DJXO9: I’m going to start off by saying that this is easily my favorite team that I have ever personally made, and Is absolutely a blast to play with, kinda sucks to be against it. Once the team gains the momentum, its incredibly hard to get it back and win. The paralysis screws over a ton of the faster teams, and makes it so easy for the slower pokemon on our team to sweep. Each of the pokemon on our team has a ton of power, and any one of them is able to sweep through a given opposing team. I had a great time making it and playing with it, and I'm sure Pride would agree.
Pride: This has been one of the best teams I've been a part of, and I am a little reluctant to even post it because it enjoys so many victories! Many teams do not have a way to deal with Paralyzed Pokemon, and this team does a fantastic job at team builders pay for that oversight. With a few surprise sets and many ways to victory (every single member is dangerous in its own way) is a very difficult team to play against, and an even more fun team to play with. Once it has the momentum... Its usually downhill for the opponent.
The Team:
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 200 HP / 92 Sp Atk / 216 Spe
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunder Wave
- Leaf Storm
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
To lead off the team Celebi was choosen, even though it was not an orginal member. Orginally Swampert was in the lead but after a few issues with it we dumped it and put our heads together and had the idea to use Celebi. It keeps the resist to Electric that we wanted and more. Its quick, its bulky, has U-Turn, has Stealth Rock... Anything not to love? Well a few things actually. Heatran and Infernape are instant switches. And we can't touch Metagross but we do get Stealth Rock up so its not a major issues. While those suck we do have the appropriate members to handle the different situations.
EVs and Nature:
216 Speed and Timid is to outspeed that douce Gliscor. The Special Attack was to guarantee the OHKO against Manaphy and 2HKO on Tyranitar, with Sand Storm. The rest is put in HP to give Celebi great bulk.
Moveset:
As we dive into the RMT, you'll notice that our team was almost built on using Thunder Wave and the lead is no different. Thunder Wave is excellent for slowing down some of the threats to our team... A noticable one is Tyranitar. Latias LOVES being faster then that damned Scarftar. if scarftar is crippled early on then latias has fun all game. Leaf Storm helps against Aerodactyl and Azelf as they take less damage from Stealth Rock, but the main benefit is hitting Manaphy for massive damage, unlike Grass Knot (which is the better move in general in OU) A base 140 attack is nothing to scoff at, even more so on a Pokemon that doesn't allow much set up due to Thunder Wave! Stealth Rock is the most defining move in the metagame, very few teams are seen without and even less teams are successful without it. Everyone knows what this is for and we, like everyone else, like to see Salamence and Gyarados lose 1/4 of its health on the switch. U-Turn is the final move, which is great for breaking the sash on azelfs or for simply gaining momentum early to mid game. I've also experimented with several other moves in this slot, most notable is HP Fire since it completely stops Scizors ability to switch into Latias if it took a HP Fire. With HP Fire, Celebi almost acts as a lure for Latias, injuring Tyranitar with Thunder Wave and Leaf Storm and hitting Scizor with HP Fire.
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Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 156 HP / 88 Atk / 96 Def / 168 Spe
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Waterfall
- Thunder Wave
- Bounce
- Dragon Dance
EVs and Nature:
Gyarados suffers from odd evs from a glance. They are just the bulkydos EVs in HP and Defense, and enough Speed EVs to outspeed Jolteon after a DD. The rest or put into Attack. With the spread and EVs, Gyarados is a nice blend of support, bulk, and power which is extremely helpful on the team.
Move Set:
Probably the oddest member on the team with the most unusual move set, but damn does it work well. Like Celebi, Gyarados uses Thunder Wave to give our team more support. And even helping itself if it can hit ScarfRotom on the switch and then have to not worry about it for the rest of the game. Dragon Dance seems odd on a set that runs Thunder Wave but really there is no better option, on our team. I suppose we could run Roar but we have nothing to abuse the switch (aka Spikes) so it seems like a waste, nor does it fit with the team. And after opponents sees Thunder Wave, even less expect Gyarados to be Jolly, so another potent threat in Jolteon can get wasted easily. The final thing to nail down was what move to pair with Waterfall as Gyarados has many options: Stone Edge, Earthquake, Return, and Bounce. All of them give Gyarados nice neutral coverage and all have their perks. Stone Edge hits other Gyarados, Salamence, and other Flying-types for SE damage. Earthquake is great for grounded Steels such as Metagross and Jirachis but leaves us open to Gyarados, Salamence, and Latias. Return has great neutral coverage and is naturally strong, but doesn't hit anything SE and doesn't gain STAB. And Bounce has solid power, backed by STAB, hits almost everything neutrally, and even has a 30% chance to paralyze the opponent! But has the side effect of being a 2 turn attack so the opponent always has a chance to switch. After some talking, we went with Bounce and its so excellent that I haven't even tried any of the other options.
