Well hello again! This team is based around Kingdra, my favorite 2nd Gen Pokemon. He is underrated, but with team support, he can shine to fame. Without further ado, here's the team!
Big Tusks the Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Moves:
Ice Shard
Icicle Crash
Earthquake
Stone Edge
He is back again! With a massive Attack stat, no wonder he is such a behemoth. Ice Shard really helps revenge kill Dragons, OHKOing a vast majority of them besides Kingdra (more common than other UU Dragons) and Dragonite. Against Dragonite, it 2HKOes through Multiscale, but OHKOes after Stealth Rock damage. I've had situations where they switched in Dragonite thinking I was Choice locked into Earthquake, and were quickly 2HKOed. Not only is Ice Shard useful for revenge killing Dragons, but it also revenge kills other threats, such as Adamant Breloom if I win the speed tie, Venusaur, and Landorus. Icicle Crash is the main ice STAB; it lets Mamoswine OHKO Gliscor after Stealth Rock damage. Earthquake and Stone Edge form the EdgeQuake combo, hitting almost all OU threats for neutral damage. Stone Edge will almost always OHKO Gyarados after Stealth Rock damage. Max Attack and Speed allows him to hit as hard and as fast as he possibly can. After testing Mamoswine out, I went with Expert Belt instead of Life Orb (which he suggested) as it has been helping me predict my opponent, since they expect Mamoswine to be wielding a Choice Band (not Life Orbed). For example, I used Earthquake on a Pokemon and KOed it. Thinking that I was locked into Earthquake, they sent in Gliscor, who I promptly OHKOed with Icicle Crash after SR damage. Plus, I hate being locked into one move if I can help it.
This spot used to be occupied by Magnezone, but after playing more matches with this team, more often than not, Dragon types have not been reliably dealt with by Kingdra, Gyarados (only Flying Dragons), and Latios. Mamoswine almost always keeps them at bay or outright KOes them after SR and/or prior damage with Ice Shard. Ultimately, in my experience with this team, Dragons, more often than not, have been more of a nuisance to my team than Steel types. Latios has been doing great so far against against Steel types with Hidden Power Ice. However, as soon as I find Steel types more trouble than they are now, I will go back to Magnezone, so think of him as "in reserve".
Synergy:
Gyarados takes the Steel, Fire, Water, and Fighting attacks for him while he takes the Electric attacks aimed at Gyarados. Same with Kingdra except for Fighting.
Synergy:
Breloom and him have great defensive synergy, as they resist attacks the other is weak to.
The Fist the Breloom @ Lum Berry
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Moves:
Spore
Bullet Seed
Mach Punch
Swords Dance
Breloom is quite the fighter, sporting an awesome 125 Atk stat with a great ability, Technician, and a great STAB Priority Technician move, Mach Punch. Speaking of Mach Punch, it is the move I spam the most and is the most powerful single attack move on this set. Even without an SD boost, Mach Punch will OHKO Tyranitar 87.5% of the time. I could use Life Orb to guarantee that OHKO, but I almost always have SR on the field, and I never lead with TechniLoom anyway. The combination of Swords Dance and Mach Punch dents even Pokemon that resist him. Bullet Seed punishes bulky Water types. This Breloom doesn't really aim to take down any specific threat. It is mainly for damaging whatever it can so my other sweepers to finish off. I chose Lum Berry over Life Orb as I like the assurance against status inducers.
Synergy:
Kingdra - .25x Fire
Rampage the Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Moxie
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 56 HP / 248 Atk / 204 Spe
Moves:
Substitute
Dragon Dance
Waterfall
Stone Edge
Meet Gyarados, who has been putting fear in the hearts of many since Gen 1. I chose SubstituteGyara so he doesn’t get cripple by statuses. He is usually my lead if I suspect the opponent is going to lead with a Dual Screener like Espeon or Azelf, allowing me an opportunity to set up Dragon Dances. Substitute allows me to successfully pull of a Dragon Dance on a switch-in as well. Waterfall is his only STAB and has a handy flinch rate. Stone Edge hits Water types and Dragons that have a Rock weakness/neutrality, such as Salamence, Dragonite, and opposing Kingdra. 108 Speed EVs allows him to outpace anything slower than, and including, Starmie; meaning (just an example), Tornadus isn’t safe to spam Hurricane to confuse me. I haven't really been seeing the benefits of Intimidate, so I swapped it for Moxie, which has really helped in his sweeping potential. Sometimes, I can get 3 Dragon Dances off, OHKO a Pokemon, get a Moxie boost, and then OHKO even an Intimidate Salamence with Waterfall after Stealth Rock damage.
