The Laughing Storm

Zedseayou · Aug 20th, 2012, 11:57:46 AM

credit to Ted Nasmith for the banner art of Storm's End

Introduction

Hi everyone! I'm Zedseayou, and I've been casually lurking among competitive Pokemon communities for a while now, especially here. I decided to make an RMT to showcase one of my more effective teams on WiFi OU recently, improve my battling, and of course to introduce myself to you lovely folks :D
Without further ado, welcome to the Laughing Storm.

Team-Building Process

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Type Synergy

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In-Depth

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf

Jolly | Sand Stream | Male
252 Atk | 4 Def | 252 Spe
Crunch | Pursuit | Stone Edge | Superpower

Choice Scarf Tyranitar is one of the most effective Tyranitar sets I've ever used. With a scarf and Jolly 252 Spe, Ttar outspeeds all base 115s and below, including Starmie, Espeon, Gengar, Azelf and Lati@s. This means it can fulfill the role of both trapper and revenge killer. Pursuit allows me to trap the aforementioned weakened Ghost/Psychics, and Crunch can get the OHKO on hazard/screen leads before they set up. Scarftar also has an element of surprise value since most Ttar are CB or SDef variants: Ninetales trying to get a Will-o-Wisp on lead Tyranitar end up getting OHKOed by Stone Edge. Superpower also allows Scarftar a solid revenge on Pokemon such as Hydreigon and Lucario, as well as OHKOing opposing lead Tyranitar not running Chople Berry. I also often lead with Ttar against opposing Smeargle SmashPass teams, since I can knock them to Focus Sash before I get Spored and let Sandstorm do the rest.
Of course, we mustn't forget the original reason Tyranitar is here, and that is Sand Stream. Although I wouldn't call this a dedicated sand team, with only a single abuser, being able to nullify opposing rain and sun with a switch-in is incredibly useful. Pokemon such as Toxicroak, Tornadus and Venusaur are all much easier to deal with once their weather is removed.

Sandslash @ Ground Gem

Jolly | Sand Rush | Male
252 Atk | 4 Def | 252 Spe
Earthquake | Stone Edge | Rapid Spin | Swords Dance

Sandslash is the original reason for this team's existence, and it does not disappoint. With a Jolly nature and Sand Rush, it hits 502 Speed, enough to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame as well as threats including +2 Cloyster and Metagross and +1 Salamence and Landorus. This means it can pull off a Rapid Spin against almost any opponent, especially since Tyranitar is so adept at eliminating enemy Ghosts. Earthquake and Stone Edge make up the classic EdgeQuake combo, providing great coverage across the board and allowing Sandslash to KO threats including Jirachi and Dragonite. I have generally found Swords Dance to be superior to a coverage move such as Night Slash, since with Ground Gem even 252/252 Jellicent is OHKOed at +2. In the lategame, Sandslash is often able to attempt a cleanup sweep against a weakened team with no remaining priority (Scizor).

Conkeldurr @ Leftovers

Brave | Guts | Male
72 HP | 252 Atk | 184 SDef | 0 Spe IV
Bulk Up | Drain Punch | Mach Punch | Payback

Conkeldurr shines in a metagame full of setup opportunites, including the pink blobs, Tyranitar, Ferrothorn and Forretress. Often just a single Bulk Up will allow Conk to severely dent opposing pokemon with Drain Punch, as well as adequately tank hits from the likes of Gliscor and Landorus who come in to try and wall Conkeldurr. Consistently Conkeldurr is able to simply Bulk Up on a forced switch, tank the incoming counter and recover with Drain Punch, and finish with Mach Punch. Few special attackers not named Alakazam/Espeon/Tornadus are capable of OHKOing Conkeldurr. Payback allows Conkeldurr to hit Ghost types, as well as providing good coverage on Flying and Psychic types that resist Drain Punch.
The EVs are designed to hit a Leftover number +1, while maximizing Conkeldurr's Attack so Drain Punch can hit off the bat if need be. The relatively low HP investment increases the %recovery of Drain Punch slightly, which is beneficial in hitting switchins that are hoping to come in on a Bulk Up. A Brave nature and 0 Spe IV minimize Conkeldurr's Speed, to ensure that Payback hits at max power most of the time (notably against Slowbro, which loses if it carries Psyshock or Fire Blast over Psychic.) The remainder is dumped into SDef, which is not boosted by Bulk Up, reducing hits taken from stray Volt Switches and Scalds. Speaking of which, Conkeldurr is often my switch into Scalds/Lava Plumes/Body Slams, since with Guts Drain Punch + Mach Punch it can get many unresisted KOs.

Celebi @ Leftovers

Modest | Natural Cure | Genderless
176 HP | 220 SAtk | 112 Spe
Leaf Storm | Psychic | Hidden Power [Fire] | Stealth Rock

This pixie is possibly one of the most useful mons on my team. A great Grass/Psychic typing gives resistances to Water, Electric, Ground and Fighting, allowing Celebi to wall many of the Pokemon commonly found on rain teams. Celebi is my most used lead, since if it comes in on Pokemon like Politoed or Breloom I can often force a switch and get rocks up for free.
Leaf Storm is the only Grass type move on the team, vital for dealing with bulky waters such as Gastrodon and Swampert. The power increase over Giga Drain makes up for the lack of recovery, I've found - few Pokemon weak to Grass will stay in on Celebi anyway, so I prefer a solid ~40% off Tornadus-T since I would have to switch anyway regardless of the SAtk drop. Psychic provides reliable neutral STAB, as well as being my primary check to Breloom and Toxicroak. HP Fire has lost some of its surprise value, since so many Celebi now carry it, but it is still worth carrying for the 4x hits on Scizor, Ferrothorn, Forretress and Genesect. I will often Psychic Forretress to break Sturdy before KOing with HP Fire when not in rain. Unfortunately, it does only ~25% to most Jirachi.
Celebi's EVs provide surprising bulk without significant investment in defenses. 176 HP EVs puts me at Leftovers +1, while 112 Spe EVs ensure I outspeed Jolly Breloom and can OHKO before I get Spored. The remainder is dumped in SAtk with Modest to boost the power of Celebi's neutral hits (which most of them will be).

