RMT building my team using this as the foundation

[chardymardy]

Hello everyone, this would be the first time that I'm going to make a competitive team and this would be my very first post in Smogon. After some time researching about teams and pokemon I was able to come up with this lineup, as of right now my team is still composed of mixed tier-pokemon. I'm planning to eventually change this to an OU team but I will have to research more on it first and do some trial and error runs before actually stepping up to the OU metagame. Anyway any and all suggestions would be very welcome as it can provide a chance for me to learn from my errors and all. So without further ado, here's my team.

Roserade @ Focus Sash
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Nature: Timid (+Spd, -Atk)
- Sludge Bomb
- Toxic Spikes
- Giga Drain
- Sleep Powder

For my team comprised of Bulky Pokemon I chose Roserade as my lead to go and set up Toxic Spikes and switch in to a more reliable sweeper early on which on my case could sometimes be Lucario or Starmie and on rare cases Neptune. Sleep Poweder is a must to start my game so that Roserade can go ahead and set up Toxic Spikes in peace, Suldge Bomb and Giga Drain are my choice of STAB moves but I was debating wether to change Giga Drain with Leaf Storm or not because Giga Drain heals Roserade but Leaf Storm packs more of a whallop (Suggestions?).

Neptune @ Leftovers
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge

Neptune is probably my most favorite Pokemon of all time and coupled with it's commendable bulk which I really like makes for a good tank. I placed him on the team to cover for the weakness of Vulcan to water and Starmie's weakness to lightning attacks. Earthquake and Waterfall are my choice of STAB moves since Aqua Tail has a chance to miss due to it's 90% accuracy. Ice Punch and Stone Edge are for coverage against common grass, dragon, flying types trying to take Neptune down. I've never really tried it but I'm thinking of changing Stone Edge with Wide Guard. (Suggestions?)

Vulcan @ Life Orb
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 252 HP / 252 ATK / 4 SpD
Nature: Brave (+Atk, -Spe)
- Hammer Arm
- Flare Blitz
- Rockslide
- Wild Charge

My other bulky pokemon which in turn covers Neptune for his 4x grass weakness along with my Honchkrow. With his Sky High HP he also is my perfect check to ice types trying to take Honchkrow and Roserade down. Hammer Arm and Flare Blitz are my choice STAB moves. Rockslide and Wild Charge are to cover Vulcan's weakness to flying and water types.

Honchkrow @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Night Slash
- Pursuit
- Superpower

The Boss is here to take down any unwary grass, fighting and psychic types. I usually use Honchkrow mid-late game in cleaning out loose ends in the enemy's team. I added pursuit to catch the opposing pokemon trying to switch out off guard. Superpower is there as coverage against other pokemon which is resistant to flying and dark type moves.

Lucario @ Choice Specs
Trait: Inner Focus
Evs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
Nature: Modest (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Aura Sphere
- Shadow Ball
- Dragon Pulse
- Vacuum Wave

Lucario is my main attacker for this team, I use him to take down most pokemon not resistant to the moves that I have placed on him. Aura Sphere is my chosen STAB move, vacuum Wave for priority, Dragon Pulse and Shadow Ball for coverage and it does very well taking down psychic, ghost and dragon types. I have tried changing Vacuum Wave with Calm Mind to further boost Lucario's SAtk because I found Lucario to also be quite a defensive pokemon despite being an offensive beast, but I found Vacuum Wave to be a bit more useful. (Suggestions?)

Starmie @ Scope Lens
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin

Starmie is here to back Lucario up with sweeping the opposing team. BoltBeam combo has been tried and tested for coverage and I picked Surf as my STAB move since Hydro Pump can miss and that stinks. Rapid Spin is there to remove entry hazards making the area safe for my other pokemon to enter the fray. I only have Scope Lens left since all other items have been taken by my other pokemon. (Suggestions?)

Is the synergy of this team good or not? Also I'm planning on changing Emboar with an Infernape as a choice for the OU team and I'm still looking for another pokemon to change Honchkrow with.

 

[Shiny Charizard]

Hi, pretty cool team. Much better than my first.

First, with Roserade, over Sludge Bomb, you should give it HP Ice so you can hit Dragonite, Salamence, etc. when they are asleep. Your Swampert is a fine tank, though you might want to consider SR in place of maybe Stone Edge. Stone Edge isn't that accurate and you already have Ice Punch. SR can really help you against Dragonite, as that seems to be a huge threat to your team. And replacing Emboar with Infernape is a smart move, that way you have yourself a fast powerful mixed scout.

