This is my second RMT, and this is a team I've been testing for a while now. I appreciate feedback, but if you have a suggestion please give good reasons for it so i can figure out what you mean and if i should change something.
Team at a glance:
Looks a little jumbled probably right now, but hopefully it will all come together for you as i explain each individual's role on the team. Each pokemon has a brief description, but the real goods are at the bottom of the page, where I outline a basic strategy for beating each of the 49 OU pokemon with this team. Obviously for the sake of time i have not included a number of obscure sets, but if you see a particular set that would give my strategy for that pokemon trouble, please mention it and i'll see what i can do.
Azelf @ Choice Scarf
252 Atk, 252 Spe 6 Def
Adamant
U-turn
Ice Punch
Zen Headbutt
Thunderpunch
Azelf is speeded perfectly with this setup to outrun the majority of dancing pokemon and agility users after one of said moves. He also has levitate, which comes in handy when helping jirachi, metagross, and heatran. The scarf may seem excessive, but it makes a huge difference, allowing you to counter just about any opponent's pokemon you scout that would normally be too fast. The scarf does make azelf bait to pursuit, but constant u-turning can help prevent that, as well as the fact that even if you are caught by pursuit, odds are it means an easy setup for breloom.
Azelf makes a great dance partner with jirachi, as each is neutral or resists what the other is weak to. U-turning between them can confuse common faster sweepers, and can eliminate most dark/psychic threats with minimal damage because of the speed they have. The best part about killing pokemon in this manner is that if the opponent predicts a different move or switch, or finds a pokemon that can take it and switches that in, you're u-turning and can easily change to your counter.
Azelf also works well here as an anti booster, stopping all common dragon dance users (including mence and gyarados) and most agility users (including empoleon) after their buff. Zen headbutt does a very respectable amount of damage, and can be used to late sweep with a 20% flinch or to ko faster threatening pokemon like jolteon after scouting them on a u-turn.
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
252 Satk, 252 Spe, 6 Def
Naive
Fire Blast
Earth Power
Hidden Power (Grass)
Explosion
Heatran is a good steel counter, as well as a provider of cover from opposing fire type attacks. He is scarfed because the speed is needed more for foes like Infernape than the possible versatility he would gain by running sub/shucca. Most of the opponents that can set up on Heatran's scarf can be easily dispatched with azelf, gliscor, or breloom, even after one buff.
Heatran is normally a one shot wonder, switching in, grabbing the free hit that seems the best type, then being switched back out. This fact can disrupt the flow advantage you gain by u-turning if you guess wrong, so its best to keep heatran hidden until he is definitely needed. To get back the flow, breloom can come in on special walls and sub/spore, giving you a decent recovery method and putting the game flow back in your hands. Gliscor is a good compliment to heatran as well, as he resists heatran's earth and fighting weaknesses, and with knock off/taunt and immunity to paralysis (against foes like blissey) it can be just the ticket to putting your team back in control.
Metagross @ Occa Berry
252 Atk, 232 HP, 20 Spe
Adamant
Meteor Mash
Bullet Punch
Earthquake
Stealth Rock
Stealth rock can be a real life saver, and turn u-turn damages into lethal damage pretty fast. Metagross is very good at causing switches, and can get stealth rocks up with little problem normally, especially if he is u-turned to when an opponent chooses a non-threatening pokemon. Meteor mash and Earthquake are strong moves with decent coverage, and bullet punch comes in handy a lot with all the u-turn damage that is being taken by the opponent.
Metagross works well with breloom, who can be switched in to sleep the majority of the opponents that wall metagross like swampert and skarmory. Metagross makes a great anti-lead turn against a large number of pokemon who are hit to low hp by azelf's u-turn, the biggest being tyranitar.
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
252 Atk, 252 Spe, 6 Sdef
Jolly
Iron Head
Thunder Wave
Trick
U-turn
Jirachi makes a good u-turn partner for Azelf as he can take normal damage from Dark and Ghost type attacks, and pull out a second u-turn before the opponent can go. It's uncommon that a psychic or dark type can live through two u-turns, especially since these u-turns are quite powerful. When scarfed, iron head can also be useful for stopping faster threats, or slower ones, with a substantial amount of health left or a steel weakness. He is also useful for paralyzing boosted sweepers and making them easier kos.
Jirachi also has the ability to get rid of its scarf on a slower opponent to cripple them. It can also then utilize thunderwave to slow opponents down and either give it an easy u-turn to a counter or an iron head or two to finish it off. Jirachi teams up well with gliscor, since he draws earthquakes commonly, and can scarf an opponent into earthquake to give gliscor a free knock off on their switch.
Breloom @ Toxic Orb (Poison Heal)
252 Atk, 252 Spe, 6 HP
Adamant
Spore
Substitute
Seed Bomb
Focus Punch
Breloom can take advantage of a large number of tank pokemon, using them as easy prey for its sleep while gaining a free sub to hit from behind. My advise for running breloom to its best is to sub first, unless there is a chance your opponent has roar or whirlwind. If that chance is there, it's best to spore first to prevent being forced out. Breloom can also have other uses that do not involve sleeping, such as switching in on swampert and attempting to grab a sub or seed bomb. It gives you a chance to get a sub and start wreaking havoc even if you've already slept something, and if the swampert just breaks the sub, gives you a kill at best, or residual damage to another opponent at the worst.
With all the u-turn scouting going on in this team, it will be very common that you'll be able to get a free switch into an opposing wall. With sub, all status walls are extremely vulnerable to breloom as he can sub before they status and begin anew as though he had slept an opponent.
