Offense Team?

So this is my first offensive team that I've posted here. I'm generally very bad at making them, so I've stuck with standards for this team. I think it's pretty solid, but it could use work. I haven't put an extreme amount of effort into this team like I have with my last one, but I definently tested it and can't think of anything to improve it further. *And I know that this team is amazingly similar to another team that's being posted on at the moment, but I created this entirely independantly and would still like it rated. I posted it on Serebii earlier today, as proof....*

So the strategy for this team is to eliminate the opponent's pokemon one by one rather than go for a clean sweep. I only have one set-up sweeper, and he really isn't what you would call a 'sweeper'. Instead, I have a bunch of hard hitters that are hard to counter and have ways of beating their own counters. There isn't an overarching 'strategy', but there often isn't for offenisve teams. I focused a lot on type resists, so you'll see that every major weakness is quad resisted or immuned by someone else on my team. So... here we go!

Lead Gyarados



Gyarados @Leftovers
Jolly
88 HP/252 Atk/168 Spe
~Waterfall
~Earthquake
~Dragon Dance
~Taunt

This Lead Gyarados, that pre-plat wonder, reborn. He works incredibly nowadays, given all the steel leads and the fire moves people use to beat them. Taunt keeps slower leads from setting up SR, while Dragon Dance lets me beat sash leads like this: Azelf uses SR! I use DD! I use Waterfall! Azelf uses Psychic! I finish them off next turn! And then they face the proposition of a DD'd Gyarados. The EV's give me enough Spe to beat max Spe base 130's (Aerodactyl, Jolteon), 252 Atk to maximize power, with the rest in HP. That also happens to be a Lefties number! I would use LO, to bump up my power, but I really hate LO + SR weakness, as I often kill myself after a few turns.

Mixed Tank Swampert



Swampert @Leftovers
Relaxed
236 HP/216 Def/52 SpA/4 Spe
~Earthquake
~Ice Beam
~Hydro Pump
~Stealth Rock

Swampert is an extremely useful pokemon in this metagame, due to his balanced stats, good typing, and ability to hit a bunch of powerful enemies super effective. He can serve as a reliable switch-in to so many things, and can be a threat to all of them. The moveset is standard, but I opted for Hydro Pump to 2HKO Skarmory and to serve as a counter to myself. That's also why I have the 4 Spe, to beat out other Swamperts. The EV's get a lefties number, a jump point in Def, and the rest in SpA. Swampert is really useful, and helps me sponge the Electric hits often aimed at Gyarados. Overall, he has just the right stats to be a great addition to offense.

Late Game Cleaner/Revenge Killer/Sweeper Buffer



Salamence @Choice Scarf
Naive
252 Atk/184 Spe/72 SpA
~Outrage
~Earthquake
~Stone Edge
~Fire Blast

Salamence is a threat unlike any other. It can hit so hard from both sides of the spectrum, has a whole bunch of Spe, and it has a great movepool. I used a ScarfMence to have a great revenge killer, late game sweeper, and switch in to a whole bunch of Physical threats. Outrage + Choice Scarf is premium late game sweeping. Earthquake lets me be an Infernape counter, and a revenge killer to a bunch of stuff. Stone Edge lets me counter Gyarados and Zapdos, as long as I don't switch in on Ice Fang or Thunderbolt, respetively. Fire Blast is to be able to get past Steels, and to piss off Celebi. Due to intimidate, Salamence can switch in on all sorts of physical sweepers, especially sinc Salamence resits so many types and has so much Spe. The 184 Spe EV's let me outspeed all non +nature base 100's after a +1 boost (Rash DD Mence) and 176 Spe +Nature base 100's (Naive 176 DD Mence). I would go max Spe, but I really don't see the point in a Spe tie, because I don't like to play with chance.

Speedy Tank



Rotom-H @Leftovers
Timid
252 HP/200 Spe/56 Def
~Thunderbolt
~HP: Grass
~Overheat
~Will-o-Wisp

Rotom-H serves a purpose similar to Swampert, while Rotom deals with all the sweepers Swampert can't, and vice-versa. Originally, I had Gengar in this spot, but then the team was very Scizor weak. Rotom-H fills the spot of Fighting/Normal absorber nicely, while countering an ungodly amount of threats along the way. The Spe EV's let me outspeed Adamant Lucario's by two points, to beat all the other things trying to outspeed him as well. 252 HP maximizes defense, while netting me a lefties number. The rest went in Defense, for some extra padding. Thunderbolt is basic STAB, Overheat is what makes him an amazing Lucario and Scizor counter, and will-o-wisp lets me fight off pursuiting switch-ins. HP: Grass lets me blast Swampert, as well as making me a great Bulky Ground switch in. A very solid pokemon, with just enough power and speed to make the cut for offense. This is also my go-to person for receiving tricked Scarfs or Specs, as he isn't really crippled by either of them.

