Good Game. [OU RMT]

[gregoryd]

Hello, and welcome to my last RMT of the D/P metagame. After a long absence from battling as my computer was broken, I came back and became bored of it really fast, until i made this team, I didn't really have a goal with this team, which makes it alot more fun, as my game plans weren't static, which i believe bored me in my other teams.

Okay so,
Here is my team!

(Azelf) @ Colbur Berry
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 8 HP / 140 Atk / 216 Spd / 144 SDef
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- U-turn
- Explosion
Colbur berry Azelf is arguably one of the best leads at this moment. And I have had a good history with it, as i used it way before it became well known, or even on this site. Its pretty standard, but i am wondering if its possible, without letting its explosion become noticeable weaker, to make it bulky enough to take a leadnites draco meteor. U-turn lets him break the sash of leads, while explosion lets him go out in a blaze of glory.
Lead matchups
Is for a win/easy time. Is for hard/50/50 chance of winning. Is for lose.

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Azelf: U-turn out, breaking sash on sashed leads, while if its a slower colbur variant, bring out flygon, for a fast U-turn back to azelf when it U-turns to a flygon check, and if it wins the speed tie, and u-turns out, bring out a counter/check for the pokemon they send out.

Aerodactyal: U-turn to scizor on the taunt and bullet punch before it gets rocks up.

Machamp: Stealth rock on the payback, explosion on the bullet punch.
Swampert: Taunt, Stealth rock, explosion.

Metagross: Stealth rock hoping it doesn't have meteor mash, and if he does, hope for the miss.

Dragonite:I can rather sacrifice azelf, or let metagross take big damage from draco meteor.

Heatran: Stealth rock first in case its a specs, if it is, i only get Stealth rock up, otherwise, he gets stealth rock up, but azelf isn't damaged.

Infernape: Take the fake out + fire blast while getting rocks up, then switch to suicune.

Ninjask: Rocks while it protects, then taunt, or if i feel risky, get +6 on scizor while it gets boosts, then bullet punch the recipitent.

Hippowdon: Taunt, Stealth Rock, U-turn to Suicune.

Roserade: Taunt, Stealth rock, Possibly u-turn out.


If I'm forgetting anything, tell me.

Scizor (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Brick Break
- Bug Bite
The popularity of CB scizor makes this a beast, as he forces many switches, which lets me set up swords dance and usually take down at least one pokemon with him. I used to have substitute machamp in this place, but it didn't do much. Bullet Punch is his main attack, while Brick Break is for coverage and Bug Bite is his strongest STAB attack, letting him KO bulky waters that resist bullet punch much easier.

Suicune @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Electric]
Even though Suicune may not get as many KO's as lets say, Scizor, he probably is my teams MVP, he takes the fire attacks aimed at Metagross and scizor, the ice attacks aimed at Flygon/Yanmega if i don't want metagross out yet, and can still sweep many teams. Leftovers is used over life orb as the healing is worth more than the added power on a bulky pokemon. I usually calm mind once/twice to try to sweep. Having near perfect coverage really helps suicune, as nothing resisting his moves makes his lower that average power great.

Metagross @ Life Orb
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 112 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 132 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Agility
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- ThunderPunch
Since the first pokemon on my team was a Yanmega, I looked for a good partner for it, and i found Gyarados and Metagross, I didn't want 2 stealth rock weak pokemon on my team since I wasn't planning on running a spinner, so I decided that Metagross would be the better choice. Agiligross is the second best late game sweeper in my opinion, behind lucario, so hes a welcome addition to my team. Unfortuantly he is probably my least used member, as usually other pokemon are the better choice against different threats, but when hes used, he is good.

Flygon (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- ThunderPunch
- U-turn
Looking at my team, I needed a revenge killer, plus a reliable way to beat gyarados and other pokemon, so i decided to use Flygon. You may ask, why thunderpunch and an adamant nature, and the reason is that thunder punch lets me kill +1 gyarados without me losing any pokemon, while the extra power is worth speed tieing with Jirachi. He is also a nice t-wave/ electric absorber which is great on an offensive team like mine. Only problem, is that even after adamant nature, Flygon still lacks raw power, but i try to keep him from using Outrage unless he is needed to.

