Fighting Monotype OU Team (1st RMT)

[AuhsojSivart]

've been playing on Shoddy Battle for about 3-4 months now, but just registered to Smogon to get some help with my OU team. I've made two monotype teams, but the steel team is not nearly as successful as this one. I have been hovering around 1200 CRE with my Fighters team, and want to push it to the next level.

The whole team is focused on Offense and type coverage. The goal here is to almost never have to switch, so that I can almost always be attacking and forcing my opponent to switch instead. The few switches I do are usually Breloom to take a hit from Earthquake and Heracross or Gallade to take Psychic.


--LEAD--
Machamp (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 200 HP/200 Atk/110 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dynamicpunch
- Stone Edge
- Bullet Punch
- Ice Punch

Why not use the most common fighting type in OU as my lead? Machamp as an anti-lead is pretty common, so it won't be obvious that the rest of my team are all fighters as well, because this is the team's greatest secret. A 100% accurate Dynamic Punch can give me more of an edge even than throwing out Stealth Rock. I gave him a bunch more EVs in speed than the standard set from Smogon's team builder so that he can take down other Machamp leads before they hit him. Sleep, Burn, Paralyze, and Confusion leads are dealt with using Lum Berry. Stone Edge is used against Gengar and other Ghosts, but maybe there's a better choice. Ice Punch is for dealing with Flying and Dragons, obviously.

--REVENGE KILLER AND SWITCH FORCER--
Breloom (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 48 HP/252 Atk/210 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Spore
- Focus Punch
- Seed Bomb
- Mach Punch

Staying with my theme of all fighting types, Breloom is a shoo-in. Breloom is probably the member of my team that gets the most kills after Machamp, who usually scores the first. A switch in against Earth Power or Earthquake followed by Spore and Focus Punch is almost always a guaranteed kill, unless a Ghost type is switched in. I can't decide if I want to replace Mach Punch with Substitute or not. Sometimes having the priority move can be really useful. Seed Bomb is there for taking care of Swampert, one of my team's biggest problems, as well as other water types such as Suicune.

--SCOUT AND PHYSICAL SWEEPER--
Infernape (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Flare Blitz
- Thunderpunch

This team exists because of Infernape. I was making a team with a Machamp lead and wanted another physical Pokemon who is quick and has type coverage. I came across Infernape and decided that he would fit the bill. Throwing U-Turn on him gives him the unique job of scout. If both my Pokemon and my opponent's are knocked out at the same time for whatever reason (usually because of Life Orb), I will always put in Infernape. He can deal with many threats on his own, but U-Turn can get him out of a bad spot whilst dealing a good 30% or so to many Pokemon.

--LATE GAME SCARF'D PHYSICAL SWEEPER--
Heracross (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk/6 Def/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Toxic

Another shoo-in for an all fighting team, although I didn't realize it right away. For a while, Heracross was the weakest member, until I gave him a Scarf. Usually, my last Pokemon is Heracross. With a Choice Scarf, he can outspeed many common late-game sweepers and hit them hard with Guts and Close Combat. I will never bring him out until I've either already knocked out the opponent's Ghost (since most teams usually have only one) or have seen that they don't have one. This removes the threat of being stuck on Close Combat and unable to finish the match. Only the beefiest of physical walls or quickest of sweepers can really take down Heracross. He's brought me back from being down 3-1 many times.

--SPECIAL SWEEPER--
Lucario (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 6 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Aura Sphere
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Vacuum Wave

While I don't really like Lucario very much, he is irreplaceable on mhy team because he is my only special attacker (literally, there is not a single special attack on any of my other members). Vacuum Wave is probably used more than anything else, since he's quite slow. Many special Lucarios use Choice Specs or Choice Scarf, so the occasional Rotom or Gengar switch in is dealt with by using Life Orb instead and being able to do serious damage with Shadow Ball. It can be quite surprising to see a Lucario use Vacuum Wave or Aura Sphere 3 or 4 times in a row only to get hit with a different move on a switch. HP Ice has been HP Grass before, but Dragons are more common than Water types.

