El Ojo de la Tormenta
The Eye of the Storm
With the dawn of Black and White means the death of the Diamond and Pearl Metagame, and as such I feel that I may retire my most successful team ever (Peaked #8 at one point). The team was created around the time Salamence was chosen to be a suspect, as many people were able to guess what would happen. Fire Water Grass cores would reign supreme and pokemon who could dismantle them, such as Heatran Shaymin and Suicune would rise in usage. Special Attackers became more common, so this team also has some specially bulky pokemon in order to counter-act that. This team is a Semi-Stall team, my most effective playstyle and the one I enjoy most. Specially Defensive Heatran + Defensive Celebi is a fantastic defensive core, only bettered by Swampert and Rotom who add unique resistances and immunities that really give this team a boost. Specially Defensive Scizor is the most usable Scizor variant in the current metagame to take Seed Flares and Earth Powers from Shaymin or Surfs from Vaporeon or Swampert. Scizor is a great defensive partner with my final member Flygon, who has arguably some of the best typing in the game being the only pokemon in the game that resists Fire, Electric, and Ground. Flygon and Scizor are also my core to scout my opponents team. The team isn't necessarily centered around Scizor, even though the team is named after him, he is probably the most important member of the team. He is my only dragon resist, my way of taking out opposing Choice Scarf Rotom and Ghosts in general, and prevents me from being swept by Dragonite and Lucario thanks to his bullet punch. I kinda drifted off topic a little bit there, but basically, the team has a multiple answers to all of the major threats, though I may be slightly weak to less common threats, but that's not nearly as bad as being 6-0'd by the most common pokemon in the metagame, Heatran.
As such, I now introduce you to the Eye of the Storm, El Ojo de la Tormenta!
Upon further examination
---
@
Impish ; 240 Hp / 212 Def / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
~ Stealth Rock
~ Earthquake
~ Ice Beam
~ Roar
Swampert is the lead of this team, the Water of my Fire Water Grass core, and is also an electric immunity and phazer. With solid 100/90/90 Defenses and a single weakness, he is ridiculously hard to get rid of without a grass attack, which my entire team loves to switch in on and wreak havoc, especially Heatran who can set up a sub and just burn physical attackers or Celebi who can set up a Light Screen and proceed to wall the whole damn game alongside Swampert. But anyways. Swampert in my opinion is the most reliable lead in the game. He is one of the few leads that beats Metagross which is one reason I love him. I lose to faster taunt leads, but those are becoming less and less common with the rise of Machamp leads, most people forgo it for a way to not be beaten by Machamp. Swampert in my mind is the most effective defensive pivot in the metagame, because he can handle nearly any situation and then retain momentum for me so I can have the upper hand once again. Stealth Rock is the best move in the game, bar none. Sorry, Gyarados, Zapdos, Dragonite and the dozens of other SR Weaks who can be really threatening if used properly, I'll shave 1/4 off your health every time you even switch in, let alone the likelihood of Sandstorm and the fact that you switched in on an attack or just get roared right back out. Earthquake is the best attack in the game, especially for Swampert with his 110 base attack meaning he doesn't need any investment to still hit like a truck and Ice Beam allows me to hit Grass types on the switch, as well as the previously mentioned Zapdos and Dragonite. Roar racks up SR damage, scouts my opponents team, and can even prolong my opponent getting their Grass type in which is always welcome. A Relaxed nature means I can go mixed without any reprocussions because Swampert isn't exactly a speed demon anyways, if you know what I mean. 240 Hp EV's generate 401 HP, which is a leftovers number + 1. 52 Special Defense EV's is to lessen the blow from Special attacks such as Heatrans Earth Power or Fireblast. 216 Def is so Swampert can do what he does best, wall physical attacks like DD Dragonite and then ohko them to hell. 4 Speed is so I can get the roar out before other Swamperts, should the need ever arise. I have also tried Toxic in the last spot over Roar so that I could do something back to bulky waters (especially Vaporeon because having it toxic'd is a god send) and it was helpful, but I found there were more times that I'd rather have roar.
