Rate & Help My Basic OU Team

[Bruhaverde]

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My Basic OU Team
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Hi there! I'm Bruhaverde, otherwise known as LolDerp on the Smogon PO server. I've been experimenting with the metagame side of Pokemon for about a month or two now, and I appear to be getting the hang out of it. Through tireless, unsuccessful hours of team-building and fighting over the Pokemon Online simulator, I think I've devised a relatively suitable team. However, if I were so confident in this team's abilities, why would I consult you, the people of Smogon, to improve its strengths? Exactly. So if you could please take a read through -- if not just a quick skim -- of my team and help me out so I can enjoy more successes, that would be great. To start, I'll show you kind of my team building process:

Team Building Process​

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I felt like starting off with Rotom-W, as he is decently strong and has minimal weaknesses.

Jirachi's wish support along with a para-flinch set proved helpful on other people’s teams, so I decided to throw it in the team as well.

Latios is a powerhouse when it comes to special sweeping, and access to Psyshock takes down other heavy walls like Blissey.

Scizor was added in to take down opposing Tyranitars, Pursuit fleeing Pokemon, and just add all-around physical support to the team.

Mamoswine helps with the pesky Dragons like Haxorus and Dragonite that threaten my team with its prioritized Ice Shard, and also dents other Pokemon with its massive power.

Gliscor was my final pick as he's a fantastic staller with some helpful moves in his arsenal as well. This is my current team, unless valid suggestions require changing Pokemon around.

Team Analysis

Rotom-W @ Leftovers​

Ability: Levitate​

EVs: 128 HP / 252 SAtk / 128 Spd​

Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)​

- Hydro Pump​

- Thunderbolt
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- Hidden Power [Fire]​

- Pain Split​

Overall, this is just a standard set for Rotom-W. The EVs are set this way to allow for maximum sweeping, while also having a sense of bulk. I prefer Modest on this set because, despite not being quite as fast anymore, he can still pack a punch with the added Special Attack bonus. Hydro Pump is my favorite Water move, while Thunderbolt is the ideal STAB move for taking down the bulky Waters like Jellicent and Starmie. I chose HP Fire over Will-O-Wisp because my team is weak when it comes to offensive Fire moves. Pain Split is to make up for a considerable lack of bulk in some aspects and to cripple some switch-ins, while Leftovers also helps with regaining some necessary health.

Jirachi @ Leftovers​

Ability: Serene Grace​

EVs: 212 HP / 252 SDef / 40 Spd​

Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)​

- Iron Head​

- Body Slam​

- Wish​

- Fire Punch​

Jirachi is my favorite special wall available in the OU tier. His para-flinch combo (Body Slam and Iron Head) works wonders for crippling my opponents when they try to sneak in some high damage-dealing moves. This guy is great for Wish support since he can set one up and take a considerable amount of damage without fainting, and then switch back out. Leftovers just helps stalling even further. The EV set is for undeniable bulk, while still having enough Speed to prioritize over its targets. Considering he’s a special wall, it would only make since to have a Special Defense-boosting nature, amirite?

Latios (M) @ Life Orb​

Ability: Levitate​

EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd​

Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)​

- Draco Meteor​

- Psyshock​

- Surf
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- Recover​

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Latios, in my opinion, is a very versatile Dragon Pokemon, which is why I included him on my team. With great all-around stats, plus an obvious knack in Special Attack makes him a great candidate for a special sweeper. I prefer Draco Meteor over Dragon Pulse on Latios because I have other counters to pesky Dragon Pokemon, and I'll use it just for sheer power over my opponents. Psyshock is to take down Machamp, Conkeldurr, and other Fighting types while also annihilating Chansey and Blissey. Surf is a back-up to Rotom-W in helping take down opposing Heatrans, Tyranitars, etc. Recover negates Life Orb recoil damage, which can be kind of a bitch after awhile. The EV spread is pretty generic for a special sweeper, and I think a Timid nature is great for a Speed boost.

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Scizor (M) @ Choice Scarf​

Ability: Technician​

EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spd​

Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)​

- Bullet Punch​

- Pursuit​

- Superpower
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- U-turn​

Despite being in the so-called "Overused" Tier and frequently holding positions on people's teams, Scizor doesn't seem to get enough respect from a lot of online players. Despite having a 4x weakness to Fire, it's vast array of physical move choices gives it an edge to many opposing Pokemon. Technician ability doubles the power of Bullet Punch and Pursuit, which comes in handy. Bullet Punch is STAB and prioritized, giving me an edge over Rock/Ice Pokemon, or even just weak ones. U-Turn also gets excellent STAB, plus gives me a chance to scout my opponent's team. I changed Brick Break to Superpower for the added power and to more effectively take down Blisseys and Tyranitars. Pursuit threatens my opponents' Pokemon because they basically can't switch out, basically pissing their pants since they can't escape. I like Choice Scarf because it allows me to attack quickly and then switch out for another counter.

