Greencat Posted April 18, 2009 Posted April 18, 2009 (edited) Pokémon Team Building Guide - Guide Created From: Silent Storm Welcome to the guide! This guide will cover everything you need to know about team building and the statics of a Pokémon and how they be modified. We hope you enjoy the guide and be sure to read the EV Training Guide for more info on how you can make the most of the Pokémon's stats. Movesets I take it you know what movesets are so there is no point explaining what they are. When deciding a moveset you have to consider the fact that you can't have two moves of the same types unless its a power up move or a move like Spikes or whirlwind. You also have to consider that the moveset should be varied to take down a good selection of Pokemon. Take this moveset of an Infernape as an example. Earthquake Grass knot Close combat Flare blitz. This is a standard moveset for a competitive Infernape. Flare blitz and close combat cover a fair majority of Pokemon, mostly common Pokemon used in this generations teams. The moveset is a mixed sweeper moveset, so it can take down a a good selection of Pokemon without too much trouble. Earthquake takes down electric, ground, rock and steel Pokemon, Grassknot takes down the likes of water Pokemon and works effective with heavy Pokemon like Snorlax. Close combat takes down rock, ground, steel and normal Pokemon, and with a hasty nature, defense being lowered while using it is not important. However, movesets are dependent on the natures, a topic that I will cover later in this guide. IV's A Pokemon has 6 stats: - HP - Atk - Def - Sp. Atk - Sp. Def - Spd And every Pokemon gets a random Individual value (consider it an extra bonus) ranging from 0 to 31. (to get an idea of the individual values of a Pokemon JUST BORN you can use two methods, leveling up to at least lvl 20 with rare candies or using the day care, IT NEEDS TO LEVEL UP WITHOUT FIGHTING OR GETTING EXPERIENCE OF ANY FIGHT = no exp.share, and using an IV calculator like the one at Serebii.net) Getting a 0 doesn't mean it's bad, but you're not getting any extra push that could mean victory or defeat... so people aims to get better values on their Pokemon by catching, trading or random breeding the Pokemon they want. But there's an option to at least make it easier. Breeding helps to inherit or "pass down" some of those individual values from the parents to the babies. This is an example (showing stat/IV) Male: HP/31 Atk/16 Def/30 Sp.Atk/2 Sp.Def/31 Spd/20 Female: HP/11 Atk/30 Def/0 Sp.Atk/25 Sp.Def/31 Spd/29 Let's say this Pokemon will be a defensive wall, the Sp.Def on both parents is 31, they can reach the highest value on Sp.Def, and look.. the father has also the highest HP and a very good Def. so we'll be aiming to get those 3 values inherited... the HP and Def of the male and the SP.def of the female... Why only 3? There's a rule for IV breeding; 3 of the IV's of the baby will be inherited from the parents at random and the other 3 will be totally random, so it still be a matter of luck... only that you have a higher chance now of getting the combination needed. Getting the right 3 values can take a long time and lots of rejected babies but you don't need to aim for perfection.. you can use the better babies you get if you get tired. In Pokemon Emerald there was a guy who evaluated your Pokemon by their IV's but now each Pokemon has a little flavor text on their summary Here's the different options and the range of values they cover: Reveal hidden contents HP: Loves to eat (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30) Often dozes off (1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, 31) Often naps (2, 7, 12, 17, 22, 27) Scatter things often (3, 8, 13, 18, 23, 28) Likes to relax (4, 9, 14, 19, 24, 29) Attack: Proud of its power (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30) Likes to trash about (1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, 31) A little quick tempered (2, 7, 12, 17, 22, 27) Likes to fight (3, 8, 13, 18, 23, 28) Hot tempered (4, 9, 14, 19, 24, 29) Defense: Sturdy body (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30) Capable of taking hits (1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, 31) Highly persistent (2, 7, 12, 17, 22, 27) Good endurance (3, 8, 13, 18, 23, 28) Good perseverence (4, 9, 14, 19, 24, 29) S.attack: Highly curious (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30) Mischievous (1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, 31) Thoroughly cunning (2, 7, 12, 17, 22, 27) Often lost in thought (3, 8, 13, 18, 23, 28) Very finicky (4, 9, 14, 19, 24, 29) S. Defense: Strong willed (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30) Somewhat vain (1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, 31) Strongly defiant (2, 7, 12, 17, 22, 27) Hates to lose (3, 8, 13, 18, 23, 28) Somewhat stubborn (4, 9, 14, 19, 24, 29) Speed: Likes to run (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30) Alert to sounds (1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, 31) Impetuous and silly (2, 7, 12, 17, 22, 27) Somewhat of a clown (3, 8, 13, 18, 23, 28) Quick to flee (4, 9, 14, 19, 24, 29) the ones in bold contain the highest value of 31... so you should aim for those and check with the calculator if theyare indeed 31's... cause they can be of a lower value btw... the message appears depending on the HIGHEST IV the pokemon has, but if it has more than 1 value at 31, the message will be chosen at random form them (a 31 hp 31atk pokemon can say either "often dozes off" or "likes to trash about" for example) Hidden Power Hidden Power is move where its power and type are dependent on the IVs, this move becomes very useful in the field of battle when you get the type and power you want. To calculate the type and power of HP look at the time below. Quote The calculation for HP is: HP Type = (T1 + T2 + T3 +T4 + T5 + T6) * 15 / 63 If IV of Hit Points is odd, then T1 = 1. If IV of Attack is odd, then T2 = 2. If IV of Defense is odd, then T3 = 4. If IV of Speed is odd, then T4 = 8. If IV of Special Attack is odd, then T5 = 16. If IV of Special Defense is odd, then T6 = 32. Here's the table: If HP Type = 0, then the type is Fighting. If HP Type = 1, then the type is Flying. If HP Type = 2, then the type is Poison. If HP Type = 3, then the type is Ground. If HP Type = 4, then the type is Rock. If HP Type = 5, then the type is Bug. If HP Type = 6, then the type is Ghost. If HP Type = 7, then the type is Steel. If HP Type = 8, then the type is Fire. If HP Type = 9, then the type is Water. If HP Type = 10, then the type is Grass. If HP Type = 11, then the type is Electric If HP Type = 12, then the type is Psychic. If HP Type = 13, then the type is Ice. If HP Type = 14, then the type is Dragon. If HP Type = 15, then the type is Dark. Or if you like taking the easy and effective route, then use MetalKid's calculatorhttp://www.metalkid.info/Pokemon/OnlineProgram/Calculators/HiddenPower.aspx Remember the higher the IVs, the stronger Hidden Power is: Quote Power = (HP + Atk + Def + Spe + Sp.Atk + Sp.Def) * (40 / 63) + 30 NaturesLike EV's and movesets, Natures are vital when you are preparing a good balanced team. These are the natures. Ok by following this, if I get a snorlax with a Adamant nature, I will EV train it with 252 attack evs. 252 defense evs and 4 hit points evs, focusing on attack EVs most cause of the nature. If you don't get the nature you want the first time, re breeding helps (or if its a one off Pokemon like Rotom, soft resetting helps cause Natures are random, hopefully it won't come to that if you are lucky.) Hold items Hold items are also important, cause they can either power up the stats of your Pokemon, or lower the stats of your opponents Pokemon. Hold items can either work in battle or outside of battle, but I am talking about in battle in this guide. So say I have a Snorlax and it has a rest move, I would have it hold a Lum berry so that when it uses rest, Lum Berry effect is that when the Pokemon holding the item is affect by any status affecting moves it will automatically heal the Pokemon. Seeing as rest makes the user sleep, it will heal the user's status, maing it a +1 on your side, and a -1 on the opponent's side. Leftovers is another common hold item, it heals the Pokemon by a bit while battling. Using it with a defensive will make it annoying as hell to beat, especially if you fighting a Blissy or Snorlax. To find out about the different kinds of hold items, check the site's new Pokedex from SCV! To sum it up, to build a competitive team, you are going to have to consider IV's, EV's, Natures, movesets and hold items. Also, I wanted to talk about egg moves, but there is not really much to say, just look on Serebii for egg moves. http://www.serebii.net/index2.shtml Tip - By catching a ditto with an adamant or jolly nature, giving it an Everstone and breeding it with the Pokemon you want to train will give the egg Pokemon the nature of the Ditto. Same applies to female versions of Pokemon. Type Chart Links - Under Construction - Threats In The Game Reveal hidden contents ---Heatran--- Heatran is one of the most common Pokémon in the OU metagame, and for a good reason. It has a long list of resistances thanks to its great defensive typing and the defenses to abuse them. It also has an astounding 130 base Special Attack and the Flash Fire ability, which makes Heatran a sturdy and powerful attacking force or a strong and resilient defensive Pokémon depending on what set Heatran is running. No matter what it's running, Heatran is a Pokémon that has a huge impact on the metagame and must be taken into account when building any serious OU team. Heatran @ Choice Scarf Trait: Flash Fire EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef) - Fire Blast / Flamethrower - Earth Power - Hidden Power [ice] - Explosion / Stealth Rock / Toxic "ScarfTran" is the most popular of Heatran's movesets and easily one of the most effective. With a Choice Scarf equipped, Heatran makes the ultimate revenge killer, taking out threats like Lucario, Scizor, Heracross, and Outraging Salamence with ease. Heatran still hits fairly hard as well, so frail teams can really take a beating if they are too careless. Explosion is a last second attack that can severely damage or knock out most of Heatran's counters, and thanks to its Choice Scarf, Heatran will usually be able to blow itself up before being KOed by its opponent, which makes it incredibly scary when it's about to faint. Countering ScarfTran is not very difficult, as its moves will not be boosted unless it gets a Flash Fire boost. Bulky waters like Suicune, Swampert, and Vaporeon all combat Heatran effectively, and standard special walls like Blissey and Snorlax also get the job done. However, Explosion will take a huge chunk of health from all of these Pokémon, so proceed with caution, or you could lose your special wall for the rest of the match. Porygon2 is a smart choice thanks to Trace, which allows it to absorb Heatran's STAB attack. Heatran @ Choice Specs Trait: Flash Fire EVs: 40 HP / 216 Spd / 252 SAtk Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk) - Fire Blast / Overheat - Earth Power - Hidden Power [Grass] - Dragon Pulse / Flamethrower Choice Specs Heatran isn't nearly as popular as ScarfTran, but it packs a far greater punch at the expense of its high Speed. With a Flash Fire boost, Fire Blast will begin to overpower even the likes of Swampert, which illustrates just how scary this set can be. Hidden Power Grass deals with ScarfTran's bulky water counters while Earth Power deals with opposing Heatran and Tentacruel. Heatran boasts a lot of power and excellent coverage with this set, which makes it a very potent threat. It can also come in on many popular Pokémon thanks to its many resistances and solid defenses. Finding a safe way to deal with Choice Specs Heatran is a difficult task. Blissey and Snorlax still work very well, especially the latter with access to Earthquake and its Thick Fat ability. Porygon2 takes a lot from Earth Power, but it remains a solid choice. While bulky waters will take a fair amount of damage from Earth Power and will be 2HKOed at worst by Hidden Power Grass, they remain decent switch-ins as long as they avoid it. Gyarados and Salamence work, but the latter is weak to Dragon Pulse and both have to worry about Stealth Rock damage piling up, so they aren't good long-term solutions. ---Salamence--- Salamence is easily one of the most threatening sweepers in the OU tier. With 135 base Attack and 110 base Special Attack, it can hit hard from both sides of the attacking spectrum very hard. Not only that, but Salamence's typing makes it even better, as dragon is an incredible offensive and defensive type. Salamence has pretty darn good defenses given its power, and Intimidate helps even more. Salamence also has a great movepool filled with attacks like Dragon Dance, Outrage, Draco Meteor, and Roost. Salamence has the tools to abuse several strategies, making it a versatile and potent threat that can destroy any team. Salamence @ Life Orb Trait: Intimidate EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Naughty / Naive Nature - Dragon Dance - Outrage - Earthquake - Fire Blast / Dragon Claw / Stone Edge "DDMence" is arguably Salamence's most destructive set. After a Dragon Dance, Outrage rips through just about every Pokémon that is not a steel-type. Earthquake and Fire Blast take care of those Pokémon, which makes DDMence a tough Pokémon to beat without taking a beating first. Sometimes trainers will forgo Life Orb in favor of Yache Berry, which can spell doom for counters that operate under the assumption that their Ice Beam will always OHKO Salamence. Bulky waters take a lot of damage from Outrage, but their Ice Beams will knock out Salamence. Porygon2 is a great choice, as Trace reflects Intimidate back at Salamence while Porygon2 can OHKO Salamence with Ice Beam too. Ice Fang Hippowdon does a decent job countering DDMence, but MixMence and SpecsMence will decimate it, so proceed with caution. Cresselia and defensive Mesprit also work, as does a defensive Celebi with Hidden Power Ice. Salamence @ Life Orb Trait: Intimidate EVs: 80 Atk / 176 Spd / 252 SAtk Rash / Mild Nature - Draco Meteor - Fire Blast - Brick Break - Roost "MixMence" has been a staple Salamence set for a long time, and it is still a potent mixed sweeper capable of severely damaging stall teams. Its usefulness isn't just limited to stall breaking, as Draco Meteor will hurt sweepers a lot more than it will hurt walls and tanks. This allows MixMence to remain a powerful force in the fast-paced OU metagame. With Fire Blast and Brick Break beating Pokémon that wall Draco Meteor and Roost healing Life Orb recoil, Stealth Rock damage, and any other damage taken, MixMence will stick around for a long time too, and it will still dish out a lot of damage. Cresselia and Milotic make solid counters, and Vaporeon with enough Special Defense to weather two Draco Meteors also works. Tentacruel works, but Draco Meteor really hurts and it has no recovery. Predicting when it will Draco Meteor is usually key, as it is far less threatening with +2 Special