First OU

[FSLAR]

I've seen how most teams work, got a good idea and pieced this one together with some good thought in it. Real standard stuff, of course. I've tested it in Pokemon Lab and it seems to be pretty decent, it went through some changes before the actual posting on here but it seems to be a better, at least synergy wise.

Starting off...

I need a lead who can set up stealth rock, and also hold up well against other ones, taking hits, dealing hits...who else but Swampert?

Next, I needed a good physical sweeper, who can work decently alongside Swampert and some of the other team members well, good STAB, priority, set up move, and additional move. Lucario seems to be a solid bet.

Lucario seems to have a flaw, which is dealing with certain walls. While not as good as the Magnezone and Dragonite combo, Dragonite and Lucario are decent together. In addition, if Lucario goes down I can use Dragonite as a back-up.

I need additional support alongside Swampert, status, Wish...and something in case I need to stall or something like that. It shares a steel typing with Lucario, but works differently.

A special sweeper and spin blocker would do this team well, so why not Rotom-H? Rotom-H also goes a way in being a good Infernape check. It's a tough choice between it and Rotom-C, as Leaf Storm can prove very useful against Swamperts and other bulky water types.

And lastly, a good revenge killer. Azelf can work good in this, as I don't see many other Azelf sets besides the Lead set.

In Depth

Lead/Phazer

Item: Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
Relaxed Nature
240 HP / 216 Def / 52 SpD
Stealth Rock
Earthquake
Ice Beam
Roar
Most leads don't carry grass-type attacks, except for Roserade so Swampert seems like a good bet. Not to say Swampert can work against other leads, as it will obviously be outsped by everything. Stealth Rock is a given, being able to wear down the opponent and secure KOs for Lucario and everyone else. Earthquake is for STAB and can hit decently, with Ice Beam it's not resisted by anything not named Bronzong. I might try out Avalanche as Avalanche works off the higher attack, and the negative priority doesn't mean much. Roar to help rack off residual damage and see what the opponent has got. Leftovers gives recovery. Relaxed for boosted defense.

Physical Sweeper

Item: Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
Adamant Nature
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Swords Dance
Close Combat
ExtremeSpeed
Shadow Claw

The Swords Dance set had a bit more appeal to my team then the standard Attacking Lead set, but Counter seems to work well so I might swap this out for that one. Shadow Claw is temporary, as it gives Lucario the unresisted Ghost/Fighting combo, so why not? It lacks a little bit of Crunch's power but it has its novelties, like being able to hit Gallade leads for super effective. Swords Dance is to set up, not like it's there for anything else. Close Combat is the obvious STAB and hits really hard. ExtremeSpeed is for priority and still hits well on anything that resists Close Combat. Life Orb helps secure KOs, while Inner Focus helps against anything that relies on flinching. Adamant for maximum attack.

Wallbreaker

Item: Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
Mild Nature
116 Atk / 200 SpA / 192 Spe
Superpower
Draco Meteor
Flamethrower
Thunderbolt

Steels and Dragons have a good synergy together, and Lucario does need a good wall breaker by his side. Not as good as Lucario and Magnezone, but it still works good. Superpower for Tyranitar, Blissey and Heatran. Draco Meteor for STAB, though the drop in SpA isn't spectacular. I may test out Outrage. Flamethrower for steels that are neutral to Superpower plus physical walls. Thunderbolt takes care of water types, though Roost is a viable option but Jirachi's Wish makes it a bit less needed. Thunderbolt is good if I don't run Rotom-C. Life Orb further boosts its move, while Mild is preferred over Rash as I believe it'll be targeted by special attacks more often then not.

Wish/Additional Support

Item: Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
Bashful (had to get a friend of mine to get me this just before the June/July event ended, can't do much) Nature
240 HP / 160 Def / 76 SpD / 32 Spe
Wish
U-Turn
Thunder Wave
Iron Head

Wish makes Dragonite's entry much easier and can help with it and Lucario's Life Orb recoil. U-Turn helps for scouting and doing damage on the way out to pass Wish. Body Slam is only viable if this is from Gen III, so Thunder Wave is the current option in that slot. While being unable to paralyze Ground types is sad, it's still good. Iron Head for STAB and to make good use of Serene Grace, that flinch rate is just AMAZING. Leftovers for recovery.

