Hello! I'm completely new to the SM OU metagame, so most of my movesets for my team members are from Smogon with a few exceptions. I'm not sure how to make my team blend very cohesively, so if you could provide any suggestions I'd really appreciate it! I'd only played Monotype before and so finding coverage and the right movesets on a more diverse team has proven to be difficult.
King (Ferrothorn) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 24 Def / 232 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
My hazard setter, along with a tank with Leech Seed in case I find a particular Pokemon too tricky. Spikes are what I set up first if my opponents resist Stealth Rock and vice versa. Gyro Ball is just there, I guess, to prevent total uselessness against struggle. It hasn't come in handy much, but that's fine since I didn't want King as an offensive Pokemon anyways. The problem with Ferrothorn is that 1/3 times my opponent will have one too, and I don't have many setup or hazard clearing moves on my other team members, so that's one flaw. Otherwise, King comes in handy the majority of the time, but if for some reason I don't use it for setting up hazards, I usually don't have an opportunity to send him in until late game, at which point it's kind of useless to.
Koga (Greninja) (M) @ Waterium Z
Ability: Protean
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Gunk Shot
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Ice Beam
Koga comes in handy since he's the fastest member on my team, and thanks to a big range of moves I usually KO at least 1 or 2 pokemon with him. Hydro Pump is for my main source of damage, Gunk Shot for fairies, HP Fire for unconventional circumstances or when I want to surprise someone, and then Ice Beam is coverage against Grass and Dragon types. Koga is definitely frail but he's good for dishing out damage.
Aurora (Magearna) @ Fairium Z
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shift Gear
- Calm Mind
- Fleur Cannon
- Focus Blast
Magearna is absolutely unstoppable once you set up Calm Mind and Shift Gear, but that takes a whole two turns in which case I can left vulnerable for someone with a fire or ground move to switch in -- earthquake especially hurts, since it's so common and Magearna can't raise its defense. Otherwise, though, as long as I bring it in late enough so that it can set up relatively painlessly, I can essentially sweep anything. My only qualm would be that although good for countering some of Magearna's weaknesses, Focus Blast is so unreliable. It's mostly just my luck but for me it only hits about half the time.
Tidepod (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
I put RotomW here since I wanted flying type coverage, and it's okay but considering I have 2 other more-useful water types on my team, I'm considering switching him out into either something else that can check flying pokemon or adding rock/electric coverage to some other pokemon on my team. It's useful to switch into fire moves with, but I probably picked the wrong moves on it because it hasn't come in handy too much.
Maura (Dragonite) (F) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Fly
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed
My favorite team member! With Dragon Dance, Supersonic Skystrike OHKO's essentially anything. Extreme Speed is also a handy move, and so is Earthquake. It's fun to switch into Electric-types and surprise them with setting off an Earthquake. I really enjoy having this Pokemon on my team and want to use it more in the future,
Estrelle (Toxapex) (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic
I've used a few Pokemon on this team that I've switched out for certain reasons -
- LandoT: Besides being on everyone's teams already, it's really slow without choice scarf (I really don't like using choice items and prefer type-boosting items and life orbs) and I can already run Earthquake on Maura anyways.
- Heatran: It's incredibly powerful. But it's also ridiculously susceptible to Earthquake, which a lot of physical attackers have. I have tried using an Air Balloon, but although having a Fire type was nice, it was kind of hard to use and only having 1 invincible turn isn't to my liking. Please try and change my mind, though, because I have seen Heatran being used very well.
I know Ferrothorn is already sort of my tank, but while Leech Seed technically counts as recovery, I wanted to add Toxapex to be able to poison and stall out any potential powerful pokemon I might face. Surprisingly on a team of half water types, Estrelle fits in very well, although I can't say she's a powerful attacker.
If you would like to switch out any Pokemon (besides Dragonite, I really like her), I not only allow it but encourage it. I'd like to fit Defog, Taunt and Heal Bell on my team, but I can't do that without remaking it entirely, so other than Defog being added (I'm pretty susceptible to hazards) these moves are second priority to having a team which works together a little bit better. I can't say this team is bad at all after having used it for a little while, but if a few Pokemon get taken out I'm essentially walled quickly since I have two non-offensive tanks and 3 pokemon who share a type. (Should I remove a water type? Probably.) If you have any ideas about what I should change or remove in terms of moves or Pokemon, please let me know.
