OK so I am very new to DPP OU but it is very fun to play, and I have grown to love one specific category of Pokemon very much; bulky fighting type Pokemon that just smack things in the face with massive stab. Thus, I have been draw to a very specific lead; Hariyama. It is very fun and I have spent a lot of time building a team around it but tbh I don't think I did a very good job, so insight from people who actually know how to play the game would be greatly appreciated. Here goes nothing! (Also don't mind the nicknames I'm a little eccentric)
Baara Daddy (Hariyama) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Guts
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Payback
- Ice Punch
Here's the main man. The whole point of this pocket monster as a lead is to assure a kill on 1 or 2 Pokemon out of the gate. Fake out breaks any sash and stab Close Combat kills just about any lead other than Metagross, Skarm, Zapdos, or very bulky Jirachi. Payback bops the heck out of Azelf lead and switches to ghosts such as Rotom and Gengar, as well as covering Starmie. Ice Punch kills what Ice Punch usually kills. You get the just, the point of this Pokemon is to hit hard and be a sack later or maybe come in for another kill. Oddly enough, I have found Hariyama to be by far the most consistently well performing Pokemon of this entire team, as it always gets its one kill, or helps to scout a lead item somewhat with Fake Out (checks for Leftovers). Hariyama just does an insane amount of damage and can take hits like a champ. However, a very big problem with it is its longativity. Either Hariyama takes out one target and dies or it takes out a target and lives, poison is never helpful in keeping this man alive, especially if you take into account the fact that the ever present sand of the tier smacks it 6 extra percent each turn. However, despite this, Hariyama almost always assures the team a kill and momentum right out of the gate, and helps to take out weakened targets in the late game as a max attack guts fake out is nothing to sneeze at. Also, a common response I will most likely get to this threat is "Why not just run Machamp? It is a much more long lasting pokemon due to lack of toxic orb, and dynamic punch is an excellent move." Well, I have a few reasons for this. One is that Hariyama offers more immediate power without need for Choice Band. This allows it to put out more damage than any non choice band Machamp, while being much more versatile than the choice band Machamp due to being able to select different moves. As well as this, Hariyama is a little bit tankier than Machamp without need for a specific type of defense investment due to Hariyama's massive HP stat. Also, Hariyama's ability to remove a low health threat with Fake Out is yet another excellent reason to run it. Also, Hariyama can soak up status like no other and be an immediate threat without need of lum berry, allowing it to be a fantastic potential breloom or roserade switch in. Basically, Hariyama needs less specific items to be very helpful and strong in a variety of situations. However, Machamp does have its boons I will admit, as its 10 extra attack stat + always giving a confusion allows it to be very versatile in a variety of situations. However, no guard is kind of bad sometimes too, since always getting hit by hydro is not a very fun thing. The other big reason I want to use Hariyama over Machamp is because I really like Hariyama's design and I would like to give him a big hug :)
Robert (Rotom-Heat) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 228 SpA / 96 SpD / 184 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Trick
Ya boi Robert here is quite a helpful man. Not only is he an excellent switch into the most common offensive type of ground, but he is also quite fast and does a good amount of damage. Rotom is basically around just to scare things out, do good damage, and potentially trick something. He outspeeds everything in the tier unboosted with his 254 speed stat + choice scarf, so he is assured to hit something at least once unless it boosts out of range. He's also a slight bit bulky on the special defensive side so he can help to take electric attacks, something this team struggles with due to the lack of a ground type. Basically, Rotom just exists to be fast and to be an immediate threat upon a switch onto a ground type move. Also he runs Overheat to cover Scizor and other steel types, Thunderbolt to have a good stab, and Shadow Ball to beat the mirror match. Also, it is arguably the best spin blocker in the game! Helps to keep the hazards up so that the other pokemon can clean up late game.
