First OU Team-MacG

[MacG]

My first attempt at a competitive team:

Lead:

Azelf@Colbur Berry **
Ability: Levitate
Jolly Nature
EV: 8 HP/140 Att/144 SpD/252 Spe

Taunt
Stealth Rock
U-Turn
Explosion

This is the guy who sets up stealth rock, while trying to stop the opponent from doing so. 361 speed thanks to 31 speed IV, so try to use taunt on first turn unless it is something like an infernape fake out. He then sets up stealth rock, and usually explodes.
Pretty powerful explosion, made better thanks to 140 Att. EV present.

Wall Breaker:

Salamence@life orb ** Gulf
Ability: Intimidate
Naive Nature
EV: 232 Att./24 Sp.Att/252 Spe

Dragon Dance
Outrage
Earthquake
Fire Blast

Salamence hits from both sides of the spectrum. I wanted a DD poke as I have no TTar or Gyara, and I chose Salamence over Dragonite. Fire blast is for skarmory, however I have been debating putting in roost instead and breeding a jolly mence. Thanks to outrage and 364 attack stat, this thing hits hard, especially after dancing. It is popular for a very good reason.
The nickname comes from the colour of Salamence. Its blue and orange is reminiscent of the Gulf Racing colours: http://www.lmcl.co.uk/images/gt40a.jpg


Status/Staller:

Dusknoir@leftovers ** BigDaddy
Ability: Pressure
Impish Nature
EV: 252 HP/40 Att./216 Def

Will-O-Wisp
Pain Split
Earthquake
Thunderpunch

This guy has excellent defences and is immune to ground/fighting attacks which are commonplace. Max HP EV as his base state is fairly weak. WoW cuts opponents attack aswell as cutting into their HP. Pain split is quite an impressive move as it is both offensive and defensive, which can help a lot. Earthquake is a given on Dusknoir as it is one of the best moves in the game full stop. Thunderpunch to deal with gyarados, which combined with jirachi gives me three elemental punches. Plus, I have wanted to use Dusknoir since the release of Diamond, he looks pretty cool, like an evil genie. This is my main reason in choosing him over Rotom-H/Rotom-A
The name is fairly lousy, just sprang to mind when training him.

Scout:

Scizor@choice band ** TheFly
Ability: Technician
Adamant Nature
EV: 248 HP/252 Att./8 Spe

Bullet Punch
U-Turn
Superpower
Pursuit

This poke is seen on many teams, nearly all of whom use this set. Nothing original whatsoever. Used this guy in battle tower with sub/sd/bp/superpower and it worked wonders. Since then, I have realised how good he can be, especially with bullet punch making up for his lack of speed. I can use u-turn to scout out the opponent, aswell as dealing some damage. Choice band makes his already impressive attack stat almost unthinkable.
The name "TheFly" is a name hailing from two places. My old bicycle is a raleigh stonefly, nicknamed "The Fly", which combines excellently with scizor's appearance. Thus the name "TheFly" came about.

Staller:

Suicune@leftovers ** BlueDawg
Ability: Pressure
Bold Nature
EV: 252 HP/252 Def/4 S.Def

Calm Mind
Surf
Rest
Sleep Talk

I believe this guy is called Crocune. There is a possibility that I will change sleep talk to ice beam, however I have not yet made up my mind. He is as good a bulky water type as you will find, with 115 base defences. His nature and EV spread, aswell as calm mind means he can take hits from both types of attack. He can also PP stall with his ability, pressure. This is also achieved with dusknoir.
Name needs improvement.

Late-Game Sweeper:

Lucario@life orb ** Goodbye
Ability: Inner Focus
Adamant Nature
EV: 4 HP/252 Att./252 Spe

Swords Dance
Extremespeed
Close Combat
Ice Punch

New addition. Swords dance on the switch or against slower pokemon that can't KO him. Ice punch over crunch/ bullet punch to deal with dragons and such. Pretty devastating if he has set up, but can die quickly with SR and life orb damage...

Any comments much appreciated. Nothing out of the ordinary, except nicknames that is.

All sets are pretty standard, more curious about synergy and threats and such...

Thanks in advance.

 

[tab]

Hey. This isn't bad for a first team at all. There's only a couple of big problems I can see here.

