Well its been a long time since I’ve posted an RMT. So here’s a bit of history about my battling. For about 4-5 months I used all out offensive teams. I switched between the UU and OU tiers, which gave me a good chunk of knowledge about both tiers. The next period lasted for 2 months, I made really balanced teams, usually a bulky lead with 2 walls and 3 sweepers. This time I stuck to UU, which let me fall in love with certain pokes, such as Clefable, Spiritomb and Sceptile. I still use pokes such as these in my OU teams as I believe they all function well in OU as long as you have counters to the likes of Scizor and Machamp etc. So anyway that brings us to today. I’ve started battling in OU, because after such a large drought, it seems a bit mysterious to me. I started back in OU with some bulky teams and have been using them ever since. It started with a mixed team consisting of:
-Primeape
-Registeel
-Gliscor
-Scizor
-Empoleon
-Dragonite
Obviously this wasn’t the most well planned team since it took me about 30minutes to put together. But as I got to know the metagame a bit more, I decided to make a serious OU team. This team has been tested on shoddy for the past week, and has had an over 50% win rate, although not all of my opponents were the best players it’s still something I take pride in saying. So I decided to post this RMT today as soon (this weekend) I am moving the team to the Wi-Fi stage. I am completely open to anyones suggestions and I will test anything you want to throw at me. I really want this team to be the best it can be so be as harsh as you want. So lets get into it!
TEAM BUILDING
-----------------------------------------
So first I needed a core to this team, ie a pokemon who the whole team was based around. I tested many pokes including a Calm Minding Azelf, a paraflinching Rachi, and a Nasty Plot Togekiss, but the one that really jumped out at me was the MixApe. Its versatility meant I could freely play around with the set to suit my needs, and breed 3 or 4 with different sets for different situations, something a Togekiss etc. couldn’t really do. I settled on a Specially based MixApe.
Next the team needed a lead, of course. Now my passion for UU still lives on today, and if you know me well, you’ll also know I will never make an OU team without at least one UU. In this case I chose him as my lead, but not for the sake of him being UU, but because I felt he was my saviour, come to counter some of the most common, and annoying OU leads. Spiritomb! Now of course his lack of weaknesses is a massive advantage, but the actual typing itself helps me dearly but I’ll talk about that in depth later.
Okay, so I had my lead and I had my core, but Infernape needed to be supported and set up for a sweep. For this I needed entry hazards. Now of all the entry hazard users I needed a pokemon that would get the EHs up pretty much every time. For this job, I needed Forretress. His amazing defense makes him invaluable to setting up the hopeful final Infernape sweep, but not only that but he took my nemesis “Earthquake” quite well. And just before you thought he couldn’t get any better, he also could spin away any entry hazards that the opponent set up on me. This was a luxury for Infernape who couldn’t afford to continuously switch in with SR and/or Spikes on the field.
Okay so Forretress has one huge fire-weakness. And if opponents were constantly hassling me with Heatran or HP Fire Gengar I would really get nowhere. So I needed something to reliably take Fire moves, obviously none other than the trusty Heatran. But I was bored of seeing the same old Scarftran everywhere. So I turned it into a specially bulky Tran. This did a few things.
Okay so a Ground weakness was really starting to open up here, as well as a Water weakness. So my next two pokes had to be picked carefully. I firstly needed a Levitater/Flyer. This would absorb my Ground moves, but I wanted them to play a bigger role. Gengar popped to mind as he could set up a Sub on the Earth Powering Scarftran etc. plus he would act as a Spin blocker over Spiritomb. His nice speed stat would also make him a decent revenge killer, he seemed perfect for the job.
So next I needed something for Water, mainly special attacking Water types as Forretress could easily cover the physical side. A Grass type seemed the perfect choice as it also took some of the pressure off Gengar staying alive. I also found a certain Grass type that could support Infernape quite well, covering his weaknesses, whilst getting its (massive amount of) weaknesses covered by Ape, it was the infamous Celebi. I settled on a Scarf set, just for a more reliable revenge killer, as I had invested a fair few EVs into Gengars HP so I couldn’t max his Sp.Atk meaning less KOs.
After a day of playtesting it came to my attention that Gengar wasn’t really helping me in any way. It was always he ‘nearly KOd’ or he ‘just about finished him off’, he never finished the job. He fulfilled his intention of Spin blocker well, and he constantly came in on the unsuspecting Heatran, and got off a free sub, he simply didn’t do anything spectacular, anyway I think you get the point. He had to be replaced. I still needed a Levitater/Flyer, but this time I settled on a poke that was a bit different. Togekiss was my choice, its nice Sp. Def meant I could bulk it up meaning it could act as a secondary special wall, who could take powerful Surfs without going down. He also had access to T-Wave a nice support move that would benefit Infernape greatly. So he was added in the last slot and has worked miracles that Gengar could only dream of.
And so the team was done. I had no major holes, no single poke weakness (when all members were alive), which many of my early teams had suffered from. So lets get up close and personal with the team itself.
