Okay, I've been playing around with a few ideas lately, and... every one seemed to fail until now. Finally, I managed to throw together a team that I'm pretty happy with, and have been slowly but surely rising through the rankings with it. The team was created with an aim to hit every one of the Pokemon in OU effectively, and this was a struggle at first - I kept failing to hit the Fighting types and Excadrill. Finally, I settled upon the team below, for the most part - I've since made one change in taking out Froslass for the last Pokemon listed.
So, what I'm looking for here, more than anything, is anything that might prove to be a threat. In testing, I've found Excadrill in sand is still something of a problem, but only if I lose out on the prediction - 50% of the time, I'm dealing with it perfectly fine.
Without further ado, the team~!
Machamp w/Choice Scarf
Jolly - 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP - No Guard
- Dynamicpunch
- Ice Punch
- Stone Edge
- Payback
Ah, ye old ScarfChamp. This thing is my new favourite attacker, and is one of the two Pokemon that I tend to be using as a lead. Against weather users, Dynamicpunch is a huge threat, 2HKOing Toed/Ninetales and confusing them. It can OHKO TTar, and Ice Punch is a 2-3HKO on Hippowdon. For some reason, Gliscor is the most common switch-in on this thing, and that either ends with me predicting it and Ice Punching for the OHKO, or not predicting it and still hitting for a decent bit of damage while confusing the Gliscor. Payback is there for more prediction - Ghost types are the biggest threat to this thing, since Dynamicpunch tends to be the go-to attack, and Payback hits them hard (and Payback is also the best thing this has against Reuniclus, for all that I rarely want to be against one of those with it.) Stone Edge rounds off the coverage by hitting Fire-types hard - particularly Chandelure and Volcarona, who are otherwise quite threatening.
Whimsicott w/Focus Sash
Timid - 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP - Prankster
- Leech Seed
- Taunt
- Encore
- Giga Drain
The other lead is more of a traditional GenIV-style lead, what with priority Taunt running the show. Leech Seed is the more common opening move against anything non-Ferrothorn, with any non-attacking move immediately being Encored. Giga Drain with the 252 SpA has the strength to OHKO the bulky Swampert from the OU analysis, and is also nice for keeping Whimsicott around a lot longer when combined with Leech Seed.
Garchomp w/Leftovers
Adamant - 252 Atk / 188 HP / 68 Spe - Sand Veil
- Substitute
- Dragon Tail
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
This guy is the first one that Whimsicott sets things up for, by Encoring a setup set and then switching to Chomp, who (occasionally) sets up Sub and then Dragon Tails the opponent out as the Encore ends. This is a pretty standard set, honestly - the HP gives 404 HP, and the set just sets up Rocks and then phazes with DT. Earthquake is there for some coverage, hitting things like TTar and Ferrothorn hard, as well as getting good coverage on the Steel-types who DT won't hit too hard; the only ones not hit by either are Skarmory and Bronzong, both of which can be DTed out and dealt with later on by something else.
Wobbuffet w/Sitrus Berry
Bold - 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD - Shadow Tag
- Encore
- Tickle/Destiny Bond
- Counter
- Mirror Coat
And this is the other one that Whimsicott sets up for, usually when I think it's on the verge of death. Whimsicott priority-Encores an attack, saving Wobbuffet the pain of that one (and the problems of status) - Wobba can switch straight in and take out the opponent effectively. The problem I initially had with Wobba is that it was a lot more frail than it seemed - Chomp's Outrage was an easy 2HKO through Leftovers, even with this EV set, but the Sitrus Berry keeps it alive through that (meaning SubChomps tend to fall to this thing.) Tickle or Destiny Bond could easily fill that other slot, but it honestly doesn't get much of a chance to use either.
Starmie w/Choice Specs
Modest - 252 Spe / 252 SpA / 4 HP - Natural Cure
- Thunderbolt
- Surf
- HP Fire
- Psychic/Ice Beam
Starmie's the big special threat of the team, OHKOing almost anything it hits for weakness (which is a lot!) HP Fire is used for Ferrothorn, Scizor and Forretress, mainly, although most Steel/Ice types dislike it. Thunderbolt hits opposing Waters (and Whimsicott hits the ones that TBolt doesn't) and Surf is a powerful STAB that hits a lot effectively, such as Heatran, Hippowdon and Gliscor. The last slot.. I've settled on Psychic now, but only because I'm trying to stick to the original concept of hitting everything, and there is no other effective answer to Fighting in the team (only a trade-off in the next Poke.) Ice Beam helps against Thundurus/Zapdos/Landorus/Gliscor, while Psychic hits Mienshao/Conkeldurr/Machamp, as well as hitting a lot of things neutrally - it tends to be Starmie's best bet against Rotom-W, for example.
Lucario w/Focus Sash
Timid - 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP - Inner Focus
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Dark Pulse
- Vacuum Wave
So, this was originally a Froslass, but that didn't bring much to the team other than a spin-blocker. Lucario, on the other hand, tends to come in after Whimsicott Taunts a Ferrothorn (or similar threat) and get a NP on the switch. From there, it's a case of using NP again on a slower opponent or hitting faster opponents for the effective KO - this thing has the same perfect coverage Reuniclus has, so it's usually able to at least put them in range for a +2 Vacuum Wave KO, if not OHKO from +2. If they don't have a Taunted piece of set-up bait, not to worry - the Focus Sash allows a Nasty Plot regardless, meaning Lucario just has to come in to revenge against something slower than it.
Now, I will say one thing I know I want to fit into the team, and that's a spinner, although hazards don't tend to be too huge a threat, thanks to Whimsicott generally stopping (or at least limiting) them to begin with.
Other than that... any thoughts? Any better answers to Excadrill that can still function well within the rest of the team?
So, what I'm looking for here, more than anything, is anything that might prove to be a threat. In testing, I've found Excadrill in sand is still something of a problem, but only if I lose out on the prediction - 50% of the time, I'm dealing with it perfectly fine.
Without further ado, the team~!
Jolly - 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP - No Guard
- Dynamicpunch
- Ice Punch
- Stone Edge
- Payback
Ah, ye old ScarfChamp. This thing is my new favourite attacker, and is one of the two Pokemon that I tend to be using as a lead. Against weather users, Dynamicpunch is a huge threat, 2HKOing Toed/Ninetales and confusing them. It can OHKO TTar, and Ice Punch is a 2-3HKO on Hippowdon. For some reason, Gliscor is the most common switch-in on this thing, and that either ends with me predicting it and Ice Punching for the OHKO, or not predicting it and still hitting for a decent bit of damage while confusing the Gliscor. Payback is there for more prediction - Ghost types are the biggest threat to this thing, since Dynamicpunch tends to be the go-to attack, and Payback hits them hard (and Payback is also the best thing this has against Reuniclus, for all that I rarely want to be against one of those with it.) Stone Edge rounds off the coverage by hitting Fire-types hard - particularly Chandelure and Volcarona, who are otherwise quite threatening.
Timid - 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP - Prankster
- Leech Seed
- Taunt
- Encore
- Giga Drain
The other lead is more of a traditional GenIV-style lead, what with priority Taunt running the show. Leech Seed is the more common opening move against anything non-Ferrothorn, with any non-attacking move immediately being Encored. Giga Drain with the 252 SpA has the strength to OHKO the bulky Swampert from the OU analysis, and is also nice for keeping Whimsicott around a lot longer when combined with Leech Seed.
Adamant - 252 Atk / 188 HP / 68 Spe - Sand Veil
- Substitute
- Dragon Tail
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
This guy is the first one that Whimsicott sets things up for, by Encoring a setup set and then switching to Chomp, who (occasionally) sets up Sub and then Dragon Tails the opponent out as the Encore ends. This is a pretty standard set, honestly - the HP gives 404 HP, and the set just sets up Rocks and then phazes with DT. Earthquake is there for some coverage, hitting things like TTar and Ferrothorn hard, as well as getting good coverage on the Steel-types who DT won't hit too hard; the only ones not hit by either are Skarmory and Bronzong, both of which can be DTed out and dealt with later on by something else.
Bold - 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD - Shadow Tag
- Encore
- Tickle/Destiny Bond
- Counter
- Mirror Coat
And this is the other one that Whimsicott sets up for, usually when I think it's on the verge of death. Whimsicott priority-Encores an attack, saving Wobbuffet the pain of that one (and the problems of status) - Wobba can switch straight in and take out the opponent effectively. The problem I initially had with Wobba is that it was a lot more frail than it seemed - Chomp's Outrage was an easy 2HKO through Leftovers, even with this EV set, but the Sitrus Berry keeps it alive through that (meaning SubChomps tend to fall to this thing.) Tickle or Destiny Bond could easily fill that other slot, but it honestly doesn't get much of a chance to use either.
Modest - 252 Spe / 252 SpA / 4 HP - Natural Cure
- Thunderbolt
- Surf
- HP Fire
- Psychic/Ice Beam
Starmie's the big special threat of the team, OHKOing almost anything it hits for weakness (which is a lot!) HP Fire is used for Ferrothorn, Scizor and Forretress, mainly, although most Steel/Ice types dislike it. Thunderbolt hits opposing Waters (and Whimsicott hits the ones that TBolt doesn't) and Surf is a powerful STAB that hits a lot effectively, such as Heatran, Hippowdon and Gliscor. The last slot.. I've settled on Psychic now, but only because I'm trying to stick to the original concept of hitting everything, and there is no other effective answer to Fighting in the team (only a trade-off in the next Poke.) Ice Beam helps against Thundurus/Zapdos/Landorus/Gliscor, while Psychic hits Mienshao/Conkeldurr/Machamp, as well as hitting a lot of things neutrally - it tends to be Starmie's best bet against Rotom-W, for example.
Timid - 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP - Inner Focus
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Dark Pulse
- Vacuum Wave
So, this was originally a Froslass, but that didn't bring much to the team other than a spin-blocker. Lucario, on the other hand, tends to come in after Whimsicott Taunts a Ferrothorn (or similar threat) and get a NP on the switch. From there, it's a case of using NP again on a slower opponent or hitting faster opponents for the effective KO - this thing has the same perfect coverage Reuniclus has, so it's usually able to at least put them in range for a +2 Vacuum Wave KO, if not OHKO from +2. If they don't have a Taunted piece of set-up bait, not to worry - the Focus Sash allows a Nasty Plot regardless, meaning Lucario just has to come in to revenge against something slower than it.
Now, I will say one thing I know I want to fit into the team, and that's a spinner, although hazards don't tend to be too huge a threat, thanks to Whimsicott generally stopping (or at least limiting) them to begin with.
Other than that... any thoughts? Any better answers to Excadrill that can still function well within the rest of the team?
