This is basically a modification of my previous (unposted) team: changing my Lead of Aerodactyl (which was originally on this team) to Metagross, adding a second scarfed poke instead of a wall, and adding in Gyarados, who can set up and wreak havoc easily.
@Occa Berry
252 HP 236 ATT 12 DEF 8 SPE
Ability: Clear Body
Nature: Adamant
Stealth Rock
Earthquake [Changed from MM]
Bullet Punch
Explosion
[Changed from Aerodactyl]
I decided to switch to LeadGross because I notice that it's becoming more and more common in the OU metagame as a better lead than Aerodactyl. And since playing with Metagross, I find that I always get SR up on the first turn unless taunted, and often, I find myself with an early score of 5-5 or even 5-4 if I get my opponent's lead down and exploding on the next poke, compared to Aerodactyl's extremely rare and at best 5-5 start-off. Metagross is a much more consistent lead, something that I need. His effectiveness as a lead is greater than anything I've used.
This is the standard Leadgross. The EVs work the best.
[Flamebait]
@Choice Band
252 HP 252 ATT 4 DEF
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant
Bullet Punch
Pursuit
Superpower
U-Turn
Your favourite revenge killer and your opponent's worst nightmare. I like to use Superpower over Brick Break as it delivers easy 1HKOs on Blissey and many others with his effective 591 attack stat. Also, I prefer U-Turn over X-Scissor as Scizor incurs a fair few switches, allowing me to get a choice banded STAB U-turn on my opponent and then switch in my own counter. Scizor revenge kills most everything under 1/4 HP with bullet punch, unless there is a 4x resistance to deal with as well as some 1HKOs on Azelfs after SR (depending, of course on previous damage and EV spread), Aerodactyls after SR breaks the sash if they somehow escaped unscathed at first and the annoying, and more and more common Ambipom lead among many other common 1-2HKOs. With only 1 weakness - Fire, attacks against Scizor are usually pretty easy to predict and make appropriate switches. Pusuit also hits extremely hard on out-goers, and sometimes I can risk the opponent staying in, as technician helps this move deal loads of damage anyway.
EVs are designed to maximize bullet punch’s effectiveness as well as maximize damage potential, but retain a large number of HP (344) and give it a pretty nice tanking ability. Speed stays as slow as possible to get the upperhand on my opponent's Scizor.
[Nessy]
@ Leftovers
156 HP 108 ATT 100 DEF 144 SPE
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Adamant
Dragon Dance
Waterfall
Stone Edge
Taunt
[Changed from Offensive Gyarados to Bulky Gyarados]
Now that Gyarados has lost the ability to deal well with Steel types, I need to use Flygon or Azelf or Typhlosion (Infernape?) to counter my opponents. However, this gives me much better survivability against the otherwise problematic Scizor, and helps me to deal with DDmence, which could effectively rip me to shreds. This adds some needed bulk to this team.
[Towelhead]
@Life Orb
40ATT 252 SATT 216 SPE
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Naiive
Explosion
Thunderbolt
Flamethrower
Grass Knot
This set is very versatile. It provides great coverage scoring 1HKOs on all Gyarados and Scizor/Forretress. Grass knot has 120 base power super effective hit versus Tyranitar and a 4x on Rhyperior. This Azelf can also kill Starmie, Weavile, and many other fragile switch-ins with any luck. But I have to be careful as this set is completely walled by Heatran. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, Explosion takes down all the stuff I can't or don't want to deal with. Azelf is very frail, but if it's got 87% HP after SR and comes in on a Scizor, He'll usually survive with about 5% hp, and get the kill with flamethrower. I usually wait for a safe switch then explode if I'm low on health. Azelf isn’t terribly key to this team, but he is a nice ticket out of situations with would-be setting up Gyarados and annoying Swamperts, Scizors, Skarmory, Blissey or even Forretress.
These EVs allow it to be as effective of a special attacker as it can be (349 SATT), as well as retain high speed (352) and do mounds of damage with explosion.
[Guerilla](Changed from Typhlosion)
@ Life Orb
64 ATT 252 SATT 192 SPE
Ability: Blaze
Nature: Naiive
Fire Blast
Close Combat
Hidden Power [Ice] (I decided against Grass Knot because CC does loads of damage.)
