Lu-Lu-Lu-Lucario!

[Scenekidlove]

The team at a Glance

Teambuilding process

I've been playing with mega-pokemon, testing out Mega Khanga and Mega Gengar amongst others. I decided to try and build a team around Mega Lucario next. The first pokemon I came up with was Latias. Latias can take any ground moves or fire moves directing Lucario. Second came Azelf, because he was one of my favourite leads in Gen5. I opted for a Trickscarf Azelf because I didn't feel a need to use hazards on this team. Trickzelf surprises many opponents because its not used as much as he used to. Especially not with all the U-turn/Voltswitching teams who lead with the likes of Genesect etc.

Then I figured, after making Latias a special wall. That I needed some form of a Physical wall. I chose one of my favourite physical walls- Zapdos. Klefki is simply there because I find him so darn annoying, that I simply had to have one. Especially using Thunderwave to cripple anything that could oppose a speed threat. Apart from that, he can gimmicky get rid of certain pokemon without a sweat. As the last one, I opted for one of the biggest threads in OU gen 6; Talonflame. He's mainly a check for other Lucario and he has nice priority in Gale wings to take out certain threats.

In Depth

My lead Azelf Wish @Choicescarf

Nature: Rash

Ability: Levitate

EV's: 4 HP, 252 Sp.atk, 252 Speed

• U-Turn
• Flamethrower
• Psychoshock
• Trick

Azelf is my anti-lead. I can easily use trick on any set up lead. I can also switch out to an appropriate counter and sometimes surprise maim/kill their lead. I've had plenty of Lead Genesect thinking they could U-turn and kill me, and instead found their Genesect OHKO'd. There is not much to say about this lead, other than Gen6 bringing the apocalypse of U-turn leads who can easily dent Azelf :/. All the volt-switching and U-turning make it quite hard to get Azelf back into the game unless I have a death.

Lucario (Swipe) @ Lucarionite

Nature: Jolly

Ability: Justified

Ev's; 252 Atk, 252 speed, 4 HP

• Bulletpunch
• Icepunch
• CloseCombat
• Crunch

I always forget what a powerhouse this actually is, but surprisingly I also find him lacking. With CloseCombat you are ensured to deal high damage AND sometimes even OHKO certain pokemon. Bulletpunch is there for Priority and Stab while Crunch gives me something against Psychic/Ghost types, it also gives nice coverage. Last slot is Icepunch. It used to be Extreme speed I think..but Gliscor completed would wall Lucario making him obsolete.

Klefki (Keyblade) @Leftovers

Nature: Bold

Ability: Prankster

Ev's: 252 HP, 120 Def, 136 Sp.def

• Thunderwave
• Substitute
• Swagger
• Foul Play

Nowadays you see quite a few pokemon who run Swagger/Status +Foulplay. As someone who quit at Gen V and making a return in Gen 6, I just had to try a set like this. Klefki brings another ground and fire weakness, he also brings a nice defense against U-turns. Azelf and Latias have trouble taking those in and its not always possible to bring in Talonflame for it. His set is made so he can annoy, maim and even kill pokemon. The EV spread might be inacurrate, but I kind of based it around mixed walls in Gen 5. This thing usually works wonders, especially in this stall/semi stall oriented times where it can substitute before any status can hit him.

Zapdos (Nuts) @ Leftovers

Nature: Bold

Ability: Pressure

EV's: 80 HP, 252 def, 176 speed.

• Defog
• Roost
• Heatwave
• Thunderbolt.

This set is quite common in this day and age, especially because you have to run Defog if you're not running a stallteam or a team that uses hazards. Roost is to ensure he can stay alive while Heatwave and Thunderbolt are coverage. Heatwave is also very helpful against Aegisslash, Breloom (who gets outsped) and things like Genesect/Magnezone.

There isn't much to say about this pokemon really. I run it on two of my teams, the other having Toxic instead of Defog but it simply can take a lot of hits, while still being fast and dealing plenty of damage.

Talonflame (Phoenix) @ Choiceband

Nature: Jolly

Ability: Gale wings

EV's: 252 Attack, 176 speed , 80 HP.

