Make Sure To Wear A Tuxedo [OU Empoleon Sweep]

[slicnepderoloc]

Wowee! My first team post on Smogon. How awesome. Though I lurk most of the time trying to learn this whole 'synergy business' I finally grew the balls to post my team and see how it can improve (because obviously it can). Like starting any team you usually pick your favorite Pokemon and go from there. Mine is Chimecho. But Chimecho sucks, unfortunately. So I went with Empoleon. Boy, do I love penguins. I've worked hard on this team studying weaknesses and I still run into problems. So be nice and lend a hand. Thanks in advance for your time and aid.

At A Glance

Without further ado onto the team...(changes will be in Bold)

Be Sure To Wear a Tuxedo

Rafiki(Infernape)

@ Focus Sash

Naive - Blaze
64 Atk/ 252 Sp Atk / 192 Spe
Fake Out
Stealth Rock
Fire Blast
Close Combat

Ah, Leadape. Rafiki has been incredibly useful. Though I don't like sporting one attack, Encore has proved extremely valuable into locking down Pokemon to set up with Empoleon late game. Encore was replaced with Close Combat to help me deal with leads more easily. Rafiki can also come back lategame to give damage to Blissey and the likes.

​

Easy Bake(Rotom-H)
@ Choice Scarf

Timid - Levitate
252 Sp Atk/ 252 Spe / 4 HP
Trick
Shadow Ball
Thunderbolt
Overheat

I don't know what it is that attracts me to Trick pokes. I think the idea of just being able to force something useless is incredible. And Easy Bake does just that. Even without putting in the trick, he makes a great revenge killer to take out Gyarados, Gengar, Azelf and any other things he can cover. Leaf Storm proved unnecessary since Trick is good enough to deal with Bulky Waters. Overheat provides a better Scizor counter and puts dent in leads like Metagross(After Occa).

​

Like me?(Swampert)

@ Leftovers

Relaxed - Torrent
252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpAtk
Ice Beam
Earthquake
Hydro Pump/Surf
Roar

The only status I'm really worried about is getting paralyzed, well Like Me? prevents this from happening and allows a phazer to spread Stealth Rock damage and Baton Pass teams and opposing pokes from trying to set up Dragon Dance or Swords Dance or Techno Dance. Whatever it may be, Swampert takes care of it. And gives me an Earthquake I didn't have before to deal with Heatran and Electivires without HP Grass. (Thanks to mc2094 for the set)
​

Ruby(Scizor)

@ Choice Band

Adamant - Technician
248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
U-Turn
Pursuit
Bullet Punch
Superpower

Standard CB Scizor. Bullet Punch Priority with STAB and Technician is able to put dents (if not KO) opposing pokes to make Empoleon's sweep much more easier. Pursuit traps annoying things like Azelf and Latias to ensure they don't come back. Superpower rocks Blissey, Tyranitar and other things that don't resist it. U-Turn helps me scout out pokemon Empoleon can set up on. Though what's great is using U-Turn on a poke that's been encoured by Rafiki. Ruby makes a great revenge killer and is nearly a staple in this metagame. I chose Scizor because it seems to just work on any team. Though, again, willing to replace it if something helps Empoleon more.
​

Supernova(Starmie)

@ Leftovers

Timid - Natural Cure
136 HP / 156 Sp Atk / 216 Spe
Ice Beam
Surf
Thunderbolt
Recover/ Reflect

Every team needs a spinner. And I thought it was quite odd that I chose to go with Starmie (since I already have a water poke and no ground pokemon to resist electric attacks). But Supernova can easily switch in on a Gyarados waterfall and KO with Thunderbolt. Supernova also can kill Heatrans that are locked in a fire move with Surf and can spin away spikes.The problems I'm having is deciding whether I want Recover or Reflect. After experimenting a little Reflect makes it easier for Empoleon to set up and gives him more durability. I'm curious if a dual screen pokemon would work well in this team. Reflect also turns Starmie into a great physical tank. But without a good recovery move it wouldn't survive, and I wouldn't know whether to keep T-bolt or Surf. I haven't had any major complaints with Supernova, though. Thanks to Polis4rule for showing me that none of my team is weak to entry hazards, making Starmie more offensive to deal with threats like Salamance and Flygon. (Currently Testing a DDBulkyDos and CM Suicune)

