Intro:
Hello everyone! I'm TEzeon, and today I'll be posting a solid OU team I built a while back. Its the first definitive team I made for the BW OU metagame, and its really taken me places. Not only was I able to vote twice with this team in the 2nd and 3rd suspect rounds, but I also made the voting requirements for the current 4th round with this team, and most notably, this team led me to victory in a BW OU tour. Before going into movesets and the like, lets start out with the thought process!
Thought Process:
Well, the first thing that came to mind when I started building this team was that I wanted to win with it. That being said, Garchomp immediately took spot #1. Say hi to that big mean land shark everybody!
After that, Tyranitar instantly came to mind. Tyranitar + Garchomp is quite possibly the most notorious combination in pokemon (OU that is). I was also building this team around the time Reuniclus was beginning to have an effect on the metagame, and nothing brings down Reuniclus like Tyranitar does. Ladies and gentlemen, give a big round of applause for team member #2!
So far so good. Can't go wrong with Tyranitar and Garchomp. Anyways, for my next member, I thought I'd look into something that could complete my offensive core. Both Garchomp and Tyranitar have a bit of trouble switching in on water and fight moves. Conkeldurr can be a real problem if you don't have any ways of OHKO'ing it, so I definitely want a special sweeper for this slot. So what special sweeper takes water and fight moves? That's correct! Latios of course!
Yeah, I have to admit, at this point things are looking pretty good. I've managed to assemble the two most suspicious suspects there are. Only question left is, what now? Latios is great and all, but he can't just run through a team like Garchomp can. Latios needs a bit of assistance. Especially when dealing with specially defensive Jirachi and Ferrothorn. Come to think of it, Garchomp doesn't exactly enjoy dealing with Skarmory either. See a pattern yet? Yep, you got it. STEELS. Nobody breaks steels down like Magnezone, so he's up next!
Alright, I'm definitely loving the way this looks. I'm really good at using all of these pokemon, and they seem to fit really nicely here. At this point, I decided that I wanted stealth rock to be incorporated onto this team somehow. On top of that, I wanted a pokemon who could also deal with Excadrill, who would otherwise rip me apart. I don't look too well prepared for an enemy Latios either. So who deals with Latios and Excadrill, and can also set up stealth rock? Bronzong was the best I could come up with for that department, so give a big warm welcome to the floating... whatever he is!
Dragons. And Steels. That's the name of the game folks. All of my past tutors stressed how effective this combination was, even back in gen 4 days, so there's no point in arguing with something that's as tried and true as this. Still, I'll need one more member to complete this team. I honestly can't say that there's much I'm lacking. One thing I don't like is that it looks like I'll be relying heavily on Latios for a good fight switch in, and there's no way Latios can cut it against stuff like Terrakion and Machamp. Several different kinds of fighting switch ins came to mind, like Gliscor, Salamence, Dragonite, Celebi, Mew, and even something as seemingly frail as Gengar. But in the end, I figured I'd go with another long time favorite of mine, Starmie!
Starmie obviously isn't the best choice for a fighting switch in, but Starmie had some great aspects going for him. For one thing, his lovely base 115 speed sets him 4 steps above Thundurus, who really wrecks any team he can outrun. Natural cure also easily remedied the problem of priority thunder wave. So, this was the finished product... for about 5 battles. I quickly realized how much of a disadvantage I was at against enemy sand teams and drought teams (bar Latios, but he can't do it alone). Excadrill could rip through this whole team once Bronzong went down, and that wasn't difficult for my opponents to accomplish seeing as how Bronzong lacks a solid recovery move. There was always the idea of replacing Starmie for Skarmory or Gliscor, but I realized how key offensive pokemon are to victory in gen 5. I also noticed that whoever had command over the weather also gained a huge boost in momentum. That's when I came up with this thought...
At first, I was mocked by my first tutor (Plus), who said Starmie would clearly be the better choice and Politoed would take away the main selling point to Garchomp, which was sand veil. I still felt it was worth a try to test out, and I have to admit, the results really impressed me. Politoed pretty much commands the entire late game after I wear my opponents down a bit with Latios/Garchomp/Magnezone. I've lost count of how many games I ended up winning where Politoed was my last pokemon and just proceeded to sweep my opponent with hydro pump in the rain. Excadrill especially hates losing his weather advantage, and it just so happens that the rain can benefit my team just as much as the sand does. So this is it, the final draft of my team after a few hours of theorymoning and playtesting.
