DPP OU The Powerless Rise [OU: Peaked #21]

[-RatCheesy]

This Vacancy will take everything this world can offer.
But what is control once we have let go of all we suffer?​

-As I Lay Dying: Vacancy​

The Powerless Rise​

-The Beginning-​

I decided to post and share my team that has been successful for quite awhile. It's been quite a journey creating and re-creating this team until finally I had a finished product, that I considered my style of offense. I use to run semi-stall teams before Latias got booted to ubers, but I never felt too comfortable with semi-stall, until one day I decided to go back to my roots and create an offensive team. This team was created about two months ago and I began laddering to find some major holes and I began replacing some original members that were simply not worthy to be in the team. Basically, I'm retiring this team since 5th Gen is right around the corner. This team peaked #21 on the OU Leaderboard, with 1524 CRE under the username "-Vacancy", the team had an excellent win ratio and it was consistent, which is important to be a good team. The team has done very well in tournaments like Smogon Tour. I based my team around my favorite band As I Lay Dying, and you can obviously notice by my Shoddy username. I couldn't think of a better way to have my favorite team along with a kick ass band in a thread.​

-Team Building Process-​

I originally had lead Specs Starmie to handle common leads like Machamp but it just didn't work out too well.
So I decided to use the most underrated lead which is Choice Band Azelf.
It's an absolute juggernaut and the ability to U-Turn is too good to pass up.​

So now I wanted another pokemon that can U-Turn and scout and obviously a scarfer, and here came along Flygon.
Late game it just cleans everything up and is a fantastic partner to Azelf.​

I really needed someone to set up stealth rock and Shuca Berry Heatran was the perfect choice for the job.
This is just the beginning of the F/W/G core.​

Now I need a bulky water and offensive Suicune came into the picture, and mid-game usually sets up after I've scouted with U-Turn.
Suicune has the full capability of sweeping if all counters are taken out.​

Breloom is one of the key members of my team and able to take full control against stall teams.
Sub Punch Loom in my opinion is one of the most annoying yet threatening pokemon under a substitute.
This completes the core and I absolutely love Breloom. I originally had Shaymin but I really needed a physical grass type.​

This is the final piece of the team, Sub CM Jirachi is my effective way of dealing against stall oriented teams.
It can avoid status inflicting moves and set up quite easily. MVP of the team no doubt about it. I originally had scarf Metagross.​

Azelf @ Choice Band
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Jolly
Evs: 144 Atk / 112 SpD / 252 Spe
-U-Turn
-Trick (Had Ice Punch originally)
-Zen Headbutt
-Explosion​

Azelf is the best example of a reliable lead and consistent, its job is to hit hard and U-Turn away fast.
With Choice Band it puts quite the hurt against many leads.
The reason I have Ice Punch is to get the quick OHKO on lead Dragonite and Gliscor which are still common leads.
No one ever expects it, and all I do is smirk.
It's powerful Explosion is able to take out the most defensive pokemon in the game like Skarmory and lead Metagross.
Azelf is a nice partner to Flygon and these two share important roles in securing a promising sweep.

Flygon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Jolly
Evs: 252 Spe / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
-U-Turn
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Outrage

Flygon the weakest yet the best scouting dragon this game has to offer. It's typing is astounding, immunity to Thunder Wave and ground moves is awesome.
Scarf Flygon is my clean up pokemon, once everythings weakened, Flygon will pick pokemon apart with either EQ or Outrage.
Fire Blast is to hit Forretress, Scizor, and Skarmory at low health. Also, takes out Agili Gross because of jolly nature.
An excellent revenge killer and it remains a huge threat in the metagame.

Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Modest
Evs: 252 SpA / 224 Spe / 32 HP
-Stealth Rock
-Earth Power
-Fire Blast
-Will-O-Wisp

Heatran the pokemon who sets up rocks and can fend for itself with the help of Shuca Berry.
I run modest for the extra boost in power, and I find it really dumb to run Naive and lowering its great special defense just to speed tie other Heatran's.
394 SpA is powerful and hits like a truck, I usually switch this guy into a Rotom's Shadow Ball, and I retaliate with a Fire Blast.
Explosion is for last resort, when I know my other moves can't take out the opponent.
Definitely Heatran has an important role in this team, and Flygon really appreciates its steel typing.

Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Timid
Evs: 252 SpA / 224 Spe / 32 HP
-Calm Mind
-HP Electric
-Ice Beam
-Hydro Pump

Offensive Suicune poses as a huge threat when it sets up freely with one or two Calm Minds.
This is the standard offensive Cune and max speed is necessary to speed tie against other Suicunes.
Suicune forces a lot of switches especially because most players might assume its Cro-Cune.
Hydro Pump literally wrecks anything that comes in or stays in, barring Vaporeon of course (Water Absorb).
Yet, Suicune is a powerful special sweeper on its own and can be a monster when played correctly.

Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Nature: Adamant
Evs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Spe
-Spore
-Substitute
-Seed Bomb
-Focus Punch

Breloom, what can I say you are a complete asshole sometimes but its a damn good one. It's trademark set which is the Spore Puncher, it brings a lot to the table.
A physical beast that I use to quickly sleep a pokemon after I U-Turned with either Azelf or Flygon and I get to safely sub up and start wrecking shit.
With stealth rock on the field, some pokemon who wouldn't be OHKO'd can now be taken out with the help of 25%.
Breloom is a major asset to the team, and thus I believe it can't be replaced under any circumstance.
Breloom's ev's are meant to be more bulky and to take better hits.

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
Nature: Timid
Evs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
-Calm Mind
-HP Ground (Originally had Substitute)
-Thunderbolt
-Psychic

Jirachi like I mentioned before is the Most Valuable Pokemon (MVP) to the team.
Why? It just can't be tamed under a substitute and a Calm Mind under its belt.
It's so anti-stall that I simply love how quickly it can tear apart teams. I run Timid nature to outspeed Jolly Lucario and Timid Roserade.
Jirachi is my Lucario counter and I always save it late game, since my opponents reveal Luke towards the end.
Jirachi can substitute and Lucario will CC and lower its defenses and then boom it gets destroyed by a STAB Psychic.
I love using Jirachi and its just a beast.


CHANGES MADE IN BOLD

 

[afterburn]

Nice team, I can't see any gapping weaknesses to the team, other than maybe a Swords Dance Infernape weakness if Flygon is sitting at 69% or lower, with +2 Atk it could pick it off with Mach Punch. It could get a set-up opportunity on Heatran or Breloom, forcing you to switch unless you're a ballsy player, lol. You could try offensive Starmie in place of Suicune, giving it Hydro Pump/recover/Ice Beam/ThunderBolt with the same spread as your Suicune and Life Orb. Additionally you may want to test Trick>IcePunch on Azelf to cripple shit like Blissey on stall, but yeah thats about it.

Again, solid team, and congrats on the ladder peak

 

[IronBullet]

Hey,

Solid team, and congrats on the high ranking! You have a slight issue with Life Orb Starmie, as it 1-2HKOs every Pokemon on your team. You basically have to predict perfectly to get Flygon in, and even a slight misprediction can prove fatal. There really isn't much you can do without messing up team synergy, but you could try out a Passho Heatran over your current one. Starmie is only really going to come in on Breloom, so you can switch to Heatran on the Ice Beam, survive even LO Hydro Pump, and Explode. It also helps out with offensive Suicune, who can be a bit of a headache as well. If you dislike Exploding, HP Grass is a perfectly viable option over Earth Power, as it's almost a guaranteed KO after 1 round of SR and Life Orb.

Gl with your team!

 

[BKC]

Changes I think could work in bold

Azelf @ Choice Band
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Jolly
Evs: 144 Atk / 112 SpD / 252 Spe
-U-Turn
-Trick
-Zen Headbutt
-Explosion​

The SpD EVs let you live LO Starmie's Hydro Pump in case you lose the speed tie. Trick helps you mess up stall and completely screws up lead Heatran. You Trick, give them a CB as they set up rocks, then either U-turn out and start putting pressure on them or Trick again and give something like Scizor a Shuca Berry. It also helps mess up stall if you can eliminate the Scarftar.

