From Lerker To Player

[aburame_shino]

This is really my first competitive team. I've been I've been lurking the forums since about mid-4th gen, but never really started playing competitively. With the introduction of 5th gen, I decided now is as good of time as ever to start playing.

Team at a glance:

The Lead

GuiTar (Tyranitar) (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 88 SAtk / 168 SDef
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Superpower
- Stealth Rock
- Payback
- Fire Blast

I originally had Hippowdon in this position, but I've never regretted switching. Tyranitar serves as my weather inducer and Stealth Rock lead, much like Hippowdon was. Unlike Hippowdon though, Tyranitar packs quite the offensive punch. With the HP and Special Defense (back by the Sand Storm), he has quite the special bulk. What I like about him is his ability to handle Magic Mirror leads (which Hippowdon had trouble with). He is usually able to take them down and then set up Rocks. Payback is used for stab over Crunch, as Tyranitar is really slow without his Scarf. Fire Blast deals with Steels like Nattorei and Fortress who like to come in and try to set up. Superpower rounds out his coverage, hitting opposing Tyranitars for massive damage. Overall a very solid lead.

Fighting attack go to Starmie and Morobareru.
Ground attack go to Morobareru, Doryuuzu, and Heatran (depending on who they are coming from).

The Revenge Killer

InB4Ban (Garchomp) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Fire Blast

Ahh Garchomp. Oh how you were missed. In my opinion, Garchomp is one of the best OU revenge killers in the game. He offers great speed and attack, as well as surprising bulk for a Dragon. I use Outrage over Dragon Claw, as I find the power difference quite noticeable. Earthquake offers great stab that complements his Dragon stab. I use Stone Edge as a way to hit bulky Zapdos, which can be kind of annoying for this team. Finally Fire Fang is mainly used to hit Nattorei, who takes laughable damage for Garchomp's other attacks. I choose Jolly over Adamant as a way to revenge kill Rock Polish and Dragon Dance users.

Dragon attacks go to Heatran and sometimes Morobareru (if they are physical).
Ice attacks go to Starmie and Heatran.

The Late Game Sweeper

Mach5 (Doryuuzu) (M) @ Balloon
Trait: Sand Throw
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor
- Swords Dance

The terror of Generation 5 plays a strong role in my team, as it does in Sand Storm teams nowadays. Doryuuzu comes in late game after its counters have been eliminated and proceeds to sweep. I chose Balloon over other items in order to give him more chances to set up. The Spikes immunity is also really nice. Earthquake and Rock Slide for the quasi QuakeEdge coverage. I chose Brick Break in the last slot to help mainly against opposing Balloon Doryuuzu's, although I have been thinking about X-Scissor in order to help against Lat@os and Rankurusu.

Fighting attacks go to Starmie and Morobareru.
Water attacks got to Starmie and Morobareru.

The Hard-Hitting Special Sweeper

NotQuiteA (Starmie) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic

I chose this guy to help with my Ice and Water weakness. I originally had Life Orb over Choice Specs, but the recoil + Sand Storm usually wore him down too much. It also gave me room to add Psychic, which is useful for revenge killing boosted Roobushin. I've chosen Hydro Pump over Surf for the increased damage output it offers. Surf has been tempting, as I can count a few games that came down to me missing my Hydro Pump. Thunderbolt and Ice Beam round out the coverage. I really like the damage output of Specs. Being locked into a move usually isn't that bad, as I can usually predict around switches.

Electric attacks go to Morobareru, Garchomp, and Doryuuzu.
Grass attacks go to Heatran, Morobareru, and Garchomp.
Dark and Ghost attack go to Tyranitar and Heatran.

The Flying Death

RedBarron (Heatran) (M) @ Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 128 HP / 216 SAtk / 104 SDef / 60 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Grass]

I must admit, I saw this set on another RMT thread and I thought it looked like the prefect Fire member for my F/W/G core (if this is your set, please let me know so I can give you credit). Anyways, Heatran helps my team by absorbing a lot of special attacks. He can come in on Fire and Ground attacks with immunity, and his typing provide him a plethora of other times to come in. He makes a great counter to non-Balloon Heatran. The HP and Special Defense give his reasonable special bulk. The four moves provide great coverage. Plus, he looks so cut with his little balloon :3

Water attacks go to Starmie and Morobareru.
Fighting attacks got to Starmie and Morobareru.
Ground attacks go to Morobareru and Doryuuzu (sometimes).

The Unexpected Wall

Doritos (Morobareru) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Regeneration
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Spore
- Stun Spore
- Giga Drain
- Clear Smog

Without a doubt, he is one of my favorite Generation 5 pokemon. You wouldn't think it by looking at him, but he is surprisingly bulky. He comes in with 432 / 262 / 206 defenses and an attitude ready to wall some serious threats (along with a little help from Regeneration). His typing makes him an excellent counter to stat boosting Fighting types like Roobushin and Zuruzukin. He can basically sit there all day hitting them with Clear Smog to make all their boosts worthless. He can then fight back with a nice stab'ed Giga Drain to restore HP. Spore and Stun Spore offer some great support for my team. With the mechanic change to sleep, any sleeping pokemon is as good as dead. Plus, Heatran really enjoys Stun Spore. Slowed down sweepers make it easier to score some kills with his excellent coverage. The accuracy can be really annoying at some times, so I have been thinking about Toxic as an alternative.

