The Leviathan attacks! An OU RMT

Hello everyone, this is a team I have used for about a week and it has been really successful during this short time. It is centered around DD Gyarados and his teammates are there to remove counters and cover Gyara when needed.

Without further ado, let me show you the team members:

The Lead

Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Timid Nature
Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA/4 SpD/252 Spd

Moveset:
-Stealth Rock
-Fire Blast
-Earth Power
-Hidden Power Grass

The battle starts with Heatran. I think that not only it is a good lead, it also has a good synergy with the rest of my team. What's more, thanks to its natural bulk, I can save it for later to get a kill or two or maybe use it as death fodder if need be. Stealth Rock is obvious as it helps my teammates and specifically Gyarados, who can turn 2HKOs into OHKOs thanks to it. Fire Blast for STAB and my only answer against Metagross during mid-/late-game, Earth Power for coverage and HP Grass for Swamperts that pop up occasionally to wall my Pokemon.

The Choice Bander

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Adamant Nature
Sand Stream
EVs: 180 HP/252 Atk/ 76 Spd

Moveset:
-Stone Edge
-Pursuit
-Crunch
-Earthquake

Tyranitar works SO well alongside Gyara, as it beats Cresselia, Celebi, Zapdos, Jolteon and other Pokemon that can either kill or cripple Gyarados. It also packs quite a punch with its dual STABs, dealing good amounts of damage even with neutral hits. Pursuit was made to be used by T-tar, and can catch some Gengars locked into unfavorable moves while they try to switch out.

The Special Wall/Cleric

Blissey @ Leftovers
Bold Nature
Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpD

Moveset:
-Wish
-Heal Bell
-Seismic Toss
-Thunder Wave

The pink blob strikes again! This set is aimed at healing my teammates and removing status at the same time, while crippling foes. Wish is usually used to restore Heatran during mid-game, in order to try and punch (perhaps melt) some holes into the opposition. Aromatherapy is illegal with Wish, but Heal Bell does essentially the same thing. Thunder Wave can stop set-up sweepers at their tracks, while Seismic toss provides a source of damage.
Blissey can take hits from Zapdos and Jolteon like a champ and beat them in the process, clearing the way for Gyara's sweep. Celebi is a bit trickier to handle, because it must be Paralyzed first, then I must switch to T-tar to deal with it.

The Physical wall/Stallbreaker

Gliscor @ Leftovers
Jolly Nature
Sand Veil
EVs:252 HP/4 Def/ 252 Spd

Moveset:
-Earthquake
-Toxic
-Roost
-U-turn

Gliscor is there to combat stall while scouting the foe's team with U-turn. Toxic is used when I am against a wall and after Gliscor's job is completed (after removing physical threats, that is). The Sand Veil hax is always a welcome bonus :)

The Sweeper

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Adamant Nature
Intimidate
EVs: 156 HP/ 72 Atk/ 96 Def/ 184 Spd

Moveset:
-Dragon Dance
-Taunt
-Waterfall
-Earthquake

After all counters are removed or weakened, in comes Gyarados to sweep. The EV spread is for the bulky version, to add survivability. Waterfall is there for STAB, while Earthquake for coverage. Taunt screws Skarmory that tries to set up or phaze Gyara, and I get a free DD while it switches out. As I mentioned before, Gyara covers T-Tar nicely, as it can use Scizor as set-up fodder and can Intimidate any Flygon or Gliscor that comes in on Tyranitar to kill it, resulting in a free turn.
Gyarados really appreciates the Wishes Bliss passes, as 25% per switch in to Stealth Rock hinders him and he can quickly get low on health.

The Plan B

Electivire @ Expert Belt
Mild Nature
Motor Drive
EVs: 36 Atk/252 SpA/220 Spd

Moveset:
-Hidden Power Ice
-Thunderbolt
-Flamethrower
-Cross Chop

Electivire can grab a Motor Drive boost on an opponent who tries to maim Gyarados and then it can proceed to weaken or KO the opponent's Pokemon.
Seeing that Swampert is covered by Heatran, I chose to use HP Ice for the dragons (Dragonite and Flygon) and Gliscor. The other 3 moves are self-explanatory: STAB, coverage, more coverage. Flamethrower is a way to beat Scizor if Heatran is KOed.

