Sweep, Sweep-Cune, Sweep! (OU)

[Graham]

Hey everybody, this is my first RMT and it is OU. Wish me luck, and thank you in advance for every ounce of advice you give me!​

shoddy battles record with this team: 8-3​

At a Glance:​

My Train of Thought:​

I wanted a team to be based around Suicune. I love using CroCune, and although I have lost battles because of my poor luck, it still is an amazing feeling when SleepTalk goes my way. CroCune, as I'm sure most of you know, is a staller that can pack a punch (or a wave:P) behind it's STAB and Calm Mind boosted Surf.​

My Shoddy Battle team actually consists of having a Roserade lead, and my friend suggested I put it in my team. 2x Toxic Spikes from Roserade makes an exceptional treat for CroCune - while 'Cune is stalling (while ever-increasing its' STAB surf), toxic spikes will drain the foes health. Not only that, but I have always found this Roserade lead to be extremely effective against Swampert and Aerodactyl leads.​

As if stalling behind Toxic Spikes was not enough, Heatran can set up Stealth Rocks and instantly switch-in to any opposing lead that is likely to go on the offensive right away with a fire attack. Heatran rounds out my core of water, grass, fire, and she is just a royal pain. And perhaps my favorite thing, when worst comes to worst, Heatran go boom!​

Thanks to all of the harassment I have gotten from EVERY REVIEW, I have changed Dusknoir to Rotom-H. Rotom-H is here to block Rapid Spin, play the roll of 'Noir, and to do a better job at Dusknoir's "offensive" roll. Rotom-H is to bluff a fire type move, even though I do not have one.​

Jolteon is here to switch in on a Thunderbolt to Suicune, or to kill any ghosts who wish to tear apart 'Noir. To be honest, I feel like Jolteon adds alot to any team - and just like how a Jolteon is a good asset, why not run a Jolteon to counter opposing ones?​

I always knew that Absol was not the best choice to have on my team, but I also knew that it could generally pack a punch using crit-hax and a choice scarf. Thanks to your reviews, I changed my Revenge Killing Absol into a Revenge Killing Flygon. And there is something special about this Flygon too, he can take out a Skarmory - something Absol can't claim to have done.​

A Closer Look:
(open the tab thingy)​

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changes to my team, after the original posting, are bold/italicised
(descriptions to each pokemon are in tabs under the picture)​

Roserade is my lead. I run HP Ice on it, as it can OHKO incoming 'Mence. Although this isn't a problem anymore, I still keep it. Maybe if a dire situation comes up where I would want fire/ground, I miiiight change it - but I probably won't. Anyways, you all know what Roserade does. She sets up the 2x Toxic Spikes and basically sets the tide for the rest of the game. If I get my Toxic Spikes up, I don't lose - it's that simple. Leaf Storm and Sleep Powder are also obvious choices for this team. Leaf Storm 'em if they taunt, Sleep 'em if I outspeed. Viola.
@ Focus Sash
Ability: Natural Cure
Timid - 6 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~Toxic Spikes
~Sleep Powder
~Leaf Storm
~HP Ice 70​

Suicune is what my team was built around. Sorry, I should say CroCune* - this bad boy (rather, genderless freak of nature....) is the abuser of my Toxic Spikes. CroCune can out-stall anything, including Blissey! And if that's not enough, after even just one Calm Mind, 'Cune can wreck havoc through the opposing team with STAB Surf. Rest for health and stall, CM to boost up defences to increase stall time, Surf to have a strong STAB move, and SleepTalk to add insult to injury. Wash, rinse, repeat.
@ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Bold ; 240 HP / 252 Def/ 16 Spe
~Calm Mind
~Surf
~Rest
~Sleep Talk​

Heatran is here to round out my core. Shuca Berry insures I won't be OHKO by an Earthquake, and then, I can retaliate however I need to. The great thing about Heatran is I can set up SR, making the opposing team take entry damage, as well as get toxic-level poision. And for the pesky fliers who dodge Toxic Spikes, SR sure as hell makes up for it. Fire Blast is an obvious choice for STAB power, Earth Power is to counter other Heatran, etc., and when worst comes to worst.. HEATRAN GO BOOM!
@ Shuca Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
Naive ; 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 6 Atk
~Stealth Rock
~Explosion
~Earth Power
~Fire Blast​

Here is my Rapid Spin blocker. Here you go everybody, here is the Rotom you have been dying to see. Happy? Well, for one fact I sure as hell am. Rotom has definitley played the role of 'Noir exceptionally well, but also is extremely capable on the offensive. Thank you everybody for reading and commenting on my RMT, without you, this pokemon wouldn't be here!
@ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Bold ; 252 HP / 90 Spe / 168 Def
~Substitute
~Pain Split
~Shadow Ball
~Charge Beam​

Originally, this guy was here to out-speed and counter other Jolteon. Since then, I have ditched the Scarf and gave it Charge Beam in order to have a 1.95x boost to special attacks, after a successful Charge Beam. Thunderbolt is to pack more of a punch than Charge Beam, and Shadow Ball is to take out any Gengar, 'Noir, etc. I am still in debate about changing the HP, but I think I might change it to ice - what are your thoughts on this?
@ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
Timid ; 252 Spe / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
~HP Ground 70
~Thunderbolt
~Shadow Ball
~Charge Beam​

Revenge Killer, enough said. This guy is here over Absol, as he does a better job at revenge killing. Not only that, but he 2HKO's Skarmory with Fire Blast, always (when against a Physically Defensive Skarm, and let's be honest - who is going to bring in a Specially Defensive Skarm against a Flygon?). Otherwise, he has just the generic moves to try and pull off fast, consistent, heavy hits.
@ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Adamant ; 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 6 SpA
~Fire Blast
~Outrage
~Earthquake
~U-turn​

Final Thoughts:
Well there you have it, this is my first OU RMT! I hope I didn't do too bad of a job constructing it, if you have anymore question then don't hesitate to ask. And please, PLEASE leave your (descriptive, constructive) feedback about my team!​

-Graham​

 

[Graham]

Threat List:

Red denotes the pokemon is likely to shut down my team
Orange denotes the pokemon is able to shut down my team
Green will be the other common movesets of pokemon, that would do jack

Blissey -
Wishbliss: have only encountered it once, i out-stalled it with crocune and eventually won the battle. pretty much every blissey set is the same, so this is the only moveset i'll put for now. also, I can explode on it with heatran.

