ORAS OU Pivot Power

[espeonguy]

For this team, I wanted to have a mostly-offensive approach without any real tank pokemon, and instead keep it fast with pivots. I started the team with Breloom as a lead, using the classic Spore move first turn to gain an immense advantage. This is the whole team.

Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Tomb

The main idea here is for Breloom to hinder opposing leads and either force a switch or eliminate it if it can. If Breloom survives after the first few turns, it can be switched to be a late game revenge killer thanks to Mach Punch. Due to a high number of weaknesses, Breloom needs a good support like Heatran, so I added him to cover most of Breloom's.

Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Ancient Power
- Flash Cannon

Going for the Choice Scarf was a personal preference as I thoroughly enjoy the revenge killing capability. Heatran covers weaknesses for Breloom, Altaria as well as Scizor, which means it sees many opportunities to come in safely. Fire Blast over Overheat because if Heatran can stay in or gets Knocked Off, it still can hit hard. Also I went with Ancient Power over HP ice for the potential stat boosts, plus it covers a fair chunk of the meta.

Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 248 HP / 200 Def / 52 SpD Calm Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Fire Blast
- Heal Bell
- Roost

Heatran means that Altaria doesn't have to worry about any of its weaknesses. As my teams cleric, the investment in HP and it's defenses allows it to sit on it's many resistances with ease. Roost allows for a reliable recovery against those who can't do much to it. Hyper Voice and Fire Blast are powerful STAB moves that hit hard even uninvested. Heal Bell let's it act as a cleric to keep my pokemon healthy from status.

Rotom-Wash @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 64 Def / 196 SpD
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Rest
- Will-O-Wisp

Thanks to levitate, Rotom acts as a great pivot for Heatran to safely exit. Volt Switch is great coverage and works especially well with Scizor's Banded U-Turn to create big power plays. Hydro Pump is STAB coverage that also hits exceptionally well and almost always forces a switch to those weak to it. Will o Wisp hinders sweepers and Rest/Chesto Berry fully heal Rotom while also eliminating status, allowing Rotom to act as a sponge if need be.

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Pursuit
- Superpower

Banded Scizor is scary because of Technician. The two STAB moves provide different uses; Bullet Punch to hit faster pokemon, and U-Turn to allow a safe switch for pokemon who don't want to take a hit upon entering, thanks to Scizors mediocre speed. Pursuit is a great way to hit pokemon who don't want to stay in on Scizor like Starmie, while Superpower hits Ferrothorn for a 1-2 hit KO.

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 100 Def / 40 SpD / 120 Spe
Timid Nature
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Scald
- Rapid Spin

The team lacks a Spinner, so that's where Starmie comes in. The EV spread gives it a fair amount of bulk to play with, and just enough speed to outrun most uninvested pokemon. Recover is to allow it to heal in conjunction with Leftovers. Scald is it's only STAB move, but has a high chance to burn. Ice Beam adds even more coverage to the team, hitting pesky Ground types who would otherwise give my team trouble.

Any tips, edits and changes would be welcome, and thank you!

 

[Snowy]

Hey man, interesting team you have there! I just wanted to quickly recommend a few quick changes you should implement to increase the effectiveness of your squad. So without further a do, let's get it!

Firstly, your team lacks Stealth Rocks and general hazard support, which has become so what of a nessity in recent time, as it allows you to break and clean teams a lot easier. Since your team has only one available Stealth Rock setter and the fact that I don't really want to change any of the current existing Pokemon on your team, I believe you should alter the heatran set to standard SpD with Stealth Rocks. This not only provides you with valuable hazards, but a more reliable switch into dragon and fairy moves, as despite Scizors type it doesn't have the bulk or the leftovers recovery to take multiply hits on the switch.

Secondly, I believe you should use Life Orb > Focus Sash on breloom. Focus sash is typically used to lure in Talonflame and force them to go for brave bird as you kill them with Rock Tomb, which is nice to have if your particular weak to talonflame, which you are not. Having Rotom and Heatran easily handling the majority of flying spam you could ever really want to, I believe it's worth using Life Orb, as Breloom really loves the extra power and can secure important kills that it previously couldn't. Due to its lack of bulk, getting these kills is really important in preventing it from during before completing its role.

Thirdly, I would recommend the use of Knock Off > Pursuit on Scizor. Although the ability to trap certain Pokemon is great, your team isn't particular weak to any of the Pokemon you would wish to trap, which takes away a lot of the value the move has on your team. Adding Knock Off allows you to cripple item dependant Pokemon, whilst giving you a more powerful Dark Type coverage move. Knock Off is also one of the best moves in the game due to its power and secondary effect, which many consider make this move a necessity on every team.

Finally, you might want to run Psyshock > Ice Beam on Starmie. Your team can be utterly destroyed by Keldeo and your only checks are Starmie and Altaria. Altaria is pressured to Heal Bell or roost on the potential scald burn or once it has taken too much damage, which becomes a complete momentum killer. However if you add Psyshock to Starmie you can effectively damage it with a super effective move, which stops you from losing to Keldeos Calm Mind set and gives you a more reliable switch in that doesn't kill momentum.

Hope you enjoyed and were able to obtain something from my rate! I also wish you and your team the best of luck in future endeavours!

 

[espeonguy]

Thank you for the ideas! I was trying hard to squeeze Stealth Rock in there; Heatran would be perfect for that. I have to agree with Knock Off; It definitely scares the foe from switching and losing their precious items. Good call on Starmie, too: Most of the things that Ice Beam would hit are covered already, so Psyshock gives me extra coverage for things like Mega Venasaur, too. Thank you for the tips!