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Mamoswine (M) @ Leftovers​

Ability: Snow Cloak
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EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd​

Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)​

- Stone Edge​

- Ice Shard​

- Stealth Rock
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- Earthquake​

Mamoswine is perfect for eliminating many of my main threats. Prioritized Ice Shard makes me laugh every time when my opponent struggles to keep up. Stealth Rock is obviously for hazard support, and causing massive amounts of damage to Pokemon like Volcarona, who would otherwise threaten my team. Earthquake is great for countering Heatran, despite taking great amounts of damage from the Heatran's Fire Blasts. Stone Edge is just icing on this monstrous cake, getting some hard hits on unsuspecting Flying types. Leftovers is to keep this mammoth alive through some tough attacks from many super-effective types.

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Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb​

Ability: Poison Heal​

EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spd​

Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)​

- Swords Dance
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- Earthquake​

- Ice Fang​

- Protect

Gliscor, although seemingly unnecessary for this team, is actually a great asset to my success. I preferred a more defensive set on Gliscor to allow for a significant stall, but also dent a few of my opponent's Pokemon. Toxic Orb plus Poison Heal allows for a safety from status ailments as well as a system of recovery. Ice Fang is great for batting away at Dragon Pokemon and popping Air Balloons, while Earthquake causes some significant damage to grounded Heatrans and Excadrills. Swords Dance helps with bringing out the potential in his offensive side. Taunt is awesome to stop stalls like Skarmory and Ferrothorn. The EV spread allows for some great bulk and still having a chance to attack first, as well as its Impish nature.


Anyways, that's my team! Please post your comments and suggestions below, as this team could always use some help. Thanks for reading -- or at least halfheartedly skimming -- and have a nice day. :D
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[Maloman]

You need better description.

 

[Bruhaverde]

Descriptions done. Please rate.

 

[Jupiter Djinn]

Hey, what I noticed right off the bat is that Thick Fat is illegal with Ice Shard or Icicle Crash as Mamoswine were available as Fully-Evolved Males only (so no pre-evo or egg moves). If you are playing in the Dream World tier, you should mention it in your title to let the raters know. As it stands though, that is the only thing tying you to that specific tier and you can replace Thick Fat with Snow Cloak to find yourself back in BW OU.

You currently have no Stealth Rock support, but carry two Pokemon capable of learning it in Mamoswine and Jirachi. Stealth Rock can be important when trying to score KOs versus speedy set-up mons like Thundurus and Volcarona. You could replace Jirachi's Fire Punch or either Stone Edge or Icicle Drop from Mamoswine with Stealth Rock. On Mamoswine I'd imagine keeping Stone Edge would be useful when you suspect an opposing Rotom-W switch-in though.

LO Rotom-W with Volt Switch is interesting. Lack of Thunderbolt may slow down killing certain bulky waters due to the power loss and forced switch. For instance, Jellicent takes about 61-72% from Volt Switch and Recovers as you switch in something else (Probably Latios). Another possibly negligible issue is taking LO damage on the Volt Switch then having to come in over Stealth Rock.

I've never really seen a Scarf Scizor and cannot say much on it but +speed natured threats like the Lati@s, Thundurus, Tornadus, and Stamie will outspeed Adamant Scarf Scizor so if this is a problem, try out Jolly.

On Gliscor, I would recommend running Swords Dance over Toxic to assist in beating other Gliscor, help you combat Conkeldurr without triggering Guts, and give you a decent chance to OHKO 252 HP Tyranitar (beware of Scarf though) who like to carry Ice Beam.

Hope this helps.

 

[backflip]

I'd play around with Stealth Rock on Mamoswine, in place of the aforementioned Icicle Crash/Stone Edge. Fire Punch on Jirachi really helps nuder Magnezone as a threat to this team, who devours Jirachi without it and Scizor locked in Pursuit or Bullet Punch while also punching some pretty impressive holes in every other Poke granted it can keep behind a Sub.

Also, and perhaps a personal opinion, but anything Shadow Ball hits SE will probably be hit just as hard if not harder by Draco Meteor. Therefore, consider the standard Surf instead, which allows you much better coverage against common checks like Heatran, Steels in general, and Tyranitar.

 

[Bruhaverde]

Hey, what I noticed right off the bat is that Thick Fat is illegal with Ice Shard or Icicle Crash as Mamoswine were available as Fully-Evolved Males only (so no pre-evo or egg moves). If you are playing in the Dream World tier, you should mention it in your title to let the raters know. As it stands though, that is the only thing tying you to that specific tier and you can replace Thick Fat with Snow Cloak to find yourself back in BW OU.

