[Gen 4] My Favorite, my Best, my Unneeded

[AntiMetaGame]

Heya Smogon! This will be one of my last rates for 4th Gen as Black and White has already come to America. Before I dive headfirst into the unknown abyss, I want to post my favorite and best team. Though I've already posted a variation of it - found here:
http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84193
I feel the I still need to post the final version of it. It may be stupid, because you could piece it together if you read the comments and such, but I felt that I wanted the final version to be seen and understood. Anyways, here's my team:
Big, Bulky, and in your face or as it is known as now: My Favorite, my best, my unneeded:

My Favorite, my Best, my Unneeded

Ok... so... I wanted to use my favorite sweeper - Agiligross

Agility Metagross hates several things - Rotom, Skarm, Zapdos, Bulky Waters, and EQ. Heatran beats all of them except bulky waters if he lacks HP Grass.

I'm still weak to Earthquake which also coincidently is one of Metagross' problems . I chose Bulky DD Gyarados. He's immune to EQ, and helps Heatran as well.

Heatran and Gyara pretty much make up 2/3 of a FWG core that I made on accident. Since bulky waters are still trouble, I decided on running Proseed Shaymin. He takes boosted attacks well and can respond with a 1HKO.

4 members in, and I already have forgotten a lead. I LOVE CB Azelf. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. I don't care if its the trend now, Faladran recommended this to me way back in December, and it still is my favorite lead. He nabs 1HKOs on leads and is more than ready to stop rocks from coming on the field.

My Shoddy buddy (who's now my PO buddy) said I needed a hard hitter. I chose CB Ape and it was kinda lol. I still tried him out though and he did an ok job.

'
Since using CB ape was a joke and lol (seriously, he was impossible to get in at times) I decided to use Flygon to cover for LO Jolteon who would otherwise give me problems. Also, thanks to Smith, I changed Metagross to a Trick + Iron Ball Gross to cripple steels, Rotom, other pokes. This way, gross became my "heavy hitter".

More in Depth
Changes in ORANGE

Azelf (TwinBlade)
Jolly
Levitate
Choice Band
144 Atk / 112 SDef / 252 Spd
- Zen Headbutt
- Ice Punch
- Explosion
- U-turn
I love this little guy. In all honesty, LO Azelf is much better at covering leads. However, since Aero beats LO, I was recommended to use CB to beat the crap out of things while still being able to stop rocks from coming. I still lose to Aero, but I haven't seen many Aero leads lately. Here's a small list on how he does against other leads: Wins in Gray, loses in Blue, ties in black
Azelf- U-Turn kills LO Azelf. Standard sash guys go to the sash and get revenged killed by Flygon
Machamp - Zen Headbutt 1HKOs and you can somehow hear the other guy raging.
Gliscor - Ice Punch 1HKOS
Swampert - Explosion 1HKOS
Heatran- Explosion 1HKOS
Hippodown - Exploson 1HKOS
Dragonite - Ice Punch 1HKOS
Metagross - U-turn to Hetran as they generally mash first expecting taunt. However, sometimes they'll set up rocks first turn.
Aerodactyl - Generally, they'll set up rocks first turn as I U-turn to Flygon. I think gross would be a better option, but I'm not sure.
Weavile - He's faster, but he'll still assume I've a sash. After the Fake-Out, I go to Gyara.
Bronzong - U-turn to Tran. If he sets up rain, I'm sometimes fucked as he'll then set up Light Screen which stops me from 2HKOing.
Roserade - U-turn to Shaymin, then to Flygon
Smeargle - Taunt and rocks
Ninjask - Probably the worst match up. After I u-turn, I go to Gyara to taunt.
Jirachi - Tricky... I lack a scarfer. If he Iron Heads, I go to tran, if he tricks, I've got a scarfed Azelf
Covers: Heatran, Metagross
Covered by: Lone Ranger here, but Gyara and Flygon to an extent

Heatran (Vesuvius)
Mild
Flash Fire
Shuca Berry
36 HP / 252 SAtk / 220 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Explosion
Covers: Metagross
Covered by: Gyarados, Azelf, Flygon
Shuca Berry Tran is an okay tran. I prefer subtran the most, but hey, this guy can net a surprise KO on any Gyara and nite who think they can set up OR scare out steels who think I'm scarfed. I didn't opt for Hidden Power Grass since most perts are leads and 1HKOd by Azelf's WTFBOOM. Generally though, they may switch in as I set up SR. However HP Grass will always be a 2HKO which means I'll have to waste my berry if I try to KO.

