Hello guys, I have used a slightly different variant of my current team for quite a while, but I stopped playing for several months and have just recently began playing again on ShoddyBattle, and I'm just loving it. However, after I heard about the updates that Platinum brought and Garchomp being moved to the Ubers tier as well as quite a few battles, I had to make some adjustments to my team to what it currently is. I like to call it a "balanced" team, with 2 walls, 2 special sweepers, and 2 physical sweepers, and I know it isn't perfect, but I don't think it's a bad team at all, and I've had quite a few good battles recently. However, I would like your guys' feedback and suggestions so I can improve my team even more! Anyways, here it is:
Meta-Ridley (Skarmory) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 HP/64 Atk/192 Def
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Drill Peck
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Roost
Basically your standard Skarmory, but with a different EV placement. Drill Peck is there if Skarmory has a chance to attack, Stealth Rock is... well, to put Stealth Rock on the field, Whirlwind forces stat-boosters and even Baton Passers, whether it's before or after they use BP, to switch out, and it works even better with Stealth Rock on the field as well as having some scouting capabilities. Finally, Roost provides Skarmory with a recovery move as well as giving it a better chance to withstand attacks such as Thunderbolt and hard-hitting physical moves. Unfortunately, even special attacks that are neutral against Skarmory can bring him down easily, but I would just switch him out anyways.
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Reaper (Dusknoir) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP/52 Def/204 SDef
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Fire Punch
- Will-o-wisp
- Pain Split
- Thunderpunch
Dusknoir is one hell of a tank with his good typing, resistances, and defensive stats. Although Smogon recommends to invest more Defense EVs into Dusknoir for this set, I have balanced both of his defenses out so he can take on a lot more Pokemon than just physical attackers. Will O' Wisp ruins physical sweepers aside from Heracross, but he'll be in a surprise when he gets hit hard by Fire Punch, which is also useful against Weavile. Thunderpunch brings down Gyarados easily, and although he doesn't have Ice Punch, Will O' Wisp works well against Salamence, Dragonite, and even Garchomp in Uber battles. Finally, Pain Split is both used as a recovery and an attacking move, and it can really annoy opponents who try to take advantage of Dusknoir's abysmal HP stat. Unfortunately, he has more than 4 good moves that he is capable of learning, and so I've had a hard time deciding what 4 moves to use. Although this moveset has proven to be pretty effective, Dusknoir misses out on moves such as Shadow Sneak, which is actually quite decent due to getting STAB, helping his slow Speed stat, and managing to hit ghosts and Psychic Pokemon for more damage. If you have any suggestions regarding Dusknoir's moveset, feel free to give them to me! =D
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Fleza (Azelf) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 36 HP/220 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psychic
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Nasty Plot
Azelf is an awesome special sweeper. If it can set up Nasty Plot, Azelf is capable of easily rampaging through teams, although he does well as a sweeper even without a boost. Psychic is a great STAB move, having great type coverage and being able to OHKO Gengar, Flamethrower tears apart Steel types who resist Psychic, and Hidden Power Fighting works well against Dark types such as Tyranitar and is also effective against Heatran. Although Weavile is a major threat to Azelf, he can be easily KOed by Flamethrower or HP Fighting, the latter which he has a 4x weakness to. Unfortunately, despite Azelf's great offensive potential, he doesn't have great defenses, meaning he can be hit hard easily by quite a lot of moves, but the combination of his awesome ability, type, moveset, and base stats make Azelf one of the best special sweepers in the game.
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Starman (Starmie) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Psychic
Look, I know Starmie is better known and possibly better used as a Rapid Spinner, but I just have one question. Why not pay attention to its amazing type coverage and good enough stats to work as a special sweeper? With this movepool, Starmie can hit just about any Pokemon in the game for at least neutral damage. Surf and Psychic are powerful, get STAB, and have great type coverage, the latter being able to OHKO Gengar. Thunderbolt is for opposing water types such as Milotic who think they can wall Starmie, and Ice Beam is for the common Dragons, OHKOing them if they aren't holding a Yache Berry. Although Starmie doesn't have the best Special Attack stat around, its amazing movepool, great speed and decent defenses more than make up for that. Rapid Spinner or not, Starmie is a force to be reckoned with.