• Flareblitz
• U-Turn
• Bravebird
• Sleeptalk

​I wanted a revenge killer or atleast a strong damage dealer. It can U-turn Synergize quite well with Azelf. I opted for a Choiceband set simply because I wanted to test out its strengths and weaknesses. I don't know why I run this EV spread, but if there is a better one, please notify me. Flareblitz/Bravebird are the obvious stab moves while U-turn also helps me scout. As a last slot I decided to go for sleeptalk. I've seen some sets run WoW but I don't see why that would do anything. I can absorb Sleep moves with Talonflame and deal damage with sleeptalk.

Latias (Maria) @ Leftovers

Nature: Calm

Ability: Levitate

EV's: 252 HP, 4 Def, 252 Sp.def

• Wish
• Protect
• Surf
• Dragonpulse

​This pokemon has been switched around quite a lot. I've been looking for an appriopriate Wishpasser who could also protect Lucario. In his stead have been Vaporeon, Umbreon and Sylveon. Though I feel Latias is the best choice. Surf is needed for coverage and helps hit Gliscor nicely. Dragonpulse is for STAB and Wish/Protect to help wishpass it all around. I feel as this is my weakest Link. It can wish/protect but, it never really does anything apart from that and dies quite fast.

Threats:

One of the biggest threats I can think off, is Gliscor. I don't really have anything to hit him with, nor do I know which member to replace to adequately deal with him. Overall this team still feels raw to me and somewhat lacking, but I cannot put my finger on it. Hence the RMT.

My question

My question to you guys is, can you give me constructive feedback on the team, synergy wise, moveset wise and EV wise. Because I honestly don't know and I feel like scrapping it because of that.

PS: Sorry for the overal look of the RMT.
I haven't done in quite some time and the sprite sites weren't cooperating at all.

Edited December 11, 2013 by Scenekidlove

[Scenekidlove]

This is the export btw.

I don't know how to factor in spoilers..

Wish (Azelf) @ Choice Scarf

Trait: Levitate

EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd

Rash Nature (+SAtk, -SDef)

- U-turn

- Psyshock

- Flamethrower

- Trick

Swipe (Lucario) (F) @ Lucarionite

Trait: Justified

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd

Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)

- Close Combat

- Bullet Punch

- Crunch

- Ice Punch

KeyBlade (Klefki) (F) @ Leftovers

Trait: Prankster

EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SDef

Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)

- Substitute

- Thunder Wave

- Swagger

- Foul Play

Nuts (Zapdos) @ Leftovers

Trait: Pressure

EVs: 80 HP / 252 Def / 176 Spd

Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)

- Defog

- Roost

- Heat Wave

- Thunderbolt

Maria (Latias) (F) @ Leftovers

Trait: Levitate

EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef

Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

- Wish

- Protect

- Surf

- Dragon Pulse

Phoenix (Talonflame) (M) @ Choice Band

Trait: Gale Wings

EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spd

Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)

- Flare Blitz

- Brave Bird

- U-turn

- Sleep Talk

[SJMistery]

mm, you can try life orb instead of band and abuse from priority Roost in Telonflame, that will turn stall users crazy if you predict well the Protect turns (with swords dance intead of uturn, gliscor gets owned)

for gliscor, you can run ice beam on azelf, who can switch on gliscor with little to no fear. That move can also serve it to revenge kill dragon and flying types (for that you commented, I guess his main function in mid game is being the revenge killer). you will almost never need trick anyway

[Tomas Elliot]

Talonflame is 9001% better with the LO set, as SJ suggested, which in turn makes it easier to pull off sweeps with the two recoil moves thanks to priority Roost. The set I have used since Gen 6 has come out (and that has yet to fail me) is 248 HP/252 Atk/8 Spe, Adamant, Life Orb, Swords Dance, Brave Bird, Flare Blits and Roost. 248 HP to give you the ability of actually pulling off sweeps with priority Brave Bird without suiciding to double recoil, while taking less damage from SR due to the fact that these investiments will make your HPs a odd number (and when ST halves your HPs the damage is rounded down, effectively making you capable of switching in twice. And again, priority Roost helps), max Attack for obvious reasons, 8 Spe still allows you to win some speed ties (but in general, thanks to Gale Wings, speed is something you don't need), Brave Bird is the move you'll be using 99,999999999% of times and that will actually win you games, specially if you can boost it with a well-timed Swords Dance, and Flare Blitz will be used exclusively against Skarmory and Ferrothorn.

