1 : Introduction
Hello Smogonites. This is my first forum post and my first team as well, so bear with me if it is not very good. I've read various articles and guides to teambuilding in OU and with some help of my cousin who got me initiated, I want to present my first team as an attempt at more or less bulky offense, starring a Pokémon I like very much, which is Zapdos.
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2 : Teambuilding Process
I started out with Zapdos as the Pokémon I wanted to star. It is the only Pokémon I cannot accept to change in this team. Despite the Electric Pokémon's glorious Defog ability, awesome defensive typing and access to recovery in Roost, I settled on the offensive, lesser seen Zapdos, my way. Its movepool may not be very large but I didn't need more than two attacks on it anyways.
Offensive Zapdos would struggle with Chansey a lot, and as I thought a fast, hard-hitting Physical Pokemon would be a nice helping hand to Zapdos, I added Terrakion to the team. Moreover, if Zapdos is unable to sweep through the opposing team, Terrakion can be an awesome late-game cleaner. Zapdos is of good help to the Cavern Pokémon, too, as it can deal hefty damage to bulky Water-type Pokémon such as Slowbro and Alomomola, firing Thunderbolt from 125 base SpA.
Stealth Rock can turn many 2HKO into OHKO and many 3HKO into 2HKO. With its ability to absorb burns for Terrakion and boost its Lava Plume, and force Pokémon out with Roar, Heatran was added to the team. Its struggles with Water-type and Fighting-type Pokémon is no longer a problem with Zapdos' ability to beat the former and resist the latter's STAB.
I will be honest. I clicked on Tyranitar by accident in the teambuilder but then I thought to myself, why not. This Pokémon can annule Sun / Rain with Sand Stream, and with an Assault Vest on, it can deal some good damage while being very bulky on the special side. I may want a replacement though as it conflicts a lot with the next Pokémon.
At this point the Water-, Fighting- and Ground-type weakness arose, so I needed a good Pokémon capable of taking hits, that had heal and could resist all three weaknesses aforementioned. Venusaur-mega felt pretty appealing then; it also doubles as a secondary sweeper to help Zapdos take on the likes of Clefable, Quagsire and Swampert. It dislikes Sandstorm which makes Synthesis heal less HP.
Rotom-Wash completes a Fire-Grass-Water core with Heatran and Venusaur, and with its slow Volt Switch it can bring in any teammate safely. Additional utility in Will-O-Wisp is always nice, too. Finally, it helps with Ground-type weakness except against Excadrill, which seems to struggle versus Venusaur anyways.
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3 : The Actual Pokémon
Aquila (Zapdos) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 152 HP / 252 SpA / 104 Spe
Modest Nature
- Agility
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
I crafted this moveset myself. The Speed EVs are designed in a way that, with Modest Nature and Agility, Zapdos can outspeed Choice Scarf Gengar after a +2 and all slower Pokémon, with maximal Special Attack and the rest of EVs going into HP to maximize bulk. HP happens to give 359, a good Life Orb number. Agility and Roost provide speed and sustain respectively while Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice are interesting in tandem, having the awesome Ice- and Electric-type offensive coverage otherwise known as the famed BoltBeam.
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Aldebaran (Terrakion) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
- Stone Edge
Choice Scarf Terrakion hits roughly 520 speed and maintains very good Attack. The EVs are straightforward, they aim at maximizing Terrakion's Physical Offense prowess. Close Combat and Stone Edge are the obligatory dual STAB moves; Rock- and Fighting-type are great offensively, hitting Fire-, Bug-, Flying-, Steel-, Normal-, Ice-, Dark- and Rock-type Pokémon super-effectively. In order to help with Fairy-type Iron Head was added as a move that could surprise Clefable and Sylveon on the switch. Rock Slide was added as a reliable Rock-type STAB and Stone Edge has shaky accuracy.
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Molten (Heatran) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 188 SpD / 68 Spe
Calm Nature
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Roar
- Stealth Rock
This is the standard defensive Heatran set. It utilizes Lava Plume and Toxic to maximum effect as means to inflict status conditions on the opposing Pokémon. Heatran provides necessary Stealth Rock support to turn 2HKOs into 1HKOs. Finally, Roar eliminates the opportunity to setup.
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Malachite (Tyranitar) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
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It screams redundancy. On the paper at least. Because Tyranitar can chase down Lati-twins, Alakazam and many other Psychic-type Pokémon with Pursuit, as well as put an end to Rain teams with Zapdos and Sun teams alone. Redundancy, right? Terrakion and Tyranitar may not be a shining pair as both have very similar weaknesses and strong points. This is what holds me back from saying wholeheartedly, Tyranitar is a good Pokémon in this team. Assault Vest allows it to stomach Focus Blast from Alakazam if it is very healthy, with about 730 SpD! Crunch is the obligatory STAB and EdgeQuake provides good coverage.
