Fading Tree

SRK

Age 29
Male
Philly, PA
Seen September 1st, 2014
Posted April 12th, 2014
221 posts
9.7 Years
Anti-Lead
Espeon @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Grass Knot

Psychic for Stab, Dazzling Gleam for coverage, HP Fire for Ferrothorns, Grass Knot.
She prevents rocks from touching my field. She also has the ability to kill a pokemon or two.

Rocker
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 224 Def / 240 HP / 44 Atk
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Roar

Swampert sets up rocks (if not bounced) Scalds, and EQs all that it can while trying to soak up physical hits.

Tank
Conkeldurr @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch

Conkeldurr is my AV bulky eater. IT has nice coverage, He takes away Left overs, eviolites and main Ferrothorn killer.

The Teams Other Bouncer
Xatu @ Leftovers

Currently I'm 5-4
and I'm effectively ranking down.
I notced only flaw in my team. Articuno isn't fast nor strong enough :(
#HelpPlease
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 200 SDef / 248 HP / 60 Spd
Careful Nature
- Toxic
- U-turn
- Night Shade
- Roost

Eats up special hits the best that it can, while hear mainly to annoy.

The True Special Wall
Politoed @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 244 SDef / 16 Spd
Calm Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Scald
- Toxic

This pokemon sets up rain, and rest talks Scalds and Toxics. He doesn't like steal pokemon though and supports Swampert, Himself, and the last member of the team

The Sweeper
Articuno @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Hurricane
- Freeze-Dry
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Roost

Hurricane Stab ... not as great as tornadus, but this mon gets the move Freeze-Dry. In other words it likes to kill weakened Rotoms.

In all reality this team isn't the greatest, especially considering I started making this team with the concept of basing it around a Choice Banded Delibird.

Upgrading Pokemon

PlatinumDude

Nyeh?

Age 29
Male
Canada
Seen July 31st, 2020
Posted May 30th, 2020
12,958 posts
12.7 Years
Offensive Espeon isn't viable at all because it's outclassed by other offensive Psychic Pokemon such as Speed Deoxys, [email protected], Alakazam and other special attackers in general. Yes, Magic Bounce makes Espeon immune to status moves, but its frailty lets it down in that regard; this also makes it very prone to priority. Aegislash also laughs at what your Espeon can do, even HP Fire. At this point, you're better off using Speed Deoxys, who can get hazards up fast or act as a revenge killer with even better coverage:
-Psycho Boost
-Superpower
-Ice Beam
-Knock Off/Stealth Rock
Nature: Naive
EVs: 20 Atk/252 SAtk/236 Spe
Item: Life Orb

or
-Reflect
-Light Screen
-Taunt
-Stealth Rock/Magic Coat
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Light Clay

or
-Stealth Rock
-Spikes
-Taunt
-Magic Coat/Superpower
Nature: Timid/Jolly
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Focus Sash

If you insist on keeping Espeon, this is the best it can do for the team:
-Reflect
-Light Screen
-Psychic/Psyshock/Yawn
-Baton Pass
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Light Clay
Ability: Magic Bounce

Swampert faces plenty of competition with other bulky Water Pokemon, such as Wash Rotom, Gastrodon and Quagsire.

Wash Rotom:
-Volt Switch
-Hydro Pump
-Will-o-Wisp
-Pain Split/Rest
Nature: Bold
EVs: 248 HP/216 Def/44 Spe
Item: Leftovers/Chesto Berry

or
-Volt Switch
-Hydro Pump
-Thunderbolt/Hidden Power (Ice)
-Will-o-Wisp
Nature: Modest
EVs: 228 HP/60 SAtk/220 Spe
Item: Leftovers

or
-Volt Switch
-Hydro Pump
-Hidden Power (Ice)/Thunderbolt
-Trick
Nature: Timid/Modest
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf

Gastrodon:
-Earthquake/Earth Power
-Scald
-Ice Beam/Toxic
-Recover
Nature: Relaxed
EVs: 248 HP/252 Def/8 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain

Quagsire:
-Earthquake
-Scald
-Toxic
-Recover
Nature: Relaxed
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Unaware

I don't think Xatu should be on the team at all. Sure, having a backup Magic Bounce user is nice, but it takes a lot of prediction to know when the opponent will status you. Xatu is still weak to Stealth Rock if it was laid down before it switched in. Having actual Rapid Spin/Defog support is better should Espeon go down:

Starmie:
-Hydro Pump/Surf
-Thunderbolt/Psyshock
-Ice Beam
-Rapid Spin
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SAtk/4 SDef/252 Spe
Item: Leftovers/Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure




or
-Scald
-Rapid Spin
-Psyshock/Ice Beam/Thunderbolt
-Recover
Nature: Timid
EVs: 248 HP/32 Def/4 SAtk/224 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure




Excadrill:
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide/Iron Head
-Rapid Spin
-Swords Dance/Stealth Rock
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Leftovers/Air Balloon/Chople Berry
Ability: Mold Breaker




or
-Earthquake
-Iron Head
-Rock Slide
-Rapid Spin
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 120 HP/136 Atk/252 SDef (Adamant) or 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe (Jolly)
Item: Assault Vest (Adamant)/Choice Scarf (Jolly)
Ability: Mold Breaker




Mandibuzz:
-Foul Play
-Roost
-Defog
-Toxic/Whirlwind/Knock Off
Nature: Bold/Impish
EVs: 248 HP/252 Def/8 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat




Crobat:
-Brave Bird
-Defog
-Roost
-Taunt/Toxic
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 168 HP/136 Atk/4 SDef/200 Spe
Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator




Tentacruel:
-Scald
-Sludge Bomb
-Rapid Spin
-Toxic/Knock Off
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/224 Def/32 Spe
Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze




Mega Blastoise:
-Water Pulse/Scald/Hydro Pump
-Dark Pulse
-Aura Sphere/Ice Beam
-Rapid Spin
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 HP/252 SAtk/4 SDef
Item: Blastoisinite


Conkeldurr should use 252 Atk/4 Def/252 SDef as its EV spread, as its Special Defense is significantly lower than its HP. This way, Assault Vest can boost Conkeldurr's low Special Defense to even higher levels.

I don't like having Articuno on an OU team. While Freeze-Dry is a good move, it was given to Pokemon who simply don't have what it takes in OU. Articuno's terrible defensive typing makes it go down to common attacks such as Stone Edge and Bullet Punch. Find something else to replace it. While Volcarona is 4x weak to Stealth Rock as well; it has the raw stats and setup move to be effective in OU. Both Tornadus forms and Moltres are also better Hurricane abusers:

Volcarona:
-Quiver Dance
-Fire Blast/Fiery Dance
-Bug Buzz
-Hurricane/Giga Drain/Psychic/Hidden Power (Ground)
Nature: Timid/Modest
EVs: 252 SAtk/4 SDef/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body

Incarnate Tornadus:
-Rain Dance
-Hurricane
-Superpower/Focus Blast
-Taunt/Knock Off
Nature: Naive/Timid
EVs: 4 Atk/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Damp Rock
Ability: Prankster

Therian Tornadus:
-Hurricane/Air Slash
-U-turn
-Knock Off
-Superpower/Focus Blast
Nature: Naive
EVs: 4 Atk/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

Moltres:
-Fire Blast
-Hurricane
-Hidden Power (Fighting/Ground)
-U-turn/Roost
Nature: Timid/Modest
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Choice Specs

Anti

return of the king

Non-binary
Kobe's Reality
Seen March 6th, 2022
Posted January 17th, 2022
10,818 posts
15.8 Years
Too many wasted slots on this team. Politoed supports Articuno (sort of) and Swampert (sort of) but just isn't too useful otherwise, and as PlatDude said Articuno is just terrible--slow, weak, and terribly vulnerable to Stealth Rock. The team has no real win conditions and is just kind of a mess, as I think you've acknowledged yourself.

I'll just give suggestions as if it's a rain bulky offense team.

Tornadus or Tornadus-T both outclass Articuno. I'd probably go with Tornadus-T here: it's a major pain because of its Speed, bulk, power, and survivability with Regenerator. The set PlatDude posted is fine, though I'd definitely use Hurricane over Air Slash. Regular Tornadus is presumably usable as well though I've never seen it and don't really see its advantages over its Therian form.

Xatu and Espeon don't move the needle much. Something like Defog Latios provides decent hazard control while being infinitely more threatening and defensively capable than Espeon, and it has okay offensive synergy with Tornadus-T. Excadrill is good as a pure Rapid Spinner if you prefer that.

Besides Tornadus, you'll want another Rain sweeper to make Politoed worth your while. Kingdra, Kabutops, and Keldeo are all worthwhile options.

Swampert sucks. Ferrothorn is a great Stealth Rocker for Rain teams and helps Conk out. I'm sure there are others too, just don't use Forretress.

In general the non-synergistic problem is that the Pokemon you use, individually, aren't very good. Sometimes the sheer force of certain Pokemon makes them overcome synergy problems. Xatu and Swampert just can't do that.
Why are the beautiful sick and divided like myself?

