So before the fifth generation of Pokemon comes to town, I wanted to make a team that would once and for all, serve me well. I tried bulky offense, stall, but I failed both times. Then, upon reading Stahakis's HO RMT, and reading Garry Kasparov's book "How Life Imitates Chess", I decided to make a Hyper Offense team.
Now Hyper Offense is, well, all-out attack, keeping the pressure on the opponent as he tries to counter your Pokemon, but fails because you out-speed him or you overpower him. The key to HO is to set up screens, then send out a Pokemon that can set up safely and proceed to win.
Now HO teams are best off attacking from one end of the spectrum, so they are usually all Special attackers, or Physical attackers. In this RMT, I will focus on special attackers only
Now Hyper Offense is, well, all-out attack, keeping the pressure on the opponent as he tries to counter your Pokemon, but fails because you out-speed him or you overpower him. The key to HO is to set up screens, then send out a Pokemon that can set up safely and proceed to win.
Now HO teams are best off attacking from one end of the spectrum, so they are usually all Special attackers, or Physical attackers. In this RMT, I will focus on special attackers only
Changes shall be in bold.
Well, since I was going to attack from the special side of the spectrum, I had to have to best special sweeper in OU. Empoleon.
Now I needed something to counter his usual threats, namely TTar, Infernape, Lucario, Starmie. So I decided on three Pokemon:
Suicune. Because of it's awesome bulk, I can set up on a number of Pokemon and proceed to sweep the opposing team.
Gengar. He can come in on EQ or Focus Blast from anything and reply accordingly.
Jolteon. With blistering Speed and awesome Sp. Atk, he is a must-have on any HO team attacking from the special side. This was replaced by Starmie.
Now I had 4 Pokemon in my arsenal, all I needed was an additional set up sweeper and a lead. Azelf, of course, is the best lead for any HO team, setting up screens, Taunting any attempt to set up rocks, then blowing himself up when he finds himself useless.This guys was replaced by Uxie.
For the other set up sweeper, I thought of Infernape. An awesome Sp. Atk combined with Nasty Plot and great Speed, earned him a slot on my team.
Now I needed something to counter his usual threats, namely TTar, Infernape, Lucario, Starmie. So I decided on three Pokemon:
Suicune. Because of it's awesome bulk, I can set up on a number of Pokemon and proceed to sweep the opposing team.
Gengar. He can come in on EQ or Focus Blast from anything and reply accordingly.
Jolteon. With blistering Speed and awesome Sp. Atk, he is a must-have on any HO team attacking from the special side. This was replaced by Starmie.
Now I had 4 Pokemon in my arsenal, all I needed was an additional set up sweeper and a lead. Azelf, of course, is the best lead for any HO team, setting up screens, Taunting any attempt to set up rocks, then blowing himself up when he finds himself useless.This guys was replaced by Uxie.
For the other set up sweeper, I thought of Infernape. An awesome Sp. Atk combined with Nasty Plot and great Speed, earned him a slot on my team.
Team at a glance:
Under the microscope:
The lead:Nature: Jolly
EVs:252 HP/36 Def/216 Spd/4 SDef
Moves:
~Light Screen
~Reflect
~Stealth Rock
~U-turn
Nitpick review:
Suggested to me by TheLegendKiller, this Uxie has done wonders to this team. Setting up rocks and DS is its job, and it does it quite well. Usually I just set up rocks then the DS, or, if i'm facing a lead that's faster than me, U-turn to bring out a Pokemon to KO him. I had an Azelf in this spot that used to set up screens and blow up.
If you ask me what the moves are for, you're an idiot. Stealth Rock to make 2HKO's OHKO's, Reflect and Light Screen to protect my sweepers while setting up, U-Turn to give my Pokemon free switches. The EVs, on the other hand, to maximize bulk and defense to set up nearly everything safely.
SHALL BE UPDATED ONCE I DEAL WITH THEM.
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First set up sweeper:
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk/64 Atk/192 Spd
Moves:
~Nasty Plot
~Vacuum Wave
~Flamethrower
~Close Combat
Nitpick review:
I never thought King Kong's little brother on fire would do so much damage. also, it's one of the best special set up sweepers in OU. This thing does so much damage it's ridiculous, and after a single Nasty Plot, you better hide yo' kids, hide yo' wife cuz imma bout to rape errybody out here.
