Imagine we have CB +6 252 evs (through Baton Pass Chain) Adamant Lucario, and it uses Close Combat against a -6 Def 0 HP/Def Hasty Weavile, getting a maxium damage and a crit:
Start of turn 1:
Helios sent out Lucario (lvl 100 Lucario ?).
KingsKinghtness sent out Weavile (lvl 100 Weavile ?).
Lucario used Close Combat!
A critical hit!
Weavile lost 42348! (12310.5% of its health)
Weavile hugged in its Focus Sash!
Weavile used Counter!
Helios: ._.
Introduction
The reason I named this thread “The jackal returns again” was because when I was about to post this team, Eradicator, posted the same title I was going to use. So I had to wait some days to use this title (:3)
I started building balanced teams because they are, in my opinion one of the best teams because you can handle most/all the sweepers, while you kill checks and counters, not losing the synergy and closing the match with a final sweep; if you do all of these, you´ll win the match. This team has been at the moment one of the best teams I´ve ever built.
This team was centered around SD Lucario because Salamence, one of the pokemon who to a lesser extent countered Luke, went to Ubers, and Lucario really appreciated that. Luke has access to Swords Dance, which lets Luke reach to an Attack of 700, also, it has access to a powerful Close Combat; not mentioning Luke has a powerful priority move. In other words, it can do come-backs in certain matches, and sweep teams that aren’t prepared to it so easily.
First look:
Some information about my team:
~ 0 pokemon are weak to Stealth Rock
~ 4/6 are weak to Spikes
~ 2/6 are affected by Toxic Spikes
~ 4/6 aren´t affected by Sandstorm
~ 3/6 are weak to grass; the other half of the team resists it.
Team building process:
First, I started with SD Lucario because I saw it in action and liked how good it was.
Later, I checked what didn’t let it sweep, and it was because of ghost-pokemon, including Gengar and faster Rotom-A. So, I added ScarfTtar because it works pretty well as a special wall, taking Shadow Balls and Thunderbolts, and finishing them with a powerful Crunch or preventing them to escape with Pursuit. It works pretty well walling ScarfTran, and it is a decent a revenge killer. Now I had SS in my team, letting me weaken pokemon each turn who are weak to it.
I checked Lucario´s checks, and ScarfRachi, ScarfTran and ScarfZone were the most dangerous because of their typing, they resisted Extreme Speed, while they could OHKO back with a powerful STAB move (Jirachi uses Fire Punch). I decided to add Swampert because Ttar couldn’t handle all of them. Thanks to this bulky guy, now I could handle other ScarfTtar – another threat of Luke. Swampert lays SR, walls many physical and special sweepers, and can scout what the opponent will do thanks to Protect.
I still had no pokemon who could kill Gliscor and Gyarados, because just their presence annoyed Lucario´s sweep. Gliscor can take Extreme Speeds all the day, while Gyara can take a +1 (because of intimidate) Close Combat and kill back with an Earthquake. Starmie could kill this 2 pokemon with relative easiness thanks to the Boltbeam combo it can learn. This starfish, paired with LO can weaken / sweep teams enough to let Lucario sweep.
I had a Breloom problem with this team, and I lacked another revenge killer who could kill Kingdra, Gyara, and Dnite after they got a speed boost, so I added ScarfCelebi because it could wall and kill breloom with HP fire, and could revenge kill most of Dragon Dancers with Leaf Storm.
I had to choose a lead, and I have to admit that I tested all kinds of leads here, and finished choosing Skarmory. At the first look, it seemed a pretty bad lead, but Tyranitar supported it right taking taunts and breaking sashes. The metal bird can lay 3 layers of spikes, lures ScarfTran, and walls most of physical sweepers. Spikes support is something that Lucario loves because it does extra damage that can score OHKO´s than 2OHKO´s.
After testing the team, I noticed that a rapid spinner could blow away my entry hazards so easily; by this way I wasted my turns laying spikes and SR. I was requiring a spin blocker in my team. There weren’t many options: Gengar, Rotom, Dusknoir and Spiritomb. I replaced Celebi and chose Gengar (and scarfed it) because it can wall Breloom with little defense investment. It has more power and more speed than Rotom-A. Besides, it is a bit unpredictable; everyone has forgotten about ScarfGengar. By this way, I had a spin blocker and a nice revenge killer.
*Changes in RED*
A deeper look into team:
Skarmory (M) @ Lum Berry -
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 SDef / 6 Def
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
~ Brave Bird
~ Roost
~ Spikes
~ Taunt
Why Skarmory? I needed a decent lead who could lay spikes, making easier Lucario to sweep. With Spikes, I inflict indirect damage, and turns 2HKO´s to OHKO´s. It works pretty well as a physical wall, and a decent special wall. The role it plays in the team is very important because it deals with grass pokemon, such as Celebi and Shaymin who are t-wave / leech seed spamming (which think they can OHKO me with HP fire), and kill / damage those bulky grass-pokemon. It also comes in not effective special moves – such as Earth power or HP grass. In this situation, Skarmory can do 2 things; stay and lay spikes or switch to Tyranitar / Swampert in order to kill that special sweeper. It can also lay spikes in pokemon with no SAtk, just like vaporeon, and roost the damage.
Why this set? I´m using this set because SDef Skarm can take both kinds of hits; special and physical. Just STAB + x2 special moves can OHKO it.. I saw a guy using this set, and I fall in love with it. Why? Because Starmie, Gengar, and even Magnezone think they can kill me with a super effective move, but I show them the real power of Skarm, and it finishes them with Brave Bird (the recoil damage finishes Skarm too btw) or lays another layer of spikes. Roost lets me heal the damage taken and raises the opportunities of survivaling. Whirlwind is a Phaze move that gets rid of substitutes and stat changes; also it lets me abuse the entry hazards. Brave Bird is move that deals with Machamp and most of the time Lucario (if it hasn´t used SD). I prefer Brave Bird over Drill peck because I do more damage with it than Drill Peck; I don’t have Atk evs, so I have power without any investment, besides, Skarmory doesn´t seem to dislike the recoil damage.
Investing in a pokemon with low SDef and giving it a positive nature may seem stupid, but it takes awesomely special hits. With all this investments, Skarmory reaches to a SDef of 239. 252 evs in HP is required for most of walls; it can take hits better. With 6 Def evs, Skarmory has 347 in Def, not so bad. Lum Berry will let me Spikes + Brave Bird against Machamp / Roserade / Smeargle, who will induce status to set up / kill me
Some reasons why SpD Skarmory is the best:
VS top 16 popular leads of July
Azelf – This guy will probably Taunt / Fire Blast my Skarm, so I switch to ScarfTtar while the pixie taunts, breaks its Focus Sash with Sand Stream, and finish him with Crunch. The only problem I have is when Azelf is a CB variant or a Coulbur berry lead.
Machamp – This lead is just a ***** because there´s just 50 % of chances to kill him, so I attack with Brave Bird in the first turn, leaving Skarm with less than the middle of health, then switch to Gengar during the 2nd Dynamic Punch, and finish him with Shadow Ball.
Aerodactyl – He most of the time uses Taunt, because nothing can OHKO him (because he runs Focus Sash), so I switch in the taunt to Swampert who will afterwards 2OHKO him with Ice beam.
Metagross – He usually uses SR, and switches, so I lay 1 layer of spikes while it uses SR, and Whirlwinds (while he switches) to scout Magnezone / Heatran. Then I switch to Swampert, hoping they switch again in those threatening pokemon.
Swampert – He does the same as Metagross, so I lay 1 layer of Spikes, and Whirlwinds to scout further threats.
Jirachi – It usually runs the TrickScarf set, and a Tricked Skarmory isn´t the best option in my team, so I just switch to Ttar, it tricks its Choice Scarf, receiving another Choice Scarf, making Jirachi to get stuck in the same move. From here I can do 2 things: Pursuiting her or damaging the next pokemon. If it´s a paraflincher I´m completely crippled, and it paralizes my Ttar, I switch back to Skarmory / Swampert to take it down.
Infernape – It´s just too troublesome because it can OHKO me with a powerful Fire Blast, so I switch to Tyranitar in the Fire Blast, SR or Fake out, and kill him with EQ. Did you know that Infernape can survive Ttar´s Stone Edge?
Roserade – One of the worst matches; the only thing I can do is to hope that Sleep Powder miss, and break its sash with Brave Bird. If it doesn´t fail, I switch to Ttar in the 2nd turn, and OHKO her with Stone Edge.
