I've been using this team on Shoddy for a few months now, and I've hit a ceiling in my CRE that I have not been able to overcome. So, here I am, looking for constructive advice as I am not claiming that this team is perfect by any means. You'll understand why it's called Nasty Love in a moment. Without further ado:
The Team
Togekiss @ Leftovers
Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP/112 Def/120 SDef
Calm Nature
--Air Slash
--Baton Pass
--Nasty Plot
--Roost
I absolutely hate it when pokemon get ridiculous flinch hax against me (I'm looking at YOU, Jirachi), but it's nice to have on the front end of a team. When I made this team in January, I put Toge up front mostly because I was seeing a lot of Swampert leads that were frankly annoying me. I was also annoyed that Alakazam didn't quite pack enough punch to deal with some more defensive pokes (I'm thinking Suicune and some bulkier Tyranitar) so when I formulated this new team, Toge was at the top of the list. Depending on the opponent's lead, I will usually Nasty Plot if it's slower than Toge (Pert, Metagross, Bronzong, etc). Since Air Slash only does ~95% to Infernape I was considering pushing a few EVs into Special Attack. Input?
Since most of my team relies on heavy special attack, it's only natural that I have Nasty Plot and Baton Pass. It's a simple theory: nasty plot up and roost until I see something threatening (rotom, Jolteon, etc) then BP away. A Discharge from appliance rotom will do little enough that I will be able to come back for more later in the game.
Alakazam @ Life Orb
Synchronize
EVs: 6 HP/252 Sp/252 SAtt
Timid Nature
--Psychic
--Focus Blast
--Grass Knot
--Shadow Ball
Alakazam has been one of my favorite pokemon since RBY. He is essentially a monster. There are some pokemon that can stand up to Zam one-on-one, but he is able to OHKO any type of Salamence with Stealth Rock up. I put Grass Knot on for Pert, Hippowdon and the like, as well as for revenge killing Tyranitar that I don't want to risk using Focus Blast on. Fun fact: +6 Focus Blast OHKOs Blissey.
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Keen Eye
EVs: 252 HP/124 Def/132 Sp
Impish Nature
--Spikes
--Stealth Rock
--Whirlwind
--Drill Peck
I've gotten some flack for this one, mostly because I don't use Roost. I love my entry hazards, though, and I can usually come into Metagross or Scizor and set up SR on the switch and come back for a few layers of spikes. Whirlwind is for hazing fun, and I run Skarm a bit faster than the standard in case other Skarm show up to ruin my Spiking fun.
Venusaur @ Black Sludge
Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP/122 Def/136 SDef
Calm Nature
--Energy Ball
--Sludge Bomb
--Leech Seed
--Sleep Powder
Venusaur is a beast, and is my favorite poke on this team. I wanted a pokemon that could take a few hits, and considering that Venusaur takes about 45% from a standard Zapdos Heat Wave, I think I found it. Sometimes I like to give Venusaur the Nasty Plot Boosts from Toge if my spidey sense tells me there are priority attacks in the area. My success with Venusaur lies mostly in the fact that many people who are dedicated to OU don't know exactly what to do with Venusaur. It's common knowledge what attacks will OHKO Salamence or Blissey, but Venusaur is just obscure enough to catch people off guard. Black Sludge is for tricksters.
Blissey @ Leftovers
Natural Cure
EVs: 144 HP/252 Def/114 SAtt
Bold Nature
--Aromatherapy
--Softboiled
--Ice Beam
--Seismic Toss
I get a lot of flack for SkarmBliss, but RSE was the first generation I played seriously in, so forgive my somewhat archaic spreads for Blissey. Let's talk turkey: Nobody is going to use a special attack on a Blissey unless they've already set up to hell for it. Knowing this little bit of insider information, I kept mine Bold and focused on Special Attack instead of Defense so I can OHKO Salamence and Gliscor switching in. Most of my team dislikes status, so there we have Aromatherapy. I chose Ice Beam over Flamethrower because I lack heavy ice power on this team.
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Flash Fire
EVs: 6 Att/252 Sp/252 SAtt
Naive Nature
--Earth Power
--Explosion
--HP Ice
--Flamethrower
I hated Heatran. I really, really did. Heatran was making my life difficult, so I decided to join them when I could not beat them. Scarftran is a big deal, mostly because if I can get a flash fire boost from something, I can set up for an impressive sweep. Occasionally I BP him some Nasty Love, but he isn't a great recipient considering that he is almost completely walled by Blissey, many of whom sport Protect. Heatran also does the hell to Jirachi and Scizor, whom I normally fear greatly.
