Metal...Gear?

[FSLAR]

Intro

I've had some interest in a few Pokes, namely a few from my last teams that I never got to really implement. It originally started out as a significantly more offensively based team with gyarados being the main attraction...but it didn't exactly work, so I then decided on a different team, while still retaining some of the parts of that team, namely Metagross and Swampert. Then it evolved into a team that mostly revolved around the former. While not exactly as good as my last team it works reasonably well.

Team Building

Originally this was a standard Metagross lead...Stealth Rock, Meteor Mash or Earthquake etc. Yet I didn't really like how limited this was. It could beat some leads with one set, some with another but never do both. So an attacking lead was utilized, but no Stealth Rock means I needed something else.

So I decided to with a good ole Swampert lead. They complement each other decently, and Swampert only has significant problems with Roserade leads, being the only one that can hit it for super effective damage.

Now a Poke I really wanted to utilize for this was Infernape. Infernape functions mostly as a wall breaker for this team but it can still punch holes in the opponent's team well, making the other teammate's sweep much easier.

Originally a Life Orb based Gengar, Roserade is the special sweeper of this team, while also providing some status support in Sleep Powder. Roserade's got great power in its STABS, despite how easily walled said STABs are. It also greatly covers for Swampert's Grass weakness. Only swapped out due to Sleep Powder and some of the resistances it provides.

Starmie is the Rapid Spinner of choice, even if this team doesn't exactly need it. It also cleans up teams late game pretty well and can take on other threats. The F/W/G core was unintentional but it still works well.

Flygon is the pseudo revenge killer of choice, while always taking out threats like Gyarados, Heatran and other things that always plague my teams...

In Depth

Attacking Lead

Metagross @ Lum Berry
Adamant Nature, 236 HP / 248 Atk / 20 Def / 4 Spe
-Meteor Mash
-Bullet Punch
-Earthquake
-Explosion

Metagross can always wreak havoc, so a lead set works good. My problem with the Stealth Rock lead was the lack of being able to take out certain leads. With just Meteor Mash, I'm at the mercy of Infernape and Heatran. With Earthquake, both can weakened greatly (with Bullet Punch, Ape can go down) but then Azelf and Aerodactyl are problems. So I took advantage of utilizing all 4 slots for coverage. Meteor Mash is for STAB and should Gross get the boost, put him in a greater position. Bullet Punch picks off anything weakened, Earthquake provides great coverage and Explosion takes any member of the opposing tam that does not resist it is not a ghost and did not 'Protect' against it. Lum Berry is used for status inducing leads, as an Occa berry sees merit only on Infernape leads since Heatran leads can use Earth Power.

Stealth Rock/Tank

Swampert @ Leftovers
Relaxed Nature, 240 HP / 216 Def / 52 SpD
-Stealth Rock
-Earthquake
-Avalanche
-Roar

Taking hits so well, and providing some resistances for the team, Swampert proves its worth. Swampert provides Stealth Rock after Metagross takes out opponent's, and can phaze the opponent if they're trying to set up with Roar. Earthquake is for STAB, while Avalanche provides good coverage and takes out Dragons. Waterfall could make it a decent substitute, though. Leftovers provides for standard recovery.

Wallbreaker/Physical Sweeper

Infernape @ Life Orb
Naive Nature, 252 Atk / 64 SpA / 192 Spe
-Close Combat
-U-Turn
-Stone Edge
-Overheat

Ape hits certain walls, like Blissey, Skarmory and the like, hard and takes them out. This enables everyone else to sweep more easily and even then, Ape can still sweep pretty well. Close Combat is incredibly powered up with the almost maxed out attack. U-Turn allows Ape to switch out to a counter (provided they are not faster) and maintain momentum, and also switch out after Overheat. Stone Edge helps round the coverage and can nail anything with intimidate on the switch for good damage. Overheat rounds out everything with a great STAB that even with 64 EVs, hits hard. Life Orb to increase damage.

Special Sweeper/Status Support

Roserade @ Life Orb
Timid Nature, 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
-Leaf Storm
-Sludge Bomb
-Hidden Power (Fire)
-Sleep Powder

Originally, this was a Life Orb Gengar. However I needed some status support. Though I can utilize a similar set on Gengar, Hypnosis has lower accuracy which fails a LOT and both provide similar resistances. (fighting, grass) Leaf Storm is a great STAB move that takes out Bulky waters (which can plague this team). Sludge Bomb provides good secondary STAB (could switch out, though) that has an added benefit of spreading poison. HP Fire nails Steel types trying to switch in. Sleep Powder neuters an opposing Poke. Life Orb increases damage.

