This is my first OU team (and competitive team in general). I've used it a fair amount and have peaked in the low 1500s. I find that early-game, I force a lot of switches (mostly using Aegislash and Quagsire, more on this later) to rack up entry hazard damage, then try to set up with Charizard and sweep.
Jeremie (Deoxys-Defense) @ Red Card
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Magic Coat
The offensive members of my team very much appreciate hazards, so I go with a suicide lead Deo-D to set them up. I always use it as my lead, except when the foe has a Magic Bounce Pokémon that could switch in and threaten it. If it doesn’t seem like I need to Taunt or Magic Coat, I Stealth Rock and then follow up with Spikes. It doesn’t need to Recover most of the time – sometimes I wish it could against teams with Defog users, but I can generally put enough pressure on Defog users to severely cripple them if they go for Defog. Therefore, I went with both Taunt and Magic Coat to further guarantee that I can get hazards up. The major counters to this are mostly Trick users, I find. If I predict one properly, I can switch to Charizard and proceed to Dragon Dance as they switch out.
Ulrich (Aegislash) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Def / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Shadow Ball
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Sneak
- King's Shield
Aegislash is pretty indispensable for both spinblocking and putting incredible pressure on my foes with Shadow Ball. Deo-D’s hazards help a lot with easing predictions: when the foe is at low health, they’ll usually just die from entry hazards anyway if they switch out, so I can Shadow Sneak with no fear that the foe will switch. I’m a little bit unsure about Sacred Sword. I tried Pursuit for a while (for Starmie and Lati@s), but found that its damage output wasn’t quite enough. Sacred Sword is pretty useful, as Tyranitar and Bisharp (two of the relatively few Pokémon that can safely switch into Shadow Ball) are both incredibly weak to Fighting. However, this really requires using it on the switch, and I don’t really use it all that often. Leftovers is better than Life Orb for longevity when using King's Shield or switching in.
William (Charizard) (M) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance
This Charizard-X plays more of a sweeper than a wallbreaker role, so I went with the much safer options of Fire Punch and Dragon Claw as compared to Flare Blitz and Outrage. Earthquake is often unexpected and good if the opponent tries to switch in something to stop a sweep. Hazards help a lot with his sweep, wearing down Pokémon that it might otherwise 2HKO. It helps my team because I needed a dedicated physical attacker and Charizard fills the role nicely.
Odd (Thundurus) (M) Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
Thundurus-Incarnate is incredibly powerful and good at spreading paralysis as well. I switch it in when one of my Pokémon is dead or against predicted Earthquakes that could be used against Aegislash or Charizard-X. Thunderbolt puts insane pressure on the opponent, and oftentimes the switch is fairly obvious, allowing me to counterswitch. HP Ice and Focus Blast are just coverage – HP Ice might be a little redundant with Manaphy’s Ice Beam, but it’s proven useful more than once. Paralysis is very helpful for both Charizard before setup and Manaphy, as each can sometimes be a little lackluster in Speed. However, I often feel as though I don’t use it as often as I should, instead favoring just dealing more damage. Life Orb sometimes ends up killing me after taking a strong neutral attack, but the extra power is usually too much to pass up.
Aelita (Manaphy) @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 80 HP / 252 SAtk / 176 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Energy Ball
- Tail Glow
While this is a Tail Glow set, I don’t really use Tail Glow all that often, as there’s almost always something that can outspeed and KO it. That makes me think that I might use a Choice Set instead with Specs or Scarf, but at the moment it’s not bad. It deals a ton of damage to Tryanitar, Quagsire, and other Pokémon that Charizard sometimes have trouble with, making it more of a cleaner or revenge killer than a sweeper. It can also beat slower Rotom-W with some prior damage or a Tail Glow boost, although often I just Toxic those with Quagsire. Leftovers is good for longevity, as plenty of Pokémon are faster than me. This, I feel, is the weakest member of my team, although it's really my most reliable way of dealing with opposing Quagsires.
Yumi (Quagsire) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Scald
- Recover
- Toxic
Quagsire has proven to be incredibly useful in many situations; it’s one of my favorite team members. It tanks physical attacks extremely well and gives me a lot less worry against sweepers. Opposing Charizard X’s and Ditto (often an incredible threat to Charizard X) are easily dealt with when it comes in. Aegislash and Quagsire work together quite well: Quagsire takes powerful Fire moves, while Aegislash can tank Grass moves and most special Moves that Quagsire can’t handle. I often switch between them to force the opponent to switch, racking up entry hazard damage that lets my sweepers finish them off. Scald is a necessity for burning, although often it doesn’t burn when I need it to. Toxic is great against opposing walls.
As for checks and counters, I feel that the #1 problems are Goodra and Mega Venusaur. If Charizard X has been eliminated, Goodra can basically counter my entire team, tanking HP Ice and Ice Beam and hitting back with powerful attacks. Even if Charizard X is still alive, it can't switch in on Goodra for fear of Draco Meteor and could suffer a crippling Speed drop if it KOs with Dragon Claw.
Charizard X requires plenty of boosts to get through Mega Venusaur, while Mega Venusaur can just Leech Seed or Sleep Powder to mess with it. It's immune to Toxic, meaning that I can't even wear it down. It's incredibly difficult to beat.
