Checkmate (OU Platinum Team)

[Valantaro]

Background​

When it comes down to offense, I usually am the first guy to complain. Ever since the metagame shifted from stall to offense, I have had a hard time adapting. Most of my teams either were too weak to a certain threat, or just got worn out by physical/special sweepers. After a bit of reconsidering, I decided to go back to the classic "BulkyOffensive" teams I used to create and love Unfortunately, this one has a bit of a problem with faster, stronger foes, but can usually manage them over time (I don't, however, have a true answer to DDKingdra and DDMence, which are two huge threats) Oh, and the Chess style theme is because Chess is so much fun ^__^

The Pawn @ Lum Berry
Adamant
240 HP/80 Att/190 SpD
Meteor Mash
Earthquake
Bullet Punch/Reflect/Pursuit
Stealth Rock​

Purpose: Like a good pawn, Metagross is there to soften up the opposition and open up sweeps for the rest of my team. It sets up Stealth Rock, counters Gengar, Deoxys-e, etc...and can set up Reflect if I go that route. Meteor Mash is truly awesome; hurting things even with little attack investment. The only thing that really scares me are Heatran leads, which can really hurt. Gyarados is the initial switch in, but if it's an HP Electric version, I can be in serious trouble. ​

The Bishop @ Choice Scarf
Timid
252 SpA/252 Spe/6 HP
Shadow Ball
Thunderbolt
HP Ice
Focus Blast​

Purpose: The Bishop is supposed to be able to move any number of squares diagonally. Considering that ScarfGar is very, very, very fast, it seemed to suit him =] Gengar is a fantastic revenge killer, perhaps the best in the game. He outspeeds Gyarados after 2 Dragon Dances, making him a very reliable check (Adamant Gyara reaches 521 after 2 Dragon Dances, whereas Timid ScarfGar gets to 525). Salamence stands no chance against HP Ice, and Tyranitar is taken out by Focus Blast. ​

The Rook @ Choice Band
Adamant
252 Att/252 Spe/6 HP
Close Combat
Ice Punch
Stone Edge
Bullet Punch/Extremespeed​

Purpose: Choice Band Lucario is such an underrated threat. 2HKOing Skarm, OHKOing Gliscor and Salamence, plus dealing heavy damage to Gengar and Gyarados is all very important. It's also my only "real" safe switch into standard CB Tar. Like a Rook, Luke can move in any number of ways thanks to priority; Bullet Punch or Extremespeed. ​

The Knight @ Leftovers
Adamant
252 HP/236 Def/22 SpD
Rest
Sleep Talk
Waterfall
Stone Edge​

Purpose: Gyarados is an excellent Rest-Talker, especially thanks to Intimidate I always found the Knight to be pretty bulky, I mean, a horse head is pretty strong. EV spread lets me live a +1 LO Stone from foe Gyara even after SR damage. This guy is my main switch into Heatran and such, and is an excellent one at that. Gyara's my only answer to Scizor, therefore, his survival is extremely important. ​

The Queen @ Leftovers
Quiet
252 HP/60 Att/168 SpA/30 Spe
Substitute
Focus Punch
Flamethrower/Ice Beam/Thunderbolt
Crunch​

Purpose: Here it is; the wall destroyer and "queen" of this team. I really love the Boah set, it's fun to use and can really hurt things with a Sub up. This girl is Scizor bait, and, with Flamethrower, it'll rip the steel bug into shreds. Boah also handles many, many more things; Skarmory, Hippowdon, Donphan, Gliscor (if I use Ice Beam), Gyarados, Suicune, Milotic (if I use Thunderbolt) and Celebi, Cress, and Gengar. She's the Queen mainly because she can do anything! Just like a Queen in Chess, she's not limited to hitting certain foes; Focus Punch/Crunch/Flamethrower hits everything in the game for neutral. She's also great to open a sweep for my other Pokes since neither Kingdra nor Luke want to have Hippowdon or Zapdos around. ​

The King @ Leftovers
Adamant
252 Att/252 Spe/6 HP
Dragon Dance
Waterfall
Outrage
Substitute​

Purpose: "SubDra" is my favorite Kingdra set, and, with the word "King" in his name, this is a no brainer (too bad I didn't pick it up that quickly) Hee can use things like Heatran as a free switch in, and also laugh the "#1 Physical Wall in the game" A.K.A Hippowdon. Substitute protects me from status which is really irritating, and, unlike Mence, Kingdra has only 1 2x weakness which is only used by dragon types who get ripped by DD Outrage. By far, my favorite Dragon Dancer thus far.​

 

[panamaxis]

If you give gyarados stone edge over dragon dance that can help to alleviate your DD mence and kingdra weakness. I love the chess themed team (chess is one of my favourite games). I've seen people use Rest > Substitute on kingdra with chesto/ lum berry so that could be worth considering.

Just one small note..Why didn't you name KINGdra as the king?!

 

[Valantaro]

If you give gyarados stone edge over dragon dance that can help to alleviate your DD mence and kingdra weakness. I love the chess themed team (chess is one of my favourite games). I've seen people use Rest > Substitute on kingdra with chesto/ lum berry so that could be worth considering.

You know, that makes a lot of sense. I'll do that, thank you =]

Just one small note..Why didn't you name KINGdra as the king?!

.______. How did I not figure that out? It'll be changed, thank you.

lol and panamaxis

overall solid team, good work.

Thanks =]

 

[McGrrr]

Metagross really likes bullet punch. It is so useful late game when you are against faster Pokemon who cannot switch out; because they will die to stealth rock the next time they switch in. Further, if you get a lucky attack boost from meteor mash, you could end up sweeping with priority. Pursuit is too situational to be worthwhile and reflect is an obvious waste. I would change the EVs to 248/252/0/0/0/8 (248 in HP to round down spikes damage, 8 in speed to win speed ties). The current super defensive EVs are pointless without leftovers. Explosion is reasonable here too, to take out Scizor.

Now that Deoxys is uber, I really see no value in timid Gengar. You should not be allowing Gyarados to dance twice in any case, so change to modest/mild (with explosion) ASAP. I have never rated focus blast as an attack. I think it better to threaten to use it than actually use it (you can fake it by switching into Tyranitar, because any sensible opponent will expect focus blast and switch out); 75% accuracy is a liability. I would use explosion/destiny bond/trick in the final slot.

I think choice items are a waste on Lucario; my main issue being that CB Tyranitar can switch in if you are locked into the wrong attack, and you lose your go-to for stone edge/crunch. Similarly, Scizor has license to set up. However, if you insist... use extremespeed, especially if you give Metagross bullet punch.

I don't see how Gyarados really stops Scizor, especially if stealth rock is in play on top of sandstream.

Tyranitar really wants flamethrower for Scizor.

Substitute Kingdra is not a bad idea except... you have sandstream, which is completely counter productive for creating substitutes. I think there is a strong case for double dance Kingdra here. Rain dance clears sandstream temporarily so leftovers actually works. Additionally, it gives Gyarados some stealth rock respite because it can snarf up some HP without resting, as well as provide a welcome boost to waterfall.