Full Offense with a Back-Up (Standard OU 1vs1)

[Quadrophenia]

Well, I've played on the OU shoddy battle ladder for a couple of months and I've decided that I need that RMT to improve my team. I get lucky sometimes but sometimes I lose a few games in a row. Anyways, here's:

the line-up
​

Infernape@Life Orb
Hasty
252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 SpA
-Fake Out
-Taunt
-Close Combat
-Overheat

This is a LeadApe... with a twist. I Fake Out first unless it either resists it or probably doesn't have Focus Sash since Life Orbed Fake Out can be a waste. Then I either Taunt slower things that I can't OHKO or OHKO the things I can. I prefer to use Close Combat though.

This thing kills normal LeadApes by outspeeding and overpowering them. And it can deal with other leads too such as Azelf and Bronzong. Not only this but Gyarados/Swampart/Tentacruel who commonly switch in, get taunted before they can set-up. Infernape usually gets killed if outsped which is what I like because I get a free switch-in. It's basically a suicide lead but because of it's low defences.

Raikou@Life Orb
Timid
252 Spe / 252 SpA / 4 HP
-Thunderbolt
-HP Grass
-Shadow Ball
-Calm Mind/Substitute

This Raikou is a standard CM Raikou but it has swept teams plenty of times. It usually takes out the Gyarados/Swampart that kills my Infernape. I also usually use Calm Mind on Starmies/Vaporeons or when they switch.

Unfortunately, this set gets walled to death by Blissey so I may drop Calm Mind for Substitute.

Latias@Life Orb
Levitate
Timid
252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
-Calm Mind
-HP Fire
-Surf
-Dragon Pulse

With Latias, I now have coverage in Water and Dragon and is faster than Togekiss was. It can deal alot of damage too.
I usually switch it on Ground moves due to Levitate and get a free Calm Mind if they're Choiced.

Bronzong@Macho Brace/Lagging Tail
Heatproof
Sassy
252 HP / 84 Atk / 80 Def / 92 SpD
-Explosion
-Gyro Ball
-Earthquake
-Trick

Ok, this Bronzong is essentially my back-up plan if the opponent manages to set-up. Trick will either halve the opponent's speed or make them go last respectively. The other option is to explode... enough said.

This Bronzong also seerves as Heatran counter with the ability Heatproof. Not many people would suspect this pokemon to be Heatproof unless Spikes were sent out. It can take a Fire Blast from Scarfed Heatran and give an Earthquake that either OHKOs or at least puts it into Bullet Punch range.

Machamp@Leftovers
No Guard
Adamant
252 Atk / 128 Spe / 128 HP
-Ice Punch
-Thunderpunch
-Dynamic Punch
-Substitute

Since seeing Machamp w/ substitute in action, I was surprised at how good it was. Switch in on things that don't like it and substitute away!

Machamp also serves as my Tyranitar counter as it resists Tyranitar's STAB moves and can Dynamic Punch for 4x effective damage. It serves as a Blissey counter too as can substitute to stop Blissey's attacks and give it a powerful Dynamic Punch.

Scizor@Choice Band
Technician
Adamant
252 Atk / 248 HP / 8 Spe
-Bullet Punch
-U-Turn
-Pursuit
-Superpower

Yes, your average Choice Banded Scizor. Scizor is mainly there to finish off threats without being in danger. Once a Pokemon has been tricked by Bronzong, they are usually outsped by Scizor resulting in a powerful hit from him.

