I've got your back! (an OU RMT)

[Puffern]

To start off, this is my first RMT, so it probably will not be perfect.
I am aware of the two UU's on this team, I am also aware of the lack of Stealth Rock support.

So far on Shoddy this team has won ~75% of the time.
The team is built around 4 Pokemon who cover each others weaknesses.

Team at a glance:

Now lets begin the in-depth descriptions.

Sharpedo (Leadpedo) @ Focus Sash
4 Hp \ 252 Atk \ 252 Speed (Adamant)
-Crunch
-Taunt
-Earthquake
-Aqua Jet

My "anti"-lead. Sharpedos job is to taunt slower leads and then kill faster leads. Aqua jet is a nice priority to finish off focus sash users. My team isnt really scared of stealth rocks so if Metagross is their lead, I can 2hko him with EQ while all he does is set up rocks, and if he switches out, my sash is still intact. Any fake out leads break their own sash because of rough skin. I am willing to change this to another anti-lead unless its Lucario, because he is too predictable an "anti"-lead. I was thinking Mamoswine since he can also set up SR....

Flygon (Goggles) @ Choice Scarf
252 Atk \ 176 Speed \ 80 S.Atk (Naughty)
-Draco Meteor
-Outrage
-U-turn
-Earthquake

Standard Scarfgon. I chose draco meteor so I can hit almost as high as that outrage can, but without getting locked in outrage, making me harder to revenge kill. U-turn is for scouting the opponents counters and team. Flygon covers Metagross's weaknesses, and can take any ground attack aimed at Heatran. Speaking of Metagross....

Metagross (Mithryl) @ Expert Belt
252 Atk \ 132 Speed \ 124 S.Atk (Lonely)
-Grass Knot
-Hidden Power Fire
-Meteor Mash
-Earthquake

This is Mixgross, he says hi. For some reason my Metagross attracts a lot of Swamperts. To solve this growing annoyance, grass knot is added for the 1-2HKO. Hidden Power Fire is there to take care of scizor and skarmory swiftly and effectively. Meteor Mash for STAB, and earthquake for nice coverage. Metagross also covers dragon/ice attacks aimed for Flygon.

Manectric (Spike) @ Choice Scarf
252 Speed \ 252 S.Atk \ 4 Hp (Modest)
-Overheat
-Thunderbolt
-Hidden Power Ice
-Signal Beam

My personal favorite revenge killer. I chose Manectric over Jolteon for a few reasons. First, there is that element of surprise when Manectric is sent out. Second, this is a nice check for SD/CB scizor, swiftly 1hko'ing with overheat, even a -2 overheat. Overheat also secures 1HKO's that Jolteon can not achieve (such as a key outspeed/1HKO on standard agiligross). Hidden Power ice kills dragons, even after a Dragon dance, it also 1hko's gliscor. Signal Beam destroys Celebi, and thunderbolt gets STAB.

Celebi (Tinkerbell) @ Life Orb
244 S.Atk \ 232 HP \ 32 Speed (Modest)
-Leaf Storm
-Thunder Wave
-Psychic
-Recover

To begin the second duo of resistances, we have Celebi. After scrolling down (a lot) on the Celebi smogon page, you will find a build labeled Tinkerbell. Most of Celebi's counters do not enjoy being paralyzed. Being paralyzed is also a great way to get outsped by Metagross and Heatran. Leaf Storm along with Life Orb, the EV's and Modest nature 1hko's most variants of Tyranitar. This helps alot, as a fainted Tyranitar can't munch on celebi, or take out any other pokemon. Psychic is there because a lot of people dont expect celebi to be running it and they leave their fighting types out...they are prompty killed. The HP ev's allow the highest HP possible while taking the lowest Life Orb damage possible. Celebi also covers ground, water and fighting weaknesses that that Heatran has.

