Here goes nothing... - OU

[Etesian]

Well, here's something I've been working on in my free time. An OU team that likely sucks because all teams I've tried building so far all crashed and burned. It's been working out so far, but there's a lot I'm unsure about. Here's hoping this team isn't that bad and that I can get some help with this please?

At a glance

or

In-depth analysis

@Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 236 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Megahorn
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Poison Jab?

A Scolipede with actual offensive pressure, none of that Baton Pass nonsense and a very nice cleaner. This is actually the main thing I wanted to build around after seeing what it can do on a team Skitty made.

For the last move, I opted for Poison Jab over Rock Slide for a reliable STAB and because I feel like I can deal with the 4x-weak-to-rocks crew. But then again, I haven't fought too many Talonflames with this and Mega Pinsir sightings are as rare as ever. Should I run RS after all? Or maybe some coverage move like Aqua Tail?

@Leftovers/Lum Berry?
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch?
- Stone Edge?
- Earthquake?

Here's one I'm rather unsure about. To have something with hazards, I first had a defensive Lando-T here, but realized I didn't have anything very specially-bulky on the team at the point (added Ferro later), so here's my first DD-less T-Tar. About the item, Lefties are always nice to have, but it can really suck to get this thing toxic'd (or burned) since it kinda IS my special wall (and hits decently hard even without any investment).

For the moves, that^^ is what I'm currently running, but should I be? I've kind of been thinking of replacing something for Ice Punch/Beam, maybe even Fire Blast. Also, how about Payback>Crunch since T-Tar only hits 150-ish Speed without any investment?

@Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang

The team's Mega, a simple Mega-Gyara. I've been messing around with Taunt over Ice Fang, but that wasn't really working out. Everyone knows how these things work, so I guess I'll just move on...

@Leftovers

Ability: Levitate

EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Speed

Bold Nature

- Hydro Pump

- Volt Switch
- Will-o-Wisp

- Pain Split

...to the next standard thing. Physical wall Rotom-W, 44 Speed for Azumarill...yeah. Sorry these are getting so short.

@Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]?

My go-to Defogger, just because it does it's job so well. For now, I've got HP Fire on it since Ferro can be quite a pain, but I've also killed quite a few Heatrans with EQ. Thoughts?

@Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Protect?

...speaking of pains. I've already got Rocks on T-Tar, so I'm just running the standard Ferro here. I'm thinking of replacing Protect, since I never use it, but I'm not sure whether Knock Off or T-Wave would be the better choice. Or is there some other good move I'm not thinking of?

I've also been considering swapping Ferrothorn out for a standard Sand Rush Excadrill (or maybe an AV version), but I don't know whether that would be a good move. What I've been thinking of was:

@Life Orb or Assault Vest

Ability: Sand Rush

EVs: 252 Attack / 252 Speed or 252 Attack / 244 Sp.Def / 8 Spe

Adamant Nature

- Earthquake

- Rock Slide

- Iron Head

- Rapid Spin

252 Sp.Def to get the most out of that Assault Vest and since 8 Speed EVs are already enough to outspeed Mega-Sceptile (though that spread may be garbage, haven't used AV Excadrill that much).

Soooo there's the team, in it's very unfinished form, I guess? Any help is much appreciated.

[Tomas Elliot]

Let's see...

Poison Jab should be fine on Scolipede. When in doubt, a STAB is always a superior option, also your other Pokemon can hit Charizard/Talonflame/Pinsir easily, but they cannot deal with Fairies that well. And besides, both Pinsir and Talonflame have a priority Flying-type move, so you should never leave Scolipede out against them anyway...

If you want Tyranitar to really tank a lot and still be able to kill stuff, try this set:

Tyranitar @ Assault Vest

Ability: Sand Stream

EVs: 248 HP / 12 Atk / 248 SpA

Brave Nature

- Pursuit

- Stone Edge

- Fire Blast

- Ice Beam

Between the sand bonus and Assault Vest, its Special Defense reaches insane levels, and it is still no slouch on the physical side either. Brave nature because it cannot outrun the Pokemon it checks anyway, so it is better to hinder speed than either defensive stat (it is supposed to switch in a lot after all), and with the invstiments given, it is guaranteed to score the KO on the most common sets of Lati@s, Talonflame, Ferrothorn and Gliscor, with Pursuit, Stone Edge, Fire Blast and Ice Beam respectively. And well, the sole purpose of this guy would be to counter those, given that they are all threatening to your team otherwise...

