SS OU Rate My OU Team Please

[Kec Meister]

Hey,
This OU team has been able to get to 1500 but failed to do anything much past there, I'm hoping that yall can help find what it's missing

Dracozolt @ Leftovers
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bolt Beak
- Dragon Claw
- Fire Fang
- Substitute

This Dracozolt set helps alot with dealing damage while taking away many counters my team has. Substitute is used so I can Sub on ferro or pex as they struggle to break my sub. Being able to 2hko Ferro with fire fang while bolt beaking many threats in the tier behind a sub is so threatening for other players to face it. Dragon Claw is a decent stab move which is the best thing to hit its biggest counter being Seismitoad. Being able to beat pex will help Corviknight in the late game as taking out the best hazer in the tier.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 24 Def / 232 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Knock Off

Ferrothorn with the ability to use spikes puts pressure on the opposing team with hazards that helps Dragapult and Dracozolt for revenge killing. Leech seed is Ferrothorns best way to recover which makes Ferrothorn a hard to take down wall. Power Whip is its best stab move while knock off will help with removing items from opposing pokemon to negate them. For example, leftovers or choice items. I made this sp def based to beat specs dragapult if not locked into flame thrower, rotom wash and especially Toxtricity.

Skull (Corviknight) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 136 SpD / 88 Spe
Careful Nature
- Brave Bird
- Substitute
- Bulk Up
- Roost

The main sweeper in this team. Corviknight with access to sub + bulk up + roost + pressure ability means being able to stall out moves from especially scarfed pokemon. Brave bird is its best stab which hits everything in the tier. Bulking up enough to take hits so well that the sub wont break, while making this more Sp Def based makes sure that Corv can have a high defense stat and Sp Def stat at the same time so even many Sp Att attacks do not break the sub. Also while behind a sub, Pokeon like Rotom-Heat cannot trick there scarf to you.

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Recover
- Haze
- Toxic Spikes

The Phys Def wall. Toxapex works especially well as a duo with Ferrothorn as their typings work well with each other. For example: Fire-type on Ferro; switch-in to Toxapex, Electric-type on Pex; switch-in to Ferro. Physically Defensive means it can beat Dracovish 1 on 1 which is a huge threat and other Physically offensive threats like Mimikyu and Gyarados. Scald deals damage and always has a good chance for a burn, Haze to always neutralized the stats of set up mons like Mimikyu, Gyarados and Kommo-o while toxic spikes will punish switch-ins by getting poisoned as well while helping Dragapult revenge killing.

Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- U-turn

The revenge killer in my team. This is Specs as it really makes use of Dragapults fast speed while also dealing a lot of damage. Draco Meteor is the strongest dragon type move available while shadow ball is also an amazing stab and I use it the most. Fire Blast helps deal with Ferro and Corviknight. U-turn is just for guaranteeing damage while switching for either predicting a switch or just for guaranteed damage on mons that Dragapult struggles against like Tyranitar.

Hatterene @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rest
- Psychic
- Sleep Talk
- Mystical Fire

The last Mon. Hatterene is my only mon which tries to avoid having hazards on my side of the field. A bulky magic bouncer means it can eat up hits while also negating mons such as Ferro, Pex, Seismitoad from doing much. Rest talk is so I can always keep this alive to switch in on many hazard setters and Psychic is the best stab which helps with guaranteed damage which can beat Toxapex. Mystical Fire also gets some chip on Corviknight and does a lot to Ferrothorn.

This team has been useful but noticed if my Dracozolt dies, I really struggle with Corviknight, any help is approved :)

Thank you!

 

[Dole Duck]

Good day Kec Meister!
It's too bad hearing that your team struggles to get past 1500, but i do want to point out that players tend to get drastically better starting at around 1600, so it may very well mean that you will over time find it easier as your playstyle improves! :)

I will, however, help you as much as i can with your team. :)

Your team currently:

Overview

At first glance of your team; it looks to be a more balanced team that focuses more on having counters to most things and relying on entry hazzards to weaken the opposing team, this later lets Dragapult clean up the remaining weakened team. You also have Dracozolt, a great wallbreaker in the meta that helps you deal with teams that are more or equally bulky as your own. Your team also uses multiple hazzards, weakening your opponent reapidly, as long as you are able to pivot around without having your own team broken down.

I see some good team synergy here, such as Dracozolt and Ferrothorn helping each other and the team out. Let me expand on that for a second; Dracozolt is obviously a very strong breaker that does well against slower and bulkier teams, and it has few counters in this metagame. The counters you mainly see are Seismitoad and Ferrothorn. However, both of these counters work out great for you, as they invite in your own Ferrothorn to set up entry hazzards, which will start weakening your opponent.
Dracozolt are often threatened by various checks. Mainly Ground-types, Dragon-types and Ice-types are threatening for Dracozolt, and your team deals well with these for the most part. Your Corviknight resists Dragon-type attacks and is immune to Ground-type attacks, Toxapex deals with Ice-type attacks, though in the current meta there are few of these to worry about, and with regenerator it can pivot well against physical attackers.
Lastly i'll mention that a fast pokemon like Dragapult fits well on a team like this, as it's amazing speed-tier lets it outspeed most of the metagame, including slower scarf-users. It also benefits from being paired with a breaker like Dracozolt, as the things that Dracozolt normally can't break, Dragapult isn't annoyed by. Dragapult is also a good late-game-cleanup should you focus on weakening your opponent with hazzards and pivoting.

