A Farewell to a New Metagame- an OU RMT

[Tyranitarphantom]

A Farewell to a New Metagame

Overview

With Salamence's recent banning, I wanted to get into OU again. I wanted to try some things I had never used before, but I also wanted to capitalize on my favorite competitive Pokemon, Machamp and Jirachi. I want one team, to define the end of the D/P metagame. This is what I've come up with. Rate away!

Team at a Glance

In-Depth

Roserade (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Spe / 252 SpA
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Leaf Storm
- Sleep Powder
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Why this Pokemon?

Oh my, how I love this Pokemon. An old favorite from ADV NU, evolved and made so much better in Gen IV. She synergizes excellently with Heatran, with pretty much every lead imaginable covered between the two. With Scarf, she often just switches after Sleeping something, and serves as a revenge killer later.

Moves, EVs, Nature

Leaf Storm for a super-strong STAB move, Sludge Bomb for auxillary STAB, HP Fire covers Steels bar Heatran, Sleep Powder to incapacitate one Pokemon from the opponent's team. Timid with Max Spe allows for a very fast Sleep, and Max SpA makes her moves hit very, very hard coming from 125 base SpA. Leftover EVs in HP

Synergy

Fire- Heatran, Starmie, Flygon
Ice- Heatran, Starmie, Jirachi
Psychic- Heatran, Starmie, Jirachi
Flying- Heatran, Jirachi

Versus Top 10 Leads

Hide

Azelf- Outrun and Sleep, followed by going to Heatran to get Rocks up

Machamp- can be the trickiest of the bunch to handle. Typically, they go for Ice Punch, so I go to Starmie to take it and hit it back hard

Aerodactyl- outrun and Sleep, followed by switching to Flygon to kill it

Metagross- since more and more are running Lum thanks to Machamp's rise in popularity, I usually switch Heatran in, take whatever it throws out, and Fire Blast for a kill on any but Occa (and even then, Shuca allows me to live through EQ)

Swampert- since they usually switch, I just go for the Sleep Powder, incapacitating a Grass resist.

Jirachi- Go straight to Heatran, and kill it

Infernape- Go for the sleep, and then go to Starmie for the kill

Roserade- Most are just Sashed, so I sleep them (even though they lose it on switching), and then go to Heatran

Heatran- Sleep them, then go to my own Heatran to get Rocks up

Ninjask- lol

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Heatran (M) @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 6 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Explosion
- Stealth Rock

Why this Pokemon?

Admittedly, I detest Heatran. From the first time I encountered it in Diamond, I hated it. However, it works just so well with Roserade, that I overlooked my hatred of it, and now I kind of like it. It's the most used Pokemon in OU for a reason!

Moves, EVs, Nature

Heatran's Fire Blast strikes fear into anything that dosent resist it (and some that do!), unless their name is Blissey or Snorlax. Earth Power gives neutral coverage against most things that resist Fire Blast. Stealth Rock is greatly appreciated by this team, as the team causes lots and lots of switches. Explosion is a last ditch attempt at killing something, often used on opposing Bulky Waters. Naive with Max Spe makes Heatran less sluggish, max SpA makes Fire Blast and EP hit very hard, leftover EVs in Atk to give Explosion a tiny bit more power.

Synergy

Ground- Flygon, (Shuca Berry)
Fighting- Starmie, Roserade
Water- Starmie, Roserade

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Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Spd/252 SAtk/6 SDef
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Grass Knot
- Recover

Why this Pokemon?

Starmie finishes up my FWG trio, although that isn't my real core. Starmie catches many attacks my team has problems with, and is a very fast sweeper. Often, Starmie cleans up after the rest of the team has done significant damage.

Moves, EVs, Nature

Hydro Pump may be unreliable as far as accuracy goes, but it's sheer power is why I use it. Standard CB Scizor is OHKO'd after SR by it, and it even puts a huge dent in things that resist it. Ice Beam covers certain Pokemon, like Shaymin, Celebi, and Dragonite. Grass Knot is chosen over Thunderbolt because of the higher damage output on most Pokemon switching into Starmie. It's fun to see a Jolteon or Electivire try to come in to activate their ability, only to be hit in the face with a vine instead. Recover increases the amount of attacks it can pull off. Max SpA/Spe Timid make it as strong and fast as possible.

