Team WORMSlayer (Gen 4 OU)

[Kaxtar]

Wow, it's been quite a while since I've been to the RMT section. Now that Gen 4 is almost officially over, I thought it would be a good time to post my best team yet, get some quality rates and hopefully use it in the future.

This was one of my teams that I used for Smogon Tournament 7, and by far the best. The title comes from the fact that this team beat Earthworm in Round 1. This team won for me the last of three matches that we played, giving me the victory in the best of three series. While team match-ups and hax no doubt had something to do win my wins against Earthworm, it proved to me again why this is the most solid team I have ever built.

Team Building

One day after being thoroughly thrashed by a Starmie, I decided I had had enough of that bitch. I thought back to my time with Scofield, when he was my tutor, and we were talking about the team we had just made together. It was a little Starmie weak, and I asked, "What counters Starmie???" He replied that nothing short of Blissey can hard-counter Starmie. That and Specially Defensive Jirachi, which didn't fit on that particular team. Now, fast-forward a year or so, and I thought of using Specially defensive Jirachi to take on the special attackers that were plaguing the metagame at that time. I chose Jirachi instead of Blissey or Scarf Tyranitar because I wanted to be original, and little did I know that Jirachi would become the backbone of my greatest team ever.

Gyarados came next. I needed a partner for Jirachi who could take on it weaknesses. A Rest-Talk-Roar Gyarados fit the bill perfectly, as it could take on many physical threats, sponge Fire+Gound attacks, and phaze out most sweepers who set up on Jirachi.

Next, I chose Skarmory because it could take on anything that Jira+Gyarados couldn't handle. It also made a decent lead, and could support my team with a lot of entry hazards, which were in dire need seeing as my team was shaping up to be a stall team.

Electric resists came to mind next, as both Skarm and Gyara were weak to them. I wanted Rotom-A to become a general pest to Rapid Spinners, and Gliscor to help a bit with my stall weakness. Both also added a little needed speed and useful resistances.

Finally I had to choose my last member. I was really seeking an extra fire resist and a bulky attacker. Heatran came to mind, and I never regretted adding it. I also needed the fire move to take on a couple steels and a few grass-types that were bothering me.

After Scofield told me the set he used for specially defensive Jirachi, I decided to change the set. After that, I really had weaknesses to Jolteon, and Starmie, so I had to revamp the whole team. Gliscor was my weakest member, so I decided to take it out. Shaymin could handle those two well, and it also completed a FWG core.

After this one change, the rest of my team had to as well. After losing Gliscor, I lost my biggest weapon against stall, so I had to change Skarm's set, relocate stealth rocks, add another Wish user (though this was more of a "because two wishers would be a bitch" kinda thing) for extra recovery, and just change a lot of shit. I added Vaporeon for a little bit of extra special defense and healing properties it could provide, as well as for the fact that I didn't need to rely on the RNG to not make me useless after healing. After all this crazy shit, WORM Slayer was complete.​

The Team

Overview

The general goal is to get spikes set up ASAP with Skarmory. After this, I try to get Heatran in on a free turn to SR. From there, it is mostly responding to threats with my walls while spreading status and recovery through multiple means. At the end, either I try to win by fainting to opposition through entry hazard damage, or through a "sweep." This will normally be done by Rotom-A (because of speed+power+bulk) or Jirachi (via Flinch-Hax+Thunderwave).

Skarmory (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Keen Eye
EVs: 220 HP / 252 SDef / 36 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Roost
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Whirlwind

Skarmory starts off most battles nicely, except for a few poor lead match-ups. Over time, Skarmory has proven to be so invaluable for its main traits in Spikes and Whirlwind that I couldn't imagine replacing it with another Pokemon. Spikes are the key to my team's success, and the earlier I can get them up the better. Roost is for recovery, Whirlwind for scouting+phazing. Taunt is neat for other Stall teams to prevent entry hazards+status+healing, and it even is useful against offense for blocking switch-ins from setting up.

Leftovers is very nice, and while it leaves me open to Magnezone, it is a rare enough threat that I don't really care most of the time. An Impish nature gives me more bonus points overall than careful, so that's why that is there. The 36 Speed EVs are to help me outspeed other Skarmory so I can beat them to the taunt, and also give me the advantage when Roost-stalling Banded Tyranitar.

