Flipping the Bird

[EnerG218]

A quick look

Introduction

Hey guys, this is my first and latest Gen 6 OU team, and also my first post on smogon forums. The idea of the team is to have a balance between offense and defense and still stay strong against set up sweepers. Though I don't think this team has too many flaws (other than me being terrible at predicting), I believe it can be improved immensely. This team hasn't done anything too impressive and I think my gen 5 OU team might actually be better than this one but with your guys's help, it'll hopefully improve.

Team-building Process

I originally wanted to base a team around Mega-Kangaskhan but it turns out that the gen 6 meta-game was much more complicated than I expected.

The first thing that came to mind when I was wondering what pokémon that I would love to try in combination of Kangaskhan was Talonflame, and I'm glad I chose it.

The next interesting gen 6 pokémon I wanted to try in competitive play was Aegislash, since i loved using it in game.

Whenever a fire-flying type is used, a rapid spinner / defogger desperately needed. Zapdos has great stats and an amazing movepool while also being able to recover. In gen 6 Defog has finally some use, taking out hazards, and Zapdos luckily has it.

This Azumarill set is inspired by ShootingStarmie, kudos to him for making this amazing set and he is awesome, you should follow him x). Imanalt also inspired me to change Aegislash to Doublade and showed me how Swords Dance on Aegislash is inferior to Doublade.

The final step for me in making this balanced team is Goodra, considering I have a currently balanced team except a special wall. Goodra fills in that last spot and I believe it works perfectly.

A more exact look

Peppy Hare (Azumarill) (M)

Splash Plate
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Superpower
- Waterfall

Azumarill is an amazing bulky physical attacker. In every year since his first appearance in 2000 for North Americans, he has been buffed crazily. This gen, he has been gifted the fairy typing. I'd have to admit, I was never a fan of the fairy typing but on Azumarill, the typing made it more bulky than every before. Not only allowing it to resist most typings during combat, it also allows Azumarill many easy switch-ins on dark types, fighting types, dragon types, and bug type pokémon. Azumarill really only has one good fairy stab, which is Play Rough (stab moves are Italicized) because most fairy type moves are special. Waterfall is the main damage output next to possibly Play Rough and Aqua jet for the priority revenge kills. Superpower for most people seems cliche but for me, is honestly quite irregular, but since i have no fighting types, this will have to do.

Banjo (Kangaskhan) (F)

Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch

Kangaskhan is the hard hitting badass that takes out anything in sight after one turn. The moveset of this kangaskhan isn't very original but I find it works the best, better than fake out sets in my opinion at least so please don't suggest them :v. Mega Kangaskhan's new ability Parental Bond makes it one of the best pokémon in this generation. Power up punch is like a 60 base powered Swords Dance, since it hits twice which means it doubles your attack and your second hit will be regular damage (after the 1.5 boost). Return is just an amazing stab move and Earthquake and Sucker Punch are pretty self explanatory.

Kazooie (Talonflame) (F)

Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Tailwind

As Talonflame was first being introduced, people didn't see much from it. Later when its dream world ability was confirmed, people went crazy about it; so did I. Gale Wings gives all flying type moves priority and moves like Tailwind adds support for the rest of your team. Brave Bird is the main damaging move on Talonflame, which is only because it gets priority. Flare Blitz is its move for pokémon that resist Flying type moves namely Ferrothorn. U-Turn is for scouting because I usually send out Talonflame first.

Flame Shields UP! (Doublade) (M)

Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Def
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
IVs: 0 Spd
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance
- Gyro Ball
- Sacred Sword
Now most people would ask, why Doublade over Aegislash? Well, the Eviolite + Swords Dance combo makes this NFE godly. The base defense for this tank is 150 which is extremely high for a NFE but its Special Defense is only 49, which is covered by Goodra. I was actually very tempted to try a mixed stallbreaker Aegislash but I thought this set would work better on my team at least. Shadow Sneak is its STAB priority move, making up for its low speed. Swords Dance is this monster's set up sweep move. Iron Head is the main output of damage with the accompany of Sacred Sword. EDIT: I am now using Gyro Ball thanks to explorer's suggestion and it works wonders. Thanks by the way!

