A Team I Feel Rather Adamant About

Here's a team I created to test out some strategies I have been thinking about, such as Will-o-Wisp + Roar Heatran and Hypnosis + Choice Scarf Gengar. Additionally, this team really abuses CB Scizor. Not only is he given ample opportunity to switch in, U-Turn and Stealth Rock really put holes in the opponent's team while keeping me on the advantageous end of things.

The team at a glance:






Bronzong @ Occa Berry
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Atk / 128 Def
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Gyro Ball
- Stealth Rock



Levitate Bronzong lead with Occa Berry for Infernape, Azelf and Heatran. Status leads are covered for by Snorlax. Gets Stealth Rock down most of the time and can come back in later on to counter something such as Flygon or Mamoswine.




Kingdra (M) @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 84 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Def / 152 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Rest
- Waterfall



He's used as a late game sweeper, or to wall the occasional water of fire type attack when I am in trouble. Chesto Berry and Rest allow him to use status and weaker attacks to set up, and ensure status and Toxic Spikes don't ruin his sweep. I was considering Substitute over Rest, but after some testing, as well as weighing the positives vs. the negatives, I came to the conclusion that Chesto Berry + Rest is better. The EVs give him maximum power, 152 EVs outspeeds the +Speed Starmie tier after one DD, and the defensive EVs give him that little bit of an edge against CBzor while recovering the most HP possible.





Scizor (F) @ Choice Band ** Divider
Trait: Technician
EVs: 220 HP / 252 Atk / 24 Def / 8 Spd / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- Superpower
- U-turn



Oh my god. This thing is amazing. If anyone ever tells you that CBzor is overated, please slap them in the face. I'm sure you all know how this works, so I'll cut the moveset explanation and get straight to the EVs. Gives him maximum power, allows him to switch into Stealth Rock one additional time, allows him to outspeed or tie with most CBzor, and gives him a very good overall defensive ability against all assaults.




Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Overheat
- Protect
- Roar
- Will-O-Wisp




Physically bulky Heatran. He's great for covering both Bronzong and Scizor, and can deal with every Rotom appliance bar Rotom-W, which is uncommon compared to the others anyway. Roar for Ninjask and general phasing, Protect to prolong his life. I'm thinking of switching Protect for Earth Power and giving him a Chople Berry so Infernape is far easier to counter. Massive prediction wars occur when I am up against Infernape, and one wrong prediction on my part means my team takes major damage. With Chople Berry, I can also counter Lucario without an SD under his belt.




Gengar (M) @ Choice Scarf ** Exmortis
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hypnosis
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Trick



A lure of all sorts. After using Hypnosis, the opponent will think I am running the Life Orb set. This gives me a chance to trick a Choice Scarf onto an opposing Pokemon, or revenge kill a threat which would normally be faster, such as Jolteon. This lure can work in reverse too. After attacking something faster or tricking my Choice Scarf, the opponent will now expect I am not running Hypnosis. However, Hypnosis can then immobilise yet another Pokemon. He is fantastic to use against most stall teams, because he breaks them down within the use of a few moves. His EVs give him maximum speed and power.




Snorlax (F) @ Leftovers ** Dozer
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 144 HP / 136 Atk / 44 Def / 184 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Rest
- Sleep Talk


Status absorber, special wall, and my answer to many Pokemon. Earthquake is generally better, but Rotom appliances can be problematic. Seed Bomb is a decent option over Earthquake, still nailing common switchins such as Tyranitar for super effective damage, while being able to hit Walrein and break his subs. However, I then have no answer to Calm Mind Jirachi, and some variants of Heatran laugh at me. Most variants of Rotom I can outpredict. I can get another one of my Pokemon to take the Choice Scarf against Choice sets (most likely Gengar if he has tricked his one already), and can outstall non-choice sets.





Problems: Lucario. Counters my whole team. Other than that, nothing I can really think of.

You're right, SD Lucario gives your team some serious problems. After an SD, Close Combat and Crunch will OHKO your entire team except for Bronzong, while the only thing you have that outspeeds it is Kingdra, who can only get the OHKO with Waterfall after a DD boost. For this reason, I suggest changing your Heatran to the Choice Scarf set, which allows it to effectively check Lucario if it switches in on an SD:

Heatran @ Choice Scarf
4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive / Rash Nature
Flash Fire
-Fire Blast / Flamethrower
-Earth Power
-Explosion
-Dragon Pulse / HP Grass / HP Ice

This set can also act as a nice check to Salamence with Dragon Pulse/HP Ice if you predict correctly, although Scizor and Bronzong already do a good job with this.

Finally, if you're using Kingdra as a late game sweeper, you'll probably want something that can take status, deal it out, and take down bulky Waters that can stand in Kingdra's way. Tinkerbell Celebi over Snorlax is great for this:

Celebi @ Life Orb
232 HP / 244 SpA / 32 Spe
Modest Nature
Natural Cure
-Thunder Wave
-Leaf Storm
-Psychic / HP Fire / U-turn
-Rest / Recover

You keep a status absorber, but gain something that checks bulky Waters and makes a more effective check to Rotom-A (Leaf Storm is a OHKO with SR up on all sets except the ResTalker).

Other than these, I can see no critical problems. Good team overall.

Hmm ... the Heatran you're running seems to have a few problems, namely, no Earth Power and using Protect on something other than TormentTran. Other Heatran will wreck your team, so I'd suggest replacing your current set with ScarfTran.

Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Naive
4 Att / 252 SpeAtt / 252 Spe
-Fire Blast/Flamethrower
-Explosion
-Earth Power
-Dragon Pulse / HP Grass / HP Ice

This way, you can threaten opposing Heatran and Scizor and revenge kill Lucario effectively with Earth Power.

I'm not liking your Gengar set either, but if you need another possible Steel counter, I'd suggest MYSTICgar, as it allows you to scout the opposing team and take out opposing Scarf'd Pursuiters.

Gengar @ Life Orb
Timid
4 HP / 252 Spe Att / 252 Spe
-Shadow Ball
-Hidden Power Fire
-Focus Blast
-Protect

Good luck with your team.