Dancing on the Tightrope:
A Balanced OU Team
Hello everyone,
The basic idea behind this team is to provide swift, strong attacks with strong defensive support to stop opposing teams in their tracks. To this end, I have constructed a team with good synergy and excellent coverage that consistently nets me the victory.
Now the first version, rated and reviewed by Oranos - for which I am most grateful - was okay for a start, with a few good choices, a few bad ones and some that didn't work well. That version of the team can be viewed here:A Balanced OU Team
Hello everyone,
The basic idea behind this team is to provide swift, strong attacks with strong defensive support to stop opposing teams in their tracks. To this end, I have constructed a team with good synergy and excellent coverage that consistently nets me the victory.
Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam
- U Turn
From what I know this is a fairly standard set, and definitely the single hardest working member of the team. The amount of KO's this Greninja gets is obscene, as it's great coverage - combined with protean - ensures that something is getting hit with a STAB super-effective move, or in the worst case scenario, Greninja U Turns out to a more appropriate counter. Honest to God, I'm still surprised by the amount of threats this thing outspeeds and OHKO's - I have lost count of how many Mega Gengar's Greninja has wiped out in one shot on Battle Spot. Basically, Greninja is my MVP and if possible, I want to keep him on the team. If not because he is demonstrably good, then because I hatched well over 350 eggs to get this shiny mother!
Toxicroak @ Black Sludge
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4HP
Adamant Nature
-Sucker Punch
-Poison Jab
-Drain Punch
-Swords Dance
Honestly, probably the most replaceable member of the team, Toxicroak is also the latest addition. Originally the sixth spot on the team went to a Galvantula, but I found myself never using it because - aside from setting up sticky web - I found it to be a little lacklustre. Toxicroak functions as a decent physical attacker on the team, with good priority in sucker punch and some much needed coverage moves to help deal with fairy types and those weak to physical fighting moves. Swords dance is there for the highly beneficial + 2 boost to attack, but if I'm totally truthful, I rarely find time to set it up due to Toxicroak's frailty.
Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird
- U Turn
- Roost
This is the pokemon I need help with most. Whilst the other members of the team are capable of filling their roles well and adapting to the flow of the match, Talonflame is very limited i his options. I run a choice band for the extra initial power, which has netted a few surprise KO's with Brave Bird, but i doing so I have made Roost and to a lesser extent U Turn obsolete. Flare Blitz, too, very rarely gets to see use because Talonflame usually cleans up late game with Brave Bird. I've heard mixed things about a bulk up set, but am concerned about Talonflame's frailty when setting up. Any help with this guy would be much appreciated!
Blastoise @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Rain Dish + Mega Launcher
EV's: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Def
Bold Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Dark Pulse
- Water Pulse
- Aura Sphere
The tank. Blastoise has been designed primarily to take hits: a bold nature combined with maximum special defense investment makes him decently bulky on both sides - cemented by complete HP investment. Because Talonflame's presence, Blastoise runs rapid spin to remove any pesky rocks that may appear on the field, along with any other hazards. This means Blastoise may switch in and out a lot, so I opted for a bulky spinning set rather than an offensive one. The practical upshot of this is that it also makes him a usable mixed pivot.
Cofagrigus @ Lum Berry
Ability: Mummy
EV's: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Rest
The defensive behemoth that is Cofagrigus fears only two things in life: Pyroar and special attackers. Initially the set I used included Hex in place of Shadow Ball and Toxic Spikes over rest, with a Spooky Plate. However, I can't recall a match where I had a free turn to set up toxic spikes and hex is only reliable if I hit the Will-O-Wisp, which is a little risky sometimes. Because Cofagrigus is so bulky on the defensive side, especially after getting off a will-o-wisp, he can become nigh unstoppable once all significant special threats are taken care of. Combined with the possibility of a single turn in which to heal off all damage and status with rest/lum, Cofagrigus can be hard to take down. I have recently been considering using a Rocky Helmet too to punish physical attackers for attempting to harm Cofagrigus.