Fading Tree

SRK

Age 29
Male
Philly, PA
Seen September 1st, 2014
Posted April 12th, 2014
221 posts
9.7 Years
I've made a few updates since Platinum suggested a few mons. His suggestions made my team more viable.
I've switched out Offensive Espeon for Deoxys-Speed.
Swampert for Quagsire then finished up with Rotom-W (Defensive)
Conkelder, I invested in his SpD instead of HP
Xatu to Starmie to Excadrill
Poltied same set
Articuno to Volcarona

In general the non-synergistic problem is that the Pokemon you use, individually, aren't very good. Sometimes the sheer force of certain Pokemon makes them overcome synergy problems. Xatu and Swampert just can't do that.
You nailed out everything that was wrong with my team. I'm trying to learn synergy now. I sometimes have trouble fighting against Mega-Pinsir, Latios (if Conkelder or Deoxys is dead.), Bulky Fairies (Florges, and Clefable), and Avalugg.

I'm going to rest out some of the pokemon you recommended. I'm trying to break through to the 1400 rank.

I was around during the BW2 metagame when 50% of teams used to be Politoed, Tornadeus, Keldeo, Dragon-type, Ferrothorn/other spiker/Tentacruel*

I set team up like this: Hurricane (Volc) / Rain, Special Defensive (Poli) / Physical Defensive (Rotom) / Utility/Wall Breaker* Conkelder / Lead Espeon Deoxys-S
-------------------
Poltied @Damp Rock / Tornadus T @Specs or Scarf? / Conkelder @AV, Status absorber / Latios w/Psyshock, Dragon Pulse, Thunder,Defog / Special Wall Ferrothorn / Rotom-W

Upgrading Pokemon

PlatinumDude

Nyeh?

Age 29
Male
Canada
Seen July 31st, 2020
Posted May 30th, 2020
12,958 posts
12.7 Years
Don't even think about trying Avalugg out. Its Defense may be massive, but its common weaknesses ruin that point. Togekiss, Sylveon or Clefable are better options:

Togekiss:
-Thunder Wave/Body Slam/Nasty Plot
-Air Slash
-Dazzling Gleam/Aura Sphere/Defog
-Roost
Nature: Calm
EVs: 248 HP/8 Def/252 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace

or
-Nasty Plot
-Dazzling Gleam
-Air Slash
-Aura Sphere/Flamethrower/Roost
Nature: Modest/Timid
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace

Sylveon:
-Wish
-Protect
-Hyper Voice
-Heal Bell/Calm Mind
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/244 Def/12 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate

or
-Hyper Voice
-Psyshock
-Shadow Ball
-Hidden Power (Ground)/Baton Pass/Echoed Voice
Nature: Modest
EVs: 244 HP/252 SAtk/12 Spe
Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate

Clefable:
-Calm Mind
-Moonblast
-Moonlight/Wish
-Heal Bell/Aromatherapy/Flamethrower/Protect
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/244 Def/12 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Unaware/Magic Guard

or
-Wish
-Protect
-Moonblast
-Heal Bell/Aromatherapy/Toxic
Nature: Bold/Calm
EVs: 252 HP/244 Def/12 Spe (Bold) or 252 HP/244 Def/12 Spe (Calm)
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Unaware/Magic Guard

or
-Calm Mind
-Moonblast
-Flamethrower
-Soft-Boiled/Moonlight
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/244 Def/12 Spe
Item: Leftovers/Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard

or
-Moonblast
-Fire Blast
-Thunderbolt
-Soft-Boiled/Moonlight
Nature: Modest
EVs: 244 HP/252 SAtk/12 Spe
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard

Fading Tree

SRK

Age 29
Male
Philly, PA
Seen September 1st, 2014
Posted April 12th, 2014
221 posts
9.7 Years
Don't even think about trying Avalugg out. Its Defense may be massive, but its common weaknesses ruin that point. Togekiss, Sylveon or Clefable are better options:
Spoiler:

Togekiss:
-Thunder Wave/Body Slam/Nasty Plot
-Air Slash
-Dazzling Gleam/Aura Sphere/Defog
-Roost
Nature: Calm
EVs: 248 HP/8 Def/252 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace

or
-Nasty Plot
-Dazzling Gleam
-Air Slash
-Aura Sphere/Flamethrower/Roost
Nature: Modest/Timid
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace

Sylveon:
-Wish
-Protect
-Hyper Voice
-Heal Bell/Calm Mind
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/244 Def/12 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate

or
-Hyper Voice
-Psyshock
-Shadow Ball
-Hidden Power (Ground)/Baton Pass/Echoed Voice
Nature: Modest
EVs: 244 HP/252 SAtk/12 Spe
Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate

Clefable:
-Calm Mind
-Moonblast
-Moonlight/Wish
-Heal Bell/Aromatherapy/Flamethrower/Protect
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/244 Def/12 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Unaware/Magic Guard

or
-Wish
-Protect
-Moonblast
-Heal Bell/Aromatherapy/Toxic
Nature: Bold/Calm
EVs: 252 HP/244 Def/12 Spe (Bold) or 252 HP/244 Def/12 Spe (Calm)
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Unaware/Magic Guard

or
-Calm Mind
-Moonblast
-Flamethrower
-Soft-Boiled/Moonlight
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/244 Def/12 Spe
Item: Leftovers/Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard

or
-Moonblast
-Fire Blast
-Thunderbolt
-Soft-Boiled/Moonlight
Nature: Modest
EVs: 244 HP/252 SAtk/12 Spe
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Those pokemon tend to be the vein of me. I tend to loose hard to some Fairys. I'm on the verge of maining a Ferrothorn or Scizor (and taking out Excadrill.) But I like my Exacrdrill because of Mold Breaker + Earthquake = Dead Rotom-Washers, and the strategy I was trying to use was, breakwalls/Weaken pokemon, and win by Hurricane all the things.

Upgrading Pokemon

Super Bling

Clair pretty thick, huh?

Seen May 10th, 2014
Posted April 27th, 2014
93 posts
9.3 Years
Don't even think about trying Avalugg out. Its Defense may be massive, but its common weaknesses ruin that point. Togekiss, Sylveon or Clefable are better options:

Togekiss:
-Thunder Wave/Body Slam/Nasty Plot
-Air Slash
-Dazzling Gleam/Aura Sphere/Defog
-Roost
Nature: Calm
EVs: 248 HP/8 Def/252 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace

or
-Nasty Plot
-Dazzling Gleam
-Air Slash
-Aura Sphere/Flamethrower/Roost
Nature: Modest/Timid
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace

Sylveon:
-Wish
-Protect
-Hyper Voice
-Heal Bell/Calm Mind
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/244 Def/12 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate

or
-Hyper Voice
-Psyshock
-Shadow Ball
-Hidden Power (Ground)/Baton Pass/Echoed Voice
Nature: Modest
EVs: 244 HP/252 SAtk/12 Spe
Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate

Clefable:
-Calm Mind
-Moonblast
-Moonlight/Wish
-Heal Bell/Aromatherapy/Flamethrower/Protect
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/244 Def/12 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Unaware/Magic Guard

or
-Wish
-Protect
-Moonblast
-Heal Bell/Aromatherapy/Toxic
Nature: Bold/Calm
EVs: 252 HP/244 Def/12 Spe (Bold) or 252 HP/244 Def/12 Spe (Calm)
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Unaware/Magic Guard

or
-Calm Mind
-Moonblast
-Flamethrower
-Soft-Boiled/Moonlight
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/244 Def/12 Spe
Item: Leftovers/Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard

or
-Moonblast
-Fire Blast
-Thunderbolt
-Soft-Boiled/Moonlight
Nature: Modest
EVs: 244 HP/252 SAtk/12 Spe
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
I dunno man, I used an Avalugg on the PC server before and it worked some wonders.

People should know the amazingness that is Gyro Ball and Curse; with a Speed hindering nature. Almost always has max power. Another thing is Megakick Zard X. After a Dragon Dance, it can seriously rip things apart. The Aegislash is always there, but that isn't something I worry about much.


4642-8312-8475 Baron Black 2

PlatinumDude

Nyeh?

Age 29
Male
Canada
Seen July 31st, 2020
Posted May 30th, 2020
12,958 posts
12.7 Years


I dunno man, I used an Avalugg on the PC server before and it worked some wonders.

People should know the amazingness that is Gyro Ball and Curse; with a Speed hindering nature. Almost always has max power. Another thing is Megakick Zard X. After a Dragon Dance, it can seriously rip things apart. The Aegislash is always there, but that isn't something I worry about much.
Ferrothorn and Steelix do Curse + Gyro Ball better because they actually gain STAB on the move. Then again, they have better things to do than just that, and the latter Pokemon isn't seen in OU at all. Another reason not to use Avalugg is because it's an easy target for special attackers, due to its low Special Defense.

Mega Charizard X is a viable option, yes. But it does need Rapid Spin/Defog support.