Taylor Gang or Die

[MazeL]

Taylor Gang or Die​

Introduction:

I have been adapting to the metagame ever since the banning of Salamence. I hadn't really found a true play style to model my teams after. Most people like to play stall, others balanced offensive and some play heavy offense, but I wasn't to sure as for what to play. I knew that in today's metagame that Fire / Water / Grass cores were on almost every successful team, so I decided that would be a starting point for my team. I have edited this team close to 15 times, changing move-sets, replacing team members, and I feel that this team works best of all the variations. On top of the of the Fire / Water / Grass core, I knew I needed my team to be able to handle stall teams. This team has a good balance between offense and defense, creating what I like to call Semi-Stall. I call this team Taylor Gang or Die after my favorite rapper, Wiz Khalifa. I've managed to net a CRE of 1575 at the moment on the Team Uber server, close to the leaderboard. With the help of people rating my team, I hope to climb high up on the leaderboards, (My alt is MazeL). So without further ado, here is team Taylor Gang or Die...

The Team

Be Easy |

Metagross @ Lum Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Meteor Mash
- Stealth Rock
- Bullet Punch
- Explosion

Set Analysis:

This pokemon has me seriously convinced it is the best lead in the game, with the right support from my team. He is incredibly bulky with 80/130/90 Defenses, and topped with a Steel/Psychic typing, only making him weak to Ground and Fire. Meteor Mash is used to hit frail Taunt leads down to their Focus Sash, and used to nab a very useful attack boost. Although the 90% accuracy may be a set back, it doesn't miss all that much. Stealth Rock is crucial for this team, because entry hazards are what this team is focused around. Bullet Punch is used for priority to pick off Focus Sashed leads, and really helps late game to clean up pokemon if Metagross is still around. Explosion is used to rip through bulkier leads, and coming off an attack stat of 405, it is nothing to joke about. A +1 Explosion has the chance to OHKO a standard Spiking Skarmory ( Just to show you the raw power). Lum Berry is chosen over Occa or Shucca Berry because my team can counter leads that Metagross would need the resistance berries to win the lead matchup. Also, without Lum Berry Metagross would lose the lead matchup against Machamp, Smeargle, and Roserade leads.

EVs & Nature:

The EVs are used to maximize Metagross's bulk, as well as allow him to hit as hard as possible. Speed is obsolete, because he still outspeeds Machamp leads without Speed EVs, and Bullet Punch lets him finish off faster leads. Adamant Nature is used to hit as hard as possible.

Lead Matchups:

For all the hype I just gave Metagross as the best lead in the game, I compiled a threat list of the top 10 leads of August (Not much has changed since then).

Pokemon highlighted in green are acknowledge as non-troublesome leads and can be handled easily; pokemon highlighted in orange are some what of a challenge to Metagross or are handled by Explosion; Pokemon highlighted in red are very problematic and require Metagross to switch out.

Hide

Azelf - Metagross handles Azelf with ease. Whether they Taunt or Stealth Rock turn one, I finish Azelf off with a combination of Meteor Mash + Bullet Punch. The rare Life Orb Azelf's Fire Blast just misses out on the KO, so he is finished off the same way.

Machamp - Machamp is also a lead that is handled with ease by Metagross. On turn one, I set Stealth Rocks up while they Dynamic Punch me for around 43% HP, and my Lum Berry cures my confusion. I then proceed to Explode on Machamp for the KO.

Aerodactyl - Aerodactyl is the easiest lead for Metagross to handle. If they Taunt on turn one, I Meteor Mash + Bullet Punch for the KO. If Aerodactyl puts Stealth Rock down turn one, I Meteor Mash and then put Stealth Rock of my own up. He then proceeds to Earthquake me for 53% HP. I then can finish him off with Bullet Punch.

Metagross - Metagross is a some what problematic lead to matchup against. I put Stealth Rock up turn one, while they either put Stealth Rock or Earthquake turn one. If they Earthquake me, I will proceed to switch into Rotom-H and setup a Substitute. We both get Stealth Rock up.

