While my team has been very successful despite it's superficial flaws, I need something to push it over the top into amazingly successful since I've had my fare share large losing streaks. The problem is that I don't know what it needs since what I have now is fabulous chemistry and I feel replacing just one could screw it all up, and that's why I've come here seeking assistance. Another thing I love about my team is that it's a bunch guys labeled UU, but do tremendous in OU when used right and I'd like to keep that theme if possible since I hate facing clone teams one after another and enjoy being unique. I didn't make the team with the purpose of being a bunch UU's, but after reading up on the biggest threats in the metagame and looking over the 500 Pokemon available, I felt they were best suited for what I wanted them to do.
Without further delay, he's my current team:
Ambipom @Life Orb
Technician
Jolly
HP 4 / Atk 252 / Spe 252
-Fake Out
-Aerial Ace
-Seed Bomb
-Ice Punch
Everyone else can keep their Machamp leads and I'll stick with my Ambipom since I think he's a tad better. This guy man handles all but Steel leads with relative ease and his great speed allows him to be faster or speed tie all leads not named Ninjask or Aerodactyl, letting him finish off the opponent without taking much damage or even set up entry hazards.
Fake Out combined with Aerial Ace disposes of pretty much everything thanks to the Life Orb and Technician boosts they both receive. Seed Bomb comes in handy for both Swampert and other waters I run into during the match like Vaporeon and Starmie. Ice Punch is for Dragonite who used to always grab free KOs when I had to switch thanks to my lack of attacks to hit him with and his Inner Focus ability. Plus, hitting other dragons and Gliscor is always cool.
I used to run Taunt, but it's really only useful for Ninjask who's faster, Aeordactly who's faster, Smearagle who I easily dispose of, and Steels who can KO me right after. Besides, I have Donphan to handle any rocks that get thrown down. I also used to have Low Kick for Heatran, Ttar and Empoleon, but they aren't used nearly enough as leads to warrant their own counter attack. U-Turn also used to have a spot, but I found it easier to just switch since he's faster and my incoming Poke gets hit anyways.
Here's my breakdown agaisnt other leads:
Donphan @Leftovers
Sturdy
Impish
HP 252 / Atk 4 / Def 252
-Earthquake
-Fire Fang
-Ice Shard
-Rapid Spin
My tank and boy is he good at it. With a combination of 384 HP and 372 Def, he's near unhittable from the physical side. Best part is that even though I have small Atk EVs he still hits 277, which is plenty to deal damage. His main job, though, is keeping rocks and spikes off the field.
Earthquake is great STAB for taking down Lucario and ScarfTar. Fire Fang allows him to go toe to toe against the two most popular hazard setters in the game in Skarmory and Forretress. Rapid Spin helps with this as well since nearly everyone on my team can handle Skarmory or Forrestress and I usually get in a RS before being blown away and being replaced by a better counter. Ice Shard is fabulous for taking down weaken opponents and holding my own against DD Mence and Scarf Flygon (ScarfGon?).
Houndoom @Expert Belt
Flash Fire
Mild
Atk 176 / SpAtk 80 / Spe 252
-Hidden Power [Ground]
-Fire Blast
-Pursuit / Dark Pulse
-Sucker Punch
My answer to Heatran, Starmie and Gengar, all of which can cause serious damage if not taken out. His Flash Fire allows him to come in on Heatran's Fire Blast and any ghost's Will-o-Wisp and just make him more deadly with a boosted Fire Blast. The Atk EVs make his Sucker Punch just strong enough to OHKO both Starmie and Gengar (assuming they're typical offense oriented sets).
HP Ground is there to take on Heatran specifically, but it has it's uses against other steel, fire and electric types. The great part is that I'm faster than any unscarfed Heatran and can 2HKO them before they can me since I'm typically not OHKOed by Earth Power (they'd have to run Modest and even then it's a small chance). When they are scarfed, I do the same thing except use Sucker Punch to finish them off. Fire Blast is pure power and works great with Flash Fire boosts. Pursuit is there for when I mispredict with Sucker Punch since most people flee when they see I have it (Celebi and Rotom are famous for this). Again, Sucker Punch takes out those pesky Starmie and Gengar since they're faster than anyone else on my team and pack a wallop. It's also a good all around priority attack since it deals a good bit of damage to Salamence and Gyarados and can finish them off when weakened.
