ORAS OU My First RMT ~ What should I fix?

[iMack]

I've tested this team for some time and after peaking at mid-1400 I went on a losing streak, so I would like to look into some of the team's flaws that I may have not noticed or corrected.

If there's anything horribly wrong with my team or any minor fixing it needs, please be honest and let me know. Thanks ^^

McRib (Venusaur-Mega) (F) @ Venusaurite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 148 Def / 4 SpA / 96 SpD / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
- Synthesis
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]

I've never used a Megasaur before, so I decided to try it out in my team. Here, I used a physically bulky spread to tank earthquakes and knock-offs, iron heads, drain punches, etc with relatively low damage. I put in 12 speed EVs just to speedcreep any noninvested base 80 speed mon. Originally, I used leech seed instead of HP fire, but I frequently got set up on by bisharps and scizors, so I slapped HP fire on there to avoid having a bad time. I also added SpD EVs for extra fat, so it can take a Washtom or Keld hit very well, as they are big threats to my team.

Marco (Keldeo-Resolute) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Scald
- Secret Sword

Keldeo was another mon I decided to try out, so I just used the standard Smogon set. After testing a bunch of other sets like scarf, specs, and life orb, I decided the sub-CM worked best for me because I could switch in on something obvious, get a free sub while my opponent switched out, and scald whatever physical mon necessary. Leftovers was used to get off more subs if I needed. Keldeo could also scare out Landos, Hippos, or Tyranitars that want to shoot entry hazards at my team and stick around because of their physical bulk.

Stalin (Tyranitar) (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Fire Blast

Seeing as both Megasaur and Keldeo get absolutely destroyed by Talonflame and all psychic mons, I snuck a Tyranitar on my team to switch in on brave birds/psychic anythings. I could dish out a stone edge/pursuit back, or switch in on a lati@s and pursuit. I put stealth rock on there instead of something like EQ or Crunch just to get fast rocks on obvious switchouts or if Tyranitar gets smacked a burn. Fire blast = ferro control.

Darude (Excadrill) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin

I needed a spinner on my team, so I picked excadrill, because 1) sand rush support from Tyranitar, and 2) it holds off pretty well on its own with its base 110 HP and base 135 Attack. I put 192 speed on there so I could outspeed non-nature boosted max speed Altarias/early Gardes that haven't mega'd yet, and it can NEARLY kill a dd Dragonite on sr damage; I have no fairies for dragon control and Gardevoir hits super effective with its STAB on three of my mons.

16 Piece Meal (Talonflame) (F) @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost

I wanted something with priority that can revenge/weaken anything that stole an opportunity to set up, so I chose talonflame because of its capability in terms of power and speed. I used an adamant set instead of jolly for more revenging power; I could deal with a jolly thundurus or jolly talon with my tyranitar/exca anyway. I'm using Roost rather than Tailwind or Will-o-Wisp so I can recover recoil damage when given the opportunity.

Sock Thief (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 240 HP / 92 Def / 168 SpD / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Thunder Wave

Lastly, I'm running a mixed bulk Rotom set that leads off pretty well for my team when it can. I added 8 speed just to speedcreep other Rotoms with no speed investment, and I put leftovers for a decent passive recovery. I tried using pain split instead of Twave, but I found that i could rarely get a successful PS off and take a hit afterwards; anything that I can't wisp, I can hit with Twave. I'm not actually too sure on the Twave, so if someone could convince me otherwise, I'd appreciate your advice.

 

[FakePhoenix]

bro i like how ur team looks. idk if ur gonna get to see this comment(bc iirc ur post might be rejected/closed by the smogon gods aka moderators and up), but if u do i think that ur team has problems with mega sableye. The sand plus mega venu's synthesis has bad synergy it seems. Scarf rocks might also be a reason for ur team's shortcomings.

 

[Albacore]

The Pokemon you chose here work fine together, however I think some of the sets could be improved a bit.

First of all, I would run Swords Dance over U-Turn on Talonflame. U-Turn isn't very useful on a Pokemon as weak to Stealth Rocks as Talonflame, and Swords Dance gives you a pretty good win condition, as well as a way to weaken physical walls like Hippowdon and Rotom for Excadrill to sweep and vice-versa. I don't think you're too weak to Sableye unlike the above poster since you do have Sub CM Keldeo which is a decent check, but running SD on Talonflame gives you a pretty good answer to it, only really fearing Foul Play sets which Keldeo easily sets up on.

