XY OU Deadly Sweeps: Balanced OU team

[Exhumed]

I'm newer to making these, so bear with me here, won't be the most flashy thread ever. Anyhow, this is a newer team I formed, i'm usually a stall kind of guy, so this is me trying to change up my strategy and keep myself entertained. While I've had some level of success, I could use the outside opinion of my fellow meta-game players to take this team up the ladder and maximize my success rate. So yeah, without further delay, here's the team! (note: I should have named this offensive team, and I realize this now)

The Breakdown:​

Smeargle (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Spore
- Sticky Web
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt

My lead of choice, Smeargle compliments this team very, very well. The EV's give it as much of a chance as possible to survive, while being as fast as possible at the same time. Focus Sash is the clear best item for this, as i want to have at least 1 chance to lay entry hazards. Spore is the sure-fire sleep inducer (barring grass types and those with insomnia), though i have saw people run dark void to allude the grass immunity. Sticky Web works extremely well with this team, because my two main physical attackers heavily use priority moves, and usually if they don't out-speed other priority users normal, sticky web helps that happen. Stealth Rock is my damaging hazard of choice. Taunt is utilized as my anti-lead and an anti-substitute-baton pass team tool on PO, and has saved me endless headaches.

Pinsir (F) @ Pinsirite
Trait:Hyper Cutter
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack

This is a pretty standard Mega-Pinsir set, but don't fix what isn't broken, am I right? This thing is one of my favorite physical sweepers in the game, outspeeding a plethora of it's threats, especially when Sticky Web is out. Swords Dance used even one time puts this thing's attack through the roof, and with 2, may god have mercy on your opponent's soul. Return is rediculously hard hitting with this guy's aerilate ability, making it a STAB with over 100 base power. Earthquake is my second move of choice, destroying opposing Heatran, and dealing significant damage to most of those who arent effected much by the other 2 attacking moves. Quick Attack is my last choice, as it's a STAB priority move, dealing fast, furious damage when i need it.

Latios (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Surf
- Defog
- Psyshock
- Draco Meteor

Latios is one half of my special attacking arsenal, and my defogger of choice. Speed and Sp.Atk commitment maximize this thing's effectiveness, and Life Orb to maximize damage. Surf is my first choice in moves, considering it covers issues I may have with ground, fire, and rock types. Defog clears the way for my Pinsir to come in, and removes pestering hazards in general. Psyshock is a nice STAB move that can eat at special walls, something that anybody can appreciate. Draco Meteor is my final move, and it's really a preference thing, as Latios isn't a pokemon I use for the long haul, so sacrificing that stats-recoil for maximum damage only seems to make sense (Dragon Pulse could also work, but like I said, going for max damage over longevity).

Azumarill (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Trait: Huge Power
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Waterfall

This Azumarill set works wonders. The EV spread once again maximizes this thing's sweeping potental, along with it's handy Huge Power ability. Sitrus Berry is the BEST item to compliment this set, restoring a chunk of health that you lose upon charging up with Belly Drum, and even allowing for a possible second Belly Drum should you need to switch out for anything. Speaking of Belly Drum, man does this pokemon utilize this move well, maximizing it's attack power in exchange for a small chunk of HP. Aqua Jet in itself is a handy STAB-priority tool, but combined with Belly Drum, makes this a deadly weapon, the ammount of damage this can do is almost scary. Scratch that, it is scary. Play Rough is the obvious physical fairy STAB move of choice. Waterfall is nice because for one, STAB. And for two, there's a chance you'll make your opponent flinch. Combine that with Belly Drum, and you see the reoccurring deadliness shine once again.

Heatran (M) @ Assault Vest
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Next, we have the ever present Heatran, who makes for excellent typing coverage. Maxed out Sp.Atk and Speed are pretty obvious for this particular set, so no need for in depth explaination. Air Balloon is a nice choice for this set as well, but I took the "eat special attacks" route over getting the edge on EQ users. Earth Power hit's tier threats such as other Heatran, Tyranitar, and Charizard X pretty hard. Flamethrower is my fire STAB of choice, providing constancy and considerable damage, and retains the chance to deal a burn. Flash Cannon is my steel STAB of choice, hitting pesky fairy and rock types hard in a way that I wouldn't without it. My final move of choice is Hidden Power Ice, giving you a chance to hit threats like Landorus and Gliscor with considerable damage, and continues this thing's theme of awesome coverage.