Gliscor @ Leftovers (Sand Veil)
252 HP, 36 Def, 220 Spe
Jolly
Earthquake
Knock Off
Taunt
Roost
The complete stall breaking power of gliscor lies in this set. Not only can he taunt to prevent slower opponents from setting up or healing, but when the opponent switches to a counter they will often be greeted by losing thier item. This can be a huge deal for opponents such as scizor or flygon who rely on their items to fully utilize their moveset. Gliscor is the only actual stall set on this team, but is more useful for its immediate effects on the opponents caused by taunt/knock off than his walling ability and healing. His above average livability allows him to come back later to taunt the same foes, or knock off new items.
Gliscor plays very well with this team, covering the ground and fighting weaknesses or heatran, the ground weakness on metagross, the poison weakness of breloom, and the bug weakness of azelf. He also can cover many physical attacks that are normal against him, such as dark, flying, rock, dragon, and steel.
Basic Strategy Outlines against Opposing OU Pokemon
Name Format:
Pokemon Name Abilities HP Atk Def Satk Sdef Spe BST
Aerodactyl Pressure/Rock Head 80 105 65 60 75 130 515
Aerodactyl is almost always a suicide lead in OU, often with max HP
instead of max attack to help it survive. Because of the max HP
variants, the best counter to this is to actually just have Azelf
ice punch it, then switch to metagross and bullet punch. The reason
for the ice punch and extra turn is that u-turn and bullet punch
are not a OHKO on max HP aerodactyl, and having to take 2 bullet
punches to kill aerodactyl can give him an Earthquake turn if he
used stealth rock first turn. If you really want to prevent SR,
u-turn and bullet punch has a low chance to OHKO, and using two ice
punches is a 2hko that stops stealth rock but also leaves you
vulnerable to gyarados and gives other water types a free switch.
Azelf Levitate 75 125 70 125 70 115 580
Against lead azelf, your Azelf's u-turn will go first unless there
is a speed tie, and trick does nothing to stop you. Switching to
jirachi will prevent further tricks, and the u-turn jirachi does
will allow you to bring out Azelf again. Later in the game, jirachi
can be used to predict a psychic/ghost attack, and u-turn on it
to azelf or metagross who can finish it off.
Blissey Natural Cure/Serene Grace 255 10 10 75 135 55 540
Blissey is normally used as a special wall, so can expect to
probably take 30-50% from u-turns if the opponent mispredicts
your pokemon's attack type. Switching to breloom is a decent
option if you haven't slept an opponent and or predict a status
effecting move. Metagross is a better switch if you predict an
attack, as he can deal large damage not only to blissey, but to
many switch ins with meteor mash.
Breloom Effect Spore/Poison Heal 60 130 80 60 60 70 460
Taking the sleep with jirachi then switching to gliscor sufficently
counters pretty much any breloom form. Taunt prevents additional
sleep and subs, and gliscor can heal off all of breloom's damage.
Bronzong Levitate/Heatproof 67 89 116 79 116 33 500
The best strategy against Bronzong is using breloom to sleep it
and grab a free sub. If breloom has already slept an opponent,
a good second choice is gliscor, since he can taunt and roost
off any damage. Once bronzong is taunted, u-turning to heatran
will provide the KO, and easily take any gyro ball or explosion
damage.
Celebi Natural Cure 100 100 100 100 100 100 600
The physical u-turns deal massive amounts of damage to celebi,
and they can easily be chained onto each other since all of the
turners are faster than celebi. U-turning to gliscor and getting
a taunt on it can make the job easier.
Dragonite Inner Focus 91 134 95 100 100 80 600
Even after a Dragon Dance, azelf outspeeds and OHKOs dragonite
with ice punch. Switching in can be a real issue, but taking the
first hit with heatran is normally a decent choice. After that,
take the superpower that is the only attack dragonite can
hit heatran well with by switching to azelf, then ice punch it
for the ohko.
Dusknoir Pressure 45 100 135 65 135 45 525
The best way to take out dusknoir is to trick it a scarf with
jirachi, or to sleep it with breloom and kill it slowly from
behind a sub. Switching in can be difficult because of
Wil-o-wisp, so its best if breloom has already come out for
a turn and can absorb the status.
Electivire Motor Drive 75 123 67 95 85 95 540
Electivire is a common choice to switch in on anticipated
electric moves. This can be a problem since azelf is locked
into thunderpunch when he uses it and must switch. Metagross
is a good choice to take the probable thunder or ice punch,
and retaliate with earthquake after reducing fire punch with
the occa berry. If occa berry has been used, the best bet is
to use scarfed u-turns to bounce around and prevent prediction
then finish with an attack.
Empoleon Torrent 84 86 88 111 101 60 530
Azelf and Jirachi are the best choices to take on empoleon,
since they are the only ones that can take his hits or deal
great damage to it fast. Metagross is also a good option,
but is slow because of lack of speed training, so should be
used with caution.
Flygon Levitate 80 100 80 80 80 100 520
Azelf is faster and OHKOs with ice punch, the problem being
getting him out against him. The best way is to do a slow
u-turn with gliscor to take the hit, then switch to azelf and
ice punch him out. It is also possible to predict flygon's
attack and switch in an immunity or steel type that can take
the hit and retaliate since he is normally scarfed.
Forretress Sturdy 75 90 140 60 60 40 465
Forretress is easily taken out by heatran, especially since
it will probably be using spikes or toxic spikes that the
entire team is immune to anyway.