Flygon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Adamant
Evs: 252 Spe / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
-U-Turn
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Outrage

The team has some issues with SubRoost/SDef Zapdos and Togekiss isn't too friendly to it either, this lets you get solid hits on them without having to resort to Heatran's Explosion. It also lets you retain your secondary Gyarados check, albeit slightly less reliable. Jolly's power is really really disappointing, while Adamant's power nets some surprise kills because people expect the weak Jolly Gon that is standard. AgiliGross is pretty rare, plus you have Shuca Tran (if it's healthy) and Suicune, who cannot be KO'd by a Life Orb ThunderPunch. You also still outrun +2 Empoleon.

Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Modest
Evs: 252 SpA / 224 Spe / 32 HP
-Stealth Rock
-Earth Power
-Fire Blast
-Will-O-Wisp

I've found Will-O-Wisp to be incredibly useful. Burns incoming Dragonite/Gyarados, while also somewhat helping with your weakness to Zapdos/Togekiss. The extra HP investment surprisingly makes a difference, especially when switchin in on things such as Rotom-A, plus you always survive SpecsTran's Earth Powers in case they're Timid (you outrun all Modest ones). Explosion might be worth it in order to KO Blissey, but you shouldn't be resorting to Explosion to deal with it, plus if you play smart Breloom/Azelf can smash it.

Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Timid
Evs: 252 SpA / 224 Spe / 32 HP
-Calm Mind
-HP Electric
-Ice Beam
-Hydro Pump

Tying with other offensive Cune isn't necessary because you have CM Rachi, the speed outruns Jolly Gyara and the rest goes into HP for bulk.

Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Nature: Adamant
Evs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Def
-Spore
-Substitute
-Seed Bomb
-Focus Punch

HP EVs allow for the best Poison Heal number, letting you make more Substitutes. The defense EVs do actually make a difference, letting you take things like Ice/Fire Punch from ScarfRachi, Bullet Punch from CB Scizor, Outrage from Scarf Flygon, etc.

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spe / 252 SpA
-Calm Mind
-Hidden Power Ground
-Thunderbolt
-Psychic

This thing is the biggest Heatran magnet ever, and HP Ground just smashes it. This'll allow you to sweep alot of teams instead of switching to Suicune in order to avoid getting roasted by Tran and losing your +1/+1. Wish Calm Mind is another option to beat Blissey because if you've slept something else and Azelf is dead, you can have alot of trouble KOing it, especially if it has Flamethrower/Ice Beam, but I've found Superachi the most useful.

Great team overall broseph.

 

[-RatCheesy]

Thanks everyone for the rate, I really appreciate it.

I agree that the team has a Starmie weakness, I usually have to sack something or predict around it. I play really ballsy sometimes, if Starmie came in on Heatran, people usually T-bolt expecting a water type, so I stay in and explode.

I have tested Starmie on the team and it just isn't too bulky for my liking, Suicune can safely come in against some powerful attacks while Starmie takes quite the beating. As, for the SD Infernape weakness, definitely could be a problem if Flygon is at low health but I honestly haven't ran into that kind of Ape set.

I'm willing to to take any suggestions and test them out, if someone would like to point out something important, it would be great.

 

[Zinocide]

This is a very good looking team, all I can really say is that Offensive cune should have the more reliable Surf over Hydro Pump, but if it has been working for you, and you would like the extra power then keep it.

 

[-RatCheesy]

Thanks. Hydro Pump has its merits and I get certain OHKO's that I couldn't with Surf.

 

[MissingNo.]

Nice team, I think CB Azelf is extremely underrated as well. One piece of advice I could have is not to rely on stat boosts too much. Nobody is going to let you get two CMs up unless you've already taken down their Pokemon with Roar or Whirlwind. Otherwise, great team, and keep it up!

 

[Philip7086]

Rating by request.

