New Team - Help Appreciated (OU)

cybercheese

At a Glance:


dpmfb392.png
dpmfa437.png
dpmfb130.png
dpmfa212.png
dpffa242.png
dpmfb376.png


Introduction:

Well as my first thread didn't go so well, I decided to make a new one, fix my errors and construct a new team. This team is has got alot of sweepers but it's ok to suggest a swap of Pokemon for more defense.
If you can fix anything I'd be rather grateful. So with out further ado here's the team.

In depth:

dpffa392.png

Infernape @Focus Sash
Hasty Nature
EVs: 64 ATK/252 S.ATK/192 SPD
-Fire Blast
-Close Combat
-Grass Knot
-Stealth Rock
Now my new lead LeadNape will now be the one putting down the rocks as well as dealing damage later on. Grass Knot is for Swampert and other bulky starters and Fire Blast is for Azelf. Close Combat will also be used for Tyranitar and Blissey later on in the game (unless there leads).

dpmfa437.png

Bronzong @Light Clay
Relaxed Nature
EVs: 252 HP/151 ATK/8 DEF/96 SPD
-Light Screen
-Reflect
-Gyro Ball
-Earthquake

So after some suggestions I decided to put in Bronzong as a Screener this will help me sweep easier as I will not be taking as much damage. Gyro Ball is for faster Pokemon and Earthquake is for Fire-type switchs in who may try to exploit Bronnzongs Fire weakness.
dpmfa130.png

Gyarados @Leftovers
Adamant Nature
EVs:156 HP/108 ATK/100 DEF/144 SPD
-Waterfall
-Stone Edge
-Dragon Dance
-Ice Fang

Another sweeper, but it's EVs are on the defensive side. Waterfall is my STAB move and a good one. Dragon dance will speed me up even more to get above the likes of Gengar. Ice fang is for Salamence, Breloom and Celebi.
dpffa242.png

Blissey@Leftovers
Bold Nature
EVs: 142 HP/252 DEF/108 SP.A
-Ice Beam
-Softboiled
-Thunderwave
-Thunderbolt

My new Special wall this pokemon adds more defense to the team and also some nice offensive moves, Ice Beam for Salamence and other Pokemon who have ice weaknesses, Softboiled is my recovery move which is obviously a nice touch for a tank, Thunderwave can paralyse Pokemon which is always good and thunderbolt can counter Gyarados.
dpffa212.png


Scizor @Life Orb
Adamant Nature
EVs:252 ATK/224 SPD/32 HP
-Sword Dance
-Bullet Punch
-U-Turn
-X-Scissor
I've now changed this Scizor to a Sword Dancing set for a more offensive style of play. Sword Dance is the main part of the set letting my Scizor boost it's attack. Bullet Punch is my priority move and it combines well with Technician. U-Turn to get out of there I run into any Scizor counters and X-Scissor as another STABed move which will do well against bulky waters. Currently debating for X-Scissor or Quick Attack, thoughts..?


dpmfa376.png

Metagross @Life Orb
Adamant Nature
EVs: 252 ATK/112 HP/ 132 SPD/ 6 DEF
-Agility
-Meteor Mash
-Earthquake
-Ice Punch

Changed from a lead to a AgilliGross he will now be used as a late game sweeper and destroy already weakened Pokemon. Agility makes Metagross outspeed a lot of pokemon. Meteor Mash is my STABed move and causes punishing damage especially rto those who don’t resist. Earthquake is for those Fire-Types who will try to stop AgiliGross and Ice Punch is for Zapdos and Salamence.


So theres the team folks. All fixes are welcome.

Changes:

Electivire,Foretress,Gliscor out
Blissey,Scizor,Bronzong in
AgilliGross
LeadNape
Sword Dancing Scizor


Possible change(s):

Gyarados out
Salamence in



Thanks for the feedback so far, keep it coming!

​

​
 
Hi there. Try Bullet Punch over Meteor Mash on Metagross - you can take out Focus Sash Pokemon a lot easier with the priority attack. For example, you can survive a Fire Blast from an Infernape and use Earthquake against it, then finish it off with Bullet Punch once it survives with the sash. Meteor Mash isn't that useful a move on Lead Gross - Earthquake and Bullet Punch are the best combination here.