Skarmory - Flygon OHKO's Skarmory with Fire Blast, for this reason, he is no longer a huge threat.
Spiker: can whirlwind my whole team, and if it can switch out to hippodown, shuts down my counters. if crocune is my last poke, i can manage a full sweep as i can't be whirlwind-ed out anymore. (unless they still have a blissey that i did not know about/kill)
Taunt: shuts down my crocune. but if it does not have whirlwind, i can easily counter.
Torment Spiker: see spiker.
Specially Defensive: heatran go boom. could potentially wall me.

 

[muffinhead]

Hi Graham, this team looks pretty good!

I have a few pointers though. Crocune is deadly as a phazer and especially when used with toxic spikes (Blissey etc). You will want to protect your rocks and t.spikes as much as possible, and I don't think that dusknoir fits on this team. I suggest
Rotom-C @ Leftovers, Bold nature.

Good Luck on your team :D
Levitate, 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 Spe
Thunderbolt | Shadow Ball | Leaf Storm | Will-o-Wisp
Swamperts that are alive after your Roserade is down may pose a problem. Leaf Storm can OHKO these Swamperts, still Will-o-Wisp Scizor, and be pretty bulky.

Heatran needs a Naive nature and Fire Blast. Your Heatran also needs Hidden Power [grass], Gyarados are stopped by Jolteon pretty hard. That being said, change your Jolteon to the Life Orb set:

Jolteon @ Life Orb, Timid nature.
Volt Absorb 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Charge Beam | Thunderbolt | Hidden Power [ice] | Shadow Ball
Base 130 speed is quite enough, and with all the ground and steel types in today's metagame, you might get yourself locked into a move that will bring about a loss. Get one Charge Beam boost and all attacks are now x1.95 originally (with Life Orb). If you can predict correctly, Hidden Power [ice] beats all of those Choice Scarf Flygons and can handle Gliscor.

Gliscor @ Leftovers, Jolly nature.
Sand Veil, 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Taunt | Roost | Earthquake | U-Turn
I think Absol is not needed as much as a second wall, even though I love Absol soooooooooooo much. Something that can take hits and stall out the opponent by means of Toxic Spikes. Absol is a fantastic wallbreaker, but Gliscor is a better fit for this team. Gliscor's two weaknesses are water and ice, Suicune covers it perfectly. Taunt and Toxic Spikes shut down Blissey without Ice Beam. Yet another electric and ground immunity :D You could put in Toxic over U-turn to hit anything with Levitate or flying type, but I honestly think all of those pokemon are handled by the rest of your team.

 

[Graham]

Hi Graham, this team looks pretty good!

I have a few pointers though. Crocune is deadly as a phazer and especially when used with toxic spikes (Blissey etc). You will want to protect your rocks and t.spikes as much as possible, and I don't think that dusknoir fits on this team. I suggest
Rotom-C @ Leftovers, Bold nature.

Good Luck on your team :D
Levitate, 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 Spe
Thunderbolt | Shadow Ball | Leaf Storm | Will-o-Wisp
Swamperts that are alive after your Roserade is down may pose a problem. Leaf Storm can OHKO these Swamperts, still Will-o-Wisp Scizor, and be pretty bulky.

I like this idea alot, except, I just won a battle on shoddy because of my 'Noir. I'm not rejecting your idea, but until I see the opportunity arise where Rotom would be better, I think I'll keep my buddy. Also, I'm not sure how to make it change forms and stay over wifi - doesn't it revert back to normal?

Heatran needs a Naive nature and Fire Blast. Your Heatran also needs Hidden Power [grass], Gyarados are stopped by Jolteon pretty hard. That being said, change your Jolteon to the Life Orb set:

Jolteon @ Life Orb, Timid nature.
Volt Absorb 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Charge Beam | Thunderbolt | Hidden Power [ice] | Shadow Ball
Base 130 speed is quite enough, and with all the ground and steel types in today's metagame, you might get yourself locked into a move that will bring about a loss. Get one Charge Beam boost and all attacks are now x1.95 originally (with Life Orb). If you can predict correctly, Hidden Power [ice] beats all of those Choice Scarf Flygons and can handle Gliscor.

I will definitley change the Heatran, thanks. And yes, I found that Jolteon was rather tough to use because the scarf - not only that, but Toxic was kind of useless with the Toxic Spikes already up. The only thing I still like, is the HP Ground. I think I'm going to keep it! :)

Gliscor @ Leftovers, Jolly nature.
Sand Veil, 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Taunt | Roost | Earthquake | U-Turn
I think Absol is not needed as much as a second wall, even though I love Absol soooooooooooo much. Something that can take hits and stall out the opponent by means of Toxic Spikes. Absol is a fantastic wallbreaker, but Gliscor is a better fit for this team. Gliscor's two weaknesses are water and ice, Suicune covers it perfectly. Taunt and Toxic Spikes shut down Blissey without Ice Beam. Yet another electric and ground immunity :D You could put in Toxic over U-turn to hit anything with Levitate or flying type, but I honestly think all of those pokemon are handled by the rest of your team.

