Over Used Over Abused (Team OU)

[Sandstorm]

Hello there, I'm just getting back into competitive play and thought I'd get some advice on this team I'm building here. I understand that my team will probably have major flaws but hopefully you can fix them up?

Overview:

For the most part, I did just use Smogon movesets but that's because I haven't battled in quite some time so I don't really know what's good and what isn't. Bear with me because I'm at NOOB status once again. I chose this team because I feel that there isn't a big weakness but they're also a great group of Pokemon that I happen to like a lot.

Each Individual Pokemon:

The Lead

Swampert @ Leftovers
Relaxed Nature
240 HP / 216 Def / 52 SpA
~ Earthquake
~ Ice Beam
~ Surf
~ Stealth Rock

Considered one of the best leads in the current meta, this guy has great reason to be. He's a powerhouse and very little beats it. Giving it a perfect timing to set up some Stealth Rock and with his mixed moveset, he can handle most walls that try to come his way. Only when an Energy Ball or HP Grass is coming this way is when he'll need to be switched out. Luckily I've got Pokemon who can take a Grass hit.

The Special Sweeper (1)

Jolteon @ Life Orb
Timid Nature
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~ Thunderbolt
~ Hidden Power Grass
~ Shadow Ball
~ Charge Beam

Changed to Life Orb so that it's not locked into one move. Though I'm still somewhat iffy on Life Orb on a Jolteon, and just recently I added HP Grass to beat Swamperts that try to switch into this.

The Special Sweeper (2)

Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Naive Nature
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~ Fire Blast
~ Earth Power
~ Explosion
~ Hidden Power Ice

The Ultimate Revenge Killer, this guy out speeds most non-Scarfed Pokemon. Earthquake is the only thing that scares this guy but that's an easy switch for my Swampert. Ice to hit some of those Dragon switch ins.

The RestTalk / Physical Sweeper (1)

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Impish Nature
252 HP / 224 Def / 32 Spe
~ Waterfall
~ Dragon Dance
~ Rest
~ Sleep Talk

This is here to beat stall and act as a counter to MixApe which is what my team was having issues with. Pretty much just get rid of all Gyarados counters and Pokemon that might Roar/Whirlwind my DD boosts away, then set up some DDs and hope to sweep my opponent's team.

The Cleric / Special Wall

Blissey @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Calm Nature
252 Def / 40 SpA / 216 SpD
~ Aromatherapy
~ Ice Beam
~ Toxic
~ Softboiled

There's no surprise that I'm using this Pokemon. This is the best Special Wall in the game and comes to my rescue when my Pokemon has been hit by status. It also Toxic-stalls Special Sweepers and Bulky Waters for the hell of it.

Physical Sweeper (2)

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Adamant Nature
248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
~ U-Turn
~ Bullet Punch
~ Superpower
~ Pursuit

Been changed to a CB set, U-Turning will let me switch out while giving some damage. While Pursuit will let me screw over enemy Gengars and Azelf. (Suggestion from franky and Anachronism)

 

[lucas17kk.]

Well its my first time rating a team, but im a very experienced battler. Let's start:
The Lead/Special Sweeper (1)

Gengar @ Life Orb
Timid Nature
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~ Shadow Ball
~ Thunderbolt
~ Focus Blast
~ Psychic

I hear Gengars are pretty good leads though they may not be as popular as they used to be. It's got a great set of immunities that can become really handy in battle. Especially a great switch in when my opponent is using an EQ on my E-Vire or a Close Combat on my Snorlax. The reasoning behind Psychic is that I don't have another Pokemon on my team with a Psychic move and I like to have good type coverage.
I don't like Gengar as lead, but if you want to keep him, i suggest Energy Ball over psychic.Then you can kill some Swamperts.
The Mixed Wall - Tank (1)

Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
Careful Nature
168 HP / 120 Def / 220 SpD
~ Curse
~ Body Slam
~ Selfdestruct
~ Crunch

What can I say? I have a thing for Snorlax and can't stand using Blissey like everyone and their mothers these days. I've been waiting so long to try this guy out. With great special defense stats and pretty good defense, this guy is perfect for a Mixed Wall. Curse pretty much gives me the defense plus the attack I need, giving Snorlax great defense from both sides. I chose Selfdestruct because I like to end it with a bang, plus who knows what they can do during the turns that Snorlax is asleep? Crunch to counter ghosts that try to switch into him and Body Slam for the chance of Paralysis.
The good old Curselax, i dont like Selfdestruction Snorlax, i prefer Rest over it. Now you choose, i prefer Return over Body Slam, i know Body Slam has a great chance to paralyze. But Return offers to you more power.

The Mixed Wall - Tank (2)

Swampert @ Leftovers
Relaxed Nature
240 HP / 216 Def / 52 SpA
~ Earthquake
~ Ice Beam
~ Surf
~ Stealth Rock

OMG, I love this guy. Unless you have a Grass Knot, Energy Ball or HP Grass ready, you're in for some trouble. He acts as a mixed wall, a little more to the physical side though and has attacks from the Physical Side and Special Side. Making him an all around Mixed Pokemon, perfect for this team. He also acts as my Stealth Rock setter and everything else is pretty much standard on him.
Nothing to say. He's ok.

