Intro
I've been playing around on the CAP ladder for a while, and found NP Azelf to be very destructive there. I decided to bring Azelf to the Smogon server and build a team around it.
How The Team Came To Be
Azelf was the obvious pick on my team. I then looked at Azelf's counters: Gyarados, Scizor, practically every revenge killer in existence, and Swampert. I solved my problem of the main revenge killers (Heatran and co.) as well as Gyarados by bringing in a Slowbro. Scizor and Swampert can be dispatched by Infernape. I then looked for a good Stealth Rock lead, since Azelf wants Stealth Rock to get OHKOes on things like Salamence from an unboosted STAB Psychic. Aerodactyl had proven to always put up Stealth Rock for me, so I chose him. I then went for something that could mash up a lot of Pokemon early game, making it easy for Azelf to sweep. Taking the word "mash" literally, I chose Metagross. I then went for a reliable switch-in to Tyranitar, as well as a back-up late game sweeper, which I always run on my teams. Lucario was the obvious pick.
The Team Itself
Aerodactyl @ Focus Sash
Jolly Nature
252 Atk/ 252 Spe / 6 HP
Stealth Rock
Earthquake
Rock Slide
Taunt
Your standard, everyday basic Aerodactyl lead. What I like about this guy is his consistency to get Stealth Rock, since only Jolteon, Electrode, and Crobat have higher or equal speeds to him out of all of the non-Uber Pokemon. Stealth Rock usually always go first, since most opponents predict Taunt. I went for ROck Slide because of the fact that Stone Edge had a been on a huge miss streak for me (27 misses in a row at one point).
Metagross @ Choice Band
Adamant Nature
252 Atk/ 252 HP/ 6 Def
Meteor Mash
Bullet Punch/Pursuit
Earthquake/Pursuit
Explosion
Meta tears through a lot of Pokemon with meteor mash, which, coupled with the random attack boosts, makes him quite destructive. I'm trying to find a place for Pursuit on Meta to deal with Latias and Blissey better.
Slowbro @ Choice Specs
Modest Nature
252 Spa/ 252 HP/ 6 Def
Surf
HP Electric
Grass Knot
Trick
SpecsBro can actually do a little bit of damage with STAB Surf raining down on Tran and Ape, HP Electric smacking Gyara, and Grass Knot hitting Swampert. Trick also deals with Snorlax and Blissey, which can mess up Azelf.
Infernape @ Choice Scarf
Naive Nature
252 Spa/ 192 Spe/ 64 Atk
Close Combat
Overheat
HP Ice
U-Turn
Infernape here is used for revenge killing, and serves his purpose well. Close Combat can be used to clean up if needed after all fighting resists are taken out. Overheat smacks around Scizor and other Steels. HP Ice tears into Gliscor and the dragons, and U-Turn is utilized for scouting, as well as leaving a dent in foe Latias.
Lucario @ Life Orb
Adamant Nature
252 Atk/ 252 Spe/ 6 HP
Close Combat
Crunch
Extremespeed
Swords Dance
Lucario makes a reliable switch-in to Tyranitar, and also provides a good clean-up if needed. Crunch tears through Gengar and Latias, Extremespeed is great for picking off weak Pokemon, and CC is Lucario's best STAB move.
Azelf @ Life Orb
Timid Nature
252 Spa/ 252 Spe/ 6 HP
Nasty Plot
Flamethrower
HP Fighting
Psychic
Azelf is the main star of the team, and comes out late game to terrorize teams. Flamethrower slams through most Grasses and Scizor, HP Fighting is my best answer to Tyranitar and Heatran, and Psychic rips through anything that doesn't resist it.
Pokemon I Am Considering For This Team.
Suicune- Suicune makes a great Bulky Water, and can counter Gyarados and Heatran very well. He can also give me a good secondary early game sweeper. If brought on the team, Slowbro would leave.
Celebi- Celebi also works against Gyarados, and can provide me with Cleric Support, since nothing on this team takes status too well. If brought on the team, he would go over Slowbro or Lucario.