Gyarados @ Leftovers

Impish | Intimidate | Male
218 HP | 252 Def | 38 SDef
Waterfall | Dragon Tail | Thunder Wave | Taunt

Gyarados is my switch-in to most physical attackers, including Terrakion, Infernape, Landorus and such like. He easily tanks Close Combats, Flare Blitzes and U-Turns from these pokemon, and can deal with Stone Edges too if they have been intimidated. Waterfall provides obligatory STAB, dealing good damage to Pokemon like Mamoswine and Landorus-T that Gyarados comes in on. Thunder Wave is great for crippling offensive threats that are not weak to water: Venusaur, Kyurem and the Lati twins are examples. This is especially useful since most of my team is not particularly fast, and in some cases it can prevent Tyranitar’s scarf from being revealed. I am usually wary of paralysing Pokemon such as DD Dragonite and Haxorus, however, since they often carry Lum Berry. Dragon Tail deals nicely with such mons, as well as Pokemon that decide to U-Turn or switch out of Gyarados having been Intimidated - allowing me to see what their intended counter was and replace it with something more favourable. Taunt is an extremely useful move that prevents Ferrothorn coming in and setting up, but more importantly pokemon such as Toxicroak and Gliscor, who are difficult to deal with if they get both Substitute and Swords Dance up. Taunt also provides a failsafe against Baton Pass chains: it not only prevents Substitutes and stat-boosting moves but Baton Pass itself, ensuring that a switch is unlikely. If Taunt hits Protect, I can simply phaze out the switch-in.
The EVs are designed to maximize Gyarados’ physical Defense, hitting a Leftovers number +1 and putting the rest into SDef. Few neutral or resisted physical attackers can deal significant damage to Gyarados at -1, but without reliable recovery I sometimes avoid keeping sand up when Gyarados is important, to preserve Leftovers.

Jirachi @ Shuca Berry

Rash | Serene Grace | Genderless
120 Atk | 168 SAtk | 220 Spe
Hidden Power [Ice] | Thunderbolt | Fire Punch | Iron Head

Mixed Jirachi is a great set for surprising common switch-ins. Making my first moves Iron Head or Fire Punch can easily fake the classic paraflinch set, luring in Pokemon like Gliscor or Politoed only to take an HP Ice or Thunderbolt respectively. This set patches up a lot of weaknesses in the team: providing a resistance to Ice and Dragon as well as being able to take hits from Tornadus-T. When testing Jirachi over Zapdos, I found that despite the lack of weakness to Stealth Rock, I missed the Ground immunity more - Landorus and Scarf Landorus-T just became too threatening and could U-Turn on my forced switch. My solution was to give Jirachi Shuca Berry, preventing any OHKO from Earthquake or Earth Power by the aforementioned genies and OHKOing back with HP Ice. The only problem with this, of course, is that the utility diminishes if Jirachi takes too much damage - most Earthquakes do only ~60%, but Earth Power does ~80% which is getting tight with SR. HP Ice is the only Ice type move on this team, covering the Landorus (-T), Gliscor, Dragonite and Salamence. Thunderbolt does good damage to Politoed, Jellicent and Keldeo, as well as Flying types such as Tornadus (-T) and Togekiss. Fire Punch rounds out the coverage, hitting Genesect, Scizor and Magnezone. I prefer not to have to deal with Ferrothorn using Fire Punch, as Iron Barbs wears down Jirachi’s HP - Conkeldurr can use it as setup bait and Sandslash can spin away hazards later. Iron Head is a powerful STAB, great for abusing Serene Grace and bringing slower/paralysed Pokemon into KO range of another move. It also serves as good damage on Tyranitar and Mamoswine.
The EVs are designed to ensure Jirachi outspeeds Adamant Gliscor and Modest Kyurem, as well as slower threats such as Dragonite. 120 Atk guarantees an OHKO on uninvested Scizor after Stealth Rock, and the remainder is dumped in SAtk to increase the power of Thunderbolt.

credit to Arkeis PokemonFactory and Merum-SB-BlueOlimar for the various images.

Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed reading this RMT. I'd say this team still has some issues with Genesect+Rotom-W cores, which put a great deal of pressure on Celebi and Gyarados. This really is the only team I've made which I've kept going back to and changing/testing, so I'd love to see what you all think! Please rate, not only the team itself but also the RMT - I'd like to know if I should have explained/presented something more clearly!

Importable

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Zedseayou · Aug 20th, 2012, 11:58:16 AM

Reserved for a threatlist.

Standard OU Offensive Threats

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Standard OU Defensive Threats

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Electrolyte · Aug 20th, 2012, 1:06:48 PM

Hi,

This looks like a pretty nice team. There is only one threat for your team- Tornadus-T. It hits everyone on your team for at least neutral damage, can U-Turn, and outspeeds your whole team in Rain too. Your only answer to this beast is Sandslash, but it doesn't work in Rain, and Tornadus-T is commonly found in Rain. You might think Jirachi can take Tornadus's attacks, but Hurricane is always a 3HKO, while Tbolt never OHKO's, so you can't switch into an attack. To help with this, I suggest you change your Tyranitar to a Specially Defensive Variant.

Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful
~Stealth Rock
~Pursuit
~Stone Edge
~Crunch

Tyranitar can take a Hurricane and a Superpower, and reply with a Stone Edge that OHKO's. Tyranitar also hard walls most special sweepers- and can trap them with Pursuit or Crunch them to death. It also sets rocks, which is really useful. Your team had lacked a strong specially defensive wall, and Tyranitar can step up to the spotlight for you.

Now that Tyranitar has Stealth Rock, I think you can give Celebi U-Turn over Stealth Rock. That will allow you to use it as a pivot, sponging weaker hits with its decent natural defenses and then switching to give you momentum.

Using Leftovers over a Ground gem is probably a good idea; you get steady recovery, and Ground gem is only a one time use item- the things that it hits- Steels, Rocks, Fires- are all covered by Conkeldurr.

Nice team, hope I helped!

emirinho · Aug 20th, 2012, 1:37:21 PM

Hello,

Your team does a have a great synergy and congrats on that. However, some of your Pokemon that you used arent used with their full potential. Such as Jirachi. I think that you should use a specially defensive variant that will help you cope with Tornadus-t and other specially defensive threats. Jirachi/Gyarados make a prefect defensive core.

Another thing that i have to mention is that you definitely have to put leftovers/life orb on Sandslash as Electrolyte mentioned. That would be crucial for either more survivability or for more damage, depends on what you prefer. In either case Ground Gem is not an option.

I hope i helped

Zedseayou · Aug 23rd, 2012, 8:05:09 AM

Thanks for the rates guys!

Electrolyte:

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SDef Tyranitar did help a great deal with Tornadus-T. Previously I relied on keeping it out still the endgame and sand was dominant for Sandslash to outspeed, whereas now I have a guaranteed switch-in. The two problems I found with it were that it is now slower than other weather inducers, making it harder to damage them/force them out, and that SR becomes harder to get up - Tyranitar doesn't force nearly so many switches as Celebi did because every team carries a Tyranitar switch-in. Fast U-turners especially are difficult to deal with because getting SR up to deal with them automatically puts me on the back foot.
I'm having trouble with Sandslash, because I end up with situations where I can either spin and get KOed, or switch out and let my team rack up more hazard damage. I originally had Earth Gem to KO a spinblocker or threatening mon before spinning, but too often this still wasn't enough. Neither Lefties nor Life Orb really solved this.

eminhiro:

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Thanks for the suggestion. I tried SDef Jirachi out, but I had difficulty really doing anything to things I switched into. Plus, boosted Genesect U-Turn was pretty threatening :/
I have my suspicions that in order to really counter Volt-Turn, I'd have to run a spinner that was bulkier rather than faster. I think I'm going to retire this team for now, and try other things, but if you have any other ideas, I'd love to hear them!

Asek · Aug 23rd, 2012, 9:28:29 AM

Hey,

Cool team ZedSeaYou, Sandslash is a very underrated threat right now

Looking at your Conkelldurr set, its EV's didn't look like it suited the set to me. Considering the face that your in sandstorm and your having your leftovers recovery negated, you will find it a bit harder to set up than usual. Your Conkeldurr looks like it could really appreciate more bulk to aid it in setting up and also to protect it from potential revenge killers. I suggest a spread of 252HP/ 80Atk/ 176SpD to give Conkelldurr the bulk it loves to have when it is setting up, and to still retain a nice amount of Attack to do fairly large damage after just 1 Bulk Up.

Looking at your threat list so far and the mentioned Genesect problem, I thought that Jirachi only contributed to that weakness. I thought that there was another steel out there, that could slot right into your team and alleviate these weakness's. I suggest running a Specially Defensive Heatran > Jirachi. Heatran completes a lovely FWG core in your team, and adds a specially defensive pokemon that compliments Gyarados's Physically defensive set very nicely. His fire/steel dual typing adds a few very nice resistances, that your team would love to help. He can also make winning the weather war against sun a lot easier, as his immunity to fire and his 4X resist to grass plague drought teams for days once Dugtrio is out. His added bulk means he can comftably take on OU dragons, unlike Jirachi and he also adds a very neat way to spread burn around the opposing team, as well as a secondary PHazaer. Not to mention the fact that he can also spread toxic, and hits very hard for a defensive mon. The things Heatran brings to your team would definitely help it out to cripple the opposing team before you attempt to sweep.

GL with the team

Heatran

Zedseayou · Aug 28th, 2012, 1:26:20 PM

Hey Asek.

Thanks for those Conkeldurr EVs. I modified them to 200 HP / 80 Atk / 228 SpD, to hit a leftovers number + 1 (although I am really not sure how much this actually helps :/
I tried Heatran, and although it did take little from Genesect's attacks I would regularly find myself forced out by a U-Turn into a ground/water type. Heatran was just unable to tank Rain Hydro Pumps and similar attacks, and could do little in return - I missed Jirachi's offensive presence (as an example, things like SDef Skarmory in Rain and Politoeds are harder to hit without Thunderbolt.. I think I may need to change this team more significantly if I want to improve it - Celebi + Gyarados was a fairly effective core except for their 4x weaknesses to U-Turn and Volt Switch, respectively.

Tyvm for the rate.

~~Asterat~~ · Aug 28th, 2012, 1:41:59 PM

Cool team.

You should probably use SpD jirachifore tornadus-t. It can also use stealth rock so celebi can use recover which will lessen your slight keldeo weakness.

Try a life orb on sandslash because he can KO jellicent as most dont run 252/252 and you should have up stealth rock.

