ORAS OU Cartridge 1

[TKGriffiths]

I suppose you'd call this a mix of hyper offense and bulky offense, it aims to win by a Swords Dance-boosted priority sweep once all problem pokemon are weakened/removed.

I play only on cartridge and without cheating so keep in mind that specific legendary pokemon sets are inaccessible to me; though I do have most legendaries available with typically standard sets and close to perfect IVs.

Also keep in mind battles are played at level 50.

Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Justified
252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Jolly
Close Combat
Stone Edge
Stealth Rock
Taunt

Standard, not much to say. Typically leads unless I predict something in Team Preview. Stealth Rock is the main objective, then often sacrificed to gain momentum or to weaken a physical check (such as Rotom-W, Landorus-T, etc) so they can't stop my endgame sweep.

Latios @ Choice Specs
Levitate
252 SpAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Timid
Draco Meteor
Psyshock
Surf
Thunder

Specs Latios is a favorite of mine. Surely you'll find yourself clicking Draco Meteor or Psyshock most of the time so Specs always seemed logical to me even though Life Orb is standard. Especially since you're forcing yourself out with Draco Meteor anyway. Thunder is a bit quirky, I don't have access to HP Fire/Defog (which I am not fond of anyway for various reasons) and it can surprise typical switch-ins (such as Skarmory, Scizor, Metagross, Jirachi, Togekiss, Slowbro, Azumarill etc) with heavy damage or paralysis hax. Trick is an option, though it's easily taken advantage of by any mega especially Metagross/Scizor/Sableye. Grass Knot is another niche option, but I already have Grass coverage so Thunder gets the nod.

Talonflame @ Sky Plate
Gale Wings
252 Atk / 180 Spd / 76 HP
Adamant
Brave Bird
Flare Blitz
Swords Dance
Roost

EVs are to outspeed base 101s so I can hit them with Flare Blitz (notably Jirachi). Extra investment is mostly pointless because not many faster pokemon resist Brave Bird (and thus would require hitting with Flare Blitz). The bulk is nice to prolong your death by recoil and to ease switching in. Swords Dance to sweep late-game if possible.

This set is capable of bluffing Choice Band because Adamant + Sky Plate does similar damage to Jolly + Choice Band. This allows you opportunities to Roost/Swords Dance or get a surprise K.O with Flare Blitz when you appeared banded.

It's a good catch-all check to most offensive pokemon in combination with the two other priority users. It also baits opposing Rotom-W/Mega Manectric/etc out early to weaken them (maybe even sacrifice itself to land a Brave Bird if it's not needed to check stuff) so that they cannot stop the endgame sweep.

You might think it's risky to use this without hazard removal, but if I see my opponent has a threat that I must conserve Talonflame to check (such as Mega Lopunny, etc) then I'll simply never switch it in unless I have to, or only in situations where I can immediately Roost back to full health (such as against Scizor). I often find myself keeping Stealth Rock off with Terrakion's Taunt or just pure offensive pressure anyway. And like I said, I'm not afraid to sacrifice Talonflame if it facilitates the endgame sweep. Basically, Brave Bird does just as much damage whether you have 100% HP or just 1.

Weavile @ Life Orb
Pressure
252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Jolly
Knock Off
Icicle Crash
Ice Shard
Low Kick

Wallbreaker and revenge killer, it does its job well but the main problem is it has few chances to come in, mostly on a revenge kill or dry Baton Pass/U-Turn. I would consider replacing if someone proposes an alternate candidate.

Knock Off is the most used move to soften physical checks for the endgame. Ice Shard is an useful finishing move. I don't need Pursuit support, wallbreaking is more favourable so Low Kick provides good coverage.

Scizor @ Scizorite
Technician
252 Atk / 252 Hp / 4 Def
Adamant
Bullet Punch
U-Turn
Swords Dance
Roost

Ideally I find myself ending games with a Bullet Punch sweep, but Scizor is also key in the middlegame as a bulky and powerful pivot. U-Turn and Swords Dance don't clash because you'll be using them at different points in the game. No speed is needed because I'll only be sweeping with priority Bullet Punch, and a slower U-Turn is beneficial.

