Introduction
Hi y'all. CoolStoryBrobat here, and you probably know me as either: "That dude who used lol Specs Blastoise in UU" or "That dude who plays a ton of UU and sucks at it" or "Some guy I didn't know was black until I checked his YouTube" or "That dude who muted me" or some crap. Whatever you know me as, just know it's been a while since I did an RMT, and even longer that I've done one outside of UU back in Gen 5 since that was what I played mainly. This Gen, I'm trying to get into as many metagames and use a wide amount of playstyles and Pokemon as possible, but of course that doesn't all go too perfectly.
Anyway I'm boring you to death with this so I'll keep the RMT succinct as possible. Out of the several failed efforts on my end I finally made a half-decent Pokebank OU Team that got me to ~1800, more or less. I feel it's one of my most solid teams so far but I'm entirely stuck and would really like some critique and assistance with it.
The Team
I'll spare you a boring analysis on how I built the team and just get straight to the nitty gritty details. Cause like I said, I kinda want some critiques on this team and what to improve on it, and I'm pretty willing/open for suggestions and whatnot.
Brobat (Crobat) (M) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 58 HP / 252 Atk / 200 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost
- Guess I'll start off with this guy, being my mascot and the Pokemon my username's based on and such. Crobat's a pretty cool Pokemon, the buff to Defog and the slightly-increased viability of Poison typing this Generation on top of the buff to Infiltrator and base 130 Speed looked really promising for OU. The EVs are a custom spread I came up with. I always liked having max Atk on Crobat, for the full power of Brave Bird. 200 Speed EVs and a Jolly nature allow me to outrun Greninja, but the spread specifically was made by Noivern, who beats Greninja by 1 point. Noivern's just not as common, but it's not like that's relevant. The set's pretty straightforward, hit hard, grab momentum, clear hazards.
- My beef with this Brobat is that it's kinda not living up to the hype I had going for it in OU this gen, and that's coming from me of all people. The SR weakness and offensive pressure (Usually after having 1/4 of your health stripped you're bound to die to any SE hit) really make it hard to get off a Defog. Doesn't help most hazard setters like Heatran, Gliscor, and Landorus-T have no issue dealing with this guy. I tried Mandibuzz over it for a bit, but wasn't really sure if it's what the team needed. Much as I'd hate to say it this guy's probably my weakest link and the one I'm most willing to replace for a suitable pivot.
Cole Tran (Heatran) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Def
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Standard Specially Defensive Heatran, works wonders and whatnot. Set's also pretty boring and straightforward, set up hazards and spread potential burns with Lava Plume. I run Toxic mainly to deter certain Pokemon who like to switch in, such as Rotom-W and Gastrodon. It's mostly a catch-all to Heatran's Water-type switch-ins, but its usage often goes with the situation. I run Roar instead of Protect just to deal with certain weak sweepers, and to shuffle the opponent around a bit if they switch while I have SR up.
- My beef with this Heatran is kinda minimal, the flaws it has (4x Ground Weakness, Water Magnet, lack of momentum, punished by Fighting moves, etc.) are covered mostly by teammates. Pretty solid Pokemon and a pretty vital Fairy check imo. Heck I saw this guy live a Hydro Pump once, which is pretty impressive. Forgot what it was from though. I guess really I just hate how much of a momentum killer this guy is, or how a surprise Earth Power or HP Ground (Looking at you, Volcarona) can really turn the tides on it.
Sellin' Bees (Celebi) @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Giga Drain
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Recover
- To be honest, before you vote me off as "that guy who thinks he can just slap CeleTran on a team and be good" I honestly wasn't even thinking of it that way. I chose Celebi because I actually wanted a teammate who could break this annoying Landorus-T/Rotom-W core I see on like 90% of teams these days. Yes I'm guilty of having used it several times myself, but it gets annoying to keep running into it over and over. Aiming specifically to be an easy switch-in to Rotom-W, I chose Celebi. Most other Grass-types in OU don't offer a lot of competition in this department; Ferrothorn's the next best Candidate but I don't want to over-typestack on my Steels, what with Lucario and Heatran. Whimsicott can be pretty annoying but it has no offensive presence whatsoever, and it isn't going to dispatch the Rotom-W that just Volt Switches afterward anyway. Breloom hates Will-O-Wisp on top of being easy to wear down between hazards and repeated switches. So yeah, this made me choose Celebi. It's kinda good, I guess?