Phazon00 · Aug 28th, 2012, 2:20:15 PM

I think the Ground Gem on Sandslash is a bit unnecessary, as it is only good if Sandslash is a pure revenge killer and judging by Swords Dance, it appears that it is going to stay in. I think a Life Orb would be a better option.

Aug 20th, 2012, 11:57:46 AM	#1
Zedseayou Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 4 United Kingdom	The Laughing Storm credit to Ted Nasmith for the banner art of Storm's End Introduction Hi everyone! I'm Zedseayou, and I've been casually lurking among competitive Pokemon communities for a while now, especially here. I decided to make an RMT to showcase one of my more effective teams on WiFi OU recently, improve my battling, and of course to introduce myself to you lovely folks :D Without further ado, welcome to the Laughing Storm. Team-Building Process ... This is a team I built around Sandslash, one of BW2's more overlooked additions. With its DW ability, Sand Rush, it provides surprising speed in sand in this speed-dominated metagame. Of course, Sand Rush is nothing without Sand, so I need an inducer. Of Tyranitar and Hippowdown, I chose the former as it is far less defensive. I had previously used the Dragon Dance set to great effect as Ttar could often setup, so I put that on. As everyone will know, rain teams got a huge boost to their arsenal with Tornadus-T and Thundurus-T. I therefore chose Celebi as a standby against rain, tanking water attacks and using SE Giga Drain to stay alive. In order to tackle the rampant Fighting types in the tier looking to take a chunk out of Tyranitar, I added a Bulky Gyarados to come in and Intimidate them. I noticed how infuriating having attack lowered by Landorus-T was getting as its usage rose, so I figured this would do something similar but synergise better with Celebi. To complete an offensive core, I added two of the most threatening Pokemon on both sides of the spectrum - LO Alakazam and SD Terrakion as a setup sweeper. Both had the benefit of immunity to sandstorm. This also allowed me to change DDTar to a Scarfed Variant, making it more durable and less likely to lose the weather war. Unfortunately, Alakazam gave me three pokemon cripplingly weak to Bug, forced out by the threat of U-Turn and ensuring I had zero momentum. Terrakion also had significant coverage overlap with Tyranitar, and was too easily walled by bulky waters which Alakazam could not touch. I consequently sacrificed some speed to replace them with two bulkier pokemon. Zapdos provided a stop to Tornadus (-T) with HP Ice and Roost, while Conkeldurr could recover off damage from the likes of Vaporeon and abuse STAB Mach Punch. Zapdos was being troubled by its weakness to Stealth Rock and lack of Electric resistance (I wish Lightningrod had been released...). Additionally, although none of Sandslash, Celebi or Zapdos could be OHKOed by Ice Shard, this triple weakness made playing around Mamoswine and Kyurem difficult. I decided I needed a Steel-type and settled for Mixrachi. With some minor adjustments to movesets, the Laughing Storm was complete. Type Synergy ... As you can see, the addition of Jirachi means I have a resistance for every type, and no more than 2 pokemon weak to any team. credit to Pokemon Marriland for the chart tool In-Depth Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf Jolly \| Sand Stream \| Male 252 Atk \| 4 Def \| 252 Spe Crunch \| Pursuit \| Stone Edge \| Superpower Choice Scarf Tyranitar is one of the most effective Tyranitar sets I've ever used. With a scarf and Jolly 252 Spe, Ttar outspeeds all base 115s and below, including Starmie, Espeon, Gengar, Azelf and Lati@s. This means it can fulfill the role of both trapper and revenge killer. Pursuit allows me to trap the aforementioned weakened Ghost/Psychics, and Crunch can get the OHKO on hazard/screen leads before they set up. Scarftar also has an element of surprise value since most Ttar are CB or SDef variants: Ninetales trying to get a Will-o-Wisp on lead Tyranitar end up getting OHKOed by Stone Edge. Superpower also allows Scarftar a solid revenge on Pokemon such as Hydreigon and Lucario, as well as OHKOing opposing lead Tyranitar not running Chople Berry. I also often lead with Ttar against opposing Smeargle SmashPass teams, since I can knock them to Focus Sash before I get Spored and let Sandstorm do the rest. Of course, we mustn't forget the original reason Tyranitar is here, and that is Sand Stream. Although I wouldn't call this a dedicated sand team, with only a single abuser, being able to nullify opposing rain and sun with a switch-in is incredibly useful. Pokemon such as Toxicroak, Tornadus and Venusaur are all much easier to deal with once their weather is removed. Sandslash @ Ground Gem Jolly \| Sand Rush \| Male 252 Atk \| 4 Def \| 252 Spe Earthquake \| Stone Edge \| Rapid Spin \| Swords Dance Sandslash is the original reason for this team's existence, and it does not disappoint. With a Jolly nature and Sand Rush, it hits 502 Speed, enough to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame as well as threats including +2 Cloyster and Metagross and +1 Salamence and Landorus. This means it can pull off a Rapid Spin against almost any opponent, especially since Tyranitar is so adept at eliminating enemy Ghosts. Earthquake and Stone Edge make up the classic EdgeQuake combo, providing great coverage across the board and allowing Sandslash to KO threats including Jirachi and Dragonite. I have generally found Swords Dance to be superior to a coverage move such as Night Slash, since with Ground Gem even 252/252 Jellicent is OHKOed at +2. In the lategame, Sandslash is often able to attempt a cleanup sweep against a weakened team with no remaining priority (Scizor). Conkeldurr @ Leftovers Brave \| Guts \| Male 72 HP \| 252 Atk \| 184 SDef \| 0 Spe IV Bulk Up \| Drain Punch \| Mach Punch \| Payback Conkeldurr shines in a metagame full of setup opportunites, including the pink blobs, Tyranitar, Ferrothorn and Forretress. Often just a single Bulk Up will allow Conk to severely dent opposing pokemon with Drain Punch, as well as adequately tank hits from the likes of Gliscor and Landorus who come in to try and wall Conkeldurr. Consistently Conkeldurr is able to simply Bulk Up on a forced switch, tank the incoming counter and recover with Drain Punch, and finish with Mach Punch. Few special attackers not named Alakazam/Espeon/Tornadus are capable of OHKOing Conkeldurr. Payback allows Conkeldurr to hit Ghost types, as well as providing good coverage on Flying and Psychic types that resist Drain Punch. The EVs are designed to hit a Leftover number +1, while maximizing Conkeldurr's Attack so Drain Punch can hit off the bat if need be. The relatively low HP investment increases the %recovery of Drain Punch slightly, which is beneficial in hitting switchins that are hoping to come in on a Bulk Up. A Brave nature and 0 Spe IV minimize Conkeldurr's Speed, to ensure that Payback hits at max power most of the time (notably against Slowbro, which loses if it carries Psyshock or Fire Blast over Psychic.) The remainder is dumped into SDef, which is not boosted by Bulk Up, reducing hits taken from stray Volt Switches and Scalds. Speaking of which, Conkeldurr is often