What's this? A weatherless team?

[bullonfire]

Hi guys, this is my first RMT and I would really appreciate your feedback. I'm very new to the Smogon community (although I have been competitively battling for a while), but I've already read all the forum rules so hopefully there's no hiccup.

Anyway, back to business. I've noticed that weathers are become ridiculously prevalent in the BW metagame, and for good reason too. They're ridiculously powerful when played well and incredibly hard to break through. I've tried making a few weather teams of my own (with moderate success) but I thoroughly dislike how most battles end up being weather wars.

Soooo, I've decided to start from scratch and come up with a team centered around versatility. The main objective is to function well regardless of weather AND pack enough punch to go through most non-weather teams. So far, this team has given satisfactory results and I'm enjoying battles much more than before. But, I am well aware that it's probably far from perfect and that's why I've come to the forums to consult your expert opinions.

And without further delay....

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 108 SAtk / 144 SDef
Modest Nature
- Dragon Pulse
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock

Such an important part of my team. It's my answer to sun teams. It's my lead most of the time. It's my dragon killer. It destroys other heatrans. This thing becomes a behemoth under the sun, resisting most fire users and chlorophyll users. It's sturdy defences also allow it to take a super effective hit or two and still be able to dish out damage/set up stealth rocks.

Tangrowth @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 144 Def / 108 SDef
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Leech Seed
- Sleep Powder

My physical tank and my answer to water threats. It has great synergy with Heatran, being able to comfortably sponge fighting and ground and retaliate accordingly. It also doesn't mind swapping in and out as it resists stealth rock and has regenerator to heal up. Giga drain acts as a nice STAB attack for the ground and water types, while hidden power hits the ever common ferrothorn/scizor switch-ins hard. Leech seed makes it even more bulky and harder to take down. Sleep powder is just plain annoying, since Tangrowth forces lots of ground/water pokes (which are often core members of opposing teams) to either switch or be rendered useless.

Latios (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Dragon Pulse
- Surf
- Roost
- Calm Mind

My mid/late-game sweeper and clean-up pokemon. It's a good counter for most dragon types that are not scarfed and surf allows it to exploit rain with great effect. Roost and calm mind are quite self-explanatory, healing and boosting where necessary.

Scizor @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- Superpower
- U-turn

Classic Banded Scizor. There's nothing special with this poke but it does it's job so effectively. Because my other pokemon forces many switches, they will usually accumulate damage from either attacks or stealth rock, leaving Scizor to comfortably KO things with it's ridiculous Bullet Punch. Pursuit and U-Turn deal with psychic/dark types exceptionally well, while superpower rounds off the moveset with a sting.

Raikou @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Calm Mind

I initially chose Jolteon but realized it was much too frail for my liking, since I often switch it into water/flying types. Raikou was the obvious replacement. It's 115 speed allows it to outrun most big threats and it's respectable bulk allows it to switch in, take a hit and still survive to take out the impending threat. Shadow ball is just another coverage move and HP Ice is there because I need another insurance against dragon types in case Latios dies early, or if the opponent switches in a Gliscor.

Conkeldurr @ Leftovers
Trait: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Mach Punch

This is probably the offensive powerhouse of my team. I deploy Conkeldurr on a physical pokemon that cant hurt me and start bulking up. By the time they realize it's futile to break through Conkel, I would've accumulated enough bulk and power to tear through teams. Drain punch heals and packs a punch while mach punch cleans things up when the former fails to score the KO. Ice punch is surprisingly useful, since the opponent usually likes to switch in either Gliscor or a flying/dragon type on Conkel.

And that's basically the bulk of my team. I'm mostly happy with Heatran, Raikou, Scizor and Conkeldurr but I have some doubts regarding Latios and Tangrowth. That being said, I'm more than open to any suggestions/criticisms or changes.

Thanks in advance. :)

Recap:

 

[damien50]

You know a Lickylicky would actually work nicely on your team checking weather greatly and would he a better option than conkeldurr

Lickylicky @ leftovers
252 hp / 252 atk
Cloud Nine
Adamant
Substitute
Swords Dance
Ice Punch
Chip Away

With Cloud Nine it would catch a lot of weather teams off guard and setting up a substitute would be the next step. Then SD and use either Ice Punch or go with Chip Away which ignores defense boost and is stab damage.