I like Gliscor, but not enough to use him. Perhaps you could suggest a better pokemon than Absol? Although, I just 2HKO a Bronzong with Absol and I don't really want to lose that ability.

Anyways, thank you for your input. I was scared I wasn't going to get any replies, thanks alot! I think these changes will be for the better..

 

[Jebus McAzn]

I fully support muffinhead's suggestion of switching Dusknoir to Rotom. However, I'd use Rotom-H, just for the psychological factor (you have two Grass moves on your team now).

Try a Substitute+Pain Split set, as it can stay alive extremely well while pumping out the damage, something that Dusknoir tries to do on this team.

Rotom@Leftovers
Bold Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 Spe
-Substitute
-Pain Split
-Thunderbolt / Charge Beam / HP Fighting
-Shadow Ball

You could really have any form of Rotom, so I prefer Rotom-H just to make people wonder what set it's running and so you can bluff having Heat Wave. That should also take care of your Wi-Fi trouble, since you could just stick with regular Rotom-A.

As for why you should use it over Dusknoir, there are a few reasons. While Noir's defenses are better, Rotom's generally going to be hiding behind a Substitute most of the time (or you could go RestTalk and be equally effective). In addition, Rotom can actually outspeed a lot of common threats, like max Speed Adamant Scizor, while Dusknoir struggles to outspeed Tyranitar, a huge problem for any Spin blocker (note that running HP Fighting on Rotom lets you combat T-Tar effectively).

Aside from that, I noticed that your entire team has difficulty fighting Blissey. To be honest, I don't feel that Absol is the best Pokemon to use on your team, as he's rather frail overall. I would recommend the Substitute+3 Attacks Machamp that Smogon's analysis gives you.

Machamp@Leftovers
Adamant Nature
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Spe
-Substitute
-DynamicPunch
-Payback
-Ice Punch / Stone Edge

Hope I helped! Good luck with your team!

 

[Graham]

I fully support muffinhead's suggestion of switching Dusknoir to Rotom. However, I'd use Rotom-H, just for the psychological factor (you have two Grass moves on your team now).

Try a Substitute+Pain Split set, as it can stay alive extremely well while pumping out the damage, something that Dusknoir tries to do on this team.

Rotom@Leftovers
Bold Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 Spe
-Substitute
-Pain Split
-Thunderbolt / Charge Beam / HP Fighting
-Shadow Ball

You could really have any form of Rotom, so I prefer Rotom-H just to make people wonder what set it's running and so you can bluff having Heat Wave. That should also take care of your Wi-Fi trouble, since you could just stick with regular Rotom-A.

As for why you should use it over Dusknoir, there are a few reasons. While Noir's defenses are better, Rotom's generally going to be hiding behind a Substitute most of the time (or you could go RestTalk and be equally effective). In addition, Rotom can actually outspeed a lot of common threats, like max Speed Adamant Scizor, while Dusknoir struggles to outspeed Tyranitar, a huge problem for any Spin blocker (note that running HP Fighting on Rotom lets you combat T-Tar effectively).

Okay, I guess I will put more thought into this once the time comes to make the pokemon on my DS, rather than shoddy battles. Thanks!

Aside from that, I noticed that your entire team has difficulty fighting Blissey. To be honest, I don't feel that Absol is the best Pokemon to use on your team, as he's rather frail overall. I would recommend the Substitute+3 Attacks Machamp that Smogon's analysis gives you.

Machamp@Leftovers
Adamant Nature
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Spe
-Substitute
-DynamicPunch
-Payback
-Ice Punch / Stone Edge

Hope I helped! Good luck with your team!

And actually, I do out-stall Blissey. Blissey vs CroCune, 'Cune wins because of Pressure. At least, in the battle I just had, it won! But yes, I was thinking about putting Machamp in originally but I just didn't want to because he is such a...queer pokemon :P hahah, but thank you very much for the advice.

I will definitley put extreme consideration into Rotom

 

[San_Pellegrino]

I see an oppurtunity for SD/NP Nape to set up on roserade once it sleeps something. Infernape set up, clean roserade with priority, then proceed to dent your team with Flare blitz (+2 does 88-103% to noir ohko with rocks, but is suicide (assuming a leaf storm from rosie) /fire blast (+2 does 114.6% - 135% to noir).

This is why I suggest a Scarf Rotom-W running
trick, hydro pump, shadow ball, t-bolt 252 sp. atk/ 252 spd/ 4 hp
, since you need Nape protection and an EQ immunity. Hope I helped!

 

[Graham]

I see an oppurtunity for SD/NP Nape to set up on roserade once it sleeps something. Infernape set up, clean roserade with priority, then proceed to dent your team with Flare blitz (+2 does 88-103% to noir ohko with rocks, but is suicide (assuming a leaf storm from rosie) /fire blast (+2 does 114.6% - 135% to noir).

This is why I suggest a Scarf Rotom-W running
trick, hydro pump, shadow ball, t-bolt 252 sp. atk/ 252 spd/ 4 hp
, since you need Nape protection and an EQ immunity. Hope I helped!

I guess I will have to run a rotom then, or at least test it out on Shoddy Battles. Just one problem though, I thought that when you went onto wifi, the Rotom form transformed back to the original Rotom-A?

