I'm definitely new here, but I want to give the team I've been using a go. It hasn't done me wonders, as my battling skills are far superior to my team building skills, but this team has served me better than any other I've made, as opposed to using pre-made teams. I'll let you know my mindset and reasoning for each user, their main purpose, and how I play said pokemon. I hope people are able to offer constructive criticism about how I can make this team better.
First off, my lead:
Aerodactyl @ Focus sash
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Nature: Jolly
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
This is a pretty standard and boring lead, but I find a lot of people have a hard time with people playing Aerodactyl fairly aggressively. I find myself attacking with this thing more often than people expect, and still manage to find situations to throw down stealth rock. I rarely taunt slower SR leads, as that is exactly what they expect. For example, Azelf tends to u-turn out of this, so by throwing down a stone edge, I've effectively KO'd the Azelf if I set up stealth rock, as it will die on the switch in. Sandstorm will also defeat it should I not manage to get SR up. Against anti-leads, I have to decide between doing damage and putting SR down. I usually take the hit in favor of the entry hazard.
Next is my stall breaker:
Infernape @ Life orb
EVs: 252 Atk / 192 Spe / 64 SpA
Nature: Jolly
- Close Combat
- Overheat
- Mach Punch
- U-turn
Having u-turn to identify the opponent's main threat to Infernape is key, as there are a handful of pokemon in OU that can take either a close combat or overheat and one shot me back. Once said pokemon are weakened by a u-turn and multiple stealth rock switches, this ape tends to deal a handful of damage before going down. Mach punch allows me to revenge kill a few threats, as well as finish off a scarf user that I couldn't quite finish with a powerhouse move. When low and probably dead, I'll often use mach punch to bring the opponent in to SR kill range or death by life orb + sand. Infernape makes it tougher for scizor to throw around, which is of importance to this team. It checks some irritating pokemon, and is an extremely formidable opponent to many common stall users such as Blissey with close combat, and overheat for Skarmory, Gliscor, Forretress, and to some extent Bronzong. With the lack of Salamence and Latias, the former who outclassed Infernape at wallbreaking and the latter made Infernape's life miserable, Infernape seems to do a good job of taking out some threats to my team then dying. Unfortunately, Infernape is one of my only ways to deal with Heatran.
After is my insurance policy:
Tyranitar @ Choice scarf
EVs: 236 Atk / 252 Spe / 20 SpA
Nature: Naive
- Crunch
- Persuit
- Stone edge
- Flamethrower
At a quick glance, this looks like Scarftar, one of the most commonly seen sets. This, however, is slightly different. I admit this set is a standard set with a mild gimmicky side to it, but I find it isn't terribly often that I regret it. After doing some damage calculations, I found that the standard earthquake is a pathetic 3 hit KO on scizor, ultimately letting the metal bug reign free on a significant percentage of my team. Since it is the single most commonly used pokemon, and has been for a long time, I figured I needed a better check to it than Infernape. Flamethrower very easily one shots scizor. While Earthquake is an infinitely better choice against Heatran, in my experience this is the only serious drawback. It still 2 shots lucario, who will rarely switch in to a non dark choiced Tyranitar anyway, and with 20 EVs in special attack will 2 shot max HP Metagross on average, which is almost as good as earthquake anyway. The 16 EV decrease in attack, as far as I'm aware, doesn't sacrifice any notable KOs. As a side note, flamethrower gives me an extra answer to certain irritating pokemon such as skarmory and Forretress who like to switch in on a Tyranitar and start setting up entry hazards. While this team isn't heavily impacted by spikes or toxic spikes, it is the surprise factor that helps. Finally, once the opponent has seen flamethrower roast their Scizor, they will assume I'm running an awkward special Tyranitar, and will feel more comfortable leaving in specially defensive pokemon, only to eat a heavy crunch or stone edge.
Then comes my general switch-in:
Rotom-H @ leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Def
Nature: Calm
- Thunderbolt
- Will-o-wisp
- Rest
- Sleep talk
The idea behind this guy is that he can switch in to a vast number of threats and give me a little breathing room. The massive special defense investment was done with will-o-wisp in mind. While I hate relying so heavily on an 80% accuracy move, as he generally dies to physical threats if it misses (and it seems to miss more frequently against Tyranitar than any other pokemon, irritatingly enough), but is extremely robust. This pokemon is who I use to deal with some of the bulky water types that can give my special sweepers trouble, and with a successful will-o-wisp I can stall out many physical threats, including pursuit locked Scarftar. While this guy doesn't end up doing a ton of damage, he does frequently give me a base where I can fall back on when my aggressive types aren't doing me a service.
