Introduction
It has been a while since I have written one of these and I feel like I have come a long way battling since I first joined this forum and reignited my love for Pokemon about a year ago. I wanted to post a team that I have recently made that has worked surprisingly well. Once again I am incorporating Lucario on my team as, although he is underrated, he has grown to be my favorite physical sweeper. The inspiration for this team came from wanting to combine the threat that is Lucario with the offensive core of Ttar and Keldeo. These two Pokemon have amazing synergy and work surprisingly well in taking out the Pokemon that hinder Lucario's ability to sweep. When combining all three together, I have found what is one of the funnest and most successful teams I have built to date.
Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
The first member of my offensive core. With a choice scarf, Tyranitar functions as both a decent revenge killer and a trapper. He is easily able to get rid of nuisances like Magic Bounce Espeon and Jellicent(although will-o-wisp can be troublesome at times) as well as threats such as Lati@s and Starmie by either hitting them with a super effective Crunch or trapping them with a super effective Pursuit. The beauty of scarf Tyranitar is that it can out speed none scarfed versions of Lati@s and Starmie which comes in handy when Tyranitar isn't able to tank his way through and incoming Draco Meteor or Hydro Pump. With a scarf Tyranitar is also able to revenge kill any non scarfed Pokemon with up to 115 base speed. This means threats like Terrakion and opposing Lucario are taken out with Superpower while threats like Volcarona are dispatch with Stone Edge. Another plus on having a Tyranitar is its ability to set up Sandstorm. This team is not a Sand Team by any means but having that option does come in handy. I usually don't care to much about the weather war but having the ability to change the weather does help steal momentum especially against threats such as Chlorophyll Venusaur or Dry Skin Toxicroak. The biggest threat to Tyranitar is Alakazam as he cannot out speed with a scarf and is easily KO'ed by Focus Blast. Faster scarfers also threaten it but locking themselves into one move makes them much easier to play around.
Keldeo-Resolute @ Expert Belt
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind
- Hidden Power [Bug]
Part two of my offensive core. Keldeo pairs so damn well with Tyranitar. Almost all of the Pokemon that threaten Keldeo are taken out by Tyranitar as many of them fear being Pursuit trapped. The only threat that remains is Toxicroak but he is handled by other members of my team. Tyranitar's Sandstream also helps in removing his Dry Skin heal. Hydro Pump is Keldeo's strongest STAB having excellent coverage and punishing opponents who want to set up rain. Secret Sword synergizes well with Keldeos water STAB as well as giving him the ability to hit on the physical side. It also makes short work of Ferrothorn, Chansey, and Blissey. Icy Wind helps in alleviating the pressure brought by many of Keldeo's counters such as Starmie and Lati@s. With some prediction the speed drop from Icy Winds allows Keldeo to out speed these Pokemon and KO them with HP Bug. I take HP Bug over Ghost primarily for Celebi. Celebi is the only Pokemon that can counter Keldeo and safely make it out of Tyranitar's Pursuit either through a predicted U-turn or Baton Pass. However having HP Bug on Keldeo quickly eliminates Celebi. Apart from Toxicroak, Jellicent and Gyarados are the only threats to this set. However Gyarados can be dealt with a multitude of ways while Jellicent is taken out by Tyranitar. As for item, I choose Expert Belt for its ability to boost power and bluff as choice set simultaneously adding some nice surprise factor.
Lucario @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- ExtremeSpeed
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
Lucario is by far, my favorite physical sweeper. The sheer power it possesses with Swords Dance is enough to OHKO Skarmory after Stealth Rocks. That is some power. On top of that having the best priority move in the game makes it extremely hard to revenge kill. STAB Close Combat is not something to take lightly, especially when boosted behind a 700 attack stat(After Swords Dance) and Life Orb. It has excellent coverage hitting many of the threatening steel types in OU like a truck, even those with out a Fighting weakness like Skarmory and Forretress. Extremespeed helps prevent Lucario from being revenge killed as well as helping him out speed faster threats like Lati@s and Garchomp. I choose Bullet Punch as my final move as the STAB bonus and priority helps me get pass Gengar and more importantly scarf Terrakion who can be a huge threat to this team. When Lucario is combined with the offensive core of Tyranitar and Keldeo its chances to sweep are significantly increased. Almost all major threats to Lucario are quickly taken care of by these two. Jellicent, who completely walls this set is taken out by Tyranitar. Walls such as Gliscor, Landorus-T and Hippowdon are taken care of by Keldeo. The list goes on. Once these threats have been eliminated it is as simple as bringing in Lucario on a none threatening Pokemon, Swords Dancing, and sweeping.