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Donnesta (Venusaur) (F) @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 232 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Synthesis
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I love Venusaur. It's an awesome Pokémon, no matter the critique. Built to be a Tank. Acts as a Tank. In addition to having heal and valuable resistances to this team, it can double as secondary sweeper and have Sludge Bomb to nail Fairy-types, Hidden Power Fire to deal with Scizor and Ferrothorn in particular and Giga Drain as a Grass-type STAB that happens to heal too.
Plasma (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Volt Switch allows to gain momentum and gives the washing machine a pivotal function. Hydro Pump is the only Water-type STAB besides Hidden Power Water and while I dislike the shaky accuracy, it deals decent damage uninvested. Will-O-Wisp cripples all Physical attackers, and finally Pain Split distributes health equitably between the two active Pokémon.
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Hello Smogonites. This is my first forum post and my first team as well, so bear with me if it is not very good. I've read various articles and guides to teambuilding in OU and with some help of my cousin who got me initiated, I want to present my first team as an attempt at more or less bulky offense, starring a Pokémon I like very much, which is Zapdos.
---
2 : Teambuilding Process
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3 : The Actual Pokémon
Aquila (Zapdos) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 152 HP / 252 SpA / 104 Spe
Modest Nature
- Agility
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
I crafted this moveset myself. The Speed EVs are designed in a way that, with Modest Nature and Agility, Zapdos can outspeed Choice Scarf Gengar after a +2 and all slower Pokémon, with maximal Special Attack and the rest of EVs going into HP to maximize bulk. HP happens to give 359, a good Life Orb number. Agility and Roost provide speed and sustain respectively while Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice are interesting in tandem, having the awesome Ice- and Electric-type offensive coverage otherwise known as the famed BoltBeam.
---
Aldebaran (Terrakion) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
- Stone Edge
Choice Scarf Terrakion hits roughly 520 speed and maintains very good Attack. The EVs are straightforward, they aim at maximizing Terrakion's Physical Offense prowess. Close Combat and Stone Edge are the obligatory dual STAB moves; Rock- and Fighting-type are great offensively, hitting Fire-, Bug-, Flying-, Steel-, Normal-, Ice-, Dark- and Rock-type Pokémon super-effectively. In order to help with Fairy-type Iron Head was added as a move that could surprise Clefable and Sylveon on the switch. Rock Slide was added as a reliable Rock-type STAB and Stone Edge has shaky accuracy.
---
Molten (Heatran) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 188 SpD / 68 Spe
Calm Nature
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Roar
- Stealth Rock
This is the standard defensive Heatran set. It utilizes Lava Plume and Toxic to maximum effect as means to inflict status conditions on the opposing Pokémon. Heatran provides necessary Stealth Rock support to turn 2HKOs into 1HKOs. Finally, Roar eliminates the opportunity to setup.
---
Malachite (Tyranitar) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
---
It screams redundancy. On the paper at least. Because Tyranitar can chase down Lati-twins, Alakazam and many other Psychic-type Pokémon with Pursuit, as well as put an end to Rain teams with Zapdos and Sun teams alone. Redundancy, right? Terrakion and Tyranitar may not be a shining pair as both have very similar weaknesses and strong points. This is what holds me back from saying wholeheartedly, Tyranitar is a good Pokémon in this team. Assault Vest allows it to stomach Focus Blast from Alakazam if it is very healthy, with about 730 SpD! Crunch is the obligatory STAB and EdgeQuake provides good coverage.
---
Donnesta (Venusaur) (F) @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 232 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Synthesis
---
I love Venusaur. It's an awesome Pokémon, no matter the critique. Built to be a Tank. Acts as a Tank. In addition to having heal and valuable resistances to this team, it can double as secondary sweeper and have Sludge Bomb to nail Fairy-types, Hidden Power Fire to deal with Scizor and Ferrothorn in particular and Giga Drain as a Grass-type STAB that happens to heal too.
Plasma (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Volt Switch allows to gain momentum and gives the washing machine a pivotal function. Hydro Pump is the only Water-type STAB besides Hidden Power Water and while I dislike the shaky accuracy, it deals decent damage uninvested. Will-O-Wisp cripples all Physical attackers, and finally Pain Split distributes health equitably between the two active Pokémon.
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4 : Closing Words
What do you think about this team? Tell me in the comments! I put lots of work into this team and while I didn't play much with it yet, I am posting it now to receive any important feedback before I attempt at laddering as high as my newbie skills will take me.
The most important questions are, whether this Zapdos is actually a good idea, or too gimmicky; that, and what I should do about having both Terrakion and Tyranitar in the team despite similarities that restricts diversity indirectly.
Thank you for your time!
What do you think about this team? Tell me in the comments! I put lots of work into this team and while I didn't play much with it yet, I am posting it now to receive any important feedback before I attempt at laddering as high as my newbie skills will take me.
The most important questions are, whether this Zapdos is actually a good idea, or too gimmicky; that, and what I should do about having both Terrakion and Tyranitar in the team despite similarities that restricts diversity indirectly.
Thank you for your time!