This is a pretty minor issue, but I'd recommend going with a Colbur Azelf over your current set. By using a Colbur Berry instead of a Focus Sash, you manage to beat Machamp, which is becoming an extremely common and dangerous anti-lead, while still beating almost every lead that your current set does. While you lose out on Fire Blast, that shouldn't be a huge issue, as pokemon it hits are more often than not scared away by the threat of it until your opponent has worked out what set you are using.

Next up, I'll deal with Dusknoir and Jirachi. Dusknoir is a pretty sub-par pokemon in OU unfortunately, and while offensive teams like this don't really need a spin blocker, if they're using one, you're usually much better off going with a Rotom-A or Gengar. At the same time, I don't think a Jirachi is the best choice of Scarfer to cover your weaknesses, as you've already got Scizor to cover many of the same pokemon (Salamence) with Bullet Punch, and you currently have no way of dealing with Dragon Dance Gyarados. You can keep a spin blocker in the team, while also giving yourself the freedom to use either a different Jirachi set, or the Lucario you wanted to try, by going with a Choice Scarf Rotom-H using Overheat/Thunderbolt/Shadow Ball/Trick instead of Dusknoir, which covers Gyarados nicely for you.

From there, I don't really have any issues with the team. I'd probably rather use a MixMence with Draco Meteor/Fire Blast/Brick Break/Roost than a DDMence here in order to give you some more immediate power and ability to threaten stall a lot more, and you may want to look into an offensive Suicune with Calm Mind/Surf/Ice Beam/HP Electric as an alternative to CroCune, although both sets are effective enough.

Good luck!
http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72788

 

[MacG]

Thanks Tab, for your reply.
I will try out the colbur azelf instead.
However, while I know dusknoir is not the most effective pokemon, I would like to keep using it. In a battle today it took out a gyarados with one thunderpunch after sr damage.
Yeah, I might put in sd luke and mixmence instead of scarf jirachi and DDmence.

Thanks again

 

[MacG]

Ok how about this instead:
Instead of Salamence...

Dragonite@leftovers
Rash Nature
Ability: Inner Focus
EV: 112 Att/196 SpA/ 200 Spe

Superpower
Draco Meteor
Flamethrower
Roost

Instead of Jirachi

Lucario@life orb
Jolly Nature
Ability: Inner Focus
EV: 252 Att/4 SpD/252 Speed

Swords Dance
Close Combat
Extremespeed
Crunch

 

[Moo]

Well, I must say, Crocune is awful, He only has one attack, which many things can take advantage of, like Bulky Ddance. Try using Ice Beam and/or Hp Electric. Also, Sleep-Talk Rotom makes a great Spin-Blocker, Because he can hit Starmie and Tentacruel with super effective damage.

 

[MacG]

Fair point mooo, however crocune is working pretty well, especially if dusknoir has got a WoW on the opponent. Can take hits very well, and surf after several calm minds is pretty damn powerful. But yeah, more offensive sets seem popular...

I dont know what everyone has against dusknoir. I mean, several of my battles have been won just because of him.

After seeing the benefits of DDmence, I think he will stay on my team.
However, I will probably try to breed the above Lucario.

Thanks again, and keep the ideas coming...

 

[Tag]

Rotom-h is doing everything better that Dusknoir can do. He can WoW, Pain Split, Thunderbolt, Overheat, Shadow Ball, Trick, and Rest/Sleep Talk. It's just a much more effective Spin Blocker because of it's typing and the fact that it's hitting harder then Dusknoir in general. I strongly suggest switching Dusknoir out for TrickScarf or RestTalk Rotom-h.

I really don't see what CroCune really does for you besides being a bulky water that can sponge hits. I think a Rapid Spin Starmie or Tentacruel is going to benefit you, especially with a DDMence to spin away rocks that eat away at him. Like said before, I also strongly suggest you switch to Colbur Azelf. This lead is probably the most reliable lead I've ever used and the only Machamp it loses to are ones with Substitute.

 

[MacG]

Well it seems as if dusknoir is generally frowned upon, which is quite disappointing.
But base 135 defences is just better than what rotom-h can offer. The small HP stat can actually be beneficial, as pain split nearly always replenishes my health, while sapping my opponents. The only reason I would switch to rotom-h is if I got rid of jirachi, as overheat would provide me with a much needed fire attack.

Edit:
I have swapped out jirachi for an SD Lucario. I have also swapped my Azelf for the Colbur berry version. Working well so far.