Introduction:
As you all may have known, I'm primarily an Ubers player. After achieving #5 on Uber ladder (I usually can't since I get haxed quite a bit), I decided to take a break and catch up from the last time I've played OU - before Garchomp/Deo-S are banned (well I played a little during Latias suspect but got bored). Studying usages and other RMTs, as well as watching people battle when I can't find an Uber battle to watch myself, I decided to give OU a forgiving shot. Reading through the RMT archives helps me as well. While yes, OU is still a messy metagame at this point, I've taken my attention to Lucario (after witnessing its impressive performance in Ubers). Being a ridiculously dangerous sweeper as described in the analysis, I find Luke to be an interesting Pokemon to try to built a team around on. But why stop there? I wanted a team of favorites that can cover each other's weaknesses and build a strong offensive or defensive front. So I took the burden out on myself, a solitary effort to blueprint my team and launch all theorymon against the harsh world of fiery competitors. Disguised in an alt, I battled many and finally reached the leaderboard. From that point I knew my team, built out of theories, is fairly successful. However, no team is flawless, and my dusty OU experience bites me as I struggle to find solutions to a few issues. This is where you, the community, come and assist me.
The team at a glance
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THE ACTUAL TEAM:
The Stealth Rocker
Swampert (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP/220 Def/36 Spd
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Ice Beam
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
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I wished to use a different lead, but I can't exactly find one without changing the team. A person whose identity will not be disclosed suggested a Taunt/Toxic/Protect/Waterfall Gyarados lead, which is very interesting and from the looks of it, it succeeds against many OU leads. But enough about Gyarados. Swampert's been reliable as a Stealth Rock set up lead for me, countering those Metagross leads. Speaking of Metagross, some people are ridiculously predictable, Stealth Rocking first turn, attacking on the following turn and Exploding on the third turn. Don't worry, I've got an aswer to that but scroll down if you want to see it (obvious enough no?) The EV spread allows Swampert to survive an Adamant LO DD Outrage from Salamence, while the rest is placed into Speed to outrun other -Spd Swamperts and possibly Machamps. The moveset looks standard except for one thing-Toxic. I've found Toxic to be a great weapon in crippling Hippowdon and opposing Swampert leads, and helps a LOT against Vaporeon who can cause the team problems. It adds a death count to Gyaradoses who brave the Dragon Dance.
Stealth Rock is almost essential as it helps weaken Zapdos and Gyarados, allowing them to be put into Lucario's kill range. It "checks" Salamence and puts it into Scizor's Bullet Punch kill range.
Swampert helps the team check Salamence and tends to be some sort of wastebasket. It is quite often my most expendable team member, but it doesn't mean I will sack it on the first turn. Swampert comes in handy for suicides and Electric absorption, as well as crippling the aforementioned Vaporeon who stays along for almost forever.
However, Swampert tends to be set up for Smeargle and Roserade leads. Smeargle leads will almost always counter my team. This is my biggest issue at the moment and I can't find a way to fix it.
The Trappers/Revenge Killers
Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SDef
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Pursuit
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Scizor is step one in my favorite Pokemon's list. A deadly revenge killer as you have all witnessed through the raw power (4th strongest non Sucker Punch). The moveset is too standard to be explained, but it helps weakne teams down one by one from Stealth Rock and U-turn, while Pursuit, though rarely used, can hurt anything that flees, most notably Latias and Cresselia. Scizor backs up Tyranitar in the trapping department, as well as adding insurance against Salamence and a decent Grass resist too.
THis was originally built to survive HP Fire from Celebi after SR and Seed, but I went with this instead. 0 Speed allows me to underspeed other Scizors and out U-turn/Superpower them.
Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 232 HP/26 Atk/252 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
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Tyranitar is an absolute beast. It starts the Sandstorm, aiding in the weakening of things via Scizor's U-turn. Tyranitar plays as the team's "special wall", absorbing even Specs Surf from Latias and STILL not get 2HKOed after Stealth Rock damage. With an offensive base in mind, I decided to add bulk onto this thing to keep the team alive longer. Being my main Latias (or....Latios...if he was OU...). counter, it's important that he stays alive for a while at least just to get rid of it.
