Team Building Help Thread

[QuestionClaw]

Newest addition:

Heatran
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Calm
EVs: 244 HP, 252 Sp. Defense, 14 Sp. Attack
Moveset:
Lava Plume
Torment
Toxic
Protect
​

Good ol' Torment Heatran, with a few tweaks here and there. He's designed for endurance and residual damage, a Wall made specifically for annoying the opponent. Not much to say here, but I will add that azeem40 seems to have a point and I will give Scizor a Mental Herb instead of a White one. I want to back Heatran up with Stealth Rock damage, but I'm not sure if I should give Stealth Rock to my Claydol or to another Poke. (By the way, I also changed Claydol's Earth Power for Psyshock).

 

[azeem40]

Claydol can use SR. Psyshock isn't that useful for Claydol, since the only thing it helps with is Heracross, which it shouldn't be facing anyway. Besides, Heracross is uncommon in OU. Ice Beam > Psyshock to hit Dragons.

 

[QuestionClaw]

The problem is that if I give SR to Claydol, he could not do direct damage. Also, would it be worth sacrificing the STAB damage of Earth Power/Psyshock for Ice Beam?

 

[azeem40]

Earthquake will do more damage than Earth Power to most Pokemon. Psyshock doesn't really do much for you.

 

[djloid]

Ok, my students in my class love playing Pokemon Showdown. A kid who plays a lot is challenging another
kid, who is new. I told the newbie kid I would help him build a team for OU.
The old pro kid has:
Garchomp
Gengar
Heatran
Skarmory
Metagross
Rotom W
....no idea on movesets, EVs, items or abilities, but lets just say he'll probably go most common/standard sets

So....so far I have just been trying to think of counters... e.g.:
Ferrothorn, with Gyro Ball, for Garchomp (probably Scarfchomp) and perhaps Gengar
Magnezone for Skarmory....
But I need help! All help would be appreciated! Any movesets are good as long as they are legal!
Thanks, they game is in 4 days.

 

[azeem40]

How does my plan look so far?

I am making an offensive, yet balanced, team. My plan is to weaken the foe as much as possible and set up a final sweep.
Deoxys-D @ Rocky Helmet
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
Moves:
Taunt
Magic Coat
Stealth Rock
Spikes
I decided to start off with Deoxys-D as my hazard setter. I wanted to make an offensive team, so I thought Deoxys-D would stop a lot of entry hazards from being on my side of the field with Magic Coat.
Gengar @ Leftovers
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Moves:
Substitute
Disable
Focus Blast
Shadow Ball
Now, I need a Pokemon that can use SR to its advantage by causing a lot of damage to the opposing team. Gengar has a few selling points that help make it a good partner for Deoxys-D: it can prevent the hazards Deoxys sets up from being spun away and has great coverage with its moves. It also has the ability to cause a lot of switches, making good use of the hazards Deoxys-D sets up. I decided to use the SubDisable set as it will cause them to switch, raking up SR and Spikes damage.



Scizor @ Choice Band
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Moves:
Pursuit
Bullet Punch
U-Turn
Superpower

With Gengar and Deoxys-D, I had a weakness to Ghost and Dark, so I wanted a Pokemon that could resist those attacks. Scizor seemed appealing with its great Atk and priority Bullet Punch to pick off weakened foes that Gengar can weaken.
Now, I needed a Rapid Spinner since I will be doing a lot of momentum grabbing with Scizor. A good fire resist for Scizor would be nice. Now, I know that there are only two Rapid Spinners in OU that resist Fire. One of them would make me have 3 Pokemon weak to Ghost and Dark. I do not want that, so I opted for Tentacruel. It's great SpD takes any Special Attack except for Thunderbolt. Since I already have 2 EHs on the field, I don't think I'd need Toxic Spikes, so I will opt for Toxic, a poison that cannot be removed easily. Even though I don't have Politoed on my team, I can abuse Rain Dish anyway thanks to the abundance of Rain Teams running around.
Tentacruel @ Leftovers
Ability: Rain Dish
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Moves:
Scald
Substitute
Rapid Spin
Toxic
Looking at my team, Landorus seems like it can do a number on 3 of the 4 members of my team, so I need a good Landorus check.

