The Reborn Jackal [OU RMT]

[Eradicator]

Introduction:

Hey guys and welcome to my RMT. I've just recently joined Smogon, but I have been stalking the RMT section and battling on Shoddy for a bit. I finally decided to post my first RMT so wish me luck. xD Since it's my first, bare with me if I miss a few things here and there. Anyway, as you can probably tell from the title, this is a team based on the mighty Lucario. I've always wanted to make a team around him because he's capable of wrecking so many pokemon and I finally stopped being lazy and got around to it. So I'll just stop talking now and get on with the RMT. Here's the team:
​

.:The Reborn Jackal:.

Synergy Chart:

_______________________________________


A Closer Look:

Gliscor (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-Turn
- Taunt

After a lot of testing and playing around with leads, I finally came across this thing. This spot was occuped by other leads such as Swampert, Metagross, Infernape, and Azelf. Swampert didn't match up to what I expected of it and Metagross' ground weakness would have made three ground weaknesses on the team and with a lot of stuff packing Earthquake these days, it's not so safe. Infernape and Azelf were doing pretty decent, but their typings didn't help the synergy of this team very well. I also realized that I didn't have anything to stop my opponents from getting rocks up or even some layers of spikes. Since Starmie's role was a Pursuit attracter and revenge killer, it wasn't made to be a spinner. I quickly searched some leads with Taunt and I came around this guy and fell in love with it ever since. Although this thing does have a huge weakness to ice, (making three on this team), I do have 3 resistances for it and one being a 4x resist. With Taunt I can prevent most leads from setting up any entry hazards such Roserade, Metagross, and Forretress. Gliscor's good 95 base speed helps it do so. This is what some of you are probably thinking: "Why not Aero?" Well, the reason I chose Gliscor is because has way more defensive bulk than Aero and it can be saved for later on while the speedy dinosaur is usually a suicide lead. Earthquake is for the given STAB and U-Turn lets Gliscor turn into my scout as my Heatran is now scarfed.
​

Possible Changes: None.

Vs. Other Leads:

Green means easy to deal with.
Orange means somewhat problematic.
Red means difficult to handle.

Hide

Azelf: One of the two common leads that has a faster taunt than Gliscor. I can just switch to Heatran and get a sub on the switch though.

​

Machamp: One of my worst nightmares. I almost always lose at least one poke to this thing. I usually try getting in damage and revenge it with something.

Dragonite: A little bit tough. I have to switch around till I get to Starmie for the Ice Beam usually.

Roserade: I taunt it and laugh in its face as I set up my rocks.

Swampert: A bit of a problem, but not too much of one. I switch to Starmie on the Ice Beam and Hydro Pump.

Heatran: Taunt, set up my rocks, Earthquake it.

Tyranitar: Taunt, SR, EQ.

Ninjask: SR on the Protect and Taunt after the sub.

Metagross: Taunt, SR, EQ.

Aerodactyl: The second common lead that can use taunt before me. I switch to Starmie and Hydro Pump usually, sadly, it has a sash.

Jirachi: SR regardless if it uses Trick or SR itself and switch to Heatran on the U-Turn. Sadly, it scouts one of my pokes.

Infernape: Take the Fake Out, SR, and then Earthquake (although Fire Blast will do a nice chunk) or switch to Starmie.

Rotom-h @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/200 Def/56 SAtk
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Thunderbolt
- Reflect

This was originally a Zapdos, but thanks to vashta, Scimjara, and Super Mario Bro it got changed to a RestTalk Rotom-H. Rotom-H has a ground resist like Zapdos, but Rotom-H is much better for my team because it can deal with things that plague my team like Machamp and Kingdra. For Machamp, I can set up the Reflect first turn, fire off some Tbolts and Rest up when I need to. While rested I can just Sleep Talk and hopefully I can KO it. As for Kingdra, I can do the same thing. Although, Rotom-H has a chance to die in the end, I might still have my reflect up or I could just Extremespeed with Lucario. The EVs are set so I still have some nice defensive bulk and I can 3HKO Machamp with Tbolt. I was previously testing out Discharge over Tbolt because of the higher chance to para, but I don't have a guaranteed 3HKO on champ with it, so Tbolt is a nicer choice. Also, I chose Reflect over WoW here because Machamp and Kindgra run the Lum most of the time and will damage me much more than it could with a first turn Reflect up.
​

Possible Changes: Take out the Special Attack EVs and invest some in Special Defense?