I would drop Nasty Plot on Infernape - you have no dual screens or anything really to help him set up, and without them you will very rarely be able to get off a Nasty Plot to sweep anyway. With Latias' addition to OU, Nasty Plot ape has become quite defunct really. I would just replace Nasty Plot with HP Ice, meaning you can use ape to revenge Salamence and non-scarf Flygon.

Your team is quite offensively orientated, and so Forretress seems to be quite a surprising choice here. I think it would slow your team down and would personally remove it for a Scizor or something similar. A specially defensive Scizor works well in tandem with Infernape as it can Pursuit to remove Latias, thus allowing Infernape to sweep. It will also give you a lot more insurance against Salamence, who will currently do a lot of damage to your team after a DD (since you are running a weird Gliscor that can't actually touch it), and you can use its Bullet Punch to revenge kill a host of other threats. However, if you want to keep Forretress on this team, I'd say give it Explosion so it doesn't slow you down too much, and you can use it to weaken an opposing wall and give one of your sweepers a much appreciated free switch in. I would say get rid of Rapid Spin here - your team doesn't suffer from it too bad, and I doubt you'll get much time to use it here anyway. Reflect is cool for some support, so I would keep that as it is.

That Gliscor is very out of place on this team too. It is essentially a waste of a slot - nothing on your team really appreciates the +2/+2 boost enough for it to be justified wasting a complete Pokemon on it. Go for the dancing tank Gliscor here, or just replace it altogether. This spread will work better for your team:

Gliscor @ Life Orb
Jolly - Hyper Cutter
252 HP / 40 Atk / 216 Spe
~ Swords Dance
~ Roost
~ Earthquake
~ Stone Edge

It allows you to retain Gliscor's defensive prowess and use it to deal with Fighting-types (Lucario in particular, who this set manages to outspeed and beat). It also gives you a way of dealing with Salamence, as you can at least hit it back with Stone Edge now. This can actually make for a pretty solid sweeper against a weakened team, as it can just alternate between Swords Dance and Roost to get to +6, before sweeping the opposing team with EdgeQuake coverage.

Good luck with your team.
 
Choices like Infernape and Electivire intrinsically move your team towards a purer form of offense, so I'm surprised you would go with Forretress, since Spikes would be redundant with your attacking force on this team.

Instead, if you want support, try Dual Screen Bronzong:

Bronzong @ Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/152 Atk/8 Def/98 SDef
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Gyro Ball
- Explosion
---

The purpose is to set up screens so that your sweepers can sweep without too much fear of being killed...fainted by their bulkier counterparts.

Skarmory used to be a concern for Gyarados, but Gyarados can blast its way through the bird anyways, if Mixape hasn't handled it already. Therefore I feel that your Taunt is redundant in the matter of Skarmory, but if it has helped you in other ways, by all means keep it.

Hmmmmm...Gliscor...Legacy Raider is right.
 
To start off, I would suggest the addition of a wall. You lack a Tank, also. If you want to leave Gliscor in, you should use the Dancing Tank, just as Legacy Rider suggested. Wandering in OU with no wall is dangerous, especially if you're wandering with no Wall and no Tank.
Next, you should remove your Foretress for something more defensive, like a Blissey. This is only a suggestion, seeing that it would make a lot more sense for your team to have some defense added onto all of your attackers. Blissey has some of the highest Health in the game, and it has a great SpD. Another possibility is a Physical wall, seeing that many of your chosen pokémon don't have that great of def either.
If you'd rather a more offensive way of looking at it, place another Tank in there. You also lack a good Ghost or Dragon type. I would suggest placing a Dragon, a wall or a tank on your team. don't forget that Salamence is in OU. You need your Pokémon that have corresponding roles that help the team take down other teams efficiently.
I don't see where Forretress fits in your team though. I'm probably wrong about a few things, but I do agree - The Gliscor's moveset is wonkey and the Forretress must go. I've been learning from a few different sites, asking questions about the pokémon on forums isn't bad, either. if you want to keep specific Pokémon in your party, I would suggest asking on a Forum what their roles should be and what other pokémon should go into the party.
Maybe you should try adding in a Lucario? and if you want a Baton Passer, I honestly thing that a Vaporeon or Jolteon would be better, since they use a substatute and in Jolteon's Yawn Passer, it puts a pokémon to sleep and puts up a Substitute as well. Also, Jolteon is much faster. But my thoughts are just suggestions, you don't have to pay attention. I would say that Legacy and Mtr know a lot more then I do, but I did spot that this team wasn't very well thought through or put together. I would start by getting 1 sweeper, 1 wall and 1 tank then working off of that.
 