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Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 164 HP / 168 Atk / 176 Spe
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Thunder Wave
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- Substitute
While the team was not originally built around Jirachi, it seems that the team was built to support this Jirachi and it really is the most key member to the team. Bringing out this bad boy is almost just a rage quit from the opponent. Deadly effective, and one of the best anti-metagame Pokemon at the moment.
EVs and Nature:
A running theme on the team is bulk, even on offensive Pokemon. As such Jirachi is no exception. After playing with some numbers, I decided to reduce its attack down to 168 since it gains almost all the same ohkoes and 2hkoes as the 252 attack. Also because Jirachi's main job is to spread even more Thunder Wave, it was decided that Jirachi didn't need max speed (even though tying Salamence at times would be nice) and reduced it down. The remaining evs were placed into HP to give Jirachi some bulk for taking attacks if it needs to. The extra bulk is a god-send, and wouldn't trade it for the world.
Move Set:
In all seriousness, this move set is golden. Pure awesome. And the moveset really isn't flexible as all the moves really needed. Thunder Wave and Iron Head forms a deadly due where the opponent is much more unlike to not attack then actually attack. If scarfflinching was bad, then this must be hell. Substitute as an excellent pivot move, that allows for no predicting and gives Jirachi the chance to paralyze the opponent without taking damage. And even better when Jirachi keeps its substitute due to the opponent not moving. Fire Punch is the final move of the set, but most definitely is very useful. Fire Punch deals with all of the steels that try to use Jirachi to set up on, Magnezone is a big one as without Fire Punch we would be trapped and have to rely on a ton of Iron Heads to break it. Scizor is another Pokemon that tries to use Jirachi for some reason that I cannot explain but I will not complain.
For a in-depth description of this Jirachi: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69025
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Machamp (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Atk / 12 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dynamicpunch
- Substitute
- Stone Edge
- Payback
EVs and Nature:
The EVs are pretty self-explanitory, we took a little from attack to outsped other Machamp. No need worrying about some 4-8 speed clone. Other then that, max hp and near max attack.
Move Set:
Whenever Machamp hits the field, I almost expect something to die. Its coverage is awesome, very strong, and can ruin even solid switches like Gyarados due to Dynamicpunch. Speaking of Dynamicpunch is there nothing not to be glad about? Its 100% accurate with 100 base power with a 100% chance of inflicting confusing. That confusion is even more annoying when some pokemon start getting paralyzed and they opponent is put under pressure due to so many mons being paralyzed. Payback is the move that gives almost completely neutral coverage with just two moves. Payback is the perfect move for Rotom, solid chance to OHKO ScarfRotom on the switch if SR is up and about a 3hko on SleepTalk Rotom. Stone Edge is another great move, allowing Machamp to beat almost everything barring Gliscor maybe. Salamence, Gyarados, Zapdos, etc all fear Machamp due to Stone Edge. And finally there is Substitute, which is perhaps the best move in the game. Because of Machamps power and ability to 2HKO much of the game, it loves the chance to not predict the switch and hide safely behind a substitute. I doesn't have to worry about being burned or taking a potential ohkoing Draco Meteor from Salamence or Latias; it just sits back and launches a brutal attack.
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Heatran (M) @ Passho Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 36 HP / 252 SAtk / 220 Spe
Mild nature (+SAtk, -Def)
- Explosion
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Grass]
EVs and Nature:
Max Special Attack is a given on such a set, the speed goes above Jolly Tyranitar and the rest is in HP. We could possibly max it out since there are a lot of mons that run between 244-246 and we could get a jump on those slow Jirachi, Celebi, and Zapdos (although 2 have no business against Heatran). The remaining EVs go to HP to nigh-guarantee Heatran will survive +2 Manaphy Surf with Passho. Mild over Rash for that reason.