Skarm is great for its spikes and ability to taunt right off the bat. It lets me take on stall and offense alike while spreading around damage and scouting. It is also one of two team members that can reliably heal itself, something that is invaluable in this metagame that contains many hard hitters. Finally, it likes to take Tricked Scarfs for the rest of my team. If I get choice locked in the beginning, I just set up as many layers as I can, and when I come back later in the match, Whirlwind away. Skarmory is only hampered a little, while the rest of my team is safe. Talk about a team player.

Lead Match-Ups

Azelf- I always switch directly to Heatran, as I don’t want to lose Skarm early to a Fire Blast. But Heatran does well, setting up Stealth Rocks or killing it with Lava Plume. And if I see an Explosion coming, I can just Protect. So while it forces me out, the most it will do is set up Rocks and switch, allowing me to get a free hit off.

Aerodactyl- I go to Vaporeon on the Taunt and kill it with Surf. It sucks that I can’t get my Spikes up right away, but all they’ve done it get up their Rocks. No big deal, really.

Swampert- Possibly the best lead to face. Taunt, Spikes, Whirlwind if I can. Free set up, and I can Roost off ay damage I may be dealt with Ice Beam. Solid win.

Metagross- What a bitch. I often set up one layer of Spikes right away, take the Dynamic Punch, switch to Rotom-W, and then switch to Shaymin or Jirachi on the Payback, and try to kill it from there. Jirachi can flinch it, while Shaymin can stall out Dynamic Punch with Protect and hit back with Seed Flare.

Metagross- Similar to Swampert, except I often forgo Taunt and just lay Spikes, while Roosting off any damage. If it gets an attack raise or nails me with an EQ, I can go to Rotom and kill it from there. Good stuff most of the time.

Jirachi- I’m fine with Skarm taking the Trick while I just go for Spikes. Then they’ll set up Rocks and switch the next turn. I’ve gotten a full set of Spikes down, and he’s gotten rid of his most dangerous weapon (Trick-Scarf) and only gotten his Rocks and a switch in which can be promptly handled by the rest of my team. Pretty nice.

Infernape- Go straight to Vaporeon, as I can’t risk the Fire Blast. I KO it from there, and Wish off the damage. I’d actually take them out early then have to deal with rouge Infernape late in the game, so it’s not that bad.

Ninjask- Easy, Spikes then Taunt, and finish my set up. I also have to option of using Whirlwind on the switch in, racking up Spikes damage and hopefully getting myself a better match-up on which I am capable of setting up Spikes.

Roserade- I try to Taunt while letting Skarm take the sleep if Sleep Powder hits. From there, I can go to Heatran to get up Rocks and KO. It sucks that it will take me a lot longer to get up Spikes, but at least I have already gotten sleep on the Pokemon most likely to wake up later on.

Hippowdon- Easy Spikes, but I also have option of Taunting. Great match-up.

Tyranitar- I go for Spikes turn 1, and then switch to Vaporeon if they have Flamethrower. If not, I can keep setting up spikes and Roosting off damage.

Heatran- Go to Vaporeon, KO with Surf, Protect on Explosion. Not too good, but not too bad.

Smeargle- Have Skarmory take the sleep, and go to Vaporeon to Roar. It sucks that he gets up Spikes, but thankfully these are rare.

Uxie- It’s a toss-up between Taunt and Spikes. I can either prevent his Thunder Wave and Rocks, or go for Spikes. After I have either set-up or Taunted, I can go to Heatran t get up my Stealth Rocks and resist his moves.

Starmie- A pain, no doubt. I often go to Shaymin on the Hydro Pump, and Jirachi on the Ice Beam. From there, Jirachi can do what it’s meant to. Alternatively, I could go to Vaporeon on the Water move, and Rotom on the Thunderbolt and kill it with my own. Going to Rotom guarantees me the kill, but I always take more damage. With Jirachi, I can sometimes come out at near full health, or I can die due to getting unlucky with Para/Flinch hax.

