Balanced team for IG use - Certainly needs some tinkering!

[Gorphish]

The Team -

This team is for a competition between me and some of my friends to see who is the ultimate pokemon master. Our ruling was that it was based on Smogon OU but with no legendaries (since not all could get access to RNG'd ones) which suited me perfectly as I have never liked using them. So I built this team, intent on countering some of the common threats that were inevitable going to come up and to find the best way to destroy them. Please give me any feedback as it will all be appreciated (particularly on EV spreads) and thank you for reading!

Team-building Process - ​

It is obvious that Talonflame and the 2 Charizards were going to be everywhere, so I was set on finding something that would counter them and I decided on AV Tyranitar. With the right EV's he can OHKO all of them and survive every unboosted attack they can offer, so it seemed like a great choice to me.

Next was something that could deal with Tyranitar's Fairy, Water and Fighting weakness that would come up too often, and M-Venusaur fitted perfectly. He loves the protection that Tyranitar provides from the aforementioned 3 and can easily deal with common pokemon such as Azumarill and Aegislash that would inevitably come up.

Next came an offensive duo I had wanted to try out for a while. The wall-breaker Aegislash set combined with Mamoswine seems to be able to punch holes in just about everything due to their incredibly powerful STAB's and were one I could breed IG easily so that worked out nicely for me.

I noticed that the team was suffering from a pretty bad ground and fighting weakness, so Gengar came in to play. I decided to go for a choice scarf as my team was also pretty slow at this point so Gengar could suffer as a fantastic revenge killer and could screw over the pink blobs by tricking the scarf onto them.

So at this point I realised that statuses would cause me massive problems, so I wanted something to deal with them. Clefable gets aromatherapy to help this and can also help by passing off wishes to the rest of my team and stop set up sweepers that could otherwise cause me large amounts of trouble.

In-Depth Analysis -

Changes in red​

Tyranitar w/ Assault Vest

Adamant, Sand Stream

248 HP / 84 Atk / 176 SDef

* Crunch
* Pursuit
* Stone Edge
* Earthquake

This thing is just insane in today's meta. The amount of commonly used pokemon that this counters is just ridiculous. Can deal with both Charizards, Talonflame, Gengar, Lati@s' and the list just goes on. When the sand is up, it's pretty much impossible to OHKO him and despite the little investment into Attack, he still hits like an absolute truck.

Let's take a look at some calc's:

vs Gengar

84+ Atk Tyranitar Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Gengar: 392-464 (149.6 - 177%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Gengar Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 176 SpD Assault Vest Tyranitar in Sand: 200-236 (49.6 - 58.5%) -- 98.4% chance to 2HKO

vs Charizard X

252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Outrage vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Tyranitar: 264-312 (65.5 - 77.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

84+ Atk Tyranitar Stone Edge vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard X: 300-354 (100.6 - 118.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

vs Charizard Y

252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 176 SpD Assault Vest Tyranitar in Sand: 228-272 (56.5 - 67.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

84+ Atk Tyranitar Stone Edge vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard Y: 804-948 (269.7 - 318.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Venusaur w/ Venusaurite

Modest, Chlorophyll --> Thick Fat

252 Spa / 128 Def / 128 SDef

* Giga Drain
* Sludge Bomb
* Leech Seed
* HP Fire

Works so well with Tyranitar. Thanks to Thick Fat, its only 2 weaknesses are barely hurt Tyranitar while it can easily sponge the Water, Fairy, Fighting and Grass attacks that are aimed at him. Giga Drain and Sludge Bomb provide two powerful STAB's. Unfortunately, Tyranitar's sand stream means that synthesis would only do 1/4 health and as they will be switching around each other it is unusable. Leech Seed and Giga Drain have to do for health recovery. And on that note, mixed defences and no HP investment is due to Venu's healing is based off other pokemon, so the less HP the more (percentage wise) health will be restored!

Aegislash w/ Life Orb

Quiet, Stance Change

252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spa

* King's Shield
* Sacred Sword
* Shadow Sneak
* Shadow Ball

Another set that I have wanted to try out for a while but never got around to it and it is insane! Its wall breaking ability is just ridiculous, nothing is safe to switch in. King's Shield eases prediction but I have only been using it where I am sure the other won't set up. Sacred Sword was chosen over iron head as I already have other ways of dealing with most fairies, while Shadow Sneak and Ball are pretty standard. If there's a way to improve EV's I'd definitely like to know about it, because I'm sure they could be more effective.

