Another OU Team for RMT

[Boredom]

Recently my friend managed to breed a modest, shiny, Magnezone with Hidden Power Fire, It's legitimate and he proceeded to freak out afterwards when he found out it was Hidden Power Fire. So after I finally was able to get it from him I decided to build a team around it. I'm a bit new to OU because most of my other teams were hastily thrown together based on things that I thought would work together and that was fine for a while. This time I've taken all of those mistakes and actually spent quite a bit of time working on this team. Most of my other teams have relied on somewhat gimmicky moves and techniques for their core but I just wanted a simple team for my first OU team. As it is now the highest that this team has managed to take me in PO is 1362 (I was having a really good day), but it now keeps around an average of 1200ish.
Some of the things that i'd like help on would be possible replacements for Swampert or Salamence because they are the most frequently unused on my team and I keep having the feeling that there is something better that can fill the niche they're occupying. Another problem I have is that I don't have a taunt user so any replacement pokemon suggestions I'd prefer to have taunt.

I've gone back over my hastily written descriptions. Further edit's to this post will be in BOLD. I'll also be including the team building process in a bit but I'm a bit short on time and wanted to get this up.

Building Process

As I said before the amazingly rare Magnezone I received from my friend is what started this team off. He has a ton of resistances, a great special attack, and his unique ability allows him to counter-kill most walls.


For the next Pokemon I needed something that could take on most of the threats in OU but could be switched in on common moves used against Magnezone (Fire, Fighting, Ground). Gengar fit this bill (mostly) by completely resisting fighting and ground he can switch in after Magnezone and take no damage. I chose Choice scarf for him because it would let him out speed pretty much anything he came across, and it would allow him to take out some of the biggest threats that would try to take out Magnezone.


At this point I realized I needed something to help set up entry hazards, but was bulky enough to send out and receive abuse while it put rocks up. So Curse Swampert came to mind as a solution to this problem as it can set up rocks then Curse up and make itself even bulkier than it already is.


Speaking of entry hazards I needed something to help spin them away and then possibly set up some more and I thought of Donphan but dismissed him seeing as I had a bulkier Stealth Rock user and I had also thought of Tentacruel. Tentacruel was nice because he's fairly bulky and has a way to restore some HP to himself.


At this point I realized I had an overwhelming amount of special attackers on the team and so far, only Magnezone was capable of resisting ghost, dark, rock, and psychic. I realized I needed a dark Pokemon that could also double as a physical sweeper, and Scrafty with his ability Moxie fit the bill, with access to Dragon Dance all I had to do was make sure he could survive for a little while and Focus Sash did the trick.


Finally I wanted a mixed sweeper so that I wouldn't be able to be specifically walled by anything and I also wanted it to be a dragon because dragon typing is largely unresisted making it a great type for a mixed attacker. I made a sort of MixMence set (Not the one being used right now) and Salamence fit as he covered a bunch of the weaknesses left for me to cover and his weaknesses were also covered.



Gastrodon was suggested as a replacement for Swampert and works realy well as a special wall completely walling bulky waters that were once major anoyances to the team. Salamence wasn't working too well on the team and rarely did what I wanted him to do. Since I was a Stealth Rock user down and I really needed something with taunt on my team I decided on Azelf for now as he can learn both, has a large support move pool, and has great attack and speed stats.

The Team



Anger (Gengar) (F) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Psychic / Hidden Power (Ice)

Before you tell me not to put a choice scarf on Gengar and that it's redundant because he's already fast, his role is to serve as a revenge killer and take out some of the major threats to my team. The reason I considered putting a scarf on a Gengar is all because most of the OU teams had on their threat lists the same couple of things, the main ones for my team being Terrakion, Alakazam, Cloyster, Starmie, Breloom, Espeon, and the list goes on... Choice scarf on Gengar surprises everyone when I bring him out and that surprise factor lets me takeout most of these threats because on Gengar he out speeds everything and with already his impressive special attack all it usually takes is one hit.


How Do They Work? (Magnezone) @ Leftovers
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 148 HP / 252 SAtk / 108 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Charge Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Substitute

Magnezone kills most major threats that are unfortunate enough to have a steel typing and a lack of Volt-Turn or U-Turn. He is here to takeout most of the walls in OU because they tend to share the general trait of having steel typing which Magnet Pull and Hidden Power Fire exploit very well together. Magnezone is great for removing things entry hazard users like Ferrothorn and Skarmory because he can set up a Substitute and proceed to finish them off with a Substitute up giving him a free hit on whatever they switch in to revenge him. His speed EV's Make sure he's not completely left in the dust and the HP EV's help him survive most non-STAB super effective hits or weaker super effective STAB hits, except for ground moves ... those completely wipe him out no matter what.Charge Beam lets him set up behind a substitute on things like Ferrothorn or Choice Band Scizor letting Magnezone potentially sweep after he finishes them off with a Hidden Power Fire.