Shaymin @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 76 SAtk / 180 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Seed Flare

Shaymin is a beast, simply put. It's lethal combination of Speed, typing, power and leech seed make it more than worthy of a spot on my team. Leech Seed is the crux of the set; it can both heal my team and damage my opponents. Protect is great in general for scouting+recovery (something that is commonly seen on my team), but works even better with Leech Seed. Seed Flare is the obligatory STAB move whose power and side effect make it devastating to almost anything trying to switch into it. Hidden Power Fire is great for nailing Grass-types who try to absorb a leech seed. It also nails Scizor for big damage as well as hitting other Steel Types super effectively.

Leftover for recovery. The EVs let me outspeed Jolly Lucario and revenge kill it after a defense drop. The HP is for bulk, and the remaining 76 go into Special attack for a bit for extra power.

Shaymin's resistances to Water and Ground really earn it its spot on my team. They would otherwise be huge holes that would be difficult to overcome with other Pokemon. Leech seed also helps my team's goal, which is keep my bulky members healthy while status-ing and weakening my opponent's team.

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SDef / 32 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Fire Punch
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
- Wish

Boy has this set come a long way since my original one of Psychic/Thunderbolt/Icy Wind/Wish with an EV spread of 176 HP / 136 SpA / 176 SpD / 20 Spe. However, when Scofield showed me the "true" special defensive Jirachi set, I had no choice but to switch. That, and there was no way my original set was getting past quality control.

Thunder Wave is the focus of the set. Iron Head is damage and stalling, Wish is for healing, Fire punch for coverage. Honestly, my analysis explains Jirachi's role and abilities much better than I can.

Jirachi Analysis

The crux of this set is Thunder Wave. By paralyzing its foes, Jirachi becomes faster than them, letting it abuse Iron Head's 60% flinch rate in tandem with paralysis. Jirachi can keep itself in good condition with the steady recovery from Leftovers while periodically using Wish to regain 50% of its health. Iron Head helps Jirachi buy itself turns until it can safely use Wish. It is also Jirachi's strongest attack, and while not that powerful, its low damage output won't matter after a few hits. Wish is Jirachi's healing move, and works well in conjunction with Iron Head and Thunder Wave. Wish can also help Jirachi support its team later in the game. Lastly, Fire Punch helps Jirachi by hitting foes who resist Iron Head, preventing Jirachi from becoming set-up fodder against these opponents.

The EVs prevent Jirachi from being 2HKOed by a myriad of threatening special attackers, including, but not limited to, Life Orb Gengar and Lead Azelf. Jirachi can also act as a one-time stop to many physical stat-uppers, because it can switch in and paralyze the stat booster, allowing the rest of your team to take out the weakened opposing Pokemon. 32 Speed EVs let Jirachi outspeed Jolly max Speed Tyranitar, which can be invaluable when facing down Dragon Dance or fast Choice Band variants.

Jirachi is just a god-send to my team for its ability to handle special threats and paralyze them. It also takes a bit of the load off of Vaporeon when it comes to Wish-passing. Its resistances are crucial to my team's success, and Jirachi is also my most capable member of taking on Blissey, which can be a real pain in the neck.

Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 96 HP / 160 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Pain Split
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt

Rotom-A has many great sets, but this I feel is its best. Pain split allows for some healing, which most Rotom sets usually have trouble with. Sub is great for status protection and scouting purposes, as well as escaping Tyranitar's Pursuit. Thunder Bolt is the awesome STAB move that allows Rotom to seriously damage a lot of stuff, and Shadow Ball is a secondary STAB move for some coverage that also provides a neat special effect that is useful when dealing with bulky Pokemon.

I use leftovers for the healing over the power of Life Orb, as I need Rotom around for its resists and spin blocking abilities. Lefties also synergizes much better with Sub than LO does. The EVs achieve no specific benchmark, but provide max speed (which my team appreciates) and a decent balance of power and bulk. A Timid nature gives me the jump on Suicune and most other Rotom-A.

