Hi all! I've spent a little while working on this team and it has gotten me to 1400 rating so far. However, I feel like it could still with some improvements but have no idea what to change! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Regieleki @ Light Clay
Ability: Transistor
EVs: 96 HP / 252 Atk / 160 Spe
Adamant Nature
Reflect
Light Screen
Rapid Spin
Explosion
The general idea with the team is to set up screens in order to provide enough time for your sweepers to power themselves up with stat boosts. I'll rarely lead with this pokemon as Landorus T is so common and I can virtually guarantee that they will send that out first. I'll try to make use of the screens more than once in a game, so will only suicide it with Explosion when either it's health is so low or to get rid of a particularly problematic pokemon. Garchomp being a prime example as it is faster than any of my unboosted pokemon besides Regieleki and can easily sweep after a swords dance. It see's Regieleki as a free set up to swords dance, but Explosion deals a solid 80% of Garchomp's health allowing me to finish it off the following turn. My team isn't particularly vulnerable to hazards but rapid spin is there even if I don't really get a chance to use it. I find there are too many ground types in the tier to risk using Volt Switch.
Dragonite @ Heavy Duty Boots
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: Atk 252 / Spd 4 / Spe 252
Adamant Nature
Dragon Dance
Dual Wingbeat
Earthquake
Extreme Speed
Multiscale combined with screens allows Dragonite to easily power itself up with Dragon dance without much risk. It can even take an ice beam! It is best to set this up as an end game sweeper as there are too many counters to it such as Mandibuzz with foul play or Corvenknight. It is also vulnerable to Burns and Toxic. Extremespeed is there as Dragonite is quite slow outside of Dragon Dance and is perfect for finishing pokemon off such as the Garchomp as described under Regieleki. Earthquake and Duel Wing Beat provide solid coverage to a multitude of threats like Rillaboom and Excadrill.
Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Flamethrower
- Psychic
- Bug Buzz
Volcarona being the other end game sweeper, using Quiver Dance ideally combined with screens to set up. With the Spd boost, it fulfills this role better than Dragonite as it can get super tanky! It has a very wide movepool allowing it to cover most in the tier, including Hydreigon, Toxapex and Urshafu Rapid Strikes. Sending it out against a physical attacker for the chance of a flame body burn is also really useful! Toxic is always a concern however. I have debated using a Safeguard build but I think it really loses out on it's purpose when I take away it's offensive moves.
Primarina @ Choice Specs
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Moonblast
- Ice Beam
- Psychic
This is usually the pokemon I open out with to combat the inevitable Landorus T. They are forced to switch out, and Primarina's special attack is so high it often just deletes the next pokemon that is sent out, including pokemon that would resist such as Bisharp or Kartana. Toxapex is a common switch in, and they rarely expect a psychic. The wide movepool and the fact Primarina is quite rare to see in OU means people never know what to expect. It's a very useful pokemon that covers the weaknesses to the other pokemon in the team, such as Mandabuzz and Moltres.
Melmetal @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 128 HP / 116 Atk / 252 SpD / 12 Spe
Careful Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- High Horsepower
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch
The Assault vest allows Melmetal to soak up some super effective hits from common moves such as Flamethrower. Despite not being choiced, it is still a powerhouse, inflicting major damage to common threats such as Landorus T, Clefable and Dragapult. I use High Horsepower as Grassy terrain from Rillaboom is quite common. This is often combined with Heatran, which is usually sent out to combat Melmetal. As High Horsepower does not suffer from the 50% dmg loss like Earthquake does during Grassy terrain, Heatran is easily dealt with.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Thunder Wave
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
This is the only real tank on the team. Rocky Helmet combined with Iron barbs is the perfect counter to Melmetal and Urshifu rapid strikes. Thunder Wave is extremely useful to slow some pokemon down as my team is rather vulnerable to speedy revenge killers. Ferrathorn's are usually used to set up hazards, but I have found that I don't get enough time to set up spikes, and stealth rocks doesn't feel particularly useful with the frequency of Defog and Heavy Duty boots. Instead, I have given it some attacks to use in conjunction with it's recovery in leech seed.
