OU/BL Team

[Suicunerider]

;142;
Aerodactly @ focus sash
Ability: pressure
Nature: jolly
EVs: 252atk/252spd/6hp

Stealth Rock
EQ
Stone Edge
Taunt/Iron Head

Sets up SR and sweeps. Was considering Iron Head over taunt for flinching purposes, as I'm not too concerned with set ups since they give me time for my own.

;227;
Skarmory @ waccan berry/sitrus berry
Ability: sturdy
Nature: impish
EVs: 252hp/96atk/140def/20spd

Spikes
Whirlwind
Roost
Brave Bird

Sets up max spikes and whirlwinds for distributing damage.

;245;
suicune @ chesto berry
Ability: pressure
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252hp/252def/6spdef

Calm mind
Rest
Ice beam
Surf

The core of the team. Once stealth and spikes have been set up, suicune sets up at first opportunity. Using chesto due to blissey.
;242;
Blissey @ leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: bold
EVs: 252hp/252def/6spdef

Heal bell
Counter
Seismic toss
Softboiled

For removing burns from Aerodactly/Skarmory and sleep from Suicune. Counters anything with semi-threatening physical sweeping abilities.

;488;
Cresselia @ shell bell
Ability: levitate
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252hp/120spatk/70def/68spdef

Ice Beam
Toxic
Psychic/Charge Beam
Moonlight

Provides some sweeping and toxic for anything fairly bulky. Have to use Shell Bell since blissey gets leftovers.



I'm not sure who to use for my last pokemon:

;078;
rapidash @ wide lens
ability: flash fire
nature: naive
EVs: 252atk/252spd/6hp

Will O Wisp
MegaHorn
Overheat
Iron Tail

For extra sweeping and countering annoying steel types

or

;428;
Lopunny @ flame orb
ability: klutz
nature: jolly
EVs: 252Hp/252spd/6spdef

Switcheroo
Agility
baton pass
fire punch

Again, for steel types, and to actually give suicune some speed.

or

;359;
Absol @ scope lens
ability: super luck
nature: jolly
EVs: 252atk/252spd/6hp

Will O Wisp
Sucker Punch
Super Power
Psycho Cut

Yes I really want to burn things. I could always opt out of will o wisp for this one. The rest is solid sweeping since aerodactyl and skarmory have other roles to fill.

Or, if the special sweep seems lacking:

;407;
roserade @ choice specs
ability: natural cure
nature: modest
EV's: 252spatk/252spd/6hp

Leaf Storm
Sludge Bomb
Shadow Ball
HP (ice)

HP ice probably doesn't seem too hot. I meant it as a surprise attack (a.k.a. filler on an already trained pokemon).


Contructive criticism would really be appreciated!

 

[windsong]

Well, this team looks OK for a first team (is this your first team?).
Anyway, there are just a couple random annoyances before I go into the structure of the team.

Aerodactyl:
Aero should use Rock Slide > Stone Edge. The 30% flinch rate is just in general more helpful, and STAB means that it hits nearly as hard as Iron Head anyway. In addition, Aero isn't meant to sweep. It's meant to Taunt, set up rocks, then go down. That simple.

Skarmory:
You should really use Leftovers instead of Waccan / Sitrus Berry. Item Clause is not a standard Battle Clause, so you don't need to worry about multiple Leftovers. In addition, you might consider running the special defensive EVset, so as to phaze out DDmence (as they all carry Fire Blast).

Suicune:
Leftovers again....
Also, mainly, use Sleep Talk rather than Ice Beam, as this let;s you have an effective sleep absorber, as well as giving you the ability to set up Calm Minds easily.

Blissey:

Thunder Wave > Counter is a must. In addition, I would seriously recommend that you use Flamethrower rather than Seismic Toss, so you don't give SubCharge Rotom free setup.

Cresselia:

I really don't see the point of Cresselia in a DDtar weak team....anyway, if you do use it, Charge Beam over Psychic, for BoltBeam and the stat raise. Also, Bold Nature, Leftovers, and just max out defenses.

Last Pokemon / Team Construction:

Well, this team is running heavy stall, but is missing several crucial factors. First off, you lack something with Trick or Perish Song. Secondly, you have no form of residual damage other than Spikes and Stealth Rock. Finally, you have no Spin Blocker. Thus, as the last Pokemon, I recommend Rotom-H. Sorry, I can't get to Smogon now to check the moveset, but Thunderbolt/Overheat/Hidden Power [Fight]/WillOWisp is what I'd recommend.