Ice attacks go to Starmie and Heatran.
Fire attacks go to Starmie and Heatran.
Psychic attacks go to Starmie and Heatran.

Well, that's my first team. It has been working out well so far, but I would like some help to make it better. Thanks for the read :)

 

[masterful]

Techniloom can really hurt your team with a small amount of prediction, as it holds a STAB SE attack on 4 of your 6 members and can likely 2HKO the majority of them, not too hard a task with some prediction. Just saying. Might wanna make a threat list and rethink the use of Heatran, especially with a balloon, as it makes him vulnerable to Breloom's Spore and any STAb fighting attack

 

[Jaroda]

Fire Blast is stronger on Scarfchomp even with the minus SpA nature, especially for things like Skarmory.

I think X-Scissor is more useful on Doryuzuu, considering it really puts a stop to my Latios when I try to revenge.

Your's is only the second Morobareru I've seen. Good pairing with regeneration and it can really cripple many threats with it's status and hazing ability.

Pretty good balance overall, and the feared Tyranitar/Garchomp/Doryuzuu core. Rankurusu will be an issue without X-Scissor after your Tyranitar is gone. Poison Heal Gliscor will cause headaches with Ground and Flying STAB after your Starmie has kicked it.

Pretty solid team overall though. Weather fights with Rain teams seem like the biggest hassle. 8/10

 

[Gehenna]

Interesting F/W/G core; normally I'd say to replace something like Morobarereu, but if he's working well for you, go for it. But watch out for things like Breloom, and, to a lesser extent, Birijion. Her Sp. Def let's her take you're Starmie's Psychic and beat it to kingdom come and back with a Leaf Blade.

 

[min min]

X-scissor is still the best option for Doryuuzu as it allows you to beat quite a few walls/slightly bulky pokemon:

Randorosu
Latias (Latios to a certain extent)
Celebi
Tangrowth
Evo Stone Tangela
Shaymin
Bronzong
Gliscor
Rankurusu
Torterra HELL YEAH
Birijion with certain investments

But if you really can't revenge/wall opposing Doryuuzu then Brick Break should work, it's just really redundant otherwise. Well, this just goes to show how centralising Doryuzuu really is.

 

[aburame_shino]

Techniloom can really hurt your team with a small amount of prediction, as it holds a STAB SE attack on 4 of your 6 members and can likely 2HKO the majority of them, not too hard a task with some prediction. Just saying. Might wanna make a threat list and rethink the use of Heatran, especially with a balloon, as it makes him vulnerable to Breloom's Spore and any STAb fighting attack

Morobareru is a great counter Breloom. Starmie can also outspeed and hit with Ice Beam or Psychic. After they are gone, he can be trouble. Have any ideas to help this problem?

Fire Blast is stronger on Scarfchomp even with the minus SpA nature, especially for things like Skarmory.

I think X-Scissor is more useful on Doryuzuu, considering it really puts a stop to my Latios when I try to revenge.

Your's is only the second Morobareru I've seen. Good pairing with regeneration and it can really cripple many threats with it's status and hazing ability.

Pretty good balance overall, and the feared Tyranitar/Garchomp/Doryuzuu core. Rankurusu will be an issue without X-Scissor after your Tyranitar is gone. Poison Heal Gliscor will cause headaches with Ground and Flying STAB after your Starmie has kicked it.

Pretty solid team overall though. Weather fights with Rain teams seem like the biggest hassle. 8/10

I've added X-Scissor and Fire Blast, and they have helped.

Yeah Morobareru is a boss. He really helps with the Fighting weakness.

Gliscor can be annoying. I pretty much need Starmie alive to counter it. Any ideas to help with this problem?

As with any weather battles, it's pretty much about who can keep their weather starter alive the longest. Luckily Morobareru is a great Politoad counter.

Interesting F/W/G core; normally I'd say to replace something like Morobarereu, but if he's working well for you, go for it. But watch out for things like Breloom, and, to a lesser extent, Birijion. Her Sp. Def let's her take you're Starmie's Psychic and beat it to kingdom come and back with a Leaf Blade.

I've added X-Scissor, and its really helped against Birijion.

X-scissor is still the best option for Doryuuzu as it allows you to beat quite a few walls/slightly bulky pokemon:

Randorosu
Latias (Latios to a certain extent)
Celebi
Tangrowth
Evo Stone Tangela
Shaymin
Bronzong
Gliscor
Rankurusu
Torterra HELL YEAH
Birijion with certain investments

But if you really can't revenge/wall opposing Doryuuzu then Brick Break should work, it's just really redundant otherwise. Well, this just goes to show how centralising Doryuzuu really is.

X-Scissor has been added.

Thanks for the help everyone!