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<-Welcome!->
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<-Welcome!->
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Introduction:
I made this team on the 8th April, this year, for a competitive tournament on IRC. After Play-Testing it in 82 Battles [Yes, 82!] the day before the tourney, I found myself #28 on the Smogon Ladder with a CRE of 1542 and a record of 59-23. I've always trusted this team to do well.
You could consider this as a Team Retirement, since the Metagame has changed quite a bit.
You could consider this as a Team Retirement, since the Metagame has changed quite a bit.
I apologize in advance for the amount of writing in this RMT!
At a glance;






An In-Depth Look;
Machamp *Nuisance
Item: Lum Berry
Ability: No Guard
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 176HP / 252Atk / 60SpDef / 20Spe
Moves:
- Dynamicpunch
- Ice Punch
- Bullet Punch
- Payback

Item: Lum Berry
Ability: No Guard
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 176HP / 252Atk / 60SpDef / 20Spe
Moves:
- Dynamicpunch
- Ice Punch
- Bullet Punch
- Payback
Why this pokémon?
- Machamp is an extremely effective Anti-Lead. It starts the game off with High Momentum and tackles the most common leads used. Dynamicpunch is a 100% Accuracy 100% Confusion move which helps in any battle. Although Machamp has lost it's Surprise factor, it doesn't lose it's effectiveness, and devestates other teams often. Machamp's incredible Bulk let's it take most unboosted hits and return back with 394 Attack and three moves with excellent coverage.
Item, Ability and Nature:
- Lum Berry is used to prevent status such as Sleep, Paralysis and Burn. The first one, Sleep is commonly used on leads. Roserade, Smeargle and Breloom are the most common sleep leads. The Lum Berry allows Machamp to take a Sleep Powder or Spore, and proceed to OHKO the opposing pokémon. There are also some leads using Paralysis, such as Celebi and Uxie. This protects me from there first Thunder Wave. As Machamp is physically based, many things come in to Burn machamp with Will-o-wisp (mainly Rotom-A). The Lum Berry allows me to take a WoW and do a lot of damage back with Payback.
Machamp's ability in No Guard makes all of his, and his opponents moves 100% Accuracy. This makes Dynamicpunch a ferocious force to deal with.
Adamant is fairly obvious. To do as much damage as possible to the opponents pokémon.
Machamp's ability in No Guard makes all of his, and his opponents moves 100% Accuracy. This makes Dynamicpunch a ferocious force to deal with.
Adamant is fairly obvious. To do as much damage as possible to the opponents pokémon.
EVs:
- The EVs given are to maximize Machamp's tanking ability. 252 Attack EVs allow it to do as much damage as possible to the opposing lead. The EVs in HP and SpDef mean:
- It always lives Neutral 252SpAtk Azelf Psychic.
- It always lives Modest 252SpAtk Heatran Fire Blast.
- It always lives Neutral 252SpAtk Heatran Overheat.
- It always lives Neutral 0Atk Skarmory Brave Bird.
- It always lives Anti Lead Dragonite Draco Meteor.
- It always lives Old+New MixMence Draco Meteor.
The 20 given speed EVs ensure I outspeed other Machamp leads and Blissey.
Moveset:
- Dynamicpunch - 100 Base Power, 100% Accuracy, 100% Confusion rate, what's bad about it? Dynamicpunch is usually my first move against pokémon that don't resist it, and annoys people with the incredible confusion rate.
- Payback - 100 Base Power aganst anything that outspeeds it (Only 7/50 OU Pokémon fail to). Because ghosts absorb Dynamicpunch, they are a common switch in. Payback utilizes that by dealing great damage on the likes of Rotom-H, Gengar and Starmie.
- Ice Punch - Ice Punch is here to round off the coverage. This move is used against Dragonite Anti-leads, Salamence and Flygon switch ins and Roserade. Some people don't expect an Ice Punch, so it can have a surprise factor.
- Bullet Punch - This move helps me pick off Sashed leads such as, Infernape, Azelf, Aerodactyl, Weavile, Roserade, Mamoswine and Smeargle.
- Machamp is an incredible lead, that powers through the most common leads in the metagame with relative ease. The ability to take on status leads, and the amazing bulk Machamp has is a great addition.
Synergy:
Psychic - Tyranitar, Jirachi, Heatran.
Flying - Tyranitar, Jirachi, Heatran.
Heatran *IEatBugs
Item: Passho Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Rash
EVs: 124HP / 216SpAtk / 168Spe
Moves:
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Fire Blast

