Dude, that's Sweep! RMT, Need help!

[Takion]

Hey Everybady! I just want to start of pointing that Im new, so if the team looks horrific, just note that Im NOT all that aware of what I am doing yet. However, Im sure with Smogon's help Ill be able to do just fine! Without further due, here it goes:

Lucario
With Life Orb

Ev: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Inner Focus

-Swords Dance
-Close Combat
-ExtremeSpeed
-Crunch ------> Bullet Punch----->Ice Punch

I decided to go forth and make a team where Lucario has the lead role. If the swords dance goes of successfully it allows Lucario to be a deadly sweeper in the OU Metagame. My choice to put crunch in allows him to be effective against Gengar. However, Im debating changing it between Ice Punch as Gliscor has become a huge pain recently.

Ferrothorn
With Leftovers --------> Shed Shell

Ev: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Nature: Relaxed
Ability: Iron Barbs

-Leech seed
-Stealth Rock
-Gyro Ball
-Power Whip

Considerably one of the best Tanks in OU, I just had to go with him. The entry hazard setup was huge. Volcaronos are fairly annoying for the team to handle, it makes it easier with the addition of the stealth rock. He also opportunities leech seed and is a pain to get rid of.

Tentacruel
with Black Sludge

Ev: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Nature: Timid----------->Bold
Ability: Rain Dish

-Substitute----->Protect
-Toxic
-Rapid Spin
-Scald

Entry hazards may not be as effective on this team as it may be on the opponents but none the less its very important to have a utility pokemon. With access to toxic and substitute, and consisntetly being healed by his ability (rain dish) and black sudge, tentacruel is a great addition.

Politoed
with Choice Specs

Ev: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Nature: Modest
Ability: Drizzle

-Surf
-Focus Blast
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power Grass

Competitive team and the use of weather has never been so important. This is where politoed plays its role. This addition benefits not only itself but tentacruel as well. It weakens fire moves as they hurt both my Lucario and Ferrothorn.

Dragonite
With Leftovers --------> Lum Berry

Ev: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Multiscale

-Dragon Dance
-Outrage
-Fire Punch ---------------> Waterfall (Great with rain)
-ExtremeSpeed

The ability of multiscale was impossible to pass up. It basically allows a free DD and this allows him to be an amazing sweeper. My other reason for choosing him was because it combos well with Lucario as they both tackle each others weaknesses.

Alakazam
With Focus Sash

Ev: 4 HP/ 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Modest
Ability: Magic Guard

-Psyshock
-Focus Blast
-Shadow Ball
-Hidden Power ICE

As much as I would have loved to keep Terrakion on my team, I was in desperate need for a Special Sweeper. With Terrakion himself being such a threat, Alakazam allows me to counter him. It works well against SlowBro, Gengars, Jellicents, Reuniclus and other psychic stall/tanks that threaten this team. It allows me to counter a Gliscors too.

==============================================================================================================
The Cuts

Terrakion
With Choice bands----------------->Rock Gem

Ev: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Justified

-Close Combat
-Stone Edge
-X-Scissor ----------> Swords Dance
-Sacred Sword ----------> Substitute

I was torn to take Salamence out as my team really was getting hurt bad by lightning moves. I didnt need to look far as Terrakion was the easy pick. Being blessed with an great moveset along with stats he is perhaps the best sweeper in OU, his role on this team is extremely important...especially when your opponent sends out that lightning pokemon.

============================================================================================================

Without further due, I hope you all can help me out! :)

Changes are in bold!

 

[Prinz]

Hello Takion, I think this is a nice team! At first, I'd put Bullet Punch on your Lucario to hit Terrakion and Gengar because Jellicent and Slowbro aren't a big problem for this team (you can toxic-stall them easily) and you don't need to hit them with Crunch. Then, I don't like Fire Punch on Dragonite in a rain team, I suggest you to use Waterfall, under rain, it's a very good move. Finally, I'd use Politoed with bold nature to have a better bulkyness and I'd use Protect in place of Ice Beam to scout opponents' moves and because Ferrothorn is sufficient for the dragon types (Ah, use Shed Shell > Leftovers on your Ferrothorn because of Magnezone) and I'd use EQ in place of Sacred Sword on your Terrakion, it's useful to revengekill Toxicroak that can be a problem for this team.

Good luck, I hope it helped!

~Alexander

 

[Neliel]

Hey, this team is not bad, dont worry, welcome to smogon anyway.