---
@
Calm ; 252 Hp / 112 SpA / 144 SpD
~ Fire Blast
~ Earth power
~ Substitute
~ Will-o-Wisp
Right behind Swampert is none other than Heatran, the Fire part of my Fire Water Grass core, and the most used pokemon in the OU metagame since Salamence was banned for a reason. He has fantastic typing, great all around stats (more speed couldn't hurt but then it would probably be game breaking) My favorite part about Heatran is how little credit he gets for being such a defensive beast. 91/106/106 Defenses and he even gets a boost offensively from switching into fire attacks? Yes please. Heatran is probably the MVP of the team because he is part of my defensive backbone, spreads will-o-wisp like its a hot knife on butter and walls special attackers without breaking a sweat. Heatran is a fantastic midgame poke and can wall practically the entire metagame if I get a chance to burn physical attackers while under a sub (which happens oh so often) and I can set up a sub on the more defensive pokemon who use special attacks. Between him walling special attackers and burning physical attackers, and Celebi (Forming the Cele-Tran combo) walling physical attackers and setting up light screen for the rest of my team, I can handle almost any threat like a piece of cake. The EV spread is of my own design, although I have been tweaking it for quite a long time because as the metagame shifts, I need to be able to handle new threats, and don't need to focus as much on the old ones. The one thing that has always stayed the same is that I always have atleast 144 Special Defense EV's and a Calm nature to ensure that defensive Rotom can never break my sub, which opens up the game for Scizor, reduces the risk of Heatran being paralyzed, and just takes the pressure off of my physical attacks so I don't have to worry that they will be burned adn crippled for the remainder of the match. I used to also run Heal Bell on Celebi over Light Screen but I realized that most Rotom are already afraid of Heatran and I either get up a free sub on the defensive variants or ohko the Choice Scarf / Choice Specs Rotom that are popping up. Heal Bell did help if Flygon or Scizor got burned, but Light Screen is generally more useful and I can just use Scizor or Flygon as death fodder. 252 Hp EV's ensure maximum bulk for Heatran from both physical and special attacks. 144 Special Defense EV's and a Calm nature ensure defensive Rotom can never break my substitutes with Thunderbolt, meaning I can set up a sub on a huge portion of the metagame. 112 Special Attack EV's means I can still hit like a truck with my base 130 Special Attack. Fire Blast is STAB and Heatran's best attacking option. Earth Power is for other Heatran, Jolteon, and Tyranitar. Substitute is one of the best moves in the game because it eases prediction on my part and helps me regain momentum, and Will-o-Wisp lets me cripple physical attacks so that I can wall a huge portion of the metagame
---
@
Bold ; 252 Hp / 216 Def / 40 Spe
~ Grass Knot
~ Earthpower
~ Recover
~ Light Screen
Behind Heatran and Swampert is the final part of my Trio, Celebi. Although a Pursuit weakness isn't great, Celebi's great all around stats, fantastic support movepool, and phenominal synergy with Heatran means it deserves a spot on my team. Celebi's role for the team in general is to just make it easier on the rest of my team between taking out some threats they can't handle, walling some pokemon to hell and back, or setting up a Light Screen so Swampert can stay in and ohko something like Roserade or Heatran can take 12% from a Rotom Thunderbolt. Celebi is my best answer to bulky water types alongside Rotom, and Celebi having Recover is a god-send. Celebi is probably the weakest link of my team, but that doesn't mean she isn't ridiculously helpful. As previously stated, I used to run Heal Bell over Light Screen before I adopted a more specially defensive EV Spread for Heatran, and it was helpful not having to worry about having heatran paralyzed or Flygon and Scizor burned and crippled, but I feel as though even if it only lasts for 5 turns, Light Screen is a blessing for this team because it just makes everything that much simpler. I had also used thunder-wave in between my transition from Heal Bell to Light Screen, but I found too many times it over lapped with Heatrans Will-o-Wisp and my opponent would get a free turn when I could have done something much more productive. Everyone knows that Celebi's two biggest weaknesses are Tyranitar and Scizor, but between Heatran and my own Scizor, I can handle them just fine. Especially between Heatran. If I want to, I can sacrifice Celebi, switch in Heatran and burn Tyranitar or roast Scizor, or even just set up a substitute if I want to play more conservitavely. Scizor is also Tyranitar's biggest threat so I can just regain momentum there between threatening to KO with bullet punch or scout my opponents switch with U-Turn. 252 HP EV's are so Celebi can take hits like a boss with it's 100/100/100 base defenses on either side of the defensive. 216 Defensive EV's mean that I can basically wall physical attackers all day to be honest, and coupled with light screen, Special Attackers will have just as tough of a time. 40 Speed is because I want to be able to outspeed CM-Wish Jirachi and set up a Light Screen before going to Heatran or hitting it with an Earth Power.