Rawr owo (Tyranitar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 152 HP / 128 Atk / 100 Def / 28 SpD / 100 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
Tyranitar. It is one of the most helpful Pokemon in the entire generation. Not only does it offer a fantastic amount of bulk, but it has an insane offensive pressure to boot. This T Tar is mainly focused towards the offensive pressure, as DD Tar scares quite a few teams more than any other Pokemon. The reason Tyranitar is on the team as he is a good switch into a lot of things, if he can get 2 DDs it's almost an auto win, and he helps to surprise kill Scarmary who is very annoying to deal with. It's just another offensive Tyranitar to apply an immediate threat and to bust a hole in the opponent's team if they are unprepared to deal with it's monstrous damage. The EVs are meant to make it quite bulky, a tiny bit speedy, but still give it a good offensive presence. However, it ends up not excelling in any of these things, being a classic example of the DD Tar problem, where it doesn't have enough move slots or EVs to do what it wants. I have actually been considering changing this T Tar from Dragon Dance to Choice Band with Pursuit instead of DD, but I have not tested it on the team yet and Dragon Dance has seemed to be effective enough in the times that i get it off, which is just very helpful and nice :) Either that or I could potentially switch Fire Blast with Pursuit to catch whatever is switching out into Skarmory instead of Skarm itself and go to my various other Skarm checks, but as previously stated, I have not tested it so this is the set that has seemed the most helpful for the team in the current state in my various battles with it.
Cutest Dog (Suicune) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 56 HP / 136 Def / 156 SpA / 56 SpD / 104 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Calm Mind
- Sleep Talk
- Rest
Crocune! Everybody's favorite Rest talker in Generation 4, and for an excellent reason. Suicune is incredibly bulky on both sides of the spectrum, and very little actually threatens it once it gets a calm mind off. This is an excellent Pokemon to clean up in the late game, as if the opponent lets it get off 1 calm mind into rest and doesn't have a very immediate threat it can spiral out of control. This pokemon is primarily on this team to offer and excellent threatening switch into water attacks, and to apply a very unique late game pressure that can go very uncontested if set up for correctly. However, the problem with the pokemon lies in its terrible coverage. Water isn't the worst attacking move ever, but common types such as water itself and dragon aren't going to be too worried about the surf, but this stops mattering one Suicune sets up enough to be perfectly honest. The EVs are meant to make it kinda bulky, kinda fast, but very damaging to allow it to be a more immediate threat so it isn't only useful in late game cleaning.
bidd (Skarmory) @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Drill Peck
Skarmory is here to do what Skarmory does best, which is set up hazards and Whirlwind things. There isn't too much explanation that needs to be done here, it's just your average hazards setter for the team and a very excellent physical wall that lets it switch into attacks and start to get the hazards going. It switches into Earthquake, Stealth Rocks, then switches into Suicune on the inevitable Heatran that is going to come in and threaten it. Not too much to say here other than it is excellent at its job. Thanks Skarmory!
Alright, and now here is where there is a very big problem; I am having a great trouble deciding on the final Pokemon. Originally, it was a Wish Jirachi to Wish-Turn to the Hariyama and other pokemon, but it ended up not doing anything in a significant amount of matches due to a. me not knowing how the heck to craft an effective Jirachi and b. it just ended up getting switched into things and dying to make room for my other pokemon to punch things in the face, the ultimate goal of this team. So I have two potential final pokemon that I have been experimenting with quite a lot, those being Specs Latias and SD Lucario, Latias mainly to be an excellent revenge killer and an almost perfect end game cleaner, and Lucario for much of the same but more emphasis on the late game cleaning and potential mid game pressure once Rotom and steels are gone / have been weakened. So let's get into what both of these pokemon supply for the team!
Not Robert (Latias) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse
- Thunderbolt
- Surf
Latias is the perfect definition of a Pokemon you switch in when one of your Pokemon die, and kill something in return or begin to sweep. Choice specs combined with her excellent speed is a fearsome combination that scares the heck out of a weakened team with either massive Draco Meteors or just a flat clean with Dragon Pulse. Not only that, but she threatens a few of her common switches (Skarm and Tran) with surf and thunderbolt respectively, allowing her to get the job done effectively even on what would be a safe switch. However, the problem with Latias is how insanely terrfied of Tyranitar and Scizor she is. If you reveal Latias too early, and the opponent has one of those two in the back with Pursuit, Latias is basically just a 1 for 1 at best. This is very bad with the insane prominence of Tyranitar in the meta game. However, this weakness is helped by crocune being an excellent Tyranitar remover, as well as Hariyama potentially being able to take out a Tyranitar who cannot instantly one shot it, which some varients struggle to do, especially Choice Band Tyranitars who are locked into Pursuit or Crunch or Stone Edge. Plus, along with Latias being an excellent late game sweeper and revenge killer, she also has a very good amount of defensive utility with her whopping 130 spdef stat along with excellent resistance types in Psychic and Dragon, with Psychic making it a little easier to switch into things such as infernape close combatting or machamp dynamic punching if need be. Not only does she have this, but the ever helpful levitate also makes her an excellent switch into things attempting to EQ on tar hariyama or cune, as well as making her spike and t spike resistent. Basically, Latias is an excellent option to add a semi special wall that is a massive immediate and late game threat to a team that somewhat needs one.