Gyarados (FirstBlood)
Adamant
Intimidate
Leftovers
156 HP / 72 Att / 96 Def / 184 Spe
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Taunt
Bulky DD Gyara is generally more of a glue than Flygon. I like him since with Intimidate, he's like a fast skarm. He also can set up as well if need by and sweep. I generally Waterfall spam with him early game to find his counters and checks. If opposing Gyara come in, I'll switch to Shaymin for Leech Seed stall, or Stone Edge them while they Stone Edge me if I feel lucky.
Covers: Heatran
Covered by: Shaymin, Flygon

Shaymin (Shy Men)
Modest
Natural Cure
Leftovers
252 HP / 180 Spe / 76 SpA
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Seed Flare
- Hidden Power Ice
I like this guy a lot. So much, that I've never used Celebi before. Its a shame he doesn't get instant recovery, though its a plus that he's my Bliss check. I generally send this guy in on Bliss and leech seed stall, scout for status moves, and then go to Gyara to get health back and taunt. I love how he can take +1 attacks from most sweepers, Leech Seed them, and protect stall if need be. Other times, I'll simply HP Ice to 1HKO nite after rocks, or Seed Flare for scouting.
Covers: Gyara, Heatran, Flygon
Covered by: Heatran

Metagross (Maxed Out)
Iron Ball
236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Spe
Adamant
-Trick
-Meteor Mash
-Earthquake
-Explosion
To tell the truth, I've only read on this Metagross when I was one day swept by an Agiligross, my original main sweeper. Sometimes, I forget he's not Agiligross and accidently save him for last and lose because I forget he's slow. Otherwise though, if I remember, I'll send him in mid game, trick on the switch to cripple Rotom, Skarm, etc., and Meteor Mash on the switch since most smart players predict the Earthquake. I do like his power, since he opens up many holes.
Covers: Not really a cover, but he comes in on priority or and weak attack he can easily absorb.
Covered by: Heatran, Gyarados, Flygon

Flygon (Hero)
Jolly
Levitate
Choice Scarf
252 Atk/252 Spd/4 SpDef
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- ThunderPunch
- U-turn
Meh... this guy is a bit weak, but attacking isn't his main job. I've been watching some 5th Gen battles and always compare this guy to chomp. Sadly, chomp beats this guy in almost every way imaginable (cept U-turn, but chomp kills without needing to scout). I do try to eliminate steels so that this guy can Outrage spam. I chose ThunderPunch over Stone Edge because 1 miss could seal the deal for me and make me lose the game.
Covers: Heatran
Covered by: Gyara (kinda), Heatran

Weaknesses
Fixed weaknesses in ORANGE

I don't know my weaknesses too much, but I will post what gives me trouble.

Rain Teams - I've never played a good player using a rain team, but it really hurts me a lot since it makes most of my team - Gyara (water resists water), Azelf (swift swim kills him), tran (no more fire power literally and figuratively), gross (ludicolo anyone?).
Zapdos - Not a really big problem. However,I seriously need to see more of these things. Zapdos is basically a special Evire, who has insane coverage. I haven't seen enough of these, so I'm not sure of what to do. Generally, I'll play around to find his Hidden Power with Shaymin. Heat Wave generally means Ice or Grass so I go to tran for some Fire Blast spam. Trick Iron Ball Gross beats this guy, but I generally end up tricking a Rotom or some other wall on the team.

If you know any other weaknesses, please tell me.

Conclusion
Well, its been a great run with Gen 4. I still will play it, but for now, I want to try out Rankurusu and Scarf chomp. Thanks for reading, and please tell me what I need to know to improve.

One Last Look:

 

[BKC]

Hi AntiMetagame,

solid bulky offense team utilizing Metagross as always. There are some things that I think could be improved though.

A combination of (Toxic) Spikes+offensive Suicune really hurts this team. (Toxic) Spikes really hurt Shaymin's tanking ability, meaning it will often be extremely weak / dead by the time Suicune comes in and sets up, which it can very easily do vs unboosted Gyarados. It is often paired with Forretress because they cover each others weaknesses well, and Forry can set up T-Spikes and Spikes, which really will bring your team's demise, vs the likes of Metagross and Flygon. Your Azelf can outspeed Suicune and Explode but it's far from an ideal check because it tends to die very early in the game since you like to Explode vs bulky leads such as Swampert, Heatran and Hippowdon. Metagross can take one hit at most and Explode but if there are multiple layers of Spikes and / or it has taken previous damage, forget it. Flygon's Jolly nature means it cannot KO with Outrage unless Suicune is at 50% (if you get lucky and roll max damage) or lower, seeing as you deal 42.4% - 50.3% to the standard offensive variant. Some people like to run a spread of 168 HP / 224 Spe / 112 SpA though, and vs those you will only do 37.9% - 44.9%.

There are two fixes I'd like to suggest to this problem: Venusaur > Shaymin and mixed Metagross > Trick+Iron Ball.

