Hello everyone,
After falling down a bit after peaking at 1700 on the ladder with this team, I decided to share this team that I made.
This team is for Generation 3 OU Singles.
It features the common Forretress + PursuitTar + Gengar core, with 3 more common Pokémon. One of them is a Swampert that I have dubbed "Epic Swampert" for its outstanding performance on my team.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 120 Atk / 252 SpA / 136 Spe
Mild Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Drill Peck
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Agility
Mixed Zapdos is my lead. Thunderbolt + HP Grass is a good attack combo, and agility can make up for the lack of speed on mixed sets. With spikes on the field Zapdos becomes a deadly cleaner, as its max Sp. Atk Thunderbolts can do hefty damage.
Drill Peck helps against Celebi, which can either slowly break apart my team or baton pass boosts on my more passive mons. However, I do need spike chip to reliably kill it, since with a lot of defense investment or Leech Seed healing Peck will sometimes do less than half health.
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Roar
Pursuit Tyranitar supports Forretress by trapping with Gengar and other ghost types with Pursuit. Fire Blast hits Skarmory, Forretress, and others hard, while Roar can help it stay less passive against boosting threats. It's essential to teams that use Forretress to spin Spikes away, since ghost types can safely switch into it without fearing Toxic or phasing that would usually be present on Skarmory. It can also do good damage to Claydol and Celebi, who would otherwise be safe to click a super effective move into it.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Counter
- Explosion
Forretress is the main character of my team, and the main progress maker. It can set spikes on the field as well as spin them away, with the added bonus of being strong defensively. Counter and explosion can help it stay less passive. Max special bulk lets it live an HP fire from Magneton and Celebi, letting it Counter and OHKO them. (Counter will work against all Hidden Power types in Gen 3.)
Forretress walls a lot of stuff that I the rest of my team can't consistently handle, such as DDance Salamence/Gyarados and Curse Snorlax. For that reason, I'm unsure of the usefulness of Explosion on it, since exploding on something before a physical boosting threat is revealed can be really bad. However, I'm not sure if that is because of the set or my own gameplay.
Additionally, it is amazing against Skarmory, as it can safely switch in against without fearing Toxic or Drill Peck, spin its spikes away, and create spikes that Skarmory can't get rid of by itself.
Gengar @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 168 HP / 164 SpD / 176 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SpA
- Hypnosis
- Explosion
- Ice Punch
- Thunderbolt
Gengar is a near essential part of Forretress teams, since it lets its spikes stay on the field. However, I am very unsure of its performance on the team. The Hypnosis set I’m using can help cheese a lot of matchups that I would otherwise be bad into, such as Pursuit Ttar or a bulky Claydol. However, missing Hypnosis is detrimental, and Gengar will often faint before hitting it. Additionally, it absolutely sucks against Jirachi, as it cannot hit it hard enough, and if I am unable to sleep it due to sleep clause, a substitute, or the unreliability of Hypnosis, it can often get out of control. Plus, even if I do sleep it, I can’t really do anything else but switch Gengar out. I'm considering using the standard bulky set with Will-o-Wisp, but it seems weaker into PursuitTar.
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Atk / 20 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Focus Punch
- Rock Slide
- Substitute
This specific Swampert set, which I have named "Epic Swampert," is my own invention (AFAIK) and is the REAL main character of my team. It's main goal is to invest in it's huge 110 attacking stat by using 3 physical moves + substitute, while using it's natural bulk and typing to answer threats. Earthquake is its main STAB, hitting a variety of targets for big damage. Focus Punch can do massive damage to Blissey, Snorlax, and Skarmory, which sometimes stay in against Swampert. 101 HP Substitutes plus some Sp. def investment can let it freely sub against Blissey, aside for the occasional HP grass or speed creep variants. Rock slide can hit most flying types for a 2HKO, besides Skarmory (which takes 40% from F. Punch anyway).