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
-----------------------------------------
THE LEAD
Spiritomb @ Lum Berry
EVs:200HP/252Def/56Sp. Def
Nature: Bold(+Def/-Atk)
Ability: Pressure
Moves:
-Will-o-Wisp
-Pain Split
-Shadow Ball
-HP Fighting
As a lead, Spiritomb has many roles he needs to fulfil in order to benefit the team. Everyone knows and hates many of the common leads, such as Machamps and Azelfs who can run rampant early game if not met with the right counter. Now earlier I talked about Spiritombs typing being beneficial. I know he has no weaknesses and that’s a great help, but I picked him over a pokemon like Rotom because of his Dark typing. Obviously his primary Ghost resists lots of common pokes favourite moves. Machamps Dynamicpunch being one, or a Metagross’ Explosion as another. The Dark type benefits Spiritomb even more, but allowing him to only take neutral damage from a Machamps Payback, and completely nullifying an Azelfs powerful STAB Psychic. Now onto the details. His EVs are specifically there for Metagross. Spritomb is EVd so he can take 2 Meteor Mashes(barring both max dmg) from a standard lead Metagross, which means he can take a crit (unless a worst case scenario). He also takes around 40% from a standard lead Azelfs Fire Blast and 35% from a standard Lead Machamps Stone Edge. (Note: some dmg calcs will be at end for exact values). The item lets me take on other threats such as Smeargle who loves Spore. I’ve been thinking about switching HP Fighting for Taunt purely for Sleep leads, so I will test it soon and change it here if I change it on his set.
Now I needed something that would allow Spiritomb to bring the omnipotent OUs down to his slightly lower level. Will o Wisp was perfect as it let him take on nasty physical attackers like Dragonite and Metagross, but it would allow Infernape to have a much easier time with them later in the match. Pain Split is for the recovery as Spiritomb seriously needs it because against powerhouse leads even after the burn he will be taking some decent chunks from his health. The Ghost/Fighting combo allows for perfect coverage but Spiritombs piss weak Sp. Atk (Not even a STAB Shadow Ball vs Azelf with 0 Sp.Def and HP EVs will OHKO :/) he isn’t going to be needing hitting hard anyway which is why I’m seriously considering Taunt. HP Fighting was that for Smeargle and Heatran leads originally.
Another tactic he can use is Pressure stall with WoW and Pain Split. A TTar after a burn spamming Stone Edge is merely wasting his strongest move on Spiritomb so Togekiss will have an easier time dealing with it. This tactic isn’t one I imply often though.
SYNERGY
NO WEAKNESSES: HurHurHur
Dmg calcs:
Azelf Fire Blast-252SAtk (+Spd Nature): 38.8% - 46%
Machamp Stone Edge-248Atk(+Atk Nature): 38.8% - 46%
Machamp Ice Punch-248Atk(+Atk Nature): 21.3% - 25.1%
Metagross Meteor Mash- 232Atk(+Atk Nature): 43.3% - 50.9%
Infernape Fire Blast-252SAtk(+Spd Nature): 51.5% - 60.8%
THE PARTNER/REVENGE KILLER
Celebi @ Choice Scarf
EVs:252Sp.Atk/252Spd/4SDef
Nature:Modest(+Sp.Atk/-Atk)
Ability:Natural Cure
Moves:
-Leaf Storm
-Earth Power
-HP Fire
-Psychic
God I love Celebi, it has a huge movepool and so when I needed one on my team, he really could fulfil any role that I chose very well. My first opinion was a Heal Beller, but my team had enough walls and really wasn’t focusing on actually killing other teams just setting up on them. Of course Ape was going to try and do the bulk of the sweeping but I needed a clean up pokemon, a revenge killer. With originally a Life Orb set, it was changed to a Scarf set with the removal of Gengar, who was my revenge killer at the time. This meant that I had a way of outspeeding DD Gyara(+1) and such. Of course Togekiss could T-Wave but Stone Edge variants ruined Togekiss OHKOing after just 1 DD. The unfortunate thing is that Celebi will only OHKO with max damage on a 4HP/0Sp.Def Gyarados, which isn’t good. Usually if they aren’t running Ice Fang I can take a hit but if they are I will have problems. I try to force a switch early so they can get that crucial 50% off, from 2 SR switch ins then coming in with Celebi. Anyway, I find that his Leaf Storm isn’t as powerful as I want it to be at times, but on the most part he is great in covering Ape.
He gets free switch ins to Starmie, OHKOing with Leaf Storm as usually they don’t see the Scarf coming. If they decide to switch out, a STAB Leaf Storm is enough to heavily dent a fair few pokes in OU, bar Scizor, Forretress and Skarmory. HP Fire is for Scizors, stupid enough to stay in for a U-Turn. It is a free kill that will save Ape and Togekiss from taking Bullet Punches to the face later, something I enjoy. I switched in Earth power over U-Turn because of all the Heatrans coming in for some free set-ups or just plain resists. U-Turn was fine for scouting but most things it hit were already hit hard (TTar by LS/ Starmie by LS etc). Earth Power saved me the first match I used it and so it became a permanent change. Psychic is just for some STAB that won’t ruin my Sp. Atk and force me to switch, it is also my hard hitter for Dragons, who can run rampant with Forretress and Tran out of the way. Scarfed and Banded Flygons take a good 40% from it which means that I can hit and run on switch ins stalling them out of HP. Bulky Dragonites are more of an issue, but Ape usually takes care of them later. They also take a 25% hit from SR so DClaw/FPunch variants get ruined by Tran who can Roar them away to rack up damage.