Heatran – I´m starting to hate Heatran because I see him everywhere, and sometimes I can´t be 100 % sure of which set it´s running, so I switch to Tyranitar / Swampert, and threaten it with Earthquake.
Ninjask – Very nice match, I get 1 -2 layers of spikes and WW him away. By this way, the opponent wasted 3 turns statting up (lol).
Hippowdon – It´s the same situation with Swampert and Metagross; I lay spikes and WW in the second turn to scout threats.
Tyranitar – I like how Skarmory completely walls Tyranitar, even the special versions. In this situation, I lay the mayor number of spikes.
Starmie – I usually switch to Tyranitar while it uses Thunderbolt, and OHKO back with Crunch. The problem here is when Starmie decides to use Hydro Pump instead of T-bolt, and it OHKO´s my Ttar.
Uxie – I have rough times figuring out which set it is; TrickScarf or T-wave inducer. I most of the time switch to Ttar expecting Trick and pursuit it in order to leave him pretty damaged. But if it T-waves my Ttar I start to cry.
Dragonite – I like how since Salamence went to Ubers, Dragonite became very popular. The most popular set it runs as a lead is mixed, and Skarmory can take its Fire Blast, but Skarm won´t be taking down it, so I switch to Tyranitar while it uses FB, and I OHKO him back with Stone Edge.
Smeargle – It´s the same situation with Roserade, just that this time, his Spore won´t miss. I take the sleep in the first turn, and in the second, I switch to Ttar in order I beat him before he does anything else
~~~
Swampert (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP/216 Def/40 SDef
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
~ Earthquake
~ Ice Beam
~ Stealth Rock
~ Roar
Why Swampert? This bulky Mudfish can get rid / annoy many of the revenge killers that threaten Lucario (Magnezone, Jirachi, Heatran and Tyranitar). If I get rid of all this checks, Lucario gets as happy as a baby finding his Teady bear; they just annoy so hard Luke outspeeding and OHKO´ing him. Here is when Swampert appears; it walls the mentioned pokemon, and many others with its awesome defenses. It lays SR in the best moment, and scouts what the opponent will do with Protect.
Why this set? It´s the best and most appropriate set that Swampert has. This guy is so bulky that it can take both special and physical attacks because it just has one weakness in the game. Its job is to be such a good physical wall, scout, and lay SR. Stealth Rock is important for every team because it chips every pokemon in the foe´s team. Ice Beam is for type coverage; it kills Zapdos, Dragonite, Gliscor, etc. Earthquake is a strong STAB move that kills steel and rock pokemon. Finally, Protect is just awesome. Losing 1 turn seems stupid, but that turn makes a difference; leftovers heals me, I scouts what the opponent will do (especially if he´s choiced or I suspect he carries HP grass) or I can protect myself predicting that the foe will explode; in other words it´s just pretty good. Roar? I think I´ve explained why I prefer to use Protect, besides, I already have a phazer. The evs are self-explanatory: max HP and is something proper from a physical wall. The Defense evs give me a jump point. The remaining evs were invested in SDef because Heatran became the OU more used, and the evs can make a difference between being OHKO´ed or not. Protect lets me know if Infernape has GK, if Rotom-A is scared, and if Celebi will t-wave (of course I´m not staying in Celebi)
~~~
Tyranitar (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 16 SAtk / 240 Spe
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
~ Ice Beam
~ Flamethrower
~ Pursuit
~ Super Power
Why Tyranitar? It works very well receiving special moves thanks to his 1.5 boost in SDef during Sandstorm. It comes in not effective moves, such as Thunderbolt, some kinds of Hidden Power, Shadow Ball, and pursuits pokemon who I don’t want them to leave, such as Gengar, Rotom-A or Starmie. It pursuits annoying pokemon, and revenge kills lots of pokemon. Tyranitar is very important because it supports Skarmory; the bird lures fire and electric moves, while Tyranitar comes in, and depending in the situation and the attacking pokemon, Tyranitar will do differently its job. In other words, it beats most of pokemon that prevents Lucario to sweep.
Why this set? BaiTar lures Gliscor, Scizor and Breloom and OHKO´s, and 2OHKO´s Skarmory and Hippowdon. It does the same job as ScarfTtar: It traps ghost pokemon, preventing them to escape. It also kills Lucario while they use Swords Dance (thinking I´m stuck with Pursuit).
With the given evs, I can OHKO the mentioned pokemon, outspeeed Breloom, and kill that bitch back with Ice Beam. The importance here is to have surprise element, so the opponent won´t know what hit him
~~~
Starmie @ Life Orb –
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 6 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
~ Thunderbolt
~ Ice Beam
~ Rapid Spin / Recover
~ Hydro Pump
Why Starmie? I needed of someone who could kill and weaken pokemon, including Gliscor and Gyarados – some of the pokemon, due to their flying type, and abilities, completely walled Lucario-. Starmie appears and 2 OHKO´s almost every pokemon in the game, excluding special walls, and Lanturn; when Starmie finally dies the foe´s team is weakened enough to resist another late – game sweeper. This guy is just amazing, it´s awesome how many things it can 2OHKO, and with some layers of spikes, they can even turn to OHKO´s.
Why this set? Starmie needs all the power possible because it has just a base SAttack of 100, but sacrificing speed for getting a positive nature isn’t the best option; that´s why it´s equipped with Life Orb, giving it a boost of 1.3 by the recoil of 10 % on every attack. Hydro pump OHKO´s Tyranitar and Gengar (Surf usually doesn’t kill them), 2 OHKO´s Rotom-A, Metagross, Jirachi and Swampert. Thunderbolt kills Gyarados, 2OHKO´s Vaporeon and Suicune after SR (provided that they don’t use Wish / Rest), while Ice beam finishes Breloom, Celebi and Shaymin – these three pokemon are very troublesome to my team -. Just Lanturn walls this set due to it´s ability; Volt Absorb, which negates the only move who can hit it hard. The point of having this teammate here is to do as damage as possible and to kill Gyarados and Gliscor. The last spot for Starmie is very hard to decide; I always switch Recover to Rapid Spin and vice versa. I really need to decide which I should choose. Recover will let Starmie live some turns more because SR + LO + SS damage kills it so fast, but in the other hand, Rapid Spin removes entry hazards, not letting phazers to abuse of them.
Some calcs:
Surf? I think that at this point it´s obvious why I don’t run it. Hydro Pump turns 2OHKO´s to OHKO´s, but the 20 % of failing is very risky.
NOTE: I´d like to decide which move I should run (Rapid Spin or Recover).
~~~
Gengar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 82 Def/176 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
~ Trick
~ Thunderbolt
~ Shadow Ball
~ Focus Blast
Why Gengar? Like all spiker, there must be a spinblocker, supporting the spiker not letting the entry hazards to blow away. I had very few options, and I needed a revenge killer, leaving out ScarfRotom and ScarfGengar. I had a great Breloom weakeness and Gengar, with some Defense investment could handle it. You may be thinking: “Oh, but it´s Gengar, it´s fragile as fuck; Rotom outclasses him”, no sir, Gengar is the most appropriate here. Why? It outspeeds most of scarfed pokemon, it gets less damage from Breloom than Rotom-A, and it has more SpA than it. It isn’t walled by Heatran thanks to Focus Blast. Of course it´s walled by ScarfTtar, but I have to play carefully in order not to lose him too early. It´s job in this team is to spin block and revenge kill DD nite, DD gyara, and I now had another SD luke check.
252 Att Adamant Breloom´s Seed Bomb vs this Gengar: 36.8% - 43.7%
252 Att Adamant Breloom´s Seed Bomb vs Choiced Rotom-A: 73.9% - 87.6%
Do you now see the difference?
Why this set? As I said, taking out ScarfCelebi left me without any revenge killer, so I took Gengar and scarfed it up because I needed someone who could revenge kill Gyarados. Shadow Ball is the main STAB move that Gengar has and kills other Gengars, Rotom, Starmie. Thunderbolt kills Gyarados and revenge kills +2 Empoleon (lol). Focus Blast murders Tyranitar who think I´m not scarfed and Heatrans. Trick cripples walls and CroCune. I´ve tested Sludge Bomb > T-bolt, and didn’t worked because Gengar couldn’t OHKO Gyara (._.), and nothing else could stop it. I like how nobody expects ScarfGengar anymore. The evs aren’t so complicated: 252 SpA will give Gengar lots of power. With 176 speed, Gar will outspeed jolly ScarFlygon by 1 point. The remaining evs were invested in Defense because I wanted it to take hits better from Breloom; making Breloom to 3OHKO instead of 2OHKO (but SR and SS damage can ruin this plan).