-------------------------------------

Team building process:

I wanted a team that would use Gyarados to sweep, so the first Pokemon is obviously Gyara.


Then I needed a Pokemon that could handle Gyara's counters to the point of KOing or weakening them sufficiently. That would be Tyranitar.


My next addition would one that could handle special threats while keeping the team at high health. The best Pokemon at this is Bliss, hands down.


Next up, I needed a Pokemon that could abuse the sandstorm, courtesy of Tyranitar, and cripple opposing walls, so Gliscor joins the team.


Then, I had to find a lead that could safely beat Metagross. I was between Heatran and Infernape, but Heatran proved to be more helpful thanks to its bulk.


Finally, I needed a Plan B, a way to sweep if Gyara got KOed. Seeing as I already had a special attacker (Heatran), I ruled out Jolteon and kept Electivire, who could abuse Gyarados's weakness to Electricity and somewhat sweep the opposition.

So here it is, the complete team:


Constructive criticism is more than welcome! I could really use some tips to fine-tune the team in order to cover its weaknesses better. I'm looking forward to everyone's reply :)
 

Aerrow

hunter
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Cool team.

Threats

  • DD Dragonite, Gyarados
  • SubSplit Gengar
  • LO Heatran
  • Infernape
  • CM Jirachi
Hi there, this is a great team you have, although I see a couple of Pokemon that could present serious problems to your team's success if given the opportunity to set-up, or switch-in without taking any damage as a result. If given a chance to set-up, both DD Gyarados and Dragonite can wreak havoc among your team as you don't really have any "confirmed" checks. Also, Gengar, specifically, SubSplit Gengar is huge problem for your teammates it can slowly wear down all the members of your team through it direct damaging moves and pain Split. Lastly, Pokemon like Infernape, Heatran and Jirachi can all give your team plausible threats if they are given the opportunity to set up.

Solutions

  • Choice Scarf Tyranitar
  • Choice Scarf Jolteon
[box]

Jolteon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd/252 SpAtk/4 SpDef
Timid nature (+Spd,-Atk)
- Baton Pass
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt[/box]
Fortunately, your team can easily be adjusted to better combat all of the aforementioned threats with two changes, that will not mess up the general strategy of this team. First of all I highly recommend replacing the Choice Band on Tyranitar with a Choice Scarf as well as replacing the EV spread with a standard one of 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP and making the nature Jolly as this will allow Tyranitar to help deal with Jirachi, Infernape, Heatran, and Gengar as well as being able to combat any variant of Dragonite and Gyarados which have not yet found the opportunity to set up a DD. Continuing on, I also recommend replacing Elective with a choice scarf Jolteon as it will not only be able to secure your team from assaults by almost all of the threats countered by choice scarf Tyranitar, it will also be able to deal with any Gyarados or Dragonite even if they have a single DD under their belt. Jolteon will also be able to provide the "support" Electivire had provided as it has great synergy with Gyarados (forming the famous GyaraJolt combination. I hope this has helped, and good luck!
 
I have been using a gyara team forever so I should be useful. To start, I would rather see a fully offensive spread on Gyarados w/ Jolly and LO. This will make it easier to weaken incoming counters (rotom) and blitz other gliscor, you can keep taunt or replace a move with bounce. Blisscor can wall while being able to keep their health up so running bulk is a waste in a way. Also, Tyranitar and Blissey are a bad pair, I would recommend changing Bliss to a rest talk raikou-

252 hp, 4 spD, 252 spe Timid
Tbolt/CM/Resttalk

This walls and sets up on Gengar, Jirachi (pp stall cm variants w/ pressure), Suicune, Empoleon etc. beautifully. Any ground types are destroyed by Gyarados.

Use aerial ace over toxic on gliscor, it is now the best breloom check ever.

Now, to replace electivire, I believe Scarf Starmie would be a good option. This gives you the revenge killing services you need with (ghetto) rapid spin support which gyara needs. Run timid to outrun baton pass gliscor at +2 and Surf/tbolt/beam/spin. Please try to be careful because it can take a huge strain away against something like a gyarados if preserved. Use scarf jirachi if starmie turns out to be too pursuit weak.

Im thinking you should use LO on tran with SR/Overheat/HP Grass/Taunt. You roast Machamp leads, have a chance to smack incoming Vaporeon and make it easier for yourself to prevent opposing sr (thus possibly saving starmie). Taunt also stops bp chains from setting up (Ninjask).