What can I add to prevent Landorus from decimating my team?

 

[infernape100]

Okay, I have three slots filled. I still need a Sweeper and a Wall, the last slot is free. Please give recommendations.

Scizor

Item: White Herb
Ability: Technician
Nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Sp. Defense, 4 Defense.
Moveset:
Baton Pass
Swords Dance
Bullet Punch
Agility​

Scizor's function in the team is resist hits so he can boost Braviary's Speed twice with Agility. If he's faster than the opponent and hasn't been hit too hard, he also boosts once with Swords Dance, to finally Baton Pass the boosts to Braviary. Bullet Punch is there because I didn't want to leave him without means of making some damage if needed. Thanks to Technician and the STAB, it makes decent damage. His White Herb prevents the boosts from being canceled.
He's trained to resist as much as possible in battle, and thanks to his awesome typing his only fear is fire.

Braviary

Item: Choice Band
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Speed, 252 Attack, 4 HP.
Moveset:
Return
Superpower
Shadow Claw
Brave Bird​

Braviary is specifically designed for 1HKO'ing practically anything that isn't a wall. His moveset covers most types with SE hits, and those that aren't covered get an agressive amount of neutral damage. The Choice Band in combination with the boosts Scizor passed him assure maximum damage, and thanks to his decent Speed stat he can outrun most Pokémon that aren't particullary fast.
Return is his main attack backed up by the STAB, with Superpower as a desperate measure if he needs to break a Steel, Rock or Ice type. Brave Bird also gets a STAB and deals a humungous amount of damage that only very defensive Electric, Rock and Steel Pokémon have a chance of surviving. Shadow Claw is there in case of Ghost or Psychic types.

Claydol
Item: Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Calm
EVs: 252 Defense, 252 HP, 4 Sp. Defense.
Moveset:
Light Screen
Reflect
Rapid Spin
Earth Power/Stealth Rock​

Claydol is a Spinner that is powerful in both defenses. Thanks to this he can last many turns without getting in real trouble. Other than that, he can use Light Screen and Reflect to back up Braviary's weak defenses (as well as making a possible Offensive Tank out of a Sweeper, still to be defined)
His Earth Power is there for the same reason Scizor has Bullet Punch. I still can't decide if I should change it for Stealth Rock, so advice is appreciated.

A good team so far.
I would say that you could use stealth rock AND earth power at the expense of rapid spin on Claydol and add a spinning Starmie. Starmie has beastly speed and his speacial attack can make him a great user of boltbeam (thunderbolt and ice beam) with a great STAB hydro pump as well. The standard set on smogon should do you fine.
You should also use a batton pass Espeon with maybe Batton Pass, Calm Mind, Stored Power and Substitute. This little pink pal can pass a substitute to Braviary and allows for a calm mind set up for a special sweeper (which your team lacks). I would advise a Hydreigon for this role with Dragon Pulse, Fires Blast, Earth Power (i don't know any poke that doesn't resist this) and an extra move.

Other good batton passers are gorebyss and huntail as they can aqua ring and substitute
Good luck!

P.s. any help with my team i posted a few days ago?

Hey! I was looking over my old team ideas after putting competetive battling on hold for several reasons and found the old team wasn't great, so instead i'm in the process of building up a new squad of pokes. I have 4 pokemon so far and it is to be an OU team with a balanced strategy, though bulky offense is an option (excluding Blissey).

Spoiler: the team

Salemence@Life Orb
Intimidate
Hasty
EVs: 200Spd/200S.Atk/108Atk
Dragon Claw
Earthquake
Fire Blast
Roost

A standard MixMence really but with Dragon Claw for a dragon move because i didn't really want the Sp.Atk decrease of Draco Meteor. EQuake and Fire Blast are for covering everything not hit by Dragon Claw. Roost is for recover so i can keep sweeping and get rid of Life Orb damage, which will be used to boost my attacks. Hasty is to outspeed opponents while the defense loss is covered by Intimidate. EVs maximise stats across the board.

