My Balanced Offensive Team (OU)

[latios6393]

I made a team a few weeks ago that I thought would be great. I battled with it for a few days on Shoddy and I found that it was much worse than my expectations for it had been. With that I mind, I scrapped it and made a whole new one, which, so far, is working out much better. I am an incredibly impatient person and hate stall, so normally I make teams with just pure attackers, and they usually die in a few strong hits. I went with a little different approach with this team. Its is primarily offensive, with a little defense thrown in here and there. Without any further ado, please rate my team.
The Overview:

Azelf @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Naïve nature (+Spe, -SpD)
- Psychic
- Flamethrower
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion

I’m using the usual Azelf lead. I always see people complaining about too many people using it, and now I realize why everyone does. This thing works wonders. Stealth Rock is one of the best moves in the game and it’s always useful to have. Psychic is for a strong STAB attack, and is the attack of choice for opposing Swamperts, Infernapes, and those Gengars that switch in, predicting the Explosion. Flamethrower is for everything that resists Psychic, mainly Jirachi and Metagross. I run Flamethrower rather than Fire Blast because I prefer accuracy to power. I Explode when I’m at low health, which almost guarantees it takes out one Pokemon.

Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP/216 Def/52 SAtk
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spe)
- Earthquake
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Roar

This is the first time I’ve ever used a Swampert, and it works quite well with the rest of my team. He’s my go-to Pokemon for taking physical attacks. I ran the standard MixPert set. Earthquake and Surf are for STAB, as well as being great attacks to have in my arsenal. Ice Beam is used mainly for those pesky Dragons, but also works well for Grassers. Roar is for phazing along with racking up SR damage.

Celebi @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 76 HP/252 SAtk/180 Spe
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Earth Power
- Recover

Ahhhh, Celebi. Previously, I have only ever used Celebi defensively, but I have learned that it is also quite potent offensively. With this, I CM up and proceed to attack. I was quite torn over which two attacks to use, so if anyone thinks that I should switch them up, please feel free to tell me. If my research was correct, Psychic/Ground hits every type for at least neutral damage, so that's why I'm currently using them. The Life Orb is for a little added power, and Recover is for healing off its residual damage.

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Jolly nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Crunch
- ExtremeSpeed

Lucario is my late-game sweeper. I’ll send him out when most of the opposition is sufficiently weakened and go on a rampage. Swords Dance is for obvious reasons. A +2 STAB Close Combat is quite powerful and is definitely worth the defensive drops. Crunch complements it wonderfully and gives the set perfect coverage. ExtremeSpeed is for killing off those speedy little foes.

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP/4 SAtk/252 SpD
Calm nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Air Slash
- Aura Sphere
- Thunder Wave
- Roost

I’ve never used a Togekiss before on a team, but I’ve battled quite a few. They are a pain to fight because of the annoying flinch hax, which is exactly why I’m using one. Just as Swampert is my go-to counter for physical attackers, Togekiss is the counter for special attackers. Air Slash is for STAB and flinching. Aura Sphere is a great move to have, especially because is gives Togekiss something to use against opposing Rocks and Steels. Thunder Wave is used so I can slow down the opponent and take full advantage of flinching. Roost is an obvious move for healing off damage.

Muk @ Black Sludge
Ability: Sticky Hold
EVs: 252 HP/80 Def/176 SpD
Careful nature (+SpD, -SAtk)
- Curse
- Poison Jab
- Brick Break
- Shadow Sneak

On every team I use, I like to have at least one UU/NU to keep my opponent on their toes. Muk has been one of my favorite Pokemon since RBY and I finally decided to use it in a team. This thing has far exceeded my expectations, and even swept entire teams before. The strategy with this is simple: come in on something that won’t hurt it much and Curse up. Poison Jab is a strong STAB move after a few Curses. Brick Break is so that Rocks and Steels don’t completely wall me. My favorite move on this set is Shadow Sneak. It isn’t affected by my Speed drops, and after a few Curses it is very powerful. I absolutely love using this thing



Conclusion:
Well, there you have it, my newest team. It has worked pretty well so far, and I want to make it as strong as it can be. I feel that it is a fairly balanced team, but a little more toward the offensive side. I need your opinions about it to make it stronger, so please rate my team. Thanks in advance.

 

[latios6393]

Offensive Threats List​

Minor Threat
Potentially Big Threat
Large Threat

Azelf: Other than as a lead, I haven’t been seeing too many of these lately. Lucario is probably my best counter for it, with Crunch. Togekiss can take most things it dishes out as well.

Breloom: Shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Celebi resists both of its STABs and hits hard with Psychic. Togekiss and Azelf can hit it hard, too.

Celebi: Again, Togekiss can switch in with little risk Air Slash away. Lucario, Azelf, and Muk all pack super effective moves, but need to be careful when switching in.

Dugtrio: Swampert can switch in after the kill and hit hard with Surf. Azelf and Togekiss are immune to EQ, so they can also come in, if necessary.

Electivire: Swampert is immune to STAB and hits hard with Earthquake. Celebi need to avoid Ice Punch, but can also damage with Earth Power.

Empoleon: Lucario’s Close Combat should do the trick. If it doesn’t run Grass Knot, Swampert can Earthquake. Celebi will work fine, too.

Flygon: Togekiss and Azelf can switch into EQ’s with impunity, but have no surefire way to KO. Swampert has Ice Beam to kill it.

Gengar: Azelf outspeeds non-Scarfers and KO’s with Psychic. Lucario can switch in fairly easily and threatens with Crunch. They usually don’t have much to handle Muk with, so he can come in and set up Curses and take hits with his high Special Defense.