~~~
Lucario (M) @ Life Orb -
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk/6 Def/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
~ Extremespeed
~ Crunch
~ Swords Dance
~ Close Combat
Why Lucario? I needed a late-game sweeper from who I would start building my team. I´ve seen SD Luke so many times and most of the times I got swept by one of them. I liked it because of its typing; it could come in so many moves, just like Crunch or SE from Ttar or threaten special walls and stat up in their face, and even make the foe think “Damn, I shouldn’t have switched”. Of course, SD luke is standard, but it really works as a sweeper. With mence going to Ubers, there was one counter less, beneficiating Lucario. I chose Lucario because it had a strong STAB move and a decent priority move. This guy can resist almost every priority move (vacuum wave, mach punch), making it hard to revenge kill.
Why this set? It´s the most threatening set it has; after just a SD, Lucario reaches to an amazing Attack of 700, having the 2nd most powerful Fighting move in the game. Swords Dance is pretty important in this set because it gives Lucario a massive Attack. Close Combat is a deadly move that destroys Normal and Steel pokemon. Extreme Speed kills everything faster that doesn’t resist it, such as ScarfStarmie, ScarFlygon, etc. Crunch kills Celebi and slower Rotom-A. The reason I run Crunch > Ice punch is because Rotom and Cresselia can wall me, besides Gliscor is always faster, and I´ve covered Zapdos well enough. I don´t want to run Extreme Speed < Bullet Punch because Extreme Speed hits harder, and I would be walled by Starmie. Hitting Gengar and Ttar isn’t very important here because I have covered them.
To see how destructive Lucario can be, there´s some calculations:
~~~
That was my team. Thanks for reading. I really hope good rates. It took me 4-5 weeks to type it all, and 22 pages in Word ._.
The list is large
Aerodactyl
Blissey:
Bronzong:
Start of turn 1:
Helios sent out Lucario (lvl 100 Lucario ?).
KingsKinghtness sent out Weavile (lvl 100 Weavile ?).
Lucario used Close Combat!
A critical hit!
Weavile lost 42348! (12310.5% of its health)
Weavile hugged in its Focus Sash!
Weavile used Counter!
Helios: ._.
Introduction
The reason I named this thread “The jackal returns again” was because when I was about to post this team, Eradicator, posted the same title I was going to use. So I had to wait some days to use this title (:3)
I started building balanced teams because they are, in my opinion one of the best teams because you can handle most/all the sweepers, while you kill checks and counters, not losing the synergy and closing the match with a final sweep; if you do all of these, you´ll win the match. This team has been at the moment one of the best teams I´ve ever built.
This team was centered around SD Lucario because Salamence, one of the pokemon who to a lesser extent countered Luke, went to Ubers, and Lucario really appreciated that. Luke has access to Swords Dance, which lets Luke reach to an Attack of 700, also, it has access to a powerful Close Combat; not mentioning Luke has a powerful priority move. In other words, it can do come-backs in certain matches, and sweep teams that aren’t prepared to it so easily.
First look:
Some information about my team:
~ 0 pokemon are weak to Stealth Rock
~ 4/6 are weak to Spikes
~ 2/6 are affected by Toxic Spikes
~ 4/6 aren´t affected by Sandstorm
~ 3/6 are weak to grass; the other half of the team resists it.
Team building process:
First, I started with SD Lucario because I saw it in action and liked how good it was.
Later, I checked what didn’t let it sweep, and it was because of ghost-pokemon, including Gengar and faster Rotom-A. So, I added ScarfTtar because it works pretty well as a special wall, taking Shadow Balls and Thunderbolts, and finishing them with a powerful Crunch or preventing them to escape with Pursuit. It works pretty well walling ScarfTran, and it is a decent a revenge killer. Now I had SS in my team, letting me weaken pokemon each turn who are weak to it.
I checked Lucario´s checks, and ScarfRachi, ScarfTran and ScarfZone were the most dangerous because of their typing, they resisted Extreme Speed, while they could OHKO back with a powerful STAB move (Jirachi uses Fire Punch). I decided to add Swampert because Ttar couldn’t handle all of them. Thanks to this bulky guy, now I could handle other ScarfTtar – another threat of Luke. Swampert lays SR, walls many physical and special sweepers, and can scout what the opponent will do thanks to Protect.
I still had no pokemon who could kill Gliscor and Gyarados, because just their presence annoyed Lucario´s sweep. Gliscor can take Extreme Speeds all the day, while Gyara can take a +1 (because of intimidate) Close Combat and kill back with an Earthquake. Starmie could kill this 2 pokemon with relative easiness thanks to the Boltbeam combo it can learn. This starfish, paired with LO can weaken / sweep teams enough to let Lucario sweep.
I had a Breloom problem with this team, and I lacked another revenge killer who could kill Kingdra, Gyara, and Dnite after they got a speed boost, so I added ScarfCelebi because it could wall and kill breloom with HP fire, and could revenge kill most of Dragon Dancers with Leaf Storm.
I had to choose a lead, and I have to admit that I tested all kinds of leads here, and finished choosing Skarmory. At the first look, it seemed a pretty bad lead, but Tyranitar supported it right taking taunts and breaking sashes. The metal bird can lay 3 layers of spikes, lures ScarfTran, and walls most of physical sweepers. Spikes support is something that Lucario loves because it does extra damage that can score OHKO´s than 2OHKO´s.
After testing the team, I noticed that a rapid spinner could blow away my entry hazards so easily; by this way I wasted my turns laying spikes and SR. I was requiring a spin blocker in my team. There weren’t many options: Gengar, Rotom, Dusknoir and Spiritomb. I replaced Celebi and chose Gengar (and scarfed it) because it can wall Breloom with little defense investment. It has more power and more speed than Rotom-A. Besides, it is a bit unpredictable; everyone has forgotten about ScarfGengar. By this way, I had a spin blocker and a nice revenge killer.
*Changes in RED*
A deeper look into team:
Skarmory (M) @ Lum Berry -
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 SDef / 6 Def
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
~ Brave Bird
~ Roost
~ Spikes
~ Taunt
Why Skarmory? I needed a decent lead who could lay spikes, making easier Lucario to sweep. With Spikes, I inflict indirect damage, and turns 2HKO´s to OHKO´s. It works pretty well as a physical wall, and a decent special wall. The role it plays in the team is very important because it deals with grass pokemon, such as Celebi and Shaymin who are t-wave / leech seed spamming (which think they can OHKO me with HP fire), and kill / damage those bulky grass-pokemon. It also comes in not effective special moves – such as Earth power or HP grass. In this situation, Skarmory can do 2 things; stay and lay spikes or switch to Tyranitar / Swampert in order to kill that special sweeper. It can also lay spikes in pokemon with no SAtk, just like vaporeon, and roost the damage.
Why this set? I´m using this set because SDef Skarm can take both kinds of hits; special and physical. Just STAB + x2 special moves can OHKO it.. I saw a guy using this set, and I fall in love with it. Why? Because Starmie, Gengar, and even Magnezone think they can kill me with a super effective move, but I show them the real power of Skarm, and it finishes them with Brave Bird (the recoil damage finishes Skarm too btw) or lays another layer of spikes. Roost lets me heal the damage taken and raises the opportunities of survivaling. Whirlwind is a Phaze move that gets rid of substitutes and stat changes; also it lets me abuse the entry hazards. Brave Bird is move that deals with Machamp and most of the time Lucario (if it hasn´t used SD). I prefer Brave Bird over Drill peck because I do more damage with it than Drill Peck; I don’t have Atk evs, so I have power without any investment, besides, Skarmory doesn´t seem to dislike the recoil damage.