Skarmory @ Custap Berry
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Taunt
No hyper-offense team is without its entry hazards and I wanted someone who could reliably set them up early to apply pressure as fast as possible. Custap Skarmory first came to mind. It is the fastest user of both Spikes and Steath Rock in OU. When combined with Sturdy and Custap Berry, Skarmory can also be guaranteed Stealth Rock and at least one layer of Spikes. Taunt is there to prevent other Pokemon from setting up while Brave Bird gives a powerful STAB move in the case of faster taunters. Using Custap Brave Bird on an Infernape or Keldeo that brought you down to your sturdy also nets some nice surprise KO's. Faster taunters such as Terrakion are what gives this set the most trouble. However since this team isn't weak to Stealth Rocks, they can easily be played around even if they manage to set up.
Jellicent @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt
Jellicent's primary role on this team is its Utility. It is my go to to absorb hits since my Skarmory is not a defensive set. Jellicent also serves as a good counter to many rain threats such as enemy Keldeo who are walled if they do not carry HP Ghost/Electric, as well as many offensive threats such as Scizor and Heatran. Volcaronas without Giga Drain are also walled by this set. Scald provides a reliable STAB with a good 30% burn chance while Will-o-wisp give me a more reliable way of burning a Pokemon when need be such is the case with Scizor. Recover increase Jellicents survivability and help it burn stall effectively while Taunt gives a way to stop other Pokemon from setting up on it. Jellicent functions very well in absorbing hits that can damage many of my offensive Pokemon super effectively making him a very valuable member on my team. While it may be weird to have such a bulky Pokemon on a hyper-offense play style, having something to take blows when no one else wants to as well as having something burned significantly alleviates the pressure off of my more offensive Pokemon who want to net KO's.
Garchomp @ Yache Berry
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Swords Dance
The last Pokemon on my team had to be a reliable wall breaker that could function on its own if my offensive core failed. This slot was first given to Scizor as I am a big fan of priority moves. However I found out major problems with dealing with Toxicroak and Specially Defensive Jirachi. Garchomp solved both of those problems almost immediately as its STAB Earthquake easily took care of them. With a Swords Dance, Garchomp gets and even higher attack stat than Lucario allowing it to successfully break down walls such as Gliscor and Hippowdon for my true sweeper to finish the job. STAB Outrage and Earthquake synergize nicely making Garchomp a huge threat while Fire Fang helps get rid of many steels. Swords Dance is the key to wall breaking with Garchomp. As he is not my main sweeper I give him Yache Berry as it halves his most crippling weakness and can allow him to revenge kill many threats who think they can KO with an Ice type move.
NOTABLE THREATS
Alakazam
Since Tyranitar cannot out speed it, it can severely hurt my offensive core with good super effective coverage and STAB. Jellicent cannot tank its hits too well since it is more defensively oriented. Both Garchomp and Lucario can be potentially revenged killed by HP Ice or Focus Blast if its Focus Sash is still up. When dealing with Alakazam, I try to break its sash as soon as possible as that makes revenge killing it with Garchomp, who can tank atleast one HP Ice(Thanks to Yache Berry) or with Lucario's Extremespeed.
Breloom
I never liked Breloom but that does not mean he isn't a huge threat. The ability to put something to sleep almost always guarantees he will get a Swords Dance up. Mach Punch and Bullet Seed can easily KO both Tyranitar and Keldeo with proper prediction eliminating my offensive core. However Breloom is much easier to deal with than Alakazam in that it is slow. Garchcomp can tank atleast one of Brellom's moves and KO it with Outrage while Lucario can revenge kill it with Extremespeed. With a Swords Dance on Lucario, Breloom becomes a lot less of an issue but it can still be a threat early
Toxicroak
Toxicroak can single handedly shut down my offensive core. Garchomp can deal with it but it cannot reliably switch into an Ice Punch without losing a significant amount of health. If Garchomp is eliminated its becomes increase more threatening especially if the rain is up. However keeping Garchomp alive does keep it in check. Like Breloom,when Lucario gets a Swords Dance under its belt this threat is almost completely eliminated
Scarfers
Faster Scarfers can be trouble some and threaten my team depending on the circumstances. However Double Priority on Lucario as well as the fact that they are locked into a move make them much easier to deal with.
Conclusion
While this team has served me very well ever since I made it, there is always room for improvement. I find it difficult to replace any of these Pokemon because of how well they work together. However it is always much harder to criticize ones own work and I am very open to suggestion if major problem are found. Thanks for everything.