Florges @ Leftovers
Ability: Flower Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Def
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Toxic
- Aromatherapy
- Wish
Complimenting Cofagrigus, the physical wall of the team, is Florges; the elegant special wall and cleric. She has been through some punishment in her tenure on the team, but usually comes out on top after a wish and a toxic. There aren't many special attackers that can faze her, and anything that doesn't mind taking a moonblast will be met with a toxic - except for steel and poison types, of course. Her role extends beyond that of a simple wall, however, as Florges is a very capable cleric. Has Cofagrigus used its Lum but needed to rest anyway? Sleep cured. Is Blastoise afflicted with toxic damage? Aroma therapeutic antidote is at hand. Greninja down to red against an enemy that just rested? A little wish upon a star and he's ready for another turn! Just as in the case of Cofagrigus, Florges has saved the team from defeat too many times to mention and the two seem to have great synergy. I would consider replacing a move with protect for some wish-protect mischief, but honestly she needs moonblast to ensure she's not total Taunt-bait and toxic to get extra status damage on anything Cofagrigus can't hit.
The issue with the first version of my team is that a couple of the members have not got great synergy and, as quite rightly pointed out, there is an overabundance of water type pokemon (or in the case of Toxicroak, those that rely on rain to thrive) involved.
With that in mind, I have taken the comments of Oranos on board and am finished building version two of the team, which can be viewed and reviewed here. Please bare in mind, I play a lot of Battle Spot where the Item Clause is enforced, so I haven't used duplicate items here:
Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Timid Nature
As previously stated, this is the MVP of the team. Providing fast offense and a diverse movepool of STAB moves with Protean, Greninja is my special sweeper of choice. In the previous line up, Greninja seemed to prop up the other members of the team by defeating opponents near single-handed, and any victories usually came off of Greninja's back. Now the team has more synergy and a better, more appropriate line-up Greninja doesn't feel as pressured to deal with the opponent solo anymore. Because of it's speed and god coverage, Greninja is usually the Pokemon I lead with, hitting a multitude of opponents super-effectively with a STAB Life-Orb'd attack or simply U-Turning out of a Pokemon it can't deal with to maintain momentum, get a little extra damage off and allow me to bring in a better counter.
Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
So Talonflame has gone, and in its place we have the original dragon, Dragonite. Talonflame, though a good member of the team, was terribly frail and difficult to switch in. Moreover, the recoil damage from its moves were a constant drain on its ability to survive, even with Roost recovery. Gale Wings priority Brave Bird will be missed, but Dragonite has its own attributes that soften the blow. Multiscale allows it to survive nearly any hit when it comes to setting up Dragon Dances, whilst Fire Punch and Earthquake provide the necessary coverage to hit back against the Steel, Rock and Grass types that it would otherwise struggle to touch and absolutely wrecks Scizor. Outrage is the STAB move of choice, providing insane levels of power that crush anything that doesn't resist it, and Lum berry staves off everything from sleep and burn to confusion. A brilliant late-game sweeper and perfectly capable of taking a hit on the switch, thanks to resistances to Water, Fire and Grass moves.
I have forgone Extreme Speed because I don't currently have access to it, and Roost because Dragonite suffers four move slot syndrome and Sylveon with Wish somewhat remedies the lack of recovery.