Attack. Salamence @ Life Orb Trait: Intimidate EVs: 84 Atk / 208 Spd / 216 SAtk Mild Nature (+SAtk, -Def) - Draco Meteor - Earthquake - Fire Blast - Outrage This is a variation of the previous set. With Outrage, Salamence still beats standard special walls that wall Draco Meteor while Earthquake and Fire Blast beat up steel-types. It'll have to worry about Stealth Rock damage a lot more though, as it lacks Roost to regain health. Life Orb recoil also takes its toll, but this version of MixMence hits a little harder in return, and it takes advantage of Salamence's STAB Outrage. Cresselia is really one of the only reliable counters. Like with the first MixMence variant, predicting when it will use Draco Meteor is key, as it is far less threatening with no powerful special attacks backing it up. It can also be revenge killed by something faster when it is using Outrage. Salamence @ Choice Band Trait: Intimidate EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Naughty / Adamant Nature - Outrage - Aqua Tail - Fire Blast / Fire Fang - Earthquake / Dragon Claw / Stone Edge Much like Choice Band Garchomp did before its ban, "CBMence" will net a 2HKO at worst on every single Pokémon in the OU metagame that lacks steel typing given Stealth Rock is in play, making it an immediate threat to any team. Aqua Tail and Earthquake are safer options against many of the walls that lose to Outrage, while Fire Blast takes care of steel-types that get in the way. The good news is that Stealth Rock takes away 25% of Salamence's health every time it switches in, so it doesn't last too long. There are no counters for CBMence besides Porygon2. If you don't have Porygon2, try to outpredict it and try to revenge kill it when it's locked into Outrage. Salamence has a lot of problems with Stealth Rock though, and combined with the damage it takes from your Pokémon switching in, CBMence will get worn down in no time. Weavile and Mamoswine can revenge kill Salamence with Ice Shard. Salamence @ Choice Specs Trait: Intimidate EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk) - Draco Meteor - Dragon Pulse - Flamethrower - Hydro Pump "SpecsMence" was the most common Salamence set in the earlier days of DP, but soon fell from grace, as Blissey walled it too easily. While SpecsMence still has problems with Blissey, it will usually surprise your opponent and do a ton of damage to the initial switch-in. Even when your opponent knows that your Salamence is a SpecsMence, its powerful Draco Meteor makes it tough to deal with anyway. SpecsMence also has trouble with Stealth Rock, though. Blissey is the best counter, and a special defensive Empoleon also gets the job done. Snorlax takes a lot from Draco Meteor and so does a special defensive Cresselia, but both can wall SpecsMence fairly effectively. Like with CBMence, SpecsMence gets worn down by Stealth Rock damage fairly quickly, which helps in getting rid of it. ---Scizor--- Scizor is a huge threat with Technician, STAB-boosted Bullet Punch as well as Swords Dance and Superpower at its disposal. Scizor is very bulky with pretty decent defensive typing, which makes it a very resilient sweeper. It also has very high Attack and threatens to pass stat-up boosts with Baton Pass, though it is most threatening as a CBer or SD sweeper. Not only that, but Scizor also can make great use of Pursuit and can Roost off Life Orb recoil if it wants to. Scizor can also scout with a Choice Banded U-Turn while doing a lot of damage in the process. Scizor has many things going for it that make it into a powerful Pokémon that cannot be ignored. Scizor @ Life Orb Trait: Technician EVs: 32 HP / 252 Atk / 224 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Swords Dance - Bullet Punch - X-Scissor - Brick Break Swords Dance Scizor is a very common and potent threat. After a Swords Dance, Bullet Punch does incredible amounts of damage to all kinds of Pokémon, including a few that actually resist the attack. X-Scissor is Scizor's way of hurting waters while Brick Break deals with steel-types. Technician is what really helps Scizor shine, as the power boost to Bullet Punch is always welcome. Scizor is an even bigger threat on Rain Dance teams thanks to the rain halving the power of fire-type attacks that so often hold Scizor back. Defensive Zapdos is a good choice thanks to Heat Wave, and Gyarados is another solid choice. A defensive Salamence with Flamethrower also counters Scizor with no problem, and Skarmory can Whirlwind it away, though it can't do any real damage to Scizor. As long as it avoids Brick Break and can outspeed Scizor (and it usually can), Heatran is a decent switch-in. Magnezone can trap and kill Scizor every time with a Choice Scarf, but it can't switch in risk-free. Scizor @ Choice Band Trait: Technician EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Bullet Punch - U-Turn - Superpower / Brick Break - Pursuit Choice Band Scizor is more of an immediate threat than SD Scizor, and it has some very interesting uses. Pursuit (which is boosted by Technician) will decimate ScarfGar and other Choice Scarfers on the revenge kill assuming they aren't using an attack that will knock out Scizor. U-Turn provides a solid STAB attack that is very useful for scouting on top of doing damage, and Bullet Punch (also boosted by Technician, obviously) gives Scizor some revenge killing capabilities. Superpower wastes Heatran and Blissey in one hit. Choice Band Scizor is generally powerful and is a force that any team should be prepared for. The same things that counter the SDer will counter the CBer, only Heatran and Magnezone are much harder to switch in safely, and the latter can be escaped thanks to U-Turn. Many physical walls and bulky waters are relatively safe switch-ins, but Scizor can usually slam them pretty hard with U-Turn, Superpower, or even Bullet Punch before switching out. ---Tyranitar--- Tyranitar is one of the best Pokémon in the OU tier, hands-down. Its STAB Stone Edge rips apart everything that doesn't resist it, including bulky physical walls like Skarmory. It can use Dragon Dance to boost its mediocre Speed as well. Tyranitar is also very bulky thanks to 100 base HP, 110 base Defense, and 100 base Special Defense which is boosted by 150% by Sandstorm. This allows Tyranitar to come in on several Pokémon despite its long list of weaknesses. There isn't much that can stop Tyranitar from rampaging through a team. Tyranitar @ Choice Band Trait: Sand Stream EVs: 176 HP / 252 Atk / 80 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Stone Edge - Crunch - Pursuit - Aqua Tail / Earthquake / Focus Punch "CBTar" uses its two high-powered STAB attacks to punish the OU metagame, while Pursuit will trap and kill Pokémon like ScarfGar and Rapid Spin Starmie. In the last slot, Aqua Tail decimates would-be counters like Hippowdon and Gliscor while doing a number on Lucario and bulky fighting-types. Earthquake and Focus Punch are sometimes used instead of Aqua Tail to better deal with said bulky fghiting-types and the dangerous Lucario. With Aqua Tail, the only safe counters to CBTar are Machamp, Hariyama and Hitmontop. Everything else is at least 2HKOed by something Tyranitar can throw at them. Tyranitar @ Life Orb / Leftovers Trait: Sand Stream EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk) - Dragon Dance - Crunch - Stone Edge - Fire Punch / Aqua Tail "DDTar" attempts to fix Tyranitar's only low stat, which is its Speed. After a Dragon dance, it will outpace base 110 Speed Pokémon like Gengar. It is normally sent out in the later stages of the match when its counters are weakened and its combination of bulk and power will allow it to overpower the opponent. Tyranitar isn't even OHKOed by Scizor's Bullet Punch, which shows how much of a beating it can take. Hippowdon and Gliscor make good counters if Tyranitar is carrying Fire Punch, while Bronzong is a great counter for the DDTar that run Aqua Tail. Machamp, Hariyama, and Hitmontop make solid counters as well, though the latter two get worn down by Sandstorm due to their lack of recovery outside of Rest, which is rarely seen on either of the two. ---Gyarados--- Gyarados might be weak to Stealth Rock, but its great list of resistances and even greater movepool more than make up for this. Gyarados can set up and sweep thanks to Dragon Dance and good attacking options in Waterfall, Earthquake, Stone Edge, and Ice Fang. Gyarados also has the ability to Taunt status and PHazing attempts, though it rarely tried to anymore given the fast-paced nature of the metagame and the lack of Pokémon that can hurt Gyarados with those strategies. Gyarados @ Life Orb Trait: Intimidate EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Dragon Dance - Waterfall - Earthquake / Ice Fang - Stone Edge / Ice Fang Gyarados makes for one powerful sweeper thanks to Dragon Dance. With only one Dragon Dance under its belt, almost nothing can withstand two attacks from Gyarados. Gyarados also has very good coverage with this set, which allows it to hit everything in the OU metagame for at least neutral damage. Waterfall's flinch chance can spell doom for slow walls that would otherwise stop Gyarados as well, which makes it an even bigger threat. Luckily, its 4x weakness to electric-type attacks makes Gyarados less of a pain to handle. Vaporeon and Suicune that have heavy EV investments in Defense and Hidden Power Electric will do the trick, but they will take a lot of damage in the process. Porygon2 probably the most reliable counter thanks to Trace throwing Intimidate back at Gyarados and its access to Thunderbolt and Thunder Wave. Tangrowth makes a decent counter, but Ice Fang will do a lot of damage. Leech Seed and Power Whip will usually allow Tangrowth to come out on top though. The Rotom Appliances are also decent at dealing with Gyarados. ---Zapdos--- Zapdos is one of the most reliable Pokémon in the game. Its good defensive typing and decent defenses allow it to effectively counter Pokémon like Scizor, Yanmega, and Togekiss, and it has a reliable recovery move in Roost that keeps it healthy and can work to abuse Pressure. On the offensive end, Thunderbolt, Heat Wave, and Hidden Power are really all of the tools Zapdos needs to be a threat, and it even has some other cool moves to help it out like Agility. Zapdos also makes a solid Baton Passer that can annoy most PHazers. Zapdos is popular because it can do so many things and do them well, which makes it a powerful force in today's metagame. Zapdos @ Life Orb Trait: Pressure EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Thunderbolt - Heat Wave - Hidden Power [Grass] - Roost Life Orb Zapdos is an attack-minded version of the defensive sets Zapdos often runs. It has wonderful coverage and Roost to heal Life Orb recoil and other damage taken. Thunderbolt is its powerful STAB attack while Heat Wave and Hidden Power Grass hit the grass-types and ground-types that wall it, respectively. Zapdos is a lot like MixMence (Version 1) in the sense that it can stick around for a very long time and wear down the opposing team. Blissey and Snorlax are the best choices for walling Zapdos. Other electric-types like Raikou and Electivire make solid counters with their good Special Defense scores and ability to threaten Zapdos with an ice-type attack. Other than those, walling Zapdos is rather difficult. Ice Beam Cresselia works, but it can just Roost between Ice Beams and Pressure stall Cresselia. Zapdos @ Choice Scarf / Choice Specs Trait: Pressure EVs: 80 HP / 176 Spd / 252 SAtk Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Thunderbolt - Heat Wave - Hidden Power [Grass / Ice] - U-Turn Choice Scarf Zapdos is commonly used as a lead thanks to its high Speed and access to U-Turn. It makes a solid revenge killer against Gyarados and Scizor especially, though Stealth Rock can be a problem. Choice Specs can be used over Choice Scarf to turn Zapdos into an attacker, though most trainers will usually go with Life Orb Zapdos if they want an attacker, especially since it can Roost off Stealth Rock damage. The Pokémon that wall the Life Orb attacker will obviously wall this, but this time, Cresselia makes a much better counter since Zapdos lacks Roost. Zapdos @ Life Orb Trait: Pressure EVs: 140 HP / 116 Spd / 252 SAtk Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk) - Agility - Thunderbolt - Heat Wave - Hidden Power [Grass] This set is just like the Life Orber, only it exchanges instant recovery in Roost for Agility, which gives Zapdos blazing Speed. While Zapdos still has trouble with certain walls, it can now outspeed Choice Scarf revenge killers that will want to end its sweep quickly. It still has great coverage and it actually has a little more power than Life Orb Zapdos. The same counters as the Choice Scarfer and Life Orber apply here. Zapdos can do a lot of different teams, but the attack moves it carries don't really change much, so the attacker sets are pretty easy to wall assuming you have the right Pokémon to do the job. ---Lucario--- Lucario is a huge threat in today's metagame, and a common one at that. It can hit hard from both ends of the attacking spectrum, meaning that there is almost nothing that can safely switch into Lucario the first time it's out. Even when you know its set, Lucario is powerful enough to sweep your team anyway. Lucario also has many resistances it can come in on, thanks to its good defensive typing, which makes Lucario an even bigger threat. Lucario @ Life Orb Trait: Inner Focus EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Swords Dance - Close Combat - Stone Edge / Ice Punch / Crunch - Extremespeed / Bullet Punch "SDLuke" is Lucario's most popular moveset, and easily one of its most deadly. After a Swords Dance, Close Combat runs over most physical walls given Stealth Rock support. The third slot takes care of either flying-types or psychic-types that resist Close combat, depending on what move is chosen. the last slot helps patch up Lucario's rather average Speed by giving it a priority move powerful enough to outspeed and OHKO most frail sweepers. SDLuke is commonly seen in the later stages of the game when it can clean up a battle with almost no problems, making it a force to be reckoned with and one of the most powerful physical sweepers in the game. Assuming it has a significant EV investment in Speed, Gliscor is the number one SDLuke counter. Weezing also works with access to Will-O-Wisp and Fire Blast. Without Crunch, Thunder Wave Celebi and Cresselia can come in and rain on SDLuke's parade. If Lucario is running Crunch, Salamence and Gyarados make solid counters, and any kind of Gliscor will wall SDLuke as long as it isn't carrying Ice Punch. ScarfTran is a common way of dealing with SDLuke as well, though it is not a counter by any stretch of the imagination since it cannot switch into Close Combat. It makes a very effective check though. Lucario @ Choice Specs Trait: Steadfast EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk) - Aura Sphere / Focus Blast - Hidden Power [ice / Rock] - Shadow Ball - Vacuum Wave "SpecsLuke" is the most common special attacking Lucario, working off of Lucario's strongest stat, which maxes out at 361. Aura Sphere is a very reliable STAB