On my cb tar, I run max hp with Payback/Pursuit/Aqua Tail/FP. Your team likes Crunch over Payback to hurt Swampert, but it appreciates 2hkoing Hippowdon switches and and ohkoing (BAN ME PLEASE). Fire Punch isnt really necessary to hit loom or scizor instantly so experiment with whatever you like in that slot. Run max hp because skarmory really doesnt need to be outrun.

Overall I really think I helped a lot good luck with your team! And i might use this version for myself sometime hehe
 
Hey cool team! The main issues I see are some weaknesses to sweepers that really are a result of some basic defensive synergy issues. You have 3 weaknesses to ground and fighting, with only two resists, and worst of all, three weaknesses to water with only one resist. It is probably worth noting that Blissey is all thats protecting you against the likes of Starmie and Suicune- however, physical water such as Kingdra or opposing Gyarados is nasty; although it can be worked around with some smart intimidating, you generally lose unless you're opponent doesn't play them properly. I could also see mixed attackers with fighing and ground moves (Lo Flygon or Mixnite) being HUGE problems- Mixnite, in particular, simply 6-0s you, if it has Superpower. You also lack a revenge killer in the common sense, so really any set up sweepers are going to be general headaches.

First things first. Electivire is a terrible Pokemon, always and forever. Having good type coverage is simply not enough to facilitate a sweep, and any common walls, wall him. Rotom-A is simply an excellent counter (and also an extremely common Pokemon), and the most often used revenge killer in the metagame (Flygon) laughs in his face. Priority in general brings him to his knees, and, when you consider how much of a deadweight he is against stall and teams that aren't throwing around electric attacks, he really seems pathetic. Electivire is simply a classic example of being excellent on paper and awful in practice. I hope you'll understand that I'll want to replace him.

One of the most common things I suggest is what I like to call Utility or Bulky Scarf Rotom-A. In this instance, I think he would be perfect for this team. Here's is the set specifically:

@ Choice Scarf
252 HP / 252 Spe / 4 SpDef
Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
-Thunderbolt
-Hydro Pump
-Will o wisp
-Trick/Shadow Ball


This differs from the standard scarf set in a couple of ways. Firstly, the HP evs allow you to more reliably check Gyarados or even Starmie if Blissey dies, and generally augment his ability to switch in an scare off most threats. You'll also notice the presence of will o wisp over Shadow Ball, whose coverage I generally find unimportant. Will o wisp allows you to burn most physical sweepers, namely Metagross, Lucario, and even Tyranitar or Lumless Dragonite. Trick helps against stall teams and those annoying sweepers like Crocune, CM Jirachi, or other such assholes- however, if you feel you absolutely need shadow ball, I suppose that would be the slot to run it in.

Scarf Rotom-w generally solves many of your problems. He is an excellent check to Gyarados and to an extent Kingdra- however, you do have to understand that many people run ChestoRest and that simply burning it isn't always the best answer- you may have to trick it if it gets out of hand. He also checks most set up sweepers and can switch into MixNite and Flygon practically risk free. He gives you some nice resistances to ground and fighting as well as a general revenge killer that you currently lack.

Something else of note is your current Heatran set. If you've seen any of mine or Faladran's rates, you'll know we're fans of LO Heatran over Shuca- he's a much better anti-lead in this metagame. However on this team, I don't really see stall as an issue (you have at least 2 full stall breakers and 2 pokemon that give stall trouble (if you use my rotom)), and water types are still pressing. As such you might try Passho Tran.

@ Passho Berry
-252 SpAtk / 252 Spe /4 HP
Hasty (+Spe, - Def)
-Stealth Rock
-Fire Blast
-Hidden Power (Grass)
-Explosion


Many people will simply assume you're running Shuca when they see the lack of LO recoil and thus not use ground attacks anyway- this also gives you an emergency check to out of control water types, if somehow Blissey or Rotom are out of the picture. Also please note that without shuca or earth power opposing Heatran rape you to pieces, so don't switch him into fire blasts just to switch out again.

That's all the advice I have, cool team. Hope this helps.
 
You need Taunt on Britscor since without it, you're helpless against Skarmory. Toxic nor Earthquake works, and you'll just be Whirlwinded away. U-Turn isn't necessary, as it will only hurt things weak to Bug.

