Team that needs Heatran / fire type counter, any suggestions?

[Skymin50]

Team's not completely finished- I seriously need a fire type counter
​

So recently, I've whipped up this team and I've played with it a tad. It does look a little odd, but I feel that it's not all that bad. However, there's one problem - half my team members are weak to fire, and without a good counter, I'm done for. I'm not sure what would be best for my team to counter any Fire types, namely Heatran, so here are my team stats to help you help me.

Nuptup (Vileplume) (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 SDef
Bold Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Aromatherapy
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb

I really wanted to use a team with Vileplume, as 1. It's not a bad Pokemon overall and 2. Nuptup. But really, Vileplume here is a good status set up, and is mostly what can help stitch my team alive. Sleep Powder is mostly to just get a free turn to Aromatherapy, or to Giga Drain / Sludge Bomb for damage. This thing can take hits, and it does it rather well, which is good because it's mostly my defensive Mon, and it's really great to use. I really like Vileplume, it's a rare sight but it's really good, and Nuptup shall put you to sleep forever.

hAx0r (Genesect) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Download
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- Bug Buzz

I figured I might as well use Genesect too, as it hits hard and does it quickly. Choice Scarf + max speed is very good on ol' Genesect here, as he can deal out nasty damage with Ice Beam, Flamethrower, or Bug Buzz. U-Turn is a good move if I switch in and see something I don't like, as I can easily just move out, dealing a tiny bit of damage or anything, really. I wanted something to be a strong hitter on my team, and Genesect seemed like the perfect candidate. It does it's job well.

Lil' Mac (Lucario) (M) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Aura Sphere
- Flash Cannon
- Dark Pulse

As I needed a good Poke for my Mega-slot, I figured I should try out Lucario. Mega-Lucario is actually really good, because it's ability, Adaptability, allows for deadly Aura Sphere's or Flash Cannons. Dark Pulse is to really just counter any Psychic types that try to give me damage, and Nasty Plot is a excellent move for Lucario all around, because it makes it's attacks even more deadly. This thing shares a common problem with my team, being the fire weakness that is the reason I'm making this thread, but I do like Mega Lucario for what it is and I'll continue to use it.

Puffpuff (Slurpuff) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 76 SAtk / 176 Spd
Naughty Nature
- Belly Drum
- Play Rough
- Return
- Flamethrower

A common saying is "don't judge a book by it's cover." That has never been more true with Slurpuff, who, with Belly Drum and Unburden, can because a deadly attacker. While I haven't gotten to use this thing TOO much, I do know that it's deadly, especially with STAB Play Rough and +6 attack. I gave this thing Sitrus, because while Weakness Policy sounded like a decent idea, I didn't entirely want this thing to go down easily, so Sitrus allowed this thing to get more health. I seriously love Slurpuff, and as dumb as it seems, especially since it's just a pure-fairy type, it is a hard hitter and will destroy you if you let it.

Zappyzap (Thundurus) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt

Thundurus also seemed like a decent choice for this team, because it can send off TWaves if Vileplume's down, so it can be effective then, too. Especially since Thundurus has Prankster, it can send paralysis everywhere, making it very obnoxious. Nasty Plot is also good, since it always goes first, because it's affected by Prankster, making sure Thundurus can get atleast 1 off before sacking itself, and take out some strong Pokes while it can.

Now, considering all this, I need a fire type counter. If anyone knows one that can work well for my team, I'd really appreciate it. Half my team is weak to it, so I need something that can work against them affectively. Thanks much.

 

[Seiterman]

All right, I got the request to rate your newest team, so let's see what we have.

First thing's first, this team has more problems than just Fire-types. They're definitely a huge threat, and the more powerful ones threaten to OHKO your entire team (some of them you don't even have the option of outspeeding; If Mega Charizard X gets a Dragon Dance, you'll be left with a crippled team at best and no team at worst,) but they're not even the only things that can tear the team apart. I'm going to recommend you look at bReakMyTeam to see what will likely give your team the most problems (I'm sure you're aware of the tool.) Looking briefly though, we see that Diggersby, Mawile, Latios, Pinsir, Heracross and Tyranitar (among others,) are incredibly threatening to your team from an offensive standpoint. If you look at WallMyTeam you'll see that your team fails to get past some huge defensive threats. Overall, there are a lot of threats that your sixth Pokemon won't be able to cover no matter what you choose.

When building a team, you need to make sure your Pokemon aren't outclassed. Look at your Pokemon and ask "is there another Pokemon that would do this Pokemon's job better?" If there is a better option available you should use it. This is most evident in this team with Vileplume and Slurpuff.

Both Vileplume and Slurpuff seem to be on the team primarily because you really like them and not because they're actually good additions to the team. Looking at Vileplume for a minute here, it can accomplish some things, sure. Does it perform better than Venusaur, Amoongus or Roserade? They all have exactly the same typing with similar coverage and support options, but they all do Vileplume's job better. As for Slurpuff, what does it have over Azumarill? Azumarill has a better typing (one that lets it take Fire attacks, may I add,) better defenses, a much better movepool, much higher attack and priority in Aqua Jet. Slurpuff has Unburden, but it's not like it's really fast even with that boost, and it still won't outspeed priority Bullet Punches or Brave Birds. Realistically, Vileplume and Slurpuff are outclassed. Unfortunately not all Pokemon are created equal or even close to it.

Beyond that, you still need to work on your team building. Your team seems to have started with Vileplume, which isn't a good starting point (regardless of its viability,) because it's primarily a support Pokemon. Vileplume will not really be a win condition, and you need one in mind so the rest of the team can work on letting that one Pokemon work. If you use Vileplume, you'd want to use it because it offers something specific to the team. Look at your three setup sweepers, and think about how having that many Pokemon meant to sweep affects the team. They don't really create setup opportunities or safe switches for one another, and they don't break down specific threats that the others have problems with. Your other Pokemon are Genesect, who is mostly meant as a Revenge Killer or U-Turn Pivot (it's not meant to hit everything hard, just put dents in stuff as it goes along,) and Vileplume (who lacks synergy with the team and could be replaced by Pokemon that do everything it does better.)

In all honesty, I don't feel entirely comfortable breaking the team down further than this. I'd recommend switching around a few Pokemon and filling that sixth slot, but if I say to replace Vileplume and Slurpuff and add Gastrodon, just as an example, I'd be suggesting half of your team to you. At this point it kind of fails to be your team. At the same time, I don't want to say that you should remove all non-OU Pokemon or anything like that. It's not like they aren't useable, but more thought needs to go into how they affect the team and how to support them/support with them.

Like I said last time, I have no intentions or discouraging you, and I'm always happy to help. I do think you have the ability to make better teams than this, as I've seen your forum posts and they seem pretty intelligent. I suggest that you go learn some general teambuilding strategy in the Mentorship section (I saw that you have a few posts in the SQSA thread in that section, but nothing outside of it.) A mentor would really help you get the most out of the game. I'd offer to teach you more personally if I actually were a mentor or had the free time to dedicate towards mentorship, but sadly I do not.

I'm sorry that I couldn't give you more specific advice on your team. It needs more than a Fire-type counter, and I'm not really able to suggest fixes without suggesting too much.