Anyway, the team has a couple flaws that you should work on, but for the most part, good start of a team.

 

[Suicunerider]

Sadly, this is not my first attempt, and I have been playing since the first game came out in 1998, but I rarely get the chance to battle other competitive players so I'm not completely up to dateon what people are commonly running these days. That and I have a tendency to stick with favourites. XD

I will definitely take those changes into consideration. What EV spread would you recommend for skarmory then?

As far as Trick/Swithceroo goes, would it be plausible to use gardevoir, or lopunny like I was suggesting? And for perish song/spin counter, how about:

;429;
Mismagius @leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid or bold?
EVs: ?

Mean Look
Perish Song
Will O wisp
Flamethrower

Let me know what you think, and if anyone else has ideas I would love to hear those too. If you'd like to just completely change whatever you want on this team I would love to hear any ideas at all.

 

[fschulze47]

^^^
Run that set and you're asking for DDTar to 6-0 you. Can Mismagius even LEARN flamethrower? Well, it seems you have a stall team, so your lead should match accordingly. I'd recommend a Hippowdon lead, as it gets a Sandstorm and possibly stealth rock up very reliably.

As for Skarmory, epic_eevee tackled that well. Another option could be shed shell to prevent being trapped.

Cress is OK, if you take my Hippo suggestion I'd strongly recommend another form of recovery. Rotom- A is a lot better than Cresselia by the way, even Spiritomb is better as it has more support options, if this team is for Wi-Fi and not Shoddy. Restalk Machamp is another option if you want to stop TTar..which you really really should. Of those options, Spiritomb or Rotom (depending on wifi or shoddy) provides you with a spinblocker, a must.

I'd suggest trying to fit in Restalk Machamp because you have a gaping weakness to Ttar.

That and I have a tendency to stick with favourites. XD

Bear in mind that your favorites may not be the best, and when people rate your team they will suggest what is best for it, even if that means scrapping your favorites.

So, my suggestion to you would be to look at the team and decide for yourself what direction you wish to go with it. It really looks like a stall team right now.

And one more thing, in the future I'd suggest being a little more descriptive. Include why you picked each move and why you chose each member. That gives raters insight on how to fix what needs fixing.

 

[Suicunerider]

Yeah, it's just for Wi-fi. I guess I really wasn't thinking about what I wanted to do with the team. Thanks for the sound advice! I get what I need to work on now. Can't say I'm too keen on hippowdon just because it will drain the rest of my team. The restalk machamp sounds good though, and rotom seems like it's going to be essential.

And for the mismagius yeah I didn't check on that one, sorry.

Something I would really like to do is actually use cresselia as a psycho shift or trick (preferrably psycho shift) user with a flame orb and sleep talk+rest, or would one of the Lati twins do that better? Not necessariy foe this team, but I thought that would be good for crippling Tyranitar by passing on burn status, and then sleep status can be passed on to others via sleep talk.

I'm also wondering how to deal with other taunt users when I'm using a stall team.

 

[fschulze47]

I should tell you that sandstorm is a very good addition to a stall team, and most of your pokemon run leftovers, which cancels it out. And, Rotom-A is illegal on Wi-fi, so you'll have to use Spiritomb.

I'd suggest replacing Cress with spiritomb entirely..why go through the long and unreliable process of using psycho shift when you can just flat out burn it with Spiritomb, or another spinblocker, like Dusknoir. I do feel like Spiritomb is much better, however, due to its lack of a pursuit weakness, more immunities, and many various support options.

As for Taunt, you'll only see that on leads or BulkyGyara, and Hippowdon can deal with MOST of the common taunters, and Suicune checks Gyara, but not very well. I suppose you could try to fit a defensive Zapdos somewhere.

One more point, remove Brave Bird from Skarm and replace it with Drill Peck. A wall like Skarm is built to last, and even though you have roost, doing recoil damage is very counter- productive.

 

[Suicunerider]

Yes, I think I definitely prefer Spiritomb's lack of weaknesses. After thinking about this I might actually switch to a Tyranitar lead instead of Aerodactyl. Thanks guys, for helping me get caught up with the current competitive environment. I appreciate your patience!