 

[tab]

Hey. You've got the makings of a decent team here, but there's still a fair few issues that need solving. Roserade/Heatran/CroCune is a solid core for a team, but after there you seem to have lost it a bit.

To start things off, while a ghost is pretty important for a team like this, Dusknoir isn't the right choice of one. You could really do with a better answer to Gyarados than Jolteon, which loses to Jolly versions, so Rotom is a pretty obvious choice. By going with a Timid nature, and 252 HP/68 SpA/188 Spe with Thunderbolt/Substitute/Pain Split and either Reflect or Shadow Ball, youll have a much more effective spin blocker, as well as a great pokemon to support your team with.

With Jolteon, you're going to be wanting HP Ice instead of Ground - the only reason to use HP Ground is SDef Heatran, which is basically free setup for Suicune later on anyway, and being able to hit Flygon and Gliscor is pretty important. HP Grass is the other option, but with TSpikes it's unnecesarry.

Heatran should be using Earth Power over HP Grass, it's a much more important move, and again, HP Grass is unnecesarry due to TSpikes hitting everything it's used for. You should also move the last 6 EVs into Attack for a slight increase in Explosion power. You might want to change to a Hasty nature as well, so that Heatran is a bit better at taking special hits, which is more important than it taking physical ones on this team.

Roserade should be using either HP Fire or Ground - for Scizor/Forretress and Heatran respectively - now, as with Salamence having been banned, HP Ice doesn't really hit anything important for you.

Suicune's current EV spread is a bit wasteful - 240 HP is adequate, giving you the maximum possible Levtovers number, and 16 Speed lets you outspeed 4 Speed Rotom, which can often be the difference between successfully setting up a Suicune sweep and failing to do so. From there, you can max Defense.

Absol is really the oddball choice of this team, and to be honest I think it neither fits in well or works effectively in OU. ScarfTar would do the same job better, although Sandstorm isn't really ideal for this team, so I think you should try out a Scarf Flygon instead. Flygon gives you a multi-purpose revenge killer, an electric resistance, and a general switch into plenty of things that could cause you trouble otherwise. Seeing as Rotom covers Gyarados well, you can use Fire Blast in the final moveslot to hit Skarmory - even with no EVs and a hindering nature, you 2HKO even the most specially defensive Skarmory after a small amount of damage, which is going to be pretty useful as a way of preventing it from setting up on you as much as possible.

Good luck!

Also - you'll want to edit some descriptions into the team before this gets locked.

 

[Graham]

Tab-
If you happen to check this again, I wrote my thoughts to your review in the tab. I broke apart your message and thus this would have been an extremely long reply without the hiding tabs. Just trying to look out for other people's patience with scrolling!

Hide

Hey. You've got the makings of a decent team here, but there's still a fair few issues that need solving. Roserade/Heatran/CroCune is a solid core for a team, but after there you seem to have lost it a bit.

To start things off, while a ghost is pretty important for a team like this, Dusknoir isn't the right choice of one. You could really do with a better answer to Gyarados than Jolteon, which loses to Jolly versions, so Rotom is a pretty obvious choice. By going with a Timid nature, and 252 HP/68 SpA/188 Spe with Thunderbolt/Substitute/Pain Split and either Reflect or Shadow Ball, youll have a much more effective spin blocker, as well as a great pokemon to support your team with.

Wow, lots of complaints about the Rotom! Well because yours does not specify any type, are you just saying it is Rotom-A? Ingame, I can't keep the Rotom changes - even though this team is just on Shoddy Battles at the moment.

With Jolteon, you're going to be wanting HP Ice instead of Ground - the only reason to use HP Ground is SDef Heatran, which is basically free setup for Suicune later on anyway, and being able to hit Flygon and Gliscor is pretty important. HP Grass is the other option, but with TSpikes it's unnecesarry.

I had been running HP Ground to counter other Jolteon and hopefully OHKO them, but I guess if I switch to a Flygon as my "revenge killer" over absol, than this would work well. Thanks!

Heatran should be using Earth Power over HP Grass, it's a much more important move, and again, HP Grass is unnecesarry due to TSpikes hitting everything it's used for. You should also move the last 6 EVs into Attack for a slight increase in Explosion power. You might want to change to a Hasty nature as well, so that Heatran is a bit better at taking special hits, which is more important than it taking physical ones on this team.

I suppose this makes since, but shouldn't it still be good to keep my Speed? I don't know, I think I am going to keep the Naive nature (for now at least) and switch over to using Earth Power.

Roserade should be using either HP Fire or Ground - for Scizor/Forretress and Heatran respectively - now, as with Salamence having been banned, HP Ice doesn't really hit anything important for you.

Wow, I think you just read my mind here.. I always have used HP Ice because it will OHKO a Salamence. I think I'm going to keep it though, just to be able to counter flying pokemon that may happen to come in, I don't know. If I were to change it, I think I would go to HP Fire - if a Heatran switched in to my Roserade, I would go to my Heatran and get the fire power boost, and then procede with Earth Power (thanks to you suggesting it)!

Suicune's current EV spread is a bit wasteful - 240 HP is adequate, giving you the maximum possible Levtovers number, and 16 Speed lets you outspeed 4 Speed Rotom, which can often be the difference between successfully setting up a Suicune sweep and failing to do so. From there, you can max Defense.

I guess this makes since :P Not a huge change, but I will make it. Thanks!