Rotom earns its team spot because of its speed, power, and stall combating ability. My team is really lacking on speed, and Rotom is a great help there. The immediate power is nice, and no one else really has that kind of damage dealing ability (sans Shaymin). Everyone knows that Sub-Split Gengar fucks with stall, but Rotom does this better do to the surprise factor of Sub on Rotom and the better coverage granted by Thunderbolt. Finally, Rotom is often my win-condition against many teams, and one of he few my team has to offer. Having multiple win-conditions is essential when playing stall when not everything can sweep outright. Its power is just enough to sweep through offense, its bulk is enough to take a hit or two, and SubSplit enables me to beat recovering Pokemon at their own game.

Vaporeon (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 192 HP / 252 Def / 64 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Protect
- Roar
- Surf
- Wish

Vaporeon is the obligatory bulky water, whose typing and bulk let me handle threats that would otherwise plow right trough me. Surf is the strong STAB move, Protect+Wish for recovery, and Roar is great to scout and stop set-up sweepers like Kingdra. Everything is pretty standard, to be honest, but Vaporeon performs its job better than anyone else can.

Three things cement Vaporeon's placement on my team. First is the threat coverage. Vaporeon can handle any fire type that comes my way while at the same time being a generally good go-to-guy for any set-up sweeper. Second, Vaporeon's Roar is vital to my team's scouting attempts, and its ability to fuck with my opponents switches is great. Last, Wish keeps my team healthy at all times, which fits in with the theme.

Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 248 SDef / 8 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Lava Plume
- Protect
- Stealth Rock

Last but not least, the glue. Heatran is all around awesome for its ability to counter most of the special threats that Jirachi has trouble with, like Electric-types. Heatran also has Stealth Rocks, and is great at setting them up. Lava Plume is used over another fire move to spread burn, which Heatran also does really well. Earth Power is primarily for other Heatran, but it also hits waters neutrally. Protect rounds out the set by giving Heatran extra Leftovers recovery and the ability to scout the Choice Scarf Flygons that love to switch in on me.

I went for a specially defensive spread because of the insurance it gives me for other Heatran and random special threats. 8 Speed EVs are present to outspeed other special defensive Heatran. Flash Fire is great for counter other Heatran and switching in on random fire moves, something that my team needs, especially if Vaporeon goes down.

Major Threats​

Blissey: It is a problem as almost all of my team uses special attacks, so I need to have Jirachi take it out. If that’s gone, I can go to Shaymin to leech seed or Rotom to try and win with SubSplit, but that is never guaranteed to work. If all else fails, I can PP stall if it’s the last Pokemon, but it still takes a while and is difficult to handle.​

Dragonite- It can be difficult due to its sheer power. Normally a combination of Vaporeon and Rotom can handle, but it must be played around, and if Rocks aren’t down, I can get in big trouble quite quickly.​

Gyarados- Difficult to handle if Rotom is down or it has Taunt. Shaymin can Leech Seed it to stall, and ½ of my team has protect. Heatran can also burn it in a pinch. But still a problem if played smartly. ​

Many elements of this RMT were taken from Rey’s Murcielago team, including some of the sprites and the Leads Treat list, so I thank him for that. I’d also like to take this time to thank Scofield, for both being an awesome tutor and being the inspiration for this team. Good luck with your rates everyone, and thanks for taking the time to look at my team.​

 

[locopoke]

Blissey is problematic and this team is named "WORMslayer"..

 

[Ian15]

Alright, this is my first serious rate so bare with me.

THREATS

Infernape (Nasty Plot, Swords Dance, Mixed, Leads can be annoying)
Machamp
Scarf Fighting Types

You have a very good team here, something no one can deny. It beat Earthworm so it has nothing to prove to anyone. This does not mean that it is perfect though. Fast, or Scarf, Fighting types cause problems for you and cause you to predict very skillfully and if you mispredict, something dies. Swords Dance and Nasty Plot Infernape can set up on a good chunck of your team, fleeing Heatran, Skarmory, Shaymin. After the set up you have no chance at stopping it from straight out sweeping your team. Machamp can also set up a substitute on Heatran and Vaporeon and something needs to die to break the substitute and revenging Machamp from their is also going to be hard to do without a risk from confusion.