Swampert - Swampert is a relatively easy lead to matchup against. We both end up setting up Stealth Rock on turn one, and then I proceed to Explode on turn 2 for the KO. Swamperts usually never switch out because they have the ability to hit me with Earthquake for super effective damage.

Infernape - Infernape is one of the few problematic leads for my team. I will take the Fake Out with Metagross on turn one, and then switch to Heatran on turn two to eat Fire Blast or Overheat. From there I proceed to switch in Gyarados if Stealth Rock aren't up yet to take the Close Combat, or Rotom-H can take the Close Combat.

Heatran - Heatran is another problematic leads for Metagross. Right away, I switch to Gyarados to take the Fire attack or Earth Power. You would naturally think I would switch to Heatran, but he is to valuable to lose to a bad prediction coming in on an Earth Power. From there I can set up a Dragon Dance, or I can fire off Waterfalls.

Jirachi - Trick ScarfRachi are not to much of a threat. He tricks while I get Stealth Rock up, then I proceed to switch into Gyarados to Intimidate him. He gets Stealth Rocks up that turn while I switch in. He then proceeds to U-Turn to an appropriate counter while I nail them with Waterfall on their switch in. Metagross is then Scarfed, waiting to come in and Explode on something.

Roserade - Roserade leads are very easy to handle with Metagross. They use Sleep Powder on turn one, while I Meteor Mash them down to their Sash. Turn two I use Bullet Punch to finish them off, leaving me at 100% HP to take on the incoming pokemon.

Hippowdon - Hippowdon is a relatively easy lead to handle. We both Stealth Rock on turn one, then I proceed to Explode on turn two for the KO, because they stay in threatening me with Earthquake or Roar.

Metagross is named after the song Be Easy, because it gets everything started, just like Metagross starts off the battle. Be Easy is also a respected song everywhere, just as Metagross is a respected lead.

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The Thrill |

Rotom-H @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 168 SpD / 88 Spe
Calm Nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Discharge
- Shadow Ball

Set Analysis:

This is a Rotom-A set that I built myself. This set works really well against stall, but also works really well against offensive teams. Substitute is on the set to ease prediction, as well as block status from the likes of Blissey, allowing him to beat Blissey one on one. Toxic is the crux of this set, differing it from every other Rotom-A form. This Rotom set differs from others because it also revolves around dual statuses, which is the reason I use Discharge over Thunderbolt. Paralyzing setup sweepers such as Dragonite, Kingdra and almost anything. No pokemon enjoys paralysis, especially in the form of an attack. Shadow Ball is used for STAB, and helps me beat out other Rotom appliances. The differences between this Rotom over any other Rotom set is that he has the ability to counter Zapdos, Starmie, and various other special attackers. His immunity to Normal, Fighting and Ground attacks is really irreplaceable because my team lures so many. His synergy with Gyarados to take the Electric attacks aimed at him helps a lot, and he can break down Gyarados's counter.

EVs & Nature:

252 HP EVs are used to maximize bulk, and let him take hits on both sides of the spectrum. 168 SpD EVs and a Calm Nature leave Rotom sitting on a Special Defense stat of 321. 88 Speed EVs are pretty much a staple on Rotom-A sets, letting him reach a speed of 230 out-speeding Adamant max speed Scizor, allowing me to hit him with a Discharge before he U-Turns.

Damage Calculations:

Because this Rotom set is rarely seen, I decided I would show some damage calculations to show the true bulk of this set.

Hide

252 SAtk Timid Zapdos w/ Life Orb Thunderbolt ~ 26.3% - 30.9 %
SubRoost Zapdos Thunderbolt ~ 16.8% - 19.7%
Standard Wish Vaporeon Surf ~ 29.6% - 34.9%
Choice Specs Jolteon Thunderbolt ~ 27.6% - 32.6%
Defensive Rotom-A Shadow Ball ~ 48% - 57.2%
Standard Wish Blissey Flamethrower ~ 14.5% - 17.1%
Spiking Roserade Grass Know ~ 7.2% - 8.9%

As you can see, this Rotom is very bulky on the special spectrum, but can still take hits on the physical spectrum if necessary.

