Newbie Team (OU) Doing Well... Critique Please?

[Aqueus]

Ok, here's my team. It's a conglomeration of pokemon that I put together after examining the metagame and coming up with (hopefully) useful responses to the 'normal' metagame.

(Sorry in advance, no pics, I have no clue where everyone finds all their sweet pics for RMT threads. =(

Metagross @ Occa Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP/236 Atk/16 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Explosion
- Bullet Punch
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
---

I love this guy. He is a head trip for a lead. He's almost always faster than other Metagross leads, he can take on an Leadape and OHKO with EQ (<3). If I see anything that is an immediate threat I toss an EQ at it (assuming it's capable of being hit by EQ, if not I use SR). And at the first sign of a possible threat that Metagross can outspeed (and isn't Explosion-bait) I explode. Also: Most people are thoroughly surprised when they can't OHKO with a fire move due to Occa Berry.

Swampert (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP/216 Def/52 SAtk
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Surf
- Roar
- Protect
---

This guy took over Skarmory's place as the-guy-who-runs-people-through-Stealth-Rock. He's got his STABs so he can actually put up a fight, but he's mostly a stall/phazer. I'll use surf if I suspect they'll switch on me because I Roar'd them into a bad setup. He also makes a safe switch from Togekiss since Toge loves electric attacks. He's also one of my better Fighting-move-absorbers, being bulky. Oh yeah, and Protect is there to scout and see if an enemy has Grass Knot, HP Grass, or what-have-you.

Togekiss (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Nasty Plot
- Aura Sphere
---

Pure. Flinchax. Hawtness. I switch in, even on special walls/stalls and start Plotting. This is also the anti-Breloom, as they'll Spore or Sub when I switch. If they Spore, I OHKO on the next turn (since Lum Berry saved me), and if they switch out I cry, but most people think their Breloom can outspeed Togekiss, thankfully I haven't had that happen.

Scizor (M) @ Shed Shell
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Superpower
---

Doesn't everyone use a Scizor? If I can safely SD then he's a clean sweep. He can BP everything dead, and those that he can't - well, I just have to hope that he's bulky enough to take the hit and Superpower back.

Gengar (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Hypnosis
- Focus Blast
- Energy Ball
---

I used to not have a Ghost type on my team, and Rotom was my worst fear. Now with Gengar, I can handle Rotom's, Fighters, etc. I also used to get walled pretty easy by Swampert, but Energy Ball fixes that. And Pory2 is reliable against Gyarados and Salamence.

Porygon2 @ Leftovers
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP/216 Def/40 SAtk
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
---

This is by far my favorite pokemon, probably because he's so underestimated. Holy crap is this guy good. He's a safe switch-in on any pokemon with Flash Fire, Motor Volt, Volt Absorb, Water Absorb, he's safe to switch into Salamence and Gyarados and survive to Twave, and even if he doesn't get the Twave on the big threats, he's bulky enough to survive to recover. He's got the bolt-beam combo for type coverage, I kinda wish I could fit Tri Attack on him, so he'd have a STAB attack for at least neutral damage on everything, but Twave is too awesome.


So I feel like I'm missing some glaring weakness in the team as I still get owned about 40% of the time (Somewhere between one to two enemy pokemon fainted when I lose is me getting owned), though I think this is mostly due to failed prediction...

Anyways, if anyone has any suggestions or obvious threats that I missed, please lemme know.

 

[pokemonhero17]

Houndoom KO's Gengar, Metagross, and Scizor, and with the right moves Swampert. Infernape could KO Porygon2, Togekiss, Metagross, and Scizor. Grass type like Venusaur or Breloom could ko Metagross, Swampert, Porygon2. As you can see it can be devestated with three Pokemon

 

[Aqueus]

Houndoom has caused problems in the past, but I've only ever seen one in OU. And as I said, Metagross is my Infernape counter. Occa Berry handles the first attack, and Metagross OHKOs on the return. Besides, I can switch to Swampert to feel for fire or fighting attacks, then use Protect to scout and see if he has a grass move. Infernape is little to no threat.

Breloom (and maybe Venusaur, never fought one...) are easily countered by Togekiss, who, in my experience always outspeeds Breloom. I haven't seen a Breloom set that beats the Togekiss. If they Spore, Lum Berry cures and Air Slash kills them next turn. If they sub, Air Slash hits and typing protects me from a OHKO.

As to Houndoom, I dunno what to do, I never see any so it's not a real problem, but I guess I'll go take a look at his sets to see what he usually runs.

 

[locopoke]

Ok, here's my team. It's a conglomeration of pokemon that I put together after examining the metagame and coming up with (hopefully) useful responses to the 'normal' metagame.

(Sorry in advance, no pics, I have no clue where everyone finds all their sweet pics for RMT threads. =(

Metagross @ Occa Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP/236 Atk/16 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Explosion
- Bullet Punch
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
---

I see this lead often and it's a great lead for Bulky Offense teams in the current OU Metagame. I just think that Meteor Mash is pretty much essential on Metagross, while Explosion isn't. It makes for a great last resort move but Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch are a great combination for easily taking out Sashed leads such as Aerodactyl, Azelf and Infernape.