Movesets:
Garchomp (VictoryDragon) (F) @ Yache Berry
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Swords Dance
Yep, the bread and butter Garchomp set of gen 4 works just as well in gen 5. In fact, it might actually be better. Set up a swords dance on something slower that isn't able to OHKO like Tyranitar or Ferrothorn, and then go to town. Dragon claw instead of outrage because I don't like getting locked, and Earthquake already makes for a strong enough stab move anyway. Fire fang really beats up Skarmory with flinches and burns, or I'll just activate sand veil and watch as whirlwind misses. Some people even have the gall to try and set up spikes against Garchomp, which is pretty funny actually. Probably my favorite thing about Garchomp is that no matter what he's facing, as long as sandstorm is up, there's always a chance for victory.
Tyranitar (Tarmogoyf) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 80 SDef / 20 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Fire Punch
- Pursuit
Yeah that's right, you better run, you stupid Cubone. Choice band max attack Tyranitar really beats down anything that comes across it. I must have changed the EV spread on this guy about 10 times. I'm considering just dumping the SP.def EV's all into speed, since they probably wont be as significant as outrunning a Jellicent. Only problem is that I never know how much speed Jellicent runs. I've seen them with no speed at all, and sometimes fast enough to outrun a Rotom-W, so for now I'm not going to wing it. Crunch and stone edge for stab and coverage, pursuit to trap fleeing Lati's and other weather mons once I've taken away their weather advantage, and fire punch for Skarmory, who can outrun me and roost stall stone edge. I've also found myself unable to kill Ferrothorn at times, so fire punch helps with that a bit also.
Latios (EternalDragon) (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse
- Psyshock
- Surf
Ah, Latios. Perfect typing and stat distribution, incredible movepool, and just plain awesome looking. Its a dolphin dragon with wings. Doesn't get any better than that. Draco meteor does over half to anything except SP.def steels, and dragon pulse is there for the dragon stab when I don't want my power to get reduced. Psyshock is a nice stab move, and it gives Latios the ability to bring down Blissey with a special move for once. Surf can be really dangerous, especially when its boosted with drizzle.
Magnezone (SlashCharger) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 HP / 132 SAtk / 124 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunder
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Substitute
Err... Don't be fooled by that picture. Sure Garchomp eats Magnezone, but that's not really a problem. Magnezone is the bane of pretty much every other steel type. I had thunderbolt but decided to ditch it for thunder since I have rain support, and also the 30% chance for a paralysis and extra damage is nice. Flash cannon comes in as a secondary stab attack that hits Tyranitar and Garchomp for about 50% each. The SP.def drop also comes in handy when facing stuff like Jirachi. Hidden power fire and substitute turn Ferrothorn into huge setup fodder, as the only thing it can really do is lay down spikes, which isn't a big deal for me. The best part is how staple Ferrothorn seems to be on rain teams, which really don't stand much of a chance when facing down a Magnezone behind a sub after I kill off that grass/steel.
Bronzong (Cyber Jar) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Atk / 132 Def / IVs: 0 speed
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Hypnosis
- Stealth Rock
Bronzong is really good in this metagame. He has the ability to take on all the most common threats to a certain degree, such as Excadrill, Garchomp, Latios, Terrakion, Landorus, etc. Gyro ball is a really solid STAB attack for a tank like Bronzong, and earthquake hits Magnezone and Heatran pretty hard if they think they can switch in safely. Stealth rock is another staple for offensive teams, and hypnosis can really come in handy in situations where you can't do anything to the opponent, but also can't afford to switch. The fact that they buffed sleep and nerfed explosion this gen is also some more incentive to use hypnosis, despite its lame accuracy.
