You Can't Spell Vicious Without OU.

Background


For a long, long time, I built teams with three walls and three sweepers. After discovering that teams with two walls are much more fun to use, I started building teams with this layout: Wall Breaker, Revenge Killer, Physical Sweeper, Special Sweeper, Physical Wall, Special Wall. Now that worked out fine for a while, but the beginning of the battle proved to be the pivotal point more often than not, and since I had to pick the best of those to be my lead, I decided it was time for another change in team blueprints. So, I came up with this format: Lead, Revenge Killer, Set-Up, Trapper, Physical Wall, Special Wall. I questioned not having a sure-fire wall breaker, but so far the combination of Set-Up and Trapper has worked well enough for me, and this team has done very well, but there are some holes I'm seeking patches for.

Now let's take a look at it under the microscope...

Team

1. The Lead

Machamp, @Lum Berry
Adamant Nature (Atk +, SpAtk -)
236 HP, 248 Atk, 16 SpDef, 8 Spd
-Dynamic Punch
-Ice Punch
-Bullet Punch
-Payback

You can't spell vexatious without OU, either. Machamp is probably the best way to help us all remember that. This is the Attacking Lead set from the strategy Pokedex, and man, it kicks ass. Nobody likes it when their suicide lead is picked off, or when their sleep-inducing lead is nullified completely. Bulky leads such as Swampert are greatly annoyed at the bite of Dynamic Punch and the confusion occasionally keeping them from laying Stealth Rock on the field. You may notice that I have 236 HP EVs and 8 Spd EVs as opposed to 240 HP EVs and 4 Spd EVs suggested on the strategy Pokedex. The extra 4 Spd EVs allow me to outpace opposing Machamp, and 2HKO them with Dynamic Punch. Machamp is also nice to have late in the game, as his power and ability to take a good hit always comes in handy when I accidentally boost an Electivire or something like that. Payback is to smack incoming Ghosts and Psychics for super-effective damage, and to bring Azelf down to its Sash. Bullet Punch to finish off Aerodactyl and Azelf, and it's always nice to have a priority somewhere in the team. I've given some thought to the Ice Punch vs. Stone Edge issue, and decided on Ice Punch for lead Dragonite and Gliscor. Stone Edge wouldn't see much use outside of Gyarados, but I'd still consider it.

2. The Revenge Killer

Starmie, @Choice Scarf
Timid Nature (Spd +, Atk -)
4 HP, 252 SpAtk, 252 Spd
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt
-Trick

Two leads that give Machamp trouble are Jirachi and Metagross. Jirachi will either try to flinch Machamp to death or Trick it a Scarf. Starmie's faster than Jirachi and resists Iron Head and Zen Headbutt, so it doesn't have to worry about flinching, and Jirachi won't get very far if it Tricks a Scarf onto Starmie. Metagross will either go for the 2HKO with Meteor Mash or Trick a Scarf onto Machamp. If it Tricks, I bring in Starmie; if it attacks, I have something even better. Aside from helping Machamp in the beginning, this Starmie makes a fine revenge killer. The base stat of 115 allows me to reach 329 Spd with a neutral Nature, which is perfect because outspeeding +1 Salamence is my number one requirement for a revenge killer. Even with Modest, however, Starmie's SpAtk is somewhat lacking, so I elected Hydro Pump over Surf because the extra kick causes a lot of hesitation for Tyranitar and Scizor. Ice Beam for Dragons, Thunderbolt for Gyarados and opposing Waters, and Trick to cripple walls, Calm Minders in particular (more on that later).

3. The Set-Up

Salamence, @Life Orb
Jolly Nature (Spd +, SpAtk -)
4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spd
-Outrage
-Dragon Dance
-Roost
-Earthquake

Easily the most effective sweeper in OU (and one of the most effective in Ubers), Salamence fits this team well with its ability to boost stats and restore its own HP. It also provides valuable support with Intimidate and resistances to Fighting and Fire, in particular. I originally had the mixed Dragon Dancer, but decided on this set because I have Magnezone to handle Steels and Roost could be important when it comes to handling Breloom and Lucario.

A tiny little side-thought: I've given some thought to a bulky EV spread to complement Roost and Dragon Dance, but I stuck with this one because its instant power is great, as Earthquake will break Breloom's and leave it open to the OHKO from Outrage, while I can easily Roost off the damage from a -1 Stone Edge.

