With the next OU tour looking to be in August and my time in PL over, I figured I'd dump some teams that I had built. I wanted to talk about my thought process for each of the teams at least a little, so this post will be extremely long, since there are 9 different teams here. Think of this as 9 consecutive mini-RMTs. The teams will be listed in chronological order from when I had built the team, click the mons to see the Pokepaste
S/o fellow morbers (
igiveuponaname Skitty (Skittyrox) Boopi_Bappi Alley Cat Xilefi TyCarter) for playing and testing w/ me even when BDSP OU didn't have a ladder and only we played all those months
Pert Tar Balance:
One of the first teams I had built for OU (alongside the Choice Band Tyranitar teams from the previous post), I wanted to build teams with Tyranitar, on a whim. The set I gave it was the
Offensive Stealth Rocker, so I thought of Pokemon that supported Tyranitar well. Tyranitar is nice since it's a Stealth Rock setter that threatens common Defoggers (Scizor and Gliscor) with a 4x super effective attack. I personally don't like Fire Blast's miss chance, but getting the OHKO on Scizor is very nice to have.
First I wanted a Water and Ground-resist, so I went with
Poison Heal Breloom. With Poison Heal, Breloom still heals in Sandstorm and becomes a serious nuisance to defensive teams. Breloom is EV'd to outrun Adamant Azumarill and fire off its powerful STAB Seed Bomb. The rest of its EVs are used to enhance its bulk. This makes it very good at taking advantage of opposing Gliscor:
0 Atk Gliscor Earthquake vs. 108 HP / 8 Def Breloom: 61-72 (21.1 - 25%) -- possible 7HKO after Poison Heal
0 Atk Gliscor U-turn vs. 108 HP / 8 Def Breloom: 58-69 (20.1 - 23.9%) -- possible 8HKO after Poison Heal
Additionally, Breloom being Poison Heal means that Rotom-Wash detests seeing it, and it can outrun and hit it with the super effective STAB move to boot. Thus, teams that use Gliscor and Rotom-Wash to pivot around will find themselves in an uncomfortable situation when dealing with Breloom.
With Tyranitar holding Leftovers instead of an item that helps it check opposing Alakazam, I knew I'd need backup to deal with it and Weavile.
Scizor was the most condense solution, while also providing a Fairy-resist for Tyranitar and Breloom to fall back on. Unfortunately, it being a defensive set means that if I face off vs a Calm Mind Clefable, things can get hairy, but with the combination of Breloom's Spore and passive damage, I feel that can be played around.
I also wanted more of an instant threat for this team, so I went with
Specs Latias. Its resistances were helpful to have, as it was a secondary Water, Ground, and Fire resist, and also provided a nice resistance to Fighting. What's more, it responded with offense, instead of ceding momentum to the opponent.
For speed control, I went with
Scarf Rotom-Wash. It can provide switches to my team with Volt Switch, and also had Will-O-Wisp to continue putting on passive damage on the opponent. When I played this team on the ladder, I'd frequently just throw out Scarfed Wisps just to burn opposing threats for my team to capitalize on. For instance, burning an opposing Garchomp switch benefits Breloom and Scizor since they can take its attacks better.
Finally, I wanted a Ground-type so that I could absorb Electric moves from the opponent. I didn't want to leave myself too weak to Clefable and didn't want to use two teams that had Tyranitar, Scizor, Rotom-Wash and Gliscor, I tried
Swampert as the last Pokemon and it went OK. I think its slot could definitely be improved, as I don't really need two Stealth Rock setters on this team. Scald, Earthquake, and Protect are all fine moves to have, but sometimes I kinda wish I had Roar so that I could force residual damage on the opponent while also recovering some on my own.
The Breloom set on its own became one of my favorites, and this was one of my favorite teams to use for a while now. It doesn't have the sheer breaking power my other teams have, but it allows me to play more methodical and break down the opposing team with passive damage and smart switching.
Lead Aerodactyl Hyper Offense:
Probably the most evil team here, you need only see this to see why:
The idea of a Life Orb Crawdaunt in Tailwind probably still appears in the nightmares of the morbers that it has been unleashed upon. I would apologize to them but they've been banned from Smogon. Some would say the trauma from facing this led to their deterioration, leading them do an oopsie and become a banned deucer.
Anyway, this team is so bad into Clefable that it's legit a MU fish. I thought Lucario would be the savior into Clef that I needed but it just didn't mesh with Crawdaunt, Dragonite, and Blastoise. Maybe Doom Desire on Jirachi or something should be used to remedy that.
Wish Spam Balance:
At some point I got it into my head that Jirachi was the second-worst mon in OU (behind Donphan) and wanted to build around it to see how it would fare. I thus started with
Wish Calm Mind Jirachi to see what it could do. I deliberated about its last move and ultimately decided on Energy Ball for... some reason. Thunderbolt is probably just better overall but I guess I really hated Rotom-Wash for some reason.