Stygian (Tentacruel) (F) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
- Giga Drain

Tentacruel is my Rapid Spinner which is always important and allows me to keep Scrafty's Focus Sash intact. Tentacruel is my physical wall, I've considered changing his nature to Calm to make him a bit better with special attacks, and his ability Liquid Ooze is great to switch into a Drain Punch, Leech Seed, etc. Toxic Spikes are my other source of entry hazards and are great for taking out weaker Pokemon and help discourage walls from staying out too long giving my sweepers a chance to do some damage. Scald gives me a STAB and the added chance for burn is always nice as it can further impede physical attackers if spikes aren't down yet. Giga Drain gives him a form of recovery to keep him alive longer.


Fancy Pants (Scrafty) (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Drain Punch
- Crunch
- Ice Punch

Scrafty has proven himself time and time again in my team pulling off phenomenal sweeps of unprepared teams. The Focus Sash keeps Scrafty alive for at least one turn either letting me Dragon Dance up to out speed what ever he's attacking, or it allows him one last chance to hit something....hard. Drain Punch gives him a STAB form of recovery and can help him reset his Focus Sash if entry hazards are up. Crunch gives him another STAB move and makes him great against psychics. Ice Punch lets him counter dragons, grass, and flying pokemon that would otherwise attempt to one shot him.I'm currently experimenting with items for this guy.

Banana (Gastrodon) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Recover
- Yawn
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam


Gastrodon replaces Swampert on my team now as a special wall. Recover's purpose on this set is obvious and Yawn is there to phase out things such as a special sweepers or walls while stacking up some entry hazard damage. With Storm Drain on him he can eliminate the need to switch out of rain sweepers and retaliate after switching in on a water move. Earth Power is for STAB and Ice Beam is for special dragons and just general coverage.


Azelf @ Mental Herb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Light Screen
- U-turn

Azelf is the new Stealth Rock user for the team and does his job well. The Mental Herb on him makes sure that he can Taunt the enemy before they can Taunt him. Light screen is there to help keep my guys healthy. Then after he sets up he uses a U-Turn to get out of there and switch into something that can counter or set up. His Jolly nature and full speed EVs make him incredibly fast letting him U-turn before most things, and the health EVs give him some extra bulk.

Previous Members


Hulk (Swampert) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Damp
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Curse
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch

Swampert is my lead plain and simple. He can set up Stealth rock to make switching in all the worse for my opponents. Earthquake is for a basic STAB attack and it pairs well with Ice Punch covering most of the things that I would send Swampert up against. Curse is there because Swampert's speed stat is already pretty lack luster as most things out speed him so considering he is already pretty bulky so curse just raises his defense to scary high levels. The added bonus from curse being that Swampert gets a boost to his attack making him all the more dangerous. Damp is there because Torrent is kind of useless on a set without water moves and the added bonus of stopping explosion is always nice. Because of his EV maxed HP and SDef he can even survive SolarBeam and Energy Ball from common special sweepers, however he still can't survive Grass Knot.


Scales (Salamence) (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 64 Atk / 192 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Draco Meteor
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast

Salamence's high stats in special attack let him one shot most weaker things with a Draco Meteor. Once this occurs he gets a boost from Moxie and can then start sweeping physically with Outrage and/or Earthquake. Fire Blast is there for things like Skarmory or Ferrothorn who would switch in on an expected Earthquake or Outrage. The Lum Berry keeps Salamence healthy and can either cure his confusion after Outrage or frustrate anything that would try to inflict a status on him.

[[Kingdra]]

I don't really understand using scarf Gengar as a revenge killer when you have Magnezone, they both occupy the same niche.

This MixMence set has more coverage:


Salamence @ Life Orb
EVs: 64 Atk / 192 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive / Rash Nature
~ Draco Meteor
~ Outrage
~ Fire Blast
~ Earthquake / Brick Break

[Boredom]

Alright I'll try out that MixMence set.

I don't really understand using scarf Gengar as a revenge killer when you have Magnezone, they both occupy the same niche.

