The Anti-Dragon Slayers

[azntrumpet]

This team incorporates two of my favorite Strategies, trapping and Sub/CM. It has peaked in the 142X range on Shoddy. There are so many things that the combination of Magnezone and Dugtrio can kill off. Scizor, Tyranitar, Jirachi, Heatran, Infernape, Lucario, Skarmory, Starmie, and Breloom are my most common victims. The removal of such Pokemon make a sweep so much easier for Latias or Salamence, or just kill off a team with too many of them.

Jirachi @Choice Scarf
80 HP/252 Atk/176 Spe
Serene Grace
Zen Headbutt
Trick
U-Turn
Stealth Rock

Lead ScarfJirachi with a twist that no one sees coming: Zen Headbutt. There are 3 moves that I would love to have on a lead: U-Turn, Trick, and SR. I had originally been using a ScarfUxie in this spot and I was amazed how many things it dominated. Not only can it Trick and lay down SR, it has, in my opinion, the best STAB for a lead. While Psychic is usually a horrible STAB, there are an abundance of opportunities to use it as a lead, and with Jirachi's typing and bulk, choiced Psychic moves are not a death sentence to it when a Pursuiter comes in. Though Iron Head is missed on this set, Zen Headbutt still has a respectable flinch rate of 40%.

1. Azelf - Azelf usually doesn't want to stay in on Jirachi for fear of Iron Head, but Fire Blast is dangerous, so a quick U-Turn to Salamence gets it in without SR up to take the Fire Blast, Intimidate for the coming Explosion, while also taking a nice chunk out of Azelf.
2. Aerodactyl - Usually this doesn't want to stay in, but Zen Headbutt is a 2HKO.
3. Swampert - Sometimes I'll risk a SR, other times I U-Turn out to Porygon2 to wear it down.
4. Metagross - Earthquake will hurt, but I will want to Trick it to take it out later. If it decides to SR, that's a free SR or scouting w/ U-Turn. I like these leads because it means I don't have to deal with Agiligross later.
5. Jirachi - U-Turn, if I'm slower, Magezone comes in to deal with it.
6. Infernape - Fire Blast is more often than not a OHKO if it has Focus Sash, but most Infernape will SR thinking they can scare out Jirachi, only to be raped by Zen Headbutt
7. Machamp - Zen Headbutt takes about 60% off one of the most annoying Pokemon in the game. Between Flinch and Confusion, I get a 70% chance of beating this thing by the second turn.
8. Ninjask - If this thing lacks Protect, Zen Headbutt wrecks it. If it does have it, it's only going to be passing Speed.
9. Roserade - Zen Headbutt is a clean OHKO. Focus Sash variants get a 45% chance to sleep me, but if I don't kill it, I usually have something else take the sleep.
10. Tyranitar - These things are annoying, but most will not want to stay in. U-Turn hurts it if it doesn't switch, and allows me a free switch if it does.

Other common leads this thing wrecks include Crobat, Smeargle, and Abomasnow.

Magnezone @Choice Scarf
252 Sp. Att/252 Spd/4 Att
Naive
Magnet Pull
Thunderbolt
HP Fire
Explosion
Flash Cannon

This is an absolute must as I only have Dragon attacks on my main sweeper. HP Fire is for the OHKO on Scizor so as to avoid a Brick Break and killing off other Magnezone with HP Ice. Also works great to switch into SD Lucario if I can predict around CC, traps Metagross (that are choiced, by my opponent or Trick), and take out Skarmory that would otherwise phaze my Latias. Luckily for me, Shed Shells have become increasingly more uncommon since back when I used to play and I hope they don't make a comeback as Shed Shell Skarm wrecks this team. In the age of Dragons and Steels, this thing nets at least one, if not more kills per game. You'd also be surprised how many teams do not pack an Electric Immune/resist, allowing ScarfThunderbolt coming off 130 base Sp. Att to smash through things.

Dugtrio @ Choice Band
252 Att/252 Spd/4 Def
Jolly
Arena Trap
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Aerial Ace
Sucker Punch

Standard CB Dugtrio, especially for Tyrantitar and Explosion-weakened Blisseys. This has been one of my favorite and most overused Pokemon in my career; it's been on almost every team. So with Tyrantitar, Heatran, Starmie, and Jirachi running rampant, it is almost a must to set up a Latias sweep. Loves receiving U-Turns from Jirachi to trap some major threats.

Salamence @Lum Berry
236 HP/64 Atk/116 Sp. Def/92 Spe
Adamant
Intimidate
Outrage
Earthquake
Dragon Dance
Roost

Specially BulkyMence. This thing replaces Scizor and Gyrados as my main physical attacker. I feel as though everyone is prepared for those two, so they lose their effectiveness. It seems like almost everyone counts on wearing down Salamence via Life Orb/SS/SR, but are surprised to learn that this thing has Roost, which can help it survive slower, weak Ice Beams too. Then the response usually shifts to statuses, which Lum Berry takes, or weaker Ice Beams, leaving me to kill off their main Dragon counter, setting up Latias. Priority from things like Scizor is a last result. Bullet Punch does 2HKO, but I have to be weakened to about half health for it to threaten a OHKO. Even if it does die to Bullet Punch, it serves its purpose allowing me to bring out Magnezone to kill off Latias' #2 counter.