---
@
Timid ; 252 Hp / 68 Def / 188 Spe
~ Thunderbolt
~ Shadow Ball
~ Hydro Pump
~ Will-o-Wisp
Rotom-W comes next, he is my best defense against Lucario because no one runs Crunch + Jolly and Jolly isn't even seen anymore anyways. Rotom-W has arguably the best defensive typing in the game, sporting only two weaknesses, and they are easily resisted by the rest of my team, and most other teams, which is a big reason why he is so popular. He may not have the Speed, Special Attack, and Offensive Movepool of Gengar, but he has a great defensive movepool, fantastic typing, decent speed stat, and good defenses (50 Hp isn't the most lovely thing in the world, but he can still take most hits like a boss anyways) Rotom works well with my team in the sense that Heatran lures out most bulky waters, so Rotom can come in and inflict heavy damage with thunderbolt or even burn a predicted switch in. Rotom also partners with Heatran by spreading Will-o-Wisp around just making walling every physical attacker that much easier for Swampert + Celebi. Gengar can be tricky, but Flygon can scare it off and scout with U-Turn, Rotom can hit it on a predicted switch with Shadow Ball, but even then, Hydro Pump and Thunderbolt will also do some serious damage to it as well. I chose Rotom-H originally because I liked being able to ohko Scizor/Forry and do some good damage to Shaymin, but more and more, I found my self with -2 SpA facing down a Tyranitar with Pursuit, which meant good bye to Rotom, who I enjoy to have around very much in case a Lucario ever shows his face late in the game and Flygon is weak. I then tested Rotom-W so I could nail Tyranitar with Hydro Pump and 2hko it while it is outsped and can't do anything back, unless it is a Scarf-Tar, which means Heatran gets a free sub up and can wreak havoc on my opponents team. Rotom-W also lets me do serious damage to Heatran, I can ohko Infernape, and do good damage to Mamoswine as well (as if anyone still used it). I can still do good damage to everything I need to (Skarmory, Forretress, Scizor) through the use of Thunderbolt, so Overheat really isn't necessary and Rotom-W is generally the superior option. Shadow Ball and Thunderbolt are stab moves that offer decent power and coverage, and I chose thunderbolt over Discharge because I don't want paralysis overlapped with Will-o-Wisp. Hydro Pump is why I am using Rotom-W, and I have already explained why I feel it is better than any other Rotom form. Will-o-Wisp lets me cripple physical attackers and make it easier on my entire team to tank hits. 252 Hp gives me the maximum bulk possible on both defense and special defense, 188 Speed and a Timid nature lets me outspeed Adamant Lucario, which puts it in a checkmate position because Flygon can survive a Jolly +2 ESpeed and Rotom outspeeds Adamant variants (Which are much more common). 68 Defense is filler but it lets me take hits much better especially after physical attackers are burned, so no complaints here.
