'Sup!
So I've been playing Gen 5 OU ever since it was available on PO and have been doing moderately well. I then took a break to play BW when it got released in the US and have finally gotten back to playing online again. Unfortunately for me, my team has fallen a bit back on the times and is somewhat sub-par. Which is why I'm making this RMT. Why else would I?
My Team at a Glance:
Yup, it's a weatherless team. And it actually does fairly well against weather teams if I predict(guess) correctly. This team was actually my first Gen 5 team. But I changed so much that the only pokemon still on is Volcarona. Enough of that, I'll discuss team dynamics later on. Without further ado,
My Team
The literal stoner
@
Deoxys-s @ Focus Sash
Abilility: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spd
Nature: Timid
-Taunt
-Stealth Rock
-Spikes
-Ice Beam
I originally used a anti-lead Thundurus, but switched to a Stealth Rock capable lead in order to better check the 3 genies, Volcarona, Gyarados, and Dragonite. Looking around, I picked Deoxys-s, the very essence of a good suicide lead.
Typically, I try to set-up Stealth Rock on turn one and then start spamming Spikes. All entry hazards spilled on my side are taken care of by Starmie. Taunt is for funny monkeys such as Smeargle and Reuniclus as well as letting my sweepers set-up on walls that carry status. I chose Ice Beam as its only move as Ice is such a good typing offensively. It nabs KO's on CS Landorus looking to U-turn, unsuspecting Gliscors, and lets Deoxys-s act as a revenge killer against Dragons if it lives past the first two rounds of the battle.
I'd highly appreciate it if people could suggest alternate leads for Deoxys-s in case it gets banned (right now I'm considering Aerodactyl). Also, I was considering switching out Spikes for Thunderbolt/Focus Blast in order to hit the corresponding weather-inducer, as well as to increase coverage in general. This is mainly since I rarely get more that one layer of Spikes up, if any at all. So sometimes I think Spikes is a waste of a moveslot.
It was fun to spin aimlessly and I wanted to stay that way
@
Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spd
Nature: Timid
-Hydro Pump
-Thunderbolt
-Ice Beam
-Rapid Spin
After being mauled by several Drizzle teams in a row, I decided to have a Pokemon that could show those Tornadus abusers how much Drizzle can HURT. Wut? Starmie knows Rapid Spin and resists Fighting? Excellent!
Starmie's moveset is pretty much self-explanatory. Hydro Pump for STAB and since Surf isn't powerful enough for 299 SpAtk. Besides, if Tyranitar can get away with Stone Edge, I can get away with Hydro Pump. Thunderbolt+Ice Beam gives Starmie the fabled BoltBeam coverage without resorting to Hidden Power. That, coupled with Starmie's incredible speed, allows it to be a fearsome sweeper that can dismantle any team and cause numerous switch out, which creates an opportunity to Rapid Spin. Rapid Spin allows me to rid my side of the field of those pesky entry hazards and when combined with Life Orb, allows Starmie to become a fearsome mixed swee-No. Who am I kidding?
Starmie certainly does its job, but its lack of power and occasional Hydro Pump misses leave me a bit irked. Its frailty is also a let-down as I wanted to use it to switch into fighting moves and whatnot. But if I do that, Life Orb damage would quickly wear me down. I'm also considering switching Thunderbolt for Thunder as the only time I usually use it is against Drizzle teams and the extra power would be greatly appreciated. The only other time I would use Thunderbolt is against Jellicent. Since most teams with Jellicent also have Blissey, Volcarona won't be sweeping anytime soon, so rapid spinning is somewhat pointless. Maybe just ditch Rapid Spin altogether and go for Recover.
THE STRONGEST
@
Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Snow Cloak
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Nature: Adamant
-Earthquake
-Icicle Crash
-Ice Shard
-Stone Edge
I've been using this beast since Gen 4 and it's an absolute animal. I chose an Adamant nature since most Pokemon this gen are above 90 base and thus are impossible for me to outspeed, so I went for more power. Earthquake is enough to 2HKO specially defensive Ferrothorn and Icicle Crash can 3HKO specially defensive Skarmory. That's just how good it is.
