A brand New Team

[Kypro]

Well because I've got a few tournaments matches that will need to complete. I've decided that I'll post this team and see if I could get some recommendations or improvements to help. If I require to add anything else other than what I've added, please let me know.

Metagross @ Occa Berry
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Atk / 12 Def / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Explosion
- Meteor Mash
- Stealth Rock
- Bullet Punch

Firstly, when I was deciding what Pokemon I should start out with, I personally couldn't decide as in the past I've used the Anti-Lead Machamp which does wonders when I've used it. Also, this is the same for the Gliscor, I like both of these, but honestly I decided it was time for a change. So I've decided that I'll be using Metagross this time around. Eventually deciding on what lead, I couldn't decide whether or not I should use Occa or Lum Berry. I was thinking of using a Lum Berry because many they could a Lead of Roserade or Machamp that will either Poison or Confuse me, respectfully. The move set is quite self explantory really, Stealth Rock is of course needed in everybody's team. Explosion is there to least wipe out anything its path, e.g Swampert, as I might struggle to kill it with the combination of Mash and Bullet Punch. Speaking Mash and Bullet Punch, I decided to run these moves because its certainly going to do a ton of wonders against popular leads such as Azelf, Smeragle, Aero, and such. Pretty standard stuff, all around.

Weaknesses: Ground and Fire
I switch to Flygon for Ground coverage and Fire to Heatran, but sometimes it could be just early to show them off.

Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Leech Seed
- Grass Knot
- Recover
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Next up on the team is this lovely tinkerbell called Celebi. Celebi in recent times I've come to adore because its very bulky all around and has many variations and options in its movepool. I've decided to run a slightly defence version as I could do with a few walls on the team. Initially, I wanted to use a pretty bulky version, so I've given this one a lot of DEF EV's and the move off Recover to apply that. Grass Knot was one of two options for me; I was thinking should I give it that move or Leaf Storm because if I was going to use Grass Knot it'll hurt Vap and Swampy. Or do I change the EV spread slightly and allow it to have more Special Attack investment. Eventually I decided to run Grass Knot, because I figured that I could do with the more Def Bulk, plus Grass Knot deals more damage when the Pokémon is much heaver. Hidden Power is a move I decided to use because sometimes, some Scizor like to come in and think they are the real dog, but when you hit them with the Hidden Power Fire, they do die, instantly.

Weaknesses: Bug, Fire, Poison, Ice, Dark, Ghost

I normally switch to Heatran for that matter on both Bug and Fire. Heatran is immune to Posion, the others need work on. I guess Jirachi for Ice, the other two, not exactly sure at the moment.

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 240 HP / 100 Def / 32 Spd / 136 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Wish
- Thunder Wave
- Iron Head
- U-turn

Moving on to the third Pokémon and its Jirachi. Not exactly the most popular move set in recent times, but it still does it job and hoping to see it work out well. I decided that I could do with a Wish supported on the team, because in the past I've enjoyed using that type of move. And because Jirachi is the "Hax God" in this game, I resulted in using the combination of Thunderwave and Iron Head to acknowledge why its name is the "Hax God". I also decided to use U-Turn because I figured if I got the chance to set-up a Wish on a wall I could seize the opportunity and U-Turn out into a Pokémon that needs recovery. That's the plan, or I guess to heal its self.

Weaknesses: Fire and Ground
I normally go to Starmie or Heatran for Fire. Flygon for Ground.

Starmie @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Trick
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam

Now because Latias has gone back to Uber, I decided that I should try out TrickScarf Starmie, in the past I've used TrickScarf Gengar, but that doesn't seem to be cutting it for me. I thought why not just go with Starmie instead, I've gone for this set because honestly I need some Speed going around and who better than Starmie as its one of the fastest Pokes in the entire Metagame. With that been said, I've gone with three of the most powerful that could be offered with Starmie, Hydro Pump, Ice Beam and Thunderbolt. Each of them will be useful for many reasons. Firstly, I'll be using Thunderbolt to kill off Gyarados that may think its cool enough to sweep after a +1 in Speed. Hydro Pump because I feel as if I want to guarantee a Kill on a lot of Pokes or deal enough damage to them I must use something a little bit stronger than Surf. Although it has the chances to miss, I've gone with it anyway. Ice Beam is for the annoying Mence that will also try to sweep my team.

Weaknesses: Grass, Bug, Dark, Ghost and Electric
I've got some of those Weaknesses covered, however Dark and Ghost still will seem a problem.

Flygon (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Fire Blast

I like the combination of this Flygon, it seems to be very old school and can be very good to get in and out of sticky situations. The moveset again is standard, U-Turn to get in and out for no damage (hopefully). In doing so it'll allow me to have the switch advantage and bring in something to scare what is out. Earthquake for the nice STAB and very high Attack too. Outrage because I can kill of those annoying Dragons and Fire Blast to cover my Fire attacks and kill of things such as Metagross, Celebi and Jirachi for example.

Weaknesses: Ice and Dragon
Ice will be covered by Heatran, Starmie, Jirachi and Metagross. But, mainly, Starmie. Dragon is more or a less delt with my Jirachi.