Synergy:
Mamoswine: Electric (x0), Rock (x1)
Gyarados: Fire, Fighting, Steel, Water (.5x)
Spiks the Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Nature: Relaxed
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Moves:
Power Whip
Gyro Ball
Stealth Rock
Leech Seed
After testing my team, I agreed with Shurtugal. I found out that Rain Teams give me trouble, especially Specs Keldeo, and also Latios. For those reasons, Forretress had to go. He wasn't really providing much to the team besides Rapid Spin, but even that wasn't really needed since I only had one Pokemon weak to it. With that being said, say a hardy hello to Ferrothorn. Stealth Rock is needed on every team and mine is no exception. I would use Spikes over one of my attacking moves, but that has two problems; one, without Gyro Ball, he is helpless against a majority of OU Dragons, and two, without Power Whip, Bulky Water types such as Vaporeon and Gastrodon hard wall him, healing off the Leech Seed damage with Wish and Recover, respectively. Power Whip also helps against Ground types such as Mamoswine without Superpower. Gyro Ball always OHKOes Gengar while his Focus Blast doesn't even OHKO unless there is both SR and Spikes on my side of the field. Leech Seed allows me to stall out some Pokemon and prevent set up sweepers like Dragonite from setting up Dragon Dance or Latias from setting up Calm Minds. 0 Speed IVs are here so I can guarantee that OHKO on Gengar because if I had 31 Spe IVs and an Impish nature, it would only manage 63.36% - 74.81%.
The Jet Airline the Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Moves:
Draco Meteor
Hidden Power Fire
Trick
Surf
Meet my Revenge Killer, ScarfTios. Draco Meteor is the most powerful move on this set, as it can dent even Pokemon that resist it, while decimating almost everything else minus a few, such as Specially Defensive Tyranitar. I tested out Hidden Power Fire over Dragon Pulse, and although a reliable STAB Dragon move was useful, I just found Hidden Power Fire too valuable to give up, because with Magnezone gone, Steel types are rampant through my team, and I need a way to get rid of them. Latios has been doing good so far in that regard. Surf, although it won't KO Tyranitar, will weaken it enough so that Kingdra can finish them off. Psyshock, unfortunately, does not OHKO Keldeo and Terrakion, but even though it weakens them into KO range for my other Pokemon to finish off, I decided to just use Breloom to Revenge Kill the latter while Kingdra can take care of the former. In place of Psyshock, I have been using Trick, which helps cripple walls and setup sweepers alike. Max Special Attack is a given, due to how Latios's stats are set up. With max Speed and a Choice Scarf attached, he reaches a breakneck 525 Speed, meaning he outspeeds Modest Venusaur in the sun and OHKOes with Hidden Power Fire, and +2 Adamant Gyarados/Dragonite and 2HKOes with Draco Meteor.
Synergy:
Forretress - .25x Bug, .5x Ghost, .5x Dark, .5x Ice
King the Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
Nature: Modest
EVs: 40 HP / 240 SpA / 228 Spe
Moves:
Draco Meteor
Hydro Pump
Rain Dance
Surf
Meet RainDra, the superstar of the team, one of the most potent sweepers in OU under the rain, and my favorite 2nd Gen Pokemon. This thing is also quite bulky. I’ll start with the EVs first. 228 Speed allows him to outspeed Scarfed Latios and OHKO with Draco Meteor under Rain. 40 HP EVs allows him an optimal number for taking Life Orb and entry hazard damage. Hydro Pump can OHKO and 2HKO many Pokemon under rain. After SR and a layer of Spikes, even Ferrothorn is 2HKOed by Hydro Pump under the Rain. Latios is always 2HKOed with Hydro Pump in the rain while Latias is 2HKOed with a combination of Hydro Pump and Draco Meteor (in that order). Rain Dance is the reason he is so threatening with his Water STAB. It also boosts his Speed to new heights, meaning only Scarf users with base 115+ Speed wielding a Choice Scarf outspeed him. Surf might be crazy when Hydro Pump exists on this set, but on Gliscor, I cannot afford to miss with Hydro Pump and allow him to set up a Sub or Toxic poison me. Surf also lets me sweep late-game. Life Orb is the item of choice, as without it, unlike in Mamoswine's case, I lose out on the KOes against Lati@s.
Synergy:
none
Note: The lack of a Steel type is a downside, but so far, I have yet to have a problem with them.