Finally, the first of my special sweepers:
Azelf @ life orb
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
Nature: Timid
- Nasty plot
- Psychic
- Grass knot
- Flamethrower
This is a mean little dude who while generally only manages to sweep slower teams, can blast holes in almost every pokemon it outspeeds. Blissey and Heatran are the only pokemon that I'm aware of that can survive all three attacks with impunity, and blissey often allows for a second nasty plot which I believe allows psychic to be a 2 hit KO. Ground immunity and fighting resistance are key here, for synergy with my final pokemon as a mach punch user can end a sweep. If I know the opponent has a scizor, I generally flamethrower the switch just in case, because that guy forces me to do a 50/50 guess once he's in play, and giving up a nasty plot along with taking a second hit from stealth rock on this fragile guy is painful. However, if I can take care of scarfers, and roast any priority users on the switch, Azelf can rarely be stopped without sustaining brutal damage.
Lastly, the center around which everything else revolves:
Empoleon @ Petaya berry
EVs: 252 SpA / 232 Spe / 24 Def
Nature: Modest
- Agility
- Substitute
- Surf
- Grass knot
This is probably the most beastly late game sweeper that I am aware of. After an agility is set up, this can only be stopped by a few scarf users (flygon is the worst), mach punch users, Blissey, Celebi, Scizor if Empoleon finishes the substitutes with less than 20%, and full HP Vaporeon/Dragonite/Gyarados. Even Dragonite and Gyarados can be taken down to about half health, so if they eats stealth rock and have taken damage, then they'll fall as well. Most of the games I win results in this guy being at below 25% and wiping out whatever the opponent has left. Empoleon's bulk and amazing typing really gives him opportunities to get in there and start setting up. While earthquake is a painfully common move, Azelf is immune which seems to have good synergy. Azelf can't handle a close combat to the face, despite his resistance, due to his frailty, but he can deal with mach punch users that finish Empoleon off.
Some thoughts on my team:
Resistance coverage is pretty good. I don't have a crippling resistance to any type, as my earthquake weaknesses are made up by tripple immunity, I'm almost never ruined by teams relying on entry hazards, and I have a decent amount of power moving forward in my team. Unfortunately, I have several weaknesses, and I'm not exactly sure how to deal with them. While I can fare decently with pre-made teams, that isn't fun for me and so I like making my own. I seem to have a hard time taking everything in to account though, and definitely need some advice.
Some things to think about:
-The Tyranitar's flamethrower serves me as a benefit about the same frequency that not having earthquake hurts me. I don't think my team will have any severely different feel by changing this, but if faced with a good reason to I'll standardize my Scarftar.
-I'm not sure how well Rotom-H fits in to the team. I generally play with him as heat despite not carrying overheat, as it is the most common form and people tend to switch thinking I'm going to blast one of those out. Unfortunately, this seems to cause people to switch Heatran in when I want to will-o-wisp instead. Can anyone suggest a better form to use that will illicit a different switch that despises being will-o-wisped?
-Alternatively, should I be using Rotom-A at all? Is there something else that can better support my team to getting my special sweepers to do their thing? I've considered the possibility of a scarf flygon, as I like having u-turn to weaken my opponents to put them in surf KO range for Empoleon or scarf/mach punch KO range if I need them out of the way before sweeping. Should I use scarf Flygon or another possible alternative?
-Aerodactyl as a lead has served me well, but I haven't experimented much with very many different leads. Having earthquake somewhere on my team seems like a good idea so I'm hesitant to change him, but I'd like to know if anyone has any leads in mind that would better serve my team.
-Azelf and Empoleon are the core members of my team, both setting up to sweep after their counters are hopefully weak or dead, and the rest of the team doesn't have enough oomph or speed to take care of them. One concern I have is that they're both using grass knot, as I haven't felt like using ice beam on Empoleon is a superior choice due to the banning of Salamence and Latias. Currently it is only better than surf against Dragonite and Celebi, and possibly another 1 or 2. I'm considering a switch to ice beam however if Celebi and Dragonite continue to cause me problems, as I often can't deal with particularly Dragonite without having any ice attacks on my team. Celebi generally falls to one of the numerous fire or dark attacks I have.
-Alternatively, HP fighting would be a wonderful asset on Azelf, blasting through Tyranitar and safely handling Heatran. Unfortunately, this forces him to reduce his speed IV. Would it be worth it to drop a speed IV and lose the speed tie with other Azelf and Starmie in favor of having better coverage? This also prevents the overlap in grass knot between Empoleon and Azelf.
