What's up smogon? This is my OU team, not so standard, that I've been tweaking forever and has had some ups and downs. Peaked before the reset at just under 1400 on the PO server, but I would like to crack that elite tier. Any help is appreciated, I'll test whatever recommendations you had.
Anyway, the team doesn't really have a specific theme, it's not that I'm particularly anti-metagame or "hipster" or hate weather, I just start by slapping a couple of pokemon with good type synergy together and then tweak until it seems to work. There's no hazards, so I guess that makes this an offensive team? Anyway, here's a type chart and preview.
Heracross (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Guts
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
Good old ScarfCross makes a reappearance. This is one of my favorite pokemon, and in my opinion, a seriously underrated threat in the B/W metagame. I have seen countless "well-constructed" teams, with 4, 5 or even 6 pokes who would get OHKOed by this guy. Note that I don't have a dedicated lead, Hera usually doesn't start, it's just that someone had to be first :P. Anyway, this is a pretty standard set that is really important to my team. Heracross deals with many threats, notably Lati@s, Reuniclus, Azelf, etc. Also provides a status absorber which is useful to save Jellicent from an unwanted Toxic, or Donphan from WoW. Hera is a real threat that lots of teams are unprepared to deal with. Before Heracross I had a Scolipede here, but once I decided to go basically no-hazards I figured ScarfCross outclassed him completely.
Heatran (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Overheat
- HP Ice
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower
Second and final choice, also scarfed. Heatran gives me momentum against sun teams, absorbing solarbeams and fire attacks while retaliating with earth power or overheat. Scarfed Heatran is also apparently not so common, meaning other kills come on Gliscor and unboosted Dragonite with HP Ice. Despite some utility usefulness, Heatran is rather underwhelming in this slot. I've considered replacing Overheat, as I don't use it that much. Also considered changing the set, but ultimately if you can think of a better pokemon here please let me know.
Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Stone Edge
Donphan, another not-so-standard poke who I think performs well in OU. Not everyone knows about sturdy, meaning I get OHKOs on many a Ninetales or steel type. The main purpose for this poke is rapid spin, however, as I previously found that this team didn't move fast enough to be able to ignore hazards, especially toxic spikes. However, Donphan is not a single use poke - he hits like a truck. 370+ attack unboosted is scary, and the EdgeQuake combo with a well-typed priority is very useful. I toyed with a CB Donphan, replacing Ice Shard with Gunk Shot, but decided that I preferred rapid spin and some versatility. CB did pound some people though.
'Stache (Jellicent) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt
I used to run hail over WoW and occasionally miss it, as people often sac their weather starters when they don't see one on my team. However, standard Jellicent is performing just fine as I can burn many pokemon with good prediction, although I might switch back. This is pretty easy to explain - ghost type provides a good switch to common priorities, and many common attackers are shut down. Taunt beats slower pokemon like Ferrothorn and recover is for longevity. Despite Jellicent's popularity I am constantly let down by his rather lackluster defensive stats (253? Not so hot). I tested Slowbro here, who was fine, but something didn't quite click. If there are any suggestions for this slot please go ahead.
Eelektross (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Acid Spray
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Grass Knot
Some call it hax. Some call it gimmicky. I don't know about either, but whatever it is, it works. The number of Ferrothorns, Scizors and Forretresses that have switched into this thing is unreal. Same with Quagsire and Swampert. Lots of Hippos stay in after SR to try to EQ, only to get whacked with Grass Knot. Acid Spray also lets me deal with threats like Reuniclus (albeit not completely reliably), Sigilyph, and Blissey/Chansey in a last-poke situation. If I had an MVP for this team, it would be Eelektross. He's a utility counter that really keeps this team together.
Scrafty (Scrafty) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Shed Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 248 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SpA)
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Crunch
- Rest
BU Scrafty replaced BU Conkeldurr and hasn't missed a beat. Not really sure why that is (possibly the threat of DD?) as the sets are so similar, but I have preferred Scrafty so far. He checks/counters much of the same that Conk did with higher special defense and it's seemingly easier to set up (probably because of that special defense). This is a good answer to generic sand teams, steel sweepers, and many main threats in the metagame. While I'm not fully up on Scrafty's uses yet (having only started using him about 3 days ago), I've liked it so far.