I've thought about replacing Pursuit with Dark Pulse to hit Dusknoir harder and take advantage of my higher SpAtk, but Dusknoir are rare even though they're difficult to take out. Although, like a said before, Pursuit is great for catching Rotom and Celebi on the run. It's a tough call, really.
Flygon @Expert Belt
Hasty
Atk 252 / SpAtk 4 / Spe 252
-Earthquake
-Draco Meteor
-Thunderpunch
-Fire Blast
How is this set not more common with all these Choice Flygons running around? People always, always, ALWAYS think I'm running a choice set and only end up getting burned since I have absolute coverage. They like to believe I've just given them a free turn to set up their Dragon Dances or Nasty Plots, but they're wrong. Life Orb used to be on here, but it ruins the surprise that gives the me edge and so I went Expert Belt instead.
Like I said before, I have absolute coverage with these four moves. Earthquake and Draco Meteor are STAB resisted by few. The few that do resist my STAB run into Fire Blast. Thunderpunch rounds out the coverage and let's me hit Gyarados and other water types extra hard. Draco Metor is amazing. It helps me with Mence since it's not affected by Intimidate and helps break through some Physical Walls. Fire Blast has worked out better than Fire Punch since most Steels have much higher Defenses than Special Defenses.
I've recently thought about replacing Outrage with Draco Meteor since it's never fun being locked into Outrage if I haven't taken out the steel types yet. Even without EV investment it's enough to wreck Salamence and Kindgra. However, when the steels are gone, Outrage can freely come out to play and destroy things. It's another tough call.
Infernape @Life Orb
Naive
Atk 252 / SpAtk 64 / Spe 192
-Close Combat
-Overheat
-Thunderpunch
-Hidden Power [Ice]
A pretty basic design. He's my late game sweeper that sits back and waits until he's absolutely needed since I like keeping him hidden. I've actually gone several matches where he never even needs to come out and I think that speaks a lot about my team. I maxed out Atk for maximum physical output, put in 192 Spe EVs to out pace Base 100's (too bad he can't out pace base 110's...), and then dumped the rest into SpAtk to help out Overheat and HP Ice. The Life Orb is just icing on the cake.
Close Combat is too deadly not to have on a physical set, especially since it OHKOs Blissey. I picked Overheat over Flare Blitz for two reasons: 1) There's no recoil and 2) Most Steel types have huge a Def with a small SpDef and I want to hit them where it hurts most. Thunderpunch handles the Gyarados switch ins that I often see since they think I don't have it. HP Ice is, of course, for the Dragons who are always a threat and Gliscor who other wise walls me completely.
I feel like if any spot needs to be reshaped it's this one since, like I said before, he can go a whole match without seeing any action.
Lanturn @ Shuca Berry
Calm
Def 156 / SpAtk 100 / SpDef 252
-Confuse Ray
-Thunder Wave
-Thunderbolt
-Ice Beam
My beast and MVP. This guy is a Water/Mence/Gyara's worst nightmare thanks to decent bulk, an immunity to electric attacks, STAB electric attacks, a shuca berry to soften Earthquake, a resistance the the popular BoltBeam combo, the capability to use the popular BoltBeam combo, and an ability to Parafuse. I love this fish.
Parafuse really, really pisses off people and helps better match ups switch in safely. When going up against someone I match up well I against and want to paralyze, I typically go CR first to test out the waters and see if they have an Electivire or Jolteon sitting in the wings to absorb my Twave. If they don't, I get a confusion and the green light to throw around Twave all day. The only exception is Gyarados who will otherwise run rampant if I don't take him out immediately, so I risk it since I can handle Electivire and Jolteon anyways. When electrics are clear of the field, Thunderbolt lets me man handle most Water types due to a complete resistance of their common attacks (Grass Knot is not that powerful since he only weighs 50lbs) and Gyarados thanks to a double weakness and the Shuca Berry to soften up EQ. When Salamence makes an appearance I can safely switch in since they DD 99% of the time, take the Earthquake and launch an Ice Beam. It doesn't always OHKO, but it allows one of my priority users come in and finish the job if his Life Orb doesn't take him out first. Lucky for me people don't usually run both Mence and Gyara on the same team, allowing me to make good use of the Shuca Berry.