Yanmega (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Tinted Lens
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Bug Buzz
- Air Slash
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- U-turn
Testing out specsmega was the reason why i built this team, and i do not regret it, as tinted lens is one of the best abilities in the game, along with specs and useable speed he is great against any slower, yet bulkier team that relies on synergy since only heatran resists Bug Buzz, Hidden Power Ground is to kill any heatran on a predicted switch, while U-turn is mostly filler, as have never used it before, as one of the other attacks is always better in all the situations i have used.
Problems to my team
Zapdos: I have no reliable way to take down this bird, unless he comes in on my +1 suicune. Isn't too much of a threat, though, as Flygon can force him out 9/10 times on a predicted thunderbolt.
Vaporeon: I just noticed this lately, Wish + Protect Vaporeon is tough to take down with my team, easier to take down than Zapdos, but can still be a bit of a bitch.

 

[Smith]

Hey I got your message, this team is very interesting and I love the Yanmega touch. Unfortunately, he is also probably your most expendable member. Really one of the major turn-off of my favourite Dragonite set, CB, is that he's weak to SR and can only switch in 4 times- I can't even imagine what it is like for Yanmega using that set. But obviously the team is built around him so let's keep him, I have a different suggestion-

You claim a weakness to Zapdos and Vaporeon, but I'd also point out scarfed rotom forms- stop Scizor, Metagross, Suicune (coz of trick), are many teams' answer for Azelf, can switch into Flygon's choice'd earthquake and can revenge Yanmega. So to patch up these weaknesses without altering the team too much, I'd ask you to try LO Starmie instead of Suicune:

252 SpAtk / 252 Spe / 4 HP Timid
Hydro Pump / Thunderbolt / Ice Beam / Rapid Spin

This is a great answer to Zapdos, as long as it doesn't switch into a Thunderbolt (this can be insured by using Scizor / Flygon) and spamming Ice Beam. Beats Vaporeon with Thunderbolt and can shrug off status with Natural Cure. That's not really why I chose this guy however, it's because Yanmega really appreciates Rapid Spin support, which you have here. He can also give stall a hard time (something you currently struggle with, Skarm Bliss walls the whole team) and, perhaps more crucially, lures in Rotom and KOs/Dents to give the rest of your team a better chance of sweeping. He also demolishes fwg cores, but Suciune already did that so not much different there.

I hope this suggestion helps, good luck with this team!

 

[Faladran]

Beaten by Smith again :(

Notable Problems

• Zapdos/Rotom-A

This has already been mentioned, but your team as is currently has a problem dealing with airborne Electric-types. Zapdos and Rotom-A are the specific examples here, as both can comfortably wall half your team with their defensive sets, while remaining major threats if they are offensive variants.

• Stealth Rock

Yanmega has the potential to be great in OU, but using it outside of the lead spot takes a lot away from its effectiveness. The fact that you're not using a Rapid Spinner means that between Stealth Rock damage and Yanmega's frailty, it won't survive long enough to do much of anything.

Suggestions

• Replace Yanmega

I did like Smith's suggestion of LO Starmie over Suicune somewhat, and the Rapid Spin support would have been great for getting Yanmega in safely, but I would recommend that you not use Starmie. My reasoning behind this is the fact that Suicune provides an invaluable switch-in to strong Fire-attacks. While Suicune is bulky enough to take on just about any resisted attack, LO Starmie is taking a huge chunk of damage switching into something like a Heatran's Fire Blast or Overheat, and its lack of Recover means it won't be surviving very long either.

Since your problems seem to be mainly opposing Electric-types, a simple LO Jolteon in the position that Yanmega currently occupies should patch up your weaknesses somewhat while maintaining the offensive theme of your team:

Jolteon (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spe/252 SpA
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hidden Power Grass
- Shadow Ball
- Charge Beam
- Thunderbolt

While Flygon can switch into Electric attacks with impunity, it can't do much damage to Zapdos and Rotom. However, Jolteon can switch in just as easily, even recovering off some damage with Volt Absorb, and proceed to start hitting things hard immediately. The coverage provided by its attacks is enough to pose a threat to most opponents, and Charge Beam gives you a way to finish off weakened Pokemon for a potential special attack boost. I prefer Hidden Power Grass over Ice for your team, as it gives you a way to take down Swampert, which walls more of your team than anything that Ice would hit.

Good luck with your team!

 

[gregoryd]

@smith, starmie is not bulky enough to take the powerful fire attacks that I rely on suicune to take, which would screw my team over more than yanmega having to go suicide every once in ahwile.
@faladran I'll test jolteon in his place, it looks promising.