Dragoons and Hydras - OU RMT

[Critical_Hax]

Team at a Glance



An In-Depth Look


"Zealot" Breloom (M) @ Choice Scarf
Jolly
4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spe
- Spore
- Superpower
- Seed Bomb
- Stone Edge

Choice Scarf Breloom is an amazing lead. It stops Stealth Rock against most leads and occasionally can score an early KO. I tend not to fire off Spore straight away, as I like to save it for something important that may actually threaten the team. Later on in the game, Breloom serves as an excellent Check to DD-Tar, Adamant +1 Gyarados and plent of other pokemon. Its resistances are much appreciated and it makes a good toxic absorber, which greatly helps it durability. I'll just quickly summarise what I do against common OU leads, as well as threatening yet unconventional niche leads.

Fire to Heatran, Swampert, Gyarados
Ice to Heatran, Metagross
Flying to Rotom, Heatran, Metagross
Psychic to Heatran, Metagross
Poison to Heatran, Metagross, Swampert

Azelf - I just spore straight away to prevent Rocks, RD, Light Screen or anything else. Then I switch to Swampert, set up rocks, break the sash and switch to Rotom on a predicted explosion

Aerodactyl - Even with a Choice Scarf, Breloom is slower than Aero. They mostly Taunt to stop Spore, then SR and I 2HKO with Seed Bomb, while keeping the Choice Scarf unrevealed. Breloom walls the standard Lead Aero if they attack instead, so its usually a favorable match-up

Swampert - Most people tend to assume I'll Spore right of the bat and leave Pert in, so I usually Seed Bomb, and maybe 70% of the time, they'll stay in to be OHKOed, and I'll stop Rocks and still have the Scarf up my sleeve.

Machamp - This is a bad match up. Breloom is unable to deal significant damage, and Lum stops Spore, while Bullet Punch will stop a Second attempt. I usually Seed Bomb to get some damage, switch to Rotom on the Bullet Punch, then go to Heatran to KO with Fire Blast. Breloom usually has enough HP to live a switch in to Stealth rock after DynamicPunch.

Metagross - I usually Spore outright, stopping Rocks if they are Occa/Shuca, or wasting the Lum Berry if they are Lum. Then, I switch to Rotom on the Bullet Punch if they are Lum, and WoW with Rotom

Jirachi - Generally, they'll Trick straight away assuming I'm the standard Subpuncher, so I generally get Spore of quite easily. If they Iron Head and I flinch, I'll go to Swampert to get SR up

Infernape - I Spore straight away to prevent SR, and Breloom doesn't mind Fake Out too much. Then I'll go to Swampert to get Rocks and 2HKO

Ninjask - This thing is also a pain to start with. I'll break the first Sub with Stone Edge, then hopefully bring Gyara in on a Protect, while also giving Ninjask -1 Attack if it tries to pass on that turn. If it does protect, or even if it subs, I'll Taunt to prevent an SD, or in the case of Protect, a Sub.

Roserade - Breloom outspeeds Non-Scarf versions and Spores them, but Scarfed versions have a 75% chance to come out on top. In that case, Toxic Spikes won't hurt too much if Rosy comes in later to set them up, since they only affect Swampert. If I do Spore them, I'll either stay in to Spore the switch in, but against good players, I'll go to Swampert if they call my bluff.

Hippowdon - Spore it straight away to prevent SR, then switch to Swampert if it decides to stay in and try and wake up. Swampy threatens with Hydro Pump and can SR, but I don't mind if I get Roared, since Hippowdon doesn't really threaten anything but Heatran, and Metagross is generally deadweight against Stall

Tyranitar - Superpower Straight away for an easy KO.

Heatan - Superpower also KOs Heatran, except this time, they tend to stay in more, since very few people actually expect Scarf Breloom

Smeargle - Breloom can sleep Non-Scarfers, but will get Spored itself if they are scarfed

Uxie - Breloom tends to be trickbait for any Scarfed lead, so Scarf versions are not a problem. Spore twice against Lum versions and Spore once for anything else

Starmie - Starmie is a fairly potent threat. Life Orb versions die to Scarf Seed Bomb, while Focus Sash variants will probably Ice Beam for a KO, but get dropped to 1 HP. If this is the case, I'll go to Metagross or Swampert, depending on if I suspect Grass Knot.


"Ultralisk" Swampert (M) @ Leftovers
Relaxed
240 HP/ 216 Def/ 52 SpA
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam

Most bulky offence teams use Stealth Rock, and this team is no exception. Swampy is probably the best user of SR in the game, having amazing resistances and defences with a sole, albeit 4x weakness to grass, a generally poor attacking type. I prefer Mixpert for its ability to hit much harder than the standard Swampert, and dispatch of bulky Ground and physically defensive pokemon in general. The 52 Special Attack Evs are leftovers from the old set when Salamence was OU, but that extra 13 points, and the neutral nature have always proved to be effective for me. In addition, Rotom formes, which are a little bit of a problem for this team, could threaten a Physical Swampert with WoW, but a Mixpert isn't that worried about the burn, and can actually defeat Rotom one on one. Furthermore, when pushed into Torrent range, Swampy's Hydro Pump is devastating to anything that doesn't resist it, or have very good Special Defence. Hes basically the glue of the team, and my go to guy, since hes normally the first to come in if Breloom opens with Spore

Grass to Heatran, Breloom, Metagross

"Firebat" Heatran (F)@ Life Orb
Naive
4 SpD/ 252 SpA/ 252 Spe
- Substitute
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Explosion

Heatran is the third part of my Fire/Water/Grass core, and substitute is a great move on something that great type coverage and the ability to force switches by bluffing Choice Scarf. Maximum speed is to tie with other Heatran, as well as outrun Adamant Gyarados and Defensive Zapdos. Explosion is pretty much essential to keep threats such as Suicune in check, and its useful or removing Blissey and Vaporeon from the game. Substitute is useful for scouting out Choice Scarf pokemon, such as Flygon and Starmie and then switching to the appropriate pokemon.

Water to Breloom, Gyarados
Fighting to Rotom, Gyarados
Ground to Gyarados, Rotom, Breloom

"Overlord" Rotom-H @ Leftovers
Bold
252 HP/ 164 Def/ 92 Spe (0 Atk IV)
- Will-O-Wisp
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Overheat

Rotom-H is my Spin-blocker. The 92 Speed EVs outruns other Defensive Rotoms and it still takes physical hits like a champ, especially if it can get off a WoW. Having another Ground Immunity is always nice and Rotom keeps threats such as Scizor, Gyarados, Metagross and Tyranitar in check. Thunderbolt over Discharge since I want to nail Heatran harder on the switch, and it also does more to Bulky waters. Shadow Ball is prefered over HP Fighting for STAB and I have quite solid T-Tar checks in Breloom and Swampert, besides, if it gets a burn, it won't be much of a threat at all. Overheat is doing well in the last slot, and neither Swampert nor Heatran is overly threatening to the team, so there isn't a need to use either the Lawn Mower or the Washing Machine.

Dark to Heatran, Breloom
Ghost to Heatran


"Dragoon" Metagross @ Life Orb
Jolly
60 HP/ 252 Atk/ 196 Spe
- Rock Polish
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Explosion

Metagross is the first part of my Sweeping core. Agilligross with enough speed to outrun Choice Scarf Flygon and Jirachi after a Rock Polish. Speaking of Rock Polish, its marginally better than Agility if I ever run into a gimmicky team with Imprison. Explosion in the last slot for mainly 2 reasons. Even with Thunderpunch, you won't come out against Bulky Waters with much HP left, if at all with the exception of Starmie and Gyarados, the former of which may well be Scarfed anyway, while the latter is easily handled and by Breloom and Rotom. Secondly, explosion destroys Metagross' regular counters, such as Zapdos, Suicune and Vaporeon all of which pose threats to Gyarados, easily a sweep later on. I was thinking of switching to the Trick Ball set, since it still disrupts the regular counters of Metagross and Gyarados, but also hits Rotom and gives me a second trick absorber. However, I would lose the ability to effectively crush Hyper Offensive teams since, Metagross can OHKO most members with Meteor Mash or Earthquake with a Life Orb. I'll test it and change it if the Trick Ball set seems to be better

Fire to Heatran, Swampert, Gyarados
Ground to Rotom, Gyarados, Breloom


"Hydralisk" Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Adamant
156 HP/72 Atk/92 Def/188 Spe
- Dragon Dance
- Taunt
- Waterfall
- Bounce

Bulky Gyara is a fantastic sweeper, and most of the early game will revolve around removing his counters. He absolutely devastates Stall teams once Rotom-H is out of the way, since anything else except Forry is essentially set up fodder. I shifted 4 EVs from the standard set to speed to Taunt other Bulky Gyara before they can DD, which will usually lead to a Bounce war, in which case, I usually go to Rotom on their Bounce, and kill them when they come down. Bounce was selected for its STAB and the extra Leftovers turn, as well as assisting in Beating Celebi, and the 30% Paralysis is nice if it occurs, since by the late game, I don't need stuff Burned anymore. It also serves as a great check to Infernape and Lucario, who with a turn of Set up, can threaten to sweep the team if they pack the right moves. Intimidate also makes it great Death Fodder against a team where there are too many Gyarados counters to hazard a sweep, and Taunt also helps against slower set up sweepers and Breloom. Other Bulky Fighters, such as Machamp fear Bounce as well. As long as I keep it away from Electric and Rock attack, as well as Burns, Gyara will usually win the game bar increadible hax.

Electric to Rotom, Breloom
Rock to Swampert, Breloom, Metagross

My Threat list will be posted as soon as I have the time. In the meanwhile, any suggestions would be appreciated.

[ginganinja]

Well is is a really nice Team and I cannot find much wrong with it. I do see you having slight issues with Starmie if its brought out late game and running Hydro Pump and Life Orb. I am unsure what yu can do to fix this short ofrunning scarf Rotom which does not quite help the team.

Have a Nice Day!

[Tarrandus]

Glad to see someone besides me has realized the amazingness that is Scarfed Breloom Lead. :)

[Shizzle]

CS Lead Breloom isn't exactly rare as such, it even has its own set where it says "it can be a decent anti-lead". Anyway, I recommend adding Mach Punch in there, just so you have a speedy priority to revenge things, namely SD Lucario, but also weakened foes who may also carry priority, or to finish off scarfers.

Ice Beam isn't going to be very necessary with Salamence gone, as Hydro Pump still hits Flygon and whatnot very hard anyway, as a neutral Hydro Pump has 10 less base power than a Super Effective Ice Beam. Personally I would switch Ice Beam to Roar, but Protect is still a good option.

On Rotom-H, I will be honest, Overheat is a terrible move, it helps against just about nothing, as Will o Wisp is more than enough to deal with basically all physical sweepers, and his two STABs deal enough damage to keep most Taunt pokes in check. A move I find that would suit this team incredibly well would be Light Screen, as it not only stops things like Gengar from flat out KOing you [Light Screen on the switch], but also can help with Gyarados/Metagross setting up. Alternatively Pain Split can work to help you beat/stall out walls.

With Metagross, personally I don't think you need both Agiligross AND Gyarados, I mean they are both great, but not sure about together. However, I think a Choice Scarf Flygon over Metagross would help this team immensely, as it not only has great synergy with the team, but can help revenge kill the aforementioned LO Starmie weakness, and provides a reliable go to pokemon, and revenge killer.

Good luck with the team.

[Critical_Hax]

I've been testing Flygon, and its quite effective on the team. The same deal with Light Screen on Rotom. However, with Choice Scarf, the need for Mach Punch is reduced, and without any boosts, its sort of weak, even of 130 Base Attack. Flygon has been testing well. I've decided since I don't need Roar on Swampert and Protect is a decent option, I might try Mirror Coat, and see how that works. However, Ice Beam is good against Dragonite, so I'll have to see how commonly I see them.

Thanks guys

[Aqueos]

Other than possibly having small issues with a really weird lead (lead hariyama) and possibly having very small issues with a d-dancerdragonite with thunderbolt, this team is great. Your a bit behind the times though with your Starcraft nicknames, as Starcraft2 comes out in like a week, and firebats and dragoons don't exist anymore. Like it matters though.

[GB_Packers_Ftw]

Originally Posted by Fat Critical_Hax

I've been testing Flygon, and its quite effective on the team. The same deal with Light Screen on Rotom. However, with Choice Scarf, the need for Mach Punch is reduced, and without any boosts, its sort of weak, even of 130 Base Attack. Flygon has been testing well. I've decided since I don't need Roar on Swampert and Protect is a decent option, I might try Mirror Coat, and see how that works. However, Ice Beam is good against Dragonite, so I'll have to see how commonly I see them.

Thanks guys

What he meant by adding machpunch was since SD luke has extremespeed you might want a decent priority move to therefor outspeed extremespeed. It seems like you would be switching out alot with breloom and therefore often will have him lategame, so i think this is a decent suggestion.

Also, along with this post, I actually think you would benefit very much from roar on swampert. It stops stat uppers...namely suicune that your team fails to beat otherwise. Gyara has taunt, but what else can it really do to suicune before It dies? offensive suicune will wreck gyara either way, while defensive ones, it kind of depends on the ev spread. I definately think that roar outbenefites protect, ice beam, or mirrorcoar

[Piccolo]

Originally Posted by Fat GB_Packers_Ftw

Also, along with this post, I actually think you would benefit very much from roar on swampert. It stops stat uppers...namely suicune that your team fails to beat otherwise. Gyara has taunt, but what else can it really do to suicune before It dies? offensive suicune will wreck gyara either way, while defensive ones, it kind of depends on the ev spread. I definately think that roar outbenefites protect, ice beam, or mirrorcoar

Couldn't agree more. >_>; Not needing Roar on Swampert is pure blasphemy. Roar racks up the Stealth Rock damage and screws with your opponent's strategies.

Hydro Pump is meh on Swampert. Ice Beam & Earthquake are sufficient. Replace Hydro Pump with Roar.