If you really must do the infamous pure BPer Gliscor --> sweeper strategy, Electivire is probably not the best option because of the lack of resistance to priority moves and overall low power. Metagross is the best recipient with Iron Head/Earthquake/Zen Headbutt/Ice Punch and the EV spread 252 Att/252 speed/4 HP Jolly.

Dual Screen is a huge help for this strategy for Gliscor to set up behind. I strongly recommend removing Forretress. Forretress does not bring anything to such an offensive team, Spikes aren't as necessary and you have Stealth Rock. The Dual Screener I recommend over Forry's slot is Uxie with Screens/Memento/U-turn and 252 HP/180 Def/76 speed Impish.

With Metagross out of the lead position, change Mixape to the Anti lead Infernape in the smogon analysis. The set will set a good offensive tempo and take out common leads.

A common way to stop the Dual Screen --> Gliscor BP strategy is Tricked Choice items. You need something reliable to take Trick. What I think would be great for your team is a Scarf Rotom-oven. Rotom can revenge a lot of threats, necessary for an offensive team such as this that can't take many hits. If you suspect a Trick coming, switch to Rotom as they give you back a Scarf (most likely. Specs is rare, and Band even more so).

So the team is Lead Infernape/Scarf Rotom-h/Gyarados/Uxie/Gliscor/Metagross. Focus on maintaining pressure with Infernape, Scarf Rotom, and Gyarados, and look for the right moment to switch in Uxie and set up. Good luck! Hope I helped.
 
I would suggest to take out Electivire. He is slow as fuck, has no priority moves, and is pretty bad withought a motor drive boost.

It would be good for you to consider a shoice item user as well because you have 3 stat uppers. I have a personal bias to either scarf or specs Latias.
Latias @Specs or Scarf
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe (Modest)
Draco Meateor
Surf
T-Bolt
Trick
 
Ok so from your replies I've kinda gathered that Foretress has to go along with Electivire. I think them for a Dual-Screening Bronzong and a Scizor as sugessted. Im still not sure what to do with Gliscor though, should I swap him for a Tank?
 
Spikes are not really needed unless you are using stall, IMO, replace forretress with dual screen celebi/rotom appliance, they are very bulky, and rotom would fit in nicely with your team. And test out scizor for evire, that looks like a good idea
 
You need a reliable Gyarados counter seeing as Forry there is set up bait. I'd recommend Explosion just so you could get the hell out of there and do 80%~ to Gyara, but Zap Cannon is the most satisfying way to counter a Gyarados in my opinion, seeing as he can't do too much to a Forretress aside a 3KO at best.

"Do you *really* want to be paralyzed and half dead, Gyarados?"

Clean up for Infernape, aisle 1.

... Or go Rotom on his ass. How boringly effective. =p
 
Replaced a couple of Pokemon (Electivire/Fortress out Scizor/Bronzong in) so what do you guys think now plus do you think I have a counter for most OU Pokemon? If not what would you suggest?

EDIT:

Considering removing Gliscor for Blissey and then making Scizor more offensive (EVs). Do you think I need blissey with even though I have screens? Or would I be better off putting in a bulky sweeper with good special defense or a good sweeper which counters some of the threats that I'm having trouble with.
 
I don't really see the point of Baton Pass Gliscor. I think you need a good recipient if you're going to do that. Gyarados and Scizor are your main physical attackers here. Why aren't they good recipients?

Gyarados: Bulkiness is unnecessary on a recipient if you're taking +2 attack and speed (or more). Not to mention you have Dragon Dance, which is a wasted slot if your strategy is to pass to this. Taunt is also a wasted slot on a sweeper for just about everything other than Skarmory, who is handled by Nape.

Scizor: Again, way too bulky to sweep. Passing speed to Scizor is somewhat redundant with Bullet Punch being his main move. U-Turn and Pursuit don't go very well with stat-boosting either, since U-Turn gets rid of your boosts and if you're sweeping they won't be switching a lot. This set is used for a scout/trapper, not a sweeper.

I don't know what you want to do, but neither of these really make full use of the stuff you're boosting. I suggest looking at something that gets good coverage and make it your strategy to set him up.
 