Synergy

Electric- Flygon, Roserade
Grass- Roserade, Heatran, Jirachi
Bug- Machamp, Heatran
Ghost- Heatran
Dark- Machamp, Heatran

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Flygon (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 6 SpA
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Claw
- Roost

Why this Pokemon?

I will argue to the death that Flygon is the best Dragon in OU at the moment. The fastest of the 3, and while it may not have the raw attacking power that Dragonite has, Flygon has so much more! 100 Base Speed, amazing STAB coverage, and an SR resist (as opposed to a weakness) among them, Flygon is truly a force to be reckoned with.

Moves, EVs, Nature

EQ and Dragon Claw give phenomenal STAB coverage, without locking myself into Outrage. Fire Blast hits a few things harder, notably Bronzong, Shaymin, Skarmory, Scizor, and Celebi. Roost allows Flygon to stay alive and deal damage throughout the match. Naive is used to prevent Fire Blast from being toned down. Max Spe, and Max Atk make Flygon's attacks hit suprisingly hard. Leftover EVs give Fire Blast a bit more power.

Synergy

Dragon- Heatran, Jirachi
Ice- Heatran, Jirachi, Starmie

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Machamp (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 248 HP/248 Atk/12 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dynamicpunch
- Payback
- Stone Edge
- Substitute

Why this Pokemon?

I remember the effort I went through to get a Machamp back in RBY, waiting months to trade with a friend. Machamp has been a long-time favorite, and in D/P, it's an unbelievable monster. Safely behind a Sub, it can dish out massive damage to pretty much anything, and causes a huge amount of ragequits. Machamp is easily my favorite Pokemon.

Moves, EVs, Nature

DynamicPunch with No Guard is pretty broken. Machamp has the highest Atk of all Fighting types, so DynamicPunch deals a ton to pretty much anything barring Ghosts. It also confuses, which could cause me to get a free hit or Sub. Payback hits Gengar and Rotom (always OHKOing Gengar, while doing at least 60% to defensive Rotom. Stone Edge has a nice high crit rate, and hits Flying-types like Dragonite for more than any other move. Sub gives me a chance to see what their Machamp counter is, and gets me a free kill on any Gengar, or a free hit on whatever they switch in. Adamant 248 Atk gives a ton of attacking power, while staying quite bulky with 248 HP EVs. 12 EVs in Spe allow it to outrun the standard 8 Spe Machamp. The missing point from Atk dosen't lose me any KOs either.

Synergy

Flying- Jirachi, Heatran
Psychic- Jirachi, Heatran, Starmie

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Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 164 HP/168 Atk/176 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Thunder Wave
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch

Why this Pokemon?

SubTwave Jirachi may be the most annoying Pokemon in the game. It causes tons of switches, racking up SR damage, and Iron Head's flinching can wear anything down with a little time. Synergizes quite well with Machamp, allowing Machamp to pull of Parafusion on opponents. Overall, just an amazing Pokemon, one of the best in the game

Moves, EVs, Nature

Behind a Sub, Jirachi is free to paralyze anything with Twave, and then flinch them to death with Iron Head. Fire Punch offers extra coverage against Steels, leaving Jirachi vulnerable to only Bulky Waters and Fire-types (who are handled well by the rest of the team). Nature and EVs are straight from the Smogon analysis, and they work perfectly

Synergy

Fire- Heatran, Flygon, Starmie
Ground- Flygon

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Final Look

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[Tyranitarphantom]

GREEN means the Pokemon is adequately covered
ORANGE means the Pokemon is a slight threat
RED means that the Pokemon is a large problem

Heatran - Starmie kills it easily, as does Flygon (who resists it's two main moves), and my Heatran can come in on a Fire move and kill easily