=====================================
The Main Point: This team centers around quickly and efficiently shutting down threats with ridiculous special attacking power.
=====================================
Major Threats: (Ones I consider myself weak to are in RED. Ones that I believe I can deal with are in GREEN).
Azelf: Most Azelf leads set up Stealth Rock turn 1 and explode turn 2, which would normally faint Togekiss. So I switch her out for Skarm and usually take about 40%. It's imperfect, but if that doesn't work, Zam's faster and does the owning with Shadow Ball.
Breloom: I really hate Breloom, but Zam and Heatran both outspeed him, and Blissey can OHKO on the switch-in with SR up.
Celebi: Venusaur OHKOs with +2 Sludge Bomb, although he'll probably take some nasty paralysis on the way. Heatran also does bad things to Celebi in a shed behind the barn.
Dugtrio: Ick. I'm not sure this should be green, but meh. Venusaur gets an easy KO with Energy Ball (or even better, put him to sleep, since most carry focus sash). Zam speed ties.
Electivire: Luckily, I don't see Electivire as much as I used to. I can usually get him with Zam if I have any Spikes support, and Heatran can switch in for the revenge kill, although I'm always wary of using Earth power since every dam' pokemon seems to have Levitate these days.
Gyarados: Epic yuck. I honestly quiver in fear when a Tauntrados starts working. Help!
Jirachi: If Heatran's fainted, I'm royally flummoxed.
Salamence: Somehow it usually works out for me, but I feel as though this is more coincidence than my team.
Scizor: Finally, another green one. Scizor is the main reason Scarftran exists, in my opinion, and Venusaur usually works to disable Scizor to an extent.
Starmie: I really wish I could justify Starmie on my team, but I can't. Even Blissey can get rid of a Starmie, and Zam is faster and since a vast majority of Starmie aren't scarfed, it's a pretty easy kill. Huah!
Weaville: Strangely, Skarmory works really well against Weaville.
Tyranitar: Like Salamence, it's really hard to definitively say "I can counter Tyranitar". But Zam outspeeds TTar even after a DD, which is a nice thing to know.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Just try to be as constructive and detailed as possible. Unlike Zam, I'm not psychic. *cymbals*
Togekiss @ Leftovers
Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP/112 Def/120 SDef
Calm Nature
--Air Slash
--Baton Pass
--Nasty Plot
--Roost
I absolutely hate it when pokemon get ridiculous flinch hax against me (I'm looking at YOU, Jirachi), but it's nice to have on the front end of a team. When I made this team in January, I put Toge up front mostly because I was seeing a lot of Swampert leads that were frankly annoying me. I was also annoyed that Alakazam didn't quite pack enough punch to deal with some more defensive pokes (I'm thinking Suicune and some bulkier Tyranitar) so when I formulated this new team, Toge was at the top of the list. Depending on the opponent's lead, I will usually Nasty Plot if it's slower than Toge (Pert, Metagross, Bronzong, etc). Since Air Slash only does ~95% to Infernape I was considering pushing a few EVs into Special Attack. Input?
Since most of my team relies on heavy special attack, it's only natural that I have Nasty Plot and Baton Pass. It's a simple theory: nasty plot up and roost until I see something threatening (rotom, Jolteon, etc) then BP away. A Discharge from appliance rotom will do little enough that I will be able to come back for more later in the game.
Alakazam @ Life Orb
Synchronize
EVs: 6 HP/252 Sp/252 SAtt
Timid Nature
--Psychic
--Focus Blast
--Grass Knot
--Shadow Ball
Alakazam has been one of my favorite pokemon since RBY. He is essentially a monster. There are some pokemon that can stand up to Zam one-on-one, but he is able to OHKO any type of Salamence with Stealth Rock up. I put Grass Knot on for Pert, Hippowdon and the like, as well as for revenge killing Tyranitar that I don't want to risk using Focus Blast on. Fun fact: +6 Focus Blast OHKOs Blissey.
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Keen Eye
EVs: 252 HP/124 Def/132 Sp
Impish Nature
--Spikes
--Stealth Rock
--Whirlwind
--Drill Peck
I've gotten some flack for this one, mostly because I don't use Roost. I love my entry hazards, though, and I can usually come into Metagross or Scizor and set up SR on the switch and come back for a few layers of spikes. Whirlwind is for hazing fun, and I run Skarm a bit faster than the standard in case other Skarm show up to ruin my Spiking fun.