Celebi is a great revenge killer but he has a massive flaw in the fact that he has 6 (or so) weaknesses making switch ins a lot more stressful. Thankfully his natural bulk lets him take resisted moves fairly well. A STAB CC from LO Lucario will do around 40% and after the Sp.Def drop Earth Power KOs. But he does require a lot more scouting and prediction before he comes in, which is usually mid to late game. Early game he struggles to pick up kills as many pokes are on high HP something Celebi with its average 100base Sp.Atk cannot deal with.
SYNERGY
Flying: Heatran
Ice: Heatran/Forretress
Fire:Heatran
Dark:Heatran/Forretress
Ghost:Togekiss/Heatran/Forretress
Bug:Heatran/Togekiss/Forretress
THE PHASER
Heatran @ Leftovers
EVs:200HP/56Def/216Sp.Def
Nature:Calm(+Sp.Def/-Atk)
Ability:Flash Fire
Moves:
-Stealth Rock
-Roar
-Earth Power
-Explosion
Wow, Heatran is a monster. I remember when I put him into the team I wanted to see how well he could take moves, I went in to the smogon damage calculator and used a standard Rapid Spin Starmie w/o Life Orb. 30-40%. I blinked a couple of times and looked again. 30-40%. This thing is an absolute BEAST!!!! I can’t begin to explain how much I love him. Anyway, he is here to take the load of 4 layers of entry hazards from Forretress. He sets up SR AND takes Forretresses single 4x weakness. I needed a special wall and I wanted something a bit more original and Tran has been my guardian angel. His ability to come in with his multiple resistances and set up on a number of pokes is just what this team needs. Now obviously Roar is for phasing but I don’t spam it right off the bat. I like to conceal it until Forretress has gotten Spikes up. Roar helps me weaken all pokes so Celebi and Ape have a much easier time sweeping. It also helps me scout for threats that could potentially ruin me if not seen early. Things like Gyarados who usually think they can get off a free DD against this giant find themselves taking 50% without doing anything. That means I can get an easy revenge kill on him with Celebi. I had Flamethrower for a while on Tran but found it to be not as useful. I was switching into Fire types to wall them, but alas they too walled me. Other Trans simply had to Earth Power for a 2HKO. With Earth Power now, I can take 1EP after SR then OHKO back with my own. Explosion is self-explanatory. It is for taking out threats whom would usually have an easy time with this team, or just simple going out with a BOOM!
I really don’t see Trans like this enough, they are all Scarfed, in fact its gotten to the point where I don’t even look at the item, I just know. This is however is very beneficial to me as I can come in and imitate a ScarfTran, scare the opponent out and get up some free rocks, a tactic I use regularly. Also an Explosion will kill a Blissey(MaxHP/MaxDef) about 50% of the time after SR damage. Forretress has the exact same power in its Explosion but Ape can OHKO with CC. Also I mentioned this above, but this Tran can take a standard +Spd Nature ScarfTrans Earth Power with about 70-80% and OHKO with EP of its own even without SR support. I like to use Heatran as early as possible, but usually after Forretress, so I can come in set up SR and Roar as soon as possible. Mid to Late game I really just like Exploding right off the bat, after my phasing days are over.
SYNERGY
Ground:Togekiss
Water:Celebi(If a weaker Water type)/Togekiss(If a stronger Water type)
THE RAPID SPIN SUPPORT
Forretress @ Leftovers
IVs:0Spd
EVs:252HP/160Sp.Def/96Def
Nature:Careful(+Sp.Def/-Sp.Atk)
Ability:Sturdy
Moves:
-Spikes
-Rapid Spin
-Gyro Ball
-Explosion
Okay so Forretress is easily one of if not THE best physical walls in OU. He has an enormous defense stat, a decent HP and a measly Sp. Def which is why the EVs are the way they are. His Sp. Def really does let him down, but with this investment he can at least take moderately powered neutral special attacks. He was chosen for his great spinning ability and the fact that he has access to every single entry hazard, which meant I could use what I chose. As I’ve mentioned previously, I originally had SR and Spikes, but with the introduction of Heatran, he could free up the final slot. I chose Explosion for this over something like EQ, just to go out with a bang. It is very useful, such as it is on Tran as it is a quick and easy way to eliminate threats. A lot of people question Gyro Ball over Payback, but it is a great way to take on DD TTars who are just asking for a quicker death the more they DD up. His horrible speed allows Forretress to hit things moderately hard, and it shows against pokes such as TTar. Spikes is an obvious choice over Toxic Spikes as the instant switch in damage is extremely useful in setting up Ape sweeps. Rapid Spin is to stop opponents stacking up Entry Hazards of their own (obviously) which means Ape can freely switch in and out without getting constantly hassled by SR+Spikes, which means his LO recoil won’t be wearing him down as much.