---
@
Adamant ; 148 Hp / 160 Atk / 176 SpD / 24 Spe
~ Bullet Punch
~ U-Turn
~ Superpower
~ Pursuit
Scizor is the first of my scouting core, and is one of my revenge killers for things that are weak enough to be KO'd by bullet punch. Scizor has decent bulk in his 70/100/80 defenses, and a bulkier EV spread he can take hits surprisingly well. Don't be fooled by the lack of 252 Attack EV's because he only hits about 10% harder with max attack, a difference which usually is not important. Though there are situations where I would prefer the power max attack gives me, but overall, the extra bulk on the special side is more useful for switching in to weak special attacks than it is for a few extra damage points. What many people ignore about Scizor is what my EV Spread tries to abuse, his 10 resistances and only 1 weakness, a weakness that rest of my team easily abuses (See Heatran, Swampert, Flygon). Scizor's resistances to Grass, Bug, Ghost (and by default, dark), and Dragon are ridiculously important to this team, and as such he is the "glue" of the team, so to speak. He gets free switches on Shaymin, Celebi, and Roserade, trying to nail Swampert with an ohko. He does the same for bug attacks aimed at Celebi, and Dragon attacks aimed at my entire team, seeing as how he's my only resist besides Heatran, and Flygon attracts them like moths to a light. Seeing as how Draco Meteor is more threatening than outrage, you can see why both of my resists have specially defensive EV spreads to help them take the hits better. My favorite thing about Scizor is that with his useage declining, less and less people really make sure they have a surefire counter to him. I know everyone thinks "oh herp derp I have *insert bulky water* Scizor can't touch me" the funny thing is that between Scizor's U-Turns, Celebi's Grass Knot, and Rotom's Thunderbolt, my opponents bulky water gets KO'd really quickly, and even though this team isn't based on a Scizor sweep, it occurs quite commonly just because opponents start sacrificing their defensive pokemon because they can't break through my team. When Scizor's bulk is doubled by light screen you'll be surprised at how little damage your Shaymin's Earth Power does under a light screen (not even 20%). Between Scizor's bulk, power, movepool, and great typing, he can fit on nearly any team and it's no surprise he was the #1 pokemon in OU for months and months. To be honest, I haven't found a more recent EV spread for Scizor, as this one was made during the Latias metagame to survive a Choice Specs Draco Meteor 100% of the time, so you can tell how effective it is while still maintaining power. Bullet Punch is on nearly every Scizor for a reason, between 130 base attack, STAB, and a Technician boost making it essentially a 90 base power priority move, it can hurt anything that doesn't resists. Superpower is for Steel types such as Heatran. U-Turn is great for scouting and has STAB, and Pursuit lets me hit fleeing Choice'd Rotom, and other dark weak pokemon
---
@
Jolly ; 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
~ Outrage
~ Earthquake
~ U-Turn
~ Stone Edge
Last, but not least is Flygon, the teams revenge killer, provider of some incredibly useful resistances, and 2nd of my Scouts. Flygon was the last pokemon to be added, but I have no regrets. He was originally a Choice Scarf Jirachi, but I found the Fire weakness to be over-whelming, and as such I exchanged it for a Scarf-Tar, but for some reason he just didn't mold with this team, and as such, Flygon was tested, and boy is he fantastic. He has some great typing, both offensively and defensively. On the offensive, Dragon and Ground are probably the two best attacking types, and he gets STAB on both, and a 120 and 100 base power move for each, respectively. On the defensive, he is the only pokemon in the game to resist Fire, Ground, and Electric. All of which are very good attacking types, and to resist them is very helpful for a revenge killer looking to get easy switches in. Flygon has fantastic synergy with both Heatran and Scizor. He takes ground attacks aimed at Heatran, and fire attacks aimed at Scizor. Heatran and Scizor both absorb the Dragon attacks aimed at him. Heatran also takes care of the steels that wall Flygon, and they both lure out bulk waters for Celebi to remove them. Flygon just does so much for this team. But the one thing I need the most from him is his great speed and ability to take out the frailer, faster threats (Gengar, Starmie, Infernape, Jolteon, etc. etc.) Due to the slow nature of my team, having a check to every single one of them is absolutely necessary, and this team just can't function without Flygon. Anyways, the EV spread is fairly standard. 252 Speed to, at worst, speed tie with +1 Base 100's with a boosting nature, such as Scarf-Rachi, and also to outspeed Adamant Agiligross and Empoleon. 252 Attack is to hit as hard as possible, and 4 Hp is just filler. Outrage is STAB, and is what I use for late game cleaning. Earthquake is for Metagross/Heatran/ anything else weak to ground. U-turn is great for scouting and putting Starmie and Celebi into checkmate positions, and Stone Edge is for Dragonite / Gyarados / Zapdos.