Roserade (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP/120 Def/136 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Spikes
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Stun Spore

Roserade provides the perfect support for my team because of its ability being a crippler and Spikes user. It's the first part of my Fire/Grass/Water core and has done a really nice job. Lucario REALLY likes to have Spikes up to ensure his sweep. Since the Luke I run is Jolly, it's gonna need Spikes and rocks up to guarantee KOs on things like Hippowdon and Celebi. This is where Roserade comes in. I can switch in on a bulky water like Vaporeon and cripple switch ins such as Infernape or ScarfTran. Roserade also doesn't mind a Vaporeon staying in to Ice Beam as it only takes 35.2% - 42% from it. From there I can hopefully set up a couple layers of Spikes to aid the mighty jackal. While being a supporter, Roserade has some good bulk to aid it in doing its job. 252 HP and 136 SpD EVs ensure that a SpecsJolt's HP Ice is a 2 or 3 hit kill. I chose Energy Ball over Grass Knot just to hit stuff harder like Jolteon. HP Fire is for other grasses and steels as well.
​

Possible Changes: Grass Knot over Energy Ball?

Heatran (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Spd/252 SAtk/4 SDef
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Explosion
- Dragon Pulse

Heatran has the ability to wreck anything that switches into it barring a few like Blissey and Snorlax. Even Starmie takes a decent amount from a powerful Fire Blast. This Tran was originally a SubTran, but I changed it to Scarf so my Starmie can be a Rapid Spinner instead of a revenge killer. This thing can rape a lot of stuff that my team doesn't feel like sacing HP for like Bulky Rotom, MixNite, and SDluke to name a few. What makes ScarfTran such a great revenge killer is that it has a great STAB 120 base power move to complement its above average special attack. This thing loves to come in on an LO or Choiced Tran's Fire Blast, gain some extra firepower, and leave a dent in whatever comes in. This Tran is also a member of my Fire/Grass/Water core which has proven to be great in this metagame. Fire Blast is self explanatory, Earth Power is for other Trans, Explosion for Blissey and Lax, and Dragon Pulse for Nite.
​

Possible Changes: HP Electric/Grass?

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Spd/252 SAtk/4 SDef
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Surf
- Rapid Spin

Starmie is the final member of my Fire/Grass/Water core, but his main goal to lure Pursuit for Lucario. Ttar and Scizor can come in on my Thunderbolts and Ice Beams, forcing me to switch and get Pursuit trapped which is exactly what I want for my Luke. This is one of the only ways that Lucario will get a perfect sweep. He takes barely any damage from Pursuit, SDs up, and we can all get our brooms out with little doubt if SR and three layers of Spikes are up. Starmie's last roles to fill are being an effective rapid spinner and sweeper. Before, this was my Scarfed revenge killer, but I really needed a spinner because rocks and spikes were getting annoying so with help from vashta, I opted for the LO version with Rapid Spin. Although, I miss being able to outspeed SpecsJolt and a Gyara after one DD and tricking Starmie's walls like Bliss and Lax, I like the idea of not being forced to switch because of being locked into a move. I chose Surf over Hydro Pump because Hydro Pump's accuracy was getting annoying, Tbolt for Gyara, and Ice Beam for dragons.
​

Possible Changes: Recover?

Lucario (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Extremespeed
- Crunch

Here it is. The star of the show, the almighty SDLuke. This thing can rip teams into shreds if played correctly and supported. Having three layers of spikes is really useful for this team as it can wear down Luke's possible checks such as Celebi and Hippowdon as I stated in my Roserade description. After Starmie attracts the Pursuit and sacrifices itself, Lucario can come in and get a free SD off and this thing is so sexy that it might be the only Swords Dance needed. Jolly nature lets me, if not outspeed an opposing Luke, it lets me speed tie with it. Close Combat is for a nice STAB 120 base power move, Crunch is for Rotom and Celebi, and Extremespeed is a nice priority attack for anything faster than me, except Gengar who checks Lucario completely. I was considering for a while to use Bullet Punch on this thing, but Extremespeed proved to be more worthy for the spot.
​

Possible Changes: Adamant over Jolly?