- My beef with this Celebi is that I don't know if it sucks or if I just ultimately suck at using it. I've been through a good number of sets and don't know if I've found "the one" that meshes perfectly with this team. I started off with a bulky Modest Nasty Plot set but all the priority (Talonflame) and generally fast hard hitters in OU were too much for it to handle. Tried an offensive Nasty Plot with the given spread and EVs, same issue anyway. Often found myself never using Nasty Plot anyway. Changed it to Recover. I also had gone through 3 different Hidden powers before outrightly giving up. Chose HP fire to help kill opposing Grass-types like Ferrothorn much more easily while also taking down Scizor and Forretress, no sweat. Then I got annoyed by Dragonite, so I went with HP Ice. Ended up never facing a single Dragonite or having many practical uses. Put on HP Rock in order to nab Talonflame switch-ins and dispose of them with one blow, but the same ordeal happened as with Dragonite. So I gave up and put HP Fire. I hate how this set's damage output is still rather...low, and how easily it gets worn down by Life Orb, even with Recover. Offensive pressure makes it costly to try and heal unless you're forcing a switch most of the time. As you can see I had a lot on my mind about this Celebi given the huge paragraphs I just shoved down your throat. I'd REALLY like some guidance on what to do with this one too, please.
GyaraDDoS (Gyarados) (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Impish Nature
- Waterfall
- Roar
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- The best part is it doesn't even run Dragon Dance. I think the nickname is priceless just because of this. I chose Gyarados for a couple of silly reasons: 1. Most importantly, I HATE Mega Kangaskhan. When I see it, I need to destroy it as effectively and painlessly as possible. 2. A friend actually was raving about this set and I wanted to see how good it actually was as a wall. 3. Helps to have a backup check for Volcarona who just so happen to have HP Ground. So far I haven't been disappointed by RestTalk Gyarados, the Rocky Helmet is just specifically because I hate Mega Kangaskhan. Makes it kill itself faster and makes my job easier. Helps to also punish physical attackers in that same light, while I'm at it. I put Roar in over Dragon Tail because I almost lost a game to a SubDD Gyarados who actually managed to get to +6 on this Gyarados. Dragon Tail wasn't able to break the Substitutes in 1 hit, though the Rocky Helmet actually allowed me to win against it one-on-one. I figured Roar would be more effective, just as long as this Gyarados doesn't get Taunted. Also, pretty solid Talonflame check, preferred when Rocks aren't up though. Otherwise I'd use Heatran.
- My beef with this Gyarados, much like with Heatran, is pretty minimal. The SR weakness kind of hurts though, as does having to rely exclusively on Rest for Recovery and unreliable Sleep Talk for unreliably hitting/pHazing the foe. It can legitimately screw you over very quickly.
Big Digby (Diggersby) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Quick Attack
- One of my total favorite Pokemon that came out in Gen 6, due to me loving Ground-types, I absolutely HAD to at least try Choice Banded Diggersby, just to see how strong it was. I was not disappointed in the slightest, the power of STAB Choice Band Huge Power Earthquake can 2HKO pretty much almost anything that isn't Flying, Levitating, or resistant. Stone Edge is for coverage and U-Turn for momentum. I chose Quick Attack over Return just to have useful priority to pick off weakened foes with.