attack thanks to its perfect accuracy and good base power. Focus Blast can be used to 2HKO Calm Blissey, but its accuracy and PP are far lower. Vacuum Wave is useful for Tyranitar and faster Pokémon in general, while Shadow Ball beats the likes of Cresselia, Celebi, and Gengar. Hidden Power beats either Gliscor and Salamence or Gyarados, depending on which one is chosen. Tentacruel is a solid choice to counter SpecsLuke, resisting its STAB attack and taking little damage from anything else. Spiritomb is equally effective in taking SpecsLuke's hits. Blissey is only 3HKOed by Aura Sphere, so she can work as a counter when she is at full health. While Stealth Rock damage hurts it, Gyarados is a good choice with its 100 base Special Defense and resistance to Aura Sphere. However, it gets worn out quickly and is weak to Hidden Power Rock. Lucario @ Life Orb Trait: Inner Focus EVs: 184 Atk / 196 Spd / 128 SAtk Lonely / Naughty Nature - Agility - Close Combat - Shadow Ball / Dark Pulse - Hidden Power [ice] "AgiliLuke" uses Agility to boost its average Speed to allow it to sweep without requiring the use of priority moves. Close Combat deals with Heatran, Blissey, and Snorlax, while the third slot deals with ghost-types and psychic-types. Hidden Power Ice beats Gliscor and Salamence. AgiliLuke is very tough to revenge kill and has excellent coverage, making it a huge threat to many offensive teams that rely on resistances for overall team defenses. Resisting almost every priority move in the game also works in AgiliLuke's favor. Tentacruel, Spiritomb, Metagross, and Gyarados all stop AgiliLuke without any problems. Bronzong and Vaporeon also work to a lesser extent, just don't let either of them take too much of a beating from Close Combat. ---Gengar--- Gengar is very unpredictable, and it can abuse many different strategies. Gengar is one of the fastest sleep inducers in the game, and it gets tremendous coverage with Shadow Ball and Focus Blast (which sometimes can even be Focus Punch). Gengar also has a good ability along with good defensive typing, allowing it to come in on many attacks. Gengar can also use Explosion to take out common counters like Blissey and Snorlax and status moves like Will-O-Wisp to hamper any sweeper that is daring enough to come in on it, and TrickScarf can cause all kinds of problems. It should be noted that Gengar has lately seen a decline in usage as a result of Scizor's rise in popularity and the renewed popularity of several users of Pursuit. Gengar @ Life Orb Trait: Levitate EVs: 4 / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Shadow Ball - Focus Blast - Thunderbolt / Explosion - Hypnosis / Hidden Power [ice] With this set, Gengar hits every Pokémon in the game for neutral damage, and hits everything hard in general. What makes Gengar so dangerous is its ability to put its counter asleep and then continue sweeping. It should be noted that if Gengar is carrying Explosion, it usually has a different EV spread and nature to boost Explosion's power. This set has lost a little bit of its effectiveness due to the accuracy drop of Hypnosis with the coming of Platinum. Blissey and Snorlax are both good choices for walling Gengar's attacks. A Calm RestTalk Zapdos can take Gengar's attacks and laugh off Hypnosis, and a RestTalk Spiritomb can do the same. Sometimes, it is a good idea to bring in a status absorber to take Hypnosis and then something else to take Gengar's attacks. Gengar @ Choice Scarf / Choice Specs Trait: Levitate EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Shadow Ball - Focus Blast - Thunderbolt - Trick / Hidden Power [ice] "ScarfGar" has been one of Gengar's most popular movesets for a long time, and it is still an effective revenge killer. While Pursuit users are a hindrance to Gengar and the rise of Bullet Punch Scizor as not helped in any way, Gengar is still one of the best revenge killers around, effectively beating sweepers like DD Gyarados and DDMence. Trick makes life hard for standard special walls as well, which makes ScarfGar an attractive option. Choice Specs can be used in favor of Choice Scarf to turn Gengar into an attacker rather than a revenge killer. The same Pokémon that can beat the Life Orber will beat ScarfGar and SpecsGar, but Trick can cause problems for walls and tanks like Blissey and Snorlax. Pokémon with Pursuit that come in on the right move will trap and kill Gengar, and ScarfGar isn't very hard to outpredict. Gengar @ Expert Belt Trait: Levitate EVs: 64 Atk / 252 Spd / 192 SAtk Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def) - Shadow Ball - Focus Punch - Substitute - Hypnosis "McGar" effectively makes a fool out of Blissey and Snorlax that think they can easily wall Gengar. It still has great coverage despite having only two attacks, and it can use Hypnosis to put trouble pokemon to sleep. Substitute aids Focus Punch and is generally a useful move to ease prediction. A Calm RestTalk Zapdos is a good counter to McGar. Once Sleep Clause is activated, Blissey and Crunch Snorlax will still have their way with Gengar. ---Infernape--- Infernape is fast and can pick apart opposing teams with its many attacking options. Infernape can't switch in on much but it can do a ton of damage if it gets in. Its offensive typing is really good and its movepool is nothing short of outstanding. Despite being very frail, Infernape also makes a good counter to Weavile. Almost nothing can stop a well-played Infernape. Infernape @ Life Orb Trait: Blaze EVs: 24 Atk / 232 Spd / 252 SAtk Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef) - Close Combat - Flamethrower / Fire Blast - Grass Knot - Hidden Power [ice] / Nasty Plot "MixApe" can easily demolish most walls in the OU metagame in the blink of an eye. Infernape is a great stall breaker, and if the counter for it goes down, Infernape is going to sweep. After a Nasty Plot, Grass Knot is a OHKO on most common bulky waters and all bulky grounds outside of Gliscor, who is OHKOed by a boosted Flamethrower. Close Combat takes care of Blissey and Snorlax, of course. Hidden Power Ice is a common sight on Mixape and is used over Nasty Plot to net a guaranteed kill on Salamence and Dragonite, though a +2 Life Orb Fire Blast will OHKO Salamence if it switches into Stealth Rock. Countering MixApe usually requires a bulky Pokémon. Tentacruel and Vaporeon are the most common counters, though the latter takes a lot of damage from a boosted Grass Knot. Starmie is a popular counter and Cresselia is always a good choice as well. Generally, faster Pokémon with a ground or psychic move do in Infernape if they can switch in safely. Infernape @ Choice Band Trait: Blaze EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk) - Close Combat - Flare Blitz - Stone Edge / ThunderPunch - U-Turn / ThunderPunch Choice Band Infernape can scout any team with U-Turn or do enormous amounts of damage with its two 120 base power STAB attacks. Stone Edge beats Gyarados and Salamence, while ThunderPunch does a lot to water-typed MixApe counters like Tentacruel and Vaporeon while still hurting Gyarados, but the powerful Salamence will be a problem without Stone Edge. The most defensive Hippowdon, Slowbro, Swampert, and Suicune are very effective at countering this set. All four will still take heavy damage in the process, which shows how powerful this set is. ---Metagross--- Metagross is an incredible sweeper, tank, wall, and supporter. Metagross can do it all, and with great typing, great Attack and Defense, and a great movepool, it's easy to see why. Metagross can set up Stealth Rock, take all kinds of attacks thanks to its long list of resistances, and then blow up a physical wall with Explosion and open up a sweep for Gyarados. It's almost like there's nothing Metagross can't do, which makes it versatile and unpredictable despite carrying rather similar movesets all the time. Its role is always changing, which makes it a unique and truly useful Pokémon and a very dangerous threat for those fighting agianst it. Metagross @ Choice Band Trait: Clear Body EVs: 252 HP / 244 Atk / 12 Def Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Meteor Mash - Earthquake - Explosion - Bullet Punch / ThunderPunch / Pursuit "CBGross" can break through even the sturdiest walls in OUs. With an Attack boost, Meteor Mash 2HKOs Hippowdon, the sturdiest physical wall in the tier. Explosion is so powerful that it can take up to 85% of health from Skarmory, who resists the attack. ThunderPunch stops waters from walling it, but it also allows Dugtrio to trap and kill it, which is something that can be taken advantage of with a little prediction. Pursuit is always useful for taking advantage of certain Pokémon, while Bullet Punch gives Metagross a priority move, which is useful for netting quick kills on weakened Azelf and Gengar. Defensive Zapdos is a good counter, as is Swampert. Hippowdon and Gliscor both work, though Meteor Mash can really sting. Bronzong is effective at walling Metagross as well. Bulky waters are all good counters as long as they stay out of the way of ThunderPunch, though Earthquake can do a fair amount of damage to most of them. Metagross @ Life Orb / Leftovers Trait: Clear Body EVs: 152 HP / 252 Atk / 104 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Agility - Meteor Mash - Earthquake - Explosion / ThunderPunch "AgiliGross" takes advantage of Agility to boost Metagross's poor Speed stat to allow it to sweep. While AgiliGross isn't very difficult to wall, a lot of teams don't have an answer for AgiliGross, and it can easily sweep unprepared offensive teams. ThunderPunch comes without a few downsides it had on CBGross while Explosion allows Metagross to blow something up pretty much whenever it wants, given its good Speed after an Agility. Countering AgiliGross is much easier than countering CBGross. Bulky waters and grounds work and Zapdos still does too. Skarmory and Bronzong can wall AgiliGross as well, though the former could have trouble taking ThunderPunch (it only 3HKOs, however). Metagross @ Choice Scarf Trait: Clear Body EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk) - Meteor Mash - Earthquake - Explosion - Ice Punch / ThunderPunch / Trick Choice Scarf Metagross is much like ScarfTran, and it revenge kills many potent threats just like ScarfTran does. Trick is a very useful weapon that makes Choice Scarf Metagross an effective lead and tough Pokémon to counter. Explosion is still very powerful and can be launched as Metagross is about to faint thanks to its high Speed granted by its Choice Scarf. Any physical wall or bulky water works here, but Trick will be troublesome to most of them and Explosion will also knock most of them out. Metagross @ Expert Belt Trait: Clear Body EVs: 252 Atk / 132 Spd / 124 SAtk Naughty Nature (+Atk, -SDef) - Meteor Mash - Earthquake - Grass Knot - Hidden Power [Fire] "MixMeta" is designed to defeat most of Metagross's usual counters, and it does a very good job at accomplishing that goal. Bulky grounds and waters fall to Grass Knot while steel-types lose to Hidden Power Fire. Meteor Mash and Earthquake deal with Pokémon like Blissey, Empoleon, and Tentacruel. Countering MixMeta is tough, but Gliscor does the job. Zapdos is still an effective counter as well, and the Rotom Appliances are decent checks though Meteor Mash really stings. MixMeta isn't as bulky as its other sets, so taking advantage of its poor Speed and launching super effective attacks at it is a good way to beat it. __________________ Anti: IN SPACE Anti: NOBODY CAN HEAR YOU CRY Dark Azelf: In my basement no one can hear you struggle Last edited by Anti; February 8th, 2009 at 04:53 AM. Anti View Public Profile Send a private message to Anti Find all posts by Anti Add Anti to Your Contacts View Blog #2 Add to Anti's Reputation Report Post Old February 7th, 2009, 12:33 AM Anti's Avatar Anti Anti is offline needs a new profile theme lol Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: United States of Anger (at AIG it seems) Age: 10 Gender: Male ♂ Nature: Hasty Posts: 8,706 Anti is pointed out to be definitely goodAnti is pointed out to be definitely goodAnti is pointed out to be definitely good Default ---Jirachi--- Jirachi can perform many tasks and it performs all of them very well. Many Jirachi sets are for team support, but Jirachi can also inflict damage, making it a versatile threat. It makes a great abuser of Serene Grace with movepool options like Zen Headbutt, Thunder, and Body Slam. Speaking of its movepool, Jirachi has a fantastic one with the ability to heal team members with Wish or sweep with Calm Mind. Add that to Jirachi's solid stats and you've got a top-tier OU threat. Jirachi @ Choice Scarf Trait: Serene Grace EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Adamant / Jolly Nature - Iron Head - Fire Punch - Ice Punch - Trick / Zen Headbutt / U-Turn / ThunderPunch Choice Scarf Jirachi is like ScarfTran and Choice Scarf Metagross, and is used as an anti-metagame Pokémon. Jirachi has the added bonus of having Serene Grace, so Iron Head flinches opponents like crazy. Fire Punch and Ice Punch both have a 20% chance of inflicting their status on opponents rather than a 10% chance. So long as they avoid Trick, bulky waters like Suicune, Swampert, and Vaporeon work well. Hippowdon and Donphan also work, taking little damage even from Ice Punch. While walling Choice Scarf Jirachi is not hard, the flinch chance of Iron Head and the possibility of Trick can annoy even the most prepared teams. Jirachi @ Leftovers Trait: Serene Grace EVs: 252 HP / 176 Spd / 80 SAtk Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Calm Mind - Subtitute / Wish - Psychic - Thunderbolt / Hidden Power [Fighting] / Grass Knot Substitute/Calm Mind Jirachi makes its return from Advance, and it's still a tough sweeper to take down. Wish can be used to make Jirachi last longer and support the team, but then Blissey can Thunder Wave it. Jirachi has good coverage with Psychic and Thunderbolt, and Serene Grace makes their secondary effects more likely to happen. Swampert is one of the best counters, and Earthquake Snorlax works too. Metagross and Heatran are also very solid counters, though paralysis from Thunderbolt can be annoying. Magnezone traps Jirachi and will beat it, as it resists both of Jirachi's main attacks. Bronzong also counters Jirachi pretty easily. Jirachi @ Leftovers / Life Orb Trait: Serene Grace EVs: 80 HP / 176 Spd / 252 SAtk Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Calm Mind - Psychic - Grass Knot - Thunderbolt / Hidden Power [ice / Fire] This set is a more offensive version of Sub/CM Jirachi, as it replaces Substitute with a third attacking move for more coverage. Swampert is going to have a lot of trouble with Grass Knot, which can net a surprise kill on the mudfish. Earthquake Snorlax still counters Jirachi with no problem. Metagross, Heatran, Magnezone, and Bronzong all still counter Jirachi despite its increase in power. ---Starmie--- While Starmie was used as a counter utility and Rapid Spinner in early DP, the metagame has shifted and Starmie can now use several different tactics to its advantage. A lot of offensive teams have trouble dealing with its Speed and coverage, and Starmie