Introduction
It's been a while sence my last RMT, and I've decided to make a new one. This is my latest team, designed today with success, as it has won the five first battles that I have played. For that reason, I think this is the best team to make a RMT of. Note that I used to be a better player during the ear of teh third generation, but I'm starting to feel that I am getting better and I am soon as good as I once was.
Before you start rating this team, I would like you to read the following text:
As you probably know, synergy is a very important part of the game. Yet, that is something that most raters don't keep in mind while rating. They try to make every Pokémon stronger individually, while not thinking about that the Pokémon are suposed to work together in order to win. Please keep this in mind while suggesting changes for the team, and do not suggest hanges that would ruin the balance of the team, only to make a Pokémon generally stronger or more useful.
And one last thing before we begin: Rather than talking about how the set works, I am going to talk more about what the set does for my team, as most of you probably knows how these Pokémon works.
Team at a Glance
As you can see, this is a pretty standard offensive team, using common Pokémon witch are often seen in the OU Metagame. It is based on offense and killing enemy Pokémon before they get a chance to act. Together, they have very few counters and switching between them when a counter comes is the key to victory here. For that reason, this team is not meant to perform a compleate sweep using one Pokémon, and it is not either based on removing a Pokémons counters so that it can sweep. Instead, it is based on having one Pokémon kill an enemy Pokémon without to big loses, and then switch out when an enemy counter is shown. This way, my team can kill any one Pokémon without any loses at all, and then leave the next Pokémon to a team member.
So: Kill the Pokémon that you counter, then switch to your counters counter as your opponent comes in with a counter.
In Depth View
Gengar (M) @ Wide Lens
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 16 HP/240 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Hypnosis
- Thunderbolt
- Will-o-wisp
This is the Gengar Double Status set. It works great as a lead for my team, and for any offensive team in general. The point with this is to put your opponent into Sleep before it can even set up Stealth Rock, thus force him to switch. After that, you can burn whatever comes in with ease, and this is really useful as Tyranitar and other "powerhouses" are common switch-ins against Gengar. Some leads can even be killed without using Hypnosis. For example, Gyarados using Taunt is easily taken down by Thunderbolt. Bulkier leads will be killed, using Shadow Ball after putting the opponent into sleep.
When it comes to the attacking moves, I've chosen Shadow Ball in order to do high damage to whatsoever, and I've chosen Thunderbolt (Over Focus Blast) because Gyarados and Aerodactyl are pretty common these days. Heatran is the only real lead that Focus Blast does super effective damage against, and he should be a problem to take down using my moves either.
When it comes to synergy, Gengar "assists" the other Pokémon by making their killings easier, preventing Stealth Rock and giving status problems to opponent's Pokémon. So, rather than actually killing opponent's, it makes it easier for the rest of my team to kill.
Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Def
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
Scizor is my scout. Using U-Turn, I can easily switch out if I predict that my opponent does the same. If that is the case, I get an advantage over my opponent's Pokémon, and then do what my team does, kill the enemy in one blow, then switch out unharmed. Of course, Scizor in capable of actually killing opponents as well as making it easier for my team to do that. Using Choice Band and Superpower, I can OHKO most Pokémon, then switch out. Bullet Punch works good as well, in case one of my Pokémon didn't finish the job. I never actually use Pursuit, but there's not really any attack that I can use instead of it.
I have already mentioned how this works in synergy, but I'm going to explain a bit better. What it does for the team is to support it using U-Turn when my opponent switches, so that I will get a good matchup and easily kill one opponent. Also, if one of my Pokémon didn't fininsh its job, this one does it for him, being my main priority move user.
Lucario (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Extremespeed
- Crunch
This is my Sword Dance Lucario with life Orb to get that extra kick to score OHKO's to bulky Pokémon. Being my only setup move user, and my only real sweeper, it is an important Pokémon for my team. This Pokémon is usually shown in the lategame, when my opponents walls are down. Once shown, this guy usually kills at least one Pokémon before having been dealt decent damage. This may not fit in to the team as it is not really meant to setup and stay in for long, but at least one Sword Dance / Dragon Dance sweeper is required in most offensive teams. Also, he needs only one turn to setup, and that isn't a big disadvantage.
When it comes to the set, Sword Dance is obvious. Close Combat is for STAB, and its high damage. Extremespeed is my main way attacking against faster opponents, with both priority and high (however, non stabbed) damage. Crunch is there because I think I have a lot weaknees agains Physic type Pokémon, while Flyers are easily dealt with.
When it comes to synergy, this guy doesn't do so much. It is most based on killling opponents alone at the lategame, when my team already has killed most walls and threats. At Switch-ins, this guy comes in at Ice based attacks at middle/lategame. the Ice Based attacks are usually directed on Salamence, witch is very important for Lucario and it needs to survive for Lucario to perform a minor sweep. Also, Earth and Fire attacks at Lucario are redirected to Salamence.