Pokemon (Lucario) @ Life Orb
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Crunch
The main reasons I would even consider using Lucario over a pokemon with as much utility as Latias are 2; 1. If it gets going, it gets GOING. This thing in the late game with a swords dance will cleave through a weakened team like no other, with the insane damage of stab close combat to take out anything that's slower than it, Extreme speed to smack anything faster than it in the face, and Crunch to obliterate the Rotom that so commonly comes in to beat this mon. This excellent late game cleaning ability makes it an excellent addition to any team that can give it the conditions to be able to get going, and this team having Hariyama, DD Tar, and Scarf Overheat rotom to break through counters that would be annoying for it really allows it to get going. However, there is a big problem; this pokemon has almost 0 defensive utility. Despite being the coveted steel type, it is incredibly fragile, and is not even the fastest thing around town with its alright 90 speed stat, especially with it needing to be adamant to get the most out of its SD. One will very rarely see a Lucario switch into anything and survive unless it's a status move or the worlds weakest draco meteor, and even when it gets in in the earlier game somehow the opponent very often has a check such as metagross or jirachi to stop it dead in its tracks. This leads SD Lucario to be more of a hindrance than anything in the early game quite often. Perhaps I should consider a more varied and instantly threating Scarf set instead, but the problem is that that removes Lucario's most stunning attribute, which is its fantastic cleaning ability with life orb swords dance e speed, which takes out a good many even semi bulky pokemon such as physically defensive zapdos from even 50% health. The sheer power of this mon once it gets the situation it needs is beautiful, but the fact is those situations are few and far between. Whoops, I think I went off on a little bit of a tangent there xD Anyways, the other reason I would like to have this pokemon around is for the same reason that I like Hariyama; it is incredibly fun to use, as few things are more satisfying than beating the heck out of everything in your path with boosted Close Combat and E Speed. But, in the end, the pokemon often times ends up being a useless pokemon that is too straightforward to get going, so perhaps I should go for a more varied mixed set, idk, ill leave the thinking up to the more experienced players.
So that's the team, opinions would be greatly appreciated. I am up to make literally any change to the team that more experienced players would believe to benefit it as long as the change is not removing Hariyama; he is the the only reason I made this team so removing him would make this team null and void. Hopefully this one doesn't get closed like the last one :( If it does I'll try to fix it up.
Baara Daddy (Hariyama) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Guts
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Payback
- Ice Punch
Here's the main man. The whole point of this pocket monster as a lead is to assure a kill on 1 or 2 Pokemon out of the gate. Fake out breaks any sash and stab Close Combat kills just about any lead other than Metagross, Skarm, Zapdos, or very bulky Jirachi. Payback bops the heck out of Azelf lead and switches to ghosts such as Rotom and Gengar, as well as covering Starmie. Ice Punch kills what Ice Punch usually kills. You get the just, the point of this Pokemon is to hit hard and be a sack later or maybe come in for another kill. Oddly enough, I have found Hariyama to be by far the most consistently well performing Pokemon of this entire team, as it always gets its one kill, or helps to scout a lead item somewhat with Fake Out (checks for Leftovers). Hariyama just does an insane amount of damage and can take hits like a champ. However, a very big problem with it is its longativity. Either Hariyama takes out one target and dies or it takes out a target and lives, poison is never helpful in keeping this man alive, especially if you take into account the fact that the ever present sand of the tier smacks it 6 extra percent each turn. However, despite this, Hariyama almost always assures the team a kill and momentum right out of the gate, and helps to take out weakened targets in the late game as a max attack guts fake out is nothing to sneeze at. Also, a common response I will most likely get to this threat is "Why not just run Machamp? It is a much more long lasting pokemon due to lack of toxic orb, and dynamic punch is an excellent move." Well, I have a few reasons for this. One is that Hariyama offers more immediate power without need for Choice Band. This allows it to put out more damage than any non choice band Machamp, while being much more versatile than the choice band Machamp due to being able to select different moves. As well as this, Hariyama is a little bit tankier than Machamp without need for a specific type of defense investment due to Hariyama's massive HP stat. Also, Hariyama's ability to remove a low health threat with Fake Out is yet another excellent reason to run it. Also, Hariyama can soak up status like no other and be an immediate threat without need of lum berry, allowing it to be a fantastic potential breloom or roserade switch in. Basically, Hariyama needs less specific items to be very helpful and strong in a variety of situations. However, Machamp does have its boons I will admit, as its 10 extra attack stat + always giving a confusion allows it to be very versatile in a variety of situations. However, no guard is kind of bad sometimes too, since always getting hit by hydro is not a very fun thing. The other big reason I want to use Hariyama over Machamp is because I really like Hariyama's design and I would like to give him a big hug :)
Robert (Rotom-Heat) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 228 SpA / 96 SpD / 184 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Trick
Ya boi Robert here is quite a helpful man. Not only is he an excellent switch into the most common offensive type of ground, but he is also quite fast and does a good amount of damage. Rotom is basically around just to scare things out, do good damage, and potentially trick something. He outspeeds everything in the tier unboosted with his 254 speed stat + choice scarf, so he is assured to hit something at least once unless it boosts out of range. He's also a slight bit bulky on the special defensive side so he can help to take electric attacks, something this team struggles with due to the lack of a ground type. Basically, Rotom just exists to be fast and to be an immediate threat upon a switch onto a ground type move. Also he runs Overheat to cover Scizor and other steel types, Thunderbolt to have a good stab, and Shadow Ball to beat the mirror match. Also, it is arguably the best spin blocker in the game! Helps to keep the hazards up so that the other pokemon can clean up late game.