Rotom-H is called the Thrill because it is a uplifting song. The song is very underrated, just like this variation of Rotom-H is.

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This Plane |

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Wish

Set Analysis:

Calm Mind Rachi is the star of the show (pun intended). Although he isn't the main sweeper for this team, he seems to 6-0 teams more than Gyarados. Calm Mind boosts his Special Attack and Special Defense. Thunderbolt is there for to hit very hard after a couple Calm Minds. Paired with Serene Grace, it has a 20% chance of paralysis, crippling sweepers. Psychic is used for STAB, and the occasional Special Defense drop. Flash Cannon feels like it would work, because the biggest counter to this team right now is Dragon Dance Tyranitar. Without Psychic though, I have no sure fire counter to other teams Breloom. Wish is the real selling point of this set. It allows Jirachi to setup on most pokemon who can't 2HKO him, and allows him to pass healing to other members of the team. Jirachi doesn't mind being inflicted with status, because paralysis doesn't bother him, nor does being burned. His steel typing really works well for my team, allowing him to wall Dark and Ghost attacks, something only Heatran can do. Jirachi also can setup on Gengar, Suicune and various other special attackers that threaten my team.

EVs & Nature:

252 HP is used to maximize bulk and let him take hits before setting up Calm Minds. 224 Def and a Bold Nature always allows Jirachi to survive a +1 Adamant Life Orb Gyarados's Earthquake (who uses those these days), but is also just to maximize physical bulk. 32 Spe allow to reach a speed stat of 244, outpacing Adamant Breloom, which otherwise would be a big threat to my team. Jirachi only takes 49% - 57.9% from a Standard SubPunching Breloom allowing to break his sub and KO him.

Jirachi is called This Plane because that is one of Wiz Khalifa's most popular songs. This Plane seems to be the selling point of most Wiz Khalifa's albums, just like what Jirachi does for this team.

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Chewy |

Roserade @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Spikes
- Grass Knot
- Stun Spore
- Rest

Set Analysis:

This is another set I have created over my experiences. Roserade is a great pokemon, but is highly underused outside of the lead position. She is out classed as a Leech Seeder by the likes of Shaymin, but no other grass type pokemon can down spikes. With her incredible base SpD stat of 105, not much can OHKO her from the special spectrum. But on the other side, she has a not so great base 55 Def stat. Well to make due of her incredible special bulkiness, I am using a 252/252 Calm Roserade spread. She plays an important part of the teams F/W/G core, checking LO Starmie and is able to setup Spikes to ease Gyarados's sweep.

EVs & Nature:

252 HP allows Roserade to have bulk and gives him a HP stat of 324. 252 SpD gives him optimum Special bulk. A spread of 252HP/126Def/136SpD is used to survive Scizor's Bullet Punch and KO him back with HP Fire. Obviously, I don't have HP Fire so those defense EVs are pointless. Therefore, I max out special bulk.

Here are some damage calculations to show how bulky Roserade is on the special side, almost as bulky as Blissey(not).

Hide

Specs Jolteon Thunderbolt ~ 22.2% - 26.2%
Timid 252/252 Life Orb Starmie's Ice Beam ~ 48.8% - 57.4%
Timid 252/252 Life Orb Gengar's Shadow Ball ~ 36.4% - 43.5%
Timid 252/252 Life Orb Shaymin's HP Ice ~ 35.2% - 42%
Standard Scarfed Rotom-A Shadow Ball ~ 23.1% - 27.2%
+1 Empoleon's Torrent Boosted Surf ~ 24.7% - 29%
+1 Empoleon's Grass Knot ~ 3.4% - 4%

Roserade is called Chewy because that is a gimmick song written by Wiz Khalifa. No way in hell is this Roserade set a gimmick, but it may seem that way to people without knowledge of the set.