Porygon2 @Leftovers
252 HP/216 Def/40 Sp. Att
Bold
Trace
Ice Beam
Thunderbolt
Thunder Wave
Recover

Easily my favorite Pokemon on this team. This has beaten so many Gyrados, it's not even funny. Also works great for DD Salamance, Heatran, Vaporeon, and Jolteon among others. Trace is definitely an underrated ability as it uses abilities like Flash Fire, Intimidate, and Volt Absorb against their owners. Nobody seems to know what this thing is capable of or how to respond to it and I'm puzzled as to why it's NU. I've decided to run Thunder Wave, and so far it has worked well, allowing me to cripple fast sweepers or outspeed bulkier Pokemon in time to get in another Recover. So far, my biggest issue with this is that it can only counter one Pokemon at a time because Trace is its biggest asset. Not sure how much I need the Sp. Att EV's as I feel this needs all the Defense it can get. Opinions?

Latias @Leftovers
252 Sp. Att/252 Spd/4 HP
Timid
Levitate
Dragon Pulse
Substitute
Calm Mind
Recover

The main focus of my team, works great with Steels and Blissey out of the way. This is the best Sub/CM Pokemon in the game in my opinion because of it's ability to run only one attacking move effectively, freeing up the last slot for recovery. Not sure how to use the EV's most effectively on this one though, because of Calm Mind. If I must get this in early game, I always Sub first to see what their counter is and respond accordingly. I decided I could forego HP Fire for Recover because I feel that Dugtrio and Magnezone are efficient enough for eliminating Steel threats.

Threats:
Weavile is a jerk to this team, but hopefully SR and Jirachi can deal with it. Thunderwave/Seismic Toss Blissey sucks too, but luckily they are not so common in an offensively based metagame. If I can wear it down to about 50%, Dugtrio can trap and finish it off. Toxic Vaporeon is a major pest as I am forced to play a guessing game with it.

 

[ginganinja]

You'd also be surprised how many teams do not pack an Electric immune/resist, allowing ScarfThunderbolt coming off 130 base Sp. Att to smash through things.

Guess people don't run swampert much huh?, or Latias, or Gliscor.

Anyway I think that you are relying too much on Porygon2 to deal with threats to your team. DD mence destrys you once Porygon has taken enough damage. Even SD Lucario can be an issue late game if it gets a SD up.

Ill just fix some things up.
Scarf Jirachi is a nice lead but i think it can be an even better revenge killer with Ice Punch, Thunder Punch/Thunderbolt, Iron Head and U-turn/Trick. Fire Punch is not needed as Magnetzone and Dugtrio handle Steel types well.

Jirachi is often the perfect switch in for Heatran which can wall most of Jirachi's movepool with the exception of the rare Hidden Power Ground. You need a Lead, therefore Swampert can fit in nicely with the team. It handles Heatran very well and can even handle 1+ DD mence in case Jirachi loses the speed tie with it. Swampert also deals with Thunderwave Blissey which you stated was a problem for your team. Swampert only fears grass moves and these are covered very well by the rest of your team.

Lastly drop the scarf on magnetzone for Substitute as you can then scout better and explode on Blissey from behind a sub.

Have a Nice Day!

 

[Darkamber8828]

You may want to replace recover on Latias with wish, because scarfrachi likes recovery.

I think the SpA evs on P2 are necessary to OHKO Salamence, but don't quote me on that.

How does magna/trio beat breloom? If they come in, they take a spore. If they come in after that, on a sub, they're ko'ed by focus punch/seed bomb.

Also, Dugtrio cannot take a U-turn from scizor.

Mostly nitpicks, this is a nice team. Beware, my rates suck.

 

[azntrumpet]

Oh, I used to have a Scizor on this team an forgot to edit that part out. Dugtrio only comes in on revenge and OHKO's Breloom with Aerial Ace. Recover is necessary over Wish because the instant recovery allows it to set-up CM on Ice Beams and Shadow Balls. 0 Sp. Att Ice Beam will OHKO even my Specially bulky Salamence with SR down, so I don't think it's for that.

 

[Plus]

Hi, got your PM.

Obviously your team excels at revenge killing since you have Dugtrio and Magnezone, but using both of these pokemon as well as a Scarf Jirachi can be a little bit risky, for the reason that you are essentially giving your team holes for the opponent to exploit. whether or not you have the ability to patch up these "holes" is a bit complicated. Shed Shell pokemon such as Skarmory and Forretress are going to come in on a good portion of your team easily, lay out spikes, and switch out. Agiligross can sweep through this team late game, when rocks are up and your opponent has damaged a little bit of your team. You also must be wary of DD Salamence, even Porygon2 can't cut its sheer strength all the time. Generally, a bulky water could also work over Porygon 2 -- even though you really like it, you've said it already. The investment it needs is pretty important, and it can be exploited by stall teams, or something like CM Jirachi can set up on it, which would be hard to break seeing as how it can rip through magnezone and outspeeds mence. You'd need to work a bit in order to get Dugtrio in safely without taking any damage.

