So recently I made this new team and have been having some troubles getting easily countered if you have any suggestions please let me know so I can help better improve my team. (Recently I have changed Kingdra for Starmie being that it has better synergy with my team. Also Porygon got a different move-set to better counter different types of team. Attack IVs for special attackers have been set to 0 so confusion and foul play doesn't do as much)
Volcarona @ Leftovers
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fiery Dance
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Volcarona is an extremely good sweeper due to its high speed and Quiver Dance. Leftovers is good since stealth rock and Earthquake do a lot to Volcarona upon switching in. [1]Quiver Dance is your first and best choice for a setup move, boosting Volcarona's Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed stats by one stage each. This makes Volcarona a terrifying sweeper. [2] Fiery Dance can be put to good use here, as every time it inflicts damage, there is a 50% chance of raising Volcarona's Special Attack by one stage, making it become more powerful as it starts sweeping, at the cost of quite a bit of power. [3] Giga Drain is absolutely mandatory, as otherwise, Volcarona loses to any Rock- or Water-types that it comes across; it also allows Volcarona to restore its health to some degree. [4] Hidden Power Ground was a better option than Bug Buzz because if a Heatran is switched out it is completely countered and forced to switch out abandoning Quiver Dance that was already applied.
Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Poison Jab
Weavile is a good switch in attack and switch out making him a good damage dealer for surprise Dragon-types [1] Icicle Crash is now compatible with Knock Off and is Weavile's hardest hitting Ice-type STAB move; however, it only has 90% accuracy. [2] Knock Off hits most Pokemon hard due to its heightened power if the opponent is holding an item. [3] Ice Shard is priority for finishing off foes and helps with revenge killing frail and fast offensive Pokemon. [4] Poison Jab can be used to hit Fairy-type Pokemon, especially Azumarill, which doesn't mind taking a Knock Off or Icicle Crash.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
I wanted a more offensive kind of Ferrothorn instead of a utility kind Rocky Helmet and Iron Barbs will deal a significant amount of damage to attackers when Ferrothorn is switched in. The IVs are 0 Spe so it can stall out Trick Room with ease. [1] Power Whip is for bulky Water-types such as Politoed, Rotom-W, and Jellicent, also hitting other common threats like Tyranitar and Mamoswine. [2] Gyro Ball makes Ferrothorn an excellent answer to powerful Fairy-types such as Mega Gardevoir, Togekiss, and Sylveon whilst also assuring consistent damage on the faster threats in the metagame, cleanly 2HKOing Garchomp and Latios.[3] Leech Seed improves Ferrothorn's longevity whilst also dealing consistent chip damage and forcing switches. [4] Stealth Rock is needed as a hazard since my team is filled with mostly offensive
Gallade @ Galladite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Zen Headbutt
- Swords Dance
Mega Gallade uses its wide coverage and good stats to serve as a jack-of-all-trades for offensive teams. [1] Mega Gallade using Swords Dance boosts its Attack to sky-high levels. [2] Close Combat absolutely shreds the opposition with brute force. [3] Ice Punch can be used in the last slot to get past Gligar.[4] Zen Headbutt is an alternative secondary STAB option that knocks Fighting- and Poison-type foes for a loop. Jolly nature is used so that Mega Gallade has the absolute highest Speed possible.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin
"This set capitalizes on Starmie's offensive presence to deal with the fire-types that you noted threaten your team. Life Orb is to maximize damage output, and Natural Cure is to evade statuses (you can use Analytic to predict switches and hit harder, but Natural Cure is helpful in case of paralysis or other status.) The EVs and Nature are quite straightforward, maximizing speed and special attack to hit as hard as possible and using a Timid Nature to outspeed threats in a speed-centralized meta like OU. [1] Hydro Pump acts as your main STAB, with the BoltBeam combo providing as immense coverage for Starmie to be versatile. You can replace Thunderbolt with Psyshock to nail Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur harder, but [3] Thunderbolt is recommended because it takes out Gyarados (which you noted was a major threat to the team.) [4] Rapid Spin acts as the glue of this set, because your team needs a way to clear hazards for Pokemon like Volcarona to safely switch in. Starmie synergizes well with Volcarona, being able to take out hazards and check its weaknesses while Volcarona can take out most of Starmie's checks and counters."
Porygon-Z @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Agility
- Tri Attack
"Basically, you're gonna want to use [1] Agility versus Offensive teams, where few threats will be able to outspeed you. Against stall teams, [2] Nasty Plot lets you demolish everything with Tri Attack. [3] Dark Pulse is literally only for Ghosts and 4x resists to Normal. A not very effective [4] Tri Attack does more than a normal Dark Pulse, since it's backed by Silk Scarf. This set is very powerful, and if you manage to get both boosts up, it's pretty much a guaranteed sweep."