 

[Quadrophenia]

Threat List

Threat List

Offensive

Medium
Dangerous

Aerodactyl: Thunderbolt from Raikou OHKOs most of time.
Alakazam: Bullet Punch Scizor OHKOs.
Azelf: Bullet Punch Scizor and Gyro Ball from Bronzong does plenty of damage.
Breloom: Tough to deal with if it is out on slow pokemon however Latias can HP Fire.
Dragonite: Machamp's Ice Punch deal with it.
Dugtrio: Togekiss is immune to Earthquake and since they are Choice Banders most of the time, they usually get killed easily.
Electivire: If it gets a boost from Raikou, this can easily wipe the team out. Bronzong usually explodes if it does.
Empoleon: SubPeteyas are annoying but otherwise Raikou deals with them effectively. Machamp can Dynamic Punch if Machamp can survive the Surf.
Flygon: Machamps Ice Punch can stop it.
Gengar: BP Scizor OHKOs.
Gyarados: Raikou's TBolt OHKOs.
Heatran: Bronzong can take Fire Blast and can EQ for OHKO.
Heracross: Machamp's Ice Punch is OHKO most of the time.
Infernape: Latias can Surf it to death.
Jirachi: Usually killed by Infernape at the start if it's a lead. I usually use Bronzong's Earthquake since Jirachi can't harm it too much.
Jolteon: I usually use Bronzong's Earthquake since Jolteon can't harm it too much.
Kingdra: As long as it doesn't Rain/Dragon Dance, they are outsped and killed by TBolt from Raikou (2HKO).
Latias: Shadow Ball 2HKO/3HKOs it from Raikou. Dragon Pulse from Latias is the same situation.
Lucario: Dynamic Punch Machamp is good.
Machamp: No Guard w/ Dynamic Punch variants are oh so annoying! No real way to stop it...
Magnezone: Bronzong can abuse EQ if it hasn't used Magnet Rise. Scizor's SuperPower OHKOs too. So can Machamp's Dynamic Punch.
Mamoswine: Raikou's HP Grass OHKOs. Infernape can kill it if it still alive.
Metagross: Trouble. High Defence means it usually takes time to get killed from Physical attackers w/ Earthquake. Infernape can kill it also if it still alive.
Porygon-Z: Scizor can Bullet Punch and kill him.
Rhyperior: Raikou with HP Grass can kill him.
Rotom (all): Raikou's Shadow Ball OHKOs.
Salamance: Machamp's Ice Punch is 4x effective.
Scizor: I usually bring Raikou in when it is locked into BP and 2HKO with TBolt.
Starmie: Raikou with TBolt OHKOs.
Togekiss: Machamp's Ice/Thunder Punch can deal high damage as can Raikou's TBolt.
Tyranitar: Scizor's Superpower and BP can kill it.
Weavile: Scizor's BP OHKOs.

Defensive

Blissey: Machamp scares him to death!
Bronzong: I pretty much have no way to deal with it if it levitates unless Infernape is still alive. Raikou's TBolt is decent enough to 3HKO most of the time.
Celebi: HP Fire from Latias is quite good.
Cresselia: Raikou's Shadow Ball can 2HKO/3HKO I think.
Donphan: Raikou's HP Grass deals with it.
Dusknoir: Raikou's Shadow Ball can 2HKO it.
Forretress: Raikou's Thunderbolt can 2HKO it. Infernape slaughters it if it's still alive.
Gliscor: Machamp can Ice Punch. Latias can use Surf as well.
Hippowdon: Machamp can Ice Punch. Latias can use Surf as well.
Skamory: Raikou's TBolt OHKO.
Snorlax: Mchamp can dynamic Punch it.
Suicune: Raikou can TBolt for 2HKO most of the time.
Swamaprt: Raikou's HP Grass OHKOs.
Tentacruel: Raikou's TBolt OHKOs after Calm Mind.
Vaporeon: Raikou's TBolt OHKO after Calm Mind.
Zapdos: Machamp can Ice Punch.

