Hello! I'm Luke317, I've been playing quite a bit of pokemon showdown lately and have decided to post a thread on a team I just made. Not sure how good of a teambuilder I am because I usually just build teams in 5 minutes, so here it goes. It's not anything complex, just a team that covers itself quite nicely, with a late game sweeper and a sweeper that loves having counters rid of.
Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Mold Breaker
EVs: 176 HP / 52 Atk / 80 Def / 202 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Claw
Excadrill's fairly decent bulk as a rapid spinner as well as making entry hazards look silly makes it a premier rapid spinner in OU. The defensive synergy with gyarados is just absolutely amazing, it's so good i've been debating getting rid of air balloon, however, this team has a pretty otherwise obvious ground weakness so I stuck with air balloon to beat otherwise counters, subtoxic gliscor as well as just having a nice earthquake immunity to switch in more often. Rapin spin support was obviously needed on this team to perform well. Earthquake is awesome with mold breaker (hi rotom-w and gengar). Speaking of those 2, they would otherwise piss off this team pretty badly (especially subdisable). Swords dance adds a scare factor in excadrill's attack power that would let hit through some pokemon pretty well, putting a lot of pressure on the opponent. Shadow claw hits trevenant and gourgeist quite nicely, and allows excadrill to not be completely countered by them.
Gyarados @ Leftovers
Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Impish Nature
- Waterfall
- Dragon Tail
- Thunder Wave
- Substitute
At first you may think its outclassed by dragonite, but this Gyarados can take a beating. Gyarados's typing is what makes this work better on this team than dragonite's, having an immunity to a lot of priority and being neutral to ice, something dragonite hates, while Gyarados's 4x electric weakness is covered by either excadrill or thundurus-t, as well as excadrill covering it's rock weakness more than nicely. Gyarados counters a multitude of threats, many of them being dragons and fighting types, scizor, as well as checking latias. Gyarados also covers Heatran's fighting weakness, while Heatran can stomach many special moves gyarados can't handle. Waterfall is obvious on any Gyarados set, still hitting quite nicely against pokemon that are neutral to it. Dragon tail is what makes the parashuffler set work nicely, Thunder Wave crippling pokemon it can take on easily (Mega Lucario is a huge one, as well as Aegislash). Substitute or taunt was quite difficult to choose, but because Gyarados is so bulky, Substitute seemed to be the clear option, it also allows it to dragon tail a rotom-w or latios switch-in quite well, otherwise completely whomping this set. Gyarados covers Excadrill's weaknesses flawlessly, and can take some special attacks because of typing and a nice 100 spD. Intimidate is the crux of this set making Gyarados a premier physical sponge, as he can stomach stray thunderpunches from metagross, jirachi, as well as DDnite (not banded at least).
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Spikes
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
This was a harder decision than it looked, but Ferrothorn's utility in spikes was much appreciated considering how many switches this team forces. Standard ev spread that allows me to take stray outrages and weak fighting type moves, while Heatran takes the fire type moves Ferrothorn hates. I still need some offense on this team tho, so I decided to forgo thunder wave for 2 attacks. Spikes adds to the rack up damage from hazards, and noticing how many switches this team forces, as well as being really good against rapid spinners, it's hard for the opposing team to get my entry hazards off the field. Gyro Ball hits fast pokemon nicely, and OHKO's choice scarf Terrakion. Power whip hits bulky waters hard, as well as Tyranitar. Leech seed lets Ferrothorn stall war many pokemon that don't have fire type moves, and makes phazers less of a nuisance, as well as stealing a lot of HP from pink blobs and allows Ferrothorn to take a beating. Competition is hard for this spot, but Ferrothorn capped off the fire-water-grass core with Gyarados and Heatran nicely, Gyarados taking high-powered fighting moves and all sorts of priority. Heatran caps off the synergy by being immune to fire and taking draco meteors for breakfast, while Ferrothorn gives the team leech seed recovery and spikes support, while being able to take on most bulky waters, all the while not being taunt bait.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Roar
Heatran takes the fire type moves that would otherwise give this team a world of pain. My team in addition needed Stealth Rock, so Heatran fit the bill. I just mentioned Stealth Rock, it also hinders Talonflame's effectiveness as well, in addition to Dragonite and maybe dragons that could give this team some trouble if Gyarados is gone. Lava Plume ensures i'm not taunt bait, and allows me to reliably counter ferrothorn, skarmory, and forretress that could otherwise take a lot from this team. Toxic gives me another status to hinder Lati twins effectiveness, especially calm mind latias. Roar phazes out Pokemon that can set-up all over Heatran, and is appreciated by Stealth Rock to potentially roar in Talonflame, screwing him over for the majority of the match. Heatran is my counter to Physicallly defensive Latias which is a pain in the ass this generation (especially with reflect), as well as being able to absorb Draco meteors from Choice Specs Latios easily.
