) -- 99.71% chance to 3HKO) now you can anticipate the switch and pursuit, Reuniclus does not die on pursuit but you can choose to kill him with an another Pokémon or anticipated because it will be weakened.

Finally I suggest you put Starmie in Bulky, with this set you can come easily on Hippodown/Mamoswine and rapid spin because it is 3HKO by Earthquake, while your starmie is 2HKO by Earthquake and cannot heal + damage Life Orb, with Scald you can burn the stallers.





Tl;dr

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Jolteon--->Zapdos
Heatran--->Toxic
Starmie--->Bulky

Hope I Helped and Good Luck with your Team.

~Leftiez