Excadrill @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 176 HP / 60 Atk / 252 SpD / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
With Talonflame on the team, I needed a Rapid Spinner. No way around it. I tried Mega Blastoise initially, but all that provided was a slower, lesser Greninja with Rapid Spin and no protection from Electric or Grass-type moves. Enter Excadrill, Blastoise's incredible replacement. Using the Bulky set from BW, Excadrill is surprisingly capable of taking hits, especially with team support (which we'll get to next). Moreover, it is immune to the Electric type attacks that previously threatened half of my team and hits them back with Mold Breaker Earthquakes. After a Swords Dance, this thing is lethal and has 2HKO'd Bulky Cress with Rock Slide (because I kept predicting Charizard Y to come in) whilst taking almost no damage from Psychic in return. In the same match, Excadrill took out an opposing M-Scizor and Aegislash almost single-handed, too - again with a little support from the next guy - and made a surprise sweep on Battle Spot. All in all, Excadrill pulls its weight and, if brought in correctly, can and will sweep teams. Random passer's by with Mewtwo's, beware; this thing has already defeated a number of your kind! Focus Sash allows me to get off a rock slide against Talonflame, assuming Excadrill is at full health, since this guy is the best offensive threat to Talonflame.
Sableye @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
This shifty bugger right here has surprised me time and time again. Crafty doesn't even begin to cover it, and I feel dirty when this little Tyrion-the-Imp of a swine secures me a victory. In the best way possible.
Sableye is an annoyer and status-crippler that takes pride in its job: making a laughing stock of physical threats. At first I was anxious about taking Cofagrigus - my initial physical wall - off the team, until I realised that with priority burn and recovery, Sableye takes the same hits, but better. Taunt shuts down boosting and set up moves, which is excellent considering the frailty of two of the team members. Will-O-Wisp, dear God. Sableye throws burn around like it's going out of fashion and, unless it sells the stocks by tomorrow, the gem-greedy little git will go bankrupt! Seriously, I cannot stress how important this thing has been to the team. Physical Aegislash is no longer threatening, for start. And Foul Play?
Put it this way. Yesterday I was playing Battle Spot, made a few terrible plays and lost my Greninja - along with Ice Beam - to a Dragonite with two Dragon Dances and a Weakness Policy boost under its belt. Enter Sableye, who inflicts burn instantly - as is his want - and then straight-up OHKOes with Foul Play. This sneaky little so-and-so straight up crippled the opponent, took the Earthquake like it was nothing, then ruined Dragonite with its own power! Then, as salt in the wound, Recovered off all the damage it had taken.
I hope you feel good about that, Sableye.
Because I do.
Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
Fairy. Cutie. Cleric. Special Wall. Dragonslayer. Oh, and she hits past Substitute, too. Meet Sylveon; the adorably dangerous replacement to Florges. This little lady does everything Florges does, but better. As you might have guessed, I play a lot of Battle Spot - hence the adhering to an item clause - and I face a lot of Ubers-rich passers by. Sylveon has destroyed Giratina, Zekrom, Garchomp. She takes pride in slaying dragons. A nicely bulky special wall; there aren't manner special attacks Sylveon can't eat up, before responding with a quick Wish/Protect or Hyper Voice. She is also a great cleric, providing respectably-sized wishes and a few Heal Bells when required.
Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll/Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
The new Mega on the team is also a good Mixed wall. With Thick Fat, M-Venusaur doesn't fear much at all. It can sponge most attacks, then hit back with a vitality-stealing Giga Drain or a potentially poison-inducing Sludge Bomb. If counter-attacking isn't to our fancy, Venusaur can simply put the enemy to sleep or recover off half its health with Synthesis. Essentially, Venusaur is a strong defensive presence on the team that nicely compliments the pure-defense and pure-special defense of Sableye and Sylveon, provides some nice anti-Fairy coverage and forms part of a F/W/G core with Talonflame and Greninja.
A little stall-y, Venusaur has nonetheless proved its worth on the team.
Threat List:
1) Talonflame - Off the top of my head, Talonflame is my biggest concern. Nothing on my team wants to take a priority Brave Bird and those that can are either crippled (in the case of my own Talonflame) or out-sped and KO'd with Flare Blitz. The best answer I have is Excadrill predicting Talonflame to come in and nailing it with a Rock Slide, but that scenario won't always present itself.
I thank you for your continued critiques of the team. Please be constructive and try to remember that I'm a newbie to the competitive battling scene!
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