I don't think you need Latios given that you already have a very effective user of Rapid Spin (on which I'll expand more later), also your team isn't THAT weak to hazards. So I recommend using a defensive Lando-T here, for 3 reasons: firstly, it forms a very good defensive core with the given Tyranitar; secondly, it can be your Stealth Rock user so that you have no problems using the suggested set for Tyranitar; thirdly, it can intimidate stuff AND use U-turn, thus forming a Volt-Turn core with Rotom. Or you can intimidate something, U-turn to Gyarados and intimidate again, so that it will then be easy for Gyarados to Mega Evolve and set up.

Don't use Power Whip on Ferrothorn, it really doesn't add anything to the team. Use Spikes instead: by relying on Rapid Spin instead of Defog, you can easily keep multiple hazards on your opponent's side of the field, also because your hazards setters are very bulky, so they can keep on switching in and using their hazards again, with Tyranitar Pursuit-trapping enemy Lati@s so that the opponent has a hard time defogging. And keep Protect, it helps wear down seeded opponents as well as making prediction easier when facing choiced Pokemon.

Finally, Excadrill: if you want to rely on it to Rapid Spin, and make sure it stays alive as long as possible, then you want the AV set, but in this case I think you are better off using Mold Breaker over Sand Rush, so that opponents must think twice before attepting to spin-block with Gengar. I honestly would recommend this solution, because you are not using a dual sand core, and a mere 5 turns of sand from Tyranitar is honestly not enough to attempt a sweep with Sand Rush Excadrill. Also because +0 Sand Rush Excadrill misses on quite a few important kills: you'd need Swords Dance to make sure it can sweep, but that would mean switching to a completely different playstyle which honestly doesn't fit this team...

Well this is all. I hope my suggestions will come in handy.

EDIT: wait scrap everything I said. I realized only now there are 7 Pokemon in this team ;-;

Well I honestly think Ttar, the defensive Lando I suggested over Latios, Ferro, Rotom and Exca are all needed. Which means you either remove Gyarados or Scolipede... It's up to you. Honestly I think you need a Mega, but ehi, your call...

[Reignited'Light]

Ok. Let's git dis work

Scolipede @ Life Orb

Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 236 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Megahorn
- Swords Dance / Protect

- Aqua Tail
- Poison Jab

So Heatran+Ferrothorn can be a bitch to deal with. If you run Swords Dance, you should be able to OHKO most variants of Heatran that only run max HP, while also having a chance to OHKO Standard specially defensive Ferrothorn.

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Speed Boost Scolipede Aqua Tail vs. 252 HP/0 Def Heatran: 442 - 523 (114.5 - 135.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Speed Boost Scolipede Megahorn vs. 252 HP/88 Def Ferrothorn: 343 - 406 (97.4 - 115.3%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

For your Tyranitar, I would keep a spread of 248 HP / 8 SpAtk / 252 SpDef with a Sassy nature. I would run Pursuit, Ice beam, and Stone Edge on it, to hit a lot of things that would normally wall Tyranitar like Gliscor and landorus-therian. Hitting them on the switch is key. I would use Landorus-Therian for the powerful Volt-Turn core with Rotom-Wash, but I understand why you ran Tyranitar.

On Gyarados, I would use Crunch instead of Ice Fang, if you must have a attacking move. You can also run Substitute if you don't like Taunt, but Taunt helps break stall easily thanks to Mega Gyarados' Mold Breaker ability.

I agree with Latios. Having Hidden Power Fire really breaks down some annoying Scizor and Ferrothorn if you hit them on the switch or not. You don't really need Earthquake since Scolipede and Gyarados can deal with the pesky Heatran.

I would make Ferrothorn use a Sassy nature. I don't know if I made it Relaxed nature originally, but change it to Sassy. You got Power Whip on Ferrothorn to beat Tail Glow manaphy that do not carry Hidden Power Fire. Other wise, ice Beam can 3HKO you, while you do less damage with Gyro Ball. You can leech Seed it, but stalling isn't really fun.

I don't know how Excadrill would fit into this team. I know Tyranitar is pretty cool, but you don't need to pair it with a Sand Sweeper. Scolipede and Gyarados are fantastic sweepers anyway.

I think it's a solid team, overall. You can't cover everything on one team, but this team should be able to cover the majority of the meta right now.

EDIT: My blocks of texts are really annoying, so I'm sorry if things don't make any sense. I'll try to explain more on a certain pokemon if requested.