To sum up, im going to make this rate with the assumption that this team plays a more balanced and defensive role, trying to weaken your opponent bit by bit and clean up later. This of course does not mean the team and balance in general should be played entirely passively, it's not stall or semi-stall after all, so you do have to play a bit offensively in certain situations so your opponent doesn't get too much offensive momentum that can break through your team.

For a balanced team, having reliable pivots and/or counters to some of the stronger breakers in the tier is important, as the team is slow and bulky and relies on dragging the game out a bit longer than what offense teams can allow. This is why in this rate i'll be focusing more on what pokemon the team will need to handle to function well. I've looked over it for a while and have come up with a listing;

Offensive threats to the team:

Offensive Threats Explained

Bisharp is a very common threat to bulkier teams, and even offense teams for that matter. This pokemon boasts good offensive typing, a good attack stat, access to Swords Dance and Sucker Punch. It also has a speed tier that is difficult for bulkier teams to deal with. The main problem with this pokemon for your team is that it gets too many opportunities to set up SD and sweep the team or even just deal damage that you cannot recover from to win the game. It sets up SD against Ferrothorn, Dragapult if it's locked into Draco Meteor or Shadow Ball, Corviknight due to the lack of Body Press, and even Hatterene if it is sleeping due to Rest or if Bisharp has taken no prior damage and is not carrying a life orb.

Dragapult and Hydreigon are both threats because of their naturally good speed, sp.atk and offensive movepool. Having to rely on predictions against choiced Dragapult or Hydreigon to survive a hit is not benefitial to a balance team. While you have to assume you will need to make a few offensive plays to get into a winning position, having no real switch in to these two is problematic. Your team also lacks checks for these two, as it speed ties with opposing Dragapults and is outsped by the potential Scarf Hydreigon. Hydreigon can also run the Sub + Nasty Plot set. Though Specs Dragapult with infiltrator checks this, that forces you to play very carefully with Dragapult so you don't loose to this set.

Dracozolt is a threat for the same reasons as your own. It is a very dangerous phsyical wallbreaker with a good movepool. Since this pokemon can run Fire Fang, Ferrothorn is not a sufficient counter, though it can pivot against it. Dracozolt is checked by Dragapult, which will always outspeed even against a scarf Dracozolt. I still believe the team would benefit from having a more reliable counter or pivot against this.

Clefable and Hatterene threatens the team with their stab Fairy-moves, potentially Calm Mind, they usualy carry a Fire-move that hits both Ferrothorn and Corviknight and can viably use a move that hits Toxapex super-effectively as well. These pokemon are not as threatening as the earlier listed pokemon, as Calm Mind Clefable will usualy not run coverage for Toxapex, making it a opportunity for Toxic Spikes. The sets that lack Calm Mind can be played around to get in Dracozolt on a predicted Fire, Electric or Psychic move and threaten with the KO in return. The most threatening set to note is the Trick Room + 3 attacks Hatterene set, though im unsure how common that set is.

Dugtrio is the last threat i'll be mentioning. Having Dugtrio trap Dracozolt and Toxapex can be annoying. Having Dracozolt trapped and loosing it will mean the team looses it's main form of offensive power, which is very bad against more bulkier teams. The reason i list this in particular as a problem is that Stall-teams have in the past run Dugtrio to remove some of the most threatening breakers against stall. Having Toxapex be trapped is obviosuly very bad if you are facing an offense team, as Toxapex is one of the main walls for this team and is responsible for countering and dealing with many threats. Dugtrio running Choice Band or anything boosting it's Earthquake will 2HKO Toxapex, and unless Dugtrio has taken over 35% prior damage, Toxapex cannot kill it in time to save itself, even with a lucky burn from Scald.

Togekiss is dangerous to deal with. It has the good Flying + Fairy typing along with a good speed-tier and Fire-type moves for coverage, making it threatening for the team. Getting damage on this is crucial to be able to beat it. Corviknight can counter it to some extent if Togekiss is running Flamethrower and has not set up a Nasty Plot, but this probably will loose you your Corviknight.

Now that i have listed my main concerns about the team, i'll be listing my recommended changes. I'll be giving them in 3 catoregories, as you'll see, all including reasons as to why I recommend the changes. :)

Major changes

Major Changes (swaps)

The first major change i am going to suggest is we swap;
Hatterene -> Hippowdon
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 56 Def / 200 SpD
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind

This is a change i recommend for 3 reasons;
1) Hippowdon gives the team Stealth Rocks, which is imo the most reliable entry hazzard. It also stacks up with Spikes and Toxic Spikes, and hits Flying-types and pokemon with Levitate, which usualy don't care about hazzards.
2) Hippowdon deals with many of the offensive threats i mentioned earlier. It checks and somewhat counters Bisharp. It's been EV'd to be able to take stab Dragon-type attacks from Dragapult, Hydreigon and Dracozolt, whilst being immune to Bolt Beak. This set can also beat 1v1 Life Orb Clefable as long as it is not running Calm Mind.
3) It is impossible for pokemon like Corviknight and Sub + Nasty Plot Hydreigon to take advantage of Hippowdon's lack of attack to hit flying pokemon and low offensive pressure, and set up in the face of it. This is thanks to Whirlwind. Whirlwind also gives the team another way of dealing with setup pokemon, which is much appreciated for it. NOTE! Hatterene is an exception to this, as Magic Bounce bounces Whirlwind back and can therefore abuse Hippowdon and threatens with potentially having Giga Drain.