--PHYSICAL SWEEPER--
Gallade (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Psycho Cut
- Night Slash

There are only 5 fighters that are classified as OU. I don't have a problem with putting a BL or UU Pokemon on my team, but it's pretty clear that Gallade is definitely the weakest link on my team. His job is to Night Slash Azelf and use Psycho Cut against other fighters. If anyone were to be replaced, he'd be the first to go. I'd like some recommendations for a replacement. Is Rapid Spin Hitmontop a good choice? I'm sure I can deal with Ghosts and Psychic types without Gallade. Unless I get lucky, he tends to get KO'd by quicker and stronger opponents.
---


Common OU Threats:

Salamence - Aside from a couple of Ice attacks, I don't have much in the way of dealing with him. Dragon Dance Salamence (or Dragonite) can really screw up my team.

Gyarados - I just added Thunderpunch to Infernape. Hopefully that will be enough to take care of Gyarados.

Jirachi - Not much of a threat, he's two shotted by everyone on my team.

Scizor - One or two shotted by everyone on the team.

Heatran - Can really be a problem with Earth Power and Fire Blast or Flamethrower. Even though I can two shot him with anyone, a fast or scarfed Heatran can run me over.

Azelf - Not too much of a problem. He'll get up Stealth Rock and that's about it.

Blissey - My team is all fighting types. Only Lucario has trouble with Blissey.

Skarmory - Not much of a threat. From what I've noticed, but Brave Bird can be nasty. Often I'll get hit with Whirlwind only for the opponent to find that my whole team has STAB moves that he's weak against.

Gengar/Rotom - Both of the popular ghosts can give me a ton of trouble. Free switch-ins abound.

Tyranitar - One or two shotted by everyone on the team. Not a problem at all.

Swampert - This bulky dude is mainly countered by Breloom, but a Dynampic Punch at the beginning of the match against common Swampert leads can ruin someone's day.

 

[S7atcat]

Give machamp payback in place of stone edge or ice punch, i'm fairly certain nothing shy of a lum berry flying type with dragon dance is going to just set up on you or even take a dynamic punch in stride unless it's name is Gengar, Dusknoir, or Rotom.

Give Heracross Nightslash or pursuit so it can make those ghosts look foolish since Toxic isn't really doing you any justice.

Specially based ape may not cover gyarados as well as his tpunching physically based bretheren but it would make your team more well rounded as you really shouldn't be running 5 physical attackers. Plus a nasty plot flamethrower really does a number on pretty much anything in the game tht doesn't resist it and i'm sure you could probably bang up a g-dos with that +1 flamethrower that they assumed you weren't crazy enough to launch off.

You could take advantage of Gallades versatillity by dropping Close Combat for Tpunch as you have enough stab fighting moves to last you a life time.


Also Breloom has super redundant coverage D:~

 

[Lucknade]

Your current Ape wants Jolly, not Naive.

 

[Towelie]

LO Starmie fucks you in the ass extremely hard. Hera can revenge but can't switch in, so it basically has its way with your team. Move Gallade to the lead spot with a moveset of Close Combat/Stone Edge/Shadow Sneak/Swords Dance. Use an Adamant nature with a Lum Berry and 248 Hp/252 Atk/8 Spe. This may seem gimmicky at first but heres the rundown:
Azelf: Beaten by Stone Edge + Shadow Sneak.
Metagross: SD first turn while surviving Meteor Mash and have a chance to KO with a boosted CC next turn.
Machamp: You resist D Punch and Lum helps w/ confusion. SD First turn and get the guaranteed KO next turn.
Heatran: Survive Fire Blast and KO with Close Combat.
Swampert: SD + Close Combat almost KOs but leaves it completely crippled which is great for this team.

Now with this change, move Machamp into Gallades place. Use a rest-talker to help with Starmie a little bit. Rest/Sleep Talk/DynamicPunch/Payback. 252 Atk/252 Hp/4 Spe @ Leftovers. This gives you a status absorber and an overall tank to work with throughout the game. Hope I helped and gl!

 

[gaburu]

I think giving Lucario agility over vaccum wave will mitigate the speed problem, allowing you to outspeed most scarf users,Gengars, and a possibly dreaded Starmie switch-in that Towelie mentioned.

I second that much needed rest/talk Machamp, as mentioned it gives much needed bulk and status absorbtion qualities.

I think that you should really consider going for a mixed Infernape set as the classic Skarm/Bliss defensive combo really hassles your team (or just stall in general). This way you can hit both sides of the spectrum and diversify your team.

I hope that helps.