The moveset is really standard so it doesn't need explanation. I usually throw Crunches and Pursuits as my safest options, then Stone Edge when their Rock resists are gone.
Tyranitar helps knock down annoying opponents such as Heatran and Rotom-A, though the latter will probably Burn me. Starmie can also say goodbye in the face of Tyranitar, who sort of laughs at Surf and can take a Hydro Pump.
The baits (kinda)
Latias (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 232 HP/252 Spd/24 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Dragon Pulse
- Recover
- Thunderbolt
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If you've been here long enough some of you mgiht remember my exploding Latias avatar. That means Latias is a Pokemon under my fave list. Though it saddens me that Latios can not make it to OU, Latias and her list of resistances come in handy in stopping monstrous threats such as Infernape. Her bulk allows her to switch a couple of times, and combined with Recover it can be quite nasty. Calm Mind, Dragon Pulse, and Recover are pretty much staples-no questions are needed. Thunderbolt is a new one, though. With this state of the team a Suicune stopper must be present, and Latias is number one in line for that job. The EVs ensure that Thunderbolt 3HKOes Suicune under Sandstorm so it does not try to stall me. THunderbolt also stops Gyarados and Skarmory; the former making Latias some sort of backup while the latter is just plain annoying. Finally, Empoleon probably eats the team if I don't have Thunderbolt.
Latias usually comes later into the game unless forced early. Rotom-H is usually sent out early to deal with things. Latias also serves as a passageway for Lucario, attracting Choice Band Pursuits and opening up a turn for Lucario.
This was originally Salamence but Mence dies too quickly and doesn't solve Infernape.
Rotom-h @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 6 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Overheat
- Trick
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Well...
I'm losing my descriptions in here. Rotom is cute.
Rotom checks many things, including Fighting moves, Gyarados, Lucario, Metagross, Scizor, Heracross etc. Standard Scarfrotom really, but also acts as a Pursuit bait to open up for a Lucario sweep. Trick is an amazing weapon if used on the correct opponent, as it allows either a free kill or a free set up. For instance, if I Trick Scarf onto a Gengar, I can go to Tyranitar to absorb the Shadow Ball, then kill with Pursuit. If I Trick a Scarf onto Blissey, it makes Latias' life so much easier as Tyranitar/Scizor can Pursuit her to death. Or I can Scarf trick into something else and set up with Luke. Rotom can either be extremely valuable or be almost absolutely useless, but more often than not he's very helpful. Unfortunately he tends to die very early which sometimes can leave my team open. to the aformentioned threats. Though I usually have backup.
Does the moveset need explaining? I don't think so
The Star
Lucario (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk/6 Def/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Extremespeed
- Swords Dance
- Ice Punch
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Finally, the star of the play, and when things look bright he can easily come in and Swords Dance. SDLuke has seriously got to be the one of the most threatening end game cleaners in the OU metagame. It is the Rayquaza of OU, terminating every single living object it can find after the Dance. With easily abusable resistances, and insane power to boot, AND ExtremeSpeed for faster foes, Lucario is an absolute unparalleled menance. It is my ticket through weakened stall teams, if Tyranitar and Rotom-H hasn't weakened them enough.
Swords Dance for boot ups - this is often only thrown when I find that their team is weakened enough or if I'm in desperation. Lucario has gotten me out of a losing situation a couple of times. Close Combat is for raw power, though it is the last attack I want to throw if another move KOes the oppponent. It is absolutely scary though. ExtremeSpeed allows Lucario to snip away at faster foes such as Dugtrio and Infernape, and makes Lucario a backup of some sort should Scizor die in the Bullet Punching process, and thus often ensures that a single threat would be incapable of sweeping my team. Ice Punch is mainly for Zapdos and Gliscor as I have Pursuits on TTar and Scizor for Ghosts and Psychics, while Stone Edge is pretty unreliable...at least the last time I've used it it misses on important KOes.