Thundurus-T @ Life Orb
Volt Absorb
EVs: 128 HP / 252 SAtk / 128 Spd
Modest Nature
- Agility
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Thundurus-T has been my fav this gen, and for good reason. Thundurus-T sets up all over barring those with Ice punch. Thundurus-T can suprisingly take some attacks as well, something its incarnate form can't do that well. This is a typical double booster set, and this dude is one of my win conditions after getting a nasty plot and agility boost, 2HKO'ing a ton of pokemon. Volt absorb allows it to switch in to electric type attacks after Stealth Rock reliably, and is the go to switch-in to something it can handle and set-up on, and if it can't, I switch in to Excadrill. Agility allows it to outspeed many pokemon even with scarfs, even choice scarf terrakion, so that gives you an idea of what can't revenge kill Thundurus-T after a agility boost. Nasty Plot makes Thundurus-T an absolute beast that allows him to 2HKO almost everything even resisting it bar the pink blobs. Speaking of pink blobs, after 2 nasty plot boosts Thundurus-T nails a guaranteed 2HKO on Blissey, so that gives you an idea of how powerful this truck can hit. Hidden Power Ice hits dragons, grass types, as well as opposing Thundurus hard, giving you pseudo bolt-beam coverage. Thundurus-T is my counter to defensive teams with nasty plot, or counter to HO teams to get off an agility when I have the chance to do so.
Aegislash @ Lum Berry
Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
- King's Shield
- Swords Dance
My second sweeper that is amazing with support. Lum Berry was my item on the set to able to absorb a status or a stray scald burn and proceed to get a swords dance off safely later on in the game, other than that, this is a pretty typical Aegislash set. Shadow Sneak is nearly unresisted priority that can go through teams later on in the game, while Sacred Sword provides near-perfect coverage with Shadow Sneak, and hits fairly well. King's Shield is gimmicky at best, but it allows me to switch into Shield form to take a hit and get another Swords dance boost against most pokemon. Swords Dance is the crux of this set that allows me to fire off STAB Shadow Sneaks that hit hard, and works well with Aegislash's bulk to be able to get off a multitude of Swords Dances. This is my physical sweeper and 2nd win condition. With support to get rid of Physical Walls that counter Aegislash, he can mow through teams with relative ease.
Well that's my team, i"m unsure on my bulky grass pokemon, and whether to run an offensive spinner set on Excadrill or not. In addition, I may make Gyarados a bulky sweeper, however I otherwise have a pretty big fighting type weakness. Post some suggestions and i'll put them into consideration. Well there it is, hope you like it.
Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Mold Breaker
EVs: 176 HP / 52 Atk / 80 Def / 202 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Claw
Excadrill's fairly decent bulk as a rapid spinner as well as making entry hazards look silly makes it a premier rapid spinner in OU. The defensive synergy with gyarados is just absolutely amazing, it's so good i've been debating getting rid of air balloon, however, this team has a pretty otherwise obvious ground weakness so I stuck with air balloon to beat otherwise counters, subtoxic gliscor as well as just having a nice earthquake immunity to switch in more often. Rapin spin support was obviously needed on this team to perform well. Earthquake is awesome with mold breaker (hi rotom-w and gengar). Speaking of those 2, they would otherwise piss off this team pretty badly (especially subdisable). Swords dance adds a scare factor in excadrill's attack power that would let hit through some pokemon pretty well, putting a lot of pressure on the opponent. Shadow claw hits trevenant and gourgeist quite nicely, and allows excadrill to not be completely countered by them.
Gyarados @ Leftovers
Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Impish Nature
- Waterfall
- Dragon Tail
- Thunder Wave
- Substitute
At first you may think its outclassed by dragonite, but this Gyarados can take a beating. Gyarados's typing is what makes this work better on this team than dragonite's, having an immunity to a lot of priority and being neutral to ice, something dragonite hates, while Gyarados's 4x electric weakness is covered by either excadrill or thundurus-t, as well as excadrill covering it's rock weakness more than nicely. Gyarados counters a multitude of threats, many of them being dragons and fighting types, scizor, as well as checking latias. Gyarados also covers Heatran's fighting weakness, while Heatran can stomach many special moves gyarados can't handle. Waterfall is obvious on any Gyarados set, still hitting quite nicely against pokemon that are neutral to it. Dragon tail is what makes the parashuffler set work nicely, Thunder Wave crippling pokemon it can take on easily (Mega Lucario is a huge one, as well as Aegislash). Substitute or taunt was quite difficult to choose, but because Gyarados is so bulky, Substitute seemed to be the clear option, it also allows it to dragon tail a rotom-w or latios switch-in quite well, otherwise completely whomping this set. Gyarados covers Excadrill's weaknesses flawlessly, and can take some special attacks because of typing and a nice 100 spD. Intimidate is the crux of this set making Gyarados a premier physical sponge, as he can stomach stray thunderpunches from metagross, jirachi, as well as DDnite (not banded at least).