SOLUTIONS

Again, I am not a good rater, but I feel like switching Gyarados for Vaporeon would greatly help your team. A rest-sleep talk set walls many things you would have trouble with, expect for a rare Sword Dances / Nasty Plot Ape with HP Electric or Thunder Punch which are very rare. The set I would recommond is

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Adamant | Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 196 Def / 60 SDef / 4 Spe
Waterfall / Rest / Sleep Talk / Roar

The EV's allow you to survive anything an Infernape can throw at you, even a plus 2 Grass Knot. You have recovery and a secondary phazer, which in a Spike abusing team is crucial. It really does nothing to hurt your team synergy and maintains a phazers. You listed Gyarados in your team building, but replaced it with Vaporeon. I think this was because you had no way to beat stall and the Stealth Rock weakness was bad for your team. My next suggestion would be to replace Skarmory with Forretress. He would add a spinner to your team and allow you to free up a slot for Heatran for it to run Substitute, Taunt,
but I would recommond Roar.

Forretress @ Leftovers
Careful | Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Att / 252 SDef
Rapid Spin / Spikes / Stealth Rocks / Payback

Again a very simple set where you are designed to set up hazards and prevent them from being set down. For any semi-stall team this is crucial. It allows to switch in without worry of hazards, which if you take my suggestion of Gyarados, is crucial. It also helps out with Blissey as Forretress does not care for Blissey and then can preceed to do what it wants with Hazards.

Great Team, try my recommondations, and Good Job in ST7

EDIT: Out of curiosity can you edit in the Earthworm battle log(s)

 

[Kaxtar]

Ian: Great rate, especially for your first.

I think you are making Infernape out to be a bigger threat than it actually is, but it is still a legitimate pest. Vaporeon normally handles it, but you're right that SD/NP Infernape can be very troublesome. I'll try out Forretress and Gyarados over Skarmory and Vaporeon. I like the new options and security they give to my team, so I'll be sure to try them out together and see what they can do. Thanks for the great rate!

 

[afterburn]

Threats

1. Dragon Dance Gyarados (Bulky Taunt variant)
2. Offensive Dragon Dance Dragonite
3. Mixed Dragonite
4. Opposing Stall (specifically Blissey)

Hey Kaxtar, solid team man, and congrats on your success with it. So right off the bat, you look weak to the threats you mentioned, namely Blissey, Gyarados and Dragonite. Blissye on a Heavy Stall team will cause you a major headache, especially if it has hazards on your side of the field; you will have quite a lot of trouble trying to break through the common stall core of Rotom-A | Skarmory | Blissey, and will be forced in and out, causing you to take exceeding amounts of hazard damage. Bulky Taunt Gyarados can also cause some serious issues late game when Rotom-W has been sufficiently weakened. It can switch in on Heatran, Vaporeon or Skarmory (cripple the latter two with Taunt), set-up and pretty much wreck your team between Dragon Dance + Taunt + Waterfall + Bounce / Stone Edge. A well played Mixed Dragonite is a big threat to Defensive teams due to hitting both ends of the spectrum pretty hard, and hitting Physical and Special walls alike; It can come in on Skarmory and Heatran and begin firing off powerful Draco Meteors, Fire Blasts, Superpowers, and staying aloft with Roost. Finally, the odd Offensive Dragon Dance Dragonite can also prove to be quite a threat, although it doesn't get too many set-up opportunities, it can force out Skarmory (due to the threat of a mixed set), as well as Heatran, and use this opportunity to get in a Dragon Dance boost, and sweep if not severly hurt this team with +1 Outrage, Earthquake, and Fire Punch.

Solutions:

Firstly, I'd like you to merge Skarmory's and Shaymin's roles together, and use a Roserade with Leech Seed / Spikes, and two other moves of your choice, I'll post the set later. Roserade will be able to slowly leech its opponent's life via Leech Seed, set-up layers of Spikes for the team, while still manhandling many of the Offensive Water- types that run rampant in the metagame. Now that you have no proper lead in the first slot, I'd like for you to move Heatran to the front and using a ChestoRest Heatran. As unusual as it may sound, this Heatran makes for a quite durable lead actually, taking on Offensive Electric- types and other Specially oriented threats and bringing them down. At first, it may seem that Machamp leads are going to be highly threatening, truth is, Machamp usage is declining in the lead spot, so most often than not, Heatran will get Stealth Rock up and get away with it. However, if you feel that Lead Machamp is a pretty huge threat, then try out Life Orb Lead Heatran instead. The reasons why I asked you to merge Shaymin's and Skarmory's roles was to simplify the amount of members required to do certain roles into one member which could perform all the roles needed; this will open up a free slot in the team, which would become the catch all member of the team helping out against the small amount of threats that trouble the team.