Rawr owo (Tyranitar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 152 HP / 128 Atk / 100 Def / 28 SpD / 100 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
Tyranitar. It is one of the most helpful Pokemon in the entire generation. Not only does it offer a fantastic amount of bulk, but it has an insane offensive pressure to boot. This T Tar is mainly focused towards the offensive pressure, as DD Tar scares quite a few teams more than any other Pokemon. The reason Tyranitar is on the team as he is a good switch into a lot of things, if he can get 2 DDs it's almost an auto win, and he helps to surprise kill Scarmary who is very annoying to deal with. It's just another offensive Tyranitar to apply an immediate threat and to bust a hole in the opponent's team if they are unprepared to deal with it's monstrous damage. The EVs are meant to make it quite bulky, a tiny bit speedy, but still give it a good offensive presence. However, it ends up not excelling in any of these things, being a classic example of the DD Tar problem, where it doesn't have enough move slots or EVs to do what it wants. I have actually been considering changing this T Tar from Dragon Dance to Choice Band with Pursuit instead of DD, but I have not tested it on the team yet and Dragon Dance has seemed to be effective enough in the times that i get it off, which is just very helpful and nice :) Either that or I could potentially switch Fire Blast with Pursuit to catch whatever is switching out into Skarmory instead of Skarm itself and go to my various other Skarm checks, but as previously stated, I have not tested it so this is the set that has seemed the most helpful for the team in the current state in my various battles with it.
Cutest Dog (Suicune) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 56 HP / 136 Def / 156 SpA / 56 SpD / 104 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Calm Mind
- Sleep Talk
- Rest
Crocune! Everybody's favorite Rest talker in Generation 4, and for an excellent reason. Suicune is incredibly bulky on both sides of the spectrum, and very little actually threatens it once it gets a calm mind off. This is an excellent Pokemon to clean up in the late game, as if the opponent lets it get off 1 calm mind into rest and doesn't have a very immediate threat it can spiral out of control. This pokemon is primarily on this team to offer and excellent threatening switch into water attacks, and to apply a very unique late game pressure that can go very uncontested if set up for correctly. However, the problem with the pokemon lies in its terrible coverage. Water isn't the worst attacking move ever, but common types such as water itself and dragon aren't going to be too worried about the surf, but this stops mattering one Suicune sets up enough to be perfectly honest. The EVs are meant to make it kinda bulky, kinda fast, but very damaging to allow it to be a more immediate threat so it isn't only useful in late game cleaning.
bidd (Skarmory) @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Drill Peck
Skarmory is here to do what Skarmory does best, which is set up hazards and Whirlwind things. There isn't too much explanation that needs to be done here, it's just your average hazards setter for the team and a very excellent physical wall that lets it switch into attacks and start to get the hazards going. It switches into Earthquake, Stealth Rocks, then switches into Suicune on the inevitable Heatran that is going to come in and threaten it. Not too much to say here other than it is excellent at its job. Thanks Skarmory!