King (Ferrothorn) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 24 Def / 232 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
My hazard setter, along with a tank with Leech Seed in case I find a particular Pokemon too tricky. Spikes are what I set up first if my opponents resist Stealth Rock and vice versa. Gyro Ball is just there, I guess, to prevent total uselessness against struggle. It hasn't come in handy much, but that's fine since I didn't want King as an offensive Pokemon anyways. The problem with Ferrothorn is that 1/3 times my opponent will have one too, and I don't have many setup or hazard clearing moves on my other team members, so that's one flaw. Otherwise, King comes in handy the majority of the time, but if for some reason I don't use it for setting up hazards, I usually don't have an opportunity to send him in until late game, at which point it's kind of useless to.
Koga (Greninja) (M) @ Waterium Z
Ability: Protean
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Gunk Shot
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Ice Beam
Koga comes in handy since he's the fastest member on my team, and thanks to a big range of moves I usually KO at least 1 or 2 pokemon with him. Hydro Pump is for my main source of damage, Gunk Shot for fairies, HP Fire for unconventional circumstances or when I want to surprise someone, and then Ice Beam is coverage against Grass and Dragon types. Koga is definitely frail but he's good for dishing out damage.
Aurora (Magearna) @ Fairium Z
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shift Gear
- Calm Mind
- Fleur Cannon
- Focus Blast
Magearna is absolutely unstoppable once you set up Calm Mind and Shift Gear, but that takes a whole two turns in which case I can left vulnerable for someone with a fire or ground move to switch in -- earthquake especially hurts, since it's so common and Magearna can't raise its defense. Otherwise, though, as long as I bring it in late enough so that it can set up relatively painlessly, I can essentially sweep anything. My only qualm would be that although good for countering some of Magearna's weaknesses, Focus Blast is so unreliable. It's mostly just my luck but for me it only hits about half the time.
Tidepod (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
I put RotomW here since I wanted flying type coverage, and it's okay but considering I have 2 other more-useful water types on my team, I'm considering switching him out into either something else that can check flying pokemon or adding rock/electric coverage to some other pokemon on my team. It's useful to switch into fire moves with, but I probably picked the wrong moves on it because it hasn't come in handy too much.
Maura (Dragonite) (F) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Fly
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed
My favorite team member! With Dragon Dance, Supersonic Skystrike OHKO's essentially anything. Extreme Speed is also a handy move, and so is Earthquake. It's fun to switch into Electric-types and surprise them with setting off an Earthquake. I really enjoy having this Pokemon on my team and want to use it more in the future,
Estrelle (Toxapex) (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic
I've used a few Pokemon on this team that I've switched out for certain reasons -
- LandoT: Besides being on everyone's teams already, it's really slow without choice scarf (I really don't like using choice items and prefer type-boosting items and life orbs) and I can already run Earthquake on Maura anyways.
- Heatran: It's incredibly powerful. But it's also ridiculously susceptible to Earthquake, which a lot of physical attackers have. I have tried using an Air Balloon, but although having a Fire type was nice, it was kind of hard to use and only having 1 invincible turn isn't to my liking. Please try and change my mind, though, because I have seen Heatran being used very well.
I know Ferrothorn is already sort of my tank, but while Leech Seed technically counts as recovery, I wanted to add Toxapex to be able to poison and stall out any potential powerful pokemon I might face. Surprisingly on a team of half water types, Estrelle fits in very well, although I can't say she's a powerful attacker.
If you would like to switch out any Pokemon (besides Dragonite, I really like her), I not only allow it but encourage it. I'd like to fit Defog, Taunt and Heal Bell on my team, but I can't do that without remaking it entirely, so other than Defog being added (I'm pretty susceptible to hazards) these moves are second priority to having a team which works together a little bit better. I can't say this team is bad at all after having used it for a little while, but if a few Pokemon get taken out I'm essentially walled quickly since I have two non-offensive tanks and 3 pokemon who share a type. (Should I remove a water type? Probably.) If you have any ideas about what I should change or remove in terms of moves or Pokemon, please let me know.
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