Investing in a pokemon with low SDef and giving it a positive nature may seem stupid, but it takes awesomely special hits. With all this investments, Skarmory reaches to a SDef of 239. 252 evs in HP is required for most of walls; it can take hits better. With 6 Def evs, Skarmory has 347 in Def, not so bad. Lum Berry will let me Spikes + Brave Bird against Machamp / Roserade / Smeargle, who will induce status to set up / kill me
Some reasons why SpD Skarmory is the best:
LO Starmie T-bolt vs Skarmory = 61.1% - 71.9%
SubSpecial Gengar HP fire vs Skarmory = 59.3% - 70.1%
0 evs Vaporeon Surf vs Skarmory = 32.6% - 38.9%
0 evs Vaporeon HP Elec vs Skarmory = 32.3% - 38.3%
0 evs Celebi HP Fire vs Skarmory = 30.5% - 35.9%
252 evs LO modest Celebi HP fire vs Skarmory = 42.5% - 50.3%
Attacking Machamp lead vs Skarmory = 40.4% - 47.6%
0 evs Jirachi t-bolt vs Skarmory = 37.1% - 43.7%
80 evs Jirachi (Sub+CM) vs Skarmory = 40.1% - 47.3%
0 evs Zapdos´ T-bolt vs Skarmory = 67.1% - 79.6%
252 evs Zapdos´ T-bolt vs Skarmory = 81.4% - 97%
0 evs Rotom-A´s T-bolt vs Skarmory = 57.5% - 68.3%
252 evs Machamp´s Dynamic Punch vs Skarmory = 40.4% - 47.6%
SubSpecial Gengar HP fire vs Skarmory = 59.3% - 70.1%
0 evs Vaporeon Surf vs Skarmory = 32.6% - 38.9%
0 evs Vaporeon HP Elec vs Skarmory = 32.3% - 38.3%
0 evs Celebi HP Fire vs Skarmory = 30.5% - 35.9%
252 evs LO modest Celebi HP fire vs Skarmory = 42.5% - 50.3%
Attacking Machamp lead vs Skarmory = 40.4% - 47.6%
0 evs Jirachi t-bolt vs Skarmory = 37.1% - 43.7%
80 evs Jirachi (Sub+CM) vs Skarmory = 40.1% - 47.3%
0 evs Zapdos´ T-bolt vs Skarmory = 67.1% - 79.6%
252 evs Zapdos´ T-bolt vs Skarmory = 81.4% - 97%
0 evs Rotom-A´s T-bolt vs Skarmory = 57.5% - 68.3%
252 evs Machamp´s Dynamic Punch vs Skarmory = 40.4% - 47.6%
VS top 16 popular leads of July
Smeargle – It´s the same situation with Roserade, just that this time, his Spore won´t miss. I take the sleep in the first turn, and in the second, I switch to Ttar in order I beat him before he does anything else
~~~
Swampert (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP/216 Def/40 SDef
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
~ Earthquake
~ Ice Beam
~ Stealth Rock
~ Roar
Why Swampert? This bulky Mudfish can get rid / annoy many of the revenge killers that threaten Lucario (Magnezone, Jirachi, Heatran and Tyranitar). If I get rid of all this checks, Lucario gets as happy as a baby finding his Teady bear; they just annoy so hard Luke outspeeding and OHKO´ing him. Here is when Swampert appears; it walls the mentioned pokemon, and many others with its awesome defenses. It lays SR in the best moment, and scouts what the opponent will do with Protect.
Why this set? It´s the best and most appropriate set that Swampert has. This guy is so bulky that it can take both special and physical attacks because it just has one weakness in the game. Its job is to be such a good physical wall, scout, and lay SR. Stealth Rock is important for every team because it chips every pokemon in the foe´s team. Ice Beam is for type coverage; it kills Zapdos, Dragonite, Gliscor, etc. Earthquake is a strong STAB move that kills steel and rock pokemon. Finally, Protect is just awesome. Losing 1 turn seems stupid, but that turn makes a difference; leftovers heals me, I scouts what the opponent will do (especially if he´s choiced or I suspect he carries HP grass) or I can protect myself predicting that the foe will explode; in other words it´s just pretty good. Roar? I think I´ve explained why I prefer to use Protect, besides, I already have a phazer. The evs are self-explanatory: max HP and is something proper from a physical wall. The Defense evs give me a jump point. The remaining evs were invested in SDef because Heatran became the OU more used, and the evs can make a difference between being OHKO´ed or not. Protect lets me know if Infernape has GK, if Rotom-A is scared, and if Celebi will t-wave (of course I´m not staying in Celebi)
~~~
Tyranitar (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 16 SAtk / 240 Spe
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
~ Ice Beam
~ Flamethrower
~ Pursuit
~ Super Power
Why Tyranitar? It works very well receiving special moves thanks to his 1.5 boost in SDef during Sandstorm. It comes in not effective moves, such as Thunderbolt, some kinds of Hidden Power, Shadow Ball, and pursuits pokemon who I don’t want them to leave, such as Gengar, Rotom-A or Starmie. It pursuits annoying pokemon, and revenge kills lots of pokemon. Tyranitar is very important because it supports Skarmory; the bird lures fire and electric moves, while Tyranitar comes in, and depending in the situation and the attacking pokemon, Tyranitar will do differently its job. In other words, it beats most of pokemon that prevents Lucario to sweep.
Why this set? BaiTar lures Gliscor, Scizor and Breloom and OHKO´s, and 2OHKO´s Skarmory and Hippowdon. It does the same job as ScarfTtar: It traps ghost pokemon, preventing them to escape. It also kills Lucario while they use Swords Dance (thinking I´m stuck with Pursuit).
With the given evs, I can OHKO the mentioned pokemon, outspeeed Breloom, and kill that bitch back with Ice Beam. The importance here is to have surprise element, so the opponent won´t know what hit him
~~~
Starmie @ Life Orb –
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 6 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
~ Thunderbolt
~ Ice Beam
~ Rapid Spin / Recover
~ Hydro Pump
Why Starmie? I needed of someone who could kill and weaken pokemon, including Gliscor and Gyarados – some of the pokemon, due to their flying type, and abilities, completely walled Lucario-. Starmie appears and 2 OHKO´s almost every pokemon in the game, excluding special walls, and Lanturn; when Starmie finally dies the foe´s team is weakened enough to resist another late – game sweeper. This guy is just amazing, it´s awesome how many things it can 2OHKO, and with some layers of spikes, they can even turn to OHKO´s.
Why this set? Starmie needs all the power possible because it has just a base SAttack of 100, but sacrificing speed for getting a positive nature isn’t the best option; that´s why it´s equipped with Life Orb, giving it a boost of 1.3 by the recoil of 10 % on every attack. Hydro pump OHKO´s Tyranitar and Gengar (Surf usually doesn’t kill them), 2 OHKO´s Rotom-A, Metagross, Jirachi and Swampert. Thunderbolt kills Gyarados, 2OHKO´s Vaporeon and Suicune after SR (provided that they don’t use Wish / Rest), while Ice beam finishes Breloom, Celebi and Shaymin – these three pokemon are very troublesome to my team -. Just Lanturn walls this set due to it´s ability; Volt Absorb, which negates the only move who can hit it hard. The point of having this teammate here is to do as damage as possible and to kill Gyarados and Gliscor. The last spot for Starmie is very hard to decide; I always switch Recover to Rapid Spin and vice versa. I really need to decide which I should choose. Recover will let Starmie live some turns more because SR + LO + SS damage kills it so fast, but in the other hand, Rapid Spin removes entry hazards, not letting phazers to abuse of them.
Some calcs:
Starmie´s Ice beam vs physically defense Zapdos: 64.2% - 75.7%
Starmie´s Ice beam vs defensive Celebi: 55.9% - 65.8%
Starmie´s Ice beam vs Tinkerbel Celebi: 56.6% - 66.7%
Starmie´s Ice beam vs offensive Shaymin: 64.8% - 76.2%
Starmie´s Ice beam vs leech seed Shaymin: 55.9% - 65.8%
Starmie´s Hydro Pump vs Swampert: 57.4% - 67.8%
Starmie´s Surf vs Swampert: 45.5% - 53.5%
Starmie´s Hydro Pump vs Tyranitar: 104.5% - 123.8%
Starmie´s Surf vs Tyranitar: 83.7% - 98.5%
Starmie´s Hydro Pump vs Gengar: 103.4% - 121.8%
Starmie´s Surf vs Gengar: 81.7% - 96.6%
Starmie´s Hydro Pump vs Defensive Rotom-H: 66.1% - 78%
Starmie´s Surf vs Defensive Rotom-H: 52.6% - 62.2%
Starmie´s Hydro Pump vs Choiced Rotom-A: 83.4% - 98.3%
Starmie´s Surf vs Choiced Rotom-A: 66.4% - 78.4%
Starmie´s Ice beam vs defensive Celebi: 55.9% - 65.8%
Starmie´s Ice beam vs Tinkerbel Celebi: 56.6% - 66.7%
Starmie´s Ice beam vs offensive Shaymin: 64.8% - 76.2%
Starmie´s Ice beam vs leech seed Shaymin: 55.9% - 65.8%
Starmie´s Hydro Pump vs Swampert: 57.4% - 67.8%
Starmie´s Surf vs Swampert: 45.5% - 53.5%
Starmie´s Hydro Pump vs Tyranitar: 104.5% - 123.8%
Starmie´s Surf vs Tyranitar: 83.7% - 98.5%
Starmie´s Hydro Pump vs Gengar: 103.4% - 121.8%
Starmie´s Surf vs Gengar: 81.7% - 96.6%
Starmie´s Hydro Pump vs Defensive Rotom-H: 66.1% - 78%
Starmie´s Surf vs Defensive Rotom-H: 52.6% - 62.2%
Starmie´s Hydro Pump vs Choiced Rotom-A: 83.4% - 98.3%
Starmie´s Surf vs Choiced Rotom-A: 66.4% - 78.4%
Surf? I think that at this point it´s obvious why I don’t run it. Hydro Pump turns 2OHKO´s to OHKO´s, but the 20 % of failing is very risky.
