Hey everyone. I have been battling competitively since gen 4, but I have never made an RMT before, so bare with me, as I don't know how to add sprites and other goodies. This is a team I came up with after deciding that I would never again use Pokemon that I didn't like. Lets be honest, Clefable and Azumarill are great battlers, but they are no ones favorite. So after looking at my balanced offense team that peaked at 1500 and hating 4 out of the 6 pokemon on it, I decided to scrap it and start anew. My new team hasn't performed at that level yet, but I have much more fun with it, and I can honestly say that I love all 6 of my team members. The team has peaked at 1230ish, but I don't think I've hit my full potential. Anyways, without further ado, my team.
At a glance:
Dragalge
Mega Slowbro
Tyranitar
Gengar
Talonflame
Zapdos
In Depth
Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
252 HP/ 4 Def/ 252 SpA
Modest Nature
Draco Meteor
Sludge Wave/Bomb
Toxic Spikes
Scald/HP Fire
Alright, this savage is easily my favorite Pokemon of this gen. I usually send him out first, depending on the other teams possible leads. If its Machamp or a VoltTurner (bar Landorus, that piece of shit) then Dragalge does his thing and wins. The main strategy is to set up Toxic Spikes if I am confident I can get two up before I get KO'd by whatever is currently out. Most dudes on Showdown don't expect the power Dragalge brings to the fight. Adaptability Draco Meteor lays waste to anything that doesn't resist or have massive Special Defense. Of course, after the stat drop, Alge is done. I generally pick Sludge Wave over Sludge Bomb because Chesnaught, but I don't see too many of those these days, so I'm thinking about switching. Scald is my favorite choice for the final spot because of its chance to burn steel types and physical attackers on the switch. It also hits Excadrill and Heatran quite hard. HP Fire is another good choice that hits Ferrothorn, Scizor, Skarmory, and whatever other steel type might prance along. The problem is that it doesn't hit Heatran, which is easily the most common switch in that I encounter. The EV's get the most out of Dragalge's bulk and Special Attack. I didn't invest in speed because outrunning Hippowdon is not important to me. I opted for Black Sludge over Draco Plate because I prefer the passive recovery over the extra power on this particular Pokemon. After Spikes are up, my buddy here is out of utility for the team, but he is possibly the best at walling electric types, water types, special fairies, fighting types, grass types, and special attackers in general.
Slowbro @ Slowbronite
Ability: Regenerator
252 HP/ 80 Def/ 176 SpDef
Bold Nature
Calm Mind
Scald
Slack Off
Psychic/Psyshock
Bro. Man do I love Slowbro. I've always loved the Poke family, and I think Slowbro's mega evo is hilarious, this slot was once taken by Gyarados-M with DD, but I scrapped him in favor of the pink derp otter, mostly due to Bro's superior longevity and all around usefulness for my team. Slowbro is magnificent, and he loves to come in on a lot of the physical steel and ground types that wall Dragalge into the ground like Scizor and Garchomp. He can come in on these scrubs, mega evolve (or not, sometimes regenerator is good to hold on to) set up a Calm Mind or 4 and get going. Once MegaBro gets a few boosts, he is hard to bring down. Slack Off keeps him healthy, and his uninvested special attack reaches an enormous 444 after just one boost. Scald further wards off physical attackers with the burn risk always lurking, and Psychic/ Psyshock adding secondary STAB. Obviously the advantage of Psyshock is to hit Chansey hard, and Psychic to hit everything else a little bit harder than Psyshock would. The wonders of Slowbro are almost unlimited. I often don't try to set up a Calm Mind until late game when Bro's checks and status spreaders are out of the picture, which almost always puts the nail in the coffin. Instead, I use him to force switches and sponge powerful physical attacks, boosting when possible. I could go into everything Bro does for my team, but I'm sure you all know. The EV's and Bold nature make the most of all that bulk, keeping my man safe from harm for as long as possible.