Pac Ghosts (Goodra) (F)

Assault Vest
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Dragon Pulse
- Thunderbolt
- Sludge Wave
- Flamethrower

On my team, there is no way Goodra wouldn't be in it. It is adorable, yet powerful and can take hits liek a bawss. Goodra's Special Defense is godly, while her physical defense is made up for by Doublade. Goodra has a decent physical and specially offensive movepool and great stats in both categories but special Goodra fits better on my team since every pokémon up until now is physical. Dragon Pulse is just for a decent STAB move while Thunderbolt and Flamethrower are for better coverage. I prefer Thunderbolt over Ice beam on Goodra considering it is part dragon. Sludge wave is to counter any pesky darn fairies that get in this powerhouse's way.

Zap em Hoes (Zapdos)

Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SAtk / 8 SDef
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Heat Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Defog
- Roost

Zapdos is a rare instance, being quite specially offensive while holding its bulk and still having a move to remove hazards. For its offensive moves, I chose Heat Wave and Thunderbolt for nice coverage and great amounts of damage. Defog is used to get rid of hazards so that sticky web and Stealth Rocks don't ruin Talonflame. Roost is to recover when it has taken some toll.

Conclusion

In conclusion, many pokemon that are used on this team are person preference so suggestions would help immensely. Thanks for reading this!

Importable

Hide

Peppy Hare (Azumarill) (M) @ Splash Plate
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Superpower
- Waterfall

Banjo (Kangaskhan) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch

Flame Shields UP! (Doublade) (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance
- Gyro Ball
- Sacred Sword

Kazooie (Talonflame) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Tailwind

Pac Ghosts (Goodra) (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Calm Nature
- Dragon Pulse
- Thunderbolt
- Sludge Wave
- Flamethrower

Zap em Hoes (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SAtk / 8 SDef
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Defog
- Roost

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[Explorer]

I like the idea behind the team, and I should try the Doublade set! That being said, there are a several problems I would like to address.

1. Doublade's role is confusing. Is it a sweeper, or your physical wall? If Kangaskhan is your main sweeper, Doublade can take on a slightly different role. I recommend this set:

Doublade (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP/4 Atk/252 Def
Nature: Relaxed
IVs: 0 Spe
-Gyro Ball
-Shadow Sneak
-Swords Dance
-Toxic

This set makes the most of Doublade's exceptional physical bulk. If you can get to +4 attack you can run through a weakened team via spamming Shadow Sneak. Gyro Ball will typically be stronger than Iron Head since Doublade is so slow, helping to make up for the initial attack point loss. The loss of Sacred Sword is of minimal concern since you have lots of moves to hit Steel-types with already. Rather, Toxic is helpful for wearing down the opponent to make a Kangaskhan sweep easier.

2. Talonflame is too frail with all the recoil and residual damage. To help manage that, I recommend switching the item for a Flame Plate to boost Flare Blitz's power more, particularly upon hitting weak foes such as Ferrothorn.

3. You have no hazards. To handle that, I recommend replacing Azumarill with Swampert to solve that issue. I will keep the offensive nature of the set for you though:

Swampert (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SpA
Nature: Brave/Naughty
-Earthquake
-Stealth Rock
-Waterfall
-Ice Beam/Focus Blast/Sludge Wave

This lets you get similar power to Azumarill with slightly better physical bulk, an electric immunity, and Stealth Rock. This will support your team greatly. Earthquake is the main STAB for Aegislash, Heliolisk, Pyroar, and so on. Waterfall is the secondary STAB for opposing Ground-types. Finally, the last move is based on preference. Ice Beam shuts down Dragons and Trenevant, Focus Blast hits Mega Kangaskhan and Dark-types, while Sludge Wave nails Fairy-types and Grass-types at once. Swampert's wide movepool also gives you other, less notable options such as Iron Tail and Hidden Power Fire.

4. Doublade and Kangaskhan likely get worn down too fast without recovery. With that in mind, I suggest replacing Goodra with Umbreon--it has excellent specially defensive stats and it still lures in Fighting moves for Doublade, while supporting the team as a whole more.

Umbreon (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 SpD
Nature: Calm
IVs: 0 Atk
-Wish
-Heal Bell
-Protect
-Foul Play

Umbreon sacrifices Goodra's coverage for more team support. It clears your team of status and passes gigantic wishes in case Kangaskhan needs a second chance to sweep. It resists two of Doublade's weaknesses, and Doublade resists all of Umbreon's weaknesses except for Fairy-types, which it scares out anyway.

*If you insist on keeping Goodra, switch the ability to Gooey since you have no physical attacks on it.

 

[xqgwpafz]

I'd disagree with just about everything Explorer said. I like the look of Umbreon though. Possibly could be good.

Sorry that I don't have time for an actual rate. I might come back to this team. Good luck.