Umbreon (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Foul Play
- Heal Bell
- Protect
- Wish

Last, but certainly not least, we have my favorite Evee-lution, Umbreon. Umbreon works as a WONDERFUL utility pokemon in unison with countering physical attackers well, and works as a wonder troll against any Substitute-Baton Pass hopeful. Leftovers increases this thing's longevity, and Synchronize discourages status inflictors. Foul Play is where I troll the Sub-Bp chainers, and hit those Swords Dancing/ Dragon Dancing threats HARD, let alone general physical attackers. Heal Bell makes Umbreon have a cleric element, and Wish allows it to recharge itself, or Wish and switch to a team mate in need. Protect is the last move, and an obvious compliment of wish, allowing you to heal without issue and wear down status'ed pokemon slowly.

Closing comments​

Well, that's my team in a nutshell. I tried to blend synergy with coverage, and make a well versed OU team. I do realise that 3 of my pokemon are weak to fighting type moves, which could be problematic, but other than that, this team has worked well for me. I would really appreciate any and every form of advice you may have, changes that you would recommend, or anything that could be helpful in improving the team. Thank you :)

 

[BASED]

Hi this is a pretty decent team you got going sticky webs is pretty fun to use and all but there are a few problems with this team. I am gonna start off with something really small and that's putting the 4HP EVs on Mega-Pinsir into SpD / Def allowing Mega Pinsir to switch into Stealth Rocks 3 times. The next thing that really stood out to me is the random unnecessary Pokemon being Umbreon / AVest Tran (for future reference this set is really mediocre.) Both of these Mons Umbreon more so than Tran kill any offensive pressure you put on your opponent and just sit there and do nothing. I know you say in the title this is a "balanced" team but throwing onto an otherwise Offensive team is a waste of a slot so I decided to change it. That being said I first of all made Heatran Choice Scarf > AVest which makes it a lot more useful and an overall good revenge killer / Flyspam check. Afterwards I thought about what else this team needed and quickly realized that you are extremely weak to quite a few set up sweepers and quickly came to the conclusion to make the change of Thundurus > Umbreon, Thundurus also does what as I previously mentioned Umbreon can not and that is put more offensive pressure onto the opponent. Taking into consideration BD Azu just does not feel as threatening as it once was (mostly because every decent team has a check for it) I decided to make Azumarill the AVest Set > Belly Drum this is in my opinion the best user of Assault Vest in this current meta and is a great check / switchin to things such as Keldeo, Lati twins, Greninja, etc. Overall AVest Azu is just more helpful to your team than BD Azu. When I made this change I suddenly realized that your team really does not need Sticky Web support at all (especially if you listened to my suggestions) so since Smeargle is pretty much worthless outside of Stealth Rocks I decided to make the change of Landorus-I > Smeargle. I felt Landorus-I was the obvious option here mostly because it helps a bit with your pretty obvious weakness to stall. The final change I made to your team is pretty much there to fit the rest of the changes that I made to the team and it is Healing Wish Latias > Latios this thing is in my opinion an amazing fit on your team considering both the lack of recovery on this team and that nothing really appreciates status on your team, this makes Healing Wish come in handy frequently in late game situations. Now that I am done rating this team I would like to apologize for any grammar mistakes / lackluster arguments I am a pretty shitty typer when I am tired so ya. I hope this rate helped and gl using this team in the future! :]

tl;dr

Pinsir (F) @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack

Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Overheat
- Earth Power
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ice]

>

Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 56 Atk / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Superpower
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Azumarill (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet

>

Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Psychic
- Stealth Rock
- Focus Blast

>

Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Healing Wish

 

[Exhumed]