Weakened Electivire does not beat Scizor. It's a 2HKO from Bullet Punch despite the resist. Also, you probably want to run Hasty than Mild now (the analysis is somewhat outdated), as you want to beat Jolly Lucario (who can still OHKO with Extremespeed, but w/e) and general base 90 +speeds (and those who aim to beat that).

Also, it takes little from a CroCune to beat your team. set up on Blissey or use the switches from Gliscor/Heatran, and it can easily set up. Gyarados can Taunt, but it's the only counter you have.

WishBliss appreciates Protect among its moves. It's noteworthy that many sweepers tend to 2HKO Blissey (or aim to) by doing around 53% (accounting lefties), but they won't 2HKO WishBliss. It aids in stalling more than ever.

As most of us know, Electivire is too weak to sweep by itself. It could with Stealth Rock + 3 Spikes + 1 Toxic spikes, but face it, only stall teams get that much consistently. You need a pokemon who can force a lot of switches to stack up residual damage and force millions of switches, and take damage switching in. Gyarados suits that job well, but Gyarados itself can't switch in very well.

I suggest using a Bluff Flygon over Gliscor; it takes down stall somewhat moderately well, and can force many switches with its surprise Draco Meteor/Fire Blast.
 
I don't see the need for Taunt on a sweeper, if you have the boosted speed, you might as well go for the kill, therefore, I propose that you use Stone Edge over Taunt, meaning that you could take flying types and opposing gyarados, and meaning general extended coverage.
 
Smith said:
[Electivire is a terrible Pokemon, always and forever. Having good type coverage is simply not enough to facilitate a sweep, and any common walls, wall him.]

Yeah, I realised this a while ago, so I swapped Electivire with Choice Scarf Starmie, who can outspeed everything except opposing Scarfers and cripple walls by Tricking them, in order to be able to use Rapid Spin later.

[Mixnite, in particular, simply 6-0s you, if it has Superpower.]

Now that T-tar was been replaced by the Scarfed version (thanks to Aerrow's opinion) It can outspeed and KO with Stone Edge. Thanks for the point-out, though!

yee said:
[Use aerial ace over toxic on gliscor, it is now the best breloom check ever]

Thanks for the advice! This really helps against Breloom, since when it spores a Pokemon, I can beat it with Gliscor, then Bliss rings her bell and it's as if nothing happened.

soonerorlater said:
[WishBliss appreciates Protect among its moves. It's noteworthy that many sweepers tend to 2HKO Blissey (or aim to) by doing around 53% (accounting lefties), but they won't 2HKO WishBliss. It aids in stalling more than ever.]

I thought about keeping protect while creating the team, but I still can't pick a move to be dropped in order to add Protect...Heal Bell helps against status, Seismic Toss damages, while T-wave cripples. Any ideas?

Belphagor said:
[I don't see the need for Taunt on a sweeper]

Taunt is there for setting up against Skarmory or on an intimidated Forretress (because Explosion hurts if its attack isn't lowered). I might replace Earthquake for Stone Edge.
 
I don't think Blissey needs Heal Bell. Unless the opponent is running a gimmicky set, it isn't too hard to tell whether or not one of his Pokemon are carrying a status move by what they switch in on. For example, if Celebi switches into Gyarados, you can almost assuredly know that it'll either 1) Grass Knot or 2) T-wave. In either case Blissey can absorb the hit/status. Therefore I'd suggest either using Protect or Softboiled over Heal Bell. Protect is for the obvious combo of Wish + Protect while Softboiled is if you don't have enough time to Wish (i.e. switching into something like Specs/LO Jolteon while there's SS up and taking damage from SR)

Are you running CB Tyranitar or CS Tyranitar like Aerrow suggested?

Gliscor needs Taunt. It stops DD Gyarados and helps you deal with stall better.

I agree with Smith's suggestion of Scarf Rotom-W. It has better synergy with Gyarados than Starmie, can help deal with things like opposing Gyarados and DDnite, and can still cripple things with Trick.
 
Hey, this is a great team. Really solid. Aerrow's already mentioned all of the significant threats, though I can see one more.

Threats:
- AgiliGross

I can see Agility Metagross ripping through this team. Once it sets up an Agility (not hard I tell you) it will proceed to destroy this team with +2 Speed. Even your Electivire with +1 Speed will fail to outspeed even Adamant versions.