The Physical Sweeper (1)

Gyarados @ Life Orb/Leftovers (Indecisive)
Adamant Nature
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
~ Dragon Dance
~ Waterfall
~ Stone Edge
~ Earthquake

Gyarados has always been an OU and for great reason. With such a great movepool, decent defenses and the ability to use Dragon Dance, why not? I also like how much synergy he has with Electivire whom is also on this team. If I predict an electric attack, which pretty much owns this guy, I switch into E-Vire, get the speed boost and start sweeping. I'm using Stone Edge and EQ because I feel it'll do more justice on here and because I'm not a big fan of Fang attacks.
Offensive Gyarados, Bounce over Stone Edge/EQ, if you dont change you will get walled by Celebi. I prefer Leftovers over Life Orb. Your oponnent have a big chance to think "Oh Lefties Gyara, its Bulky".
You can change the nature to Jolly, if you are afraid of Jolteons but since you have Swampert on your team you dont have to be afraid of it.
The Mixed Sweeper

Electivire @ Expert Belt
Mild Nature
36 Atk / 252 SpA / 220 Spe
~ Thunderbolt
~ Flamethrower
~ Hidden Power Grass
~ Cross Chop

This is probably my favorite Pokemon of the DP generation, it has such a large movepool that it's perfect with the Expert Belt. Mixed Sweepers are very fun because they don't cry when they're up against a Special Wall or Physical Wall. When switching into an Electric attack, he can actually start sweeping since he gets a speed boost from Motor Drive. There is no better place than a team with Gyarados for an Electivire.
He's ok too.

The Revenge Killing - Physical Sweeper (2)

Weavile @ Choice Band
Jolly Nature
40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
~ Pursuit
~ Ice Shard
~ Brick Break
~ Ice Punch

Watch out for Weavile because if you kill one of his friends, he comes in for revenge. Especially amazing against Ghost type Pokemon. You kill my Snorlax? I'll bring this guy in and you're trapped. With such amazing Speed and awesome attack with the Choice Band, he's perfect for Revenge Killing, screwing over anyone that tries to leave with Pursuit or to finish off some Dragons with Ice Shard.
Just one thing Night Slash over Ice punch.



Sorry im not that good rating teams, =/ Good luck

 

[Sandstorm]

Well its my first time rating a team, but im a very experienced battler. Let's start:
The Lead/Special Sweeper (1)

Gengar @ Life Orb
Timid Nature
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~ Shadow Ball
~ Thunderbolt
~ Focus Blast
~ Psychic

I hear Gengars are pretty good leads though they may not be as popular as they used to be. It's got a great set of immunities that can become really handy in battle. Especially a great switch in when my opponent is using an EQ on my E-Vire or a Close Combat on my Snorlax. The reasoning behind Psychic is that I don't have another Pokemon on my team with a Psychic move and I like to have good type coverage.
I don't like Gengar as lead, but if you want to keep him, i suggest Energy Ball over psychic.Then you can kill some Swamperts.
The Mixed Wall - Tank (1)

Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
Careful Nature
168 HP / 120 Def / 220 SpD
~ Curse
~ Body Slam
~ Selfdestruct
~ Crunch

What can I say? I have a thing for Snorlax and can't stand using Blissey like everyone and their mothers these days. I've been waiting so long to try this guy out. With great special defense stats and pretty good defense, this guy is perfect for a Mixed Wall. Curse pretty much gives me the defense plus the attack I need, giving Snorlax great defense from both sides. I chose Selfdestruct because I like to end it with a bang, plus who knows what they can do during the turns that Snorlax is asleep? Crunch to counter ghosts that try to switch into him and Body Slam for the chance of Paralysis.
The good old Curselax, i dont like Selfdestruction Snorlax, i prefer Rest over it. Now you choose, i prefer Return over Body Slam, i know Body Slam has a great chance to paralyze. But Return offers to you more power.

The Mixed Wall - Tank (2)

Swampert @ Leftovers
Relaxed Nature
240 HP / 216 Def / 52 SpA
~ Earthquake
~ Ice Beam
~ Surf
~ Stealth Rock

OMG, I love this guy. Unless you have a Grass Knot, Energy Ball or HP Grass ready, you're in for some trouble. He acts as a mixed wall, a little more to the physical side though and has attacks from the Physical Side and Special Side. Making him an all around Mixed Pokemon, perfect for this team. He also acts as my Stealth Rock setter and everything else is pretty much standard on him.
Nothing to say. He's ok.

The Physical Sweeper (1)

Gyarados @ Life Orb/Leftovers (Indecisive)
Adamant Nature
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
~ Dragon Dance
~ Waterfall
~ Stone Edge
~ Earthquake

Gyarados has always been an OU and for great reason. With such a great movepool, decent defenses and the ability to use Dragon Dance, why not? I also like how much synergy he has with Electivire whom is also on this team. If I predict an electric attack, which pretty much owns this guy, I switch into E-Vire, get the speed boost and start sweeping. I'm using Stone Edge and EQ because I feel it'll do more justice on here and because I'm not a big fan of Fang attacks.
Offensive Gyarados, Bounce over Stone Edge/EQ, if you dont change you will get walled by Celebi. I prefer Leftovers over Life Orb. Your oponnent have a big chance to think "Oh Lefties Gyara, its Bulky".
You can change the nature to Jolly, if you are afraid of Jolteons but since you have Swampert on your team you dont have to be afraid of it.
The Mixed Sweeper

Electivire @ Expert Belt
Mild Nature
36 Atk / 252 SpA / 220 Spe
~ Thunderbolt
~ Flamethrower
~ Hidden Power Grass
~ Cross Chop

This is probably my favorite Pokemon of the DP generation, it has such a large movepool that it's perfect with the Expert Belt. Mixed Sweepers are very fun because they don't cry when they're up against a Special Wall or Physical Wall. When switching into an Electric attack, he can actually start sweeping since he gets a speed boost from Motor Drive. There is no better place than a team with Gyarados for an Electivire.
He's ok too.