Revenge Killer/Scout

Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Adamant Nature
252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Zen Headbutt
Ice Punch
Explosion
U-Turn

Not exactly sure about the move-set, for one thing but it does its job damn well. Zen Headbutt for STAB as always, the flinch rate is helpful and is good against fighting types. Ice Punch takes out dragons, and a lot of other stuff. Fire Punch isn't really needed thanks to Dragonite. Explosion is a last resort and is pretty much a guaranteed kill. U-Turn for scouting, as always. I'm not sure about the item really, but the scarf may just help with speed and with racking up damage and perhaps even causing switches. Adamant to max out attack.

Spinblocker/Special Sweeper

Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Timid Nature
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Thunderbolt
Overheat
Shadow Ball
Trick

Spin blocking is a bonus, really. I'm really not sure about using this Rotom over Rotom-C, but this one seems to work well at scaring off things. Thunderbolt is STAB and can keep Gyarados at bay, which can hit at least half of my team for almost super effective damage. Shadow Ball is the same, also keeping other ghost types at bay. Overheat scares off Breloom for one thing but Leaf Storm really does seem to have an edge for taking out Swampert, other water types and Tyranitar. Trick cripples special walls, so it's a no brainer and from there I can sweep like normal. Timid for max speed. Specs for max SpA.

Old Members
Infernape: Originally in Azelf's spot for a F/W/G core. Didn't really separate itself from Dragonite, so Azelf worked better. Due to him, I had a bigger Gyarados threat, which just couldn't work.

Shaymin: Same as Infernape, replaced by Rotom. Worked a bit better, such as killing off Starmies and even a Skarmory. Shaymin resulted in a bigger Infernape threat, so that's another reason.

Outro
Well, that's my first team on here. I don't think it's entirely bad as I am aware of what I was doing and I tried to minimize threats. I'm not really content with Azelf but he's not a bump in the road by any means.

 

[Aerrow]

Cool team.

Threats

• Dragon Dance Gyarados
• Offensive Lucario, Machamp
• Dragon Dance/ Offensive Tyranitar

Rating upon request. Sorry this took a while to get to, but I was a bit caught up with other requested rates as well as other stuff both on Smogon and from school, etc. Anyways, back to your team: although it's an excellently built tam with a great sense of strategy as well as synergy, I see a couple of Pokemon which can give this team massive problems if they find an opportunity to set up and prepare a sweep. Gyarados would the foremost threats as if it gains a dragon dance, it can easy rip through your team with sheer strength; even Azelf, your only Pokemon who can stand up (outpace) a +1 Gyarados, can't do much to Gyarados as even Zen headbutt will fail to 2HKO the bulky variants if you haven't gotten stealth rock on the field. Continuing on, you also have problems with offensive Lucario and Machamp as the two fighting-types, can just like Gyarados go through your team if they are given the chance to set up, but can usually be handled by Rotom and Azelf, although pursuit users are common partners to the aforementioned threats so, play cautiously when facing Lucario and Machamp; also, it should be noted that a +2 Extreme Speed from Lucario will OHKO Azelf even if it is at full health. Lastly, dragon dance Tyranitar may prove to be a formidable threat as if it is able to get a dragon dance off, you're entire team can potentially be defeated bar Azelf, who outpaces a +1 Tyranitar, although even it can't do much as U-Turn is merely a 2HKO and Explosion isn't a guaranteed OHKO, as it does 78.1% - 92.1% to the standard DD Tyranitar.