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
252 SpAtk/ 4 SpDef/ 252 Spe
Timid Nature
Taunt/Icy Wind
Hex
Sludge Wave
Will O' Wisp
The Pokemon that haunted my Pokedex as a child, for my lack of Pokemon playing friends made it impossible to obtain one. The meanest ghost in Pokemon, and a personal favorite. Now this is where Toxic Spikes cements itself as superior to other forms of hazard for my team. An instant Toxic to the face of any non-grounded non-steel/poison type met by a 130 BP ghost type move from cheshire cat himself. The power of this Gengar is wicked, epecially late game when everyone is crippled by status. Will O' Wisp deals with Pursuit trappers and those immune to TS. Gengar is my second choice for a lead, though I do have to be careful with him. He hard walls Skarmory, as Taunt-WoW ruins it. The same goes for pretty much any hazard setter and stall Pokemon. Gengar is a cruel boy if I don't fuck up and get him killed early. Sludge Wave is great secondary stab and ruins fairy types.
Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sandstream
252 Atk/4 SpDef/252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Crunch
Stone Edge
Superpower/Low Kick
Pursuit
My boy TTar. Though he isn't what he used to be, Tyranitar is still a staple Pokemon in OU, and if I could tally up all the kills I've gotten over the years with which Pokemon, this titan easily has the top spot. The first thing I would like to say about this set is actually a goodbye to Lati@s and Victini, as they pose literally no threat to my team because of Tyranitar. I switch into Tyranitar on a Psychock/Draco Meteor/V-Create, force the switch, press pursuit and watch a strong link in the opposing chain break. I have done this so many times, its my favorite. Stone Edge is primary STAB, as it hits most anything really hard. Crunch is in the same boat, but sees more play time in the revenge kill department due to higher accuracy. As far as coverage goes, I've tried Fire Punch and Ice Beam, but a good fighting attack does me the most good, as opposing TTar's are a big problem, as well as Heatran. Low Kick does, exactly the same amount of damage to Heatran, Tyranitar, and Bisharp as Superpower without the stat drops, but the list ends there, as Low Kick does not hit Chansey, Ferrothorn, or Excadrill as hard as Superpower would, which can be a deal breaker, I haven't decided yet. The stats max out speed, which Tar needs to outspeed as many chumps as he can, while also making the most of that mammoth attack stat and sand boosted special defense.
Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability:Gale Wings
152 Atk/108 SpAtk/248 Spe
Naive Nature
Swords Dance/Taunt/Will O' Wisp
Brave Bird
Roost
Overheat
I always wanted a falcon. And I always wanted a phoenix. Perfecto. Now, I know what you are probably thinking. Mixed Talon? Well, hold your judges back, and look at some calcs. Overheat OHKO's everyone Flare Blitz does without the recoil, most notably Ferrothorn. Iron Barbs/Rocky Helmet is not something TF fucks with. It also catches everyone off guard, and makes them second guess switches for a while. It really messes with Gliscor, an otherwise solid check. Priority Brave Bird/Roost is why Talonflame is famous, so I need not explain those two. As for the first slot, I am undecided. Do I want to cut the shenanigans with Ferrothorn and Gliscor with Taunt? Do I want to have a boost for late game in Swords Dance? Or do I want to further my status spreading with Will O' Wisp, and make up for TF's horrendous defense? Hell, Subsititute is even a a good option. Right now, I have Swords Dance, but by no means is that my final option, but it does help that Brave Bird get some nice KO's on things it might not have before. Life Orb helps get as much power out of this mixed set as possible, while the recoil is nullified by priority roost. The EV spread gives me enough power to overtake what Talonflame is on my team for, which was originally to revenge kill Contrary Serperior/Mega Lopunny. The speed EV's give me just enough to always outspeed Weavile, which is all I really need out of the speed stat.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability:Pressure
252 HP/168 Def/68 SpAtk/20 Spe
Bold Nature
Thunderbolt
Roost
HP Ice/Defog
Heat Wave
Very possibly my favorite legendary ever, Zapdos is a criminally underrated threat in OU. So few teams are truly prepared for this Pokemon, that if played right Zapdos can leave the battlefield having taken half the team with him. Zapdos hard walls steel types such as Bisharp, Mega Scizor, Mega Metagross, Jirachi, Excadrill, Skarmory, Magnezone, Bronzong, and Forretress, which otherwise pose a large risk against my team. Zapdos essentially works as a permanently ballooned Magnezone without Magnet Pull (A lot of steel types try to take Zapdos on anyways. i.e. Ice Punch Metagross and SD Scizor) and a much more powerful fire type move. Zapdos also totally walls bird spam, fighting types, and water types such as Talonflame, Mega Pinsir, Medicham, and Azumarill. Roost and Thunderbolt are obvious choices, and HP Ice adds another list of Pokemon to Zapdos's kill list, that being dragons. Salamence, Dragonite, and Garchomp get fucked by HP ice. They are actually somewhat common switches, but they are almost always 2HKOd by it. I realize that Defog is Zaps niche now, but I really don't need that, and I'd rather have that electric/fire/ice coverage than save my Talonflame that roost that it always gets off no matter what. I could do a rocky helmet, but the passive recovery is nice. The EV spread is pretty standard, with enough investment to outspeed, survive, and kill what it needs to.
