Hello Smogon, after my failed attempt to create a team a few months ago I decided to start from scratch. After a few tweaks and quite a while of play testing on Pokelab I finally found something I was proud of. There is still no way to check your rating, but my win rate is at least 85% with this team. Some of you might have played against this team and realize just how deadly it can be. The teams main goal is lay down Spikes to pull off a Lucario sweep, if the opponent has multiple counters to Luke then Suicune acts as a back up sweeper.
Team Building Process
Initially I just wanted something to surprise Machamp with with a OHKO so I used SpecsTran, but after a while I just didn't like the idea of having Stealth Rocks on a Choice Specs user. Then I realized Azelf could get the same KO's Heatran can but was faster and deadlier late game.
I decided that my lead Azelf’s 4 move slots were too valuable to waste on Stealth Rocks I needed a team member who could do that. I wanted something that had many opportunities to switch in so it can get down those important rocks, yet not be a sitting duck when it had done its job. I didn’t need to look very hard as OU’s #1 fit the spot perfectly. It also had awesome synergy with the leads (or should I say lead) that Azelf couldn’t handle.
My next idea was “why not abuse entry hazards” specifically Spikes. The three top candidates for this in OU are Skarmory, Forretress, or Roserade. I never liked Skarmory or Forretress and I knew at some point I was going to have to include something to wall scary special threats like Gengar, Jolteon and Starmie so Roserade seemed like the right choice.
With all these hazards up, it’d be a shame if my opponent spun them away. The only type that can block Rapid Spin are ghosts which limits my options. Gengar and Frosslass are too frail to be any good as spinblockers, and Spritomb + Dusknoir are ass. It’s no surprsise I chose Rotom-A as he is the #1 spinblocker in OU plus he can pack a punch.
I realized I could use a water type for a nice Water/Hearan/Grass core. Gyarados seemed nice at first but I hated the weakness it had to rocks and I wasn’t going to invest on a spinner so I turned to Suicune. While it cant heal my other members like Vaporeon, it can actually inflict damage to an opponents team. Also it was nice to have something else that could sweep just in case Lucario bit the dust and Azelf was down.
The team seemed solid enough so now why not add in something that strikes fear into peoples eyes when they see it set up. My 1st thought was Dragonite, but stupid Flygon kept on coming in to Outrage and if Heatran was down Nothing else on my eam could take it. So I switched to Lucario and I’ve been loving him. Now I love it when Flygon gets locked into Outrage.
With the team complete here it is in depth
Changes will be in Blue
Azelf @ Life Orb
Nature : Naive
252 Sp. Atk/ 252 Spe/4 Atk
-Psychic
-Fire Blast
-Grass Knot/U-Turn
-Explosion
Why doesn’t anyone prepare for this anymore? Psychic is a OHKO on Machamp and hurts anything that doesnt resist it. Fire Blast is used over Flamethrower because it has 99% chance to KO lead Metagross with Lum Berry, its also usefull for all the grass and steel types in OU on top of being my most powerful move vs an opposong Azelf. I use Grass Knot for the OHKO on Swampert, which I’ll admit I don’t see too often but it still does alot of damage to any lead Hippo/Tyranitar (slight chance to OHKO standard Hippo). The last move is for when I’m low on HP and want to bring something down with me or I see something that is a threat to my team. This set is completly walled by Heatran, but that doesnt bother me too much because I carry a couple of checks for him. Here’s how my set does against the top 10 OU leads
Azelf: Fire Blast to see who’s faster and how much damage it does. If it does around 90% then it was sashed, I’ll swicth to Rotom or Heatran since it’s a speed tie and both can take explosion or just KO back. If it lives with anything over 20% then its a Colbur Azelf and if it hasn’t U-turned out I’m faster and can KO with Psychic.
Machamp : Psychic for the OHKO (death to the gay hax lead)
Aerodactyl: Psychic is a 2HKO, they usually taunt me 1st but if they dont Luke can take the rock move and KO with Extreme Speed.
Metagross: Lum variants get a swift OHKO with Fire Blast and Occa just gets rocks down then Bullet Punches.
Swampert: Nothing makes me more happy than seeing a bulky water types HP go from 100% to 0% in one move. Grass Knot is overkill
Infernape: I’ll admit not the best match-up but they usally Fake Out and think I am sashed based on the amount it does. Psychic takes Ape down to its sash while they set up rocks and die next turn to Luke or they kill me and miss their chance to get up rocks.
Heatran: The lead Azelf has the most trouble facing, but I just switch out here to my Heatran and get up rocks since I don’t know if it’s Specs, Life orb, or Standard Shuca.
Jirachi: Straight to Heatran for rocks since it cant do anything besides Thunder-Wave.
