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[OU] My first attempt at a team.

mew420

mew420

I just recently got into competitive battling and this is my first real attempt at a team. I've had moderate success with it so far, but am sure there's plenty of room for improvement.

So here goes...

At a glance:

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Indepth:

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Aerodactyl (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd,-SpAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
---
> It's fast! A quick Taunt or SR, depending on the opposing lead and away we go. I've changed my mind and gone for Stone Edge over Rock Slide for brute force. Even super effective Rock Slide hits suck balls. It provides a bit more beef for opposing Gyarados who stick around. Focus Sash is fairly standard as Aero is a little more than fragile.
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Rotom-H @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/168 Def/88 Spd/
Bold nature (+Def,-Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Overheat
- Will-O-Wisp
---
> If I'm almost certainly going to be sacrificing Aerodactyl purely for the opportunity to get SR up, I need to ensure that I keep them there. Enter Rotom-H. Thunderbolt is a nice stab and can deal with Starmie who might try to Hydro Pump me to death before spinning my rocks away. Shadow Ball for secondary STAB allowing me to revenge other Rotoms. Overheat for when I switch in against common steel types. Will-O-Wisp helps me wall physical sweepers. Leftovers to provide a little more longevity.
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Breloom (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 12 HP/252 Atk/244 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk,-SpAtk)
- Focus Punch
- Seed Bomb
- Spore
- Substitute
---
> This guy's about as generic as it comes, but I really like him and he works well with Rotom-H, taking out Swampert and Blissey that cause him drama. Seed bomb makes light work of Swampy, while Sub/Punch scares off Blissey. Spore for guaranteed sleep. Toxic Orb to recover from Sub and allows me to switch in to absorb status.
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Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP/112 Atk/144 Def
Relaxed nature (+Def,-Spd)
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Payback
- Earthquake / Explosion
---
> My Rapid Spinner. Have gone for Spikes over Toxic Spikes as the latter was interfering with Spore on my Breloom. Payback for Ghosts who may try to block the Spin (plus I don't have a lot of effective ghost support anywhere else). Tossing up between Earthquake and Explosion. Earthquake is a great move when it hits, but I'm often stuck with Forretress hanging around and doing nothing at the end - so why not blow him up?! Forretress also has an uncanny ability to draw in Fire attacks to trigger my Heatran on the switch. Leftovers over Shed Shell as I have Earthquake to deal with Magnezone (who has not been causing me much grief lately anyway).
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Heatran (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Atk/252 Spd/252 SpAtk
Naive nature (+Spd,-SpDef)
- Earth Power
- Explosion
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power Grass
---
> Fire Blast for STAB powerful enough to punch a hole in the common Gyarados counter as it switches. Earth Power is fairly standard, taking care of other Fire types. HP Grass is a great surprise for Swampert when he switches in. Then finally explode once Heatran as outstayed his welcome. Choice Scarf to outspeed Weavile and is great for revenge kills.
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Kingdra @ Leftovers / Damp Rock
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk,-SpA)
- Rain Dance
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Outrage
---
> Double Dance. Takes the place of Flygon, who unfortunately wasn't living up to his hype. Sets up nicely on Starmie, who would otherwise cause some headaches. Also takes care of the Gliscor issue I was having. Rain Dance to eliminate weather hazards and boost speed. Then either STAB Waterfall, or Dragon Dance to make this thing ridiculously quick AND powerful. Outrage if absolutely neccessary. The EV spread allows it to take some extra hits while I set up. Still tossing up between Leftovers and Damp Rock.
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Machamp, as per usual, is proving to be a bit of a pain for this team.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.
 
Hi there, it looks like you have a great team on your hands. I do, however, have a small suggestion to offer which may improve the overall performance of your team in battle. I suggest switching Tentacruel for Forretress; not only can Forretress provide spikes support as well as Toxic Spikes, it also has great synergy with Heatran; Forretress generally draws Fire-type attacks, allowing Heatran to come into the field unscathed (with the exception of entry hazards), grab a useful Fire Flash boost and start to launch its attacks. Below is the set I recommend to try out in Tentacruel's place:
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Forretress @ Shed Shell / Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP/112 Atk/144 Def
Relaxed nature (+Def,-Spd)
- Earthquake
- Gyro Ball
- Rapid Spin
- Spikes / Toxic Spikes

The set is quite self-explanatory; Earthquake and Gyro Ball are used for attacking options while the latter two moves provide support; Stealth Rock is not mentioned as you already have Aerodactyl to set them up. The choice between Shed Shell and Leftovers is dependent on your preference; although a Shed Shell allows you to escape from Pokemon like Magnezone, Leftovers can be used if you don't fear the aforementioned foes; Leftovers also generally increases Forretress' longevity, allowing it to provide support whenever needed throughout the battle.
 
Problems: Starmie and Weaville
Why: As Psychic moves become somewhat acceptable, it probably is not a good idea to have a psychic weakness. I believe that Starmie outruns all of your team save Aero and Flygon. Aero is normally down by the beggining of the match, as every lead now likes to have a plan to beat Aero. After that, Starmie obliterates all but Flygon with Psychic and a water move. It should also be noted that Starmie can OHKO with Ice beam if the chance should arise. Weaville can KO Flygon with Ice Shard, and hurt everything else with Low Kick and Night Slash. Having three Ice-weak Pokes is also seldom
a good idea.
Solutions: I can't honestly think of much for the Starmie problem, although another Grass Poke with more defensive capabilities could whether Ice Beam and KO back. As for Weaville, adding a Scarf to Heatran stops it entirely.
 