Edited April 17, 2015 by Reignited'Light

[Etesian]

@Tomas Elliot, yeah, Rock Slide was more about trying to get that stuff on the switch-in, but this team does have it's way of dealing with Talon/Pinsir, so I don't think I'd have to rely on that.

I'm kinda sceptical on leaving that much up to T-tar coverage-wise. If it goes down, it's gonna be really bad, especially since Rotom would be the only other special attacker on the entire team, so I think I'll be keeping that Lati. I've also found Tyranitar to be bulky enough even without AV, so I think I'll be taking Skitty's set.

For Power Whip, as Skitty's said, Manaphy can be quite problematic and...I kinda didn't have anything else to run on it. Like you said, when in doubt, get a STAB and I don't really see a huge need to run Spikes.

I've actually thought it through and given up on Excadrill. It's as you say, not a ton of OHKOs are gotten without set-up (which wastes Sand turns), so it'd only work as a late game cleaner, but I've already got one of those in Scolipede.

@Skitty, I'm kinda worried about Scarfers and fast Megas if I run Swords Dance on it, since this team has no priority and no scarfers of it's own. I've been debating SD over Protect, but then my one and only form of speed control is gone. For example, after rocks, Mega Sceptile can OHKO 4 members of my team and T-tar and Ferro take at least 60%, while Scolipede can outspeed and kill with ease if I have Protect. Scolipede actually handles the vast majority of 100+ Base Speed Megas very well, with some help from Rotom for the physical ones. And I generally use it as a late-game cleaner so I don't think setting up is as necessary.

Yeeah, I gave up on Excadrill for the reasons above. I just love using the Tyranitar-Excadrill combo so much that it's become a reflex to consider one when I see the other.

By the way, why those 3 attacks on Scolipede? And if I were to run SD, would switching to Jolly Max Speed be better than the current spread?

And just to confirm, T-tar's last move is Stealth Rocks and held item is Lefties? And is there any particular reason for Crunch over Ice Fang or is it just for the extra power of a STAB?

[Reignited'Light]

Protect is also a good option instead of Swords Dance. Swords Dancd just helps you sweeps teams.

And Megahorn, Poison Jab, and Aqua Tail hits pretty much everything in the metagame for neutral. Except Shedinja and probably a few more others, but it hits Landorus, Fairy types, and annoying dark types. I would still use Adamant nature instead of Jolly because you should max out your power of attacks. Speed Boost helps the speed issue, so it isn't really necessary to run Jolly.

Yes, Tyranitar should have Stealth Rock and should use leftovers. Crunch is a more powerful attack, and use Ice Beam instead. It hits Landorus-Therian way harder and also hits Gliscor, if you run Ice Beam>Crunch.

[Etesian]

Wait, should I run Aqua Tail over Earthquake then?

And I meant Crunch over Ice Fang on Gyarados.

[Reignited'Light]

Wait, should I run Aqua Tail over Earthquake then?

And I meant Crunch over Ice Fang on Gyarados.

Dragon Dance

Waterfall

Crunch

Earthquake

You can use that set for all out offense. If you need to change anything, replace Earthquake. Don't use Aqua Tail, since the misses won't ever be in your favor lol

[Etesian]

Hang on, this is getting kinda confusing lol. So to be clear: for Scolipede, should I run EQ or Aqua Tail?

[Reignited'Light]

Aqua Tail

Megahorn

Poison Jab

Swords Dance or Protect

[Etesian]

Right, thanks lol.

And that's that, I guess. Thank you both for helping me out with this!

[Aero]

bisharp absolutely wrecks your team. come in on a defog and gg. sucker punch kos exca at +1. same with scolipede. gyaras intimidate only makes it stronger. rotom can take 1 hit, thats all. I would suggest moxie -> intimidate on gyara to help mitigate this bisharp weakness, as most bisharp would try to knock off gyara. then you can mega and resist sucker punch. also, scolipede needs baton pass+swords dance.

Edited April 18, 2015 by Aero

[Etesian]

Like anyone would Defog while a Bisharp is still around anyways. I only have 1 thing weak to rocks, so I can just not Defog till Bisharp is down if need be. And there'd be no reason to switch in Gyara, and definitely no need to scrap a really useful ability because of one thing, a thing that really can't do much against Ferro, Gyara after evolution or especially Rotom-W.

Also please, um...actually read the post. The main reason I made this team is to use Offensive Scolipede. The ton of boring Baton Pass Scolipedes I've encountered is what made me want to make this team to begin with.