Threats:
My team mostly falls flat to Speedy Fire-types or Bulky Fire-types so the following threats will include:
Heatran:
Heatran is a very versatile Pokemon that can run a variety of sets, ranging from all-out offensive ones to defensive ones. With great balanced stats, a unique and effective typing, and a useful ability in Flash Fire, Heatran can run a fantastic offensive set, which, when backed by a Life Orb or Choice Specs, has the power to rip through whole teams. Slapping a Choice Scarf on Heatran makes it a great revenge killer too, as it can then outspeed many popular unboosted sweepers while simultaneously being able to finish off most threats with a powerful STAB Fire Blast. It also has the ability to clean up weakened teams late-game with any of its offensive sets. Finally, Heatran has a variety of support options, and its respectable defenses allow it to sponge most neutral and resisted attacks. With a great support movepool including Stealth Rock, Sunny Day, Taunt, Toxic, Protect, and Torment, the only thing that stops Heatran from being a top mixed wall is its lack of reliable recovery, which nonetheless can be somewhat remedied by Leftovers. Despite having a nasty weakness to common Ground-, Water-, and Fighting-type attacks, Heatran is still quite a threat and makes a great addition to any team looking for a bulky, powerful attacker.
Landorus-T:
While best known as a defensive Stealth Rock setter, Landorus-T is also threatening offensively. With access to two boosting moves in Rock Polish and Swords Dance, as well as great coverage in EdgeQuake bolstered by an extremely high base 145 Attack, it's not hard to see why. Thanks to Intimidate, Landorus-T can set up on a number of physical attackers, utilizing Rock Polish or Swords Dance when given the opportunity, and it can even use both if it has the chance. With +2 Attack and Speed, Landorus-T becomes difficult to stop except with the bulkiest of physical walls. In addition to its flagship double booster set, it can also don a Choice Scarf and revenge kill, having access to U-turn and a decent base 91 Speed; this allows it to revenge kill threats like Dragonite with ease.
Gyarados:
Thanks to Intimidate, Gyarados can pivot into numerous physical attackers and take their attack with ease. With 95 / 79 / 100 defenses, five resistances, only two weaknesses, resistances to key types such as Water, Bug, Steel, and Fighting, and an immunity to Ground-type moves, it's not hard to see why. Its best defensive set runs RestTalk, which gives it a form of recovery, STAB Waterfall, and a phazing move, meaning nothing can set up on it. It is a perfect Volcarona and Keldeo counter and one of the best Fighting-type switch-ins in the game. These traits make it an excellent defensive Pokemon.
Scizor:
Thanks to its excellent typing, nice defenses, and various other traits, Scizor is a great physical attacker and staple on many teams. The Choice Band set is a consistent performer that is useful for a number of teams. U-turn coming off of Scizor's base 130 Attack deals plenty of damage and also allows Scizor to be an effective scout and pivot. Technician-boosted STAB Bullet Punch is a threatening revenge killing tool that easily KOs offensive threats like Terrakion. It can also Pursuit trap foes like Jellicent, Celebi, Latios, and Latias, paving the way for Pokemon such as Keldeo to sweep. However, this is far from its only viable set. With Swords Dance and Flying Gem-boosted Acrobatics, Scizor can get rid of what are normally its premier counters: Jellicent and Tentacruel. Bulky Swords Dance variants can handle a variety of foes, including Latios and Latias, boost up with Swords Dance, and sweep with its counters removed. Given a Choice Scarf, Scizor can serve as a fast scout with U-turn and surprise foes such as Latios expecting to be able to take a hit. Latios, for example, would try to hit it with Hidden Power Fire if it had enough HP left to survive the Bullet Punch. Scizor's versatility, utility, and power put it among the top Pokemon in the OU tier.
Talonflame:
Gale Wings gives priority to all flying type moves. Couple that with a beastly attack stat, a blazing speed tier, and access to very powerful moves like Brave Bird and Flare Blitz, Talonflame has all it needs to be a true nightmare to any team without resistances.
Arcanine:
Arcanine's decent base 110 Attack and excellent abilities in Intimidate and Flash Fire allow it to distinguish itself from the multitude of other Fire-types in the tier. Access to the vaunted ExtremeSpeed, along with other goodies such as Flare Blitz and Close Combat, makes Arcanine capable of separating it from Darmanitan and Victini, who would outclass Arcanine otherwise. Intimidate gives Arcanine a buffer in defensive capabilities, making it surprisingly sturdy on the physical side when fully invested.