Absol is really the oddball choice of this team, and to be honest I think it neither fits in well or works effectively in OU. ScarfTar would do the same job better, although Sandstorm isn't really ideal for this team, so I think you should try out a Scarf Flygon instead. Flygon gives you a multi-purpose revenge killer, an electric resistance, and a general switch into plenty of things that could cause you trouble otherwise. Seeing as Rotom covers Gyarados well, you can use Fire Blast in the final moveslot to hit Skarmory - even with no EVs and a hindering nature, you 2HKO even the most specially defensive Skarmory after a small amount of damage, which is going to be pretty useful as a way of preventing it from setting up on you as much as possible.

Honestly, Absol was thrown in randomly. I had actually looked into a Scarf TTar, but never did it because of Sandstorm - if I do have the Rotom like you (and everybody else) suggested, I think Flygon could find a spot in here as a revenge killer! Also, I could possibly run a speed boosting nature, in order to keep the power to Fire Blast? Or would that be ill advised..

Good luck!

Also - you'll want to edit some descriptions into the team before this gets locked.

Oh, I thought I was good on descriptions. I'll get to that.. anyways, thank you so much for the review! There are definitley a few minor changes that I will be making that could lead to new, major outcomes of battles.

Thanks very much, once again. To everybody who has rated so far! :)

 

[Delko]

Hello

Since you asked so nicely I shall try to give this a rate.
There isn't to much I can suggest though since you already have a lot of constructive critisism.

On Roserade I can suggest you to go with a slightly bulkier EV's spread. A spread of 252 HP / 88 Def / 12 SpD / 156 Spe will do fine. Leftovers can be to prefered item here as it provides some additional reliable recovery. Timid nature is still the way to go. This set was created on CAL and it works decently. Here is the explanation for the EV's:

Hide

156 Speed and a Timid nature allows Roserade to outrun max Speed Tran to give Sleep and damage subsequently.

252 HP helps to maximize Rose's overall hit taking ability.

88 Def allows Rose to survive Tyranitar's Stone Edge + a turn of Sandstorm damage in addition to a few other key points like 2 Dynamic Punches from Machamp.

12 SpDef allows Rose to survive Standard Lead Azelf's Psychic and Fire Blast.

I also suggest Hidden Power Ground on Roserade as suggested already.

As Tab suggested, Flygon would be a great replacement for Absol.

There isn't more I can suggest, sorry. I hope this helped a little bit and good luck with the team.

 

[macle]

I suggest Rotom-h over Dusknoir but not the one most people are suggesting. I think a scarfed one would do much better. It can take care of Lucario, who seems to be a menace to this team. It also can help stop gyarados if suicune is low on hp.

tab covers the rest of things pretty well.

 

[Graham]

Hide

Hello

Since you asked so nicely I shall try to give this a rate.
There isn't to much I can suggest though since you already have a lot of constructive critisism.

On Roserade I can suggest you to go with a slightly bulkier EV's spread. A spread of 252 HP / 88 Def / 12 SpD / 156 Spe will do fine. Leftovers can be to prefered item here as it provides some additional reliable recovery. Timid nature is still the way to go. This set was created on CAL and it works decently. Here is the explanation for the EV's:

156 Speed and a Timid nature allows Roserade to outrun max Speed Tran to give Sleep and damage subsequently.

252 HP helps to maximize Rose's overall hit taking ability.

88 Def allows Rose to survive Tyranitar's Stone Edge + a turn of Sandstorm damage in addition to a few other key points like 2 Dynamic Punches from Machamp.

12 SpDef allows Rose to survive Standard Lead Azelf's Psychic and Fire Blast.
​

I also suggest Hidden Power Ground on Roserade as suggested already.

As Tab suggested, Flygon would be a great replacement for Absol.

There isn't more I can suggest, sorry. I hope this helped a little bit and good luck with the team.

Delko: Hmm, I like that idea for the Roserade. The only thing I would think I would do though, is the defence so I could survive opposing Machamp leads. Most Machamps have Lum Berry, so if I could survive 2+ attacks then that would be nice. Thanks, i'll look into that! :) And yeah, I feel like Flygon should be added to my team - I'm still thinking about HP Ground though. Thanks for the review!

Hide

I suggest Rotom-h over Dusknoir but not the one most people are suggesting. I think a scarfed one would do much better. It can take care of Lucario, who seems to be a menace to this team. It also can help stop gyarados if suicune is low on hp.

tab covers the rest of things pretty well.

Macle: I have noticed that Luke has been a pain to be, I think I'll add him to the "threat list" once I get back home (i'm about to go out the door). Anyways, would a scarfed Rotom work? Because I was thinking that if I did use a Rotom, it would need to be a pain-splitting one to play the role of Dusknoir, but with more offensive presence. Thanks for the review though, and your thoughts!

 

[Psychotic..]

You said In your threats that you have a weakness to SkarmBliss. Well to fix this you can try MixApe>>>>Heatran. MixApe can take out both Skarmory and Blissey as if it was made to do such task. It appears to be the quick fix as its probably the best wall breaker in OU at the moment. The only downfall would be the lack of Stealth Rocks

If you can find somewhere else to put rocks i would definitely say Infernape>Heatran. OR you can run a different heatran and try to include both Taunt and Stealth rocks. Taunt can stop Blissey and Skarmory from doing pretty much anything.

 

[Graham]

You said In your threats that you have a weakness to SkarmBliss. Well to fix this you can try MixApe>>>>Heatran. MixApe can take out both Skarmory and Blissey as if it was made to do such task. It appears to be the quick fix as its probably the best wall breaker in OU at the moment. The only downfall would be the lack of Stealth Rocks

If you can find somewhere else to put rocks i would definitely say Infernape>Heatran. OR you can run a different heatran and try to include both Taunt and Stealth rocks. Taunt can stop Blissey and Skarmory from doing pretty much anything.