Ninjask: 8===3DX
Roserade: If it uses Sleep Powder its down to its sash and I can finish it in multiple ways while it lays down Toxic Spikes (my Roserade will absorb those). Scarf ones just put Azelf to Sleep and are no threat to my team.
Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Nature: Naive
252 Sp. Atk/ 252 Spe/ 4 HP
-Fire Blast
-Earth Power
-Stealth Rocks
-Explosion
No surprise why this guy is #1 in usage, he has so many options. Blast holes with its Sp.Atk or just sit back and support the team with its many resistances/immunities. Seriously who use Heatran on their OU teams. The Ev’s are standard but I’m thinking of changing this to something more bulky. This is the Standard Shuca lead, yet its not my lead. Fire Blast is there because I can’t resist using a move that powerful off of 130 SP. Atk and Earth Power for coverage. Stealth Rocks because I have no where else to put it and Explosion because blowing things up is cool. Also if I manage to blow up on Blissey Suicune usually has a field day. Bulky waters get blasted by Explosion as well but if its Vaporeon I just switch to my next guy in fear of Protect.
Roserade @ Leftovers
Nature: Calm
@252 HP/ 252 Sp. Def/ 4 Def
-Spikes
-Energy Ball
-Hp Fire
-Rest
I always hated Roserade, just seemed everytime I used it all it would do was die. Then I discovered that it could be used outside a frail lead as a bulky spiker depending on the threat act accordingly. Roserade gives me a nice swich into most water grass and electric types. Usually I set up at least a layer of Spikes but if its something like Starmie I go for the Energy Ball (OHKO) since Ice Beam hits me for about 45% damage with Life Orb. Some people have suggested using Grass Knot before but I don’t like it since it will do LOL damage vs Rotom, Jolteon, and Vaporeon .Roserade is also my main answer to Blissey early game so I can set up Spikes and Scout its moves.HP Fire is used to hit enemy grass type and x4 effective steel types. With Natural Cure Roserade can use Rest and switch out to be used for walling later. Since the Evs aren’t very standard I’ll comment on them. I use max special bulk to take on threats better i know that (136?) Def Evs let me survive a Bullet Punch from Scizor and KO back but I prefer Scizor to be locked into Bullet Punch since that allow anything on my team to come in for free and set up. I think I put too much pressure on Roserade to wall special attackers but I can’t figure out how to change this without opening myself up to other threats.
Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf
Nature: Timid
252 Hp/ 216 Spe/ 40 Sp Atk.
-Thunderbolt
-Hydro Pump
-Will-o-Wisp
-Trick
Next to the oh so powerful Rotom-S(Fan) this has got to be the best Rotom Form. Between Thunderbolt and Hydro Pump I hit all the threats I actually want to and with a Choice Scarf Rotom outspeeds lots of threats that would be troublesome otherwise.
Will-o-Wisp is nice to spread status around and usually the opponent doesnt catch on to it being choiced if it used a status move. Trick is if I’m tired of Blissey switching in on me, it also helps to lock the opponent into some move Luke can set up on since he resists what Rotom is weak to. The Ev’s look a bit strange, but they sure work. I was using max special attack and speed but switching in was always a problem. Then I cam across this spread and it worked wonders, it has enough speed to beat Luke even after the scarf has been tricked and enough bulk so that I can switch into Gyarados without fear of Waterfall.
Suicune @ Leftovers
Nature: Timid
252 Sp. Atk/ 216 Spe / 40 Def
-Calm Mind
-Surf/Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-HP Electric
Suicuce has come a long way from those days on being just a bulky mono attacker. Cune provides me with another switch into Gyarados and another switch into Heatran. I’m pretty sure no one is new to this set Calm Mind and try to get off a sweep. Surf is for STAB, Ice Beam is to hit grass types especially Breloom who occasionally switches in seeing Lefties and last but mot least is HP Electric for the water types. As far as the Ev’s go Sp. Atk is at the max to hit harder and I have just enough speed to outpace Luke and Mamoswine. I really don’t need max speed since I’d rather try not to win speed ties in a Suicune vs Suicune match up and that bit of physical bulk has saved me from the likes of Infernapes Close Combat and Flygon. If there is a better Ev spread I’m willing to change this one (maybe less special attack?) but for now this set is doing its job.
Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Agility
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Crunch
Thank you for this set Faladran. As you already said, this set sets up on the same pokemon that the previous SD Luke sets up on but now beats most of its counters. The extra damage that SD Luke deals is taken care of by spikes support on my team and even things like Forry (who are mostly specially defensive) are taken out. After Agility Luke is even faster than the typical Kingdra with Swift Swim active meaning nothing in OU will outspeed him. Close Combat is for sheer power taking frail things out in one shot (i.e Flygon, Jolteon). Ice Punch is for for Gliscor who people think is the end all Luke Counter, it also OHKO's Dragonite who used to previously give me trouble if it was bulky enough. The last move Crunch is for anything that would resist/are immune to CC. Celebi is in for a KO after Spikes and Gengar doesn't stand a chance. Rotom is in for at least a 2HKO depending on its bulk (I usually know how bulky it is by scouting how fast it is) so if I can damage it prior to Luke setting up it will go down.