Blissey and Corvenknight are probably my most hated pokemon as they cover eachothers weaknesses and wall off my attacks whilst scoring chip damage from Rocky Helmet on to my Melmetal. Toxic wears my team down and is the biggest threat to my sweepers. Blissey seems to be quite common in the 1400 bracket and it's appearance usually means I can expect a loss. Is there a way I can implement a counter into my team? Thanks very much for reading! :)
Regieleki @ Light Clay
Ability: Transistor
EVs: 96 HP / 252 Atk / 160 Spe
Adamant Nature
Reflect
Light Screen
Rapid Spin
Explosion
The general idea with the team is to set up screens in order to provide enough time for your sweepers to power themselves up with stat boosts. I'll rarely lead with this pokemon as Landorus T is so common and I can virtually guarantee that they will send that out first. I'll try to make use of the screens more than once in a game, so will only suicide it with Explosion when either it's health is so low or to get rid of a particularly problematic pokemon. Garchomp being a prime example as it is faster than any of my unboosted pokemon besides Regieleki and can easily sweep after a swords dance. It see's Regieleki as a free set up to swords dance, but Explosion deals a solid 80% of Garchomp's health allowing me to finish it off the following turn. My team isn't particularly vulnerable to hazards but rapid spin is there even if I don't really get a chance to use it. I find there are too many ground types in the tier to risk using Volt Switch.
Dragonite @ Heavy Duty Boots
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: Atk 252 / Spd 4 / Spe 252
Adamant Nature
Dragon Dance
Dual Wingbeat
Earthquake
Extreme Speed
Multiscale combined with screens allows Dragonite to easily power itself up with Dragon dance without much risk. It can even take an ice beam! It is best to set this up as an end game sweeper as there are too many counters to it such as Mandibuzz with foul play or Corvenknight. It is also vulnerable to Burns and Toxic. Extremespeed is there as Dragonite is quite slow outside of Dragon Dance and is perfect for finishing pokemon off such as the Garchomp as described under Regieleki. Earthquake and Duel Wing Beat provide solid coverage to a multitude of threats like Rillaboom and Excadrill.
Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Flamethrower
- Psychic
- Bug Buzz
Volcarona being the other end game sweeper, using Quiver Dance ideally combined with screens to set up. With the Spd boost, it fulfills this role better than Dragonite as it can get super tanky! It has a very wide movepool allowing it to cover most in the tier, including Hydreigon, Toxapex and Urshafu Rapid Strikes. Sending it out against a physical attacker for the chance of a flame body burn is also really useful! Toxic is always a concern however. I have debated using a Safeguard build but I think it really loses out on it's purpose when I take away it's offensive moves.
Primarina @ Choice Specs
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Moonblast
- Ice Beam
- Psychic
This is usually the pokemon I open out with to combat the inevitable Landorus T. They are forced to switch out, and Primarina's special attack is so high it often just deletes the next pokemon that is sent out, including pokemon that would resist such as Bisharp or Kartana. Toxapex is a common switch in, and they rarely expect a psychic. The wide movepool and the fact Primarina is quite rare to see in OU means people never know what to expect. It's a very useful pokemon that covers the weaknesses to the other pokemon in the team, such as Mandabuzz and Moltres.
Melmetal @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 128 HP / 116 Atk / 252 SpD / 12 Spe
Careful Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- High Horsepower
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch
The Assault vest allows Melmetal to soak up some super effective hits from common moves such as Flamethrower. Despite not being choiced, it is still a powerhouse, inflicting major damage to common threats such as Landorus T, Clefable and Dragapult. I use High Horsepower as Grassy terrain from Rillaboom is quite common. This is often combined with Heatran, which is usually sent out to combat Melmetal. As High Horsepower does not suffer from the 50% dmg loss like Earthquake does during Grassy terrain, Heatran is easily dealt with.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Thunder Wave
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
This is the only real tank on the team. Rocky Helmet combined with Iron barbs is the perfect counter to Melmetal and Urshifu rapid strikes. Thunder Wave is extremely useful to slow some pokemon down as my team is rather vulnerable to speedy revenge killers. Ferrathorn's are usually used to set up hazards, but I have found that I don't get enough time to set up spikes, and stealth rocks doesn't feel particularly useful with the frequency of Defog and Heavy Duty boots. Instead, I have given it some attacks to use in conjunction with it's recovery in leech seed.
Blissey and Corvenknight are probably my most hated pokemon as they cover eachothers weaknesses and wall off my attacks whilst scoring chip damage from Rocky Helmet on to my Melmetal. Toxic wears my team down and is the biggest threat to my sweepers. Blissey seems to be quite common in the 1400 bracket and it's appearance usually means I can expect a loss. Is there a way I can implement a counter into my team? Thanks very much for reading! :)
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