Venusaur @ Black Sludge
Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP/122 Def/136 SDef
Calm Nature
--Energy Ball
--Sludge Bomb
--Leech Seed
--Sleep Powder
Venusaur is a beast, and is my favorite poke on this team. I wanted a pokemon that could take a few hits, and considering that Venusaur takes about 45% from a standard Zapdos Heat Wave, I think I found it. Sometimes I like to give Venusaur the Nasty Plot Boosts from Toge if my spidey sense tells me there are priority attacks in the area. My success with Venusaur lies mostly in the fact that many people who are dedicated to OU don't know exactly what to do with Venusaur. It's common knowledge what attacks will OHKO Salamence or Blissey, but Venusaur is just obscure enough to catch people off guard. Black Sludge is for tricksters.
Blissey @ Leftovers
Natural Cure
EVs: 144 HP/252 Def/114 SAtt
Bold Nature
--Aromatherapy
--Softboiled
--Ice Beam
--Seismic Toss
I get a lot of flack for SkarmBliss, but RSE was the first generation I played seriously in, so forgive my somewhat archaic spreads for Blissey. Let's talk turkey: Nobody is going to use a special attack on a Blissey unless they've already set up to hell for it. Knowing this little bit of insider information, I kept mine Bold and focused on Special Attack instead of Defense so I can OHKO Salamence and Gliscor switching in. Most of my team dislikes status, so there we have Aromatherapy. I chose Ice Beam over Flamethrower because I lack heavy ice power on this team.
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Flash Fire
EVs: 6 Att/252 Sp/252 SAtt
Naive Nature
--Earth Power
--Explosion
--HP Ice
--Flamethrower
I hated Heatran. I really, really did. Heatran was making my life difficult, so I decided to join them when I could not beat them. Scarftran is a big deal, mostly because if I can get a flash fire boost from something, I can set up for an impressive sweep. Occasionally I BP him some Nasty Love, but he isn't a great recipient considering that he is almost completely walled by Blissey, many of whom sport Protect. Heatran also does the hell to Jirachi and Scizor, whom I normally fear greatly.
=====================================
The Main Point: This team centers around quickly and efficiently shutting down threats with ridiculous special attacking power.
=====================================
Major Threats: (Ones I consider myself weak to are in RED. Ones that I believe I can deal with are in GREEN).
Azelf: Most Azelf leads set up Stealth Rock turn 1 and explode turn 2, which would normally faint Togekiss. So I switch her out for Skarm and usually take about 40%. It's imperfect, but if that doesn't work, Zam's faster and does the owning with Shadow Ball.
Breloom: I really hate Breloom, but Zam and Heatran both outspeed him, and Blissey can OHKO on the switch-in with SR up.
Celebi: Venusaur OHKOs with +2 Sludge Bomb, although he'll probably take some nasty paralysis on the way. Heatran also does bad things to Celebi in a shed behind the barn.
Dugtrio: Ick. I'm not sure this should be green, but meh. Venusaur gets an easy KO with Energy Ball (or even better, put him to sleep, since most carry focus sash). Zam speed ties.
Electivire: Luckily, I don't see Electivire as much as I used to. I can usually get him with Zam if I have any Spikes support, and Heatran can switch in for the revenge kill, although I'm always wary of using Earth power since every dam' pokemon seems to have Levitate these days.
Gyarados: Epic yuck. I honestly quiver in fear when a Tauntrados starts working. Help!
Jirachi: If Heatran's fainted, I'm royally flummoxed.
Salamence: Somehow it usually works out for me, but I feel as though this is more coincidence than my team.
Scizor: Finally, another green one. Scizor is the main reason Scarftran exists, in my opinion, and Venusaur usually works to disable Scizor to an extent.
Starmie: I really wish I could justify Starmie on my team, but I can't. Even Blissey can get rid of a Starmie, and Zam is faster and since a vast majority of Starmie aren't scarfed, it's a pretty easy kill. Huah!
Weaville: Strangely, Skarmory works really well against Weaville.
Tyranitar: Like Salamence, it's really hard to definitively say "I can counter Tyranitar". But Zam outspeeds TTar even after a DD, which is a nice thing to know.
===================================
Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Just try to be as constructive and detailed as possible. Unlike Zam, I'm not psychic. *cymbals*