Heatran@Air Baloon
Flash Fire
Modest
EVs: 252Spd/252Sp.Atk/4HP
Fire Blast
Earth Power
Dragon Pulse/HP (Grass)
Stealth Rock

Hetran will be my main special attacker. Fire Blast is powerful STAB with Earth Power and Dragon Pulse/HP (Grass) used for coverage. SR is there to do what SR needs to do. Air Baloon is there to protect him from EQuake with Modest providing a boost to his attacks and Flash Fire boosts Fire Blast if I can predict well enough. the EVs enhance my Sp. Attack and give a muh needed speed boost.

Conkeldurr@Flame Orb
Guts
Adamant
EVs: 200 Atk/ 200 Sp.Def/108 HP
Drain Punch
Mach Punch
Facade
Payback

Here is my physical attacker, who also has deecent bulk. His Drain Punch is for STAB and recovery. Payback gives great coverage and uses his lack of speed to his advantage. Mach Punch is for priority so he can finish off weak opponents with Facade for heavy damage due to Flame Orb. Flame Orb and Guts combo is for extra power, as well as Adamant. The Evs are to help with bulk and damage.

Blissey@Leftovers
Natural Cure
Bold
EVs: 252 Def/252 Sp.Def/4 HP
Softboiled
Protect
Toxic
Seismic Toss

Nothing much to explain here, just a special defense Blissey. Softboiled is for constant healing, Protect is there to help defend, Toxic is to stall powerful threats away, and Seismic Toss to do damage to steels like Heatran. Everything else is to help with bulk.

Options for i was considering include Gliscor (physical defense) Deoxys (wall, could replace Blissey) Starmie (Spinner, offensive or defense) Rotom-W (Attacker) Donphan (Spinner and physical defense).

So there it is, please help!

 

[scribblestheclown]

so my buddy has this "secret" team that is "undefeated" (i presume he means against his cousins only) that he insists on bragging about. it is not EV trained and i assume has little stratagy. i assume it consists of a lucario, a charizard, possibly a lugia and a handful of legendaries (i expect raquaza, and the dragons from b/w).

SO! i want to scrub the deck with his team. if i can set it up, i'd do so with a magikarp. if not, it still must be embarrassing.

here's what i have so far:
an EV trained terrakion, (still needs leveling)
an EV trained toxic blissey, (still needs leveling)
a larvesta bred with morning sun, sunny day, and solarbeam. (still needs leveling and ev training)

i need to know what else would fit this team/what would cripple my buddies team. should i embrace my sunny day volcarona idea or just bail on it? any imput would be greatly appreciated.

keep in mind, i'll be stuck in afganistan for another six months so time isn't an issue, but getting pokemon/items from international trades and such will be.

 

[Dr. Vile]

I need three more Pokemon for my team, but I'm honestly not sure which Pokemon would accompany my team best.

My current and incomplete team:

Zoroark @ shell bell
Nature: Timid
Ability: Illusion
Moveset:
Nasty Plot
Flamethrower
Night Daze
U-turn

Electivire @ expert belt
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Motor Drive
Moveset:
Thunderpunch
Cross Chop
Ice Punch
Earthquake

Braviary @ life orb
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Sheer Force
Moveset:
Brave Bird
Superpower
Crush Claw
Hone Claws

To be honest, this is just a collection of Pokemon that I heard were 'powerful', so I have no real reason for selecting them. My current strategy is:

First: send out Zoroark who will be imitating my Braviary. Since my Zoroark is usually faster than my opponent's Pokemon, I hit them with a quick 'flamethrower' or 'night daze'. Once they hit me (most likely with some type of rock or electric move), I use 'U-Turn' and send out my real Braviary to finish the job. They then send out their second Pokemon, and that's usually where I get stumped, because my Braviary always leaves a little bit of HP left (meaning I can't get a one-hit-KO on that second Pokemon), leaving them an opening to use a rock/electric move (usually one-hit-KOs me due to Braviary's low defense/special defense). That's when I send out my Electivire who has very low speed, special defense, and defense, meaning it almost instantly gets wiped out if they have a ground type Pokemon.