Things You Might Have Noticed
No entry hazards: I used to use them, but everyone has a rapid spinner and I didn't want to replace someone solely for the reason of spin blocking. Also, my three Priority users act like entry hazards...kind of.
Water weakness: I have three water weaknesses, but only one resister. Lucky for me my one resister also has STAB electric attacks. But in case he goes down, I have both Infernape and Flygon with Thunderpunch to cover my butt.
Ground Weakness: Three of my pokes have a ground weakness, but I have one tank in Donphan, an immunity in Flygon, a Seed Bomber in Ambipom and a Shuca Berry holder with Ice Beam in Lanturn. Only Stockpile Hippowdon gives me trouble.
No Phazers: I have ways of dealing with the usual stat boosters in DD Mence and Gyara. I'll occasionlly run into Nasty Plot Togekiss, but they usually come in on Flygon thinking he's Choiced and leave with a face full of Thunderpunch. Infernape also isn't a problem, even though I have no true counter for it; they've never been a problem. Most Swords Dancers have to get through Donphan, and that's no easy task. I used to have a problem with Baton Pass teams, but I learned how to nip them in the bud with my team.
No Choice Items: I hate Choice items. I hate having to use one move. That's why I hate Trick users, even though I have several Pokes that can take advantage of it. I like having and being able to use good coverage.
Without further delay, he's my current team:
Ambipom @Life Orb
Technician
Jolly
HP 4 / Atk 252 / Spe 252
-Fake Out
-Aerial Ace
-Seed Bomb
-Ice Punch
Everyone else can keep their Machamp leads and I'll stick with my Ambipom since I think he's a tad better. This guy man handles all but Steel leads with relative ease and his great speed allows him to be faster or speed tie all leads not named Ninjask or Aerodactyl, letting him finish off the opponent without taking much damage or even set up entry hazards.
Fake Out combined with Aerial Ace disposes of pretty much everything thanks to the Life Orb and Technician boosts they both receive. Seed Bomb comes in handy for both Swampert and other waters I run into during the match like Vaporeon and Starmie. Ice Punch is for Dragonite who used to always grab free KOs when I had to switch thanks to my lack of attacks to hit him with and his Inner Focus ability. Plus, hitting other dragons and Gliscor is always cool.
I used to run Taunt, but it's really only useful for Ninjask who's faster, Aeordactly who's faster, Smearagle who I easily dispose of, and Steels who can KO me right after. Besides, I have Donphan to handle any rocks that get thrown down. I also used to have Low Kick for Heatran, Ttar and Empoleon, but they aren't used nearly enough as leads to warrant their own counter attack. U-Turn also used to have a spot, but I found it easier to just switch since he's faster and my incoming Poke gets hit anyways.
Here's my breakdown agaisnt other leads:
Machamp: Fake Out and Aerial Ace for the KO
Roserade: See Machamp
Infernape: See Machamp
Smearagle: See Machamp
Azelf: See Machamp
Swampert: Seed Bomb for the 2HKO
Dragonite: Depending on the set, Ice Punch is usually a OHKO
Aerodactyl: Fake Out then Ice Punch for the KO
Gliscor: Fake Out and Ice Punch usually grabs a 2HKO. It depends on its build.
Steel Types: Fake Out to scout since most fear Taunt and switch and then switch to Donphan if it's Gross/Zong/Rachi/Luke, or Lanturn if it's Empoleon.
Roserade: See Machamp
Infernape: See Machamp
Smearagle: See Machamp
Azelf: See Machamp
Swampert: Seed Bomb for the 2HKO
Dragonite: Depending on the set, Ice Punch is usually a OHKO
Aerodactyl: Fake Out then Ice Punch for the KO
Gliscor: Fake Out and Ice Punch usually grabs a 2HKO. It depends on its build.