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Wont Land |

Flygon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
- U-Turn
- Thunderpunch
- Earthquake
- Outrage

Set Analysis:

This spot used to be occupied by Scarfed Heatran. After a few rates, it was made clear that my team was lacking a check to stat upping pokemon e.g. DD Gyarados, Dragonite and Tyranitar. Well ScarfTran really didn't check any of them, and his only value was finishing the F/W/G Core. Now with ScarfGon occupying this spot, he reliably checks Gyarados, Tyranitar and Dragonite with a respected move. My team also had some trouble with LO Starmie, but not anymore thanks to Flygon's U-Turn doing 55.7% - 66.4% which after switching into Spikes and Stealth Rock could be a KO. Earthquake and Outrage are required STAB, and threaten anything that doesn't resist it. U-Turn is used for scouting, and Thunderpunch is used to counter Gyarados.


EVs & Nature:

252 Atk is used to hit hard as possible. 252 Spe and a Jolly Nature is used to hit a Speed Stat of 492. This outspeeds a +2 Tyranitar, as well as a +2 Bulky Gyarados.

Flygon is called Won't Land because he literally won't Land thanks to Levitate. Wont Land is a very jazzy song, just like Flygon is a jazzy pokemon.

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Say Yeah |

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 156 HP / 60 Atk / 96 Def / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Bounce
- Taunt

Set Analysis:

Gyarados is the most important member of this team. His typing, ability and ability to sweep is the crucial for this team. Water / Flying gives him an immunity to Ground attacks, as well important resistances to Fire and Fighting attacks. Waterfall is there for obvious STAB, and the flinch it offers really comes through sometimes. Dragon Dance turns Gyarados into a monster after one DD, and after two Dragon Dances, there is pretty much no stopping him. Bounce is also use for STAB, and the 30% paralysis rate plus the extra turn of Leftovers recovery really comes in handy sometimes. Taunt is really the crux of the set. It allows Gyarados to beat up on stall, and counter most pokemon who rely on phazing or status to counter Gyarados. Taunt allows him to stop other stat uppers. By the time Gyarados is on the field, entry hazards will be there and his counters and checks will be weakened or eliminated, making it an easy sweep. He serves as the Water Type of the F/W/G core, and because he is so bulky and has Intimidate, he does a great job at it.

EVs & Nature:

156 HP lets Gyarados survive two of Heatran's Fire Blasts after Stealth Rocks. 96 Def ensures he is never 2HKO'd by Choice Band Scizors Quick Attack. 196 Spe allows him to outpace Jolly Choice Scarf Flygon after two Dragon Dances, eliminating his number one check. The rest of the EVs are put into attack, giving him an attack stat of 331. With this Gyarados set, at +2 Starmie is OHKO'd by Bounce, and at +2 Waterfall does 58.6% - 69.4% to a defensive Rotom, so they have to have taken prior damage to net the KO.

Gyarados is called Say Yeah because that is Wiz Khalifa's most known song. It pumps everyone up, and everyone knows you save the best for last, just like how Gyarados is saved till the end of the battle.

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Conclusion: So that is my RMT. Thank you for reading it. I may update this thread with a threat list, but I'm not to sure yet. The biggest threat to this team is Dragon Dance Tyranitar, as I have nothing to reliably KO it with once Metagross is down.

 

[Elite Four Devin]

OK,first off,you have no special wall.
i suggest replacing rotom and or roserade with

Shaymin @ Leftovers
252 Sp Def/176 HP/80 Sp atk
Bold :
~Leech Seed
~Seed Flare
~Substitute
~Rest


some on the reasons i suggest this is because shaymin runs great with heatran,as Heatran covers all of its weaknesses. which are Bug,Ice,Flying and Fire.

 

[Delko]

Hello

I don't have time for a full rate right now but I have a little suggestion.
With just 55 base Def Roserade isn't taking physical hits with ease, even with maxed out Def. You should focus on her special defence instead. Therefor I suggest you use the standard Spikes EV spread for Roserade, 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD with a Calm nature. This spread allows you to set up Spikes on a lot of special attackers, most bulky waters and Rotom (who is lured out by Gyarados, Metagross and to a lesser extend Jirachi).

 

[MazeL]

@ Delko - The EVs given on site are used to survive a Choice Banded Scizor's Bullet Punch at near full health and KO it back with HP Fire. Seeing that I'm not using HP Fire, a physically defensive set works great. He also is my check to Lucario.