Your first thought may be 'venusaur? wtf! he's uu!' This is a common thought many people have, but the truth is Venusaur is actually a very good Pokemon in the current OU metagame. The main advantages he has over other grass types like Shaymin and Celebi are his ability to absorb Toxic Spikes as well as having access to Sleep Powder. He's one of the best counters to offensive Suicune on bulky offense teams in the game, taking about half damage at max from a +1 Ice Beam and responding by putting it to sleep, proceeding to Leech Seed and pound it with a couple of Energy Balls (which is used over Grass Knot because Substitute Rotom-A also gives this team some trouble). It also provides you with a great check to Breloom, resisting Focus Punch and being able to hit back with a super effective Sludge Bomb. Leech Seed can also be used to heal your other teammates up. The set runs a Calm nature, holding Black Sludge, an EV spread of 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SDef, with a moveset of Sleep Powder / Leech Seed / Energy Ball / Sludge Bomb.

The other suggestion I have, mixed Metagross, will help with your problem of Forretress setting up entry hazards against you. If you see that the opponent is running a semi-stall/stall team, you're generally not going to use Flygon until the endgame where you try to clean everything up, which leaves Metagross as the sole mon Forry might try to set up on. By running a mixed set with HP Fire, you can surprise KO it and not only stop it from setting up a ton of Spikes, but you can prevent it from Rapid Spinning your Stealth Rock away. Trick+Iron Ball is nice and all but the mixed set still messes up Skarm, not to mention Psychic really puts a dent in Rotom-A (you also have Heatran who tanks it for days). The set runs a Quiet nature, holding an Expert Belt, an EV spread of 80 HP / 124 Atk / 252 SpA / 52 Spe, with a moveset of Meteor Mash / Psychic / Grass Knot / Hidden Power [Fire].

Just some things to consider, as this is a very solid team. Good luck!

 

[ShadowGengar]

Only one notice

In my opinion, it would be better if gengar had a hidden power(fire) instead of pain split

 

[AntiMetaGame]

Thanks for the advice BBK, though I've a question. If I change Shaymin to Venusaur won't I become to weak to DD nite and gyara since then I'm forced to intimidate with my own gyara or send in flygon?

 

[BKC]

Thanks for the advice BBK, though I've a question. If I change Shaymin to Venusaur won't I become to weak to DD nite and gyara since then I'm forced to intimidate with my own gyara or send in flygon?

Shaymin doesn't solve your DD Nite weakness, seeing as once it gets +1, it's going to be KOing you with Outrage no matter what.

Adamant Life Orb: 105.7% - 124.8%
Adamant Lum Berry: 81.7% - 96% (usually a KO after rocks)
Jolly Life Orb: 96.5% - 113.6% (always a KO after rocks)
Jolly Lum Berry: 74.3% - 87.6%

So the only kind of offensive Dnite your Shaymin can live a +1 Outrage from is Jolly Lum Berry, and that's only if you're at damn near full HP, which is nearly never the case. You're better off sticking to Flygon as a means to kill it.

 

[-TG-]

If you're scared of DD nite/gyara then you can run a variant choice scarf gengar set.
Gengar@ Choice Scarf
Timid 252 Spe/ 252 SpA
Tbolt
HP Fire
Icy Wind
Shadow ball
I think the thing cleans up better than a scarfed Flygon and I've never been a big fan of Uturn anyways. Icy wind is very useful late game if youre getting outsped,

 

[Faladran]

Solid team, although there are a couple of issues. Stall will often be problematic, in addition to Electric-types immune to Ground (Rotom-A, Zapdos). SubRoost Zapdos is especially threatening because it gets a lot of easy switch-ins and can outspeed Shaymin to get off the Roost before HP Ice hits.

One thing you could do to help against stall is use Earth Power over HP Ice on Shaymin. Most stall players depend on Blissey to cover offensive Shaymin and on Heatran to combat Leech Seed Shaymin, so a set with both of the moves can catch them off guard, provided you can weaken opponents into KO range.

For Zapdos, I would use offensive Superachi with Calm Mind / Psychic / Thunderbolt / HP Ground. It does TrickGross' job better since it can actually stat up against weaker special attackers like the SubRoost set, whereas Substitute shuts down Trick. The alternate moveset with Grass Knot and HP Fire is usable, although HP Ground gains the surprise KO on Heatran and takes some pressure off Gyarados having to switch into Stealth Rock.

 

[Doctor Who?]

Okay, so just lurking and looking at this team, I reckon with trick iron ball meta, by running eq>>stone edge on gyara to catch tricked rotoms and skarmorys, which are common counters for both. Also, to further this gyara sweep strategy may I suggest passho and explosion on heatran, for the bulky water lure/takeout?

That'll knock out pretty much all gyara counters straight off the bat, which will help you finish it with ease, great team though, and I apologize if other raters have made my suggestions already.