correct sand force with sheer force brah :)
Slowbros aren't that common though. If you focus on slowbro, you might lose to more used things like hippowdon. Breloom should be a good member instead of Hydreigon. Breloom can take out at least one pokemon with spore and another with focus punch/bullet seed.252SpAtk Life Orb Hydreigon (+SAtk) Draco Meteor vs 252HP/252SpDef Hippowdon (Neutral): 73% - 86% (307 - 364 HP). Guaranteed 2HKO.
Slack Off etc. Also, I don't see how Hydreigon is attracting Mence's and Luke's checks and counters since it hits on the special side while they both hit on the physical side. Do you really think your opponent will send in slowbro against hydreigon ?
You forget that toxicroak will recover 12,5% from rain dish (assuming that you and your opponents both play rain team), so Empoleon doesn't 2KHO him with ice beam. I think that toxicroak beats that core, but I never saw that case happened in battle, so maybe not.Swords Dance Toxicroak, while it may seem like a great Empoleon counter, is 2HKOed at worst by Ice Beam before a boost, and is maimed by Thundurus-T and Heracross. Bulkier variants are 3HKOed before the boost and 2HKOed after.
I really like this core of Empoleon and Thundurus-T. It reminds me of the Empoleon/Zapdos core that received a lot of hype in UU.Here's yet another core that I've had immense success with in OU.
Heracross @ Choice Band | Guts
Adamant | 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Close Combat | Megahorn | Pursuit | Sleep Talk
Thundurus-Therian @ Yache Berry | Volt Absorb
Timid | 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe | 2 Atk / 30 Def
Thunder[bolt] | Hidden Power | Grass Knot | Volt Switch
Empoleon @ Petaya Berry | Torrent
Modest | 76 HP / 252 SpA / 12 SpD / 168 Spe | 0 Atk
Substitute | Agility | Surf | Ice Beam
This trio, while somewhat unconventional, focuses upon breaking apart the Pokemon that prevent Empoleon from sweeping, namely Gastrodon, Vaporeon, Celebi, Breloom, and Ferrothorn. The standard Celebi typically is the slow specially defensive variant, so Heracross can come in and pretend it's a Scarf set, scaring it out with the threat of a quick Megahorn, only to hit it with a powerful Pursuit. Heracross and Thundurus-T resist Breloom's STABs, and they can both force Breloom out with the threat of powerful and / or super-effective moves. Heracross in particular outspeeds all variants of Breloom (except for Scarfed Breloom, but who uses that?) and can exploit Breloom's tendency to Spore stuff to get a Guts boost. With a Guts boost, it can hit even harder than it usually does, 3HKOing notable resists like Landorus-T, Gliscor, and Gyarados (after SR, of course) with Close Combat and Megahorn, moves that all 3 of them resist. Thundurus-T needs nearly no explanation. Grass Knot is run over Focus Blast because Ferrothorn, the only notable target for Focus Blast, has unreliable recovery and is 2HKOed by Megahorn and OHKOed by Close Combat. Gastrodon, while uncommon, also likes switching into Thundurus-T, only to get 2HKOed by Grass Knot. All this is just to prep the carpet for Empoleon, which can run through teams almost effortlessly once those 5 Pokemon are gone. Swords Dance Toxicroak, while it may seem like a great Empoleon counter, is 2HKOed at worst by Ice Beam before a boost, and is maimed by Thundurus-T and Heracross. Bulkier variants are 3HKOed before the boost and 2HKOed after. To quote Gimmick, "[Jimbon and I] found an EV spread that maximized its bulk but allowed it to outspeed basically everything relevant. 76 HP / 252 SAtk / 12 SDef / 168 Spd does just that and still allows you to activate the Petaya Berry after only 3 Subs."
In terms of additional teammates, rain support from Politoed is always good. The rain reduces Heracross' Fire weakness, allows Thundurus-T to use Thunder instead of Thunderbolt, and ramps up Empoleon's power to nearly unmatched levels of intensity. Problem Pokemon include SubSD Terrakion and Scarf Keldeo. The former can set up on Heracross locked into Pursuit and start tearing the team apart from there, while the latter is faster than Empoleon even after an Agility.
I'd write more on this core, but I'm a bit tired, and my RMT that features this core, which can be accessed by clicking on the Unown in my sig, explains this in more detail.
252+ SpA Empoleon Ice Beam vs. 244 HP / 0 SpD Toxicroak: 145-171 (39.4 - 46.46%) -- 49.39% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock and weatherYou forget that toxicroak will recover 12,5% from rain dish (assuming that you and your opponents both play rain team), so Empoleon doesn't 2KHO him with ice beam. I think that toxicroak beats that core, but I never saw that case happened in battle, so maybe not.
forget cbtar 4 a second. sandorus BLOWS APART keldeos counters. keldeo BLOWS APART sandorus' counters. so cbtar isnt needed for sandorus+keldeo.Of course, you've got to talk about Tyranitar/Landorus/Keldeo anytime you mention two of them. Choice Band Tyranitar just eats up all of special Landorus and Keldeo's counters with so little effort. Meanwhile, Landorus and Keldeo just overload each other's similar checks to the point where they aren't capable of checking you anymore.
I get it, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (Because you won't know what Mew is running) :P I applaud thee.Alright guys I need your help:
Lucario (M)
@ Life Orb
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Close Combat
- ExtremeSpeed
- Swords Dance
Mew @
Life Orb
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Aura Sphere
- Flamethrower
- Psyshock
I want to build a team around these two, but am need of teammate ideas.What do you all think would work best? I was honestly thinking of Air Balloon Heatran coupled with a Rotom-W. That way all Fire, Bug, Ground, Fighting, Dark, and Grass weaknesses are covered. Not to mention none of this take major stealth rock damages.
WW------>BB on skarmory,to hit the opponent and choice scarf with destiny bond Gengar, to Outplay Starmie that can spin easily[pimg]227[/pimg]
Skarmory @ Custap Berry
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Taunt
[pimg]94[/pimg]
Gengar @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Disable
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
This core is very effective at setting up entry hazards and spinblocking. Skarmory is meant to be lead, setting up as many hazards as possible. Gengar is the best offensive partner because it can spinblock and obtain many 2HKOs with the entry hazards. This core is only meant to setup hazards and keep them on the field, so the rest of the team should be powerful attacks and speedy threats. This core can pressure the opponents team greatly.
I really like this core, I've run it a lot before. Just a question: On Celebi, wouldn't you rather run Baton Pass? Nowadays, CB Ttar is absolutely all over the place, especially paired with Landorus or Keldeo. Celebi barely does damage when using U-turn, and Baton Pass allows it to escape Pursuiting to another pokemon. Personally, that's the move I use, but I think the argument for it can go either way.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 220 SDef / 36 Spd
Gentle Nature
- Stealth Rocks
- U-turn
- Psychic
- Recover
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Ice Punch
- Trick
Pretty standard core I think but I've been using it a lot recently and wanted to share it in case anyone doesn't know it yet :) The core is a nice balance between offensive and defensive, Celebi being the primary defense and Jirachi being the primary offense, and both share great synergy. The dual use of U-Turn is awesome as they usually have no problems U-Turning back and forth on their respective switch-ins. Celebi also sets up the rocks that are huge on any U-Turning combo as you'll be forcing switches left and right and can rack up some impressive hazards damage.
Honestly try it out, this pair is extraordinarily solid and are very easy to build around. I have multiple teams at the moment that utilize these two 'mons. They work especially well on Rain teams where their shared Fire-type weakness is nullified.