Okay. Thanks for the feedback. Regarding the Starmie issue, I have replaced Flygon with Double Dance Kingra. Regarding the Weavile issue, I have chucked a Scarf on Heatran. Both changes seem to be working very nicely. (I'm actually causing OTHERS to ragequit now! :P)

With the additional water support in Kingdra I have (temporarily?) dropped Tentacruel for Forretress, although I am still not completely convinced it's for the best. Perhaps Tentacruel might enjoy the Rain support?

I have edited the original RMT. Changes are in red. Any further comments and criticisms would be great!
 
Tentacruel is definitely out. Had a play around with him and his Toxic Spikes were severely interfering with Breloom's spore. Have also altered Forretress slightly and am tossing up between a couple of moves. Also Kingdra's held item.

Definitely getting closer to the final product though is what I'm feeling.
 
I'd suggest that you use a different pokemon to setup rain dance, and if you're just using Dragon Dance for the speed boosting, you don't really need it because you have rain, after all, I'd like to think that Kingdra's attack is high enough
 
Use Choice Scarf Rotom-H, it allows you to revenge +1 Gyarados who otherwise can ruin this team with Bounce / Waterfall.

It can also revenge weakened DDtar who ruins this team as well.

Rotom-H @ Choice scarf
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power Ice / Trick

You don't need Trick unless stall really annoys you, otherwise HP Ice should be used to revenge-kill the Dragon-types, mainly Dragonite and sometimes Flygon.

I'd suggest that you use a different pokemon to setup rain dance, and if you're just using Dragon Dance for the speed boosting, you don't really need it because you have rain, after all, I'd like to think that Kingdra's attack is high enough
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Disagree, Double Dance Kingdra is very effective it swept me once, a +1 or +2 Waterfall in the rain can rip through teams, and a STAB base 120 power is just too much on anything.
 
Rating this team once more on request. Hi there Mew, it seems like your team is getting better and better as time passes! I do, however am concerned with your current Kingdra set and the nasty plot/ swords dance Infernape problem this team generally has. The Kingdra set you're using is a very devastating sweeper if gets to set up, although it's generally built to be used with other offensive Pokemon who can also benefit from the rain dance support after Kingdra has possibly fainted; rain dance doesn't seem to be helping your team, on the contrary, it could seriously lessen the effectiveness of some of the Pokemon on your team, namely your Heatran which has its most powerful attack's power being cut in half. On another mater, Infernape, if given the chance to set up can easily sweep through your team; even Heatran will be gravely hurt if not KOd by a boosted Mach punch or Vacuum Wave. To remedy both of these problems I highly recommend changing your current Kingdra to the standard Chesto-Rest variant.

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Kingdra (M) @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 144 HP / 160 Atk / 40 SpD / 164 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk,-SpAtk)
- Rest
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Waterfall

This Kingdra set can effectively help deal with the aforementioned threats while also not causing the same problems the double dance variant caused your team while also not being inferior in terms of power when compared to your current set; quite on the contrary, in most cases, this Kingdra will be able to grab more dragon dance boosts due to the whole chesto-rest strategy revolving around it. Also, this Kingdra which is significantly bulky, can also help deal with your Infernape Problem as it resists Infernape's strong fire type STAB and KO back even with an unboosted waterfall. I hope this rate helped, and once again, good luck!
 
Have replaced the Kingdra set with the one Aerrow has suggested and it's brilliant! ... I have altered the initial post accordingly.

Will mess around with the Rotom-H suggestion a little later and see how it fairs. I am liking the idea of revenge killing non-scarfed Gengar though.

Thanks guys!
 
Aerrow said:
Rating this team once more on request. Hi there Mew, it seems like your team is getting better and better as time passes! I do, however am concerned with your current Kingdra set and the nasty plot/ swords dance Infernape problem this team generally has. The Kingdra set you're using is a very devastating sweeper if gets to set up, although it's generally built to be used with other offensive Pokemon who can also benefit from the rain dance support after Kingdra has possibly fainted; rain dance doesn't seem to be helping your team, on the contrary, it could seriously lessen the effectiveness of some of the Pokemon on your team, namely your Heatran which has its most powerful attack's power being cut in half. On another mater, Infernape, if given the chance to set up can easily sweep through your team; even Heatran will be gravely hurt if not KOd by a boosted Mach punch or Vacuum Wave. To remedy both of these problems I highly recommend changing your current Kingdra to the standard Chesto-Rest variant.

230.png

Kingdra (M) @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 144 HP / 160 Atk / 40 SpD / 164 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk,-SpAtk)
- Rest
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Waterfall

This Kingdra set can effectively help deal with the aforementioned threats while also not causing the same problems the double dance variant caused your team while also not being inferior in terms of power when compared to your current set; quite on the contrary, in most cases, this Kingdra will be able to grab more dragon dance boosts due to the whole chesto-rest strategy revolving around it. Also, this Kingdra which is significantly bulky, can also help deal with your Infernape Problem as it resists Infernape's strong fire type STAB and KO back even with an unboosted waterfall. I hope this rate helped, and once again, good luck!
Click to expand...

Wouldn't it be better to use Sleep Talk instead, so you can make a solid mono-attacker if you're going to Rest multiple times, and if you're going to use a awakening berry, why not use Lum Berry? Just in case you get poisoned, paralyzed or some other type of Status along the way.
 
This is probably the noobiest question I've ever seen.

You don't use a Lum Berry because Rest already cures any status. So you set-up [multiple times, more than one, this is why Chesto Kingdra is so effective, it can set-up up to 4-5 DDs] while the foe statuses Kingdra and then Rest off the damage while Chesto does it's magic.
 
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