CB Scizor


Scizor @Choice Band
Adamant
248 Atk/100 HP/156 SpD/4 Spe
~Bullet Punch
~U-turn
~Superpower
~Pursuit

SpD CB Scizor is one of my favorite pokemon in existence. It can abuse so many Special Sweepers, and it has extreme power in its own right. While it may seem like a second revenge killer/late game sweeper, it serves a different purpose. Salamence can switch in on many phsical threats with impunity, while Scizor does the same to special threats. They make a cool combo of forcing out sweepers while being extremely poweful, with one for each attacking type. The EV's are Rhys', so credit to him, while I added 4 Spe to beat no-spe Vaporeon. Bullet Punch can get me out of a bunch of bad situations, so it's very useful to have.

Tricky SubTran



Heatran @Leftovers
Naive
32 HP/224 Spe/252 SpA
~Fire Blast
~Earthpower
~Substitute
~Explosion

I used to have Blissey in this spot, but she was slow and vulnerable. This Heatran is desigend to draw out opposing walls (like Blissey, Suicune, Vaporeon, Porygon2...) and wear them down or eliminate them. The first time I switch in Heatran, I Sub immediately. This helps if they switch in their own Heatran, expecting a Fire attack, because I get to kill them with Earth Power. If they send in a wall, I attack it with whatever will hurt it most: Against waters, Earth Power. Againt Blissey, Explosion. After that, and once they've broken my Sub, I switch out, knowing that the opposing Heatran counter (Who shares common counters with both Gyarados and Salamence) is weakend. The Spe EV's let me beat max Spe neutral Suicune, which is important because otherwise, I may not be able to get a hit off on it. Heatran is a keen adition to the team because it shares so many counters with Gyarados and Salamence that once Heatran has done it's job of weakening its counters, my other sweepers have a much easier time sweeping. Explosion is also nice for blowing holes in the opposing team.

Cool Synergy Notes:

Weakneses:

Gyarados' Electric = Swampert

Salamence's Ice = Heatran

Heatran's Ground = Salamence, Gyarados, or Rotom-H

Swampert's Grass = Heatran or Scizor

Scizor's Fire = Heatran

More to come, along with a threat list/type chart!

I also haven't read over the whole thing at once (cuz it's a buttload of writing) so if there are any mistakes/discrepencies feel free to point them out.
 
Haha our teams are quite similar :P.

My only question is, how is the Choice Scarf Salamence working for you? To me it seems like it won't last very long, at least on paper. As a Choice item user, it'll probably have to switch out quite often since Heatran can easily come in if it's locked in on Fire Blast or Outrage and force you to switch. If you get locked into Earthquake, something like Gyarados or other Salamence can come in and get a free Dragon Dance on you. Stealth Rock takes 25% off its HP each time you switch in which is going to take its toll.
 
The trick is that I plan to be switching in on Gyarados, Heatran, and Salamence, and not the other way around. Considering that Salamence resists or is immune to most of their movesets, it sin't hard finding an oppurtunity to come in and force them out. Combine this with Intimidate and my ability to 1HKO them all, and it's really easy to end sweeps and regain the initiative.

But of course, like any choicer, it is possible that I am forced out. The real trick is making sure I switch in when the opponent is least capable of responding. He's really more of a late-game pokemon, after Scizor's U-turn and Heatran's Substitute have scouted/weakend the opposing team, so there are no suprises and I can predict with confidence. It sucks to get forced out and SR'd, but thankfully my team has more than enough scouting support.

EDIT: Also, for those of you still looking at my team, the one thing I feel could be improved is my ability to take down Bulky Waters. Currently, Rotom-H's T-bolt and Heatran's Sub-Scout-Explosion are my best answers, especially a SubExplosion folloed by Scizor's Pursuit in case they survive. While this does work, and suprisingly well at that, I feel like I'm lacking a direct switch-in sometimes. Any quick fix ideas, or things I could change around to improve this while retaining my current countering ability/level of offence?
 

Myzozoa

to find better ways to say what nobody says
is a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Past WCoP Champion
Um, I recommend getting some heavier offense. Swampert is really not doing enough damage, in my opinion. And on offense the whole point is to do lots of damage. I would suggest an agiligross. Agiligross can really wipe the floor with lots of teams. Agiligross has very high speed when it sets up, and has bulk enough to come in and revenge kill pokemon like salamence locked into outrage with meteor mash. The speed that it provides will be important in what I say next.

It is my opinion that scarfed pokemon don't really work proficiently on offense, this is because offense often includes many very frail pokemon. So if you're locked into fireblast and something like an opposing Salamence sets-up on you, it could sweep your entire team. I recommend using a DD mence in the place of your scarf mence OR if you must have a scarfer, use Flygon because it isn't SR weak and it is immune to sandstorm.