The Revenge Killing - Physical Sweeper (2)

Weavile @ Choice Band
Jolly Nature
40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
~ Pursuit
~ Ice Shard
~ Brick Break
~ Ice Punch

Watch out for Weavile because if you kill one of his friends, he comes in for revenge. Especially amazing against Ghost type Pokemon. You kill my Snorlax? I'll bring this guy in and you're trapped. With such amazing Speed and awesome attack with the Choice Band, he's perfect for Revenge Killing, screwing over anyone that tries to leave with Pursuit or to finish off some Dragons with Ice Shard.
Just one thing Night Slash over Ice punch.



Sorry im not that good rating teams, =/ Good luck

Gengar - Is Swampert really that OU nowadays? Hmm...and what's wrong with a Gengar lead?

Snorlax - I just don't really like rest unless I've got a Pokemon that heals status conditions. Otherwise, he's out of commission for quite some time, giving my opponent time to set up or something. As for Body Slam, how much more damage can Return actually do over BS?

Gyarados - Woah...I'm sure there's another way to handle Celebi...Bounce is entirely random and only really used if using the SubBounce moveset. Bounce shouldn't be seeing use on Gyara at all IMO, no offense.

Weavile - Ice Punch is gonna do alot more than Night Slash will. Besides, on most Ghost/Psychic Types Pursuit should be good enough anyway. While Ice Punch hits Ground and Dragon Types which are very popular among the OU Tier.

 

[SEO]

One of the most popular leads out there is Metagross. A combination of Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch will take out your Gengar with little to no problem. That alone should be reason enough to be using a Gengar lead. Not to mention the fact that you don't have a reliable switch in to a lead Metagross, everyone one of your Pokemon getting KOed by Explosion (obviously except Gengar). You might want to reconsider your lead, a Heatran or Infernape would help you by taking Metagross out quickly.

 

[mc2094]

To start, you might want to consider spending some more thought on countering threats. The way the team is now, there are several pokemon you don't have a way to deal with. It would be impossible fix everything without completely revamping your team. A offensive Gyarados like your can set up on your Weavile and can give you quite a bit of trouble. Your best bet would have to be using selfdestruct with Snorlax. Heatran is another threat, sub Heatran to be precise. Everyone on your team can be hit by toxic bar Gengar who is beaten by Fire Blast. Infernape is another threat, especially scarf Infernape and SD Infernape. Gengar is your only option as he can revenge kill a weakened SD Infernape but Scarf Infernape is almost impossible to stop atm. Jolteon is another problem as he often carries HP Grass preventing Swampert from safely switching in and Electivire can't take a a specs Shadow Ball very well. You don't have a counter to Rotom-A who can cripple over half of your sweepers with Will-o-Wisp. You have no steel type pokemon meaning Latias and Salamence can start firing off Draco Meteors without any trouble and relying on Weavile to revenge kill won't work since they can always switch out. Scizor can just spam U-turn which will prevent Gyarados from switching in multiple times due to sr. U-turn will also chip away at Swampert's health. Bullet Punch is a OHKO against Weavile and Gengar while Superpower beats Snorlax. Electivire isn't bulk enough to take any of his hits.

To fix these problems I would suggest using more bulky pokemon with good typing and useful resists, and having recovery or wish passers. Things like Rest Talk Gyarados, bulky CB Scizor, Rotom-A, and reliable steel types auch as Heatran so that dragons won't be as much of a threat.

Good Luck.

EDIT:

Gyarados - Woah...I'm sure there's another way to handle Celebi...Bounce is entirely random and only really used if using the SubBounce moveset. Bounce shouldn't be seeing use on Gyara at all IMO, no offense.

I don't like Bounce on Gyara either, but that's because I'm not a fan of offensive Gyara. Bounce is actually quite a useful move, it forces switches and provides Gyara with the much needed recovery. That is assuming you have Leftovers.

 

[Blackhawk11]

Return: Base Power = 102
Body Slam: Base Power = 85

Big difference there imo. Body Slam does have that nice 30% paralysis rate, but that shouldn't keep you from using Return.

On Gengar, definately put Energy Ball > Thunderbolt. Tbolt is outclassed by your other moves against all leads except Gyarados, who isn't very common at #21 in terms of lead usage. Swampert, on the other hand, is #4. Energy Ball is the better option here.

Actually, Bounce can be very handy on Gyarados. Paired with Leftovers, it can turn Gyara into a tough tank to take down.

Lastly, the choice between Ice Punch and Night Slash is really preference, and since lucas didn't really explain why he thinks Night Slash is better, you might as well just go with whichever suits you.

Just wanted to clear up your questions really fast. Might come back for a full rate later. Right now I'm crunched on time.

