Rate my scrubby Ou team (lol)

Duelingk

I have been building this team for quite awhile. I want to create a team for wifi battles on platinum/HGSS, so legendaries are something I want to avoid, but will think about if necessary. It is entirely too much effort to farm an acceptable legendary. I am a rather new battler to the competitive scene, so I kind of threw something together that synced rather well after studying the stradegy dex/other rmt threads.

I MISSED THE NINTENDO EVENT FOR ROTOM FORMS, THEREFORE DO NOT SUGGEST THEM PLEASE. Thank you.

I have been testing this team out on shoddy battle and it does decently well. It has some glaring weaknesses I will get to.

metagross.png

Metagross @ Occa Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP/236 Atk/12 Def/10 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Bullet Punch
- Explosion

My lead. It has proven to do extremely well against the teams I have used it against. It generally can kill at least one of the opponents pokemon. It sometimes fails to setup stealth rocks due to taunt. Its berry has proven to be extremely useful to counter heatran/infernape leads which allows me to ohko with EQ. EDIT: I have been recently seen many azelf leads, a pokemon that metagross has a hard time doing something about. Usually setup SR then bullet punch in case of switch/trick. If i think it will stay in, or if he switches i then try to explode or switch myself.
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tyranitar.png

Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

Standard Scarftar. I really love using this guy to kill rotoms and other ghosts. Puts a large dent into many things and out speeds nearly everything, so its quite a nice poke. EDIT: Of course this guys huge popularity has lead to many counters on people's teams. Still quite a nice pokemon to use.
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scizor.png

Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP/252 Atk/10 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Pursuit

I have some issues with this setup of scizor. I love its bulkiness and bullet punch is amazing with all the boosts and priority. However, it seems to me that it cant really dent alot of things, especially after switches. More often than not im switching this guy constantly. EDIT: Finding more success with this guy after more testing, but too many things can switch in on it. forcing me to switch. A replacement/or different movepool suggestions would be great. I do love bullet punch, so i would love to keep that.
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starmie.png

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Spd/252 SAtk/6 SDef
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Grass Knot
- Recover
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin
Starmie has had some mixed success. As a bulky water killer, it does a decent job, usually scaring them away which is nice. As a breloom counter, not so much. Since it loses its sleep on switch, breloom only puts another pokemon to sleep. I found much more success using the advice of another poster, allowing one pokemon to sleep then switching to mence for the counter (thanks to sleep clause :D). I am thinking of switching starmie to a more stall type poke, with more bulk to survive better and allow the rapid spin to work better. Something im going to have to test extensively.

Current Test Build:
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/6 SDef
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Grass Knot
- Recover
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin

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latias.png


Latias (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 204 HP/128 Def/176 Spd
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Dragon Pulse
- Refresh

Latias was as great as I was lead to believe. I love using the speedier version to switch in on mences who i predict wont use dragon moves on the switch. Then out-speeding them with dragon pulse for the easy KO (unless scarfed, which is rare these days). I even had success out-stalling blissey with latias, using recover/refresh/calm mind to bulk up and eventually force a switch/ko. Unless the blissey packs ice beam, which i have seen before. I havent gotten a clear list of Latias threats yet, but the ones i have encountered have been usually countered by other pokes. Though it isnt the best special wall, since the few special threats I have seen have been gendar/dark types who counter Latias sort of easily.
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salamence.png

Salamence (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 80 HP/176 Spd/252 SAtk
Rash nature (+SAtk, -SDef)
- Flamethrower
- Brick Break
- Roost
- Draco Meteor

My most versatile attacker, even though fragile. I depend on this pokemon to dent walls and take care of pokemon that others cant. Slower than some pokemon, so using this guy can be rather tricky at times.

OLDER VERSIONS:

vaporeon_display.png

Vaporeon (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 188 HP/252 Def/70 Spd
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Wish
- Protect
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Surf

I mainly put this pokemon in to take care of bulky waters since so many members of my team are weak to it. It does a rather decent job, but not as good as I would like. Im thinking of switching this pokemon to something with grass knot, but Im not sure so I would like some advice on bulky water killers. The wish support also tends to be really useful.
Reason for removal: not as great of a bulky water killer as I had hoped, put in starmie as a rapid spinner/bulky water killer. Still testing the starmie.


hippowdon.png

Hippowdon (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP/168 Def/88 Spd
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Earthquake

This thing is a beast. It takes many hits, even super effective ones like a champ usually. It can set up SR if my lead failed, heal off alot of its damage, and then proceed to kill roar/EQ depending.
Reason for Removal: There was no clear cut decision for this guys removal. It was a suggestion and I tested it, found the latias to be of more clear cut use.