 

[Brass]

I don't see how the team works together. Switching is gonna be hard with no walls. And how can you have an OU team with no dragon moves or ice moves. I can see tyranitar being a problem as it one hits like everything on ur team to kill it except scizor and metagross would even more of a problem. And I don't think Raikou's tbolt kills Creul and vaporen in one hit. And a couple of ur other OTK I think are off. But maybe i am wrong.
Battle from the Sun explained it all. You need some walls and proper synergy. Start with a pokemon and build around it

 

[Quadrophenia]

1. I don't see how the team works together. Switching is gonna be hard with no walls. 2. And how can you have an OU team with no dragon moves or ice moves. 3. I can see tyranitar being a problem as it one hits like everything on ur team to kill it except scizor and metagross would even more of a problem. 4. And I don't think Raikou's tbolt kills Creul and vaporen in one hit. And a couple of ur other OTK I think are off. But maybe i am wrong

1. Team works by killing each others killers. Tenta/Swampart/Latias/Gyarados switch in on Infernape and kills Infernape. Raikou kills them. Blah. Blah. I admit, it's not perfect team synergy but meh.

2. I thought about this too. Perhaps I should replace Togekiss with Latias that has Bolt/beam/CM/Dragon Pulse

3. Tyranitar isn't that fast. Neither is Metagross and usually aren't given the chance.

4. Sorry. I meant after Calm Mind.

 

[BattleForTheSun]

I'll use the same numbers for my 2 cents on the problems Slumdog mentioned:

1. Your team is all but synergetic. First off, you have 3 weaknesses to Ground, a very common attack type; and even though it's covered by 2 resists (Togekiss and Bronzong), a couple of Pokémon can easily take advantage of your team's weaknesses and rip through the team. A few examples (I might be overlooking loads of others):

• Heatran: ScarfTran has a ball with your entire team. The only one not weak to it is Togekiss, and apart from Aura Sphere it can hardly do anything back.

• Gyarados: DD Gyarados, even though it has trouble setting up most of the time, will destroy everyone on your team if it gets one DD in. It will usually set up on Bronzong (who can Explode) or Scizor (who can do nothing at all, and your team will be doomed). Let's look at the example you gave: Gyarados switches in on Infernape. You switch to Raikou as Gyarados DD's. Uh-oh, Raikou is now outspeeded and dies from a single EQ. Oops.

• Metagross is another one mentioned by Slumdog: AgiliGross outspeeds everything on your team and can easily rip through it with EQ and Meteor Mash; it can only be stopped by Bronzong.

• Anything else with Earthquake + Stone Edge: Pokémon with EQ and Stone Edge can succesfully destroy every single member of your team, barring maybe Scizor (who often can't do anything back anyway). Gliscor is a good example, as it's bulky enough to take hits from all your Pokémon and throws OHKO's back at them; Flygon with the same 2 attacks will wreak havoc as well, and since you lack Ice moves, both can have their way with your team without getting hurt too much. Like Slumdog said, Tyranitar is a problem as well, as it sports the same 2 attacks and with Dragon Dance, it can set up to outspeed and kill your entire team. Anything fast or bulky with those 2 moves is very dangerous for your team, and it's not an uncommon combination of moves.

On a last note before skipping to point 2: it's not easy to make a succesful all-out offensive team, and "covering each others weaknesses" is only a small aspect of how offensive teams work.

2. With Latias, your team will be even more TTar-weak. DDTar can switch into it, set up a DD, and proceed with a vicious killing spree - that is, if Scizor is out of the way first, who is your only real insurance against him.

3. Like I said, TTar and Metagross aren't fast, but only need one turn to set up in order to be able to outspeed and kill your entire team, with Dragon Dance and Agility respectively. Both can set up on Raikou easy enough.

4. I'm not sure if they're OHKO'd either, as both are usually very defensive, so if you're saying that you can KO variants without defensive EV's, I regret to inform you that those don't exist... I haven't got the time to use a damage calculator, though, so I can't back this up.

I'm short on time so I can't take a close enough look at this team to propose changes for the better, but I hope this makes you realise that you have problems.

 

[Quadrophenia]

Ok, to stop the lack of coverage, I've replaced Togekiss with Latias and Rhyperior with Machamp to have coverage in Ice, water and dragon.

Machamp is also a counter to Tyranitar now.