---
Changes - Stone Edge over Toxic on Flygon
The Eye of the Storm
With the dawn of Black and White means the death of the Diamond and Pearl Metagame, and as such I feel that I may retire my most successful team ever (Peaked #8 at one point). The team was created around the time Salamence was chosen to be a suspect, as many people were able to guess what would happen. Fire Water Grass cores would reign supreme and pokemon who could dismantle them, such as Heatran Shaymin and Suicune would rise in usage. Special Attackers became more common, so this team also has some specially bulky pokemon in order to counter-act that. This team is a Semi-Stall team, my most effective playstyle and the one I enjoy most. Specially Defensive Heatran + Defensive Celebi is a fantastic defensive core, only bettered by Swampert and Rotom who add unique resistances and immunities that really give this team a boost. Specially Defensive Scizor is the most usable Scizor variant in the current metagame to take Seed Flares and Earth Powers from Shaymin or Surfs from Vaporeon or Swampert. Scizor is a great defensive partner with my final member Flygon, who has arguably some of the best typing in the game being the only pokemon in the game that resists Fire, Electric, and Ground. Flygon and Scizor are also my core to scout my opponents team. The team isn't necessarily centered around Scizor, even though the team is named after him, he is probably the most important member of the team. He is my only dragon resist, my way of taking out opposing Choice Scarf Rotom and Ghosts in general, and prevents me from being swept by Dragonite and Lucario thanks to his bullet punch. I kinda drifted off topic a little bit there, but basically, the team has a multiple answers to all of the major threats, though I may be slightly weak to less common threats, but that's not nearly as bad as being 6-0'd by the most common pokemon in the metagame, Heatran.
As such, I now introduce you to the Eye of the Storm, El Ojo de la Tormenta!
Upon further examination
---
Impish ; 240 Hp / 212 Def / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
~ Stealth Rock
~ Earthquake
~ Ice Beam
~ Roar
Swampert is the lead of this team, the Water of my Fire Water Grass core, and is also an electric immunity and phazer. With solid 100/90/90 Defenses and a single weakness, he is ridiculously hard to get rid of without a grass attack, which my entire team loves to switch in on and wreak havoc, especially Heatran who can set up a sub and just burn physical attackers or Celebi who can set up a Light Screen and proceed to wall the whole damn game alongside Swampert. But anyways. Swampert in my opinion is the most reliable lead in the game. He is one of the few leads that beats Metagross which is one reason I love him. I lose to faster taunt leads, but those are becoming less and less common with the rise of Machamp leads, most people forgo it for a way to not be beaten by Machamp. Swampert in my mind is the most effective defensive pivot in the metagame, because he can handle nearly any situation and then retain momentum for me so I can have the upper hand once again. Stealth Rock is the best move in the game, bar none. Sorry, Gyarados, Zapdos, Dragonite and the dozens of other SR Weaks who can be really threatening if used properly, I'll shave 1/4 off your health every time you even switch in, let alone the likelihood of Sandstorm and the fact that you switched in on an attack or just get roared right back out. Earthquake is the best attack in the game, especially for Swampert with his 110 base attack meaning he doesn't need any investment to still hit like a truck and Ice Beam allows me to hit Grass types on the switch, as well as the previously mentioned Zapdos and Dragonite. Roar racks up SR damage, scouts my opponents team, and can even prolong my opponent getting their Grass type in which is always welcome. A Relaxed nature means I can go mixed without any reprocussions because Swampert isn't exactly a speed demon anyways, if you know what I mean. 240 Hp EV's generate 401 HP, which is a leftovers number + 1. 52 Special Defense EV's is to lessen the blow from Special attacks such as Heatrans Earth Power or Fireblast. 216 Def is so Swampert can do what he does best, wall physical attacks like DD Dragonite and then ohko them to hell. 4 Speed is so I can get the roar out before other Swamperts, should the need ever arise. I have also tried Toxic in the last spot over Roar so that I could do something back to bulky waters (especially Vaporeon because having it toxic'd is a god send) and it was helpful, but I found there were more times that I'd rather have roar.
