I have little experience with competitive battling, so I'm not sure how good this team is. Any and all feedback and suggestions are fine with me. Ok so here goes on my team.
Ninjask @ Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
Jolly
252 HP/ 252 Spe/ 4 Atk
-Swords Dance
-Substitute
-Baton Pass
-X-Scissor
From my observations, this is probably Ninjask's best set. The Speed Boost ability works well with its incredibly high base speed, and 252 EVs ensures it goes first. Opening with Substitute and then using Swords Dance does take two turns, but with many players out there using their leads to set up entry hazards this isn't too risky. Speed Boost at the end of the turn gives a second boost for Baton Pass to pass on to a sweeper. I went with Leftovers to put a small countermeasure against the HP cost for Substitute. X-Scissor is there so Ninjask doesn't become Taunt-bait and if the battle goes south, for some sort of offense with an otherwise supporting mon.
Salamence @ Dragon Fang
Ability: Intimidate
Adamant
252 Atk/ 252 Spe/ 4 HP
-Dragon Claw
-Fire Fang
-Dragon Dance
-Aerial Ace
I'd have to say Salamence is my main physical sweeper, owing to his incredible speed and attack stats and his overall usefulness. Salamence is relatively safe on a switch-in with a Baton Pass from Ninjask because not too many leads are Ice or Fairy-type. I decided against using a Choice Band because I hate being stuck with only one move as an option, especially if said move becomes useless for the next mon my opponent sends in. This is also the reason I didn't go with Outrage, besides my horrible luck with confusion. I plan on keeping Salamence in for as long as possible, so Outrage and a Choice Band, to me, seem like suicide tactics. Fire Fang is there to combat Steel-types like Steelix and Scizor who resist Dragon-Type moves. I chose Aerial Ace because it never checks accuracy and gets STAB. Dragon Dance is there just in case Ninjask dies before the Baton Pass. The Dragon Fang is, in my opinion, a good boost to STAB for Dragon Claw and stacked on top of Baton Passed Swords Dance would become quite a deadly weapon.
Alakazam @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
Modest
252 SpA/ 252 Spe/ 4 HP
-Psychic
-Energy Ball
-Charge Beam
-Thunder Wave
Alakazam is another one of my heavy hitters. His high base Special Attack and Speed make him a great revenge killer, which is the role he plays on my team. Magic Guard is so he doesn't take damage from entry hazards, which I think is a good choice on account of Alakazam's poor HP and defenses. I decided to give him Alakazite because I felt my team needed a Mega Evolution and his SpA gets boosted even more. Psychic is the go-to hard-hitting Psychic-type move, and Alakazam gets STAB on top of his high SpA, making it a very effective weapon against the common Fighting-type. Energy Ball is in his moveset to combat Water-types that my team otherwise has no counter to. Charge Beam is a move I chose purely for its boost to SpA since I don't have anything else to boost it for Alakazam. Lastly, I chose Thunder Wave to slow down my opponent just in case I'm up against a faster pokemon and need to stay in longer than expected.
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Timid
252 Spe/ 252 HP/ 4 SpA
-Toxic
-Sludge Wave
-Scald
-Ice Beam
Tentacruel is my Toxic stall and counter to Fairy-types. His HP isn't stellar, but Black Sludge helps to replenish it. Walls like Hippowdon are very susceptible to Toxic stalls and combined with Water's super-effectiveness to Ground it makes for a good stall in my opinion. Scald is also good for stalling because of its 30% chance to burn, meaning I'd only have to use it three times to have a good chance of burning my target. Ice Beam is yet another counter on my team to the surplus of Dragon-types in OU. Sludge Wave is a pretty powerful attack and not many types can boast a resistance to it. This is the pokemon on my team that is always subject to change, since he's not the strongest, nor does he have much synergy or many safe match-ups.
Hippowdon @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Force
Adamant
252 HP/ 252 Atk/ 4 Def
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Ice Fang
-Slack Off
Hippowdon is the tank of my team. Hippowdon's high HP and Atk stats can make it into quite the tank. Between its ability and the Life Orb, if my opponent happens to pull out a T-Tar or have a Sand team, then she becomes quite the powerhouse. Earthquake is quite a powerful move and useful for countering Steel and Electric-types. Stone Edge is my answer to Talonflame and other Flying-types since my team doesn't have Stealth Rock. Ice Fang is, once again, a counter to Dragon-types. Slack Off is my answer to the Life Orb's HP drain. Since it only takes one turn, I think it's a pretty good way to recover HP and keep Hippowdon in the game longer.
Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Adamant
252 Atk/ 252 HP/ 4 Def
-King's Shield
-Shadow Sneak/Sacred Sword
-Night Slash
-Swords Dance
Aegislash is my late-game cleaner and my backup plan in case I've been completely outclassed and outplayed by my opponent. His high base defenses and ability make him quite the wall when in Shield Forme and since those stats switch to his attacks and I gave him the EVs in Attack, his Blade Forme is incredibly powerful. My general strategy with Aegislash is to Swords Dance twice and absorb damage, then use Shadow Sneak to hit first and kill the opposing pokemon. Then I use King's Shield to switch back to Shield Forme before my opponent attacks due to its high priority. The Night Slash is for when I'm up against a Normal-type and can't use Shadow Sneak. The Leftovers are so that Aegislash can recover the health lost while in Shield Forme.
I'm willing to accept any and all help, suggestions, criticisms, etc., so feel free to do as much as you like. I've noticed myself that this team doesn't have any moves like Volt Switch to ensure safe switch ins or much synergy along the lines of weather. Like I said in the introduction, this is my first competitive team, so I don't know what a superb line-up is. Thanks for all your help in advance.
