Hello everyone! Currently trying to build a team for a local tournament in my area for OU and I'd love to hear criticism and hopefully I'll be able to fine tune my team in the best possible way. I initially wanted to do a hyper offensive team core (as I'm used to playing that in Ubers) but eventually settled on a balanced offensive team. I'm running a ~70% win rate out of 30 games with this team on ladder around the 1200+ mark.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heal Bell
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Moonlight
My thoughts behind having Clefable on this team are due to mainly two reasons: Clefable as a support is second to none, and secondly, can be set up as a win condition without too much needing too much help. I wanted to go for a default, classic, support Clefable and not do anything too out of the box. I decided Unaware over Magic Guard simply due to having a spinner already and Heal Bell. On top of those things, Unaware alone has won me multiple games.
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
Landorus-T has earned a place onto practically any OU team that wants it, and I went with scarf purely to lay down fast-paced damage while being able to maintain momentum with U-Turn. Lando is seldom my opening Pokemon, but has been able to put in major amounts of work with Knock Off and Stone Edge. The speed EVs may be a bit much, but I was really trying to spare no expense with my Lando-T as I've found him to be one of the best staples on my team.
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
My starting Pokemon, I'm running Heatran due to many reasons: Having massive amounts of synergy with my MScizor, the amount of usage he gets against fairy types, the ability to stop stall, and on top of it all, be able to be a reliable starting Pokemon through Air Balloon. I know that having Air Balloon despite already having Lando-T and Hydreigon as my ground counters seems like overkill, but it has done wonders in being able to reliably start, while also tricking people into thinking I'm running Offensive Heatran, and thus further assuming I'm running Utility Lando-T. It's a silly / troll choice, but I've found its worked out very well so far.
Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 200 SpD / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
The main win condition on my team, works beautifully with Heatran. MScizor on this team finds himself being able to force multiple switch outs, while being able to maintain momentum with U-Turn. I decided to follow just simple Smogon MScizor and not try to do anything out of the box with this guy either. I've had games where he has done nothing, and some games where he was the entire reason why I managed to win.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Scald
- Thunder Wave
- Rapid Spin
Starmie has struggled to really find a good place on my team, but beyond the obvious use as a spinner, has found AMAZING moments where the game was saved through Twave hacks. I prefer to use Scald over Surf or Hydro Pump simply due to those times when it may be better for a chance at burning rather than paralyzing. Nothing too unusual about this Starmie either, I'm open to suggestions for a better spinner / fogger, but this team I've found works best with Starmie.
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Iron Tail
- Roost
This part is where I'm really struggling, initially I've used Bisharp, then I've tried Hydreigon. I'm deciding to use the latter due to how much anti-fairy my team already is, and I really didn't want to have my team be too steel-heavy. I'm hoping to go for a balanced Hydreigon with Draco and Pulse, Iron Tail is for predicting fairy switch ins and anti-Sylveon, Roost is for longevity. This pokemon is the one I find has the least amount of usage in my team and serves more as a check / fodder and a Psychic counter of course due to Dark typing.
What I've found this team REALLY struggles against:
Water-Based / Rain teams
Due to not having ANY offensive Electric or Grass attacks, this is kind of a "no shit" problem to have, but I'm having a hard time trying to brainstorm any ways to counter water.
I would love to hear any feedback and criticisms, I would love to hear any ideas for replacements for certain mons. If there are any specific EVs that I should invest in so as to make a better overall team, I'd love to know! Thank you all very much for looking over!
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heal Bell
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Moonlight
My thoughts behind having Clefable on this team are due to mainly two reasons: Clefable as a support is second to none, and secondly, can be set up as a win condition without too much needing too much help. I wanted to go for a default, classic, support Clefable and not do anything too out of the box. I decided Unaware over Magic Guard simply due to having a spinner already and Heal Bell. On top of those things, Unaware alone has won me multiple games.
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
Landorus-T has earned a place onto practically any OU team that wants it, and I went with scarf purely to lay down fast-paced damage while being able to maintain momentum with U-Turn. Lando is seldom my opening Pokemon, but has been able to put in major amounts of work with Knock Off and Stone Edge. The speed EVs may be a bit much, but I was really trying to spare no expense with my Lando-T as I've found him to be one of the best staples on my team.
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
My starting Pokemon, I'm running Heatran due to many reasons: Having massive amounts of synergy with my MScizor, the amount of usage he gets against fairy types, the ability to stop stall, and on top of it all, be able to be a reliable starting Pokemon through Air Balloon. I know that having Air Balloon despite already having Lando-T and Hydreigon as my ground counters seems like overkill, but it has done wonders in being able to reliably start, while also tricking people into thinking I'm running Offensive Heatran, and thus further assuming I'm running Utility Lando-T. It's a silly / troll choice, but I've found its worked out very well so far.
Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 200 SpD / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
The main win condition on my team, works beautifully with Heatran. MScizor on this team finds himself being able to force multiple switch outs, while being able to maintain momentum with U-Turn. I decided to follow just simple Smogon MScizor and not try to do anything out of the box with this guy either. I've had games where he has done nothing, and some games where he was the entire reason why I managed to win.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Scald
- Thunder Wave
- Rapid Spin
Starmie has struggled to really find a good place on my team, but beyond the obvious use as a spinner, has found AMAZING moments where the game was saved through Twave hacks. I prefer to use Scald over Surf or Hydro Pump simply due to those times when it may be better for a chance at burning rather than paralyzing. Nothing too unusual about this Starmie either, I'm open to suggestions for a better spinner / fogger, but this team I've found works best with Starmie.
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Iron Tail
- Roost
This part is where I'm really struggling, initially I've used Bisharp, then I've tried Hydreigon. I'm deciding to use the latter due to how much anti-fairy my team already is, and I really didn't want to have my team be too steel-heavy. I'm hoping to go for a balanced Hydreigon with Draco and Pulse, Iron Tail is for predicting fairy switch ins and anti-Sylveon, Roost is for longevity. This pokemon is the one I find has the least amount of usage in my team and serves more as a check / fodder and a Psychic counter of course due to Dark typing.
What I've found this team REALLY struggles against:
Water-Based / Rain teams
Due to not having ANY offensive Electric or Grass attacks, this is kind of a "no shit" problem to have, but I'm having a hard time trying to brainstorm any ways to counter water.
I would love to hear any feedback and criticisms, I would love to hear any ideas for replacements for certain mons. If there are any specific EVs that I should invest in so as to make a better overall team, I'd love to know! Thank you all very much for looking over!