Next, I would run an offensive spread on Venusaur. This may more be personal taste than anything, but this team seems rather offensiveand I think an offensive spread would fit more on a more offensively-inclined team like this. Plus, offensive Venusaur relies less on Synthesis and more on Giga Drain for recovery compared to defensive Venusaur, and the presence of Tyranitar on your team makes Synthesis unreliable.

I get the reasoning behind Leftovers on Excadrill, but it's not really worth it on such an offensive Pokemon. Air Baloon is a better item since it lets you beat Ground types like Landorus-T and opposing Excadrill much more easily. A Life Orb also works, giving Excadrill a ton of power especially when backed up by an Adamant nature. I would also just run max speed, since the additinal bulk doesn't really seem worth always losing to opposing Excadrills and being outsped by random Scarf Latis, but that's just a small detail and those extra EVs in speed will probably rarely matter anyway.

Finally, Stealth Rock on Scarf TTar kinda makes me cringe, being locked into Stealth Rock is pretty horrible and you should only put rocks on a Scarfer as a last resort. Two things you can do to this : You can run a defensive Tyranitar which provides more reliable sand thanks to Smooth Rock, however it's a less reliable Lati trapper,and increasing Sand turns could really backfire with Venusaur around (if you're really concerned about this you can run Leftovers on TTar). This, however, removes your ability to reliably trap Starmie who looks like a bit of a pain for your team otherwise.

Or, you could run a different Stealth Rock setter. Ultimately, Rotom-W overlaps a bit with TTar and Excadrill in what they check, both of them checking birds quite well, the exception being Sand Rush Excadrill and Water types. You could run Ferrothorn over Rotom-W, it's a pretty good answer to Water types and can put pressure off Venusaur who hates Scald. It does overlap a bit with Venusaur as a bulky Grass type, but they don't share any weaknesses so the synergy isn't bad. This makes you weaker to Fire types but you do already have 3 resists so it's not too big a deal. The main problem with this is that it makes you much weaker to opposing Keldeo, something which can be very annoying if it manages to burn Venusaur.

You could also run Stealth Rock Clefable if you're really concerned about Fighting types, it also acts as a decent check to Keldeo and likes sandstorm support. This makes very weak to opposing Sand Excadrills so be careful, if you do run it you 100% need Air Baloon on Excadrill as well as max Speed so make sure you do that.

Finally, if you do keep Rotom, I would make it make it physically defensive to take on Excadrill and Keldeo better.

sets

16 Piece Meal (Talonflame) (F) @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost

McRib (Venusaur-Mega) (F) @ Venusaurite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 232 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
- Synthesis
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Darude (Excadrill) (F) @ Air Baloon / Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin

Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock / Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Fire Blast

Stalin (Tyranitar) (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Fire Blast

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball / Power Whip
- Protect / Power Whip / Spikes

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast / Thunder Wave / Calm Mind / Heal Bell

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Thunder Wave

 

[Gimmick]

Hey iMack!

This is a really great team and beautifully written RMT! The team is solid, but like Albacore said, the sets could be better optimized for the make-up of your team. Firstly, I'm going to agree with Albacore here (again lol) and suggest changing Mega Venusaur to a more offensive spread to accompany the offensive nature of the team. It's a much better answer to TG + 3 Attacks Manaphy that could prove to be problematic for this team. The reason being that Venusaur is forced to go for Synthesis more often (which, in Sand, can disrupt your only answer to Manaphy) rather than heal more of its HP through Giga Drain. Offensive Venusaur can still blanket check the same things the defensive set can except now can actually provide a considerable amount of offensive pressure to mons that can threaten the rest of your team. Also, just a quick thing: change Keldeo's nature from Hasty to Timid. I assume you probably had Hasty because you clicked Sacred Sword in the teambuilder before and it just defaulted, lol. Been there done that.

Suggested Venusaur Set

Venusaur-Mega @ Venusaurite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 208 HP / 200 SpA / 100 Spe
Modest Nature
- Synthesis
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sludge Bomb

Set speed creeps Jolly Azumarill speed creepers--a big one being defensive Rotom-W. Good chance to OHKO Rotom-W with Giga Drain after SR + Sand.