can Recover off damage it takes while Natural Cure gets rid of crippling status ailments if Starmie simply switches out. Starmie @ Choice Specs / Choice Scarf Trait: Natural Cure EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Surf / Hydro Pump - Ice Beam - Thunderbolt - Trick / Psychic / Grass Knot "SpecsStar" turns the tables on the Pursuit users that were the bane of its existence in the early days of DP. Trick also allows Starmie to permanently cripple Blissey, Snorlax, and other select special walls and Rapid Spin blockers. Starmie also possesses almost perfect coverage and the incredible Speed and good Special Attack to abuse it. Starmie can also use Choice Scarf to turn it into a revenge killer, but it becomes far less threatening offensively and more vulnerable to Pursuit. SpecsStar is easily countered by Blissey, and Snorlax is also an effective way to wall it. Regice makes a good switch-in, though Stealth Rock wears it down and makes it vulnerable to Hydro Pump. Cresselia can work, but it must watch out for Hydro Pump as well if it does not have a significant amount of Special Defense invested. Pursuit users can come in on certain attacks and knock out SpecsStar on the spot, but switching into the wrong attack will likely knock it out. Starmie @ Life Orb Trait: Natural Cure EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Surf / Hydro Pump - Ice Beam - Thunderbolt - Recover Life Orb Starmie is a lot like Choice Specs Starmie, only it exchanges a small loss of power for freedom to choose attacks and Life Orb recoil. Life Orb Starmie gets Recover to deal with the latter though, and it also helps with Stealth Rock damage. It makes an incredible sweeper with its blazing Speed, excellent coverage, and solid Special Attack. All of the counters to SpecsStar apply here as well, only Starmie will beat any Cresselia without Calm Mind, and Pursuit users won't have the luxury of being able to take advantage of Starmie locking itself in on one move. LO Starmie doesn't hit as hard as SpecsStar though, so special walls will have an easier time with it. ---Rotom Appliances--- The Rotom Appliances are very useful Pokémon. Their bulk is very useful for when the attack-minded sets want to switch in, and of course, it allows them to wall a lot of threats. Their access to useful status moves like Will-O-Wisp and Thunder Wave makes them tough to counter, and they make some of the best Rapid Spin blockers in the game. Underestimate these resilient Pokémon and you'll be sorry. NOTE: Since the Rotom Appliances all have the same build but different signature moves, "<Signature Move>" will be used instead of listing each Appliance's signature attack. Rotom @ Choice Scarf / Choice Specs Trait: Levitate EVs: 6 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Timid / Modest Nature - <Signature Move> / Hidden Power [Fighting / Ice / Ground] - Thunderbolt - Shadow Ball - Trick Choice Scarf Rotom can hit very fast and somewhat hard with the great coverage this set has. In addition, Rotom has the ability to cripple most its common counters like Blissey by Tricking its Choice Scarf onto them. the real reason to use Choice Scarf Rotom is to revenge kill Pokémon like Gyarados and Lucario. with Choice Specs equipped, Rotom is turned into a potent special attacker with the bulk and typing to switch in on many OU Pokémon. As long as they avoid Trick, Blissey and Snorlax make good counters. Raikou can set up on Rotom, but Hidden Power Ground could be troublesome. Heatran is in the same boat as Raikou, only it has to be extra careful since Hidden Power Ground will do a lot more damage and Hidden Power Fighting will also hurt. Rotom @ Leftovers Trait: Levitate EVs: 64 HP / 212 Spd / 232 SAtk Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Charge Beam - Substitute - Shadow Ball - Hidden Power [Fighting] This set abuses Rotom's resistances and naturally good defenses to come in and set up a Substitute which cannot be broken by any of Blissey's common special attacks. Behind a Substitute, Rotom can boost its Special Attack with STAB Charge Beam and rip apart things with the spectacular coverage of Hidden Power Fighting and Shadow Ball. Crunch Snorlax is a good counter, and ScarfTran makes a decent counter. Raikou can still set up on it and can throw up a Substitute of its own. Swampert can Roar away its boosts. Calm Zapdos can also Roar away boosts, take Rotom's hits, and even strike back with Heat Wave or Toxic. Rotom @ Life Orb Trait: Levitate EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Charge Beam / Hidden Power [Fight/Ice/Ground] - <Signature Move> / Hidden Power [Fighting / Ice / Ground] - Shadow Ball - Thunderbolt This is the same as the Choice set, but it uses a Life Orb and lacks Trick. This set also has an extra slot which it can use to amplify its already fantastic coverage. It can fire off Life Orb boosted hits backed up by the Special Attack raise of Charge Beam, making it a powerful special attacker. The same counters to the choice set work here, only they don't have to worry about Trick. Outpredicting it will also work, as passive damage and Life Orb recoil will eat away at it. ---Kingdra--- Kingdra is the staple sweeper of most Rain Dance teams, and it's easy to see why; Kingdra is blazing fast with Rain Dance activated and it packs a lot of power. Kingdra doesn't even need Rain Dance to make a fool out of opposing teams either, as the Dragon Dancer lacks a 4x weakness that plague other Dragon Dancers like Tyranitar, Salamence, and Gyarados, It has wonderful coverage with only two attacks and a fair amount of bulk to take advantage of having only one weakness. These traits make Kingdra a fearsome Pokémon that can cause any team serious problems when played correctly. Kingdra @ Life Orb / Leftovers Trait: Sniper EVs: 252 Atk / 232 Spd / 24 SAtk Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Dragon Dance - Outrage - Waterfall - Hydro Pump / Substitute Dragon Dance Kingdra is a very potent threat capable of doing damage to any kind of team. Outrage and Waterfall are Kingdra's STAB attacks that hit every Pokémon in the game bar Shedinja and Empoleon for at least neutral damage. Physical walls like Skarmory and Hippowdon will be decimated by Hydro Pump before they can wall any kind of physical attack. Sniper makes Kingdra nearly unstoppable with luck on its side. Empoleon is a good counter, but it needs to be EVed with Defense in mind, or Outrage could 2HKO. Thunder Wave Cresselia and Celebi also work, though Substitute can block out status attempts. Both have access to Reflect, which softens the blows they take from Kingdra. Kingdra @ Life Orb Trait: Swift Swim EVs: 252 Atk / 16 Spd / 240 SAtk Naughty Nature (+Atk, -SDef) - Rain Dance - Hydro Pump / Surf - Waterfall - Draco Meteor Mixed Rain Dance Kingdra is the staple sweeper of many Rain Dance teams, and for a good reason. Kingdra does incredible amounts of damage in the rain with this set, and many offensive teams aren't prepared for the offensive beating this Kingdra can subject teams to. Most of the OU tier is ripped to shreds by this set, but it does have to switch in and set up (though often times Rain Dance has already been used). Suicune, Vaporeon, and Suicune all can take even Draco Meteor wise ease and heal off the damage. Celebi is probably the best counter thanks to its good Special Defense, access to Recover and Thunder Wave, and its ability to laugh at anything Kingdra throws at it. Kingdra @ Leftovers Trait: Swift Swim EVs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Rain Dance - Dragon Dance - Outrage - Waterfall "Double Dance" Kingdra uses Rain Dance to power up Waterfall and double Kingdra's Speed with only one turn of setting up. This makes Kingdra a real threat for Pokémon that can't take hits very well, but sturdier Pokémon will be alright. This is where Dragon Dance and Outrage come in, but many bulky Pokémon still have their way with this set. Skarmory can Whirlwind it away and Cresselia can Thunder Wave it. Celebi makes a solid counter thanks to its ability to do consistent damage to Kingdra, and it too can Thunder Wave Kingdra. Empoleon resists Outrage and Waterfall and can strike back with a powerful Ice Beam or Grass Knot while abusing Rain Dance itself, as it commonly runs an Agility sweeper set. ---Suicune--- Suicune is one of the only defensive Pokémon in the game that threatens sweeping teams. On top of standards like CalmCune and CroCune, Suicune has overlooked options that can be very useful, such as Reflect and Mirror Coat. It is the most stable on the defensive side of things of all of the bulky waters, which helps it out a lot in today's fast and powerful metagame. Suicune @ Life Orb Trait: Pressure EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Modest / Timid Nature - Calm Mind - Surf / Hydro Pump - Ice Beam - Hidden Power [Electric] Offensive Suicune is one of the most powerful and sturdy sweepers in the OU tier. With 115 base Defense and Special Defense as well as 100 base HP, Suicune can take all kinds of hits regardless of EV investment in defenses. This makes Suicune a huge problem for teams that cannot knock it out in one turn. Not only that, but almost no Pokémon resist all three of Suicune's attacks, which allows it to cover a wide variety of opponents. Blissey and to a lesser extent Snorlax make effective counters. Cresselia makes a good switch-in thanks to Thunder Wave, which slows down Suicune enough that a heavy hitter like CBTar can come in and finish off Suicune. Electric-type Pokémon like Raikou and physical Electivire work too. While Zapdos can do a ton of damage with a Life Orb Thunderbolt, the threat of a boosted Ice Beam and its weakness to Stealth Rock make it a risky way of dealing with Suicune. Suicune @ Leftovers Trait: Pressure EVs: 252 HP / 152 Spd / 104 SAtk Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk) - Substitute - Calm Mind - Surf - Ice Beam While a normal offensive Suicune has trouble with Blissey and Snorlax, Sub/CM Suicune can create 101 Substitutes that allow Suicune to set up on Blissey and Snorlax. The drawback is that Suicune can no longer hit water-types for even neutral damage, but they cannot hurt Suicune either. While it doesn't hit as hard as a normal offensive Suicune, Sub/CM Suicune can take hits a lot better thanks to 252 HP EVs and Leftovers recovery. Both are huge threats for their amazing bulk considering they are sweepers and their large amount of power after only a few turns of setting up. Blissey isn't 2HKOed by a +6 Surf, but it is still a rather shaky counter, as Suicune often wins anyway. Raikou, Electivire, Calm Zapdos make much better counters, and Celebi can shrug off Ice Beams and throw STAB Grass Knots back at Suicune. Bulky waters with Haze or Roar can foil Suicune's attempts to set up, but they can't do much damage to Suicune. Suicune @ Leftovers Trait: Pressure EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk) - Calm Mind - Rest - Sleep Talk - Surf "CroCune" is a more defensive Suicune than the two previous sets, and while it loses coverage and power, it can reliably recover off damage. This makes CroCune a sturdy and powerful tank that many teams have trouble dealing with. CroCune has defenses that top many common physical walls, and at the same, it can use Calm Mind to turn itself into a powerful attacker. Rest and Sleep Talk make it seem like Suicune will never die, while Surf is the obvious STAB attack. All of the counters to Sub/CM Suicune apply here except for Blissey, who will always lose. A good way to beat CroCune is to switch a powerful attacker like CBCross in when you predict Suicune will Rest, and then launch powerful attacks to do it in before it can do any serious damage. ---Breloom--- Breloom is a unique Pokémon. It has 130 base Attack and STAB on Focus Punch and a 100% accurate sleep move to abuse it with. Breloom is not very fast or bulky, but it can do a lot of damage to opposing teams anyway, which makes it a threat to prepare for. Breloom @ Toxic Orb Trait: Poison Heal EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Substitute - Focus Punch - Leech Seed - Seed Bomb / Spore Breloom makes a fantastic SubSeeder, and this set uses its talent fully. Substitute is useful for both Leech Seed and Focus Punch, while the last slot can give troublesome Pokémon some problems of their own. Flying-type Pokémon like Gyarados, and Salamence do well against Breloom assuming they avoid Spore. Celebi, Cresselia, Mesprit, Dusknoir, Gliscor, and Zapdos also do well against Breloom. All of these counters face the possibility of being slept by Spore or crippled by Leech Seed (Celebi is immune to Leech Seed), which makes Breloom an annoying pest if it can set up. Luckily, Breloom's low Speed and poor defenses make that a challenge. Breloom @ Toxic Orb Trait: Poison Heal EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Spore - Focus Punch - Seed Bomb - Stone Edge While the previous set focused on SubPunching and SubSeeding, this set focuses on "SporePunching." Spore gives Breloom a free ticket to launch Focus Punch at the opponent, while Seed Bomb and Stone Edge eliminate several Pokémon that can take a Focus Punch or two like Zapdos and Suicune. Facade is sometimes used in one of the last two slots to better deal with Pokémon like Gliscor, Cresselia, and Celebi. While flying-type counters aren't as reliable, the bulky counters mentioned from the previous set still work. Celebi, Cresselia, Mesprit, Dusknoir, and Gliscor still make wonderful counters to Breloom. Again, a sleep absorber will need to activate Sleep Clause before many of those Pokémon try to stop Breloom, or they could end up asleep. Breloom @ Life Orb / Toxic Orb Trait: Poison Heal EVs: 48 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Swords Dance - Mach Punch - Seed Bomb / Stone Edge - Spore / Facade Swords Dance and Mach Punch allow Breloom to get by its rather poor Speed to a certain extent. The last two slots deal with the Pokémon that can laugh off Mach Punch, though many counters remain. All of the counters to the SubSeed set apply here. Gyarados, Salamence, Zapdos, Celebi, Dusknoir, and Gliscor are all reliable ways to stop Breloom, but again, you have to get Sleep Clause activated first. Since they are faster than Breloom, Gliscor and Celebi are the most reliable Breloom counters without Sleep Clause activated. ---Magnezone--- Magnezone is one of the few BoltBeam resists in the game and it makes a pretty darn good Pokémon. Of course, the real reason it's useful is its ability to trap and kill troublesome steel-types like Bronzong and Skarmory, though they now have Shed Shell to defend themselves. Even if Magnezone has no steel-types to trap (which is unlikely given how popular Scizor is), it hits incredibly hard and can do a lot of damage to any team. Magnezone @ Leftovers Trait: Magnet Pull EVs: 172 HP / 84 Spd / 252 SAtk Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk) - Thunderbolt - Hidden Power [ice / Grass] - Magnet Rise - Substitute This is one of Magnezone's most popular, useful,and effective sets. The main purpose is to trap and kill steel-type Pokémon like Skarmory, Forretress, Metagross, and Bronzong. The former two often carry