Vacuum Wave for special STAB and priority, Flamethrower over Fire Blast is because i like to hit more frequently for a good amount of damage, and Grass Knot is to ruin any Swampert that tries to ruin my day. Don't underestimate the power of a STAB +2 priority attack. Now that I have SR on this team, thanks to Uxie, I can take down Blissey with Close Combat. I don't like missing a +4 Focus Blast and getting hit. Vacuum Wave is staying for sure.
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Second set up sweeper:
Nature: Timid
EVs:252 Spd/252 Sp. Atk
Moves:
~Calm Mind
~Surf
~Ice Beam
~Hidden Power [Electric]
Nitpick review:
The winds of the south are turned into a fierce hurricane when you allow them to calm down a bit. I can set up about 3 Calm Minds before proceeding to sweep, sometimes more due to his natural bulk and screen protection. He's usually the first thing I send out after Uxie pulls a 180 and heads back home.
Surf is for STAB, I hate Hydro Pump. Sure, it has more power, but I like to OHKO without having to worry about missing and getting hit. Ice Beam and HP Electric are for pseudo BoltBeam, hitting anything that thinks it can stall me out, or tries to set up on me. So Gyarados and DNite are frozen to death (this is assuming they will be switched in after a +1 boost), Vaporeon is fried, and I can hit for either neutral or SE damage to anything in the current metagame, bar Lanturn.
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The stand-alone threat:
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 Spd/252 Sp. Atk/4 HP
Moves:
~Shadow Ball
~Substitute
~Focus Blast
~Pain Split
Nitpick review:
This guy is awesome on his own, forcing switches, weakening teams, then dying on his own. I always send this guy out after Infernape, taking down as much Pokemon as I can, then dying and giving control to Suicine. The only problem here is the Hidden Power; I'm left with an imperfect Speed IV, which causes me to lose speed ties with other Gengar. But without that, any Steel Pokemon can come in and OHKO me. But keep in mind that even though it's imperfect, it can still outspeed any Pokemon with a base Speed stat of 109 and lower.Changed to the Sub Split set after dealing with numerous Blisseys. Under a sub i can still attack for either STAB or neutral attacks.
As for the moves, they're pretty straightforward, Shadow Ball for STAB and Focus Blast for coverage.
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The mystifying threat:
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 Spd/252 Sp. Atk
Moves:
~Thunderbolt
~Ice Beam
~Surf
~Rapid Spin
Nitpick review:
LOStarmie, in its awesome presence, can cause bricks to be shat. The awesome coverage it provides, boosted by its Sp. Atk and Life Orb, make this a threat to almost any team. Also, its a new addition to my team after seeing how Jolteon was a bit useless (It could be my fault), but with this set, I can rid myself of entry hazards while maintaining pressure on the opposing team. This guy has also saved my from embarrassing situations, sometimes even sweeping all on his own and going 6-0. But then, I ladder on PO, so that's highly possible.
As for the moves, Surf for STAB, Thunderbolt and Ice Beam for awesome coverage, Rapid Spin to get rid of all entry hazards. I do need to play some mind games when using it though.
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The dark emperor:
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk/232 Spd/24 HP
Moves:
~Substitute
~Agility
~Surf
~Ice Beam
Nitpick review:
Empoleon has been a favorite of mine since DPPt. With 11 resistances and an immunity, this thing isn't afraid of any entry hazard whatsoever. And that gives me a lot of chances to set up on a lot of things. I save this puppy till the end of the match so I can grab that desperate win. I've been surprised by the times I went from 3-1 to 0-1, and I still am. All this needs is a special priority Water move, and that's it.
The moves and EVs should be straightforward, shouldn't they? Surf is for STAB, Ice Beam to hit anything weak to it, Substitute to lower its HP to activate Petaya and get it in Torrent range, and Agility, which is the glue of this whole set.
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So yeah, this is my team, feel free to comment, rate, stare at.