(Not)Surprising, an OU RMT.

[Xthaipe]

I've been using this team for a few months, and it's doing fairly well. It's pretty much my first real team, and it's stayed mostly the same with a few moveset tweaks. I think it's pretty much finalized, and I just wanted to get a few opinions on if there was anything that needed further changing. It really needs a quick look over from some new eyes to pick out any obvious flaws that I somehow missed.



Just a quick glance....

So, there's the team. When I was building it, one of my primary concerns was trying not to re-use any types to keep the weaknesses at a minimum. It's got a few very nice immunities, and good resistances. It's also not too terribly SR weak, so this team doesn't have a lot of trouble switching in and out.




And now, the team in full...

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Promontory (Aerodactyl) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

Earthquake is alright, I don't seem to use it much. Lead metagross rapes me anyway, and it doesn't hit Azelf.
---

Pretty typical lead Aero. How I use him depends on the opponent's lead. Taunt comes in handy if I think they're going to set up, but I've actually found I don't use it all that often. Since they usually predict my taunt and do something different, sometimes I'll just straight up SR, or attack. Whirlwind is actually very useful for getting rid of things that Aero can't take, the rare lead that tries to start stating up, or to spread around some SR damage until it gets hit and dies.

---
Swaleholm (Swampert) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP/56 Def/202 SDef
Sassy nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Hydro Pump
- Avalanche

Avalanche is awesome. I can come in on a dragon after something else has died, usually survive a hit since I'm SpDef orientated, and KO.
---

This Swampert is a bit different. The first thing you may notice is it's Sassy nature, instead of Relaxed. Swampert's base DEF and SpDef are the same, and people usually expect a defensive Swamp, and try to attack on his special side. This guy can actually take a few special hits, even a few non STAB grass attacks, and catch people off guard and hit back. I was originally using Sassy in conjunction with Mirror Coat, but dropped that move for some phazing action. It still works great though, and I've had better success with it then the Relaxed varient.

---
Eidolon (Gengar) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 6 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]

I don't like Focus Blast, it misses too often. I might run Hasty and Explosion instead.
---

Gengar works as my revenge killer. I like Choice Scarf over Specs, because when I bring it in, the opponent is usually already injured, and I can guarantee outspeeding it for, usually, the KO. I've heard a few people say that Gengar is relatively useless since the Accuracy drop of Hypnosis, unless it's a lead Tricker, and even then, it's not so great. But I think he works perfectly in this role with his nice Speed and Sp.Atk, and his wide movepool.

Energy Ball is kind of filler. It kills opposing Swamperts, and hits ground types harder then HP Ice. It's mostly because I can't stand Focus Blast, it always misses in crucial moments.

---
Ingotfoil (Magnezone) @ Chople Berry
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 172 HP/252 Def/86 Spd
Timid nature (+Atk, -Def)
- Charge Beam
- Magnet Rise
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Signal Beam
---


Gengar lures in Scizor every time. With Magnezone, I have never had a Scizor problem. It's supposed to be one of the biggest current threats, but they're almost always Banded and locked onto Bullet Punch every time I see one, and Maggy takes it straight out no problem.

I've been using Charge Beam over Thunderbolt, because even though it misses sometimes, the SPatk boost is worth it. I can come in on a steel type, like Choice Jirachi, or CB Scizor and while they can't do anything to me, Charge Beam away and get practically free boosts.

I like Signal Beam over Flash Cannon because Steel has some pretty crap coverage, while the Bug attack is great for screwing up Celebi, or Latias when I switch in on a Dragon attack. I also seem to get the confusion effect from it very often which can sometimes turn the game.

On the rare occasion that Scizor isn't Banded, Brick Break ruins me. Chople berry has been handy in that regard but seems kind of situational. I might go back to Lefties.

---
Thrashrow (Heracross) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Guts
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Megahorn
- Rock Slide
---

Standard CBcross. Straight up murders Blissy, who can be a problem since a lot of my team seems to hit from the special side. Also runs through most other walls with little problem.

Been trying Weavile here, but it doesn't seem as useful. I'll give it a few more days.

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Boeing (Togekiss) (F) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP/20Def/236 Speed
Timid nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Thunder Wave
- Wish
- Air Slash
- Encore
---

Togekiss is what I've been using to heal. It wishes HP back to my pokemon later in the game so they can come back in and do their thing.

Completely Re-hauled this. Works great now.
​

 

[Illithian-Z]

Aerodactyl: I don't really see the point of using Whirlwind. Since Whirlwind will always go last, pokemon that can pose an imminent threat to Aero can do a lot of damage quite quickly, and considering his abysmal defenses, it seems like a waste of a moveslot. I think using Earthquake would allow you to better use Aero's high attack stat as opposed to whirlwind. Also, Ground + Rock hits every OU for neutral damage except for Breloom, Flygon (rather rare), and Bronzong (which you shouldn't keep him in on anyway).

The rest of it is fine.

Swampert: Alright, Sassy. Firstly, I think Roar flatly isn't worthwhile. Ice Beam gives so much more coverage on Mixpert that its definetly worth dropping Roar. Assuming you add Ice Beam, I would move the Def EVs into SpA, which allows a fairly high chance of an OHKO on Salamence and guaranteed with SR, and allows you to hit back on grass types who come in expecting to OHKO you and you survive and retaliate. Another option is of course Avalanche, and since Swampert isn't going to be outspeeding anything anytime soon, the -3 priority probably wont really hurt it.

