VIVA LA LUCARIO!
(A Mega-Lucario OU Offensive Team)
INTRODUCTION
Hello everyone and welcome to my first RMT! I have only been playing competitive Pokemon for about a year now and throughout my relatively short career I have specialized in stall teams, specifically ones relying on weather. With the release of X+Y and the considerable nerf to weather I decided to shy away from weather-stall and instead take a more offensive approach to the battling scene. I have only peaked at about 1800 with this team and despite working on it for a while now I'm not fully sure what changes to make to further improve what I have already, and that's where you guys come in! So, without further adieu, here is the team!
(A Mega-Lucario OU Offensive Team)
INTRODUCTION
Hello everyone and welcome to my first RMT! I have only been playing competitive Pokemon for about a year now and throughout my relatively short career I have specialized in stall teams, specifically ones relying on weather. With the release of X+Y and the considerable nerf to weather I decided to shy away from weather-stall and instead take a more offensive approach to the battling scene. I have only peaked at about 1800 with this team and despite working on it for a while now I'm not fully sure what changes to make to further improve what I have already, and that's where you guys come in! So, without further adieu, here is the team!
TEAM AT A GLANCE
I started with this guy. Why? Cuz he's awesome and I wanted to. Mega-Lucario brings massive power to any team in the form of Adaptability Close Combat while also bringing good coverage with Earthquake and a strong x2 STAB priority move in Bullet Punch.
With Lucario came some glaring weaknesses. While incredibly offensively potent, there were some physical walls such as Gliscor and Skarmory that I knew I would have considerable trouble dealing with. In addition to that, I knew there were certain priority users such as Special Attacking M-Lucario that I wouldn't be able to kill before they OHKOd me with Vacuum Wave, so I needed reliable tanky mons to be able to switch in on a Vaccum Wave or even a Mach Punch that was unavoidable.
From here it was just a matter of me throwing in Pokemon I was familiar with that provided decent type coverage. I wanted a solid lead Pokemon so I went for Greninja, I loved Azumarill after using him quite a bit throughout the campaign, and I've used Heatran on previous teams and knew I could utilize his fantastic typing and ability to provide a reliable switch-in as well as SR and Roar support. Roar was for enemy set-ups; something I was quite weak to.
Azumarill and Greninja lasted about 5 battles before I realized that they just weren't pulling their weight in the team. Greninja had its uses but it was just too frail, and Azumarill just wasn't what I needed. They both brought an additional Electric weakness to the team, (though less-so Greninja), and in general I didn't particularly like them. I swapped Greninja out for Rotom-W because I'm extremely familiar with it and I know it's a solid lead Pokemon with decent bulk and Will-O-Wisp support. I then switched Azumarill out for CB Crawdaunt because my friend had been using one and enjoying it, so I figured I'd try it out. This thing was EXCELLENT in my eyes and I fell in love with it after a few battles. It isn't as resilient as I might like, but its raw power with Knock-Off and Aqua Jet is nothing to scoff at. It made a solid revenge killer/Psychic counter/check.
After a considerable number of battles something still felt off about my team. In the end I decided it was Garchomp, as the Rocky Helmet set I was running wasn't really accomplishing what I needed it to, which was to be a real physical wall. It was tanky, don't get me wrong, but it just didn't feel right so I switched it out for Quagsire because I was also lacking an offensive Ice move and I figured Unaware+Ice Beam would be a nice addition to the team. I tried it for a few battles and it worked nicely, but then I remembered one of my all-time most hated Pokemon. Gliscor. I knew this thing took hits like a champion, could wall entire teams if the circumstances were right, and also learned Ice Fang. This worked better than I could have hoped, and at last we have reached the current version of my team.