Forretress acts as my Gyarados check, as he can come in on the DD and Explode. Obviously this means an early game Gyara is going to hurt me A LOT as Spikes don’t get up, but it means a clean sweep with Ape is made 200x easier. SR still get up which helps but I really don’t like doing it. When I want to I do a double switch, Togekiss on the DD then Forretress on the possible Stone Edge, if he Waterfalls then I can sacrifice Tomb, switch to Kiss, T-Wave and the threat is gone, but late game I just go boom in its face.
SYNERGY
Fire:Heatran
SUPPORT/JIRACHIS COUSIN
Togekiss @ Leftovers
EVs:252HP/4Spd/160Sp.Atk/92Sp.Def
Nature:Calm(+Sp.Def/-Atk)
Ability:Serene Grace
Moves:
-Thunder Wave
-Roost
-Air Slash
-Aura Sphere
Togekiss is the best thing that happened to this team. I will admit I really never was a big fan of Togekiss, as it just didn’t seem that good. After using it few times with Nasty Plot I couldn’t really see why it was OU, so you ask why did you think of it? Well I saw its nice defensive stats and decided to give it a go. Best decision I ever made as it has pulled the team across the line. It can take anything neutral and special with ease and T-Wave/Roost combo to stall out anything. T-Wave is invaluable for ruining Scarfed pokes who otherwise threaten Ape with his low defenses. Air Slash is a great way to take out pokes using its 60%chance of flinch (Serene Grace boosted) with T-Waves 50% chance of parahax. This winds down to a 80% chance of the opponent not moving, a percentage I most definitely feel safe playing with.
T-Wave is obvious, it supports the rest of the team, making it easier to both set up and sweep. Forretress has a great time exploding on pokes who would otherwise ruin him before he got the chance, although his Gyro Ball is weakened. Tran loves the odd parahax to get a free Roar in, and Ape has a much easier time handling the likes of Gengar, Starmie and Scarftran. Roost is for the HP recovery which along with the para can allow her to Roost before an incoming T-Bolt severely hurts her. Air Slash is for (as I stated before) the much hated Paraflinch something Jirachi has made a genuine “noob thing to do” Aura Sphere is simply for the coverage on Steel types. People suggest flamethrower for Skarm, but I like being able to T-Wave Tran and Emp then actually hit them with super effective damage more than I do with Skarm and Scizor.
I used Togekiss for my Ground absorber, but with Roost I obviously need to be careful using it with T-Wave as a STAB EQ can hurt from Gliscor or Hippodown. Ground types in general are an annoyance for Kiss. She can’t T-Wave them and on the most part they can easily take an Air Slash. Celebi helps a lot, as they usually don’t have too much to hit it with either (except maybe Pert Ice Beam or Flygon Outrage/U-Turn)
SYNERGY
Rock:Forretress
Ice:Heatran/Forretress
Electric:Heatran/Celebi
THE CORE
Infernape @ Life Orb
EVs:64Atk/192Spd/252Sp.Atk
Nature:Naïve(+Spd/-Sp.Def)
Ability:Blaze
Moves:
-Flamethrower
-Close Combat
-HP Ice
-Grass Knot
The big man himself Infernape. He really plays a huge role in this team and is the single most important member in winning matches. His overwhelming power and speed can rip through teams if the rest of the team can set him up. Truly a magnificent poke. I need to play carefully with Ape early game. I don’t like him being revealed too early or my opponent will usually keep a counter. If I can scout out with Heatran first and kill any threats Apes life is made a lot easier. SR and Spikes also make his sweep a lot faster, as he tends not to OHKO many things.
I chose Flamethrower over Fire Blast as Ape has a great Sp.Atk stat and horrible defenses meaning Flamethrower will still hit hard and with Fire Blast he really can’t afford to miss. CC is for the likes of Blissey who love to come in on his special attacks. It also always OHKOs Heatran, Snorlax(60ish% of the time), and Empoleon, which is a nice touch. HP Ice is for those annoying Dragons who decide they can casually switch in to resist flamethrower (and in DNites case CC), Ape outspeeds Banded Flygons, but Scarfed one are usually Exploded on by Forretress. Grass Knot is for Pert and Suicune, but I am considering U-Turn in this slot for some hit and run tactics. I haven’t needed Grass Knot too much (please comment on this).
I usually try to show Ape as late as I can, this means they are less likely to have a counter, and there is more status around their team and all entry hazards (should be) are up. I usually let it come down to Celebi and Ape as my last two, meaning I can switch in and out on whatever the opponent has left. Ape is great for handling Special walls whilst Celebi can do vice versa. Overall a brilliant pokemon to base this team around.