I like the idea, and I need to update my team - I have a Rotom-H and Flygon now here, over 'Noir and Absol. Flygon has choice scarf that still OHKO's Skarm, even though it has adamant nature. And I can out-stall Blissey with CroCune or explode on it. I probably would have used your idea if I was told it before the Flygon, but I think I'm set now! Thank you though for your input :D

 

[Varment]

Alright, you asked me to rate your team, so here I go.

Firstly, your team is too special attack orriented. I read that people have suggested Infernape instead of Heatran, but that isn't your best option. I find that Heatran is more useful in many situations. For example, since you dont have HP Fire on Roserade Metagross lead (Lum berry) would meteor mash you down to a sash, the BP for the kill (if you stayed in). Against Mgross leads, you can switch in Heatran on the MM without fear, and leave Metagross at your mercy. Here's an article I have refered many people to: http://www.smogon.com/smog/issue9/leads your lead situation is the last one listed (bottom). This should help keep the now (almost) standard Fire, Grass, Water combo that has flourished since Mences teir change.

If you read the article, you may see that it suggests a Choice Scarf and a differnet moveset for Roserade. I would probably keep things how they are for now . . . However, if you think that you can use your team well/close enough to the same way without Toxic Spikes then the scarf could be the way to go. Its really your call.

With that established, I agree that you need Rotom there. Not only will Rotom stop most spinners, but Rotom is also bulky enough to be a real pest (I HATE battleing them). Suicune is a given, provided its the foucs of your team and it completes the F/W/G combo. Flygon makes perfect sense for this team, and covers many potential weaknesses. That leaves Jolteon . . .

I think that Jolteon is now uneccessary on your team. You say its job is to take Thunderbolts for Suicune, but Flygon does that just the same. The electric type attack is covered nicely by Rotom, so that makes Jolteon more obsolete as well. Jolteon's main contribution to your team is its speed, buts its talent (>.>) of fainting against almost any regularly effective hit makes is more of a liability then an asset.

I would suggest replacing Jolteon with Substitue Machamp. Packs a real punch (no pun intended, but literally . . .), and pokes holes in tons of teams. Can counter Zapdos(potential threat), Blissey, Snorlax, the Ghost pokemon you said Jolteon could kill, and a $hitlo@d of other pokemon.

Adamant w/ No Guard
Item: Leftovers
248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
~ Substitute
~ Dynamic Punch
~ Payback
~ Stone Edge

Other then that, I don't know what else I could suggest to you. Try it out and post to say how it goes :)

 

[IronBullet]

Hey,

I can see you having some troubles with Swampert. None of your Pokemon can really do much to it, barring Roserade, who as a Suicide lead isn't going to last long. Since most of your Pokemon are quite weak to start off, you won't be doing much damage to it and it can Roar you away with ease. So, I'd suggest trying out HP Grass on Jolteon, solely for its ability to OHKO Swampert. Your new Flygon takes care of opposing Jolteon quite easily, and Heatran still takes a truckload from
Charge Beam boosted Thunderbolts.

I don't really think Pain Split should be on a Charge Beam Rotom, it really appreciates the wider type coverage provided by other moves. I'd suggest either replacing it with Thunderbolt for a more powerful STAB option, or HP Fighting to hit Blissey and especially Tyranitar.

I can't see much wrong otherwise, good job!

 

[Jebus McAzn]

I don't really think Pain Split should be on a Charge Beam Rotom, it really appreciates the wider type coverage provided by other moves. I'd suggest either replacing it with Thunderbolt for a more powerful STAB option, or HP Fighting to hit Blissey and especially Tyranitar.

I can't see much wrong otherwise, good job!

Yeah, Graham. I suggested Charge Beam on that set because the Pain Split Rotom can survive for freakishly long, getting numerous SpA ups along the way. However, in retrospect, Charge Beam might not exactly fit on a Pain Split set (apologies; theorymon at its worst) (not the user). I'd follow IBanez's suggestion and go either with Sub/Pain Split/TBolt/Shadow Ball or drop Pain Split entirely.

 

[Graham]

to varment-

Hide

Alright, you asked me to rate your team, so here I go.

Firstly, your team is too special attack orriented. I read that people have suggested Infernape instead of Heatran, but that isn't your best option. I find that Heatran is more useful in many situations. For example, since you dont have HP Fire on Roserade Metagross lead (Lum berry) would meteor mash you down to a sash, the BP for the kill (if you stayed in). Against Mgross leads, you can switch in Heatran on the MM without fear, and leave Metagross at your mercy. Here's an article I have refered many people to: http://www.smogon.com/smog/issue9/leads your lead situation is the last one listed (bottom). This should help keep the now (almost) standard Fire, Grass, Water combo that has flourished since Mences teir change.

If you read the article, you may see that it suggests a Choice Scarf and a differnet moveset for Roserade. I would probably keep things how they are for now . . . However, if you think that you can use your team well/close enough to the same way without Toxic Spikes then the scarf could be the way to go. Its really your call.

With that established, I agree that you need Rotom there. Not only will Rotom stop most spinners, but Rotom is also bulky enough to be a real pest (I HATE battleing them). Suicune is a given, provided its the foucs of your team and it completes the F/W/G combo. Flygon makes perfect sense for this team, and covers many potential weaknesses. That leaves Jolteon . . .

I think that Jolteon is now uneccessary on your team. You say its job is to take Thunderbolts for Suicune, but Flygon does that just the same. The electric type attack is covered nicely by Rotom, so that makes Jolteon more obsolete as well. Jolteon's main contribution to your team is its speed, buts its talent (>.>) of fainting against almost any regularly effective hit makes is more of a liability then an asset.