 

[Sandstorm]

To start, you might want to consider spending some more thought on countering threats. The way the team is now, there are several pokemon you don't have a way to deal with. It would be impossible fix everything without completely revamping your team. A offensive Gyarados like your can set up on your Weavile and can give you quite a bit of trouble. Your best bet would have to be using selfdestruct with Snorlax. Heatran is another threat, sub Heatran to be precise. Everyone on your team can be hit by toxic bar Gengar who is beaten by Fire Blast. Infernape is another threat, especially scarf Infernape and SD Infernape. Gengar is your only option as he can revenge kill a weakened SD Infernape but Scarf Infernape is almost impossible to stop atm. Jolteon is another problem as he often carries HP Grass preventing Swampert from safely switching in and Electivire can't take a a specs Shadow Ball very well. You don't have a counter to Rotom-A who can cripple over half of your sweepers with Will-o-Wisp. You have no steel type pokemon meaning Latias and Salamence can start firing off Draco Meteors without any trouble and relying on Weavile to revenge kill won't work since they can always switch out. Scizor can just spam U-turn which will prevent Gyarados from switching in multiple times due to sr. U-turn will also chip away at Swampert's health. Bullet Punch is a OHKO against Weavile and Gengar while Superpower beats Snorlax. Electivire isn't bulk enough to take any of his hits.

To fix these problems I would suggest using more bulky pokemon with good typing and useful resists, and having recovery or wish passers. Things like Rest Talk Gyarados, bulky CB Scizor, Rotom-A, and reliable steel types auch as Heatran so that dragons won't be as much of a threat.

Good Luck.

EDIT:


I don't like Bounce on Gyara either, but that's because I'm not a fan of offensive Gyara. Bounce is actually quite a useful move, it forces switches and provides Gyara with the much needed recovery. That is assuming you have Leftovers.

I just don't see how any team can beat ALL the threats.
I could go and change my team around and then I'd be weak to some more threats. Just seems inevitable and I don't want to have an identical team to someone else.

Though, I'd really like some help since I do want to start battling. )=

Return: Base Power = 102
Body Slam: Base Power = 85

Big difference there imo. Body Slam does have that nice 30% paralysis rate, but that shouldn't keep you from using Return.

On Gengar, definately put Energy Ball > Thunderbolt. Tbolt is outclassed by your other moves against all leads except Gyarados, who isn't very common at #21 in terms of lead usage. Swampert, on the other hand, is #4. Energy Ball is the better option here.

Actually, Bounce can be very handy on Gyarados. Paired with Leftovers, it can turn Gyara into a tough tank to take down.

Lastly, the choice between Ice Punch and Night Slash is really preference, and since lucas didn't really explain why he thinks Night Slash is better, you might as well just go with whichever suits you.

Just wanted to clear up your questions really fast. Might come back for a full rate later. Right now I'm crunched on time.

Seems good, hope you can come back! I'm still iffy on Bounce though.

One of the most popular leads out there is Metagross. A combination of Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch will take out your Gengar with little to no problem. That alone should be reason enough to be using a Gengar lead. Not to mention the fact that you don't have a reliable switch in to a lead Metagross, everyone one of your Pokemon getting KOed by Explosion (obviously except Gengar). You might want to reconsider your lead, a Heatran or Infernape would help you by taking Metagross out quickly.

What kind of Infernape? Heatran, Heatran, Heatran....-sigh- I suppose I have little to no choice on that matter.

 

[Anachronism]

This team is a bit outdated. Platinum has changed the game significantly. The balanced team aproach is rather dead now that the metagame has become slightly more balanced with Garchomp's exit. Teams tend to be focused around offensive, defensive, or tanking pokes rather than a mix.

1)Gengar: This guy is no longer used as a lead very often, and for good reason. Azelf, Metagross, Jirachi, and Aerodactyl always beat it and Swampert only loses(fails to get up rocks) if you have energy ball, which you don't have. Those 5 leads happen to be the top 5. the good news is that you have a good matchup against infernape and heatran, number 6 and 7. Not worth it. Anti-leads in general are much weaker these days. Most leads use stealth rock because it helps the standard bulky offense teams chip away health and prevent damage by doing so. Increased Scizor usage has also made it very dangerous for this ghost.

2)Snorlax: Sweepers are nastier than ever this generation, and without a recovery move and with worse HP/Special Defense, Snorlax doesn't hold a candle to Blissey as a special defender, even though 'lax is a better attacker. Blissey doesn't have to hit hard against what it counters. It simply wears things down while healing up. Honestly, if you want to use a special wall, look no further than Blissey. Swampert is really the only popular "mixed wall" because he is such a great Salamence switch-in, and really he is the only one you need.

3) Swampert: This guy is great, and Mixpert is indeed the best set. The set in the analysis isn't very good though. The special attack evs aren't really necessary in my experience. You only use Ice beam to hit Salamence, who dies regardless. I recommend reallocating those evs back to hp and the defenses. 252HP/216Def/40SpD or 252HP/252Def/4SpD Are probably the best spreads. The SpD helps against the ever-popular MixMence. Those 40 evs also make him almost exactly 60% physically biased, which is perfect for the metagame this generation, which has roughly the same bias.

4) Gyarados: This guy is the best Dragon Dancer this generation, hands down. He walls Scizor incredibly well and doesn't have to worry about running headlong into a steel type while outraging like Salamence does. I think that you should use leftovers on Gyarados (your team has no other scizor checks), and opt for a jolly nature. It allows you to beat jolteon and scarf heatran, which are annoying. I personally have used jolly life orb and leftovers sets and "jolly ftw" has practically been my catchphrase since I switched from adamant. You will never want to go back. It usually helps once a game on average.