• Solution A: Choice Scarf Flygon in the remaining slot

Since Shaymin's and Skarmory's roles have been fused, you can add a revenge killer in the team to help out against the Dragon Dancing threats, Bulky Gyarados and Offensive Dragonite, in addition to Mixed Dragonite. To be honest with you, I think Scarf Flygon is a great member in a Defensive team stopping so many dangerous mixed attackers (Infernape, Dragonite, Tyranitar), and threatening dangerous stat uppers as well (Gyarados, CM+Wish Jirachi), it also resists or is immune to all entry hazards which might prove useful against opposing entry hazard abusing teams (Semi Stall, etc. )

• Solution B: Calm Mind + Wish Jirachi over current set

As you may or may not know, Calm Mind + Wish Jirachi is very difficult for Stall teams to defeat, due to the immunity to Toxic Spikes, reliable recovery via wish, and an immense amount of Special bulk after a Calm Mind or two, as well as the Special Attacking power. Jolly Swords Dance Lucario seemed like an issue previously, as only Shaymin was able to take it on, while losing over half its health from +2 Extremespeed. This Jirachi is also a great annoyance to Blissey (especially if you decide to use Toxic Spikes as well on Roserade); firstly, between Calm Mind + Wish, you will be able to mitigate the amount of damage Blissey ever inflicts on you, while gaining multiple Calm Mind boosts. Serene Grace coupled with Psychic, will mean Blissey will lose at least one stage in Special Defense, which may able Jirachi to achieve a sweep.

Movesets:

Spikes Roserade

Roserade (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 122 Def / 136 SDef OR 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Grass Knot
- Toxic Spikes / Stun Spore
- Spikes
- Leech Seed / Hidden Power Fire

(Lead) ChestoRest OR Life Orb Heatran

Heatran (F) @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 56 SDef / 200 Spe
Calm (+SDef, - Atk)
- Flamethrower
- Stealth Rock
- Rest
- Earth Power

OR

Heatran (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SAtk / 84 Spe
Rash nature (+SAtk, -Def)
- Overheat
- Stealth Rock
- Hidden Power Grass
- Explosion / Will-O-Wisp / Taunt
---

Scarf Flygon

Flygon (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Thunder Punch
---

Calm Mind + Wish Jirachi

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 76 SAtk / 180 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
- Calm Mind
- Wish
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
---

So to summarize:

• Skarmory and Shaymin replaced by Roserade
• Add Flygon as the final member
• Heatran as the lead
• Jirachi set change to CM + Wish

GL

 

[AB2]

Quite a nice team, and I am glad to see that you have had a good degree of success with it. Everything looks very good from a first glance at this team. Your synergy is very nice and your team members support each other correctly, and you have most of the OU threats checked. I do notice one problem that you have brought up in your thread. I really think that this team could use some more insurance versus defensive based teams as a good majority of your team is walled by common cores such as Forretress + Blissey. This problem will really be quite simple to fix and I believe it will only require a few pokemon to change around slots and some other minor changes. First of all I would like for you to try out your Skarmory in the midgame position. I am recommending this change for a few reasons most of which has to do with checking more defensive based teams. With Taunt Skarmory in the lead position, I believe that you will be able to easily prevent your opponent gaining multiple layers of entry hazards in this situation unless they lead with a Pokemon such as Skarmory or Forretress, which I will get into later. Also, I am recommending that you change your Skarmory's EV spread to 252 HP | 164 SpD | 92 Spe . This will allow you to outrun other Physically and Specially based Skarmory that frequently appear on stall teams and could give you some trouble.

Next, I would encourage you to try and switch your bulky water role around a little bit in order to effectively deal with defensive teams. This is why I would strongly recommend a Life Orb Starmie over your Vaporeon. Not only will Life Orb Starmie be able to assist you in checking Pokemon such as Infernape a little bit more than Vaporeon did, but it will also be able to put the pressure on stall teams with the threat of their hazards being spun away and their entire strategy becoming completely crippled.