SYNERGY
Water:Togekiss/Celebi
Ground:Togekiss
Flying:Heatran
Psychic:Spiritomb(If alive)/Heatran/Forretress
So anyway, I hope you like this Ape based team. It has been a pleasure posting it and remember it will be on wi-fi soon so I want your opinion to make it as good as I can before I permanently add them to the game.
So please Rate as fast as you can, See ya!!!!
-Primeape
-Registeel
-Gliscor
-Scizor
-Empoleon
-Dragonite
Obviously this wasn’t the most well planned team since it took me about 30minutes to put together. But as I got to know the metagame a bit more, I decided to make a serious OU team. This team has been tested on shoddy for the past week, and has had an over 50% win rate, although not all of my opponents were the best players it’s still something I take pride in saying. So I decided to post this RMT today as soon (this weekend) I am moving the team to the Wi-Fi stage. I am completely open to anyones suggestions and I will test anything you want to throw at me. I really want this team to be the best it can be so be as harsh as you want. So lets get into it!
TEAM BUILDING
-----------------------------------------
So first I needed a core to this team, ie a pokemon who the whole team was based around. I tested many pokes including a Calm Minding Azelf, a paraflinching Rachi, and a Nasty Plot Togekiss, but the one that really jumped out at me was the MixApe. Its versatility meant I could freely play around with the set to suit my needs, and breed 3 or 4 with different sets for different situations, something a Togekiss etc. couldn’t really do. I settled on a Specially based MixApe.
Next the team needed a lead, of course. Now my passion for UU still lives on today, and if you know me well, you’ll also know I will never make an OU team without at least one UU. In this case I chose him as my lead, but not for the sake of him being UU, but because I felt he was my saviour, come to counter some of the most common, and annoying OU leads. Spiritomb! Now of course his lack of weaknesses is a massive advantage, but the actual typing itself helps me dearly but I’ll talk about that in depth later.
Okay, so I had my lead and I had my core, but Infernape needed to be supported and set up for a sweep. For this I needed entry hazards. Now of all the entry hazard users I needed a pokemon that would get the EHs up pretty much every time. For this job, I needed Forretress. His amazing defense makes him invaluable to setting up the hopeful final Infernape sweep, but not only that but he took my nemesis “Earthquake” quite well. And just before you thought he couldn’t get any better, he also could spin away any entry hazards that the opponent set up on me. This was a luxury for Infernape who couldn’t afford to continuously switch in with SR and/or Spikes on the field.
Okay so Forretress has one huge fire-weakness. And if opponents were constantly hassling me with Heatran or HP Fire Gengar I would really get nowhere. So I needed something to reliably take Fire moves, obviously none other than the trusty Heatran. But I was bored of seeing the same old Scarftran everywhere. So I turned it into a specially bulky Tran. This did a few things.
- It took away the fire weakness obviously.
- It let me put SR on Tran leaving a slot free for Explosion on Forretress.
Okay so a Ground weakness was really starting to open up here, as well as a Water weakness. So my next two pokes had to be picked carefully. I firstly needed a Levitater/Flyer. This would absorb my Ground moves, but I wanted them to play a bigger role. Gengar popped to mind as he could set up a Sub on the Earth Powering Scarftran etc. plus he would act as a Spin blocker over Spiritomb. His nice speed stat would also make him a decent revenge killer, he seemed perfect for the job.
So next I needed something for Water, mainly special attacking Water types as Forretress could easily cover the physical side. A Grass type seemed the perfect choice as it also took some of the pressure off Gengar staying alive. I also found a certain Grass type that could support Infernape quite well, covering his weaknesses, whilst getting its (massive amount of) weaknesses covered by Ape, it was the infamous Celebi. I settled on a Scarf set, just for a more reliable revenge killer, as I had invested a fair few EVs into Gengars HP so I couldn’t max his Sp.Atk meaning less KOs.
After a day of playtesting it came to my attention that Gengar wasn’t really helping me in any way. It was always he ‘nearly KOd’ or he ‘just about finished him off’, he never finished the job. He fulfilled his intention of Spin blocker well, and he constantly came in on the unsuspecting Heatran, and got off a free sub, he simply didn’t do anything spectacular, anyway I think you get the point. He had to be replaced. I still needed a Levitater/Flyer, but this time I settled on a poke that was a bit different. Togekiss was my choice, its nice Sp. Def meant I could bulk it up meaning it could act as a secondary special wall, who could take powerful Surfs without going down. He also had access to T-Wave a nice support move that would benefit Infernape greatly. So he was added in the last slot and has worked miracles that Gengar could only dream of.
And so the team was done. I had no major holes, no single poke weakness (when all members were alive), which many of my early teams had suffered from. So lets get up close and personal with the team itself.