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Anyway, the team doesn't really have a specific theme, it's not that I'm particularly anti-metagame or "hipster" or hate weather, I just start by slapping a couple of pokemon with good type synergy together and then tweak until it seems to work. There's no hazards, so I guess that makes this an offensive team? Anyway, here's a type chart and preview.
Heracross (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Guts
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
Good old ScarfCross makes a reappearance. This is one of my favorite pokemon, and in my opinion, a seriously underrated threat in the B/W metagame. I have seen countless "well-constructed" teams, with 4, 5 or even 6 pokes who would get OHKOed by this guy. Note that I don't have a dedicated lead, Hera usually doesn't start, it's just that someone had to be first :P. Anyway, this is a pretty standard set that is really important to my team. Heracross deals with many threats, notably Lati@s, Reuniclus, Azelf, etc. Also provides a status absorber which is useful to save Jellicent from an unwanted Toxic, or Donphan from WoW. Hera is a real threat that lots of teams are unprepared to deal with. Before Heracross I had a Scolipede here, but once I decided to go basically no-hazards I figured ScarfCross outclassed him completely.
Heatran (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Overheat
- HP Ice
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower
Second and final choice, also scarfed. Heatran gives me momentum against sun teams, absorbing solarbeams and fire attacks while retaliating with earth power or overheat. Scarfed Heatran is also apparently not so common, meaning other kills come on Gliscor and unboosted Dragonite with HP Ice. Despite some utility usefulness, Heatran is rather underwhelming in this slot. I've considered replacing Overheat, as I don't use it that much. Also considered changing the set, but ultimately if you can think of a better pokemon here please let me know.
Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Stone Edge
Donphan, another not-so-standard poke who I think performs well in OU. Not everyone knows about sturdy, meaning I get OHKOs on many a Ninetales or steel type. The main purpose for this poke is rapid spin, however, as I previously found that this team didn't move fast enough to be able to ignore hazards, especially toxic spikes. However, Donphan is not a single use poke - he hits like a truck. 370+ attack unboosted is scary, and the EdgeQuake combo with a well-typed priority is very useful. I toyed with a CB Donphan, replacing Ice Shard with Gunk Shot, but decided that I preferred rapid spin and some versatility. CB did pound some people though.
'Stache (Jellicent) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt
I used to run hail over WoW and occasionally miss it, as people often sac their weather starters when they don't see one on my team. However, standard Jellicent is performing just fine as I can burn many pokemon with good prediction, although I might switch back. This is pretty easy to explain - ghost type provides a good switch to common priorities, and many common attackers are shut down. Taunt beats slower pokemon like Ferrothorn and recover is for longevity. Despite Jellicent's popularity I am constantly let down by his rather lackluster defensive stats (253? Not so hot). I tested Slowbro here, who was fine, but something didn't quite click. If there are any suggestions for this slot please go ahead.
Eelektross (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Acid Spray
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Grass Knot
Some call it hax. Some call it gimmicky. I don't know about either, but whatever it is, it works. The number of Ferrothorns, Scizors and Forretresses that have switched into this thing is unreal. Same with Quagsire and Swampert. Lots of Hippos stay in after SR to try to EQ, only to get whacked with Grass Knot. Acid Spray also lets me deal with threats like Reuniclus (albeit not completely reliably), Sigilyph, and Blissey/Chansey in a last-poke situation. If I had an MVP for this team, it would be Eelektross. He's a utility counter that really keeps this team together.
Scrafty (Scrafty) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Shed Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 248 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SpA)
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Crunch
- Rest
BU Scrafty replaced BU Conkeldurr and hasn't missed a beat. Not really sure why that is (possibly the threat of DD?) as the sets are so similar, but I have preferred Scrafty so far. He checks/counters much of the same that Conk did with higher special defense and it's seemingly easier to set up (probably because of that special defense). This is a good answer to generic sand teams, steel sweepers, and many main threats in the metagame. While I'm not fully up on Scrafty's uses yet (having only started using him about 3 days ago), I've liked it so far.
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