I would suggest replacing Jolteon with Substitue Machamp. Packs a real punch (no pun intended, but literally . . .), and pokes holes in tons of teams. Can counter Zapdos(potential threat), Blissey, Snorlax, the Ghost pokemon you said Jolteon could kill, and a $hitlo@d of other pokemon.

Adamant w/ No Guard
Item: Leftovers
248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
~ Substitute
~ Dynamic Punch
~ Payback
~ Stone Edge

Other then that, I don't know what else I could suggest to you. Try it out and post to say how it goes :)

Thanks for reviewing, Monty! (i feel obliged to say Monty, even though it's Varment..whatever...) But after reading the other reviews, too, before responding to anything, I think I like the idea of a HP Fighting Jolteon. And while Blissey still can take that, Blissey's Thunder Wave won't do jack to Jolteon, and then after a charge beam or 2, I'm guessing HP Fighting 70 would pack a punch. I'd have to do a calc to see the exact amount, but I think this is what I'm gonna do.

And yeah, I'd rather not scarf my Roserade. I was thinking about it, but I don't want to change my original lead ever for competitive battling! My anti-mence lead.. anyways yes, I read the bottom part of the article (the part relating to me), but I still like my ideas:P Thank you so much for taking the time to read/write though, buddy!

to IBanez-

Hide

Hey,

I can see you having some troubles with Swampert. None of your Pokemon can really do much to it, barring Roserade, who as a Suicide lead isn't going to last long. Since most of your Pokemon are quite weak to start off, you won't be doing much damage to it and it can Roar you away with ease. So, I'd suggest trying out HP Grass on Jolteon, solely for its ability to OHKO Swampert. Your new Flygon takes care of opposing Jolteon quite easily, and Heatran still takes a truckload from
Charge Beam boosted Thunderbolts.

I don't really think Pain Split should be on a Charge Beam Rotom, it really appreciates the wider type coverage provided by other moves. I'd suggest either replacing it with Thunderbolt for a more powerful STAB option, or HP Fighting to hit Blissey and especially Tyranitar.

I can't see much wrong otherwise, good job!

Well first off, thank you for the review! As for your idea on Jolteon, I think it's good - Jolteon hasn't served too much of a purpose running HP ground, so I think I will change it to grass.

And as for the Rotom, the only thing I could see myself doing is changing the Rotom to be HP Fighting. I honestly like the Charge Beam/Pain Split set I have going right now, but I think I will look into the HP Fighting!

Thanks for the review, it was really helpful:)

to Jebus McAzn-

Hide

Yeah, Graham. I suggested Charge Beam on that set because the Pain Split Rotom can survive for freakishly long, getting numerous SpA ups along the way. However, in retrospect, Charge Beam might not exactly fit on a Pain Split set (apologies; theorymon at its worst) (not the user). I'd follow IBanez's suggestion and go either with Sub/Pain Split/TBolt/Shadow Ball or drop Pain Split entirely.

Honestly, I like the Charge Beam Rotom with Pain Split. It does act more as a special sweeper this way, but if I just knock out continuous Charge Beams, I just absolutely destroy after 2 even. While Tbolt gives better STAB, I still think I'm going to stay with the original suggestion. I believe I'm keeping the moveset how it is! :)

Anyways.. thank you both very much! All feedback is greatly appreciated

 

[Smith]

Hey I got your PM, this team looks solid. I'm not sure if you are really weak to SkarmBliss, toxic spikes handle Blissey and Skarmory is handled by Jolteon and Rotom-a.

Jolteon doesn't really need HP Ground, I'm not sure what you're trying to hit besides maybe opposing Jolteon. As it is HP Ice is probably much better for catching scarfed flygon on the switch or regular flygon, as well as Gliscor.

I'm a little concerned about Gengar, or most fast attackers for that matter. SD Infernape with Mach Punch could be a real problem. I'd try a Scarf Jirachi over Flygon, as Flygon's typing is somewhat redundant with the rest of the team and I think another dragon resist would help. He can revenge must of the same stuff.

That's all I have to say, very solid effort. Hope it helped.

 

[Graham]

Hey I got your PM, this team looks solid. I'm not sure if you are really weak to SkarmBliss, toxic spikes handle Blissey and Skarmory is handled by Jolteon and Rotom-a.

Jolteon doesn't really need HP Ground, I'm not sure what you're trying to hit besides maybe opposing Jolteon. As it is HP Ice is probably much better for catching scarfed flygon on the switch or regular flygon, as well as Gliscor.

I'm a little concerned about Gengar, or most fast attackers for that matter. SD Infernape with Mach Punch could be a real problem. I'd try a Scarf Jirachi over Flygon, as Flygon's typing is somewhat redundant with the rest of the team and I think another dragon resist would help. He can revenge must of the same stuff.

That's all I have to say, very solid effort. Hope it helped.

Thanks for the review! and wow i actually havent thought of trying jirachi, what spread would you suggest to replace flygon? :o and as for the jolteon, i have been meaning to switch it to hp ice or fighting but havent been able to edit tthread well cuz ive been using my itouch - which is why my response is kknda short haha. anywyas thank you very much for the review, ill def take the 'rachi suggestion into account!

 

[Graham]

Anymore reviews out there?

 

[Faladran]

Hi Graham,

This team has a very solid FWG core to rely on, and I really love the use of SubCharge Rotom as your spinblocker. There are a couple of suggestions I'd like to make that I think will help you out. Here we go!