Here's my team. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Team Building section soon to come. Thanks!
Big Tusks the Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Moves:
Ice Shard
Icicle Crash
Earthquake
Stone Edge
He is back again! With a massive Attack stat, no wonder he is such a behemoth. Ice Shard really helps revenge kill Dragons, OHKOing a vast majority of them besides Kingdra (more common than other UU Dragons) and Dragonite. Against Dragonite, it 2HKOes through Multiscale, but OHKOes after Stealth Rock damage. I've had situations where they switched in Dragonite thinking I was Choice locked into Earthquake, and were quickly 2HKOed. Not only is Ice Shard useful for revenge killing Dragons, but it also revenge kills other threats, such as Adamant Breloom if I win the speed tie, Venusaur, and Landorus. Icicle Crash is the main ice STAB; it lets Mamoswine OHKO Gliscor after Stealth Rock damage. Earthquake and Stone Edge form the EdgeQuake combo, hitting almost all OU threats for neutral damage. Stone Edge will almost always OHKO Gyarados after Stealth Rock damage. Max Attack and Speed allows him to hit as hard and as fast as he possibly can. After testing Mamoswine out, I went with Expert Belt instead of Life Orb (which he suggested) as it has been helping me predict my opponent, since they expect Mamoswine to be wielding a Choice Band (not Life Orbed). For example, I used Earthquake on a Pokemon and KOed it. Thinking that I was locked into Earthquake, they sent in Gliscor, who I promptly OHKOed with Icicle Crash after SR damage. Plus, I hate being locked into one move if I can help it.
This spot used to be occupied by Magnezone, but after playing more matches with this team, more often than not, Dragon types have not been reliably dealt with by Kingdra, Gyarados (only Flying Dragons), and Latios. Mamoswine almost always keeps them at bay or outright KOes them after SR and/or prior damage with Ice Shard. Ultimately, in my experience with this team, Dragons, more often than not, have been more of a nuisance to my team than Steel types. Latios has been doing great so far against against Steel types with Hidden Power Ice. However, as soon as I find Steel types more trouble than they are now, I will go back to Magnezone, so think of him as "in reserve".
Synergy:
Gyarados takes the Steel, Fire, Water, and Fighting attacks for him while he takes the Electric attacks aimed at Gyarados. Same with Kingdra except for Fighting.
Synergy:
Breloom and him have great defensive synergy, as they resist attacks the other is weak to.
The Fist the Breloom @ Lum Berry
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Moves:
Spore
Bullet Seed
Mach Punch
Swords Dance
Breloom is quite the fighter, sporting an awesome 125 Atk stat with a great ability, Technician, and a great STAB Priority Technician move, Mach Punch. Speaking of Mach Punch, it is the move I spam the most and is the most powerful single attack move on this set. Even without an SD boost, Mach Punch will OHKO Tyranitar 87.5% of the time. I could use Life Orb to guarantee that OHKO, but I almost always have SR on the field, and I never lead with TechniLoom anyway. The combination of Swords Dance and Mach Punch dents even Pokemon that resist him. Bullet Seed punishes bulky Water types. This Breloom doesn't really aim to take down any specific threat. It is mainly for damaging whatever it can so my other sweepers to finish off. I chose Lum Berry over Life Orb as I like the assurance against status inducers.
Synergy:
Kingdra - .25x Fire
Rampage the Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Moxie
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 56 HP / 248 Atk / 204 Spe
Moves:
Substitute
Dragon Dance
Waterfall
Stone Edge
Meet Gyarados, who has been putting fear in the hearts of many since Gen 1. I chose SubstituteGyara so he doesn’t get cripple by statuses. He is usually my lead if I suspect the opponent is going to lead with a Dual Screener like Espeon or Azelf, allowing me an opportunity to set up Dragon Dances. Substitute allows me to successfully pull of a Dragon Dance on a switch-in as well. Waterfall is his only STAB and has a handy flinch rate. Stone Edge hits Water types and Dragons that have a Rock weakness/neutrality, such as Salamence, Dragonite, and opposing Kingdra. 108 Speed EVs allows him to outpace anything slower than, and including, Starmie; meaning (just an example), Tornadus isn’t safe to spam Hurricane to confuse me. I haven't really been seeing the benefits of Intimidate, so I swapped it for Moxie, which has really helped in his sweeping potential. Sometimes, I can get 3 Dragon Dances off, OHKO a Pokemon, get a Moxie boost, and then OHKO even an Intimidate Salamence with Waterfall after Stealth Rock damage.