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
-----------------------------------------
THE LEAD
Spiritomb @ Lum Berry
EVs:200HP/252Def/56Sp. Def
Nature: Bold(+Def/-Atk)
Ability: Pressure
Moves:
-Will-o-Wisp
-Pain Split
-Shadow Ball
-HP Fighting
As a lead, Spiritomb has many roles he needs to fulfil in order to benefit the team. Everyone knows and hates many of the common leads, such as Machamps and Azelfs who can run rampant early game if not met with the right counter. Now earlier I talked about Spiritombs typing being beneficial. I know he has no weaknesses and that’s a great help, but I picked him over a pokemon like Rotom because of his Dark typing. Obviously his primary Ghost resists lots of common pokes favourite moves. Machamps Dynamicpunch being one, or a Metagross’ Explosion as another. The Dark type benefits Spiritomb even more, but allowing him to only take neutral damage from a Machamps Payback, and completely nullifying an Azelfs powerful STAB Psychic. Now onto the details. His EVs are specifically there for Metagross. Spritomb is EVd so he can take 2 Meteor Mashes(barring both max dmg) from a standard lead Metagross, which means he can take a crit (unless a worst case scenario). He also takes around 40% from a standard lead Azelfs Fire Blast and 35% from a standard Lead Machamps Stone Edge. (Note: some dmg calcs will be at end for exact values). The item lets me take on other threats such as Smeargle who loves Spore. I’ve been thinking about switching HP Fighting for Taunt purely for Sleep leads, so I will test it soon and change it here if I change it on his set.
Now I needed something that would allow Spiritomb to bring the omnipotent OUs down to his slightly lower level. Will o Wisp was perfect as it let him take on nasty physical attackers like Dragonite and Metagross, but it would allow Infernape to have a much easier time with them later in the match. Pain Split is for the recovery as Spiritomb seriously needs it because against powerhouse leads even after the burn he will be taking some decent chunks from his health. The Ghost/Fighting combo allows for perfect coverage but Spiritombs piss weak Sp. Atk (Not even a STAB Shadow Ball vs Azelf with 0 Sp.Def and HP EVs will OHKO :/) he isn’t going to be needing hitting hard anyway which is why I’m seriously considering Taunt. HP Fighting was that for Smeargle and Heatran leads originally.
Another tactic he can use is Pressure stall with WoW and Pain Split. A TTar after a burn spamming Stone Edge is merely wasting his strongest move on Spiritomb so Togekiss will have an easier time dealing with it. This tactic isn’t one I imply often though.
SYNERGY
NO WEAKNESSES: HurHurHur
Dmg calcs:
Azelf Fire Blast-252SAtk (+Spd Nature): 38.8% - 46%
Machamp Stone Edge-248Atk(+Atk Nature): 38.8% - 46%
Machamp Ice Punch-248Atk(+Atk Nature): 21.3% - 25.1%
Metagross Meteor Mash- 232Atk(+Atk Nature): 43.3% - 50.9%
Infernape Fire Blast-252SAtk(+Spd Nature): 51.5% - 60.8%
THE PARTNER/REVENGE KILLER
Celebi @ Choice Scarf
EVs:252Sp.Atk/252Spd/4SDef
Nature:Modest(+Sp.Atk/-Atk)
Ability:Natural Cure
Moves:
-Leaf Storm
-Earth Power
-HP Fire
-Psychic
God I love Celebi, it has a huge movepool and so when I needed one on my team, he really could fulfil any role that I chose very well. My first opinion was a Heal Beller, but my team had enough walls and really wasn’t focusing on actually killing other teams just setting up on them. Of course Ape was going to try and do the bulk of the sweeping but I needed a clean up pokemon, a revenge killer. With originally a Life Orb set, it was changed to a Scarf set with the removal of Gengar, who was my revenge killer at the time. This meant that I had a way of outspeeding DD Gyara(+1) and such. Of course Togekiss could T-Wave but Stone Edge variants ruined Togekiss OHKOing after just 1 DD. The unfortunate thing is that Celebi will only OHKO with max damage on a 4HP/0Sp.Def Gyarados, which isn’t good. Usually if they aren’t running Ice Fang I can take a hit but if they are I will have problems. I try to force a switch early so they can get that crucial 50% off, from 2 SR switch ins then coming in with Celebi. Anyway, I find that his Leaf Storm isn’t as powerful as I want it to be at times, but on the most part he is great in covering Ape.
He gets free switch ins to Starmie, OHKOing with Leaf Storm as usually they don’t see the Scarf coming. If they decide to switch out, a STAB Leaf Storm is enough to heavily dent a fair few pokes in OU, bar Scizor, Forretress and Skarmory. HP Fire is for Scizors, stupid enough to stay in for a U-Turn. It is a free kill that will save Ape and Togekiss from taking Bullet Punches to the face later, something I enjoy. I switched in Earth power over U-Turn because of all the Heatrans coming in for some free set-ups or just plain resists. U-Turn was fine for scouting but most things it hit were already hit hard (TTar by LS/ Starmie by LS etc). Earth Power saved me the first match I used it and so it became a permanent change. Psychic is just for some STAB that won’t ruin my Sp. Atk and force me to switch, it is also my hard hitter for Dragons, who can run rampant with Forretress and Tran out of the way. Scarfed and Banded Flygons take a good 40% from it which means that I can hit and run on switch ins stalling them out of HP. Bulky Dragonites are more of an issue, but Ape usually takes care of them later. They also take a 25% hit from SR so DClaw/FPunch variants get ruined by Tran who can Roar them away to rack up damage.