As for your problems, I'd suggest running an all-out defensive Latias: did you know that she gets Defog too? So yeah, you could adjust the EVs to make her the wall that fits you better, and give her Wish, Protect, Defog and Dragon Pulse. This would allow you to run the bulky offense set for Zapdos: 248 HP (again, to take less damage from SR)/252 SpAtk/8 Spe, Modest, Life Orb or Leftovers, Substitute, Roost, Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice. It would still be bulky enough to take on opposing Talonflames, threatening them with its powerful Thunderbolt, and if you time correctly your subs and Roosts in order to avoid getting Toxic-ed, it would then be able to take on Gliscor nicely, with HP Ice scoring a guaranteed kill. With this set you'd be using the Hidden Ability Lightingrod, which not only gives you a nifty Electric immunity that makes it easier for you to switch in (on top of being already immune to Ground), it also rises your SpAtk making you even more difficult to deal with once you force them out and use Substitute on the switch.

I hope this helped

[Void]

ah, skl, I remember you back from the mysidia days :]

I'll start off with the smaller details first.

LO talonflame is certainly not better than banded talon, especially with rotom usage at sky high levels. First of all, the two play different roles. Second, the extra immediate power and ability to revenge kill better and without as much recoil damage is very important to this team. Being able to u-turn out of rotoms and retain momentum helps a lot as well. Having roost on LO talonflame helps a bit, but it's really too frail to abuse it properly unless you're running a bulk up set, which still doesn't help against hydro pumps from its #1 counter, rotom.

I'd definitely tweak the set a little bit, though. Jolly nature is definitely unnecessary when your main attacking move is priority brave bird, and you need that extra power.

Talonflame (M) @ Choice Band

Trait: Gale Wings

EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spd

Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

- Flare Blitz

- Brave Bird

- U-turn

- Tailwind

The speed evs here allow you to outspeed jolly mega kangaskhan, ensuring it can't hit you with sucker punch. Priority Tailwind is a good last resort move to use when Talonflame is nearly dead, and can be especially helpful for mega luke, allowing it to outspeed mons that would normally revenge kill it and possibly opening up a path for a sweep.

I'm not surprised you've found Mega Lucario a bit lacking. I really believe you require the appropriate set-up move to get the most out of mega luke. I'd suggest running SD > crunch on this. Crunch mainly provides coverage against stuff like Reuniclus and Jellicent, but those are fairly uncommon this gen and those two eat up unboosted Crunches anyway (note that non-STAB moves from mega luke are weaker than those same moves coming from normal LO luke).

This also helps with your Gliscor weakness, as this thing lures in Gliscors quite nicely, and OHKOs with +2 Ice Punch:

+2 252 Atk Mega Lucario Ice Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gliscor: 436-516 (123.1 - 145.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Looking at the team as a whole, this team is a bit weird, for me. On paper you have covered a lot of the threats in this meta, I'll give you that. However, you lack the offensive power required to find success through that route, while your defense alone isn't going to hold up against a barrage of threats either. It seems that you've tried to go for a more balanced team rather than straight offense or defense, but you've ended up somewhere in the middle of the road that isn't very convincing.

For an offensively leaning balanced team to work and flow properly, you need bulky pivots rather than dedicated walls. I don't really see why you need a wishpasser on this team, plus most of your team is too frail to receive wishes reliably anyway.

I'd run a rock polish sheer force spatking landorus over latias, to bring some special attacking power to this team. It also serves as an excellent late game sweeper, pairing extremely well synergy wise with your mega lucario. luke's superb wallbreaking capabilities also clear the way for landorus to sweep late game.

Landorus (M) @ Life Orb

Trait: Sheer Force

EVs: 44 HP / 252 SAtk / 212 Spd

Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)

- Rock Polish

- Earth Power

- Psychic

- Sludge Wave

This set covers everything other than Skarmory, and the rest of your team easily beats skarmory anyway (especially after the changes I'm about to suggest).

I don't like klekfi on this team, or any any team for that matter. swagger parahax klefki/sableye etc is a PURELY luck based strategy, and has gained a reputation as a tactic only scrubs use for good reason. one game your luck could be exceptionally good, getting all the necessary confusion hax at the right times. however, if you don't get lucky enough, it just ends up being dead weight. most players who know what they're doing can play around it with their ground and electric types to ensure their team isn't harmed much too, as the set is very predictable.

I'd replace klefki with a mixed aegislash, as it's a great pokemon and also fits well with your synergy.

Aegislash (M) @ Leftovers

Trait: Stance Change

EVs: 192 HP / 64 Atk / 252 SAtk

Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)

- Shadow Ball

- Shadow Sneak

- Sacred Sword

- King's Shield

Shadow Ball is your main attacking move here. Sacred Sword gives your perfect coverage, and Shadow Sneak allows you to pick off weakened pokemon. Ghost has become an extremely OP type offensively now with the steel nerf, as it lost its main resistance and didn't gain a new resistance unlike Dark. Only Normal and Dark resist Ghost now, and there's only a select few pokemon from these two types that feature in OU. This also helps against Gliscor, as people tend to switch that into this, only to be hit by a powerful STAB Shadow Ball off a base 150 spatk.

While we're still on the topic of Aegislash, you have absolutely nothing that can take Shadow Balls from this very same set. For this reason, I'd suggest running a specially defensive spread on your Zapdos instead. An EV spread of 248 HP / 240 SDef / 20 Spd with a Calm nature would be optimal. A combination of Heat Wave along with roosting off the damage it deals should allow you to deal with it quite comfortably.

I can see how Azelf can catch people off guard at the start of the game, especially Genesects, but I'm not sure if it's worth it overall. With so many new threats out and about, teamslots are very precious and not to be used up just like that. There's just a lot more stuff that would overall be far more useful in that slot. That particular Azelf set is not only fragile, but not very threatening offensively either, and may find itself becoming set-up fodder if locked into fairly low basepower Psyshock or non-STAB Flamethrower. I'd go with a physically defensive Rotom-W in this slot, to help you tank physical hits better, as well as to efficiently 100% deal with every Gliscor set other than sub toxic protect.

Rotom-W @ Chesto Berry

Trait: Levitate

EVs: 248 HP / 220 Def / 32 SAtk / 8 Spd

Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)

- Will-O-Wisp

- Rest

- Hydro Pump

- Volt Switch

I've gone for the Rest Chesto here so that you don't need to worry about switching into a gliscor toxic.

You can lead off with Rotom-W, it matches up well against most leads and can volt switch out to give you momentum right off the bat. Of course, should you decide to use this team outside of Reborn, that doesn't matter due to Wifi Clause and you should switch up your lead based on what you think they're going to lead with.

As a final note, if you want, you could go with volt switch over tbolt on zapdos to help preserve momentum there as well, but if you think you'll miss the added power of tbolt then just stick with that.

so, tl;dr, my suggested changes are:

Improved set and spread on banded talonflame

SD over crunch on mega luke

change zapdos to special defensive set

RP lando > latias

mixed aegislash > klefki

phys def rest chesto rotom-w > azelf

I realize that this is quite an overhaul of the original team, as I've changed half of your team to new pokemon as suggested minor tweaks for the other half. I feel I have managed to stick with the original idea of the team, though. However, if you disagree, you could always try this out as a completely separate team, should you still want to try out these changes.

All in all, I hope this rate has been helpful, and if you test out my changes, please let me know if the team faces any other major issues :]

@Tomas Elliot: I'd like to mention that Lightningrod Zapdos isn't and has never been a thing. Lightningrod Zapdos was never released in gen 5, and in gen 6 the hidden ability was changed to Static (see the hidden ability here: http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-xy/145.shtml)

Edited December 13, 2013 by Void

[Tomas Elliot]

Well Lightingrod Zapdos WAS available on the DW tier on PO; and I wasn't aware its HA was changed to (the quite worthless) Static this generation... Sorry about that!

[SJMistery]

STATIC? they changed it to STATIC?

there wasn't enought with stealing shadow tag to chandelure only to put it on mega gengar, and giving speed boost to scolipede, robing ninjask's from his last OU niche, they also rob lightningrod to zapdos?

Game Freak is just sadist!

[Void]

Well Lightingrod Zapdos WAS available on the DW tier on PO; and I wasn't aware its HA was changed to (the quite worthless) Static this generation... Sorry about that!

yeah, it was available on the DW tier on PO, I just meant in terms of the real game, it doesn't and never has existed.