The Power of ... Fairly Standard Pokemon (OU RMT)

[Wilson]

This has grown to be my favorite team on shoddy, but I definitely think it needs some help. I've tested out several different pokes with it and the current set up seems to work the best, though I do have problems with several OU Pokémon and I'd love to receive some constructive criticism on this team.

The Team - At A Glance

@ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Crunch

Your standard Aerodactyl suicide lead, though I prefer to keep this dude alive. Aerodactyl is a great late game sweeper (at least, for me), and I use him for this role generally if he wasn't killed some way when the match began. Crunch is there over Ice Fang mostly because my team has no real problems with any of the OU Dragons, it fucks up Azelf, and I consider it a more reliable move in general.

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@ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def/80 SAtk/176 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Wish
- Ice Beam
- Protect
- Toxic

A very standard WishBliss set, but I wouldn't use it if it didn't work so bloody well. Toxic is not something that all the bulky waters who switch into my Moltres like, and Wish is incredibly useful for all the Pokémon on my team who like to get hurt (notably Aerodactyl, Starmie, and Moltres) as well as general stalling. This set is extremely good.

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@ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Pursuit

The main physical force of my team, and unlike most Scizors it hits the field quick and does damage fast. Scizor compliments Aerodactyl very well and if not Moltres he'll be the second Pokémon to hit the field. I used to use a Swords Dance set but since Scizor isn't particularly hard to counter in the early game this set has been much more successful for me. U-turn does a ton of damage and scouts excellently, and the rest of the moves are great for sweeping. Superpower is an amazing wallbreaker. All in all, this is an extremely solid Pokémon.

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@ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP/148 Def/112 Spd
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Roost
- Substitute
- Will-o-wisp
- Flamethrower

An incredible staller, and not nearly as troubled by Stealth Rocks as most other Moltres' are due to the presence of Aerodactyl and Starmie. Even if Stealth Rocks hit the field wish support from Blissey and Moltres's excellent defenses and typing often allow me to recover off the damage. The strategy is pretty simple - switch into something that that's scared by Moltres, pull of a Substitute as it switches out, and either Burn whatever comes in or hit it with a very powerful Flamethrower, particularly for a defensive Pokémon.

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@ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 136 HP/156 Def/216 Spd
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Rapid Spin
- Surf
- Recover
- Thunderbolt

My Rapid Spinner, and although he's probably the least dramatic Pokémon of my team, he makes a difference. I used to pack Psychic for a surprise hit against Ghosts who thought they could block Rapid Spin, but I now generally use Thunderbolt for superior coverage (though I have considered placing Psychic over Surf). I have contemplated replacing this with Donphan but I haven't tested it yet.

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@ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP/220 Def/36 Spd
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Leech Seed
- Grass Knot
- Recover
- Heal Bell

A cleric, and a good one. I find that most people don't expect Celebi to carry heal bell and it's a good thing for me. Scizor and Moltres are both crippled badly by status and both are integral parts of my team so I believe Celebi is important. Leech Seed helps mess with the stuff that my opponent switches into this feller and can help out a teammate who may be low in health. Grass Knot kills just about every bulky water. All in all, a very solid Pokémon.

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[chenman333]

Well, its standard so I don't have much to say.

I would suggest making Scizor consideralbly bulkier, however, this this is a bit more of a stallish team. You need to keep starmie alive, so taking out pursuiters like Tyranitar and Weavile is important. So it's advisable to run a spread of

200 Hp/252 Atk/56 Def
Adamant

Tyranitar has only a 33% chance of KOing you with Stone Edge after rocks. Hopefully, you survive, KO, and then Starmie can get rid of rocks and Blissey pass a wish. But overall, I think Scizor would appreciate being to take those hits as he switches into Weavile, Mamoswine, and other pokemon who he can kill.

 

[Solidus]

I really don't prefer the type coverage that Stone Edge / Crunch provides, mainly because Lucario and Machamp completely resists them, which of whom are a threat to Aerodactyl if he isn't running Earthquake. I'd just go ahead and run EQ > Crunch since the main objective of Aerodactyl's role is to set up SR and switch out, so Azelf shouldn't be too big of a problem. Aerodactyl isn't much of a late game sweeper, which you said it was. It's only running two attack moves >_>. Blissey looks fine but I'd take a small portion of EV's from Sp. Atk and put it into Sp. Def so you can get a little more out of Blissey's potentiality as far as her Special Defense is concerned. Scizor is indeed a beast with Choice Band, but I always find Life Orb more favorable because of the ability to change moves after you attack. That being said, I still use CB Scizor more often because of it's raw power. I suggest running 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spe EV's so that you'll be able to outspeed minimum Speed Skarmory. Assuming SR is in play, Moltres will get KO'd quickly. It switches in and it already loses 50% of his damage, then it takes an attack from the opponent and it goes down just like that. I suggest using Heatran instead of Moltres. He's neutral to SR and generally hits harder. A SubTran set of Fire Blast / Earth Power / Substitute / Toxic with 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe EV's will do a good job. Starmie looks fine but I think a physically offensive Tentacruel over Starmie will cover up for your teams somewhat lack of offense as well as being a Spinner:

Tentacruel @ Leftovers
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
~ Waterfall
~ Poison Jab
~ Rapid Spin
~ Swords Dance / Toxic Spikes

Going for more of a physically oriented spread, this set is mainly an attempt to make Tentacruel a physical threat. Waterfall + Poison Jab are decent STAB attacks that hit a lot of things neutrally, but watch out for Empoleon. The last slot is up to you, whether you want to be hitting much harder with SD boosts or want to set up Spikes. Toxic Spikes is useful when combined with SR, as they will be causing your opponent a lot of residual damage.

For Celebi I'd run Thunder Wave over Leech Seed since you already have Recover. Thunder Wave is relatively useful at crippling quick sweepers and will help you out because your team certainly isn't the fastest.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your team. =)

 

[martinky24]

Hm, I would probobly replace Aero with Swampy or something along those lines. Suicide leads are for fast paced teams, which this team isn't. And Swampy would be okay to take many hits that are thrown at Moltres (Water/Electric), Celebi (Fire, Ice), and even taking Electric hits for Starmie. Swampy also can Roar out pokes trying to set up, which could give your team issues.

I would definitly say NO to offensive Tenta. First of all, Sludge Bomb is a special attack, not benefitting from those 252 attack EVs. Secondly, Tenta shouldn't be used for sweeping really, unless on a novelty team. If you're gonna go offensive, go ALL offensive, not halfway with rapid spin.

But I'd stick with Starmie. It counter Gyara, Ape, and Dragons with Ice Beam (which I might consider putting on over recover maybe?), and many other pokes much better than Tenta.

Overall, I like the use of Moltres. He does well with toxic from Bliss as well. The only type which you have no resistances to is rock (which Swampy could fix), and they cover each other very well. Nice job.

 

[Wilson]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'll be testing out all this stuff for a bit and when I find something I like I'll update my team and put up a threat list.

 

[MetaNite]

This team is pretty cool except for Blissey :P

But keep her, or you'll have problems with fast special sweepers.

Firstly, I agree with EQ over Crunch. It helps with Tyranitar and Heatran. Also Rock Slide > Stone Edge for the flinch, and better accuracy. Flinch saves me many times against things like Gyarados and if you get lucky you can flinch suicide leads before they can set up.

Also, Toxic is better than WoW. You can use it to beat Blissey and other sturdy walls with instant recovery.

Personally, I prefer a lot more bulk on Scizor. 232 HP / 252 Atk, 8 in Spe and the rest in Def is the way I go. Lets you switch in on many more threats such as Gengar without much of a problem.

 

[Solidus]

I would definitly say NO to offensive Tenta. First of all, Sludge Bomb is a special attack, not benefitting from those 252 attack EVs. Secondly, Tenta shouldn't be used for sweeping really, unless on a novelty team. If you're gonna go offensive, go ALL offensive, not halfway with rapid spin.

Swords Dance was listed as a possible option, not the primary one. You normally wouldn't max out Attack, but it's listed as a possibility. It's actually Waterfall / Poison Jab / Rapid Spin / Toxic Spikes, not Sludge Bomb.

Edit: @martinky: True, but with Swords Dance it can pose a decent threat. It gets complicated when a physically attacking role with a Spinner role is combined. Abandoning the Rapid Spin role and running Swords Dance / Substitute with Waterfall and Poison Jab is a possibility, but Tentacruel does indeed have unreliably low attack. In the end, using a standard Spinner Tentacruel with Surf / Sludge Bomb / Toxic Spikes / Rapid Spin seems to be the best option.

 

[martinky24]

There's no usually to Physical Tenta, because no one runs it...
It's coverage is terrrrible. And it doesn't hit hard enough for even suprise value on pokes like Bliss and such which can take those hits pretty well.

 

[AbsolDeath]

This has grown to be my favorite team on shoddy, but I definitely think it needs some help. I've tested out several different pokes with it and the current set up seems to work the best, though I do have problems with several OU Pokémon and I'd love to receive some constructive criticism on this team.

The Team - At A Glance

@ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge/Rock Slide
- Earthquake

I chose Earthquake because you can have more type coverage against leads like Metagross, Jirachi, Tyranitar and such. Rock Slide as an option as you may opt for accuracy over power. Aero won't be around too long so you don't want to miss with him.
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@ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def/80 SAtk/176 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)/Bold nature (+Def, -Atk?)
- Wish
- Ice Beam/Seismic Toss
- Protect
- Toxic

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@ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Pursuit


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@ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP/148 Def/112 Spd
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Roost
- Substitute
- Toxic/Hidden Power [Ground]
- Flamethrower

Don't use W-o-W and Flamethrower together because fire immunities, fire types completely wall this. Toxic could be used to PP stall walls like Blissey out while HP Ground could be used for enemies such as Heatran, Infernape or Houndoom who try to throw themselves in expecting a fire attack.