Politoed (Aqua Patrol) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
Here's the star of the team. Choice scarf turns this guy into a sweeping threat, just barely boosting his speed enough to outrun Thundurus while retaining a modest nature. Hydro pump in the rain really hurts, and scald is there for times when I don't want to miss or need to burn something. Ice beam gets Latios, Celebi, Virizion and Dragonite, and focus blast gives you an extra edge on Tyranitar and Ferrothorn. Not much else to say really. Simple but effective. I'm considering replacing scald for perish song, since I'm at a huge disadvantage against shell smash teams.
Final comments:
This team is really magical. The team synergy is really great, and when played correctly, you will have control over the battle in some way shape or form. It does take a bit of skill to use properly, but once you get the hang of it, there aren't too many bad matchups for it from what I've seen. Its really important to the success rate that you don't lose momentum by making unnecessary or incorrect plays.
Threat list:
Aerodactyl - This guy doesn't even exist in gen 5 as far as I know, but Bronzong handles him without any hassle.
Archeops - Same thing as Aerodactyl. Politoed can also outrun it and finish it off very easily with hydro pump/scald.
Azelf - It really depends on what kind of Azelf it is. In the rain, it can't touch Bronzong, and Tyranitar can't be OHKO'd either.
Bisharp - This one can be a little annoying. Bronzong can come in and put it to sleep with hypnosis, while avoiding sucker punches. After that I can earthquake him to death.
Breloom - Breloom isn't too difficult. Just let the most useless pokemon fall asleep and then go to Latios.
Chandelure - Tyranitar and Politoed mistreat this guy. He can't deal with Garchomp either.
Cobalion - Latios and Politoed both outrun it and hurt it hard with strong water moves. Bronzong can survive close combats and then hit it hard with earthquake after the defense drop. Garchomp is also immune from OHKO's and can OHKO back.
Conkeldurr - Latios is the primary switch in for this thing. Politoed can hurt it pretty bad with hydro pump as well. Worst case scenario is that I need Bronzong to put it to sleep with hypnosis for someone else to finish it.
Darmanitan - This guy has powerful flare blitzes. Its too bad all I have to do is put up rain and then Garchomp, Latios and Politoed all switch in to it and then finish it off with ease.
Deoxys-S - For sweeper Deoxys-S, Bronzong is usually the best bet. If Garchomp is healthy enough, he can bring it down after activating yache berry.
Dragonite - Latios actually OHKO's this guy with draco meteor, with or without multiscale. In the rain, Bronzong is also the ideal switch in, as fire punch will be weakened and I can take outrages and earthquakes with no difficulty.
Druddigon - This guy isn't too fast, but he's strong and has mold breaker. If I can't properly switch in on it, I'll just make a quick sacrifice and then it can't get passed Garchomp/Latios.
Eelektross - Garchomp/Latios can switch in on electric attacks and then hit it hard. Tyranitar should also be faster and can hit hard with stone edges.
Electivire - Garchomp/Latios have little to fear aside from ice punches. In the rain, Bronzong can hold his own too.
Emboar - Latios deals with it pretty easily.
Empoleon - Switch to Latios to take a water move and bait an ice beam, then go to Magnezone and trap kill him.
Espeon - Tyranitar and Bronzong handle this one well enough.
Escavalier - This guy is incredibly strong, but he's also very predictable. Just trap it with Magnezone and then finish it with HP fire.
Excadrill - I've got a bunch of ways to handle the #1 threat in OU. One way is to just straight up beat him down with Bronzong. Another way is to remove sand and finish it off with Politoed. He also lacks the power to OHKO Garchomp if he doesn't have a swords dance in.
Garchomp - In the rain, Bronzong does really well against this guy, since I can't miss and he can't do much aside from fire fang. Latios and Politoed can also outrun it if I need to check it.
Gengar - The sub/disable set seems like it could be annoying, but I haven't really faced it. Garchomp can probably take 2 shadow balls and has dragon claw and fire fang to hit him with. Latios can play a speed tie and finish it off with any of its moves, and Politoed can simply outrun it and finish it off if he isn't hiding behind a substitute.
Golurk - Bronzong does nicely against this guy.