Since some people prepare for Adamant Lukes, they forget about Jolly since its rarely used. I think i can afford the power loss for this as I defeat their Zapdos, Gliscor, and the rare Jolly CB Mamoswines. In rare occassions, Lucario can kill Salamence with Ice Punch, as well as serve as a check against opposing Adamant Lucarios.
Lucario seems to be decreasing in usage because it appears that people are more ready for him. However, Lucario is still an amazing Pokemon and his usage shall not fall any further. Taking absolutely laughable damage from Stealth Rock and being immune to Toxic Spikes, it's really not that hard to bring Lucario in, especially with some form of support from Latias and Rotom-H, and their deaths shall not be in vain.
Despite being such a monster, Lucario may sometimes not come out at all, because the rest of the team has cleared the opposition. Thus, Lucario is my trump card and is only used in emergencies or if I want to end things quickly. At times I get overprotective of this beast and end up losing. But I can learn from that mistake.
Lucario is the member of the team I will absolutely not replace.
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Threat list:
Right now it's just the offensive threat list. It's tiring to write a whole threat list
Azelf: This is Latias' job for the most part, though it can Explode and U-turn for annoying damage. Rotom can revenge it, Tyranitar beats it one on one and Scizor/Luc can finish it off with their respective priority moves. It's only safe switch in is Swampert, and that's not exactly safe when there's all of this stopping it.
Breloom: Annoying. Extremely annoying. This is what i get without a Sleep Talker, so for the most part I try my best to have Swampert take the Spore, then Scizor to ruin Substitutes, Rotom-H to take Focus Punches, and Latias as my most general stopper to it. Focus punch does <50% to Latias and Dragon Pulse severely hurts Breloom.
Celebi: Scizor does it for the most part. Latias backs up and Rotom can 2HKO with Shadow Ball. Tyranitar helps with the Crunching. I might as well mention this here, though, as Shaymin's lack of Psychic-type weaknesses can hurt my team more than Celebi
Dragonite: This is missing from the threat list what the heck? Harder to kill than Mence though.
Dugtrio: Yeah I got the revengers ready in case it revenges something. It will probably be Quakespamming though.
Electivire: Swampert, Rotom-H. Luke outruns non Jolly ones and OHKOes with CC I believe. Latias walls Special variants as well
Empoleon: Latias can Thunderbolt it and Calm Mind as its ice beams slowly fall to dust. Lucario OHKOes with Close Combat and Scizor/Tar can hit it with Superpower/Earthquake respsectively. Rotom-H can inflict serious damage with Thunderbolt, though it sometimes puts Empoleon into Torrent range which hurts
Flygon: Annoying. Scizor to take Outrages and Bullet Punch will send Flygon up the hills, Luc can kill it with SDed ES from 87.5% I believe. Swampert kinda walls it, though CB Rage hurts a ton. Non Scarf versions are eaten by Latias.
Gengar: This can often manage a kill, so it's a big threat. After coming in on Lucario, I'm usually left without much but to sacrifice a person. Scizor OHKOes with CB Bullet Punch and can Pursuit, TTar can take on Shadow Ball and Pursuit (and surviving LO Focus Blast if SR is not up lol). Scarf Rotom-H outruns non Scarf Gengar and kills it with Shadow Ball (if it does have Scarf it's pickings for TTar). Latias outruns HP Fire variants
Gliscor: Swampert I guess. Rotom-H can Trick. Not much to say here.
Gyarados: Ugh. I have Latias and Rotom-H who are willing to Thunderbolt it, and Stealth Rock hampers it further. Gyaradoses brave enough to dance on Pert eats a Toxic and won't stay for long
Heatran: The era of Scarftran has seemingly subsided and the new Subtran has taken its place. Subtran is super annopying and I usually have Pert to beat it up. Latias can take a burn from Lava Plume and set up. Lucario is faster and KOes with CC. Scarftran is stopped by Swampert and Tyranitar.