Move Set:
Heatran is the suicide bomber of the team, laying to waste any pesky bulky waters that get in the way such as Suicune, Vaporeon, Gyarados, Swampert, and the 3-4 exclusive, Manaphy, with either Explosion or HP Grass (aka Swampert). Removing them makes Gyarados' and Jirachi's life much easier, giving them more turns to attack rather then fleeing on site. Passho Berry also is a last ditch on Starmie, who is one of the biggest threats to our teams. As you can see it 2-ohkoes the entire team without question, so Heatran is insurance as long as its health is high enough to take the Hydro Pump. Another thing about explosion is that we can remove Blissey with it, although its easier said then done as its usually a chess match between the two. Fire Blast is the move of choice for power, and the STABed Fire attack is much needed on a team that has mild issues with Skarmory. And Earth Power is almost a useless attack to be honest. Really can't tell you why we run it due to being outsped by most Heatran's but I guess its nice to catch them on a switch or to hit Jirachi and Metagross with 100% acc instead of Fire Blast or to hit non-scarfTyranitar (although almost every ttar on suspect was scarfed).
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Latias (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse
- Surf
- Trick
Specs Latias was the star of the suspect in my opinion on both our team and everyone elses team. A phenomenal threat to our oppositions and to ourselves when we had to play against it. Truly a devastating set that requires little prediction to plow through even well-prepared teams. So much so that all three of us believe to be Uber under the Support Category, but that's a discussion for another time.
EVs and Nature:
Even my disdain for 252/252 spreads couldn't deny that there is very little way to ev this. So max Special Attack, Max Speed, and then dumping the rest into HP.
Move Set:
With Choice Specs, Latias is a terror. Draco Meteor is one of the best attacks in the game just because it has the lone resist, and those steel types that do not have recovery usually can only switch in once. Draco Meteor its down side but its well worth it to get off one incredible attack. Dragon Pulse is the end-game move, and due to its solid power and Latias good speed its very easy to finish off a team thats been battered and paralyzed through out the course of the match. After playing this set for so long, Surf is probably the best lead off move for Latias. Besides Blissey and Snorlax, it generally 2hkoes all of its usual switches like Jirachi, Scizor, Skarmory, Metagross, and the famous Scarftar. Between Surf and Dragon Pulse, Latias hits everything neutrally expect for Empoleon. Trick is the final move of the set and probably the move I used least on the set. Its uses are great such as crippling Blissey into using a single move, or helping against some of the cm machines like Jirachi, Suicune, and Manaphy but in almost all situations I'd rather keep my Specs just because it loses so much power. Thunderbolt could go here but, in suspect, Manaphy was always ohkoed by Draco Meteor. Both Trick and Thunderbolt have their uses, with Trick having more so its stayed on the set.
Pride: This has been one of the best teams I've been a part of, and I am a little reluctant to even post it because it enjoys so many victories! Many teams do not have a way to deal with Paralyzed Pokemon, and this team does a fantastic job at team builders pay for that oversight. With a few surprise sets and many ways to victory (every single member is dangerous in its own way) is a very difficult team to play against, and an even more fun team to play with. Once it has the momentum... Its usually downhill for the opponent.
The Team:
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 200 HP / 92 Sp Atk / 216 Spe
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
To lead off the team Celebi was choosen, even though it was not an orginal member. Orginally Swampert was in the lead but after a few issues with it we dumped it and put our heads together and had the idea to use Celebi. It keeps the resist to Electric that we wanted and more. Its quick, its bulky, has U-Turn, has Stealth Rock... Anything not to love? Well a few things actually. Heatran and Infernape are instant switches. And we can't touch Metagross but we do get Stealth Rock up so its not a major issues. While those suck we do have the appropriate members to handle the different situations.
EVs and Nature:
216 Speed and Timid is to outspeed that douce Gliscor. The Special Attack was to guarantee the OHKO against Manaphy and 2HKO on Tyranitar, with Sand Storm. The rest is put in HP to give Celebi great bulk.
Moveset:
As we dive into the RMT, you'll notice that our team was almost built on using Thunder Wave and the lead is no different. Thunder Wave is excellent for slowing down some of the threats to our team... A noticable one is Tyranitar. Latias LOVES being faster then that damned Scarftar. if scarftar is crippled early on then latias has fun all game. Leaf Storm helps against Aerodactyl and Azelf as they take less damage from Stealth Rock, but the main benefit is hitting Manaphy for massive damage, unlike Grass Knot (which is the better move in general in OU) A base 140 attack is nothing to scoff at, even more so on a Pokemon that doesn't allow much set up due to Thunder Wave! Stealth Rock is the most defining move in the metagame, very few teams are seen without and even less teams are successful without it. Everyone knows what this is for and we, like everyone else, like to see Salamence and Gyarados lose 1/4 of its health on the switch. U-Turn is the final move, which is great for breaking the sash on azelfs or for simply gaining momentum early to mid game. I've also experimented with several other moves in this slot, most notable is HP Fire since it completely stops Scizors ability to switch into Latias if it took a HP Fire. With HP Fire, Celebi almost acts as a lure for Latias, injuring Tyranitar with Thunder Wave and Leaf Storm and hitting Scizor with HP Fire.
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Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 156 HP / 88 Atk / 96 Def / 168 Spe
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
EVs and Nature:
Gyarados suffers from odd evs from a glance. They are just the bulkydos EVs in HP and Defense, and enough Speed EVs to outspeed Jolteon after a DD. The rest or put into Attack. With the spread and EVs, Gyarados is a nice blend of support, bulk, and power which is extremely helpful on the team.
Move Set:
Probably the oddest member on the team with the most unusual move set, but damn does it work well. Like Celebi, Gyarados uses Thunder Wave to give our team more support. And even helping itself if it can hit ScarfRotom on the switch and then have to not worry about it for the rest of the game. Dragon Dance seems odd on a set that runs Thunder Wave but really there is no better option, on our team. I suppose we could run Roar but we have nothing to abuse the switch (aka Spikes) so it seems like a waste, nor does it fit with the team. And after opponents sees Thunder Wave, even less expect Gyarados to be Jolly, so another potent threat in Jolteon can get wasted easily. The final thing to nail down was what move to pair with Waterfall as Gyarados has many options: Stone Edge, Earthquake, Return, and Bounce. All of them give Gyarados nice neutral coverage and all have their perks. Stone Edge hits other Gyarados, Salamence, and other Flying-types for SE damage. Earthquake is great for grounded Steels such as Metagross and Jirachis but leaves us open to Gyarados, Salamence, and Latias. Return has great neutral coverage and is naturally strong, but doesn't hit anything SE and doesn't gain STAB. And Bounce has solid power, backed by STAB, hits almost everything neutrally, and even has a 30% chance to paralyze the opponent! But has the side effect of being a 2 turn attack so the opponent always has a chance to switch. After some talking, we went with Bounce and its so excellent that I haven't even tried any of the other options.
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Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 164 HP / 168 Atk / 176 Spe
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
While the team was not originally built around Jirachi, it seems that the team was built to support this Jirachi and it really is the most key member to the team. Bringing out this bad boy is almost just a rage quit from the opponent. Deadly effective, and one of the best anti-metagame Pokemon at the moment.
EVs and Nature:
A running theme on the team is bulk, even on offensive Pokemon. As such Jirachi is no exception. After playing with some numbers, I decided to reduce its attack down to 168 since it gains almost all the same ohkoes and 2hkoes as the 252 attack. Also because Jirachi's main job is to spread even more Thunder Wave, it was decided that Jirachi didn't need max speed (even though tying Salamence at times would be nice) and reduced it down. The remaining evs were placed into HP to give Jirachi some bulk for taking attacks if it needs to. The extra bulk is a god-send, and wouldn't trade it for the world.
Move Set:
In all seriousness, this move set is golden. Pure awesome. And the moveset really isn't flexible as all the moves really needed. Thunder Wave and Iron Head forms a deadly due where the opponent is much more unlike to not attack then actually attack. If scarfflinching was bad, then this must be hell. Substitute as an excellent pivot move, that allows for no predicting and gives Jirachi the chance to paralyze the opponent without taking damage. And even better when Jirachi keeps its substitute due to the opponent not moving. Fire Punch is the final move of the set, but most definitely is very useful. Fire Punch deals with all of the steels that try to use Jirachi to set up on, Magnezone is a big one as without Fire Punch we would be trapped and have to rely on a ton of Iron Heads to break it. Scizor is another Pokemon that tries to use Jirachi for some reason that I cannot explain but I will not complain.
For a in-depth description of this Jirachi: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69025
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Machamp (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Atk / 12 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
EVs and Nature:
The EVs are pretty self-explanitory, we took a little from attack to outsped other Machamp. No need worrying about some 4-8 speed clone. Other then that, max hp and near max attack.