Scizor- Heatran stops it cold, Jirachi can kill with Fire Punch, Roserade often nabs suprise kills with HP Fire

Gyarados- Stealth Rock makes it's life suck, Roserade outruns any Gyarados even at +1, Machamp's Stone Edge makes quick work of it

Tyranitar- Machamp stops pretty much any Tyranitar cold, often getting me a free sub. Jirachi can also outrun all but Scarf and DD(at +1) and destroy it

Starmie- Roserade outruns it, I don't believe it can OHKO Machamp or Jirachi

Gengar- Machamp generally wrecks it

Jirachi- Heatran destroys it, anything can wreck it if it gets paralyzed

Infernape- Starmie wrecks it, Roserade outruns it

Metagross- Heatran makes quick work of it

Swampert- Roserade and Starmie destroy it, Machamp often causes it to kill itself, Heatran can blow up on it

Dragonite- Stealth Rock, Flygon and Starmie outrun and rape it, Machamp can kill with Stone Edge, Jirachi outruns and flinches it to death

Blissey- Machamp destroys it, Flygon and Jirachi can kill it easily, Heatran can blow up on it

Machamp- quite a broken Pokemon. I usually go to Starmie, who takes anything but Payback, and do ~70% with Hydro Pump, after which anything can come in and kill it

Lucario- outrun by Flygon and Jirachi, and easily killed by both

Flygon- Starmie outruns it, it can't OHKO Machamp

Azelf- always a lead, and Roserade always just sleeps them

Breloom- general strategy is to send in Starmie or Roserade to get Spored, switch to Jirachi as he subs, and then Sub as he tries to Spore. Can be annoying, but overall not too bad.

Rotom-H- most often is switched into a predicted EQ from Flygon or DynamicPunch from Machamp. I always just Sub with Machamp, and Dragon Claw with Flygon. In the Machamp situation, if Payback fails to kill, another Payback will, or Flygon outrunning it will

Gliscor- Starmie rapes it, but has to be somewhat cautious switching in

Skarmory- all 6 of my Pokemon have ways of easily killing it

Vaporeon- Roserade kills it

Suicune- probly the biggest nuisance to the team. Roserade kills it easily, but it can survive pretty much anything else. Usually worn down over the course of a match

Celebi- Heatran

Jolteon- Flygon wrecks any not carrying HP Ice, Roserade outruns and kills

Kingdra- Flygon outruns and kills, Machamp kills easily, Roserade outruns and kills

Zapdos- Starmie and Machamp can easily kill it, but must be wary of switching in

Forretress- just like Skarm, my entire team can rape it easily (although Machamp has a bit harder time)

Magnezone- always brought into Jirachi or Heatran. Jirachi will paralyze and subsequently Flinch it to death, Heatran may die but Flygon is given a free switch in then

Aerodactyl- can't do anything to Machamp, as a lead it gets slept by Roserade

Bronzong- more bulky, but still relatively easily killed by the entire team

Togekiss- Stealth Rock, gets Flinched by Jirachi, killed flat out by Starmie, if it comes into Machamp, it eats a Dynamicpunch, which it dosen't enjoy

Empoleon- Roserade, Machamp, and Flygon can all easily kill it

Electivire- lol.... but really, is killed easily by Flygon

Weavile- Machamp

Dusknoir- see Rotom-H

Snorlax- Machamp

Hippowdon- Easily killed by Starmie or Roserade

Roserade- something gets slept, but then the entire team has SE moves except Machamp, who still rapes it

Mamoswine- Machamp dosen't afraid of pretty much anything, Jirachi haxes to death, Starmie flat-out kills it

Tentacruel- Flygon makes quick work of it

Ninjask- everything rapes it, especially Stealth Rock

Umbreon- Machamp laughs at it. Why do people use it in OU?