a Shed Shell to escape Magnezone, however. Either way, Magnezone is great for opening up a sweep for any Pokémon that only has to get past steel walls, like a Dragon Claw/Earthquake/Outrage/Dragon Dance Salamence. While Magnezone is not very threatening as a sweeper, it doesn't need to be if it wants to be effective. Blissey and to a lesser extent Snorlax wall Magnezone. Snorlax will need Fire Punch to be a reliable counter, however. Hidden Power Fire Magnezone makes a great switch-in, as it traps Magnezone with its own Magnet Pull and beats it up with Hidden Power. Electivire makes a solid counter, and Gliscor and Swampert also work, depending on what Hidden Power Magnezone is running. Magnezone @ Choice Scarf Trait: Magnet Pull EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Thunderbolt - Hidden Power [Fire / Ice] - Flash Cannon - Explosion / Signal Beam Choice Scarf Magnezone's role is also a steel killer, only it targets Scizor and Lucario instead of Bronzong and Skarmory. It also makes an effective revenge killer against many slower sweepers nad other Magnezone. Blissey, Snorlax, and electric-types all work well. Magnezone usually runs Hidden Power Fire, so both Gliscor and Swampert are counters. Gliscor will have to watch out for Flash Cannon though. Magnezone @ Choice Specs Trait: Magnet Pull EVs: 172 Atk / 84 Spd / 252 SAtk Modest / Timid Nature - Thunderbolt - Hidden Power [ice / Grass] - Flash Cannon - Explosion Magnezone can also be a pure special attacker with its 130 base Special Attack. It can come in on a lot of Pokémon thanks to its good defensive stats and decent defensive typing. Explosion makes standard special walls cry. Blissey and Snorlax still work, but as mentioned, Explosion will be a huge problem. Swampert works if Magnezone is running Hidden Power Ice, and Electivire is still a good counter, as it resists both of Magnezone's STAB attacks and takes laughable damage from Hidden Power. If Magnezone is running Hidden Power Grass, Zapdos makes a good counter with Heat Wave. ---Weavile--- While Weavile is walled by a lot of Pokémon and is weak to Stealth Rock, it can effectively revenge kill Gengar, Azelf, and Alakazam with Pursuit, which doesn't allow any of the three to escape. It also has access to Ice Shard, which stops rampaging dragons. As long as you know its limits, Weavile can be very useful. Weavile @ Choice Band Trait: Pressure EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spd Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk) - Pursuit - Ice Punch / Ice Shard - Night Slash - Brick Break Choice Band Weavile makes an effective revenge killer. Pursuit preys on psychic-types and ghost-types, as previously mentioned, while Night Slash hurts those that try to predict Pursuit and stay in, preventing Weavile from being walled by the likes of Cresselia. Brick Break is mostly for Tyranitar since it doesn't do much to steels anyway. Bronzong, Forretress, Jirachi, Skarmory, and Metagross all can take Weavile's hits well. Without Ice Punch, even bulky grounds like Hippowdon and Donphan work. Bulky waters and Weezing also get the job done. Countering Weavile is very easy as long as you are not careless. Weavile @ Life Orb Trait: Pressure EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spd Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk) - Swords Dance - Ice Punch / Ice Shard - Night Slash - Brick Break While Swords Dance Weavile isn't as powerful as SDLuke or SDCross, it still poses a threat with its good coverage and Attack, and of course its blistering Speed. This set has the advantage of being faster than those two, so it can be very potent in the later stages of a match. Bronzong, Metagross, and Forretress are the best counters for SD Weavile. Spiritomb has access to Hidden Power Fighting and Will-O-Wisp, so it makes a solid choice as well. Stone Edge Gyarados works, though boosted STAB moves take their toll even after Intimidate. Skarmory can PHaze Weavile away, but it can't really hurt Weavile otherwise. ---Togekiss--- Togekiss is rather infamous for being able to abuse Air Slash's Flinch rate with some help from Thunder Wave and Serene Grace, and it makes a great Nasty Plot passer. However, Togekiss is a very potent special sweeper on its own. Togekiss is also very bulky, which lets it stay alive longer with help from Roost. However, the addition of the Rotom Appliances and Zapdos rising in popularity somewhat hurt its effectiveness as a sweeper. Togekiss @ Leftovers / Lum Berry Trait: Serene Grace EVs: 252 HP / 104 Spd / 152 SAtk Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk) - Nasty Plot - Air Slash - Aura Sphere - Roost Togekiss might not be the most fast or powerful sweeper around, but it is very bulky. This makes Togekiss a huge threat to unprepared teams, especially since its two attacks are only resisted by Rotom and Zapdos. Roost keeps togekiss alive and healthy, which is very useful in a metagame polluted with Stealth Rock. Nasty Plot gives Togekiss a lot of power to back up its attacks, and Air Slash can really lay down a beating on slow walls trying to beat Togekiss thanks to Serene Grace. The Rotom Appliances and Zapdos are the best counters thanks to their resistances to Aura Sphere and Air Slash, but Thunder Wave can severely cripple both of them if Togekiss is carrying it, and it's not exactly uncommon. Toxic Blissey will beat Togekiss without Lum Berry all of the time and Togekiss with Lum Berry some of the time, depending on how lucky Togekiss gets with Air Slash's flinch chance. Otherwise, bringing in fast and strong Pokémon to revenge kill Togekiss will usually work, though don't underestimate the bulk of Togekiss. ---Mamoswine--- Mamoswine threatens many teams with one of the most powerful Earthquakes in the game and an ability to revenge kill any dragon easily. It has Stone Edge to take care of troublesome Pokémon like Gyarados and Moltres, which makes Mamoswine a very capable sweeper that can inflict a heavy pounding. Many teams have a Mamoswine weakness, which is even more good news for it. while Mamoswine doesn't have very good defensive typing, its defensive stats allow it to come in on many Pokémon and threaten the opponent's team right away. Mamoswine @ Choice Band Trait: Snow Cloak EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Earthquake - Ice Shard - Stone Edge - Ice Fang / Superpower Only Rhyperior has a more powerful Earthquake in the OU tier, so Mamoswine can do some serious damage. Ice Fang and Ice Shard do plenty to grass-types and flying-types that laugh at Earthquake, and Stone Edge helps with Gyarados mostly. Superpower isn't recommended and isn't very common either, but it can do a lot to standard Bronzong, one of Mamoswine's most common counters. While Mamoswine makes a powerful attacking force, a real advantage of it is its ability to revenge kill dragon-types with Ice Shard (especially those locked into Outrage). Mamoswine's immense power and power STAB Earthquake make it a huge threat, so watch out once Mamoswine enters the ring. Skarmory is probably the best counter, and Uxie, Cresselia, and Mesprit all work as well (though a critical hit from Stone Edge will cause a lot of trouble). Weezing works with access to Fire Blast and Will-O-Wisp, and Bronzong resists all of Mamoswine's attacks bar Superpower, which isn't very common. Mamoswine @ Life Orb Trait: Snow Cloak EVs: 252 Atk / 236 Spd / 20 SAtk Naughty Nature (+Atk, -SDef) - Earthquake - Ice Shard - Stone Edge - Blizzard "MixMamo" works best under Hail conditions when Snow Cloak is activated and Blizzard is 100% accurate. This set allows Mamoswine to beat Skarmory and Weezing while still being able to beat bulky ground-types, flying-types, and grass-types. The rest of the movesets operates much like standard CB Mamoswine does, only a Life Orb replaces its Choice Band. Bulky floating psychic-types like Cresselia still counter Mamoswine, and Bronzong is even more effective than before. Other than that, MixMamo doesn't really have any other counters, but Blizzard does have shaky accuracy, which makes Skarmory and Weezing decent last-minute checks if you ever need them. ---Flygon--- Flygon is like a miniature Garchomp, but in a good way. It laughs at almost all forms of passive damage and then inflicts a lot of damage itself. Flygon's movepool isn't very wide, but it has the tools it needs to be a potent threat in the OU metagame, and it uses them very well. Its typing is great both offensively and defensively, and its ability is also good. with Garchomp banned, Flygon can now step out of Garchomp's shadow and shine as a serious threat to any OU team. Flygon @ Choice Band / Choice Scarf Trait: Levitate EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Outrage - Earthquake - U-Turn - Fire Punch With Outrage, Choice Band Flygon is a serious threat. With Stealth Rock support, it will at least 2HKO most things that do not resist it, and U-Turn severely hampers those Pokémon (especially Cresselia). Flygon is tough to stall as it laughs at entry hazards, doesn't take damage from Sandstorm, and hits very hard. Choice Scarf is sometimes used over Choice Band, but Flygon becomes far less threatening. Cresselia works, but U-Turn will put it in KO range for Outrage next time Flygon enters the ring. Suicune and Vaporeon are in similar situations, but Flygon normally won't lock itself into Outrage early on because it will almost inevitably be revenge killed by ScarfTran or Gengar. ---Heracross--- Heracross is one of the most frightening Pokémon in the game thanks to its two 120 base power STAB attacks, its ability Guts, and its huge base Attack stat of 125. Heracross also has Swords Dance and Stone Edge at its disposal, making it a wrecking ball of a physical attacker. However, it has merely average Speed for an attacker and a lack of useful resistances outside of its ground resistance. This can make Heracross hard to get in and keep up with the fast-paced nature of today's metagame. Even with its flaws, Heracross is one of the most powerful Pokémon in the game, and if it is not treated as such, it will cause some serious problems. Heracross @ Choice Band Trait: Guts EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Close Combat - Megahorn - Stone Edge - Night Slash / Pursuit / Facade "CBCross" is one of the most frightening Choice Banders that can be found in the OU metagame. With two STAB attacks with 120 base power coupled with 125 base Attack, almost nothing can take repeated hits from this monster. Almost every single Pokémon in the game is at least 2HKOed by something Heracross carries in its arsenal, and the only common Pokémon that is an exception to this rule is Gliscor. However, Heracross isn't the fastest Pokémon around, so it can be taken advantage of by faster Pokémon. Gliscor is the best counter to CBCross with higher Speed, great Defense, resistances to both of its STAB moves, and access to STAB Aerial Ace to OHKO Heracross. Even if Stone Edge lands a critical hit, Gliscor can Roost off the damage before Heracross can finish it off while buying itself a rock resistance in the process. Weezing also works, though it needs an investment in Special Attack for Flamethrower to 2HKO Heracross and its 95 base Special Defense. Aerial Ace Nidoqueen is also a good counter, as it resists Heracross's three main attacks. Without Night Slash, the Rotom Appliances and Fire Punch Dusknoir also make good counters to CBCross. Heracross @ Choice Scarf Trait: Guts EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Close Combat - Megahorn - Stone Edge - Toxic / Night Slash "ScarfCross" makes an effective revenge killer for the same reasons that CBCross makes an effective Choice Bander. While ScarfCross is easier to wall than CBCross, it is much faster and has Toxic, which ruins most of CBCross's most reliable counters and also some Pokémon that would otherwise counter ScarfCross, such as Hippowdon. Countering ScarfCross is a pain thanks to Toxic. Weezing and Nidoqueen are immune to Toxic, so they still work, but the other CBCross counters will have to take the poison status or not come in at all. Even when poisoned, all of CBCross's counters still easily handle ScarfCross, so if you have cleric support, Toxic shouldn't be a problem. Heracross @ Life Orb Trait: Guts EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk) - Swords Dance - Close Combat - Megahorn - Stone Edge "SDCross" is the set-up sweeper version of CBCross, and it can inflict some major pain. while it lacks a priority move to nail faster sweepers like Lucario has, SDCross can hit both psychic-types and flying-types with Megahorn and Stone Edge, respectively. SDCross has the same wall breaking ability as Lucario with only one less Attack point and no weakness to Earthquake, making it a very potent sweeper. The only thing that holds SDCross back is its low Speed, and Bullet Punch Scizor being everywhere doesn't help. Countering SDCross is very difficult. Aerial Ace Gliscor works, but any Gliscor lacking the attack is vulnerable to SDCross's immense power. There aren't any other solid counters, so taking advantage of its low Speed and lack of survivability is a good way of beating SDCross before it can set up and cause your team pain. ---Swampert--- Swampert's reign as OU's supreme bulky water is over, but it's still a useful Pokémon when played correctly. It can make a good Stealth Rock shuffler and a fair wall breaker as well, and it can even do a lot of damage with a Curse or Choice Band set. while most of the Pokémon Swampert could counter in Advance can beat it now, Swampert is by no means helpless on the defensive side of things, making the mudfish a respectable balance of offense and defense. Having only one weakness doesn't hurt either. Swampert @ Choice Band Trait: Torrent EVs: 108 HP / 204 Atk / 96 Def / 100 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Earthquake - Waterfall - Stone Edge - Ice Punch "CBPert" is not Swampert's most popular set, but it packs quite a punch and has terrific coverage, hitting every Pokémon in existence for at least neutral damage. Swampert also has two powerful and reliable STAB attacks at its disposal in Earthquake and Waterfall. CBPert still has the ability to take hits like a standard defensive Swampert would, which makes it easy to switch in. Its resistance to Stealth Rock is also very handy. Countering CBPert is surprisingly difficult, but defensive variants of Suicune, Celebi, and Tangrowth do well against it. Skarmory and Cresselia can take any attack thrown at them and the latter can even throw up Reflect, but the former has to worry about Waterfall's flinch chance. ---Vaporeon--- Vaporeon is a good defensive Pokémon despite its below average Defense, and it has been a common counter to common threats like gyarados, Salamence, and MixApe throughout DP. It also has a solid 110 base Special Attack that give it something in the form of offenses, which is always a plus for a defensive Pokémon. Vaporeon also can Baton Pass an incredibly bulky Substitute and use wish to heal teammates. Vaporeon is a great team player and one of the better bulky waters without a doubt. Vaporeon @ Choice Specs Trait: Water Absorb EVs: 252 Def / 4 Spd / 252 