---
Calm ; 252 Hp / 112 SpA / 144 SpD
~ Fire Blast
~ Earth power
~ Substitute
~ Will-o-Wisp
Right behind Swampert is none other than Heatran, the Fire part of my Fire Water Grass core, and the most used pokemon in the OU metagame since Salamence was banned for a reason. He has fantastic typing, great all around stats (more speed couldn't hurt but then it would probably be game breaking) My favorite part about Heatran is how little credit he gets for being such a defensive beast. 91/106/106 Defenses and he even gets a boost offensively from switching into fire attacks? Yes please. Heatran is probably the MVP of the team because he is part of my defensive backbone, spreads will-o-wisp like its a hot knife on butter and walls special attackers without breaking a sweat. Heatran is a fantastic midgame poke and can wall practically the entire metagame if I get a chance to burn physical attackers while under a sub (which happens oh so often) and I can set up a sub on the more defensive pokemon who use special attacks. Between him walling special attackers and burning physical attackers, and Celebi (Forming the Cele-Tran combo) walling physical attackers and setting up light screen for the rest of my team, I can handle almost any threat like a piece of cake. The EV spread is of my own design, although I have been tweaking it for quite a long time because as the metagame shifts, I need to be able to handle new threats, and don't need to focus as much on the old ones. The one thing that has always stayed the same is that I always have atleast 144 Special Defense EV's and a Calm nature to ensure that defensive Rotom can never break my sub, which opens up the game for Scizor, reduces the risk of Heatran being paralyzed, and just takes the pressure off of my physical attacks so I don't have to worry that they will be burned adn crippled for the remainder of the match. I used to also run Heal Bell on Celebi over Light Screen but I realized that most Rotom are already afraid of Heatran and I either get up a free sub on the defensive variants or ohko the Choice Scarf / Choice Specs Rotom that are popping up. Heal Bell did help if Flygon or Scizor got burned, but Light Screen is generally more useful and I can just use Scizor or Flygon as death fodder. 252 Hp EV's ensure maximum bulk for Heatran from both physical and special attacks. 144 Special Defense EV's and a Calm nature ensure defensive Rotom can never break my substitutes with Thunderbolt, meaning I can set up a sub on a huge portion of the metagame. 112 Special Attack EV's means I can still hit like a truck with my base 130 Special Attack. Fire Blast is STAB and Heatran's best attacking option. Earth Power is for other Heatran, Jolteon, and Tyranitar. Substitute is one of the best moves in the game because it eases prediction on my part and helps me regain momentum, and Will-o-Wisp lets me cripple physical attacks so that I can wall a huge portion of the metagame
---
Bold ; 252 Hp / 216 Def / 40 Spe
~ Grass Knot
~ Earthpower
~ Recover
~ Light Screen
Behind Heatran and Swampert is the final part of my Trio, Celebi. Although a Pursuit weakness isn't great, Celebi's great all around stats, fantastic support movepool, and phenominal synergy with Heatran means it deserves a spot on my team. Celebi's role for the team in general is to just make it easier on the rest of my team between taking out some threats they can't handle, walling some pokemon to hell and back, or setting up a Light Screen so Swampert can stay in and ohko something like Roserade or Heatran can take 12% from a Rotom Thunderbolt. Celebi is my best answer to bulky water types alongside Rotom, and Celebi having Recover is a god-send. Celebi is probably the weakest link of my team, but that doesn't mean she isn't ridiculously helpful. As previously stated, I used to run Heal Bell over Light Screen before I adopted a more specially defensive EV Spread for Heatran, and it was helpful not having to worry about having heatran paralyzed or Flygon and Scizor burned and crippled, but I feel as though even if it only lasts for 5 turns, Light Screen is a blessing for this team because it just makes everything that much simpler. I had also used thunder-wave in between my transition from Heal Bell to Light Screen, but I found too many times it over lapped with Heatrans Will-o-Wisp and my opponent would get a free turn when I could have done something much more productive. Everyone knows that Celebi's two biggest weaknesses are Tyranitar and Scizor, but between Heatran and my own Scizor, I can handle them just fine. Especially between Heatran. If I want to, I can sacrifice Celebi, switch in Heatran and burn Tyranitar or roast Scizor, or even just set up a substitute if I want to play more conservitavely. Scizor is also Tyranitar's biggest threat so I can just regain momentum there between threatening to KO with bullet punch or scout my opponents switch with U-Turn. 252 HP EV's are so Celebi can take hits like a boss with it's 100/100/100 base defenses on either side of the defensive. 216 Defensive EV's mean that I can basically wall physical attackers all day to be honest, and coupled with light screen, Special Attackers will have just as tough of a time. 40 Speed is because I want to be able to outspeed CM-Wish Jirachi and set up a Light Screen before going to Heatran or hitting it with an Earth Power.