It has been a while since I have written one of these and I feel like I have come a long way battling since I first joined this forum and reignited my love for Pokemon about a year ago. I wanted to post a team that I have recently made that has worked surprisingly well. Once again I am incorporating Lucario on my team as, although he is underrated, he has grown to be my favorite physical sweeper. The inspiration for this team came from wanting to combine the threat that is Lucario with the offensive core of Ttar and Keldeo. These two Pokemon have amazing synergy and work surprisingly well in taking out the Pokemon that hinder Lucario's ability to sweep. When combining all three together, I have found what is one of the funnest and most successful teams I have built to date.
Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
The first member of my offensive core. With a choice scarf, Tyranitar functions as both a decent revenge killer and a trapper. He is easily able to get rid of nuisances like Magic Bounce Espeon and Jellicent(although will-o-wisp can be troublesome at times) as well as threats such as Lati@s and Starmie by either hitting them with a super effective Crunch or trapping them with a super effective Pursuit. The beauty of scarf Tyranitar is that it can out speed none scarfed versions of Lati@s and Starmie which comes in handy when Tyranitar isn't able to tank his way through and incoming Draco Meteor or Hydro Pump. With a scarf Tyranitar is also able to revenge kill any non scarfed Pokemon with up to 115 base speed. This means threats like Terrakion and opposing Lucario are taken out with Superpower while threats like Volcarona are dispatch with Stone Edge. Another plus on having a Tyranitar is its ability to set up Sandstorm. This team is not a Sand Team by any means but having that option does come in handy. I usually don't care to much about the weather war but having the ability to change the weather does help steal momentum especially against threats such as Chlorophyll Venusaur or Dry Skin Toxicroak. The biggest threat to Tyranitar is Alakazam as he cannot out speed with a scarf and is easily KO'ed by Focus Blast. Faster scarfers also threaten it but locking themselves into one move makes them much easier to play around.
Keldeo-Resolute @ Expert Belt
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind
- Hidden Power [Bug]
Part two of my offensive core. Keldeo pairs so damn well with Tyranitar. Almost all of the Pokemon that threaten Keldeo are taken out by Tyranitar as many of them fear being Pursuit trapped. The only threat that remains is Toxicroak but he is handled by other members of my team. Tyranitar's Sandstream also helps in removing his Dry Skin heal. Hydro Pump is Keldeo's strongest STAB having excellent coverage and punishing opponents who want to set up rain. Secret Sword synergizes well with Keldeos water STAB as well as giving him the ability to hit on the physical side. It also makes short work of Ferrothorn, Chansey, and Blissey. Icy Wind helps in alleviating the pressure brought by many of Keldeo's counters such as Starmie and Lati@s. With some prediction the speed drop from Icy Winds allows Keldeo to out speed these Pokemon and KO them with HP Bug. I take HP Bug over Ghost primarily for Celebi. Celebi is the only Pokemon that can counter Keldeo and safely make it out of Tyranitar's Pursuit either through a predicted U-turn or Baton Pass. However having HP Bug on Keldeo quickly eliminates Celebi. Apart from Toxicroak, Jellicent and Gyarados are the only threats to this set. However Gyarados can be dealt with a multitude of ways while Jellicent is taken out by Tyranitar. As for item, I choose Expert Belt for its ability to boost power and bluff as choice set simultaneously adding some nice surprise factor.
Lucario @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- ExtremeSpeed
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
Lucario is by far, my favorite physical sweeper. The sheer power it possesses with Swords Dance is enough to OHKO Skarmory after Stealth Rocks. That is some power. On top of that having the best priority move in the game makes it extremely hard to revenge kill. STAB Close Combat is not something to take lightly, especially when boosted behind a 700 attack stat(After Swords Dance) and Life Orb. It has excellent coverage hitting many of the threatening steel types in OU like a truck, even those with out a Fighting weakness like Skarmory and Forretress. Extremespeed helps prevent Lucario from being revenge killed as well as helping him out speed faster threats like Lati@s and Garchomp. I choose Bullet Punch as my final move as the STAB bonus and priority helps me get pass Gengar and more importantly scarf Terrakion who can be a huge threat to this team. When Lucario is combined with the offensive core of Tyranitar and Keldeo its chances to sweep are significantly increased. Almost all major threats to Lucario are quickly taken care of by these two. Jellicent, who completely walls this set is taken out by Tyranitar. Walls such as Gliscor, Landorus-T and Hippowdon are taken care of by Keldeo. The list goes on. Once these threats have been eliminated it is as simple as bringing in Lucario on a none threatening Pokemon, Swords Dancing, and sweeping.