SAtk Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk) - Surf - Ice Beam - Hidden Power [Electric] - Hydro Pump / Wish / Baton Pass This set takes advantage of Vaporeon's great Special Attack and good enough movepool. surf is a reliable STAB attack that does a lot of damage to most Pokémon, and Ice Beam and Hidden Power Electric take care of most of the "problem" Pokémon that wall Surf. the last slot gives Vaporeon either a more powerful STAB attack, healing, or scouting, and all three can be very useful. If you don't have Blissey, Choice Specs Vaporeon is probably going to cause a lot of problems, so be ready for it. Blissey is the number one counter here, and Snorlax and Cresselia work to a lesser extent. Special defensive Milotic also works despite the presence of Hidden Power Electric. Though it isn't common in OU battles, Quagsire (thanks to its Water Absorb ability) makes a decent counter. ---Electivire--- In the early days of DP, Electivire was hyped tremendously, but people soon figured out that it was incredibly easy to wall, something Motor Drive couldn't help out with. However, many offensive teams don't carry a Pokémon that can handle Electivire well, and Gyarados's popularity lets Electivire grab Motor Drive boosts and surprise many teams. While Electivire isn't sweeping any team with a few capable walls, it can do a lot of damage to offensive teams that dominate the OU metagame, which makes it a threat to watch out for. Electivire @ Life Orb / Expert Belt Trait: Motor Drive EVs: 76 Atk / 180 Spd / 252 SAtk Mild Nature (+SAtk, -Def) - Cross Chop - Flamethrower - Hidden Power [Grass / Ice] - Thunderbolt This Electivire is a mixed sweeper, and for the most part it is more effective than physical variants of Electivire. A lot of common counters lose to it, but it still is pretty easy to stop. Either way, it can cause damage to unprepared teams, and many teams are unprepared for Electivire since battlers have such little respect for it. Spiritomb, Mesprit, Dusknoir, and Cresselia still work fine. Swampert works if it has Hidden Power Ice while Gliscor is a counter if Electivire has Hidden Power Grass. Electivire @ Life Orb / Expert Belt Trait: Motor Drive EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - ThunderPunch - Cross Chop - Earthquake / Fire Punch - Ice Punch While Earthquake is more common in the third slot, Fire Punch is very useful for beating two common counters in Forretress and Bronzong. This set is easy to wall, but teams that rely on resistances will get punished. Countering physical Electivire is pretty easy. Dusknoir, Spiritomb, Cresselia, Tangrowth, Celebi, Mesprit, Swampert, Donphan, Weezing, and Hippowdon all work. Without Fire Punch, Forretress and Bronzong also beat it. ---Celebi--- Celebi isn't what it was in Advance, but it's still a very powerful Pokémon. It has a lot of weaknesses, but its access to Calm Mind, Recover, Baton Pass, Leaf Storm, Thunder Wave, Stealth Rock, and several other useful moves more than makes up for that. Celebi can be anything from a staller that is seemingly impossible to kill to a fast and powerful attacker to a Swords Dance or Calm Mind Baton Passer. Celebi @ Life Orb Trait: Natural Cure EVs: 80 HP / 176 Spd / 252 SAtk Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Calm Mind - Grass Knot - Psychic / Recover - Hidden Power [Fire / Ice] / Earth Power Offensive Calm Mind Celebi works a lot like offensive Suicune. After a Calm Mind, Celebi's STAB attacks do all kinds of damage to anything that doesn't resist them not named Blissey or Snorlax. Hidden Power Fire beats down steel-types while Hidden Power Ice does more damage to grass-types and dragon-types than Psychic. Earth Power deals with Heatran and hits Jirachi and Metagross the hardest. Blissey and Snorlax counter it just like they counter offensive Suicune. Regice is also a very solid choice, and Cresselia and Mesprit will also wall it. Togekiss threatens Thunder Wave and STAB Air Slash and can take even Hidden Power Ice with its high Special Defense, but Stealth Rock can get in its way. Celebi @ Life Orb Trait: Natural Cure EVs: 36 Def / 220 Spd / 252 SAtk Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Leaf Storm - Psychic - Earth Power / Hidden Power [Fire] - Recover Celebi also makes a fabulous Life Orb attacker. Recover keeps it nice and healthy while Leaf Storm packs a lot of power against any Pokémon that doesn't resist it not named Blissey or Snorlax. Psychic takes care of several of those Pokémon while Earth Power deals with Heatran switch-ins and grounded steel-types. Hidden Power Fire means Celebi is walled by Heatran, but it hits Bronzong and Skarmory. Blissey, Snorlax, and Regice still do the trick. Cresselia and Mespirt take a lot of damage from Leaf Strom, but they're still effective counters. Heatran will wall it if it lacks Earth Power while Bronzong and even Skarmory work if it lacks Hidden Power Fire. Calm Zapdos makes a decent counter as well. ---Dragonite--- Dragonite has the best movepool of any dragon-type in OUs and the stats to abuse it. Dragonite is really scary in the late game when it can Dragon Dance or Agility once and sweep a team. It also has the ability to break stall with its high-powerful mixed sweeper set. Its defensive typing helps it out a lot, but the weakness to Stealth Rock is a thorn in Dragonite's side. Dragonite @ Life Orb Trait: Inner Focus EVs: 112 Atk / 196 Spd / 200 SAtk Rash Nature (+SAtk, -SDef) - Superpower - Draco Meteor - Fire Blast / Flamethrower - Roost / Thunderbolt "MixNite" follows in the footsteps of MixMence as a powerful mixed sweeper capable of breaking stall wide open. Unlike MixMence's Brick Break, MixNite's Superpower will OHKO Heatran, Blissey, and Tyranitar. It has perfect coverage with Draco Meteor as well, and Fire Blast deals with Metagross, Bronzong, and Skarmory. Roost helps with Life Orb recoil and especially Stealth Rock damage. Milotic, Cresselia, Suicune, and Vaporeon all make good counters. Mesprit takes a lot of damage from Draco Meteor, but it can work too. Bulky water counters will have to be wary of Thunderbolt, as it can 2HKO them with Stealth Rock damage factored in. Dragonite @ Life Orb / Lum Berry / Yache Berry Trait: Inner Focus EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk) - Dragon Dance - Outrage - Earthquake - Fire Punch Dragonite can sweep anything in the late stages of a battle with this set, and sometimes it doesn't even have to wait that long. Outrage's side effects are avoided with Speed boosts (preventing most revenge kills) and Lum Berry (blocking out confusion). Yache Berry really messes up bulky water counters too, though they likely will not be around. Cresselia and Mesprit are great counters, and most bulky waters do the trick though they take a lot from Outrage. Dragonite @ Leftovers / Lum Berry Trait: Inner Focus EVs: 252 HP / 60 Atk / 196 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Dragon Dance - Light Screen / Earthquake - Outrage / Dragon Claw - Roost Bulky DD Dragonite has the ability to set up on would-be counters thanks to Light Screen and Roost, laughing off Ice Beams while Dragon Dancing up. This comes at the expense of Dragonite's coverage, as steel-types can easily take even boosted Outrages easily, and without a Lum Berry, status will be a problem. As previously mentioned, steel-types like Skarmory, Bronzong, Jirachi, and Metagross have their way with this set. Mamoswine and Weavile still threaten Dragonite with Ice Shard, which isn't affected by Light Screen. Dragonite @ Life Orb Trait: Inner Focus EVs: 84 Atk / 204 Spd / 220 SAtk Lonely Nature (+Atk, -Def) - Agility - Draco Meteor - Outrage - Thunderbolt / Fire Blast / Earthquake Agility Dragonite follows in the footsteps of Agililuke and performs well as a fast and powerful mixed sweeper after a Speed boost from Agility. Its dragon attacks hit everything hard bar steel-types, and Fire Blast or Earthquake can take care of some of them. Thunderbolt is a problem for bulky waters. Cresselia is the best counter for this set, as it will win regardless of what Dragonite is running in the last slot. Bulky waters will counter Dragonite if it isn't running Thunderbolt, while steel-types will do well if it is running Thunderbolt. ---Rhyperior--- While Rhyperior has one of the worst defensive type combinations in the game, its 140 base Attack makes it one of the most powerful Pokémon in the OU tier. Not only that, but 130 base Defense and 115 base HP combined with Solid Rock means that Rhyperior can take all kinds of physical hits, giving it plenty of opportunities to switch in. The Special Defense boost it receives in Sandstorm conditions can make it almost impossible to take out without a special water or grass-type attack ready to smack Rhyperior in the face. While Rhyperior has its fair share of flaws, it can be a huge threat if it is used correctly. Rhyperior @ Choice Band Trait: Solid Rock EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Earthquake - Stone Edge - Aqua Tail - Megahorn / Fire Punch With a Choice Band equipped, Rhyperior hits the opponent like a truck. Earthquake and Stone Edge make powerful STAB attacks that pick apart almost any Pokémon, and the last two slots deal with the Pokémon that can take its hits. Rhyperior might be slow, but its bulk and high Defense and HP allow it to switch in on a lot of Pokémon and dish out a ton of damage. Countering CB Rhyperior is pretty difficult. A Skarmory with a few Speed EVs to outpace Skarmory can Roost off even Stone Edge and Fire Punch, but it can't do any damage back. Bronzong is a pretty safe bet assuming it stays out of the way of Fire Punch. Suicune and Milotic take loads of damage from Rhyperior's STAB attacks, but they are faster and can OHKO back with a STAB Surf. Rhyperior @ Leftovers Trait: Solid Rock EVs: 132 HP / 192 Atk / 168 Spd / 16 SDef Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Substitute - Swords Dance - Earthquake - Stone Edge "Su(b)Perior" makes use of Rhyperior's bulk by setting up a 101 HP Substitute and boosting its Attack with Swords Dance. In a Sandstorm, breaking its Substitute is extremely difficult. Stone Edge and Earthquake still have fantastic coverage to make use of the Attack boosts from Swords Dance. Skarmory can Whirlwind Rhyperior away, but a boosted Stone Edge does a lot of damage and Skarmory still can't hurt Rhyperior. Bulky waters work a lot better, but they too will take a lot of damage before Rhyperior goes down. Defensive Celebi is also a good counter since Rhyperior lacks Megahorn, and Celebi can crush it with Grass Knot. Rhyperior @ Life Orb Trait: Solid Rock EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk) - Rock Polish - Earthquake - Stone Edge - Megahorn / Aqua Tail Rock Polish Rhyperior boosts Rhyperior's Speed enough to outspeed some pretty fast Pokémon, most notably Starmie and its powerful STAB Surf. while it doesn't pack the power of other Rhyperior sets, it can be the most threatening, as many teams are not prepared for a fast Rhyperior to threaten to sweep everything. Bulky waters are the still best counters. Bronzong is also a good choice, as it takes laughable damage from both of Rhyperior's STAB attacks and can hit it with Gyro Ball. Skarmory can, of course, PHaze it with Whirlwind. ---Snorlax--- Snorlax has always been a durable, sturdy, and powerful special wall, but DP changed Snorlax quite a bit. while it still makes an effective special wall, Snorlax can also be a useful attacker with its solid 110 base Attack and access to Selfdestruct. Of course, Snorlax can always abuse Curse or RestTalk strategies like it has in the past, making it a potentially dangerous foe. Snorlax @ Choice Band Trait: Thick Fat EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SDef Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Return / Body Slam - Earthquake / Superpower - Fire Punch / Crunch - Selfdestruct "CBLax" takes advantage of Snorlax's attacking capabilities. Return and body Slam are both reliable STAB attacks that really hammer a lot of Snorlax's common switch-ins, and the next two slots deal with Pokémon that resist its STAB attack. Selfdestruct packs more power than Explosion from CBGross, which shows just how powerful this Snorlax is. Snorlax's solid Special Defense and enormous amount of HP allows it effectively check many threatening special sweepers in the OU metagame while not compromising any Attack power. Common physical walls work, though Selfdestruct will eliminate most of them. Without Crunch, the Rotom Appliances wall CBLax. without Fire Punch, Forretress and Bronzong will wall it. Outpredicting CBLax is often key to beating it, as is true with many Choice Banders. ---Gliscor--- While Gliscor was a popular pure physical wall in the early days of DP, it has had to adapt with the rise of Bullet Punch Scizor and Ice Punch Lucario. Gliscor still is a useful physical wall with its great support options like Stealth Rock and Knock Off, but now it is focused around turning the tables on the opponent once it switches in with Swords Dance. It also outspeeds Lucario, which means that Gliscor remains the most reliable Lucario counter in the game. Gliscor @ Leftovers / Yache Berry / Life Orb Trait: Hyper Cutter EVs: 252 HP / 40 Atk / 216 Spd Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk) - Swords Dance - Earthquake - Stone Edge - Roost As previously mentioned, Gliscor is now more useful as a speedy tank that abuses Swords Dance to build up power and roost to stay alive. Stone Edge will always OHKO Gyarados and Salamence after a Swords Dance thanks to Hyper Cutter canceling the effect of Intimidate. Earthquake is a reliable and powerful STAB move that can do a lot of damage, even with Gliscor's rather average Attack stat for a Swords Dancer. Bulky waters, Mesprit, and Cresselia still beat Gliscor. Offensive Celebi outspeeds Gliscor and can do a ton of damage with Leaf Storm or Psychic. Gengar can take an unboosted Stone Edge and OHKO back with Hidden Power Ice as well. Mamoswine and Weavile can revenge kill Gliscor with their powerful ice-type attacks. ---Jolteon--- Jolteon is a unique Pokémon thanks to its incredible Speed and access to Baton Pass. Jolteon is the fastest SubPasser in the game and one of the best as well. Jolteon also has better Special Attack than Pokémon like Mismagius and Starmie, making it a threatening attacker despite its lousy movepool. Jolteon @ Choice Specs Trait: Volt Absorb EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Thunderbolt - Hidden Power [Grass / Ice] - Shadow Ball - Baton Pass "SpecsJolt" has grown more popular recently, and it's easy to see why. It still has its blazing Speed, but now its Special Attack climbs even higher thanks to Choice Specs. Baton Pass is used in the last slot for scouting its counter, which allows it to decide on Thunderbolt, Hidden Power, or Shadow Ball the next time it comes in and usually inflict a decent amount of pain on the opponent. Jolteon's movepool isn't ideal, but it's good enough to make use of Choice Specs. Magnezone resists all of Jolteon's attacks while Blissey and Snorlax can simply sponge them. Gliscor makes a fair counter if it has Hidden Power Grass, while Swampert will always win if it carries