5) Electivire: Congrats on using the mixed set, which is much better than the physical one, but electivire still isn't very good. Rotom-a is currently the 9th most popular pokemon in the game, and he walls Electivire hard. Even worse, he is the most common electric attacker, meaning that most of your motor drive targets come from something that walls you. Zapdos is also a popular electric attacker, and that poke also walls you. Notice a pattern here? Stuff that you can come in on to get the boost is stuff that you can't beat! If you don't get the motor drive boost, then Electivire's uses are limited. His average speed stat, low base power moves, and lack of priority move and resistances just make him plain outclassed by sweepers like Lucario and Infernape.

6) Weavile is something else that has fallen to the wayside since Platinum. The problem here is that the stuff it kills isn't that popular anymore. Garchomp isn't around anymore and Salemence/Flygon usage doesn't compensate. Gengar usage has declined, and Azelf usage hasn't made up for it. On top of that, more stuff in the top 10 beats it. In fact, Weavile can't come in on any of the top pokes, while only being able to revenge kill 2 of them (Salamence and Gengar). On top of that, Scizor usage increases have made one huge counter to him at the top of the usage list as well as an increased amount of fire moves. In fact, Choice Band Scizor can pretty much replace Weavile on most teams. It can kill pretty much the same targets while also being a scout and having the ability to actually come in on some attacks! For all of these reasons, Weavile has become a thing of the past.

As you can see, about 4 of your pokes need replacement or relocation. I would make recommendations for these replacements, but honestly there isn't much team left to work with. I think that you should look at the RMT Archive to look at some competetive teams this generation and give you ideas about making a new team rather than salvage this one. In general, your team has an overall lack of synergy as well. This generation is all about team goals. This is one reason why balanced teams are ineffective. They lack an apparent goal.

 

[Sandstorm]

Here is a partial team that I'll probably use. Not sure about the last Pokemon.

Swampert @ Leftovers
Relaxed Nature
240 HP / 216 Def / 52 SpA
~ Earthquake
~ Ice Beam
~ Surf
~ Stealth Rock

Pretty standard, nothing much else to say. He's a great wall and sets up the Stealth Rocks.

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Jolly Nature
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
~ Dragon Dance
~ Waterfall
~ Stone Edge
~ Ice Fang

I put Ice Fang over Earthquake since EQ was a little unnecessary. Ice Fang will hopefully let me hit the Pokemon that I normally wouldn't hit with the Edge, EQ set.

Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Naive Nature
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~ Fire Blast
~ Earth Power
~ Explosion
~ Hidden Power Ice

HP Grass so I have a Pokemon that can handle Swampert and since most of my other Pokemon have an Ice Move. Heatran is here to stop the Dragon attacks like you've said above. EDIT: Changed back to HP Ice because I've added Jolteon.

Blissey @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Calm Nature
252 Def / 40 SpA / 216 SpD
~ Aromatherapy
~ Ice Beam
~ Toxic
~ Softboiled

Not sure if I like this one or the WishBliss better, but this one seems pretty solid. I chose Toxic over T-Wave to stall for some ToxicKill.

Jolteon @ Choice Specs
Timid Nature
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~ Thunderbolt
~ Hidden Power Grass
~ Shadow Ball
~ Signal Beam

I still don't understand the point of "dry passing" so I've added Signal Beam instead. Jolteon is ownage, I love Jolteon! Great coverage, great speed and Specs!

This team is a bit outdated. Platinum has changed the game significantly. The balanced team aproach is rather dead now that the metagame has become slightly more balanced with Garchomp's exit. Teams tend to be focused around offensive, defensive, or tanking pokes rather than a mix.

1)Gengar: This guy is no longer used as a lead very often, and for good reason. Azelf, Metagross, Jirachi, and Aerodactyl always beat it and Swampert only loses(fails to get up rocks) if you have energy ball, which you don't have. Those 5 leads happen to be the top 5. the good news is that you have a good matchup against infernape and heatran, number 6 and 7. Not worth it. Anti-leads in general are much weaker these days. Most leads use stealth rock because it helps the standard bulky offense teams chip away health and prevent damage by doing so. Increased Scizor usage has also made it very dangerous for this ghost.

2)Snorlax: Sweepers are nastier than ever this generation, and without a recovery move and with worse HP/Special Defense, Snorlax doesn't hold a candle to Blissey as a special defender, even though 'lax is a better attacker. Blissey doesn't have to hit hard against what it counters. It simply wears things down while healing up. Honestly, if you want to use a special wall, look no further than Blissey. Swampert is really the only popular "mixed wall" because he is such a great Salamence switch-in, and really he is the only one you need.

3) Swampert: This guy is great, and Mixpert is indeed the best set. The set in the analysis isn't very good though. The special attack evs aren't really necessary in my experience. You only use Ice beam to hit Salamence, who dies regardless. I recommend reallocating those evs back to hp and the defenses. 252HP/216Def/40SpD or 252HP/252Def/4SpD Are probably the best spreads. The SpD helps against the ever-popular MixMence. Those 40 evs also make him almost exactly 60% physically biased, which is perfect for the metagame this generation, which has roughly the same bias.