Skarmory @ Custap Berry
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Taunt
No hyper-offense team is without its entry hazards and I wanted someone who could reliably set them up early to apply pressure as fast as possible. Custap Skarmory first came to mind. It is the fastest user of both Spikes and Steath Rock in OU. When combined with Sturdy and Custap Berry, Skarmory can also be guaranteed Stealth Rock and at least one layer of Spikes. Taunt is there to prevent other Pokemon from setting up while Brave Bird gives a powerful STAB move in the case of faster taunters. Using Custap Brave Bird on an Infernape or Keldeo that brought you down to your sturdy also nets some nice surprise KO's. Faster taunters such as Terrakion are what gives this set the most trouble. However since this team isn't weak to Stealth Rocks, they can easily be played around even if they manage to set up.
Jellicent @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt
Jellicent's primary role on this team is its Utility. It is my go to to absorb hits since my Skarmory is not a defensive set. Jellicent also serves as a good counter to many rain threats such as enemy Keldeo who are walled if they do not carry HP Ghost/Electric, as well as many offensive threats such as Scizor and Heatran. Volcaronas without Giga Drain are also walled by this set. Scald provides a reliable STAB with a good 30% burn chance while Will-o-wisp give me a more reliable way of burning a Pokemon when need be such is the case with Scizor. Recover increase Jellicents survivability and help it burn stall effectively while Taunt gives a way to stop other Pokemon from setting up on it. Jellicent functions very well in absorbing hits that can damage many of my offensive Pokemon super effectively making him a very valuable member on my team. While it may be weird to have such a bulky Pokemon on a hyper-offense play style, having something to take blows when no one else wants to as well as having something burned significantly alleviates the pressure off of my more offensive Pokemon who want to net KO's.
Garchomp @ Yache Berry
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Swords Dance
The last Pokemon on my team had to be a reliable wall breaker that could function on its own if my offensive core failed. This slot was first given to Scizor as I am a big fan of priority moves. However I found out major problems with dealing with Toxicroak and Specially Defensive Jirachi. Garchomp solved both of those problems almost immediately as its STAB Earthquake easily took care of them. With a Swords Dance, Garchomp gets and even higher attack stat than Lucario allowing it to successfully break down walls such as Gliscor and Hippowdon for my true sweeper to finish the job. STAB Outrage and Earthquake synergize nicely making Garchomp a huge threat while Fire Fang helps get rid of many steels. Swords Dance is the key to wall breaking with Garchomp. As he is not my main sweeper I give him Yache Berry as it halves his most crippling weakness and can allow him to revenge kill many threats who think they can KO with an Ice type move.
NOTABLE THREATS
Alakazam
Since Tyranitar cannot out speed it, it can severely hurt my offensive core with good super effective coverage and STAB. Jellicent cannot tank its hits too well since it is more defensively oriented. Both Garchomp and Lucario can be potentially revenged killed by HP Ice or Focus Blast if its Focus Sash is still up. When dealing with Alakazam, I try to break its sash as soon as possible as that makes revenge killing it with Garchomp, who can tank atleast one HP Ice(Thanks to Yache Berry) or with Lucario's Extremespeed.
Breloom
I never liked Breloom but that does not mean he isn't a huge threat. The ability to put something to sleep almost always guarantees he will get a Swords Dance up. Mach Punch and Bullet Seed can easily KO both Tyranitar and Keldeo with proper prediction eliminating my offensive core. However Breloom is much easier to deal with than Alakazam in that it is slow. Garchcomp can tank atleast one of Brellom's moves and KO it with Outrage while Lucario can revenge kill it with Extremespeed. With a Swords Dance on Lucario, Breloom becomes a lot less of an issue but it can still be a threat early
Toxicroak
Toxicroak can single handedly shut down my offensive core. Garchomp can deal with it but it cannot reliably switch into an Ice Punch without losing a significant amount of health. If Garchomp is eliminated its becomes increase more threatening especially if the rain is up. However keeping Garchomp alive does keep it in check. Like Breloom,when Lucario gets a Swords Dance under its belt this threat is almost completely eliminated
Scarfers
Faster Scarfers can be trouble some and threaten my team depending on the circumstances. However Double Priority on Lucario as well as the fact that they are locked into a move make them much easier to deal with.
Conclusion
While this team has served me very well ever since I made it, there is always room for improvement. I find it difficult to replace any of these Pokemon because of how well they work together. However it is always much harder to criticize ones own work and I am very open to suggestion if major problem are found. Thanks for everything.