Infernape @ Life Orb
EV's: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Special Attack
Ability: Iron Fist
Nature: Naive/Hasty
Moves:
-U-Turn
-Overheat
-Close Combat
-Mach Punch

The choice of nature does not matter, as both raise speed and lower one of the defenses. Iron Fist can let your Mach Punch have more effect. U-Turn helps you scout and deal damage and switch out. Overheat is what makes it mixed, giving it a powerful fire type STAB. Close Combat is probably Infernape's best attack, and Mach Punch is for priority.

Since you find to like Moxie, I recommend Salamence. It is no longer Über and can be a big threat. It can also take care of grass types, flying types, and most psychic types, just like your Honchkrow. Perhaps this set?

Salamence @ Choice Scarf
EV's: 252 Attack, 4 Special Attack, 252 Speed
Ability: Moxie
Nature: Naughty/Naive
Moves:
-Outrage
-Dragon Claw
-Fire Blast/Brick Break
-Earthquake/Brick Break

Outrage is like a massacre. Dragon Claw can do you good STAB damage without being totally locked into Outrage because of the scarf. Fire Blast is preferrable since you wanted to KO grass types. The last move is your choice.

Also, I like the idea of Roserade and Lucario being on the same team. So good job with that. However, for Lucario, I don't recommend that you give it the choice specs, as it will be restricted to only one move, which is not good on Lucario. Pick whether you want a physical Lucario or special Lucario or mixed Lucario. By the way, using Calm Mind on Lucario is pointless as Lucario has access to some of the best boosting moves in the meta game. He is capable of doing anything offensively, but usually he is used an amazing physical sweeper.

Lucario @ Life Orb
EV's: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Ability: Justified
Nature: Adamant
Moves:
-Swords Dance
-Close Combat
-Extremspeed
-Crunch/Ice Punch/Bullet Punch

This set allows Lucario to get +2 attack boosts while the opponent is asleep, which is a great opportunity for you to start getting ready to sweep. Close Combat is one of Lucario's best moves, Extremespeed is very useful with +2 priority, which can now outspeed Mach Punch. The last move is once again your choice.

Your Starmie is impressive, and you shouldn't change anything except the item to something like Life Orb or Leftovers.

You certainly don't have to take all my suggestions. Their might be something about your team I just haven't realized, so choose what suggestions you want to take. My final suggestion, that I VERY HIGHLY recommend you take is to start looking into weather. Weather is the dominant force in OU, and once you start working with it, you could become better and better. That's all from me. Good luck with the team!

-Best Wishes,
Shiny Charizard

Btw, welcome to Smogon! And welcome to competitive battling!
PM me whenever you need a rate.

 

[tintinwong]

Okay. First off, I don't think item clause is active in OU tier.
Next, I almost thought this was a UU team when I saw the first 4 pokes.

For roserade. If you want to keep the focus sash, I reccomand leaf storm. Alternatively, you could opt for a life orb set, with technician ability, you could run magical leaf, which is now a grass type aura sphere.

I would change swampert for a bulky dragon. Maybe a bulky/DD dragonite, or you could go with Charizard's suggestion. Works well.


Infernape over emboar like Charizard suggested.


Special attacker lucario is pretty rare, so might surprise some people, and it's pretty decent. However, physical lucario is usually chosen. I don't see anything wrong with a special one though.


Life orb/ lefties for starmie. Item clause not active.

My advice is not necessarily the best, do choose to follow it, or not, or improve on it.

Welcome to smogon.

 

[chardymardy]

Thanks for your kind replies, reading them has given me some valuable food for thought and I had taken your suggestions into consideration.
So my planned changes would be:

Roserade:
Sludge Bomb ----> HP Ice (this would be a tedious process but what the hell, it's going to be worth it.)
Giga Drain ----> Leaf Storm

Swampert:
Stone Edge ----> Stealth Rock

Lucario: I'm gonna go with wong's suggestion and keep him as a Special Attacker because it has that surprise factor and has certainly worked out well for me so far.
Choice Specs ----> Life Orb

Starmie:
Scope Lens ----> Leftovers

Looking into weather teams I'm more inclined to try out a Sand Storm team, I'm currently looking into changing Honchkrow into a Choice Band Flygon (so that I still get a good scout and have some fire moves via Fire Punch or Fire Blast to make up for the lack of fire Pokemon on the team) or Charizard's Salamence suggestion and change Emboar into either a Dragon Dance Tyranitar or a Tanky Hippowdon. I'm feeling pretty good with this team now and with that, let me go ahead and try these suggestions out first and see where my team goes.

Thanks for the welcomes as well, Smogon is a really great site to get knowledge from.:D