Hey there,

Hi this is a pretty decent team you got going sticky webs is pretty fun to use and all but there are a few problems with this team. I am gonna start off with something really small and that's putting the 4HP EVs on Mega-Pinsir into SpD / Def allowing Mega Pinsir to switch into Stealth Rocks 3 times. The next thing that really stood out to me is the random unnecessary Pokemon being Umbreon / AVest Tran (for future reference this set is really mediocre.) Both of these Mons Umbreon more so than Tran kill any offensive pressure you put on your opponent and just sit there and do nothing. I know you say in the title this is a "balanced" team but throwing onto an otherwise Offensive team is a waste of a slot so I decided to change it. That being said I first of all made Heatran Choice Scarf > AVest which makes it a lot more useful and an overall good revenge killer / Flyspam check. Afterwards I thought about what else this team needed and quickly realized that you are extremely weak to quite a few set up sweepers and quickly came to the conclusion to make the change of Thundurus > Umbreon, Thundurus also does what as I previously mentioned Umbreon can not and that is put more offensive pressure onto the opponent. Taking into consideration BD Azu just does not feel as threatening as it once was (mostly because every decent team has a check for it) I decided to make Azumarill the AVest Set > Belly Drum this is in my opinion the best user of Assault Vest in this current meta and is a great check / switchin to things such as Keldeo, Lati twins, Greninja, etc. Overall AVest Azu is just more helpful to your team than BD Azu. When I made this change I suddenly realized that your team really does not need Sticky Web support at all (especially if you listened to my suggestions) so since Smeargle is pretty much worthless outside of Stealth Rocks I decided to make the change of Landorus-I > Smeargle. I felt Landorus-I was the obvious option here mostly because it helps a bit with your pretty obvious weakness to stall. The final change I made to your team is pretty much there to fit the rest of the changes that I made to the team and it is Healing Wish Latias > Latios this thing is in my opinion an amazing fit on your team considering both the lack of recovery on this team and that nothing really appreciates status on your team, this makes Healing Wish come in handy frequently in late game situations. Now that I am done rating this team I would like to apologize for any grammar mistakes / lackluster arguments I am a pretty shitty typer when I am tired so ya. I hope this rate helped and gl using this team in the future! :]

​

Hi there, thank you for the in depth response, that's just what I was hoping for. Reading through your suggestions, you make some good cases, but there are some cases in which i'm not sure that I agree entirely.. The Pinsir suggestion is a no brainer honestly, so that will come into effect IMMEDIATELY, good tip. While I know Umbreon is seemingly incredibly out of place, when i first tested this team , I noticed one thing: I lacked a cleric Pokemon/a true set-up physical counter/any type of bulk, and Umbreon gave me all of that, combining Heal Bell/Wish/Foul Play to cover what I felt I was missing from the team, and it does that job very well, so i'll have to give some thought before removing it from the team. As far as Heatran goes, Choice Scarf is a pretty good option that I may actually try, but since making this, i've had some fun with using Air Balloon, as it incredibly aggravates people, and works well to make the opponent waste a turn with an EQ/Earth Power, making the mon's main threat a switch in prediction, and the opponent opting to use Focus Blast. But, if I decide to go the revenge killer route, I will almost certainly use ScarfTran. Here's where i'm not sure I entirely agree: Belly-Jet Azumarril is absolutely still a threat in the metagame. While Azu does wear AV extremely well, better than most in fact, I don't think i can pass up the sweeping potential that my set has to offer. While yes, most teams have a check/counter to it, that can be said about almost any major threat, and i've been devastating teams with this where Mega-Pinsir fails, so that's one thing i'm certain that will remain unchanged. I guess this gets a little complicated, because Smeargle does make for a wonderful set-up tool for this team, edging me over other priority users with SW, laying out rocks, and sleeping a non-grass Mons. At the same time, if i want to continue the offensive theme, Landorus would be an excellent coverage choice, so im stuck between a rock and a hard place on this one, so to speak. I'll likely experiment with Lando in this spot and see how neccessary SW turns out to be in the way of being successful, and if it turns out not to help me so much, i'll like go with Lando. The final change, Latias over Latios, makes a lot of sense. While I am in a way leaning towards keeping Umbreon on the team, the fact that you mentioned this could be the thing to change my mind, or I may even try them in unison for extra healing coverage. I chose Latios initially for a reliable defogger who can hit hard with it's STAB moves, and really, Latias can do the same thing, just on a less damage scale, in exchange for being able to heal a pokemon entirely, so this is something I will also experiment with. All in all, your advice has been extremely helpful, and I appreciate you taking the time to look it over and voice your thoughts, I will take most of this into consideration, and I hope to continue to get this type of quality response, thank you :)

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