Starmie @ Life Orb
Timid 4 HP | 252 SpA | 252 Spe Natural Cure
Hydro Pump | Thunderbolt | Ice Beam | Rapid Spin

Now that you have an efficient rapid spinner established, I think that it is time to fix up your lead situation. Although, this suggestion may be a little bit unorthodox, I believe that it will help you out quite a bit in the long run. I would like to suggest that you run a Lead Crobat for your replacement lead. This will allow you do to quite a few things. First of all, Lead Crobat matches up quite well versus other leads such as Azelf and bulkier leads such as Swampert. Crobat, with its great speed, also has the ability to prevent leads such as Skarmory and Forretress from getting up hazards in the first rounds of the game, which can seriously benefit your team against stall.

Crobat @ Leftovers
Jolly 100 HP | 252 Atk | 158 Spe Inner Focus
Brave Bird | U-turn | Roost | Taunt

With these changes, your team is now Crobat | Skarmory | Rotom | Shaymin | Heatran | Starmie. With this in mind, I would like you to consider a few more minor changes to this team. First of all I would switch up your EV spread on Heatran to 252 HP | 200 SpD | 56 Spe. This spread allows you to outrun minimum speed Rotom, which can be a major factor in checking common spin blockers that Starmie sometimes has trouble with. Finally, with all of these suggestions, I would change your Rotom-W to the Scarf variant. With the loss of your Vaporeon, a Pokemon such as Scarf Rotom-W will allow you to easily check Gyarados, which I notice you believe may pose a major threat to your team, and it also revenge kills many other pokemon as well. If you would like you could use a moveslot for Hidden Power Ice on Rotom in order to make sure this team isn't incredibly weak to Dragonite, which it really isn't anyways, but its some extra insurance anyways. Also, you may want to test out a Choice Scarf Tyranitar over your Leech Seed + Protect Shaymin. Although this is only a minor suggestion, I honestly believe that it would help you out quite a lot. Choice Scarf Tyranitar, really makes sure this team isn't weak to Heatran at all as it can take STAB Fire moves like a champ and can hit back very hard. More imporantly, Scarf Tyranitar also allows you to pursuit away common spinblockers like Rotom-A, which in turn allows Starmie to spin away entry hazards on stall teams and perhaps solidifying a win for you.

To summarize, with these changes, your team would now be Lead Crobat | Taunt Skarmory | Life Orb Rapid Spin Starmie | Scarf Tyranitar | Scarf Rotom-W | Specially Defensive Heatran.

That is all I have to say for now about this team, I wish you good luck in any changes you decide to make!

 

[Kaxtar]

I've tested out Ian's changed, and they've worked very well. However, I've noticed that offensive teams in general become a little harder to handle after losing a phazer, an extra protect, and an extra Wish user. But the benefits against stall, such as Rapid Spin and Toxic Spikes (I've kept SR on Heatran) from Forretress and a reliable status absorber in Gyarados, are immense, definitively keeping Forretress' and Gyarados' spots on the team. On the ladder, I'll keep the Forretress and Gyarados changes, but in some tournament matches, where stall is less prevalent, I'll use Skarm and Vaporeon instead. Both pairs are great and serve different purposes against different play-styles. Thanks for the suggestions Ian, they're great. Also, I don't have the log from beating EW, but it was semi-stall vs. semi-stall and he couldn't handle my SubSplit Rotom (most semi-stall teams can't), which was my key to success in that match.

The Legend killer and AB2, I'll test your changes now and give you guys an in-depth response later. Thanks for the rates, though, and keep them coming everyone!

 

[The Grand Babido]

I definitely don't understand why other raters are suggesting 3-4 Pokemon changes when this team has already proven successful and performs well.