---
Timid ; 252 Hp / 68 Def / 188 Spe
~ Thunderbolt
~ Shadow Ball
~ Hydro Pump
~ Will-o-Wisp
Rotom-W comes next, he is my best defense against Lucario because no one runs Crunch + Jolly and Jolly isn't even seen anymore anyways. Rotom-W has arguably the best defensive typing in the game, sporting only two weaknesses, and they are easily resisted by the rest of my team, and most other teams, which is a big reason why he is so popular. He may not have the Speed, Special Attack, and Offensive Movepool of Gengar, but he has a great defensive movepool, fantastic typing, decent speed stat, and good defenses (50 Hp isn't the most lovely thing in the world, but he can still take most hits like a boss anyways) Rotom works well with my team in the sense that Heatran lures out most bulky waters, so Rotom can come in and inflict heavy damage with thunderbolt or even burn a predicted switch in. Rotom also partners with Heatran by spreading Will-o-Wisp around just making walling every physical attacker that much easier for Swampert + Celebi. Gengar can be tricky, but Flygon can scare it off and scout with U-Turn, Rotom can hit it on a predicted switch with Shadow Ball, but even then, Hydro Pump and Thunderbolt will also do some serious damage to it as well. I chose Rotom-H originally because I liked being able to ohko Scizor/Forry and do some good damage to Shaymin, but more and more, I found my self with -2 SpA facing down a Tyranitar with Pursuit, which meant good bye to Rotom, who I enjoy to have around very much in case a Lucario ever shows his face late in the game and Flygon is weak. I then tested Rotom-W so I could nail Tyranitar with Hydro Pump and 2hko it while it is outsped and can't do anything back, unless it is a Scarf-Tar, which means Heatran gets a free sub up and can wreak havoc on my opponents team. Rotom-W also lets me do serious damage to Heatran, I can ohko Infernape, and do good damage to Mamoswine as well (as if anyone still used it). I can still do good damage to everything I need to (Skarmory, Forretress, Scizor) through the use of Thunderbolt, so Overheat really isn't necessary and Rotom-W is generally the superior option. Shadow Ball and Thunderbolt are stab moves that offer decent power and coverage, and I chose thunderbolt over Discharge because I don't want paralysis overlapped with Will-o-Wisp. Hydro Pump is why I am using Rotom-W, and I have already explained why I feel it is better than any other Rotom form. Will-o-Wisp lets me cripple physical attackers and make it easier on my entire team to tank hits. 252 Hp gives me the maximum bulk possible on both defense and special defense, 188 Speed and a Timid nature lets me outspeed Adamant Lucario, which puts it in a checkmate position because Flygon can survive a Jolly +2 ESpeed and Rotom outspeeds Adamant variants (Which are much more common). 68 Defense is filler but it lets me take hits much better especially after physical attackers are burned, so no complaints here.