Celebi @ Leftovers
Natural Cure
252 Hp / 108 Spd / 148 Def
Adamant
Seed Bomb
Baton Pass
Swords Dance
Recover

People don't expect this to Swords Dance. Early game Celebi's job is to pivot into hits/status, keep itself healthy and dry Baton Pass out to give me momentum. Speed EVs outspeed base 70s, notably Bisharp and non-mega'd Metagross so I can escape Pursuit with Baton Pass. I rarely use anything except Baton Pass or Recover until it's time for the endgame sweep. Though this team is offensive in nature it forms a decent soft defensive core with Talonflame and Scizor, works a bit like Fire/Water/Grass.

Sometimes I wish it had Thunder Wave so it could do something by itself rather than just dry Baton Passing out, but there are no free moveslots on this set.

Adamant Nature because of the limitations of cartridge play, it has proved useful though. For example today it managed a guaranteed 2HKO on Mega Alakazam. It also helps in the rare situations where Celebi needs to use its own Swords Dance boost, such as against Mega Slowbro, Blissey, Hippowdon, etc.

So that's it. Any suggestions are welcome though I'd especially appreciate detailed reasoning so I can understand the problem fully, and maybe come up with alternate solutions myself due to my cartridge limitations.

 

[Sobi]

hey there, nice team you got here, but I have some suggestions.

1. Choice Scarf Terrakion > Focus Sash Terrakion. The reason for this is because your team lacks a solid way of speed control, and Choice Scarf Terrakion can grant you just that alongside a good wall-breaker due to its high offensive stats. Terrakion doesn't make the best lead, and most leads like Azelf tend to outspeed it, so I wouldn't personally go for a Focus Sash set.
2. Because you lack a Stealth Rocker, I think you should go for Stealth Rock > Recover on Celebi. The downside to this change is that you lose reliable recover; however, with Baton Pass providing momentum, and pivoting Celebi out of unpleasant situations, I don't see much use for Recover, unless Celebi is against a threat 1 on 1. Of course, this change is compulsory, but having a Stealth Rock user is always helpful.
3. Life Orb Latios > Choice Specs Latios. One big problem with your team is the lack of a hazard remover, and this is very crucial if you're going to be using Talonflame, because it takes 50% damage from it upon switching in. I know you're not fond of it, but if you're running Talonflame, it's quite important to have a reliable hazard remover. Scizor could be it, but it'll have to run a defensive set, which kinda detracts from your team aim. Life Orb Latios can also wall-break, just like Choice Specs, but it gives Talonflame the support it really needs. Alternatively, you could go for a Choice Scarf + Trick set to cripple set-up sweepers, such as Slowbro, or hazard setters, such as Heatran. Also, by using "Spd" do you mean "Speed"? Speed = Spe, not SpD, which is Special Defense o_O
4. Bulky SD Talonflame > Sky Plate T-Flame. This gives you a nice win-con, as well as a good stall-breaker, as Terrakion now cannot run Taunt with a Choice Scarf. A spread of 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe will give Talonflame the bulk and power it needs to take hits well, while also dealing as much damage as it can. Acrobatics + no item prevents Talonflame from being worn down, unlike Brave Bird.
5. Now seeing as you have three Sword Dance users, I recommend changing Celebi's set, because Scizor and Talonflame both have the ability to set up themselves, and it's a bit of a waste if you're going to be over pre-cautious. You might want to try Substitute > Swords Dance, as this gets in one of your teammates in safely, and allows them to set up without the worry of being taken out. Also, a spread of 252 HP / 104 Def / 44 SpD / 108 Spe and a Calm nature means you can take hits well, and that the substitute won't be broken as easily.

Hope I helped [:

 

[Momo Mentos]

I'll give this a rate when I get the time, but here's the link for sprites:
http://www.pokestadium.com/tools/sprites

Not if I rate it first!
I'm here for ya, bud! Neat little team you got there! I'll do this is a neat little list format!

Terrakion - The set you have now won't get you very far, because sash terrakion in general is pretty bad and you NEED a faster mon. Something that goes higher then 400. I recommend using the scarfed set, because your team doesn't already have a scarf user and your team could really use one! Trust me, I tried it and it works!