I only have offense (I believe they're called physical sweepers, but I don't know because I'm a novice) Pokemon. I'm not sure if that's the way to go, but if not, then you can see my dilemma. Either way, I still need more Pokemon for my team. Any recommendations? Also, should I start EV training my Electivire to have better speed, or should I just focus mainly on its attack?

 

[Ilan]

I need three more Pokemon for my team, but I'm honestly not sure which Pokemon would accompany my team best.

My current and incomplete team:

Zoroark @ shell bell
Nature: Timid
Ability: Illusion
Moveset:
Nasty Plot
Flamethrower
Night Daze
U-turn

Electivire @ expert belt
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Motor Drive
Moveset:
Thunderpunch
Cross Chop
Ice Punch
Earthquake

Braviary @ life orb
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Sheer Force
Moveset:
Brave Bird
Superpower
Crush Claw
Hone Claws

To be honest, this is just a collection of Pokemon that I heard were 'powerful', so I have no real reason for selecting them. My current strategy is:

First: send out Zoroark who will be imitating my Braviary. Since my Zoroark is usually faster than my opponent's Pokemon, I hit them with a quick 'flamethrower' or 'night daze'. Once they hit me (most likely with some type of rock or electric move), I use 'U-Turn' and send out my real Braviary to finish the job. They then send out their second Pokemon, and that's usually where I get stumped, because my Braviary always leaves a little bit of HP left (meaning I can't get a one-hit-KO on that second Pokemon), leaving them an opening to use a rock/electric move (usually one-hit-KOs me due to Braviary's low defense/special defense). That's when I send out my Electivire who has very low speed, special defense, and defense, meaning it almost instantly gets wiped out if they have a ground type Pokemon.

I only have offense (I believe they're called physical sweepers, but I don't know because I'm a novice) Pokemon. I'm not sure if that's the way to go, but if not, then you can see my dilemma. Either way, I still need more Pokemon for my team. Any recommendations? Also, should I start EV training my Electivire to have better speed, or should I just focus mainly on its attack?

for OU? cause except zoroark all of them suck.. using U-turn and nasty plot in the same set is conuterproductive you boost and then you lose the boosts you don't use EVs so... 252 sp.attack/speed for zoroark and the last slot is focus blast braviary and electrivy are good in RU but in UU OU they both suck.

About this strategy do you realise zoroark won't be able to survive a rock or electric attack do you? and that's why braviary and electrivire suck.. and why you should switch what if you PREDICT their electric move and SWITCH (YES NORMAL SWITCHS ARE POSSIBLE) to electrivire get the speed boost and beat (With proper EVs) their "braviary counter" but anyway the 3 of them have little synergy except electrivire and braviary but electrivire doesn't resists rock or ICE so you should add a ground pokemon to take those attacks..

if it's only a trio so..

use zoroark,gengar and a physical attack (no an offesive pokemon isn't physical physical is the attack stats and physical attacks like close combat or U-turn or waterfall)

YOU CAN TRAIN BOTH HIS ATTACK AND SPEED but you need to do it FROM WHEN HE HATCHES FROM THE EGG.
sorry for caps I forgot I can write on bold XD

 

[Dr. Vile]

for OU? cause except zoroark all of them suck.. using U-turn and nasty plot in the same set is conuterproductive you boost and then you lose the boosts you don't use EVs so... 252 sp.attack/speed for zoroark and the last slot is focus blast braviary and electrivy are good in RU but in UU OU they both suck.