Heatran (Heartran) @ Leftovers
252 S.Atk \ 252 Speed \ 4 HP (Timid)
-Substitute
-Fire Blast
-Earth Power
-Hidden Power Electric/Grass

Everyone runs Scarftran, or just about everyone. Send Heatran in on something that will switch out expecting a speedy hit (or just a Super-Effective hit) and use Substitute. I now have a safety net to attack from behind. Fire Blast is STAB, and if I can nab a flash fire boost from an attack aimed at Metagross/Celebi, even better! Earth Power is for other Heatran, and really anything weak to ground. Hidden Power Electric is for gyarados, as my only checks for him are Celebi (Leaf Storm 1hko's offensive Gyarados and possibly Bulky, I haven't checked.) and Manectric (outspeeding and 1hko'ing any variation, unless they have 2+ DD's), and I don't want Gyarados ruining my fun. But i might switch this to Hidden Power Grass as other players like to reveal their Swampert on my Heatran, and it still hits neutral on Gyarados. It can also take the hits of pretty much every single one of Celebi's weaknesses.​

OU Threat List
Red=Huge Threat
Orange=Small Threat
Black=Not a Threat.

Aerodactyl- Manectric and Celebi can murder this. Same with Metagross to an extent. Lead versions lose to Sharpedo.

Alakazam- Hardly seen in todays metagame, but when it does show up, most of my Pokemon can 1hko it in some way or another.

Azelf- Heatran walls everything bar HP fighting, and Flygon can U-turn for a rather large hit. Lead Versions lose to Sharpedo.

Blissey-Celebi can be used to determine the set (T-wave or Toxic). From there Metagross or Flygon can go in to kill it. The incredibly rare CMbliss that I have only seen once since I started playing can be a problem though.

Breloom- I sacrifice someone to spore, then switch to celebi or heatran (If celebi is dead).

Bronzong- Most sets like to explode, but Manectric and Heatran can kill most forms. Lead Forms are taunted, then beaten 1v1 with crunch and Rough Skin.

Celebi- Between Heatran, Metagross, and Manectric, Celebi doesnt stand a chance (although HP fire hits metagross.)

Cresselia- Screeners annoy me to no end, and Calm Minders can be tough, but i eventually take her down.

Donphan- Metagross, Celebi, Manectric, all pokemon with nice, Super-effective hits, but mainly Celebi.

Dragonite- Revenge killed by Manectric or Flygon, Metagross deals a number with Meteor Mash

Dugtio- There are no counters persay because of arena trap, but i can usually predict around him. (His Choice Band/Scarf helps in that regard too :P)

Dusknoir- Will-o-wisp gives me a free flash fire boost. Celebi deals a (large) number on him with Leaf Storm.

Electrivire- If Flygon is down, E-vire becomes very hard to take down.

Empoleon- Almost a non-issue if it isnt running agility or Substitute, but even with agility or SubSalac it is beaten by both my scarfers (and sometimes what it switches in on too).

Flygon-Celebi and Manectric can answer the call for a flygon killers. Metagross can deal quite a number with Meteor mash. Flygon can speed tie standard sets, but thats really last resort.

Forretress- Destroyed by Metagross, Heatran, and Manectric.

Gengar- I can only really revenge kill him with my scarfers, unless he comes in with Heatran behind a Sub.

Gliscor- Celebi can switch in and 1hko with leaf storm, HP ice from manectric 1hko's.

Gyarados- Celebi can come in and 1hko, even if they have ice fang. Manectric can revenge kill them with 1 DD under their belt. Heatran can 1hko him if he trys to spoil the fun.

Heatran- Flygon to the rescue! Metagross can also outspeed some builds and 1hko with EQ, even if they have a shuca berry.

Heracross- My scarfers can revenge kill decently enough. Heatran can come in on anything bar Close combat, outspeed, and OHKO. (unless it has a speed boosting nature)

Hippowdon- I can keep all hippowdons in check...except Stockpile Hippowdon.

Infernape- He usually ends up taking at least 1 Poke, but I usually predict around him

Jirachi- Every pokemon except Celebi has a way to deal with him, and celebi can paralyze him before switching out.

Jolteon- Easily revenge killed, Flygon can come in on a thunderbolt, i usually lure them into thunderbolting so they dont Shadow ball my flygon on the switch in.

Kingdra- I can take him down fairly easily, although it becomes a bit harder in the rain.

Latias- Meteor Mash deals a number, paralysis helps kill it, Outrage kills it, calm mind is annoying though.

Lucario- If he get's a swords dance, he can usually take out most of my team before I kill him. Luckily, i rarely see him.

Machamp- Celebi can come in and Psychic for the 1hko, although confusion is annoying. If celebi is dead, he's taking a guy down with him.

