Hi all, I started playing Pokemon Showdown about a week ago(I did play for a month or two in the beginning of BW, so I'm not completely new), therefore I'm still using the generic Smogon sets until I'm familiar enough with the metagame to specialize my EV's and such. Currently, the highest ranking I've achieved has been 1500 on the OU ladder, but I generally hover around 1450. I've been using Pokemon Showdown to let me find a team I would want to use in-game before going through the effort of breeding everything.
Rotom-Wash @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
~Trick
~Hydro Pump
~Volt Switch
~Will-O-Wisp
I don't have a dedicated lead Pokemon as I've found that I'm fairly mediocre at utilizing entry hazards. I usually lead with Rotom-W because he can Volt Switch out to scout the enemy team. I try to use Trick if a stall Pokemon that my team has trouble with(such as Blissey) switches in on Rotom. Otherwise, he functions as a a Hydro Pump spammer that can force switches of common Pokemon. He also functions well with my Mega Venasaur as a bulky core.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
~Bullet Punch
~Superpower
~U-Turn
~Knock Off
When I'm not leading with Rotom-W, Scizor is generally in the position instead. Like Rotom-W, he can use his boosted U-Turn to scout the enemy team while dealing some damage. Superpower is used if I can predict a Heatran switch-in. Knock Off is good for weakening a counter that switches into Scizor. Otherwise, as my only physical attacker and priority user, Scizor is needed to take care of threats like Blissey and other special walls in addition to powerful attackers who I can't out-speed with my other Pokemon.
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Modest Nature
~Fire Blast
~Earth Power
~Stealth Rock
~Taunt
When I'm paired against a team that is weak to Stealth Rock, I may lead with Heatran to cripple their ability to switch-in at will. I'm running an offensively oriented set to catch the opposing player off-guard. Heatran's Fire Blast is deceptively powerful and many opponents don't realize that fact until it's too late. Often, the opponent will switch in their specially defensive Heatran which can be killed by my Earth Power if they don't run an Air Balloon as well. I used to run a specially defensive Heatran which worked well, but playing stall with two of my Pokemon isn't my preferred playstyle.
Gengar Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
~Shadow Ball
~Sludge Wave
~Focus Blast
~Destiny Bond
With an older, more defensive version of my team, I originally added Gengar to provide an offensive presence. I usually use Gengar in the mid-to-late portions of the game after the enemy team has been weakened. By that point, he can OHKO many of the Pokemon with the previous damage they sustained. If I see a pokemon that I can't counter, I will use Destiny Bond to ensure that the rest of my team doesn't get swept by that threat. His fragility is an issue and he usually comes in for a revenge kill so he doesn't sustain any damage upon switching in.
Landorus-I Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
~Earth Power
~Psychic
~Focus Blast
~Rock Slide
Landorus is my newest addition to my team. His role is to either open up some holes during the mid-game with his wide coverage or to clean up the opposing team at the end of the game when his counters are gone. Rock Slide is on the set primarily to take care of Charizard. I have issues with that pokemon due to Rotom-W and Heatran being ineffective depending on which Mega evolution Charizard is running and his moveset.
Venasaur @ Venasaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll / Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
~Leech Seed
~Synthesis
~Giga Drain
~Sludge Bomb
Venasaur is probably the core of my team and is my favorite pokemon on it. He is my main pivot as he can take a ridiculous amount of abuse and is able to stall out many prevalent threats in the OU landscape. He completely walls threats like Azumarill and can face off against physical opponents who don't have a Psychic/Flying Attack. Synthesis+Leech Seed lets me whittle down the opponent's HP while keeping Venasaur alive. Even enemy Earthquakes are almost never enough to kill of Venasaur unless they have a very high attack stat. This guy has swept more teams than the rest of my pokemon combined and is a force to be reckoned with in nearly every match I play.
Other Notes:
I have been looking for a solid offensive pokemon to clean-up/sweep the enemy team at the end of a match. Currently, my latest trial is Landorus, but even he does not seem to fit with the rest of the team too well. Besides Landorus, I've tried Azumarill, Garchomp, Dragonite, Tyranitar, Talonflame, and Greninja in that spot with minimal success.
Also, I would not be opposed to going back to the traditional specially defensive Heatran set as it served me very well in conjunction with Venasaur's stalling capabilities. I've even been accused of running a full Stall team because one guy couldn't break my Heatran/Venasaur combination despite me pointing out that the rest of my team was offensively oriented...
One stipulation that has limited my team options is my need for all the pokemon to be available to me in-game. I do not want to use any hacked/cloned/genned pokemon, so I will be breeding the majority of my own pokemon. This basically rules out using many legendary pokemon like Latios/Latias. I am willing to soft-reset for passable IVs and a good nature on stationary legendaries like Landorus, which is why I am using him in my current team.