Move Set:
Whenever Machamp hits the field, I almost expect something to die. Its coverage is awesome, very strong, and can ruin even solid switches like Gyarados due to Dynamicpunch. Speaking of Dynamicpunch is there nothing not to be glad about? Its 100% accurate with 100 base power with a 100% chance of inflicting confusing. That confusion is even more annoying when some pokemon start getting paralyzed and they opponent is put under pressure due to so many mons being paralyzed. Payback is the move that gives almost completely neutral coverage with just two moves. Payback is the perfect move for Rotom, solid chance to OHKO ScarfRotom on the switch if SR is up and about a 3hko on SleepTalk Rotom. Stone Edge is another great move, allowing Machamp to beat almost everything barring Gliscor maybe. Salamence, Gyarados, Zapdos, etc all fear Machamp due to Stone Edge. And finally there is Substitute, which is perhaps the best move in the game. Because of Machamps power and ability to 2HKO much of the game, it loves the chance to not predict the switch and hide safely behind a substitute. I doesn't have to worry about being burned or taking a potential ohkoing Draco Meteor from Salamence or Latias; it just sits back and launches a brutal attack.
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Heatran (M) @ Passho Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 36 HP / 252 SAtk / 220 Spe
Mild nature (+SAtk, -Def)
EVs and Nature:
Max Special Attack is a given on such a set, the speed goes above Jolly Tyranitar and the rest is in HP. We could possibly max it out since there are a lot of mons that run between 244-246 and we could get a jump on those slow Jirachi, Celebi, and Zapdos (although 2 have no business against Heatran). The remaining EVs go to HP to nigh-guarantee Heatran will survive +2 Manaphy Surf with Passho. Mild over Rash for that reason.
Move Set:
Heatran is the suicide bomber of the team, laying to waste any pesky bulky waters that get in the way such as Suicune, Vaporeon, Gyarados, Swampert, and the 3-4 exclusive, Manaphy, with either Explosion or HP Grass (aka Swampert). Removing them makes Gyarados' and Jirachi's life much easier, giving them more turns to attack rather then fleeing on site. Passho Berry also is a last ditch on Starmie, who is one of the biggest threats to our teams. As you can see it 2-ohkoes the entire team without question, so Heatran is insurance as long as its health is high enough to take the Hydro Pump. Another thing about explosion is that we can remove Blissey with it, although its easier said then done as its usually a chess match between the two. Fire Blast is the move of choice for power, and the STABed Fire attack is much needed on a team that has mild issues with Skarmory. And Earth Power is almost a useless attack to be honest. Really can't tell you why we run it due to being outsped by most Heatran's but I guess its nice to catch them on a switch or to hit Jirachi and Metagross with 100% acc instead of Fire Blast or to hit non-scarfTyranitar (although almost every ttar on suspect was scarfed).
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Latias (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
Specs Latias was the star of the suspect in my opinion on both our team and everyone elses team. A phenomenal threat to our oppositions and to ourselves when we had to play against it. Truly a devastating set that requires little prediction to plow through even well-prepared teams. So much so that all three of us believe to be Uber under the Support Category, but that's a discussion for another time.
EVs and Nature:
Even my disdain for 252/252 spreads couldn't deny that there is very little way to ev this. So max Special Attack, Max Speed, and then dumping the rest into HP.
Move Set:
With Choice Specs, Latias is a terror. Draco Meteor is one of the best attacks in the game just because it has the lone resist, and those steel types that do not have recovery usually can only switch in once. Draco Meteor its down side but its well worth it to get off one incredible attack. Dragon Pulse is the end-game move, and due to its solid power and Latias good speed its very easy to finish off a team thats been battered and paralyzed through out the course of the match. After playing this set for so long, Surf is probably the best lead off move for Latias. Besides Blissey and Snorlax, it generally 2hkoes all of its usual switches like Jirachi, Scizor, Skarmory, Metagross, and the famous Scarftar. Between Surf and Dragon Pulse, Latias hits everything neutrally expect for Empoleon. Trick is the final move of the set and probably the move I used least on the set. Its uses are great such as crippling Blissey into using a single move, or helping against some of the cm machines like Jirachi, Suicune, and Manaphy but in almost all situations I'd rather keep my Specs just because it loses so much power. Thunderbolt could go here but, in suspect, Manaphy was always ohkoed by Draco Meteor. Both Trick and Thunderbolt have their uses, with Trick having more so its stayed on the set.