Notable Problems

• Lead Machamp

As you've probably noticed by now, just about every variant of Roserade has problems dealing with Machamp anti-leads. Either Payback or Ice Punch followed by a Bullet Punch will easily take it out, and only Rotom can comfortably switch into its DynamicPunch; however, Payback will hit it for a significant amount of damage.

• SubSplit Gengar

Gengar can be fairly troublesome for your team to play around. It can switch in on Earthquakes from Flygon or just to check Rotom, and then proceeds to hit everything pretty hard with Shadow Ball, except for Heatran, who is OHKO'd by Focus Blast.

Suggestions

• Lead with Life Orb Heatran

This is a change that will greatly increase your ability to deal with Machamp. I'd recommend switching Heatran's set and using it as a Life Orb lead as follows:

Heatran (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 172 HP/84 Spe/252 SAtk
Mild nature (+SAtk, -Def)
- Stealth Rock
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Explosion

With a Life Orb, this Heatran is able to OHKO Machamp leads with Overheat and also net a KO on Swampert with Hidden Power. Explosion can take out any Blissey switch-ins, which will help Jolteon sweep much more easily. The EVs are from Phillip7086's spread, and they give you some added bulk to switch in during later stages of the game to deal out some more damage, while still maintaining the ability to outspeed bulkier Rotom sets.

• Use Dual-Spiking Roserade

If you decide to go with the Heatran lead, I think that the Roserade set featured in the Smog would benefit your team more than your current set. Here it is below:

Roserade @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD
Calm nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Toxic Spikes
- Spikes
- Grass Knot
- Rest

This set has multiple opportunities to switch in due to its useful Grass typing and excellent special bulk. Both Toxic Spikes and regular Spikes benefit your team, and will help to wear your opponents out throughout the match. Grass Knot is the ideal choice in OU, since many of its intended targets take more damage from it than from Energy Ball. Rest combined with Natural Cure gives you access to fast recovery, allowing you to survive long enough to set up more hazards in the long run.

Good luck with your team!

 

[Graham]

Hi Graham,

This team has a very solid FWG core to rely on, and I really love the use of SubCharge Rotom as your spinblocker. There are a couple of suggestions I'd like to make that I think will help you out. Here we go!

Notable Problems

• Lead Machamp

As you've probably noticed by now, just about every variant of Roserade has problems dealing with Machamp anti-leads. Either Payback or Ice Punch followed by a Bullet Punch will easily take it out, and only Rotom can comfortably switch into its DynamicPunch; however, Payback will hit it for a significant amount of damage.

• SubSplit Gengar

Gengar can be fairly troublesome for your team to play around. It can switch in on Earthquakes from Flygon or just to check Rotom, and then proceeds to hit everything pretty hard with Shadow Ball, except for Heatran, who is OHKO'd by Focus Blast.

Honestly, I haven't seen too much of Machamp but I may be able to work around him if I switch my Heatran and Roserade anyways! As for SubSplitting Gengar, I've only faced one once and I was able to switch in on the tbolt with CroCune and get right to CM/resting, it was about 10 minutes of clicking the same moves over and over again, but I eventually easily outstalled it. I think I have it in check!

Suggestions

• Lead with Life Orb Heatran

This is a change that will greatly increase your ability to deal with Machamp. I'd recommend switching Heatran's set and using it as a Life Orb lead as follows:

Heatran (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 172 HP/84 Spe/252 SAtk
Mild nature (+SAtk, -Def)
- Stealth Rock
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Explosion

With a Life Orb, this Heatran is able to OHKO Machamp leads with Overheat and also net a KO on Swampert with Hidden Power. Explosion can take out any Blissey switch-ins, which will help Jolteon sweep much more easily. The EVs are from Phillip7086's spread, and they give you some added bulk to switch in during later stages of the game to deal out some more damage, while still maintaining the ability to outspeed bulkier Rotom sets.

• Use Dual-Spiking Roserade

If you decide to go with the Heatran lead, I think that the Roserade set featured in the Smog would benefit your team more than your current set. Here it is below:

Roserade @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD
Calm nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Toxic Spikes
- Spikes
- Grass Knot
- Rest

This set has multiple opportunities to switch in due to its useful Grass typing and excellent special bulk. Both Toxic Spikes and regular Spikes benefit your team, and will help to wear your opponents out throughout the match. Grass Knot is the ideal choice in OU, since many of its intended targets take more damage from it than from Energy Ball. Rest combined with Natural Cure gives you access to fast recovery, allowing you to survive long enough to set up more hazards in the long run.

Good luck with your team!

I think I actually will try this, maybe I'll go to Pokemon Online and see how my team works with your suggestions? (As Shoddy Battle's main server is down, and lags like a mother normally haha).

But yeah, I like the Heatran idea the only thing is I don't want to lose the ability to EASILY take out other Heatran leads. So even if I put Heatran as my lead with Shucca Berry, I could easily take out any opposing ScarfTran leads, ya know? IDK, I'll probably try both ideas.

As for Roserade, that actually would work really well! I think what I'm going to do is keep my 'Tran the same for now and put it as my lead..? And then use the spread/moveset you suggested for the Roserade. (and I know you didn't comment on this, but I just love this Roserade sooo freakin much because it used to be my only lead back when 'Mence was OU. Roserade would occasionaly outspeed and OHKO, or stay in when they predict the switch and DD and just tear it up with HP Ice - that, plus it always survives an unboosted Fire Blast, also Focus Sash for sp atking Mence)..

Haha but anyways, thanks so much for the review! I'm definitley gonna go and try the Roserade (at least) suggestion once I get back from my vacation this weekend. Thanks!

-Graham

 

[Graham]

Show some love everybody, rate my team! C'monn!