Next, I noticed a pretty glaring weakness to Mega Alakazam, which outspeeds Scarftar, Traces Excadrill's Sand Rush, and threatens out and OHKOs/2HKOs your entire team. Talonflame is practically the only thing that can revenge kill it if it ends up tracing Sand Rush, but it's 4x weak to Rocks and pretty easy to wear down. Normally I wouldn't suggest changing an entire Pokemon for the sake of a relatively lowkey threat, but since Mega Alakazam sort of just... wins, I think improvements could be made. Rotom-W seems a bit odd on your team, since the Pokemon it tends to handle are already handled extremely well by the rest of your team. Pokemon like Azumarill, M-Pinsir, and Talonflame can be dealt with using M-Venusaur and ScarfTar already, so I suggest replacing Rotom-W with a SDef Skarmory. SDef Skarmory checks the other two main things that Rotom-W checks--Landorus-T and Excadrill--while also providing you with an excellent answer to M-Alakazam and other Psychic types. As an added benefit, it also functions as another excellent answer to strong Fairies, especially Mega Gardevoir who can otherwise run through your team if it's running dual STAB since it gets a free kill every time it comes in on Venu/Keldeo/Rotom-W. SDef Skarmory also provides Stealth Rock for your team so that TTar does not have to lock itself into SR to get them up. If you do decide to try out SDef Skarmory, I suggest replacing Stealth Rock with Superpower on TTar to help with Bisharp and Heatran which become a bit more problematic if Rotom-W becomes SDef Skarm and if Venu becomes offensive.

Suggested Skarmory Set

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Iron Head / Brave Bird

Iron Head is nice to hit Fairies like M-Diancie, Sylveon, Clefable, and M-Gardevoir a lot harder, but Brave Bird does more damage to M-Alakazam. Iron Head looks better on paper, but Brave Bird may be better in practice. Up to you!

Finally, I'd like to back up the last two things Albacore suggested, and that is giving Talonflame SD and Excadrill a Life Orb. Your team, despite being offensive in nature, has a hard time dishing out immediate and powerful damage to opposing teams, which probably makes it struggle a bit with Stall. Right now, the only thing stopping you from getting 6-0'd by Skarmory + Chansey alone is SubCM Keldeo, but Stall always has an answer to it. SD Talon + SubCM Keldeo is nightmarish for Stall and gives you a lot more offensive firepower as well as a second win condition vs more offensive teams. Since I suggested replacing Rotom-W with SDef Skarm, Talonflame no longer forms a VoltTurn core with Rotom-W, so I don't think you'd lose much by getting rid of U-turn. Excadrill equipped with a Life Orb is far more threatening since it actually gains a ton of potential OHKOs, like Keldeo after SR + Sand for example.

Good luck with the team - I really like it!

 

[AD impish john]

Solid team you have there I like it, but your movesets could have some changes.

Suggestions

Change T-Wave on Rotom-W to Pain Split to recover HP that you have lost from taking damage from the opponent.

I agree with Albacore with running Swords Dance over U-Turn on Talonflame as this will let you be able to potentially sweep the opponents team, with Flare Blitz and Brave Bird spam. I would recommend this EV Spread EVs: 76 HP / 252 Atk / 180 Spe with a Jolly Nature and this will let you outspeed Starmie and Raikou while having bulk to take on Mega Altaria. Another option which I use is Leftovers which tricks the opponent thinking I'm Sp Def Talon, but this not necessary on it.

Honestly just give Keldeo Timid Nature as Hasty will make it more vulnerable to Physical attacks. (Perhaps you gave it a Physical move, but forgot to change the Nature)

Excadrill plays its role fine but I just don't find it needing Leftovers. I would give it Air Balloon to resist the ground making you have one less weakness (until you get hit by an attack), or Life Orb which works well giving it powerful attacks with its Adamant Nature. I'm going to suggest Max Speed and Max Attack on Excadrill as the bulk isn't really necessary as you'll be slower to opposing Excadrill's and being outspeed by Scarf Lati's like Albacore said.

I think Support T-Tar would work better with your team, as you won't be choice locked into Stealth Rocks and the sandstorm will last longer if you give it a Smooth Rock.

I'm again going to agree with Albacore, your team is more of an offensive team so running the Offensive EV spread would be better in this case, as Offensive Venusaur recovers its HP by using Giga Drain and not Synthesis. EVs: 232 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe with a Modest Nature will give it a little boost of attack. I hoped I helped, have a nice day ^_^

Sets

Talonflame @ Sharpbeak/Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 76 HP / 252 Atk / 180 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
- Swords Dance
-

Darude (Excadrill) (F) @ Air Baloon / Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin

Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Ice Beam

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 232 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power Fire
- Synthesis

 

[zankiie]

Hi man i like your team, it's so cool but on rotom i definetly put pain split for more sustain or just put a scarf and run trick on him, you can outspeed other mons with the scarf and you can get a leftovers from another mon and making him useless.

Also you can run Sword Dance instead U-turn, like John said before, it's more usefull on a x4 dmg of stealth rocks pokemon.

I tried a scarf stealth rocks before and well i don't liked so much, but if it works for you it's cool :)

Well Have fun & keep climbing! (srry for my bad english xD) ;D