NOTE: I´d like to decide which move I should run (Rapid Spin or Recover).
~~~
Gengar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 82 Def/176 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
~ Trick
~ Thunderbolt
~ Shadow Ball
~ Focus Blast
Why Gengar? Like all spiker, there must be a spinblocker, supporting the spiker not letting the entry hazards to blow away. I had very few options, and I needed a revenge killer, leaving out ScarfRotom and ScarfGengar. I had a great Breloom weakeness and Gengar, with some Defense investment could handle it. You may be thinking: “Oh, but it´s Gengar, it´s fragile as fuck; Rotom outclasses him”, no sir, Gengar is the most appropriate here. Why? It outspeeds most of scarfed pokemon, it gets less damage from Breloom than Rotom-A, and it has more SpA than it. It isn’t walled by Heatran thanks to Focus Blast. Of course it´s walled by ScarfTtar, but I have to play carefully in order not to lose him too early. It´s job in this team is to spin block and revenge kill DD nite, DD gyara, and I now had another SD luke check.
252 Att Adamant Breloom´s Seed Bomb vs this Gengar: 36.8% - 43.7%
252 Att Adamant Breloom´s Seed Bomb vs Choiced Rotom-A: 73.9% - 87.6%
Do you now see the difference?
Why this set? As I said, taking out ScarfCelebi left me without any revenge killer, so I took Gengar and scarfed it up because I needed someone who could revenge kill Gyarados. Shadow Ball is the main STAB move that Gengar has and kills other Gengars, Rotom, Starmie. Thunderbolt kills Gyarados and revenge kills +2 Empoleon (lol). Focus Blast murders Tyranitar who think I´m not scarfed and Heatrans. Trick cripples walls and CroCune. I´ve tested Sludge Bomb > T-bolt, and didn’t worked because Gengar couldn’t OHKO Gyara (._.), and nothing else could stop it. I like how nobody expects ScarfGengar anymore. The evs aren’t so complicated: 252 SpA will give Gengar lots of power. With 176 speed, Gar will outspeed jolly ScarFlygon by 1 point. The remaining evs were invested in Defense because I wanted it to take hits better from Breloom; making Breloom to 3OHKO instead of 2OHKO (but SR and SS damage can ruin this plan).
~~~
Lucario (M) @ Life Orb -
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk/6 Def/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
~ Extremespeed
~ Crunch
~ Swords Dance
~ Close Combat
Why Lucario? I needed a late-game sweeper from who I would start building my team. I´ve seen SD Luke so many times and most of the times I got swept by one of them. I liked it because of its typing; it could come in so many moves, just like Crunch or SE from Ttar or threaten special walls and stat up in their face, and even make the foe think “Damn, I shouldn’t have switched”. Of course, SD luke is standard, but it really works as a sweeper. With mence going to Ubers, there was one counter less, beneficiating Lucario. I chose Lucario because it had a strong STAB move and a decent priority move. This guy can resist almost every priority move (vacuum wave, mach punch), making it hard to revenge kill.
Why this set? It´s the most threatening set it has; after just a SD, Lucario reaches to an amazing Attack of 700, having the 2nd most powerful Fighting move in the game. Swords Dance is pretty important in this set because it gives Lucario a massive Attack. Close Combat is a deadly move that destroys Normal and Steel pokemon. Extreme Speed kills everything faster that doesn’t resist it, such as ScarfStarmie, ScarFlygon, etc. Crunch kills Celebi and slower Rotom-A. The reason I run Crunch > Ice punch is because Rotom and Cresselia can wall me, besides Gliscor is always faster, and I´ve covered Zapdos well enough. I don´t want to run Extreme Speed < Bullet Punch because Extreme Speed hits harder, and I would be walled by Starmie. Hitting Gengar and Ttar isn’t very important here because I have covered them.
To see how destructive Lucario can be, there´s some calculations:
After a Swords Dance:
Lucario´s Close Combat vs 252 HP/ 252 Def Skarmory: 84.4% - 99.7%
Lucario´s Close Combat vs 252 HP / 252 Def Swampert: 94.6% - 111.6%
Lucario´s Close Combat vs 252 HP / 252 Def Bronzong: 95.2% - 100%
Lucario´s Close Combat vs 252 HP / 252 Def Hippowdon: 75.7% - 89.3%
Lucario´s Close Combat vs 252 HP / 252 Def Forretress: 79.7% - 93.8%
Lucario´s Close Combat vs 252 HP / 252 Def Donphan: 82.0% - 96.9%
Lucario´s Crunch vs 252 HP / 252 Def Cresselia: 63.5% - 74.8%
Lucario´s Crunch vs 252 HP / 252 Def Dusknoir 88.4% - 104.1%
Lucario´s Crunch vs 252 HP / 252 Def Celebi: 78.7% - 93.1%
Lucario´s Crunch vs 252 HP / 252 Def Rotom - A: 100%
Lucario´s Extreme Speed vs 4 HP ScarfFlygon: 88.1% - 104%
Lucario´s Extreme Speed vs 4 HP ScarfStarmie: 97.3% - 114.6%
Lucario´s Extreme Speed vs 136 HP / 156 Def Starmie: 72.5% - 85.4%
After some SR and Spikes damage, most of this 2OHKO turn to OHKO´s.
Thanks to Smogon.com for most of the calculations.
Lucario´s Close Combat vs 252 HP/ 252 Def Skarmory: 84.4% - 99.7%
Lucario´s Close Combat vs 252 HP / 252 Def Swampert: 94.6% - 111.6%
Lucario´s Close Combat vs 252 HP / 252 Def Bronzong: 95.2% - 100%
Lucario´s Close Combat vs 252 HP / 252 Def Hippowdon: 75.7% - 89.3%
Lucario´s Close Combat vs 252 HP / 252 Def Forretress: 79.7% - 93.8%
Lucario´s Close Combat vs 252 HP / 252 Def Donphan: 82.0% - 96.9%
Lucario´s Crunch vs 252 HP / 252 Def Cresselia: 63.5% - 74.8%
Lucario´s Crunch vs 252 HP / 252 Def Dusknoir 88.4% - 104.1%
Lucario´s Crunch vs 252 HP / 252 Def Celebi: 78.7% - 93.1%
Lucario´s Crunch vs 252 HP / 252 Def Rotom - A: 100%
Lucario´s Extreme Speed vs 4 HP ScarfFlygon: 88.1% - 104%
Lucario´s Extreme Speed vs 4 HP ScarfStarmie: 97.3% - 114.6%
Lucario´s Extreme Speed vs 136 HP / 156 Def Starmie: 72.5% - 85.4%
After some SR and Spikes damage, most of this 2OHKO turn to OHKO´s.
Thanks to Smogon.com for most of the calculations.
~~~
That was my team. Thanks for reading. I really hope good rates. It took me 4-5 weeks to type it all, and 22 pages in Word ._.
~Threat list~
The list is large
Lead: I switch to Swampert in the Taunt and 2 OHKO him with Ice beam
Life Orb: The same, now I just try to predict the Roost in order to kill him. Gengar outspeeds him, and can OHKO with T-bolt
Alakazam
Lead: I can switch to Tyranitar break it sash with Sand Stream; in the next turn, Ttar outspeeds and Crunches it. If it´s a Dual Screen lead, Crunch normally 2 OHKO´s him.
Sweeper: The same as the lead, I just have to be careful not to switch in Focus Blast or Energy Ball. Gengar outspeeds him, and Lucario can 2 OHKO him (61.1% - 72%)
Azelf
Lead: Ttar walls him most of the times.
NP sweeper: Ttar can OHKO him, Gengar can OHKO him, and Lucario can finish him after getting some damage (50.9% - 60.1%)
Breloom
Scarfed Lead: I can´t really do too much against this guy. I let it sleep Skarm, and I switch to Swampert, expecting the foe to switch because if he wouldn´t, he would break Sleep Clause.