Mamoswine w/ Focus Sash

Jolly, Thick Fat

252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP

* Ice Shard
* Icicle Crash
* Earthquake
* Stealth Rock

One of my favourite pokemon, and when I heard it was meant to be a great offensive core with Aegislash I knew I had to use them. Ev's are there so it outspeeds Adamant max speed Bisharp, which would otherwise greatly damage my team. Ice Shard makes up for the sbpr speed in killing dragons, while Icicle Crash and Earthquake do tons of damage off his stupidly high attack stat. Stealth Rock is there as I can't run Superpower or Knock off due to being IG and as this team is relatively offensive I feel it could use them

Gengar w/ Life Orb

Timid, Levitate

252 Spa / 252 Spe / 4 Def

* Destiny Bond
* Shadow Ball
* Sludge Wave
* Thunderbolt

Gengar came in to deal with the fighting and ground weakness that was plaguing my team and to offer some ridiculous speed. Shadow ball and Sludge Wave offer some very solid STAB's. Thunderbolt is used to help deal with greninja among other water types and birds that threaten my team while Focus Blast is used to complete the perfect neutral coverage.

Clefable w/ Leftovers

Calm, Unaware

252 HP / 132 Def / 124 SDef

* Wish
* Aromatherapy
* Moonblast
* Fire Blast

Clefable came in with the role to heal my pokemon and I honestly have not been too fond of it. Wish and Aromatherapy are for above reasons, while Moonblast was for STAB and Fire Blast was for coverage on steels.

I have't been too impressed with this thing and this is where I really want help. Maybe a defogger would be best for my team in case of hazards stacking up but I'm still worried about statuses, which is where clefable has done well.

If you've made it this far, then congratulations and thank you! Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.​

 

[Sacron10]

this team looks great on paper but just thinking I figured that bisharp sort of destroys your team. I suggest dropping gengar for keldeo. then since you do sort of have a ground weakness give aegislash an air balloon as you want it to have some more longetivity and then you can switch into the landorus twins predicting a ground move here is the set for keldeo

Keldeo @ Choice Specs/Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump/Surf
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Icy Wind

Keldeo has great speed and kills off chansey and blissey with secret sword due to hitting their defense. HP Flying is for Venu megas and icy wind is for dragons. Hope I helped!
I forgot you weren't using legends *facepalm*

 

[Gorphish]

this team looks great on paper but just thinking I figured that bisharp sort of destroys your team. I suggest dropping gengar for keldeo. then since you do sort of have a ground weakness give aegislash an air balloon as you want it to have some more longetivity and then you can switch into the landorus twins predicting a ground move here is the set for keldeo

Keldeo @ Choice Specs/Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump/Surf
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Icy Wind

Keldeo has great speed and kills off chansey and blissey with secret sword due to hitting their defense. HP Flying is for Venu megas and icy wind is for dragons. Hope I helped!
I forgot you weren't using legends *facepalm*

Haha, If I was going to use this on PS seriously then i'd definitely do that switch. Thanks!

 

[Rafael J. Feliciano]

Hey Gorphish... nice team you have here... just a few thoughts...

Unless you run Dazzling Gleam on Gengar, there is no reason to run Choice Scarf on Gengar.

My first impression was that you are trying to outrun Scarf'd Garchomp so that on the switch you can 2HKO Garchomp... however, Shadow Ball only does 42%-49%... which means that unless you get the Special Defense drop, you getting OHKO'd by Outrage...

I personally would switch Choice Scarf for Life Orb and just have Gengar fire away...

Mamoswine's EVs and Nature are not optimal... yes you outspeed Adamant Breloom but 252 Atk & Spe with Jolly Nature outpaces Jolly Breloom, Lucario that doesn't run a +Speed Nature and Speed Tie wit unboosted Dragonite.

Do you really wanna risk the outside chance of CB Technician Breloom Mach Punching Mamoswine into oblivion??? I might seem like we are grasping at straws here... but if you and your friends are not using legendaries, then you need any edge you can get...

Also, Flamethrower ANNIHILATES Scizor without running possible Hax from Fire Blast's accuracy... just saying...

 

[Gorphish]

Hey Gorphish... nice team you have here... just a few thoughts...

Unless you run Dazzling Gleam on Gengar, there is no reason to run Choice Scarf on Gengar.

My first impression was that you are trying to outrun Scarf'd Garchomp so that on the switch you can 2HKO Garchomp... however, Shadow Ball only does 42%-49%... which means that unless you get the Special Defense drop, you getting OHKO'd by Outrage...

I personally would switch Choice Scarf for Life Orb and just have Gengar fire away...

Mamoswine's EVs and Nature are not optimal... yes you outspeed Adamant Breloom but 252 Atk & Spe with Jolly Nature outpaces Jolly Breloom, Lucario that doesn't run a +Speed Nature and Speed Tie wit unboosted Dragonite.