There you have it guys and gals. Rate, comment, and add suggestions. Thank you for reading.
Threat List
Rather than go through every Pokemon in OU I’m just going to state the one’s I have problems with
DD/Mix Dragonite: This guy has taken down my team a couple of times by setting up on Roserade. It’s sorta my fault for not using Stun Spore/HP Ice but I can only pick 4 moves for any given team member. Suicune can take a +1 DD Outrage but usually I have to sacrifice a member or two to make sure its taken down. Lead Dragonite is no problem since I’ll just explode in its face.
DDTar: The only place he can set up is on Rotom’s thunderbolt, but when it manages to do that my team is in for alt of hurt. Ive had occasions where I’ve had to Sacrifice Suicune + Lucario (my two main sweepers) just to bring it down.
CM Wish Jirachi: Most of these out speed adamant Lucario. As long as Heatran is alive I can threaten it with Fire Blast and if it switches out its taking massive damage from spikes. The problem comes when I’m forced to blow up Heatran and this thing pops its ugly head into the battle.
Team Building Process
Initially I just wanted something to surprise Machamp with with a OHKO so I used SpecsTran, but after a while I just didn't like the idea of having Stealth Rocks on a Choice Specs user. Then I realized Azelf could get the same KO's Heatran can but was faster and deadlier late game.
I decided that my lead Azelf’s 4 move slots were too valuable to waste on Stealth Rocks I needed a team member who could do that. I wanted something that had many opportunities to switch in so it can get down those important rocks, yet not be a sitting duck when it had done its job. I didn’t need to look very hard as OU’s #1 fit the spot perfectly. It also had awesome synergy with the leads (or should I say lead) that Azelf couldn’t handle.
My next idea was “why not abuse entry hazards” specifically Spikes. The three top candidates for this in OU are Skarmory, Forretress, or Roserade. I never liked Skarmory or Forretress and I knew at some point I was going to have to include something to wall scary special threats like Gengar, Jolteon and Starmie so Roserade seemed like the right choice.
With all these hazards up, it’d be a shame if my opponent spun them away. The only type that can block Rapid Spin are ghosts which limits my options. Gengar and Frosslass are too frail to be any good as spinblockers, and Spritomb + Dusknoir are ass. It’s no surprsise I chose Rotom-A as he is the #1 spinblocker in OU plus he can pack a punch.
I realized I could use a water type for a nice Water/Hearan/Grass core. Gyarados seemed nice at first but I hated the weakness it had to rocks and I wasn’t going to invest on a spinner so I turned to Suicune. While it cant heal my other members like Vaporeon, it can actually inflict damage to an opponents team. Also it was nice to have something else that could sweep just in case Lucario bit the dust and Azelf was down.
The team seemed solid enough so now why not add in something that strikes fear into peoples eyes when they see it set up. My 1st thought was Dragonite, but stupid Flygon kept on coming in to Outrage and if Heatran was down Nothing else on my eam could take it. So I switched to Lucario and I’ve been loving him. Now I love it when Flygon gets locked into Outrage.
With the team complete here it is in depth
Changes will be in Blue
Azelf @ Life Orb
Nature : Naive
252 Sp. Atk/ 252 Spe/4 Atk
-Psychic
-Fire Blast
-Grass Knot/U-Turn
-Explosion
Why doesn’t anyone prepare for this anymore? Psychic is a OHKO on Machamp and hurts anything that doesnt resist it. Fire Blast is used over Flamethrower because it has 99% chance to KO lead Metagross with Lum Berry, its also usefull for all the grass and steel types in OU on top of being my most powerful move vs an opposong Azelf. I use Grass Knot for the OHKO on Swampert, which I’ll admit I don’t see too often but it still does alot of damage to any lead Hippo/Tyranitar (slight chance to OHKO standard Hippo). The last move is for when I’m low on HP and want to bring something down with me or I see something that is a threat to my team. This set is completly walled by Heatran, but that doesnt bother me too much because I carry a couple of checks for him. Here’s how my set does against the top 10 OU leads
Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Nature: Naive
252 Sp. Atk/ 252 Spe/ 4 HP
-Fire Blast
-Earth Power
-Stealth Rocks
-Explosion
No surprise why this guy is #1 in usage, he has so many options. Blast holes with its Sp.Atk or just sit back and support the team with its many resistances/immunities. Seriously who use Heatran on their OU teams. The Ev’s are standard but I’m thinking of changing this to something more bulky. This is the Standard Shuca lead, yet its not my lead. Fire Blast is there because I can’t resist using a move that powerful off of 130 SP. Atk and Earth Power for coverage. Stealth Rocks because I have no where else to put it and Explosion because blowing things up is cool. Also if I manage to blow up on Blissey Suicune usually has a field day. Bulky waters get blasted by Explosion as well but if its Vaporeon I just switch to my next guy in fear of Protect.
