Balance of Power (Peaked 1395 points)

[SupaChinChin]

Balance of Power
A Powerful and Balanced, Yet Unique OU Team​

====The Team at a Glance====

I have been playing OU in this generation since the very beginning. And I have learned some things. First of all, everyone uses the same things over and over. Secondly, everyone focuses on preparing for those things. Put those two together, and you may come to the realization that having just one or two things that people just aren't used to can swing the tide of battle in your favor. In that philosophy, I always place two BL or UU Pokemon in my teams, and it has gotten me near the top of the ladder before. The problem is that normally, those teams fall apart due to slight metagame shifts. This team is my most recent creation, and is by far my longest lasting. After a series of slight changes, I have peaked at 1395 (decent I suppose).

The basis of this team revolves around using the core of Rotom-W, Terrakion, and Volcarona to punch holes in the enemy team and absorb hits. Once that is accomplished early game, a sweep is often opened up for Terrakion, Volcarona or Bronzong, who all can deal massive amounts of damage in the right places. Lastly, I have Donphan and Wobbuffet for support, making sure my other Pokemon are healthy and dealing with remaining oversights. Once you're high enough on the Smogon OU ladder, you stop seeing teams like this, and you tend to see identical rain and sandstorm teams over and over again. I would like for there to be a resurgence in more balanced, yet still unique teams as this one. I believe they are most fun to use, and I hope you will have fun reading this RMT and hopefully providing some feedback. In case you were wondering, the title is a reference to post-Napoleonic Europe under the conservative Austrian Foreign Minister Klemens von Metternich, who sought only to preserve the "balance of power". It is named as such because the team is both Balanced and Powerful. Enjoy!

====In Depth====​

Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunderbolt​

This Pokemon is generally the one I start out with, and is arguably the glue of this team. Volt Switch provides offensive momentum that is invaluable in a team like this, and helps check troublesome Water-types. You may be wondering why I have both Volt Switch and Thunderbolt, but it makes a lot of sense considering my Leftovers and the rest of my team. It helps to be able to do Electric damage without switching against a variety of Pokemon, like Gyarados, Skarmory, Tentacruel, and Politoed, who all love taking that Volt Switch (behind a sub in Gyara's case) and not caring whatsoever. Its great against things like Specs Politoed, who love smashing my switch-in with Hydro Pump, especially considering that I have no other Water resists.

I changed from Scarf to Leftovers when I realized that I needed a Pokemon that could be both an offensive pivot but also be able to put pressure on a possible switch in. It also helps deal with the ever-annoying Gliscor. Hidden Power Ice is there for Dragons and Grass types, because I never really have issues with Scizor and Ferrothorn anyways, who don't threaten anything on my team all that much. Its also great because people never expect Ice, and the surprise factor of NOT having HP Fire or Will-o-wisp sometimes wins me games. I doubt I will ever change this set.

Team Synergy:
Grass : Bronzong, Volcarona

Terrakion @ Choice Band
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Quick Attack
- X-Scissor​

This monster right here consistently proves that he's the MVP of the team time and time again. Much of this team is designed to allow Terrakion to come in again and again to deal massive damage to the enemy team in order to open up gaping holes in their defenses. He really does smash through almost any wall that I need gone, giving him the honor of being THE powerhouse of OU. He's so incredibly powerful that he can 2HKO Bold Tentacruel after Stealth Rocks with Close Combat. Not only that, once the Pokemon that can take his hits are eliminated, literally nothing in the game can switch into Terrakion and not get obliterated instantly. This is probably my favorite Pokemon in the OU metagame right now, and for good reason. He hits HARDER than a truck, can take hits nicely thanks to awesome natural bulk, and really completes this team.

I chose Banded Terrakion because I need the power and faster Pokemon are mostly checked by the rest of my team. Quick Attack is useful situationally, and we all already know what this Pokemon does with his dual STABs. He works very well with Rotom-W, who can deal with Pokemon that switch into Terrakion (Gliscor, Slowbro, Tentacruel, Donphan, etc) and also get him in on something with Volt Switch. I also need him to handle Volcarona, and just hope that it lacks HP Ground (which mine has!). By far my favorite thing about this Pokemon is how a single good prediction with it can win games. And it has won me many.