First, you said that crunch lucario is here for gengar, but crunch lets you beat it only if you predict his switch-in, so its not the best move in the world t check Gengar. Lucario can use Bullet punch, wich, after a sword dance, can ko the standard version of Gengar. Bullet punch is also good to revenge kill stuff like Terrakion, which seem problematic somehow, since both your fight resistor cant take 2 stone edge. You are right saying that you should also have Ice punch on Lucario to beat Gliscor, but there is a quick fix that can make your team less weak to gliscor, aka rock gem sword dance Terrakion. With a rock gem and a sword dance, you can ko the standard Gliscor baitkilling it. in this way you are free to setup with your lucario and try to sweep.
An another fix i would suggest is to run the standard Lum berry on Dragonite. Lum berry really helps having a free turn to setup, without having to care about burn of scald or thunder wave, and it also cure the confusion due to Outrage. Lum berry also help you against Techloom, which otherwhise can sweep you.
The other thing i would change is Fire punch on Dragonite. I know the standard set has it, but you should not use a fire move under rain, so i think you should use Superpower instead. Superpower can still do large damage to Ferrothorn while also beating Heatran, and it can also ko Tyranitar.
Also, make sure to put Bold nature on Politoed. The point of the set is to take hits, and modest nature does not help to get any important ko i guess.

Terrakion set:

Hide

Terrakion @ Rock Gem
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Substitute

Dragonite set:

Hide

Dragonite (F) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Superpower
- ExtremeSpeed

Bullet punch > Crunch on Lucario
Bold > Modest on Politoed

 

[zIntens1fy]

Hi, I have looked at a lot of RMTs before although this is my first post, I know a lot about team building. Alright so a few things I noticed straight off the bat..Lucario needs to go..try running a technician Breloom with sd bullet seed spore and Mach punch..this will keep you with a sweeper and give you a good lead against all weather..also throw a focus sash on the Breloom. Another thing is that your running fire punch on your dragonite even though your running a rain team..you should try earthquake as a replacement. And the last thing after taking a quick glimpse is that you have both sacred sword and close combat which is pointless since terrakions sp.attk is terrible..you should try running earthquake for some extra coverage or surprise people with hp ice even lol..it would take care of and landorus that could otherwise easily wall it

 

[Neliel]

And the last thing after taking a quick glimpse is that you have both sacred sword and close combat which is pointless since terrakions sp.attk is terrible..

Just saying that sacred sword is different from secret sword. Sacred sword is a physical move that does not have the stat drop, so its fine.

 

[Takion]

Hello Takion, I think this is a nice team! At first, I'd put Bullet Punch on your Lucario to hit Terrakion and Gengar because Jellicent and Slowbro aren't a big problem for this team (you can toxic-stall them easily) and you don't need to hit them with Crunch. Then, I don't like Fire Punch on Dragonite in a rain team, I suggest you to use Waterfall, under rain, it's a very good move. Finally, I'd use Politoed with bold nature to have a better bulkyness and I'd use Protect in place of Ice Beam to scout opponents' moves and because Ferrothorn is sufficient for the dragon types (Ah, use Shed Shell > Leftovers on your Ferrothorn because of Magnezone) and I'd use EQ in place of Sacred Sword on your Terrakion, it's useful to revengekill Toxicroak that can be a problem for this team.

Good luck, I hope it helped!

~Alexander

Thanks Alexander! Ill put that bullet punch on and take the advice! After some testing Ill keep this thread updated and let you know how it turns out :)

Hey, this team is not bad, dont worry, welcome to smogon anyway.

First, you said that crunch lucario is here for gengar, but crunch lets you beat it only if you predict his switch-in, so its not the best move in the world t check Gengar. Lucario can use Bullet punch, wich, after a sword dance, can ko the standard version of Gengar. Bullet punch is also good to revenge kill stuff like Terrakion, which seem problematic somehow, since both your fight resistor cant take 2 stone edge. You are right saying that you should also have Ice punch on Lucario to beat Gliscor, but there is a quick fix that can make your team less weak to gliscor, aka rock gem sword dance Terrakion. With a rock gem and a sword dance, you can ko the standard Gliscor baitkilling it. in this way you are free to setup with your lucario and try to sweep.
An another fix i would suggest is to run the standard Lum berry on Dragonite. Lum berry really helps having a free turn to setup, without having to care about burn of scald or thunder wave, and it also cure the confusion due to Outrage. Lum berry also help you against Techloom, which otherwhise can sweep you.
The other thing i would change is Fire punch on Dragonite. I know the standard set has it, but you should not use a fire move under rain, so i think you should use Superpower instead. Superpower can still do large damage to Ferrothorn while also beating Heatran, and it can also ko Tyranitar.
Also, make sure to put Bold nature on Politoed. The point of the set is to take hits, and modest nature does not help to get any important ko i guess.