As long as SR is on the field, Ice Shard is a guaranteed KO against the three genies and lets me maul all of the 4x weak dragons. Even Latios is KOed after 2 switches into SR. Stone Edge lets me land a soft hit on Rotom-W if it switches in and KOs DD Gyarados after an Intimidate, SR, and Ice Shard.
The cool thing about Mamoswine isn't its 130 base attack, but the fact that it has great matchups against all types of weather, except hail for some reason. Mamoswine is superb against Sandstorm teams, as Earthquake+Icicle Crash hits almost all common Sand Pokemon super-effectively. As long as Mamoswine is around 70%, unboosted Excadrill never KOs with Earthquake or Brick Break while Icicle Crash+Ice Shard can KO through that damned balloon. Against both Drizzle and Drought teams, Ice Shard lets Mamoswine revenge kill common sweepers such as Sawsbuck and Thundurus.
Unfortunately, Mamoswine's typing is so bad defensively that it can't switch into anything besides electric moves. Since it usually only comes in after one of my pokemon faints, it can't contribute much to defensive synergy. I might move all speed EVs to HP, but I feel that I'm going to regret that decision more than I benefit from it.
Fuck you, imma dragon!
@
Hydregion @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 68 Atk / 252 SpAtk / 192 Spd
Nature: Mild
-Draco Meteor
-Surf
-Fire Blast
-Outrage
I added this bad boy onto my team for the standard FGW dragon resists and it definitely does it's job well.
Some people call my Hydregion a mixed attacker, but I prefer the term Draco Meteor abuser. Expert Belt lets it bluff a Choice item and its three coverage moves lets Hydregion hit all of the pokemon that resist its Draco Meteor hard. Fire Blast hits all the steels except for Heatran, which Surf covers. Surf also hits the numerous Ground types such as Gliscor. Outrage is there to hit special walls such as Blissey. After switching Hydregion in, I typically open up with Surf, which lands a decent hit on all steels expecting a Draco Meteor, and since there's no sign of Lefties or LO, they automatically assume Choice. As a result, they're wide open for a searing Fire Blast. I typically leave Draco Meteor for the endgame where it causes terrible, terrible damage.
The EVs are somewhat random as I made this Hydregion when Smogon was down and the next time I visited was to write this RMT. So a much nicer EV spread would be great. Its slow speed often leaves it vulnerable to faster dragons, which is pretty much all of them. And given my aversion of using Dragon moves, they can easily switch in and leave some holes in my team.
Bitchin' rap nigga
@
Scrafty @ Leftover
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpDef
-Bulk Up
-Rest
-Drain Punch
-Crunch
A great wall breaker that just happens to look like a gangster. What isn't there to like?
Scrafty is my go-to pokemon when I need to take a Stone Edge aimed at Volcarona. And if the Stone Edger is Choice-locked, that's a easy Bulk Up for me. In addition, Scrafty attracts fighting type moves like bees to honey. +1 Scrafty can live through CCs and more dangerous SD fighters are usually set-up bait for Volcarona.
Unless I sense a great opportunity, Scrafty is usually left for the endgame after the major sweepers are dealt with. In the face of the weaker pokemon, Scrafty can easily set up to +6 +6 and take the game home. Criticals occasionally screw me over but unlike SOME PLAYERS, I don't rage.
Scrafty is completely walled by any Gliscor with Taunt, a common sight in a lot of stall teams. It's also easy bait for stuff like Taunt+DD Gyarados and (heaven forbid) Taunt+SD Haxorous. I also have difficulties setting Scrafty up against offensive teams. Definitely pulls its weight but has troubles finding the opportunity.
RON! RISING SUN!!1!!!