About this strategy do you realise zoroark won't be able to survive a rock or electric attack do you? and that's why braviary and electrivire suck.. and why you should switch what if you PREDICT their electric move and SWITCH (YES NORMAL SWITCHS ARE POSSIBLE) to electrivire get the speed boost and beat (With proper EVs) their "braviary counter" but anyway the 3 of them have little synergy except electrivire and braviary but electrivire doesn't resists rock or ICE so you should add a ground pokemon to take those attacks..

if it's only a trio so..

use zoroark,gengar and a physical attack (no an offesive pokemon isn't physical physical is the attack stats and physical attacks like close combat or U-turn or waterfall)

YOU CAN TRAIN BOTH HIS ATTACK AND SPEED but you need to do it FROM WHEN HE HATCHES FROM THE EGG.
sorry for caps I forgot I can write on bold XD

Ooooh. Again, I'm new to this. A couple of weeks ago was when I learned about natures and the science behind Pokemon, and after that, I just compiled a bunch of powerfully bred Pokemon into a team, figuring it'd be a formula for success. But, at least I know now that I was wrong.

Also, how would you go about EV training Gengar (ghastly when it hatches)? Speed and Special attack? Should I train it with those anklets you can buy from the Gear Station? Again, I'm a novice at this. I've always been that one trainer who solely relied on his starter Pokemon throughout the entire game, completely disregarding any of the other Pokemon I received along the way.

And which physical attack Pokemon do you recommend me keeping? Should I catch a new one, or use either Braviary or Electivire?

 

[Summonight]

Hi, I'm new to competitive OU, and competitive itself, but I've decided to create a standard all-around OU team. I used the "Work around a Pokemon" strategy in which I choose my first Poke, and build off its weaknesses while keeping certain threats and roles in mind. So, here I go:

Physical Wall/ Rapid Spinner
Donphan @Leftovers
Impish Sturdy
EVs 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk
-Knock Off -Ice Shard
-Rapid Spin -Earthquake
So Donphan was my first decision! I love Donphan because of its great rapid-spinning wall abilities and how it's just a great overall wall. Knock Off of course for taking my opponent's precious items, Rapid Spin to take out any entry hazards that may have been set, Earthquake for attacking (won't be used often), and Ice Shard for quick revenge killing. Donphan as already stated will be my Physical Wall to prevent Scizor and other hard-hitters from wrecking me. Oh, but Donphan has weaknesses of course! Ice/Grass/Water!

Special Sweeper
Heatran @Choice Scarf
Timid Flash Fire
EVs 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
-Fire Blast -HP Ice
-Earth Power -Flamethrower
In comes Heatran, a Special Sweeper that can cover 2/3 of Donphan's weaknesses. Scarf Heatran isn't something to bluff about, as it can outspeed a lot, just what a sweeper needs. So Fire Blast is here for great power and STAB, HP Ice for Dragons and Grounds, Earth Power for nice coverage, and Flamethrower as a filler move I guess. But this great Pokemon drags around a terrible 4x weakness to Ground and a weakness to Water and Fighting.

At this point, I'm not sure who to add, as every space on my team is crucial. Of course I want a Pokemon that can counter Heatran's weaknesses, because even if it does have HP Ice, I want a surefire go-to-poke for the job. I just don't know what to add here to take care of Heatran and Donphan's weaknesses. Can anyone suggest? Depending on conditions too, I'll be taking in a physical sweeper. I was thinking Scizor or something. Thanks!

 

[SneaselFTW]

I advise no Flamethrower on Heatran, instead replace it for... *looks at movepool* Flash Caninon. While not immediately useful, it DOES have STAB and will probably more useful than Flamethrower, not to mention a harder hit on switching in Terrakion.

As for Donphan, he looks good. Maybe Stealth Rock or Stone Edge over Knock Off, but that's just preference.

For team mates, maybe a flying type like Salamence or Dragonite? If you want more offence, Salamence (or another good offensive 'mon like Tornadus-T) and try this set:

Saladmence (Salamence) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Outrage
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
- Crunch
(for the nickname to work, make it Shiny)
Outrage is STAB+Power, Fire Blast hits ferrothorn+skarmory+forretress, earthquake hits the rest of the steel types, crunch is coverage.

Or bulk, use Dnite. GTG now, so I'll give you a set when i get back

 

[Hauntershadow92]

'allo. If it isn't too much bother, I'd like someone to glance over my team. It is really weird and gimmicky, and that is the point. I want to use pokemon that are fun to use, not the standard OU types. My only request is that you keep the theme when offering another Pokemon for what I currently use:

Basically, my team is meant to cause chaos for the opponent. I was considering using Stealth Rocks, or any entry hazards, for the amount of times I want to make the opponent switch, but I'm not sure where to put it.