Rotom-Wash / Scizor / Heatran / Gengar / Landorus-I / Mega Venasaur
Rotom-Wash @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
~Trick
~Hydro Pump
~Volt Switch
~Will-O-Wisp
I don't have a dedicated lead Pokemon as I've found that I'm fairly mediocre at utilizing entry hazards. I usually lead with Rotom-W because he can Volt Switch out to scout the enemy team. I try to use Trick if a stall Pokemon that my team has trouble with(such as Blissey) switches in on Rotom. Otherwise, he functions as a a Hydro Pump spammer that can force switches of common Pokemon. He also functions well with my Mega Venasaur as a bulky core.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
~Bullet Punch
~Superpower
~U-Turn
~Knock Off
When I'm not leading with Rotom-W, Scizor is generally in the position instead. Like Rotom-W, he can use his boosted U-Turn to scout the enemy team while dealing some damage. Superpower is used if I can predict a Heatran switch-in. Knock Off is good for weakening a counter that switches into Scizor. Otherwise, as my only physical attacker and priority user, Scizor is needed to take care of threats like Blissey and other special walls in addition to powerful attackers who I can't out-speed with my other Pokemon.
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Modest Nature
~Fire Blast
~Earth Power
~Stealth Rock
~Taunt
When I'm paired against a team that is weak to Stealth Rock, I may lead with Heatran to cripple their ability to switch-in at will. I'm running an offensively oriented set to catch the opposing player off-guard. Heatran's Fire Blast is deceptively powerful and many opponents don't realize that fact until it's too late. Often, the opponent will switch in their specially defensive Heatran which can be killed by my Earth Power if they don't run an Air Balloon as well. I used to run a specially defensive Heatran which worked well, but playing stall with two of my Pokemon isn't my preferred playstyle.
Gengar Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
~Shadow Ball
~Sludge Wave
~Focus Blast
~Destiny Bond
With an older, more defensive version of my team, I originally added Gengar to provide an offensive presence. I usually use Gengar in the mid-to-late portions of the game after the enemy team has been weakened. By that point, he can OHKO many of the Pokemon with the previous damage they sustained. If I see a pokemon that I can't counter, I will use Destiny Bond to ensure that the rest of my team doesn't get swept by that threat. His fragility is an issue and he usually comes in for a revenge kill so he doesn't sustain any damage upon switching in.
Landorus-I Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
~Earth Power
~Psychic
~Focus Blast
~Rock Slide
Landorus is my newest addition to my team. His role is to either open up some holes during the mid-game with his wide coverage or to clean up the opposing team at the end of the game when his counters are gone. Rock Slide is on the set primarily to take care of Charizard. I have issues with that pokemon due to Rotom-W and Heatran being ineffective depending on which Mega evolution Charizard is running and his moveset.
Venasaur @ Venasaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll / Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
~Leech Seed
~Synthesis
~Giga Drain
~Sludge Bomb
Venasaur is probably the core of my team and is my favorite pokemon on it. He is my main pivot as he can take a ridiculous amount of abuse and is able to stall out many prevalent threats in the OU landscape. He completely walls threats like Azumarill and can face off against physical opponents who don't have a Psychic/Flying Attack. Synthesis+Leech Seed lets me whittle down the opponent's HP while keeping Venasaur alive. Even enemy Earthquakes are almost never enough to kill of Venasaur unless they have a very high attack stat. This guy has swept more teams than the rest of my pokemon combined and is a force to be reckoned with in nearly every match I play.
Other Notes:
I have been looking for a solid offensive pokemon to clean-up/sweep the enemy team at the end of a match. Currently, my latest trial is Landorus, but even he does not seem to fit with the rest of the team too well. Besides Landorus, I've tried Azumarill, Garchomp, Dragonite, Tyranitar, Talonflame, and Greninja in that spot with minimal success.
Also, I would not be opposed to going back to the traditional specially defensive Heatran set as it served me very well in conjunction with Venasaur's stalling capabilities. I've even been accused of running a full Stall team because one guy couldn't break my Heatran/Venasaur combination despite me pointing out that the rest of my team was offensively oriented...
One stipulation that has limited my team options is my need for all the pokemon to be available to me in-game. I do not want to use any hacked/cloned/genned pokemon, so I will be breeding the majority of my own pokemon. This basically rules out using many legendary pokemon like Latios/Latias. I am willing to soft-reset for passable IVs and a good nature on stationary legendaries like Landorus, which is why I am using him in my current team.
