This is actually the very first DPP OU team I made, but I'd like to think it has aged well since its creation a couple of years ago. The team originally began as an idea for DPP Ubers where Scarf Scizor would pressure Latios/Latias while racking up residual hazard damage, but it was too slow to be successful in a tier where Darkrai and Mewtwo roam freely not to mention the elephant in the room, Dialga. However, there are plenty of slower Pokemon in OU that are weak to U-turn like Starmie, Latias, and Tyranitar making the concept easy to cross over.
Forretress @ Occa Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Explosion
- Payback
Lead Forretress is certainly not the first Spikes user that comes to mind when more conventional options like Skarmory and Roserade exist, but it was chosen to combat Azelf and provide hazard removal midgame against bulkier teams. I forwent Toxic Spikes in favor of Spikes because they work against a broader range of teams and cannot be absorbed by Poison types. Explosion annihilates anything that dares set up. Payback chips Ghost types attempting to spin block. The EVs maximize SpD in order to continue setting up spikes in the face of special attackers, and Occa Berry allows Forretress to survive most non-STAB fire attacks.
252+ SpA Choice Specs Magnezone Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Occa Berry Forretress: 248-292 (70 - 82.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Azelf Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Occa Berry Forretress: 250-296 (70.6 - 83.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Dragonite Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Occa Berry Forretress: 306-360 (86.4 - 101.6%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
Scizor @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Pursuit
- Superpower
- Bullet Punch
The poor man's Genesect is the reason I built this team. Scarf paired with STAB U-turn enables Scizor to snag kills against unsuspecting Azelf, Celebi, Starmie, and Latias. After revealing Scarf, a lot of Pokemon will try to switch out of Scizor making Pursuit an easy way to finish them off. Superpower's high base power is useful for revenge killing Pokemon resisting the STAB coverage, and Bullet Punch provides utility as a priority move against faster Pokemon. It's important to note that making aggressive doubles with Scizor elevates the team's offensive pressure to another level because the hazard damage accumulates very quickly.
Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 156 HP / 128 Atk / 224 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Taunt
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
Dragon Dance Gyarados is a natural fit since Scizor is busy zooming around harassing Latias, Starmie, and Celebi. Furthermore, Gyarados bolsters the team's defensive capabilities by weakening physical attackers via Intimidate allowing the rest of the team to handle threats more comfortably. Taunt ensures nothing impedes setup while also denying recoveries. Waterfall is the STAB move of choice sporting an infuriating 20% flinch chance, and Stone Edge hits opposing Gyarados while providing well rounded coverage. The EVs allow Gyarados to avoid the OHKO from +SpA Life Orb Flygon Draco Meteor after Stealth Rock and to outpace +Spe Heatran that might otherwise dismantle the team with HP Electric; the remaining EVs are dumped into Atk.
252+ SpA Life Orb Flygon Draco Meteor vs. 156 HP / 0 SpD Gyarados: 235-277 (63.5 - 74.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
Shaymin @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 60 SpA / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Seed Flare
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Shaymin offers the team a much needed offensive presence while tanking strong electric and water attacks courtesy of its typing and natural bulk. Using Leech Seed liberally on turns where switching is probable is vital for keeping Shaymin healthy while withering away at the opposing team, and when combined with Protect, Shaymin feels immortal at times willfully eating hits like Scarf Flygon U-turn just to fire off another Leech Seed. Protect also comes with the usual perks of limiting the effectiveness of Choice items and making Explosion a riskier option. Seed Flare is the STAB move of choice for its high base power and 40% chance to lower special defense making it difficult to switch in to. HP Ice is chosen over HP Fire to hit Dragonite while still covering Grass types. The EVs make Shaymin faster than +Spe Dragonite while investing the rest into HP and SpA.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Gentle Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Explosion
Specially defensive Heatran sacrifices its offensive prowess to absorb far more punishment and ultimately completes the team's defensive core with Gyarados and Shaymin. Also, paralysis doesn't bother this Heatran making it one of the best Jirachi checks in the tier. Stealth Rock is the best move in meta and is necessary to advance the game state. Lava Plume is a reliable STAB move that has a 30% chance to cripple switch-ins like Tyranitar while Earth Power mainly targets opposing Heatran. Explosion is crucial for the team's success eliminating roadblocks like Clefable and nuking anything foolish enough to set up. Gentle is chosen over Calm and Sassy in order to maximize Explosion damage and HP/SpD EVs while maintaining a speed tier above uninvested base 70s; the -Def is mostly irrelevant.