Heatran (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Explosion

Because already I had two Scarfers in my team I decided not to use a third, I needed something for the Synergy and good ability and who is pretty strong in the OU game. So I choose Heatran, although its not a Trick Scarf version, this version can work wonders when played correctly. Substitute on them when you've them on a tight situation, for example, Jirachi vs Heatran. They'll expect the straight Fire Blast, but you sub on the switch and everyone is happy bunny. Both Fire Blast and Earth Power are there for STAB and nice boost from Life Orb plus high special attack. Finally, I decided to run Explosion over HP Grass, just because I feel as if I can OHKO most Swamperts/Vaps with Explosion.

Weaknesses: Water, Fighting and Ground
Water I go to Celebi or Starmie, Fighting is delt with by Celebi and Ground is delt with by Flygon.

 

[symphonyx64]

Hey there.

Since you are running Occa Berry on Metagross, I strongly recommend slashing Meteor Mash with Earthquake.

Reason being is that Occa Berry is specifically designed to absorb Fire moves from leads such as Infernape and Heatran and strike back with Earthquake. Without Earthquake, the least you can do is set up Stealth Rock and then will be forced to switch.

However, you can get the best of both worlds and get rid of Explosion and run Meteor Mash along with Earthquake. You still have Celebi to deal with Swampert.

Good luck.

 

[Nosferalto]

On Metagross, consider using Lum Berry instead of Occa Berry as it allows you to beat Sleeping leads such as Roserade, Smeargle and Breloom and most importantly allows you to handle Lead Machamp with much more efficiency.

While this team excells at covering most offensive threats, it is lacking offensively and it will struggle to get past a well built Stall team. Heatran may be some sort of Wall-Breaker but with Substitute + Life Orb + Entry Hazards that Stall teams pack, it will won't last long. With that being said, I feel like Heatran is going to go down too fast because of Substitute, Sub (25%) + Life Orb (10%) + SR (12%) = 47% and that's assuming the opponent doesn't attack you. This is a big problem since Heatran is your only answer to Scizor and Rotom-A. Additionally, I dislike the fact that you have two Pokemons with Choice Scarf. The main purpose of using a Scarf on Starmie is the ability to handle Dragon Dancers such as Gyarados and Salamence after having set-up which this team handles with relative ease with Celebi, Scarf Flygon and three Steel types. I think you should keep Scarf on Flygon to keep things like Agil-Gross and Jolteon in check. Anyway, in order to solve your issues with Stall, there are two changes I would like to reccomend. Firstly, use Taunt instead of Substitute on Heatran which any of your opponents to heal or status Heatran and increases Heatran's survivability. Also, change Starmie's moveset to Hydro Pump | Rapid Spin | Thunder Bolt | Recover. Since you don't need the Scarf, the LO set will increase your team's offensive capabilities. This Starmie pairs well with the Heatran I suggeseted since after Heatran eliminates Blissey from the opposing team, Starmie can proceed to devastate the opposing team with ease.

Swords Dance Lucario seems like an issue for this team even though it doesn't have much opportunities to set-up. In order to alleviate this weakness, an easy fix to this isue is changing Jirachi's moveset to Iron Head | Substitute | Thunder Wave | Fire Punch with Leftovers, a Jolly Nature and the following EV Spread 164 HP / 168 Atk / 176 Spe. The Spe EVs allow Jirachi to outspeed base 90 Pokemon and notably Lucario. After a Defence drop from Close Combat, Jirachi is able to OHKO Lucario with Fire Punch while outspeeding him and having that crucial resist to Extreme Speed. So, if an opposing Lucario hasn't used CC, just Substitute once as it CC and hit it with Fire Punch. In addition, this set is much more annoying to opposing teams when behind a Substitute than the previous one. With this change you gain a Lucario check while retaining the goal of spreading paralysis. You can also try Thunder Wave instead of Leech Seed on Celebi.

Well, that's my rate. Add some pictures to make the RMT more visually appealing and you'll certainly get more rates.

 

[CheesyBreadStix]

Just gonna nitpick here. Personally I'd cut Mash for EQ, as, aside from STAB, the only advantage it has over EQ is that it can hit Azelf leads (as Aero can be dealt with with BP). And EQ can hit leads like Heatran, Infernape, other Metagross, etc., etc.. Also, don't be eager to just blow up on Metagross willy-nilly.

Although I can tell that Celebi is there to be, more or less, a physical wall, I think it would be more effective switching to the 'Tinkerbell' set, but keep the HP fire.

Jirachi. Love the set, love what it does for your team. Can't say much else about it.

The Flygon works well with the team's synergy, but don't be so eager to switch it in to take hits. It, alongside Starmie, will be valuable in combating MixMence.

I can tell that the ScarfStarmie covers the less popular DD Mence set, although it's not exactly my favorite set for Starmie. Works well with the team.

Personally on the Heatran I would drop Explosion for HP Grass or Ice, but as you have Celebi, Starmie, and Flygon I can see that it's not needed. I imagine that Explosion is mostly for Blissey, so make sure you don't go sacrificing it to find out later that your opponent will just rape you with Blissey.

Also, I'll agree with Nosferalto in saying that a well constructed stall team coupled with immaculate prediction will beat it.

On a side note, to continue on my childish rivalry with Symph, I'd like to point out that I'm a better Standard battler, as it has been proven.