Celebi is a great revenge killer but he has a massive flaw in the fact that he has 6 (or so) weaknesses making switch ins a lot more stressful. Thankfully his natural bulk lets him take resisted moves fairly well. A STAB CC from LO Lucario will do around 40% and after the Sp.Def drop Earth Power KOs. But he does require a lot more scouting and prediction before he comes in, which is usually mid to late game. Early game he struggles to pick up kills as many pokes are on high HP something Celebi with its average 100base Sp.Atk cannot deal with.
SYNERGY
Flying: Heatran
Ice: Heatran/Forretress
Fire:Heatran
Dark:Heatran/Forretress
Ghost:Togekiss/Heatran/Forretress
Bug:Heatran/Togekiss/Forretress
THE PHASER
Heatran @ Leftovers
EVs:200HP/56Def/216Sp.Def
Nature:Calm(+Sp.Def/-Atk)
Ability:Flash Fire
Moves:
-Stealth Rock
-Roar
-Earth Power
-Explosion
Wow, Heatran is a monster. I remember when I put him into the team I wanted to see how well he could take moves, I went in to the smogon damage calculator and used a standard Rapid Spin Starmie w/o Life Orb. 30-40%. I blinked a couple of times and looked again. 30-40%. This thing is an absolute BEAST!!!! I can’t begin to explain how much I love him. Anyway, he is here to take the load of 4 layers of entry hazards from Forretress. He sets up SR AND takes Forretresses single 4x weakness. I needed a special wall and I wanted something a bit more original and Tran has been my guardian angel. His ability to come in with his multiple resistances and set up on a number of pokes is just what this team needs. Now obviously Roar is for phasing but I don’t spam it right off the bat. I like to conceal it until Forretress has gotten Spikes up. Roar helps me weaken all pokes so Celebi and Ape have a much easier time sweeping. It also helps me scout for threats that could potentially ruin me if not seen early. Things like Gyarados who usually think they can get off a free DD against this giant find themselves taking 50% without doing anything. That means I can get an easy revenge kill on him with Celebi. I had Flamethrower for a while on Tran but found it to be not as useful. I was switching into Fire types to wall them, but alas they too walled me. Other Trans simply had to Earth Power for a 2HKO. With Earth Power now, I can take 1EP after SR then OHKO back with my own. Explosion is self-explanatory. It is for taking out threats whom would usually have an easy time with this team, or just simple going out with a BOOM!
I really don’t see Trans like this enough, they are all Scarfed, in fact its gotten to the point where I don’t even look at the item, I just know. This is however is very beneficial to me as I can come in and imitate a ScarfTran, scare the opponent out and get up some free rocks, a tactic I use regularly. Also an Explosion will kill a Blissey(MaxHP/MaxDef) about 50% of the time after SR damage. Forretress has the exact same power in its Explosion but Ape can OHKO with CC. Also I mentioned this above, but this Tran can take a standard +Spd Nature ScarfTrans Earth Power with about 70-80% and OHKO with EP of its own even without SR support. I like to use Heatran as early as possible, but usually after Forretress, so I can come in set up SR and Roar as soon as possible. Mid to Late game I really just like Exploding right off the bat, after my phasing days are over.
SYNERGY
Ground:Togekiss
Water:Celebi(If a weaker Water type)/Togekiss(If a stronger Water type)
THE RAPID SPIN SUPPORT
Forretress @ Leftovers
IVs:0Spd
EVs:252HP/160Sp.Def/96Def
Nature:Careful(+Sp.Def/-Sp.Atk)
Ability:Sturdy
Moves:
-Spikes
-Rapid Spin
-Gyro Ball
-Explosion
Okay so Forretress is easily one of if not THE best physical walls in OU. He has an enormous defense stat, a decent HP and a measly Sp. Def which is why the EVs are the way they are. His Sp. Def really does let him down, but with this investment he can at least take moderately powered neutral special attacks. He was chosen for his great spinning ability and the fact that he has access to every single entry hazard, which meant I could use what I chose. As I’ve mentioned previously, I originally had SR and Spikes, but with the introduction of Heatran, he could free up the final slot. I chose Explosion for this over something like EQ, just to go out with a bang. It is very useful, such as it is on Tran as it is a quick and easy way to eliminate threats. A lot of people question Gyro Ball over Payback, but it is a great way to take on DD TTars who are just asking for a quicker death the more they DD up. His horrible speed allows Forretress to hit things moderately hard, and it shows against pokes such as TTar. Spikes is an obvious choice over Toxic Spikes as the instant switch in damage is extremely useful in setting up Ape sweeps. Rapid Spin is to stop opponents stacking up Entry Hazards of their own (obviously) which means Ape can freely switch in and out without getting constantly hassled by SR+Spikes, which means his LO recoil won’t be wearing him down as much.