-I realize a core team of 2 special attackers, despite their strength, is going to fail if I can't remove all of the specially defensive walls before losing Ttar and Infernape. This is especially true since Aerodactyl rarely survives a long time to contribute to mid and late game, and Rotom doesn't do a whole lot of defeating anything, especially if they're specially defensive.
First off, my lead:
Aerodactyl @ Focus sash
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Nature: Jolly
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
This is a pretty standard and boring lead, but I find a lot of people have a hard time with people playing Aerodactyl fairly aggressively. I find myself attacking with this thing more often than people expect, and still manage to find situations to throw down stealth rock. I rarely taunt slower SR leads, as that is exactly what they expect. For example, Azelf tends to u-turn out of this, so by throwing down a stone edge, I've effectively KO'd the Azelf if I set up stealth rock, as it will die on the switch in. Sandstorm will also defeat it should I not manage to get SR up. Against anti-leads, I have to decide between doing damage and putting SR down. I usually take the hit in favor of the entry hazard.
Next is my stall breaker:
Infernape @ Life orb
EVs: 252 Atk / 192 Spe / 64 SpA
Nature: Jolly
- Close Combat
- Overheat
- Mach Punch
- U-turn
Having u-turn to identify the opponent's main threat to Infernape is key, as there are a handful of pokemon in OU that can take either a close combat or overheat and one shot me back. Once said pokemon are weakened by a u-turn and multiple stealth rock switches, this ape tends to deal a handful of damage before going down. Mach punch allows me to revenge kill a few threats, as well as finish off a scarf user that I couldn't quite finish with a powerhouse move. When low and probably dead, I'll often use mach punch to bring the opponent in to SR kill range or death by life orb + sand. Infernape makes it tougher for scizor to throw around, which is of importance to this team. It checks some irritating pokemon, and is an extremely formidable opponent to many common stall users such as Blissey with close combat, and overheat for Skarmory, Gliscor, Forretress, and to some extent Bronzong. With the lack of Salamence and Latias, the former who outclassed Infernape at wallbreaking and the latter made Infernape's life miserable, Infernape seems to do a good job of taking out some threats to my team then dying. Unfortunately, Infernape is one of my only ways to deal with Heatran.
After is my insurance policy:
Tyranitar @ Choice scarf
EVs: 236 Atk / 252 Spe / 20 SpA
Nature: Naive
- Crunch
- Persuit
- Stone edge
- Flamethrower
At a quick glance, this looks like Scarftar, one of the most commonly seen sets. This, however, is slightly different. I admit this set is a standard set with a mild gimmicky side to it, but I find it isn't terribly often that I regret it. After doing some damage calculations, I found that the standard earthquake is a pathetic 3 hit KO on scizor, ultimately letting the metal bug reign free on a significant percentage of my team. Since it is the single most commonly used pokemon, and has been for a long time, I figured I needed a better check to it than Infernape. Flamethrower very easily one shots scizor. While Earthquake is an infinitely better choice against Heatran, in my experience this is the only serious drawback. It still 2 shots lucario, who will rarely switch in to a non dark choiced Tyranitar anyway, and with 20 EVs in special attack will 2 shot max HP Metagross on average, which is almost as good as earthquake anyway. The 16 EV decrease in attack, as far as I'm aware, doesn't sacrifice any notable KOs. As a side note, flamethrower gives me an extra answer to certain irritating pokemon such as skarmory and Forretress who like to switch in on a Tyranitar and start setting up entry hazards. While this team isn't heavily impacted by spikes or toxic spikes, it is the surprise factor that helps. Finally, once the opponent has seen flamethrower roast their Scizor, they will assume I'm running an awkward special Tyranitar, and will feel more comfortable leaving in specially defensive pokemon, only to eat a heavy crunch or stone edge.
Then comes my general switch-in:
Rotom-H @ leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Def
Nature: Calm
- Thunderbolt
- Will-o-wisp
- Rest
- Sleep talk
The idea behind this guy is that he can switch in to a vast number of threats and give me a little breathing room. The massive special defense investment was done with will-o-wisp in mind. While I hate relying so heavily on an 80% accuracy move, as he generally dies to physical threats if it misses (and it seems to miss more frequently against Tyranitar than any other pokemon, irritatingly enough), but is extremely robust. This pokemon is who I use to deal with some of the bulky water types that can give my special sweepers trouble, and with a successful will-o-wisp I can stall out many physical threats, including pursuit locked Scarftar. While this guy doesn't end up doing a ton of damage, he does frequently give me a base where I can fall back on when my aggressive types aren't doing me a service.
