INTRODUCTION
Two days ago I downloaded PO in order to begin development of BW OU team. Having no initial knowledge of the new meta-game (aside from the tier list) I decided to go about the team creation process in a relatively elementary manner.
1. I will base the team around my favorite new Pokémon: Hydreigon.
2. I will NOT use Heatran, Metagross, Celebi, Vaporeon, Gliscor, or Scizor as they where very frequently members of my 4th generation teams and the MAIN appeal of the new generation is the opportunity to switch things up and use some different Pokémon. And thus, I began building my team.
Team Building Process:
At a Glance:
Hydreigon was a given. Not only does he look awesome, but he has a monopoly on a type combination I have been waiting for since generation 2.
With Hydreigon at the front lines, I need someone to take the hits he can't. Thus I brought in another 5th Generation newcomer, Ferrothorn. The Grass/Steel typing allows him to take the dragon and bug moves that will inevitably be fired in Hydreigon's direction.
Ferrothorn comes at a cost. Additional Fighting and Fire weakness. Furthmore, Ferrothorn is not too keen on taking an extended amount of Ice attacks. I decided to address the Fire and Ice issue first by bringing in a classic, Ninetales.
With 2/3's of an FWG core already in my team I figured I might as well round it off with a water Pokémon. Gyarados helps Ferrothorn take physical hits with his Intimidate as well as covering the final problematic weakness, fighting, and can potentially sweep with his powerful physical attacks.
While Gyarados adds a slue of resistances and an immunity to my team he also brings in some issues of his own. Dugtrio was to help take the electric attacks aimed a Gyarados as well as revenge kill any major threats on my opponent's team.
Dugtrio seemed too frail and Stealth Rocks appeared to be a major threat with 2 of my pokemon being x2 weak, so I decided to bring in 2 Pokémon that could not only prevent my opponent from setting up, but also deal with hazards once they hit the field.
A Closer Look:
Hydreigon (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Flamethrower
- Focus Blast
The second I saw this thing I knew I had to use him, regardless of what tier he would turn out to be placed in. I mean, come on, it's a 3 headed evil dragon! But I digress. Having little experience with the 5th generation meta-game I decided to opt out of choicing Hydreigon and go for a fake choice in order to possibly score some free kills when my opponent tries to force me out. The moveset is fairly straight forward, however I decided to run Flamethrower over Fire Blast as I don't lose any vital KO's and the improved accuracy is worth gold in my eyes. I was additionally considering dropping Focus Blast for HP Fighting but feared the power drop would be too significant.
Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
Not only can this monster of a Pokémon take hits till the cows come home, but he can also heal himself using Leftovers and Leech Seed. Rotom, Jellicent, and Blissey stared at him in horror as he leeches away their health while pounding them into submission with his Power Whip. Spikes don't need an introduction. Thanks to his fantastic typing it's very easy to get up 2-3 layers, crippling my opponent with every switch.
Ninetales (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 120 SDef / 136 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Flamethrower
- Will-O-Wisp
- Substitute
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
Flash Fire Ninetales has proven to carry quite the element of surprise with its popular Drought inducing cousin terrorizing the meta-game. It gets many opportunities to switch in on Chandelure and Scarf-Tran allowing me to sub up and cripple the next Pokémon switches in. Its natural special bulk rounds off the team quite nicely as few special sweepers can deal an ample amount of damage to Nintales barring a super effective hit.
Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 176 HP / 128 Atk / 204 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Taunt
- Stone Edge
Bulky and brutal, the way Gyarados was intended. He takes hits and retaliates like a truck. Thanks to Taunt he can hinder my opponent from setting up, and Dragon Dance allows him to easily set up and sweep given the opportunity. Scizor, a major threat to my team, has very little to deal with Gyarados who easily sets up and initiates a sweep. He complements Hydreigon well by hitting my opponent hard from the physical spectrum, while Hydreigon covers the special offense.
Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
Needless to say, Stealth Rock are extremely problematic to my team as they hit both Gyarados and Nintales for 25%. This is very counterproductive as these are both Pokémon meant to take hits. Donphan also allows me to revenge kill a Dragonite after a DD as well as Scarf Flygon who could otherwise steamroll my team. He also enables me to set up Stealth Rocks of my own while my opponent switches out.
Espeon (F) @ Light Clay
Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Psychic
Espeon is the natural lead, forcing out many of my opponent's leads and continually making set-up a risky business for as long Espeon stays alive thanks to Magic Bounce. Reflect and Light Screen further help my fairly defensive team take hits while Psychic allows it to revenge kill dangerous fighting types like Conkeldur and Infernape. Hidden Power Fighting allows me to bring Cloyster down to it's focus sash which could otherwise annihilate my team after a Shell Break.