Nasty Plot
This guy's a great wallbreaker. This is taken straight from the Strategy Dex, but it's amazing, it fits my team perfectly, better than Typhlosion. I started working with a Rapid-Spin Starmie and Typhlosion, but I found that I lost too many turns setting Typhlosion up. Between waiting and predicting well, and rapid spinning, my switch was a bit obvious. So basically, taking only neutral damage from SR and being able to set up on a lot of stuff using Nasty Plot, this guy's a beast. I like to pick on bulky Rotom-h or Scizor locked into BP or pursuit, among many other things that pose little threat to this ape. He's also just the wallbreaker my team needed, getting 1HKOs on (most?) Blissey, as well as beating up Physical walls and dragons with STAB (plot boosted) Fire Blast, or HP[Ice]. Overall, I'm very glad I've made him part of the team.
The EV spread give him 330 Speed and lets him do loads of damage with both special attacks, and Close Combat.
[Watermelon]
@ Choice Scarf
80 HP 252 ATT 176 SPE
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Adamant
Outrage
Earthquake
Stone Edge
U-Turn
These EVs allow it to, like Typhlosion, hit 280 speed without the scarf, outspeeding scarfed neutral 90s and specifically (speed+ Heatran,) Lucario, Porygon-Z, Heracross, Kingrda and more. Outrage is a 120 ATT stab move that is backed by a solid 328 attack stat. Dragon Claw is always there as a replacement for U-Turn for when I don't want to commit to Outrage, but I keep U-Turn as it's really essential for getting a big hit on Celebi, as well as getting out of a situation I don't want to be in. Flygon also showcases immunities to ground and electric type attacks, just an added bonus. Flygon gladly eats fire attacks while nullifying ground and electric attacks coming my way with decent prediction. Although, I do always try to make the safest switches possible with him, he’s a key piece in this team, allowing easy late-game sweeps with STAB Earthquake or Outrage – even lucky Stone Edges, under good circumstances.
[Team Building Process]
For my team building process, I knew that I needed, first and foremost at least 1 scarfed pokemon, and one pokemon with a priority move, but not the same pokemon. I also wanted something to kill Blisseys in one hit. Therefore, my team’s base was:
, as my priority mover and Blissey-killer +
as my initial scarf. If my opponent neglects or is unable to set up stealth rocks, Typhlosion works nicely as a scarfed poke with full HP. Next, I needed something to counter fire moves coming Scizor’s way, and ground, water, and rock types, but could also set up because my opponent will most likely make a switch. I went with the first thought that came to mind: Gyarados.
(I am willing to change this offensive Gyarados to Bulky for some more defense capability, if good reason is provided.)
Gyarados has a problem with rock moves aimed at Typhlosion, so I decide I’ll use my discretion on what to switch in if I think my opponent packs a rock move and intends to use it. Gyarados also takes little damage from Scizor bullet punches, and Scizors that are locked in die in 2 earthquakes, or switch, giving me a DD. So, now I have a pokemon to resist fire, steel, fighting, water, psychic, grass, ground, and ice, toxic, bug, ghost, dragon, dark, and steel attacks, depending on my prediction accuracy. All that’s left are electric and rock. I decide to add a scarf Flygon. He eats rock, electric, ground and fire attacks with ease, and hits back hard. He and Typhlosion work well in tandem, taking would-be super effective hits on each other with low-mid damage, and hitting back hard and fast.
Now that I’ve got everything covered, I need a good lead, one that gets SR up (almost) every time. I came up with Aerodactyl, as it can also taunt slower foes to prevent their Rain Dances, Stealth Rocks, and other problematic moves. The only times Aerodactyl doesn’t get his job done is when the foe is faster and taunts him. If Aerodactyl is lucky, he can also get a turn, or even 2 of attacking. I have been considering using a LeadGross instead of Aero, but I have yet to see a definite advantage.
Last, I decided that I have the need for a versatile life orb Pokémon. I decide that I need a solid counter for gyarados, scizor, forretress, swampert, Latias and others. I go with Azelf, for use of grass knot, flamethrower, thunderbolt and a strong Explosion. Like I said, I’ve never had a real appreciation for walls, so I chose to make this team all-out offensive. I’ve yet to play a devoted Rain Team, I think that I would be beaten by one, but I don’t know if Gyarados might fare well enough to stop one. I also began playing with LeadGross instead of Aerodactyl and have found Gross to be quite a better lead, and have changed to him.
I decide to test out Starmie in place of Azelf.
I don't like the turns I waste, using Starmie to spin away hazards and the predictability of my switch. I decide to switch Starmie back to Azelf, and Typhlosion to Nasty Plot MixApe.
This team has only lost a couple of times in its first day testing on Shoddy-both of which were lost because of Stone Edge's shaky accuracy, oh well.
If there are any problems with my RMT's format that I missed in the rules, just tell me and I'll be glad to fix it.