Finally, the first of my special sweepers:
Azelf @ life orb
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
Nature: Timid
- Nasty plot
- Psychic
- Grass knot
- Flamethrower
This is a mean little dude who while generally only manages to sweep slower teams, can blast holes in almost every pokemon it outspeeds. Blissey and Heatran are the only pokemon that I'm aware of that can survive all three attacks with impunity, and blissey often allows for a second nasty plot which I believe allows psychic to be a 2 hit KO. Ground immunity and fighting resistance are key here, for synergy with my final pokemon as a mach punch user can end a sweep. If I know the opponent has a scizor, I generally flamethrower the switch just in case, because that guy forces me to do a 50/50 guess once he's in play, and giving up a nasty plot along with taking a second hit from stealth rock on this fragile guy is painful. However, if I can take care of scarfers, and roast any priority users on the switch, Azelf can rarely be stopped without sustaining brutal damage.
Lastly, the center around which everything else revolves:
Empoleon @ Petaya berry
EVs: 252 SpA / 232 Spe / 24 Def
Nature: Modest
- Agility
- Substitute
- Surf
- Grass knot
This is probably the most beastly late game sweeper that I am aware of. After an agility is set up, this can only be stopped by a few scarf users (flygon is the worst), mach punch users, Blissey, Celebi, Scizor if Empoleon finishes the substitutes with less than 20%, and full HP Vaporeon/Dragonite/Gyarados. Even Dragonite and Gyarados can be taken down to about half health, so if they eats stealth rock and have taken damage, then they'll fall as well. Most of the games I win results in this guy being at below 25% and wiping out whatever the opponent has left. Empoleon's bulk and amazing typing really gives him opportunities to get in there and start setting up. While earthquake is a painfully common move, Azelf is immune which seems to have good synergy. Azelf can't handle a close combat to the face, despite his resistance, due to his frailty, but he can deal with mach punch users that finish Empoleon off.
Some thoughts on my team:
Resistance coverage is pretty good. I don't have a crippling resistance to any type, as my earthquake weaknesses are made up by tripple immunity, I'm almost never ruined by teams relying on entry hazards, and I have a decent amount of power moving forward in my team. Unfortunately, I have several weaknesses, and I'm not exactly sure how to deal with them. While I can fare decently with pre-made teams, that isn't fun for me and so I like making my own. I seem to have a hard time taking everything in to account though, and definitely need some advice.
Some things to think about:
-The Tyranitar's flamethrower serves me as a benefit about the same frequency that not having earthquake hurts me. I don't think my team will have any severely different feel by changing this, but if faced with a good reason to I'll standardize my Scarftar.
-I'm not sure how well Rotom-H fits in to the team. I generally play with him as heat despite not carrying overheat, as it is the most common form and people tend to switch thinking I'm going to blast one of those out. Unfortunately, this seems to cause people to switch Heatran in when I want to will-o-wisp instead. Can anyone suggest a better form to use that will illicit a different switch that despises being will-o-wisped?
-Alternatively, should I be using Rotom-A at all? Is there something else that can better support my team to getting my special sweepers to do their thing? I've considered the possibility of a scarf flygon, as I like having u-turn to weaken my opponents to put them in surf KO range for Empoleon or scarf/mach punch KO range if I need them out of the way before sweeping. Should I use scarf Flygon or another possible alternative?
-Aerodactyl as a lead has served me well, but I haven't experimented much with very many different leads. Having earthquake somewhere on my team seems like a good idea so I'm hesitant to change him, but I'd like to know if anyone has any leads in mind that would better serve my team.
-Azelf and Empoleon are the core members of my team, both setting up to sweep after their counters are hopefully weak or dead, and the rest of the team doesn't have enough oomph or speed to take care of them. One concern I have is that they're both using grass knot, as I haven't felt like using ice beam on Empoleon is a superior choice due to the banning of Salamence and Latias. Currently it is only better than surf against Dragonite and Celebi, and possibly another 1 or 2. I'm considering a switch to ice beam however if Celebi and Dragonite continue to cause me problems, as I often can't deal with particularly Dragonite without having any ice attacks on my team. Celebi generally falls to one of the numerous fire or dark attacks I have.
-Alternatively, HP fighting would be a wonderful asset on Azelf, blasting through Tyranitar and safely handling Heatran. Unfortunately, this forces him to reduce his speed IV. Would it be worth it to drop a speed IV and lose the speed tie with other Azelf and Starmie in favor of having better coverage? This also prevents the overlap in grass knot between Empoleon and Azelf.
-I realize a core team of 2 special attackers, despite their strength, is going to fail if I can't remove all of the specially defensive walls before losing Ttar and Infernape. This is especially true since Aerodactyl rarely survives a long time to contribute to mid and late game, and Rotom doesn't do a whole lot of defeating anything, especially if they're specially defensive.