​

Prom King (Empoleon)

@ Petaya Berry
Modest - Torrent
12 HP/ 12 DEF/ 252 SpA / 232 Spe
Agility
Substitute
Ice Beam
Surf

The star (bar Starmie) of the show. Everyone knows how this works. Get on something to force a switch or something Empoleon is resistant to. Agility and then Sub til you activate Petaya Berry. Combined with Petaya + Torrent + STAB Surf becomes a Tsunami waiting to happen. Prom King uses Ice Beam over Grass Knot to get rid of Dragons. Besides I have Rotom's Leaf Storm to deal with water pokes left over afterwords. Empoleon is the only pokemon I won't consider taking out because it obviously revovles around him.

Final Thoughts:
​

So that's my team. I know there may be some glaring problems and that's why I'm posting the team here. Feel free to suggest anything, just keep in mind while I will use this team on Shoddy, I may want to breed it so I can play it on Wifi. So Hidden Power and Legendaries of certain natures may be difficult to obtain. Don't hate- participate!
​

 

[slicnepderoloc]

Threats

* Green means they are not a problem for me.
* Orange means they can cause a bit of trouble.
* Red means they are very difficult to take down.

Offensive Threats

Aerodactyl : Leads with taunt really shut down Infernape. I'll Fake Out to break their sash and then switch in to Rotom-H most likely expecting Earthquake. Or Swampert can deal with ti.
---
Alakazam : Scizor can take care of it pretty well.
---
Azelf : Infernape breaks sash, Encores Stealth Rocks and probably switch to Rotom-C. If I expect Explosion I'll definitely switch to Rotom-C.
---
Breloom : Infernape has no problem handling it. And Empoleon kills it late game.
---
Dragonite : Empoleon if it's locked on Outrage. Starmie can take it out with Ice Beam.
---
Dugtrio : Swampert.
---
Electivire : Swampert
---
Empoleon : Starmie can take it down relatively easily.
---
Flygon : Starmie can take it out with Ice Beam. But if she's down unless it's locked on Outrage it can give Empoleon Problems. Swampert should be able to get it though.
---
Gengar : Rotom or Machamp.
---
Gyarados : Starmie or Rotom-Hcan revenge it.
---
Heatran : Swampert
---
Heracross : Now that I use an Oven I can have Baked Beetle.
---
Infernape : Mix variants give me some trouble. But Empoleon can take care of it late game usually.
---
Jirachi :Infernape can get it, if not Easy Bake can Revenge.
---
Jolteon : Have not seen any but I bet it could give me some troubles.
---
Kingdra : Set up Empoleon.
---
Latias : Starmie or Empoleon. Even Rotom-C can take care of it. Scizor traps. etc
---
Lucario : Rotom with the power of Fiah! Easy Bake also immune to extreme speed. :D
---
Machamp : Haha. Rotom loves tricking him into Rest.
---
Magnezone : Oven to the rescue!
---
Mamoswine : Infernape takes care of lead ones. Or Starmie can get it.
---
Metagross : Infernape usually takes him out. Followed by Rotom - H
---
Porygon-Z : Machamp or Scizor.
---
Rhyperior : Starmie. Choice band variants usually give Empoleon time to set up.
---
Salamence : Starmie
---
Scizor : Bake more bugs. :]
---
Starmie : Rotom-H can usually get it with Shadow Ball if it's not too bulky.
---
Togekiss : Rotom loves to Trick it on Thunderwave.
---
Tyranitar : With all the Babiri Berry holders this has become a problem, Superpower makes that better, though. Swampert can probably deal.
---
Weavile : Scizor.
---
Yanmega : Dunno haven't see one yet.