I've been playing around on the CAP ladder for a while, and found NP Azelf to be very destructive there. I decided to bring Azelf to the Smogon server and build a team around it.
How The Team Came To Be
Azelf was the obvious pick on my team. I then looked at Azelf's counters: Gyarados, Scizor, practically every revenge killer in existence, and Swampert. I solved my problem of the main revenge killers (Heatran and co.) as well as Gyarados by bringing in a Slowbro. Scizor and Swampert can be dispatched by Infernape. I then looked for a good Stealth Rock lead, since Azelf wants Stealth Rock to get OHKOes on things like Salamence from an unboosted STAB Psychic. Aerodactyl had proven to always put up Stealth Rock for me, so I chose him. I then went for something that could mash up a lot of Pokemon early game, making it easy for Azelf to sweep. Taking the word "mash" literally, I chose Metagross. I then went for a reliable switch-in to Tyranitar, as well as a back-up late game sweeper, which I always run on my teams. Lucario was the obvious pick.
The Team Itself
Aerodactyl @ Focus Sash
Jolly Nature
252 Atk/ 252 Spe / 6 HP
Stealth Rock
Earthquake
Rock Slide
Taunt
Your standard, everyday basic Aerodactyl lead. What I like about this guy is his consistency to get Stealth Rock, since only Jolteon, Electrode, and Crobat have higher or equal speeds to him out of all of the non-Uber Pokemon. Stealth Rock usually always go first, since most opponents predict Taunt. I went for ROck Slide because of the fact that Stone Edge had a been on a huge miss streak for me (27 misses in a row at one point).
Metagross @ Choice Band
Adamant Nature
252 Atk/ 252 HP/ 6 Def
Meteor Mash
Bullet Punch/Pursuit
Earthquake/Pursuit
Explosion
Meta tears through a lot of Pokemon with meteor mash, which, coupled with the random attack boosts, makes him quite destructive. I'm trying to find a place for Pursuit on Meta to deal with Latias and Blissey better.
Slowbro @ Choice Specs
Modest Nature
252 Spa/ 252 HP/ 6 Def
Surf
HP Electric
Grass Knot
Trick
SpecsBro can actually do a little bit of damage with STAB Surf raining down on Tran and Ape, HP Electric smacking Gyara, and Grass Knot hitting Swampert. Trick also deals with Snorlax and Blissey, which can mess up Azelf.
Infernape @ Choice Scarf
Naive Nature
252 Spa/ 192 Spe/ 64 Atk
Close Combat
Overheat
HP Ice
U-Turn
Infernape here is used for revenge killing, and serves his purpose well. Close Combat can be used to clean up if needed after all fighting resists are taken out. Overheat smacks around Scizor and other Steels. HP Ice tears into Gliscor and the dragons, and U-Turn is utilized for scouting, as well as leaving a dent in foe Latias.
Lucario @ Life Orb
Adamant Nature
252 Atk/ 252 Spe/ 6 HP
Close Combat
Crunch
Extremespeed
Swords Dance
Lucario makes a reliable switch-in to Tyranitar, and also provides a good clean-up if needed. Crunch tears through Gengar and Latias, Extremespeed is great for picking off weak Pokemon, and CC is Lucario's best STAB move.
Azelf @ Life Orb
Timid Nature
252 Spa/ 252 Spe/ 6 HP
Nasty Plot
Flamethrower
HP Fighting
Psychic
Azelf is the main star of the team, and comes out late game to terrorize teams. Flamethrower slams through most Grasses and Scizor, HP Fighting is my best answer to Tyranitar and Heatran, and Psychic rips through anything that doesn't resist it.
Pokemon I Am Considering For This Team.
Suicune- Suicune makes a great Bulky Water, and can counter Gyarados and Heatran very well. He can also give me a good secondary early game sweeper. If brought on the team, Slowbro would leave.
Celebi- Celebi also works against Gyarados, and can provide me with Cleric Support, since nothing on this team takes status too well. If brought on the team, he would go over Slowbro or Lucario.