There is not much I can suggest, although I really think this team is going to struggle against anything more defensive than it. Skarmory is able to set-up layers against the majority of your team and Spikes are really going to hinder the amount of opportunities your grounded Pokemon get to switch-in. Forretress is on the same boat, and actually has a very good chance at breaking through Rotom-W, so can potentially spin your hazards. A simple core of Roar Gyarados and Blissey [with Flamethrower or Ice Beam] is going to threaten to beat your entire team. With Vaporeon, Jirachi and, to a lesser extent, Shaymin all allowing Skarmory to set-up Spikes and Gyarados a free opportunity to Roar, you are going to struggle to break most full-stall teams. Rotom-W is not really helping against stall teams either, due to the fact that the #6 on the traditional Forretress/Ground-type/Blissey/Gyarados/Rotom-H is usually occupied by Heatran, Scarf Tyranitar or Celebi, who all have no problem taking on Rotom-W.

The second thing I notice is how slow this team is. Nothing on your team even comes close to passing the 328 Spe [positive base 100] threshold. Ian15 is right; while Vaporeon is one of the closest things you will find to an Infernape counter, physically-based versions are able to 2HKO it with Close Combat and with Vaporeon removed, your only hope is to play around Life Orb. Other fast Pokemon, such as Life Orb Aerodactyl can be annoying.

Finally, Heatran gets a number of opportunities to switch-in [Shaymin, Skarmory, Jirachi, Rotom-W all present chances to come in] and with your only "true counter" being Vaporeon, you may run into issues with Heatran, especially ones utilising a status-move.

I think you should definitely give your Rotom-W a Choice Scarf. Choice Scarf Rotom puts a lot of pressure on stall teams, as most of their Pokemon are potentially 2HKOed by its arsenal. Blissey shrugs off Rotom's attacks, although does not like switching in because of the fear or Trick. Not only can Scarf Rotom force a Choice Scarf onto an integral member of a stall team [hopefully Blissey], Rotom can also force stall teams into a corner because they can never know when you are going to Trick the Choice Scarf away, meaning the opposition is going to make a lot of plays they don't really want to do. Choice Scarf Rotom-W is also a much better spin-blocker, as it has the ability to outrun Life Orb Starmie, so they cannot KO you once you drop below 80%, like your current Rotom-W set.

My other suggestion would be to try Earth Power on Shaymin over, ideally Protect, although Hidden Power [Fire] works. With Earth Power, pretty much all Heatran variants, even the Hasty/Timid Shuca variants are going to be 2HKOed. Earth Power is also rather uncommon alongside Leech Seed, so you may even catch a few Heatran off-guard. Some stall teams will use Heatran as a stop to Leech Seed Shaymin, but after a couple of layers of Spikes, you may be able to grab the 2HKO with Earth Power. Just something to try out.

Good luck!

[edit]: couldnt help but notice poppycock's reply..

Small things --> Vaporeon's HP evs to 188 for a leftovers number.
CB Dragonite also does a number to this team if your main responses are vaporeon / rotom.

Really solid team though, good job.

252 HP actually hits a Leftovers number as well, and Leftovers points are not all that great, when you gain the same recovery by investing more HP and giving you more durability both physically and specially..

 

[His Eminence Lord Poppington II]

Small things --> Vaporeon's HP evs to 188 for a leftovers number.
CB Dragonite also does a number to this team if your main responses are vaporeon / rotom.

Really solid team though, good job.

 

[george182]

I think the weak point in this team is shaymin.

While shaymin makes a great switch in to many OU pokemon and the leech seed set can really help against nubs. It is weak to U-turn, the strategy of leech seed is weak to u-turn and shaymin herself is weak to u-turn. What this means is scarf flygon, scarf scizor, infernape ect. can switch in and they are in a win win situation, with nothing you can do, you stay in you loose, you switch out you loose.

To add to that, shaymins role is not really necessary on this team and it just hands the advantage to your opponent.

I would recomend:
Scarf flygon over shaymin
CM Jirachi over your jirachi

The reasons beeing, flygon gives your team a welcomed revenge killer, checking infernape, who could sweep your team. Flygon can also switch into specs Jolteon, who otherwise gives you a lot of trouble. Flygon + Spikes is such a win combo, with Outrage, Earthquake and U-turn all loving spikes support. Thunderpunch in the 4th slot for Gyrados.

Cm Jirachi helps vs the water types that shaymin previously helped against.