Solutions

• Choice Scarf Flygon

[box]

Flygon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 SpDef
Jolly nature (+Spd,-SpAtk)
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Thunder Punch
- U-turn[/box]
Fortunately, there's one Pokemon that comes into mind which can help your team out: Flygon is an excellent counter to all of the aforementioned threats courtesy of it's great stat layout, typing, ability and probably the most important, excellent movepool allowing it to also strengthen the overall structure of your team while also helping with the aforementioned threat Pokemon. Gyarados, even at +1 speed, is outpaced by Flygon and easily dispatched of by Thunder Punch. Lucario is nicely handled by Earthquake while Tyranitar is also dealt with in a much similar manner as Lucario. Also, like I mentioned before, Flygon helps improve the general offensive structure of your team due to its great offensive prowess and ability keep up momentum through U-Turn among other ways. I hope this has helped and good luck!

 

[FSLAR]

Thank for your rate Aerrow. Anyway I have noticed it had problems with Tyranitar and Machamp after some battles today; while Machamp is less of a problem, Tyranitar can really bulldoze my team. I see how Flygon can work against them, along with Lucario and Gyarados but I don't know who to swap out for t. Azelf has really been shining today, while Rotom (tried out the C form) has been doing fair, perhaps swap him out or Dragonite? Dragonite's definitely been holding his weight though.

 

[Aerrow]

Thank for your rate Aerrow. Anyway I have noticed it had problems with Tyranitar and Machamp after some battles today; while Machamp is less of a problem, Tyranitar can really bulldoze my team. I see how Flygon can work against them, along with Lucario and Gyarados but I don't know who to swap out for t. Azelf has really been shining today, while Rotom (tried out the C form) has been doing fair, perhaps swap him out or Dragonite? Dragonite's definitely been holding his weight though.

I recommend replacing either Azelf or Rotom as having more than 2 revenge killers would be quite unnecessary and would disturb the overall structure of your team.

 

[FSLAR]

I recommend replacing either Azelf or Rotom as having more than 2 revenge killers would be quite unnecessary and would disturb the overall structure of your team.

hmm...maybe Azelf, though Azelf has worked wonders Flygon can do its job in the same vein, the only notable thing Azelf has done is taken down a Machamp. Rotom possesses the ability to take out Swampert and other water types. I guess I'll test it out.

 

[soonerorlater]

Swampert is no longer excellent. It's a set-up bait for Gyarados, many new anti-leads beat it (Dragonite and Machamp), and the list goes on.

A big no on using Counter or Shadow Claw for Lucario. Perfect coverage might sound nice, but you need extra power in Crunch to kill Defensive Rotom-A. Counter means "Hi, I have -5/-5 defenses from using Close Combat and Life Orb recoil, so come in and hit me in with anything to KO me." Really, it only works with Focus sash, and even then, you need it as a lead (and a good anti-lead, for sure). Jolly is now the way to go, as everyone aims to outspeed Adamant Lucario if they have decent STAB and speed. It still KOs same pokemon almost all the time (Vaporeon can survive 50%, and Gliscor is no longer 2HKO).

Wish to help Lucario doesn't make much sense. Both Jirachi and Lucario are weak to Ground/Fire, and that means it's pointless to pass to Lucario. Lucario dies from strong neutral STAB attacks anyways. if you really wanted something to revive Lucario, it's Cresselia. It doesn't see much play, but it can take hits, and Lunar Dance completely revives Lucario. Lucario also checks Cresselia's common counters, so it's even better. You can try to use Healing Wish with Jirachi, but not-so-recommended option.

Fire Blast >> Flamethrower on Dragonite. It's necessary to leave a giant dent on specially defensive Skarmory. Scarf Flygon is arguably better than Scarf Azelf unless you're running Trick to screw stall. Rotom-W is probably better, since it hits regular Rotom-A counters hard (both Scizor and Tyranitar). You could keep specs on it, but make sure you don't become Pursuit trapped.

 

[FSLAR]

Jirachi's really more meant for stuff like Dragonite, I guess I wasn't really thinking when putting in Jirachi could help Lucario.
I haven't tested out Scarf Flygon over Azelf, as for using Trick not used trick on a set with Azelf yet, I have with Rotom and it has worked well on a Snorlax.