Late Sweeper/Rapid Spinner

Starmie @ Life Orb
Timid nature, 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
-Hydro Pump
-Thunderbolt
-Ice Beam
-Rapid Spin

Though it may seem redundant to have two special sweepers, Starmie provides Rapid Spin support (despite the abundance of Stealth Rock resistances) and takes out weakened teams by storm. Hydro Pump is the powerful STAB of choice and hits hard. Thunderbolt nails water-types trying to switch in freely and Ice Beam nails Dragons and Grass types. Rapid Spin goes without saying. Life Orb increases damage output, as always.

Revenge Killer

Flygon @ Choice Scarf
Jolly nature, 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
-Earthquake
-Outrage
-U-Turn
-Thunderpunch

Flygon never lets me down, taking down the biggest threats for this team while also providing useful resistances and being a very good revenge killer. Earthquake is a great STAB move and takes down anything weak to it with ease. Outrage is great for late game if the opponent has no Steel types. U-Turn wears down the opponent pretty well, especially since Infernape also has U-Turn to make its use even better. Thunderpunch nails Gyarados very well, only failing to OHKO Bulky variants and can hit other water types lacking Ice Beam well. Choice Scarf enables it out to outspeed anything lacking a scarf of its own and makes a significant difference overall. Since Swampert tends to be Trick bait, Flygon can switch in with ease to take that trick well.

Outro
Being more offensively based and lacking a few support moves in comparison, this team does have more problems than my last one, but I did want to try out these Pokes and team and it works pretty well. I'm rather caught up with a few options, like Gengar or Roserade but it's decent.

 

[Windsong]

Honestly, this seems like one of those really nice and generic F/W/G/Dragon/Scarf/Filler (or something along those lines) teams that have been appearing ever since Salamence was banned, and honestly, this team is pretty solid; it doesn't really suffer from any specific weaknesses that aren't handled.

However, just a couple of thoughts; have you tried using an OU Leech Seed Venosaur, a set Vashta and Apologies both put to great use in a couple of teams a while back, and who's been growing in popularity lately? It can do the same job for the team as Roserade, but has considerably more bulk, which might make it worth it for you to consider using it. If you choose not to run it, then I do highly recommend running Leech Seed on Roserade, so as to hit Heatran switch ins before pivoting to one of your fire resists.

Sets and stuff:

Venosaur@Leftovers / Black Sludge
Calm | Overgrow
252 HP / 24 SpA / 176 SpD / 56 Spe

- Leech Seed
- Sleep Powder
- Leaf Storm/Grass Knot
- HP Fire/Sludge Bomb

 

[FSLAR]

I've used that Venusaur set before, and it works wonders, though I've never seen it on Pokemon Lab. Will consider it. Any other things, like going with a different attacking lead or anything?

 

[Aerrow]

Rating upon request. Hi there, FSLAR, it seems you've improved significantly since you lasted posted a RMT! This team looks pretty solid as of right now since its got the majority of both offensive and defensive threats covered (although you may need to tread carefully around offensive Metagross and Infernape), so I'll be sticking with a couple of move set/set changes which may prove to be beneficial. First of all, I'm going to recommend a couple of move set changes on Swampert; I think it would be better if you used ice beam over avalanche due to it having a higher base power and having a neutral priority. Also, seeing as your team doesn't boast many entry hazards, I don't see the use of Roar needed; replacing it with surf would probably be better as it makes Swampert slightly more offensively, fitting him more into your team's general strategy. Other than the nitpick on Swampert, there's not much left to suggest, except maybe Toxic Spikes or Spikes on Roserade which would help put a considerably higher amount of constant pressure upon the opponent, although, if you do decide to do this, you may be better off with keeping Roar on Swampert. I hope this rate has helped and good luck!

 

[MasterX]

you should change roserade's sleep powder to spikes/toxic spikes, because it works well with the roar on your swampert to get more damage on the opponent. Sleep powder also has a risky 75% accuracy one miss and the opponent can kill in return. You should also change the ev spread of your starmie, so it can take hits a little better well while rapid spinning and change the item to leftovers but you could keep life orb for more power but losing hp while using rapid spin isn't nice.

Starmie @ leftovers
Timid nature, 28 HP / 240 SpA / 240 Spe
-Hydro Pump
-Thunderbolt
-Ice Beam
-Rapid Spin

 

[FSLAR]

Suggestions taken into mind, I'll replace Avalanche with Ice Beam. Which spikes set is better for my team?

 

[Nosferalto]

Hi FSLAR,

Decent team, most threats are covered but I can see this team struggling against SD Lucario, LO Starmie and a mild stall weakness. I don't really want to change this team's whole structure so I'm going to suggest one Pokemon change that will alleviate those weaknesses and improve your team overall. I particularly dislike your current Roserade set, and I don't see it doing much for your team, so I'm going to recommend replacing it with Shaymin with 252 HP / 68 SpAtk / 188 Spe (Timid nature + Leftovers) and a moveset of: Seed Flare / Leech Seed / Protect / HP Fire. This will give your team a decent LO Starmie check, some insurance against SD Lucario thanks to its bulk and a useful weapon against stall, making sure you aren't worn too quickly.

As for minor changes, Mach Punch > U-turn seems like an excellent option to revenge kill SD Lucario, DD TTar, weakened Scarf Flygon, among many others, and will come in handy in some difficult situations.

gl!

 

[FSLAR]

I wouldn't entirely mind any other changes you have. As for stall....yeah. I hate stall and it usually gets me.

 

[hypervortex]

nosferalto is entirely correct. i find shaymin to be a much stronger weapon against stall than roserade, though tentacruel, heatran, celebi and skarmory pose problems, as an educated skarmory user will brave bird a shaymin, and after the protect heatran will come in without fear. you shouldn't be too concerned about heatran though as you have plenty that can take it out quickly.

as for another minor change, since your team is fairly indifferent to stealth rock, you should run a different move on starmie, especially if you decide to keep roserade (who can absorb toxic spikes). if you do keep roserade, you must give infernape mach punch because a +2 lucario will severely damage if not sweep you. it is worth noting that lucario cannot set up on anything but a choice-locked outrage (which still hurts) or thunderpunch (which hurts, and may paralyze).

good luck dude.

 

[Faladran]

Good team. I've got a couple of nitpicks to make, but nothing that should later the team drastically. First, I recommend Ice Beam > Avalanche on Swampert, because it's generally more reliable and useful for hitting physically defensive Pokemon like Gliscor. Second, Infernape would really benefit by having Mach Punch, preferably over Stone Edge. Mach Punch gives you a useful way to check Lucario, as well as finish off frail or weakened opponents. I also think that Leech Seed Venusuar would be a great fit over Roserade, but you could simply change Roserade's set to accomplish a similar task. Your current set is quite frail, so it doesn't function best at providing status and team support.

Good luck!

 

[DarthChocoboz]

a few quick suggestions are not to use life orb and rapid spin on starmie another is for ice beam on swampert in place of avalanche

the next is for fire blast on flygon to hit scizor and those ever annoying bulky grass types as you can't stay in with u-turn

the next is for stealth rock in place of explosion this is more of a preference as swampert is an excellent stealth sock set up poke

and the last is you have 3 life orbs and if they get up SR and even 2 layers if spikes it might really hurt so i would advise wish support but thats my style of play

 

[FSLAR]

Shaymin's been holding up better than Roserade. My only gripe is that unlike Venusaur, Shaymin cannot hold up too well against Scizor's U-Turns due to the weakness, in contrast to Venusaur's neutrality though Shaymin definitely pulls its weight.
I have plenty of answers for Scizor so a third fire type attack wouldn't work on Flygon. Flygon's also my answer to a Gyarados provided it does not Ice Fang on the switch. (which it has done well) The reason I do not carry Stealth Rock on Metagross is because the coverage is just too limited with only 3 moves and Explosion is always good for taking out a wall I can't get rid of (Like Swampert if Shaymin has fallen, Blissey if I lack Ape)
As for Wish support I was considering Vaporeon since Starmie can fall prey to U-Turns, and use a similar set to Starmie's while having less weaknesses.