Some method of getting through these Pokémon would be extremely helpful.
Jeremie (Deoxys-Defense) @ Red Card
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Magic Coat
The offensive members of my team very much appreciate hazards, so I go with a suicide lead Deo-D to set them up. I always use it as my lead, except when the foe has a Magic Bounce Pokémon that could switch in and threaten it. If it doesn’t seem like I need to Taunt or Magic Coat, I Stealth Rock and then follow up with Spikes. It doesn’t need to Recover most of the time – sometimes I wish it could against teams with Defog users, but I can generally put enough pressure on Defog users to severely cripple them if they go for Defog. Therefore, I went with both Taunt and Magic Coat to further guarantee that I can get hazards up. The major counters to this are mostly Trick users, I find. If I predict one properly, I can switch to Charizard and proceed to Dragon Dance as they switch out.
Ulrich (Aegislash) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Def / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Shadow Ball
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Sneak
- King's Shield
Aegislash is pretty indispensable for both spinblocking and putting incredible pressure on my foes with Shadow Ball. Deo-D’s hazards help a lot with easing predictions: when the foe is at low health, they’ll usually just die from entry hazards anyway if they switch out, so I can Shadow Sneak with no fear that the foe will switch. I’m a little bit unsure about Sacred Sword. I tried Pursuit for a while (for Starmie and Lati@s), but found that its damage output wasn’t quite enough. Sacred Sword is pretty useful, as Tyranitar and Bisharp (two of the relatively few Pokémon that can safely switch into Shadow Ball) are both incredibly weak to Fighting. However, this really requires using it on the switch, and I don’t really use it all that often. Leftovers is better than Life Orb for longevity when using King's Shield or switching in.
William (Charizard) (M) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance
This Charizard-X plays more of a sweeper than a wallbreaker role, so I went with the much safer options of Fire Punch and Dragon Claw as compared to Flare Blitz and Outrage. Earthquake is often unexpected and good if the opponent tries to switch in something to stop a sweep. Hazards help a lot with his sweep, wearing down Pokémon that it might otherwise 2HKO. It helps my team because I needed a dedicated physical attacker and Charizard fills the role nicely.
Odd (Thundurus) (M) Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
Thundurus-Incarnate is incredibly powerful and good at spreading paralysis as well. I switch it in when one of my Pokémon is dead or against predicted Earthquakes that could be used against Aegislash or Charizard-X. Thunderbolt puts insane pressure on the opponent, and oftentimes the switch is fairly obvious, allowing me to counterswitch. HP Ice and Focus Blast are just coverage – HP Ice might be a little redundant with Manaphy’s Ice Beam, but it’s proven useful more than once. Paralysis is very helpful for both Charizard before setup and Manaphy, as each can sometimes be a little lackluster in Speed. However, I often feel as though I don’t use it as often as I should, instead favoring just dealing more damage. Life Orb sometimes ends up killing me after taking a strong neutral attack, but the extra power is usually too much to pass up.
Aelita (Manaphy) @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 80 HP / 252 SAtk / 176 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Energy Ball
- Tail Glow
While this is a Tail Glow set, I don’t really use Tail Glow all that often, as there’s almost always something that can outspeed and KO it. That makes me think that I might use a Choice Set instead with Specs or Scarf, but at the moment it’s not bad. It deals a ton of damage to Tryanitar, Quagsire, and other Pokémon that Charizard sometimes have trouble with, making it more of a cleaner or revenge killer than a sweeper. It can also beat slower Rotom-W with some prior damage or a Tail Glow boost, although often I just Toxic those with Quagsire. Leftovers is good for longevity, as plenty of Pokémon are faster than me. This, I feel, is the weakest member of my team, although it's really my most reliable way of dealing with opposing Quagsires.
Yumi (Quagsire) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Scald
- Recover
- Toxic
Quagsire has proven to be incredibly useful in many situations; it’s one of my favorite team members. It tanks physical attacks extremely well and gives me a lot less worry against sweepers. Opposing Charizard X’s and Ditto (often an incredible threat to Charizard X) are easily dealt with when it comes in. Aegislash and Quagsire work together quite well: Quagsire takes powerful Fire moves, while Aegislash can tank Grass moves and most special Moves that Quagsire can’t handle. I often switch between them to force the opponent to switch, racking up entry hazard damage that lets my sweepers finish them off. Scald is a necessity for burning, although often it doesn’t burn when I need it to. Toxic is great against opposing walls.
As for checks and counters, I feel that the #1 problems are Goodra and Mega Venusaur. If Charizard X has been eliminated, Goodra can basically counter my entire team, tanking HP Ice and Ice Beam and hitting back with powerful attacks. Even if Charizard X is still alive, it can't switch in on Goodra for fear of Draco Meteor and could suffer a crippling Speed drop if it KOs with Dragon Claw.
Charizard X requires plenty of boosts to get through Mega Venusaur, while Mega Venusaur can just Leech Seed or Sleep Powder to mess with it. It's immune to Toxic, meaning that I can't even wear it down. It's incredibly difficult to beat.
Some method of getting through these Pokémon would be extremely helpful.