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Spikes
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
This was a harder decision than it looked, but Ferrothorn's utility in spikes was much appreciated considering how many switches this team forces. Standard ev spread that allows me to take stray outrages and weak fighting type moves, while Heatran takes the fire type moves Ferrothorn hates. I still need some offense on this team tho, so I decided to forgo thunder wave for 2 attacks. Spikes adds to the rack up damage from hazards, and noticing how many switches this team forces, as well as being really good against rapid spinners, it's hard for the opposing team to get my entry hazards off the field. Gyro Ball hits fast pokemon nicely, and OHKO's choice scarf Terrakion. Power whip hits bulky waters hard, as well as Tyranitar. Leech seed lets Ferrothorn stall war many pokemon that don't have fire type moves, and makes phazers less of a nuisance, as well as stealing a lot of HP from pink blobs and allows Ferrothorn to take a beating. Competition is hard for this spot, but Ferrothorn capped off the fire-water-grass core with Gyarados and Heatran nicely, Gyarados taking high-powered fighting moves and all sorts of priority. Heatran caps off the synergy by being immune to fire and taking draco meteors for breakfast, while Ferrothorn gives the team leech seed recovery and spikes support, while being able to take on most bulky waters, all the while not being taunt bait.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Roar
Heatran takes the fire type moves that would otherwise give this team a world of pain. My team in addition needed Stealth Rock, so Heatran fit the bill. I just mentioned Stealth Rock, it also hinders Talonflame's effectiveness as well, in addition to Dragonite and maybe dragons that could give this team some trouble if Gyarados is gone. Lava Plume ensures i'm not taunt bait, and allows me to reliably counter ferrothorn, skarmory, and forretress that could otherwise take a lot from this team. Toxic gives me another status to hinder Lati twins effectiveness, especially calm mind latias. Roar phazes out Pokemon that can set-up all over Heatran, and is appreciated by Stealth Rock to potentially roar in Talonflame, screwing him over for the majority of the match. Heatran is my counter to Physicallly defensive Latias which is a pain in the ass this generation (especially with reflect), as well as being able to absorb Draco meteors from Choice Specs Latios easily.
Thundurus-T @ Life Orb
Volt Absorb
EVs: 128 HP / 252 SAtk / 128 Spd
Modest Nature
- Agility
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Thundurus-T has been my fav this gen, and for good reason. Thundurus-T sets up all over barring those with Ice punch. Thundurus-T can suprisingly take some attacks as well, something its incarnate form can't do that well. This is a typical double booster set, and this dude is one of my win conditions after getting a nasty plot and agility boost, 2HKO'ing a ton of pokemon. Volt absorb allows it to switch in to electric type attacks after Stealth Rock reliably, and is the go to switch-in to something it can handle and set-up on, and if it can't, I switch in to Excadrill. Agility allows it to outspeed many pokemon even with scarfs, even choice scarf terrakion, so that gives you an idea of what can't revenge kill Thundurus-T after a agility boost. Nasty Plot makes Thundurus-T an absolute beast that allows him to 2HKO almost everything even resisting it bar the pink blobs. Speaking of pink blobs, after 2 nasty plot boosts Thundurus-T nails a guaranteed 2HKO on Blissey, so that gives you an idea of how powerful this truck can hit. Hidden Power Ice hits dragons, grass types, as well as opposing Thundurus hard, giving you pseudo bolt-beam coverage. Thundurus-T is my counter to defensive teams with nasty plot, or counter to HO teams to get off an agility when I have the chance to do so.
Aegislash @ Lum Berry
Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
- King's Shield
- Swords Dance
My second sweeper that is amazing with support. Lum Berry was my item on the set to able to absorb a status or a stray scald burn and proceed to get a swords dance off safely later on in the game, other than that, this is a pretty typical Aegislash set. Shadow Sneak is nearly unresisted priority that can go through teams later on in the game, while Sacred Sword provides near-perfect coverage with Shadow Sneak, and hits fairly well. King's Shield is gimmicky at best, but it allows me to switch into Shield form to take a hit and get another Swords dance boost against most pokemon. Swords Dance is the crux of this set that allows me to fire off STAB Shadow Sneaks that hit hard, and works well with Aegislash's bulk to be able to get off a multitude of Swords Dances. This is my physical sweeper and 2nd win condition. With support to get rid of Physical Walls that counter Aegislash, he can mow through teams with relative ease.
Corrections:
-Replaced Tangrowth with Ferrothorn
Weaknesses:
-SubDisable Gengar
-Choice Band Tyranitar (sorta)
-Offensive Zapdos
-Replaced Tangrowth with Ferrothorn
Weaknesses:
-SubDisable Gengar
-Choice Band Tyranitar (sorta)
-Offensive Zapdos
Well that's my team, i"m unsure on my bulky grass pokemon, and whether to run an offensive spinner set on Excadrill or not. In addition, I may make Gyarados a bulky sweeper, however I otherwise have a pretty big fighting type weakness. Post some suggestions and i'll put them into consideration. Well there it is, hope you like it.
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