The Heartbreaking Tale of the Future King (OU)

[Codyjd]

The Story:
One upon a time there was a boy who set out on an adventure with his pokemon. He worked and he toiled and he fought until he was the best trainer in Sinnoh, defeating Champion Cynthia after an epic battle and taking her place as Sinnoh Champion. He stayed there for a time, defeating challenger after challenger with ease. However, he quickly grew disillusioned with the charms of championhood. "Is this all there is for me?", the boy thought aloud. "Have I... have I already reached the pinnacle?" Saddened by this thought, the boy decided to head back to his house and rest. Suddenly, he was blinded by a bright light. "Not yet," boomed a voice. "Sinnoh is but one small region in a large world, and many strong trainers await you in the world beyond. Conquer them, for it is your destiny." There was another flash, and the boy vanished from the face of Sinnoh, never to be seen there again.

When he awoke, he found himself in a strange new land. The citizens referred to it as Smogon, and it abounded in rare and powerful pokemon. Pokemon such as Jirachi that the boy had thought of only as a myth were as common as Rattata, and he had no idea how to handle them. He lost battle after battle to trainers wielding strange new pokemon and strange new strategies, and knew that he had to step it up a notch if he wanted to survive.

He tried mimicing other trainers who used some of the same pokemon by teaching his pokemon the new moves that the Smogon trainers taught their own pokemon, but he still didn't have much luck in winning. However, he still had more things to try. He had heard of a wise old hermit living up at Stark Mountain who was known for his ability to analyse teams and their wekanesses, so he trekked to the top of the mountain, where the old hermit lived. At the peak, he found an old man meditating on a rock. The man opened his eyes. "And who might you be?", he asked.

The boy looked him in the eyes, and smiled. "Me? I'm the trainer who is one day going to become the pokemon master of the world!"


TLDR Version:
- This is the team I beat the Elite Four with
- I looked up my pokemon on Smogon and picked out some nice recommended movesets for them
- When I go into shoddy I lose all the time
- This is mostly because I have no experience in competitive pokemon
- I still feel that my team itself could also use some improving though



Aether
a.k.a. Staraptor

----------------------------
Staraptor @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
~ Brave Bird
~ Close Combat
~ U-turn
~ Quick Attack
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Comments / Thoughts: The first Pokemon I caught in Platinum. :3 Brave Bird and Close Combat are powerful moves that are together super-effective against a wide variety of pokemon, and U-turn gives me a powerful move against psychic starters while also allowing me to switch out if I meet an unfavorable match like an electric type. Quick Attack is there in case I need a priority move.
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Loki
a.k.a. Gengar

-----------------------------
Gengar @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def, 252 Satk, 252 Spe
Timid Nature
~ Shadow Ball
~ Thunderbolt
~ Taunt
~ Explosion
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Comments / Thoughts: After getting tired of being outsped by pokemon with low HP remaining that sweep my team, I caught a Gastly and raised it to be a speed machine. It kept getting 1HKO'd if I didn't 1HKO first, so Focus Sash basically doubles Loki's lifespan. Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt and Focus Blast give me a fair bit of coverage, and I have an Explosion for those times when my Focus Sash leaves me with 1HP remaining.
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Apollo
a.k.a. Scizor

--------------------------
Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 32HP, 252 Atk, 224 Spe
Adamant Nature
~ Swords Dance
~ Bullet Punch
~ Superpower
~ X-Scissor
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Comments / Thoughts: Swords Dance for when their attacks are weak and I have the chance, Bullet Punch as my strong priority move, Superpower for type coverage, and X-Scissor as a strong STAB move. I'm leaning towards replacing that with U-turn though, because people seem to have like a 90% chance of switching out to something with Flamethrower whenever they see my Scizor.
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Hyperion
a.k.a. Bronzong

-----------------------------------
Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252HP / 86Atk / 80 Def / 92 SpD
Sassy Nature
~ Stealth Rock
~ Gyro Ball
~ Earthquake
~ Explosion
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Comments / Thoughts: If the chance presents itself in the opening, I can use Staraptor's U-turn to switch to Bronzong and put Stealth Rock up. Gyro Ball works well against fast pokemon because Bronzong is so slow, and Earthquake is to counter the fire types and such that appear to melt him. Explosion is for when it looks like I'm not going to survive long.
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Poseidon
a.k.a. Gyarados

-------------------------------
Gyarados @ Salac Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4HP / 252Atk / 252 Speed
Jolly Nature
~ Dragon Dance
~ Waterfall
~ Ice Fang
~ Earthquake
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Comments / Thoughts: Gyarados can be switched in when a fire attack is launched at Scizor or Bronzong, or when a Ground attack is used against Scizor or Electivire. Waterfall is the main STAB attack, Ice Fang is there for type coverage because having Ice attacks in your team is important, and Earthquake is there because it's awesome and can defeat an Electric type if it predicts the switchin. I was noticing problems with facing off against other Gyarados, so I'm thinking of replacing one of the moves with Stone Edge, though I'm not sure which.
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Thor
a.k.a. Electivire