Steel Types: Fake Out to scout since most fear Taunt and switch and then switch to Donphan if it's Gross/Zong/Rachi/Luke, or Lanturn if it's Empoleon.
Donphan @Leftovers
Sturdy
Impish
HP 252 / Atk 4 / Def 252
-Earthquake
-Fire Fang
-Ice Shard
-Rapid Spin
My tank and boy is he good at it. With a combination of 384 HP and 372 Def, he's near unhittable from the physical side. Best part is that even though I have small Atk EVs he still hits 277, which is plenty to deal damage. His main job, though, is keeping rocks and spikes off the field.
Earthquake is great STAB for taking down Lucario and ScarfTar. Fire Fang allows him to go toe to toe against the two most popular hazard setters in the game in Skarmory and Forretress. Rapid Spin helps with this as well since nearly everyone on my team can handle Skarmory or Forrestress and I usually get in a RS before being blown away and being replaced by a better counter. Ice Shard is fabulous for taking down weaken opponents and holding my own against DD Mence and Scarf Flygon (ScarfGon?).
Houndoom @Expert Belt
Flash Fire
Mild
Atk 176 / SpAtk 80 / Spe 252
-Hidden Power [Ground]
-Fire Blast
-Pursuit / Dark Pulse
-Sucker Punch
My answer to Heatran, Starmie and Gengar, all of which can cause serious damage if not taken out. His Flash Fire allows him to come in on Heatran's Fire Blast and any ghost's Will-o-Wisp and just make him more deadly with a boosted Fire Blast. The Atk EVs make his Sucker Punch just strong enough to OHKO both Starmie and Gengar (assuming they're typical offense oriented sets).
HP Ground is there to take on Heatran specifically, but it has it's uses against other steel, fire and electric types. The great part is that I'm faster than any unscarfed Heatran and can 2HKO them before they can me since I'm typically not OHKOed by Earth Power (they'd have to run Modest and even then it's a small chance). When they are scarfed, I do the same thing except use Sucker Punch to finish them off. Fire Blast is pure power and works great with Flash Fire boosts. Pursuit is there for when I mispredict with Sucker Punch since most people flee when they see I have it (Celebi and Rotom are famous for this). Again, Sucker Punch takes out those pesky Starmie and Gengar since they're faster than anyone else on my team and pack a wallop. It's also a good all around priority attack since it deals a good bit of damage to Salamence and Gyarados and can finish them off when weakened.
I've thought about replacing Pursuit with Dark Pulse to hit Dusknoir harder and take advantage of my higher SpAtk, but Dusknoir are rare even though they're difficult to take out. Although, like a said before, Pursuit is great for catching Rotom and Celebi on the run. It's a tough call, really.
Flygon @Expert Belt
Hasty
Atk 252 / SpAtk 4 / Spe 252
-Earthquake
-Draco Meteor
-Thunderpunch
-Fire Blast
How is this set not more common with all these Choice Flygons running around? People always, always, ALWAYS think I'm running a choice set and only end up getting burned since I have absolute coverage. They like to believe I've just given them a free turn to set up their Dragon Dances or Nasty Plots, but they're wrong. Life Orb used to be on here, but it ruins the surprise that gives the me edge and so I went Expert Belt instead.
Like I said before, I have absolute coverage with these four moves. Earthquake and Draco Meteor are STAB resisted by few. The few that do resist my STAB run into Fire Blast. Thunderpunch rounds out the coverage and let's me hit Gyarados and other water types extra hard. Draco Metor is amazing. It helps me with Mence since it's not affected by Intimidate and helps break through some Physical Walls. Fire Blast has worked out better than Fire Punch since most Steels have much higher Defenses than Special Defenses.
I've recently thought about replacing Outrage with Draco Meteor since it's never fun being locked into Outrage if I haven't taken out the steel types yet. Even without EV investment it's enough to wreck Salamence and Kindgra. However, when the steels are gone, Outrage can freely come out to play and destroy things. It's another tough call.