my switch into Scalds/Lava Plumes/Body Slams, since with Guts Drain Punch + Mach Punch it can get many unresisted KOs. Celebi @ Leftovers Modest \| Natural Cure \| Genderless 176 HP \| 220 SAtk \| 112 Spe Leaf Storm \| Psychic \| Hidden Power [Fire] \| Stealth Rock This pixie is possibly one of the most useful mons on my team. A great Grass/Psychic typing gives resistances to Water, Electric, Ground and Fighting, allowing Celebi to wall many of the Pokemon commonly found on rain teams. Celebi is my most used lead, since if it comes in on Pokemon like Politoed or Breloom I can often force a switch and get rocks up for free. Leaf Storm is the only Grass type move on the team, vital for dealing with bulky waters such as Gastrodon and Swampert. The power increase over Giga Drain makes up for the lack of recovery, I've found - few Pokemon weak to Grass will stay in on Celebi anyway, so I prefer a solid ~40% off Tornadus-T since I would have to switch anyway regardless of the SAtk drop. Psychic provides reliable neutral STAB, as well as being my primary check to Breloom and Toxicroak. HP Fire has lost some of its surprise value, since so many Celebi now carry it, but it is still worth carrying for the 4x hits on Scizor, Ferrothorn, Forretress and Genesect. I will often Psychic Forretress to break Sturdy before KOing with HP Fire when not in rain. Unfortunately, it does only ~25% to most Jirachi. Celebi's EVs provide surprising bulk without significant investment in defenses. 176 HP EVs puts me at Leftovers +1, while 112 Spe EVs ensure I outspeed Jolly Breloom and can OHKO before I get Spored. The remainder is dumped in SAtk with Modest to boost the power of Celebi's neutral hits (which most of them will be). Gyarados @ Leftovers Impish \| Intimidate \| Male 218 HP \| 252 Def \| 38 SDef Waterfall \| Dragon Tail \| Thunder Wave \| Taunt Gyarados is my switch-in to most physical attackers, including Terrakion, Infernape, Landorus and such like. He easily tanks Close Combats, Flare Blitzes and U-Turns from these pokemon, and can deal with Stone Edges too if they have been intimidated. Waterfall provides obligatory STAB, dealing good damage to Pokemon like Mamoswine and Landorus-T that Gyarados comes in on. Thunder Wave is great for crippling offensive threats that are not weak to water: Venusaur, Kyurem and the Lati twins are examples. This is especially useful since most of my team is not particularly fast, and in some cases it can prevent Tyranitar’s scarf from being revealed. I am usually wary of paralysing Pokemon such as DD Dragonite and Haxorus, however, since they often carry Lum Berry. Dragon Tail deals nicely with such mons, as well as Pokemon that decide to U-Turn or switch out of Gyarados having been Intimidated - allowing me to see what their intended counter was and replace it with something more favourable. Taunt is an extremely useful move that prevents Ferrothorn coming in and setting up, but more importantly pokemon such as Toxicroak and Gliscor, who are difficult to deal with if they get both Substitute and Swords Dance up. Taunt also provides a failsafe against Baton Pass chains: it not only prevents Substitutes and stat-boosting moves but Baton Pass itself, ensuring that a switch is unlikely. If Taunt hits Protect, I can simply phaze out the switch-in. The EVs are designed to maximize Gyarados’ physical Defense, hitting a Leftovers number +1 and putting the rest into SDef. Few neutral or resisted physical attackers can deal significant damage to Gyarados at -1, but without reliable recovery I sometimes avoid keeping sand up when Gyarados is important, to preserve Leftovers. Jirachi @ Shuca Berry Rash \| Serene Grace \| Genderless 120 Atk \| 168 SAtk \| 220 Spe Hidden Power [Ice] \| Thunderbolt \| Fire Punch \| Iron Head Mixed Jirachi is a great set for surprising common switch-ins. Making my first moves Iron Head or Fire Punch can easily fake the classic paraflinch set, luring in Pokemon like Gliscor or Politoed only to take an HP Ice or Thunderbolt respectively. This set patches up a lot of weaknesses in the team: providing a resistance to Ice and Dragon as well as being able to take hits from Tornadus-T. When testing Jirachi over Zapdos, I found that despite the lack of weakness to Stealth Rock, I missed the Ground immunity more - Landorus and Scarf Landorus-T just became too threatening and could U-Turn on my forced switch. My solution was to give Jirachi Shuca Berry, preventing any OHKO from Earthquake or Earth Power by the aforementioned genies and OHKOing back with HP Ice. The only problem with this, of course, is that the utility diminishes if Jirachi takes too much damage - most Earthquakes do only ~60%, but Earth Power does ~80% which is getting tight with SR. HP Ice is the only Ice type move on this team, covering the Landorus (-T), Gliscor, Dragonite and Salamence. Thunderbolt does good damage to Politoed, Jellicent and Keldeo, as well as Flying types such as Tornadus (-T) and Togekiss. Fire Punch rounds out the coverage, hitting Genesect, Scizor and Magnezone. I prefer not to have to deal with Ferrothorn using Fire Punch, as Iron Barbs wears down Jirachi’s HP - Conkeldurr can use it as setup bait and Sandslash can spin away hazards later. Iron Head is a powerful STAB, great for abusing Serene Grace and bringing slower/paralysed Pokemon into KO range of another move. It also serves as good damage on Tyranitar and Mamoswine. The EVs are designed to ensure Jirachi outspeeds Adamant Gliscor and Modest Kyurem, as well as slower threats such as Dragonite. 120 Atk guarantees an OHKO on uninvested Scizor after Stealth Rock, and the remainder is dumped in SAtk to increase the power of Thunderbolt. credit to Arkeis PokemonFactory and Merum-SB-BlueOlimar for the various images. Conclusion I hope you enjoyed reading this RMT. I'd say this team still has some issues with Genesect+Rotom-W cores, which put a great deal of pressure on Celebi and Gyarados. This really is the only team I've made which I've kept going back to and changing/testing, so I'd love to see what you all think! Please rate, not only the team itself but also the RMT - I'd like to know if I should have explained/presented something more clearly! Importable ... Code: Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf Trait: Sand Stream EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd Jolly Nature - Crunch - Pursuit - Stone Edge - Superpower Sandslash @ Ground Gem Trait: Sand Rush EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Def Jolly Nature - Earthquake - Stone Edge - Rapid Spin - Swords Dance Celebi @ Leftovers Trait: Natural Cure EVs: 240 HP / 40 Spd / 228 SAtk Modest Nature - Leaf Storm - Psychic - Hidden Power [Fire] - Stealth Rock Conkeldurr @ Leftovers Trait: Guts EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 SDef Brave Nature IVs: 0 Spd - Bulk Up - Drain Punch - Mach Punch - Payback Gyarados @ Leftovers Trait: Intimidate EVs: 218 HP / 252 Def / 38 SDef Impish Nature - Waterfall - Thunder Wave - Dragon Tail - Taunt Jirachi @ Shuca Berry Trait: Serene Grace EVs: 120 Atk / 220 Spd / 168 SAtk Rash Nature - Thunderbolt - Fire Punch - Hidden Power [Ice] - Iron Head Last edited by Zedseayou; Aug 20th, 2012 at 12:13:51 PM.