Threat List
Weavile- Weavile hurts. He revenge kills everyone but Talonflame and Slowbro, and the latter doesn't have the power to consistently 2HKO un-boosted. All I really have to do to get rid of Weavile is outspeed with Talonflame and OHKO with Overheat, but the fact that weavile can burn through my team virtually un-opposed without Talonflame is pretty scary
Swampert- Swampert is just really hard to kill. I don't have any grass moves on my team, so there is no OHKOing him. Slowbro beats Swampert, but its difficult for him. This is not to say that I'm weak to rain, in fact I always beat rain, just Swampert himself poses a big risk.
Bulky Set-Up Sweepers- It can be hard to bring down a bulky Zard-X at +2 for any team. The general idea is to kill 'em before they get too many boosts up, in which case they aren't a huge problem, but once they get going, it gets rough.
Final Thoughts
I really like this team, because I am using Pokemon that I actually like. However, I know this team is not complete. Any suggestions on different movesets or EV spreads are greatly appreciated. When it comes to suggestions on different Pokemon, I'll consider it always, but I won't be using Rotom-W, Heatran or Landorus. I have considered Raikou over Zapdos, but at the end of the day, he doesn't do the same job. Any help and suggestions is greatly appreciated, thanks.
At a glance:
Dragalge
Mega Slowbro
Tyranitar
Gengar
Talonflame
Zapdos
In Depth
Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
252 HP/ 4 Def/ 252 SpA
Modest Nature
Draco Meteor
Sludge Wave/Bomb
Toxic Spikes
Scald/HP Fire
Alright, this savage is easily my favorite Pokemon of this gen. I usually send him out first, depending on the other teams possible leads. If its Machamp or a VoltTurner (bar Landorus, that piece of shit) then Dragalge does his thing and wins. The main strategy is to set up Toxic Spikes if I am confident I can get two up before I get KO'd by whatever is currently out. Most dudes on Showdown don't expect the power Dragalge brings to the fight. Adaptability Draco Meteor lays waste to anything that doesn't resist or have massive Special Defense. Of course, after the stat drop, Alge is done. I generally pick Sludge Wave over Sludge Bomb because Chesnaught, but I don't see too many of those these days, so I'm thinking about switching. Scald is my favorite choice for the final spot because of its chance to burn steel types and physical attackers on the switch. It also hits Excadrill and Heatran quite hard. HP Fire is another good choice that hits Ferrothorn, Scizor, Skarmory, and whatever other steel type might prance along. The problem is that it doesn't hit Heatran, which is easily the most common switch in that I encounter. The EV's get the most out of Dragalge's bulk and Special Attack. I didn't invest in speed because outrunning Hippowdon is not important to me. I opted for Black Sludge over Draco Plate because I prefer the passive recovery over the extra power on this particular Pokemon. After Spikes are up, my buddy here is out of utility for the team, but he is possibly the best at walling electric types, water types, special fairies, fighting types, grass types, and special attackers in general.