Infernape @Life Orb
Naive
Atk 252 / SpAtk 64 / Spe 192
-Close Combat
-Overheat
-Thunderpunch
-Hidden Power [Ice]
A pretty basic design. He's my late game sweeper that sits back and waits until he's absolutely needed since I like keeping him hidden. I've actually gone several matches where he never even needs to come out and I think that speaks a lot about my team. I maxed out Atk for maximum physical output, put in 192 Spe EVs to out pace Base 100's (too bad he can't out pace base 110's...), and then dumped the rest into SpAtk to help out Overheat and HP Ice. The Life Orb is just icing on the cake.
Close Combat is too deadly not to have on a physical set, especially since it OHKOs Blissey. I picked Overheat over Flare Blitz for two reasons: 1) There's no recoil and 2) Most Steel types have huge a Def with a small SpDef and I want to hit them where it hurts most. Thunderpunch handles the Gyarados switch ins that I often see since they think I don't have it. HP Ice is, of course, for the Dragons who are always a threat and Gliscor who other wise walls me completely.
I feel like if any spot needs to be reshaped it's this one since, like I said before, he can go a whole match without seeing any action.
Lanturn @ Shuca Berry
Calm
Def 156 / SpAtk 100 / SpDef 252
-Confuse Ray
-Thunder Wave
-Thunderbolt
-Ice Beam
My beast and MVP. This guy is a Water/Mence/Gyara's worst nightmare thanks to decent bulk, an immunity to electric attacks, STAB electric attacks, a shuca berry to soften Earthquake, a resistance the the popular BoltBeam combo, the capability to use the popular BoltBeam combo, and an ability to Parafuse. I love this fish.
Parafuse really, really pisses off people and helps better match ups switch in safely. When going up against someone I match up well I against and want to paralyze, I typically go CR first to test out the waters and see if they have an Electivire or Jolteon sitting in the wings to absorb my Twave. If they don't, I get a confusion and the green light to throw around Twave all day. The only exception is Gyarados who will otherwise run rampant if I don't take him out immediately, so I risk it since I can handle Electivire and Jolteon anyways. When electrics are clear of the field, Thunderbolt lets me man handle most Water types due to a complete resistance of their common attacks (Grass Knot is not that powerful since he only weighs 50lbs) and Gyarados thanks to a double weakness and the Shuca Berry to soften up EQ. When Salamence makes an appearance I can safely switch in since they DD 99% of the time, take the Earthquake and launch an Ice Beam. It doesn't always OHKO, but it allows one of my priority users come in and finish the job if his Life Orb doesn't take him out first. Lucky for me people don't usually run both Mence and Gyara on the same team, allowing me to make good use of the Shuca Berry.
Things You Might Have Noticed
No entry hazards: I used to use them, but everyone has a rapid spinner and I didn't want to replace someone solely for the reason of spin blocking. Also, my three Priority users act like entry hazards...kind of.
Water weakness: I have three water weaknesses, but only one resister. Lucky for me my one resister also has STAB electric attacks. But in case he goes down, I have both Infernape and Flygon with Thunderpunch to cover my butt.
Ground Weakness: Three of my pokes have a ground weakness, but I have one tank in Donphan, an immunity in Flygon, a Seed Bomber in Ambipom and a Shuca Berry holder with Ice Beam in Lanturn. Only Stockpile Hippowdon gives me trouble.
No Phazers: I have ways of dealing with the usual stat boosters in DD Mence and Gyara. I'll occasionlly run into Nasty Plot Togekiss, but they usually come in on Flygon thinking he's Choiced and leave with a face full of Thunderpunch. Infernape also isn't a problem, even though I have no true counter for it; they've never been a problem. Most Swords Dancers have to get through Donphan, and that's no easy task. I used to have a problem with Baton Pass teams, but I learned how to nip them in the bud with my team.
No Choice Items: I hate Choice items. I hate having to use one move. That's why I hate Trick users, even though I have several Pokes that can take advantage of it. I like having and being able to use good coverage.