4. The Trapper

Magnezone, @Leftovers
Timid Nature (Spd +, Atk -)
4 HP, 252 SpAtk, 252 Spd
-Thunderbolt
-Magnet Rise
-Hidden Power Fire
-Substitute

Magnezone is simply great. The strongest Thunderbolt in the game paired with the ability to remove almost all obstacles obstructing Salamence's sweep is a great asset to this team. This is what I bring out if Machamp is faced with an attacking Metagross. 252 Spd EVs and a Timid Nature would bring me to 240 Spd, just enough to outspeed 252 Adamant Metagross, but unfortunately Hidden Power Fire forces me to use a 30 Spd IV, meaning I'll tie, but Metagross with 252 Spd EVs is extremely rare anyway.
It's pretty funny when I bring this in on Metagross, Magnet Rise on the Earthquake and Sub up on the Explosion. I elected Hidden Power Fire for the OHKO on Scizor and Forretress. Thunderbolt 2HKOs them both, meaning Scizor will get a chance to Superpower and Forretress could get out one more entry hazard or Earthquake.

5. The Physical Wall

Donphan, @Leftovers
Impish (Def +, SpAtk -)
252 HP, 252 Def, 4 Spd
-Earthquake
-Assurance
-Rapid Spin
-Ice Shard

This solid little elephant makes a Salamence sweep easier by removing those damn Stealth Rocks, as well as helping with the increasingly popular Spikes so that the rest of the team has the freedom to switch in and out. If Machamp had a rough start, this guy stops Tyranitar dead in his tracks, and usually 2HKOs opposing Salamence with Ice Shard, while shrugging off any unboosted physical attack. Assurance OHKOs incoming Gengar as it tries to block my Rapid Spin attempt. When left with 4 leftover EVs on anything, I always put them in Spd just to outpace the same Pokemon.

Another tiny little side-thought: I've given a bit of that to replacing Donphan with Celebi, as Celebi is better for dealing with opposing Machamp and can stand up to Gyarados. I'm sticking with Donphan for now because I can't count on Machamp to have enough life left late in the game to be able to handle something as dangerous as Tyranitar, and Rapid Spin is an invaluable asset for any team.

6. The Special Wall

Jirachi, @Leftovers
Careful (SpDef +, SpAtk -)
252 HP, 252 SpDef, 4 Spd
-Zen Headbutt
-U-turn
-Wish
-Stealth Rock

This little guy makes a fine special wall, while providing much needed Wish and Stealth Rock support. I elected Zen Headbutt over Iron Head for the OHKO on Gengar and ability to break Raikou's Subs, and it's always good to have something for opposing Machamp. U-turn is to scout for switch-ins and deal more damage with Stealth Rock, and to get the hell away from Magnezone so that a horrible stall war doesn't break out.

Problems

Calm Minders: My Jirachi isn't strong enough kill them before they have enough Calm Minds to pose a serious threat. Starmie can cripple them with Trick, but that will cost me my revenge killer.


Bulky Waters: While Magnezone 2HKOs most of them, it doesn't have the bulk to take repeated Surfs. This has made me lend further consideration to Celebi, but I feel very vulnerable without Rapid Spin. Starmie screws them over too, but I'm hesitant to do that because, again, Starmie is a far less effective revenge killer without its Scarf.


Zapdos: With Roost and the ability to O/2HKO every one of my team members, an offensive Zapdos is a big issue. Starmie will cripple it too by forcing it to lock onto one move, but Starmie will be killed by Thunderbolt right as it does that.


Fires: Fires pose a problem as Starmie and Salamence aren't bulky enough to take Fire Blast after Fire Blast. Machamp can live any unboosted hit and OHKO most with Dynamic Punch, but again, he usually takes a solid hit in the beginning. They aren't a huge problem, as they can usually be revenge killed easily, but they are something to consider.

Any combination of the above Pokemon could be a huge problem, so any and all help regarding them in particular is appreciated.

Conclusion

This was a bit lengthy, so thanks for sticking with me the whole time. Most of my threads aren't as thorough as this one, but I thought I'd make this a good one since (I think) this is the best team I've made in a while.

Any comment, no matter how small, is appreciated. If you think this is a great team, tell me. If you think this team would do a tiny bit better by changing one little nitpick, tell me. If you think it needs some major rennovations, tell me. I'm going to stick with this team for a while, so all input is valued, and all raters are appreciated.