Defensive Threat List:

Blissey : Scizor Supahpowah.
---
Bronzong : Infernape or Starmie.
---
Celebi : Rotom can usually put up with her.
---
Cresselia : Rotom can trick it.
---
Donphan : Starmie or Rotom.
---
Forretress : Infernape or Bake Bgs.
---
Gliscor : Starmie can usually take it down. Or send in Swampert.
---
Hippowdon : Haven't seen one Swampert should be okay against it.
---
Skarmory : Starmie or Rotom.
---
Snorlax : Scizor or Swampert to Roar Curse variations.
---
Suicune: Lock it.
---
Swampert : Without Leaf Storm I dunno. I may put Grass Knot on someone.
---
Tentacruel : Haven't encountered it but I think it might be tough or give me fodder for Empoleon.
---
Vaporeon : Trick it.
---
Zapdos : Hopefully Trick it into roost, if not. Geez I dunno.

 

[Polis4rule]

You really don't need a spinner on this team, as non of your guys are weak to it. I would suggest making Starmie either offensive, if you feel like making your team one that has a more offensive side to it, or replacing it with a bulky water, such as Milo or Vappy to contribute a bit more for defense.

Of course, you could make a bulkier Starmie, but that's up to you.

 

[slicnepderoloc]

Alright. I think I'll replace Rapid Spin for Ice Beam, then. Should I change the EVs more around, then?

 

[Pombo]

Take a look at your threat list.
Starmie covers (alone) these thing:
1-Gliscor
2-Empoleon
3-Heatran

But gliscor isnt a THREAT with high case, since empoleon can take a unboosted EQ (from defensive ones) and agility and then kill. Of course that would kinda ruin your ttactic of Empoleon sweeping, but you are trying to cover the whole metagame with 4 pokemon (suicide lead+empoleon)
As Polis pointed, you dont NEED a spinner (only scizor is really harmed by rocks, but your team isnt a contant switching one, so its fine). So why not put Suicune on Starmie`s place? A semi-offensive one (leftovers+offensive evs) can help you with Heatran, Gliscor and Kingdra.

I suggest 252 Stak/252 Spd Modest/Timid @ lefties, HP-Elec + Surf + CM/Rest + Ice Beam.

Your own kingdra is helpful too. It kills opposing kingdra (although you can switch in) and stops heatran. maybe the classic Waterfall Outrage DD Sub/Hydro Pump one.

But I`d rather Suicune.

 

[mc2094]

I think that having close sombat would really help as it will let you hit heatran leads and allow infernape to just dish out more damage on both sides of the spectrum. I don't think encore is that useful because empoleon will usually be sent out late game(at least, it should) once all of his counters are gone and infernape is going out in the first few turns. Alternativley, you can remove fake out for close combat as the only thing your really ruining is azelf and roserade lead and aerodactyl to a lesser extent. The first problem I noticed is how you deal with leads. Infernape loses to metagross, aerodactyl, heatran(without close combat), starmie, and a few other leads. You don't have a solid switch to several of these leads. I suggest you switch rotom to rotom-h. With overheat, you will have a solid switch against metagross as long as you get rid of occa with infernape. Overheat also lets you deal with several steel types who could be troubling. Leafstorm is really only hitting bulky monst who can be crippled with trick anyways. I don't see the benefit of a spinner so replacing starmie is ideal. You lack solid counters to scizor, lucario, infernape, heracross, heatran, and a few walls so I would suggest a bulkydos.

Gyarados@Leftovers
Adamant
156 HP/108 Atk/100 Def/144 Spe
-DD
-waterfall
-Stone Edge
-Taunt

This should help out quite a bit. You have a solid sweeper but more importantly, a physical wall that is capable of shutting down stall teams. Taunt is an excellent move and is very helpful aganist swampert and hippowdon(both are often used as leads so this gives you a solid switch.) Avoid using dragon dance early on in the game. Instead just spam waterfall as most people have counters to Gyarados, most of which are very frail such as scarf rotom-a, jolteon, and other scarfed poke so a few hits from waterfall will make it much easier for gyarados to open up holes in the opponets team. Now you have a electric weakness so I would suggest a swampert in place of machamp. He is immune to electric attacks and makes a solid counter to DDmence and Tyranitar.