The reason i swap Hatterene for this is that Hatterene seems to not have too much purpose for your team. It acted as a pseudo-hazzard-control, but honestly it's not a pokemon that can do this effectively and is not worth an entire spot imo. I hope that makes sense. It was however a cool idea! :)

I know that in this meta you rarely see Hippowdon being used, unless it is on a sand team, which im starting to notice is dropping harshly in popularity. I do however think that, looking at the problems for your team, Hippo makes a lot of sense to patch up these weaknesses, without going away from the purpose of the team. Note that in the "Optional changes i recommend"-section of this rate you will find an alternative to this Hippo, though i honestly think Hippo is more usefull for this slot.
Anyone who disagrees on having Hippo here is more than welcome to say so, and i can't make many arguments other than the ones i've already stated. If you do see some dangerous flaws it brings with it, do say so, but do so in a constructive manner that lets us all understand why you believe so. Providing examples and calcs are much appreciated in that case. :)

Minor changes

Minor Changes (moves and stats)

An item-change for Dracozolt;
-> Roseli Berry. This berry halves damage from super effective Fairy-type moves and will let Dracozolt live 1 Dazzling Gleam from Togekiss and in return KO it with Bolt Beak, removing a big threat.

Some stat changes:
Ferrothorn
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 140 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Knock Off

This EV-spread has less Sp.Def and more Def, this is to let Ferro better deal with physical attackers like Dracozolt, whilst not giving up it's ability to take Dragon-stab hits from Dragapult and Hydreigon.

A move change for Dragapult:
U-turn -> Thunderbolt

Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- Thunderbolt

Having Thunderbolt will let Dragapult threaten opposing Togekiss (that is not running scarf) more.
-> 252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Togekiss: 218-258 (70 - 82.9%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

A move change for Corviknight;
Substitute -> Body Press
Corviknight
Corviknight (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 136 SpD / 88 Spe
Careful Nature
- Brave Bird
- Body Press
- Bulk Up
- Roost

Having Body Press on Corviknight helps your team not be as threatened by , as Corvi can now check Bisharp and prevent it setting up on it. Body Press also hits various other pokemon the resist Brave Bird, such as Dracozolt on the switch-in, Tyranitar, Excadrill, Rotom-Forms and Ferrothorn.

Optional Changes

Optional changes i recommend.

Swapping item on Dracozolt;
/ -> or / ->
Swapping Leftovers/Roseli Berry into the Shuca Berry could be a very good option and is definetely worth trying out. This allows Dracozolt to live Earthquake from Choice Band Dugtrio and Life Orb Earthquake from Excadrill. Good for last-resort revengekilling Exca and not having to fear being trapped by Dugtrio.
Now, while Wide Lens is only good to a certain point and horrible for the rest, it is a valid option if you fear missing moves often. It does boost all moves accuracy with 10%, making Bolt Beak and Dragon Claw 88%.

Swapping items on Toxapex;
->
The Shed Shell will allow you to avoid being trapped by Dugtrio, but this does come on the cost of consistent recovery at the end of each turn.

Here is the optional swap for Hatterene/Hippowdon
Hatterene -> Mandibuzz.
Mandibuzz can fill many of the roles Hippowdon is supposed to, with the right EV-spread. it counters Dragapult and Hydreigon, but it does not function against certain Clefables or opposing Dracozolt. It also makes the team a bit weaker against Bisharp.
Mandibuzz does however give you the option of running Defog, but for a team stacking hazzards i think having Hippo with Rocks works better.
This swap should also come with swapping Knock off on Ferrothorn for Stealth Rocks to get those on the team.

Here are some notes on playing with the team;
-Trick Room Teams are difficult to deal with for a balanced team like this. The pokemon will take advantage of many of your pokemon being passive to get up Trick Room and potentially set up.
-Pokemon that take advantage of your team being passive to set up that cannot be dealt with by Toxapex, Hippowdon or any of the others that may check or counter it need to be considered how to deal with when playing against.

I hope this helps! Sorry that this turned out as a long read. Feel free to ask if there are any questions or if i didnt explain well enough anything! :)

The team i recommend:

Importable: https://pokepast.es/6c5561f0da631ab3

Have a nice day, and happy laddering. Hope you get past 1500s! ;)

For anyone seeing this that have something to add or want to disagree on something, do share, but do so in a constructive way with detailed arguments as to why you disagree and what could be done instead. This way we avoid arguments and can focus on improving the rate and team. :)