 

[(makeup)]

Hey, this is a really good team, great presentation.

One thing I noticed is SDape, DDtar, and DDdos give this team trouble. For infernape, Mach punch varaints sweep once Gyarados is gone, and Stone Edge varaints sweep once Heatran is gone. DDtar can set up on even Roserade and hit your whole team for super effective damage while your only Pokemon that will outspeed it is walled by it. After Roserade is gone. Jolly Dddos can easily sweep this team once Roserade is gone. To fix all these problems, I would kind of swap the sets of Heatran and Jirachi.

[box]

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
- ThunderPunch
- Ice Punch
- Iron Head
- Zen Headbutt[/box]

Zen Headbutt seems weird on this set, but it's your best bet against Infernape and Substitute + 3 Attacks Machamp. Iron Head is a staple on all Physical Jirachi, and will 2HKO Tyranitar. ThunderPunch and Ice Punch are mainly fillers, but act as a backup plan against Jolly Gyarados and Dragonite after a Dragon Dance.

[box]

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flare Fire
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spe/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Substitute
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Earth Power[/box]

Substitute is a great move for Heatran when you know you will predict a switch. Sub on a Heatran switching in, expecting a Fire Blast and nail it with Earth Power. Swampert tries to switch into Fire Blast? Sub on the switch and HP Grass it to death, while retaining a sub for the next Pokemon. This works well with the overall synergy of your team and gives you more support against slower tankier threats.

Great team, good luck!

 

[ginganinja]

seconding Delkos suggestion. With Scarf Tran and Gyarados, Lucario is pretty well covered and Roserade just does not have enough bulk to pull that off.

Roserade is excellent at taking Special hits and I feel that Delkos spread allows it to do this better than yours can.

 

[MazeL]

Roserade's set was switched to Specially Bulky, but I am skeptical about changing Jirachi around. He is the MVP right now, and my team really requires his Wish support.

 

[Smith]

Pretty cool team, before I start, do NOT run shaymin for absolutely no reason, Roserade is a better physical wall and having two grass types with no spin blocker is stupid.

Anyways this team is classic in that it faces the problem of "my scarfer isn't all that fast, so I have problems with set-up sweepers". Specifically, DD Tyranitar, SD Infernape and DD Dragonite all give you trouble. This team also faces some basic synergy issues, with 3 Pokemon weak to fire and ground and little reliable resists. Issues arise with this when you consider the implications of a well-played MixNite and MixFlygon, or even LO tran if you aren't careful.

This problem mostly stems from having 3 steel types. I find the coverage they bring to the table rather redundant, particularly Metagross and Jirachi. I'm also not really a fan of Scarf Heatran- he doesn't beat any important sweepers and is generally lack luster, predictable, and fodder for many dangerous sweepers. I think a proper revenge killer would really help you out, so you might want to try these changes:

Firstly, over Metagross, try scarf Flygon. He's currently the best revenge killer in the metagame, and is particularly handy for this team considering the weaknesses you've outlined (Tyranitar, Infernape, Dragonite). He also helps patch up those weaknesses to fire and ground and other general problems with synergy. Because you now need a lead and a stealth rock, and because dual scarfs such, you can make Heatran a lead. There's tons of ways he can run a lead set, shuca works if Machamp doesn't worry you, or you could use a bulky LO lead, who gives you an edge against stall as well as being a much more offensive option. These fixes solve many, if not all of your problems.

Here are the sets I'd use, feel fry to deviate from them.

@ Choice Scarf
Timid (+Spe, - SpAtk)
252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
-Earthquake
-Outrage
-U turn
-Toxic
(Note: toxic may seem foolish but Offensive or SubRoost Zapdos is a real dick in this metagame, we can never be too careful)

@ Life Orb
Timid (+Spe, -SpAtk)
252 SpAtk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
-Stealth Rock
-Overheat
-Explosion
-Hidden Power (Electric)

That's all the advice I have, excellent team. Hope this helps!