Spoiler: Team

Loki (Whimsicott) @ Leftovers
Prankster / Bold
EVs: 252 Hp / 252 Def / 4 SpDef
-Toxic
-Taunt
-Encore
-U-Turn

I know I said I didn't want to use anything standard, and I know this is a pretty standard set. However, I have never used Prankster and this honestly looked awesome to me. I think it is an excellent lead that will already start the switches. I feel as though my lead should have stealth rocks though.

Meeba (Ditto) @ Choice Scarf
Imposter / Relaxed
EVs: 252 Hp / 252 Def / 4 SpDef
-Transform

Yeah, I know. Ditto. This will be great to revenge kill. The EVs are for just in case I can't get transformed. Basically, it comes in on a safe / predicted switch and wrecks havoc.

Kitsune (Zoroark) @ Life Orb
Illusion / Hasty
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 SpAtk / 252 Speed
-Night Daze
-Focus Blast
-Flamethrower
-Grass Knot

I plan to keep Shedinja in the last spot to screw with people's mind. Since Shedinja has 12 immunities, when they see one switch in, they might just switch out. Otherwise, the set is fairly simple.

Husk (Shedinja) @ Focus Sash (Physical Sweeper)
Wonder Guard / Adamant
EVs: 255 Atk / 255 Speed
-Hone Claws
-X-Scissor
-Shadow Sneak
-Protect

Shedinja is here for late-game sweeping and just overall forcing switches and allowing my other pokemon into the game easily. Since I can switch into many pokemon and force them to switch, I think Shedinja is a great pokemon.

Endolith (Shuckle) @ Leftovers / Metronome
Contrary / Careful
EVs: 252 Hp / 252 Def / 4 SpDef
-Rest
-Encore
-Power Trick
-Rollout

Shuckle is an oddity. What I really want to do is sweep the hell out of people with Shuckle. It takes hits like a champ and with STAB Rollout and Power Trick, it can pretty much dominate (at least on paper).

Karma (Wobbufett) @ Leftovers
Shadow Tag / Bold
EVs: 28 Hp / 232 Def / 248 SpDef
-Counter
-Mirror Coat
-Safeguard
-Encore

Pretty standard wallish thing. I felt as though it really fit into the team. Since it isn't Uber anymore, I really want to use it.

So that's about it. I feel as though it would probably tank in OU though. No bother though. I'm also not familiar with tiers anymore (I haven't played since DPP) so I'm not sure if this team fits into a lower tier or not.

My two concerns are:
1. I'm not taking advantage of all the switching. Stealth Rocks could be invaluable on this team, but I'm not sure who I should replace. I really don't want to give up anyone, but I will make changes if they are clearly better.

2. The Zoroark and Shedinja combo is great, except for when I realize Zoroark isn't immune to any of Shedinja's weaknesses. So perhaps something weak against Psychic would be a better partner?

Thanks! I know this team seems borderline insane, but I've always loved playing with weird teams. I use to run a BellyDrum Charizard team that, while I didn't win every time, was a blast to play with. I really based this team around Prankster, Illusion and Imposter, so please keep that in mind!

 

[SneaselFTW]

I'm sorry but thats all 6 pokemon. This thread is for making teams, improving sets ETC, but if you have a whole team, make an individual thread for it.

Dragonite (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake

Dragon Dance is boosting, Outrage is incredibly powerful+STAB, Fire Punch gets near-perfect coverage with Outrage, Earthquake hits everything else.

 

[jdawg94]

Hey, can anyone please help me? I'm trying to make a team of just three pokemon for random matchups, the PWT and so forth. I would like the pokemon to be from the OU tier, but I'm not sure which three would work the best or what their builds should be. Also, if dream world abilities could be avoided, that would be awesome. I don't really dabble in dream world

 

[OceanicLanturn]

I'm planning on using Lanturn in an OU Sand team, nowww.

