Team Hypno! - OU (Bulky Offense)

[Lostelle]

No, there aren't really any Hypno here.

Hi, this is my first RMT. The idea is to remove Metagross counters and sweep, which this team has been doing well for the most part. It could still use a little fine-tuning and I suck at team building so all criticism is much appreciated.

The Lead

Weavile@Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -S.Atk)
- Ice Shard
- Pursuit
- Taunt
- Fake Out

Yeah, it's a shaky lead. Fake Out breaks Sashes, Taunt stops Stealth Rocks from coming up if I think I can afford to stay in. About fifty percent of the time I just Fake Out and gtfo because Weavile's Pursuit happens to be the counter to the Rotom and Dusknoir that would stop Metagross' sweep. (So much for "anti-lead," huh?) Ice Shard also makes for nice revenge kills.

The Bulky Water

Swampert@Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 236 HP / 216 Def / 56 S.Def
Nature: Relaxed (+Def, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Protect
- Stealth Rock

Along with Zapdos and Machamp, this is a third of the team's defensive core. Stealth Rock is vital to the success of the team, thus that is Swampert's primary job. Earthquake and Ice Beam provide superb coverage which is good because this thing doesn't hit very hard. Protect saves it from obvious Explosions. This is my main Gliscor counter and is also pretty handy for fending off the likes of Heatran and Tyranitar early in the game. The Electric immunity is also nice. Swampert's biggest fault is being Taunt bait and Setup fodder. I'd originally thought of using Vaporeon for Wish support but deemed Rocks more important. I'm now considering a Choice Band set with Stealth Rock. Lol.

Scary Status Absorber

Machamp@Leftovers
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -S.Atk)
Dynamic Punch
Stone Edge
Rest
Sleep Talk

This is one of the most irritating tanks in the game and it's the most reliable monster on the team. Machamp's reasonable bulk plus "Restalk" let it absorb attacks and unwanted status while throwing Dynamic Punches and confusing everything. Stone Edge puts a nice dent in Rotom and Dusknoir for Weavile to finish. In a tight spot, Machamp will ko an opponent in its sleep.

Sweepy Ghost

Gengar@Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 S.Atk / 252 spd / 4 Atk
Nature: Naive (+Spd, -S.Def)
Shadow Ball
Thunderbolt
Focus Punch
Substitute

Ah, Gengar, my favorite Pokemon since the beginning of Pokemon. This comes in whenever I call it safe and sets a Substitute upon scaring out something else. It works as a makeshift Ghost counter as well as beating up many other things from behind a Sub. Tyranitar, Scizor and especially Blissey are pissed. (I prefer leaving the former two, if scarfed/banded, intact until the endgame; I'll get to that in Metagross's description.)

Special Tank/Phaser

Zapdos@Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 184 S.Def / 76 Spd
Nature: Timid (+Spd, -Atk)
Discharge
Roar
Roost
Substitute

The third member of the team's defensive core is the cause of too many ragequits, shamelessly SubRoosting and throwing paralysis at the opposition. The paralysis rate is the obvious reason I run Discharge over Thunderbolt. It hurts Zapdos' PP stalling ability, but that's my most desperate tactic anyway. I figure the lower base power is worth haxing a few other monsters. Zapdos completely walls much of special offense (lacking Ice Beam), and when gets walled itself either Roars or switches out for a counter. Just for example, Crocune with 36 S.Atk EVs and one Calm Mind will Ice Beam this set for 46.0% - 54.3%.

The Endgame

Metagross@Lum Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spd
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -S.Atk)
Meteor Mash
Earthquake
Thunderpunch
Agility

This wrecks the remainder of teams once a few counters are removed, outrunning even standard Scarfed MixMence after an agility. Those Scizor and Tyranitar I spared earlier? Their choice Stone Edge / Crunch / Pursuit / Bullet Punch guarantee me an Agility so I don't mind Gengar getting caught without a Sub late in the game. But, with Metagross' bulk and Lum Berry, I can almost always get an Agility anyway. Even on the switch, Metagross can double its speed and ko common counters like ScarfTran and Magnezone. I went with Thunderpunch over Explosion to beat weakened Waters and Skarmory while Meteor Mash and Earthquake smash whatever else is left.

