ORAS OU Mega-Altaria Could Use Some Help...

[SCRhyperior]

What's up guys, it's SCRhyperior. I've been playing Pokemon since R/B/Y but didn't get competitive until D/P/P. I never considered myself to be much special, I usually average 1100-1250 on the ladder but I hope to get a lot better. I quit playing around mid X/Y because I lost access to a computer but now I'm back for OR/AS and I'm having a lot of fun with it all. I was just wondering if you all could look into the team I've got here and give me any tips on how to break through the 1250 mark. My goal isn't #1 (I mean it is but I'm a realist) but it'd be nice to just get better. If you could supply any help, please let me know! Thank you in advance!

Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Return
- Earthquake
- Roost
The whole point of the team. I like the power that Altaria brings to the table with 1 or 2 Dances up. Dragon Dance to boost it's Attack and Speed. Return because Pixelate makes it STAB and it's powerful. Earthquake in case Steel types try to come in and say hey. In the last slot, I have Roost but there have been times that I wish I had Substitute. Maybe replace EQ with Substitute? I don't know, I just think Recovery is too helpful sometimes.

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SpD
Calm Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Flamethrower
Next up is Clefable, which I put on here SPECIFICALLY for Sableye. Sableye could easily ruin my Altaria sweep, and as you can see I don't have much to stop it. I put the standard bulky CM set so it can easily 1v1 Sableye and provide some offensive support for the team. CM boosts my Sp. Atk and Sp. Def at the same time, complimenting my physically defensive EVs. Moonblast is my attack of choice to abuse STAB and hit Sableye hard. Soft-Boiled is there for recovery, because I'll need as much HP as I can get to set up CMs. Finally is Flamethrower. With 200 Def I am guaranteed to live at least one Bullet Punch from Choice Band Scizor and OHKO with Flamethrower. Also Flamethrower hits other Steel Types trying to wall me. If Clefable goes down, I have a hard time getting rid of Sableye.

Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 72 Atk / 188 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
3rd in my roster is Tyranitar which, as a kid, I thought of as Legendary. He just looks so cool! Anyway, I'm running Specially Bulky TTar here to help a little with Keldeo. Chople lets me tank one Secret Sword and then get a little chip damage with Stone Edge. Tyranitar is also my Stealth Rocker, allowing me to get chip damage on annoying Volt-Turn teams. Crunch is there for STAB and Pursuit is to trap Lati's. Tyranitar is also my check to Talonflame, who could really screw over my sweep.

Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
I replaced Ferrothorn with Banded Azu because my team lacked a Wallbreaker (thank you Thatwackycruton). Waterfall hits hard and deals lots of damage, especially to Hippo. Play Rough punishes Fighting Types trying to take down Magneton. Aqua Jet's priority has saved me a lot, and Knock Off is a general use move.

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Thunder Wave
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
You're probably tired of reading about all this support for Altaria, but I need a Spinner to clear the field and let her set up. In comes Starmie, my favorite Spinner. I ran the fast bulky set to get quick Spins. Scald is obligatory on almost all Water types and it helps with prolonging Starmie's well-being. Thunder Wave is there to piss off everyone. I know I'm a piece of shit for using yellow devil magic but it's just so good. Rapid Spin is obvious. Altaria doesn't need all those hazzards in her life. And Recover is so I can live long enough to keep Spinnin'. Being the only Water-Type, if Tyranitar goes down it's Starmie's job to take down Fire types (fuck u heatran) but only 8 EVs make Scald lackluster...

Magnezone @ Choice Scarf Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 248 SpA / 12 SpD / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Finally, the Steel Killer. Altaria doesn't like Steel Types so Magnezone fills the role of my 6th member. Magnet Pull makes it to where Steel types can't get away and I can quickly get rid of them. Volt Switch is to gain initiative, which can make or break a battle. Thunderbolt there as a stronger version of Volt Switch and hopefully paralyze (has anyone ever gotten that lucky though?) Flash Cannon is for STAB, and my only means of hitting Ground Types for any kind of damage at all. Also pretty good against Fairy Types, especially Mega-Diancie. Finally HP Fire, because fuck Scizor.