@
Volcarona @ Leftovers
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpAtk / 4 SpDef / 252 Spd
Nature: Timid
-Quiver Dance
-Fiery Dance
-Bug Buzz
-Hidden Power Rock/Psychic
The one constant on my team, Volcarona is a hardcore veteran that does all I want it to do and more. Special sweeping? Check. Special wall? Check. Physical wall? 30% chance. That's 30% more than most special sweepers.
The game plan with Volcarona is to set-up mid to early game and bust a few holes through the team, hopefully bringing it to the late-game, where the rest of my Pokemon shine. As a result, I chose a completely offensive EV spread. However, I gave it Leftovers to hold because Life Orb residual damage sucks and Lum berry was too situational. With Leftovers, setting up against Pokemon like Tentacruel and Jellicent is a much easier task.
For the coverage move, I'm currently wavering between HP Rock and Psychic. HP Rock is probably better for it's ability to hit Dragonite, Salamence, and Gyarados super effectively, as well as hitting Heatran for neutral as well as hitting Drought teams. However, Psychic let's Volcarona deal with Jellicent, Tentacruel, and Conkeldurr much more easily. Decisions decisions.
Wrapping it up
And that's my team in a nutshell. My team has several glaring weaknesses. A fast Fighting pokemon such as Mienshao or Terrakion easily runs circles around my team if Starmie's weakened. Weather boosted Surfs and Fire Blast hurt as I have nothing reliable to switch to. Rotom-W in particular is a thorn in my side as I have nothing that can hit it hard that isn't hit hard back in return.
An oddity of my team is the complete lack of any Choice item. This arose from a bad love affair I had with CS Heatran back in Gen 4. Choice Scarf is great for revenge killing, but it was too easy for another pokemon to set-up on the my CS Pokemon locked into the revenging move. As a result, I decided to ditch Choice items all together and rely on super effective or hard hitting moves to ward off any stat uppers. It actually works pretty well and I've rarely wished that I had a Choice Scarf.
I might add a threat list later on, but half of it would probably consist of "Don't let it set-up in the first place." Depends on whether or not you guys want one.
So I've been playing Gen 5 OU ever since it was available on PO and have been doing moderately well. I then took a break to play BW when it got released in the US and have finally gotten back to playing online again. Unfortunately for me, my team has fallen a bit back on the times and is somewhat sub-par. Which is why I'm making this RMT. Why else would I?
My Team at a Glance:
Yup, it's a weatherless team. And it actually does fairly well against weather teams if I predict(guess) correctly. This team was actually my first Gen 5 team. But I changed so much that the only pokemon still on is Volcarona. Enough of that, I'll discuss team dynamics later on. Without further ado,
My Team
The literal stoner
Deoxys-s @ Focus Sash
Abilility: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spd
Nature: Timid
-Taunt
-Stealth Rock
-Spikes
-Ice Beam
I originally used a anti-lead Thundurus, but switched to a Stealth Rock capable lead in order to better check the 3 genies, Volcarona, Gyarados, and Dragonite. Looking around, I picked Deoxys-s, the very essence of a good suicide lead.
Typically, I try to set-up Stealth Rock on turn one and then start spamming Spikes. All entry hazards spilled on my side are taken care of by Starmie. Taunt is for funny monkeys such as Smeargle and Reuniclus as well as letting my sweepers set-up on walls that carry status. I chose Ice Beam as its only move as Ice is such a good typing offensively. It nabs KO's on CS Landorus looking to U-turn, unsuspecting Gliscors, and lets Deoxys-s act as a revenge killer against Dragons if it lives past the first two rounds of the battle.
I'd highly appreciate it if people could suggest alternate leads for Deoxys-s in case it gets banned (right now I'm considering Aerodactyl). Also, I was considering switching out Spikes for Thunderbolt/Focus Blast in order to hit the corresponding weather-inducer, as well as to increase coverage in general. This is mainly since I rarely get more that one layer of Spikes up, if any at all. So sometimes I think Spikes is a waste of a moveslot.
