OU Team please rate and recommend any changes!

[Sphyxius]

So this is my team. I'm in the top 100 pages on the smogon PO ladder with it, out of 500 something I think. Not sure how good it is but hopefully people can provide some suggestions to make it better :)

I'm not sure how you'd categorize this team, it has a little bit of stall, a little bit of support, and a good bit of boosting offense. For those of you who can't be bothered with the tl;dr in depth descriptions below, the gist of it is this:

Most of my wins come from a Volcarona sweep, someone ragequitting against Dragonite, and occasionally a late-game sweep from Azumarill or Terrakion, hopefully having been passed some boosts from Gliscor. Espeon sets up screens repeatedly throughout the battle if possible and reflects any dirty attempts to screw up my team, Volcarona sets up and sweeps shit, Dragonite spreads paralysis, phazes, walls, and scouts, Terrakion is the revenge killer, Azumarill a CBer, and Gliscor is another wall for absorbing status, and building up boosts to pass to the others.

*****

Espeon (M) @ Light Clay
Trait: Magic Mirror
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Def / 240 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Psycho Shock
- Shadow Ball

I set out to base a team around Volcarona as its my favorite gen 5 mon. So Espeon was a no-brainer. I don't even know how common SR or entry hazards are anymore because most leads don't dare use them on me, although some have goofed and forgotten. Needless to say I set up screens and then bail assuming I'm not up against something that is weak to Psychic or Ghost. I've been able to bring Espy back in many a time to reset the screens, and generally it doesn't even lose half its health before the screens are up. The EVs are to outspeed max speed 108's, whilst giving a pinch of physical bulk. I always use reflect first to cushion physical blows due to Espy's crap Defense, unless I'm up against something like Gengar or something.

Volcarona (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 100 Def / 160 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Butterfly Dance
- Flame Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Electric]

The star of the team. This is one of the 3 mons I switch to after Espy sets up the screens. Back when the 5th gen meta was starting I toyed around with HP Rock/Ground, I've found HP Electric to be far more effective as it still gets neutral hits on the vast majority of opponents HP Rock and Ground are meant to hit, such as Terrakion and Heatran, whilst getting much greater neutral coverage and nuking bulky waters and flyers who have STABs I'm actually weak to. I run Flame Dance over Fire Blast as after a boost it has equal power and better PP/accuracy, and it only gets stronger. Plus there are times (albeit rare) that I don't find time for BD. I don't use Morning Sun because frankly I almost never need it (leftovers recover off the vast majority of damage I receive and any time I find myself in a situation where I wish I had Morning Sun I'd be OHKO'd anyway) and this team is designed to not require sun. The bulky spread is insanely helpful; I almost always get one BD off and there have been multiple occasions where my opponent has let me get 4 or 5. The EVs are for bulk, I use 248 HP in case I need to switch into SR twice (tho I never have) and the speed puts me ahead of Excadrill after two BDs.

Dragonite (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Multi-Scale
EVs: 244 HP / 96 Def / 156 SDef / 12 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Dragon Tail
- Roost
- Thunder Wave
- Substitute

This is the team troll and the reason people seem to love ragequitting on me. I T-wave them if they are boosting or moderately threatening, or Dragon Tail them immediately if I'm up against something immune to T-wave, otherwise I set up Sub first. Then I T-wave them and if the sub is still up I Dragon Tail them, Roost, and then Sub again if its been broken; if not I T-wave the switch-in. Then rinse and repeat. I try to sub/roost-stall until they are fully paralyzed before I Dragon Tail them so I can have a sub up against whatever comes out and then T-wave them without worry. Basically I paralyze half the team, shuffle 'em, and keep healing/subbing in between. If screens are still up even Ice moves are a joke, and I usually Roost when I'm predicting one, which always works because my opponent is paralyzed by then most of the time. This guy is ridiculous and pisses a lot of people off. By the time he's KO'ed if that ever happens, I usually have paralysis and/or damage on almost all of my opponent's team. The EVs are to give the highest equal bulk in both defenses. If Light Screen is up I regularly survive Ice Beams from things like Starmie.

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- X-Scissor
- Rock Slide

Terrakion is my Scarfer. Most of my team lacks immediate speed and that's where Terrakion comes in. If I'm up against something I can't sweep with Volcarona, disable with Dragonite, or wall with Gliscor, this is usually who I go to, especially if they're fast. And of course he's a potent revenge killer.

Azumarill (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Huge Power
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Def / 84 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Superpower
- Aqua Jet
- Ice Punch
- Waterfall

Azumarill is my Banded team member, and exists solely for Water and Ice coverage, priority, and to just hit shit stupid-hard. I split all of its non-attack EVs equally in its defenses and its pretty bulky especially when screens are up.

Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance
- Baton Pass

Gliscor is mostly another support pokemon/wall. I've EVed him to be ridiculously hard to take down, and with Light Screen up, like Dnite, he survives his fair share of Ice attacks. When I switch in Gliscor I use SD or RP, rinse and repeat depending on what my opponent is doing. If its something I can kill with EQ I'll usually go ahead and do it if they aren't switching as I boost, if not I'll just keep boosting. If they bring in a counter I baton pass to one of my Choice pokemon. Aside from walling duties, this is his main purpose, to BP +2 boosts to Terrakion/Azumarill. I almost never bring the latter two out if I know I can bring out Gliscor first and beef them up, and if either of them gets +2/+2 its GG. The other 3 pokemon on my team are pretty autonomous so Gliscor exists mostly for Terrakion and Azumarill, so that even though they are choiced, if I get them their boosts they rarely have to switch out.

*****

So thats it. Give me your suggestions and constructive criticism and if you can think of any. Also, recommendations for what to do when Espeon has to switch out prematurely giving my opponent a window to set up entry hazards. This has been very annoying...

 

[Minacciosa]

For Epsy, it wants max speed rather than those few Def Evs, as base110 speeds are always Timid/Jolly and you will never be able to set up screens or KO on Gengar / Lati@s / Frosslass without it. Without any Sp.Attack Evs, Espy can still hit pretty hard, but since Psycho Shock is primarily for Special Walls, you won’t really be denting them much anyway which makes Psychic generally better. If you chose not to run max speed, consider replacing Shadow Ball with HP Fighting / Fire seeing as those require you to run imperfect ivs anyway.
Volcarona....you said the speed was to outspeed Excadrill at +2. Excadrill is never seen outside of Sandstorm and Sandstorm teams are those most likely to carry Rock attacks. HP Electric doesn’t help much, aside from Jellicent, Gyarados, and Tentacruel, Bug Buzz hits things harder. I would really replace that with HP Rock or HP Ice.
Gliscor seems really out of place as only Terrakion or Azumarill benefit from the boosts, which seems counterproductive as they are both choiced. If you get the Rock Polish/Swords Dance, it doesn’t seem to help Terrakion as he’s already fast with Jolly & Scarf and although the SD boost is nice, being locked into CC or EQ allows your opponent to beat you with prediction fairly easily - as virtually all teams carry something resistant/immune to those. Azumarill is good, but it just seems like you will be forced out a lot with Choice Band, which is okay, but really sucks when you’ve set up RP / SD.
The strategy seems arlight, but I just personally prefer using Gorebyss/Huntail for the best baton passing. What really differentiates them besides typing is Taunt - which your Gliscor really wants. Basically so you baton pass without being phazed, let them set up along side you (SD Balloon Excadrill / BulkUp Conkeldurr once it knows you lack Acrobatics), or being taunted/encored yourself. Skarmory is particularly problematic for Gliscor.

I like this team a lot though, and have used many of the same combonations of pokes myself, and oddly the most threatening are Mamoswine, Heracross (Scarf varients, except for getting walled by Gliscor, seem troublesome), Garchomp.

For those bad Espy vs Opposing Lead matchups, could you maybe give some examples of common leads that are most troublesome? Basically you have to switch out against Accelgor / Ttar(or most anything with Pursuit) and let them set up hazards or be KO-ed yourself. As Epsy is meant to support rather than sweep, its best to preserve rather than let be KO-ed early game and it seems like you have great switch-ins for most leads which trouble Espeon.

 

[Sphyxius]