Slowbro @ Slowbronite
Ability: Regenerator
252 HP/ 80 Def/ 176 SpDef
Bold Nature
Calm Mind
Scald
Slack Off
Psychic/
Bro. Man do I love Slowbro. I've always loved the Poke family, and I think Slowbro's mega evo is hilarious, this slot was once taken by Gyarados-M with DD, but I scrapped him in favor of the pink derp otter, mostly due to Bro's superior longevity and all around usefulness for my team. Slowbro is magnificent, and he loves to come in on a lot of the physical steel and ground types that wall Dragalge into the ground like Scizor and Garchomp. He can come in on these scrubs, mega evolve (or not, sometimes regenerator is good to hold on to) set up a Calm Mind or 4 and get going. Once MegaBro gets a few boosts, he is hard to bring down. Slack Off keeps him healthy, and his uninvested special attack reaches an enormous 444 after just one boost. Scald further wards off physical attackers with the burn risk always lurking, and Psychic/ Psyshock adding secondary STAB. Obviously the advantage of Psyshock is to hit Chansey hard, and Psychic to hit everything else a little bit harder than Psyshock would. The wonders of Slowbro are almost unlimited. I often don't try to set up a Calm Mind until late game when Bro's checks and status spreaders are out of the picture, which almost always puts the nail in the coffin. Instead, I use him to force switches and sponge powerful physical attacks, boosting when possible. I could go into everything Bro does for my team, but I'm sure you all know. The EV's and Bold nature make the most of all that bulk, keeping my man safe from harm for as long as possible.
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
252 SpAtk/ 4 SpDef/ 252 Spe
Timid Nature
Taunt/Icy Wind
Hex
Sludge Wave
Will O' Wisp
The Pokemon that haunted my Pokedex as a child, for my lack of Pokemon playing friends made it impossible to obtain one. The meanest ghost in Pokemon, and a personal favorite. Now this is where Toxic Spikes cements itself as superior to other forms of hazard for my team. An instant Toxic to the face of any non-grounded non-steel/poison type met by a 130 BP ghost type move from cheshire cat himself. The power of this Gengar is wicked, epecially late game when everyone is crippled by status. Will O' Wisp deals with Pursuit trappers and those immune to TS. Gengar is my second choice for a lead, though I do have to be careful with him. He hard walls Skarmory, as Taunt-WoW ruins it. The same goes for pretty much any hazard setter and stall Pokemon. Gengar is a cruel boy if I don't fuck up and get him killed early. Sludge Wave is great secondary stab and ruins fairy types.
Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sandstream
252 Atk/4 SpDef/252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Crunch
Stone Edge
Superpower/Low Kick
Pursuit
My boy TTar. Though he isn't what he used to be, Tyranitar is still a staple Pokemon in OU, and if I could tally up all the kills I've gotten over the years with which Pokemon, this titan easily has the top spot. The first thing I would like to say about this set is actually a goodbye to Lati@s and Victini, as they pose literally no threat to my team because of Tyranitar. I switch into Tyranitar on a Psychock/Draco Meteor/V-Create, force the switch, press pursuit and watch a strong link in the opposing chain break. I have done this so many times, its my favorite. Stone Edge is primary STAB, as it hits most anything really hard. Crunch is in the same boat, but sees more play time in the revenge kill department due to higher accuracy. As far as coverage goes, I've tried Fire Punch and Ice Beam, but a good fighting attack does me the most good, as opposing TTar's are a big problem, as well as Heatran. Low Kick does, exactly the same amount of damage to Heatran, Tyranitar, and Bisharp as Superpower without the stat drops, but the list ends there, as Low Kick does not hit Chansey, Ferrothorn, or Excadrill as hard as Superpower would, which can be a deal breaker, I haven't decided yet. The stats max out speed, which Tar needs to outspeed as many chumps as he can, while also making the most of that mammoth attack stat and sand boosted special defense.
Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability:Gale Wings
152 Atk/108 SpAtk/248 Spe
Naive Nature
Swords Dance/Taunt/Will O' Wisp
Brave Bird
Roost
Overheat
I always wanted a falcon. And I always wanted a phoenix. Perfecto. Now, I know what you are probably thinking. Mixed Talon? Well, hold your judges back, and look at some calcs. Overheat OHKO's everyone Flare Blitz does without the recoil, most notably Ferrothorn. Iron Barbs/Rocky Helmet is not something TF fucks with. It also catches everyone off guard, and makes them second guess switches for a while. It really messes with Gliscor, an otherwise solid check. Priority Brave Bird/Roost is why Talonflame is famous, so I need not explain those two. As for the first slot, I am undecided. Do I want to cut the shenanigans with Ferrothorn and Gliscor with Taunt? Do I want to have a boost for late game in Swords Dance? Or do I want to further my status spreading with Will O' Wisp, and make up for TF's horrendous defense? Hell, Subsititute is even a a good option. Right now, I have Swords Dance, but by no means is that my final option, but it does help that Brave Bird get some nice KO's on things it might not have before. Life Orb helps get as much power out of this mixed set as possible, while the recoil is nullified by priority roost. The EV spread gives me enough power to overtake what Talonflame is on my team for, which was originally to revenge kill Contrary Serperior/Mega Lopunny. The speed EV's give me just enough to always outspeed Weavile, which is all I really need out of the speed stat.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability:Pressure
252 HP/168 Def/68 SpAtk/20 Spe
Bold Nature
Thunderbolt
Roost
HP Ice/
Heat Wave
Very possibly my favorite legendary ever, Zapdos is a criminally underrated threat in OU. So few teams are truly prepared for this Pokemon, that if played right Zapdos can leave the battlefield having taken half the team with him. Zapdos hard walls steel types such as Bisharp, Mega Scizor, Mega Metagross, Jirachi, Excadrill, Skarmory, Magnezone, Bronzong, and Forretress, which otherwise pose a large risk against my team. Zapdos essentially works as a permanently ballooned Magnezone without Magnet Pull (A lot of steel types try to take Zapdos on anyways. i.e. Ice Punch Metagross and SD Scizor) and a much more powerful fire type move. Zapdos also totally walls bird spam, fighting types, and water types such as Talonflame, Mega Pinsir, Medicham, and Azumarill. Roost and Thunderbolt are obvious choices, and HP Ice adds another list of Pokemon to Zapdos's kill list, that being dragons. Salamence, Dragonite, and Garchomp get fucked by HP ice. They are actually somewhat common switches, but they are almost always 2HKOd by it. I realize that Defog is Zaps niche now, but I really don't need that, and I'd rather have that electric/fire/ice coverage than save my Talonflame that roost that it always gets off no matter what. I could do a rocky helmet, but the passive recovery is nice. The EV spread is pretty standard, with enough investment to outspeed, survive, and kill what it needs to.
Threat List
Weavile- Weavile hurts. He revenge kills everyone but Talonflame and Slowbro, and the latter doesn't have the power to consistently 2HKO un-boosted. All I really have to do to get rid of Weavile is outspeed with Talonflame and OHKO with Overheat, but the fact that weavile can burn through my team virtually un-opposed without Talonflame is pretty scary
Swampert- Swampert is just really hard to kill. I don't have any grass moves on my team, so there is no OHKOing him. Slowbro beats Swampert, but its difficult for him. This is not to say that I'm weak to rain, in fact I always beat rain, just Swampert himself poses a big risk.
Bulky Set-Up Sweepers- It can be hard to bring down a bulky Zard-X at +2 for any team. The general idea is to kill 'em before they get too many boosts up, in which case they aren't a huge problem, but once they get going, it gets rough.
Final Thoughts
I really like this team, because I am using Pokemon that I actually like. However, I know this team is not complete. Any suggestions on different movesets or EV spreads are greatly appreciated. When it comes to suggestions on different Pokemon, I'll consider it always, but I won't be using Rotom-W, Heatran or Landorus. I have considered Raikou over Zapdos, but at the end of the day, he doesn't do the same job. Any help and suggestions is greatly appreciated, thanks.
Last edited:
