NickCrash Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 (edited) Greetings everyone. This is a relatively new OU team I'm trying to make the most of. While in general capable of dealing with several major threats, it relies much on prediction and I've come across some hard time lately (can reach only up to 1400-1499 in showdown, then falls due to bad play and my mental breakdown after many consecutive battles). It might be that I can't see what to change because I'm focused on trivial things. I'd appreciate your responses, suggestions, and help in general. (just don't tell me it sucks, I'll get depressed) The main aim was to create something that could deal damage hard and fast, while being able to take some hits. I enjoy the combination of a boosting sweeper which can stop a team on its tracks, and at the same time have a friendly bear who can confuse the opponents as to what kinds of moves to use, as tanks don't really care. Either I put too much of different strategies in this, or I can't properly use the one I have (again..sob.sob) Onward!! Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Life Orb Ability: Volt Absorb EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe Timid Nature - Thunderbolt - Grass Knot / Nasty Plot - Focus Blast - Dark Pulse Mainly used as a lead and a revenge killer. T-bolt is there for the powerful STAB and Dark Pulse is for coverage. Also it's quite nice when the flinch occurs, as Thundurus doesn't really give second chances. Focus blast is there also for coverage and can OHKO threats like Ferrothorn, Kyurem and practically anything weak to fighting moves. I tend to alternate between Grass Knot and Nasty plot, as I find them equally important. As sometimes I use it as an anti-lead, Grass Knot is there to get rid of Swampert, Donphan, Hippowdon and other bulky stuff. Nasty plot allows me to hit faster, harder. It's there to clean the field. I don't seem to pull it off very often though. Volt absorb is a must for two reasons: 1)Stops threats like Jolteon in it's tracks and 2) No alternative Volcarona @ Leftovers Ability: Flame Body EVs: 240 SpA / 68 SpD / 200 Spe Modest Nature - Quiver Dance - Fiery Dance - Bug Buzz - Hidden Power [Water] The second special attacker. Volcarona relies quite a lot on its dance moves, which stack on each other. I've invested a bit in SpD so that I can take a special attack of any kind if I'm not fast enough to do a quiver dance. After that, usually nothing outspeeds. Quiver dances can also be used consecutively, allowing me a great offensive and defensive setup (as I lack on special defense). Fiery dance is a STAB move that might grant me an extra boost and fire is hardly resisted. Its combination with bug buzz, a move that disregards substitutes gives me coverage and being STAB itself, deals that extra damage. The only problems it gets are from fast physical super effective moves, from attackers that somehow are either faster (if I didn't have a chance to boost), or durable enough to withstand a hit. HP water is there to deal with certain checks that think they have me cornered, like Heatran. Also, I needed something to take care of annoying fire types. Charizard seems to be quite durable against it (If only I could learn Scald...) Dragonite @ Weakness Policy Ability: Multiscale EVs: 240 Atk / 68 Def / 200 Spe Adamant Nature - Earthquake/Iron Head - Roost - Dragon Claw - Dragon Dance That's my bulky offensive dragon which is supposed to rip holes in enemy teams. Weakness policy makes a lovely combo with Multiscale, and Roost makes sure that happens. Dragon dance is a move that can serve quite some purposes. Mainly it's there to support Dragonite's mediocre base speed, which I already put some effort into raising. Due to the fear of measly fairies popping up in front of me, I no longer use Outrage, rather Dragon Claw. Quite usefull STAB move, which other dragons don't think so highly of. The 4th slot is for another damaging move. Usually there is Iron Head, which exists for the sole purpose of dealing with the fairies. Sometimes I feel that a general coverage move like earthquake can do the job. The latter combination seems to find problems with Scarmory and Immunity to Togekiss, which is something devilish. Dragonite is there to do the same job as Volcarona, only on the physical side. It also happens to cover for Water moves that my dragonfly cannot cope with. Snorlax @ Leftovers Ability: Thick Fat EVs: 188 Atk / 80 Def / 240 SpD Impish Nature - Curse - Body Slam - Rest - Sleep Talk The foul mouth teddybear that everyone loves. Although mainly defensive, Snorlax has a tendency to boost up and be feared by many. (too bad he can't have Scrappy). The nature is there to help with his originally bad Def stat, and his constant Curses can verify that he lives several physical attacks. He has enough