 

[(makeup)]

Roserade's set was switched to Specially Bulky, but I am skeptical about changing Jirachi around. He is the MVP right now, and my team really requires his Wish support.

Well, you really need Jirachi's speed to outspeed DDcrap and beat infernape. You don't really need Wish support anyway except for Rotom (who doesn't need Discharge anyway as Toxic already creates status and with no SpA evs it wont really do much damage). Toxic already screws up bulky waters, so maybe you could replace discharge with Pain Split? SubSplit is a great strategy, especially with Toxic support.

tbh, I'm sure covering the four threats I mentioned (and more things in different cases) is much more important than supporting one Pokemon who can provide it's own recovery anyway.

 

[MazeL]

@ Smith - Do you think I would benefit from just replacing Heatran with ScarfGon, dropping the F/W/G core. I really never liked Heatran on my team, I just thought he was the best pokemon in that spot. In turn, do you think Scarfed Infernape would work, keeping the F/W/G core?

 

[Aerrow]

Rating upon request.

Threats

• DD Dragonite, Gyarados, Tyranitar
• SD Infernape
• LO/Offensive Starmie

This is a great team although I see it having problems with basically any set-up sweeper although, specifically, the three dragon dancers of OU present the biggest threats to this team as if they are allowed to set up, there's basically nothing in your team that can handle them; even your revenge killer, Heatran can't outpace the former two after a dragon dance boost. Infernape falls into the same category but can be revenge killed by Heatran unless it's running Mach Punch, in which case you're team's going to get hammered hard. Lastly, I see offensive Starmie as a slight problem if your key checks like Roserade ave been eliminated or have taken prior damage.

Solutions

• Choice Scarf Flygon

[box]

Flygon (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 SpDef
Jolly nature (+Spd,-SpAtk)
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Thunderpunch
- U-turn[/box]
Fortunately, all of these threats can be handled quite easily by one change: choice scarf Flygon over your choice scarf Heatran. Yes, this will mess up the excellent fire water grass core you've constructed but in my perspective, as a active generation four battler, the whole fire/water/grass thing has become so common that every knowledgeable player has a Pokemon to take down said core, whether it may be Infernape or Kingdra. Really, altering the core of this team may prove beneficial to its overall performance in battle. Moving on, I suggest replacing Heatran with Flygon as it has more or less become the epitome of a revenge killer in the current metagame and for good reason seeing as it can outpace many common offensive threats even if they have had their speed boosted (notable Pokemon would include Gyarados, Dragonite and Tyranitar, all of which are prime threats to your team). Also, as well as being able to handle the aforementioned threats, Flygon will do a splendid job of being able to revenge kill other sweepers as well, including, Jirachi, etc. I hope this helped and good luck!

 

[(makeup)]

Lol, Aerrow, we agree on threats! the thing is with Choice Scarf Flygon, they share no resistances (except for fire, but Heatran's is artifical just for the record). Personally, I think Jirachi covers these threats better with the Elemetal Punches and it's STAB, but I guess each to his own.

I think you should consider my suggestion too, though.

 

[Smith]

@ Smith - Do you think I would benefit from just replacing Heatran with ScarfGon, dropping the F/W/G core. I really never liked Heatran on my team, I just thought he was the best pokemon in that spot. In turn, do you think Scarfed Infernape would work, keeping the F/W/G core?

I suppose that that could work as well, I guess it comes down to who you think is a better lead, Metagross or Heatran. I'm inclined to believe that Metagross is probably better, but of course keeping the fwg core is cool too. I think you might want to try both, but to answer your question yes that could work.

As far as scarf infernape, I really dislike him, it's a poor use for him, he can't switch into anything and hazards + ss wears him down very quickly. He's also a poor revenge killer for this team anyway, as he doesn't really handle any of the threats this team suffers from and actually doesn't really help with the fwg core, which is based mostly on defensive synergy- defense he doesn't have.

 

[ShinyAzelf]

Hey,

The team is pretty good, and I don't see that many flaws.