With Lucario came some glaring weaknesses. While incredibly offensively potent, there were some physical walls such as Gliscor and Skarmory that I knew I would have considerable trouble dealing with. In addition to that, I knew there were certain priority users such as Special Attacking M-Lucario that I wouldn't be able to kill before they OHKOd me with Vacuum Wave, so I needed reliable tanky mons to be able to switch in on a Vaccum Wave or even a Mach Punch that was unavoidable.
From here it was just a matter of me throwing in Pokemon I was familiar with that provided decent type coverage. I wanted a solid lead Pokemon so I went for Greninja, I loved Azumarill after using him quite a bit throughout the campaign, and I've used Heatran on previous teams and knew I could utilize his fantastic typing and ability to provide a reliable switch-in as well as SR and Roar support. Roar was for enemy set-ups; something I was quite weak to.
Azumarill and Greninja lasted about 5 battles before I realized that they just weren't pulling their weight in the team. Greninja had its uses but it was just too frail, and Azumarill just wasn't what I needed. They both brought an additional Electric weakness to the team, (though less-so Greninja), and in general I didn't particularly like them. I swapped Greninja out for Rotom-W because I'm extremely familiar with it and I know it's a solid lead Pokemon with decent bulk and Will-O-Wisp support. I then switched Azumarill out for CB Crawdaunt because my friend had been using one and enjoying it, so I figured I'd try it out. This thing was EXCELLENT in my eyes and I fell in love with it after a few battles. It isn't as resilient as I might like, but its raw power with Knock-Off and Aqua Jet is nothing to scoff at. It made a solid revenge killer/Psychic counter/check.
After a considerable number of battles something still felt off about my team. In the end I decided it was Garchomp, as the Rocky Helmet set I was running wasn't really accomplishing what I needed it to, which was to be a real physical wall. It was tanky, don't get me wrong, but it just didn't feel right so I switched it out for Quagsire because I was also lacking an offensive Ice move and I figured Unaware+Ice Beam would be a nice addition to the team. I tried it for a few battles and it worked nicely, but then I remembered one of my all-time most hated Pokemon. Gliscor. I knew this thing took hits like a champion, could wall entire teams if the circumstances were right, and also learned Ice Fang. This worked better than I could have hoped, and at last we have reached the current version of my team.
IN DEPTH
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spd
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Toxic
- Ice Fang
Holy testicles do I hate fighting this Pokemon. While this particular set isn't quite as mind-blowingly irritating as the SubToxic set, it's still a royal pain to face. With Gliscor's base 125 defense I pretty much rely on him to take any physical attack that my other teammates cannot. He also provides a fantastic electric immunity that can absorb the strong electric attacks that Togekiss would prefer not to take. Also, by utilizing Gliscor's immunity to status conditions I'm provided with a safe swap to common status pranksters such as Sableye and Klefki once my Toxic Orb has activated. Gliscor also doubles as a pretty solid wall-breaker who can wear down certain threats with Toxic and Protect while simultaneously regenerating stupid amounts of HP.
Nasus (Lucario) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified/Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Swords Dance
- Crunch
This is the star of the team, could you tell? With a base attack of 145 and the Adaptability ability, Mega-Lucario's STAB attacks hit frighteningly hard. Unboosted there is very little that Close Combat can't reliably 2HKO, and quite a few things it OHKOs. Along with that, priority Bullet Punch offers an 80BP priority move that can allow a boosted Mega-Lucario to sweep with much greater ease. This Pokemon has the ability to punish mistakes incredibly quickly and easily, and if it gets 1-2 SDs of it is virtually unstoppable. While its 70/70/70 defenses make it rather frail, it is still a force to be reckoned with. (Note that I have an Adamant nature, I'm considering switching to Jolly but I'm not sure if it's fully necessary.)