Forretress acts as my Gyarados check, as he can come in on the DD and Explode. Obviously this means an early game Gyara is going to hurt me A LOT as Spikes don’t get up, but it means a clean sweep with Ape is made 200x easier. SR still get up which helps but I really don’t like doing it. When I want to I do a double switch, Togekiss on the DD then Forretress on the possible Stone Edge, if he Waterfalls then I can sacrifice Tomb, switch to Kiss, T-Wave and the threat is gone, but late game I just go boom in its face.
SYNERGY
Fire:Heatran
SUPPORT/JIRACHIS COUSIN
Togekiss @ Leftovers
EVs:252HP/4Spd/160Sp.Atk/92Sp.Def
Nature:Calm(+Sp.Def/-Atk)
Ability:Serene Grace
Moves:
-Thunder Wave
-Roost
-Air Slash
-Aura Sphere
Togekiss is the best thing that happened to this team. I will admit I really never was a big fan of Togekiss, as it just didn’t seem that good. After using it few times with Nasty Plot I couldn’t really see why it was OU, so you ask why did you think of it? Well I saw its nice defensive stats and decided to give it a go. Best decision I ever made as it has pulled the team across the line. It can take anything neutral and special with ease and T-Wave/Roost combo to stall out anything. T-Wave is invaluable for ruining Scarfed pokes who otherwise threaten Ape with his low defenses. Air Slash is a great way to take out pokes using its 60%chance of flinch (Serene Grace boosted) with T-Waves 50% chance of parahax. This winds down to a 80% chance of the opponent not moving, a percentage I most definitely feel safe playing with.
T-Wave is obvious, it supports the rest of the team, making it easier to both set up and sweep. Forretress has a great time exploding on pokes who would otherwise ruin him before he got the chance, although his Gyro Ball is weakened. Tran loves the odd parahax to get a free Roar in, and Ape has a much easier time handling the likes of Gengar, Starmie and Scarftran. Roost is for the HP recovery which along with the para can allow her to Roost before an incoming T-Bolt severely hurts her. Air Slash is for (as I stated before) the much hated Paraflinch something Jirachi has made a genuine “noob thing to do” Aura Sphere is simply for the coverage on Steel types. People suggest flamethrower for Skarm, but I like being able to T-Wave Tran and Emp then actually hit them with super effective damage more than I do with Skarm and Scizor.
I used Togekiss for my Ground absorber, but with Roost I obviously need to be careful using it with T-Wave as a STAB EQ can hurt from Gliscor or Hippodown. Ground types in general are an annoyance for Kiss. She can’t T-Wave them and on the most part they can easily take an Air Slash. Celebi helps a lot, as they usually don’t have too much to hit it with either (except maybe Pert Ice Beam or Flygon Outrage/U-Turn)
SYNERGY
Rock:Forretress
Ice:Heatran/Forretress
Electric:Heatran/Celebi
THE CORE
Infernape @ Life Orb
EVs:64Atk/192Spd/252Sp.Atk
Nature:Naïve(+Spd/-Sp.Def)
Ability:Blaze
Moves:
-Flamethrower
-Close Combat
-HP Ice
-Grass Knot
The big man himself Infernape. He really plays a huge role in this team and is the single most important member in winning matches. His overwhelming power and speed can rip through teams if the rest of the team can set him up. Truly a magnificent poke. I need to play carefully with Ape early game. I don’t like him being revealed too early or my opponent will usually keep a counter. If I can scout out with Heatran first and kill any threats Apes life is made a lot easier. SR and Spikes also make his sweep a lot faster, as he tends not to OHKO many things.
I chose Flamethrower over Fire Blast as Ape has a great Sp.Atk stat and horrible defenses meaning Flamethrower will still hit hard and with Fire Blast he really can’t afford to miss. CC is for the likes of Blissey who love to come in on his special attacks. It also always OHKOs Heatran, Snorlax(60ish% of the time), and Empoleon, which is a nice touch. HP Ice is for those annoying Dragons who decide they can casually switch in to resist flamethrower (and in DNites case CC), Ape outspeeds Banded Flygons, but Scarfed one are usually Exploded on by Forretress. Grass Knot is for Pert and Suicune, but I am considering U-Turn in this slot for some hit and run tactics. I haven’t needed Grass Knot too much (please comment on this).
I usually try to show Ape as late as I can, this means they are less likely to have a counter, and there is more status around their team and all entry hazards (should be) are up. I usually let it come down to Celebi and Ape as my last two, meaning I can switch in and out on whatever the opponent has left. Ape is great for handling Special walls whilst Celebi can do vice versa. Overall a brilliant pokemon to base this team around.
SYNERGY
Water:Togekiss/Celebi
Ground:Togekiss
Flying:Heatran
Psychic:Spiritomb(If alive)/Heatran/Forretress
So anyway, I hope you like this Ape based team. It has been a pleasure posting it and remember it will be on wi-fi soon so I want your opinion to make it as good as I can before I permanently add them to the game.
So please Rate as fast as you can, See ya!!!!
