Team Rockman

[monster]

I'm sorry I won't give any pictures, I'm tired and don't feel like going to all the trouble. I named this team "Team Rockman" because it was the first OU team I made on Showdown, and Megaman was called Rockman first... it made sense in my brain at the time.

Anyway, here's the team:

Forretress (Darknut) @ Custap Berry / Ring Target / Zoom Lens
252 HP / 252 Sp. Def / 6 HP
Sturdy
Sassy Nature
Zap Cannon / Gyro Ball
Stealth Rock
Rapid Spin
Earthquake

This is my surprise Pokemon. NO ONE expects the Zap Cannon. And with good reason, but it works some of the time, and with great satisfaction. Naturally, if I gave him Custap Berry, an avenue I have not yet taken, I would replace Zap Cannon, but it's really awesome seeing an opposing Pokemon paralyzed and damaged, regardless of the minimal damage. I also have not yet tried the Zoom Lens. I usually lead with him to set up SR / spin away hazards, etc.

Heatran (Helfire) @ Leftovers / Air Balloon
252 Sp. Attack / 252 Spe / 6 HP
Flash Fire
Timid Nature
Fire Blast
Earth Power
Toxic
Substitute

I absolutely love Heatran, especially this one. I wreck teams just by stalling, and quite frankly I have no idea how I do it. He's a beast, and a great late-game sweeper, with SR damage and Toxic piling up. Fire Blast works well on Jirachi, even in rain. I don't think he's going anywhere. I've never tried Air Balloon, but I'm thinking about it.

Gengar (Ghini) @ Black Sludge
252 Sp. Attack / 252 Spe /6 HP
Timid Nature
Shadow Ball
Focus Blast
Substitute
Disable

If Heatran is the star of this team, then Gengar is the superstar. He wrecks teams late-game, and I'm surprised that more people don't use this guy. He's really worth it to put in any team, I think. I really just put him in here because I like him a lot, but also because he's a spinblocker.

Dragonite (Daikaiju) @ Life Orb
252 Atk. / 252 Spe / 6 HP
Multiscale
Adamant Nature
Extremespeed
Dragon Claw
Earthquake
Fire Punch

I find the Dragon Dancing Dragonite a little slow, and too prone to Ice Shard to be of much use. Maybe I don't have enough skill to use him, but Multiscale Life Orb Dragonite with Extremespeed really works well. Weaker attackers (defensively) are easily 2HKO'd by Extremespeed after, or maybe even without, Stealth Rock damage. Dragon Claw also does an impressive amount, too. Definitely a worthy set for my favorite 'mon. Unfortunately, Life Orb kind of ruins Multiscale, but not all the time. He replaced Hydreigon, who was on my team for a very long time because I couldn't get Multiscale Dragonite in the real game.

Conkeldurr (Moblin) @ Flame Orb
252 Atk / 120 Def / 136 Sp. Def
Guts
Adamant
Mach Punch
Drain Punch
Ice Punch
Payback

This Conkeldurr is really useful, too. He's almost unstoppable in a TR team, but of course I don't run that. I find in today's metagame you really can't have enough priority. Conkeldur is a great asset in that sense with Mach Punch. Drain Punch picks up the slack with the Burn damage. I really like that he's immune to status, too...

Metagross (Armos) @ Choice Band
252 Atk / 120 Def / 136 Spe
Clear Body
Adamant
Meteor Mash
Pursuit
Hammer Arm
Trick / Ice Punch

This Metagross - is awesome. You never can really get more use out of Pursuit nowadays, with the ubiquity of Latios in OU. Once he fires off that Specs Draco Meteor, I know the other player is cursing under his breath, because he's trapped. That's one 'mon down, and I lost pretty much nothing. No one expects Hammer Arm, either. Someone switched into a Jolteon expecting Earthquake once, and BAM! That's another free KO for me. Ice Punch can never be too useful, as well, especially with Gliscor, but Trick is good too - originally it was Zen Headbutt.

So yeah, that's my team. It's evolved over the course of time, as new moves became available. The only ones that stayed since my original team were Gengar and Metagross, Hydreigon was the last one to go. The three of them, I found, made nice team. But Dragonite nosed his way in, and the team found a nice home for him. I've considered putting Scizor and Tentacruel in there instead of Conkeldur and Forretress, respectively, but I'm not so sure now. Thoughts?