special bulk to stall even the most powerful special attackers (like Chandelure, which succumbs to struggle) and Curse can help equalize the gap between physical and special defenses. Only critical hits hurt a lot, but I've hired witches to grant him good luck. Body Slam is there for the nice STAB and paralysis check. I thought of giving him Rest and Sleep talk in order to heal fast and not waste the 2 turns waiting. Sure, Sleep Talk is not always reliable, but when in early game, a 2/3 chance of either boosting up the bulk or dealing considerate damage while asleep (apart from hilarious) is extremely effective. Even rock and steel types have problems (if ferrothorn is not killed by Thundurus, Volcarona, or Scizor). Ghost types mean him harm, but merely the physical ones (bye bye Aegislash, have fun in Ubers). The others can sit and enjoy. Leftovers can verify that. With 3 Curses, it can withstand two Close Combats from Heracross and laugh about it. Scizor @ Scizorite Ability: Technician EVs: 240 Atk / 200 Def / 68 Spe Adamant Nature - Bullet Punch - Swords Dance - Bug Bite - Superpower All out attacker. I noticed a tendency for boost, but these guys need it. Mega Scizor can take almost any threat (not named Heatran) if it manages to boost. If it can't OHKO something when it steps on the field, 1 SD can help. If that doesn't work, 2SD make it fearsome. Bullet Punch is the priority that Scizor needs and the only one in the team. In case it is not enough, Bug bite can deal some damage in certain pokemon and Superpower can clean up the mess. I've given him some Speed EVs, just enough to outspeed other bulky slow opponents I might face (like Conkeldurrrrr, Ferrothorn, Snorlax, Tangrowth and so on). The Def drop from superpower hurts a bit, but the Atk drop gets nullified by SD. He can take a hit and give it back with twice the power. Rotom-Wash @ Choice Specs Ability: Levitate EVs: 252 SpA / 108 Def / 148 Spe Timid Nature - Trick - Hydro Pump - Thunderbolt - Will-O-Wisp Last, certainly not least. I carry my washing machine with me everywhere I go. It's quite standard, although I'm not sure I gave the correct EVs. Effectively only Grass is in this guys way and I believe I have enough people to stop it if need be. Choice specs with STAB can make some serious hits. Trick is to mess up a bit with walls and physical attackers. I've also seen it used against me though. Hydro Pump has high power but low accuraccy. Also, I prefer T-Bolt over Discharge, just for the extra 10 in power that might be just enough to finish the opponent. Will-o-wisp is there to slow down potential physical sweepers, as the rest of the team cannot really stop them (apart from tricky Dragonite). Thanks for reading this :) Edited October 11, 2014 by nickcrash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 I guess you run HP Water for Charizards and other Fire types or whatever on Volcarona. However, uh, considering the prominence of Charizard Y in this Gen, I don't think HP Water would be viable at all, maybe HP Rock? I know you're still vulnerable against Heatran when it's out but just pray that it's not on the opposing team, and you have to make sure that it isn't out, or dead or whatever. HP Rock was a Gen 5 trick I used to combat the steady number of powerful Volcarona out itself. Try it out and see how it goes, since Charizard is probably more of a threat that anything else. Maybe for Thundurus-T, instead of having Dark Pulse, you could throw Volt Switch on it, to make it a scout or something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Void Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) This team does have a few problems, I'll try to patch them up without changing the team around too much. I'll begin by listing the two main issues this team has, then I'll list my suggested changes. The first is that is that you're trying to run a hyper offense with mons that are honestly way too slow to pull it off effectively. Everything on this team is base 101 speed or below. A team that is neither particularly fast nor particularly bulky just isn't going to work very well. I could maybe understand if you had plenty of priority on this team, but the only priority move you carry is bullet punch on scizor. The second is that you have 3 SR weak pokemon (volcarona is doubly weak in fact) with no means of hazard control. In a metagame where nearly every team carries rocks, that's obviously not good. One smaller issue is your lack of stealth rocks. While it isn't exactly a necessity, SR is such a useful move (allows you to break sashes, helps to check big threats like talonflame and zard) that you really should generally make a point of putting it on teams. Now, on to the changes. My first suggestion would be to run a bulky defog mega scizor over your current offensive one. This gives you a way to get your opponent's rocks off the field, and it forms a nice volt-turn core with Rotom-W. Scizor @ Scizorite Ability: Light Metal EVs: 248 HP / 96 Atk / 164 SpD Adamant Nature - Roost - U-turn - Bullet Punch - Defog ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next, I'd suggest a rock setting Landorus-T over Snorlax. Snorlax is honestly very out of place on a more offensive team like this, as every time you go into it any momentum you've managed to build up for yourself is completely wasted. Landorus-T is a good option since you have a defogger, a bulkier rock setter who will last a while is what you need. Also becomes a third volt switch/u-turn user on this team. Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet Ability: Intimidate EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe Impish Nature - Stealth Rock - Earthquake - U-turn - Rock Slide / Stone Edge / Knock Off ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next would be changing your Thundurus-T to a Thundurus-I. This team needs the extra speed, plus prankster Thunder Wave helps your team out immensely by crippling your opponent's faster mons as well as acting as an emergency check to stuff like mega gyara. Thundurus @ Life Orb Ability: Prankster EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe Timid Nature - Thunder Wave - Thunderbolt - Hidden Power Ice - Focus Blast ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, I'd suggest a Choice Band Dragonite over your current set. I feel this team needs more immediate power, and with the para support from Thundurus this thing will wreck. Dragonite @ Choice Band Ability: Multiscale EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Outrage - Extreme Speed - Fire Punch / Thunder Punch - Superpower ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A minor nitpick would be the hidden power type on your Volcarona. Hidden Power Water is honestly doing pitiful damage on heatran (spdef heatran is the most popular) and effectively hits both zards for neutral damage, so pretty useless there. I'd go for either ground or rock depending on which one you think is the bigger threat. Anyway, the new team should look something like this: Importable: Thundurus @ Life OrbAbility: PranksterEVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpeTimid Nature- Thunder Wave- Thunderbolt- Hidden Power Ice- Focus Blast Volcarona @ Leftovers Ability: Flame Body EVs: 240 SpA / 68 SpD / 200 Spe Modest Nature - Quiver Dance - Fiery Dance - Bug Buzz - Hidden Power Ground/Rock Dragonite @ Choice BandAbility: MultiscaleEVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpeJolly Nature- Outrage- Extreme Speed- Fire Punch / Thunder Punch- Superpower Landorus-Therian @ Rocky HelmetAbility: IntimidateEVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpeImpish Nature- Stealth Rock- Earthquake- U-turn- Rock Slide / Stone Edge / Knock Off Scizor @ ScizoriteAbility: Light MetalEVs: 248 HP / 96 Atk / 164 SpDAdamant Nature- Roost- U-turn- Bullet Punch- Defog Rotom-Wash @ Choice Specs Ability: Levitate EVs: 252 SpA / 108 Def / 148 Spe Timid Nature - Trick - Hydro Pump - Thunderbolt - Will-O-Wisp I've basically added two bulky pivots in Lando-T and the edited Scizor set, both can take as well as dish out hits very well, and both carry u-turn which helps to preserve offensive momentum. I've also added more speed with Thundurus-I, and more priority in the form of extremespeed and prankster t-wave. Hope these changes work out for you. Good luck :] Edited October 12, 2014 by Void Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickCrash Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) Thank you both for the suggestions. I already changed Volcarona's HP to Rock. Haven't used it yet, but soon I'll see if it does the damage. I mainly use Snorlax for special defense, which Landorus doesn't really have. Should I keep T-bolt on Rotom, or switch it for Volt Switch? I thought that Rotom had the biggest problem. Let's see what this team can do.edit: It's a bit different to what I'm used to play, but it surely works. Here's a replay of the last battle (6-0)I hope I don't violate anything by posting here. NewBattleHype6-0 Recent ladder with the new teamReached the 1600s Edited November 8, 2014 by nickcrash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Void Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) I actually suggested a specially defensive spread on scizor, so that covers that. Eats up lati@s dmeteors very nicely. It's obviously not as specially bulky as snorlax, but overall I feel it'll serve this team a lot better. EDIT: Ah, I wasn't aware you had tbolt>volt switch on rotom. I would go for volt switch, yeah. Edited October 12, 2014 by Void Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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