Magnezone- Most likely to come in on Metagross or Heatran, but they both have answers to him. Manectric can overheat and flygon can EQ if they haven't used Magnet Rise.

Mamoswine- Manectric and Celebi can kill him, Heatran can behind a sub, Metagross might be able to. I haven't seen enough lead version to know if Sharpedo beats him.

Metagross- Heatran can come in on anything but an Earthquake and Scare him off, Manectric can come in on agility versions and kill him.

Ninjask- If it's not leading, I can't stop the Speed Pass, but I don't let him Swords Dance. If he is leading, he gets a taunt to the face.

Porygon-Z- My steels can come in on a Tri-Attack and kill him, Choice Scarf/Specs makes it easy to determine who to send in.

Rhyperior- Celebi, Metagross, and a Heatran behind a Sub can kill, but Rock Polish Variants are really annoying.

The Rotoms- Celebi 1hko's, but must watch for shadow ball, Overheat deals a number, Fire Blast deals a number, and Flygon can outrage them.

Salamence- Will probably take a person down with him, but Manectric easily kills a DD'd Salamence, and if it isn't DD'd, then Flygon can revenge kill him too.

Scizor- Metagross can come in and HP fire, Heatran can kill it with Fire Blast, Manectric takes ~67% from a SDBullet Punch and 1hko's with Overheat, its not too big of a threat.

Skarmory- Hidden Power Fire kills, Fire Blast kills, and Thunderbolt kills

Smeargle- He isn't what is threatening my team, but the baton pass chain you almost know is coming can be a bit tough to take down. Rare transform variants are taken down very easily.

Snorlax- Curselax can be annoying, but they usually come in on Heatran, I attack it with Special Attacks (not ice or fire), let the pokemon die to safely get celebi in, and then Leaf Storm the remaining HP away. Non-Curselax is beaten pretty easily.

Starmie- Leafstorm 1hko's, Thunderbolt 1hko's and Hidden Power Electric 2hko's if they try to ruin Heatrans fun when he's behind a sub.

Suicune- I don't run into him much, but if he gets too many Calm Minds, he is incredibly hard to take down.

Swampert- Metagross has Grass Knot, Celebi has Leaf Storm. Heatran might soon have Hidden Power Grass.

Tentacruel- Flygon, Manectric, Metagross, and Celebi can hit for Super Effective damage and take him down.

Togekiss- Hustle variations are beaten pretty easily, Paraflinch versions arent as easy, but Flygon can beat paraflinch unless they use Body Slam. It eventually goes down.

Tyranitar- It usually comes in to munch on Celebi, in which case it gets a big Surprise. Otherwise I just Earthquake it to oblivion, Signal Beam hits slightly harder than Thunderbolt when using Manectric, which can take out a weakened Tyranitar.

Vaporeon- Thunderbolt deals a number, Leaf Storm destroys it, Hidden Power Electric hits decently, Grass Knot is only a 3hko though.

Weavile- Most non-ice/Psychic hits will take him down, my scarfers outspeed the standard version, flygon has to watch out for Ice Shard though.

Zapdos- Moderately annoying, but I eventually take it down.


So, how did i do? And anything I can do to improve this team?

 

[Blackhawk11]

Hey, I didn't really look at your team in depth, as I don't really have a lot of time on my computer right now.

The only thing I really noticed while scanning over this as quickly as I did, was that you are running Adamant on your MixGross. To make things worse, you even went as far as to EV it in SAtk =O. One of the 'rules' in competitive battling is that you never EV a Pokemon in the stat that its nature lowers. Therefore, you should go with Naughty or Lonely nature, probably Lonely, since he has amazing Defense and it won't really matter if it gets dropped. Most of the attacks aimed at Metagross are special anyway (Flamethrower, Hidden Power Fire, Earth Power).

On a side note, I've used Mamoswine as an anti-lead, and I absolutely love him.

 

[Puffern]

Oops, it was lonely. I typed this at 1:00 AM, so I was pretty tired.

If you loved Mamoswine I guess I'll experiment with it, might change it if I like it enough. I also heard about an Anti-Lead Starmie (Kills lead, then Rapid Spins rocks) so I might try that also.

 

[Aiklap]

A few details; I would change Celebi's name, as it basically tells your opponent the set.
Also, I wouldn't run adamant if you've put over 100Sp.At evs on Metagross.

