Hey guys, this is my first competitive team. I've basically made a team to kind of support Gyarados/Mega Gyarados but not to the fullest, since I think it's not a really bright plan to revolve your whole team to one mon. There's a couple cores that this team can make out of..for example; Gyarados-Excadrill-Slowbro, Mega Gyarados-Excadrill-Gengar. I like the looks and functions of this team, but at the moment I feel it's still not enough to compete with the higher end of the OU tier. Wins with this team have been very incosistent, it's either I sweep really fast or I get swept just as fast or faster. I'm looking for any kind of feedback to improve this team.
Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate / Mold Breaker
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Role: Sweeper
-Dragon Dance
-Waterfall
-Ice Fang
-Earthquake
The star of the team. Dragon Dance to turn things up and start sweeping, Waterfall for STAB and a chance to flinch, Ice fang to deal with grass/rock/ground and a chance to freeze/flinch, and EQ to deal with most of Gyarados's weaknesses. Usually I don't have to worry about facing Rotom-W, as I can Mega and take less damage due to Mega G's added bulk and EQ since mold breaker comes in to play. I'm not sure if I should add in bulk to this, I feel as if it would perform a lot better as a Mega with more bulk to add in and last a bit longer. Not sure if I should add in a Rain Dance mon to support this and Slowbro, then again weather has been nerfed and slapping in a RD gives the green for Thunder users.
-Regular Gyarados resists fire/fighting for Excadrill/Ferrothorn, and immune to ground for Excadrill and Gengar(If mold breaker type moves come into play).
-Mega Gyarados resists Dark for Gengar/Slowbro
-Mega Gyarados resists Psychic for Gengar
-Both Gyarados and Mega G resist water for Excadrill/Volcarona
Excadrill @ Airballoon
Ability: Mold Breaker
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Role: Spinner/Sweeper
-Rock Slide
-Swords Dance
-Rapid Spin
-Earthquake
Synergizes perfectly with Gyarados, can always switch this in for Gyarados if an electric attack comes rolling in (Rotom-W volt switch), and it also resists rock a ton. Can also switch Gyarados back in if its obvious there is an upcoming EQ. It's also a good lead to Sticky web Galvantula, since it's immune to electric and can spin sticky web. When pokebank comes around i'm not sure if I should switch SD for Iron Head to counter fairies which are also super effective to Mega G. SD is pretty hard to set up due to my Excadrill's neglected bulk.
-Immune to electric for Gyarados/Mega G/Slowbro
-Immune to poison
-Resists bug for Gyarados/Slowbro
-Resists rock for Gyarados/Volcarona
-Resists flying for Volcarona
-Resists psychic for Gengar
Slowbro @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Role:Wall/Stall
-Psychic
-Slack off
-Scald
-Thunder Wave
The bulk of the team. It usually acts as a semi bulky wall that has decent special attack and the ability to paralyze and stall. Not sure if I should switch Scald for Ice beam to deal with Goodra (Thunder) or Dnite (Tbolt/Tpunch). Then again Psychic is STAB and super effective against Fighting, a type that destroys 1/2 of my team (Mega G, Excadrill, and Ferrothorn). It can switch in to fighting moves and paralyze + slap em with a psychic. Thinking about whether or not I should give it's leftovers to Ferrothorn since Slowbro already has two methods of healing already (Regenerator/Slackoff). A synergy between Gyarados, Excadrill, and Slowbro works pretty well.
-Resists fighting for Mega G/Excadrill/Ferrothorn
-Resists psychic for Gengar
-Resists water for Excadrill/Volcarona
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Role: Sweeper
-Substitute
-Disable
-Shadow Ball
-Sludge Bomb
Out of the 3 who have type immunities, Gengar isn't affected by fighting attacks. This is great because half of my team are weak to fighting moves (Mega G/Excadrill/Ferrothorn). Its usual sub+disable still performs pretty well for this team, it just doesn't really last long due to its lack of bulk..unless it has a sub out. I really like switching this in to fighting/ground attacks following up with a sub+disable and some sludge bombs hoping for poison to strike slowly crippling my opponent. Again it synergizes pretty well with Mega G/Excadrill due to its immunity to fighting. Gave it a black sludge to help recover some sub damage.
-Immune to fighting for Mega G/Excadrill/Ferrothorn
-Immune to ground for Excadrill
-Resists grass/bug for Mega G/Slowbro
-Resists fairy for Mega G
Late game Gengar sweep:
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/oubeta-67249512
Volcarona @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Role: Sweeper
-Bug Buzz
-U-Turn
-Quiver Dance
-Fire Blast
Destroys and resists grass for Mega G/Slowbro, resists fighting for Mega G, Excadrill, and Ferrothorn. I've noticed this pokemon also totally kicks my teams ass, I was 5-0 at first while facing my friend's bug team who only had LO Volcarona left, and it ended up sweeping the rest of my team just from one Quiver Dance. He didn't even really take the time to breed for IVs either. Was never really sure which item to put on this, since it's not really bulky to run LO. I was thinking about switching Volcarona for Gale Wings Talonflame, since Talonflame is strong against fighting/grass/bug/fire/fairy types; all types strong against most of my team. Then again that would add another electric/rock weak pokemon on my team.
-Resists grass/bug for Mega G/Slowbro
-Resists fighting for Mega G/Excadrill/Ferrothorn
Mid-game Volcarona sweep:
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/oubeta-67233942
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Nature: Relaxed
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
Role: Wall
-Thunder Wave
-Gyro Ball
-Leech Seed
-Power Whip
The Iron Barbs and Rocky Helmet combo. I really like this set because Iron Barbs and Rocky Helmet together can give off a lot of free contact damage. Ferrothorn screams for Mega Kangaskhan to hit it twice. But its not always good to rely on that since opponents are pretty aware of Ferrothorn's iron barbs, which pretty much forces them to use non-contact moves. Thinking that, I was thinking about switching Slowbro's Leftovers to Ferrothorn, since the only healing method Ferrothorn has is Leech Seed. I feel with lefties it would perform a lot better once setting up T-Wave and Leech Seed. I'm not sure if I should put in Stealth Rocks or Spikes in here, since my team lacks hazards and all.
-Resists grass/electric for Gyarados/Slowbro
-Resists water for Excadrill/Volcarona
-Resists psychic for Gengar
-Resists rock for gyarados/Volcarona
-Resists ghost/dark for gengar/slowpoke
Ferrothorn assisting Gyarados:
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/oubeta-67237853
Team Weaknesses:
Electric x2
Fighting x3
Fire x2
Grass x2
Dark x1
Ghost x1
Psychic x2
Water x1
Bug x2
Rock x2
Flying x1
Fairy x1
So that's my first RMT...
As you can see I have a lot of frail attackers and not really a solid foundation. Just a speedy team with no real defenses, setups, or enough hazards. Even though this team lacks those aspects, it can still sweep pretty fast if the momentum isn't hindered by anything, but I guess that goes for any team in general. The only real defenses I have is the synergy for defending, and I can't really rely on that either since most of my pokemon aren't really the bulkiest. I feel like I should invest in more bulk, add in some hazards or switch out some mons and items. I really don't know tbh, my pokemon knowledge is nowhere near up to par as most of you on Smogon. I love how this team looks and I really want to know if there's actually any way to improve it to compete in the OU tier. Thanks to any of you who have actually read the whole dang thing, any feedback and advice would be greatly appreciated.
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