You currently have no Stealth Rock support, but carry two Pokemon capable of learning it in Mamoswine and Jirachi. Stealth Rock can be important when trying to score KOs versus speedy set-up mons like Thundurus and Volcarona. You could replace Jirachi's Fire Punch or either Stone Edge or Icicle Drop from Mamoswine with Stealth Rock. On Mamoswine I'd imagine keeping Stone Edge would be useful when you suspect an opposing Rotom-W switch-in though.

LO Rotom-W with Volt Switch is interesting. Lack of Thunderbolt may slow down killing certain bulky waters due to the power loss and forced switch. For instance, Jellicent takes about 61-72% from Volt Switch and Recovers as you switch in something else (Probably Latios). Another possibly negligible issue is taking LO damage on the Volt Switch then having to come in over Stealth Rock.

I've never really seen a Scarf Scizor and cannot say much on it but +speed natured threats like the Lati@s, Thundurus, Tornadus, and Stamie will outspeed Adamant Scarf Scizor so if this is a problem, try out Jolly.

On Gliscor, I would recommend running Swords Dance over Toxic to assist in beating other Gliscor, help you combat Conkeldurr without triggering Guts, and give you a decent chance to OHKO 252 HP Tyranitar (beware of Scarf though) who like to carry Ice Beam.

Hope this helps.

Thank you for the advice. Being relatively new to online Pokemon battling, I was unaware that Thick Fat on my particular Mamoswine was illegal, so thank you for the heads up; I'll switch that out with Snow Cloak as soon as possible. As for covering Stealth Rock, I'm considering replacing Mamoswine's Icicle Crash with it, seeing as Ice Shard is usually rather effective as is.

For my Rotom-W, what do you suggest I use rather than Life Orb and Volt Switch? Maybe replace Life Orb for Leftovers, or Volt Switch with Thunderbolt/Discharge? There are, in my understanding, many viable choices for Rotom-W, but I would prefer a suggestion from someone with more experience than me.

I had also noticed my Scizor was lacking a little in Speed, even with the Choice Scarf, so the switch to Jolly nature will be made shortly. And finally, Swords Dance over Toxic should be good, since Toxic hasn't really made much of an influence to my team anyway. Thanks for all the help!

I'd play around with Stealth Rock on Mamoswine, in place of the aforementioned Icicle Crash/Stone Edge. Fire Punch on Jirachi really helps nuder Magnezone as a threat to this team, who devours Jirachi without it and Scizor locked in Pursuit or Bullet Punch while also punching some pretty impressive holes in every other Poke granted it can keep behind a Sub.

Also, and perhaps a personal opinion, but anything Shadow Ball hits SE will probably be hit just as hard if not harder by Draco Meteor. Therefore, consider the standard Surf instead, which allows you much better coverage against common checks like Heatran, Steels in general, and Tyranitar.

Thanks for posting, I appreciate the suggestions. Having two people suggest Stealth Rock over Icicle Crash specifically, I think it'll soon become a reality. Thanks for acknowledging my lack of Stealth Rock support. As for replacing Shadow Ball with Surf on my Latios, I will try that out and see how it works for me. Thanks again for your comment!

 

[Oblivion IX]

Hey, Bruhaverde! This is a pretty cool team and I really don't have much to say other than discussing a few moveset changes that could help to farther improve it. First of all, I'm going to suggest running Taunt over Protect on Gliscor so that it can act as an effective wall breaker. This one move allows it to turn common walls like Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and variants of Blissey without Ice Beam into no more than set-up fodder. Protect does provide you with that one free turn of recovery which can sometimes come in handy but overall Taunt will do you much better.

Water-types could be somewhat of a problem as Rotom-W and Latios won't necessarily enjoy continuously switching-in to take hits as their Life Orbs already make their survivability quite low. To remedy this problem Rotom-W should be running the standard EV spread of 124 HP / 252 SAtk / 128 Spd with a Modest nature, Leftovers, and a moveset of Thunderbolt, Hydro Pump, Will-O-Wisp, and Pain Split / Hidden Power [Fire]. You still maintain a lot of power, but can also manage to stay alive for longer periods of time thanks to the HP investment. One other change that I have in mind is running an SD Virizion over Scizor. Losing a Steel-type won't be problematic since you already have Jirachi to keep Reuniclus and Lati@s at by. Meanwhile, Virizion gives you some important Fighting-type coverage. Here's the set:

Virizion @ Leftovers | Jolly | 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Close Combat | Leaf Blade | Stone Edge | Swords Dance

Finally, since you now have a Fighting-type change Latios' moveset to the following: Draco Meteor, Surf, Hidden Power [Fire], and Recover. Blissey is handled by the rest of your team quite nicely so there's really no need to waste a moveset just to handle it. D-Meteor will also put a dent in any Fighting-types that you may come across and Gliscor can handle most of them as well.