4) Gyarados: This guy is the best Dragon Dancer this generation, hands down. He walls Scizor incredibly well and doesn't have to worry about running headlong into a steel type while outraging like Salamence does. I think that you should use leftovers on Gyarados (your team has no other scizor checks), and opt for a jolly nature. It allows you to beat jolteon and scarf heatran, which are annoying. I personally have used jolly life orb and leftovers sets and "jolly ftw" has practically been my catchphrase since I switched from adamant. You will never want to go back. It usually helps once a game on average.

5) Electivire: Congrats on using the mixed set, which is much better than the physical one, but electivire still isn't very good. Rotom-a is currently the 9th most popular pokemon in the game, and he walls Electivire hard. Even worse, he is the most common electric attacker, meaning that most of your motor drive targets come from something that walls you. Zapdos is also a popular electric attacker, and that poke also walls you. Notice a pattern here? Stuff that you can come in on to get the boost is stuff that you can't beat! If you don't get the motor drive boost, then Electivire's uses are limited. His average speed stat, low base power moves, and lack of priority move and resistances just make him plain outclassed by sweepers like Lucario and Infernape.

6) Weavile is something else that has fallen to the wayside since Platinum. The problem here is that the stuff it kills isn't that popular anymore. Garchomp isn't around anymore and Salemence/Flygon usage doesn't compensate. Gengar usage has declined, and Azelf usage hasn't made up for it. On top of that, more stuff in the top 10 beats it. In fact, Weavile can't come in on any of the top pokes, while only being able to revenge kill 2 of them (Salamence and Gengar). On top of that, Scizor usage increases have made one huge counter to him at the top of the usage list as well as an increased amount of fire moves. In fact, Choice Band Scizor can pretty much replace Weavile on most teams. It can kill pretty much the same targets while also being a scout and having the ability to actually come in on some attacks! For all of these reasons, Weavile has become a thing of the past.

As you can see, about 4 of your pokes need replacement or relocation. I would make recommendations for these replacements, but honestly there isn't much team left to work with. I think that you should look at the RMT Archive to look at some competetive teams this generation and give you ideas about making a new team rather than salvage this one. In general, your team has an overall lack of synergy as well. This generation is all about team goals. This is one reason why balanced teams are ineffective. They lack an apparent goal.

Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it.
I haven't battled since the DP ages, so I was pretty dang confused.

Hopefully the team I remade above might work out?

Also, to everyone where is this list of most popular OU Pokemon at? This could really help me to figure out what I might need to counter.

 

[lucas17kk.]

Gengar - Is Swampert really that OU nowadays? Hmm...and what's wrong with a Gengar lead?

Snorlax - I just don't really like rest unless I've got a Pokemon that heals status conditions. Otherwise, he's out of commission for quite some time, giving my opponent time to set up or something. As for Body Slam, how much more damage can Return actually do over BS?

Gyarados - Woah...I'm sure there's another way to handle Celebi...Bounce is entirely random and only really used if using the SubBounce moveset. Bounce shouldn't be seeing use on Gyara at all IMO, no offense.

Weavile - Ice Punch is gonna do alot more than Night Slash will. Besides, on most Ghost/Psychic Types Pursuit should be good enough anyway. While Ice Punch hits Ground and Dragon Types which are very popular among the OU Tier.

Hm..You know Lead gengar = fail. Offensive Gyarados with Bounce, it works, trust me. I prefer Night slash over ice punch.I dont know why, when i use my my Weavile Night Slash always work.

 

[Sandstorm]

Hm..You know Lead gengar = fail. Offensive Gyarados with Bounce, it works, trust me. I prefer Night slash over ice punch.I dont know why, when i use my my Weavile Night Slash always work.

If you read above, I pretty much tossed this team. Though, I'm open to advice on the team I'm forming above as well as a final Pokemon reccomendation.

Once again, where do I find out what the top used Pokemon are?

 

[Anachronism]

Smogon Server Statistics for July: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59201

Those stats are incredibly helpful

the second team seems better. The Gyarados + Jolteon combination is much better than the E-vire combo. About your question on dry-passing, the point is to scout counters without locking yourself into a move. Its sort of like U-turn without damage (The damage aspect of uturn isn't that important on everything but Scizor, so Baton Pass is functionally the same)

For the last slot, you can pretty much never go wrong with adding Scizor in. The Choice Band set in the analysis with uturn over x-scissor and slightly different EVs of 248HP/252Atk/8Speed is the standard for him right now, as can be seen in the usage stats. The only thing about adding scizor to your team is that heatran is the only thing that has any degree of defensive synergy with him. A change of Jolteon to Latias might help this, as Scizor has wonderfully defensive synergy with it, and the addition of latias gives your team a lot of great resistances. The Latias set would work pretty much the same as your current Jolteon set. check out the specs set in the analysis. Dragon Pulse is probably better than Thunderbolt in case you are wondering.

If you don't want Scizor, then Magnezone would also be good. It replaces Jolteon as an electric attacker/Gyrados partner, and replaces Scizor as a steel. It also allows you to use Latias Dragon Pulse as a sweeping tool, and Latias and Magnezone have good defensive synergy to boot.

The two new adds also provide great answers to Salamence, which I could see as a problem for your team, especially with Swampert likely to be taking damage in the lead position. with the new adds, Gyarados could instead be the problem. Though it never kos latias with stone edge and usually not with ice fang, you may want to use a scarf on latias. Another advantage of this would be that you can take off the scarf on heatran and use a substitute set instead. I really enjoy the toxic set for getting rid of bulky waters, especially swampert. Bulky waters will annoy your Gyarados. So luring them in and crippling them is obviously great.