I then went with
Specially Defensive Heatran so that it check opposing Clefable (since this Jirachi kinda thuds into Unaware Clef) and scout for Ghost coverage on opposing Psychic types. Additionally, it would benefit from Jirachi passing it Wishes so that it could stay healthy throughout the battle.
With two Steel types, I wanted recourse against Ground moves. I decided upon
Wish Clefable so that I would have double Wish support and also to be a good check into Garchomp and SD Gliscor. Flamethrower was the last move so that I could smack Scizor, though with Heatran and Jirachi's support, it honestly isn't that bad. I just wasn't sure about Calm Mind in the last slot and didn't know what else to put onto it.
Next, I wanted speed control, so I just went with
Scarf Garchomp. This one is mixed and has Fire Blast for Skarmory and Scizor, but in hindsight something like Poison Jab or Iron Head for Fairies is better since as it is, Banded Azumarill is a massive problem for this team. Other than that, the moves are standard.
For some power, I wented with
Band Staraptor. This thing is ludicrously strong, and only needs to come in one or two times to be a menace. In theory, I can pass Wish to it if I think my opponent will click Ground moves on Jirachi, but Staraptor is so frail that I've never attempted to do so. It's good to have to support my core that otherwise struggles with dealing immediate damage.
I realized that my last slot put me in a predicament: I needed a Water resist, and also hazard removal. After experimentation with Starmie and Blastoise, I took the suggestion of a friend and went with
Mantine, who's probably the biggest meme on this team. It's a good Wish recipient, and it's annoying to handle, though looking back, Defog Latias is a better replacement that isn't Stealth Rock weak, and also gets its weak matchup to Steel and Fairy alleviated by Heatran.
This team is really annoying for the opponent to break through, especially if their strategy relies on breaking through Heatran with repeated attackers or something like Calm Mind Latias. However, Mantine's presence (and the overall team construction) leaves me hesistant to call it the most consistent team here.
Mismagius Hazard Stack Balance:
The goal of this team was to lay down hazards and let my abusers go to work. I wanted to use
Hippowdon as my Stealth Rocker, since it had great longevity with Slack Off and set up Sandstorm to complement the hazards that I would be throwing down. It's not fully Physically Defensive, since I had heard that giving it some Special Defense gave it some flexibility in taking Special attacks, and the 4 moves are fairly explanatory. Maybe I could've dropped Whirlwind for something like Ice Fang for Gliscor, but Whirlwind was fine for me.
To complement Hippowdon, I went with
Roserade since it was a good Water-resist that also sets up Spikes. I went with a bulkier set on it so that it could take various attacks throughout the game. Aside from Sleep, Spikes, and Sludge Bomb, I went with Leech Seed as the last move since it pairs well with Sludge Bomb while forcing more passive damage on the opponent, as well as providing Roserade (and the rest of the team) some form of recovery.
Next, I wanted something that abused the Spikes that I would set down. From what understanding I had of old gens, the two best ways to abuse Spikes were Electric moves (since they target Flying-types), and Pokemon carrying switch moves. Fortunately, because Volt Switch exists, many Electric types can do both at the same time. I went with
Specs Raikou since it's the fastest Electric type available (outside of Scarfed Pokemon). I could run Leftovers on it instead of Specs so that I could actually switch moves while staying in, but Specs Volt Switch is also fine to work with.
I also needed something for Weavile and Alakazam, so
Scizor was a natural addition here. Its U-turn is also good for taking advantage of Spikes in the same way Volt Switch does for Raikou.
Now, spinblocking in BDSP OU is not common since there aren't great spinblockers to Starmie (not to mention that Defog is far more common), but I wanted to experiment with
Scarf Mismagius as my speed control since it has a nice speed tier (outruns Garchomp and base 100 Scarfers) and its Levitate ability gives me both a Ground immunity and lets it play in Spikes wars more courageously. Its last move is kinda up for debate; I went Energy Ball so that the team doesn't get super messed up by Crawdaunt, who doesn't care about Shadow Ball or Mystical Fire.
Finally, I wanted hazard control to support the bulkier Pokemon on the team. I didn't want to use Defog on Scizor since that would also remove the Spikes I wanted to set on my opponent's side of the field. Thus, that meant using Rapid Spin, and the best spinner in the game was
Starmie. I tweaked with Starmie's EVs for a while. At first I made it bulky, then I made it more offensive. In the end, it leans mostly offensive with a touch of bulk and it is fine.
Overall, this team can put a lot of pressure on the opponent, but can struggle with bulky setup sweepers since the team lacks a real wallbreaker, but it more so relies on hazards to make up for that. As a result, stuff like Gliscor can be annoying for this team but it isn't something that cannot be overcome (especially since Gliscor is generally passive enough to where it can be played around).
Sand Semi-Stall:
I wanted to run a more defensive Sand team that used the ultra-bulky
Hippowdon to stand in the way of opposing physical attackers. I wanted to use Hippowdon again since it was super bulky and was super reliable, though on this team, it wasn't supporting threatening attackers that played off its Sandstorm and hazards as well.
Next, I added
Tyranitar to act as a sceondary Sand setter. It also uses the offensive Rocks set, but I figured that with Hippo being the Rocker, Tyranitar had an open team slot which I used for Thunder Wave. It also holds a Chople Berry so that it can take Alakazam's Focus Blast and paralyze it. Funnily enough, this Tyranitar is only fast enough to outrun min Speed Scizor, so it will still get outrun by paralyzed Alakazam. That's probably an area where I could move EVs around to improve Tyranitar's efficacy.
The rest of the team are just Pokemon that I thought would fit well with Sandstorm. To a degree, I was correct, but my emphasis on giving the team longevity in Sandstorm made it passive and unable to check certain threats in the late game (for instance, that's why Latias is Scarf instead of something that would be more threatening).
Starmie is hazard control and a Water-resist in one slot,
Specially Defensive Skarmory is my primary Weavile and Alakazam check while also setting Spikes,
Specially Defensive Bulk Up Breloom is meant to boost through slower teams and also annoy Rotom-Wash, and
Scarf Latias is the all-in-one check to opposing attackers that the team desperately needs. In particular, earlier iterations of this team got ripped apart by 4 attacks Azelf and I realized that the team was a bit too passive.
Overall, the team has many points where it can be improved (namely Tyranitar, Starmie, and Breloom to an extent), and isn't the team I immediately reach to when choosing a team to load.
Life Orb Starmie Offense:
The first half of this team is promising. I wanted to build around
Life Orb Starmie since it's such a massive threat whenever I face it, and is also so fast that even the fast offense I like to bring tends to get ripped apart by it. Good luck switching into it with Latias when it has the Life Orb Hydro Pump, boosted by Analytic so it has a second Life Orb on top of it.
Scizor is solid on any team, and deals with the two Pokemon that naturally outrun Starmie: Weavile and Alakazam. Additionally, it helps that now Starmie doesn't need to deal with Latias on its own, since Scizor can come in and U-turn around it. Next, I wanted
Agility Petaya Empoleon, whose goal is to soak up one powerful STAB attack, or a weaker super effective attack, get into Petaya/Torrent range, and start blasting with Hydro Pump. It's an absolute monster of a set and the double Water assault is very fun to use.
However, I couldn't tell you what I was thinking with the back half of the team.
Alakazam,
4 Attacks Garchomp, and
Shuca Nidoqueen? I'm guessing that Shuca was for Gliscor and Garchomp, but they're not Pokemon that needed to get lured. Sash Zam is fine, but Life Orb is strictly better, and the two Water-types collectively get shut down by the numerous Water-resists of the tier. This team should probably entirely be redone, or just not be used if you want a team that can be consistent in serious battles.
TL;DR, don't use this team in its current state.
Triple Choice Offense:
I happened to build a very similar core to this when I first got into the tier, but I had just left it in my builder. One day I revisited it and noticed it had promise and decided to try tweaking it to get this.
The star of the team is
Specs Latias, which has a phenomenal offensive-defensive typing that allows it to spam its STABs all game long. Very little needs to be said, it takes advantage of Rotom-Wash and other Water-types quite nicely.
I then opted to overload a common counter to Latias, Scizor, with the combination of
Choice Band Weavile and
Calm Mind Clefable. Weavile handles opposing Psychics well while both handle Dragons well. I went Assurance on Weavile mostly because it was the funny STAB move, but Low Kick or Poison Jab could also help for opposing Clefable.
Speaking of, I went with a faster
Specially Defensive Heatran to handle Clefable, offensive Scizor, and to a lesser extent, Weavile. Its Speed investment is for Adamant max Speed Scizor (so that it can't Life Orb Brick Break my Heatran), plus a little bit of creep for opposing Heatran trying to hit the same target. Roar is my anti-Clefable move, as well as a general anti-setup move, and also lets Heatran force damage on opponents trying to switch into it. Earth Power is the last for opposing Heatran, and is the reason I've speed-crept other Heatran.
Celebi is the Scarfer, since I wanted a second Water-resist as well as something that could U-turn. Rotom-Wash fit the bill fine, but Celebi could also Healing Wish into Weavile or Latias, who get worn down by Stealth Rocks as they come in and out of the battle.
After doing some testing with earlier variations, I felt that the first 5 Pokemon were solid on their own, and I just wanted a bit more to beat down stall teams. I decided on
Focus Punch Nidoking since it was a wallbreaker that was also plenty fast on its own and could annoy Clefable (unlike something like CB Tyranitar or Crawdaunt which are slow and are tough to use vs offensive teams).
The core, to me, seems pretty standard so I had to think to give it some thought as to what it should be called (oh wow Specs Latios offense how creative), but I enjoy teams that don't give the opponent the opportunity to breathe and keep the pressure on.
Mixed Infernape Offense:
I built this team in order to use
Mixed Infernape, which is a very threatening attacker, even if the combination of Skarmory and Blissey isn't as popular. With good play, Infernape threatens nearly the entire tier with the combination of Fire Blast, Close Combat, and Grass Knot. The last slot is up for debate since there's no HP Ice for opposing Dragons. The last slot is a choice between U-Turn for smacking Starmie and Latias or Slack Off for a sustained assault.
Next, I wanted something that could handle Dragons that would use Ape as fodder for setup.
Clefable fit the bill. I also fitted it with a
Calm Mind set to make it more threatening to the opposing team.
Next, I needed a Stealth Rocker as well as a Water-resist.
Celebi did the job while also providing U-Turn for supporting Infernape. I went the fully offensive route with Psychic and Leaf Storm because a) Steel-types aren't the largest concern with this team and b) leaving a massive hole in cocky bulky Waters is useful for Ape to go to work.
However, switching into Heatran would be a concern, so I elected to go with a
Specially Defensive Rotom-Wash instead of the more common Physically Defensive set. This let it take attacks from Heatran more comfortably, as well as emergency hits from Alakazam, non-Specs Latias, and other Special Attackers. The last, Protect gives Rotom flexibility in stalling out turns (of weather perhaps), scout Choice, and get Leftovers recovery, though Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, and Thunder Wave are all considerations.
Next, Weavile is a massive pain for this core, so
Scizor was a must here. If you compare it to my prior teams, it's more physically bulky to handle those Weavile hits, though it can still take Psychic and Dragon attacks when needed.
Lastly, this team needed a Scarfer to handle opposing offense, so I just went with
Scarf Garchomp since it was the most solid Scarfer in the builder, and can check opposing Infernape.
This team is all about in-your-face aggression (with the Infernape that wears itself down and only one/two recovery moves on the team). It requires good prediction but it is super fun to destroy opposing teams with Infernape.
Power Herb Heatran Offense:
This team might be familiar to some attentive people. I built this team with help from
igiveuponaname and later passed to
Isza for the last week of BDSP PL. The focus of the team was the combination of
Power Herb Heatran trapping unsuspecting Water-types and Clefable for the benefit of
Dragon Dance Feraligatr. Heatran is running a Modest nature here so that it can OHKO max HP Starmie, as well as really stinging opposing Water-types in general once I pop the Beam. I figured that Timid Heatran wasn't super common anyway, so I was fine with not going with a +Speed nature. If anything needs to be changed, Flash Fire on Heatran is probably better than Flame Body since it won't have the longevity to try and proc it on attackers. I initially went with a Jolly nature on Feraligatr so that it would outrun the greatest number of opposing threats, but Isza modified it so that it would have a Naive nature and Ice Beam to hit Tangrowth (which did end up appearing). However, if you favor the strength of a +Attack nature then an Adamant or Naughty nature is preferred.
I followed up with
Scizor since Heatran wasn't defensive enough to handle Weavile and the Psychics, as well as providing U-turn support for the rest of the threats on my team.
Next was the dual-Dragon assault of
Calm Mind Latias and
Mixed Garchomp. Latias was good since she provided me a good switch-in to opposing Heatran and opposing Water-types. I went Leftovers on her over Soul Dew for more longevity, and I initially tried using Surf as my second attacking move to hit Heatran, but after testing I switched back to the second STAB move in Psychic for opposing Waters so that I wasn't forced to Draco to hurt them. I also needed a Stealth Rock setter here that also wasn't super annoyed by Rotom-Wash, so instead of something like Gliscor (which I'm not super fond of), I used Garchomp to put serious pressure into Rotom-Wash. The last move could definitely be something like Poison Jab or Stone Edge instead of Fire Blast, since my team isn't particularly weak to Skarmory, but the team also isn't particularly weak to Clefable or Togekiss either, and is mostly a matter of preference. I appreciate Garchomp's ability to weaken Clefable for the benefit of Feraligatr.
In the last slot, I wanted speed control, so I went with the same
Scarf Rotom-Wash as before: give it enough Speed to outrun opposing Jolly Feraligatr and give it some bulk.
This team was largely experimental, but I'm happy with the way it turned out, and gave me a good reflection of how my teambuilding skills had developed from when I had first got into the tier.