Swampert (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP/216 Def/52 SAtk
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Surf
- Roar
- Protect
---

To be quite honest, I don't see why you need Swampert in this spot. All he does is take Electric attacks aimed at Togekiss and Roar things which almost any Pokemon can do. If you want to keep Swampert in this slot so badly then I'd suggest using CursePert in his place. It takes care of a lot of common threats in the current metagame and with some fixing, can fit into your team and aid it greatly.

Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
Nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP / 216 SpD / 40 Def (or 252 HP / 252 SpD / 6 Def)
Moveset:
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Waterfall
- Curse

If you're aple to set this up correctly, you'll find that you can end up walling a lot of teams with just a few Curses under your belt.


Togekiss (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Nasty Plot
- Aura Sphere
---

Togekiss doesn't do anything for this team. There really isn't any synergy at all and it seems that you only stuck him on the team for the sake of FlinchHax. That isn't how good teams are built. Each Pokemon needs a purpose and needs to work together well with the other Pokemon in the team. My suggestion is to replace Togekiss with MixMence. Sure it may be a little more mainstream than using Togekiss, but it will definetely work a lot better. I can guarentee you that.

Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Mild
EVs: 84 Atk / 216 SpA / 208 Spe
Moveset:
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
- Outrage / Roost

As for the last move slot I'd suggest using Roost to help Salamence stay alive throughout the whole battle. Most of the time you're going to find yourself getting locked into Outrage while Skarmory or Magnezine set up on you or having a Scizor come in to Revenge Kill you. Neither of those situations are good. You will find that MixMence rips through a lot of common teams in todays Metagame and you will be thankful that you decided to add him to your team.

Scizor (M) @ Shed Shell
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Superpower
---

I don't see how you'd need Shed Shell on Scizor as he can surely take a Thunderbolt from Magnezone and KO with Superpower. But aside from that, I think SDScizor isn't right for this team. Try using CBScizor, you'll find that it works much better.

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Moveset:
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Quick Attack / Pursuit

Pursuit is completely viable, but personally I'd use Quick Attack to help against Infernape and Zapdos. Ghosts will mostly always expect Pursuit and stay in to attack you once more which is why it's almost useless.

Gengar (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Hypnosis
- Focus Blast
- Energy Ball
---

Life Orb Sweeping Gengar isn't seen much lately, and that's because of Scizor. Seeing as Scizor is on almost every team and Gengar gets OHKO'd by Bullet Punch, I wouldn't reccomend using him. Try using something like:

Rotom-H @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 6 HP
Moveset:
- Trick
- Overheat
- Discharge / Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball

Believe me, it works great and DOESN'T get completely ruined by the oh so common Scizor.

Porygon2 @ Leftovers
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP/216 Def/40 SAtk
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
---

Porygon2 could work in OU but I really don't see it succeeding much in this team. Possibly replace it with a ScarfZone, but that's just my opinion. Magnezone works perfectly on this team and with so many Steel types on each team, he does a great job of being a revenge killer, especially with Choice Scarf. Make sure you add HP Fire in his moveset somewhere though.

Anyways good luck with your team.

 

[Aqueus]

Thanks a lot for those suggestions, that's really a lot to look into, but I'll definitely see how those move swaps and set changes work. Thanks a lot locopoke!

 

[Technicolor Apocalypse]

I agree, Rotom-H is a much better fit for this team. Spiritomb would also be a viable choice for that slot. If you keep Porygon2, use Spiritomb. They have great synergy. Kudos for using Porygon2! He's a beast. :)

I hope I helped!

 

[pokemonhero17]

I agree with the guy above me. It could also improve on a resistance for Houndoom. Example of a Houndoom would be like:
Wouldn't know about an item, but
Fire Blast
Dark Pulse
Solarbeam
Sunny Day
EVs: 252/252/6 (SpA, SpD, Speed)
It may look bad but it is powerful.

 

[Aqueus]

Ooh! What kind of Spiritomb set would you recommend? I'd really like to use Spiritomb (if for no other reason than because he's UU, yeah, I know it's gimmicky). And Rotom is working about as well as Gengar was before. Both of them have their strengths. Scarf means Rotom can outspeed things, and it also has the bitchin' Overheat move, but Gengar was tougher, and covered the types that my team was weak against...

Ah well. Still looking for a sweet Spiritomb set. Maybe I'll go attacker with him since he's got such a good defensive setup...

I think I'll use the last set with the EVs mentioned in the writeup for that set. Thanks, guys. =)

 

[Fleursily34]

I recommend Brick Break on that SD Scizor for reasons including (pp, screens, attack & defense drop) Especially if you are using Roost, you wanna keep Scizor in place and not get forced out. Scizor has a more then efficient attack stat as is, and its not hard to pull off an SD with Scizor's typing & bulk.

 

[BurtonEarny]

I think magnezones are running hp fire now to kill scizor, so shed shell is def. an option, though magnezone is pretty uncommon... dugtrio does nothing but suck and die against scizor and he is seen about as often. So while it IS and option, typically you could be getting more out of your item.