--------------------------------------
Electivire @ Expert Belt
Ability: Motor Drive
EVs: 36Atk / 252 SpA / 220 Speed
Mild Nature
~ Thunderbolt
~ Flamethrower
~ Ice Punch
~ Earthquake
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Comments / Thoughts: Thor is needed to protect Gyarados (and occasionally Staraptor) from all the electrical abuse hurled at them. Thunderbolt is the main STAB attack, with Flamethrower and Ice Punch for coverage. Earthquake is there to kill the electric types that I switch him into.
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[Lorerer]

Remove that focus sash at the gengar and put something but it (life orb, choice scarf, and even lefties). And remove taunt -> focus blast, it helps a lot getting neutral on everything.

On Gyarados, remove the salac berry and put a life orb or leftovers. Salac really does not help gyarados, because its rare to see it's life at the 25% or below, it usually dies before.

All the other team is ok, but consider brick breack over superpower on scizor, becouse superpower lowers the attack that you raised with it's sword dance.

 

[Darkvirus]

one thing i would say is if you using electrivire he NEEDS motor drive ( infact he cant have volt absorb a possible change to him is a Specs Jolteon

Choice specs
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid
- Thunder Bolt
- Shadow Ball
- HP Grass/Ice
- Batton pass

After the Choice Specs boost, Jolteon's Special Attack stat climb to 478.
thats enough to take out many strong opponents and often faster then a Gyra after a single DD meaning he makes a great counter

 

[Dormin]

Hmmmm I think it'll be this team that'll bring me out of team rating retirement! I like your enthusiasm (and the very creative intro), so I'll try to work within the bounds of your current team.

For your lead, I would actually recommend Scarfraptor if you want to keep him as your lead. A fast Intimidate+U-turn will almost always give you the upper hand in the initial stages of the battle, and you still pack quite a punch. The only thing I don't like is how Staraptor doesn't do a whole lot to the common Metagross, Jirachi, and somewhat Swampert leads that are all the rage nowadays. Therefore I would recommend that you switch your Bronzong to the lead position with an Occa Berry, Macho Brace, or even Choice Band. This will allow you to set up some quick rocks and counter many of today's common leads.

As for Gengar, I think he should stay on the team, but your current set is rather ineffective. I think you should really start focusing your team around a Gyarados/Electivire sweep, and to do that you need to remove some key pokemon. A substitute Gengar with HP Fire would help your cause greatly by taking out foolish Scizors as well as Gengar's counters.

Gengar@Leftovers
Timid
Levitate
EVs: 4 HP, 252 SpA, 252 Speed
-HP Fire
-Substitute
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast

On the other hand, Gengar does not do much to counter some big threats of yours. Lucario and Agiligross looks like they could be pretty dangerous for this team late game, and an easy fix for that would be a Choice Scarf Rotom-h.

Rotom-h@ Choice Scarf
Timid/Modest
Levitate
EVs: 4 HP, 252 SpA, 252 Speed
-Shadow Ball
-Overheat
-Thunderbolt
-Trick

This is probably your best choice as it counters many of your weaknesses. If your adamant about gengar try the set I recommended.

As for Scizor, the LO Swords Dance set just doesn't sweep like it used to. Besides, a Choice Band Scizor is going to help a lot more to remove some key counters stopping a Gyarados sweep. Namely, stuff like Celebi, Gengar, and starmie. For this, I'm going to recommend an unorthodox spread..

Scizor@Choice Band
Jolly
EVs: 4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Speed
-Pursuit
-Bullet Punch
-Superpower/Brick Break
-U-turn

With the speed, your going to surprise defensive, HP Fire toting Celebi that run 244 speed to beat Scizor. You could run the usual max HP spread, but I think the speed is quite useful for the Celebi issue explained above. You'll have to play around Starmie/Gengar/Latias due to being less bulky, but you should still be able to eliminate them.

As for Gyarados, my all time favorite spread is the BulkyGyara.

Gyarados@Leftovers
Adamant
Intimidate
156 HP, 108 Atk, 100 Def, 144 Speed
-Taunt
-Waterfall
-Stone Edge
-Dragon Dance

Salac Berry is useless on a DDGyara, and with Taunt you can now shut down a lot of pokemon who rely on status to take down this beast. IMHO, this is the best use of Gyarados.