Synergy:
Mamoswine: Electric (x0), Rock (x1)
Gyarados: Fire, Fighting, Steel, Water (.5x)
Spiks the Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Nature: Relaxed
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Moves:
Power Whip
Gyro Ball
Stealth Rock
Leech Seed
After testing my team, I agreed with Shurtugal. I found out that Rain Teams give me trouble, especially Specs Keldeo, and also Latios. For those reasons, Forretress had to go. He wasn't really providing much to the team besides Rapid Spin, but even that wasn't really needed since I only had one Pokemon weak to it. With that being said, say a hardy hello to Ferrothorn. Stealth Rock is needed on every team and mine is no exception. I would use Spikes over one of my attacking moves, but that has two problems; one, without Gyro Ball, he is helpless against a majority of OU Dragons, and two, without Power Whip, Bulky Water types such as Vaporeon and Gastrodon hard wall him, healing off the Leech Seed damage with Wish and Recover, respectively. Power Whip also helps against Ground types such as Mamoswine without Superpower. Gyro Ball always OHKOes Gengar while his Focus Blast doesn't even OHKO unless there is both SR and Spikes on my side of the field. Leech Seed allows me to stall out some Pokemon and prevent set up sweepers like Dragonite from setting up Dragon Dance or Latias from setting up Calm Minds. 0 Speed IVs are here so I can guarantee that OHKO on Gengar because if I had 31 Spe IVs and an Impish nature, it would only manage 63.36% - 74.81%.
The Jet Airline the Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Moves:
Draco Meteor
Hidden Power Fire
Trick
Surf
Meet my Revenge Killer, ScarfTios. Draco Meteor is the most powerful move on this set, as it can dent even Pokemon that resist it, while decimating almost everything else minus a few, such as Specially Defensive Tyranitar. I tested out Hidden Power Fire over Dragon Pulse, and although a reliable STAB Dragon move was useful, I just found Hidden Power Fire too valuable to give up, because with Magnezone gone, Steel types are rampant through my team, and I need a way to get rid of them. Latios has been doing good so far in that regard. Surf, although it won't KO Tyranitar, will weaken it enough so that Kingdra can finish them off. Psyshock, unfortunately, does not OHKO Keldeo and Terrakion, but even though it weakens them into KO range for my other Pokemon to finish off, I decided to just use Breloom to Revenge Kill the latter while Kingdra can take care of the former. In place of Psyshock, I have been using Trick, which helps cripple walls and setup sweepers alike. Max Special Attack is a given, due to how Latios's stats are set up. With max Speed and a Choice Scarf attached, he reaches a breakneck 525 Speed, meaning he outspeeds Modest Venusaur in the sun and OHKOes with Hidden Power Fire, and +2 Adamant Gyarados/Dragonite and 2HKOes with Draco Meteor.
Synergy:
Forretress - .25x Bug, .5x Ghost, .5x Dark, .5x Ice
King the Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
Nature: Modest
EVs: 40 HP / 240 SpA / 228 Spe
Moves:
Draco Meteor
Hydro Pump
Rain Dance
Surf
Meet RainDra, the superstar of the team, one of the most potent sweepers in OU under the rain, and my favorite 2nd Gen Pokemon. This thing is also quite bulky. I’ll start with the EVs first. 228 Speed allows him to outspeed Scarfed Latios and OHKO with Draco Meteor under Rain. 40 HP EVs allows him an optimal number for taking Life Orb and entry hazard damage. Hydro Pump can OHKO and 2HKO many Pokemon under rain. After SR and a layer of Spikes, even Ferrothorn is 2HKOed by Hydro Pump under the Rain. Latios is always 2HKOed with Hydro Pump in the rain while Latias is 2HKOed with a combination of Hydro Pump and Draco Meteor (in that order). Rain Dance is the reason he is so threatening with his Water STAB. It also boosts his Speed to new heights, meaning only Scarf users with base 115+ Speed wielding a Choice Scarf outspeed him. Surf might be crazy when Hydro Pump exists on this set, but on Gliscor, I cannot afford to miss with Hydro Pump and allow him to set up a Sub or Toxic poison me. Surf also lets me sweep late-game. Life Orb is the item of choice, as without it, unlike in Mamoswine's case, I lose out on the KOes against Lati@s.
Synergy:
none
Note: The lack of a Steel type is a downside, but so far, I have yet to have a problem with them.
Here's my team. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Team Building section soon to come. Thanks!