Alright, and now here is where there is a very big problem; I am having a great trouble deciding on the final Pokemon. Originally, it was a Wish Jirachi to Wish-Turn to the Hariyama and other pokemon, but it ended up not doing anything in a significant amount of matches due to a. me not knowing how the heck to craft an effective Jirachi and b. it just ended up getting switched into things and dying to make room for my other pokemon to punch things in the face, the ultimate goal of this team. So I have two potential final pokemon that I have been experimenting with quite a lot, those being Specs Latias and SD Lucario, Latias mainly to be an excellent revenge killer and an almost perfect end game cleaner, and Lucario for much of the same but more emphasis on the late game cleaning and potential mid game pressure once Rotom and steels are gone / have been weakened. So let's get into what both of these pokemon supply for the team!
Not Robert (Latias) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse
- Thunderbolt
- Surf
Latias is the perfect definition of a Pokemon you switch in when one of your Pokemon die, and kill something in return or begin to sweep. Choice specs combined with her excellent speed is a fearsome combination that scares the heck out of a weakened team with either massive Draco Meteors or just a flat clean with Dragon Pulse. Not only that, but she threatens a few of her common switches (Skarm and Tran) with surf and thunderbolt respectively, allowing her to get the job done effectively even on what would be a safe switch. However, the problem with Latias is how insanely terrfied of Tyranitar and Scizor she is. If you reveal Latias too early, and the opponent has one of those two in the back with Pursuit, Latias is basically just a 1 for 1 at best. This is very bad with the insane prominence of Tyranitar in the meta game. However, this weakness is helped by crocune being an excellent Tyranitar remover, as well as Hariyama potentially being able to take out a Tyranitar who cannot instantly one shot it, which some varients struggle to do, especially Choice Band Tyranitars who are locked into Pursuit or Crunch or Stone Edge. Plus, along with Latias being an excellent late game sweeper and revenge killer, she also has a very good amount of defensive utility with her whopping 130 spdef stat along with excellent resistance types in Psychic and Dragon, with Psychic making it a little easier to switch into things such as infernape close combatting or machamp dynamic punching if need be. Not only does she have this, but the ever helpful levitate also makes her an excellent switch into things attempting to EQ on tar hariyama or cune, as well as making her spike and t spike resistent. Basically, Latias is an excellent option to add a semi special wall that is a massive immediate and late game threat to a team that somewhat needs one.
Pokemon (Lucario) @ Life Orb
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Crunch
The main reasons I would even consider using Lucario over a pokemon with as much utility as Latias are 2; 1. If it gets going, it gets GOING. This thing in the late game with a swords dance will cleave through a weakened team like no other, with the insane damage of stab close combat to take out anything that's slower than it, Extreme speed to smack anything faster than it in the face, and Crunch to obliterate the Rotom that so commonly comes in to beat this mon. This excellent late game cleaning ability makes it an excellent addition to any team that can give it the conditions to be able to get going, and this team having Hariyama, DD Tar, and Scarf Overheat rotom to break through counters that would be annoying for it really allows it to get going. However, there is a big problem; this pokemon has almost 0 defensive utility. Despite being the coveted steel type, it is incredibly fragile, and is not even the fastest thing around town with its alright 90 speed stat, especially with it needing to be adamant to get the most out of its SD. One will very rarely see a Lucario switch into anything and survive unless it's a status move or the worlds weakest draco meteor, and even when it gets in in the earlier game somehow the opponent very often has a check such as metagross or jirachi to stop it dead in its tracks. This leads SD Lucario to be more of a hindrance than anything in the early game quite often. Perhaps I should consider a more varied and instantly threating Scarf set instead, but the problem is that that removes Lucario's most stunning attribute, which is its fantastic cleaning ability with life orb swords dance e speed, which takes out a good many even semi bulky pokemon such as physically defensive zapdos from even 50% health. The sheer power of this mon once it gets the situation it needs is beautiful, but the fact is those situations are few and far between. Whoops, I think I went off on a little bit of a tangent there xD Anyways, the other reason I would like to have this pokemon around is for the same reason that I like Hariyama; it is incredibly fun to use, as few things are more satisfying than beating the heck out of everything in your path with boosted Close Combat and E Speed. But, in the end, the pokemon often times ends up being a useless pokemon that is too straightforward to get going, so perhaps I should go for a more varied mixed set, idk, ill leave the thinking up to the more experienced players.
So that's the team, opinions would be greatly appreciated. I am up to make literally any change to the team that more experienced players would believe to benefit it as long as the change is not removing Hariyama; he is the the only reason I made this team so removing him would make this team null and void. Hopefully this one doesn't get closed like the last one :( If it does I'll try to fix it up.