SporePunch: This set is hard to counter. Breloom usually come in Swampert, so I let it take the sleep, switch to Gengar, and break its sub while he damages less than half of my health. If Breloom uses Seed Bomb against my Swampert, it becomes easier to revenge kill; Lucario OHKO´s it.
Dragonite:
Dragon Dance: It´s quite easy to kill; I switch to Swampert while he uses DD, and I 2OHKO him with Ice beam. Gengar outspeeds him, Skarmory can Whirlwind away, and Lucario has priority.
Lead: I switch to Ttar while he uses Fire Blast, and I OHKO back with Stone Edge.
Choice Band: Not hard to counter; Skarmory can wall it, Swampert too, Gengar outspeeds, and Tyranitar OHKO´s. But the problem is when it uses Outrage and 2OHKO´s my bulky pokemon; CB variants are a bit unexpected.
Dugtrio:
Choice Band: It can get a free kill against Tyranitar, and sometimes against Starmie, but Skarmory and Swampert can kill him.
Electrivire:
MixVire: (-.-) I´ve just noticed I don’t have counters for it. HP grass destroys Swampert, T-bolt kills Starmie and Skarmory, Cross Chop kills Lucario and Tyranitar. The only thing I can do is to use Gengar´s Shadow Ball, and finish him with Lucario. I´m glad it isn’t very common. NOTE: I don’t want any suggestions to counter it because it isn’t very common.
Physical Sweeper: Quite easy to handle; Swampert walls him, and Gengar outspeeds him.
Empoleon:
Lead: I´ve got some problems with it: The first turn I attack with Skarmory because I need to break its sash then I switch to Swampert in its Hydro Pump I switch again to Gengar while he uses Grass Knot, and I finish him with T-bolt.
SubPetaya: I don’t have counters for it, but Gengar can outspeed and T-bolt him. Lucario does 19.2% - 22.7% to him, so I have to make sure it gets some SR + Spikes damage.
Flygon
Choice: It´s not hard to counter. Skarmory and Swampert wall it, Gengar can come in its U-turn and EQ. Lucario does 44.5% - 52.5% so I just have to make sure it gets some damage before.
Gengar:
Sub Split: Gengar in general is very annoying to my team. I usually switch to Swampert / Skarmory. If I play smartly, Swampert can beat it if I use Protect in the right moment. Skarmory gets 2OHKO´d btw (46.1% - 54.5%). My ScarfGar can revenge it, Ttar pursuits it, Starmie outspeeds him.
Life Orb: It´s so annoying. It 3 OHKO´s Swampert, 2 OHKO´s Skarmory and it OHKO´s Gengar, Starmie, Ttar and Lucario, so I have to play very carefully when facing him. I sacrifice Skarmory to break its sub, and I Pursuit it with Tyranitar.
Gyarados:
LO DD Sweeper: Gengar outspeeds, Swampert can Protect + Ice beam to stall him with SS and LO damage. Lucario can beat him if it´s damaged enough and intimidate isn’t active. Skarmory takes 40.4% - 47.9% from +1 Gyarados´ Waterfall, but a flinch can cripple me so hard.
Taunt DD: It´s almost the same just that I can´t phaze him away with Skarmory.
Rest+Sleep Talk: This guy is annoying as hell. Just Gengar and Starmie can even touch him, but they´re paired most of the time with Blissey or Rotom-A.
Heatran:
Choice Scarf: Swampert and Tyranitar wall him but getting burned is annoying.
Life Orb: I have to scout if it has HP grass, so that he doesn’t OHKO Swampert. Starmie, Gengar and Tyranitar can revenge him.
Torment: Pretty annoying: Swampert handles him.
Heracross:
Choice: I have to play very carefully with him since all my team is weak to it. Skarmory / Gengar come in Megahorn and threaten it. Ttar / Lucario come in Night Slash. Gengar / Starmie come in CC.
Infernape:
Mixape: Swampert usually walls him unless it has Grass Knot (I scout it with Protect), if it has I switch to Gengar. Tyranitar can switch in Fire Blast. Starmie finishes its fun. Inferanape can´t touch Gengar before the ghost does.
Choice: Swampert walls him.
Lead: Tyranitar comes in.
NP / SD Sweeper: Starmie and Gengar Revenge kill while Swampert walls.
Jirachi:
Scarf: Swampert can come in everything except Trick, so does Skarmory (Fire Punch does 30.5% - 36.5%).
ParaFlicher: Both Swampert and Skarmory wall it.
CalmMind: Tyranitar can revenge it, Swampert can hurt it pretty bad, and Lucario outspeeds him normally. Gengar can cripple it by Tricking its Choice Scarf
Jolteon:
Choice Specs: Tyranitar can come in Shadow ball and pursuit it, preventing it to come more times. Swampert comes in T-bolt and Gengar in HP grass
Life Orb: almost the same, just that Tyranitar uses EQ.
Kingdra:
Dragon Dance: I switch to Skarm in the DD / Sub, and I can roar it away. Swampert can come, and 2 OHKO him with EQ or stall him with SS damage. Lucario can kill weakened Kingdra if they haven´t subbed.
Rain Dance: I lure it to use DM and I switch to Ttar and negate the rain. This set is pretty hard to counter since Skarmory and Swampert are 2OHKO´ed, and I can´t rely on Tyranitar´s Stone Edge on OHKO´ing him.
Lucario:
Swords Dance: ScarfTtar and Gengar say hi. There´s 50 % of beating him with Lucario.
Agility: It doesn’t have the same power but it´s pretty annoying since it outspeeds all my pokemon. I let it kill some pokemon, and I switch to Swampert, so I can OHKO him with EQ. I can´t switch safely to Swampert / Skarmory because it 2OHKO´s them.
Machamp:
Lead: Brave Bird in the first turn, switch in the 2nd to Gar, and finish him in the 3rd.
Sub + 3 attacks: This set is hard to counter if the foe is intelligent or he Payback spam. Switch to Gengar while it Subs / Dynamic Punches, then switch again to Skarmory, and it break its sub with Brave Bird. I let it kill Skarmory, switch to Starmie, and kill him back with Hydro Pump.
Magnezone:
Choice Scarf: Swampert walls him.
Substitute: A bit hard to kill. Switch to Swampert, and EQ spam until Magnet Rise´s effect finishes, switch to Tyranitar while he uses MR again, and now SE spam.
Mamoswine:
Lead: It´s such an easy lead to beat. They care more about how many layers of spikes I lay than taking me down with physical moves. Sash + Endeavour won´t work because Skarm will Whirlwind before they do that.
Choice Band: Skarm counters it.
Metagross:
Lead: Lay spikes, and Whirlwind in the 2nd turn because they will more likely switch in Magnezone / Heatran.
AgilityGross: Gengar outspeeds, Skarm and Swampert wall.
Porygon – Z:
Sweeper: Skarmory walls him, unless he carries NP. Gengar and Tyranitar OHKO.
Rhyperior:
Sub SD: Switch to Skarm as it Subs, and Whirlwind while it SD / SE. Swampert can kill it btw.
Rotom – A:
Standard: This set is hard to predict; I can´t be sure if it´ll T-bolt or WoW. So I switch to Skarmory in the burn which doesn’t really minds, and it can survive its T-bolt. In the next turn, they will more likely, attack, so I switch to Ttar, and I kill / pursuit him.
Choice: One of the easiest sets to trap; Switch to Ttar and kill him with Pursuit. But if it runs specs, it may kill Tyranitar.
I didn’t find the spirite for rotom-a.
Scizor:
Choice Band: Skarmory can take everything it throws. Swampert can take it all except by U-turn which wears him out. Did you know that Gengar can come and take Scizor´s U-turn with easiness? (~25 %)
Swords Dance: Skarmory walls, Lucario isn´t OHKO´ed by +2 Scizor.
Starmie:
Rapid Spinner: Gengar and Tyranitar OHKO it after SR damage. Gengar can come in Starmie´s Rapid Spin and Surf. (Gengar takes 49.8% - 59% from Starmie´s Surf).
LO sweeper: It´s hard to say which move it´ll use. Tyranitar can come in anything except by Hydro Pump / Surf. Gengar outspeeds. Skarmory can survive Hydro Pump and T-bolt if it´s at full health.
Togekiss:
ParaFlinch: Tyranitar can come in its Air Slash and OHKO back. I just have to watch out for T-wave / Aura Sphere. Skarmory can take very well its Air Slash.
Nasty Plot Sweeper: Tyranitar kills him. Gengar outspeeds, and Lucario can finish damaged Toge.