Talonflame - Trust me when I say, talonflame does NOT need ANY hp investment, because it isn't meant to take hits. Hell, it's not supposed to take more then 1 half the time! Speed can end up REALLY helping in the end, and you might even want to consitter jolly at some point.

Latios - Thats a cool set! But what do you need thunder for? You should use thunderbolt over thundur if your going to use an electric move in the first place anyways! And, because it appears that your trying to break walls, you should run trick so you can basically disable a sh*t ton of walls that can affect your team!

Scizor - Your already running swords dance talonflame, theres no use in running 2 SD sweepers! I think you should use defog scizor! You don't have any hazard control and your team could use a pivot! Just give it a try, it will do so well if you use it right!

Well that's all! I sure showed that jerk Sobi (Jk ur cool) heres the finished team: http://pastebin.com/0Fq5LHBB
Have a nice day, broh!

 

[TKGriffiths]

I was going to reply to every point you made individually because I disagreed with most of it or felt you missed the point and were suggesting generic good sets you'd seen elsewhere rather than what my team actually requires; but quickly realized that most of what I was saying came across as rude/ungrateful so I stopped that idea! For example I think your suggestion of a choice scarfer and a defogger are knee-jerk reactions to those things being missing rather than looking at the team and stopping to think why it might not need those things. (Such as, 3 priority users and 2 naturally very fast pokemon means I don't need a scarfer).

One thing I will say is that I like the idea of dropping Talonflame's speed for more bulk, I rarely needed speed at all. Even Flare Blitz wasn't used much, the mere threat of a fire move is enough a lot of the time. So I would definitely consider more bulk and Taunt > Flare Blitz, however I wouldn't drop Brave Bird + Sky Plate because Talonflame is one of the main Baton Pass recipients so the extra power is beneficial to actually sweep/wallbreak.

The notation I use to convey stats pre-dates the smogon convention, I should have translated it but it should be obvious what I mean in the context of the sets anyway. Spd is Speed, SpDef is Special Defense in my system.

Also thanks for the sprites link that will be handy in future.

 

[cfdba]

hippo / bulky sd mega sciz / celebi / bulky sd talonflame / latios / weavile

hi

as a preface, you posted this in the ou rmt forum and ou uses level 100, so this rate will be in level 100 terms.

so immediately i notice that your team has a talonflame but no way of removing hazards. talonflame needs hazards gone because otherwise it comes in taking a big chunk of damage and so can no longer switch into serperior, bisharp, zard y, etc. as comfortably. this is easily remedied by running Defog Latios > Specs Latios.

you lack a solid way of dealing with mega charizard x, talonflame, and bisharp. i think running Hippowdon > Terrakion can give you a better way of handling those threats while also giving you a way of stopping the momentum of opposing volt switch users like raikou and mega manectric. i know it doesn't fit the offensive theme that you think you have but your team more closely resembles balance anyway imo

you're also quite weak to weavile. a bulkier spread of 248 HP / 16 Atk / 44 Def / 200 SpD Impish. this lets you take on weavile, mega lopunny, latios, mega gardevoir better, all of which your team has somewhat of a problem with.

next up i think you need something to deal with suicune while still being able to switch into keldeo. something that fits the bill i think is Amoonguss > Celebi. clear smog lets you eliminate the calm mind boosts, letting you break through it easier. running amoongus also lets you take on azumarill better. you could also consider running stun spore as you currently lack speed control. while i don't like dropping sludge bomb i think running both powders as well as clear smog is necessary here.

i think you really need a wallbreaker. right now your team doesn't have anything with a ton of power behind it that can repeatedly click a move to break down a defensive pokemon. you could possibly try out Azumarill > Weavile as it packs a lot more power behind it. this eases your matchup with bulkier teams by a lot.

on talonfalme i'd run wisp over blitz bc that way you can burn bisharp to avoid mindgames with it. id also run leftovers and less speed bc you need to take hits from yzard.

i think that's it, i'll post the finished importable team below.

btw your notation is abnormal, if you use the pokemon showdown teambuilder and click the little button that says "import/export" you get a standard notation of your team without having to type anything out. this lets you avoid weird confusion around what spd stands for what your ability is etc.

team

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off

Latios (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk
- Roost
- Defog
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock

Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 108 HP / 252 Atk / 148 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Superpower
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Atk / 44 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Roost

Talonflame @ Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Swords Dance
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost

Amoonguss @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Stun Spore
- Spore
- Clear Smog

 

[TKGriffiths]

so immediately i notice that your team has a talonflame but no way of removing hazards. talonflame needs hazards gone because otherwise it comes in taking a big chunk of damage and so can no longer switch into serperior, bisharp, zard y, etc. as comfortably. this is easily remedied by running Defog Latios > Specs Latios.

