Gen 4 [DPP Gen 4 OU Showdown] Competitive Noob Here, Rate My First Non-Copypasta Team

SquallLeonhart69

SquallLeonhart69

I don't have much of a clue about what I'm doing, so let me know how viable this would be for low ELO ladder. The idea is general offensive pressure, with the main questionable thing I've done is using non-DD builds on TTar and Gyarados.

Skarmory @ Lum Berry
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Brave Bird
- Taunt

So my Skar is doing quite a lot here as a hazard lead. The build uses Taunt with speed EVs to play around certain matchups (It is outsped by a few others but idk every matchup), with the idea of setting up hazards of my own and preventing my opponent from doing so. Brave Bird is a nice surprise if Skar gets taunted itself. Lum Berry ensures at least one hazard should be getting off. I am running Donphan as a complimentary mon, so anyone attempting to threaten lightning against Skar can be countered with a swap into immune Donphan.

Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Earthquake

Originally I played this team with DD TTar and Gyarados, but according to BKC it's really useful to play with Pursuit Tyranitar. It's extremely useful to trap pokemon with Pursuit, not just ghost types or whatever. Scarf with speed EVs allows for plenty of damage with Rock, Ground and Dark coverage, along with sandstorm chip. Pairs with Gyarados by easily switching into lightning threats.

Gyarados (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Waterfall
- Outrage
- Ice Fang

CB Gyarados puts immediate pressure on enemy mons like TTar by avoiding wasting tempo with DD. Waterfall has flinch and threatens Tyranitar. Earthquake is a great offensive move. Ice Fang pressures grass types and provides good overall coverage for my team. Pairs with Tyranitar as a classic combo, easily switching into many threats.

Rotom-Heat @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Trick

Rotom plays multiple vital roles. Grass coverage against mons like Lucario, Overheat similarly covers vital weaknesses in my team. Along with its role on offensive coverage Rotom provides early game utility with Trick and its ability to switch into rapid spin with its ghost typing.

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Atk / 176 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
- Thunder Punch
- Protect

A top tier mon to the point of controversy, Iron Head Jirachi allows for a very high chance at flinch. Coupled with Protect, Thunder wave and sandstorm from TTar, it provides utility as well as damage. Thunder Punch threatens mons such as Gyarados. Jirachi also synergises with my Gyarados by baiting in fire types or those that could be vulnerable to Gyra's damage. The defensive pressure of Jirachi encourages switching to deal with its presence, which is punished by hazards.

Donphan @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off

This is my spinner, one of the underrated picks that I understand is becoming more popular due to its utility. Rapid Spin counters hazard leads, and a second Stealth Rock user provides more opportunity for consistent hazards over the course of the game. Knock Off is a great unique utility. Its typing also allows it to switch in on lightning. Earthquake threatens Tyranitar. Also, with Skar encouraging switching to a lightning threat, a counter switch to Donphan works well at the beginning of the game.

Hopefully I've gone into enough detail here. How would you rate this teams strengths and weaknesses? What could I change about it? Should I swap out some of my mons for higher tier mons?
 
I would say your team is viable for low ELO ladder play. The foundation is there and you display understanding of type coverage and general mechanics (big caveat - don't expect HP Grass to handle Lucario or Tyranitar to handle all Electric-type threats without complaint). What separates it from an elite team is the dismissive attitude towards win conditions. Choice item locked pokemon do have a place on teams like this, but the risk of multiple choice item users at once is a lack of flexibility that higher level players can exploit. I respect the team design and don't actually need to shift as much as you think, though.

Change suggestions:

1.) :jirachi: : :leftovers: -> :expert-belt:

Your instinct on Jirachi was quite impressive. I want to turbocharge it with a lab-grown hybrid star slobber knocker. It's not here to bait anything like it may seem on the surface as most players actually don't fall for bait, but collapse on pressure. This Jirachi set provides that pressure. It takes the best of your set and adds a new dimension to lure out Heatran and opposing Jirachi with Hidden Power Ground. Thunderbolt provides additional pressure on opposing Skarmory and Gyarados that your current set doesn't handle as well as it may seem with Thunder Punch. The EV spread outpaces max speed Gyarados, Mamoswine, and Heatran, none of which want to handle any of these attacks.


:dp/jirachi:
Jirachi @ Expert Belt
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 48 HP / 252 SpA / 208 Spe
Mild Nature
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ground]

2.) :skarmory: :leftovers: -> :focus-sash:

The current team has some overlapping roles with two different Choice Scarf users and two different Stealth Rock users. Some overlap is not bad. The problem is when this additional coverage leads to negligence in other teambuilding facets. In this case, you're probably okay with Stealth Rock on Skarmory or Donphan, but not both. Luckily, Skarmory can run other moves over Stealth Rock and give that role to Donphan. Another cheeky option for Donphan is to put it in the lead spot and run something like Earthquake / Ice Shard / Rapid Spin / Endeavor with a Focus Sash, but Skarmory is probably the better lead here against common leads such as Azelf and Metagross. The current Skarmory spread is not optimal because it fortifies strengths that don't need fortifying at the expense of exposing to some icky weaknesses.


:dp/skarmory:
Skarmory @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind

I can live with two different Choice Scarf users, but feel free to experiment with Lum Berry on Tyranitar to take a Wisp from Rotom-A and allowing it to Pursuit trap better. The rest of the team can remain the same for now. As for cleaning up some terminology, "Lightning" isn't a type and while it doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things, language and correct terminology do matter in showing attention to detail not only on this site, but in life itself. Otherwise, this is an honorable first effort to build a team to learn the tier and get out of low ladder to the extent people still play on the ladder. Hope that helps!
 
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