So essentially what we have here is a team that has potential, but lacks true Pokemon to fill needed roles. Also, you get swept by so many different offensive variants of things that it isn't even funny. Some of your move-sets were also very strange, in that you wanted to sweep with a Baton Pass to one of them, yet they weren't even offensive in nature. I'm sure some people have already commented on this, but I just wanted to make sure you are actually going to take their advice on this one. So what we've got here, is a offensive team that needs some buffering up. There is a couple of things that we have to do in order to make this team viable in standard play. First of all, we're going to have to identify your weaknesses, and then thus fill in as many holes as we possibly can. Lastly, fixing up current move-sets of Pokemon that we are keeping is a top priority. You don't want "laggers" in an offensive team.

The team in which you are using gets toppled by heavy offense. It is so lopsided that if your opponent were able to setup just once, you'd be dead in the water. Your only safety net would be Scizor, in which he doesn't have much firepower as it is. In addition to that, you lose to the other extreme, stall. You aren't really able to dent your opponent's plethora of walls in order to sweep, and you certainly aren't able to get the entry hazards out of the way.

To start out the list of weaknesses, you've inherited a mighty fine weakness in Gyarados. With the simple act of switching in on Bronzong after a Taunt or what ever, it can easily take out your whole team. As previously mentioned your only lines of defense is either Scizor or Stone Edge missing, which isn't that reliable. Gliscor, Infernape, Metagross, and Gyarados get completely destroyed and OHKO'd. Bronzong and Scizor can't really do much either.

Heatran is really to a lesser extent than the rest of these, but it certainly deserves a mention. Picking its spots, it has the ability to essentially take out 5/6 of your team. The only counter you have to Heatran is Gyarados, in which you won't be doing that too often with Stealth Rocks in play. In addition, most people could probably just switch around predicting the Fire Blast or Earth Power, however, you on the other hand can't. Fire Blast will take a toll on almost all of your Pokemon (disregarding Gyarados).

Going along with the offensive theme here... Infernape also destroys your team. While you do have Gyarados... again... he will not be taking many hits with Stealth Rocks in play. Shall we consider the situation of Infernape plus Heatran on the same team against you? That would not be a pretty site, and you are increasingly getting more reliant on Gyarados.

Jolteon is one of those Pokemon that you don't see everyday, but when they do come, they rain on your party big time. Your only lines of defense is coming from Bronzong and to a lesser extent Scizor. Both of which aren't even great checks to Jolteon.

Much like Gyarados, Kingdra has the same role and basically even more deadly. Since it isn't weak to Stealth Rocks, it can easily pick its spots and hurt you where it hurts most. The Dragon Dance set comes to mind, and it completely rapes this team with OHKO's on Gyarados, Gliscor, and Infernape after a single Dragon Dance.

Some offensive teams have trouble dealing with Zapdos, and that is certainly the case here. You fail to beat it one on one with any of your Pokemon. Your best case scenario is to have Infernape with Blaze or to have a Nasty Plot under its belt. Other than that, you're dead in the water.

Now to the correcting of move-sets. I would recommend throwing Explosion over Earthquake on Metagross, just for the sake of dealing more damage than you normally would, but that's just personal preference. I've attempted to test a Nasty Plot Infernape with Mach Punch, and I'd say the results are pretty good. So you may want to consider that over Close Combat. Also, if you did that, you would obviously move over the Attack EVs. I would change the Gyarados to an offensive variant, while having the move-set: Dragon Dance, Waterfall, Earthquake, Ice Fang / Stone Edge. Additionally, I would change the Scizor to a Swords Dance set. This would help create the offensive atmosphere that I think you were aiming for.

So for suggestions in regards to switching out Pokemon to fill holes and roles, here are a few suggestions. It is evident that Bronzong and Gliscor need to be taken out. Also, since I will be suggesting a Salamence, you may want to throw in a faster suicide lead such as Azelf or Aerodactyl to stop Stealth Rocks from hitting the floor. So as I just stated, consider throwing in an offensive Life Orb Salamence. Since you already have a boat load of resistances towards ice, this shouldn't really be an issue for the ability of switching around for making the best possible situation for yourself. Making that move will also help with resistances towards Heatran and fire power against Zapdos, Kingdra, and to a lesser extent Gyarados. For the last and final slot, I'm going to suggest an AgiGross. This will help immensly in late game sweeping, in which the rest of your team really lightened up the battle field for you. For a closer look, lets see how the battles should go down. Azelf will stop the rocks from hitting the floor and hopefully set up Stealth Rocks. Either Gyarados or Infernape will lighten the first lines of defenses. Scizor and Salamence will be mid-game sweeping, and then thus the star of the show, Metagross.

