Teamwork Synergy Team (6v6 RMT)

[terranova18]

Hi guys! I'm back from some competitive wifi battling and made some changes to my RMT from way before. I've tinkered using OU legendaries this time and I've tried to come up with a synergy team that can work in a good offensive teamwork in wifi battling. It will need some work so I'd appreciate your comments, just as long as they're constructive XD

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The Synergy Team [OU]
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***At a Glance***

***The Lineup***

#1 - Azelf - The Suicidal Anti-Lead

Azelf @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EV Spread: 6 Atk / 252 SpAtk / 252 Speed
Nature: Naive
Moveset:
- Taunt
- Explosion
- Psychic
- Fire Blast

My Notes:

Azelf still remains as my lead, modifying the Stealth Rock build for Azelf here in Smogon and switching in Taunt instead of it. I'm not much of a fan of setting up entry hazards for this team and Azelf's average speed distribution can outrun the slower leads and taunt them before they can even try setting up or just fire away at the faster leads and try to force them to finish off Azelf before Azelf does them in. So far Azelf has been outsped by the faster leads in terms of setting up (Aerodactyl for one) and if ever it gets to a spot of trouble (like that Houndoom lead I encountered), it'd just explode.

#2 - Gyarados - the Offensive Support Lead

Gyarados @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EV Spread: 252 Atk / 6 Def / 252 Speed
Nature: Adamant
Moveset:
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Stone Edge

My Notes:

Switch in after Azelf has either died or finished its setup and Gyarados can begin an offensive rampage on potential physical sweepers that it would encounter with its Intimidate. I use this moveset for type coverage and EV spread was placed to complement DD. I'd use this normally as a fighting counter or a fire / dragon counter.

#3 - Dusknoir - the Staller

Dusknoir @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EV Spread: 252 HP / 28 Atk / 228 Def
Nature: Impish
Moveset:
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch

My Notes:

My experimental (and still experimental) staller due to its tanking capabilities, explosion immunity, and a halfway-decent recovery move, Dusknoir's proving quite handy at certain battles where stalling the enemy and pressuring it for PP is a bit necessary. Will-O-Wisp those nasty leftover users or physical sweepers and if placed on a disadvantage then just Pain Split the HP. The remaining two moves are for type coverage to some pursuit or crunch users, but I might need a better opinion to complement Dusknoir's contribution to the entire team.

#4 - Scizor - the Revenge Killer

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EV Spread: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Speed
Nature: Adamant
Moveset:
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Pursuit
- Superpower

My Notes:

Currently my best revenge killer to date, this Scizor's quite handy in the revenge killing department with its CB and Bullet Punch. It can handle most of the switch ins and still score some damage even at resistances. I just seem to have some trouble getting it to avoid burns as it seems to attract it quite a lot (Magmortar's Flame Body or Will-O-Wisp if not OHKO). I'm also thinking whether to replace Superpower with Brick Break instead, but I'll need opinions there. Scizor's role is a revenge killer and most of the time he'll be switching out when he isn't needed yet.

#5 - Heatran - Pseudo-Sweeper and Revenge Killer

Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EV Spread: 4 HP / 252 SpAtk / 252 Speed
Nature: Naive
Moveset:
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Explosion
- Hidden Power Grass

My Notes:

A special type Revenge Killer (Scizor being my physical type), I complement this team with a Heatran that can soak in a little gaping hole in fire type coverage and fire damage potential and also its missing part of covering a grass move. So far I haven't tested it yet but I'll appreciate comments on how a Heatran could possibly better fit this lineup if this isn't adequate enough.

It was supposedly Naive nature, since I forgot to edit it after copy-pasting from Scizor's stats XD

#6 - Zapdos - Ace Sweeper

Zapdos @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EV Spread: 4 HP / 252 SpAtk / 252 Speed
Nature: Timid
Moveset:
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power Grass
- Roost

My Notes:

I would normally bring out Zapdos either when the battle gets too rough and it needs backup from my sweepers or if its the only one left in my team to battle (which hopefully does not happen with this lineup all the time). I gave it a wide variety of movesets to take on several types that can become a pain to it, but a lack of dragon coverage means that I need to take on those dragons first with either Dusknoir or Gyarados. Roost helps in healing off that Life Orb tolls and its EV spread was geared for maximizing its Special Attack and Speed for potential sweeping. So far it has managed to make a late game sweep in one of my matches.


***Final Remarks***
The team needs synergy and that's what I would want to have in my team. Sure, I would love it if it can take down all the threats that it can possibly see but the only problem I'm seeing right now, threats aside, is that it seems to be having slight issues when dealing with walls (seeing that majority of the lineup are sweepers and there's just a handful of wall-capable pokemon). I'm also not gearing this up for an all-OU metagame but I'm trying to consider UU threats as well (since me and my friends normally battle on mixed tiers save for the Ubers).

I'd really appreciate any comments from you guys and I hope this one gets some good ones going. Thanks!

 

[EspyJoel]

Firstly since this is an offensive team, you need SR as it turns many 3HKOs into 2HKOs and many 2HKOs into OHKOs, so on Azelf I suggest putting it over Fire Blast or Psychic.

Choice Scarf Heatran should run HP Ice or Dragon Pulse to deal with Outrage locked dragons, although this means Swampert and others have an easier time you have HP Grass on Zapdos to hit them anyway, and the benefits of hitting those dragons outweighs this negative.

