Gen 4 FWG Team

[Black_Knight]

With Gen 6 here and all I got nostalgic for the first Generation I tried to play competitively on and decided I'd revisit the best team I've built. I'm sure somethings have changed since then, but I'd like feedback on my team of old.


TEAM BUILDING PROCESS:

I decided to start my team off with my favorite Pokemon of Gen 4, Heatran

After that, I knew I should add Gyarados and Rotom-H, and Scizor (all common on past teams of mine) to give him more support

Next, I looked at my team to see what I could add and I realized, after pulling Rotom and Scizor away for a second, that Breloom not only gave me a great Pokemon to help the team as a whole, providing Spore, but with Gyarados and Heatran provided at least a Resistance to every move type.

Finally, after I got my 5 main Pokemon set up, I needed a Lead Pokemon. My mind immediately went to Aerodactyl as I had a pretty good set of resistances and such with my other 5. So here's how the team looks:

TEAM:

1) Aerodactyl-Focus Sash
Jolly Nature
4 HP/252 ATK/252 Spd
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake
-Taunt
-Stealth Rock

Very common and standard. Basically a "throw-away lead" because I normally use him till he faints unless I feel I can use him for something else. I quite like Aero lead because of his massive Speed and ability to stop Rocks a majority of the time while getting Rocks up himself most of the time as well.

2) Rotom-H-Choice Scarf
Modest Nature
4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spd
-Shadow Ball
-Thunderbolt
-Overheat
-Trick

Choice Scarf Rotom is a very strong Rotom and it helps me with Gyarados and other troublesome Pokemon to a degree. Rotom's typing and perfect ability blend it with the rest of the team and helps Rotom support everyone and beat Spinners, or at least deal massive damage to them.

3) Breloom-Toxic Orb
Jolly Nature
12 HP/252 ATK/244 Spd
-Focus Punch
-Seed Bomb
-Spore
-Substitute

I find Breloom is what I switch into the least often, but when I do he can wreck other teams. It was this team that made me really love Breloom's power. I went with a Jolly Nature to help me outspeed other Breloom and get the Spore or Sub first, normally Sub, or letting me set up in general a little faster. Breloom also has such a huge attack with Focus Punch, that losing a bit from having a Jolly Nature doesn't hurt him that much. This is also a good compromise as I normally go with an Adamant Bulky DD Gyarados so these two can work nicely together. Breloom also synergizes with Gyarados and Heatran in so many ways and, as I stated earlier, with these three Pokemon they at least resist every type of attack.

4) Gyarados-Leftovers
Adamant Nature
252 ATK/72 DEF/184 Spd
-Waterfall
-Bounce
-Taunt
-Dragon Dance

I'm sure this Gyarados seems a little strange. I adapted the Bulky Dragon Dance Gyarados to be a pretty big threat by doing numerous calculations against a common switch in to Gyarados, Starmie. With this Speed on an Adamant Gyarados with 1 Dragon Dance, Gyarados will outspeed Starmie and has a pretty good change to OHKO her with Bounce. If I used Stone Edge, Gyarados would 2HKO her, but by that time he'd be knocked out so I thought Bounce is a better option here, and there's no accuracy problem. Gyarados is the first member of my FWG core and is an incredibly strong Pokemon on the team in general.

5) Heatran-Shuca Berry
Timid Nature
4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spd
-Fire Blast
-Earth Power
-Hidden Power (Ice)
-Taunt

Heatran, my favorite Pokemon of this Gen, is what I started the team out with and built around. He isn't the ace exactly, as so many of my Pokemon can do well with the team combination, but Heatran can prove to be amazing. Since Heatran causes so many Switch-Outs and a lot of Pokemon who want to beat Heatran need to set-up or something, Taunt just screws with them before he leaves the field. Heatran synergizes well with most of the team and they synergize with him in return, a good balance in the long run.

6) Scizor-Choice Band
Adamant Nature
248 HP/252 ATK/8 Spe
-Bullet Punch
-Superpower
-Pursuit
-U-Turn

A common Scizor to finish out the team, but really I find it a perfect Pokemon in itself. Scizor is such a powerhouse with Choice Band+Technician+Bullet Punch that I haven't found a huge need to change any of the EV's. Scizor obviously is a great bait for Heatran to come out, but he also works as a cleaner of sorts since he can kill so many Pokemon without a lot of trouble.

 

[Jorgen]

One thing I notice is that you, yourself, are pretty weak to DDGyara. Rotom being Specs instead of Scarf means you don't have a revenge killer for it.

 

[Black_Knight]

I suppose so. Changing Rotom to Choice Scarf wouldn't be difficult I suppose and I assume is recommended lol

 

[Mulligan]

Hey Black_Knight,

You've got a pretty solid team. There's a few things to patch up. First off, I agree with Jorgen and I co-sign switching from Choice Specs to Choice Scarf on Rotom-H. Currently, not only is your team weak to other Dragon Dance Gyarados, but Life Orb Starmie as well, who 2HKOs the entire team bare minimum. Scarf Rotom-H at least allows you to check it. While we're on Rotom-H, you could try running Hidden Power Ice over Shadow Ball. Now, why HP Ice when you have Heatran running it? I'll address that in a bit. I don't see what else you would need Shadow Ball for other than Gengar and Rotom-W when Scizor, at the very least, checks them. Heatran is a decent answer for every other common Rotom-A (Heat and Cut formes) in OU. Choice Scarf also gives you the option of outspeeding and crippling offensive Zapdos with Trick, who also destroys this team. I'd also consider running Explosion over HP Ice on Heatran, especially if you decide to run HP Ice on Rotom-H. Explosion gives you another weapon against Zapdos, even the SubRoost variant assuming you Taunt it on the switch-in. Explosion also generally can swing momentum back in your favor for an offensive team such as this.

Hope I helped out and good luck.

 

[Black_Knight]

Hey Black_Knight,

You've got a pretty solid team. There's a few things to patch up. First off, I agree with Jorgen and I co-sign switching from Choice Specs to Choice Scarf on Rotom-H. Currently, not only is your team weak to other Dragon Dance Gyarados, but Life Orb Starmie as well, who 2HKOs the entire team bare minimum. Scarf Rotom-H at least allows you to check it. While we're on Rotom-H, you could try running Hidden Power Ice over Shadow Ball. Now, why HP Ice when you have Heatran running it? I'll address that in a bit. I don't see what else you would need Shadow Ball for other than Gengar and Rotom-W when Scizor, at the very least, checks them. Heatran is a decent answer for every other common Rotom-A (Heat and Cut formes) in OU. Choice Scarf also gives you the option of outspeeding and crippling offensive Zapdos with Trick, who also destroys this team. I'd also consider running Explosion over HP Ice on Heatran, especially if you decide to run HP Ice on Rotom-H. Explosion gives you another weapon against Zapdos, even the SubRoost variant assuming you Taunt it on the switch-in. Explosion also generally can swing momentum back in your favor for an offensive team such as this.

Hope I helped out and good luck.

I changed Rotom to Choice Scarf, but I am a little hesitant on switching to HP Ice and Explosion. I do see the point, but I guess I need a little more especially since my Gyarados has ~89% chance to OHKO Starmie with a +1 Bounce