- My beef with this Diggersby, is literally just how slow it is. The bulk helps it tank a hit but the wallbreaking potential is kinda shafted by being unable to hit certain threats before they hit you, or before they just heal up and eventually force you out. That and the fact Landorus-T and Gliscor effortlessly switch in on it. I also kind of hate how the Ground-type I choose (for the sake of having an immunity to electric given I run Crobat and Gyarados) can be hammered by Fighting-type hits and most boosted STAB moves due to the fact its typing gives it literally like 1 resistance and 2 immunities. It is a pretty good Aegislash check though, and can easily OHKO it even in Shield Stance. I have contemplated switching over to Scarf Diggersby, just to have a revenge killer. Losing out on the sheer power isn't as bad with the ability to revenge kill and run both its highest-power STABs in Return and Earthquake. Just a little on the fence about it, but worth a shot I guess. Far as I see though, Band hasn't let me down entirely too much in the long run.
Skywalker (Lucario) (M) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Atk
Naive Nature
- Aura Sphere
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Bullet Punch
- Probably the most interesting (and potent for that matter) member on my team, (Mega) Lucario is incredible. At first I wanted a purely special sweeper set with Nasty Plot, but I often found myself getting into situations where I was wishing I had some useful priority, like for instance, going up against a weakened Mega Gengar or Mega Alakazam. I was also not using Nasty Plot too often due to Lucario's frailty, so I decided to change it to a mixed set, which has not let me down entirely. Aura Sphere and Flash Cannon are obligatory STAB that get the Adapatability boost to hit ridiculously hard on most things. I ran Dark Pulse formerly where I have HP Ice now, but it's mainly for Gliscor. Literally just that thing, it's a pain to go up against without the move, as it often will resort to Sub/Protect shenanigans to be healthy enough to avoid being 2HKO'd by Flash Cannon.
- My beef with this Lucario is I guess it loses its ability to check Aegislash as effectively since it forgoes Dark Pulse for HP Ice. That and sometimes the only times you're able to Mega Evolve it literally becomes a kill-or-be-killed scenario, where if you were base 112 Speed to begin with, you would have won the matchup without taking a big risk. That and I guess aside from his frailty, some Pokemon can manage to sponge a hit and kill you in return if they haven't taken a good amount of prior damage. So far though I do like this Lucario, and I highly doubt I'd replace it.
Threats, Annoyances, etc.
- Mega Gengar and Alakazam are incredibly vicious and hard to deal with as they both often run Focus Blast just to dispatch Heatran, and have some pretty tough special attack stats. The former is able to trap my team with Shadow Tag and has no issue getting a free kill on ANYTHING while the latter is so fast I can't even revenge kill without resorting to priority. Doesn't help if Alakazam Mega Evolves against my Lucario..Adapatability Psyshock HURTS.
- Landorus-T and Gliscor are pretty annoying to face down too...the former's got Intimidate and the ability to switch in on half my team because of this, even tanking a Waterfall from Gyarados and either U-Turning (usually to Rotom-W) or going for a ballsy Stone Edge on Gyarados if it's weakened (or if it carries the move). Gliscor pretty much tanks hits with ridiculous ease and becomes hard to kill if behind a Substitute, and usually Gyarados and Celebi are my only options for dealing with it if Lucario's dead or if it hasn't switched in yet (Can't exactly bring it in and risk getting hit by EQ). Both of them however are also able to set up Stealth Rock against my team VERY EASILY.
- Rotom-W is a pain. Even when not paired with Landorus-T (How much more so when it is, though) finds a number of opportunities to come in on my team and do damage. Heatran hates Hydro Pump, Gyarados and Crobat both hate Will-O-Wisp AND Volt Switch (At least the former has Rest, but he'll just die afterwards to Volt Switch), the one thing on my team who can stop Volt Switch completely, Diggersby, is a huge gamble to switch in on a Rotom-W in the event it goes for Will-O-Wisp or Hydro Pump, which either cripples it for good or just murders it. The only thing I have for Rotom-W is Celebi, and more often than not he just Volt Switches as I bring Celebi in, going straight to Genesect or something. Real major thorn in my side this thing is.
