I usually play VGC, but the lack of events makes me want to start practicing OU so I can play tournaments more often. My main issue is I haven't really played singles in about a year, so I am a little rusty when it comes to this metagame. Regardless, I've played about 15 matches with this team and lost 3 or 4 times on PS which isn't that good since I started at a 1000 rating! Hopefully you guys can help me sort some things out :)
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Sludge Bomb
- Disable
- Shadow Ball
This is the Gengar anti-lead I've been using and it's probably my favorite pokemon on this team. It's similar to a Gengar I used in BW except that one had focus blast over sludge bomb and destiny bond over disable. This set allows me to set up a sub to prevent lead spore and then start attacking. Disable is there to shut down the move my opponent was going to use so I can attack them or get a sub up while they switch. While I do like this set, I really want to try something with destiny bond, because destiny bond sets can often get a 2 for 1 trade. I just don't know what set would be good for the current metagame.
Alakazam @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Focus Blast
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Alakazam is my prime revenge killer. I've messed around with scarf mence, but Alakazam doesn't fear priority due to focus sash and the protection from hazards thanks to magic guard. Every move listed is just to get good coverage. I chose HP fire to deal with Ferrothorn so I could get a garunteed 2HKO because I didn't want to rely on focus miss hitting twice. Plus ferrothorn has to attack to kill Alakazam who gets 2 turns garunteed anyways. Energy ball I think might be more beneficial than focus blast but I'm not really sure. Let me know if I should change that. It would take away some coverage redundancy though.
Staraptor @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- Double-Edge
- U-turn
Choice scarf Staraptor is my Talonflame clone. It pretty much does what talonflame does except it will outspeed pretty much everything with any move unlike talonflame which only gets priority brave bird, and will get outsped by scarf users who are resistant to flying. This is a great suicide mom that can deal with Malamar, Tyranitar, Breloom, Conkeldurr, Celebi, Gengar, Pinsir, Scrafty, while doing massive damage to anything that is weak to fighting or flying. Most importantly it can prevent Greninja from running a super effective train through my team as long as I can get hazards up to break it's potential sash.
Charizard @ Charizard X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
Charizard X completes my FWG/Fantasy trio with Azumarill and Ferrothorn that I use in VGC. Ferrothorn and Azumarill can take rock and dragon attacks, while Staraptor and Gengar can switch in on an earthquake. After a single dragon dance, late sweeping can become very easy to do. I choose the three attacks because the coverage is near perfect, but I'm not sure if roost would help more than earthquake.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro ball
- Leech Seed
Ferrothorn is my ultimate physical wall. I'm not really sure about EV spreads but I really like this moveset. I have rocks just to break sashes, I'm not really worried about setting up spikes. Toxic is my main move, as spreading statuses is the most important. Once the fire using threats are gone, ferrothorn can win by itself often. Gyro ball deals with scarf ttar and Gardevoir easily while also allowing me to do damage after I have them leech seeded.
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Superpower
I'm more of a fan of the banded azumarill but this works well in singles for me. I mostly use aqua jet and superpower, but if a belly drum can be done sweeping is very easy. I usually only use belly drum if I switch it to something that targeting charizard like a hydreigon or excadrill. Before belly drumming I also make it a goal to take out everything that resists water, that way I can just spam aqua jet. Azumarill works really well because in certain conditions, it can bring you back from a 2 or 3 pokemon disadvantage just by spamming aqua jet.
Well there's my team. I would like to use legendaries but I don't really have the means to get one with decent IVs. Although I still haven't caught my Landorus from Gen 5 because I haven't taken the time to learn how to RNG, but I assume if I needed a legendary I could find one. I can breed pretty much anything else. Let me know if I have any bad coverage holes in my team that I should fix, or if I should just scrap movesets or pokemon. Thanks!
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Sludge Bomb
- Disable
- Shadow Ball
This is the Gengar anti-lead I've been using and it's probably my favorite pokemon on this team. It's similar to a Gengar I used in BW except that one had focus blast over sludge bomb and destiny bond over disable. This set allows me to set up a sub to prevent lead spore and then start attacking. Disable is there to shut down the move my opponent was going to use so I can attack them or get a sub up while they switch. While I do like this set, I really want to try something with destiny bond, because destiny bond sets can often get a 2 for 1 trade. I just don't know what set would be good for the current metagame.
Alakazam @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Focus Blast
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Alakazam is my prime revenge killer. I've messed around with scarf mence, but Alakazam doesn't fear priority due to focus sash and the protection from hazards thanks to magic guard. Every move listed is just to get good coverage. I chose HP fire to deal with Ferrothorn so I could get a garunteed 2HKO because I didn't want to rely on focus miss hitting twice. Plus ferrothorn has to attack to kill Alakazam who gets 2 turns garunteed anyways. Energy ball I think might be more beneficial than focus blast but I'm not really sure. Let me know if I should change that. It would take away some coverage redundancy though.
Staraptor @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- Double-Edge
- U-turn
Choice scarf Staraptor is my Talonflame clone. It pretty much does what talonflame does except it will outspeed pretty much everything with any move unlike talonflame which only gets priority brave bird, and will get outsped by scarf users who are resistant to flying. This is a great suicide mom that can deal with Malamar, Tyranitar, Breloom, Conkeldurr, Celebi, Gengar, Pinsir, Scrafty, while doing massive damage to anything that is weak to fighting or flying. Most importantly it can prevent Greninja from running a super effective train through my team as long as I can get hazards up to break it's potential sash.
Charizard @ Charizard X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
Charizard X completes my FWG/Fantasy trio with Azumarill and Ferrothorn that I use in VGC. Ferrothorn and Azumarill can take rock and dragon attacks, while Staraptor and Gengar can switch in on an earthquake. After a single dragon dance, late sweeping can become very easy to do. I choose the three attacks because the coverage is near perfect, but I'm not sure if roost would help more than earthquake.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro ball
- Leech Seed
Ferrothorn is my ultimate physical wall. I'm not really sure about EV spreads but I really like this moveset. I have rocks just to break sashes, I'm not really worried about setting up spikes. Toxic is my main move, as spreading statuses is the most important. Once the fire using threats are gone, ferrothorn can win by itself often. Gyro ball deals with scarf ttar and Gardevoir easily while also allowing me to do damage after I have them leech seeded.
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Superpower
I'm more of a fan of the banded azumarill but this works well in singles for me. I mostly use aqua jet and superpower, but if a belly drum can be done sweeping is very easy. I usually only use belly drum if I switch it to something that targeting charizard like a hydreigon or excadrill. Before belly drumming I also make it a goal to take out everything that resists water, that way I can just spam aqua jet. Azumarill works really well because in certain conditions, it can bring you back from a 2 or 3 pokemon disadvantage just by spamming aqua jet.
Well there's my team. I would like to use legendaries but I don't really have the means to get one with decent IVs. Although I still haven't caught my Landorus from Gen 5 because I haven't taken the time to learn how to RNG, but I assume if I needed a legendary I could find one. I can breed pretty much anything else. Let me know if I have any bad coverage holes in my team that I should fix, or if I should just scrap movesets or pokemon. Thanks!