Aug 20th, 2012, 11:58:16 AM	#2
Zedseayou Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 4 United Kingdom	Reserved for a threatlist. Standard OU Offensive Threats ... Tyranitar: Choice Band - If lead, then ScarfTar OHKOes with Superpower. Sandslash can always revenge, can't do much to Gyarados if not using Stone Edge. Choice Scarf - Sandslash is faster, can't do much to Jirachi which deals heavy damage with Iron Head. Dragon Dance - Sandslash can revenge, Gyarados can negate Attack boost and phaze. Rotom-W: Choice Scarf / Specs - Lead TrickScarf is funny if it swaps with Tyranitar. Celebi can tank Electric and Water and threatens to OHKO with Leaf Storm, and doesn't mind being burned. Can Psychic the incoming Volt Switch. An issue for Gyarados, which is forced out, but only an issue if paired with Genesect which Celebi does not outspeed. Stealth Rock + Sandstorm wears it down over time. Support - Switch Conkeldurr into Will-O-Wisp, and Guts Drain Punch away. Scizor: Choice Band - Celebi outspeeds those greedy for a U-Turn and OHKOes with HP Fire. Gyarados completely walls it. Swords Dance - Gyarados walls it, phazes out. Bulky Swords Dance - ^ Dragonite: Choice Band - With Multiscale broken from sandstorm, Jirachi switches into Outrage and KOs with HP Ice. Tyranitar/Sandslash can revenge with Stone Edge. Dragon Dance - Gyarados negates +1 Atk, phazes out. Mixed - Gyarados, Tyranitar, Sandslash Parashuffler - Conkeldurr and Celebi don't care about paralysis, Sandslash is immune. Rain Abuse - Tyranitar takes little from inaccurate Hurricane and Thunder (never actually seen one with Aqua Tail.), and Jirachi threatens it too. Politoed: Choice Specs / Scarf - Predictable once choice item is revealed, Tyranitar can come in and Pursuit it. Rocks are helpful. Celebi takes little, even from Ice Beam and threatens with Leaf Storm. 3 Attacks - Celebi gets a free Rocks setup turn. Heatran: Standard - Gyarados walls it - Waterfall doesn't get used too much anyway, so a burn isn't so bad. Sandslash can KO non-balloon variants, and Conkeldurr can setup/hope for a burn against it. Jirachi: Substitute + Calm Mind / Wish + Calm Mind - Irritating, especially is Politoed is still around since Fire Punch does little. My best shot is to break subs with HP Fire/Waterfall, and/or Taunt to prevent setup. Without a sub, Sandslash forces it out. Expert Belt - Uncommon, but Sandslash outspeeds in sand and OHKOes. Choice Scarf - its U-Turn is weak and Celebi can tank it. Sandslash still outspeeds. Latios: Life Orb / Expert Belt - Tyranitar outspeeds and kills with Crunch. Choice Specs - Easily eliminated by Tyranitar, especially if it comes in on Psychic/Psyshock aimed at Conkeldurr. Choice Scarf - irritating, but cannot OHKO Tyranitar and Ttar KOes back. May cause me to lose Tyranitar earlier than I would have liked, however. Calm Mind - Tyranitar, Gyarados can phaze. Reuniclus: Calm Mind - Crunch doesn't do as much as I'd like. Jirachi can force it to rely on Focus Miss, and Iron Head to prevent Recover. If it's running Psyshock, it doesn't hurt Conkeldurr too much. Offensive Trick Room - Again, annoying. I can switch around for the 4 turns of TR and then Iron Head to prevent further setup/kill with Crunch. Haxorus: Choice Scarf / Choice Band - Scarf is annoying, because it 2HKOes a lot of my team even after an Intimidate. Frail, however, so I may sack Celebi to get rocks up and then phaze out with Gyarados, outspeed with Sandslash later. Dragon Dance - Phaze out with Gyarados Double Dance - Never seent his, but phaze out with Gyarados Ninetales: Nasty Plot - Choice Specs - Special Attacker - Conkeldurr: Bulk Up - Flame Orb + 3 Attacks - Celebi: Nasty Plot Sweeper - Tinkerbell - Choice Specs / Choice Scarf - Terrakion: Double Dance - Choice Scarf / Choice Band - Substitute + Swords Dance - Gyarados: Offensive / Bulky Dragon Dance - Choice Band / Choice Scarf - Gengar: Substitute + Disable / Pain Split - Starmie: Life Orb - Rapid Spin - Choice Specs - Landorus: Rock Polish / Swords Dance - Choice Scarf - Substitute + 3 Attacks - Infernape: Mixed Attacker - Nasty Plot / Swords Dance Booster - Choice Band - Volcarona: Offensive Quiver Dance - Bulky Quiver Dance - Chesto Rest - Substitute - Magnezone: Substitute - Choice Scarf / Choice Specs - Espeon: Calm Mind - Bulky Sun Attacker / Passer - Salamence: Dragon Dance - Mixed - Defensive - Choice Scarf / Choice Band - Hydreigon: Offensive - Choice Specs / Choice Scarf - Substitute - Breloom: Bulk Up - Sub Seed - Sub Punch - Latias: Calm Mind - Offensive Tank - Choice Specs - Toxicroak: Swords Dance - Bulk Up - Lucario: Swords Dance - Nasty Plot - Virizion: Calm Mind - Swords Dance - Dual Screens - Scrafty: Dragon Dance - Bulk Up - Venusaur: Special Growth - Mixed Growth - SubSeed - Metagross: Stealth Rock - Choice Scarf / Choice Band - Agility - Mienshao: All-Out Attacker - Choice Scarf / Choice Band - Cloyster: Shell Smash - Utility - Mamoswine: Physical Attacker - Focus Sash + Endeavor - Darmanitan: Choice Scarf / Choice Band - Tornadus: Rain Abuser - Choice Specs - Abomasnow: Choice Scarf - SubSeed - Mixed Attacker - Alakazam: Substitute + 3 Attacks - Offensive Calm Mind - Focus Sash - Azelf: Dual Screens - Lead - Nasty Plot - Choice Band - Azumarill: Choice Band - Deoxys-D: Fast Spiker - Dugtrio: Focus Sash - Choice Band - Empoleon: Agility - Choice Specs - Gorebyss: SmashPass - Shell Smash Sweeper - Kingdra: Dragon Dance - Rain Dance - Choice Specs - Kyurem: Choice - Substitute + 3 Attacks - Victini: Choice Band / Scarf - Physical Attacker - Stoutland: Choice Band - Smeargle: Baton Pass - Sharpedo: Speed Boost - Rotom-C: Choice Scarf / Choice Specs - Support - Standard OU Defensive Threats ... Tyranitar: Specially Defensive - Rotom-W: Standard - Ferrothorn: Standard - Politoed: Defensive - Gliscor: Swords Dance - Substitute + Protect - AcroBat - Defensive - Heatran: Specially Defensive - Jirachi: Specially Defensive - Skarmory: Physically Defensive Spiker - Specially Defensive Spiker - Ninetales: Specially Defensive - Celebi: Physically Defensive - Forretress: Physically Defensive Spiker - Specially Defensive Spiker - Gyarados: RestTalk - Jellicent: Utility Counter - Tentacruel: Toxic Spikes - Gastrodon: Tank - Espeon: Dual Screens - Baton Pass - Blissey: Support - Vaporeon: Wish Support - Latias: Support - Bronzong: Tank - Dual Screens - Swampert: Defensive - Mew: Stallbreaker - Slowbro: Tank - Quagsire: Curse - Specially Defensive - Physically Defensive - Cresselia: Support - Dual Screens - Deoxys-D: Bulky Spiker - Toxic Staller - Empoleon: Specially Defensive - Hippowdon: Physical Tank - Xatu: Standard - Dual Screens - Wobbuffet: Bulky - Whimsicott: Prankster - Tangrowth: Physically Defensive - Sableye: Prankster - Porygon2: Defensive - Chansey: Support - Last edited by Zedseayou; Aug 20th, 2012 at 12:32:03 PM.