Edit: Upon the making of a good point from more than one person, I'm going to begin testing a Starmie as a Rapid Spinner to get rid of rocks that otherwise mess with Typhlosion, replacing Azelf.
Edit II: As I was playtesting with Starmie, I noticed myself losing too many turns and losing my unpredictability, so I switched to Infernape for wall breaking and sweeping, as well as another pokemon who can set up lethally.
@Occa Berry
252 HP 236 ATT 12 DEF 8 SPE
Ability: Clear Body
Nature: Adamant
Stealth Rock
Earthquake [Changed from MM]
Bullet Punch
Explosion
[Changed from Aerodactyl]
I decided to switch to LeadGross because I notice that it's becoming more and more common in the OU metagame as a better lead than Aerodactyl. And since playing with Metagross, I find that I always get SR up on the first turn unless taunted, and often, I find myself with an early score of 5-5 or even 5-4 if I get my opponent's lead down and exploding on the next poke, compared to Aerodactyl's extremely rare and at best 5-5 start-off. Metagross is a much more consistent lead, something that I need. His effectiveness as a lead is greater than anything I've used.
This is the standard Leadgross. The EVs work the best.
[Flamebait]
@Choice Band
252 HP 252 ATT 4 DEF
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant
Bullet Punch
Pursuit
Superpower
U-Turn
Your favourite revenge killer and your opponent's worst nightmare. I like to use Superpower over Brick Break as it delivers easy 1HKOs on Blissey and many others with his effective 591 attack stat. Also, I prefer U-Turn over X-Scissor as Scizor incurs a fair few switches, allowing me to get a choice banded STAB U-turn on my opponent and then switch in my own counter. Scizor revenge kills most everything under 1/4 HP with bullet punch, unless there is a 4x resistance to deal with as well as some 1HKOs on Azelfs after SR (depending, of course on previous damage and EV spread), Aerodactyls after SR breaks the sash if they somehow escaped unscathed at first and the annoying, and more and more common Ambipom lead among many other common 1-2HKOs. With only 1 weakness - Fire, attacks against Scizor are usually pretty easy to predict and make appropriate switches. Pusuit also hits extremely hard on out-goers, and sometimes I can risk the opponent staying in, as technician helps this move deal loads of damage anyway.
EVs are designed to maximize bullet punch’s effectiveness as well as maximize damage potential, but retain a large number of HP (344) and give it a pretty nice tanking ability. Speed stays as slow as possible to get the upperhand on my opponent's Scizor.
[Nessy]
@ Leftovers
156 HP 108 ATT 100 DEF 144 SPE
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Adamant
Dragon Dance
Waterfall
Stone Edge
Taunt
[Changed from Offensive Gyarados to Bulky Gyarados]
Now that Gyarados has lost the ability to deal well with Steel types, I need to use Flygon or Azelf or Typhlosion (Infernape?) to counter my opponents. However, this gives me much better survivability against the otherwise problematic Scizor, and helps me to deal with DDmence, which could effectively rip me to shreds. This adds some needed bulk to this team.
[Towelhead]
@Life Orb
40ATT 252 SATT 216 SPE
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Naiive
Explosion
Thunderbolt
Flamethrower
Grass Knot
This set is very versatile. It provides great coverage scoring 1HKOs on all Gyarados and Scizor/Forretress. Grass knot has 120 base power super effective hit versus Tyranitar and a 4x on Rhyperior. This Azelf can also kill Starmie, Weavile, and many other fragile switch-ins with any luck. But I have to be careful as this set is completely walled by Heatran. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, Explosion takes down all the stuff I can't or don't want to deal with. Azelf is very frail, but if it's got 87% HP after SR and comes in on a Scizor, He'll usually survive with about 5% hp, and get the kill with flamethrower. I usually wait for a safe switch then explode if I'm low on health. Azelf isn’t terribly key to this team, but he is a nice ticket out of situations with would-be setting up Gyarados and annoying Swamperts, Scizors, Skarmory, Blissey or even Forretress.
These EVs allow it to be as effective of a special attacker as it can be (349 SATT), as well as retain high speed (352) and do mounds of damage with explosion.
[Guerilla](Changed from Typhlosion)
@ Life Orb
64 ATT 252 SATT 192 SPE
Ability: Blaze
Nature: Naiive
Fire Blast
Close Combat
Hidden Power [Ice] (I decided against Grass Knot because CC does loads of damage.)
