Gen 6 Hi! Any feedbacks on this Gen 6 OU team?

[CalmGardener]

Hi! I've been having some degree of success with this team, and I would like to hear your comments on it.

Volcarona (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Def / 52 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Quiver Dance

The moveset is pretty standard and self-explanatory. Quiver Dance is used to set up and allow Volcarona to sweep, Fiery Dance and Bug Buzz are nice STAB moves (Fiery Dance is preferred over Flamethrower or Fire Blast due to the possibility of increasing SpA even further), and Giga Drain is there for coverage and to regain some health. As for the spread, it's not the most common spread out there, but the investment in HP and Def actually help against more offensive teams. The idea is to use Volcarona as a sort of "bulky" sweeper, with the lack of investment in SpA and Spd and the relative lack of investment in Spe being compensated by Quiver Dance. Obviously, Volcarona isn't the bulkiest Pokémon in the world, but in my experience this spread has proved quite effective.

Gyarados (F) @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang

Gyarados' spread is pretty standard. The idea is to set up a few Dragon Dances and then sweep. Waterfall is the main STAB move, and is preferred over Aqua Tail due to the higher accuracy. Earthquake adds coverage to the moveset and is used to take out most electric types. It is interesting to note that after Mega-evolving, Gyarados can hit Rotom-W super effectively due to Mold Breaker. Finally, Ice Fang is used in the fourth slot to get around threats like Landorus-T, Garchomp, etc.


Donphan (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake

Donphan is used as a bulky Stealth Rock setter, but it can also spin when needed, which is the main reason why it is preferred over any other hazard setter. Roar also allows it to act as a pseudo-hazer, and Earthquake is used in the fourth slot to prevent it from being completely passive.

Skarmory (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Defog
- Roost
- Whirlwind

Skarmory is the team's physical wall. Its main role is to Defog when needed, but it can also be used as a pseudo-hazer due to Whirlwind. Also, when the rocks are up on the opponents side, it helps stack up some damage. Roost is used for longevity, and Brave Bird prevents Skarmory from being completely passive.

Breloom @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Tomb
- Spore

One of Breloom's main role is to put slower threats to sleep, which can create set-up opportunities for both Gyarados and Volcarona. It is also used for speed control with Mach Punch, which can come in handy quite often. Bullet Seed is an interesting STAB move in conjunction with Technician, and Rock Tomb is great for coverage, with the nice side effect of lowering the opponent's speed, and is also helped by its ability.

Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Healing Wish
- Moonlight
- Moonblast

Clefable is a very versatile Pokémon, and it can carry out different functions on the team depending on the situation. It can act as a stallbreaker with Calm Mind+Moonblast. It can also act as an Unaware wall to sponge some hits if the opponent has managed to set up on some of the other members of the team (with Moonlight giving it longevity), and it can act as cleric using Healing Wish when necessary, which helps Gyarados and Volcarona immensely if they are on low health and/or have been burned, poisoned, paralyzed, etc.


The idea behind this team is that both Gyarados and Volcarona can act as sweepers. They complement each other nicely in terms of coverage, and the fact that one is a special sweeper and the other a physical one helps get around walls. The role of the rest of the team is basically to support them, although Breloom and Clefable also help take out some threats. There are two hazard removers to mitigate the fact that both Gyarados (before mega-evolving) and Volcarona are weak to Stealth Rock, and the fact that they can also act as pseudo-hazers helps prevent set-ups. As I mentioned earlier, Breloom helps create set-up oppportunities, and Clefable can act as cleric when necessary.

 

[Fated Keys]

When examining your team, I see that specs Keldeo appears to be a major threat. If you're setting hazards while Keldeo is in, you're forced to sack Donphan to scald. Nothing likes scald on your team for the potential burn/KO aspect. Another pokemon, tornadus is able to threaten most of your team with the exception of Gyarados, forcing Knockoffs/Uturn to swap into counters efficiently. Although that is exactly what tornadus does best, I'd suggest having stronger ways of dealing with it, such as having access to a pokemon like Rotom-Wash. Rotom walls torn, while also giving you the accessibility of volt switch to give you better opportunities to set up with either gyra or volc. In order to alleviate Keldeo pressure however, some other mons that help are Amoongus, Jellicent, Lati twins (although don't appreciate scald burn chip), Starmie, AV tangrowth, along with lesser common mons like Slaking (which honestly imo is a solid mon). Keep in mind that tyranitar has always been a dominating threat in nearly every OU format, and for good reason. With sand up, ttars spdef increases, and can even tank +1 volcarona Bug Buzz, revenge killing with Edge/Rockslide. Applying chip on ttar is crucial early for your advantage. Landorus also is a common mon, having a variety of sets most noticeably Scarf, Rockyhelm, lefties, with the occasional Dual Dance set. Skarmory is a nice counter to lando, but if lando is paired with magnezone, you can have quite a few issues. Imo, think carefully as to what is the main concept of your team, and how to go about capitalizing on your advantages most. If your whole purpose is to give the most opportunity for Gyra/Volc to sweep, you'll have to not only develop ways of removing rocks, but also carefully examine how you'll maintain the momentum of the battle on your side.

 

[CalmGardener]

Hi Fated Keys,

Thanks for your feedback! You're right, Keldeo really is a pain in the neck for my team. Even when it's not carrying specs, it's a major threat. It's actually not that hard to take it out (usually clefable does the job), but I do end up having to sack a mon more often than not. As for lando, it's also a big nuisance, especially when I'm attempting a sweep with Gyarados since it lowers my attack with Intimidate, but it usually isn't that much of a threat and I manage to get around it, sometimes switching into skarmory, sometimes through the use of ice fang. It gives me a little of a headache, but it usually doesn't ruin my games if I play smart. I haven't seen Tornadus that often in my games lately, but I understand your point. To be honest, I don't think knock off is that much of a problem for my team, since no one there depends too much on their items to function (except for Clefable and technically Gyarados, but since mega stones can't be knocked off it doesn't matter), but I understand that torn can be a notable threat nonetheless. As for ttar, you're right, it is a good counter to my volc, but I do have plenty of answers for it (Breloom's Mach Punch, Clefable's Moonblast, Gyarados' Waterfall), so it usually doesn't worry me THAT much.

Overall, I think that Keldeo is the biggest problem here, as you pointed out yourself. Obviously, this team isn't perfect, but I do manage to play around its other weaknesses. I agree that maybe I should use one of the mons that you suggested to alleviate Keldeo pressure, but I'm unsure as to which mon should leave the team. I also tried a variant of this team with Amoongus instead of Breloom, but I missed Breloom's offensive presence and speed control with Mach Punch. Overall, the idea is to create oppotunities for Gyarados and Volc to sweep, but what I like about this team is that it isn't over reliant on them. Both Breloom and Clefable (and even skarm on some rare occasions due to brave bird) can sometimes show their offensive presence and effectively take care of certain threats by themselves when needed, even if their main role is to support Gyarados and Volc. As for Skarm, it doesn't have the same offensive qualities, but it's a very consistent mon that balances the team nicely and usually gets its job done very effectively. I often feel that Donphan is the weak link here, but to the best of my knowledge it is the only somewhat viable mon that can set up rocks and spin (apart from Forretress and Excadrill, which I don't use because otherwise half of my team would be weak to fire), and I do appreciate its ability to do both tasks.

 

[mega lop op]

Fated Keys, do u still play