Some notes on this set and what it can and can't beat:
Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Ice Beam
- Seismic Toss
- Wish
Finally, I use Blissey to counter specially strong Pokemon, with Wish to support the multitude of bulky Pokemon I have. Modest nature let’s it OHKO Salamence, since I don’t have Ice Beam on Swampert. Wish lets me be a bit riskier with my plays, since I have a chance to heal them up afterwards. It also supports Forretress and Epic Swampert well, as they do not have the best longevity. However, Blissey is a bit passive and may not find a chance to heal its teammates.
Overall, this it a pretty fun team that I personally think is pretty good. I believe that the Pokémon choices are all pretty good, since Forretress' Smogon page recommended all of them. I am a bit worried about the sets of the Pokemon, as they can sometimes have only three good moves. I hope you enjoy rating and using this team.
BONUS:
POV: your a blissey taking a focus punch from epic swampert
( @/ishmamahed on twitter)
After falling down a bit after peaking at 1700 on the ladder with this team, I decided to share this team that I made.
This team is for Generation 3 OU Singles.
It features the common Forretress + PursuitTar + Gengar core, with 3 more common Pokémon. One of them is a Swampert that I have dubbed "Epic Swampert" for its outstanding performance on my team.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 120 Atk / 252 SpA / 136 Spe
Mild Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Drill Peck
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Agility
Mixed Zapdos is my lead. Thunderbolt + HP Grass is a good attack combo, and agility can make up for the lack of speed on mixed sets. With spikes on the field Zapdos becomes a deadly cleaner, as its max Sp. Atk Thunderbolts can do hefty damage.
Drill Peck helps against Celebi, which can either slowly break apart my team or baton pass boosts on my more passive mons. However, I do need spike chip to reliably kill it, since with a lot of defense investment or Leech Seed healing Peck will sometimes do less than half health.
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Roar
Pursuit Tyranitar supports Forretress by trapping with Gengar and other ghost types with Pursuit. Fire Blast hits Skarmory, Forretress, and others hard, while Roar can help it stay less passive against boosting threats. It's essential to teams that use Forretress to spin Spikes away, since ghost types can safely switch into it without fearing Toxic or phasing that would usually be present on Skarmory. It can also do good damage to Claydol and Celebi, who would otherwise be safe to click a super effective move into it.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Counter
- Explosion
Forretress is the main character of my team, and the main progress maker. It can set spikes on the field as well as spin them away, with the added bonus of being strong defensively. Counter and explosion can help it stay less passive. Max special bulk lets it live an HP fire from Magneton and Celebi, letting it Counter and OHKO them. (Counter will work against all Hidden Power types in Gen 3.)
Forretress walls a lot of stuff that I the rest of my team can't consistently handle, such as DDance Salamence/Gyarados and Curse Snorlax. For that reason, I'm unsure of the usefulness of Explosion on it, since exploding on something before a physical boosting threat is revealed can be really bad. However, I'm not sure if that is because of the set or my own gameplay.
Additionally, it is amazing against Skarmory, as it can safely switch in against without fearing Toxic or Drill Peck, spin its spikes away, and create spikes that Skarmory can't get rid of by itself.
Gengar @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 168 HP / 164 SpD / 176 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SpA
- Hypnosis
- Explosion
- Ice Punch
- Thunderbolt
Gengar is a near essential part of Forretress teams, since it lets its spikes stay on the field. However, I am very unsure of its performance on the team. The Hypnosis set I’m using can help cheese a lot of matchups that I would otherwise be bad into, such as Pursuit Ttar or a bulky Claydol. However, missing Hypnosis is detrimental, and Gengar will often faint before hitting it. Additionally, it absolutely sucks against Jirachi, as it cannot hit it hard enough, and if I am unable to sleep it due to sleep clause, a substitute, or the unreliability of Hypnosis, it can often get out of control. Plus, even if I do sleep it, I can’t really do anything else but switch Gengar out. I'm considering using the standard bulky set with Will-o-Wisp, but it seems weaker into PursuitTar.