Solution(s):
- Rotom-H
- Bronzong


Rotom-H @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Discharge / Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball / Hidden Power Fighting
- Overheat
- Will-O-Wisp
OR


Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spe
Impish Nature (+Def, -SpA)
- Hypnosis
- Payback
- Explosion
- Earthquake / Gyro Ball
Both of these patch up your AgiliGross weakness and also improve the general structure of your team. As for which Pokemon to replace, I would replace Gliscor. Firstly, you have no need as a stallbreaker, because Electivire with +1 Spe already demolishes stall teams with no specific counter to it (unlikely). Secondly, you have no need for a physical wall any more because Rotom-H or Bronzong patches that up. As for which Pokemon to use, its your choice. Rotom-H lets counters lots of things like Scizor or Forretress, but Bronzong is a more general counter to a very large amount of Pokemon, most specifically things like Mamoswine or Flygon.

Good luck with the team!
 
HART4FLOON said:
[Are you running CB Tyranitar or CS Tyranitar like Aerrow suggested?]

Choice Scarf, 252Atk-252 Spd.

NightShadow said:
[Threats:
- AgiliGross

I can see Agility Metagross ripping through this team. Once it sets up an Agility (not hard I tell you) it will proceed to destroy this team with +2 Speed. Even your Electivire with +1 Speed will fail to outspeed even Adamant versions.]

Most Agiligross have Meteor Mash, Earthquake and either Ice Punch or ThunderPunch. As a result, if Gyara is alive it can wall Metagross while intimidating it if Meta has Ice Punch. If Metagross, however, has ThunderPunch, Gliscor can survive a Meteor Mash (which has a good chance to miss thanks to Sand Veil) and retaliate with Earthquake.
 
I'm going to agree with some of the earlier raters about replacing Electivire, who simply isn't an effective Pokemon. While the other suggestions are worth trying out, Aerrow's Scarf Jolteon strikes me as particularly noteworthy, as it retains Electivire's ability to switch directly into Electric-type attacks with impunity and gives you a very capable and rather unexpected revenge killer. One additional comment I'd like to make is that Blissey seems to slow down the pace of this team; while most of the team members are bulky supporters are sweepers, Blissey is a special wall that cannot maintain much offensive momentum. While Wish and Heal Bell support can be useful in some cases, this team would likely be better off utilizing a faster-paced team replacement that fits the theme better. Curse Snorlax also performs admirably as a Special wall, and has the advantage of being able to stat-up and sweep unprepared opponents. I would recommend giving it a try with the following set:

[box]

Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 188 HP / 104 Def / 216 SpD
Careful Nature (+SpD, -SpA)
- Body Slam
- Fire Punch
- Rest
- Curse[/box]
Snorlax can be thought of as an offensive Blissey. With access to Curse, it is capable of boosting its defenses to extremely high levels. Body Slam provides you with a solid STAB move that has a very useful 30% chance of paralyzing the opponent, and Fire Punch rounds out your type coverage by hitting Steel-types for super-effective damage. Rest may seem unappealing with Sleep Talk, but Snorlax is bulky enough to make effective use of it. It also allows you to use Snorlax as a status absorber if the situation requires one.

Good luck with your team!
 
Most Agiligross have Meteor Mash, Earthquake and either Ice Punch or ThunderPunch. As a result, if Gyara is alive it can wall Metagross while intimidating it if Meta has Ice Punch. If Metagross, however, has ThunderPunch, Gliscor can survive a Meteor Mash (which has a good chance to miss thanks to Sand Veil) and retaliate with Earthquake.
I meant a moveset of Agility / Meteor Mash / Ice Punch / Thunderpunch.
 
I meant a moveset of Agility / Meteor Mash / Ice Punch / Thunderpunch.
I ' think this is quite uncommon cause the nonstab punches are to weak for the coverage to be good. They are only additionals, and only oneof them. The rather problem ist that meta cannot be intimidated (someone said that) and a Gyarados in Sandstorm should not be used to wall sth, especially if it is meant to be the soul of your team!
 
Is it just me or do I see a huge EQ weakness.

3/6 of your pokes are weak

2/6 are immune
1/6 can't take phys attacks for shit


Also weak to fighting types. but thats just me
 

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