 

[Box]

Right off the bat, you have no solid check to Choice Scarf Keldeo (once Dragonite goes down, but who is promptly KO'd by HP Ice if the switch is predicted), which stands as one of the biggest threats the metagame has ever seen. For this, run Utility Jellicent over Gengar, your team has plenty of offense as is. Jellicent also checks various Fighting-types that pose a threat to your team since Gengar himself would struggle with without a Sub up, such as Terrakion and Infernape.

Moving on, Forretress seems to be an attempt to fulfil too many roles simultaneously. Custap Berry Forretress plays in a very specific manner, and is vastly different from Standard (Specially) Defensive. Also, Zap Cannon is a horribly uncompetitive move given it's obscenely bad accuracy and it is not worth running it at all. I suggest the following:

1) If you need a Spinner that survives throughout, checking threats and setting up hazards, use Specially Defensive Forretress. This set is the most versatile, checking Dragons, Weavile, Mamoswine and various other Dragonite counters and spinning away hazards that would ruin Dragonite's day. In turn, he sets up valuable rocks and possibly Spikes that greatly bolster your team's sweeping potential.

2) If you need something that reliably sets up hazards, every time, use Custap Berry Forretress. Using 252 Atk EVs and minimum defensive stats, Forretress aims to set up rocks and then one final layer of spikes, or go out with a *bang* to stop things like Swords Dance Garchomp from ravaging your team turn 3 onwards.

3) If you want a versatile hazard setter that spreads paralysis to assist your sweepers, use Standard Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn is possibly the best defensive Pokemon in OU, and forms a strong defensive core with Heatran and Jellicent (the infamous FWG core), each of them covering the others' weaknesses perfectly. Ferrothorn can set up hazards and pack Thunder Wave to cripple would-be threats like Lati@s and Keldeo. Unfortunately, you lose a spinner in Ferrothorn, hence I would recommend option 1 for your team. It is up to you.

Run Leftovers on Heatran. You may also consider the Offensive Air Balloon set, which grants great offensive presence while offering an excellent Fire immunity for attacks directed at your Steels.

Run Offensive Dragon Dance Dragonite, with Extremespeed if you want. Dragonite should be your win condition; your late-game end-all sweeper. Dragonite should really not be attempting sweeps early-mid game, as he is one of the most efficient sweepers late game if he pulls off a Dance. Eliminate pesky priority such as Mamoswine and Weavile with your other mons and he'll be good to go. The win condition is important for a HO team such as yours, and you will appreciate the immense power and versatility Dragonite offers after a single DD (which is surprisingly easy to pull off given the switches he forces and Multiscale).

Finally, I suggest Choice Band Scizor over Metagross, as the former essentially fulfils the same role you are trying to have Metagross fulfil, but does so much better with U-turn to shift momentum and a much more powerful Bullet Punch to take down nonsense such as Venusaur in sun with much less residual damage on it. Scizor's lack of a ground weakness also allows it to better check the likes of Sandslash and Garchomp, surviving Earthquakes and retaliating with swift 2HKOs.

 

[monster]

@Box: I like all your suggestions except for Scizor. Wouldn't that kind of be redundant with two Bug/Steel types?

 

[Montezuma II]

I agree with Box on the Scizor matter. It fulfills the roles Metagross seems to do better and more efficiently. It's not really redundant because both of the bug/steel types on the team would be fulfilling different roles within the team.

 

[Box]

When building a team, you are not looking to build resistances against certain types, or hit certain types super-effectively. As I was taught, you build a team to check and counter certain significant threats in the metagame and to achieve a certain goal (be it to make a HO laddering farmer or an annoying stall team) so that you can win more often that you lose. The best teams check as many of the metagame's top threats simultaneously and would generally allow you a high W:L ratio as a result.

In this case, Scizor is going to offer a lot more for your team as the better Choice Bander. Remember that nothing Metagross beats, Heatran cannot beat (bar things like Gliscor on the switch, which Scizor should be U-turning out of when predicted and handing it over to Conk or something). While Metagross may weather hits better, Scizor offers superior priority and a very powerful STAB U-turn, which helps keep the game in your favor as get better at prediction.

Here are the sets, which I neglected to post before:

Forretress @ Leftovers / Red Card
Sturdy
252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Volt Switch / Spikes
- Gyro Ball / Spikes
- Rapid Spin

Dragonite @ Life Orb / Lum Berry / Leftovers
Multiscale
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw / Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch / Stone Edge / Extremespeed / Roost

Scizor @ Choice Band
Technician
248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Optional: 30 Spe IVs to U-turn slower than other Scizor.
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Pursuit