 

[Reaver12]

I used anti-lead starmie for a while and it usually worked out well. The only problem I ran in to was losing speed ties with Azelf and losing your spinner right off the bat. But def. give Starmie a try if you feel like testing

 

[joshe]

Ok, this team needs a bit of work to make it as competitive as possible. I'd love to start by replacing your sharpedo lead. Lets just face it; it sucks. There are many better anti-leads out there, and some can even set up Stealth Rock. I believe a Lead Infernape would so well here, fitting into your barriers of needing an "anti-lead." The set i suggest is Infernape with Focus Sash, 64 Atk/252 SpA/192 Spe, Naive with the moves: Fire Blast, Close Combat, Stealth Rock, and Fake Out. Infernape is so good at this role because it can negate Suicide Lead focus sashes with Fake Out; it is guaranteed to set up Stealth Rock against every common lead bar Aerodactyl, and nearly every lead will be defeated in the process (Hippowdon can survive its array of attacks, and hit hard with a STAB Earthquake). Close Combat and Fire Blast are two 120 base power moves (180 when factoring STAB), and will hit anything hard. With Infernape's Blaze ability and with Focus Sash, it's very easy to get that 1.5x boost on Fire Blast, while being able to do upwards of nearly 60% to Naughty Salamence Switch ins (an easy 2HKO, if they don't have leftovers, and with the provided Blaze boost). Naïve Azelf will always be KOed by Fire Blast, and things like Tyranitar and Jirachi are obviously not great at taking Infernape’s attacks. The speed evs generate 330, which is enough to outspeed all base 100 Pokémon, as well as any base 115 pokemon with a neutral nature.

Now lets go to Flygon. Flygon makes a decent check to a lot of Pokémon, but you get easily 6-0ed by Lucario if it gets an SD, which it could easily do be it flygon itself or manetric stuck on signal beam or hp-ice(manetric will be replaced btw). Over this I suggest you put a choice scarfer that is immune to the normal ExtremeSpeed, and can have enough speed to outspeed +1 Naive Salamence, and max speed flygon. Gengar should suffice for his Ghost typing, being faster than base 100's (he has 110 base speed), and he can utilize hp-ice to easily OHKO all the Dragons of OU bar Kingdra and Latias(who gets 2HKOed by shadow ball). He should be equipped with a Choice Scarf, 4 Def/252 SpA/252 Spe, Timidwith the moves: Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt, HP-Ice, and Focus Blast. As odd as it may seem to run a timid nature on something already as fast as gengar, you need it to outspeed once Dragon Danced Naive Salamence, Jolly Choice Scarf Flygon, and to atleast Tie with Timid Choice Scarf Latias (who are becoming much more popular due to the rise in Gyarados usage). Shadow Ball provides it with decent STAB, allowing it to easily take on all Rotom-A, Starmie, and Azelf (be careful with the last two, as some of them may be scarfed). Thunderbolt is there to OHKO Gyarados, with HP-ice One shotting those previous dragons. Focus Blast will OHKO Tyranitar (252 HP/40 Atk/216 SpD versions will not be OHKOed). Be wary of Pursuit users such as Scizor and Tyranitar; they with OHKO you regardless of whether you switch or not.

Mixed Metagross is not needed because you have Celebi to take care of Swampert, and Heatran to take care of Steels. Metagross can be doing something much better here too, like sweeping. AgiliGross is such a huge threat in todays OU metagame, and with Celebi to take out buly waters, and heatran to take out steels, it can easily sweep through most, if not all of the Metagame. The only Pokemon that can stop it is Rotom-a, but the most it can do is either WoW it or Overheat to dispatch of it. Rotom-a is swiftly taken care of by gengar(watch out for shadowball), and heatran can get a Flash Fire boost from WoW or Overheat from Rotom-H, (all other rotoms will use Will-o-wisp, shadow ball, or an electric move to try and take care of Metagross. Metagross should have a Life Orb, 48 Hp/252 Atk/12 Def/196 Spe, Adamant, with the moves: Agility, Meteor Mash, Earthquake, and ThunderPunch/Ice Punch/Explosion. You Know what Meteor Mash and Earthquake does, while Thunderpunch hits all the bulkywaters and Gyarados for Super-effective damage, Ice Punch hits the Dragons and other various flyers for Super-Effective Damage, and Explosion to obliterate whatever pokemon you exploded on (this will ohko nearly every pokemon in OU, with the exeption of some steels and ghosts).

