Back On My BS (OU Balance)

FerrariCUBU

After using this team for a few months I decided that it was time for a change. I tried out some new teams and none of them worked as well as this one. So, I decided to go back and start using it again. I love balanced teams and this one fits me just right. Unlike many teams this one's goal is not to support one sweeper in order to achieve a sweep. It is a team meant to deal with any situation through the use of a counter or revenge killer. Here is my team at a glance:

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Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 76 Def / 116 SpA / 76 SpD
Nature: Brave
- Earthquake
- Surf
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Beam

Swampert does a great job at handling most of the common leads in DPP. The only things that bother it are Trick and Explosion. Swampert's real advantage over other leads is its ability to function throughout the match. Most leads are just that, leads. They can't do much past the beginning stages of the battle. Swampert on the other hand can help counter dangerous Pokemon at any time during the battle.

With Swampert's diverse move pool I'll often opt to kill the opposing lead before setting up Stealth Rocks of my own. Earthquake hits most Pokemon fairly hard and is my main STAB move. Surf helps with bulky ground types and anything else that is hit super effectively by it. Ice Beam is great against dragons and flying types. Swampert's EV spread allows for increased power in Sp. Attack as well as good all around defenses.
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Shaymin @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 32 HP / 252 SpA / 224 Spe
Nature: Timid
- Seed Flare
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power (Ice)
- Rest

Shaymin has just the right stats to make it the ultimate bulky sweeper. It can easily come in on resisted water and ground type moves. This makes it my best counter for things like Hippowdon and Vaporeon. Shaymin's good speed allows it to easily outrun and kill Salamence, Lucario, and un-scarfed Heartran, among other common threats. This makes it a potent sweeper.

Seed Flare makes a huge dent in anything that doesn't resist it. The 40% chance of a Sp. Def drop helps me deal with bulky Pokemon as well as causing quite a few switches. Earth Power compliments Seed Flare well in its ability to hurt bulky steel types. HP Ice lets me destroy dragons and other grass types who assume that Shaymin is a Leech Seeder. My last move, Rest, is absolutely vital due to Life Orb damage. Natural Cure makes Resting possible on a sweeper set. It is also a great all around ability.


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Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 228 Def / 32 Spe
Nature: Bold
- Thunderbolt
- Roar
- Roost
- Hidden Power (Ice)

Zapdos has great all around stats, good typing, and a good move pool. This makes it an excellent tank. I like to use Zapdos early and mid game against tough physical attackers. With nearly max HP and Defense Zapdos has no trouble taking on some of the metagame's biggest threats.

The moves I use are a little bit old-school. I've tried the Roost, Heat Wave, T-Bolt, HP Grass combo and it just doesn't work for me. Roar is a great move on this set. It helps break up stall wars and scout incoming counters. The pseudo Bolt-Beam combo gives great type coverage without sacrificing move slots. Roost is invaluable for recovery and stalling out difficult enemies. Zapdos gives my team the stability it needs to win battles.

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Infernape @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 64 SpA / 192 Spe
Nature: Naive
- Overheat
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- U-turn

Mixape, scourge of stall teams. Unlike most, this is a physically based Infernape. The EVs give him just enough speed to outrun base 100s and enough Attack / Sp. Attack to OHKO many OU Pokemon. I have found him to be a great early, mid, and late game sweeper. The only problem with Infernape is his fragility. With Stealth Rock and Life Orb he can easily kill himself without taking a single hit. Infernape also gives me the Fire and Ice resistance that my team needs. He is also a great counter for Blissey.

Overall the moves on physical Mixape fit my team better than the special Mixape. Overheat has great power, enough to really hurt anything that doesn't resist it. Close Combat is my main STAB move. It also does a lot to anything that doesn't resist it. Stone Edge takes care of Gyarados and sweeper Zapdos with relative ease. U-turn helps me scout my opponent's Infernape counter and does significant damage to bulky Psychics.
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Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 28 HP / 252 Atk / 228 Spe
Nature: Adamant
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Superpower
- X-Scissor

Realizing its potential, I started using Scizor long before it got Bullet Punch, its claim-to-fame in OU. Of course this Scizor is much different than the one I used originally. Attack is maximized so that it can hit as hard as possible. I also gave it an extra point in Speed. This allows Scizor to outrun opposing Scizor that use the same set. The other EVs are dumped into HP for survivability. Scizor operates as a revenge killer and is my counter for Celebii, Gengar, and Latias. Because it does so well at countering specially based threats I am considering a new Scizor with more HP and Sp. Defense. Something like the "It's a Trap" set. Tell me if you think this is a good idea.