Ninjask @ Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
Jolly
252 HP/ 252 Spe/ 4 Atk
-Swords Dance
-Substitute
-Baton Pass
-X-Scissor
From my observations, this is probably Ninjask's best set. The Speed Boost ability works well with its incredibly high base speed, and 252 EVs ensures it goes first. Opening with Substitute and then using Swords Dance does take two turns, but with many players out there using their leads to set up entry hazards this isn't too risky. Speed Boost at the end of the turn gives a second boost for Baton Pass to pass on to a sweeper. I went with Leftovers to put a small countermeasure against the HP cost for Substitute. X-Scissor is there so Ninjask doesn't become Taunt-bait and if the battle goes south, for some sort of offense with an otherwise supporting mon.
Salamence @ Dragon Fang
Ability: Intimidate
Adamant
252 Atk/ 252 Spe/ 4 HP
-Dragon Claw
-Fire Fang
-Dragon Dance
-Aerial Ace
I'd have to say Salamence is my main physical sweeper, owing to his incredible speed and attack stats and his overall usefulness. Salamence is relatively safe on a switch-in with a Baton Pass from Ninjask because not too many leads are Ice or Fairy-type. I decided against using a Choice Band because I hate being stuck with only one move as an option, especially if said move becomes useless for the next mon my opponent sends in. This is also the reason I didn't go with Outrage, besides my horrible luck with confusion. I plan on keeping Salamence in for as long as possible, so Outrage and a Choice Band, to me, seem like suicide tactics. Fire Fang is there to combat Steel-types like Steelix and Scizor who resist Dragon-Type moves. I chose Aerial Ace because it never checks accuracy and gets STAB. Dragon Dance is there just in case Ninjask dies before the Baton Pass. The Dragon Fang is, in my opinion, a good boost to STAB for Dragon Claw and stacked on top of Baton Passed Swords Dance would become quite a deadly weapon.
Alakazam @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
Modest
252 SpA/ 252 Spe/ 4 HP
-Psychic
-Energy Ball
-Charge Beam
-Thunder Wave
Alakazam is another one of my heavy hitters. His high base Special Attack and Speed make him a great revenge killer, which is the role he plays on my team. Magic Guard is so he doesn't take damage from entry hazards, which I think is a good choice on account of Alakazam's poor HP and defenses. I decided to give him Alakazite because I felt my team needed a Mega Evolution and his SpA gets boosted even more. Psychic is the go-to hard-hitting Psychic-type move, and Alakazam gets STAB on top of his high SpA, making it a very effective weapon against the common Fighting-type. Energy Ball is in his moveset to combat Water-types that my team otherwise has no counter to. Charge Beam is a move I chose purely for its boost to SpA since I don't have anything else to boost it for Alakazam. Lastly, I chose Thunder Wave to slow down my opponent just in case I'm up against a faster pokemon and need to stay in longer than expected.
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Timid
252 Spe/ 252 HP/ 4 SpA
-Toxic
-Sludge Wave
-Scald
-Ice Beam
Tentacruel is my Toxic stall and counter to Fairy-types. His HP isn't stellar, but Black Sludge helps to replenish it. Walls like Hippowdon are very susceptible to Toxic stalls and combined with Water's super-effectiveness to Ground it makes for a good stall in my opinion. Scald is also good for stalling because of its 30% chance to burn, meaning I'd only have to use it three times to have a good chance of burning my target. Ice Beam is yet another counter on my team to the surplus of Dragon-types in OU. Sludge Wave is a pretty powerful attack and not many types can boast a resistance to it. This is the pokemon on my team that is always subject to change, since he's not the strongest, nor does he have much synergy or many safe match-ups.
Hippowdon @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Force
Adamant
252 HP/ 252 Atk/ 4 Def
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Ice Fang
-Slack Off
Hippowdon is the tank of my team. Hippowdon's high HP and Atk stats can make it into quite the tank. Between its ability and the Life Orb, if my opponent happens to pull out a T-Tar or have a Sand team, then she becomes quite the powerhouse. Earthquake is quite a powerful move and useful for countering Steel and Electric-types. Stone Edge is my answer to Talonflame and other Flying-types since my team doesn't have Stealth Rock. Ice Fang is, once again, a counter to Dragon-types. Slack Off is my answer to the Life Orb's HP drain. Since it only takes one turn, I think it's a pretty good way to recover HP and keep Hippowdon in the game longer.
Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Adamant
252 Atk/ 252 HP/ 4 Def
-King's Shield
-Shadow Sneak/Sacred Sword
-Night Slash
-Swords Dance
Aegislash is my late-game cleaner and my backup plan in case I've been completely outclassed and outplayed by my opponent. His high base defenses and ability make him quite the wall when in Shield Forme and since those stats switch to his attacks and I gave him the EVs in Attack, his Blade Forme is incredibly powerful. My general strategy with Aegislash is to Swords Dance twice and absorb damage, then use Shadow Sneak to hit first and kill the opposing pokemon. Then I use King's Shield to switch back to Shield Forme before my opponent attacks due to its high priority. The Night Slash is for when I'm up against a Normal-type and can't use Shadow Sneak. The Leftovers are so that Aegislash can recover the health lost while in Shield Forme.
I'm willing to accept any and all help, suggestions, criticisms, etc., so feel free to do as much as you like. I've noticed myself that this team doesn't have any moves like Volt Switch to ensure safe switch ins or much synergy along the lines of weather. Like I said in the introduction, this is my first competitive team, so I don't know what a superb line-up is. Thanks for all your help in advance.