Sableye/ Mega Sableye:
Sableye gains some much needed bulk and the Magic Bounce ability when it Mega evolves, which makes it into a defensive behemoth of sorts, deterring attacks and status moves alike while still having only one weakness. Also since my team lacks Fairy-type attacks Sableye is a real problem.
Volcarona @ Leftovers
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fiery Dance
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Volcarona is an extremely good sweeper due to its high speed and Quiver Dance. Leftovers is good since stealth rock and Earthquake do a lot to Volcarona upon switching in. [1]Quiver Dance is your first and best choice for a setup move, boosting Volcarona's Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed stats by one stage each. This makes Volcarona a terrifying sweeper. [2] Fiery Dance can be put to good use here, as every time it inflicts damage, there is a 50% chance of raising Volcarona's Special Attack by one stage, making it become more powerful as it starts sweeping, at the cost of quite a bit of power. [3] Giga Drain is absolutely mandatory, as otherwise, Volcarona loses to any Rock- or Water-types that it comes across; it also allows Volcarona to restore its health to some degree. [4] Hidden Power Ground was a better option than Bug Buzz because if a Heatran is switched out it is completely countered and forced to switch out abandoning Quiver Dance that was already applied.
Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Poison Jab
Weavile is a good switch in attack and switch out making him a good damage dealer for surprise Dragon-types [1] Icicle Crash is now compatible with Knock Off and is Weavile's hardest hitting Ice-type STAB move; however, it only has 90% accuracy. [2] Knock Off hits most Pokemon hard due to its heightened power if the opponent is holding an item. [3] Ice Shard is priority for finishing off foes and helps with revenge killing frail and fast offensive Pokemon. [4] Poison Jab can be used to hit Fairy-type Pokemon, especially Azumarill, which doesn't mind taking a Knock Off or Icicle Crash.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
I wanted a more offensive kind of Ferrothorn instead of a utility kind Rocky Helmet and Iron Barbs will deal a significant amount of damage to attackers when Ferrothorn is switched in. The IVs are 0 Spe so it can stall out Trick Room with ease. [1] Power Whip is for bulky Water-types such as Politoed, Rotom-W, and Jellicent, also hitting other common threats like Tyranitar and Mamoswine. [2] Gyro Ball makes Ferrothorn an excellent answer to powerful Fairy-types such as Mega Gardevoir, Togekiss, and Sylveon whilst also assuring consistent damage on the faster threats in the metagame, cleanly 2HKOing Garchomp and Latios.[3] Leech Seed improves Ferrothorn's longevity whilst also dealing consistent chip damage and forcing switches. [4] Stealth Rock is needed as a hazard since my team is filled with mostly offensive
Gallade @ Galladite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Zen Headbutt
- Swords Dance
Mega Gallade uses its wide coverage and good stats to serve as a jack-of-all-trades for offensive teams. [1] Mega Gallade using Swords Dance boosts its Attack to sky-high levels. [2] Close Combat absolutely shreds the opposition with brute force. [3] Ice Punch can be used in the last slot to get past Gligar.[4] Zen Headbutt is an alternative secondary STAB option that knocks Fighting- and Poison-type foes for a loop. Jolly nature is used so that Mega Gallade has the absolute highest Speed possible.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin
"This set capitalizes on Starmie's offensive presence to deal with the fire-types that you noted threaten your team. Life Orb is to maximize damage output, and Natural Cure is to evade statuses (you can use Analytic to predict switches and hit harder, but Natural Cure is helpful in case of paralysis or other status.) The EVs and Nature are quite straightforward, maximizing speed and special attack to hit as hard as possible and using a Timid Nature to outspeed threats in a speed-centralized meta like OU. [1] Hydro Pump acts as your main STAB, with the BoltBeam combo providing as immense coverage for Starmie to be versatile. You can replace Thunderbolt with Psyshock to nail Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur harder, but [3] Thunderbolt is recommended because it takes out Gyarados (which you noted was a major threat to the team.) [4] Rapid Spin acts as the glue of this set, because your team needs a way to clear hazards for Pokemon like Volcarona to safely switch in. Starmie synergizes well with Volcarona, being able to take out hazards and check its weaknesses while Volcarona can take out most of Starmie's checks and counters."
Porygon-Z @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Agility
- Tri Attack
"Basically, you're gonna want to use [1] Agility versus Offensive teams, where few threats will be able to outspeed you. Against stall teams, [2] Nasty Plot lets you demolish everything with Tri Attack. [3] Dark Pulse is literally only for Ghosts and 4x resists to Normal. A not very effective [4] Tri Attack does more than a normal Dark Pulse, since it's backed by Silk Scarf. This set is very powerful, and if you manage to get both boosts up, it's pretty much a guaranteed sweep."