Tyranitar:
Choice Band: Swampert and Skarmory can come in every attack it has. Once I figure out it is CB, I switch in Lucario in its Crunch, and OHKO back with CC.
Choice Scarf: Swampert is the perfect counter.
DragonDance: Gengar revenges, and Swampert counters.
Weavile:
Sweeper: (rofl) let´s see… Skarmory owns him, Lucario resists its ice shard, and can OHKO back after rocks. Swampert is hurt, but not OHKO´ed when 1 vs. 1 btw.
Yanmega:
Sweeper: The same as the lead, I just have to be careful not to switch in Focus Blast or Energy Ball. Gengar outspeeds him, and Lucario can 2 OHKO him (61.1% - 72%)
Lead: Ttar walls him most of the times.
NP sweeper: Ttar can OHKO him, Gengar can OHKO him, and Lucario can finish him after getting some damage (50.9% - 60.1%)
Scarfed Lead: I can´t really do too much against this guy. I let it sleep Skarm, and I switch to Swampert, expecting the foe to switch because if he wouldn´t, he would break Sleep Clause.
SporePunch: This set is hard to counter. Breloom usually come in Swampert, so I let it take the sleep, switch to Gengar, and break its sub while he damages less than half of my health. If Breloom uses Seed Bomb against my Swampert, it becomes easier to revenge kill; Lucario OHKO´s it.
Dragon Dance: It´s quite easy to kill; I switch to Swampert while he uses DD, and I 2OHKO him with Ice beam. Gengar outspeeds him, Skarmory can Whirlwind away, and Lucario has priority.
Lead: I switch to Ttar while he uses Fire Blast, and I OHKO back with Stone Edge.
Choice Band: Not hard to counter; Skarmory can wall it, Swampert too, Gengar outspeeds, and Tyranitar OHKO´s. But the problem is when it uses Outrage and 2OHKO´s my bulky pokemon; CB variants are a bit unexpected.
Choice Band: It can get a free kill against Tyranitar, and sometimes against Starmie, but Skarmory and Swampert can kill him.
MixVire: (-.-) I´ve just noticed I don’t have counters for it. HP grass destroys Swampert, T-bolt kills Starmie and Skarmory, Cross Chop kills Lucario and Tyranitar. The only thing I can do is to use Gengar´s Shadow Ball, and finish him with Lucario. I´m glad it isn’t very common. NOTE: I don’t want any suggestions to counter it because it isn’t very common.
Physical Sweeper: Quite easy to handle; Swampert walls him, and Gengar outspeeds him.
Lead: I´ve got some problems with it: The first turn I attack with Skarmory because I need to break its sash then I switch to Swampert in its Hydro Pump I switch again to Gengar while he uses Grass Knot, and I finish him with T-bolt.
SubPetaya: I don’t have counters for it, but Gengar can outspeed and T-bolt him. Lucario does 19.2% - 22.7% to him, so I have to make sure it gets some SR + Spikes damage.
Choice: It´s not hard to counter. Skarmory and Swampert wall it, Gengar can come in its U-turn and EQ. Lucario does 44.5% - 52.5% so I just have to make sure it gets some damage before.
Sub Split: Gengar in general is very annoying to my team. I usually switch to Swampert / Skarmory. If I play smartly, Swampert can beat it if I use Protect in the right moment. Skarmory gets 2OHKO´d btw (46.1% - 54.5%). My ScarfGar can revenge it, Ttar pursuits it, Starmie outspeeds him.
Life Orb: It´s so annoying. It 3 OHKO´s Swampert, 2 OHKO´s Skarmory and it OHKO´s Gengar, Starmie, Ttar and Lucario, so I have to play very carefully when facing him. I sacrifice Skarmory to break its sub, and I Pursuit it with Tyranitar.
LO DD Sweeper: Gengar outspeeds, Swampert can Protect + Ice beam to stall him with SS and LO damage. Lucario can beat him if it´s damaged enough and intimidate isn’t active. Skarmory takes 40.4% - 47.9% from +1 Gyarados´ Waterfall, but a flinch can cripple me so hard.
Taunt DD: It´s almost the same just that I can´t phaze him away with Skarmory.
Rest+Sleep Talk: This guy is annoying as hell. Just Gengar and Starmie can even touch him, but they´re paired most of the time with Blissey or Rotom-A.
Choice Scarf: Swampert and Tyranitar wall him but getting burned is annoying.
Life Orb: I have to scout if it has HP grass, so that he doesn’t OHKO Swampert. Starmie, Gengar and Tyranitar can revenge him.
Torment: Pretty annoying: Swampert handles him.
Choice: I have to play very carefully with him since all my team is weak to it. Skarmory / Gengar come in Megahorn and threaten it. Ttar / Lucario come in Night Slash. Gengar / Starmie come in CC.
Mixape: Swampert usually walls him unless it has Grass Knot (I scout it with Protect), if it has I switch to Gengar. Tyranitar can switch in Fire Blast. Starmie finishes its fun. Inferanape can´t touch Gengar before the ghost does.
Choice: Swampert walls him.
Lead: Tyranitar comes in.
NP / SD Sweeper: Starmie and Gengar Revenge kill while Swampert walls.
Scarf: Swampert can come in everything except Trick, so does Skarmory (Fire Punch does 30.5% - 36.5%).
ParaFlicher: Both Swampert and Skarmory wall it.
CalmMind: Tyranitar can revenge it, Swampert can hurt it pretty bad, and Lucario outspeeds him normally. Gengar can cripple it by Tricking its Choice Scarf
Choice Specs: Tyranitar can come in Shadow ball and pursuit it, preventing it to come more times. Swampert comes in T-bolt and Gengar in HP grass
Life Orb: almost the same, just that Tyranitar uses EQ.
Dragon Dance: I switch to Skarm in the DD / Sub, and I can roar it away. Swampert can come, and 2 OHKO him with EQ or stall him with SS damage. Lucario can kill weakened Kingdra if they haven´t subbed.
Rain Dance: I lure it to use DM and I switch to Ttar and negate the rain. This set is pretty hard to counter since Skarmory and Swampert are 2OHKO´ed, and I can´t rely on Tyranitar´s Stone Edge on OHKO´ing him.
Swords Dance: ScarfTtar and Gengar say hi. There´s 50 % of beating him with Lucario.
Agility: It doesn’t have the same power but it´s pretty annoying since it outspeeds all my pokemon. I let it kill some pokemon, and I switch to Swampert, so I can OHKO him with EQ. I can´t switch safely to Swampert / Skarmory because it 2OHKO´s them.
Lead: Brave Bird in the first turn, switch in the 2nd to Gar, and finish him in the 3rd.
Sub + 3 attacks: This set is hard to counter if the foe is intelligent or he Payback spam. Switch to Gengar while it Subs / Dynamic Punches, then switch again to Skarmory, and it break its sub with Brave Bird. I let it kill Skarmory, switch to Starmie, and kill him back with Hydro Pump.
Choice Scarf: Swampert walls him.
Substitute: A bit hard to kill. Switch to Swampert, and EQ spam until Magnet Rise´s effect finishes, switch to Tyranitar while he uses MR again, and now SE spam.
Lead: It´s such an easy lead to beat. They care more about how many layers of spikes I lay than taking me down with physical moves. Sash + Endeavour won´t work because Skarm will Whirlwind before they do that.
Choice Band: Skarm counters it.
Lead: Lay spikes, and Whirlwind in the 2nd turn because they will more likely switch in Magnezone / Heatran.
AgilityGross: Gengar outspeeds, Skarm and Swampert wall.
Sweeper: Skarmory walls him, unless he carries NP. Gengar and Tyranitar OHKO.
Sub SD: Switch to Skarm as it Subs, and Whirlwind while it SD / SE. Swampert can kill it btw.
Standard: This set is hard to predict; I can´t be sure if it´ll T-bolt or WoW. So I switch to Skarmory in the burn which doesn’t really minds, and it can survive its T-bolt. In the next turn, they will more likely, attack, so I switch to Ttar, and I kill / pursuit him.
Choice: One of the easiest sets to trap; Switch to Ttar and kill him with Pursuit. But if it runs specs, it may kill Tyranitar.
I didn’t find the spirite for rotom-a.
Choice Band: Skarmory can take everything it throws. Swampert can take it all except by U-turn which wears him out. Did you know that Gengar can come and take Scizor´s U-turn with easiness? (~25 %)
Swords Dance: Skarmory walls, Lucario isn´t OHKO´ed by +2 Scizor.
