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Smash and Grab (but mostly smash) Team

Introduction:

This was really the first competitive pokemon team I ever made. I just recent;y got into the competitive aspect of this great game and have loved it. It is an OU team that I made for a local tournament that happened in my area a few weeks ago, so it has seen some action. However, like all teams, it has its flaws so I was wondering if anyone here could help me improve my team. I will not be posting held items because the tournament I entered had a no items rule so I'll give it to you as it was for the tourney.


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Lead:
Pride (Infernape M)
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Sp
Nature: Jolly
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock

Infernape is my lead. He is speed natured to make sure and get Stealth Rock out. After that he becomes a physical sweeper with some really powerful STAB moves. I had Fire Punch at one point because I didn't like Flare Blitz's recoil, but there is a HUGE difference in damage dealt so I went back. When I was playtesting, I had a Focus Sash on him and I ran Fake Out instead of Earthquake, but with no items in the tournament I added the attack move.

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Rapid Spinner / Special Sweeper:
Lust (Starmie)
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Sp
Nature: Timid
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin

Starmie is one of my favorite pokemon. Its fast and powerful and can come in on Toxic Spikes, spin them away, and cure itself on the switch. It can deal with entry hazards and be a legitimate threat to dragon, flying, and other water types. Its speed is shocking at times.

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Physical Sweeper:
Envy (Gyarados F)
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Sp
Nature: Jolly
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

Gyarados after a Dragon Dance is a monster! Waterfall is incredibly destructive and after a DD Gyarados can outspeed most electric types that come in to counter it. He works well with Electivire and Infernape. Since Earthquake is so rampant in the metagame, Gyarados can switch into and Earthquake and then dance or just pound away.

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Revenge Killer:
Wrath (Machamp F)
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 240 HP / 246 Atk / SpD 16 / 8 Sp
Nature: Adamant
- Dynamicpunch
- Bullet Punch
- Stone Edge
- Ice Punch

This is the pokemon that I started with. I built the team around Machamp. Bullet Punch was necessary for revenge kills and Dynamicpunch is the crux of the set since it can't miss with No Guard up. Stone Edge is for coverage and also has perfect accuracy thanks to No Guard. I had Payback for the las move, but I hardly ever used it. I tried some other moves and Ice Punch was the one I got the best use out of.

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Lightning Rod / Physical Sweeper:
Sloth (Electivire F)
Ability: Motor Drive
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Sp
Nature: Jolly
- Thunderpunch
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake
- Brick Break

I love switching him into an electric attack meant for Gyarados. A free turn and free speed boost so that I can destroy ou before you destroy me. After a Motor Driven speed boost, he pretty much runs the tables. This used to be a Jolteon, but he got kicked off due to a lack of moveset.

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Special Sweeper:
Azelf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Sp
Nature: Modest
- Psychic
- Nasty Plot
- Flamethrower
- Grass Knot

This used to be a Scizor but I needed more diverse moves and speed so I ended up with Azelf. He's a fast special sweeper that can cover a lot of moves. Psychic is for stab and the occasional fighting guy. I thought of running Nasty Plot but I opted for the hit-first-and-hard-and-get-two-damaging-turns-instead-of-one approach. He's a little frail but most psychic types are

So there's my team. Tell me what you think, what;s wrong with it, what can be changed, etc. Thank you in advance for your criticisms.
 
Last edited:

TheAwesomeOne

Well-Known Member
Drop Earthquake on Infernape for Fake Out, it breaks the opponent's Sash. Drop Fire Punch and Brick Break for Thunderpunch and Cross Chop on Electivire. Nasty Plot over Thunderbolt on Azelf, and drop Flamethrower for Fire Blast. You need to add Items for your Pokémon.
 
Thanks for the post. I explained why I didn't post the items. Because I'm using the team in an No Items tournament. So there's no reason to run Fake Out on Infernape. Also, Electivire already has Thunderpunch so Fire Punch can stay, and I tried Cross Chop on him but I didn't get very good results. It seemed to miss more than it hit so I scrapped it for Brick Break. Although I will seriously consider Nasty Plot over Thunderbolt on Azelf. I wanted it but opted for the attacking move. I think I'll try and run it and see what shakes out. Thanks!
 

TheAwesomeOne

Well-Known Member
Sorry, I meant to say Ice Punch over Fire Punch on Electivire. U-Turn would be better on Infernape, instead of Earthquake. I was in a rush and didn't read the entire post correctly, sorry!
 

Infectious

<('-'<)
IMO on azelf, you should you grass knot. It does more damage to most of the OU pokes, minus vaporeon. If your team has troubles with vappy, which it looks like it probably wont, I would advise grass knot.
 
I think I will change Ice Punch for Fire Punch. And Grass Knot would do more damage to Swampert or Walrein so I think I'll run that too. Though for now I'm going to stick with Earthquake on Infernape. Its done good for me so far. Thanks again for the suggestions.
 

Fire_Blast222

New Member
How is Machamp a revenge killer? Machamp is not a revenge killer in any way.
 

Infectious

<('-'<)
I suggest putting cross chop on electivire, he needs all the power he can get.
 
I had Cross Chop on Electivire for a while but it missed so much that I went with the more accurate move. Plus it breaks the screens. As for Machamp, he may not be a revenge killer, but Bullet Punch has netted a quite a few kills for me so that's how I classified him. He's to slow to be an effective sweeper, but he is an excellent Snorlax counter.
 
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