Problems:

Steel types in general screw me over really hard...

Calm Mind Clefable can be really annoying if I don't take it out with Altaria

Sableye. I hate Sableye. I'd rather fight it's Mega. If Clefable goes down, it's an uphill battle.

Excadrill in the sand is damn scary. It's not a problem so long as Azumarril is alive and can AJ, but if Azumarril is down I auto-lose.

As stated before, Starmie's Scald and Altaria's EQ are my only means of taking care of this thing. If either of those two Pokemon can't do this job, Heatran runs train on me. No longer a threat thanks to Azumarril.

SPEAKING OF RUNNING TRAIN, Specially Defensive Hippo shits on my chest. There's actually nothing I can do to stop this thing. Nothing at all. Edit: Not much of a problem so long as Azumarril is well enough to get a Waterfall off but if not... :[

Scarf Keldeo take out a solid 4/6 of my team without much opposition. No longer a threat thanks to Azumarril.

This and Specially Defensive Bisharp are so damn annoying. HP Fire from Mag can't OHKO and Metagross makes quick work of Magnezone. And then it's an uphill battle from there.

I just lost a match to Poison Jab Knock Off Conkeldurr so I'm upset.

A Scolipede with Earthquake, Poison Jab, and Megahorn (standard set) sweeps

I give up listing problems with this team because it's getting depressing lol. You get the idea. Venusaur shits on me. Please help.


As you can see, there are a lot of problems with this team, but I'm hoping that with your help I can make it better. Please feel free to post both positive and negative comments. Be brutal. Thank you!

 

[Thatwackycruton]

Not a bad team, and you certainly appear to be more educated than some on the subject of competitive pokemon. As for team edits, you could try running Specs>Scarf on Magnezone. I'm sure the extra speed helps a few scenarios, but Choice Specs gives it absolutely brutal power that you team, which is lacking a notable wallbreaker, could take advantage of. Going back to the wallbreaker topic, your team lacks a notable one. Choice Band Azumarril>Ferrothorn could help. I admit it's not a perfect solution, but it helps against excadrill, who you can revenge kill with aqua jet. It's also an awesome keldeo check. You do lose spikes, but this team is already not keeping up very high offensive presence, and ferrothorn was kind of part of that problem. It also beats Hippo, Conk, and heatran 1v1. It is susceptible to sableye, but ferrothorn was as well, to a degree. Also, do you encounter very many non-mega sableyes? They shouldn't be too common, but they can be annoying. I don't have any more solutions to give right now. Hope I helped, and good luck in future battles!

 

[SCRhyperior]

Thank you for your quick reply, and thank you for calling me educated on the topic, but I assure you that I'm still just a mediocre player haha. I changed Specs>Scarf and I will probably never go back, so thank you. As for Azumaril>Ferrothorn I've done some testing and I concur that Azumarill is a better choice but I've noticed I am now even more Poison weak than before, half of my team being weak to it. :/ Thank you for your recommendation though! I will update the thread shortly!

 

[Thatwackycruton]

Yeah... that was part of my comment on it "not being a perfect solution" I can only hope that maggy and TTar can protect you enough against them... well, good luck anyway bro!

 

[yuruuu]

In all honesty I do not see the point of Clefable and Azumarill at all. They seem to be redundant, even when I read your description. Like, literally do not see the point. Regular Sableye is all but irrelevant in OU, and Mega Altaria can handle it with a set change that I will discuss later. Furthermore, I do not see what wall Azumarill is breaking for Mega Altaria, with Mega Venusaur being a huge threat that Azumarill does not help with at all. Mega Altaria does not care about Hippo much btw, as Hippo can't do much to it. Literally uses this thing as set up fodder, one Dragon Dance and spam Return while it desperately tries to Slack Off. Instead, I would like to suggest 2 Pokemon changes:

• 
  Clefable ->
  
  Landorus-T. This change helps with your weakness to sand teams, as well as speed control, and a revenge killer. Intimidate also helps in weakening opposing threats so that Mega Altaria can set up more easily. This also forms a very nice volt-turn core with Magnezone, and provides a lot of momentum for your team.
• 
  Azumarill ->
  
  Gengar. This change provides you with a stallbreaker. This also helps you take on Mega Venusaur, and helps you with Fairy types such as Clefable alongside Magnezone, with an excellent speed tier against offense. Tying with Mega Metagross is a bit unlucky but you have Starmie and Landorus-T to help.