_________________________________

Conclusion

I've tested this team a decent amount and at first it was doing well, but ever since then the wins have become scarce so I thought I'd post it to get some rates. Constructive Criticism would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Changes will be in red.


Threat list: July's Shoddy Top 25

Green means easy to deal with.
Orange means somewhat problematic.
Red means it's a big threat.

Heatran: Starmie, Gliscor, and Lucario can all handle Heatran.

Scizor: Heatran can scare it with Fire Blast and Zapdos with Heat Wave.

Gyarados: Roserade can cripple it and Starmie and Zapdos have Thunderbolt.

Tyranitar: Lucario can come in on the Dark type attack and Gliscor can EQ it.

Starmie: My own Starmie can Tbolt it first if it's not scarfed and Roserade can Energy Ball it.

Gengar: Outspeed with Starmie can Hydro Pump.

Jirachi: Heatran can come in and Fire Blast it.

Infernape: Starmie checks and KOs.

Metagross: Zappy has Heat Wave and Heatran can outspeed and KO.

Swampert: I have Roserade with Energy Ball and Zapdos with HP Grass.

Dragonite: It's hard to switch to Starmie on this, so I usually have to sac a poke.

Blissey: Lucario can destroy it.

Machamp: I can set up Reflect with Rotom-H, Discharge it, and set up Rest when I need to.

Lucario: Zapdos, Gliscor, and Starmie can handle it.

Flygon: If it's locked into EQ, I go to Gliscor or Zapdos, Outrage goes to Heatran, and Stone Edge Lucario.

Azelf: Tran shuts it down unless it carries HP Ground which is rare.

Breloom: I use Starmie as a sleep absorber and then go to Zapdos.

Rotom: I switch to Heatran.

Gliscor: Starmie has Ice Beam.

Skarmory: I have Zapdos for the Tbolt and Heatran for Fire Blast.

Vaporeon: I can explode on it or wear it down with tbolt from Zapdos or Starmie.

Suicune: I taunt it with Gliscor and switch to Roserade.

Celebi: Heatran can take it out with Fire Blast.

Jolteon: Wear it down with Roserade and use Starmie as clean up.

Kingdra: Life is a bit easier with Rotom-H.



















​

 

[Scimjara]

Hello Eradicator interesting team you have yourself, I have a few suggestions that may help your team out!

Solid team you have there no glaring weaknesses. Machamp leads can cause trouble giving your team a shaky start. Seeing that you have to sacrifice Gliscor or hopefully try to lure in an Ice Punch then switching into Heatran to Explode. Which is a risky play considering some users might Dynamic Punch right off the bat. With the lack of a fighting immunity on the team Dynamic Punch's confusion can be a hassle to play with. This basically leaves you revealing two or three pokes at most exactly like you stated in your threat list.

Another threat for this team is Kingdra. A Kingdra with the move set Chesto Rest can easily sweep your team. In your threat list you say that you handle Kingdra by using Stun Spore. In this situation Kingdra would easily rack up one Dragon Dance while you Stun Spore and proceed to Dragon Dance again and then being able to Rest off the Paralysis being at 100%. Then Kingdra can proceed to sweep the rest of your team with just Waterfall. It doesn't even need to use Outrage because Waterfall after two dragon dances two hit ko's both Roserade and Starmie who resist water. Then the only chance you have is by revenge killing Kingdra with Lucario's Extreme Speed. Other then that Kingdra at least nets two kills on your team and if Lucario is out of play it has the chance to sweep.

With this said I would suggest you use Rest-Talk Rotom over Zapdos. This allows you to switch safely into Machamps Dynamic Punch. Unlike Zapdos who takes 25% every switch in due to Stealth Rock as well as holding life orb you you won't have great longevity due to sand stream if it's in play. With Rotom you can Will-O-Wisp twice against Machamp, first to break the Lum Berry and then second time to cripple it. Then later you can Rest off the damage taken from Pay Back.

As for the Kingdra weakness without butchering around most of your team which I wont do. I do suggest that you chance Lucario's nature to Adamant because this lets you hit defensive Rotom alot harder with Crunch as well as get important Ko's on Skarmory and Bronzong afer a Swords Dance.