- Genesect also irritates me, namely the Scarf set, which is 99.9% of all Genesects I've seen so far. My only true "counter" is Heatran, as Gyarados can't take a Thunderbolt (If it locks itself into any other move, it's fair game though it's not exactly one-shotting or setting up just because of this) and most of the time it just U-Turns to something else until Heatran's dead. Would like some advice on dealing with this thing more effectively for that matter.
- Tornadus-T is a threat in itself, mainly due to Regenerator mitigating hazard damage, and having Bulk Up with Superpower and Acrobatics. Makes it hard to switch in on let alone stop it from setting up, with that insane Speed. Heatran can't handle a Superpower, and the most it could do is pray it burns if it even was able to live it. Gyarados kinda deals with it, but doesn't dispose of it. Crobat can do some real damage to a -1 Tornadus-T with Brave Bird, but it won't KO unless Stealth Rock damage has been factored.
- Life Orb Greninja...Crobat's the only thing I have who can outspeed and hit it hard, and Diggersby can hit it with priority if it's weakened enough. But aside from that, it's just a pain to deal with because it gets STAB with everything from Protean. Heatran can't stand up to the Hydro Pump (or kill it back anyway), and Gyarados is kind of a secondary check though LO Ice Beam will be a bit annoying to take to the face, especially if Rocks are up. Basically, this guy can switch in and I have to let someone take a really bad hit just to be up to dealing with it.
- Thundurus-I has Nasty Plot, Focus Blast, Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, HP Ice in its movepool. It basically has everything it needs to beat me down. Celebi's a decent check if it were to be using HP ice, but...Heatran will not like Focus Blast, potentially a +2 one.
- Mega Charizard X, Dragonite, and Garchomp to an extent are dangerous because of the fact they're all some threatening Pokemon. Mega Charizard X's Tough Claws boosted Outrage, even at +0, is 3HKOing Gyarados. (Could be 2HKO but I can't remember). Dragonite and Garchomp are Dragons who are both fast and carry Earthquake, which keeps Heatran from checking them. Gyarados can check the former more easily and pHaze it out, but Garchomp may be packing Stone Edge, which still does Gyarados in. It doesn't help that my only thing to outspeed Garchomp is Crobat and Lucario if it's mega evolved.
- Specs Latios is also p hard to switch into if it runs Surf. Heatran can be worn down, the most it can do back is Toxic it. If it gets Tricked, it's screwed for the most part.
Importable/Exportable
(Use it if you wanna test the team yourself or summat)
Conclusion
Yeah, that's the team...once again, I could SERIOUSLY appreciate some rates and critique, and ways to deal with the threats listed. And also any other important threats I may have forgotten to list for whatever reason. Thank you for reading!
(Use it if you wanna test the team yourself or summat)
Cole Tran (Heatran) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Def
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
Brobat (Crobat) (M) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 58 HP / 252 Atk / 200 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost
Sellin' Bees (Celebi) @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Giga Drain
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Recover
GyaraDDoS (Gyarados) (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Impish Nature
- Waterfall
- Roar
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Big Digby (Diggersby) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Quick Attack
Skywalker (Lucario) (M) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Atk
Naive Nature
- Aura Sphere
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Bullet Punch
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Def
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
Brobat (Crobat) (M) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 58 HP / 252 Atk / 200 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost
Sellin' Bees (Celebi) @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Giga Drain
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Recover
GyaraDDoS (Gyarados) (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Impish Nature
- Waterfall
- Roar
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Big Digby (Diggersby) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Quick Attack
Skywalker (Lucario) (M) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Atk
Naive Nature
- Aura Sphere
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Bullet Punch
Conclusion
Yeah, that's the team...once again, I could SERIOUSLY appreciate some rates and critique, and ways to deal with the threats listed. And also any other important threats I may have forgotten to list for whatever reason. Thank you for reading!