Rotom-W- See Rotom-H

Shaymin- beaten by Heatran thanks to Shuca, Roserade and Starmie outrun and kill

Smeargle- again, something gets slept, but the entire team can hit it very hard

Heracross- most of the team can hit it really hard while outrunning it

Porygon-Z- outrun and killed by most of team

Rotom-C- See Rotom-H

Uxie- as a lead, Roserade always wins

 

[ScaryBalloons]

I run a team very similar to this one, except I used a scarf rotom instead of starmie.

Something you may want to consider would be changing the life orb on flygon to an expert belt to bluff a choice item. It can be very useful if you can trick them into thinking your choiced and net a surprise KO.

Like I said this is very similar to a team I use, and I find it to be very effective. You may consider running HP Ice on Roserade to combat gliscor and flygon. Depends on what you are having more trouble with I suppose, those two or scizor.

 

[millz]

hello tyranitarphantom,

i'm up at 3 AM doing rates because i slept all day and cannot sleep now.

Anyways Sludge Bomb on Roserade doesn't seem to necessary since poison attacks get lame coverage. Roserade doesn't have much of an attacking move pool, but toxic might help you out against Suicune that don't have rest. Unfortunately, status moves don't always work well on scarfed pokemon. It's totally up to you, but that's just my suggestion.

If Machamp is a huge problem for you, then a Psychic from a Modest, 252 SPA, Life Orb Starmie is a OHKO without entry hazards. The down side is that pokemon like Infernape will likely outspeed you, but Flygon can always Earthquake him. I'm not too sure about which move you would replace it with. Do you want to loose coverage, or do you want to loose healing? It's not a necessary change, but it might help a little.

Otherwise, your team looks very solid.

 

[Faladran]

Hello,

First of all, I'd like to commend you on using the combo of Machamp + Jirachi. This is one of my favorite cores, so I have some experience with it.

To improve your lead matchups, I'd like to suggest moving Heatran to the lead position. Since opposing Machamp leads are annoying, I like to use this set (originally by Phillip7086):

Heatran (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 174 HP/84 Spd/252 SAtk
Mild nature (+SAtk, -Def)
- Stealth Rock
- Overheat
- Hidden Power Grass
- Explosion

Overheat will usually OHKO Anti-Lead Machamp, dealing 96.1% - 113.4% to the standard set. Hidden Power Grass can net a surprise OHKO on Swampert, which is great considering Jirachi and Machamp have a hard time getting through bulky waters.

If you decide to make this change, you can also make a change to Roserade's set. The Dual-Spiking set can be great for setting up on a variety of Pokemon and provides a great deal of special bulk:

Roserade @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD
Calm nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Toxic Spikes
- Spikes
- Energy Ball
- Rest

If opposing Dragonite get to be a problem, you could also try using Hidden Power Ice over any move you feel isn't necessary.

Good luck with your team!

 

[Bossnine]

Sorry, but I dont have much time right now, but there are 2 things i've noticed:

You have Sludge Bomb on Roserade for a good all-around attacking move. However, because of Roserade's other attacks (HP for certain threats, and LS gets weaker), your team's ability to take out bulky pokes that SLudge Bomb would be aimed at, and the fact that Roserade has so many good other choices, I'd recommend using Toxic Spikes or Spikes over Sludge Bomb.

By far my favorite lead right now is Roserade; and in fact my favorite set is the same as yours, except Toxic Spikes > Sludge Bomb and HP Ice > Fire.

Toxic Spikes help wear the enemy down, and I prefer HP Ice because It covers other Grass-types (like Fire); I lose to CB Scizor anyways; and its a good check to Adamant Flygon and +1 DDNite.

Also, in your threat list you mentioned Nite. Just watch out if Flygon is gone, and you cannot flinch Nite. I've won many battles where someone took their ScarfRachi and tried to flinch me, just for me to kill with EQ and sweep with +1 DDNite.

The enemy doesn't have much room to set up, but if they somehow get +2 even on BulkyNite, watch out as he then outspeeds Flygon.

 

[Tyranitarphantom]

I appreciate the rates. I haven't any time right now to test changes, but I'll get on that later. Please, continue rating!