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Atk / 20 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Focus Punch
- Rock Slide
- Substitute
This specific Swampert set, which I have named "Epic Swampert," is my own invention (AFAIK) and is the REAL main character of my team. It's main goal is to invest in it's huge 110 attacking stat by using 3 physical moves + substitute, while using it's natural bulk and typing to answer threats. Earthquake is its main STAB, hitting a variety of targets for big damage. Focus Punch can do massive damage to Blissey, Snorlax, and Skarmory, which sometimes stay in against Swampert. 101 HP Substitutes plus some Sp. def investment can let it freely sub against Blissey, aside for the occasional HP grass or speed creep variants. Rock slide can hit most flying types for a 2HKO, besides Skarmory (which takes 40% from F. Punch anyway).
Some notes on this set and what it can and can't beat:
- It completely 1v1s Blissey, since all of its moves cannot break the substitute. It is specifically EVed to live an Ice Beam from Modest Blissey, as well as having a chance to OHKO Bold Blissey with Focus Punch.
- If a Skarmory (or most spike setters) tries to switch into Swampert, you can Sub on the switch to beat it down with Focus Punch, which does 35-40% to Skarmory. Many times my opponent has tried to set a spike up and end up having to take 2 Focus Punches, which at minimum does around 50% after lefties chip heal.
- Greedy Snorlaxes that try to use Swampert as set-up fodder will end up having half of their health from Focus Punch. You can actually kill it with Swampert with 2 Earthquakes afterwards, or accept your chip and switch.
- Some Jirachi sets get beaten by this, some don't. The normal defensive set cannot break a Sub, but can still status Swampert anyway. CM variants that don't run HP Grass will usually get beaten; the variants that have HP Grass will.
- I’ve noticed that it matches well into Superman teams, especially Articuno variants that aim to fix their Swampert weakness.
- While I love this set, its EV spread is not that great for countering strong physical threats, and it also gets beaten by Celebi and Claydol, both of which I have pretty poor matchups into.
- It also isn't as great into DDancers as normal Swampert is.
Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Ice Beam
- Seismic Toss
- Wish
Finally, I use Blissey to counter specially strong Pokemon, with Wish to support the multitude of bulky Pokemon I have. Modest nature let’s it OHKO Salamence, since I don’t have Ice Beam on Swampert. Wish lets me be a bit riskier with my plays, since I have a chance to heal them up afterwards. It also supports Forretress and Epic Swampert well, as they do not have the best longevity. However, Blissey is a bit passive and may not find a chance to heal its teammates.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 120 Atk / 252 SpA / 136 Spe
Mild Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Drill Peck
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Agility
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Roar
Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Counter
- Explosion
Gengar @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 168 HP / 164 SpD / 176 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SpA
- Hypnosis
- Explosion
- Ice Punch
- Thunderbolt
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Atk / 20 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Focus Punch
- Rock Slide
- Substitute
Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Ice Beam
- Seismic Toss
- Wish
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 120 Atk / 252 SpA / 136 Spe
Mild Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Drill Peck
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Agility
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Roar
Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Counter
- Explosion
Gengar @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 168 HP / 164 SpD / 176 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SpA
- Hypnosis
- Explosion
- Ice Punch
- Thunderbolt
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Atk / 20 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Focus Punch
- Rock Slide
- Substitute
Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Ice Beam
- Seismic Toss
- Wish
Overall, this it a pretty fun team that I personally think is pretty good. I believe that the Pokémon choices are all pretty good, since Forretress' Smogon page recommended all of them. I am a bit worried about the sets of the Pokemon, as they can sometimes have only three good moves. I hope you enjoy rating and using this team.
BONUS:
POV: your a blissey taking a focus punch from epic swampert
( @/ishmamahed on twitter)