WEAKNESSES/COUNTERS: While not being very familiar with the metagame, I have come across certain stradegies/pokemon that give me trouble.

I have a issue with spike/toxic spike/roar/whirlwind teams. The pokemon used to setting this up tend to be rather bulky and get some setup done. Salamence can kill Skarmory, but the opponent tends to run and switch back in later. Spiking up while I try to counter his attempts. EDIT: Have made some changes to deal with this threat, no longer as dire a threat. Rapid spin on starmie helps to deal with the issue.

I am of course having issues with Bulky Water types. I can kill Gyarados pretty easily, but other bulkys tend to take around 30% dmg from Hp electric. I need a more reliable bulky water killer. Starmie is an extremely tough pokemon for me to deal with, especially when scarfed. Counters many of my pokemon, does tons of damage, and outspeeds everything. EDIT: Been testing counters, and this threat isnt as large.

Another issue I have seen is pokemon who uses sleep. Breloom especially. They sleep, then proceed to focus punch while I switch in or try to get lucky and wait it out. Breloom tends to be much faster than most of my pokemon so it spores anything I switch in. Toxic orb with poison heal and spore combined makes a deadly combination. EDIT: I have had mixed success with countering this pokemon, still would like suggestions.

Blissey also seems to be a problem I have sometimes, running when I switch to T-tar/Scizor. Sometimes I end up down to stall wars with my Latias trying to kill it, but can be a mistake if the blissey packs ice beam.

Thats all I can currently think of. Hope you can forgive my newbiness about certain things and help me round out this team much better. Which is tough since I am trying to avoid legendaries.
 
actually your team is pretty secure. grass types aren;t so common so you don't need to worry about them. alternataivley you can use this fact against someone. if you put a grass tye on you team, it can take care of most waters. latias with grass knot works fine. it can atek out pert easily and mixape with gras knot, HPIce, CC, fireblast/flamethrower is to take out both bulky waters, breloom, and grass types.
 
Duelingk said:
legendaries are something I want to avoid, but will think about if necessary.
Click to expand...

i don't know how to rate, but i just want to say that i you want good legendaries in-game you can always use a synchornizer. a pokemon with this ability has a 50% chance of passing their nature to an opposing wild pokemon. you can save before battling a legendary and soft- reseting if you don't like the IVs. i guess that is not as fast as HGSS breeding but that's a LOT simpler.
 
After some more testing today I have found that breloom is my worse threat. Especially if played smartly. During one test a breloom destroyed 4 of my pokemon by itself. Toxic orb with poison heal and spore combined makes a deadly combination. Scarloc mentions Latias, which I may end up having to use (ugh farming a roaming pokemon for the right nature is impossible), but I would like other suggestions to replace Vaporeon. Something with possibly Sleep talk so that it can be a hard counter to breloom. Also Starmie is a tough pokemon for me to deal with, especially when scarfed. Counters many of my pokemon, does tons of damage, and outspeeds everything.
 
I think you should replace your Vaporeon with a Life Orb Starmie. Obviously, you'll miss the Wish support and the great bulkiness Vappy offers, but Starmie will solve a lot of your team's problems. First of all, it can Rapid Spin away entry hazards. You mentioned that your team is weak to them, and for good reason: 5 of your Pokemon are hit by Spikes, 3 are poisoned by Toxic Spikes, and the only one who avoids these hazards (Salamence) loses a big chunk from Stealth Rock. Here's a set I've had some success with:

Starmie @ Life Orb

EVs: 252 Speed / 252 Special Attack
Nature: Timid (+Speed, -Attack)
-Hydro Pump
-Thunderbolt
-Ice Beam
-Rapid Spin

This can be very frustrating to Stall Players that rely on entry hazards, since upon seeing the Life Orb recoil, many will assume Starmie does not have Rapid Spin. By the time they find out their mistake, they've already lost all their hard won rocks and spikes!

Starmie can also help with your Breloom problem, thanks to its ability Natural Cure, which removes all Status Effects upon switching out. Switch your Starmie into Breloom's Spore, then, as they Seed Bomb, switch out to your Salamence and roast the little mushroom with a Flamethrower. Celebii is another great Breloom counter, but that's probably not an option for you since you're battling on Wi-Fi.

Although it might be a little unorthodox, Honchkrow or Hypno might be good Pokemon for your team if Breloom is seriously causing you pain, and you don't want to let it sleep one of your fighters. With their Insomnia ability, they are immune to Spore and can destroy Breloom with Drill Peck and Psychic respectively. Honchkrow's Sucker Punch also gets a OHKO on Starmie if you can get him in safely. However, neither of these guys is very good for killing anything else, so you might want to think twice about them.