Aug 20th, 2012, 1:06:48 PM	#3
Electrolyte Welcome to the new age Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 1,140 I'm radioactive, radioactive Mentor	Hi, This looks like a pretty nice team. There is only one threat for your team- Tornadus-T. It hits everyone on your team for at least neutral damage, can U-Turn, and outspeeds your whole team in Rain too. Your only answer to this beast is Sandslash, but it doesn't work in Rain, and Tornadus-T is commonly found in Rain. You might think Jirachi can take Tornadus's attacks, but Hurricane is always a 3HKO, while Tbolt never OHKO's, so you can't switch into an attack. To help with this, I suggest you change your Tyranitar to a Specially Defensive Variant. Tyranitar @ Chople Berry 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD Careful ~Stealth Rock ~Pursuit ~Stone Edge ~Crunch Tyranitar can take a Hurricane and a Superpower, and reply with a Stone Edge that OHKO's. Tyranitar also hard walls most special sweepers- and can trap them with Pursuit or Crunch them to death. It also sets rocks, which is really useful. Your team had lacked a strong specially defensive wall, and Tyranitar can step up to the spotlight for you. Now that Tyranitar has Stealth Rock, I think you can give Celebi U-Turn over Stealth Rock. That will allow you to use it as a pivot, sponging weaker hits with its decent natural defenses and then switching to give you momentum. Using Leftovers over a Ground gem is probably a good idea; you get steady recovery, and Ground gem is only a one time use item- the things that it hits- Steels, Rocks, Fires- are all covered by Conkeldurr. Nice team, hope I helped! __________________ Member of the LC QC Team! VM me for an approval! OU / LC team rater- VM me for a rate! My C&C Work