Team Synergy:
Grass: Bronzong
Fighting: Wobbuffet, Volcarona
Ground: Rotom-W, Bronzong
Water: Rotom-W
Steel: Volcarona, Bronzong, Rotom-W
Psychic: Bronzong, Wobbuffet

Volcarona (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SAtk / 96 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Quiver Dance
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Ground]​

Aaaaah, Volcarona. I used to despise this moth, but these days he works rather well for me. With enough bulk to absorb hits from bothersome pokes like Celebi, he has the capacity to set up on a surprisingly large portion of the metagame. This set is basically one of my own design, partially built to take on Heatran. It has enough speed to beat Scarf Terrakion at +2, with maximum SpA (the rest in bulk). Lum Berry might seem strange, but Ferrothorn and Celebi always loves T-Waving him and Heatran likes to Toxic him too. In this way Volcarona works almost like a utility counter to those Pokemon early game. It has worked wonders for me, along with HP Ground. This lets me kill Terrakion but more importantly, Heatran. Dragons and Gyarados can counter Volcarona easily, but as you can probably see, I inserted a multitude of checks to them throughout my team so its rarely an issue (ex: HP Ice on Rotom-W). I really am surprised after really using the flaming moth at how good he can be at switching into Pokemon and punishing poor prediction. Its just great.

Some issues are that it always seems that Volcarona dies really quickly. This is probably because a lot of teams just don't really have things that I need to keep him alive for like Celebi. As a result, he often just sweeps a bit in the beginning, plowing a few holes in the opposing team in the process. What I dislike is that sometimes I feel like he died with things still left to do in this life. Whatever.

Team Synergy:
Water: Rotom-W
Rock: Terrakion, Bronzong, Donphan
Flying: Bronzong, Rotom-W

Bronzong @ Macho Brace
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Trick Room
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Skill Swap​

Why is Bronzong not in OU anymore? I just do not understand the reason why people would stop using him. Trust me, he is freaking amazing. In any case, Bronzong is not essential to the core of this team, and like Donphan takes up a role in patching up a few weaknesses in my team. He takes Dragon hits extremely well, and can hit back very hard with Gyro Ball. I started using a Trick Room sweeper here because I don't really need another Pokemon to take hits. I never looked back. You would not believe how well this works, smashing through the unlikeliest of Pokemon. Gyro Ball does massive damage to anything that doesnt resist it (sans Gliscor), while Earthquake kills most other things.

Wait... what is that fourth move...? SKILL SWAP???!!! Well, yeah, I use Skill Swap. Why? Because I hate Hypnosis. Anyway, the only real reason why I use it is to handle Gliscor. I give him the useless Levitate and take his Poison Heal, and watch as he slowly kills himself without recovery. I really, really hate Gliscor, who walls half of my team. Its also useful sometimes for absorbing Gastrodon's Storm Drain (which renders it unable to damage Bronzong), Bulk Up Breloom's Poison Heal, and a few other things just for the lulz. Its really only there to be unorthodox and piss off Gliscor users.

Team Synergy:
Fire: Rotom-W, Terrakion

Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin​

Rapid Spin. That is enough reason for me to use this guy to be honest, but he also fills a few more roles in this team. For one, the priority Ice Shard is useful sometimes, as is the reasonably powerful STAB Earthquake. The standard defensive set lacks Ice Shard, but I found it to be very worthwhile because it can pick off trouble pokemon, for example doing half to Landorus and damaging those annoying Dragons. He also takes Rock type moves very well and isn't vulnerable to Fire, which is why I use him over Forretress (which I have tested, but was redundant with Bronzong). The elephant is also great at switching into powerful physical hits. I mean look at those chunky 90/120 defenses. Don't forget Sturdy either, meaning he can switch into SR as something sets up, heal back with leftovers thanks to the resistance, and smack them with EQ as they fail to OHKO.

Donphan is mainly useful for his support by setting up rocks on the opponents side and spinning away those on my side. While this was the original reason to use him, I found him to be useful for his own unique traits despite his previous tiering in UU. Nonetheless, Donphan is still often a deadweight and sometimes just seems unnecessary, but I can't see myself not having either him or something else that accomplishes the same job.

Team Synergy:
Water: Rotom-W
Grass: Bronzong, Volcarona
Ice: Rotom-W, Bronzong, Volcarona

Wobbuffet (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Counter
- Mirror Coat
- Encore
- Safeguard​

Oh no! Its Wobbuffet! Theres not a lot to say about Wobbuffet other than the fact that he covers up the last little problems with my team quite nicely, and that it ruins strategies and breaks cores with ease. I mostly use him to take out Scarfers (because my team is rather slow after all) and things like Latios or Rotom which give me problems. Wobbuffet is also useful to switch into certain things that can set up on me, like Virizion or Celebi, which I would not dare switch into. Most importantly though, Wobbuffet is a "replacement" for something that is dead. I rely a LOT on Rotom-W and sometimes Volcarona, so when they die its often a large pain in the neck. What I can do then is I can use Wobbuffet to deal with those things I no longer have an answer to. It has worked very well for me in the past, and like Bronzong I cannot imagine why Wobbuffet isn't in Overused. He really does make this team ready to rampage, and has saved my butt more times than I can even count.