---
Adamant ; 148 Hp / 160 Atk / 176 SpD / 24 Spe
~ Bullet Punch
~ U-Turn
~ Superpower
~ Pursuit
Scizor is the first of my scouting core, and is one of my revenge killers for things that are weak enough to be KO'd by bullet punch. Scizor has decent bulk in his 70/100/80 defenses, and a bulkier EV spread he can take hits surprisingly well. Don't be fooled by the lack of 252 Attack EV's because he only hits about 10% harder with max attack, a difference which usually is not important. Though there are situations where I would prefer the power max attack gives me, but overall, the extra bulk on the special side is more useful for switching in to weak special attacks than it is for a few extra damage points. What many people ignore about Scizor is what my EV Spread tries to abuse, his 10 resistances and only 1 weakness, a weakness that rest of my team easily abuses (See Heatran, Swampert, Flygon). Scizor's resistances to Grass, Bug, Ghost (and by default, dark), and Dragon are ridiculously important to this team, and as such he is the "glue" of the team, so to speak. He gets free switches on Shaymin, Celebi, and Roserade, trying to nail Swampert with an ohko. He does the same for bug attacks aimed at Celebi, and Dragon attacks aimed at my entire team, seeing as how he's my only resist besides Heatran, and Flygon attracts them like moths to a light. Seeing as how Draco Meteor is more threatening than outrage, you can see why both of my resists have specially defensive EV spreads to help them take the hits better. My favorite thing about Scizor is that with his useage declining, less and less people really make sure they have a surefire counter to him. I know everyone thinks "oh herp derp I have *insert bulky water* Scizor can't touch me" the funny thing is that between Scizor's U-Turns, Celebi's Grass Knot, and Rotom's Thunderbolt, my opponents bulky water gets KO'd really quickly, and even though this team isn't based on a Scizor sweep, it occurs quite commonly just because opponents start sacrificing their defensive pokemon because they can't break through my team. When Scizor's bulk is doubled by light screen you'll be surprised at how little damage your Shaymin's Earth Power does under a light screen (not even 20%). Between Scizor's bulk, power, movepool, and great typing, he can fit on nearly any team and it's no surprise he was the #1 pokemon in OU for months and months. To be honest, I haven't found a more recent EV spread for Scizor, as this one was made during the Latias metagame to survive a Choice Specs Draco Meteor 100% of the time, so you can tell how effective it is while still maintaining power. Bullet Punch is on nearly every Scizor for a reason, between 130 base attack, STAB, and a Technician boost making it essentially a 90 base power priority move, it can hurt anything that doesn't resists. Superpower is for Steel types such as Heatran. U-Turn is great for scouting and has STAB, and Pursuit lets me hit fleeing Choice'd Rotom, and other dark weak pokemon
---
Jolly ; 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
~ Outrage
~ Earthquake
~ U-Turn
~ Stone Edge
Last, but not least is Flygon, the teams revenge killer, provider of some incredibly useful resistances, and 2nd of my Scouts. Flygon was the last pokemon to be added, but I have no regrets. He was originally a Choice Scarf Jirachi, but I found the Fire weakness to be over-whelming, and as such I exchanged it for a Scarf-Tar, but for some reason he just didn't mold with this team, and as such, Flygon was tested, and boy is he fantastic. He has some great typing, both offensively and defensively. On the offensive, Dragon and Ground are probably the two best attacking types, and he gets STAB on both, and a 120 and 100 base power move for each, respectively. On the defensive, he is the only pokemon in the game to resist Fire, Ground, and Electric. All of which are very good attacking types, and to resist them is very helpful for a revenge killer looking to get easy switches in. Flygon has fantastic synergy with both Heatran and Scizor. He takes ground attacks aimed at Heatran, and fire attacks aimed at Scizor. Heatran and Scizor both absorb the Dragon attacks aimed at him. Heatran also takes care of the steels that wall Flygon, and they both lure out bulk waters for Celebi to remove them. Flygon just does so much for this team. But the one thing I need the most from him is his great speed and ability to take out the frailer, faster threats (Gengar, Starmie, Infernape, Jolteon, etc. etc.) Due to the slow nature of my team, having a check to every single one of them is absolutely necessary, and this team just can't function without Flygon. Anyways, the EV spread is fairly standard. 252 Speed to, at worst, speed tie with +1 Base 100's with a boosting nature, such as Scarf-Rachi, and also to outspeed Adamant Agiligross and Empoleon. 252 Attack is to hit as hard as possible, and 4 Hp is just filler. Outrage is STAB, and is what I use for late game cleaning. Earthquake is for Metagross/Heatran/ anything else weak to ground. U-turn is great for scouting and putting Starmie and Celebi into checkmate positions, and Stone Edge is for Dragonite / Gyarados / Zapdos.
---
Changes - Stone Edge over Toxic on Flygon
