The Avengers - Heroes of OU (My Very First VoltTurn Team)

[Bossgodora]

The Avengers

Have you ever had a superhero, or even a group of superheroes that you always wanted to have a team based off of in pokemon? A couple days ago, I thought of basing my team off of one, just for fun and laughs. This was quite a challenge, considering the team had to also actually work together. I decided to base it off of my favorite group, The Avengers. So, I did some research and found pokemon that either looked similar to them or just felt like that would be that pokemon. This team actually turned out better than I thought it would (expected it to be completely awful), and is actually pretty much a VoltTurn team, or a team that focuses on gaining momentum and making use of it by constantly forcing your opponent to switch. This team is completely offensive and I'm starting to think that's not good. I don't think this team is too good, which is why I'm putting it on here. It has had some good matches, but I've felt that this team can be much better than it has been doing. I really want this team to be good. I want this to work out. This is my first VoltTurn team, so anybody experienced in those kind of teams I'd be grateful getting pointers from.

At a Glance:

Yeah... just by looking at it you know this team is going to be interesting...
Here's one battle this team did well in (Just one lol):
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/ou-53514716

In-Depth:

Captain America (Braviary) @ Choice Band
Trait: Defiant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Return
- Superpower
- U-turn
Braviary had to be Captain America. Both are incredibly strong and both represent America. I decided to go with the wall breaking setup, since one of the goals for this team is to put the opponent on his/her toes and punching holes in teams. I tend to use return most of the time, as it is fairly strong to anything that takes neutral from it and Braviary doesn't take recoil damage from it. Superpower is there for obvious coverage against rock and steel types, who otherwise wall and take him out. Brave Bird is there as his strongest move, but is only actually used in absolute emergency. U-turn is for scouting purposes and works well in combination of Magnezone and Raikou's volt switch. He has a weakness to Stealth Rock, and I currently have no one with rapid spin, so I've been considering a teammate who has perfect synergy with him and provides that rapid spin support.

Thor (Raikou) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Rash Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Aura Sphere
- Volt Switch
Raikou has one of the most important roles on this team: Cleaning up the battle of any threats or walls. Expert belt gives the impression that I'm running specs or scarf, which aids in pulling off KO's against unsuspecting opponents. I'm actually considering switching thunderbolt with thunder since I've seen a lot of rain teams out there and the extra power is tempting. Hidden Power Ice is a solid counter to dragons and Thundurus-T, who would otherwise wall him and make my team miserable. Aura Sphere provides additional coverage. Volt Switch allows me to switch out while keeping momentum up for the opponent.

Iron Man (Magnezone) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Magnet Pull
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SAtk / 84 Spd
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
Magnezone is mainly my Anti-Steel support. Otherwise, he can act as another counter to rain teams or another wall breaker. Volt Switch is awesome with Choice Specs, as it dishes out a lot of damage to pokemon that don't resist it and allows me to gain more momentum. Hidden Power Fire is there for Steel types. Flash Cannon is a strong STAB move that can also take out some potential threats like Mamoswine and Donphan. Thunderbolt is there for coverage against water types and flying types.

Hawkeye (Scyther) (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Technician
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 216 HP / 40 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Aerial Ace
- Baton Pass
To be honest, Scyther doesn't have any real point on being on this team. His presence is really only because I've always wanted to see how he is competitively and because he reminds me of Hawkeye. With the eviolite, Scyther becomes pretty bulky. Swords Dance is there to make Aerial Ace hit harder and can otherwise be baton passed to another member of my team. Roost is to recover any HP he lost while setting up. Aerial Ace hits with decent damage with some coverage. Baton Pass can be used to pass any boost to Machamp, Weavile, Or Braviary, though I haven't had much success with that. I kept him on this team because I have no idea who would be more like Hawkeye. I guess a rapid spinner could go here, but again, I don't have any ideas right now.