First, I suggest Thunderbolt over Discharge. Sometimes, you'd be using Discharge as the opponent switches, and you paralyze something that you wanted to Toxic. Discharge and Toxic don't work that well together, so I would suggest Thunderbolt, as the extra power does help a bit.

Since your Rotom-a lacks Will-O-Wisp and can easily be beaten by Scarf Tyranitar, I suggest Reflect over Substitute. Reflect allows you to take physical hits better, as well as supporting your teammates. Reflect also means Gyarados can set up Dragon Dance on almost every physical attack.

I think you made a typo on your Metagross: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 HP

Put the remaining 4 EVs into Speed.

Good luck!

 

[Philip7086]

Rating by request.

Hey MazeL, this is actually a fairly solid team. You have most threats decently checked. There are a few tweaks I would like to suggest, though. The first tweak I'd like to suggest has to do with your slight Heatran weakness. Currently, Heatran can come in on a variety of your Pokemon and just fire away with its STAB fire attack. Gyarados can come in once and force it out, but having a Stealth Rock weak Pokemon as your main check to Heatran is not good. Flygon can also come in once, but a lot of Heatran run Shuca Berry, so Flygon isn't the best check either. I personally think a defensive Suicune with Rest, Sleep Talk, Roar, and Surf would do your team a lot of good. With your Spikes and Stealth Rock set up, Roar Suicune is a huge pain in the ass to handle. It also is a very reliable switch in on fire type Pokemon, which you currently need. My next tweak would be to add Pain Split over one of your attacks on Rotom. With Sand Storm everywhere, you do not want to kill your own Pokemon with Substitute gradually. With Pain Split, your Rotom will be able to live longer and force more switches, and annoy people in general. Other than that, I think this is a great team. I might use a faster Jirachi spread to outpace Jolly Lucario personally, but yours works fine I suppose. That would also help against Suicune, but both spreads have their merits. Best of luck in the future. I will like this thread, good job.

 

[The Grand Babido]

Hey MazeL, I received your PM.

This is a really solid team and its really nicely presented. However it does have a few problems; most noticeably Gliscor and offensive Substitute Rotom. Gliscor has the potential to beat 5 of your Pokemon 1v1, and your only safe switch-in is your Stealth Rock weak Gyarados, who with SR, Toxic and SS [really likely on a team incoporating Gliscor]. The offensive Rotom has the ability to Substitute vs. Roserade, Metagross, Flygon and Gyarados [against the latter two if it has been given a free switch-in]. To fix the Rotom weakness a simple change to Energy Ball on Roserade will allow you to break its Substitute and beat it 1v1. I think a CroCune would slot nicely over Gyarados. Suicune will be able to beat Gliscor reliably as it has the ability to Rest off damage and comfortably 2HKO with Surf. Suicune gives you a much more reliable switch-in to Heatran, who gets opportunities to come in vs. a number of your team members.

Suicune @ Leftovers
Bold | Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Calm Mind / Surf / Rest / Sleep Talk

The speed EVs allow you to outrun Min Spe Rotom allowing you to CM / Surf before they can Thunderbolt you.

On to minor changes; I think you want to try Toxic Spikes over Stun Spore or Rest on Roserade. Toxic Spikes allows Suicune to outstall Celebi and even Shaymin if you have two layers up and you can grab a couple of Calm Minds. By removing Gyarados, a huge Lucario weakness appears. Using 180 Spe Timid on Jirachi allows you to outrun Lucario and OHKO if it has used Close Combat. 180 Spe also allows you to Wish / Calm Mind before an offensive Suicune attacks you with its STAB move of choice, allowing you to more reliably beat it.

Good team and good luck!

 

[MazeL]

@ Philip7086 - Defensive Suiucune would fit great in this team, but I don't know who I could end up replacing. Gyarados has been way to helpful for me to just replace him, cause his ability to Taunt really shuts down other teams.

@Heist - The EVs you suggested for me work great. The sole reason I don't want to add CroCune over Gyarados is because Gyara's Intimidate and Taunt really save me in most game.