Starmie @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 120 HP/136 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
Starmie works as my main Revenge killer. When any of my Pokémon dies, Starmie comes in and killes it easily as it is outspeeded due to my Choice Scarf. Thanks to its four attacking moves, it can deal at least Neutral Damage to all Pokémon in the current metagame. After scoring one kill, if I don't have a Super Effective attack on the switch in, I usually swith. When it comes to EV's, the SAtk is for killing as much as possible, the 136 speed lets me outspeed any Salamence, even after a Dragon Dance. The Speed is really a bit to much using Tidmid and Choice Scarf. I want your opinion about this. hould I use Modest or change the Item to Specs, or should I keep it like this?
When it comes to synergy, it beats down the Ground and Fire types, witch makes it easier for Scizor and Lucario to come in. Also, it revenge kills most things.
Salamence (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 84 HP/208 Spd/216 SAtk
Mild nature (+SAtk, -Def)
- Draco Meteor
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Roost
Salamence is my Wall Breaker. Using both Physical attacks and Special Attacks, it can kill both Physical and Special Walls. Mixed Walls are not at all common, and those are also taken down with ease. It is a standard set taken from the analys, and what it does for my team is simply to kill the walls in order to let Lucario sweep. It has has a nice type coverage with my remaining team, so I think it's pretty useful for my team. Draco Meteor to take down Physical Walls and opposing Dragon types. Earthquake takes down whatever I can't take down using my other attacks, mainly the Physcial Defenders. Fire Blast works well against Steel typed walls because of its high base damage and the fact that steel walls usually have more Defence than Special Defence. Roost is pretty nice as it heals me. It can help me take down stall teams, as those can't deal over 50% damage/turn to me.
So, the type coverage is good as well. It's nice connection with Lucario is explained in the later part of Luarios analys. It does the same with Scizor as with Lucario. Water types with Ice attacks are redirected to Starmie witch can pick them off using Thunderbolt.
Swampert (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP/216 Def/52 SAtk
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Surf
My Swampert does two main things for my team. The first one is, obviously to set up Stealth Rock. As you probably know by now, I don't have any other Pokémon that can do that, so Swampert is cruical for my team. The second thing it does is that it blocks general Sweepers witch have gained a turn to use Dragon dance, and could otherwise kill my entire team with ease. Remember, even the offensive teams need at least one wall that takes care of things like that. Everything else about Swampert is probably things that you already know, so all you need to know about this is that it serves me as my Stealth Rocker and my Wall.
Before you start rating this team, I would like you to read the following text:
As you probably know, synergy is a very important part of the game. Yet, that is something that most raters don't keep in mind while rating. They try to make every Pokémon stronger individually, while not thinking about that the Pokémon are suposed to work together in order to win. Please keep this in mind while suggesting changes for the team, and do not suggest hanges that would ruin the balance of the team, only to make a Pokémon generally stronger or more useful.
And one last thing before we begin: Rather than talking about how the set works, I am going to talk more about what the set does for my team, as most of you probably knows how these Pokémon works.
Team at a Glance
As you can see, this is a pretty standard offensive team, using common Pokémon witch are often seen in the OU Metagame. It is based on offense and killing enemy Pokémon before they get a chance to act. Together, they have very few counters and switching between them when a counter comes is the key to victory here. For that reason, this team is not meant to perform a compleate sweep using one Pokémon, and it is not either based on removing a Pokémons counters so that it can sweep. Instead, it is based on having one Pokémon kill an enemy Pokémon without to big loses, and then switch out when an enemy counter is shown. This way, my team can kill any one Pokémon without any loses at all, and then leave the next Pokémon to a team member.
So: Kill the Pokémon that you counter, then switch to your counters counter as your opponent comes in with a counter.
In Depth View
Gengar (M) @ Wide Lens
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 16 HP/240 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Hypnosis
- Thunderbolt
- Will-o-wisp
This is the Gengar Double Status set. It works great as a lead for my team, and for any offensive team in general. The point with this is to put your opponent into Sleep before it can even set up Stealth Rock, thus force him to switch. After that, you can burn whatever comes in with ease, and this is really useful as Tyranitar and other "powerhouses" are common switch-ins against Gengar. Some leads can even be killed without using Hypnosis. For example, Gyarados using Taunt is easily taken down by Thunderbolt. Bulkier leads will be killed, using Shadow Ball after putting the opponent into sleep.
When it comes to the attacking moves, I've chosen Shadow Ball in order to do high damage to whatsoever, and I've chosen Thunderbolt (Over Focus Blast) because Gyarados and Aerodactyl are pretty common these days. Heatran is the only real lead that Focus Blast does super effective damage against, and he should be a problem to take down using my moves either.