Item: Passho Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Rash
EVs: 124HP / 216SpAtk / 168Spe
Moves:
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Fire Blast
Why this pokémon?
- I originally had a Swampert in this spot, but I found Breloom had too many oppurtunities to come in and set up, Jirachi wasn't handled that well and CB and SD Scizor ran through the team pretty easily. Heatran's Flash Fire ability and useful resistsances provide good Synergy for the rest of the team. It also helps clear the way for Suicune to sweep, getting rid of Bulky waters with Passho Berry and Explosion / HP Grass.
Item, Ability, Nature:
- Passho Berry lets me survive some of the following (After SR Damage):
- Neutral 252SpAtk Starmie Surf
- +1 Bulky Gyarados Waterfall
- +1 CroCune Surf
The ability Flash Fire means heatran can safely switch into Fire moves unscathed.
The Rash nature is provided for SpAtk'ing power, without the Atk drop because of Explosion.
- Neutral 252SpAtk Starmie Surf
- +1 Bulky Gyarados Waterfall
- +1 CroCune Surf
The ability Flash Fire means heatran can safely switch into Fire moves unscathed.
The Rash nature is provided for SpAtk'ing power, without the Atk drop because of Explosion.
EVs:
- SpAtk and Spe EVs are given for a simple reason, to outspeed and damage as many different pokémon as possible. The EVs in HP are given to survive the things I listed^. The 8 Atk EVs increase the power of Explosion further, as it's used quite a lot to get rid of Bulky Water types like Starmie and Gyarados.
Moveset:
- Stealth Rock - Standard staple move. Makes sure flying types don't get a chance to switch in repeatedly.
- Fire Blast - Standard STAB move on Heatran. Used over Flamethrower because of the raw power given.
- Hidden Power [Grass] - This is to deal with weakened Bulky Waters like Vaporeon and Starmie. Also helps against Swampert, who doesn't take as much from Explosion.
- Explosion - Explosion gets a surprise KO on water types, because Passho Berry ensures I live all Unboosted Water Type moves in OU. Explosion can also hit Blissey switch ins who think i'm scarfed (No Leftovers or Life Orb damage).
- Heatran is a great addition with it's ability to deal with Skarmory, Foretress and Jirachi leads, and also being able to switch into CB Scizor easily. Heatra brings a welcomed Fire Absorber for other Heatrans who want to sweep through my team.
Synergy:
Ground - Salamence.
Fighting - Salamence.
Water - Suicune, Salamence.
Jirachi *Make A Wish
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252HP / 216Def / 40Spe
Moves:
- Calm Mind
- Wish
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt

Item: Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252HP / 216Def / 40Spe
Moves:
- Calm Mind
- Wish
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
Why this pokémon?
- Jirachi is possibly one of my favourite OU pokémon. With plenty of sets, like CM Sub, CM Wish, Flinch abuse, and the new Sub Twave set, Jirachi's unpredictability is it's main weapon. After the opponent figures out the set, it could be over already. I always enjoy using Wish on Jirachi, as it passes Wish to members of the team with relative ease.
Item, Ability and Nature:
- Leftovers increases Jirachi's longevity.
The ability Serene Grace is amazing. Doubling all rates based on luck. This boosts Thunderbolts chance to Paralyze and opponent to 20% and Psychic's ability to lower SpDef to 60%!
The Bold nature gives Jirachi great defence, failing to be 2HKOd by Swampert, Hippowdon, Gliscor, and Standard MixMence with Earthquake.
The ability Serene Grace is amazing. Doubling all rates based on luck. This boosts Thunderbolts chance to Paralyze and opponent to 20% and Psychic's ability to lower SpDef to 60%!
The Bold nature gives Jirachi great defence, failing to be 2HKOd by Swampert, Hippowdon, Gliscor, and Standard MixMence with Earthquake.
EVs:
- 252HP and 216 Def is used to increase Jirachi's bulk and help it set up Calm Minds. 40 Speed is used to outrun Breloom [And OHKO with Psychic] and defensive Zapdos [To set up a CM before it Heat Waves].
Moveset:
- Calm Mind - Calm Mind raises SpAtk and SpDef by +1. True, Jirachi lacks the power to sweep at +2 or +3, but it's not that hard to get +6 late game in a match.
- Wish - Wish is a great recovery move, that geals 50% of HP on the next turn. Not only does this help Jirachi in setting up, but it supports the team, who can come in to recieve the recovery.
- Psychic - STAB move. Psychic helps in beating Blissey and Celebi using the 60% chance SpDef drop. Helps me revenge Breloom with an OHKO.
- Thunderbolt - Thunderbolt is used for coverage. Hitting all dark types for Neutral damage. The paralysis rate of 20% allows me to cripple switch ins and common pokémon.
- Calm Mind Rachi is a great addition to this team. 4 of my other pokémon lack a recovery move, so Jirachi can Wish to heal them. Psychic and Thunderbolt are great Coverage moves, only stopped by Celebi, Magnezone [And whilst using it, Latias], so it's pretty easy to sweep a team with 4 or 5 Calm Minds.
Synergy:
Ground - Salamence.
Fire - Heatran, Tyranitar, Salamence, Suicune.
Ground - Salamence.
Fire - Heatran, Tyranitar, Salamence, Suicune.
Salamence *Surprise!
Item: Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Naive
EVs: 240Atk / 128SpAtk / 140Spe
Moves:
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Fire Blast