@ Shiny Azelf - I use Discharge to get the paralysis on statupping sweepers who otherwise stop me dead cold. E.G a Dragonite switches into Rotom and Dragon Dances'. I Discharge, get the paralysis and then he forces himself into Outrage, which lets Jirachi set up.

 

[Thunda-Moo]

Unless it's a cleric dancer Dnite! But who cares about that, right?

I am honored to have been requested as a rater and shall do my best to assist.

Firstly, I agree with addition of Pain Split to Rotom's movepool. Subpainsplit is quite a good strategy, but sacrificing Shadow Ball (the move you seemed the least invested in) seems harsh.

The primary issue I see with your team is that you currently have no fire or ice type attacks! Rather less then ideal, wouldn't you say? Perhaps giving a Hidden Power to Jirachi could alleviate this offensive gap (as it oddly can't learn ice beam.) Not having a fire type move on a team origionally designed around a FWG core is pretty amusing as well, but I can't think of a place on your team you could place it.

While it's rare, your team is weak to the surprisingly competent Offencive Bronzong, who's Gyro Ball can actually 3HKO your gyarados!

...But I think I'm the only person that uses choice band bronzong.

What you may want to consider is who the LVP is on your team-- the least valuable player. Identifying that Pokemon and testing replacements for them is the ideal way to improvement.

Oh, and since you're not using Overheat, change Rotom-H to Rotom-S because he's funny looking, never used, and makes people hesitate and potentially make bad choices as people won't know what kind of set he has.

 

[Assassinoftheredsands]

Is there a particular reason why your Roserade is running Stun Spore over Sleep Powder? I think your team would benefit more from an incapacitated pokemon than a paralyzed one.

 

[Aerrow]

Is there a particular reason why your Roserade is running Stun Spore over Sleep Powder? I think your team would benefit more from an incapacitated pokemon than a paralyzed one.

This is because Roserade is providing Spikes support. Although Toxic Spikes can be used in conjunction with Sleep powder, Spikes can not as it is illegal in the game.

 

[Faladran]

I'm late to dis rate, gonna make it great; haters gonna hate. Hi MazeL! I seem to recall viewing and rating a number of your previous RMTs, and this team is probably the most solid thus far - good job! I'm also a fan of the presentation; it seems that you've really improved on creating RMTs. Moving on the the actual team itself, I also have an idea for fixing up that Heatran problem. There have been a lot of great suggestions already, but I was thinking about adding Toxic Spikes over Stun Spore on Roserade and switching Gyarados to the lesser-known Mono-attacker set, which functions very effectively with this level of support. Since you now have Scarf Flygon to check threats like DD Dragonite, Stun Spore is not as necessary for preventing opponents from setting up on Roserade. Here is the Gyarados set I was referring to:

[box]

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 156 Def / 96 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful nature (+SpD, -SpA)
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
[/box]
This is a somewhat unusual Gyarados set that manages to perfrom well as both a mixed wall and a late-game sweeper. With Intimidate, Gyarados retains the ability to check physical threats like Lucario. The Careful nature and EVs ensure that Gyarados possesses a considerable amount of Special bulk. To put this into perspective, opposing LO Heatran can barely manage a 3HKO on this set after Stealth Rock damage, and defensive Celebi sets cannot 3HKO with Grass Knot. Due to the bulky nature of this set, Gyarados can stall out some of its usual counters with Toxic Spikes and force switches, racking up more entry hazard damage. Another advantage of this set is its ability to serve as a status-absorber; against troublesome foes such as Breloom, Gyarados can safely switch in and receive status ailments without much of a problem. When the opportunity arises (often in late-game situations), Gyarados can proceed to stat up with Dragon Dance, heal off any accumulated damage or status ailments with Rest and Sleep Talk, and finish off weakened opponents.

Good luck with your team!

 

[MazeL]

@ Faladran - I like using my Gyarados because he is my favorite stat upper. Once he sets up 2 DD, nothing is stopping him, and that is invaluable for this team. As for Toxic Spikes on Roserade, it would make her almost dead weight. With Stun Spore, I can paralyze normal Roserade switch-ins, Infernape, Heatran etc. Once paralyzed they are almost dead weight for their teams.