Back to battling - a BW OU team

[Robinzzz]

Hey there guys. I'm back to Pokémon after a long break, I signed up here back in 2009. I'm trying to get the hang of competitive Pokémon again by playing on Pokémon showdown. I really need to improve my battling as I make too many dumb moves which cause me to lose the battle. Anyway, some time ago I made my first 5th gen team. Here it is.

At first glance

In depth

Politoed @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Toxic
- Ice Beam
- Protect

Politoed's main purpose is to setup the rain, and toxic the opponents lead. I decided to run a defensive set so Politoed can take a few hits and stall with protect to get Leftovers recovery. I might need him later on to get the rain up again if somebody took it down (most of the times TTar). I've been thinking about running Perish Song instead of Ice Beam, as I rarely use Ice Beam and Perish Song would be very handy against Pokes trying to set up.

Toxicroak @ Leftovers
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Substitute
- Drain Punch
- Sucker Punch

Toxicroak is an excellent sweeper in rain, due to his ability, Drain Punch, Leftovers and great HP investment he's bulky as hell and even more powerful with a few Bulk Ups behind a Sub. I try to get a Sub up, maybe a Bulk Up or two if I'm lucky so my Drain Punch hits harder and my Sub is harder to break.

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 176 HP / 128 Atk / 204 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Taunt
- Stone Edge

Gyarados is my second bulky sweeper, he can survive quite a lot due to his high defenses. I've decided to run Bulky DD set because I like to weaken sweepers with Intimidate, and Taunt is very handy for Baton Passers. If I can get a DD up it's pretty much sweep time, Waterfall is the STAB attack and Stone Edge is mostly for Tornadus and Thundurus.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Relaxed Nature
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip

Ferrothorn is a great wall in the rain. His Fire weakness is somewhat covered by the rain, making Ferrothorn able to survive some Fire attacks. I've been thinking about replacing Power Whip with Leech Seed, as I think that would be a better attack for this set. Spikes and Stealth Rock are pretty self explanatory. Gyro Ball is my STAB attack. I mostly switch in on Dragons with this guy, hoping they don't carry Fire attacks. Otherwise I can cripple them with my other wall, Dusclops.

Rotom-Wash @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Thunder
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Trick

I love this guy's typing. I mostly use him as a revenge killer, I've run a Jolteon before but I found Jolteon a little bit too frail, Rotom-W is able to take some hits. Thunder is great in the rain with the 100% accuracy. Volt Switch is very handy for doing hard damage and switching out to somebody who resists the incoming attack. Trick is to surprise walls, that could give me a hard time.

Dusclops @ Eviolite
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SDef
Bold Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Seismic Toss

Dusclops is my other wall, mostly aiming to cripple physical sweepers. I'm not too sure about this Pokey, I mostly picked it for his Fighting immunity because Ferrothorn has a lot of problems with that. Dusclops is also handy to block incoming Rapid Spins. RestTalk is great, but it's a shame that Dusclops' HP is so low.


Last note:
As I'm new to battling, I have to learn a lot and improve my battling. Obviously the team matters too. What I've learned from my time on Pokemon Showdown is that I really need a Rapid Spinner and stronger sweepers, I might replace Toxicroak or Gyarados with Tornadus or Thundurus as those Pokeys seem to be the top of the line right now in OU. I'd also like to get suggestions to improve my defensive side as Dusclops really lacks in HP. I'm really struggling to change my team and remain to have good synergy.

I hope you guys can help me out,

Robin

 

[Avatar Korra]

Hello! You have a very nice team. Some of your pictures are a little messed up though, you might want to fix those.

Most of your team looks solid, however I can see Terrakion giving your team some grief, as your best bet currently is to burn it with Dusclops, or try and intimidate it with Gyarados, but after Stealth Rock, even a -1 Stone Edge will hurt a lot. Opposing bulky grass types, such as Celebi and especially Virizion, can hurt your team severely as well, as you don't really have any strong attacks to hit them with.

I'm not sure if Dusclops fits in so well, despite having GREAT defenses, especially with Eviolite, its lackluster HP as well as quite limited movepool cause it to not be so effective, especially having to rely on rest/sleep talk all the time after always getting worn down. My recommendation is to replace Dusclops with Volcarona...a much more effective Pokemon who checks many dangerous threats to your team!