Amoongus can serve as a more useful physical wall employing the same moves to some degree and absorbinb toxic spikes.

 

[Bluwing]

This team is incredibly weak to Volcarona, Latios, Genesect and Terrakion. To fix this change Latios to a Scarf set, meaning that you can take on oppositing Latios, Genesect and Terrakion. to fix your volcarona problem I will suggest that your using Stone Edge over Dragon Pulse, and Toxic over Earth Power on Heatran. Ill post the sets later.

 

[bullonfire]

You know a Lickylicky would actually work nicely on your team checking weather greatly and would he a better option than conkeldurr

Lickylicky @ leftovers
252 hp / 252 atk
Cloud Nine
Adamant
Substitute
Swords Dance
Ice Punch
Chip Away

With Cloud Nine it would catch a lot of weather teams off guard and setting up a substitute would be the next step. Then SD and use either Ice Punch or go with Chip Away which ignores defense boost and is stab damage.

Amoongus can serve as a more useful physical wall employing the same moves to some degree and absorbinb toxic spikes.

First off, thanks for the suggestion. Amoongus is a pretty good idea, though I'm a little worried about it tanking earthquakes for Heatran as well as Tangrowth does due to it's poison subtype, but I'll try it out and let you know how it goes.

As for Lickilicky, that's interesting. I'm not sure if I'm willing to part with Conkeldurr's raw power yet. But Lickilicky's weather-neutralizing ability looks tempting. I'll keep it in mind if I ever face too much trouble with weather.

This team is incredibly weak to Volcarona, Latios, Genesect and Terrakion. To fix this change Latios to a Scarf set, meaning that you can take on oppositing Latios, Genesect and Terrakion. to fix your volcarona problem I will suggest that your using Stone Edge over Dragon Pulse, and Toxic over Earth Power on Heatran. Ill post the sets later.

Hi hi! Thanks for the input. Yes, I have faced some trouble with Volcarona and Latios, but not really Genesect or Terrakion. Heatran completely obliterates the former while Terrakion goes down to Conkel quite easily.

As for Volcarona, stealth rock is almost always up and 50% health Volcarona rarely an issue. But yes, I've had trouble with it when my stealth rocks have been spun away. Suggestion to include Stone Edge noted.

As for Latios, it usually goes down easily to a Scizor pursuit after some residual damage. But I see where you're coming from, Latios has the capability to be a handful. Thanks for that.

 

[PDC]

Hello, cool team you got here!

First off I suggest changing Conkelldurr's spread to one of 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 SDef with Mach Punch over Payback. That spread gives you a lot of Special Bulk and HP, which is needed for Conkelldurr as he only sets up physically. Mach Punch gives you important and strong priority that is often needed for finishing off or revenging threats like Terrakion, which your team has trouble with. You should also try a different spread on your Heatran. But instead of running a Specially Defensive on with Leftovers, I suggest trying out a different Shed Shell Heatran set. With Toxic over Dragon Pulse, this allows you to defeat bulky Volcarona and Chesto Rest versions with ease. A different spread of 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 SAtk Calm means you can take many specially based attacks with ease from Sun Sweepers, while escaping the likes of Dugtrio who can trap and take out Heatran. For your Latios I suggest going with the Standard Life Orb Variation who can prove to be a great offensive force in the metagame and for your team. Using Psyshock over Calm Mind allows you to more easily slam Blissey, Terrakion, and Virizion even after a Sandstorm or Special Defense boost.

Now, I also suggest switching up Tangrowth to a more desirable spot. I think replacing it with Rotom-W is a worthwhile option. Being able to check and defeat Mamoswine and Landorus gives you more insurance against strong Ground moves like Earthquake which could otherwise be a threat. It also gains a lot of momentum with Scizor, making them amazing partners.

sets

Rotom-W @ Leftovers | Levitate
112 HP / 252 SAtk / 144 Spe
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

Good luck!

 

[bullonfire]

Hello, cool team you got here!