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 84 HP / 172 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
Gengar serves as the team's spin blocker, which is key on a team that thrives on forcing the opponent to switch through hazards. The other Ghost types in the tier don't match the utility and speed that this Gengar set simultaneously provides. Moreover, the combination of Taunt and Will-O-Wisp allows Gengar to suppress any defensive threat while Shadow Ball and Focus Blast provide perfect neutral coverage to clean up endgames. The EVs allow Gengar to avoid the OHKO from unboosted Starmie Hydro Pump after Stealth Rock.
252 SpA Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 84 HP / 0 SpD Gengar: 208-246 (73.7 - 87.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery
Threat List
Clefable 
Magic Guard poses a complicated problem for this team because the team's offense consists of weak attacks, burns, hazards, and Leech Seed. The most consistent way to beat it is to exploit the fact that a lot of Clefables are their team's best check versus Heatran resulting in a trade with Explosion. With Clefable gone, Shaymin comes to life and takes over the game, and if this method fails, Gengar can confront Clefable with a combination of Taunt and Focus Blast.
Empoleon
Whether it be Petaya, Specs, Swords Dance, support, or even lead, they're all unfazed by Gyarados and resist Explosion making them difficult to kill. Empoleon is part of the reason Shaymin needs to be healthy until the endgame as it's the only check on the team, and even then it's annoyed by Ice beam, Drill Peck, and Knock Off. If the situation calls for it, Scizor and Gengar can hit it with Superpower and Focus Blast respectively.
Kabutops
The lack of a Rock resist is jarring in a tier where Tyranitar is abundant; consequentially, Band Rock types claim kills rather easily. Kabutops in rain is the most egregious user because Scizor, Gyarados, Shaymin, and Gengar can't revenge kill it like they would normally do against Tyranitar. The only counterplay is a combination of Intimidate and Shaymin since the team lacks a way to change the weather.
Moltres
An incredibly difficult matchup as it beats every member of the team head-on except Gyarados, which still fears Will-O-Wisp, and a lot of Moltres teams pack multiple spinners to overload Gengar. The only feasible method to deal with it is to avoid HP Ground and use Explosion with Heatran.
Roserade
Roserade is a nuisance because it completely halts Shaymin and incapacitates a member of the team with Sleep Powder. Against the lead set, Forretress stays in and uses Spikes in case Sleep Powder misses. If Sleep Powder hits, Forretress still uses Spikes checking for 1 turn sleep and HP Fire before Heatran comes in to wall Roserade. In general, the best way to deal with Roserade is to make aggressive doubles with Scizor after Shaymin lures it in.
Scizor
Band and Scarf sets are dispatched by Heatran, but the fast Swords Dance set needs to be identified early on so that Gyarados can be preserved specifically to beat it; otherwise, it's up to Gengar to burn it.
Replays
RoA Room Championships - March 2020 Playoffs https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-1090584553DPP OU Winter Seasonal #2: Round 2 https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen4ou-477606
Ladder https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-1391420900-9decbaj7g19c5few73gfj4j6d3licv7pw
RoA Tour IX: Week 9 | DPP OU #5 https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen4ou-572551
Ladder https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-1394123050-ppw4qh25yf9p3txo0oorbn0rshjnup6pw
Ladder Peak
Importables
https://pastebin.com/raw/JNESB8Rr (Original)Importables
https://pastebin.com/raw/MGxhPp6e (Fast Shaymin version to improve matchup versus offensive Suicune)
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Shoutouts Iris for getting me into DPP long ago starting with Ubers and benbe for signing up to manage team tours with me; although, there's no shot either of you actually look at this lmao. Love you both.Thank you for reading and I'd appreciate any suggestions.
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