I already explained why this isn't possible. I think Defog is bad for this team anyway because having stealth rock on my opponent's side is more valuable than removing it from my own.

you lack a solid way of dealing with mega charizard x, talonflame, and bisharp. i think running Hippowdon > Terrakion can give you a better way of handling those threats while also giving you a way of stopping the momentum of opposing volt switch users like raikou and mega manectric. i know it doesn't fit the offensive theme that you think you have but your team more closely resembles balance anyway imo

This is an offensive team, I don't need defensive counters to every threat because then it'd be a stall team. Especially offensive threats like those because I can pressure them out with my own offensive pokemon or revenge kill them. Yes Mega Manectric and Lopunny are threats (as they are to any offensive team) but in practice they are worn down into priority range quite easily especially with Stealth Rock on the field. Which is another reason I dislike Defog.

you're also quite weak to weavile. a bulkier spread of 248 HP / 16 Atk / 44 Def / 200 SpD Impish. this lets you take on weavile, mega lopunny, latios, mega gardevoir better, all of which your team has somewhat of a problem with.

No I'm not. Scizor uses it as setup/pivot fodder, as it does with Bisharp which you mentioned earlier. I've come up against Gardevoir with this team and it's actually really beneficial because my entire team can either outspeed/take a hit and do >50% damage, that base 100 speed isn't enough to threaten me which is why Charizard-Y isn't a huge threat either.

next up i think you need something to deal with suicune while still being able to switch into keldeo. something that fits the bill i think is Amoonguss > Celebi. clear smog lets you eliminate the calm mind boosts, letting you break through it easier. running amoongus also lets you take on azumarill better. you could also consider running stun spore as you currently lack speed control. while i don't like dropping sludge bomb i think running both powders as well as clear smog is necessary here.

Celebi can't deal with Suicune? That's almost the dream pokemon for it to face. Uses it as setup fodder if it lacks Roar. In which case I can simply come back in and spam Seed Bomb for ~40% damage, then set up when it goes to sleep because it'll lack Sleep Talk. Calm Mind users in general are no problem because the team is mostly physical, with strong physical priority and can even set up alongside them with Swords Dance.

Again, I don't see why a team with 3 priority users and fast members in general needs any more speed control.

i think you really need a wallbreaker. right now your team doesn't have anything with a ton of power behind it that can repeatedly click a move to break down a defensive pokemon.

Choice Specs Latios? The 3 Pokemon with Swords Dance? Literally every single member of my team has a way to bother defensive pokemon, even Weavile (which is mostly Anti-Offense) cripples defensive pokemon with its Knock Off.

on talonfalme i'd run wisp over blitz bc that way you can burn bisharp to avoid mindgames with it. id also run leftovers and less speed bc you need to take hits from yzard.

Zard-Y is easily revenge killed by 4 members of my team with a bit of prior damage (or weakened severely if it's at 100% so that even Scizor's Bullet Punch can finish it), or worn into priority range with Stealth Rock so I don't see it as a big problem. It can't even switch into Scizor with Stealth Rock up because it dies to +2 Bullet Punch or 2 consecutive unboosted ones. Latios also makes a decent switch-in if I don't want to sacrifice something to gain momentum on it, at the cost of ~50% health of course which is a big commitment with no recovery move.

More Talonflame bulk rather than speed is a good suggestion though.

i think that's it, i'll post the finished importable team below.

btw your notation is abnormal, if you use the pokemon showdown teambuilder and click the little button that says "import/export" you get a standard notation of your team without having to type anything out. this lets you avoid weird confusion around what spd stands for what your ability is etc.

I'll use that next time, will edit the OP when I have time. Where is the confusion about the abilities BTW? I included it with every pokemon.