Do you really wanna risk the outside chance of CB Technician Breloom Mach Punching Mamoswine into oblivion??? I might seem like we are grasping at straws here... but if you and your friends are not using legendaries, then you need any edge you can get...

Also, Flamethrower ANNIHILATES Scizor without running possible Hax from Fire Blast's accuracy... just saying...

Thanks for the tips!

I'll switch out Focus Blast on Gengar as that was only really dealing with Bisharp who would ruin me with sucker punch anyway. I went for Choice Scarf as the rest of my team was pretty slow and had no good way of dealing with things like greninja that would otherwise cause me trouble but I can see where you're coming from

I'll switch up Mamoswine too and probably change his item to a life orb as with no bulk invested HP becomes less important

And with no investment, a Clefable flamethrower only has a 25% chance to KO regular scizor and can't KO M-scizor or Ferrothorn, while Fire Blast will KO both Scizors and has a 31% chance to KO Ferrothorn

 

[Rafael J. Feliciano]

Thanks for the tips!

I'll switch out Focus Blast on Gengar as that was only really dealing with Bisharp who would ruin me with sucker punch anyway. I went for Choice Scarf as the rest of my team was pretty slow and had no good way of dealing with things like greninja that would otherwise cause me trouble but I can see where you're coming from

I'll switch up Mamoswine too and probably change his item to a life orb as with no bulk invested HP becomes less important

And with no investment, a Clefable flamethrower only has a 25% chance to KO regular scizor and can't KO M-scizor or Ferrothorn, while Fire Blast will KO both Scizors and has a 31% chance to KO Ferrothorn

About Mamoswine, give him Focus Sash to guarantee Stealth Rocks...

Also, 25% is without SR out, if SR is in play... the OHKO probability rises to a robust 93.8%...

I wouldn't worry about Ferrothorn as much because you have Mega Venusaur who can literally eat everything short of a T-Wave from Ferrothorn...

Finally Clefable, barring a crit, can absorb a Life Orb boosted Hydro Pump from Greninja if needed... but also Mega Venusaur absorbs Ice Beams pretty well AND can retaliate with a OHKO with Giga Drain and heal up the damage...

Let me know what you think...

 

[Gorphish]

About Mamoswine, give him Focus Sash to guarantee Stealth Rocks...

Also, 25% is without SR out, if SR is in play... the OHKO probability rises to a robust 93.8%...

I wouldn't worry about Ferrothorn as much because you have Mega Venusaur who can literally eat everything short of a T-Wave from Ferrothorn...

Finally Clefable, barring a crit, can absorb a Life Orb boosted Hydro Pump from Greninja if needed... but also Mega Venusaur absorbs Ice Beams pretty well AND can retaliate with a OHKO with Giga Drain and heal up the damage...

Let me know what you think...

So would you suggest leading with Mamoswine usually if I change him to a Focus Sash?

I'll try running Life Orb on Gengar, but then I'd prefer to use substitute instead of Dazzling Gleam/Focus Blast

 

[Rafael J. Feliciano]

So would you suggest leading with Mamoswine usually if I change him to a Focus Sash?

I'll try running Life Orb on Gengar, but then I'd prefer to use substitute instead of Dazzling Gleam/Focus Blast

Normally, that would be the case, unless you see a situation where you can lead with Ttar to set-up Sand and go Yolo on your opponent or if the opponent is lacking a grass type, lead with Venusaur and Leech Seed them...

Between LO recoil and the 25% you would lose from creating the Sub... this doesn't seem optimal... if anything I would go with Destiny Bond... especially if I'm up against a pursuit trapper like Bisharp or TTar... (evil thoughts forming...)

 

[Gorphish]

Normally, that would be the case, unless you see a situation where you can lead with Ttar to set-up Sand and go Yolo on your opponent or if the opponent is lacking a grass type, lead with Venusaur and Leech Seed them...

Between LO recoil and the 25% you would lose from creating the Sub... this doesn't seem optimal... if anything I would go with Destiny Bond... especially if I'm up against a pursuit trapper like Bisharp or TTar... (evil thoughts forming...)

Aah ok, sounds good to me. Another thing I've been worried about is that I have no way of dealing with hazards. Do you think that there's a better option to replace Clefable with a defogger/spinner?

 

[Rafael J. Feliciano]

Aah ok, sounds good to me. Another thing I've been worried about is that I have no way of dealing with hazards. Do you think that there's a better option to replace Clefable with a defogger/spinner?