Threats:
My team mostly falls flat to Speedy Fire-types or Bulky Fire-types so the following threats will include:
Heatran:
Heatran is a very versatile Pokemon that can run a variety of sets, ranging from all-out offensive ones to defensive ones. With great balanced stats, a unique and effective typing, and a useful ability in Flash Fire, Heatran can run a fantastic offensive set, which, when backed by a Life Orb or Choice Specs, has the power to rip through whole teams. Slapping a Choice Scarf on Heatran makes it a great revenge killer too, as it can then outspeed many popular unboosted sweepers while simultaneously being able to finish off most threats with a powerful STAB Fire Blast. It also has the ability to clean up weakened teams late-game with any of its offensive sets. Finally, Heatran has a variety of support options, and its respectable defenses allow it to sponge most neutral and resisted attacks. With a great support movepool including Stealth Rock, Sunny Day, Taunt, Toxic, Protect, and Torment, the only thing that stops Heatran from being a top mixed wall is its lack of reliable recovery, which nonetheless can be somewhat remedied by Leftovers. Despite having a nasty weakness to common Ground-, Water-, and Fighting-type attacks, Heatran is still quite a threat and makes a great addition to any team looking for a bulky, powerful attacker.
Landorus-T:
While best known as a defensive Stealth Rock setter, Landorus-T is also threatening offensively. With access to two boosting moves in Rock Polish and Swords Dance, as well as great coverage in EdgeQuake bolstered by an extremely high base 145 Attack, it's not hard to see why. Thanks to Intimidate, Landorus-T can set up on a number of physical attackers, utilizing Rock Polish or Swords Dance when given the opportunity, and it can even use both if it has the chance. With +2 Attack and Speed, Landorus-T becomes difficult to stop except with the bulkiest of physical walls. In addition to its flagship double booster set, it can also don a Choice Scarf and revenge kill, having access to U-turn and a decent base 91 Speed; this allows it to revenge kill threats like Dragonite with ease.
Gyarados:
Thanks to Intimidate, Gyarados can pivot into numerous physical attackers and take their attack with ease. With 95 / 79 / 100 defenses, five resistances, only two weaknesses, resistances to key types such as Water, Bug, Steel, and Fighting, and an immunity to Ground-type moves, it's not hard to see why. Its best defensive set runs RestTalk, which gives it a form of recovery, STAB Waterfall, and a phazing move, meaning nothing can set up on it. It is a perfect Volcarona and Keldeo counter and one of the best Fighting-type switch-ins in the game. These traits make it an excellent defensive Pokemon.
Scizor:
Thanks to its excellent typing, nice defenses, and various other traits, Scizor is a great physical attacker and staple on many teams. The Choice Band set is a consistent performer that is useful for a number of teams. U-turn coming off of Scizor's base 130 Attack deals plenty of damage and also allows Scizor to be an effective scout and pivot. Technician-boosted STAB Bullet Punch is a threatening revenge killing tool that easily KOs offensive threats like Terrakion. It can also Pursuit trap foes like Jellicent, Celebi, Latios, and Latias, paving the way for Pokemon such as Keldeo to sweep. However, this is far from its only viable set. With Swords Dance and Flying Gem-boosted Acrobatics, Scizor can get rid of what are normally its premier counters: Jellicent and Tentacruel. Bulky Swords Dance variants can handle a variety of foes, including Latios and Latias, boost up with Swords Dance, and sweep with its counters removed. Given a Choice Scarf, Scizor can serve as a fast scout with U-turn and surprise foes such as Latios expecting to be able to take a hit. Latios, for example, would try to hit it with Hidden Power Fire if it had enough HP left to survive the Bullet Punch. Scizor's versatility, utility, and power put it among the top Pokemon in the OU tier.
Talonflame:
Gale Wings gives priority to all flying type moves. Couple that with a beastly attack stat, a blazing speed tier, and access to very powerful moves like Brave Bird and Flare Blitz, Talonflame has all it needs to be a true nightmare to any team without resistances.
Arcanine:
Arcanine's decent base 110 Attack and excellent abilities in Intimidate and Flash Fire allow it to distinguish itself from the multitude of other Fire-types in the tier. Access to the vaunted ExtremeSpeed, along with other goodies such as Flare Blitz and Close Combat, makes Arcanine capable of separating it from Darmanitan and Victini, who would outclass Arcanine otherwise. Intimidate gives Arcanine a buffer in defensive capabilities, making it surprisingly sturdy on the physical side when fully invested.
Sableye/ Mega Sableye:
Sableye gains some much needed bulk and the Magic Bounce ability when it Mega evolves, which makes it into a defensive behemoth of sorts, deterring attacks and status moves alike while still having only one weakness. Also since my team lacks Fairy-type attacks Sableye is a real problem.
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