For Epsy, it wants max speed rather than those few Def Evs, as base110 speeds are always Timid/Jolly and you will never be able to set up screens or KO on Gengar / Lati@s / Frosslass without it. Without any Sp.Attack Evs, Espy can still hit pretty hard, but since Psycho Shock is primarily for Special Walls, you won’t really be denting them much anyway which makes Psychic generally better. If you chose not to run max speed, consider replacing Shadow Ball with HP Fighting / Fire seeing as those require you to run imperfect ivs anyway. Good advice, especially the HP bit. I've also considered ditching speed altogether and running max defenses just to keep it alive as long as possible. Are there any benefits to that?
Volcarona....you said the speed was to outspeed Excadrill at +2. Excadrill is never seen outside of Sandstorm and Sandstorm teams are those most likely to carry Rock attacks. HP Electric doesn’t help much, aside from Jellicent, Gyarados, and Tentacruel, Bug Buzz hits things harder. I would really replace that with HP Rock or HP Ice. Yes thats the minimum speed to run, I outspeed Excadrill at +2 when I get to +2. Sand teams often have Steel types like Forry or Ferrothorn that don't run Rock attacks, among others. You'd be surprised. And if I'm outspeeding a bunch of slow Rock types with shitty SpD they won't hit me with SE anyway. Obviously I wouldn't keep it in on something like Terrakion though. The choice for HP Electric I'm pretty set on. I've experimented with many HPs on Volcarona and so far Electric has served me the best. When you think about it it makes sense, it hits the two types I'm most concerned with (Flyers and Waters) super effective and is neutral to everything else but Ground, which are hit neutral by my STABs. Rock types I don't bother with. I have better pokemon for dealing with them.
Gliscor seems really out of place as only Terrakion or Azumarill benefit from the boosts, which seems counterproductive as they are both choiced. If you get the Rock Polish/Swords Dance, it doesn’t seem to help Terrakion as he’s already fast with Jolly & Scarf and although the SD boost is nice, being locked into CC or EQ allows your opponent to beat you with prediction fairly easily - as virtually all teams carry something resistant/immune to those. Azumarill is good, but it just seems like you will be forced out a lot with Choice Band, which is okay, but really sucks when you’ve set up RP / SD.
The strategy seems arlight, but I just personally prefer using Gorebyss/Huntail for the best baton passing. What really differentiates them besides typing is Taunt - which your Gliscor really wants. Basically so you baton pass without being phazed, let them set up along side you (SD Balloon Excadrill / BulkUp Conkeldurr once it knows you lack Acrobatics), or being taunted/encored yourself. Skarmory is particularly problematic for Gliscor. Gliscor is the newest member of my team so I may shuffle him for something else. I'm hesitant to add another Water type to my team. Maybe a replacement for Azumarill is in order? My team really benefits from Water and Fighting coverage and I've tried a lot of other mons including Starmie, Tentacruel, Conkeldurr, and Cobalion... these have been the most successful so far... we'll see. Terrakion and Azumarill tend to be late game cleaners for me. I rarely bring them out early game or before Volcarona and Dnite are KOed unless I'm up against something that they're a hard counter to.
I like this team a lot though, and have used many of the same combonations of pokes myself, and oddly the most threatening are Mamoswine, Heracross (Scarf varients, except for getting walled by Gliscor, seem troublesome), Garchomp. Mamoswine doesn't sound like a bad idea. I miss that STAB Ice Shard haha. Garchomp... meh. My Dnite is exponentially more useful to me. Heracross shares a lot of weaknesses with my team.
For those bad Espy vs Opposing Lead matchups, could you maybe give some examples of common leads that are most troublesome? Basically you have to switch out against Accelgor / Ttar(or most anything with Pursuit) and let them set up hazards or be KO-ed yourself. As Epsy is meant to support rather than sweep, its best to preserve rather than let be KO-ed early game and it seems like you have great switch-ins for most leads which trouble Espeon.

I almost never use Espy to attack. I Reflect, I Light Screen, then I bail. Thats just the problem though, if my opponent isn't put off by the sight of Espy and doesn't switch out their lead, they'll get SR up or put me to sleep or whatever, as soon as I switch. And I often do switch because after setting up screens what good is it to stay in unless I'm up against something VERY weak to my two unboosted attacks from SpA with no investment? After that if my opponent is smart they'll bring their lead or whatever back in and set up hazards, spread status, etc. Its those situations that screw me up. Dnite works to an extent against this as he can block status with Sub, spread Paralysis and Dragon Tail everything to kingdom come, but its not a foolproof strategy.

 

[Minacciosa]

Gamefreak sadly gave one of the best abilities to a pokemon whose already limited movepool is reduced to no egg / tutor / preevolution moves.
I play lead Epsy pretty much the same, using it to screen rather than attack, but to an extent, there is little you can do besides having Xatu lol on your team as a switch in - because that’s really the only way to throw back status on switch. Magic Coat is decent on something that switches in for Espeon, but has poor distribution. If you opponent has something that can set up Swords Dance/ Dragon Dance / Sub, its better to get rid of that ASAP, because you can always bring Espy back in on something that is bound to put up entry hazards.
Personally, I might try Dragonite in the lead, as DragonTail helps you scout the team, you can switch in Espy as soon as you suspect hazards/status. Additionally, lead Dragonite at full health is hard to switch into or predict, and your opponent has no way of knowing that you aren’t just setting up DD or have FireBlast/Extremespeed - which a smart opponent will usually try to attack rather than get rocks up (sort of like Gyarados/Salamence, except it requires more prediction on your opponent's part).