Ooph... that's a tough one (especially cause of the no legendaries rule... No Zapdos & Lati@s)

I suppose we can go with Excadrill as he's SR Resistant... as well as Toxic and T-Wave Immune... but then your incurring another Fighting Waekness... allowing Conkeldurr to run through your team with Drain Punch for TTar, Mamo and Exca, while running Knock Off for Gengar and Aegislash...

You could try Crobat but Ice Punch will DESTROY him... Mandi can tank, but she can't do much outside of Toxic and Foul Play (heaven forbid you get haxed with Frozen)...

My personal choice for this particular team...

(Jim Ross Voice) It's HIM!!!

TORKOAL!!! @ Leftovers
EV: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Ability: Shell Armor
Bold Nature
IV: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Rapid Spin
- Roar
- Yawn

The hijinx that you can use with this set are UNPARALLELED!!! After spinning, you can Yawn... then Roar (which won't matter as the opponent is most likely switching) and force some madness!!! Prolly sounds better in my head, but your team does need a Physical Wall, since AV TTar's 738 SpD is just UNGODLY... so why not give this set a try?

Hope this has been helpful ^_^

ROFL I SUGGESTED A TORKOAL

 

[Gorphish]

Ooph... that's a tough one (especially cause of the no legendaries rule... No Zapdos & Lati@s)

I suppose we can go with Excadrill as he's SR Resistant... as well as Toxic and T-Wave Immune... but then your incurring another Fighting Waekness... allowing Conkeldurr to run through your team with Drain Punch for TTar, Mamo and Exca, while running Knock Off for Gengar and Aegislash...

You could try Crobat but Ice Punch will DESTROY him... Mandi can tank, but she can't do much outside of Toxic and Foul Play (heaven forbid you get haxed with Frozen)...

My personal choice for this particular team...

(Jim Ross Voice) It's HIM!!!

TORKOAL!!! @ Leftovers
EV: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Ability: Shell Armor
Bold Nature
IV: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Rapid Spin
- Roar
- Yawn

The hijinx that you can use with this set are UNPARALLELED!!! After spinning, you can Yawn... then Roar (which won't matter as the opponent is most likely switching) and force some madness!!! Prolly sounds better in my head, but your team does need a Physical Wall, since AV TTar's 738 SpD is just UNGODLY... so why not give this set a try?

Hope this has been helpful ^_^

ROFL I SUGGESTED A TORKOAL

While I would love to use a torkoal competitively, I tried and sadly he is just not up to the standard :( As much as I wanted it to work it just gets destroyed by any SE special attack and 2 shotted any strong physical mon, and 20 speed means I only ever get 1, maybe 2 moves in before it becomes fodder. I tested out Crobat and it's actually been working really well though, as Ice Punch from Conk won't OHKO and mach punch does nothing. Brave Bird also takes out a lot of his health too. I still have to play very carefully around conk, but Crobat offers a lot in terms of offense too. I might switch up my M-Venusaur set to a more physically defensive one, and switch Mamoswine to a bulkier set now I have Crobat

 

[Rafael J. Feliciano]

While I would love to use a torkoal competitively, I tried and sadly he is just not up to the standard :( As much as I wanted it to work it just gets destroyed by any SE special attack and 2 shotted any strong physical mon, and 20 speed means I only ever get 1, maybe 2 moves in before it becomes fodder. I tested out Crobat and it's actually been working really well though, as Ice Punch from Conk won't OHKO and mach punch does nothing. Brave Bird also takes out a lot of his health too. I still have to play very carefully around conk, but Crobat offers a lot in terms of offense too. I might switch up my M-Venusaur set to a more physically defensive one, and switch Mamoswine to a bulkier set now I have Crobat

LMAO... hey if you tested it out... that's all I can ask for... but yeah... if you can breed Venusaur with a Bold Nature and still manage to get HP Fire on it then I would go with the following:

Mega Tanksaur

Venusaur @ Venusarite
EV: 248 HP / 60 Def / 200 SpD
Ability: Fat Ba$t... I mean Thick Fat
Bold Nature
- HP Fire
- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed
- Sludge Bomb
Same Move Set... but Bold Nature and EV Spread give him all around amazing bulk (enough to take only 70% from Sheer Force LO Landorus' Psychic)... if you want to make him a dedicated physical wall, you can go with the standard 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD Spread instead. Whichever works for you...

If Crobat works for you then more power to you... I'm not a fan of him taking 25% from SR... but since this is XY Wifi, we have to take whatever we can get...

Good Luck to you and your team... hope you become a pokemon master... amongst your friends anyway... I'm the true pokemon master... I have an Oshawott with Samurott Shell Armor!!!! ^_^