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@ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 136 HP/156 Def/216 Spd
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Rapid Spin
- Surf
- Recover
- Thunderbolt

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@ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP/220 Def/36 Spd
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Leech Seed
- Grass Knot
- Recover
- Heal Bell

It was a short check up on your team but I hope I helped.

 

[Wolfen11]

Just on a side note, you have 4 leftovers.

 

[discoboy]

I personally love the moltres and have used it many times myself before. It counters so many things and people still don't see its potential as long as you can get rid of stealth rocks. For this reason, I recommend using a more sturdy rapid spinner as opposed to starmie, which is taken out via pursuit/walled and spin-blocked by rotom. Instead, you could use a tentacruel, donphan or forretress.

I also have a problem with your lead, aerodactyl. Why do you put stealth rock on something so fragile, when your team has other pokemon that could do it more effectively without needing a sash to stay alive. For example, forretress could set up rocks without needing a focus sash and also would provide other team support. Unless your team can keep up the pressure on your opponent, a suicide lead is not the way to go. Not only will it often place you 1 pokemon down right from the start, but if your opponent has a spinner, it's usually a wasted pokemon for nothing. I see no reason why you would need rocks first thing on your team because it isn't particulary offensive. You could lead with a bronzong to get rocks up and quite possibly kill the other lead if it's an aerodactyl, etc. and maybe a screen as well, all without dying.

 

[Birdy [old]]

Imo I like having a bulky Scizor when it comes to CB scizor. since CB scizor is mainly a hit and run pokemon, the extra speed isn't going to help very much unless you plan on outrunning something such as Metagross. The extra HP however, can help you take hits in case you mispredict, and I strongly recommend you get 252 HP, mainly because Scizor is your only Steel type (Hence the only one that can take a Dragon attack)

I also suggets Swampert over Aerodacytl. A suicide lead isn't the best on a stall-ish team such as this. Swampert can SR, and can help with your weaknesses to Dragons, Tyranitar, and Zapdos w/o HP grass. If you are going to keep Aerodactyl, at least change Crunch to Earthquake. Earthquake+Stone edge is great coverage, and Stone edge deals enough to Azelf leads anyways.

Great team =D

 

[blasphemy1]

I really think you should A)Completely revamp the team, dropping Blissey for a more offensive counter against Heatran, and add some faster and more powerful sweepers like Salamence > Moltres, or B)Add in things that help Moltres SubRoost stall, as Stealth Rock alone isn't going to do much damage. I recommend the latter, as it will turn this team into a stallish of sorts without completely destroying the synergy. You absolutely need a Spiker and a Toxic Spiker, or else pokemon who aren't weak to Stealth Rock and have a recovery move will be switching in all day. Examples of these include Crocune, Celebi, Blissey, Starmie, etc.

To remedy this I think Forretress/Skarmory > Scizor should work well. Forretress not only Spins, like Starmie, but it also sets up Spikes and when its job is done, it can Explode. Skarmory provides your team with a Phazer, and has access to instant recovery, but can't Rapid Spin. I suggest Forretress which will free up Starmie's spot. The only thing your Starmie can do that Forry can't is 1)Check Gyarados, and 2)Die from the omnipresent Pursuiters. The latter isn't a good quality. Run Shed Shell on Forretress to keep him safe from Magnezones.

Next, Starmie's spot is open, and we are looking for a Toxic Spiker. Well, Tentacruel comes to mind. They both perform similar roles, as neither one is 2HKOed by Scarf Heatran's Earth Power unless Stealth Rock is in play. Tentacruel can set up Toxic Spikes for you, and counter MixApe, although Moltres does that well enough provided rocks aren't up. I suggest running Surf / Toxic Spikes / Rest / Sleep Talk, with a Calm nature. Max HP is obvious, and 120 Def / 136 SpD should work nicely. The defensive EVs prevent a 2HKO from MixApe's Close Combat, and prevent you from being OHKOed by SD variants.

The team looks more solid now, and it seems to have more synergy. Between Celebi + Tentacruel + Blissey + Forretress, rarely will you have trouble with attackers. If Celebi is afraid of Heracross's Megahorn, switchin Forretress for a free layer of Spikes. If Forretress is threatened by a fire attack, send in Tentacruel to set up one or even two layers of Toxic Spikes. Blissey can handle pretty much any special attacker once your supporters have set up, but this team leaves you vulnerable to things like Tentacruel and rapid spinners in general. This is why you need an anti-spinner.

Obviously, Rotom-A comes to mind, being able to counter tons of the current metagames threats. You may like Aerodactyl, but he doesn't fit well with the rest of the team(even your current team), so I think Stealth Rock can find a spot on Forretress, Celebi, or Blissey.

Overall, pretty good team, and if you keep your current team, Aerodactyl is soo much better than Swampert at SR'ing.