It was fun to spin aimlessly and I wanted to stay that way
Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spd
Nature: Timid
-Hydro Pump
-Thunderbolt
-Ice Beam
-Rapid Spin
After being mauled by several Drizzle teams in a row, I decided to have a Pokemon that could show those Tornadus abusers how much Drizzle can HURT. Wut? Starmie knows Rapid Spin and resists Fighting? Excellent!
Starmie's moveset is pretty much self-explanatory. Hydro Pump for STAB and since Surf isn't powerful enough for 299 SpAtk. Besides, if Tyranitar can get away with Stone Edge, I can get away with Hydro Pump. Thunderbolt+Ice Beam gives Starmie the fabled BoltBeam coverage without resorting to Hidden Power. That, coupled with Starmie's incredible speed, allows it to be a fearsome sweeper that can dismantle any team and cause numerous switch out, which creates an opportunity to Rapid Spin. Rapid Spin allows me to rid my side of the field of those pesky entry hazards and when combined with Life Orb, allows Starmie to become a fearsome mixed swee-No. Who am I kidding?
Starmie certainly does its job, but its lack of power and occasional Hydro Pump misses leave me a bit irked. Its frailty is also a let-down as I wanted to use it to switch into fighting moves and whatnot. But if I do that, Life Orb damage would quickly wear me down. I'm also considering switching Thunderbolt for Thunder as the only time I usually use it is against Drizzle teams and the extra power would be greatly appreciated. The only other time I would use Thunderbolt is against Jellicent. Since most teams with Jellicent also have Blissey, Volcarona won't be sweeping anytime soon, so rapid spinning is somewhat pointless. Maybe just ditch Rapid Spin altogether and go for Recover.
THE STRONGEST
Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Snow Cloak
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Nature: Adamant
-Earthquake
-Icicle Crash
-Ice Shard
-Stone Edge
I've been using this beast since Gen 4 and it's an absolute animal. I chose an Adamant nature since most Pokemon this gen are above 90 base and thus are impossible for me to outspeed, so I went for more power. Earthquake is enough to 2HKO specially defensive Ferrothorn and Icicle Crash can 3HKO specially defensive Skarmory. That's just how good it is.
As long as SR is on the field, Ice Shard is a guaranteed KO against the three genies and lets me maul all of the 4x weak dragons. Even Latios is KOed after 2 switches into SR. Stone Edge lets me land a soft hit on Rotom-W if it switches in and KOs DD Gyarados after an Intimidate, SR, and Ice Shard.
The cool thing about Mamoswine isn't its 130 base attack, but the fact that it has great matchups against all types of weather, except hail for some reason. Mamoswine is superb against Sandstorm teams, as Earthquake+Icicle Crash hits almost all common Sand Pokemon super-effectively. As long as Mamoswine is around 70%, unboosted Excadrill never KOs with Earthquake or Brick Break while Icicle Crash+Ice Shard can KO through that damned balloon. Against both Drizzle and Drought teams, Ice Shard lets Mamoswine revenge kill common sweepers such as Sawsbuck and Thundurus.
Unfortunately, Mamoswine's typing is so bad defensively that it can't switch into anything besides electric moves. Since it usually only comes in after one of my pokemon faints, it can't contribute much to defensive synergy. I might move all speed EVs to HP, but I feel that I'm going to regret that decision more than I benefit from it.
Fuck you, imma dragon!
Hydregion @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 68 Atk / 252 SpAtk / 192 Spd
Nature: Mild
-Draco Meteor
-Surf
-Fire Blast
-Outrage
I added this bad boy onto my team for the standard FGW dragon resists and it definitely does it's job well.