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Roar
- Stealth Rock
Heatran is just one of those Pokemon who is all-around excellent. He has an amazing typing and a really solid ability that allows him to switch in on predictable fire attacks to power himself up. Stealth Rock, while a great move in general and a staple on almost every team, specifically provides a counter to one semi-threat to this team's sweeping potential: Talonflame. CB Talonflame's priority Brave Bird has a 56.3% chance to OHKO a full HP Mega-Lucario and a 75% chance to OHKO after SR. Meanwhile, any other Talonflame will OHKO M-Luc with Flare Blitz anyways and will outspeed you pretty much every time. HOWEVER, an Adamant Mega-Lucario has a 56.3% chance of OHKOing a Talonflame with Bullet Punch after one SD, with a 100% chance after two SDs if SR is up. This means that if you get two SDs off on M-Luc Talonflame CANNOT kill you from max/SR'd HP without a crit if it switches in on SR. Roar provides a counter to set-ups and substitutes, something I was quite weak to. Also, Heatran shoots fire out of it's ass so it's got that going for it as well.
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Switcheroo
I have never used Crawdaunt prior to this team, and I have to say it is a ton of fun. His relatively unique typing gives him a couple of nice resistances, and most importantly a Psychic immunity. Crawdaunt loves switching in on squishy Psychic types and instakilling them with CB'd Aqua Jet or doing serious damage with Knock Off if they choose to switch. I haven't decided between Switcheroo or Crabhammer yet, as Crabhammer gives me some serious power if I need to just muscle my way through a team, but Switcheroo gives me the option of potentially crippling an enemy sweeper or preventing myself from getting locked into an inopportune move should Crawdaunt be my last alive. While I have more experience with Crabhammer I'm starting to lean towards Switcheroo.
Scrotom-Wash (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SAtk / 8 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
Rotom is pretty quintessential to this team. He is my most common lead and also provides much needed electric coverage. 248 EVs in HP allow for maximum Leftovers recovery and 252 EVs in SAtk guarantee that I can still hit hard when I need to. Rotom is my #1 answer to enemy Gliscors and is also the Pokemon I usually use to take hits I'm unable to take elsewhere, most notably Ice moves. Rotom will unfortunately occasionally end up as a sacrificial lamb as battles progress to allow me to get free switch-ins on dangerous mons so I can revenge kill them with Crawdaunt or Lucario, and he also provides Will-O-Wisp support to burn enemy U-Turn or Volt Switch users. His awesome ability also let's him switch in on ground threats if Gliscor and/or Togekiss are somehow compromised.
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Thunder Wave
- Dazzling Gleam
Togekiss is the final member of my team. While I have never used Togekiss before, I'm starting to see why he's so good. The ParaFlinch combo mixed with great defenses and a solid typing make Togekiss difficult to handle for many opposing Pokemon. I'm still not 100% on the set I'm going to stick with on him, but the one I've been using is the one above. I have occasionally switched out Dazzling Gleam for Defog, and switching out Roost for Wish is a possibility I've been considering as well. This team could definitely use some Wish support. Togekiss is my switch-in for almost all things special, but it can have some trouble with ice/electric attacks.
CONCLUSION
As I said at the beginning, this is my first RMT and I'm also new to the offensive style of battling. I'm willing to take, and heavily encourage, all criticism. If I missed anything on my RMT please tell me and I'll fix it ASAP. I've had a bunch of fun using this team and I want everyone to feel free to give it a shot themselves if they desire!
Pls No (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spd
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Toxic
- Ice Fang
Nasus (Lucario) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Swords Dance
- Crunch
Hephaestus (Heatran) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Roar
- Stealth Rock
Mr. Krabs (Crawdaunt) @ Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Switcheroo
Scrotom-Wash (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SAtk / 8 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
Mogi (Togekiss) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Thunder Wave
- Dazzling Gleam
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spd
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Toxic
- Ice Fang
Nasus (Lucario) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Swords Dance
- Crunch
Hephaestus (Heatran) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Roar
- Stealth Rock
Mr. Krabs (Crawdaunt) @ Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Switcheroo
Scrotom-Wash (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SAtk / 8 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
Mogi (Togekiss) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Thunder Wave
- Dazzling Gleam
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