So obviously this is a great team, as demonstrated by its high placing on the leaderboard, so I don't really have too much to contribute here. First, I would like to second Franky's suggestion of switching Shuca Berry to Passho Berry on Heatran, to help lessen the damage you take from Starmie. Second, I would like to suggest Thunderpunch on Flygon over Fire Blast, because your only Gyarados check currently is Suicune, who also doubles as many checks for you which means any doubled up threats will probably sweep you clean. I also wanted to point out that I don't feel like you have a Swords Dance Infernape weakness, considering Flygon is usually at good health (unless you use it recklessly) and you also have Azelf unless you exploded, which helps. Nape also can't really set up on anything w/o dying, so it doesn't look troublesome to me. The only thing I can really see being a nuisance to this team is Shaymin. Offensive Shaymin with HP Fire and Earth Power can give you a ton of trouble if you don't predict right. In fact, that might be a reason to keep Shuca Berry on Heatran, so you can come in on Seed Flare, live an Earth Power, and KO back, but it's up to you. I personally think Life Orb Starmie is a slightly bigger threat, so I think Passho is the way to go. Anyways, it's tough to rate a team that has most things covered, so good job. 5 stars.

 

[Super Mario Bro]

Suicune is extremely weak with Leftovers. Since there are no users of Sandstorm on this team, why don't you take advantage of that and use Life Orb? With Life Orb, Suicune OHKOs Pokemon like Defensive Celebi after a little residual damage (it can Thunder Wave your current set without too many issues), Specs Jolteon, and Machamp after a Calm Mind. Also, you guarantee that OHKO on Bulky Gyarados, so it won't be able to hit you with two Stone Edges.

I mean, with that moveset, you might as well use a Crocune.

Use this EV spread with a Life Orb:

Timid
32 HP/252 SpA/224 Spe

 

[-RatCheesy]

Suicune is extremely weak with Leftovers. Since there are no users of Sandstorm on this team, why don't you take advantage of that and use Life Orb? With Life Orb, Suicune OHKOs Pokemon like Defensive Celebi after a little residual damage (it can Thunder Wave your current set without too many issues), Specs Jolteon, and Machamp after a Calm Mind. Also, you guarantee that OHKO on Bulky Gyarados, so it won't be able to hit you with two Stone Edges.

I mean, with that moveset, you might as well use a Crocune.

Use this EV spread with a Life Orb:

Timid
32 HP/252 SpA/224 Spe

I have to agree with the Life Orb suggestion. I don't have a user that sets up Sandstorm, so it would be logical to go for more power on Suicune. I'll make the change right now. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Megan_Fox]

i know you already made the change, but tbh i reccomend changing back to leftovers on Cune. You use Cune to Counter/Check alot of various mons and taking a 10% recoil (plus the fact that you dont get leftovers recovery) is definitely not favorable since suicune plays such a large role defensibly. suicune sure the extra KO's are nice but imo, they just arent worth it.

there really is nothing else worth mentioning for a change. azelf and gliscor are rare as leads but i dont really have any move better to offer.

since you are running a somewhat bulky breloom, i would consider leech seed > seed bomb (you could change your ev spread to the one on analysis if u wanted). Subseed breloom is quite a strong threat. Jirachi, Suicune, Heatran and Flygon would also greatly benefit from it

good team, congrats on lb and gl

 

[Super Mario Bro]

i know you already made the change, but tbh i reccomend changing back to leftovers on Cune. You use Cune to Counter/Check alot of various mons and taking a 10% recoil (plus the fact that you dont get leftovers recovery) is definitely not favorable since suicune plays such a large role defensibly. suicune sure the extra KO's are nice but imo, they just arent worth it.

Well, if you look at the flip-side, the extra power can help Suicune check certain threats better (even with recoil). Let me explain:

Suicune (w/Leftovers) vs. 156 HP Gyarados: 64.9% - 76.8% (never OHKOs after SR and Leftovers)

Suicune (w/Life Orb) vs. 156 HP Gyarados: 84.3% - 99.5% (a guaranteed OHKO after SR and Leftovers)

This means that Gyarados has a very good shot at pulling off two Stone Edges against the Leftovers Suicune, while he is only able to pull off one Stone Edge against Life Orb Cune.

Life Orb lets you beat Pokemon like Vaporeon and Celebi, who would otherwise beat that super weak Leftovers set without too many issues. Overall, LO is just better on Cune, unless you have very good reason to do otherwise (and if Sandstorm concerns you so much, you could use a CM Golduck, who is immune).

 

[BKC]

I'd also say Lefties > LO here, when I played with the team I never had any issues of power with Cune.

SubSeed Loom is an option that could actually work here, since you have alot of stuff to take on Gliscor.