Terrakion set:

Hide

Terrakion @ Rock Gem
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Substitute

Dragonite set:

Hide

Dragonite (F) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Superpower
- ExtremeSpeed

Bullet punch > Crunch on Lucario
Bold > Modest on Politoed

Hey thanks a lot mate! I appreciate the compliment it honestly means lots. I have the same feeling towards fire blast. However, do you feel that rain is the necessary weather to go towards?

Hi, I have looked at a lot of RMTs before although this is my first post, I know a lot about team building. Alright so a few things I noticed straight off the bat..Lucario needs to go..try running a technician Breloom with sd bullet seed spore and Mach punch..this will keep you with a sweeper and give you a good lead against all weather..also throw a focus sash on the Breloom. Another thing is that your running fire punch on your dragonite even though your running a rain team..you should try earthquake as a replacement. And the last thing after taking a quick glimpse is that you have both sacred sword and close combat which is pointless since terrakions sp.attk is terrible..you should try running earthquake for some extra coverage or surprise people with hp ice even lol..it would take care of and landorus that could otherwise easily wall it

Hey dude! Welcome to smogon and I feel pretty swell that your first post was to help me out! Sad to say, I tried making this team for Lucario, Id like to shine competitive play on him again as I see serious potential! You are completely right about the terrakion, Ill keep that updated mate! Enjoy your time brutha!

 

[Neliel]

However, do you feel that rain is the necessary weather to go towards?

Lucario does not need any weather support, so i dont know, its fine under rain, sun, sand or weatherless.. its up to you

 

[dragonuser]

Hey there,

This is a pretty cool team, but I do see ways it can be improved. So first off I will talk about some minor moveset adjustments that can be made. So while Iron Ball is cool on Politoed, it really serves zero purpose, actually hurting you in some cases. Your Politoed is built with a defensive spread, so running Leftovers would be much more beneficial. This gives Politoed a little bit more recovery, and is generally helpful on more defensive Pokemon. I would also use a Bold Nature on Politoed. Your Politoed's attacks/EV's don't really represent an offensive set, so it would be best to capitalize on its bulk, and max it out. Secondly, on Dragonite I would run a Lum Berry > Leftovers. A Lum Berry helps Dragonite set up, curing it from a fatal status, while making it a pseudo check to Breloom. Dragonite is your best way to handle Breloom at the moment, so you want to have some insurance in case you predict wrong/want to setup on it. Even if Dragonite doesn't get status'd, a Lum Berry can help by curing Dragonite from Outrage, greatly helping its sweeping capabilities. Additionally, since your in Rain, Fire Punch will do little damage. I would actually recommend using Waterfall > Fire Punch. Ferrothorn isn't a major issue for your team, and Waterfall is better for a longer sweep as it doesn't lower your Atk/Def like Superpower does. Waterfall also helps you capitalize on your weather, and it gets good coverage.

Ok so now onto the bigger threats to your team. Terrakion looks slightly annoying, so I would definitely second Nel's suggestion of Bullet Punch on Lucario. Tornadus-T also looks pretty troublesome to face. It outruns every Pokemon on your team, and you lack a solid Flying-Type resist. Although, having double priority does help a lot vs it, so it isn't too big of a problem. To help with this I would recommend making Terrakion Choice Scarf'd. This not only gives you a very solid revenge killer, but it really limits Tornadus-T's opportunities to damage you. This way 3 of your Pokemon can threaten ko's, while the rest can tank a Hurricane and hit back hard. Anyways, hope I helped gl.

tldr:
Iron Ball -----> Leftovers on Politoed
Modest -----> Bold on Politoed
Leftovers -----> Lum Berry on Dragonite
Fire Punch -----> Waterfall on Dragonite
Crunch -----> Bullet Punch on Lucario
Choice Band -----> Choice Scarf on Terrakion

 

[Takion]

Hey there,

This is a pretty cool team, but I do see ways it can be improved. So first off I will talk about some minor moveset adjustments that can be made. So while Iron Ball is cool on Politoed, it really serves zero purpose, actually hurting you in some cases. Your Politoed is built with a defensive spread, so running Leftovers would be much more beneficial. This gives Politoed a little bit more recovery, and is generally helpful on more defensive Pokemon. I would also use a Bold Nature on Politoed. Your Politoed's attacks/EV's don't really represent an offensive set, so it would be best to capitalize on its bulk, and max it out. Secondly, on Dragonite I would run a Lum Berry > Leftovers. A Lum Berry helps Dragonite set up, curing it from a fatal status, while making it a pseudo check to Breloom. Dragonite is your best way to handle Breloom at the moment, so you want to have some insurance in case you predict wrong/want to setup on it. Even if Dragonite doesn't get status'd, a Lum Berry can help by curing Dragonite from Outrage, greatly helping its sweeping capabilities. Additionally, since your in Rain, Fire Punch will do little damage. I would actually recommend using Waterfall > Fire Punch. Ferrothorn isn't a major issue for your team, and Waterfall is better for a longer sweep as it doesn't lower your Atk/Def like Superpower does. Waterfall also helps you capitalize on your weather, and it gets good coverage.

Ok so now onto the bigger threats to your team. Terrakion looks slightly annoying, so I would definitely second Nel's suggestion of Bullet Punch on Lucario. Tornadus-T also looks pretty troublesome to face. It outruns every Pokemon on your team, and you lack a solid Flying-Type resist. Although, having double priority does help a lot vs it, so it isn't too big of a problem. To help with this I would recommend making Terrakion Choice Scarf'd. This not only gives you a very solid revenge killer, but it really limits Tornadus-T's opportunities to damage you. This way 3 of your Pokemon can threaten ko's, while the rest can tank a Hurricane and hit back hard. Anyways, hope I helped gl.

tldr:
Iron Ball -----> Leftovers on Politoed
Modest -----> Bold on Politoed
Leftovers -----> Lum Berry on Dragonite
Fire Punch -----> Waterfall on Dragonite
Crunch -----> Bullet Punch on Lucario
Choice Band -----> Choice Scarf on Terrakion

Thanks for the reply mate! I literally made all those changes, however I will be testing out a SD Terrakion and see how it works!

On a side note, What do you all think about:

Ninjask
With Mental Herb

Ev: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spe
Nature: Bold
Ability: Speed Boost

Baton Pass
Substitute
Protect
Swords Dance

The reason why Im interessted in this pokemon is it allows me to speed boost. If I can get a successful swords dance of then I can BP into a Sweeper. However, the huge negate about using this is it really is hard to get a SD of.

Any thoughts/opinions?

 

[Swamp-Rocket]

Honestly, your team doesn't loook like it needs any support whatsoever from a Ninjask. The main point of Ninjask is to help x Pokemon outspeed others, but honestly, your team doesn't look like it has much of a need to do that. Your Lucario has Extremespeed which doesn't care about speed at all, your Dragonite has Dragon Dance already in order to increase Speed, and you may possibly have a Scarfed Terrakion (which doesn't need any boost to speed). As the rest of the Pokemon on your team are defensive Pokemon, there really isn't a need for something to help set up your Pokemon's stats, especially when most of them are alerady capable of doing so.

As for your team, there are some wierd natures that honestly shouldn't be there.

Politoed: Bold > Modest
Tentacruel: Bold > Timid

These are generally pretty self explaintory, but the reason it because it will help you take hits better with them rather than increase their somewhat irrelavent power or speed, since that isn't important when it comes to using the two how they are being used.

 

[Takion]

Honestly, your team doesn't loook like it needs any support whatsoever from a Ninjask. The main point of Ninjask is to help x Pokemon outspeed others, but honestly, your team doesn't look like it has much of a need to do that. Your Lucario has Extremespeed which doesn't care about speed at all, your Dragonite has Dragon Dance already in order to increase Speed, and you may possibly have a Scarfed Terrakion (which doesn't need any boost to speed). As the rest of the Pokemon on your team are defensive Pokemon, there really isn't a need for something to help set up your Pokemon's stats, especially when most of them are alerady capable of doing so.

As for your team, there are some wierd natures that honestly shouldn't be there.

Politoed: Bold > Modest
Tentacruel: Bold > Timid

These are generally pretty self explaintory, but the reason it because it will help you take hits better with them rather than increase their somewhat irrelavent power or speed, since that isn't important when it comes to using the two how they are being used.

Thanks for the advice dude! and did exactly that! However, I switched Politoed to Offense so I had to keep the nature!

Changes

Changed Lucario's Bullet Punch into a Ice Punch
Changed Politoed into a sweeper as his Offensive set can get weaken other weather supports
Changed Terrakion to Alakazam...this may seem odd but I really needed this guy to get over the psychic stall teams.

What do you all think about the changes?