Now, for some set changes. I would personally suggest you try Defensive DD Mega Altaria over your current set. This helps you take on Mega Sableye much better, as well as letting you set up on a slew of defensive Pokemon, such as Rotom-W and Slowbro lacking Ice Beam, and acts as your best Keldeo switch in. It has the bulk to set up Dragon Dances as a late-game win condition, but you can also use it to take hits and status moves early on while wearing down its checks and counters. Next, I would suggest you try Shuca Berry Tyranitar rather than Chople, as your team isn't very afraid of Mega Lopunny (you can attribute all this to the amazing defensive prowess of defensive Mega Altaria). Shuca lets you surprise Excadrill in sand, as well as give you an emergency check to things like Garchomp and Landorus-T locked into EQ. A defensive spread of 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD Sassy lets you always live Adamant LO Excadrill's Iron Head from full. I would also run Ice Beam | Stealth Rock | Superpower | Stone Edge on it to capitalize on the opportunities that it has to lure Excadrill. Next, I would try a different item of Leftovers on Starmie, as it really helps in keeping it healthy. Choice Specs Magnezone is fine, but if sand is really giving you a lot of trouble you can try Air Balloon Magnet Rise Magnezone

importable

Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 96 SpD / 28 Spe
Impish Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Return
- Heal Bell

Tyranitar @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Superpower
- Ice Beam
- Stone Edge

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Thunder Wave
- Rapid Spin
- Recover

Magnezone @ Air Balloon
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Magnet Rise
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off

Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast

 

[Toon Linked]

Hi!
Looking at your threatlist, I have a solution that will fix many of the problems you have. Using Heatran over Tyranitar will take away many of the threats you have. Heatran does a similar role to Tyranitar, sets up Stealth Rocks, and checks Talonflame. Clefable, Mega Sableye, Mega Venusaur, and Steels are now taken care of. A Taunt speedy Heatran with Stealth Rocks can use Lava Plume for massive damage on steel types, Stone Edge to knock out Talonflame, Taunt to completely shut down opposing Calm Mind Clefable, and Stealth Rock for hazards. You don't need a Keldeo check anymore since you have both Azumarill, and Starmie. Also, Heatran is a counter to the Lati twins, if they lack Earthquake.

Unfortunately, now, you have a giant ground weakness. Pokemon like Excadrill, or Mega Metagross have no switch-ins. To get rid of this weakness, use Scarfed Lando-T > Clefable as yuruuu stated. With the help of Intimidate, you make it easier for MAltaria to set up. U-turn provides lots of momentum for your team, and forms a Volt-Turn core with Magnezone. Landorus-T also gives you a fast scarfer that you can rely on, when facing pokemon like Latios, Scolipede, Talonflame, etc. Double fairies was looking a bit redundant, and Lando-T helps glue the team all in all.

Sets

Flames (Heatran) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Taunt
- Magma Storm
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off

Changes:

>

>

Hope I helped! If you need anything, feel free to talk to me! n_n

 

[akashsky]

I'm wondering if you really need a rapid spinner on this team. Most of your pokemon are not really weak to it barring Alteria (which could just mega-evolve and not be so weak to it).

Anyways My suggestion is to replace waterfall on azumarill with super power or brick break. I find that my opponents usually switch in ferrothorn against azumarill.

252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Superpower vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 284-336 (80.6 - 95.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

(Just realized that magnezone counters ferrothorn)
But brick break can still be useful against people who set up screens!

 

[Toon Linked]

Waterfall is necessary for a strong, reliable STAB and is a staple on all Choice Banded Azumarill, so Superpower is not necessary. As you stated, he has a Magnezone to trap Ferrothorn. Brick Break is absolutely not needed, because it's only good when the opponent has screens up, thus making it unreliable.