Swampert@Leftovers
Relaxed
252 HP/228 Def/28 SAtk
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-EQuake
-Roar

Pretty basic MixPert. 28 EVs in SAtk is enough to OHKO mence with Ice Beam while 252 EVs in HP are for maximum bulk. The rest are thrown into defense to sponge hits better. Roar is for basic phazing and lets you deal with batton pass teams better as well as ninjask leads.

Good Luck.

 

[slicnepderoloc]

@Pombo: Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to test Suicune but am unsure how I would get it to Wifi. I do like the idea of Calm Mind and a secondary sweeper.

@mc2094: Thanks for the well-thought-out post. I think I'll put those in and start testing them. Why Hydro Pump though?

 

[E.A.]

Kingdra : haaalp.

What happened to Empoleon, who reists Kingdra's dual STAB? Scizor can also take Outrages if need be.

I'm going to recommend you switch Rotom-C to Rotom-H. You say you have issues with Lucario and Heracross. Overheat allows you to KO them, and deal more damage to Metagross and Scizor than Rotom-C could. You may lose a Grass attack, but you could throw Grass Knot on Starmie over Thunderbolt / Reflect / Recover to patch up that wound (The latter probably the best replacement; an offensive starmie can be surprisingly effective and another Gyara killer never hurts.)

 

[slicnepderoloc]

Haha. I copied and pasted the threat list from someone else. I guess I didn't get them all. Kingdra sometimes could take out my team but that's the best candidate for Prom King to set up on.

As for Starmie I may not keep her, I'm currently testing Gyara and Suicune. But I do like the idea of Grass Knot now that I'm down Leaf Storm. If I replaced Recover/Reflect I might try a Specs or LO variant.

 

[mc2094]

Why Hydro Pump though?

Hydro Pump will deal much more damage to common switch-ins such as Rotom-A and hitting things harder. The power drop really isn't worth it as surf isn't doing much and Swampert needs all of the extra power it can get. Hydro Pump turns 5HKOs to 3HKOs on several pokemon compared to surf and as ridiculous as that may seem, it is very helpful when it comes to weakening walls like rotom-a that don't have access to recovery moves. I would highly consider Gyarados since you will have a huge SD Lucario weakness otherwise, especially if Rotom-h looses his scarf or gets trapped by Scizor or Tyranitar who are often paired with Lucario. Scizor is giving similar problems as he can take out chunks of Swamperts health with U-Turn, trap Rotom-H if he is locked on something like shadow ball, keep Starmie at bay, and just start chipping away at your team. Scarftran with HP Grass also hits everything on this team for SE damage bar Rotom-h who is taken down by Fire Blast. Suicune doesn't help solve the problem, infact it makes it worse while Gyarados will help handle these threats. On a side note, give rotom-h modest since he isn't meant to beat other scarfers and the extra power is very much needed.

 

[Luxormaniac]

I'm a synergy aficionado myself. In doing so, I notice you have the defensive SwampZor combo, adept at blocking blows.

I'm just going to do a quick rate. DD Resttalk Gyara sounds good in Starm's spot for added physical threat coverage. Then, a Specs or LO Jolt could do in Rotom's spot, retaining Speed while also sponging Electric attacks from Gyara/Empoleon. Then it's just your lead. I would highly recommend looking into a Roserade/Smeargle lead to lay down Tspikes to help wear down Bulky waters and Blissey- especially necessary without GK on Empoleon to wear them down. Looks pretty good overall, told you it would be a quick rate.

 

[Myzozoa]

The only reason to use infernape is for encore, so if you arent using it you should change to a different anti lead.