Aug 20th, 2012, 1:37:21 PM	#4
emirinho Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 294 Sarajevo	Hello, Your team does a have a great synergy and congrats on that. However, some of your Pokemon that you used arent used with their full potential. Such as Jirachi. I think that you should use a specially defensive variant that will help you cope with Tornadus-t and other specially defensive threats. Jirachi/Gyarados make a prefect defensive core. Another thing that i have to mention is that you definitely have to put leftovers/life orb on Sandslash as Electrolyte mentioned. That would be crucial for either more survivability or for more damage, depends on what you prefer. In either case Ground Gem is not an option. I hope i helped __________________ My youtube channel. It is nice to be important but it is more important to be nice

Aug 23rd, 2012, 9:28:29 AM	#6
Asek Swell Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 418 VM for an OU rate	Hey, Cool team ZedSeaYou, Sandslash is a very underrated threat right now Looking at your Conkelldurr set, its EV's didn't look like it suited the set to me. Considering the face that your in sandstorm and your having your leftovers recovery negated, you will find it a bit harder to set up than usual. Your Conkeldurr looks like it could really appreciate more bulk to aid it in setting up and also to protect it from potential revenge killers. I suggest a spread of 252HP/ 80Atk/ 176SpD to give Conkelldurr the bulk it loves to have when it is setting up, and to still retain a nice amount of Attack to do fairly large damage after just 1 Bulk Up. Looking at your threat list so far and the mentioned Genesect problem, I thought that Jirachi only contributed to that weakness. I thought that there was another steel out there, that could slot right into your team and alleviate these weakness's. I suggest running a Specially Defensive Heatran > Jirachi. Heatran completes a lovely FWG core in your team, and adds a specially defensive pokemon that compliments Gyarados's Physically defensive set very nicely. His fire/steel dual typing adds a few very nice resistances, that your team would love to help. He can also make winning the weather war against sun a lot easier, as his immunity to fire and his 4X resist to grass plague drought teams for days once Dugtrio is out. His added bulk means he can comftably take on OU dragons, unlike Jirachi and he also adds a very neat way to spread burn around the opposing team, as well as a secondary PHazaer. Not to mention the fact that he can also spread toxic, and hits very hard for a defensive mon. The things Heatran brings to your team would definitely help it out to cripple the opposing team before you attempt to sweep. GL with the team Heatran Heatran @ Leftovers Nature: Calm (+SpD -Atk) Trait: Flash Fire EV's: 248HP/ 8Def/ 252SpD Lava Plume/ Toxic/ Protect/ Roar __________________ Ocean

Aug 28th, 2012, 1:26:20 PM	#7
Zedseayou Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 4 United Kingdom	Hey Asek. Thanks for those Conkeldurr EVs. I modified them to 200 HP / 80 Atk / 228 SpD, to hit a leftovers number + 1 (although I am really not sure how much this actually helps :/ I tried Heatran, and although it did take little from Genesect's attacks I would regularly find myself forced out by a U-Turn into a ground/water type. Heatran was just unable to tank Rain Hydro Pumps and similar attacks, and could do little in return - I missed Jirachi's offensive presence (as an example, things like SDef Skarmory in Rain and Politoeds are harder to hit without Thunderbolt.. I think I may need to change this team more significantly if I want to improve it - Celebi + Gyarados was a fairly effective core except for their 4x weaknesses to U-Turn and Volt Switch, respectively. Tyvm for the rate.

Aug 28th, 2012, 1:41:59 PM	#8
~~Asterat~~ Banned deucer. Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 495 ♥ Raticate ♥	Cool team. You should probably use SpD jirachifore tornadus-t. It can also use stealth rock so celebi can use recover which will lessen your slight keldeo weakness. Try a life orb on sandslash because he can KO jellicent as most dont run 252/252 and you should have up stealth rock.

Aug 28th, 2012, 2:20:15 PM	#9
Phazon00 Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 167 The Sky	I think the Ground Gem on Sandslash is a bit unnecessary, as it is only good if Sandslash is a pure revenge killer and judging by Swords Dance, it appears that it is going to stay in. I think a Life Orb would be a better option.