I truly hope I was of some help to you, and wish you the best of luck with your team.

Sorry for any grammar mistakes, I was in a rush with dinner and things.
 
Thanks for the feedback I'll look into it later, I think I'll keep Bronzong for the screens sake but I'll probaly change other things.

EDIT:

Considering removing Gliscor and Gyarados for Salamence and Blissey. Opinions?
 
Hello, it's Jolti again.

Your new team is a bit better. Although, there is many, many weaknesses to Fire. You seem to be aiming for sweepers, but, a team consisting no balance is a bad idea.
In my own team(in training), I tried hard to cover my butt because I had a huge weakness to fighting types in the original thoughts;
Gengar, Dragonite, Blissey, Jolteon, Rhyperior and Weavile.
To cover up my fighting weakness, I switched the super-frail weavile for a Scizor. In your set, you have a large weakness to Fire, and fighting. You have way too many steel types! Further more, you still lack a wall.
Also, your Gliscor is STILL weird for your team. His baton pass would really only be beneficial for your Scizor, who can learn Swords Dance naturally, so there really isn't a need for that set. To help cover your hide, may I suggest Vaporeon? With it's massive health, the fact it absorbs Water moves for HP, and it has great special attack makes it a great member of the team. I would use a Choice Specs build:

Item - Choice Specs
Evs- 188 Def / 252 SpA / 68 Spe
Nature - Modest
Moveset
~ Surf
~ Ice Beam
~ Hidden Power Electric
~ Signal Beam / Hydro Pump / Wish

Great STAB with water moves, plus specs and a high IV with added EVs on a Vaporeon's SpA could mean death on many fire and rock types. If a Rhyperior has no added Hp and SpD, you could probably 2HKO it. This would be very handy, seeing that you also have a weakness to ground.
As I have also said, you need a Wall. I still say go with Blissey, and if you want something most people seem to have, I'd suggest a Salamence, too.
Your Metagross can stay, along with Infernape.
Hope I could help!
~Jolti
 
I'm currently considering this setup:

Infernape(Lead)/Salamence(SpeicalSweeping)/Bronzong(Screens)/Scizor(Sword Dance)/Blissey/

Then the last slot either goes to Vaporeon or Metagross or another Pokemon I haven't thought off, thoughts?
 
Ok I updated and put in Blissey. Anymore feedback, also Salamence or Gyarados or another Pokemon to cover some of my weaknesses?
 
Jolti still thinks you should drop your Bronzong. But he's one of your only defenses against other Pokémon.. but he's still a steel type... man sometimes teams are annoying to figure out. I'm glad you added in Blissey, though.
I would also just lifeorb your Gyarados, so it gets is needed OHKO and 2HKOs, Leftovers isn't needed with that set. Life Orb adds 30% attack, so I would go with the Life Orb Offensive Gyrados. It packs an extra punch with only a little hp taken, and since Gyarados is for Physical attacks, I'd save him for late game/until someone sends out a Blissey.
~Jolti
 
I'm going to change Gyarados to a more offensive approach now with Life Orb, I like Bronzong as he's my only type of Physical Defense and is only weak to fire, he sets up screens aswell but what do you think I should swap for? Plus shoujld I put a Salamence in there for more Special Attacks since I have alot of Physical Sweepers.
 
he's weak to fighting, too, and I think Ice is in there somewhere.. Now that you have a Blissey, I guess you can drop your screener or just keep it in, but I would suggest testing out this team with friends before changing it anymore. Okay?
~Jolti
 
JolteonsRAWR said:
he's weak to fighting, too, and I think Ice is in there somewhere.. Now that you have a Blissey, I guess you can drop your screener or just keep it in, but I would suggest testing out this team with friends before changing it anymore. Okay?
~Jolti
Click to expand...

Nah, He's not weak to Ice, that Might be Skarmory your thinking of. though Skarmory can do screens <.<

I prefer a Skarmory as my Spiker, though because of it's speed I can see why you use Infernape as your's. Though Skarmory can take a physical hit like it's his/her job.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top