Nasty Plot
This guy's a great wallbreaker. This is taken straight from the Strategy Dex, but it's amazing, it fits my team perfectly, better than Typhlosion. I started working with a Rapid-Spin Starmie and Typhlosion, but I found that I lost too many turns setting Typhlosion up. Between waiting and predicting well, and rapid spinning, my switch was a bit obvious. So basically, taking only neutral damage from SR and being able to set up on a lot of stuff using Nasty Plot, this guy's a beast. I like to pick on bulky Rotom-h or Scizor locked into BP or pursuit, among many other things that pose little threat to this ape. He's also just the wallbreaker my team needed, getting 1HKOs on (most?) Blissey, as well as beating up Physical walls and dragons with STAB (plot boosted) Fire Blast, or HP[Ice]. Overall, I'm very glad I've made him part of the team.
The EV spread give him 330 Speed and lets him do loads of damage with both special attacks, and Close Combat.
[Watermelon]
@ Choice Scarf
80 HP 252 ATT 176 SPE
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Adamant
Outrage
Earthquake
Stone Edge
U-Turn
These EVs allow it to, like Typhlosion, hit 280 speed without the scarf, outspeeding scarfed neutral 90s and specifically (speed+ Heatran,) Lucario, Porygon-Z, Heracross, Kingrda and more. Outrage is a 120 ATT stab move that is backed by a solid 328 attack stat. Dragon Claw is always there as a replacement for U-Turn for when I don't want to commit to Outrage, but I keep U-Turn as it's really essential for getting a big hit on Celebi, as well as getting out of a situation I don't want to be in. Flygon also showcases immunities to ground and electric type attacks, just an added bonus. Flygon gladly eats fire attacks while nullifying ground and electric attacks coming my way with decent prediction. Although, I do always try to make the safest switches possible with him, he’s a key piece in this team, allowing easy late-game sweeps with STAB Earthquake or Outrage – even lucky Stone Edges, under good circumstances.
[Team Building Process]
For my team building process, I knew that I needed, first and foremost at least 1 scarfed pokemon, and one pokemon with a priority move, but not the same pokemon. I also wanted something to kill Blisseys in one hit. Therefore, my team’s base was:
(I am willing to change this offensive Gyarados to Bulky for some more defense capability, if good reason is provided.)
Gyarados has a problem with rock moves aimed at Typhlosion, so I decide I’ll use my discretion on what to switch in if I think my opponent packs a rock move and intends to use it. Gyarados also takes little damage from Scizor bullet punches, and Scizors that are locked in die in 2 earthquakes, or switch, giving me a DD. So, now I have a pokemon to resist fire, steel, fighting, water, psychic, grass, ground, and ice, toxic, bug, ghost, dragon, dark, and steel attacks, depending on my prediction accuracy. All that’s left are electric and rock. I decide to add a scarf Flygon. He eats rock, electric, ground and fire attacks with ease, and hits back hard. He and Typhlosion work well in tandem, taking would-be super effective hits on each other with low-mid damage, and hitting back hard and fast.
Now that I’ve got everything covered, I need a good lead, one that gets SR up (almost) every time. I came up with Aerodactyl, as it can also taunt slower foes to prevent their Rain Dances, Stealth Rocks, and other problematic moves. The only times Aerodactyl doesn’t get his job done is when the foe is faster and taunts him. If Aerodactyl is lucky, he can also get a turn, or even 2 of attacking. I have been considering using a LeadGross instead of Aero, but I have yet to see a definite advantage.
Last, I decided that I have the need for a versatile life orb Pokémon. I decide that I need a solid counter for gyarados, scizor, forretress, swampert, Latias and others. I go with Azelf, for use of grass knot, flamethrower, thunderbolt and a strong Explosion. Like I said, I’ve never had a real appreciation for walls, so I chose to make this team all-out offensive. I’ve yet to play a devoted Rain Team, I think that I would be beaten by one, but I don’t know if Gyarados might fare well enough to stop one. I also began playing with LeadGross instead of Aerodactyl and have found Gross to be quite a better lead, and have changed to him.
I decide to test out Starmie in place of Azelf.
I don't like the turns I waste, using Starmie to spin away hazards and the predictability of my switch. I decide to switch Starmie back to Azelf, and Typhlosion to Nasty Plot MixApe.
This team has only lost a couple of times in its first day testing on Shoddy-both of which were lost because of Stone Edge's shaky accuracy, oh well.
If there are any problems with my RMT's format that I missed in the rules, just tell me and I'll be glad to fix it.
Edit: Upon the making of a good point from more than one person, I'm going to begin testing a Starmie as a Rapid Spinner to get rid of rocks that otherwise mess with Typhlosion, replacing Azelf.
Edit II: As I was playtesting with Starmie, I noticed myself losing too many turns and losing my unpredictability, so I switched to Infernape for wall breaking and sweeping, as well as another pokemon who can set up lethally.