But don't think its all fantastic with Wobbuffet. More than any of my other Pokemon, he tends to just do nothing at all and die. Its mostly because I tend to use him over-zealously and overestimate his actual bulk far too often. In any case though, if you can pinpoint a Pokemon that deals with all my weaknesses as well as Wob does, I would rather easily consider changing this last slot. It has already changed about 5 times in this team anyway.

Team Synergy:
Bug: Volcarona, Terrakion
Ghost: Nothing! D:
Dark: Terrakion​

NOTE: Later I will add a threat list, but only after some feedback, which would probably better point out my weaknesses than I can on my own. I would really appreciate some help in making this team better, because I think it really has some potential. Thanks for reading!

===Importable===​

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Terrakion @ Choice Band
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Quick Attack
- X-Scissor

Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunderbolt

Volcarona (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Quiver Dance
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Ground]

Bronzong @ Macho Brace
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Trick Room
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Skill Swap

Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin

Wobbuffet (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Counter
- Mirror Coat
- Encore
- Safeguard

 

[destinyunknown]

Hi SupaChinChin!

You got a solid team here, but it seems very weak to strong water types attackers (such as Specs Politoed, as you mentioned). I think you should replace Wobbuffet (which looks like the least important pokemon on your team, and using Celebi instead. Celebi's is a sturdy grass resist that it's still able to check most fighting types and hitting hard in general. Here's the set, the evs are to outspeed neutral base 80 pokemon.

Celebi@Leftovers | Natural Cure
Modest Nature |160 Hp / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Nasty Plot / Giga Drain / Hidden Power Fire / Psychic

While Skill Swap is an original idea, I doubt of it's usefulness since any competent player will switch Gliscor out after losing Poison Heal. If you're worried about it, I think you should use Hidden Power Ice over Skill Swap, as it will allow you to still beat gliscor.

Good Luck!

 

[Thought]

Adding on to what DestinyUnknown as recommended, I might also suggest Shaymin.

Shaymin@Leftovers
EVs: 200 HP / 232 SpA / 76 Spe
Modest Nature
- Seed Flare
- Earth Power/Air Slash
- HIDDEN POWER ICE
- Rest

This Shaymin can handle Gliscor all too well. Natural Cure means getting toxic'ed isn't that big of a deal, and HP Ice can deal a huge chunk to Gliscor. (If you really hate him and want the OHKO, I'd suggest going offensive with Life Orb). Another tip is, when you do find an enemy Gliscor, always go for Seed Flare first as he protects to scout your Hidden Power Ice. After he feels safe, go for the HP Ice and knock him out.

 

[SupaChinChin]

Thanks Thought and Destiny Unknown!

You both recommended a bulky grass type, and I tested both for a bit. Celebi worked a bit worse than Shaymin for my team, but neither really worked at all for me. I cannot understand why, especially considering how sound your advice was, but as soon as I started to use Celebi I dropped ~100 points to about 1250. I then re-tested Wobbuffet and went back up to ~1360. Then I used Shaymin and hovered around ~1300.

Your advice was sound, and seemed to work at first. On paper, it should easily make my team better, but for whatever reason it didnt. Maybe its because strong Water moves arent a huge threat in general, or maybe Grass types can be a liability, or maybe I just need Wobbuffet to compensate for my low skill. In any case, I'm going to keep looking. Thanks a lot for the rate though! I think I know what to focus on changing.

As for Skill Swap, HP Ice is what I used to have in that slot. The problem is that some Gliscor could stall me out anyway, and its useless otherwise anyway. Skill Swap is fun, and it makes sure theres some prior damage on him before his next switch; you cant just Protect to heal it back anymore.

 

[Motagua]

Hey there, you got a very original team and I really liked Wobbufet, but I believe that it should be use on weather (I usually saw ShakeItUp using it on a Sun team with excellent results) to have an unorthodox way to trap weather summoners or threats. Venusaur in Sun seems able to easily 6-0 this team, because after a Growth boost, he can murder Volcarona with Sludge Bombo and sweep with Energy Ball & HP Fire coverage. Specs Politoed is also a huge issue as Rotom-W, your only resistance, is even 2HKO´d by its Hydro Pump! My suggestion is to replace Wobbufet with a Life Orb Tank Latias. Her excellent combination of bulk and power allows her to counter most Rain and Sun teams. Draco Meteor still is able to hit like a truck, while Psyshock is for Blissey expecting to wall her. Since Latias will never be 2HKO´d by Specs Hydro Pump or OHKO´d by +2 Sludge Bomb, Recover will help her regain any lost health. For the last slot, Surf can be viable to finish off a weakened Tyranitar and hit Heatran while HP Fire can defeat Ferrothorn. Thunderbolt can even be an option to hit harder Water-types and Gyarados. Good luck and I hope this rate helps :).

Life Orb Tank Latias

Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 152 HP / 176 SAtk / 180 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Surf
- Recover
- Psyshock
- Draco Meteor