Gyarados - Once a common threat, now rare and a little obscure. DD LO sets can be a menace for my team. At one point I had HP electric on Politoed, making this guy a bit more manageable. Changing the weather to sand and then bringing in Bronzong is the safest thing I can do. If he has taunt and stone edge, then he can't OHKO Magnezone, and if he has taunt and earthquake, he can't OHKO Latios. If he doesn't have taunt at all, I can try to put it to sleep with Bronzong. Defensive Gyarados gets destroyed by Latios.
Haxorus - As far as I can tell, there's no switch ins for this guy at all. That seems to be a common theme in gen 5. Just sacrifice something to it and then finish it off with Garchomp/Latios. DD sets can't safely set up against me for the most part, and I will specifically play the game in order to prevent him from getting in a DD if I see it in the team preview.
Heatran - Tyranitar, Latios, Garchomp and Politoed can all switch in to fire moves and then immediately threaten him. Garchomp doesn't care if it has balloon, because he can't OHKO me while I spend a turn using dragon claw to pop his balloon.
Heracross - For fighting attacks, Latios is the best bet. For bug moves, its up to Magnezone. If he doesn't have a choice item, I can just check it with Latios/Politoed.
Hydreigon - Another uncounterable. Good thing he isn't uncheckable. Tyranitar and Bronzong can take draco meteors, and Politoed, Garchomp and Latios can take fire attacks. Worst case scenario is that I need to make a sacrifice every time he switches in, which isn't a problem since I have plenty of ways to check him.
Infernape - Latios and Politoed do the best job against this guy. Garchomp can also take him on if he comes in on a free turn.
Jirachi - Set up rain to make sure fire punch is weaker, then go straight to Magnezone. If he doesn't have fire punch or calm mind, there's no way he can win. If its a calm mind set, Garchomp will be waiting to finish him off.
Jolteon - Magnezone takes all of his most common attacks and can hit for neutral with HP fire. He has no way of OHKO'ing Latios or Garchomp either.
Kingdra - If this guy shows up in the team preview, I'll never switch Politoed in. Without swift swim, this guy isn't a big deal to check with Latios or Garchomp. He also can't OHKO Magnezone.
Krookodile - Bronzong handles this guy well.
Kyurem - Bronzong switches in on his two main stab attacks. He's slower than Garchomp and Latios too. Magnezone is another option if he can stay away from focus blast.
Landorus - Bronzong can't be touched by this guy. Latios/Garchomp/Politoed also outrun it and finish it off.
Latios - This guy is really dangerous. I'll usually sacrifice Bronzong and then trap it with Tyranitar afterwards. If for some reason Tyranitar isn't healthy enough to trap him, I've always got my own Latios with no hidden powers to try and outspeed him and also a scarf Politoed.
Lilligant - Garchomp and Latios can handle this thing.
Lucario - Latios takes fight moves and then can threaten it immediately. If he's got in a swords dance, Garchomp can take an extreme speed and then deal it an earthquake.
Machamp - I don't really feel too safe about switching Latios into this guy. Always bring Latios in on a free turn. He's also too slow to be a sweeping threat, and I have Politoed, Latios and Garchomp ready to check him once his health is lowered.
Magnezone - Latios and Garchomp can take most of his moves and then hurt it bad.
Mamoswine - Bronzong does the best against this guy in the early game, and Politoed does the best in the late game.
Metagross - Garchomp, Politoed and Bronzong can all hit it hard and avoid OHKO's. He's also slower than Latios, who can hit it hard if he's healthy enough to last through a bullet punch.
Mienshao - Bronzong comes in first to check it out, then later in the game I'll go with Latios or Politoed. Politoed can actually OHKO this thing with scald in the rain.
Reuniclus - Tyranitar is the best way to handle this guy in general, but Bronzong can also come in and put it to sleep. Trick room sets are the hardest to deal with late game, but if I can outlast the 5 turns, I'll manage to finish it off with something immediately afterwards.
Roserade - Bronzong in the rain fears nothing. The best it can do is leech seed me. Latios also doesn't mind switching in and punishing it. Magnezone is also an option.
Salamence - Garchomp, Bronzong, Politoed and Latios can all switch in to something it can do and then threaten it. If I need to switch in on a clean turn with something, I can just sacrifice the most useless team mate and then threaten it away.