If you're looking to counter Starmie and other Bulky Waters, consider one of the Rotom Forms. A Scarfed Rotom-C would be a great revenge killer for your team (maybe replacing Scizor, who you don't seem to like very much). Edit: Never mind, I remembered you're on Wi-Fi. Using a Rotom Form there might be a bit cheap, since any opponents battling off Diamond or Pearl can't see what form it is...

Wow, this post has really turned into a wall of text. Just one more thing - I think you should replace your Hippowdon with a defensive Latias. Your team needs some special bulk, and I think you'll like the nice resistances she brings to the table. Good luck!







 
Im thinking here that maybe you could go with a Wall Rotom-H to take care of Breloom since it has Overheat and resists all of Brelooms attacks
 
Bastion said:
Im thinking here that maybe you could go with a Wall Rotom-H to take care of Breloom since it has Overheat and resists all of Brelooms attacks
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Rotom doesnt resist seed bomb. He can be spored, and is 3hkod by seed bomb. But you're right rotom does counter leech seed varients. However, ones with leech seed are probably paired with a strong pursuit user to kill off ghosts, so he might not be that reliable. Salemence can counter breloom after something else takes the spore, so i dont think hes a big of a problem as you make it out to be. Another option is to put a fire move on scarf tar to revevge kill him.
 
if you want a pokemon to not be phased by breloom you can try machamp or dusknoir or infernape or heatran. infernape is easy, fire blast, same with scarfran. scarfran might be better because of sandstorm resistance.
machamp with rest+talk is good. he can spore you, then sleep talk and fire off dynamic punch or ice punch. he is also bulky.
dusknoir is more fun to use. smogon doesn't have a sleep talk set so you'll have to make one. but will-o-wisp breloom to reduce seed bomb's power, and fire punch/shadow sneak to attack.
try something like
dusknoir@leftovers/impish
EVS: 252HP/28 Atk/228 Def
Rest
Sleep Talk
Will-O Wisp
Shadow Sneak.
play around with this
 
McLuvdisc said:
Starmie @ Life Orb

EVs: 252 Speed / 252 Special Attack
Nature: Timid (+Speed, -Attack)
-Hydro Pump
-Thunderbolt
-Ice Beam
-Rapid Spin
Click to expand...

I think that starmie may work out well. Replace the hydro pump/ice beam with a grass knot and it could probably make a good bulky water killer. Possibly even put a recover on it and see how it works out. I would have to test it first of course, but i dont see why not. If all works out, then this could be my anti-spinner/anti-breloom/anti-water pokemon. Sort of alot for one pokemon lol.

I may think about Latias instead of Hippowdon, but im really loving the Hippowdon.
 
Duelingk said:
I think that starmie may work out well. Replace the hydro pump/ice beam with a grass knot and it could probably make a good bulky water killer. Possibly even put a recover on it and see how it works out. I would have to test it first of course, but i dont see why not. If all works out, then this could be my anti-spinner/anti-breloom/anti-water pokemon. Sort of alot for one pokemon lol.

I may think about Latias instead of Hippowdon, but im really loving the Hippowdon.
Click to expand...

I tried Grass Knot for a while, but most Swampert are 2HKOd by Hydro Pump, and I never found them to be much of a problem unless Starmie got some unlucky misses or they got a critical hit with Stone Edge. Then again, if you replace Hippowdon with Latias, your team becomes less weak to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, so you could try Grass Knot, Recover, Thunder Wave, or Psychic in place of Rapid Spin. Starmie has a lot of options, so test them out and see which one is most useful.
 
I have done extensive testing with both Starmie and Latias (paired with a recent vacation, therefore the late post).

The latias was as great as I was lead to believe. I love using the speedier version to switch in on mences who i predict wont use dragon moves on the switch. Then out-speeding them with dragon pulse for the easy KO (unless scarfed, which is rare these days). I even had success out-stalling blissey with latias, using recover/refresh/calm mind to bulk up and eventually force a switch/ko. Unless the blissey packs ice beam, which i have seen before. I havent gotten a clear list of Latias threats yet, but the ones i have encountered have been usually countered by other pokes.

Starmie has had some mixed success. As a bulky water killer, it does a decent job, usually scaring them away which is nice. As a breloom counter, not so much. Since it loses its sleep on switch, breloom only puts another pokemon to sleep. I found much more success using the advice of another poster, allowing one pokemon to sleep then switching to mence for the counter (thanks to sleep clause :D). I am thinking of switching starmie to a more stall type poke, with more bulk to survive better and allow the rapid spin to work better. Something im going to have to test extensively.

EDIT: Have altered the original post to reflect team changes, new insight on individual members of the team, and have updated the weakness/counter section.

Here is the starmie up for testing:

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/6 SDef
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Grass Knot
- Recover
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin
 
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