The move set is standard. It gives great type coverage and power. However, Roost is a tempting option due to Life Orb damage.


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Gengar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Modest
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power (Ice)
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt

Scarfed Gengar is a life saver. It can easily outrun every non-scarfed OU in the game, including Gyarados and neutral Salamence after a Dragon Dance. This makes it the ultimate revenge killer. Its great typing makes switch-ins easy. I have used Gengar numerous times to absorb Explosions, Close Combats, and other high damage moves; another reason that he's a life saver.

Due to Gengar's role as a revenge killer it does not have Trick. Why would you want to trade away the item that lets you do your job? Gengar has an excellent move pool. When it comes to picking a move, it's simple, use the move that will be super effective against your opponent's Pokemon. Gengar is one of those Pokes that can surprise your opponent and win you the match.


I'm not looking for a team overhaul. Please give me your opinion and any small suggests that you have.
 
I don't think that running Superpower and Sword's Dance on the same set for Scizor is very efficient. You will boost your Attack and then switch/die due to Defense drops. Brick Break would probably be the better option. BTW, if you do run Superpower, it's actually better to not outrun other Scizor, since they would be hitting you with Superpower as well, you would attack them after they got a Defense drop if you were slower, therefore doing more damage.
 
You're right about those things. I guess I'll take away that extra speed stat. As for Swords Dance and Superpower, I really only use SD when I'm planning to sweep with BP.
 
Swampert's EV spread allows for increased power in Sp. Attack as well as good all around defenses.
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That spread looks interesting. What are you able to KO with the exrtra special attack that you couldn't before? Without maximum bulk, Swampert won't be able to counter DD Mence as well as he could. Metagross will be dealing much more damage with Earthquake. I don't think those special defense EVs are needed so I would just put them in defense. 28 EVs in special attack is all that's needed from my experience, as it ensures the OHKO against Salamence with Ice Beam. A spread of 252 HP/ 228 Def/ 28 SAtk is usually best. Being a lead, Surf has very poor coverage which is why Protect is usually better. It lets you scout for trick, block explosions, scout for choice attackers, and get extra recovery which is very useful.

Zapdos seems good here, but I think it can have a better move set. Scizor is a very huge threat to your team atm. It can trap kill Gengar, force shaymin to constantly switch out with U-Turn, and pick off your frail sweeper with Bullet Punch. By giving Zapdos Heat Wave, you now have an easy way to deal with him. Next off, I would prefer HP Grass to give you a more reliable way to beat Swampert. Roar isn't required so I would probably change the set to
T-Bolt-Heat Wave-HP Grass-Roost or you can keep Roar in place of either HP or Heat Wave.

Scizor doesn't seem like he is doing much with that set. Like you said, you aren't attempting to sweep so why bother with SD Scizor. CB makes for a far better revenge killer.

Scizor@CB
Adamant
248 HP/ 252 Atk/ 8 SDef
-Bullet Punch
-U-Turn
-Superpower
-Pursuit

Standard CB set. With U-turn it should be a lot easier to get the chance to send out Infernape.

Gengar isn't the best poke to carry a choice item. With CB Scizor and Tyranitar running around everywhere, Gengar will often fail to make an impact in battle. If you still want a scarfer I would suggest this.

Infernape@Choice Scarf
Rash
24 Atk/ 252 SAtk/ 232 Spe
-U-Turn
-Close Combat
-Fire Blast
-HP Ice

This can replace your previous Infernape. It is still able to sweep and is an excellent revenge killer. Fire Blast is useful late game though Overheat is often better as far as hit and run tactics go. With another U-Turn user, you should be able to give Latias, Tyranitar and other poke a very trough time switching in and be able to wear out pokemon like Gyarados who often switchesn to counter Scizor and Infernape through SR damage. Now you can replace Gengar with a Rotom-A. The typing is better for your team and it will give you more bulk.

Rotom-A@Leftovers
Bold
252 HP/ 120 Def/ 136 SDef
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
-Discharge
-Will-O-Wisp

You lack a status absorber so Rotom will accomplish that. With W-o-W, you will have less trouble dealing with offensive attackers such as Tyranitar and Scizor. Rest will keep Rotom in good health. Disharge is chosen over T-Bolt due to the 30% paralysis rate but if the lack of power is annoying then give T-Bolt a try. Though that shouldn't be the case as your main targets will be taking SE damage while everyone else is getting burned. Rotom-C is the prefered form here. Why? Well your Swampert won't have an easy time against other Swampert leads, and isn't capable of doing much to Hippowdon either, so by sending in Rotom-C, you should be able to scare them off, threatening to KO with Leaf Storm. Rotom-C is also your best switch against Metagross lead since he is immun to EQuake and Explosion and resists his Steel type attacks. If you can burn Gross, then he should give you little trouble. The EVs let Rotom-C take both Physical and Special its, but it is suggested that the majority of those should be resisted.