Some people call my Hydregion a mixed attacker, but I prefer the term Draco Meteor abuser. Expert Belt lets it bluff a Choice item and its three coverage moves lets Hydregion hit all of the pokemon that resist its Draco Meteor hard. Fire Blast hits all the steels except for Heatran, which Surf covers. Surf also hits the numerous Ground types such as Gliscor. Outrage is there to hit special walls such as Blissey. After switching Hydregion in, I typically open up with Surf, which lands a decent hit on all steels expecting a Draco Meteor, and since there's no sign of Lefties or LO, they automatically assume Choice. As a result, they're wide open for a searing Fire Blast. I typically leave Draco Meteor for the endgame where it causes terrible, terrible damage.
The EVs are somewhat random as I made this Hydregion when Smogon was down and the next time I visited was to write this RMT. So a much nicer EV spread would be great. Its slow speed often leaves it vulnerable to faster dragons, which is pretty much all of them. And given my aversion of using Dragon moves, they can easily switch in and leave some holes in my team.
Bitchin' rap nigga
Scrafty @ Leftover
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpDef
-Bulk Up
-Rest
-Drain Punch
-Crunch
A great wall breaker that just happens to look like a gangster. What isn't there to like?
Scrafty is my go-to pokemon when I need to take a Stone Edge aimed at Volcarona. And if the Stone Edger is Choice-locked, that's a easy Bulk Up for me. In addition, Scrafty attracts fighting type moves like bees to honey. +1 Scrafty can live through CCs and more dangerous SD fighters are usually set-up bait for Volcarona.
Unless I sense a great opportunity, Scrafty is usually left for the endgame after the major sweepers are dealt with. In the face of the weaker pokemon, Scrafty can easily set up to +6 +6 and take the game home. Criticals occasionally screw me over but unlike SOME PLAYERS, I don't rage.
Scrafty is completely walled by any Gliscor with Taunt, a common sight in a lot of stall teams. It's also easy bait for stuff like Taunt+DD Gyarados and (heaven forbid) Taunt+SD Haxorous. I also have difficulties setting Scrafty up against offensive teams. Definitely pulls its weight but has troubles finding the opportunity.
RON! RISING SUN!!1!!!
Volcarona @ Leftovers
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpAtk / 4 SpDef / 252 Spd
Nature: Timid
-Quiver Dance
-Fiery Dance
-Bug Buzz
-Hidden Power Rock/Psychic
The one constant on my team, Volcarona is a hardcore veteran that does all I want it to do and more. Special sweeping? Check. Special wall? Check. Physical wall? 30% chance. That's 30% more than most special sweepers.
The game plan with Volcarona is to set-up mid to early game and bust a few holes through the team, hopefully bringing it to the late-game, where the rest of my Pokemon shine. As a result, I chose a completely offensive EV spread. However, I gave it Leftovers to hold because Life Orb residual damage sucks and Lum berry was too situational. With Leftovers, setting up against Pokemon like Tentacruel and Jellicent is a much easier task.
For the coverage move, I'm currently wavering between HP Rock and Psychic. HP Rock is probably better for it's ability to hit Dragonite, Salamence, and Gyarados super effectively, as well as hitting Heatran for neutral as well as hitting Drought teams. However, Psychic let's Volcarona deal with Jellicent, Tentacruel, and Conkeldurr much more easily. Decisions decisions.
Wrapping it up
And that's my team in a nutshell. My team has several glaring weaknesses. A fast Fighting pokemon such as Mienshao or Terrakion easily runs circles around my team if Starmie's weakened. Weather boosted Surfs and Fire Blast hurt as I have nothing reliable to switch to. Rotom-W in particular is a thorn in my side as I have nothing that can hit it hard that isn't hit hard back in return.
An oddity of my team is the complete lack of any Choice item. This arose from a bad love affair I had with CS Heatran back in Gen 4. Choice Scarf is great for revenge killing, but it was too easy for another pokemon to set-up on the my CS Pokemon locked into the revenging move. As a result, I decided to ditch Choice items all together and rely on super effective or hard hitting moves to ward off any stat uppers. It actually works pretty well and I've rarely wished that I had a Choice Scarf.
I might add a threat list later on, but half of it would probably consist of "Don't let it set-up in the first place." Depends on whether or not you guys want one.