When it comes to synergy, Gengar "assists" the other Pokémon by making their killings easier, preventing Stealth Rock and giving status problems to opponent's Pokémon. So, rather than actually killing opponent's, it makes it easier for the rest of my team to kill.
Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Def
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
Scizor is my scout. Using U-Turn, I can easily switch out if I predict that my opponent does the same. If that is the case, I get an advantage over my opponent's Pokémon, and then do what my team does, kill the enemy in one blow, then switch out unharmed. Of course, Scizor in capable of actually killing opponents as well as making it easier for my team to do that. Using Choice Band and Superpower, I can OHKO most Pokémon, then switch out. Bullet Punch works good as well, in case one of my Pokémon didn't finish the job. I never actually use Pursuit, but there's not really any attack that I can use instead of it.
I have already mentioned how this works in synergy, but I'm going to explain a bit better. What it does for the team is to support it using U-Turn when my opponent switches, so that I will get a good matchup and easily kill one opponent. Also, if one of my Pokémon didn't fininsh its job, this one does it for him, being my main priority move user.
Lucario (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Extremespeed
- Crunch
This is my Sword Dance Lucario with life Orb to get that extra kick to score OHKO's to bulky Pokémon. Being my only setup move user, and my only real sweeper, it is an important Pokémon for my team. This Pokémon is usually shown in the lategame, when my opponents walls are down. Once shown, this guy usually kills at least one Pokémon before having been dealt decent damage. This may not fit in to the team as it is not really meant to setup and stay in for long, but at least one Sword Dance / Dragon Dance sweeper is required in most offensive teams. Also, he needs only one turn to setup, and that isn't a big disadvantage.
When it comes to the set, Sword Dance is obvious. Close Combat is for STAB, and its high damage. Extremespeed is my main way attacking against faster opponents, with both priority and high (however, non stabbed) damage. Crunch is there because I think I have a lot weaknees agains Physic type Pokémon, while Flyers are easily dealt with.
When it comes to synergy, this guy doesn't do so much. It is most based on killling opponents alone at the lategame, when my team already has killed most walls and threats. At Switch-ins, this guy comes in at Ice based attacks at middle/lategame. the Ice Based attacks are usually directed on Salamence, witch is very important for Lucario and it needs to survive for Lucario to perform a minor sweep. Also, Earth and Fire attacks at Lucario are redirected to Salamence.
Starmie @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 120 HP/136 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
Starmie works as my main Revenge killer. When any of my Pokémon dies, Starmie comes in and killes it easily as it is outspeeded due to my Choice Scarf. Thanks to its four attacking moves, it can deal at least Neutral Damage to all Pokémon in the current metagame. After scoring one kill, if I don't have a Super Effective attack on the switch in, I usually swith. When it comes to EV's, the SAtk is for killing as much as possible, the 136 speed lets me outspeed any Salamence, even after a Dragon Dance. The Speed is really a bit to much using Tidmid and Choice Scarf. I want your opinion about this. hould I use Modest or change the Item to Specs, or should I keep it like this?
When it comes to synergy, it beats down the Ground and Fire types, witch makes it easier for Scizor and Lucario to come in. Also, it revenge kills most things.
Salamence (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 84 HP/208 Spd/216 SAtk
Mild nature (+SAtk, -Def)
- Draco Meteor
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Roost
Salamence is my Wall Breaker. Using both Physical attacks and Special Attacks, it can kill both Physical and Special Walls. Mixed Walls are not at all common, and those are also taken down with ease. It is a standard set taken from the analys, and what it does for my team is simply to kill the walls in order to let Lucario sweep. It has has a nice type coverage with my remaining team, so I think it's pretty useful for my team. Draco Meteor to take down Physical Walls and opposing Dragon types. Earthquake takes down whatever I can't take down using my other attacks, mainly the Physcial Defenders. Fire Blast works well against Steel typed walls because of its high base damage and the fact that steel walls usually have more Defence than Special Defence. Roost is pretty nice as it heals me. It can help me take down stall teams, as those can't deal over 50% damage/turn to me.
So, the type coverage is good as well. It's nice connection with Lucario is explained in the later part of Luarios analys. It does the same with Scizor as with Lucario. Water types with Ice attacks are redirected to Starmie witch can pick them off using Thunderbolt.
Swampert (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP/216 Def/52 SAtk
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Surf
My Swampert does two main things for my team. The first one is, obviously to set up Stealth Rock. As you probably know by now, I don't have any other Pokémon that can do that, so Swampert is cruical for my team. The second thing it does is that it blocks general Sweepers witch have gained a turn to use Dragon dance, and could otherwise kill my entire team with ease. Remember, even the offensive teams need at least one wall that takes care of things like that. Everything else about Swampert is probably things that you already know, so all you need to know about this is that it serves me as my Stealth Rocker and my Wall.