Electivire looks alright, but I think you should switch the Expert Belt for a Life Orb, Ice Punch for HP Grass, and Earthquake for Cross Chop. This way, you beat Swampert which your team is pretty weak to, and take care of th same stuff EQ takes care of with Cross Chop, plus Blissey. I'll explain strategy a little later.

Hmmmmm, let's see, I say Staraptor should be straight dropped, but I'm not sure as to the best thing to replace it with. I think a safe bet would be a mixed sweeper--namely, Infernape.

Infernape@Life Orb
Naive
Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk, 64 SpAtk, 192 Speed
-Close Combat
-Fire Blast
-U-turn
-Stone Edge/Mach Punch

This will tear stuff up for your two sweepers, while still keeping good synergy. With two effective U-turners in Scizor and Infernape, you should easily be able to U-turn out of Latias as it switches in and then trap it with Scizor.

Thus, with these changes, your team is going to look something like this...

If Electivire doesn't work out for you, try Life Orb Jolteon as well.

Strategy:
Since you mentioned having some problems with this aspect of the game, I'll try to help you out. First off, try to get into the next round of Battling 101. From what I've seen, it is a fantastic way to learn the ropes.

As far as this team is concerned, you'll generally want to get off a stealth rock from Bronzong ASAP, but you should also consider the opponents lead. For example, if your facing a Jirachi lead, you'll want to watch out for Trick Choice Scarf, and so you should switch to CS Rotom-h to absorb it. In the initial stages, you'll want to get Infernape/Scizor in as much as possible to U-turn and break down the opponents team, all while trying to figure out what their strategy is--offensive, defensive, or balanced. You should be able to take offensive with strategic use of intimidate, CS Rotom, and bullet punch Scizor. If you choose to switch to LO or specs Jolteon that will help to. Defensive or stall Infernape and Gyarados will be your primary asset. Against balanced, you should try to take out common counters to Gyarados with U-turning and pursuit in order to win.

Whew, sorry for the huge tl;dr rate, but I think these changes will really help you start to succeed. Good luck to ya.

 

[Codyjd]

On Gyarados, remove the salac berry and put a life orb or leftovers. Salac really does not help gyarados, because its rare to see it's life at the 25% or below, it usually dies before.

Makes sense.

one thing i would say is if you using electrivire he NEEDS motor drive ( infact he cant have volt absorb a possible change to him is a Specs Jolteon

Yeah, that was a typo. :P

On the other hand, Gengar does not do much to counter some big threats of yours. Lucario and Agiligross looks like they could be pretty dangerous for this team late game, and an easy fix for that would be a Choice Scarf Rotom-h.

Rotom-h@ Choice Scarf
Timid/Modest
Levitate
EVs: 4 HP, 252 SpA, 252 Speed
-Shadow Ball
-Overheat
-Thunderbolt
-Trick

This is probably your best choice as it counters many of your weaknesses. If your adamant about gengar try the set I recommended.

That sounds interesting, actually. I'll try it.

Hmmmmm, let's see, I say Staraptor should be straight dropped, but I'm not sure as to the best thing to replace it with. I think a safe bet would be a mixed sweeper--namely, Infernape.

Infernape@Life Orb
Naive
Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk, 64 SpAtk, 192 Speed
-Close Combat
-Fire Blast
-U-turn
-Stone Edge/Mach Punch

This will tear stuff up for your two sweepers, while still keeping good synergy. With two effective U-turners in Scizor and Infernape, you should easily be able to U-turn out of Latias as it switches in and then trap it with Scizor.

Thus, with these changes, your team is going to look something like this...

If Electivire doesn't work out for you, try Life Orb Jolteon as well.

I'll try it out, though I do like my Staraptor.

Strategy:

Since you mentioned having some problems with this aspect of the game, I'll try to help you out. First off, try to get into the next round of Battling 101. From what I've seen, it is a fantastic way to learn the ropes.

As far as this team is concerned, you'll generally want to get off a stealth rock from Bronzong ASAP, but you should also consider the opponents lead. For example, if your facing a Jirachi lead, you'll want to watch out for Trick Choice Scarf, and so you should switch to CS Rotom-h to absorb it. In the initial stages, you'll want to get Infernape/Scizor in as much as possible to U-turn and break down the opponents team, all while trying to figure out what their strategy is--offensive, defensive, or balanced. You should be able to take offensive with strategic use of intimidate, CS Rotom, and bullet punch Scizor. If you choose to switch to LO or specs Jolteon that will help to. Defensive or stall Infernape and Gyarados will be your primary asset. Against balanced, you should try to take out common counters to Gyarados with U-turning and pursuit in order to win.

Whew, sorry for the huge tl;dr rate, but I think these changes will really help you start to succeed. Good luck to ya.

That all sounds good, I'll try and sign up for Battling 101 when I can.

Thanks for all the responses, I didn't have time to respond to every single point but this will all be very helpful.