These are all just ideas for you. Having good offensive synergy is just as important as good defensive synergy, and I think that my suggestions illustrate that. Try any or all of them and experiment with some of your own strategies too.

 

[lati0s]

Gyarados - Woah...I'm sure there's another way to handle Celebi...Bounce is entirely random and only really used if using the SubBounce moveset. Bounce shouldn't be seeing use on Gyara at all IMO, no offense.

definitely not true, +1 LO bounce OHKO's celebi, and defensive starmie, both of whom are sometimes used to counter gyarados.

it is also an 85 base power STAB with 30% paralysis rate

 

[Sandstorm]

Smogon Server Statistics for July: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59201

Those stats are incredibly helpful

Hmm...I see.

So Swampert is a good lead? Perhaps he's my lead then.

As far as the updated team, do you feel like I've hit most of the threats with the 5 Pokemon and what options do I have for the 6th Pokemon as far as countering those threats?

definitely not true, +1 LO bounce OHKO's celebi, and defensive starmie, both of whom are sometimes used to counter gyarados.

it is also an 85 base power STAB with 30% paralysis rate

Yeah, It sounds pretty appealing now, especially with Leftovers.
Thanks. :)

the second team seems better. The Gyarados + Jolteon combination is much better than the E-vire combo. About your question on dry-passing, the point is to scout counters without locking yourself into a move. Its sort of like U-turn without damage (The damage aspect of uturn isn't that important on everything but Scizor, so Baton Pass is functionally the same)

For the last slot, you can pretty much never go wrong with adding Scizor in. The Choice Band set in the analysis with uturn over x-scissor and slightly different EVs of 248HP/252Atk/8Speed is the standard for him right now, as can be seen in the usage stats. The only thing about adding scizor to your team is that heatran is the only thing that has any degree of defensive synergy with him. A change of Jolteon to Latias might help this, as Scizor has wonderfully defensive synergy with it, and the addition of latias gives your team a lot of great resistances. The Latias set would work pretty much the same as your current Jolteon set. check out the specs set in the analysis. Dragon Pulse is probably better than Thunderbolt in case you are wondering.

If you don't want Scizor, then Magnezone would also be good. It replaces Jolteon as an electric attacker/Gyrados partner, and replaces Scizor as a steel. It also allows you to use Latias Dragon Pulse as a sweeping tool, and Latias and Magnezone have good defensive synergy to boot.

The two new adds also provide great answers to Salamence, which I could see as a problem for your team, especially with Swampert likely to be taking damage in the lead position. with the new adds, Gyarados could instead be the problem. Though it never kos latias with stone edge and usually not with ice fang, you may want to use a scarf on latias. Another advantage of this would be that you can take off the scarf on heatran and use a substitute set instead. I really enjoy the toxic set for getting rid of bulky waters, especially swampert. Bulky waters will annoy your Gyarados. So luring them in and crippling them is obviously great.

These are all just ideas for you. Having good offensive synergy is just as important as good defensive synergy, and I think that my suggestions illustrate that. Try any or all of them and experiment with some of your own strategies too.

How about this team?

LEAD
Swampert @ Leftovers
Relaxed Nature
240 HP / 216 Def / 52 SpA
~ Earthquake
~ Ice Beam
~ Surf
~ Stealth Rock

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Jolly Nature
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
~ Dragon Dance
~ Waterfall
~ Stone Edge
~ Ice Fang

Heatran @ Leftovers
Timid Nature
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~ Fire Blast
~ Earth Power
~ Substitute
~ Toxic

Blissey @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Calm Nature
252 Def / 40 SpA / 216 SpD
~ Aromatherapy
~ Ice Beam
~ Toxic
~ Softboiled

Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Adamant Nature
248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
~ Swords Dance
~ Bullet Punch
~ Brick Break
~ U-Turn

Latias @ Choice Specs
Modest Nature
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~ Draco Meteor
~ Surf
~ Dragon Pulse
~ Trick

Though, I'm worried I don't have something to counter Swampert.

 

[Sandstorm]

Team has been completely changed and re-done.
Tell me what you think about the new and improved team.

 

[franky]

Doing team rate upon request from PM

Problems:

Stall Teams
Movesets and EV

How to fix:

This made a big jump from your first team with a couple of suggestions from people, this looks solid. Overall, the team might have some problems in the long run of your laddering, particularly Stall Teams (which good players use). I would suggest having Choice Band on Scizor with U-turn / Pursuit / Bullet Punch / Superpower, which is ultimately the best option if you want to chip scout with a +1 boost (thanks to CB). Scizor is unable to set up because of Rotom around screwing with you and you have nothing to stop Rotom. Your better off with Choice Band, allowing you to utilize U-turn and take a huge chunk out of Pokemon switch-ins and going to your next counters. I would give Gyarados Life Orb to hurt Rotom switch-ins and tweak its movesets to Waterfall / Stone Edge / Earthquake. Stone Edge already hurts Dragon-types while Earthquake is a better option grabs the KO on Magnezone and Metagross. Ice Fang is not needed because Scizor and Heatran are solid checks to Celebi. For my last suggestion, you could try out a Life Orb Jolteon, which flexes your movesets and stops you from gettign locked in one move. Try this if you want to break Stall better:

Jolteon
@ Life Orb
Timid Nature (Spe+ / Atk-)
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
- Shadow Ball
- Charge Beam

Simple sweeper set, Charge Beam is the important thing bout this set which has a 50% chance of SpA boost. Allowing you to shed through offensive teams (from my experience) and have a better chance at Stall teams. HP Ice smashes Latias and Salamence mainly while Shadow Ball improves type coverage. Gl with the team.