Rapid Spinner: Gengar and Tyranitar OHKO it after SR damage. Gengar can come in Starmie´s Rapid Spin and Surf. (Gengar takes 49.8% - 59% from Starmie´s Surf).
LO sweeper: It´s hard to say which move it´ll use. Tyranitar can come in anything except by Hydro Pump / Surf. Gengar outspeeds. Skarmory can survive Hydro Pump and T-bolt if it´s at full health.
ParaFlinch: Tyranitar can come in its Air Slash and OHKO back. I just have to watch out for T-wave / Aura Sphere. Skarmory can take very well its Air Slash.
Nasty Plot Sweeper: Tyranitar kills him. Gengar outspeeds, and Lucario can finish damaged Toge.
Choice Band: Swampert and Skarmory can come in every attack it has. Once I figure out it is CB, I switch in Lucario in its Crunch, and OHKO back with CC.
Choice Scarf: Swampert is the perfect counter.
DragonDance: Gengar revenges, and Swampert counters.
Sweeper: (rofl) let´s see… Skarmory owns him, Lucario resists its ice shard, and can OHKO back after rocks. Swampert is hurt, but not OHKO´ed when 1 vs. 1 btw.
Sweeeper: It´s a bit annoying because after one or two turns, it outspeeds all my team. But Skarmory can come in all its attacks because it resists its both STABs. Swampert isn’t OHKO´ed by its Bug Buzz, and can kill back with Ice Beam since it has a huge SR weakness.
~Defensive Threats~
The list is large
WishBliss: It usually T-wave spam in the first turn, so I switch to Swampert, then to Lucario, so I can threaten it with CC. Skarmory can come in all its attacks, including Flamethrower, and lay some spikes.
Support Wall: Skarmory gets some free spikes, Swampert lures it to explode while he protects.
Celebi:
Defensive: Skarmory is 3OHKO´ed by HP fire, as it gets some layers and roosts the damage. Starmie 2OHKO´s it, and OHKO´s after spikes damage. Gengar and Tyranitar murder it if it got some damage before.
Cresselia:
Wall: I got almost nothing who can touch it. It can´t do too much, so I lay some spikes more with Skarm. It isn’t a problem for my team. Gengar and Tyranitar can 2 OHKO her, but the problem is when Cresselia T-waves me which cripples my pokemon.
Donphan:
OU wall: It´s not hard to kill; Switch to Gengar as it Rapid Spins, then to Starmie as it uses Ice Shard, and OHKO back with Hydro Pump.
Forretress:
Wall: I hate this guy. It gets Spikes free ( D= ), and when I finally kill him, he got SR + 1 – 2 Spikes. Starmie is the only one who can touch him.
Gliscor:
Stall – Breaker: Swampert / Starmie switch as it Taunts, and both of them kill them with Ice Beam. Gengar hurts him badly while Gliscor can´t touch him.
Baton Pass: The same as the Stall Breaker set. I just have to play more carefully with him.
Hippowdon:
Wall: Starmie, and Swampert say hi. Skarm gets Spikes + Whirlwind for free.
Skarmory:
Spiker: Another hard pokemon to kill; Starmie, and Gengar are the only pokemon who can touch it. Lucario can OHKO it after a SD, but it will more likely want to Whirlwind away.
Snorlax:
Curse: I can´t do too much against him. Gengar Tricks him, Lucario Close Combat spams, Skarmory can only Whirlwind away.
Suicune:
CroCune: Skarmory Whirlwinds it away, Gengar Tricks him out; hard to kill, but it has become very uncommon since everyone has started using the offensive set. Skarmory has 5/9 of being hit by its Surf while it´s asleep (It takes 2 turns to Phaze; 1st turn: Switch in, 2nd turn Whirlwind).
Offensive Suicune: Skarmory can survive its HP electric, and WW away. Swampert can severly damage it in 1 vs. 1, and Lucario / Gengar can finish it.
Some calcs:
0 SAtk Cune´s Surf vs Skarmory: 25.1% - 29.9%
+ 1 0 SAtk Cune´s Surf vs Skarmory: 38% - 44.9%
+ 2 0 SAtk Cune´s Surf vs Skarmory: 50.6% - 59.6%
+3 0 SAtk Cune´s Surf vs Skarmory: 63.2% - 74.6%
252 SAtk Cune´s HP Elec vs Skarmory: 41.9% - 49.7%
+1 252 SAtk Cune´s HP Elec vs Skarmory: 62.3% - 73.7%
Swampert:
Standard Lead: Skarmory gets Spikes free, and Starmie 2 OHKO´s it. It´s not very annoying
CursePert: (lol!) Gengar tricks, Skarmory WW. Starmie 2OHKO´s.
Tentacruel:
Toxic Spiker: Gengar comes in its Rapid Spin, and 2OHKO´s back. Gengar isn’t OHKO´ed by its Surf. Starmie 2OHKO´s and Tyranitar kills it.
Vaporeon:
Wisher: Skarmory gets some Spikes and roost the damage. Starmie 2OHKO´s him. Gengar Tricks / T-bolts. But, Vappy can stall with Wish + Protect + Wish… so that I kill myself with LO + SS damage.
Zapdos:
Physcal wall: Tyranitar kills with SE + SR + SS damage. Starmie kills him after rocks. Swampert can kill him 1 vs. 1 if it doesn’t carry HP grass.
Defensive: Skarmory is 3OHKO´ed by HP fire, as it gets some layers and roosts the damage. Starmie 2OHKO´s it, and OHKO´s after spikes damage. Gengar and Tyranitar murder it if it got some damage before.
Wall: I got almost nothing who can touch it. It can´t do too much, so I lay some spikes more with Skarm. It isn’t a problem for my team. Gengar and Tyranitar can 2 OHKO her, but the problem is when Cresselia T-waves me which cripples my pokemon.
OU wall: It´s not hard to kill; Switch to Gengar as it Rapid Spins, then to Starmie as it uses Ice Shard, and OHKO back with Hydro Pump.
Wall: I hate this guy. It gets Spikes free ( D= ), and when I finally kill him, he got SR + 1 – 2 Spikes. Starmie is the only one who can touch him.
Stall – Breaker: Swampert / Starmie switch as it Taunts, and both of them kill them with Ice Beam. Gengar hurts him badly while Gliscor can´t touch him.
Baton Pass: The same as the Stall Breaker set. I just have to play more carefully with him.
Wall: Starmie, and Swampert say hi. Skarm gets Spikes + Whirlwind for free.
Spiker: Another hard pokemon to kill; Starmie, and Gengar are the only pokemon who can touch it. Lucario can OHKO it after a SD, but it will more likely want to Whirlwind away.
Curse: I can´t do too much against him. Gengar Tricks him, Lucario Close Combat spams, Skarmory can only Whirlwind away.
CroCune: Skarmory Whirlwinds it away, Gengar Tricks him out; hard to kill, but it has become very uncommon since everyone has started using the offensive set. Skarmory has 5/9 of being hit by its Surf while it´s asleep (It takes 2 turns to Phaze; 1st turn: Switch in, 2nd turn Whirlwind).
Offensive Suicune: Skarmory can survive its HP electric, and WW away. Swampert can severly damage it in 1 vs. 1, and Lucario / Gengar can finish it.
Some calcs:
0 SAtk Cune´s Surf vs Skarmory: 25.1% - 29.9%
+ 1 0 SAtk Cune´s Surf vs Skarmory: 38% - 44.9%
+ 2 0 SAtk Cune´s Surf vs Skarmory: 50.6% - 59.6%
+3 0 SAtk Cune´s Surf vs Skarmory: 63.2% - 74.6%
252 SAtk Cune´s HP Elec vs Skarmory: 41.9% - 49.7%
+1 252 SAtk Cune´s HP Elec vs Skarmory: 62.3% - 73.7%
Standard Lead: Skarmory gets Spikes free, and Starmie 2 OHKO´s it. It´s not very annoying
CursePert: (lol!) Gengar tricks, Skarmory WW. Starmie 2OHKO´s.
Toxic Spiker: Gengar comes in its Rapid Spin, and 2OHKO´s back. Gengar isn’t OHKO´ed by its Surf. Starmie 2OHKO´s and Tyranitar kills it.
Wisher: Skarmory gets some Spikes and roost the damage. Starmie 2OHKO´s him. Gengar Tricks / T-bolts. But, Vappy can stall with Wish + Protect + Wish… so that I kill myself with LO + SS damage.
Physcal wall: Tyranitar kills with SE + SR + SS damage. Starmie kills him after rocks. Swampert can kill him 1 vs. 1 if it doesn’t carry HP grass.