I would also suggest you use Rest over Stun Spore on Roserade. This provides you more longevity and with your ability being Natural Cure this allows you to fully recover your health and switch out and then come back in later with no status thanks to Natural Cure.

---
Rotom -H @ Leftovers | Levitate
Bold | 252 HP | 120 Def | 136 SpD
Thunderbolt | Will-O-Wisp | Rest | Sleep Talk
---
Good Luck!

 

[tawp64]

Nice Team!

Anyways, the Attacking lead Machamp is REALLY scary to your team. You could use a ghost to stop him, because your Zapdos takes 63.6% - 75.4% from it's ice punch. But Physicaly defensive takes only 38.1% - 45.4% from ice punch. To guarantee you kill it with Zapdos, you could do this:

Zapdos @ Zap Plate
Pressure
Evs: 248 HP/ 180 DEF/ 48 SP.A/ 32 SPE
Modest
~Thunderbolt
~Roost
~Heat Wave
~HP: Grass

This MAY look like the freakiest Zapdos ever because of it's hold item, and it's ev spread, but it'll make sense. With Zap Plate and 48 SP.A, you get a 2HKO on Machamp. He gets around With ice punch, he gets 44.4% - 52.2% on you. You outspeed him, so he's dead. Then roost off damage, and use him whenever needed.

Another thing you might want to change is crunch on Lucario. Ice Punch usually does better for me to stop Gliscor and Dragons. However, crunch stops Ghosts who annoy the crap outta everyone. Up to you.

Before I wrap this up, you should try Aero instead. It may not be as bulky, but I don't see a lead Gliscor very handy late game. Just sayin'.

Good Luck!

 

[vashta]

i think scimjara missed out a fundamental issue which is that which resides about his choice of third move for his suggested pokémon.

although he was right, in a way, for suggesting rotom-h over zapdos, he ignored two fundamental issues to the thence changes to the structure to the team and how it performs in conducting various things. firstly, scimjara states that rotom-h will allow you to deal with kingdra more efficiently, where it actually doesn't do a better job than zapdos is currently doing; in fact, zapdos is the better option. chesto berry kingdra doesn't care about will-o-wisp (thus it is redundant) and can rub it off easily and sweep your team with a couple of dragon dances under it's belt. this is the same case as dragonite if it carries heal bell. also, machamp doesn't care for will-o-wisp if payback does high damage as it is; even more so if it can switch into a common team partner, heatran, who will benefit from a flash fire boost which REALLY hurts you, too and forces rotom-h to switch out anyway.

therefore, i would like to suggest an improved rotom-h set which will take all these factors into correct consideration. the use of reflect rotom-h will mean that all resting, lum berry and heal bell recovery methods will not effect your aims of reducing physical damage induced by kingdra/dragonite/machamp. reflect gives you enough time to deal with those pokémon, too, and other physical attackers at the same time.

i would suggest changing zapdos to:

rotom-h @ leftovers
ability: levitate
evs: 252 hp / 176 def / 80 SpD
bold nature
- rest
- sleep talk
- reflect
- thunderbolt

the second issue that i think scimjara missed out is the fact that your team is left far more defensively than you would like. i mean, your team wishes to maintain an offensive, diverse and flexible function while being able to deal with threats accordingly. replacing rotom-h would leave you far less of a threat, offensively-speaking, thus another change would be in order.

i think changing your starmie a life orb sweeper would benefit you because it gives your team far more flexibility which is important to preventing the opponent setting up on you; the sort of set up where starmie invites pokémon like kingdra to the field. the life orb sweeper actually helps you because it threatens your opponent a lot more with its brute strength, especially with spikes acting on your behalf.

i really think that choice scarf was only necessary for tricking snorlax and blissey which really get handled quite well. i guess suicune falls into this category, too, but it can't set up on anything, to be honest. to answer you considered changes about regarding surf > hydro pump, i believe surf may fair better because of the accuracy difference and the fact that spikes more or less means that starmie deals the same damage - or more - as hydro pump.

edit: random thought: you may want to consider choice scarf heatran as a better revenge killer than starmie with the set: fire blast / earth power / explosion / dragon pulse. with this you can check dragonite after reflect is up and still explode on blissey when you anticipate a switch - albeit much harder, unfortunately. funnily enough, a scarf heatran deals with Life orb weavile weakness which you have; especially if it comes with magnezone (which it usually does when you see a weavile), as magnezone disposes of lucario's extremespeed.