Good team and good luck.

 

[Rofellos]

Id take brick break off scizor and give it some roost! Recovery is always better for close battles! I love the addition of mamoswine though!

 

[Bruhaverde]

Hey, Bruhaverde! This is a pretty cool team and I really don't have much to say other than discussing a few moveset changes that could help to farther improve it. First of all, I'm going to suggest running Taunt over Protect on Gliscor so that it can act as an effective wall breaker. This one move allows it to turn common walls like Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and variants of Blissey without Ice Beam into no more than set-up fodder. Protect does provide you with that one free turn of recovery which can sometimes come in handy but overall Taunt will do you much better.

Water-types could be somewhat of a problem as Rotom-W and Latios won't necessarily enjoy continuously switching-in to take hits as their Life Orbs already make their survivability quite low. To remedy this problem Rotom-W should be running the standard EV spread of 124 HP / 252 SAtk / 128 Spd with a Modest nature, Leftovers, and a moveset of Thunderbolt, Hydro Pump, Will-O-Wisp, and Pain Split / Hidden Power [Fire]. You still maintain a lot of power, but can also manage to stay alive for longer periods of time thanks to the HP investment. One other change that I have in mind is running an SD Virizion over Scizor. Losing a Steel-type won't be problematic since you already have Jirachi to keep Reuniclus and Lati@s at by. Meanwhile, Virizion gives you some important Fighting-type coverage. Here's the set:

Virizion @ Leftovers | Jolly | 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Close Combat | Leaf Blade | Stone Edge | Swords Dance

Finally, since you now have a Fighting-type change Latios' moveset to the following: Draco Meteor, Surf, Hidden Power [Fire], and Recover. Blissey is handled by the rest of your team quite nicely so there's really no need to waste a moveset just to handle it. D-Meteor will also put a dent in any Fighting-types that you may come across and Gliscor can handle most of them as well.

Good team and good luck.

Wow, thank you for all the suggestions! Now that you mention it, I realized I didn't have a reliable way to stop those walls from setting up. I'll definitely try putting Taunt on my Gliscor to prevent massive stalls against my team.
And also, thank you for suggesting a viable set on Rotom-W. That looks very effective, allowing for more in-game time with the extra HP investment. I'll try replacing my Scizor for Virizion, as well as modifying my Latios's moveset, to see how that goes. If my results seem brighter, I'll definitely consider making it a permanent change. Thanks again for posting!

Id take brick break off scizor and give it some roost! Recovery is always better for close battles! I love the addition of mamoswine though!

Thanks for the suggestion Rofellos! Roost would definitely be a good addition to Scizor. If I decide to keep him on my team, I'll definitely throw that in there.

 

[Bruhaverde]

Bump.

 

[iLeBronz]

Fairly well built team, pretty much covers everything. Good job ;D

 

[Bruhaverde]

Thanks for the comment!

 

[HiddenPowerNormal]

I do have to agree with iLeBronz, it's a pretty good team, good job. I only have a few things to point out.

On Rotom-W swap Volt Switch for Thunderbolt and consider swapping LO for lefties. With Volt Switch you lack another pokemon with a powerful electric move, so Jellicent and other bulky waters wont be taking too much.

The Latios set needs work, take off Shadow Ball for T-Bolt, Surf or HP Fire to have extra coverage because Shadow Ball is only good for Reuniclus before it starts setting up and you have Scizor to deal with him. Also consider swapping Psyshock for Psychic because if Blissey comes in from a down it will only do half and she'll status you, besides you also have Scizor to deal with them.

That's pretty much it. I hope it helps.

 

[Bruhaverde]

I do have to agree with iLeBronz, it's a pretty good team, good job. I only have a few things to point out.

On Rotom-W swap Volt Switch for Thunderbolt and consider swapping LO for lefties. With Volt Switch you lack another pokemon with a powerful electric move, so Jellicent and other bulky waters wont be taking too much.

The Latios set needs work, take off Shadow Ball for T-Bolt, Surf or HP Fire to have extra coverage because Shadow Ball is only good for Reuniclus before it starts setting up and you have Scizor to deal with him. Also consider swapping Psyshock for Psychic because if Blissey comes in from a down it will only do half and she'll status you, besides you also have Scizor to deal with them.

That's pretty much it. I hope it helps.

Thanks for the suggestions! I had already made changes similar to that, but I just forgot to update the main post. Thanks for reinforcing my decisions though. :P

 

[Bruhaverde]

Bump.