I really dont think that Duggy and Magnezone are both needed here, especially in today's current metagame where many things can sweep pretty easily, or if you should let a pokemon get a Sub up, it's terribly annoying. Duggy is a little bit weak as well even with CB, failing to 2hko bold blissey for example. You might want to run something like a Rotom-a, if you ran something fat like a subsplit set then you could also check Gyarados and make more room in your team for something other than Porygon2. This also works as your response to agiligross, allowing you to burn it before it sweeps your team.

With Rotom-a over Duggy, you can potentially try CB Scizor over Porygon2 as your check to DDMence. CB Scizor softens up teams for sweeping prowess and also works as a revenge killer. For a trapping-esque team, I found it pretty odd that you weren't attempting to trap one of the most annoying pokemon in OU, Latias. Scizor works as your response to Dragon types, letting you bullet punch Mence and Scizor, while generally making your team more solid against Latias. Without Scizor, something like a Specs Latias can come in repeatedly on certain pokemon with little cost, and switch out due to your lack of pursuit.

For minor changes, you can probably opt for Iron Head over Zen Headbutt on Jirachi even though you want to 2hko Machamp leads. You have a good chance to kill off Machamp with flinches anyways, and you now have a reliable backup in Rotom to finish it off. Furthermore, you can run max speed on that jirachi as those extra hp evs aren't doing much for you, you at least want to tie with other jirachi and +base 100s like DDMence.

Salamence is pretty slow, you're losing to Heatran and Lucario, both of which can kill you off with a Stone Edge or Explosion if you're not faster. I'm not sure what your spread is about, but if you ran 252 hp / 176 def / 80 spe on that with a jolly nature, then I believe you'd be able to survive scizor bullet punches and roost off the damage, as well as hitting 281 to outspeed adamant luke and those who hit 280 to outspeed it. You can also try out Dragon Claw / Leftovers here, generally with bulky salamence like these you can get more than 1 dd, and in that scenario Dragon Claw would work better as there is no drawback, and you have leftovers to contribute to your bulk.

rotom-h @ leftovers
252 hp / 168 def / 88 spe
thunderbolt / wow / sub / pain split

scizor @ choice band
248 hp / 252 atk / 4 spdef / 4 spe
uturn / superpower / bullet punch / pursuit

Most of these evs are a bit standard, 88 speed evs to outspeed regular breloom and bait tar, while scizor runs 4 evs below the normal scizor so you uturn second, effectively giving you the switch advantage.

Its a bit late so I hope I didn't give any inconsistencies, good luck nonetheless and welcome back.

 

[azntrumpet]

Thanks for the advice Plus. Those changes leave me pretty LO Jolt weak, however, who I've been seeing a lot lately, while making it harder to kill off Tyranitar. They also don't really address my Shed Shell Steel, SubPetaya Empoleon, or Blissey issues.

Originally, I ran Scizor>Salamence, but it seems like everyone and their mom has a way of beating, if not exploiting Scizor. Out of my three trappers, Scizor was the one who was pulling the least weight, so it was dropped for a more threatening sweeper.

Though Latias can be annoying, it can also be set-up bait for my own Latias should it get locked into anything but Dragon Pulse. If it does, I get a free U-Turn with Jirachi. Funnily enough, I ran into a SpecsLati from a top player that carried HP Fire and let me set up CM's behind a Sub while it attempted to DM to death.

I think regardless of what I do, barring a spinner, Shed Shell Skarm and Forry will give me trouble. The only thing I can do is hope Shed Shell usage remains relatively low. If it spikes, I may have to retire this team until it dies off.

And while Rotom-H would help my Agiligross problems, I find that Metagross is being used more as a lead these days, allowing me to choice it for Magnezone or Dugtrio later. Hopefully, I don't run into ones running Lefties, but if I do, hopefully Porygon2 is healthy enough to get a Thunder Wave in. Other than Jirachi (who is pure early game) and Latias (which almost always is saved until I've scouted out my opponent's team), there really isn't that much of an opportunity for one to come in and set up an Agility.

One suggestion I like though is a change in Salamence's EV spread as the set isn't working out as well as I had envisioned. However, I find that most people will try to status Salamence before they attack and the power of Outrage and confusion cure when I'm sweeping late game is invaluable too.

CM Jirachi is a jerk, but normally I can predict well enough to get Dugtrio in on a Thunderbolt or CM for the Earthquake, followed up by my Salamance or Jirachi if I don't take it out with EQ.

I can see where you're coming from on a lot of these points, but my philosophy with walls is that they must have a reliable means of recovery, otherwise they can be exploited the next switch in. That means Rotom-H and CBScizor are not reliable checks for me. In addition, it is very helpful if you can force your opponent's hand by taking out their Pokemone once and for all with a trapper, which Scizor is not fast enough to do. The point of Porygon2 is that it counters so much of the metagame that tries to exploit my choiced EQ's and Thunderbolts, while spreading Thunder Wave for my relatively slow team and having a reliable form of recovery.

Once again, thanks for the rate!