Gengar Levitate 60 65 60 130 75 110 500
Azelf or Jirachi can counter gengar, but they cannot switch
into him well. Jirachi has little problems unless its a
MYSTICgar, which will be indicated by a sub. If gengar gets
a sub up, your best bet it to kill the sub with iron head
and take the hp fire. Heatran can also KO him, but be careful
if he's behind a sub since he can KO you with focus punch.
Gliscor Sand Veil/Hyper Cutter 75 95 125 45 75 95
510
Gliscor will often come in on metagross or breloom, since
it walls them well. The best way to beat it is to switch to
azelf and ice punch it, especially if you can get gliscor
to use earthquake.
Gyarados Intimidate 95 125 79 60 100 81 540
Azelf easily takes out gyarados with thunderpunch, but
has trouble switching in. The best way is to predict the
dragon dance and get the free switch, but that isn't always
100%. If azelf has recieved any damage it can be KOd by
waterfall, so it might be a good idea to get out metagross
who will draw an earthquake you can switch in on.
Heatran Flash Fire 91 90 106 130 106 77 600
Heatran is stopped decently well by either metagross using
his occa berry or your own heatran. It can also be predicted
when it uses earth power and taken out with gliscor.
Heracross Guts/Swarm 80 125 75 40 95 85 500
Heracross is uncommon but not unheard of, but can be delt
with by heatran who outspeeds or gliscor who can take his
hits without too much issue and respond.
Hippowdon Sand Stream 108 112 118 68 72 47
525
Hippowdon is best slept by breloom, since he has no moves
that threaten him. If breloom has already used his sleep
but is at decent hp, he can still be a good choice to seed
bomb it to death then switch.
Infernape Blaze 76 104 71 104 71 108 534
Both heatran and metagross (if occa berry is intact) counter
infernape well. The key is predicting his moves and getting
the switch to heatran when a fire move is expected. Jirachi
can be used as a counter to flinch him out if he is expected
to use close combat, as can azelf.
Jirachi Serene Grace 100 100 100 100 100 100 600
Heatran and metagross are both good counters as neither
takes much damage from him and both deal decent damage
on his weaknesses. Gliscor can also be used to counter
him for the same reasons, and is an especially good choice
against a boosting or wishing jirachi because of taunt.
Jolteon Volt Absorb 65 65 60 110 95 130 525
Jolteon is fast, but not very threatening to this team.
He can be countered with jirachi (or metagross if you get
a free switch) with relitive ease, as well as Azelf or
Gliscor if he's not at full HP.
Kingdra Swift Swim/Sniper 75 95 95 95 95 85 540
Scarf users are the best bet here, using zen headbutt
hits it about half its hp and has a decent chance to
cause a flinch that will allow for the finish. It is
also possible to u-turn around till its under 70% hp
then use dragon pulse from heatran, but its very risky
as you have to be sure you aren't switching into a
waterfall.
Lucario Inner Focus/Steadfast 70 110 70 115 70 90 525
Metagross can take a non boosted lucario's close combat
and retaliate with a ohko. Azelf can deal decent damage
to lucario, making the kill after SR and a u-turn damage.
Gliscor can also counter lucario, but has to be careful
of the ones that carry ice punch over crunch. Gliscor also
outruns lucario, so he is a good choice to get the extra
u-turn damage and potentially give azelf an easy switch in
on an ice move.
Machamp Guts/No Guard 90 130 80 65 85 55 505
Machamp is OHKOd after stealth rock damage by azelf's
zen headbutt. He also only poses Gliscor any threat if
he carries ice punch. The best bet is to switch in gliscor,
u-turn to azelf, and then KO him. Metagross also can take
the hits, but has a harder time because of confusion.
Magnezone Sturdy/Magnet Pull 70 70 115 130 90 60 535
Gliscor can wall and take out magnezone with ease. If
metagross or jirachi are trapped by it, the only hope
is an earthquake from gross or a u-turn from jirachi
to escape.
Mamoswine Oblivious/Snow Cloak 110 130 80 70 60 80 530
Mamoswine will probably be comming in on gliscor or
jirachi with ice shard and earthquake respectively. The
best way to beat it is either iron head from jirachi
or fast u-turns that allow you to switch into resists for
the expected attacks.
Metagross Clear Body 80 135 130 95 90 70 600
Your metagross can take out other lead metagross, as it
not only outspeeds them, but also has earthquake where many
lead metagross have explosion. Non lead metagross are
commonly run without ice punch, so gliscor can easily stop
them. If they have ice punch a better choice might be heatran,
but only on non leads as the leads almost always have an occa
berry.
Ninjask Speed Boost 61 90 45 50 50 160 456
Ninjask leads are taken out easily by a single ice punch.
the majority of ninjask do not fear azelf, and will try to
sub in case you use stealth rock so they can get a swords
dance. If they protect, you'll want to switch to gliscor
and taunt to stop further chaining if they manage to pass.
Roserade Natural Cure/Poison Point 60 70 55 125 105 90 505
Against roserade leads, sleep or spikes of some kind are
to be expected. T-Spikes do not effect this team, and spikes
only do to a minimal level, so if they set them up its not
really a big deal. Zen headbutt deals damage to roserade that
will ohko, but focus sash saves. If azelf is slept, metagross is
a good choice to finish off the damage easily without being
threatened by having to take an attack. Against other roserades,
switching to heatran walls and kills them. They may get up some
spikes or t-spikes, but again that is of little consequence.
Rotom-C,F,H,S,W Levitate 50 65 107 105 107 86 520
Rotom is annoying to deal with in any setting, especially since
this team doesn't have a direct counter. The best bet is to trick
it a choice scarf if you can tell it doesn't have one since jirachi
can take the hit, then switch to gliscor or heatran depending on
the attack rotom is stuck on.
Salamence Intimidate 95 135 80 110 80 100 600
Azelf outspeeds salamence even after a dance, and ohkos with ice
punch. The best way to get it out is gliscor's slow u-turn, or a
predicting u-turn that reveals the mence. If mence locks itself
into outrage, it can be a good switch for heatran or metagross.
Scizor Swarm/Technician 70 130 100 55 80 65 500
Gliscor walls scizor without issue, but the problem is if the
opponent realizes that azelf is scarfed, he can be easily
pursuited and taken out. This is why its always best to use
u-turn if possible on azelf. (same goes for jirachi if he hasn't
tricked his scarf, more because of magnezone tho)
Skarmory Sturdy/Keen Eye 65 80 140 40 70 70 465
Skarmory doesn't stand a chance against heatran or breloom (if
it doesn't attack the turn it comes in). Gliscor is a good asset
against skarmory since it can taunt and prevent healing, then
hearan can switch to him with no threat of spikes or whirlwind.
Smeargle Own Tempo/Technician 55 20 35 20 45 75 250
Smeargle is an uncommon sight outside of baton passing teams
where he is used normally to sleep/sub/pass or sleep/trap/pass.
When he isn't passing, he will normally run sleep/spikes. Azelf's
u-turn hits it first, and hits over 50%. Gliscor is the best
second choice in case it uses spikes or sub first, as you can
outspeed and taunt it, and gliscor can survive to wake up.
Snorlax Immunity/Thick Fat 160 110 65 65 110 30 540
Snorlax doesn't even have a good switch in against this team unless
the opponent realizes that azelf is locked into ice punch. Even so,
a quick switch to breloom solves the problem easily. If breloom has
already slept an opponent, trick from jirachi or paralysis and iron
head are both solid ways to beat him.
Starmie Natural Cure/Illuminate 60 75 85 100 85 115 520
Fast u-turns kill starmie quickly, the key is in guessing which move
it is going to use. If you predict ice beam (a solid bet against
gliscor) jirachi can get the free switch/u-turn. If you predict hydro
pump or surf, switching to breloom to take the hit draws out an ice
beam next turn. Jirachi can also take a hydro pump and survive, so is
a decent choice even if all the ways to draw out ice moves are gone.
Suicune Pressure 100 75 115 90 115 85 580
Trick ruins most suicune, as they rely on healing, and many run calm
mind buffs. Paralysis always helps as well, so this is a good choice
for jirachi. Once it's paralyzed, you can switch to breloom and sub to
test if it has ice beam. If not, you can keep up your sub for a bit and
kill him with seed bombs. If he rests, wait till he wakes up and then
do your own sleep. It keeps him with a 1/3 chance to miss attack, and
as long as he can't rest he can't heal.
Swampert Torrent 100 110 90 85 90 60 535
Breloom easily dispatches swampert, though you do need to be careful
of ice beam, since it hits about 80% on you. Jirachi can also trick
it and make it very predictable.
Tentacruel Clear Body/Liquid Ooze 80 70 65 80 120 100 515
Breloom can keep tentacruel asleep easily, and is an easy switch in
in most cases because it will normally be using t-spikes (which this
whole team is immune to). Gliscor can also kill it with earthquake if
you are confident it will keep spiking or spin, and metagross can take
the couple hits needed to KO it with earthquake.
Togekiss Serene Grace/Hustle 85 50 95 120 115 80 545
Gliscor prevents the thunderwave many togekiss carry, and can taunt it
to prevent it from using roost. Once it can't roost or t-wave, Metagross
or Azelf can take it out with relative ease.
Tyranitar Sand Stream 100 134 110 95 100 61 600
Metagross can easily take on a tyranitar that is scarfed into a move that
isn't earthquake. Unfortunately the main problem is that Azelf, because
of the scarf, can end up locked into a move that can't damage him and
get pursuit trapped. This is why it's best to u-turn whenever possible
with azelf. It also has the bonus of allowing you to switch to jirachi
and get the KO with a second u-turn.
Umbreon Synchronize 95 65 110 60 130 65 525
Wait, this pokemon is in OU? Oo anyway... the majority of this team can
deal with it with either u-turns or sleep. Or walling it and taunting it.
or walling it, taunting it and u-turning. Gliscor is definitely the best
bet here.
Vaporeon Water Absorb 130 65 60 110 95 65 525
Vaporeon can easily be slept by breloom. If breloom has already slept
a pokemon, then have jirachi trick it, or paralyze it then have breloom
kill it anyway from behind a para-gained sub. (full hp breloom loses
only 13% of its hp for using sub, which gives 6 chances to get a sub up
against a 25% paralysis, which gives an 82.2021484375% chance that you'll
succeed in getting up a sub... more likely than stone edge is to hit xD)
Weavile Pressure 70 120 65 45 85 125 510
Weavile threatens only gliscor and azelf on this team, and if he does
show up, metagross can easily KO him with a priority bullet punch.
U-turn also does a large amount of damage, so if you happen to scout
one, props!
Zapdos Pressure 90 90 85 125 90 100 580
Zapdos is a really solid wall... but not without roost! taunting it with
gliscor and switching to a resist is a solid way to beat defensive zapdos
builds. Offensive builds will be more obvious because they won't switch
in often to take a hit. If you see one, jirachi tricking it a scarf or
paralyzing it to slow it down are your best options.
Conclusion
Thank you for taking the time to read through all of this, I really spent a long time thinking about it, and would appreciate feedback, especially if I'm missing something important xD
Team at a glance:
Looks a little jumbled probably right now, but hopefully it will all come together for you as i explain each individual's role on the team. Each pokemon has a brief description, but the real goods are at the bottom of the page, where I outline a basic strategy for beating each of the 49 OU pokemon with this team. Obviously for the sake of time i have not included a number of obscure sets, but if you see a particular set that would give my strategy for that pokemon trouble, please mention it and i'll see what i can do.
Azelf @ Choice Scarf
252 Atk, 252 Spe 6 Def
Adamant
U-turn
Ice Punch
Zen Headbutt
Thunderpunch
Azelf is speeded perfectly with this setup to outrun the majority of dancing pokemon and agility users after one of said moves. He also has levitate, which comes in handy when helping jirachi, metagross, and heatran. The scarf may seem excessive, but it makes a huge difference, allowing you to counter just about any opponent's pokemon you scout that would normally be too fast. The scarf does make azelf bait to pursuit, but constant u-turning can help prevent that, as well as the fact that even if you are caught by pursuit, odds are it means an easy setup for breloom.
Azelf makes a great dance partner with jirachi, as each is neutral or resists what the other is weak to. U-turning between them can confuse common faster sweepers, and can eliminate most dark/psychic threats with minimal damage because of the speed they have. The best part about killing pokemon in this manner is that if the opponent predicts a different move or switch, or finds a pokemon that can take it and switches that in, you're u-turning and can easily change to your counter.
Azelf also works well here as an anti booster, stopping all common dragon dance users (including mence and gyarados) and most agility users (including empoleon) after their buff. Zen headbutt does a very respectable amount of damage, and can be used to late sweep with a 20% flinch or to ko faster threatening pokemon like jolteon after scouting them on a u-turn.
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
252 Satk, 252 Spe, 6 Def
Naive
Fire Blast
Earth Power
Hidden Power (Grass)
Explosion
Heatran is a good steel counter, as well as a provider of cover from opposing fire type attacks. He is scarfed because the speed is needed more for foes like Infernape than the possible versatility he would gain by running sub/shucca. Most of the opponents that can set up on Heatran's scarf can be easily dispatched with azelf, gliscor, or breloom, even after one buff.
Heatran is normally a one shot wonder, switching in, grabbing the free hit that seems the best type, then being switched back out. This fact can disrupt the flow advantage you gain by u-turning if you guess wrong, so its best to keep heatran hidden until he is definitely needed. To get back the flow, breloom can come in on special walls and sub/spore, giving you a decent recovery method and putting the game flow back in your hands. Gliscor is a good compliment to heatran as well, as he resists heatran's earth and fighting weaknesses, and with knock off/taunt and immunity to paralysis (against foes like blissey) it can be just the ticket to putting your team back in control.
Metagross @ Occa Berry
252 Atk, 232 HP, 20 Spe
Adamant
Meteor Mash
Bullet Punch
Earthquake
Stealth Rock
Stealth rock can be a real life saver, and turn u-turn damages into lethal damage pretty fast. Metagross is very good at causing switches, and can get stealth rocks up with little problem normally, especially if he is u-turned to when an opponent chooses a non-threatening pokemon. Meteor mash and Earthquake are strong moves with decent coverage, and bullet punch comes in handy a lot with all the u-turn damage that is being taken by the opponent.
Metagross works well with breloom, who can be switched in to sleep the majority of the opponents that wall metagross like swampert and skarmory. Metagross makes a great anti-lead turn against a large number of pokemon who are hit to low hp by azelf's u-turn, the biggest being tyranitar.
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
252 Atk, 252 Spe, 6 Sdef
Jolly
Iron Head
Thunder Wave
Trick
U-turn
Jirachi makes a good u-turn partner for Azelf as he can take normal damage from Dark and Ghost type attacks, and pull out a second u-turn before the opponent can go. It's uncommon that a psychic or dark type can live through two u-turns, especially since these u-turns are quite powerful. When scarfed, iron head can also be useful for stopping faster threats, or slower ones, with a substantial amount of health left or a steel weakness. He is also useful for paralyzing boosted sweepers and making them easier kos.
Jirachi also has the ability to get rid of its scarf on a slower opponent to cripple them. It can also then utilize thunderwave to slow opponents down and either give it an easy u-turn to a counter or an iron head or two to finish it off. Jirachi teams up well with gliscor, since he draws earthquakes commonly, and can scarf an opponent into earthquake to give gliscor a free knock off on their switch.
Breloom @ Toxic Orb (Poison Heal)
252 Atk, 252 Spe, 6 HP
Adamant
Spore
Substitute
Seed Bomb
Focus Punch
Breloom can take advantage of a large number of tank pokemon, using them as easy prey for its sleep while gaining a free sub to hit from behind. My advise for running breloom to its best is to sub first, unless there is a chance your opponent has roar or whirlwind. If that chance is there, it's best to spore first to prevent being forced out. Breloom can also have other uses that do not involve sleeping, such as switching in on swampert and attempting to grab a sub or seed bomb. It gives you a chance to get a sub and start wreaking havoc even if you've already slept something, and if the swampert just breaks the sub, gives you a kill at best, or residual damage to another opponent at the worst.
With all the u-turn scouting going on in this team, it will be very common that you'll be able to get a free switch into an opposing wall. With sub, all status walls are extremely vulnerable to breloom as he can sub before they status and begin anew as though he had slept an opponent.
Gliscor @ Leftovers (Sand Veil)
252 HP, 36 Def, 220 Spe
Jolly
Earthquake
Knock Off
Taunt
Roost
The complete stall breaking power of gliscor lies in this set. Not only can he taunt to prevent slower opponents from setting up or healing, but when the opponent switches to a counter they will often be greeted by losing thier item. This can be a huge deal for opponents such as scizor or flygon who rely on their items to fully utilize their moveset. Gliscor is the only actual stall set on this team, but is more useful for its immediate effects on the opponents caused by taunt/knock off than his walling ability and healing. His above average livability allows him to come back later to taunt the same foes, or knock off new items.
Gliscor plays very well with this team, covering the ground and fighting weaknesses or heatran, the ground weakness on metagross, the poison weakness of breloom, and the bug weakness of azelf. He also can cover many physical attacks that are normal against him, such as dark, flying, rock, dragon, and steel.
Basic Strategy Outlines against Opposing OU Pokemon
Name Format:
Pokemon Name Abilities HP Atk Def Satk Sdef Spe BST
Aerodactyl Pressure/Rock Head 80 105 65 60 75 130 515
Aerodactyl is almost always a suicide lead in OU, often with max HP
instead of max attack to help it survive. Because of the max HP
variants, the best counter to this is to actually just have Azelf
ice punch it, then switch to metagross and bullet punch. The reason
for the ice punch and extra turn is that u-turn and bullet punch
are not a OHKO on max HP aerodactyl, and having to take 2 bullet
punches to kill aerodactyl can give him an Earthquake turn if he
used stealth rock first turn. If you really want to prevent SR,
u-turn and bullet punch has a low chance to OHKO, and using two ice
punches is a 2hko that stops stealth rock but also leaves you
vulnerable to gyarados and gives other water types a free switch.
Azelf Levitate 75 125 70 125 70 115 580
Against lead azelf, your Azelf's u-turn will go first unless there
is a speed tie, and trick does nothing to stop you. Switching to
jirachi will prevent further tricks, and the u-turn jirachi does
will allow you to bring out Azelf again. Later in the game, jirachi
can be used to predict a psychic/ghost attack, and u-turn on it
to azelf or metagross who can finish it off.
Blissey Natural Cure/Serene Grace 255 10 10 75 135 55 540
Blissey is normally used as a special wall, so can expect to
probably take 30-50% from u-turns if the opponent mispredicts
your pokemon's attack type. Switching to breloom is a decent
option if you haven't slept an opponent and or predict a status
effecting move. Metagross is a better switch if you predict an
attack, as he can deal large damage not only to blissey, but to
many switch ins with meteor mash.
Breloom Effect Spore/Poison Heal 60 130 80 60 60 70 460
Taking the sleep with jirachi then switching to gliscor sufficently
counters pretty much any breloom form. Taunt prevents additional
sleep and subs, and gliscor can heal off all of breloom's damage.
Bronzong Levitate/Heatproof 67 89 116 79 116 33 500
The best strategy against Bronzong is using breloom to sleep it
and grab a free sub. If breloom has already slept an opponent,
a good second choice is gliscor, since he can taunt and roost
off any damage. Once bronzong is taunted, u-turning to heatran
will provide the KO, and easily take any gyro ball or explosion
damage.
Celebi Natural Cure 100 100 100 100 100 100 600
The physical u-turns deal massive amounts of damage to celebi,
and they can easily be chained onto each other since all of the
turners are faster than celebi. U-turning to gliscor and getting
a taunt on it can make the job easier.
Dragonite Inner Focus 91 134 95 100 100 80 600
Even after a Dragon Dance, azelf outspeeds and OHKOs dragonite
with ice punch. Switching in can be a real issue, but taking the
first hit with heatran is normally a decent choice. After that,
take the superpower that is the only attack dragonite can
hit heatran well with by switching to azelf, then ice punch it
for the ohko.
Dusknoir Pressure 45 100 135 65 135 45 525
The best way to take out dusknoir is to trick it a scarf with
jirachi, or to sleep it with breloom and kill it slowly from
behind a sub. Switching in can be difficult because of
Wil-o-wisp, so its best if breloom has already come out for
a turn and can absorb the status.
Electivire Motor Drive 75 123 67 95 85 95 540
Electivire is a common choice to switch in on anticipated
electric moves. This can be a problem since azelf is locked
into thunderpunch when he uses it and must switch. Metagross
is a good choice to take the probable thunder or ice punch,
and retaliate with earthquake after reducing fire punch with
the occa berry. If occa berry has been used, the best bet is
to use scarfed u-turns to bounce around and prevent prediction
then finish with an attack.
Empoleon Torrent 84 86 88 111 101 60 530
Azelf and Jirachi are the best choices to take on empoleon,
since they are the only ones that can take his hits or deal
great damage to it fast. Metagross is also a good option,
but is slow because of lack of speed training, so should be
used with caution.
Flygon Levitate 80 100 80 80 80 100 520
Azelf is faster and OHKOs with ice punch, the problem being
getting him out against him. The best way is to do a slow
u-turn with gliscor to take the hit, then switch to azelf and
ice punch him out. It is also possible to predict flygon's
attack and switch in an immunity or steel type that can take
the hit and retaliate since he is normally scarfed.
Forretress Sturdy 75 90 140 60 60 40 465
Forretress is easily taken out by heatran, especially since
it will probably be using spikes or toxic spikes that the
entire team is immune to anyway.
Gengar Levitate 60 65 60 130 75 110 500
Azelf or Jirachi can counter gengar, but they cannot switch
into him well. Jirachi has little problems unless its a
MYSTICgar, which will be indicated by a sub. If gengar gets
a sub up, your best bet it to kill the sub with iron head
and take the hp fire. Heatran can also KO him, but be careful
if he's behind a sub since he can KO you with focus punch.
Gliscor Sand Veil/Hyper Cutter 75 95 125 45 75 95
510
Gliscor will often come in on metagross or breloom, since
it walls them well. The best way to beat it is to switch to
azelf and ice punch it, especially if you can get gliscor
to use earthquake.
Gyarados Intimidate 95 125 79 60 100 81 540
Azelf easily takes out gyarados with thunderpunch, but
has trouble switching in. The best way is to predict the
dragon dance and get the free switch, but that isn't always
100%. If azelf has recieved any damage it can be KOd by
waterfall, so it might be a good idea to get out metagross
who will draw an earthquake you can switch in on.
Heatran Flash Fire 91 90 106 130 106 77 600
Heatran is stopped decently well by either metagross using
his occa berry or your own heatran. It can also be predicted
when it uses earth power and taken out with gliscor.
Heracross Guts/Swarm 80 125 75 40 95 85 500
Heracross is uncommon but not unheard of, but can be delt
with by heatran who outspeeds or gliscor who can take his
hits without too much issue and respond.
Hippowdon Sand Stream 108 112 118 68 72 47
525
Hippowdon is best slept by breloom, since he has no moves
that threaten him. If breloom has already used his sleep
but is at decent hp, he can still be a good choice to seed
bomb it to death then switch.
Infernape Blaze 76 104 71 104 71 108 534
Both heatran and metagross (if occa berry is intact) counter
infernape well. The key is predicting his moves and getting
the switch to heatran when a fire move is expected. Jirachi
can be used as a counter to flinch him out if he is expected
to use close combat, as can azelf.
Jirachi Serene Grace 100 100 100 100 100 100 600
Heatran and metagross are both good counters as neither
takes much damage from him and both deal decent damage
on his weaknesses. Gliscor can also be used to counter
him for the same reasons, and is an especially good choice
against a boosting or wishing jirachi because of taunt.
Jolteon Volt Absorb 65 65 60 110 95 130 525
Jolteon is fast, but not very threatening to this team.
He can be countered with jirachi (or metagross if you get
a free switch) with relitive ease, as well as Azelf or
Gliscor if he's not at full HP.
Kingdra Swift Swim/Sniper 75 95 95 95 95 85 540
Scarf users are the best bet here, using zen headbutt
hits it about half its hp and has a decent chance to
cause a flinch that will allow for the finish. It is
also possible to u-turn around till its under 70% hp
then use dragon pulse from heatran, but its very risky
as you have to be sure you aren't switching into a
waterfall.
Lucario Inner Focus/Steadfast 70 110 70 115 70 90 525
Metagross can take a non boosted lucario's close combat
and retaliate with a ohko. Azelf can deal decent damage
to lucario, making the kill after SR and a u-turn damage.
Gliscor can also counter lucario, but has to be careful
of the ones that carry ice punch over crunch. Gliscor also
outruns lucario, so he is a good choice to get the extra
u-turn damage and potentially give azelf an easy switch in
on an ice move.
Machamp Guts/No Guard 90 130 80 65 85 55 505
Machamp is OHKOd after stealth rock damage by azelf's
zen headbutt. He also only poses Gliscor any threat if
he carries ice punch. The best bet is to switch in gliscor,
u-turn to azelf, and then KO him. Metagross also can take
the hits, but has a harder time because of confusion.
Magnezone Sturdy/Magnet Pull 70 70 115 130 90 60 535
Gliscor can wall and take out magnezone with ease. If
metagross or jirachi are trapped by it, the only hope
is an earthquake from gross or a u-turn from jirachi
to escape.
Mamoswine Oblivious/Snow Cloak 110 130 80 70 60 80 530
Mamoswine will probably be comming in on gliscor or
jirachi with ice shard and earthquake respectively. The
best way to beat it is either iron head from jirachi
or fast u-turns that allow you to switch into resists for
the expected attacks.
Metagross Clear Body 80 135 130 95 90 70 600
Your metagross can take out other lead metagross, as it
not only outspeeds them, but also has earthquake where many
lead metagross have explosion. Non lead metagross are
commonly run without ice punch, so gliscor can easily stop
them. If they have ice punch a better choice might be heatran,
but only on non leads as the leads almost always have an occa
berry.
Ninjask Speed Boost 61 90 45 50 50 160 456
Ninjask leads are taken out easily by a single ice punch.
the majority of ninjask do not fear azelf, and will try to
sub in case you use stealth rock so they can get a swords
dance. If they protect, you'll want to switch to gliscor
and taunt to stop further chaining if they manage to pass.
Roserade Natural Cure/Poison Point 60 70 55 125 105 90 505
Against roserade leads, sleep or spikes of some kind are
to be expected. T-Spikes do not effect this team, and spikes
only do to a minimal level, so if they set them up its not
really a big deal. Zen headbutt deals damage to roserade that
will ohko, but focus sash saves. If azelf is slept, metagross is
a good choice to finish off the damage easily without being
threatened by having to take an attack. Against other roserades,
switching to heatran walls and kills them. They may get up some
spikes or t-spikes, but again that is of little consequence.
Rotom-C,F,H,S,W Levitate 50 65 107 105 107 86 520
Rotom is annoying to deal with in any setting, especially since
this team doesn't have a direct counter. The best bet is to trick
it a choice scarf if you can tell it doesn't have one since jirachi
can take the hit, then switch to gliscor or heatran depending on
the attack rotom is stuck on.
Salamence Intimidate 95 135 80 110 80 100 600
Azelf outspeeds salamence even after a dance, and ohkos with ice
punch. The best way to get it out is gliscor's slow u-turn, or a
predicting u-turn that reveals the mence. If mence locks itself
into outrage, it can be a good switch for heatran or metagross.
Scizor Swarm/Technician 70 130 100 55 80 65 500
Gliscor walls scizor without issue, but the problem is if the
opponent realizes that azelf is scarfed, he can be easily
pursuited and taken out. This is why its always best to use
u-turn if possible on azelf. (same goes for jirachi if he hasn't
tricked his scarf, more because of magnezone tho)
Skarmory Sturdy/Keen Eye 65 80 140 40 70 70 465
Skarmory doesn't stand a chance against heatran or breloom (if
it doesn't attack the turn it comes in). Gliscor is a good asset
against skarmory since it can taunt and prevent healing, then
hearan can switch to him with no threat of spikes or whirlwind.
Smeargle Own Tempo/Technician 55 20 35 20 45 75 250
Smeargle is an uncommon sight outside of baton passing teams
where he is used normally to sleep/sub/pass or sleep/trap/pass.
When he isn't passing, he will normally run sleep/spikes. Azelf's
u-turn hits it first, and hits over 50%. Gliscor is the best
second choice in case it uses spikes or sub first, as you can
outspeed and taunt it, and gliscor can survive to wake up.
Snorlax Immunity/Thick Fat 160 110 65 65 110 30 540
Snorlax doesn't even have a good switch in against this team unless
the opponent realizes that azelf is locked into ice punch. Even so,
a quick switch to breloom solves the problem easily. If breloom has
already slept an opponent, trick from jirachi or paralysis and iron
head are both solid ways to beat him.
Starmie Natural Cure/Illuminate 60 75 85 100 85 115 520
Fast u-turns kill starmie quickly, the key is in guessing which move
it is going to use. If you predict ice beam (a solid bet against
gliscor) jirachi can get the free switch/u-turn. If you predict hydro
pump or surf, switching to breloom to take the hit draws out an ice
beam next turn. Jirachi can also take a hydro pump and survive, so is
a decent choice even if all the ways to draw out ice moves are gone.
Suicune Pressure 100 75 115 90 115 85 580
Trick ruins most suicune, as they rely on healing, and many run calm
mind buffs. Paralysis always helps as well, so this is a good choice
for jirachi. Once it's paralyzed, you can switch to breloom and sub to
test if it has ice beam. If not, you can keep up your sub for a bit and
kill him with seed bombs. If he rests, wait till he wakes up and then
do your own sleep. It keeps him with a 1/3 chance to miss attack, and
as long as he can't rest he can't heal.
Swampert Torrent 100 110 90 85 90 60 535
Breloom easily dispatches swampert, though you do need to be careful
of ice beam, since it hits about 80% on you. Jirachi can also trick
it and make it very predictable.
Tentacruel Clear Body/Liquid Ooze 80 70 65 80 120 100 515
Breloom can keep tentacruel asleep easily, and is an easy switch in
in most cases because it will normally be using t-spikes (which this
whole team is immune to). Gliscor can also kill it with earthquake if
you are confident it will keep spiking or spin, and metagross can take
the couple hits needed to KO it with earthquake.
Togekiss Serene Grace/Hustle 85 50 95 120 115 80 545
Gliscor prevents the thunderwave many togekiss carry, and can taunt it
to prevent it from using roost. Once it can't roost or t-wave, Metagross
or Azelf can take it out with relative ease.
Tyranitar Sand Stream 100 134 110 95 100 61 600
Metagross can easily take on a tyranitar that is scarfed into a move that
isn't earthquake. Unfortunately the main problem is that Azelf, because
of the scarf, can end up locked into a move that can't damage him and
get pursuit trapped. This is why it's best to u-turn whenever possible
with azelf. It also has the bonus of allowing you to switch to jirachi
and get the KO with a second u-turn.
Umbreon Synchronize 95 65 110 60 130 65 525
Wait, this pokemon is in OU? Oo anyway... the majority of this team can
deal with it with either u-turns or sleep. Or walling it and taunting it.
or walling it, taunting it and u-turning. Gliscor is definitely the best
bet here.
Vaporeon Water Absorb 130 65 60 110 95 65 525
Vaporeon can easily be slept by breloom. If breloom has already slept
a pokemon, then have jirachi trick it, or paralyze it then have breloom
kill it anyway from behind a para-gained sub. (full hp breloom loses
only 13% of its hp for using sub, which gives 6 chances to get a sub up
against a 25% paralysis, which gives an 82.2021484375% chance that you'll
succeed in getting up a sub... more likely than stone edge is to hit xD)
Weavile Pressure 70 120 65 45 85 125 510
Weavile threatens only gliscor and azelf on this team, and if he does
show up, metagross can easily KO him with a priority bullet punch.
U-turn also does a large amount of damage, so if you happen to scout
one, props!
Zapdos Pressure 90 90 85 125 90 100 580
Zapdos is a really solid wall... but not without roost! taunting it with
gliscor and switching to a resist is a solid way to beat defensive zapdos
builds. Offensive builds will be more obvious because they won't switch
in often to take a hit. If you see one, jirachi tricking it a scarf or
paralyzing it to slow it down are your best options.
Conclusion
Thank you for taking the time to read through all of this, I really spent a long time thinking about it, and would appreciate feedback, especially if I'm missing something important xD