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Assassin (Weavile) (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Night Slash
- Brick Break
- Ice Shard
- Pursuit
Say hello to what is possibly the anti-Christ of the metagame. Weavile is a fucking menace in OU to many Pokemon out there, and that's why it has become one of the most popular physical sweepers and/or revenge killers in the game. Night Slash gets STAB, a high critical hit rate, and is great against Ghosts and Psychics. Brick Break easily OHKOs Tyranitar and even opposing Weavile, as both of them have a 4x weakness to Fighting attacks, and also is effective against some Steel types, although he'll have a problem against some physical walls such as Forretress. Although Ice Punch has more power, Ice Shard can still OHKO the common dragons if they aren't holding a Yache Berry, meaning that Choice Scarf Salamences and Garchomps are doomed, and it can also hit Aerodactyl for massive damage as well as OHKO Ninjask, both of whom are faster than Weavile. Pursuit is there to get those who try to run away from Weavile's reign of terror as well, easily KOing opposing Starmie who try to Rapid Spin Stealth Rock or Spikes away. Although Weavile has bad defenses and will have trouble against some steel types, his great Speed, Attack, and movepool makes him a huge threat to many Pokemon in the OU metagame. You'd have to be either stupid or very bold to underestimate Weavile.
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Super Nuke (Salamence) (M) @ Yache Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Claw
- Brick Break
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
Well, Salamence is probably the best Dragon in the OU tier. Despite its huge weakness to Ice attacks, just like other Dragons such as Dragonite, a Yache Berry easily fixes this problem. Salamence can Intimidate opposing physical attackers, and if you combine that with a Yache Berry, Salamence is actually a lot safer around Weavile. Dragon Claw is its STAB move, which has good type coverage and power, which becomes even better after a Dragon Dance boost, and Brick Break easily OHKOs Weavile and Tyranitar as well as hitting Steel types, although Earthquake is a better option for them. Dragon Dance makes Salamence even more threatening than he already is, making him capable of sweeping your team if you aren't careful. Earthquake either OHKOs or does a huge amount of damage to most Steel types who dare oppose Salamence, their chances of survival even worse after a Dragon Dance boost. Salamence is one of, if not the strongest physical sweeper in the OU metagame, and it takes balls and skill to both use him and fight against him. I am considering giving him an Adamant nature though because he gains Speed from Dragon Dance, but I want to hear something from you guys first before I do that.
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Well, that's my team. It took me a long ass time to type this all down, so please don't complain, whine, or bitch about it because I worked hard on this thread and I did one hell of a job making it. I don't know if this team has any major weaknesses or not, but if it does, please mention that if you find something. This team may be pretty good, but I know there are at least a couple of things I can do to improve it, so suggestions are always welcome! That being said, go ahead and rate and stuff. XD
Any future changes made here will be shown in bold as well as being listed below, so please note that.
Meta-Ridley (Skarmory) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 HP/64 Atk/192 Def
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Drill Peck
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Roost
Basically your standard Skarmory, but with a different EV placement. Drill Peck is there if Skarmory has a chance to attack, Stealth Rock is... well, to put Stealth Rock on the field, Whirlwind forces stat-boosters and even Baton Passers, whether it's before or after they use BP, to switch out, and it works even better with Stealth Rock on the field as well as having some scouting capabilities. Finally, Roost provides Skarmory with a recovery move as well as giving it a better chance to withstand attacks such as Thunderbolt and hard-hitting physical moves. Unfortunately, even special attacks that are neutral against Skarmory can bring him down easily, but I would just switch him out anyways.
---
Reaper (Dusknoir) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP/52 Def/204 SDef
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Fire Punch
- Will-o-wisp
- Pain Split
- Thunderpunch
Dusknoir is one hell of a tank with his good typing, resistances, and defensive stats. Although Smogon recommends to invest more Defense EVs into Dusknoir for this set, I have balanced both of his defenses out so he can take on a lot more Pokemon than just physical attackers. Will O' Wisp ruins physical sweepers aside from Heracross, but he'll be in a surprise when he gets hit hard by Fire Punch, which is also useful against Weavile. Thunderpunch brings down Gyarados easily, and although he doesn't have Ice Punch, Will O' Wisp works well against Salamence, Dragonite, and even Garchomp in Uber battles. Finally, Pain Split is both used as a recovery and an attacking move, and it can really annoy opponents who try to take advantage of Dusknoir's abysmal HP stat. Unfortunately, he has more than 4 good moves that he is capable of learning, and so I've had a hard time deciding what 4 moves to use. Although this moveset has proven to be pretty effective, Dusknoir misses out on moves such as Shadow Sneak, which is actually quite decent due to getting STAB, helping his slow Speed stat, and managing to hit ghosts and Psychic Pokemon for more damage. If you have any suggestions regarding Dusknoir's moveset, feel free to give them to me! =D
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Fleza (Azelf) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 36 HP/220 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psychic
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Nasty Plot
Azelf is an awesome special sweeper. If it can set up Nasty Plot, Azelf is capable of easily rampaging through teams, although he does well as a sweeper even without a boost. Psychic is a great STAB move, having great type coverage and being able to OHKO Gengar, Flamethrower tears apart Steel types who resist Psychic, and Hidden Power Fighting works well against Dark types such as Tyranitar and is also effective against Heatran. Although Weavile is a major threat to Azelf, he can be easily KOed by Flamethrower or HP Fighting, the latter which he has a 4x weakness to. Unfortunately, despite Azelf's great offensive potential, he doesn't have great defenses, meaning he can be hit hard easily by quite a lot of moves, but the combination of his awesome ability, type, moveset, and base stats make Azelf one of the best special sweepers in the game.