Ice Punch FTW! Ice punch deals with dragons as well as lead roserades. It also has a certain suprise factor. I had my Champ out, finished Azelf with Payback+Bullet Punch. They whipped out a Flygon and were suprised to see it fall in 1 hit. I'd be very upset if you switched Ice punch to Stone Edge.


Mence seems fine to me, but becuase Mence dies pretty easy, Bulky Mence would be a very good thing to consider.

Zone seems fine, although watch out for LO Scizor and Lucarios. They look easy to trap and take down, but Scizor will have Superpower and Lucario will have CC. I used Zone and it didn't fit the role I thought it needed to. But that was my experience.

Put EVs into atk so you can 2HKO Mence with Ice Shard. It can be done. Makes the rest of the game a whole lot easier if you do. You might not be so bulky, but it'll pay off if Mence kills Starmie somehow.

I have never ever, and probably never, seen a Raikou in OU. For your machamp problem, Iron Head FlinchHax works just fine, almost perfect actually. I wasn't aware U-turn allows you to escape from Zones...

Hope I helped any and best of luck on your team!

Hi. First of all, there's no reason to be using Donphan here, as it's not really a great pokemon in OU, and as you're using Roost DDMence, you don't really need Spin support anyway. You'd be much better off going with a Stealth Rock/Ice Beam/Earthquake/Roar Swampert, which will give you a better all-round pokemon in that position, a slighting easier time dealing with opposing Salamence, a much easier time against Heatran, and the freedom to remove Stealth Rock from Jirachi so that you can use a more effective set.

Now, I'd use a completely different set of Wish/Calm Mind/Psychic, and either Grass Knot or Thunderbolt, a Bold nature, and an EV spread of 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Spe on Jirachi. While this isn't as specially bulky as your current set, it doesn't really need to be, as the special attacks being directed at Jirachi are going to be too either too powerful for you to handle even with maximum defenses, or resisted and weak enough for this spread to absorb. This will also give you a much needed way of dealing with Taunt Gyarados, as well as a backup sweeper in case you don't manage to sweep with Salamence. The choice between GK and Thunderbolt depends what you consider more important - Thunderbolt has better coverage, but GK will allow Jirachi to function as a Swampert lure, which is useful as Swampert can otherwise cause a lot of problems for your team.

Apart from those changes, there's only really minor ones to suggest. Starmie should be using a Timid nature so that it can outspeed Gengar and Infernape, as well as tie with other Starmie even after using Trick, and you might want to try out Dragon Claw on Salamence so that it's harder to revenge kill, letting you get a second chance at sweeping sometimes.

Good luck!

I agree with tab about dropping Donphan - preferably with something that can Roar/Whirlwind. Swampert is a good choice but I would run an Ice Beam / Surf / Stealth Rock / Roar moveset so you don't have to split EV's, run a -speed nature, and be able to take out dragon switches. Just a suggestion but a bold nature with EV's as 252 HP / 200 SpA / 56 Def is a good set to run.

With Machamp, I would switch its ability from No Guard to Guts and possibly even give it a Life Orb instead of Lum Berry because you would no longer need it. The only move that benefits from No Guard is Dynamic Punch. Dropping No Guard, you can now give it Close Combat instead of Dynamic Punch because CC has more base power. Finally, you can drop Payback for Sleep Talk. If you predict a sleep inducer, you can pop off a Sleep Talk and devastate it with a Guts-boosted attack.

Other than those suggestions, your team looks fine!

Just for the future, you should probably move away from team formulas that require a designated special and physical wall on an otherwise offensive team. The reason for this is that such Pokemon tend to be setup fodder, which most offensive teams hate. If you must use such a wall on a non-stall team, make sure it does one of the following.

1) can take a hit, and hit back. Tyranitar can take a lot of special hits, and defeat most special attackers. It's also difficult for physical attackers to set up on him unless you repeatedly lock yourself into Pursuit or something.
2) can disable members of the enemy team. Thunder Wave singlehandedly solves this problem.

For my rate, I advise fitting Thunder Wave somewhere on Jirachi. Other than that, Tab's changes are good.

I'm reluctant to drop Donphan entirely because of Rapid Spin. This team does have a significant number of dangerous OUs covered but must be switching constantly to do so, and Shed Shells are getting common enough so that Magnezone just isn't enough.

I think you convinced me into using a Timid Starmie; I'll change that now.

I like Machamp the way he is. His attacks are perfect, and dropping one in favor of Sleep Talk would throw him off. Also, with my luck, letting the opponent put me to sleep then counting on Sleep Talk is pretty much the same as running at the beginning of the battle.