Hulk (Machamp) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: No Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spd
Adamant Nature
- DynamicPunch
- Substitute
- Stone Edge
- ThunderPunch
Machamp is the perfect candidate for Hulk. Really, there is no other pokemon that fits the title better. DynamicPunch hits pretty hard and if the opponent's pokemon even survives it will be confused. Substitute is there to protect Machamp from Status which would cripple him severely. Stone Edge is there for coverage against flying types. Thunderpunch provides pretty much the same coverage but also hits water types pretty hard. There really isn't much more I can say about this setup.

Black Widow (Weavile) @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard
- Night Slash
- Low Kick
Last but not least, is my team's trapper/revenge killer. Weavile usually comes in on a pokemon either low in health or weak to it. Pursuit is perfect for this. Pokémon like Latios and Wobbuffet find themselves screwed. Ice Shard is perfect for revenge killing anything weakened. Night Slash is there for some strong STAB, if Ice Shard won't cut it. Low Kick punishes slower walls or tanks.

Weaknesses/Threats:

-My team lacks Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin Support
-I have 1 pokemon that losses 25% of HP from Stealth Rock
-I have 3 pokemon weak to Fire
-I have 2 pokemon weak to Fighting
-I have 2 pokemon weak to Electric
-Only 2 pokemon are immune to Earthquake
-Only 2 pokemon have speed that exceed 300
-There are no defensive pokemon/walls

Thanks for reading this. I hope we can make this team better! Feel free to use it or improve upon it on your own (I have no idea how to hide stuff on here so if you know how then please tell me).
Captain America (Braviary) @ Choice Band
Trait: Defiant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Return
- Superpower
- U-turn
Thor (Raikou) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Rash Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Aura Sphere
- Volt Switch
Iron Man (Magnezone) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Magnet Pull
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SAtk / 84 Spd
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
Hawkeye (Scyther) (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Technician
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 216 HP / 40 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Aerial Ace
- Baton Pass
Hulk (Machamp) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: No Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spd
Adamant Nature
- DynamicPunch
- Substitute
- Stone Edge
- ThunderPunch
Black Widow (Weavile) @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard
- Night Slash
- Low Kick

 

[TheWorm55]

OK, this team has some serious issues with type synergy. You have big Stealth Rock weaknesses, 3 Fire weaknesses with no Fire resistance and too much Ground weakness. 2 Electric-Types is unnecessary and you are using a lot of outclassed Pokemon, with only 1 OU Pokemon in the entire team. You also have no real goal or direction with the team.

You mentioned that you have 1 weakness weakness to Stealth Rock, where as you actually have 3, with Scyther having a 4x Weakness to it.

All this kinda suggests you need to seriously rethink a lot of this team, as well as read up a bit more on competitive Pokemon in general.

http://www.marriland.com/tools/team-builder <- This website helps you look at the type synergy of your team, which helps a lot. This isn't the only thing you need though: You need a good balance between your Pokemon, for starters. All of your team can't aim to be sweepers, because then you have little defence to be able to stop opposing sweepers. You also need Pokemon that check/counter each others' weaknesses. For example, Fighting or Fire-Types in general can counter Weavile, and the most common out to it is Keldeo, therefore Jellicent would be a good partner as it covers a lot of Weavile's weaknesses and completely walls most Keldeo sets.

Various support moves/Pokemon are important as well in order to cripple opposing sweepers and make it easier for you to sweep, as well as having other useful functions. For your team, a Rapid Spinner is desperately needed, as you have loads of Stealth Rock weaknesses. Entry hazards of your own would be useful as well, since it makes it a lot easier to get OHKO/2HKOs that you would not normally get, as well as breaking Focus Sashes.


So let's look at your team in particular, then. For starters, the massive Rock weakness needs to be solved, and you also need a decent hazard setter that also fits well with your team. I can think of Garchomp here, as it is a good Stealth Rock lead and has good power as well, so it is great on an offensive team.

Garchomp

Garchomp @ Life Orb
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Fire Blast

Taking off Scyther for Garchomp will sort out a lot of problems with the team's balance, as well as give you a good lead and hazard setter.


Now, the issue of having 2 Electric-Types needs sorting. Raikou really has no place on this team, especially as you also have Magnezone. I suggest replacing Raikou with Jellicent, as that gives you a good Spinblocker for Garchomp, as well as an out to Weavile's most common counter, Keldeo. Jellicent will also provide some good defensive synergy with the rest of your team. It sorts out the lack of Water weaknesses and gives you Fighting immunity and Fire resistance, so Weavile likes it a lot.

Jellicent

Jellicent @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
- Scald
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt

I'm also not sure about the usefulness of Choice Specs Magnezone here. Magnezone's main niche is to trap and kill Steel-Types in order for another Pokemon to get a sweep more easily. Magnezone doesn't need Choice Specs to do this. What I suggest is a Substitute + Charge Beam set that allows Magnezone to set up on Steel-Type Walls (Ferrothorn, Forretress, Skarmory) and then get a KO or two after that. I suggest changing its set to this:

Magnezone

Magnezone @ Leftovers
Trait: Magnet Pull
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Charge Beam

This set allows Magnezone to set up a Substitute to avoid status moves and lets it get a KO after you KO the Steel-Type. Charge Beam gives Special Attack boosts that let the KOs become a lot easier. HP Fire is obviously for the Steel-Types and Thunderbolt is the main STAB move. Volt Switch is an option over Charge Beam to go with the whole VoltTurn thing, but with Substitute, you won't use it too much.


Now, Braviary is a pokemon that is seriously outclassed by Staraptor and even Swellow to some extent, so I suggest just replacing it with Staraptor.

Staraptor

Staraptor @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Reckless
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Double-Edge
- Close Combat
- U-turn

Choice Scarf Staraptor is a powerful revenge killer with great stats, moveset and ability. Giving it a Choice Scarf allows it to revenge kill all non-scarf users as it has powerful attacks backed up by high attack and speed. Reckless boosts the power of Brave Bird and Double-Edge so they hit really hard. Staraptor, however is weak to Stealth Rock and its most powerful moves have Recoil damage, meaning his lifespan is always quite short. To lengthen this lifespan, Rapid Spin support is pretty essential. The only way I can find room for a Rapid Spinner is to replace Machamp with Hitmontop. You will lose some power and some coverage moves, but Hitmontop provides essential support while also being able to break a couple of walls with Close Combat.

Hitmontop

Hitmontop (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Rapid Spin
- Sucker Punch
- Foresight

This is the same Hitmontop set that I use and it works wonders for the team. Close Combat is the STAB and can break walls very well. Rapid Spin is the reason Hitmontop is good. Foresight enables you to hit Ghost-Types with Rapid Spin so you are guaranteed to get it off. Sucker Punch is a good coverage move to KO Psychic-Types like Lati@s and Espeon. Intimidate is a good ability that increases Hitmontop's survivability and can stop sweeps. The EV spread gives good bulk but also maximum offence because you might miss the hard-hitting powers of Machamp. Hitmontop can't compete in power, but provides essential support.


I know I have ruined your team by getting rid of the whole Avengers theme and everything, but you can't expect raters to try and work round that. We are here to improve peoples' teams for competitive play, not to make teams with silly themes. I also kinda ruined the VoltTurn thing, but the original team didn't have a strong VoltTurn core anyway.

Importable

Garchomp @ Life Orb
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Fire Blast

Jellicent @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
- Scald
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt

Magnezone @ Leftovers
Trait: Magnet Pull
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Charge Beam

Staraptor @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Reckless
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Double-Edge
- Close Combat
- U-turn

Hitmontop (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Rapid Spin
- Sucker Punch
- Foresight

Weavile @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Ice Shard
- Night Slash
- Pursuit
- Low Kick

 

[Bossgodora]

Yeah... Believe it or not I'm actually better at synergy than that, but I've never really made a team based off the avengers before. I appreciate the rate! I'll try out the improvements you suggested, and will consider being better in the future with synergy for teams like this.

 

[TheWorm55]

Yeah... Believe it or not I'm actually better at synergy than that, but I've never really made a team based off the avengers before. I appreciate the rate! I'll try out the improvements you suggested, and will consider being better in the future with synergy for teams like this.

Well I can kinda understand that making a themed team like that won't get you much synergy, but still, Smogon is for competitive stuff so yeah...