Also Manectric needs to be changed. I believe a Life Orb Swords Dance Lucario works here. In the event Gengar gets pursuited, Lucario can come in on the pursuit with its 4x resist, and set up on it. It should be 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe, adamant with the moves: Swords Dance, Close Combat, Crunch, and ExtremeSpeed. The reason for Adamant is that you get to OHKO Hippowdon and Swampert with a +2 Close Combat. WIth Crunch you get to OHKO Rotom-a at +2, pavign the way for Metagross to come in and sweep without restrictions. ExtremeSpeed will OHKO infernape at +2, as well as a lot of other things. Only Gengar can stop this set, but it should be dead by the time it comes in. Lucario can also sweep in the event Metagross should die early in the game. It also does a hella lot to suicune and can OHKO it with CC at +2.

Tinkerbell celebi works pretty well on this team, and i like it here for it being able to take on bulky waters and swampert, paving the way for an agiligross sweep. I don't have any problems with heatran and it looks like it works well.

I hope I helped, and Good Luck with the team :)

 

[wildfire393]

Some comments:

Sharpedo is not the most effective anti-lead. He fails to stop rocks from things like Azelf/Aerodactyl, and he pretty much gets reamed by most slower Pokemon who pack a decent punch. Fake Out leads are uncommon these days, meaning that Rough Skin won't do much for you. I agree that Mamoswine could work quite well here.

Flygon: If you're not going to run Max Speed + a Speed Boosting nature, you will always fail to even tie +1 Salamence. That is, in my opinion, one of the few reasons to actually run Scarfed Flygon. Banded Flygon is an absolute nightmare for the opponent later in the game, and can easily ream a team that has been stripped of its steel types or ground immunes.

Metagross seems decent, maybe consider LO for more power, as Expert Belt doesn't have a ton of surprise factor.

Manectric seems... questionable. Rotom-H can be run for STAB electric + Overheat + the same SpA, but with a much much better typing (levitating ghosts are excellent), better defenses, Trick, an excellent Dual STAB, etc. You lose the ability to take out Dragon Danced Mence, but Manectric cannot switch in to any of Mence's attacks, so a lot of the time you'll end up losing him to MixMence if you try that anyways (having mamo as a lead lowers your vulnerability to mence anyhow). Scarfed Rotom makes for an excellent Gyarados counter as well.

Celebi seems kind of schizophrenic. On one hand, you have a defensive Pokemon with an HP investment, Recover, and Thunderwave. On the other hand, you have an offensive Pokemon with a heavy Special Attack investment, Life Orb, and two STAB attacks. I suppose it is a listed set, but consider another attack over Psychic. Leaf Storm hits Fighting types not named Heracross or Lucario pretty hard anyways (and you're hard pressed to stay in on them due to their super effective moves and outspeeding you), and Earth Power or HP Fire provides much better coverage in that second slot.

Heatran seems decent, but I would strongly recommend Toxic over a Hidden Power in that last slot. Most of Heatran's common switch-ins, particularly Bulky Waters, absolutely hate taking a Toxic to the face, and the fact that he outspeeds many of them means that he can beat them one on one by subbing until they're spent. Will-o-Wisp also works in that slot if you're more worried about Tyranitar, Salamence, and Gyarados than Vaporeon, Swampert, and their ilk.

 

[Puffern]

I like the Gengar idea, I'll probably try it.

But since I am trying Gengar, I don't think I'll try Rotom-H because that would give me three pokemon that get owned by Pursuit.

I also have the Concern of Suicune, as adding Gengar would tilt my Team even more to the special side. Which also brings up Blissey, who has Natural Cure to take a toxic, and the HP/S.Def to take on most of my team.

Also, I suppose I'll try agiligross, to see how it works out.

This just in: I'm having pretty good success with Mamoswine, I think I'll keep him. But Agiligross and SDLuke make me feel woefully generic. Also, if Heatran goes down, I have nothing to take fire attacks (since the base of the team is taking each others weaknesses). Flygon was the 2ndary fire taker, but since I'm trying these other pokes, Flygon isnt there to take fire.