Hidden Power Ice. Electrics like Raikou and Electivire can take any of Jolteon's attacks without any problems. ---Azelf--- Azelf is usually seen as a Stealth Rock Suicide lead now, but its talents go far beyond that. Azelf can severely punish unprepared teams with its incredible power and Speed. It still has trouble with common Pursuit users if it cannot knock them out as they switch in, but that doesn't stop Azelf from being an effective attacker. The ban of Deoxys-S and ScarfGar's fall in usage makes Azelf an even more attractive option than it has been in recent memory. Azelf @ Life Orb / Expert Belt Trait: Levitate EVs: 36 HP / 220 Spd / 252 SAtk Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Nasty Plot - Psychic - Flamethrower - Hidden Power [Fighting] / Grass Knot After a Nasty Plot, almost nothing can take a hit from Azelf. Hidden Power Fighting is annoying for those who try to switch in Weavile and Tyranitar, while Grass Knot can mess up bulky waters. Azelf is very diverse and very powerful, so dealing with it can be tough. Azelf can also make use of Taunt to beat Blissey one-on-one or Explosion to take it out of the picture right away, which makes it really dangerous. Spiritomb is a great Azelf counter and Crunch Snorlax works too. Of course, so does Blissey if Azelf lacks Taunt, and it usually does if it's a Nasty Plot sweeper. Dusknoir can work too if it has enough Attack to 2HKO Azelf with Shadow Sneak. Thunder Wave Cresselia and Togekiss work as well, shutting down Azelf completely. Again, watch out for Taunt, though it's not very common. Azelf @ Life Orb Trait: Levitate EVs: 36 Atk / 220 Spd / 252 SAtk Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef) - Psychic - Flamethrower / Hidden Power [Fighting] - Explosion - U-Turn This set preys on a lot of counters to the previous set. U-Turn scouts counters and Explosion OHKOs not just Blissey, but even physical walls like Gliscor. The two special attacks stop a lot of other things from walling Azelf, like Skarmory. Since Hidden Power Fighting is rare, Heatran makes a good counter, being resistant to every attack Azelf carries. Spiritomb and Dusknoir still work well. ---Porygon-Z--- Porygon-Z is insanely powerful, but it has only decent Speed and has few resistances on top of its poor defensive stats. However, Porygon-Z has two wonderful abilities to choose from and incredible Special Attack, which can be boosted by Nasty Plot. Another positive note is that Trick allows Porygon-Z to cripple its old nemesis, Blissey. While Porygon-Z has dipped in usage, it can still be a huge threat to teams and should not be underestimated. Porygon-Z @ Choice Specs Trait: Adaptability EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk) - Tri Attack - Hidden Power [Fighting] - Dark Pulse - Ice Beam Choice Specs Porygon-Z is insanely powerful, and Tri Attack can even take out the likes of Regice and Snorlax. It is restricted by its average Speed and poor defensive capabilities, so do not overestimate it and make careless mistakes. Blissey is a smart choice. Everything else has trouble taking its hits, though Heatran, Metagross, and Registeel can shrug off most of what is thrown at them. The best way to neutralize Porygon-Z is to not let it switch in without taking a lot of damage and killing it before it can kill you. Porygon-Z @ Choice Scarf Trait: Download EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Tri Attack - Thunderbolt - Ice Beam - Hidden Power [Fighting] Choice Scarf Porygon-Z is much like Choice Specs Porygon-Z, only it is used as a revenge killer rather than a special attacker, and it uses Download over Adaptability. Trick can also be used on this set though it is not listed, so Blissey and Snorlax aren't completely safe switch-ins. Standard special walls work assuming they stay out of the way of Trick. Tyranitar, Metagross, Heatran, Registeel, and Bronzong will usually be able to take a hit from Porygon-Z, though some of them have to watch out for certain attacks. Porygon-Z @ Life Orb Trait: Download EVs: 64 HP / 192 Spd / 252 SAtk Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk) - Agility - Dark Pulse - Hidden Power [Fighting] - Tri Attack What really prevents Porygon-Z from sweeping is its average Speed. After an Agility and with a Special Attack boost from Download, almost nothing stands in the way of Porygon-Z whether it's a revenge killer or tank. Porygon-Z has great coverage and the Speed and power to abuse it. Blissey and Resttalk Snorlax do the job, though the latter takes a lot of damage from a +1 LO Hidden Power Fighting. Metagross and Bronzong both make solid choices as well. Porygon-Z @ Life Orb Trait: Adaptability EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Timd Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Nasty Plot - Tri Attack - Dark Pulse - Hidden Power [Fighting] Nasty Plot Porygon-Z is one of the most powerful Pokémon in the game. Even Blissey will take a lot of damage from Porygon-Z's powerful attacks. Safely switching into this set is very difficult, though it's easy to revenge kill which hurts its sweeping ability somewhat. Again, Blissey is the best Pokémon for the job. ScarfCross can come in on anything but Tri Attack and OHKO with Close Combat. Heatran, Registeel, and Metagross can survive a hit or two and hit hard back at Porygon-Z's poor defenses. If all else fails, most Choice Scarfers can revenge kill it to stop its sweep. ---Empoleon--- With Agility, Torrent, good Special Attack, and great typing, Empoleon makes one interesting Pokémon. Despite its inability to get past Seismic Toss Blissey, Empoleon still makes an effective special sweeper that can threaten any team, while its support options like Stealth Rock and Roar plus its good defensive typing allow Empoleon to do more than just sweep with Agility. Empoleon @ Petaya Berry Trait: Torrent EVs: 12 HP / 232 Spd / 252 SAtk / 12 SDef Modest Nature (+Satk, -Atk) - Agility - Substitute - Surf - Ice Beam / Grass Knot With Agility, Empoleon solves its Speed problem, as 60 base Speed is very slow for a sweeper. Substitute, on the other hand, is used to activate Torrent and Petaya Berry, which boost Empoleon's special attacking power. Surf will do incredible amounts of damage to anything that doesn't resist it not named Blissey, and the last slow deals with grass-types and water-types that wall its STAB attack, respectively. Waters wall Empoleon with Ice Beam, and Celebi gives it grief if Empoleon goes with Grass Knot. Seismic Toss Blissey and Earthquake Snorlax do well against it regardless of its choice of attack in the last slot. Toxic Spikes can wear down all of these counters quickly though, so proceed with caution. Empoleon @ Life Orb Trait: Torrent EVs: 24 HP / 232 Spd / 252 SAtk Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk) - Agility - Surf / Hydro Pump - Ice Beam - Grass Knot While Agility is still here, Empoleon loses its Petaya Berry for Life Orb and Substitute to use both secondary attacking options. While it's not as durable as the Substitute variant, this Agility sweeper Empoleon packs more of an immediate punch and possesses much better coverage. Blissey and Snorlax still give it trouble, and so does Ludicolo. Thunder Wave Cresselia is another pest Empoleon has to watch out for. ---Machamp--- Machamp is a very powerful Pokémon, and it can take a few hits too. Machamp has the most powerful Close Combat in the game and it makes good use of moves like Payback and Dynamicpunch. Machamp can do a lot of different things from outpacing fast opponents with a Choice Scarf to abusing Dynamicpunch and No Guard, which makes Machamp a scary Pokémon. It also is an effective check against one of the most fearsome Pokémon in the game in Tyranitar. Machamp @ Choice Band / Choice Scarf Trait: Guts EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 128 Spd Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Close Combat - Ice Punch - Payback - ThunderPunch With a Choice Band, Machamp rips through almost everything in its path. Close Combat smashes almost everything, and the other three slots take care of what it doesn't. The scary part is that Guts can make Machamp even more powerful, almost to the point of uber Pokémon like Groudon. Weezing and to a lesser extent Spiritomb work well in countering Machamp. Otherwise, taking advantage of its low Speed is the best way to get rid of it. RestTalk Machamp is much more common, and many people won't want to get their Pokémon confused by Dynamicpunch. That can buy Machamp some time. ---Dugtrio--- Dugtrio has a very low Attack score for a sweeper, but its Arena Trap ability makes it a useful asset to many teams. Dugtrio is very fast which helps it take out many Pokémon, and its ability to always trap and kill Heatran when equipped with a Choice Scarf is very useful. It can really mess up teams if too many Pokémon are trapped and killed by it, and many Pokémon are. Dugtrio @ Choice Band / Life Orb Trait: Arena Trap EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef Jolly / Adamant Nature - Earthquake - Stone Edge / Rock Slide - Sucker Punch / Night Slash - Aerial Ace / Pursuit Dugtrio can revenge kill so many OU threats with this set it isn't even funny. Electivire, Heatran, Tyranitar, Infernape, Heracross, and many more all fall victim to Dugtrio, and there isn't anything they can do about it. That's what makes Dugtrio so scary, and it will always be popular for that reason. With Heracross declining in usage, Pursuit can be a very useful tool for messing up cocky Gengar that think they can switch out for free and laugh at Dugtrio. You cannot technically counter something that traps Pokémon, but just about any physical wall or bulky water out there beats Dugtrio. Porygon2 can make use of its Trace ability to trap Dugtrio and kill it with Ice Beam. Dugtrio @ Choice Scarf Trait: Arena Trap EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Earthquake - Stone Edge - Night Slash / Sucker Punch - Aerial Ace The main reason anybody would use Choice Scarf Dugtrio is to always revenge kill ScarfTran. Otherwise, it is so ridiculously underpowered that Heracross survives Aerial Ace, which it is 4x weak to. Anything with even fair physical Defense will work assuming it isn't 4x weak to Earthquake or something like that. Unboosted attacks from something with 80 base Attack won't be hurting anything. ---Alakazam--- Alakazam makes a wonderful sweeper with incredible Speed and a lot of great moves to mess around with like Encore and Trick. The only thing that holds Alakazam back is its Pursuit weakness and terrible defenses, but it can sweep teams with no trouble if it is given the opportunity. Alakazam @ Choice Specs / Choice Scarf Trait: Synchronize EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Psychic - Focus Blast - Signal Beam - Trick / Hidden Power [Fire] Alakazam can devastate any team when equipped with Choice Specs, and Trick shuts down Blissey and Snorlax. This makes Alakazam tough to switch into and taking its hits is equally challenging. Alakazam can also carry a Choice Scarf, making it the fastest revenge killer in the OU metagame, but it loses a lot of power. As long as they avoid Trick and to a lesser extent Focus Blast, Blissey and Snorlax work. Bronzong is a decent choice given its 4x resistance to Alakazam's STAB move, though Trick annoys it too. Countering Alakazam is very difficult, so it's best to give it few opportunities to switch in and hammer it when it does try to come in. Alakazam @ Life Orb Trait: Synchronize EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Calm Mind - Psychic - Focus Blast - Signal Beam Alakazam can clean up a lot of teams with this set. Psychic is the main STAB attack while Signal Beam beats psychic-types and Focus Blast beats steel-types. After a Calm Mind, not a whole lot can take a hit from Alakazam. Blissey is the best counter for this set, and Crunch Snorlax works. Metagross can Bullet Punch or Pursuit Alakazam while surviving any hit in the process, and Bronzong can hit it with Gyro Ball. Bullet Punch Scizor can also do a lot of damage, but it has to KO or Alakazam's Focus Blast will OHKO Scizor. Alakazam @ Leftovers Trait: Synchronize EVs: 24 HP / 216 Spd / 252 SAtk / 16 SDef Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Encore - Substitute - Psychic - Signal Beam "EncoreZam" is a very useful set that allows Alakazam to annoy set-up Pokémon like CurseLax and CalmCune. With Substitute, it also shuts down Pokémon that try to status Alakazam. Psychic and Signal Beam give Alakazam decent type coverage to attack with once the opponent is forced to switch out, though both attacks are resisted by steel-types. Blissey and Snorlax work, assuming you don't try to set up on Alakazam. Really, all of the counters to the previous sets will work as long as you aren't foolish. ---Yanmega--- Thanks to Speed Boost, Yanmega can go to places with its Speed that surpass even Deoxys-S. Because of this, Yanmega can sleep just about anything and has good Special Attack to abuse two good STAB attacks. Its 4x Stealth Rock weakness and tendency to get walled easily after Sleep Clause is in effect can make sweeping with it very difficult, however, so don't overestimate its abilities. Yanmega @ Leftovers / Focus Sash / Wise Glasses Trait: Speed Boost EVs: 4 Def / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk) - Air Slash - Bug Buzz - Hidden Power [Ground / Ice] / Hypnosis - Protect / Hypnosis Yanmega makes a great lead with this set, which is why Focus Sash is an option. Yanmega can take advantage of teams that rely on resistances rather than walls for taking hits and also creams any team lacking a reliable method of sleep absorption. Thankfully, this Yanmega doesn't hit very hard, so it probably won't be sweeping your team even if you are caught off guard. Countering Yanmega is pretty easy. RestTalkers like Zapdos and Snorlax that can take its hits work, or you can just wall its attacks with Blissey if Sleep Clause is in effect. Yanmega @ Choice Specs / Choice Scarf Trait: Tinted Lens EVs: 4 Def / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk) - Air Slash - Bug Buzz - Hidden Power [Ground] - U-Turn / Hypnosis Yanmega absolutely crushes Pokémon that could wall the previous set like Heatran and Salamence thanks to Tinted Lens. Any team relying on resistances will take a tremendous beating from this set. Yanmega can also abuse Choice Scarf with pretty much the same moveset, but it makes an ineffective revenge killer because of its 4x Stealth Rock weakness preventing it from switching in more than twice. Stealth Rock and only average Speed hurt this version of Yanmega, but it is very powerful and can rip apart unprepared teams. Standard special walls like Blissey, Snorlax, and Regice wall this set. Otherwise, switching in on Yanmega is very tough indeed. Once Stealth Rock goes up, Yanmega is pretty much done though. Credits Dark_Azelf, JUDGEMENT0, Serebii and Silent Storm. Edited April 19, 2009 by Greencat
Okami Posted April 19, 2009 Posted April 19, 2009 I would still like examples of how to set up the Hidden Power for each of the several different types. :] Other than that, it's nice to see it Stickied. Easier for me to find Thanks, Greencat!