Gengar: I have personal issues with revenge killers that don't use priority moves, simply because priority moves end up killing them.

Scarfgar's ridiculously high speed of 478 is all well and good, but his abysmally low defenses make it incredibly risky since there are so many priority moves flying around. Instead of Energy Ball, use Focus Blast for additional coverage.

Magnezone: Okay, you win the argument as to why Gengar is worth using. Personally, I love Magnezone. I think that moveset works great too, although I do love Flash Cannon.

Um, why are you using Lonely? +Atk is useless for you and -Def REALLY hurts you... why not Modest or Timid?

Remember to try to keep him hidden as much as possible, and dont bring him out unless its a really good time.

Heracross: The ability to murder Blissey seems rather redundant, since if anyone leaves a Blissey in on a Heracross I will personally kill them. Still, that set works fine and will seriously dent an opponents team.

Togekiss: Alright, lets fix up that pokemon. Support Togekiss is a great pokemon straight up, as it can force many switches. Baton Pass is totally worthless as if you manage to Encore a support move, the opponent will just switch out... Wish, Air Slash, and Encore are great utility moves. For the last move, Aura Sphere is good to add a nice fighting move to the mix, but Twave is much more useful for support no matter how you look at it. Again, why are you using a useless ability like Hustle? None of her moves are physical anyway and none of them should be...

For the EVs, once again messed up. A quick togekiss is absolutely vital. 252 HP / 20 Def / 236 Spe will let you outspeed Adamant Lucario and Encore their Swords Dance. Still, you have to use Timid for that to work properly. 252 HP and 20 Def gives lots of defensive prowess allowing her to repeat her job multiple times thanks to natural bulk.

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I think for Magnezone to be really worthwhile, you need to include another pokemon that can really attract Scizor.

Weavile is an incredible pokemon to attract scizor and can act as your secondary Revenge Killer. CB Weavile (standard) provides Pursuit, which is something your team sadly lacks. It provides priority moves (ice shard), which is something your team severely needs. It provides a wallbreaking move (brick break) and a powerful dark/ice STAB. Not only that, but its x2 weakness and extreme fraility to Bullet Punch makes it a Scizor magnet, even moreso then Gengar. I reccomend switching Heracross for Weavile, although then you're losing an important bug type move.

Your team is severly weak to NP Mixape, with only Swampert having reliable countermoves, and since Mixape ALWAYS carries Grass Knot, its redundant. Heracross is outsped by standard Infernape and is always OHKOed by Flamethrower, even without NP. Togekiss can moderately counter it, but not if it carries HP Ice instead of Grass Knot.

 

[Xthaipe]

Thank you, that was very in depth and thought out.

For Aero, you're right. Whirlwind HAS come in handy, but it's pretty situational. I've run him with EQ before and it worked well, I'll switch back to that.

I'll try out using Ice Beam and Avalanche on Swampert and see how that goes. I'm kind of hesitant about giving up Roar as it's my only way of forcing out some stat-uppers, but I'll give it a shot.

I've used Focus Blast on Gengar before and hated it, but I'll run it again, since I know Energy Ball is kinda redundant with the rest of my coverage.

Magnezone is supposed to be Timid. I had to reset my Shoddy Team up on a different computer and overlooked a few things. Same reason that Togekiss was running Hustle. Oops.

It's not so much that Heracross kills Blissy, but I can switch in on her, eat any status she's giving out for a Guts boost, and then even if it switches my attacks will ussually kill or severely maim whatever came in.

Thank you for the Togekiss help. I knew I had screwed up that badly. So what I should run is..


Boeing (Togekiss) (F) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP/20Def/236 Speed
Timid nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Thunder Wave
- Wish
- Air Slash
- Encore

?


I'm a little hesitant to switch Hera for Weavile, since in my experience with this team, I havn't really needed another lure to take out Scizor. However, I'll wait and see what other people suggest, and keep it in mind.

Thanks again.

 

[Illithian-Z]

That Togekiss set looks fine.

I suggested a Weavile for multiple reasons.

Firstly, the reasons why switching Heracross wont completely ruin your team are as follows: with Focus Blast on Gengar and Brick Break on a potential Weavile, you wont need Close Combat. Megahorn is quite useful, but its main targets (Celebi, Azelf, Alakazam) can be easily taken out with Weavile's zippy dual STABs. Earthquake is already on Swampert and Aerodactyl (assuming you change it) and with Stone Edge on Aero, losing Heracross for Weavile won't be a huge loss for your team.

Alright so knowing that, either a Swords Dance or a CBvile set would be best. I think CB would work well, so Revenge Killer it is.

Weavile @Choice Band
Jolly | Pressure
40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard
- Brick Break
- Night Slash

I think this set would work quite well on your team. It adds a priority ice type move to the team, which helps a ton against DD Gyarados and especially Salamence, although its probably better at forcing said Salamence to switch. Pursuit gives you some great anti-psychic support and same goes for Night Slash, and allows you to effectively counter ghosts.

 

[Xthaipe]

2 day bump. Tested stuff out and added changes to the OP in red.