 

[Eradicator]

Thanks for the rates guys!

@Scimjara I really like the idea of switching Zapdos to Rotom-H. I'm gonna try both you and vashta's sets though, and decide which one works better after testing. And just thinking about it, Roserade could use a nice recovery move for stuff like Jolt.

Luke will be changed to adamant btw.

@tawp64 I'll test it out, but so far I'm convinced on RestTalk Rotom-H more since it lacks a weakness to rocks. And wouldn't running LO be a better option so I can hit pert and steels harder?

As for Lucario, I think Crunch is the better option because I usually have rocks up and most dragons are gonna have at the most 75% hp. Plus I won't get KOs against Celebi, Dusknoir, and Rotom.

Edit: Rotom-H looks better than the Zapdos, but thanks for the idea and Gliscor is doing a better job han aero as a lead for me.

Aero will definitely go into testing also.

@vashta Again, I really like the Rotom-h set. i'll try both you and scimjara's sets and decide, but Reflect might be the better option to keep DDtar and Nite in check as well has Kingdra and Machamp.

For Starmie the LO set with Rapid Spin sounds nice and Tran will get a Scarf.

 

[Psychotic..]

Just a small niptick you might wanna try HP ice over HP fire on roserade so you can surprise the likes of Dragonite,Flygon and Gliscor.

Also definitely use Adamant over Jolly on Lucario. The extra speed will be missed when facing the likes of suicune but it guarantees +2 ohko's with Extremespeed on foes like Flygon.

 

[Scimjara]

Vashta maybe if you took your time to read my post without running your mouth then you would have realized that I didn't say

"scimjara states that rotom-h will allow you to deal with kingdra more efficiently, where it actually doesn't do a better job than zapdos is currently doing; in fact, zapdos is the better option. chesto berry kingdra doesn't care about will-o-wisp (thus it is redundant) and can rub it off easily and sweep your team with a couple of dragon dances under it's belt."

I actually stated the quite opposite. How Roserade is ineffective against Chesto Berry Kingdra.

 

[Eradicator]

Thanks for the rate Psychotic. I'll tried out the HP Ice and it's working pretty well.

 

[Super Mario Bro]

Hi,

I noticed you have no spin blocker on your team. This is a pretty big deal because Starmie and Forretress usage is going up, and you don't want your hard work to go waste.

I second vashta's suggestion of a RestTalk Reflect Rotom over Zapdos. He gives you a really solid Spin-blocker, and a check for Machamp leads, Agiligross, and Chesto Rest Kingdra.

I have had the most success with this EV spread:

Rotom-H @ Leftovers
Bold Nature
EVs: 252 HP/200 Def/56 SpA
-Thunderbolt
-Reflect
-Rest
-Sleep Talk

56 Special Attack EVs guarantees a 3HKO on the standard Machamp lead.

Your team looks fine otherwise. Most things appear to be in check.

 

[Eradicator]

Thanks for the rate Super Mario Bro. I will switch Zapdos for Rotom-H for sure now.

 

[Eradicator]

Alright, I finally updated the RMT and put Rotom-H up in place of Zapdos. I also tweaked Gliscor, Starmie, and Heatran. Tell me what you think!

 

[ginganinja]

I am seeing a weakness to Scarf Tar here. Granted Rotom can set up a Reflect but it will not like taking Pursuits and nor will Starmie. Lucario can set up on pursuits but will get revenged but Tar after it kills something. You don't have a lot of checks for it bar Roserade (canot switch in on T-tar though) and Gliscor (no recovery and can be worn down a bit). I think that your only real chance is to get spikes up early to prevent its switch ins but this is no guarentee and your opponinet could always be running a rapid spinner.

I quick fix if for Lucario to run Bullet Punch over Crunch. I know that you don't want to lose coverage on Celebi and Rotom (and the lesser seen Dusknoir) however Celebi and Rotom are already handled pretty well on your Team and Bullet Punch lets you beat both Scarf Tar and Gengar.

Hope I helped

Have a Nice Day!

 

[Eradicator]

Thanks for the rate ninja. I'll try out BP over Crunch and if it works I'll make a change.