Volcarona @Leftovers
Flame Body
4 Def, 252 SpA, 252 Spe
Timid
-Quiver Dance
-Fire Blast
-Hurricane
-Bug Buzz

It may seem strange to run a fire type Pokemon on a rain team, but Volcarona checks many Pokemon that threaten Drizzle teams. Celebi, Virizion, Toxicroak, Latias, and Ferrothorn are no longer any problems! Hurricane of course is one of your main moves, which destroys Grass types and Fighting types alike, and can severely hurt Terrakion if it tries to switch in, with or without a Quiver Dance. If you manage to get a Quiver Dance up though, you have a very strong chance of sweeping, with +1 Bug Buzz and Hurricane hurting almost anything badly. Plus, should you be against a Sun Team, Volcarona will become extremely powerful with boosted Fire Blasts!


With the addition of Volacarona to your team, a spinner is needed, and you still need a check to Terrakion. Forretress can still block Dragon attacks and set up like Ferrothorn, however it gets the benefit of being able to spin as well as being a better check to Terrakion. I recommend you replace Ferrothorn with Forretress. With this set, you'll be very physically bulky, enough to live a powerful attack from even big threats like Terrakion!

Forretress @ Leftovers
Relaxed
252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD
- Spikes/Toxic Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball


My last recommendation, to deal with some annoying Dragons as well as providing another check for Terrakion, is to replace Specs Rotom for a Scarf Rotom, and replacing Volt Switch with HP Ice. As great as Volt Switch is for scouting and keeping up momentum, HP Ice will prove more valuable in the end to revenge kill certain annoying Dragons, like Hydreigon or Salamence, or even a +1 Dragonite or Haxorus. You will safely be able to revenge kill Terrakion as well.

Well, that's all I have to say! You have a very nice team, I hope I helped a little :)

 

[Shining_Latios]

Specs Tornadus and Tornadus-T look really annoying. Hurricane basically obliterates all of your Pokemon. Even Rotom-W is guaranteed to be 2HKO'ed. I'd suggest running Specially Defensive Jirachi over Dusclops. Gyarados and Toxicroak should be able to take Fighting-type moves with not too much of a problem.

Set

Hide

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SDef / 32 Spd
Calm Nature
- Substitute
- Thunder
- Water Pulse
- Psyshock / Wish

Just switch in on a locked on Hurricane Tornadus and sub up. Use the appropriate move against who the opponent sends out. Even if the opponent isn't KO'ed, you have a 60% chance to be Paralyzed from Thunder or a 40% chance to confuse them unless you used Psyshock / Wish. If you want to hit Special walls with no problem, specifically Blissey or Chansey, use Psyshock. If you feel like you need support for your team, use Wish. Hope I helped.

 

[Electrolyte]

Hello, and welcome back! Your team looks like a pretty standard Rain team, so common Rain counters such as Ferrothorn or Jellicent will prove quite problematic. Also, competition with other weather will really wear down your team. Dusclop's weakness to Pursuit only further weakens your weakness to Tyranitar. Set up Dragons such as DDnite and DDHaxorus will also prove problematic. To fix some of these problems, I would recommend switching Dusclops with Celebi.

Celebi @ Leftovers
176 HP / 152 SpA / 180 Spe
Modest Nature
~Perish Song
~U-turn
~Thunder Wave
~Leaf Storm

This Celebi acts as a really good momentum capturer- it uses Perish Song, forcing your opponent to switch. Because switching always comes before attacking, you can U-turn their switch-in, giving yourself momentum and also occasionally resetting your Rain. That's not all this Celebi can do- it also spreads paralysis, so that Toxicroak and Gyarados have a slightly easier time setting up, and Rotom-W can fully abuse its Choice Specs. Leaf Storm also erases Jellicent quickly, a pokemon that would otherwise give your team a whole lot of trouble.

However, since Celebi is there spreading paralysis, Ferrothorn's Gyro Ball will not be as powerful, nor as useful as it used to. That's why I recommend switching Gyro Ball with Leech Seed- so you can gain health faster. Then, also switch Leftovers with a Rocky Helmet. Rocky Helmet punishes physical attackers, dealing 29% damage with Iron Barbs every turn your opponent hits you, making Rapid Spin a risky endeavor for your opponent.

Great team, I hope I helped!