This team rose out of a LOT of experimentation. I've been interested in competitive Pokemon for almost two years now, but took a long break after the release of B&W. But I'm back now, and after trying everything from anti-meta dual weather teams to hyper offense to a D-nite phaze team (or three), I've finally settled on a team I really like-- and which has yielded exceptionally good results. However, there's always room for improvement, so feel free to pick this apart!
This team is named after (and partially inspired by) the TV show The League. It is designed so that every member of the team has a counterpart that is capable of handling attacks for it, but also functions as a standalone member. For instance, Volt Absorb allows Jolteon to take Electric-type attacks directed at Jellicent and Togekiss, Water Absorb allows Jellicent to tank hits for Heatran, and Togekiss is there to eat Earthquakes for Jolteon and Heatran and Shadow Balls for Jellicent. Besides Machamp and Jolteon, this is a very defensively-oriented but still offensively powerful team.
Pete Eckhart
Machamp @ Lum Berry
Ability: No Guard
240 HP/252 Atk/16 Sp. Def
Nature: Adamant
Moveset:
DynamicPunch
Ice Punch
Bullet Punch
Payback
The standard opening Machamp. 240 HP lets him (barely) survive a Psyshock from Latias and OHKO in return with Payback, and the other moves are fairly self-explanatory. Although Life Orb is more intuitive, Lum Berry allows Machamp to counter Breloom's Spore, Ferrothorn's, T-Wave, and a whole host of other would-be statusers extremely effectively, and he packs a massive wallop. My only real complaint is that Bullet Punch doesn't really pack much of a punch against most of the metagame-- it's only real purpose is to kill off stuff that's already been severely dented by DynamicPunch before it can kill you back.
Taco MacArthur
Jellicent @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
252 HP/252 Sp. Atk/4 Spe.
Nature: Modest
Moveset:
Surf
Hex
Will o' Wisp
Protect
I know this is a bit of an unconventional spread/moveset for Jelli, but it's worked exceptionally well for me, mostly because most people don't expect the typically passive wall of jelly to burn them and them smash them with a 100 BP STAB Hex coming off of a respectable 295 Special Attack stat. Jelli is a great counter to a lot of threats, acts as a Water and Fighting immunity, and most importantly gives me a reliable way to deal with Lati@s and other obnoxious psychic types, as well as crippling non-Guts physical attackers and beating down opposing Fire/Ground/Rock types and abusing rain with its' powerful Surf.
Kevin MacArthur
Jolteon @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
4 HP/252 Sp. Atk/252 Spe.
Nature: Timid
Moveset:
Thunderbolt
HP Ice
Shadow Ball
Thunder Wave
Nothing too deviant from the norm here-- Jolteon is the fastest unboosted Pokemon in OU and acts as an extremely effective check to Dragons like Salamence and powerful Flying-types like Tornadus and Tornadus-T, and also puts Pokemon like Terrakion in the unenviable position of swallowing a Thunderbolt and hoping to OHKO with Stone Edge or switching out. Jolteon relies on a little more prediction than the average offensive mon due to the presence of Thundurus, Zapdos and the occasional Electivire, but nonetheless can handle himself in battle well. I prefer Thunder Wave over Volt Switch because let's be honest, Jolteon can't switch in on a whole lot of hits, and I'd rather potentially cripple a gamebreaking sweeper for my surviving Pokemon to mop up than getting ripped apart by Rocks/Spikes/Sandstorm on a bad switch-in.
Rodney Ruxin, Esquire
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Force
252 HP/4 Atk./252 Sp. Def
Nature: Careful
Moveset:
Earthquake
Ice Fang
Slack Off
Curse
Now for something REALLY unconventional. After seeing Hippo in Team Viewer, most people expect it to be either the lead variant or a utility pokemon to bring in the sand-- never as a brutal tank who can shrug off nearly any hit with ease, super-effective or not, Slack Off to recover the damage, and proceed to Curse up and rip just about everything in the metagame apart. Nothing is safe from Hippowdon after he has a few Curses under his belt, and it's surprisingly easy to set up because not many people expect to see Hippo used as a setup sweeper. Even Pokes who are resistant will be brutalized by his STAB EQ, and Ice Fang is there for coverage against Dragon/Flying/Grass/etc. Careful nature and max Sp. Def ensures maximum survivability, and although he is a little susceptible to Toxic damage Slack Off and a prompt switch-out usually take care of that handily.
Dr. Andre Nowzcik
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
252 HP/72 Def./184 Sp. Def.
Nature: Bold
Moveset:
Lava Plume
Toxic
Stealth Rock
Protect
Surprisingly, one of the best tanks you could ever imagine! With both his defenses just under 300 and a staggering 296 Sp. Atk with absolutely no investment, Heatran can come in on Dragon and Fire type attacks with ease (not to mention any of his other plentiful resists) and fire back with Lava Plume-- he's my primary answer to Ferrothorn, Forretress, Scizor, and Jirachi. With the classic Toxic/Protect stall combo helping out with Pokemon he has trouble killing outright and Rocks to deal residual damage while the opponent figures out how to deal with him, Heatran is (as usual) a very threatening Pokemon, especially since most expect a more offensively-oriented set.
Jenny MacArthur
Togekiss[@ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
252 HP/152 Def/96 Sp. Def/8 Spe.
Moveset:
Roost
Nasty Plot
Aura Sphere
Air Slash
Togekiss is the star of the show here. Acting as my main sweeper, I've seen Togekiss go through as many as 4 Pokemon in one sweep with teams unprepared for it. She relies on very little prediction (bring her in on Earthquake, set up a Sub, and either attack or Nasty Plot at will), hits like a truck after a couple of Nasty Plots, can take hits like no other special sweeper with two immunities and some obscene defenses (85/95/115!), and isn't too slow, although I choose to forego speed for bulk. The 8 speed EVs are to outspeed fellow base 80 Dragonite, who she can then flinch to death with Air Slash, preventing BulkyNite from setting up and blocking status with Substitute).
This team is named after (and partially inspired by) the TV show The League. It is designed so that every member of the team has a counterpart that is capable of handling attacks for it, but also functions as a standalone member. For instance, Volt Absorb allows Jolteon to take Electric-type attacks directed at Jellicent and Togekiss, Water Absorb allows Jellicent to tank hits for Heatran, and Togekiss is there to eat Earthquakes for Jolteon and Heatran and Shadow Balls for Jellicent. Besides Machamp and Jolteon, this is a very defensively-oriented but still offensively powerful team.
Pete Eckhart
Machamp @ Lum Berry
Ability: No Guard
240 HP/252 Atk/16 Sp. Def
Nature: Adamant
Moveset:
DynamicPunch
Ice Punch
Bullet Punch
Payback
The standard opening Machamp. 240 HP lets him (barely) survive a Psyshock from Latias and OHKO in return with Payback, and the other moves are fairly self-explanatory. Although Life Orb is more intuitive, Lum Berry allows Machamp to counter Breloom's Spore, Ferrothorn's, T-Wave, and a whole host of other would-be statusers extremely effectively, and he packs a massive wallop. My only real complaint is that Bullet Punch doesn't really pack much of a punch against most of the metagame-- it's only real purpose is to kill off stuff that's already been severely dented by DynamicPunch before it can kill you back.
Taco MacArthur
Jellicent @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
252 HP/252 Sp. Atk/4 Spe.
Nature: Modest
Moveset:
Surf
Hex
Will o' Wisp
Protect
I know this is a bit of an unconventional spread/moveset for Jelli, but it's worked exceptionally well for me, mostly because most people don't expect the typically passive wall of jelly to burn them and them smash them with a 100 BP STAB Hex coming off of a respectable 295 Special Attack stat. Jelli is a great counter to a lot of threats, acts as a Water and Fighting immunity, and most importantly gives me a reliable way to deal with Lati@s and other obnoxious psychic types, as well as crippling non-Guts physical attackers and beating down opposing Fire/Ground/Rock types and abusing rain with its' powerful Surf.