Choice Specs/Life Orb Jolteon is going to cause you a lot of problems since you have no Electric resistance or immunity. I therefore suggest changing Dusknoir to Porygon2 since it can deal with Gyarados, Jolteon, Heatran and Salamence among others while having a reliable recovery move. Here's the set:

Porygon2@Leftovers ¦ Trace
Bold ¦ 252HP/216Def/40SAtk
Thunder Wave/Recover/Ice Beam/Thunderbolt

This can paralyse pokemon with Thunder Wave which can help your sweepers out. Ice Beam and Thunderbolt give great coverage while dealing with Gyarados/Salamence, etc. The advantage of this is you can still deal with Salamence, but also get paralysis support and Jolteon's less of a threat. The disadvantage is you lose that Normal Immunity and Will-O-Wisp but Porygon2 is better than Dusknoir for a more offensive team.

If you want a similar pokemon to Duskoir, you could use Rotom-H as it will do pretty much the same while giving you an Electric resistance, here's the set:

Rotom-H@leftovers ¦ Levitate
Bold ¦ 252HP/120Def/136SDef
Rest/Sleep Talk/Will-O-Wisp/Discharge

Gives you a status absorber and Rest/Sleep Talk is its best recovery available. Will-O-Wisp will cripple physical sweepers while Discharge gives you a nice 30% paralysis rate, and its a great Gyarados counter. The advantage of this is it gives you a status absorber as well as a nice Electric resistance while crippling Salamence due to the paralysis rate. Although the disadvantage is you are more vulnerable to Salamence, the Swampert I mention later can help there and also if it gets paralysed by Discharge its useless anyway.

If you really don't want to replace Dusknoir then use ThunderPunch over Earthquake to deal with Gyarados and others.

The only other big weakness I've noticed so far is the lack of rock resistance meaning CB Tyranitar and others with a strong rock move can cause your team some problems. Although Scizor can revenge kill CB Tyranitar, DD Tyranitar's usually have Babiri Berry and Fire Punch which will mean goodbye Scizor, I therefore suggest a Swampert lead as it can set up SR reliably while being a great Tyranitar counter. Here's the set:

Swampert@Leftovers ¦ Torrent
Relaxed ¦ 240HP/216Def/52SAtk
Stealth Rock/Protect or Roar/Ice Beam/Earthquake
Makes a reliable SR set up and a great Tyranitar counter. Ice Beam and Earthquake provide great coverage and can deal with Salamence, Tyranitar and others. Protect an be used for scouting choice items and Explosions or if you want a phaser than you could use Roar. The advantage of this is that you have a rock resistance and Tyranitar counter as well as a scouter or phaser and a Salamence and Flygon counter. The disadvantage is its more susceptible to Taunt and you don't have Explosion, but the main Taunt users are Aerodactyl and Azelf and Aerodactyl will Taunt Azelf anyway and you have to rely on speed tie with Azelf if Azelf was your lead.

There's only one more change I recommend, Gyarados is your only water resistance therefore you should at least give it Leftovers over Life Orb so it can survive longer at the cost at some power. The other option is to change it to BulkyGyara, here's the set:

Gyarados@Leftovers ¦ Intimidate
Adamant ¦ 156HP/72Atk/96Def/184Spd
Taunt/Dragon Dance/Waterfall/Bounce or Return or Stone Edge

Credits to Chris is me for this set. This is very bulky and can shut down Skarmory and others with Taunt, many people rely on paralysing Gyarados to stop it so Taunt is useful. Dragon Dance means it can sweep. Waterfall is STAB and an obvious move for Gyarados that will make Hippowdon and others cry. Bounce is another STAB move that provides great coverage and means by combining Taunt, Dragon Dance and Bounce, you can beat Celebi as well as it being your strongest attack and you get Leftovers recovery while bouncing up. Return can be used instead if you don't like the 2 turns Bounce takes and would prefer a more consistent move. Stone Edge is only a limited option as it doesn't proviide great coverage, its main use is Zapdos but Waterfall can finish off a weakened one anyway.

The advantage of BulkyGyara is that you will gain Taunt and due to the Speed EVs you are faster than Starmie after a DD. It means you can take greater use of that water reistance as otherwise Rain Dance teams could be a pain whereas they don't like BulkyGyara especially since Bounce wastes turns. The disadvantage is you lose a lot of power but it makes up for this by bulk and Taunt.

Hope this helps and good luck with the team :)

 

[SlottedPig]

Heatran wants Modest nature, not Adamant. Modest actually cuts it's SpA.

 

[EspyJoel]

Heatran wants Naive nature actually as it makes it better at revenge killing and doesn't take away power from Explosion, I missed that when rating this team. Also, Fire Blast is usually preferable over Flamethrower as the power boost is helpful.

 

[terranova18]

But if I switch Swampert in for Azelf as an alternate lead, is it still feasible to adopt the offensive gyarados build? The Swampert lead is quite bulky enough and can take on hits as well

 

[EspyJoel]

But if I switch Swampert in for Azelf as an alternate lead, is it still feasible to adopt the offensive gyarados build? The Swampert lead is quite bulky enough and can take on hits as well

It's feasible, it just may not be the best option, the best thing to do is practice and see which one you find suits your team better, often it comes down to the person which is best for their team.