 

[Sandstorm]

Doing team rate upon request from PM

Problems:

Stall Teams
Movesets and EV

How to fix:

This made a big jump from your first team with a couple of suggestions from people, this looks solid. Overall, the team might have some problems in the long run of your laddering, particularly Stall Teams (which good players use). I would suggest having Choice Band on Scizor with U-turn / Pursuit / Bullet Punch / Superpower, which is ultimately the best option if you want to chip scout with a +1 boost (thanks to CB). Scizor is unable to set up because of Rotom around screwing with you and you have nothing to stop Rotom. Your better off with Choice Band, allowing you to utilize U-turn and take a huge chunk out of Pokemon switch-ins and going to your next counters. I would give Gyarados Life Orb to hurt Rotom switch-ins and tweak its movesets to Waterfall / Stone Edge / Earthquake. Stone Edge already hurts Dragon-types while Earthquake is a better option grabs the KO on Magnezone and Metagross. Ice Fang is not needed because Scizor and Heatran are solid checks to Celebi. For my last suggestion, you could try out a Life Orb Jolteon, which flexes your movesets and stops you from gettign locked in one move. Try this if you want to break Stall better:

Jolteon
@ Life Orb
Timid Nature (Spe+ / Atk-)
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
- Shadow Ball
- Charge Beam

Simple sweeper set, Charge Beam is the important thing bout this set which has a 50% chance of SpA boost. Allowing you to shed through offensive teams (from my experience) and have a better chance at Stall teams. HP Ice smashes Latias and Salamence mainly while Shadow Ball improves type coverage. Gl with the team.

That makes sense but when getting rid of HP Grass, what do I do when facing enemy Swamperts? and Life Orb on Jolteon seems kinda iffy to me.

 

[mc2094]

I just don't see how any team can beat ALL the threats.

I didn't mean every threat. A good team usually has a decent switch to everything though and can play around anything else. The weaknesses I had stated were very common and I just wanted to point out that you were weak to several threats though the team seem much better now. So basically, like I said, it needed a full revamp as every member has been replaced except for Gyarados and Swampert.

 

[Sandstorm]

I didn't mean every threat. A good team usually has a decent switch to everything though and can play around anything else. The weaknesses I had stated were very common and I just wanted to point out that you were weak to several threats though the team seem much better now. So basically, like I said, it needed a full revamp as every member has been replaced except for Gyarados.

and Swampert.
But yeah, it's starting to make a little more sense to me.

Anything you see that can change on the new team or do you disagree with anything franky said?

 

[killahlaxer743]

i really like this team! first legit team i have seen swampert is a good lead, jolteon covers gyarados, blissey has softboiled! (who told you that secret) and heatran is gay i give up on you, you fail as a pokemon trainer!

 

[Sandstorm]

i really like this team! first legit team i have seen swampert is a good lead, jolteon covers gyarados, blissey has softboiled! (who told you that secret) and heatran is gay i give up on you, you fail as a pokemon trainer!

What? I'm confused.

Hmm...I'm tempted to use a Rotom Form though.

 

[killahlaxer743]

rotom would probably be a better coverage especially for pokemon aiming to switch into your blissey forcing you out for an easy sworddance, or such so switching to a ghost wouldnt be bad, for this team id recommend and Rotom-H thunderbolt,charge,substite,shadowball it would be quite effective and that should go over heatran... alright i have helped you way to much

oh and the heatran isnt really needed although it can form as a great wallbreaker but thats the subtoxic form, but its not needed for scizor as well. gyarados could use some assistance but its still a good team minus heatran its main purpose as i see is to help scizor i see no connecteion with the other pokemon

trust me on that though but i mean you probably wont lol

 

[Sandstorm]

rotom would probably be a better coverage especially for pokemon aiming to switch into your blissey forcing you out for an easy sworddance, or such so switching to a ghost wouldnt be bad, for this team id recommend and Rotom-H thunderbolt,charge,substite,shadowball it would be quite effective and that should go over heatran... alright i have helped you way to much

oh and the heatran isnt really needed although it can form as a great wallbreaker but thats the subtoxic form, but its not needed for scizor as well. gyarados could use some assistance but its still a good team minus heatran its main purpose as i see is to help scizor i see no connecteion with the other pokemon

trust me on that though but i mean you probably wont lol

So basically remove Heatran for Rotom-H?

 

[killahlaxer743]

thats what i think would do better for you team, it has a lot more coverage then heatran, and provides a great back up when its counters are removed. bring rotom-h on a blissey and set up after 2 charges it can do some serious damage especially if they keep blissey or their special wall in

 

[killahlaxer743]

btw gyarados would be more offensive if you dropped earthquake for bounce, it has STAB and when you put it together with leftovers its double the life recovery in one turn due to bounce. so worth it. Earthquake provides more coverage though, but with stealth rock it will be hard to continue switching your gyarados in. one turn with bounce and double lefties is enough to recover what was loss from rocks and can hurt your opponent