I really question why rotom is here at all. It certainly isn't an offensive pokemon. I would change it to... pretty much any offensive threat. Swords Dance Lucario is a longtime staple of offensive teams, maybe you could try that?

Lastly, I would also say that Choice banded pokemon don't work at their best on offense either. I would change your scizor to the offensive sword dance set, possibly with roost. I really want to say more about things about over all strategy , and how a life orb is better on many offensive pokemon because when you sacrifice them they do more damage than a leftovers pokemon(your lead gyarados should have leftovers though).
 
I also wonder why Rotom is here. If you like it, use a Trickspecs/scarf set to get some more anti-stall hate going on. 1 mixed sweeper usually isn't enough, but you also have Tauntrados, which is solid.

But I disagree with SD LO Roost Scizor. If you want Scizor, use it to hit-and-run, or as a bulky lefties endgame cleanup. SD LO is better done by Lucario.

Toxic on Heatran. Your team doesn't have Toxic Spikes, and you won't be doing much wearing down if Blissey can freely Wish/Protect/Softboiled all she wants.

Sorry for the quick rate, but other than that it looks solid. Just be careful about revenge scarfmence. You have power, but it could have a quick death to an Ice Shard.
 
Did you read my whole post or my response to Bribes explaining why I use ScarfMence?

Swampert is better than Agiligross for this team. Swampert gives me a way to take down Bulky ground types. I'm using a wall as a wall breaker. Hippowdon, who can stop both Scizor and Salamence, is killed by Swampert. Does Agiligross stop bulky grounds? No. This isn't typical offence. I'm not going to throw six sweepers together. Instead, I'm going to use a few that share counters, and then use other pokemon to defeat those counters, setting up my sweepers for a sweep.

Also, with things like Swampert and Rotom-H, I can keep my team from being swept. In your situation where a DD Mence sets up on my ScarfMence (unlikely, as I wouldn't use fire blast if I knew the enemy could reverse it on me) I wouldn't get swept, because my Swampert could stop it. By adding bulk to my offence, I give it the support it needs to thrive.

DD Mence doesn't work as well on my team, because then I lack a super-speedy sweeper, and I don't like setting up only to have my counter switch in, this forcing me to switch out and endure more SR. Instead, I use a ScarfMence that can regain the tempo from my opponent, and thus regain the advantage. Flygon is underpowered and can't use Special moves well. ScarfMence is much more spontaneous and unexpected, which nets me a huge advantage.

SD Svizor can't abuse Pursuit or U-Turn, which my Scizor is designed to abuse. And again, the set-up time will kill my advantage the instant the opponet switches in a counter, while CB Scizor ups my tempo even more with U-turn.

SD lucario + Scizor is a fearsome offense, as they have the exact same counters and both have priority. However, having a ghost to absorb Explosions and Fighting moves is too important, and Rotom H is actually quite powerful for a wall. Think of it as a special-attacking Gliscor and you'll see why I picked it.

Really, learn a bit more about how to create synergy before you start trying to rip up mine with random suggestions.

Edit: me and Mtr poster at the same time.

You are telling me to make my Rotom trickspecs for Blissey, but you want me to lose Explosion on Heatran? Explosion on heatran IS FOR BLISSEY. lol. SubTran is a strange sort of wallbreaker. He's amazing at scouting and wearing down opponets with his attacks that do great damage even when resisted. And explosion let's him finish off an opponent for good, making him a more than adequate 'wallbreaker'... Explosion is staying
 
Seeing as I haven't got many rates for this team, I'm bumping it, which to my knowledge is in accordance with the rules.

Seriously, there has to be a place where my team could improve?

My one problem is I don't have a direct switch-in to Water types. I don't have serious problems, as Gyarados can handle th common ones like Suicune that are Taunt weak and can't do anything to Gyarados except for neutral un-STAB'd Ice Beams.

Vaporeon is a different story. If it switches into Heatran, it's a gonner, but it can run circles around Salamence and Gyarados, who can't do much more than switch to Rotom-H, who still takes appreciable damage from Surf's.

Starmie is only a minor problem, as Scizor deals with it nicely. And Tentacruel can't do anything to Heatran, Salamence, or Gyarados, as they can all hit it Super-Effective and outspeed it, for a probobale 2HKO if it switches in not at full health.

So it's really Bulky Waters with HP: Electric and no Ground weakness. The most common are Slowbro and Vaporeon, but Slowbro has bad SpD and is worn down by Heatran more than approprately.

So, in conclusion to this ramble, my team has a Vaporeon problem. Heatran can Explode it, which works, but if there's a qucik fix I'm missing I'd love to hear it.

And help?
 
A little bit more than 24 hour bump...

Seriously is this team just good to go?

Come on guys!

lol.... =/
 

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