---
Starman (Starmie) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Psychic
Look, I know Starmie is better known and possibly better used as a Rapid Spinner, but I just have one question. Why not pay attention to its amazing type coverage and good enough stats to work as a special sweeper? With this movepool, Starmie can hit just about any Pokemon in the game for at least neutral damage. Surf and Psychic are powerful, get STAB, and have great type coverage, the latter being able to OHKO Gengar. Thunderbolt is for opposing water types such as Milotic who think they can wall Starmie, and Ice Beam is for the common Dragons, OHKOing them if they aren't holding a Yache Berry. Although Starmie doesn't have the best Special Attack stat around, its amazing movepool, great speed and decent defenses more than make up for that. Rapid Spinner or not, Starmie is a force to be reckoned with.
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Assassin (Weavile) (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Night Slash
- Brick Break
- Ice Shard
- Pursuit
Say hello to what is possibly the anti-Christ of the metagame. Weavile is a fucking menace in OU to many Pokemon out there, and that's why it has become one of the most popular physical sweepers and/or revenge killers in the game. Night Slash gets STAB, a high critical hit rate, and is great against Ghosts and Psychics. Brick Break easily OHKOs Tyranitar and even opposing Weavile, as both of them have a 4x weakness to Fighting attacks, and also is effective against some Steel types, although he'll have a problem against some physical walls such as Forretress. Although Ice Punch has more power, Ice Shard can still OHKO the common dragons if they aren't holding a Yache Berry, meaning that Choice Scarf Salamences and Garchomps are doomed, and it can also hit Aerodactyl for massive damage as well as OHKO Ninjask, both of whom are faster than Weavile. Pursuit is there to get those who try to run away from Weavile's reign of terror as well, easily KOing opposing Starmie who try to Rapid Spin Stealth Rock or Spikes away. Although Weavile has bad defenses and will have trouble against some steel types, his great Speed, Attack, and movepool makes him a huge threat to many Pokemon in the OU metagame. You'd have to be either stupid or very bold to underestimate Weavile.
---
Super Nuke (Salamence) (M) @ Yache Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Claw
- Brick Break
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
Well, Salamence is probably the best Dragon in the OU tier. Despite its huge weakness to Ice attacks, just like other Dragons such as Dragonite, a Yache Berry easily fixes this problem. Salamence can Intimidate opposing physical attackers, and if you combine that with a Yache Berry, Salamence is actually a lot safer around Weavile. Dragon Claw is its STAB move, which has good type coverage and power, which becomes even better after a Dragon Dance boost, and Brick Break easily OHKOs Weavile and Tyranitar as well as hitting Steel types, although Earthquake is a better option for them. Dragon Dance makes Salamence even more threatening than he already is, making him capable of sweeping your team if you aren't careful. Earthquake either OHKOs or does a huge amount of damage to most Steel types who dare oppose Salamence, their chances of survival even worse after a Dragon Dance boost. Salamence is one of, if not the strongest physical sweeper in the OU metagame, and it takes balls and skill to both use him and fight against him. I am considering giving him an Adamant nature though because he gains Speed from Dragon Dance, but I want to hear something from you guys first before I do that.
---
Well, that's my team. It took me a long ass time to type this all down, so please don't complain, whine, or bitch about it because I worked hard on this thread and I did one hell of a job making it. I don't know if this team has any major weaknesses or not, but if it does, please mention that if you find something. This team may be pretty good, but I know there are at least a couple of things I can do to improve it, so suggestions are always welcome! That being said, go ahead and rate and stuff. XD
Any future changes made here will be shown in bold as well as being listed below, so please note that.