Roserade @ Leftovers
Nature: Calm
@252 HP/ 252 Sp. Def/ 4 Def
-Spikes
-Energy Ball
-Hp Fire
-Rest
I always hated Roserade, just seemed everytime I used it all it would do was die. Then I discovered that it could be used outside a frail lead as a bulky spiker depending on the threat act accordingly. Roserade gives me a nice swich into most water grass and electric types. Usually I set up at least a layer of Spikes but if its something like Starmie I go for the Energy Ball (OHKO) since Ice Beam hits me for about 45% damage with Life Orb. Some people have suggested using Grass Knot before but I don’t like it since it will do LOL damage vs Rotom, Jolteon, and Vaporeon .Roserade is also my main answer to Blissey early game so I can set up Spikes and Scout its moves.HP Fire is used to hit enemy grass type and x4 effective steel types. With Natural Cure Roserade can use Rest and switch out to be used for walling later. Since the Evs aren’t very standard I’ll comment on them. I use max special bulk to take on threats better i know that (136?) Def Evs let me survive a Bullet Punch from Scizor and KO back but I prefer Scizor to be locked into Bullet Punch since that allow anything on my team to come in for free and set up. I think I put too much pressure on Roserade to wall special attackers but I can’t figure out how to change this without opening myself up to other threats.
Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf
Nature: Timid
252 Hp/ 216 Spe/ 40 Sp Atk.
-Thunderbolt
-Hydro Pump
-Will-o-Wisp
-Trick
Next to the oh so powerful Rotom-S(Fan) this has got to be the best Rotom Form. Between Thunderbolt and Hydro Pump I hit all the threats I actually want to and with a Choice Scarf Rotom outspeeds lots of threats that would be troublesome otherwise.
Will-o-Wisp is nice to spread status around and usually the opponent doesnt catch on to it being choiced if it used a status move. Trick is if I’m tired of Blissey switching in on me, it also helps to lock the opponent into some move Luke can set up on since he resists what Rotom is weak to. The Ev’s look a bit strange, but they sure work. I was using max special attack and speed but switching in was always a problem. Then I cam across this spread and it worked wonders, it has enough speed to beat Luke even after the scarf has been tricked and enough bulk so that I can switch into Gyarados without fear of Waterfall.
Suicune @ Leftovers
Nature: Timid
252 Sp. Atk/ 216 Spe / 40 Def
-Calm Mind
-Surf/Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-HP Electric
Suicuce has come a long way from those days on being just a bulky mono attacker. Cune provides me with another switch into Gyarados and another switch into Heatran. I’m pretty sure no one is new to this set Calm Mind and try to get off a sweep. Surf is for STAB, Ice Beam is to hit grass types especially Breloom who occasionally switches in seeing Lefties and last but mot least is HP Electric for the water types. As far as the Ev’s go Sp. Atk is at the max to hit harder and I have just enough speed to outpace Luke and Mamoswine. I really don’t need max speed since I’d rather try not to win speed ties in a Suicune vs Suicune match up and that bit of physical bulk has saved me from the likes of Infernapes Close Combat and Flygon. If there is a better Ev spread I’m willing to change this one (maybe less special attack?) but for now this set is doing its job.
Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Agility
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Crunch
Thank you for this set Faladran. As you already said, this set sets up on the same pokemon that the previous SD Luke sets up on but now beats most of its counters. The extra damage that SD Luke deals is taken care of by spikes support on my team and even things like Forry (who are mostly specially defensive) are taken out. After Agility Luke is even faster than the typical Kingdra with Swift Swim active meaning nothing in OU will outspeed him. Close Combat is for sheer power taking frail things out in one shot (i.e Flygon, Jolteon). Ice Punch is for for Gliscor who people think is the end all Luke Counter, it also OHKO's Dragonite who used to previously give me trouble if it was bulky enough. The last move Crunch is for anything that would resist/are immune to CC. Celebi is in for a KO after Spikes and Gengar doesn't stand a chance. Rotom is in for at least a 2HKO depending on its bulk (I usually know how bulky it is by scouting how fast it is) so if I can damage it prior to Luke setting up it will go down.
There you have it guys and gals. Rate, comment, and add suggestions. Thank you for reading.
Threat List
Rather than go through every Pokemon in OU I’m just going to state the one’s I have problems with