Kevin MacArthur
Jolteon @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
4 HP/252 Sp. Atk/252 Spe.
Nature: Timid
Moveset:
Thunderbolt
HP Ice
Shadow Ball
Thunder Wave
Nothing too deviant from the norm here-- Jolteon is the fastest unboosted Pokemon in OU and acts as an extremely effective check to Dragons like Salamence and powerful Flying-types like Tornadus and Tornadus-T, and also puts Pokemon like Terrakion in the unenviable position of swallowing a Thunderbolt and hoping to OHKO with Stone Edge or switching out. Jolteon relies on a little more prediction than the average offensive mon due to the presence of Thundurus, Zapdos and the occasional Electivire, but nonetheless can handle himself in battle well. I prefer Thunder Wave over Volt Switch because let's be honest, Jolteon can't switch in on a whole lot of hits, and I'd rather potentially cripple a gamebreaking sweeper for my surviving Pokemon to mop up than getting ripped apart by Rocks/Spikes/Sandstorm on a bad switch-in.
Rodney Ruxin, Esquire
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Force
252 HP/4 Atk./252 Sp. Def
Nature: Careful
Moveset:
Earthquake
Ice Fang
Slack Off
Curse
Now for something REALLY unconventional. After seeing Hippo in Team Viewer, most people expect it to be either the lead variant or a utility pokemon to bring in the sand-- never as a brutal tank who can shrug off nearly any hit with ease, super-effective or not, Slack Off to recover the damage, and proceed to Curse up and rip just about everything in the metagame apart. Nothing is safe from Hippowdon after he has a few Curses under his belt, and it's surprisingly easy to set up because not many people expect to see Hippo used as a setup sweeper. Even Pokes who are resistant will be brutalized by his STAB EQ, and Ice Fang is there for coverage against Dragon/Flying/Grass/etc. Careful nature and max Sp. Def ensures maximum survivability, and although he is a little susceptible to Toxic damage Slack Off and a prompt switch-out usually take care of that handily.
Dr. Andre Nowzcik
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
252 HP/72 Def./184 Sp. Def.
Nature: Bold
Moveset:
Lava Plume
Toxic
Stealth Rock
Protect
Surprisingly, one of the best tanks you could ever imagine! With both his defenses just under 300 and a staggering 296 Sp. Atk with absolutely no investment, Heatran can come in on Dragon and Fire type attacks with ease (not to mention any of his other plentiful resists) and fire back with Lava Plume-- he's my primary answer to Ferrothorn, Forretress, Scizor, and Jirachi. With the classic Toxic/Protect stall combo helping out with Pokemon he has trouble killing outright and Rocks to deal residual damage while the opponent figures out how to deal with him, Heatran is (as usual) a very threatening Pokemon, especially since most expect a more offensively-oriented set.
Jenny MacArthur
Togekiss[@ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
252 HP/152 Def/96 Sp. Def/8 Spe.
Moveset:
Roost
Nasty Plot
Aura Sphere
Air Slash
Togekiss is the star of the show here. Acting as my main sweeper, I've seen Togekiss go through as many as 4 Pokemon in one sweep with teams unprepared for it. She relies on very little prediction (bring her in on Earthquake, set up a Sub, and either attack or Nasty Plot at will), hits like a truck after a couple of Nasty Plots, can take hits like no other special sweeper with two immunities and some obscene defenses (85/95/115!), and isn't too slow, although I choose to forego speed for bulk. The 8 speed EVs are to outspeed fellow base 80 Dragonite, who she can then flinch to death with Air Slash, preventing BulkyNite from setting up and blocking status with Substitute).