Greencat Posted April 19, 2009 Author Posted April 19, 2009 Moving thread to new section, "Competitive Battling". BTW, I didn't make the guide, Silent Storm did. I just added Mark-Up and Stickied it.
pokemonfan Posted April 21, 2009 Posted April 21, 2009 Talk about in depth. I showed one of the things in the spoiler and I was like Wow! I couldn't believe green cat made all this. Then I read the rest of the post and I was like oh. Anyway props to whoever made this.
Doc Posted April 21, 2009 Posted April 21, 2009 wow that was one of the most informative guides i have ever read, you say you didnt do it all well props to both of you then. im not much of a competitive battler but im deffinately gonna breed some of those bad boys. Thanks
Raukue Posted May 10, 2009 Posted May 10, 2009 I have yet to make my team and dunno if I will ever get there but I have never really fought others, nor have I worked on IV breeding or EV training before because I just never get to that point. I had always played the old games, on GBC and GBA, as if I was ever gonna battle someone, which I knew I never would. But now that I can over Wi-Fi, it is possible for me now instead of having to rely only on those who are around me. What I wanna know though... what makes a good team? I wanna make a team that is a good mix. You know, sweeper and walls, both physical and special. But well... it's hard for me to see how a wall or an annoyer might be useful. I feel that if I use a move that does not attack, I could already faint in that time. I know it's part luck of the match of who has who and part predicting but well yeah I just wonder how being a wall or slow killer or something works. It's hard for me to see it and I can only see offense moves in pokemon to only have all sweepers or something, but I know that can't be good alone? If anyone can link me to any helpful information with either videos or something like that, it would be nice help to see how something other than sweepers can work.
wraith89 Posted May 10, 2009 Posted May 10, 2009 All right, first of all, do you like playing in the standard metagame or the underused metagame? You'll also have to do some research on what Pokemon are banned in certain tiers and whatnot. I'm assuming you play the standard metagame with the big boys like Salamence and Tyranitar. Secondly, you'll need to have a team of 6 Pokemon that can cover their weaknesses very well while being able to respond efficiently to enemy threats. List all the Pokemon you love and like to use and I think I'll be able to help you with that. You'll basically want a lead Pokemon, physical sweeper, special sweeper, physical wall, special wall, status platform, revenge killer, wish supporter, stealth rocker, rapid spinner, spin blocker, etc... As for me, my team relies on indirect damage and stalling to destroy its enemies (and this team hasn't failed yet), but I'm not playing with my OU team in a LONG time. If you want, we can practice in Shoddy and I can help you make a team there. I've helped two members Phreen and UnderXRay make their teams... so specify what you want
Raukue Posted May 10, 2009 Posted May 10, 2009 wraith89 said: All right, first of all, do you like playing in the standard metagame or the underused metagame? You'll also have to do some research on what Pokemon are banned in certain tiers and whatnot. I'm assuming you play the standard metagame with the big boys like Salamence and Tyranitar. Secondly, you'll need to have a team of 6 Pokemon that can cover their weaknesses very well while being able to respond efficiently to enemy threats. List all the Pokemon you love and like to use and I think I'll be able to help you with that. You'll basically want a lead Pokemon, physical sweeper, special sweeper, physical wall, special wall, status platform, revenge killer, wish supporter, stealth rocker, rapid spinner, spin blocker, etc... As for me, my team relies on indirect damage and stalling to destroy its enemies (and this team hasn't failed yet), but I'm not playing with my OU team in a LONG time. If you want, we can practice in Shoddy and I can help you make a team there. I've helped two members Phreen and UnderXRay make their teams... so specify what you want Cool sure I suppose you can help me out to understand how to play and make a good team and all. Best to learn through experience after all. Just I see those who are walls in 1 on 1 a waste or if they are rapid spin and all that you said. Of course I try to think of type coverage but I dunno. I think of Roserade or Mamoswine and I can't think of much else off the top of my head. How I think I got a good Sceptile build in my head but dunno if it would be good. I don't know what would be a good mix. And it's like... should I focus on their best stat or work on the weaker? Say a physical wall who has good enough defense. Advantage of putting EV into defense is to be even more of a physical wall but... putting EV into Sp.Def could surprise someone and manage to survive any Sp.Atk thrown it's way. It's all so complicated... So yeah I guess if we can somehow chat and swap and all. Example teams or type coverage. Me to maybe list 6 I kind of like that I think might be good... I dunno really.
wraith89 Posted May 10, 2009 Posted May 10, 2009 http://projectpokemon.org/forums/showthread.php?t=942 Read this and I can help you in Shoddy... Shoddy is a battle simulator and that's where I'm naturally in. I sign in as "droggiero" but sometimes you'll see a "wraith89"... just not as often. I developed a team for UnderXRay today... and he uses a good lead, special attacker, physical sweeper, wish supporter, physical/special wall, and rapid spinner. (I can't reveal his team to you though). So I'll help you out there, I guess... we do experimental battles for fun and whatnot.
aceowen Posted May 13, 2009 Posted May 13, 2009 (edited) Thanks to death-ray-x i now have a resonably good deoxys, with a rash nature[-sp def +sp atk] in the ev corner i maxed out speed and sp atk putting what was left into hp but now im faced with a problem: the moveset. Focus blast has great type coveredge but is unreliable so i cannot decide between it and superpower. shadow ball gets on there because it's super effective against 50% of ubers. ice beam hits all the flying ground and dragon types so thats good. then im faced with anther decision, physco boost, recover or calm mind. and which form normal or attack? attack form can reach a sp atk of over 500 but normal form can take at least one hit. as for the item, choice specs a life orb or a focus sash. if someone with deoxys experience could help out that would be great. Edited May 13, 2009 by aceowen wrong spelling
Enkidu Posted May 13, 2009 Posted May 13, 2009 Normal form cannot take a hit, everything in ubers is..ya know UBER he might be able to take ONE hit from UU or NU, but thats as lucky as Deoxys is going to get. Attack form is superior in all cases to normal form for the uber enviroment. Super power > Focus blast as it actually hits when you need it to, and also only lowers physical attack meaning if your other 3 attacks are special it won't affect him at all. Calm mind/Recover are useless on deoxys's, he needs to be able to nail whatever switches in and either switch or hit it again to kill it. He also needs his 3 special moveslots, giving him only 2 reduces what he can and cannot kill greatly. The same way superpower is only useful on a 3 special move set, Psycho boost is only useful on a 3 physical move set . Anyway the most common moveset for him is Hasty/Naive 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe Shadowball Thunder Icebeam Superpower
aceowen Posted May 14, 2009 Posted May 14, 2009 any replacements for thunder? ice beam hits supper effective on everything thunder does eccept kyogre. and i have kyogre coveredge via grass knot. would you reccomend hindden power? and if so what type. because of pokesav it's not nearly as hard as should be. i got the ev spread though.
That Pokemon Guy Posted June 4, 2009 Posted June 4, 2009 Yeah, I'm going into a tournament this weekend and they are running nothing bug legendary pokemon. I was wondering if anybody had any ideas on what I could use to take control.
MetalKid Posted October 1, 2009 Posted October 1, 2009 Actually, HP Attack Power is also modular. Thus, you don't have to get high IVs to get a perfect 70 AP. For example, if you had IVs of 2/2/2/3/2/3, you would get Bug 70.
Greencat Posted October 3, 2009 Author Posted October 3, 2009 @Metalkid: Thanks. I never knew that. Heh.
Shogun Posted January 27, 2010 Posted January 27, 2010 This guide does provide a lot of useful information, but it is not a team make guide, thus the name "Pokemon Team Building" is not properly named for this guide. If enough people show interest I could make a guide that gives advice and examples of how to build a healthy team for the standard meta game known as OU.
Dude45 Posted March 26, 2011 Posted March 26, 2011 I am new to competitive battling and need help building a team for White. I am aware of the type differences stats.etc but need a place to get started on EV training. anyone know good sweepers, Walls, annoyers.etc that are in the OU/UU tier that I can catch in white? PS I also Have Soul Silver and Diamond but no other DS to transfer pokemon :frown:
raine_13 Posted February 14, 2012 Posted February 14, 2012 I'm okay at this game... but i'm having some trouble picking this team. It's to face my cousin and I don't have the advantages he has. And i'm stuck, like hardcore stuck. Heracross Guts ~*Swords Dance ~Close Combat ~Megahorn ~Aerial Ace Kyogre Drizzle ~Ice Beam ~Water Spout ~Surf ~Thunder Rayquaza Air Lock ~Fire Blast ~Draco Meteor ~*Dragon Dance ~Fly Jolteon Volt Absorb ~Thunder ~*Thunder Bolt ~*Shadow Ball ~*Signal Beam For the last two, i'm a little stuck... PS (IF ANY OF YOU HAVE THE MOVES WITH ASTERISKS, I BEG YOU TO HELP ME GET THEM!) I'm debating on a Flygon, and Scizor, but I am open to suggestions. I just don't hit ghosts or psychics as hard as I'd like... Thanks you guys.. Oh and I don't know how to ev train. I just get them strong.
Tbird Posted February 15, 2012 Posted February 15, 2012 If you're just playing for fun with your cousin then honestly, don't worry about all of this. It'll suck the fun out of it. If you want to play competitively then learn how, read all the guides on all the various sites that provide them (here, Serebii, Smogon) and do so. If you want an in-game team rated then there is a thread for that in this very subforum. If you want a compeitive rate then make a competitive team and post it in the RMT section. If you want someone to give you pokemon, ask in the Requests forum. I honestly don't know what you're looking for here, so I'm sorry if I sound rude. We don't know enough information about the battle that you're going to be playing, are there any tiers that you guys will be playing by? What sort of "advantages" does he have? If they are unfair advantages; is it wise even playing with him. Again, sorry, I'm not sure what you are asking.
raine_13 Posted February 15, 2012 Posted February 15, 2012 Oh no problem... He has an Action replay so an unlimited amount of any resource he chooses. I do not. I am worrying about it making it a little more competitive because well he needs to be put in his place, and I find it just a tad bit interesting. I can do all the smogon stuff. that's how i've arrived at this stage at the moment. But for the last two pokemon i'm stuck. And I thought that this would be the forum to ask about it? team building? and it is in game. I have what I can get in Heartgold. I use them to get things done. Fly, Surf, etc..
Gin Posted February 15, 2012 Posted February 15, 2012 Honestly, if you're not going to bother ev training and such, you're basically flipping a coin. Either you should go all the way and learn the game, or just play casually. It's a big waste of time and energy to go halfway.
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