Once I get the building process up in a bit, busy at the moment, I'll explain a bit more, I'm going to explain the descriptions a bit better, but I've been using Gengar as my main revenge killer and I use him to take out major threats such as Terrakion and Alakazam for example, while magnezone isn't really used as a revenge killer and more of a way to remove steel types that get in my way and get an opportunity to set up and unleash a hard hitting attack on something else before pulling back when they switch in a fire, fighting or ground type.

[Messuduppotatoasia]

I don't see why you're using Modest on Gengar. I'd suggest running Timid instead. Yeah the power boost is great and all but I would really like the jump on things like Stoutland and Venusaur in their respective weathers and Scarf Terrakion. Also, max speed Jolly Cloyster outspeeds Modest Scarf Gar after a Shell Smash boost, and start tearing your team apart if the members are all weakened.

Also, I have no clue why you have Tri Attack on Magnezone. Honestly, an 80 base power, normal move, that lacks STAB is really underwhelming in my opinion. Unless you're aiming for hax, but Magnezone doesn't have Serene Grace so the hax chances are 20%. Not to mention Tri Attack is resisted by Steel, which doesn't help you. I'd suggest Charge Beam or Flash Cannon, where with Charge Beam you can collect boosts against things like Ferrothorn and Specially Defensive Jirachi and at the very least take down another member coming in with the Substitute up. And Flash Cannon actually has STAB backing it up and isn't completely worthless like Tri Attack.

I'd say Scrafty's bulk is somewhat respectable. So I'd run Life Orb and Drain Punch instead of High Jump Kick. Yeah, High Jump Kick's sheer base power makes it stronger than Life Orb + Drain Punch, but the extra power in Crunch and Ice Punch can be proven useful. But this is your call after all.

[patthecat11756]

Team is decent, but I'd like to point out a few things:

Swampert, unfortunately, has become a tad bit outclassed in the Water/Ground Department by Gastrodon. While it is true that Swampert can set up SR, the advent of Team Preview has killed the roles of "leads". A Stealth Rock Lead is hard to come by seeing as only few pokes truly are viable in this fast metagame. May I suggest Gliscor who has very good bulk, access to Roost and Poison Heal now (Thanks to BW2 Tutors) and can withstand an onslaught of physical attacks.

Gengar is good, but I would highly suggest watching out for powerful priority users such as Azumarill and Scizor. They are both running in rain and can easily OHKO with Choice Band.

Now, I love Magnezone. I bred a Shiny, Timid Natured with Hidden Power Ice :-D. But, since you did such a good job of breeding a good HP Fire Magnezone, try running a choice scarf/specs revenge killer set to trap Scizor/Ferrothorn who would give your team trouble. Try running Timid with Magnet Pull: HP Fire/Volt Switch/Flash Cannon/Thunderbolt. Volt Switch/Thunderbolt could be considered redundant, but do prove effective. You can also try a Substitute/Charge Beam set (which is what I used on my Magnezone), but with Thunderbolt/HP Fire, you tend to lose coverage as opposed to Thunderbolt/HP Ice (Water/Ground pokes will give you trouble regardless though)

Tentacruel: I personally would run physical defensive to be able to take all of those powerful fighting type attacks that would be aimed at Scrafty. Can you explain the EVs though on Tentacruel? I run Tentacruel a lot (tends to check Keldeo a bit) and usually a 252 HP/ 220 Def/ 36 Speed suffices. 36 speed Outspeeds common variants of Gliscor if I'm correct?

Scrafty is a beast. Adamant vs Jolly is always a tough decision, so I'll leave it be. But, I would highly recommend changing focus sash to Lum Berry. Focus Sash can be handled by stealth Rock on the field, Lum Berry saves you from coming in on toxic spikes or on a spore/Hypnosis, etc.

Salamence I've never been a fan of as far as MixMence goes. I've personally been all about Dragonite this gen, so I may be bias. But, from what I've noticing is that Mamoswine and Weavile (yay) are on the rise to check the Therian Genies and Regenerator Amoongus. Unfortunately, any and all dragons will be caught in between. Perhaps a Choice banded/LO user like Technician Scizor/Breloom, respectively. I've found that Dragonite > Salamence is most battles, to be honest thanks to Multiscale and access to moves like Fire Punch/Superpower and greater bulk.

But, overall not too shabby, just a few nitpicky things :-)

[Boredom]

I don't see why you're using Modest on Gengar. I'd suggest running Timid instead. Yeah the power boost is great and all but I would really like the jump on things like Stoutland and Venusaur in their respective weathers and Scarf Terrakion. Also, max speed Jolly Cloyster outspeeds Modest Scarf Gar after a Shell Smash boost, and start tearing your team apart if the members are all weakened.