Top 5 Threats:
This behemoth needs no introduction. The stone musketeer is capable of hitting 4/6 of my team for super effective damage. Espeon can revenge kill him, so long as he doesn't sport a scarf, but does not enjoy taking hits from him. Gyarados can weaken him using Intimidate and shrugs off a close combat but if I over-predict and take a Stone Edge I'm down a Poké. My only semi-safe option is Donphan but even the stone-hard elephant does not wish to take more than two hits from this tank of a Pokémon.
Magnet Pull is the bane of my existence. If my opponent manages to trap my Ferrothorn it is almost always game over for me. I've considered running shed-shell on Ferrothorn, but the lack of Leftovers is very problematic as I can not always get a Leech Seed off and stay in to heal off of it.
Espeon makes short work of it but aside from that it can annihilate my team with Chain-Link Icicle Spear and Rock Blast.
With the majority of my team being in the moderate to high speed range, Trick Room is a massive issue. The only Pokémon that can move comfortably in the strange dimension are Donphan and Ferrothorn. Barring a taunt from Gyarados it is difficult to prevent my opponent from setting up, and I often find myself getting forced out as my opponents twists and turns the field to his advantage.
Batons Pass threatens me in a similar way Trick Room threatens me. If I can't prevent it when it first begins to go off it almost always spells my doom.
Thoughts and Ideas:
- The first change I was considering was changing Hydreigon to a choice-scarf set and switching him from sweeper to revenge killer.
- I was also considering dropping Ice Shard for Roar on Donphan as it would enable me to end Baton Pass chains using sturdy, but I lose the ability to revenge kill +X Dragonite.
- I was also considering giving Ferrothorn a Shed Shell to decrease the threat of Magnezone, however that would severely hurt his ability to heal himself. This could be amended by giving Espeon Wish, however it currently has no moves that I can comfortably drop to add Wish.
Conclusion:
So there you have it, my first attempt at a 5th Generation OU team. It's solid and gets lots of wins but seeing the above mentioned threats in the team viewer almost always means a loss. All thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated!
Sincerely,
~Ifeno~
Two days ago I downloaded PO in order to begin development of BW OU team. Having no initial knowledge of the new meta-game (aside from the tier list) I decided to go about the team creation process in a relatively elementary manner.
1. I will base the team around my favorite new Pokémon: Hydreigon.
2. I will NOT use Heatran, Metagross, Celebi, Vaporeon, Gliscor, or Scizor as they where very frequently members of my 4th generation teams and the MAIN appeal of the new generation is the opportunity to switch things up and use some different Pokémon. And thus, I began building my team.
Team Building Process:
At a Glance:
Hydreigon was a given. Not only does he look awesome, but he has a monopoly on a type combination I have been waiting for since generation 2.
With Hydreigon at the front lines, I need someone to take the hits he can't. Thus I brought in another 5th Generation newcomer, Ferrothorn. The Grass/Steel typing allows him to take the dragon and bug moves that will inevitably be fired in Hydreigon's direction.
Ferrothorn comes at a cost. Additional Fighting and Fire weakness. Furthmore, Ferrothorn is not too keen on taking an extended amount of Ice attacks. I decided to address the Fire and Ice issue first by bringing in a classic, Ninetales.
With 2/3's of an FWG core already in my team I figured I might as well round it off with a water Pokémon. Gyarados helps Ferrothorn take physical hits with his Intimidate as well as covering the final problematic weakness, fighting, and can potentially sweep with his powerful physical attacks.
While Gyarados adds a slue of resistances and an immunity to my team he also brings in some issues of his own. Dugtrio was to help take the electric attacks aimed a Gyarados as well as revenge kill any major threats on my opponent's team.
Dugtrio seemed too frail and Stealth Rocks appeared to be a major threat with 2 of my pokemon being x2 weak, so I decided to bring in 2 Pokémon that could not only prevent my opponent from setting up, but also deal with hazards once they hit the field.
A Closer Look:
Hydreigon (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Flamethrower
- Focus Blast
The second I saw this thing I knew I had to use him, regardless of what tier he would turn out to be placed in. I mean, come on, it's a 3 headed evil dragon! But I digress. Having little experience with the 5th generation meta-game I decided to opt out of choicing Hydreigon and go for a fake choice in order to possibly score some free kills when my opponent tries to force me out. The moveset is fairly straight forward, however I decided to run Flamethrower over Fire Blast as I don't lose any vital KO's and the improved accuracy is worth gold in my eyes. I was additionally considering dropping Focus Blast for HP Fighting but feared the power drop would be too significant.
Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
Not only can this monster of a Pokémon take hits till the cows come home, but he can also heal himself using Leftovers and Leech Seed. Rotom, Jellicent, and Blissey stared at him in horror as he leeches away their health while pounding them into submission with his Power Whip. Spikes don't need an introduction. Thanks to his fantastic typing it's very easy to get up 2-3 layers, crippling my opponent with every switch.
Ninetales (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 120 SDef / 136 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Flamethrower
- Will-O-Wisp
- Substitute
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
Flash Fire Ninetales has proven to carry quite the element of surprise with its popular Drought inducing cousin terrorizing the meta-game. It gets many opportunities to switch in on Chandelure and Scarf-Tran allowing me to sub up and cripple the next Pokémon switches in. Its natural special bulk rounds off the team quite nicely as few special sweepers can deal an ample amount of damage to Nintales barring a super effective hit.
Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 176 HP / 128 Atk / 204 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Taunt
- Stone Edge
Bulky and brutal, the way Gyarados was intended. He takes hits and retaliates like a truck. Thanks to Taunt he can hinder my opponent from setting up, and Dragon Dance allows him to easily set up and sweep given the opportunity. Scizor, a major threat to my team, has very little to deal with Gyarados who easily sets up and initiates a sweep. He complements Hydreigon well by hitting my opponent hard from the physical spectrum, while Hydreigon covers the special offense.
Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
Needless to say, Stealth Rock are extremely problematic to my team as they hit both Gyarados and Nintales for 25%. This is very counterproductive as these are both Pokémon meant to take hits. Donphan also allows me to revenge kill a Dragonite after a DD as well as Scarf Flygon who could otherwise steamroll my team. He also enables me to set up Stealth Rocks of my own while my opponent switches out.
Espeon (F) @ Light Clay
Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Psychic
Espeon is the natural lead, forcing out many of my opponent's leads and continually making set-up a risky business for as long Espeon stays alive thanks to Magic Bounce. Reflect and Light Screen further help my fairly defensive team take hits while Psychic allows it to revenge kill dangerous fighting types like Conkeldur and Infernape. Hidden Power Fighting allows me to bring Cloyster down to it's focus sash which could otherwise annihilate my team after a Shell Break.
Top 5 Threats:
This behemoth needs no introduction. The stone musketeer is capable of hitting 4/6 of my team for super effective damage. Espeon can revenge kill him, so long as he doesn't sport a scarf, but does not enjoy taking hits from him. Gyarados can weaken him using Intimidate and shrugs off a close combat but if I over-predict and take a Stone Edge I'm down a Poké. My only semi-safe option is Donphan but even the stone-hard elephant does not wish to take more than two hits from this tank of a Pokémon.
Magnet Pull is the bane of my existence. If my opponent manages to trap my Ferrothorn it is almost always game over for me. I've considered running shed-shell on Ferrothorn, but the lack of Leftovers is very problematic as I can not always get a Leech Seed off and stay in to heal off of it.
Espeon makes short work of it but aside from that it can annihilate my team with Chain-Link Icicle Spear and Rock Blast.
With the majority of my team being in the moderate to high speed range, Trick Room is a massive issue. The only Pokémon that can move comfortably in the strange dimension are Donphan and Ferrothorn. Barring a taunt from Gyarados it is difficult to prevent my opponent from setting up, and I often find myself getting forced out as my opponents twists and turns the field to his advantage.
Batons Pass threatens me in a similar way Trick Room threatens me. If I can't prevent it when it first begins to go off it almost always spells my doom.
Thoughts and Ideas:
- The first change I was considering was changing Hydreigon to a choice-scarf set and switching him from sweeper to revenge killer.
- I was also considering dropping Ice Shard for Roar on Donphan as it would enable me to end Baton Pass chains using sturdy, but I lose the ability to revenge kill +X Dragonite.
- I was also considering giving Ferrothorn a Shed Shell to decrease the threat of Magnezone, however that would severely hurt his ability to heal himself. This could be amended by giving Espeon Wish, however it currently has no moves that I can comfortably drop to add Wish.
Conclusion:
So there you have it, my first attempt at a 5th Generation OU team. It's solid and gets lots of wins but seeing the above mentioned threats in the team viewer almost always means a loss. All thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated!
Sincerely,
~Ifeno~