Threat List

Scizor: Swampert, Machamp, Zapdos and, if needed, Metagross all check this.

Latias: Swampert only fears Grass Knot. Gengar hits hard from behind a Sub. Weavile can revenge if either of the former two fail.

Rotom: Weavile used Pursuit! Still, I may have to double switch from Swampert to Weavile to make sure it doesn't use fire. Gengar is confident behind a sub.

Heatran: Swampert and Machamp can beat this, but I'd prefer to save it for Agiligross.

Salamence: This is handled by Swampert's Ice Beam, Machamp's Stone Edge, or Weavile's Ice Shard if it has a Dragon Dance.

Metagross: I dare it to boom on Swampert.

Gyarados: Not a problem for Zappy, Gengar or Machamp.

Suicune: Zapdos Discharges or Roars, Gengar Thunderbolts, Agiligross handles it if weakened. Machamp also punches it to death if need be.

And many others. I need sleep but may continue this list later.

 

[Pollux-Castor]

I wonder why you haven't got any help yet?

You don't need Focus Punch on Gengar. Machamp handles Tyranitar. You can keep Substitute for scouting and Energy Ball is probably better with a Timid nature 252sp.atk 252speed, maybe Life Orb but definitely replace Black Sludge with LO or Leftovers because the foe will just pass Black Sludge to someone who doesn't want it. This way you can take out Swampert fast.

I don't think Taunt is necessary on the lead, Low Kick Brick Break would be better to take out Tyranitar before he does you. Otherwise just drop this lead for something else, maybe someone who can set up entry hazards like Spikes so Zapdos can be more useful. Paralysis is not that big a deal when your primary sweeper uses Agility.

 

[Plus]

Hello

For something that is based around a Metagross sweep, I don't find your responses to Rotom-a as good as they should be. Weavile is definitely a shaky response to Rotom-a, and should it Will o Wisp instead of Shadow ball on your Swampert, if it is defensive Rotom-a which doesn't run Shadow Ball usually, then your switch in will not be able to take Rotom-a out anymore. Zapdos can also pose a threat to your team especially with HP Grass -- nothing on your team can kill it instantly, Machamp comes closest but still fails to switch in safely most of the time.

Your description of Weavile tells me that you aren't exactly sure as to if it is really doing as good as it should be, so perhaps we should start with that. You can lead off with Swampert, and then replace Weavile with Scarf Tyranitar, which does two things. First, it beats off the leads that Swampert can't beat usually, such as Azelf and Starmie, though you probably want to double switch on the latter with your zapdos. Secondly, it provides the better response you need to kill off Zapdos and Rotom-h more efficiently.

For your current Gengar set, I would like to see you try out a Pain Split Gengar which really annoys Blissey, furthermore that Gengar fails to kill off Ice Beam or Flamethrower variants as Focus Punch won't be able to hit Blissey without the sub up. It does 45.7% - 53.9%, which is a decent amount but still recoverable. Pain Split heals up your Gengar and allows you to force it to recover, giving you extra turns to put up a substitute, or even attempt to kill it off with something like Focus Blast should it be weakened enough.

As for Metagross, I would suggest you use Zen Headbutt over ThunderPunch, as it hits Gyarados for 70.1% - 82.8% which is usually enough to kill, but for a plus it can 2hko defensive Rotom-a on the switch and do about 40% damage to Swampert on the switch in, which is good enough as you use Metagross late game anyways, where most things are weakened. Zapdos is another pokemon that you can hit for pretty decent damage, doing about 57.4% - 68.1% to Specially defensive variants, so if you should use something like Meteor Mash on the switch then you'd be able to easily kill off even Physically defensive Zapdos with Rocks up.

Summing up the rate, here's the Tyranitar set:

Tyranitar @ Scarf
Jolly 252 atk / 252 spe / 4 def
Stone Edge / Crunch / Pursuit / Superpower

Move Swampert to the lead, make Gengar Sub Pain Split with Focus Blast and Pain Split over Focus Punch and Thunderbolt, and try Zen Headbutt over Thunderpunch for Metagross.

Good luck with the team.