The only thing that worries me right now is your only resist to Dragon is Scizor who won't like switching in against Salamence. You also don't have a clear cut way to beat stall. Even with your previous Infernape, stall teams will have no trouble taking him out with entry hazard and Infernape is alsways one of the main pokemon stall teams attempt to counter. Balanced teams are usually the best match up for stall anyways. Aside from that, the team looks pretty good.

Good Luck
 
wow dude, this is a great bulky offense team. bulky offense is an amazing style, with the perfect amount of bulk and just enough power to break through the opponent, and you've found a pretty good balance. im going to see if i can make your team better! so what you're trying to do is outlast the opponent with bulky pokemon, and hit them hard while they try to kill you. if something manages to set up, gengar is right there to revenge kill it and stop the potential sweep. if they decide to pursuit your gengar, your scizor gets a free swords dance, which could lead to you beaking the opponent and winning. i really cant change any individual pokemon, as it would disrupt the excellent synergy you have going. i will, however, change a few sets on your pokemon. first, we have scizor. scizor is a fantastic pokemon, but you really rely on it to stop special threats like latias and gengar from ripping you apart. i suggest a more specially defensive set, without swords dance. pursuit is better suited towards your team, whereas swords dance would better fit a more offensive team. i'm going to say a spread of 240 hp / 56 atk / 212 spdef with an adamant nature. you could almost say it walls latias and gengar, as most of their attacks barely scratch his hard metal exterior, but some run hidden power fire to combat scizor. u turn can keep the momentum going in your favor, keeping the pace up, giving one of your sweepers a free switch in. bullet punch and pursuit go a long way to beating pursuit weak things, and bullet punch can revenge some threats should gengar die. the end result is this set

scizor @ leftovers
adamant 240 hp / 212 spdef / 56 atk

~ bullet punch
~ pursuit
~ u turn
~ roost

i also suggest changing swampert's ev spread. right now your spread is not efficient at all. swampert is built to take hits (slightly physically biased), and dish some hits back, all the while setting up rocks or roaring away a potential threat. ergo, he needs more defensive evs. most people use the old spread of 240 hp / 212 def / 56 spatk on swampert, but that's outdated. that spread was built for when garchomp was still ou, so swampert would ohko garchomp. to be honest, you don't need any fancy spread for swampert now-a-days. a simple spread of 252 hp / 252 def / 4 spatk with a relaxed nature is probably all you're going to need, as it ohkoes salamence with ice beam. these extra defensive evs help you take on the likes of tyranitar and salamence, as well as taking scizor and flygon better. ice beam will still ohko salamence, dont worry. the end result is this set

swampert @ leftovers
relaxed 252 hp / 252 def / 4 spa

~ ice beam
~ surf
~ earthquake
~ stealth rock

gl with the team, hope i helped
 
In response to both mc2094 and Bad Ass, I agree with what you have both said about Scizor and Swampert. I always felt like the two could use a few changes. I will also consider the Rotom-A set. It seems to have a lot of potential on my current team. However, I don't really care for the ScarfApe set. I already have Gengar as a Scarfer and I don't want to give up Ape's ability to switch moves.

Thank you very much for your help. Those tips will really help my team out.
 
It looks to me that an opposing Special MixApe could give your team some problems. He outspeeds everything on your team besides Gengar and hits most of your pokes really hard. Scizor, Shaymin, and Swampert are maimed by Fire Blast and Grass Knot. Zapdos won't enjoy Fire Blasts after taking SR damage and Gengar can't switch into Ape, really, besides Close Combats.

I think Scarf Starmie could do Gengar's job better as he is incredibly fast and with Surf / Ice Beam / TBolt he gets great coverage. Since you don't want to use Trick, you could also give him Psychic to OHKO Gengars and Fighting types or HP Fire for unsuspecting Scizor. Starmie and Gengar are both Pursuit bait though, so a team with a Pursuiter and MixApe could really give you trouble.

Another thing you could do to better combat the MixApe weak is giving your own Ape 4 more Spe EVs so you always outrun the standard spread so you don't have to rely on a speed tie.

Good luck with your team. Btw, I love your YouTube vids, keep posting them xD
 
Thanks for the advise. Scarfed Starmie actually sounds like a pretty good idea. The funny thing is, I just made a new Ape with exactly what you suggested, more speed. I'm glad you like my vids :)
 
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