Sawsbuck - Its really difficult for sun teams to keep the weather advantage when I have two weather inducers that both have advantages against Ninetales. Even if drought is in play, Bronzong will just hit him harder with gyro ball.
Scizor - Magnezone traps it on bullet punch and then OHKO's with HP fire. Garchomp can also take even SD bullet punches and then finish it with fire fang.
Scrafty- This one is really interesting. Another obscure threat, but also very deadly. Bulk up sets will fall victim to Politoed and Latios together. DD sets are still slower than Politoed after one boost, and Politoed can hit it with focus blast. After that, Bronzong can finish it off with gyro ball.
Serperior - His dream world ability hasn't been officially released yet, but he's at a real disadvantage against Magnezone in the rain. Latios and Bronzong can also deal with it.
Shaymin - Latios is the best bet. Garchomp and Politoed can check it in times of desperation.
Sigilyph - Even with a cosmic power in, and if he burns Tyranitar, crunch will still be able to beat him. He also doesn't enjoy taking thunders from Magnezone, and Magnezone doesn't mind getting burnt too much.
Smeargle - This guy doesn't really do anything other than baton pass... Though, like I mentioned earlier, I'm thinking of swapping scald on Politoed for perish song, which would help with baton passing.
Starmie - I can't legitimately check this thing, since I don't have any ways of outspeeding it. Thankfully, all I have to do is make a strategic sacrifice and then trap it with Tyranitar.
Terakion - This guy is a monster. An absolute terror. The CB set has no switch ins at all. Bronzong does the best against RP sets. Latios and Politoed both check any other set. Garchomp can also eat any move if he's at full health and then finish it with earthquake.
Thundurus - This one is a bit of trouble. He can't OHKO Garchomp or Latios though, and both of them can hit him hard. Politoed also outruns and knocks him out. He usually finishes himself off though, with all the residual damage he takes.
Togekiss - This guy can't do a thing to Garchomp, and that's very bad. For him anyway. Pretty much all of my other pokemon are faster and can hit it hard as well.
Tornadus - In the sand, this guy is much less intimidating. Bronzong can successfully switch in on him and then threaten him with gyro ball. Since he is basically forced to switch, stealth rock will be set up too. If I need to outrun him, Politoed can do it.
Tyranitar - Garchomp abuses it to set up swords dance almost for free. Politoed is quicker, changes the weather, and then hits hard with water moves. Magnezone is faster than most of them and can chip off the rest of his health if he's less than 40%. For scarf sets, Bronzong in the rain has very little to fear.
Venusaur - Probably the hardest choice to make against him is picking someone to take the sleep powder. I can easily take away his weather advantage and then hurt him with Latios or Garchomp.
Victini - V-create is strong, but leaves him with less speed and defenses. Garchomp, Latios and Politoed are all quicker and can OHKO.
Virizion - Bronzong and Latios do pretty well against virtually any set this guy runs. Politoed is faster and can chip off the remaining health of a dying one with ice beam. Garchomp survives hidden power ice and then hurts it with fire fang.
Volcarona - This guy can be tricky. Politoed and Garchomp are the best bets, but it must be stopped before it sets up too many quiver dances.
Weavile - Bronzong does the best. He can't OHKO Magnezone either, who OHKO's back with flash cannon. Garchomp survives ice moves and then hurts him with anything.
Zoroark - This guy isn't a big deal if you're paying close attention. In the rain, Bronzong can deal with him. Politoed outruns him and then finishes it off with a water move or focus blast if you want to take a risk. Garchomp is also another option for dealing with him.
Hello everyone! I'm TEzeon, and today I'll be posting a solid OU team I built a while back. Its the first definitive team I made for the BW OU metagame, and its really taken me places. Not only was I able to vote twice with this team in the 2nd and 3rd suspect rounds, but I also made the voting requirements for the current 4th round with this team, and most notably, this team led me to victory in a BW OU tour. Before going into movesets and the like, lets start out with the thought process!
Thought Process:
Well, the first thing that came to mind when I started building this team was that I wanted to win with it. That being said, Garchomp immediately took spot #1. Say hi to that big mean land shark everybody!
After that, Tyranitar instantly came to mind. Tyranitar + Garchomp is quite possibly the most notorious combination in pokemon (OU that is). I was also building this team around the time Reuniclus was beginning to have an effect on the metagame, and nothing brings down Reuniclus like Tyranitar does. Ladies and gentlemen, give a big round of applause for team member #2!
So far so good. Can't go wrong with Tyranitar and Garchomp. Anyways, for my next member, I thought I'd look into something that could complete my offensive core. Both Garchomp and Tyranitar have a bit of trouble switching in on water and fight moves. Conkeldurr can be a real problem if you don't have any ways of OHKO'ing it, so I definitely want a special sweeper for this slot. So what special sweeper takes water and fight moves? That's correct! Latios of course!
Yeah, I have to admit, at this point things are looking pretty good. I've managed to assemble the two most suspicious suspects there are. Only question left is, what now? Latios is great and all, but he can't just run through a team like Garchomp can. Latios needs a bit of assistance. Especially when dealing with specially defensive Jirachi and Ferrothorn. Come to think of it, Garchomp doesn't exactly enjoy dealing with Skarmory either. See a pattern yet? Yep, you got it. STEELS. Nobody breaks steels down like Magnezone, so he's up next!
Alright, I'm definitely loving the way this looks. I'm really good at using all of these pokemon, and they seem to fit really nicely here. At this point, I decided that I wanted stealth rock to be incorporated onto this team somehow. On top of that, I wanted a pokemon who could also deal with Excadrill, who would otherwise rip me apart. I don't look too well prepared for an enemy Latios either. So who deals with Latios and Excadrill, and can also set up stealth rock? Bronzong was the best I could come up with for that department, so give a big warm welcome to the floating... whatever he is!
Dragons. And Steels. That's the name of the game folks. All of my past tutors stressed how effective this combination was, even back in gen 4 days, so there's no point in arguing with something that's as tried and true as this. Still, I'll need one more member to complete this team. I honestly can't say that there's much I'm lacking. One thing I don't like is that it looks like I'll be relying heavily on Latios for a good fight switch in, and there's no way Latios can cut it against stuff like Terrakion and Machamp. Several different kinds of fighting switch ins came to mind, like Gliscor, Salamence, Dragonite, Celebi, Mew, and even something as seemingly frail as Gengar. But in the end, I figured I'd go with another long time favorite of mine, Starmie!
Starmie obviously isn't the best choice for a fighting switch in, but Starmie had some great aspects going for him. For one thing, his lovely base 115 speed sets him 4 steps above Thundurus, who really wrecks any team he can outrun. Natural cure also easily remedied the problem of priority thunder wave. So, this was the finished product... for about 5 battles. I quickly realized how much of a disadvantage I was at against enemy sand teams and drought teams (bar Latios, but he can't do it alone). Excadrill could rip through this whole team once Bronzong went down, and that wasn't difficult for my opponents to accomplish seeing as how Bronzong lacks a solid recovery move. There was always the idea of replacing Starmie for Skarmory or Gliscor, but I realized how key offensive pokemon are to victory in gen 5. I also noticed that whoever had command over the weather also gained a huge boost in momentum. That's when I came up with this thought...
At first, I was mocked by my first tutor (Plus), who said Starmie would clearly be the better choice and Politoed would take away the main selling point to Garchomp, which was sand veil. I still felt it was worth a try to test out, and I have to admit, the results really impressed me. Politoed pretty much commands the entire late game after I wear my opponents down a bit with Latios/Garchomp/Magnezone. I've lost count of how many games I ended up winning where Politoed was my last pokemon and just proceeded to sweep my opponent with hydro pump in the rain. Excadrill especially hates losing his weather advantage, and it just so happens that the rain can benefit my team just as much as the sand does. So this is it, the final draft of my team after a few hours of theorymoning and playtesting.
Movesets:
Garchomp (VictoryDragon) (F) @ Yache Berry
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Swords Dance
Yep, the bread and butter Garchomp set of gen 4 works just as well in gen 5. In fact, it might actually be better. Set up a swords dance on something slower that isn't able to OHKO like Tyranitar or Ferrothorn, and then go to town. Dragon claw instead of outrage because I don't like getting locked, and Earthquake already makes for a strong enough stab move anyway. Fire fang really beats up Skarmory with flinches and burns, or I'll just activate sand veil and watch as whirlwind misses. Some people even have the gall to try and set up spikes against Garchomp, which is pretty funny actually. Probably my favorite thing about Garchomp is that no matter what he's facing, as long as sandstorm is up, there's always a chance for victory.
Tyranitar (Tarmogoyf) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 80 SDef / 20 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Fire Punch
- Pursuit
Yeah that's right, you better run, you stupid Cubone. Choice band max attack Tyranitar really beats down anything that comes across it. I must have changed the EV spread on this guy about 10 times. I'm considering just dumping the SP.def EV's all into speed, since they probably wont be as significant as outrunning a Jellicent. Only problem is that I never know how much speed Jellicent runs. I've seen them with no speed at all, and sometimes fast enough to outrun a Rotom-W, so for now I'm not going to wing it. Crunch and stone edge for stab and coverage, pursuit to trap fleeing Lati's and other weather mons once I've taken away their weather advantage, and fire punch for Skarmory, who can outrun me and roost stall stone edge. I've also found myself unable to kill Ferrothorn at times, so fire punch helps with that a bit also.
Latios (EternalDragon) (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse
- Psyshock
- Surf
Ah, Latios. Perfect typing and stat distribution, incredible movepool, and just plain awesome looking. Its a dolphin dragon with wings. Doesn't get any better than that. Draco meteor does over half to anything except SP.def steels, and dragon pulse is there for the dragon stab when I don't want my power to get reduced. Psyshock is a nice stab move, and it gives Latios the ability to bring down Blissey with a special move for once. Surf can be really dangerous, especially when its boosted with drizzle.
Magnezone (SlashCharger) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 HP / 132 SAtk / 124 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunder
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Substitute
Err... Don't be fooled by that picture. Sure Garchomp eats Magnezone, but that's not really a problem. Magnezone is the bane of pretty much every other steel type. I had thunderbolt but decided to ditch it for thunder since I have rain support, and also the 30% chance for a paralysis and extra damage is nice. Flash cannon comes in as a secondary stab attack that hits Tyranitar and Garchomp for about 50% each. The SP.def drop also comes in handy when facing stuff like Jirachi. Hidden power fire and substitute turn Ferrothorn into huge setup fodder, as the only thing it can really do is lay down spikes, which isn't a big deal for me. The best part is how staple Ferrothorn seems to be on rain teams, which really don't stand much of a chance when facing down a Magnezone behind a sub after I kill off that grass/steel.
Bronzong (Cyber Jar) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Atk / 132 Def / IVs: 0 speed
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Hypnosis
- Stealth Rock
Bronzong is really good in this metagame. He has the ability to take on all the most common threats to a certain degree, such as Excadrill, Garchomp, Latios, Terrakion, Landorus, etc. Gyro ball is a really solid STAB attack for a tank like Bronzong, and earthquake hits Magnezone and Heatran pretty hard if they think they can switch in safely. Stealth rock is another staple for offensive teams, and hypnosis can really come in handy in situations where you can't do anything to the opponent, but also can't afford to switch. The fact that they buffed sleep and nerfed explosion this gen is also some more incentive to use hypnosis, despite its lame accuracy.
Politoed (Aqua Patrol) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
Here's the star of the team. Choice scarf turns this guy into a sweeping threat, just barely boosting his speed enough to outrun Thundurus while retaining a modest nature. Hydro pump in the rain really hurts, and scald is there for times when I don't want to miss or need to burn something. Ice beam gets Latios, Celebi, Virizion and Dragonite, and focus blast gives you an extra edge on Tyranitar and Ferrothorn. Not much else to say really. Simple but effective. I'm considering replacing scald for perish song, since I'm at a huge disadvantage against shell smash teams.
Final comments:
This team is really magical. The team synergy is really great, and when played correctly, you will have control over the battle in some way shape or form. It does take a bit of skill to use properly, but once you get the hang of it, there aren't too many bad matchups for it from what I've seen. Its really important to the success rate that you don't lose momentum by making unnecessary or incorrect plays.
Threat list:
