Well hello there Smogon! Welcome to my RMT thread where any and all help is appreciated. Currently my team is seeing more success than my last so that's good. I feel like there is something missing, I am not weak to one certain Pokemon but I have a feeling there is just that one (or two or three) missing things that skyrocket it's ability and win rate. Without further ado here is my team.
At a glance
The process
1. Sableye@Lagging Tail
Nature: Calm
Ability: Prankster
EV: 252 HP / 130 SpD / 120 Def
1. Trick
2. Taunt
3. Recover
4. Will-O-Wisp
One of the best sets in the game in my opinion. With the ability to use Taunt first, set-up sweepers and Baton Passers are screwed over hard. With Prankster, Sableye is probably the best Taunter in the game as only Tornadus (who is less seen but can out-Pranking him due to higher Speed) is the only threat. Even with Lagging Tail I can still go first. Normal Taunters such as Gliscor, Jellicent, and Gyarados will be Taunted themselves. Will - O - Wisp is then a great follow - up as the burn will just whittle away any HP left. However that is not my main reason for WoW. WoW's main purpose is to screw over Physical sweepers. Unles they have a 1st Priority (Bullet Punch) Sableye will always use WoW first and should it land, that sweeper is basically useless for the game. Should my luck be with me, Sableye basically wins games as two Burned sweepers or walls can make it 4 v 6, even if those two burned are at 100% HP. Lastly, Will- o -Wisp is ok against Special Sweepers, but Keldeo or Alakazam could care less about the Burn. This is where Lagging Tail comes in. With the likes of Scarf Special sweepers (Keldeo/Politoed) or just very fast Special (Alakazam/ Gengar / Starmie) Lagging Tail + Trick screws them hard and also essentially eliminates them from the game. Wanna know something else? It does not stop there. Let's say I trick Life Orb from Gengar. They switch in Ferrothorn. I Trick Ferrothorn and get Leftovers and he gets Life Orb. He is forced to switch or attack himself to death as Taunt forces him to do so and Life Orb + Priority Recover kills himself.
2. Vaporeon@Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Ability: Water Absorb
EV: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Speed
1. Wish
2. Protect
3. Scald
4. Roar
Good old Vapreon. With Keldeo and Water/Rain teams Vapreon is there to absorb it all. Vaporeon loves to switch in to a Keldeo using Hydro Pump. Vaporeon's Scald is also useful with Sableye's Will - O - Wisp, as the Burn chance is also there causing further havoc, especially in tandem with Protect as the burning damage will eventually get to them. However Vaporeon's main purpose (besides checking Waters) is to keep my team healthy. Using it's skyhigh HP, SpD, and decent Def, and Vaporeon's Wish I can keep my other Pokemon healthy, even if they switch in to a powerful attack. Mainly, Bronzong who has no sustain, benefits hugely from the Wish as well. With Life Orb on Infernape, Wish can help deal with the damage afflicted by continuous recoil and allows Infernape to stay in the game for longer. Roar allows me to phaze set - ups and counters as well, and can prove to just be a general annoyance as WoW/Toxic can cause more residual damage along with hazard entries.
3. Infernape@Life Orb
Nature: Timid
Ability: Blaze
EV: 252 SpA / 252 Speed / 4 HP
1. Flamethrower
2. Grass Knot
3. HP Ice
4. Vacuum Wave
Special Infernape is a very strong set as his SpA = Attack. Plus Infernape is probably the best user of Vacuum Wave, which is just a Special Mach Punch. Many of those who switch in to Infernape (Gliscor / LaTwins/ Dragonite/ Salamence) are all caught off guard extremely hard. No one expects this set and the type coverage is insane. With a STAB Vacuum Wave that has 1st priority, anything that is even neutral faces a lot of damage done. It allows Infernape to scare faster Choice users (T-Tar/ Terrakion / Heatran) and possibly OHKO after SR damage. HP Ice is for LaTwins / Gliscor/ Dragons who would also attempt to switch in, but with good predection, a 2HKO on the LaTwins is readily available. Grass Knot allows coverage of Waters (Gastrodon + Politoed + Slowbro) and Flamethrower provides an ever present STAB against ferrothorn / Foretress / Skarmory. Infernape is my way of using the sun to my advantage as well.
One main however, Infernape serves as Will - O - Wisp bait and is here to draw Fire attacks away from Bronzong/Scizor. This SpecialApe set is capable of turning the tides due to surprise factor. It's wallbreaking power has been known since D/P/P and is further continued in B/W. Many teams have a Volcarona/Venasaur weakness (IE Fire+Grass, mostly Fire though) but neither of them fir my team since I do not have a spinner to support or Drought to help Venasaur. Heatran remains to slow, unless he is Choice Scarfed, however that leads me open to set -up opportunities as well. Infernape's role, in my opinion, is best served to pave the way for Scizor/Garchomp. Infernape's power is not exactly that of Alakazam's, but due to it's type coverage and reliably decent enough damage, I can severely weaken more than half of the opposing team before Scizor or Garchomp need to show their face.
Why not physical/mixape?
Well, looking at my team it really is not hard to find out why. My lack of a true Special sweeper sets me back. Also, the surprise factor is a huge advantage, as Gliscor is always sent out and faces quick extermination.
4. Scizor@Leftovers
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Technician
EV: 248 HP / 112 Attack /148 SpD
1. Swords Dance
2. Bullet Punch
3. Bug Bite
4. Superpower
Going for bulk + decent damage, Scizor is a huge threat that is made scarier after one Swords Dance. Scizor is an amazing check to many Dragons as he can survive Draco Meteor/Outrage and set - up with Swords Dance. At +2 Bullet Punch is frightening due to Scizor's sheer power and the fact that it is 1st priority. Superpower allows OHKO-2HKO against other Steels who would try to wall Bullet Punch (Heatran / Magnezone / Ferrothorn / even Skarmory). Bug Bite allows Scizor to STAB Slowbro and the LaTwins as Pursuit is not here and U-Turning after a SD seems redundant to me.
The choice between Scizor/Metagross/Mamoswine was a hard one. Each offered something to the team that the other could not. Metagross has higher bulk compared to the other two while Mamoswine spells danger to any team with a Dragon. However after going through teambuilder one major and huge advantage from Scizor showed that the other two could not offer. It was not the ability Roost nor was it Swords Dance + Agility. It was the fact that Scizor offered Dark/Ghost resist. By having Mamoswine/Metagross I am open to Ghost/Dark attacks, and although nothing on my team is weak to Ghost/Dark, nothing resists it either. This allows Gengar or Hydreigon to possibly sweep up my team with their STAB Shadow Ball/Dark Pulse. Infernape is strong vs Dark but Infernape is frail and unreliable to switch in vs a Hydreigon Dark Pulse. Scizor's bulk and SpD investments and typing allows perfect checks against the two. A Superpower spells OHKO on Hydreigon and a Bullet Punch can OHKO Gengar after SR damage as well.
One final thing of note is that in a Scizor vs Scizor match, with both at healthy HP and no stat boosts/debuffs, my Scizor tends to win vs 252 Attack/Speed Scizors. The opposing Scizor tends to Superpower, but goes first. This screws them over hard, as my Scizor spread can fully survive a LO 252 EV Scizor with no problem, where the opposing Scizor is then -1 Defense and is open to a OHKO with my Superpower in return.
5. Bronzong@Leftovers
Nature: Sassy
EV: 252 HP / 128 SpD / 84 Def / 44 Attack
IV: 31 in everything, but 0 in Speed)
Ability: levitate
1. Earthquake
2. Gyro Ball
3. Stealth Rock
4. Toxic
Originally a D/P/P spread, I decided to use it, because 1. it offers reliable bulk in both Def/Sp. Def and takes advantage of Bronzongs high base stat in both and 2. My roomate has been using it to good use (Teemo as he goes by on the forums)so I decided to take it to :d. Anyway, a Bronzong Gyro Ball can be as scary as Scizor Bullet Punch, as - Speed technically counts as + Attack (Gyro Balls gains power the lower the Speed of Bronzong is). Anything neutral to it is scared off by it's Sheer Damage. Other Steels that resist it are taken aback by Earthquake, especially Tentarcruel / Empoleon / Jirachi. Earthquake offers very high synergy with Toxic as well. Tentarcruel / Empoleon /Ferrothorn are both of the bulky Steel/Poisons who laugh at my attempt to use Toxic, however I get the last laugh when I hit them an Earthquake that can face an OHKO- 2HKO depending on their HP/Def spread (although it'll take a bit more vs Ferrothorn). Bronzong is mostly here to check Landorus, who just cannot dent Bronzong unless he gives up HP Ice for HP Fire and as mentioned, is just useful as an all purpose wall to check those who would also use Earthquake vs Infernape. Toxic also offers a reliable of trying to beat the likes of Jellicent as well, who can only be 2HKOd by Grass Knot, which is my only way of hitting the jellyfish for SE.
Aside from the checks Bronzong offers, it has very high synergy with Vaporeon as well. Except for Lightning, Bronzong resists Grass and Vaporeon resists Fire. With Vaporeon's Wish and Bronzong's lack of sustain, the two work in a reasonable fashion and have (so far) performed effectively, as even SE attacks will not OHKO either due to high bulk. Wish from Vaporeon only makes Bronzong and Toxic much more annoying, as Bronzong is able to stay up longer, effectively stalling out those afflicted with Toxic.
6. Garchomp@Choice Scarf
Nature: Naive
EV: 252 Speed / 252 Attack / 4 HP
1. Dragon Claw
2. Eathquake
3. Aqua Tail
4. Fire Blast
One of the best Scaf users in the game. When Steels are down the game can probably be won with Garchomp. Boasting a high Attack + STAB Earthquake/Dragon Claw the type coverage it provides is insane. It can clean up teams, sweeping 3-0 or 4-0 when the right threats are down. You know you, the reader, has experienced this whether it was you on the receiving end or the one using Garchomp. With Fire Blast many would checks are eliminated (Skarmory and Forretress I'm looking at you). GarChomp is the fastest out of the OU Dragon users except LaTwins (IIRC with Scarf, it STILL outspeeds +1 DD Mence/Nite) and is likely to OHKO with Dragon Claw in return. Aside from the other Dragons, when Steel types go down, Scarf+Dragon claw provides the best damage outpost possible. Garchomp offers the highest base HP of any Dragon as well as respectable Defenses without EV investment, meaning most neutral unboosted attacks cannot OHKO a healthy Garchomp. A STAB Earthquake allows me to check Jolteon who would try to T-Bolt Vaporeon or Bronzong, which is where Garchomp switches in. Thundurus can OHKO with HP Ice, but with good prediction, all I need to do is switch in to T-Bolt and, unless Thundurus has +2 from Agility, even a +1 Speed Thundurus cannot outrun ScarfChomp nor can it expect to survive a STAB Dragon Claw after SR damage.
Why no Outrage and use Aqua Tail?
Because Outrage is a double- edge sword. My opponent can use it against me as well, giving themselves time to set-up. Aqua Tail provides coverage against Volcarona and Gliscor who are taken by surprise by the sheer damage (the former is OHKOd, guaranteed after SR damage). Hippowdon also faces a 2HKO by Aqua Tail also.
I started with the infamous Sableye. I love how Sableye went from the worst Gen III Pokemon to a B-Rank threat (read the OU Viability thread) along with Blissey and Skarmory. That should say how much it has improved. It's Prankster ability and Will-O-Wisp spam means there will always be one opponent shutdown for nearly good. I love trolling people and this is the best way.
Because of how much Bulky waters are needed in today's metagame, with Keldeo and Politoed more prominent than Gengar in R/B/Y I decided to use Vaporeon over Jellicent and Tentacruel. Why? Wish. Wish got extremely buffed in my opinion. Vaporeon and Blissey are now even more of a threat. Plus I do not use a spinner so even though I am not SR weak, hazards get annoying.
In addition to how common Water and Rain is, I decided to do something about the 2nd most common element: Sun. With Venasaur and Volcarona threating teams I decided to introduce someone who loves the Fire: Infernape.
I needed someone who can at least deal with Terrakion/Tyranitar/Mamoswine reliably and here it is: Scizor. While also great in the Sandstorm he is a threat EVERY team needs to account for. I also decided that having a set-up Pokemon would help because if the opponent is a set-up team, I came to the conclusion: if my opponent has time to set-up on me I have the time to set-up on him as well.
Next I needed a bulky steel to check Landorus as well as an all purpose wall is immune to Earthquake. Bronzong was there to answer the call. Resisting
Finally a Choice Scarf user as well as an electric resist were the remaining things needed to finish. Too kill two birds in one stone, I decided to use the famous ScarfChomp that finally made it out of Ubers.
1. Sableye@Lagging Tail
Nature: Calm
Ability: Prankster
EV: 252 HP / 130 SpD / 120 Def
1. Trick
2. Taunt
3. Recover
4. Will-O-Wisp
One of the best sets in the game in my opinion. With the ability to use Taunt first, set-up sweepers and Baton Passers are screwed over hard. With Prankster, Sableye is probably the best Taunter in the game as only Tornadus (who is less seen but can out-Pranking him due to higher Speed) is the only threat. Even with Lagging Tail I can still go first. Normal Taunters such as Gliscor, Jellicent, and Gyarados will be Taunted themselves. Will - O - Wisp is then a great follow - up as the burn will just whittle away any HP left. However that is not my main reason for WoW. WoW's main purpose is to screw over Physical sweepers. Unles they have a 1st Priority (Bullet Punch) Sableye will always use WoW first and should it land, that sweeper is basically useless for the game. Should my luck be with me, Sableye basically wins games as two Burned sweepers or walls can make it 4 v 6, even if those two burned are at 100% HP. Lastly, Will- o -Wisp is ok against Special Sweepers, but Keldeo or Alakazam could care less about the Burn. This is where Lagging Tail comes in. With the likes of Scarf Special sweepers (Keldeo/Politoed) or just very fast Special (Alakazam/ Gengar / Starmie) Lagging Tail + Trick screws them hard and also essentially eliminates them from the game. Wanna know something else? It does not stop there. Let's say I trick Life Orb from Gengar. They switch in Ferrothorn. I Trick Ferrothorn and get Leftovers and he gets Life Orb. He is forced to switch or attack himself to death as Taunt forces him to do so and Life Orb + Priority Recover kills himself.
2. Vaporeon@Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Ability: Water Absorb
EV: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Speed
1. Wish
2. Protect
3. Scald
4. Roar
Good old Vapreon. With Keldeo and Water/Rain teams Vapreon is there to absorb it all. Vaporeon loves to switch in to a Keldeo using Hydro Pump. Vaporeon's Scald is also useful with Sableye's Will - O - Wisp, as the Burn chance is also there causing further havoc, especially in tandem with Protect as the burning damage will eventually get to them. However Vaporeon's main purpose (besides checking Waters) is to keep my team healthy. Using it's skyhigh HP, SpD, and decent Def, and Vaporeon's Wish I can keep my other Pokemon healthy, even if they switch in to a powerful attack. Mainly, Bronzong who has no sustain, benefits hugely from the Wish as well. With Life Orb on Infernape, Wish can help deal with the damage afflicted by continuous recoil and allows Infernape to stay in the game for longer. Roar allows me to phaze set - ups and counters as well, and can prove to just be a general annoyance as WoW/Toxic can cause more residual damage along with hazard entries.
3. Infernape@Life Orb
Nature: Timid
Ability: Blaze
EV: 252 SpA / 252 Speed / 4 HP
1. Flamethrower
2. Grass Knot
3. HP Ice
4. Vacuum Wave
Special Infernape is a very strong set as his SpA = Attack. Plus Infernape is probably the best user of Vacuum Wave, which is just a Special Mach Punch. Many of those who switch in to Infernape (Gliscor / LaTwins/ Dragonite/ Salamence) are all caught off guard extremely hard. No one expects this set and the type coverage is insane. With a STAB Vacuum Wave that has 1st priority, anything that is even neutral faces a lot of damage done. It allows Infernape to scare faster Choice users (T-Tar/ Terrakion / Heatran) and possibly OHKO after SR damage. HP Ice is for LaTwins / Gliscor/ Dragons who would also attempt to switch in, but with good predection, a 2HKO on the LaTwins is readily available. Grass Knot allows coverage of Waters (Gastrodon + Politoed + Slowbro) and Flamethrower provides an ever present STAB against ferrothorn / Foretress / Skarmory. Infernape is my way of using the sun to my advantage as well.
One main however, Infernape serves as Will - O - Wisp bait and is here to draw Fire attacks away from Bronzong/Scizor. This SpecialApe set is capable of turning the tides due to surprise factor. It's wallbreaking power has been known since D/P/P and is further continued in B/W. Many teams have a Volcarona/Venasaur weakness (IE Fire+Grass, mostly Fire though) but neither of them fir my team since I do not have a spinner to support or Drought to help Venasaur. Heatran remains to slow, unless he is Choice Scarfed, however that leads me open to set -up opportunities as well. Infernape's role, in my opinion, is best served to pave the way for Scizor/Garchomp. Infernape's power is not exactly that of Alakazam's, but due to it's type coverage and reliably decent enough damage, I can severely weaken more than half of the opposing team before Scizor or Garchomp need to show their face.
Why not physical/mixape?
Well, looking at my team it really is not hard to find out why. My lack of a true Special sweeper sets me back. Also, the surprise factor is a huge advantage, as Gliscor is always sent out and faces quick extermination.
4. Scizor@Leftovers
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Technician
EV: 248 HP / 112 Attack /148 SpD
1. Swords Dance
2. Bullet Punch
3. Bug Bite
4. Superpower
Going for bulk + decent damage, Scizor is a huge threat that is made scarier after one Swords Dance. Scizor is an amazing check to many Dragons as he can survive Draco Meteor/Outrage and set - up with Swords Dance. At +2 Bullet Punch is frightening due to Scizor's sheer power and the fact that it is 1st priority. Superpower allows OHKO-2HKO against other Steels who would try to wall Bullet Punch (Heatran / Magnezone / Ferrothorn / even Skarmory). Bug Bite allows Scizor to STAB Slowbro and the LaTwins as Pursuit is not here and U-Turning after a SD seems redundant to me.
The choice between Scizor/Metagross/Mamoswine was a hard one. Each offered something to the team that the other could not. Metagross has higher bulk compared to the other two while Mamoswine spells danger to any team with a Dragon. However after going through teambuilder one major and huge advantage from Scizor showed that the other two could not offer. It was not the ability Roost nor was it Swords Dance + Agility. It was the fact that Scizor offered Dark/Ghost resist. By having Mamoswine/Metagross I am open to Ghost/Dark attacks, and although nothing on my team is weak to Ghost/Dark, nothing resists it either. This allows Gengar or Hydreigon to possibly sweep up my team with their STAB Shadow Ball/Dark Pulse. Infernape is strong vs Dark but Infernape is frail and unreliable to switch in vs a Hydreigon Dark Pulse. Scizor's bulk and SpD investments and typing allows perfect checks against the two. A Superpower spells OHKO on Hydreigon and a Bullet Punch can OHKO Gengar after SR damage as well.
One final thing of note is that in a Scizor vs Scizor match, with both at healthy HP and no stat boosts/debuffs, my Scizor tends to win vs 252 Attack/Speed Scizors. The opposing Scizor tends to Superpower, but goes first. This screws them over hard, as my Scizor spread can fully survive a LO 252 EV Scizor with no problem, where the opposing Scizor is then -1 Defense and is open to a OHKO with my Superpower in return.
5. Bronzong@Leftovers
Nature: Sassy
EV: 252 HP / 128 SpD / 84 Def / 44 Attack
IV: 31 in everything, but 0 in Speed)
Ability: levitate
1. Earthquake
2. Gyro Ball
3. Stealth Rock
4. Toxic
Originally a D/P/P spread, I decided to use it, because 1. it offers reliable bulk in both Def/Sp. Def and takes advantage of Bronzongs high base stat in both and 2. My roomate has been using it to good use (Teemo as he goes by on the forums)so I decided to take it to :d. Anyway, a Bronzong Gyro Ball can be as scary as Scizor Bullet Punch, as - Speed technically counts as + Attack (Gyro Balls gains power the lower the Speed of Bronzong is). Anything neutral to it is scared off by it's Sheer Damage. Other Steels that resist it are taken aback by Earthquake, especially Tentarcruel / Empoleon / Jirachi. Earthquake offers very high synergy with Toxic as well. Tentarcruel / Empoleon /Ferrothorn are both of the bulky Steel/Poisons who laugh at my attempt to use Toxic, however I get the last laugh when I hit them an Earthquake that can face an OHKO- 2HKO depending on their HP/Def spread (although it'll take a bit more vs Ferrothorn). Bronzong is mostly here to check Landorus, who just cannot dent Bronzong unless he gives up HP Ice for HP Fire and as mentioned, is just useful as an all purpose wall to check those who would also use Earthquake vs Infernape. Toxic also offers a reliable of trying to beat the likes of Jellicent as well, who can only be 2HKOd by Grass Knot, which is my only way of hitting the jellyfish for SE.
Aside from the checks Bronzong offers, it has very high synergy with Vaporeon as well. Except for Lightning, Bronzong resists Grass and Vaporeon resists Fire. With Vaporeon's Wish and Bronzong's lack of sustain, the two work in a reasonable fashion and have (so far) performed effectively, as even SE attacks will not OHKO either due to high bulk. Wish from Vaporeon only makes Bronzong and Toxic much more annoying, as Bronzong is able to stay up longer, effectively stalling out those afflicted with Toxic.
6. Garchomp@Choice Scarf
Nature: Naive
EV: 252 Speed / 252 Attack / 4 HP
1. Dragon Claw
2. Eathquake
3. Aqua Tail
4. Fire Blast
One of the best Scaf users in the game. When Steels are down the game can probably be won with Garchomp. Boasting a high Attack + STAB Earthquake/Dragon Claw the type coverage it provides is insane. It can clean up teams, sweeping 3-0 or 4-0 when the right threats are down. You know you, the reader, has experienced this whether it was you on the receiving end or the one using Garchomp. With Fire Blast many would checks are eliminated (Skarmory and Forretress I'm looking at you). GarChomp is the fastest out of the OU Dragon users except LaTwins (IIRC with Scarf, it STILL outspeeds +1 DD Mence/Nite) and is likely to OHKO with Dragon Claw in return. Aside from the other Dragons, when Steel types go down, Scarf+Dragon claw provides the best damage outpost possible. Garchomp offers the highest base HP of any Dragon as well as respectable Defenses without EV investment, meaning most neutral unboosted attacks cannot OHKO a healthy Garchomp. A STAB Earthquake allows me to check Jolteon who would try to T-Bolt Vaporeon or Bronzong, which is where Garchomp switches in. Thundurus can OHKO with HP Ice, but with good prediction, all I need to do is switch in to T-Bolt and, unless Thundurus has +2 from Agility, even a +1 Speed Thundurus cannot outrun ScarfChomp nor can it expect to survive a STAB Dragon Claw after SR damage.
Why no Outrage and use Aqua Tail?
Because Outrage is a double- edge sword. My opponent can use it against me as well, giving themselves time to set-up. Aqua Tail provides coverage against Volcarona and Gliscor who are taken by surprise by the sheer damage (the former is OHKOd, guaranteed after SR damage). Hippowdon also faces a 2HKO by Aqua Tail also.