Item: Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Naive
EVs: 240Atk / 128SpAtk / 140Spe
Moves:
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Fire Blast
Why this pokémon?
- Salamence is arguably the best sweeper in OU. It's incredibly unpredictable, with the MixMence set being the most commonly used. Dragon Dance puts his impressive Attack to astronomical levels. The only pokersmon that resist both of his moves are Skarmory and Bronzong. Fire Blast is used to deal with them effectively. {I can also bluff a Mix set, switching into Skarmory, and getting a DD up!}. This has become my favourite Salamence set.
Item, Ability and Nature:
- The item is a tough one. I find that Life Orb does too much Recoil damage, and isn't really needed after a DD. Leftovers could be used, bluffing a Bulky DD Set, but I feel it lacks the offensive power I want Salamence to have. I've settled on Lum Berry. ShucaTran and Rotom-H have tried to Will-o-wisp me a lot, only to fail to Lum Berry. This Salamence is a great switch in to Celebi, Lum Berry taking the thunder wave and hitting back with Fire Blast or setting up a DD.
Intimidate is Salamence' only nature, and a good one. I can switch into Scizor to take the U-Turn and many Fighting types.
A Naive nature is used purely to outrun other Base 100's with a Neutral Speed nature.
Intimidate is Salamence' only nature, and a good one. I can switch into Scizor to take the U-Turn and many Fighting types.
A Naive nature is used purely to outrun other Base 100's with a Neutral Speed nature.
EVs:
- The SpAtk EVs mean I do more damage on pokémon like Skarmory and Bronzong. The speed EVs given give Salamence 300 Speed, outspeeding Neutral Base 100 pokémon.
Moveset:
- Dragon Dance - Increasing Salamence' Attack and Speed by +1 is nothing to laugh about. The extra boost allows it to deal with most of it's OU "Counters" and it's unpredictability causes countless switches, making for an easy DD.
- Fire Blast - This is to make sure i'm not walled by Steels such as Bronzong and Skarmory, and I don't have to Outrage on pokémon like Breloom and Rotom-A.
- Outrage - After a Dragon Dance, Outrage 2HKO's all pokémon in OU except physically defensive Skarmory. This is a destructive move, and would be stupid not to include on this set.
- Earthquake - Along with Outrage and Fire Blast, Earthquake has excellent coverage, hitting Heatran and Empoleon for super effective damage.
Overall thoughts:
- This Salamence is the reason my record is that good. It causes tons of switches and sweeps many teams with ease. Now that Latias is Uber, this Salamence will be able to do a lot better, which I can't even imagine.
Synergy:
Ice - Jirachi, Suicune, Heatran.
Dragon - Jirachi, Heatran.
Rock - Jirachi, Machamp.
Ice - Jirachi, Suicune, Heatran.
Dragon - Jirachi, Heatran.
Rock - Jirachi, Machamp.
Tyranitar *OhSoObvious
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4HP / 252Atk / 252Spe
Moves:
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Earthquake

Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4HP / 252Atk / 252Spe
Moves:
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
Why this pokémon?
- Scarf Tyranitar is the No.1 Counter to Latias and Scarf Rotom-A / Gengar. Most people are using tyranitar at the moment, as it's an extremely effective pokémon in today's metagame. Stone Edge helps revenge Salamence and Zapdos. Crunch deals with psychic types and ghosts. The Number 1 Azelf lead counter helps aswell, as it's used so often.
Item, Ability, Nature:
- Choice Scarf is neccessary on Tyranitar to outspeed Starmie, Gengar, Azelf, Infernape and non Choice Scarf Latias. Choice Scarf Tyranitar works really well as a revenge killer, effectively Pursuit Trapping Psychic and ghost Type threats, while not taking a lot of damage.
Sand Stream is it's only ability. Swampert and Jirachi benefit from the Sandstorm as they are not affected by it.
A jolly nature ensures I outspeed Gengar, Latias, Azelf and Latias. Even though the drop in power isn't ideal.
Sand Stream is it's only ability. Swampert and Jirachi benefit from the Sandstorm as they are not affected by it.
A jolly nature ensures I outspeed Gengar, Latias, Azelf and Latias. Even though the drop in power isn't ideal.
EVs:
- Straight forward EVs given to outspeed and damage other pokémon.
Moveset:
- Crunch - STA B Move. Crunch if a very powerful move to hit Ghost and Psychic type pokémon that it can switch into so easily.
- Pursuit - If I predict a switch from something that fears Crunch, i'll pursuit them for a lot of damage.
- Stone Edge - Stone Edge is a great STAB move to hit Flying types. The added crit bonus is a good thing to have.
- Earthquake - Superpower may have superior damage straight away, but Earthquake has great late game usage, and serves as a good check to Specially Based MixApe and Lucario.
- It's a ScarfTar. Although Latias going Uber is going to lower it's effectiveness, it can still be used against Starmie, Gengar, Azelf and to revenge kill pokémon like Infernape and Lucario.
Synergy:
Ground - Salamence.
Ground - Salamence.
Fighting - Salamence.
Grass - Salamence, Jirachi, Heatran.
Bug - Salamence, Machamp, Heatran.
Water - Suicune, Salamence.
Steel - Jirachi, Suicune, Heatran.
Steel - Jirachi, Suicune, Heatran.
Suicune *NoChance
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Timid
EVs: 108HP / 164SpAtk / 216Spe
Moves:
- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Electric]

Item: Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Timid
EVs: 108HP / 164SpAtk / 216Spe
Moves:
- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Electric]
Why this pokémon?
- Was previously a CroCune. Thanks to suggestions, Suicune's set has been changed to deal with the following:
- Helps Check DDMence and DDGyarados
- Outspeed Adamant Lucario and OHKO's.
- Outspeeds LO Mamoswine, who has been outlined as giving this team some problems.
- Helps Check DDMence and DDGyarados
- Outspeed Adamant Lucario and OHKO's.
- Outspeeds LO Mamoswine, who has been outlined as giving this team some problems.
Item, Ability and Nature:
- Leftovers means Suicune can keep it's bulk and recover, while still attackin offensively.
Pressure is Suicunes only ability.
Timid outspeeds Lucario and Mamoswine.
Pressure is Suicunes only ability.
Timid outspeeds Lucario and Mamoswine.
EVs:
- The Speed EVs are to outrun Adamant Lucario and Mamoswine. The HP EVs give me more bulk and help me to take Gyarados Stone Edge' and Salamence Outrage better. The SpAtk EVs are to OHKO Gyarados and Lucario who deal a potent threat to my team.
Moveset:
- Calm Mind - Boosts Suicune's SpAtk and Spdef so it has amazing Sweeping capabilities.
- Surf - STAB Move. Used against most things that don't resist it.
- Ice Beam - Hits pokémon such as Salamence and Gliscor for more damage.
- Hidden Power [Electric] - Helps me deal with pokémon who resist both Water and ice type moves such as Vaporeon, other Suicune, Empoleon and helps me OHKO Gyarados.
Overall thoughts:
- Suicune is a great late game sweeper in today's metagame. Possesses the same move coverage as Starmie with Water + Ice + Electric, which is unresisted apart from Shedinja. [Lol Shedinja]. Suicune is the direction to a lot of opponents Water and Ice Type moves, and the bit of Synergic Glue that keeps the team together.
Synergy:
Electric - ---------------
Grass - Jirachi, Salamence, Heatran.
Electric - ---------------
Grass - Jirachi, Salamence, Heatran.
The match is always started off in good momentum with Machamp, and it's usually carried on until the end of the match.
If Salamence goes down, I have a big problem with Stall with no pokémon with Taunt or Trick, and most of my pokémon are vulnerable to Spikes and Toxic Spikes with no Rapid Spinner.
With Swampert switched out for Heatran, I have no Electric Resist. Although I don't usually play against opponents with Electric moves, and only one pokémon takes Electric moves Super Effectively.
Thankyou for Reading,
All Comments are welcome!
~ Salad ~