Latty (Lanturn) @ Leftover
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Def / 216 SpD
Nature: Calm (+Sp. Def - Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave

Here's Lanturn's standard set in RU, and I plan on using it for OU as well. Lanturn is my prime counter to Rain Teams, with the ability to resist rain boosted water moves, soak up some thunders and taking on a resisted hurricane with no fear. This EV spread allows Lanturn to tank certain physical mons after a Scald's burn, as well as soak up special moves with ease. The main reason why Lanturn is used over the pink blobs (other than being pure cute) is the fact that it has a much more diverse move pool than Chansey, and a far better typing than both eggs. Volt Switch allows quick escape from pokemon that'd carry earthquake, Scald has a nifty chance to burn, allowing Lanturn to wall a few burned physical moves with ease. Ice Beam deals with some common Rain mons, such as Tornadus and Thundurus. Thunder Wave cripples an incoming sweeper and provides team support for slower pokemon.

Now, I'm thinking of Hippowdon over Tyranitar, to try and reduce the fighting weakness.

Hippo (Hippowdon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Imipish (+Def -Sp. Atk)
EVs: 252 Sp.Def / 252 HP / 4 Def
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang

Hippowdon is my sand setter and a mixed defensive pokemon. The EV Spread allows it to work on its weaker Sp. Def while still boasting impressive Defense stats, making it into a mixed tank. Slack Off is the recovery move of choice, being able to shrug off damage. Hippowdon will usually be my lead, placing a witty Stealth Rock. Earthquake is the STAB move of choice, and deals a surprise hit to Magic Bouncers like Espeon switching in. Ice Fang hits Gliscor, Salamence and Dragonite and other dragons. Salamence and Dragonite are especially crippled if they switch into Stealth Rock, ouch.

Can anyone suggest some good partners? I started wtih my weather + defense core (both have huge hp coincidentally), and I need partners that go well.

 

[hah30]

Tham gia choi game World of Warcraft mi?n phÃ* t?i http://www.player.vn/ d? tr?i nghi?m vÃ* t?n hu?ng game 3D s? 1 th? gi?i

 

[hah30]

Tham gia choi game World of Warcraft mi?n phÃ* t?i http://www.player.vn/ d? tr?i nghi?m vÃ* t?n hu?ng game 3D s? 1 th? gi?i

 

[GreenPepper]

Have a team I'm building for VGC'13 here:

Virizion@Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252HP, 252SpDef, 4SpAtk.
Nature: Calm (+SpDef, -Atk)
Giga Drain
Focus Blast
Synthesis
Protect

This is my specially defensive wall, it can take a Flamethrower and still be over half HP, and can still pack a punch with STAB Giga Drain and Focus Blast. It has pretty good defensive typing, too, and I usually lead with it as it can scout with Protect and isn't bothered by Intimidate.

Gyarados@Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 100HP, 210Atk, 100SpDef, 100Spe
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpAtk)
Waterfall
Ice Fang
Rest
Sleep Talk

This is my physical attacker. It supports the team with intimidate, and it can easily wall the ever-popular Fighting types. It is offensive, so it does a lot of damage with Waterfall, and can be very annoying with it's chance of flinch. It is bulky, so a Rest/Sleep Talk/Lum Berry combination is used to elongate it's life as much as possible.

Heatran@Air Balloon
Ability: Flash fire
EVs: 4Def, 252SpAtk, 252Spe
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Atk)
Heat Wave
Dark Pulse
Earth Power
Will-O-Wisp

This is my Special Sweeper. It takes a decent chunk out of anything that doesn't resist it, and it is very physically bulky. Heat Wave is it's STAB spread attack, and Dark Pulse is for Cresselia, and Earth Power is for type coverage, especially against other Heatran. The speed EVs allow it to outspeed every Heatran I've come across so far. Will-O-Wisp is to cripple physical attackers and get the ever-important residual damage on walls and bulky pokemon.

This is my team so far. It has had decent sucess, but it isn't finished. It seems to struggle with Thundurus, Zapdos and Cresselia a lot, all of which are very common. Any help would be appreciated.