Heracross: Rotom-H is immune to CC and resists Megahorn (though CBHorn does a lot). Scizor can deal massive damage with Bullet Punch, and Lucario 4x resists Megahorn (still hurts though).
Infernape: Latias. Uhh...that's it? Double priority, Rotom-H, and Swampert can sort of help.
Jirachi: Swampert takes on most variants. Unless they have Grass Knot. Then it's somewhere between TTar, Rotom-H, and possibly Lucario and Scizor or Latias. Yes, I've just blurted my entire team here, but this is Jirachi we're talking about
Kingdra: Struggles to find a place to set up and won't sweep due to the double priority. I usually waste Swampert to it and revenge it with Luc/Rotom-H/Scizor. It's not hard to beat Kingdra with tis team
Latias: Where in the world is Latios? Anyways, TTar and Scizor.
Lucario: I can't possibly forget this as a threat when making a team based on it, so...Rotom-H can revenge it and no one uses Jolly crunch (at least I don't think...). My own Luke can revenge Adamant variants and double priority from my own Scizor/Luke helps against it, especially after CC defense drop (though I'll probably just CC the opponent's Luke anyways if I still have mine alive).
Machamp: Really annoying. Dynamicpunch + Payback is a broken move combination. I have Rotom for the Punch and I could Trick it into Payback so Lucario can set up on it. Latias can take on Dynamicpunches but confusion can be annoying.
Magnezone: I absolutely hate facing this Pokemon. It traps and kills my star and a revenger. However, the remaining members can all beat Magnezone
Mamoswine: "Every team is Mamo weak". Anyways that leaves Scizor's Bullet Punch, Luke's Close Combat, and Rotom-H's Overheats. Swampert can swap in against some moves and Earthquake for snip damage or Toxic to start a countdown.
Metagross: Leaddgrosses are sometimes predictable and Explode themselves on Rotom-H. Swampert and Rotom deals with most variants, while Scizor can dent it with U-turn and allow Lucario to get in safely, and perhaps finish off with Close Combat. Meta's pretty tough
Jask: There's Stealth Rock, Rotom-H for the Trick, dual priority...
PZ: Tyranitar, Scizor, Lucario, Rotom-H...???
RhyINFerior: I hate to face one of these, and I tend to rely on Tricking it or have Swampert start a countdown with Toxic. Lucario and Scizor can hurt them with CC and BP, respectively, though they can't beat Rhy one on one
Rotom-A: TTar for the most part, though I hate Will-o-Wisp. Latias and my own Rotom helps on predictable situations.
Salamence: No counters, so...Scizor's BP after SR/SS/LO will kill it. Swampert can sort of check it, Latias is faster and has Dragon Pulse. Rotom can dent it with Thunderbolt, TTar KOes with Stone Edge, and slower Mences die to Lucario's Ice Punch
Scizor: SDScizor can give me problems. Rotom-H is overrelied on this job that once it's gone SDZor kills my whole team pretty much (dual priority can still help against it though).
Snorlax: Scizor, Tyranitar, Rotom-H for Crunchless versions, Lucario
Starmie: Uhh...Tar, Latias, Scizor and Rotom-H???
Suicune: Latias is first in line as she counters both offensive and defensive Cune. RoarCunes are annoying though I'll give you that. Rotom-H has Thunderbolt to severely dent it, and Lucario can come during a predicted Rest and punish with Swords Danced Close Combats
Togekiss: Tyranitar lols at Air Slash and is likely not going to die to repeated Air Slash flinches. Aura Sphere does <50% if Togekiss doesn't have much defense. Rotom resists Air Slash and is immune to Aura Sphere, destroying it with Thunderbolt
Weavile: Scizor, Swampert, and perhaps Lucario.
Yanmega: Is UU now. Still, Rotom and Scizor helps against it, and so does Stealth Rock
Zapdos: Tyranitar walls it almost completely and so does Latias. Toxicstall Zappy can be annoying though.
Right now I'm not going to be bothered to put up the thought process section. I might do it later in the future, but this is all for now