Gliscor: He poses little threat to Swampert, who has Ice Beam to KO. Defensive variants can’t do much to Celebi, who hits with Psychic. Togekiss is immune to EQ, but doesn’t have much to hurt it with.

Gyarados: One of the bigger threats to my team, as I have no super effective attacks. He can’t do much to Swampert, but Swampert has no way to hurt it either. Celebi can come in on EQ and Waterfall, but has to watch out for Ice Fang. I definitely need help addressing this one.

Heatran: Swampert takes little damage and KO’s with EQ. Can’t do much to Togekiss, who can paralyze it and hit hard with Aura Sphere. Muk needs to watch out for Earth Power, but can hit with Brick Break.

Heracross: Togekiss can Air Slash this thing into oblivion. Most I see don’t run EQ, so Muk can set up on it easily, not minding either of its STABs.

Infernape: Swampert takes little damage and can EQ/Surf. Togekiss can come in on Special variants and hit with Air Slash.

Jirachi: Azelf hits other leads with Flamethrower. Swampert has a super effective STAB, and Celebi has Earth Power.

Kingdra: I have no super effective attacks, but I have hard hitters that can outspeed. Lucario can Close Combat and take a large chunk of its health. Celebi resists Surf/Waterfall and can attack. A minor threat.

Latias: Swampert can handle it pretty easily with Ice Beam. Lucario needs to watch out for some of its attacks, but threatens with Crunch.

Lucario: Swampert can EQ and hit hard. Azelf has super effective Flamethrower, but needs to watch out for Crunch. Celebi also needs to be wary of Crunch, but has Earth Power.

Machamp: Azelf/Celebi both have Psychic to hit hard. Togekiss has Air Slash, but needs to watch out for Stone Edge.

Magnezone: If it doesn’t have Magnet Rise, Swampert hits hard with EQ, and Celebi has Earth Power. Azelf has Flamethrower. Lucario can knock it out with Close Combat. Muk has super effective Brick Break for it. All but Swampert need to be wary when switching in though.

Mamoswine: Swampert isn’t threatened much and has STAB Surf. Togekiss needs to watch out for Ice Shard, but has Aura Sphere. Muk and Lucario should watch for Earthquake, but have super effective Fighting attacks.

Metagross: Azelf has Flamethrower for non-Occa Berry holders. Celebi and Swampert both have Ground attacks for it.

Ninjask: Usually dies in two attacks. Swampert can Roar away its boosts. Togekiss can Air Slash for huge damage. Not much of a problem.

Porygon-Z: Lucario should watch out for HP Fighting, but hits hard with Close Combat. Togekiss and Muk have Fighting moves also.

Rhyperior: Swampert has Surf to get rid of it. Lucario, Muk, and Togekiss need to be careful switching in, but all pack Fighting attacks. Celebi can come in with little harm and hurt with Earth Power.

Roserade: Psychic from Azelf and Celebi. Togekiss has Air Slash and good Special Defense. Without HP Ground, it can’t really hurt Muk, who can come in and set up.

Rotom-A:Muk can take its hits with its Special Defense, set up, or hit with Shadow Sneak/Poison Jab.

Salamence: Swampert kills it with Ice Beam. It doesn’t do a whole lot to Togekiss, who can paralyze and flinch hax it.

Scizor: Azelf has Flamethrower if it’s around that long. Scizor is actually one of the things Muk sets up most easily on, not really minding U-Turn, Superpower, or Bullet Punch.

Snorlax: If it doesn’t have EQ, Lucario comes in to Close Combat. Muk can also Brick Break. It could be an issue if not dealt with swiftly.

Starmie: Most don’t have Psychic, so Muk can set up and Shadow Sneak. Lucario can Crunch, but should be careful when switching in.

Suicune: Another big threat, as I have no super effective moves and it has great defenses. If I can SD and it doesn’t Roar me away, Lucario can hit with Close Combat, but Suicune could be an issue.

Togekiss: It might turn out to be threat, with its high Special Defense. Swampert has Ice Beam, but probably won’t KO. If my own Togekiss can get in to paralyze, I could flinch hax it with Air Slash. Muk won’t take much from its attacks and might get time to set up.

Tyranitar: Lucario need to watch out for EQ, but hits hard with Close Combat. Togekiss has Aura Sphere. Swampert is the best counter, with STAB super effective Surf/EQ.

Weavile: Doesn’t threaten Lucario much, who can KO with Close Combat. Muk can do the same with Brick Break.

Yanmega: Can’t do much of anything to Togekiss, who hits hard with Air Slash. Swampert takes him fairly easily as well.

Zapdos: Another big threat. Swampert is my best bet, being immune to STAB and having Ice Beam.


Defensive Threats List to come in the near future.

 

[SlottedPig]

Small nitpick:

Skarmory resists Psychic / Ground and can Brave Bird / phase your stat-ups, but any other combination of moves doesnt give as good of coverage.

 

[XxJohny2haixX]

Zapdos: Another big threat. Swampert is my best bet, being immune to STAB and having Ice Beam

Some Zapdos' have HP Green for taking out Swamperts.

 

[latios6393]

About Celebi's attacks, yes I know Skarmory resists both attacks, which is why I said it hits every type for neutral damage. What I meant was that it hit every type for neutral, but not necessarily every type combination.

In, response to the Zapdos comment, I know it can potentially counter Swampert, which is why I listed it as a large threat.

I need rates please. I still need this team to be better.

 

[latios6393]

Come on people, I need some full rates.

I'm thinking about replacing Celebi for an offensive CM Latias, so I'd like some opinions on that issue as well.