First off I suggest changing Conkelldurr's spread to one of 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 SDef with Mach Punch over Payback. That spread gives you a lot of Special Bulk and HP, which is needed for Conkelldurr as he only sets up physically. Mach Punch gives you important and strong priority that is often needed for finishing off or revenging threats like Terrakion, which your team has trouble with. You should also try a different spread on your Heatran. But instead of running a Specially Defensive on with Leftovers, I suggest trying out a different Shed Shell Heatran set. With Toxic over Dragon Pulse, this allows you to defeat bulky Volcarona and Chesto Rest versions with ease. A different spread of 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 SAtk Calm means you can take many specially based attacks with ease from Sun Sweepers, while escaping the likes of Dugtrio who can trap and take out Heatran. For your Latios I suggest going with the Standard Life Orb Variation who can prove to be a great offensive force in the metagame and for your team. Using Psyshock over Calm Mind allows you to more easily slam Blissey, Terrakion, and Virizion even after a Sandstorm or Special Defense boost.

Now, I also suggest switching up Tangrowth to a more desirable spot. I think replacing it with Rotom-W is a worthwhile option. Being able to check and defeat Mamoswine and Landorus gives you more insurance against strong Ground moves like Earthquake which could otherwise be a threat. It also gains a lot of momentum with Scizor, making them amazing partners.

sets

Rotom-W @ Leftovers | Levitate
112 HP / 252 SAtk / 144 Spe
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

Good luck!

Hello. Thanks for the advice, although my Conkeldurr already runs mach punch instead of payback. I've already swapped Tangrowth for Amoonguss, with some interesting results. I'll play around with this change for a while and if it doesn't work as well, I might take your advice and run Rotom-W. However, I'm slightly hesitant on Rotom-W because I've had issues with Quagsire or Swampert in the past, and that was supremely annoying. That's why I decided to have a Grass type instead.

As for Latios, yes I might try a Life Orb setup. It has been lacking a bit of punch lately. Thank you!

 

[Ames]

I am enjoying how this team utilises Tangrowth and Raikou... I had never really considered how well they could possibly slide into OU. I am curious though; what is with the Latios' IVs? You aren't running a hidden power so it seems you are losing out on the 110 speed tier for no reason.

 

[generic name]

Tangrowth is good, but most water hits are special and tangrowth wont want to switch in to a specs poli's hydro pump or a life orb keldeo or w/e. Gyarados is the main physical water type threat imo and it can sub on sleep powder and use bounce. I'd use amoonguss because it has spore>sleep powder, better sp def, and a resistance to u turn Basically, i agree with that guy, don't go back to tangrowth.

On raikou substitute>shadow ball just for stuff like toxic. Tbolt is better against jellicent than shadow ball, and nearly as strong as a super effective shadow ball after stab on stuff like gengar. Sub is really useful to tank weak hits like a scald after a cm and with a sub up dealing with stuff like scarf landorus is much easier.

I'd fix the ivs on latios.

Cool team, main thing for me is sub on raikou over shadow ball.

 

[bullonfire]

I am enjoying how this team utilises Tangrowth and Raikou... I had never really considered how well they could possibly slide into OU. I am curious though; what is with the Latios' IVs? You aren't running a hidden power so it seems you are losing out on the 110 speed tier for no reason.

Hey there. Oops, thanks for the spot on Latios' IVs. I think I ran a hidden power on a previous set and forgot to re-adjust the IVs. Will fix ASAP.

Tangrowth is good, but most water hits are special and tangrowth wont want to switch in to a specs poli's hydro pump or a life orb keldeo or w/e. Gyarados is the main physical water type threat imo and it can sub on sleep powder and use bounce. I'd use amoonguss because it has spore>sleep powder, better sp def, and a resistance to u turn Basically, i agree with that guy, don't go back to tangrowth.

On raikou substitute>shadow ball just for stuff like toxic. Tbolt is better against jellicent than shadow ball, and nearly as strong as a super effective shadow ball after stab on stuff like gengar. Sub is really useful to tank weak hits like a scald after a cm and with a sub up dealing with stuff like scarf landorus is much easier.

I'd fix the ivs on latios.

Cool team, main thing for me is sub on raikou over shadow ball.

Thanks for the great tips! I'm trialing amoonguss now, seems to be working decently, possibly a bit better than Tangrowth. Whether or not it will stay a permanent member remains to be seen.

And yes, substitute sounds like a good idea. Shadow ball has been slightly redundant so a sub would be a good change.

Thanks for the feedback so far! Keep em coming. :)