Thanks for the suggestion and you're right this helps out a whole lot.

Also, I have no clue why you have Tri Attack on Magnezone. Honestly, an 80 base power, normal move, that lacks STAB is really underwhelming in my opinion. Unless you're aiming for hax, but Magnezone doesn't have Serene Grace so the hax chances are 20%. Not to mention Tri Attack is resisted by Steel, which doesn't help you. I'd suggest Charge Beam or Flash Cannon, where with Charge Beam you can collect boosts against things like Ferrothorn and Specially Defensive Jirachi and at the very least take down another member coming in with the Substitute up. And Flash Cannon actually has STAB backing it up and isn't completely worthless like Tri Attack.

Now, I love Magnezone. I bred a Shiny, Timid Natured with Hidden Power Ice :-D. But, since you did such a good job of breeding a good HP Fire Magnezone, try running a choice scarf/specs revenge killer set to trap Scizor/Ferrothorn who would give your team trouble. Try running Timid with Magnet Pull: HP Fire/Volt Switch/Flash Cannon/Thunderbolt. Volt Switch/Thunderbolt could be considered redundant, but do prove effective. You can also try a Substitute/Charge Beam set (which is what I used on my Magnezone), but with Thunderbolt/HP Fire, you tend to lose coverage as opposed to Thunderbolt/HP Ice (Water/Ground pokes will give you trouble regardless though)

In all honesty I just kind of had Tri Attack there as a filler but since I can't really change the nature on Magnezone (I already traded for it from my friend and he probably won't have the time to make me another). I think I'll try out the Charge Beam versus a Choice Scarf set.

I'd say Scrafty's bulk is somewhat respectable. So I'd run Life Orb and Drain Punch instead of High Jump Kick. Yeah, High Jump Kick's sheer base power makes it stronger than Life Orb + Drain Punch, but the extra power in Crunch and Ice Punch can be proven useful. But this is your call after all.

Scrafty is a beast. Adamant vs Jolly is always a tough decision, so I'll leave it be. But, I would highly recommend changing focus sash to Lum Berry. Focus Sash can be handled by stealth Rock on the field, Lum Berry saves you from coming in on toxic spikes or on a spore/Hypnosis, etc.

I like him with Adamant on him because 1 Dragon Dance lets him out speed most things already. I'll probably go back to Drain Punch, but I'll have to experiment a bit with what item I use.

Tentacruel: I personally would run physical defensive to be able to take all of those powerful fighting type attacks that would be aimed at Scrafty. Can you explain the EVs though on Tentacruel? I run Tentacruel a lot (tends to check Keldeo a bit) and usually a 252 HP/ 220 Def/ 36 Speed suffices. 36 speed Outspeeds common variants of Gliscor if I'm correct?

Fixed the EVs.

Swampert, unfortunately, has become a tad bit outclassed in the Water/Ground Department by Gastrodon. While it is true that Swampert can set up SR, the advent of Team Preview has killed the roles of "leads". A Stealth Rock Lead is hard to come by seeing as only few pokes truly are viable in this fast metagame. May I suggest Gliscor who has very good bulk, access to Roost and Poison Heal now (Thanks to BW2 Tutors) and can withstand an onslaught of physical attacks.

Salamence I've never been a fan of as far as MixMence goes. I've personally been all about Dragonite this gen, so I may be bias. But, from what I've noticing is that Mamoswine and Weavile (yay) are on the rise to check the Therian Genies and Regenerator Amoongus. Unfortunately, any and all dragons will be caught in between. Perhaps a Choice banded/LO user like Technician Scizor/Breloom, respectively. I've found that Dragonite > Salamence is most battles, to be honest thanks to Multiscale and access to moves like Fire Punch/Superpower and greater bulk.

These are the two that I've been considering replacing the most so I agree with you on that. I considered Gliscor over Salamence for a while when making this team but I having 2 physical walls and no one to really soak up the special damage seemed a bit problematic. So Gastrodon looks like he would fill in quite nicely in place of Swampert but that would then leave the spot of something with Stealth Rocks open. How well do you think an Azelf would work for this team, he has access to Stealth Rock and Taunt which are 2 things I'd like for this team. I've added them both up top for now but still have Swapmert and Salamence up there in a different section.

Please feel free to nitpick all you want the more criticism the better.