First RMT: Team Mafia (OU)

[JD_Kurosaki]

TEAM MAFIA​

Hey everyone. This is my first RMT, and is a team I created based on using one of my favourite pokemon, Honchkrow. So, here is the team.

THE LEAD

Ferrothorn @Leftovers
Relaxed, 252 HP, 88 DEF, 168 SP.DEF
Spikes
Leech Seed
Power Whip
Gyro Ball

How original. Ferrothorn does one job and one job only, set up spikes. Honchkrow is not exactly the most powerful pokemon out there, so spikes is useful for helping it net some KO's it would usually miss out on. Gyro Ball and Power Whip are both used so that if it comes down to Ferrothorn being my last pokemon, it can still do some damage and try to fight it's way out. Leech Seed is great for added recovery since without it I would have to solely rely on Leftovers to heal. Considering dropping Gyro Ball for Protect for that added Leech Seed/Leftovers recovery.

THE INITIAL ATTACK

Infernape @Life Orb
Naive, 4 SP.ATK, 252 SPEED, 252 ATK
Overheat
Close Combat
Stone Edge
U-turn

An old favourite here, Infernape. One of the best mixed attackers in 4th Gen returns here to do a similar job - put massive dents in everything. I opted for a mainly physical set because it is likely to draw out physical walls. This means I can deal huge damage to them and set them up to be picked off later by Honchkrow. Overheat is insanely powerful even with almost no investment, severely damaging and most of the time KOing the steels that plague Honchkrow's sweep. It also has great synergy with Ferrothorn, taking the fire attacks that could OHKO it in a heartbeat.

THE SPINNER

Starmie @Life Orb
Modest, 252 SP.ATK, 4 HP, 252 SPEED
Hydro Pump
Ice Beam
Thunderbolt
Rapid Spin

Starmie, the consistently amazing spinner. Thanks to Honchkrow's flying typing, it has a weakness to Stealth Rock, hindering it's ability to sweep and effectively use Substitute. This is where Starmie comes in. Not only does it spin away the dreaded rocks, it also has great synergy with Honchkrow, being able to easily take Ice attacks, whilst Honchkrow can then take Dark and Grass attacks for Starmie.

THE BEAR TRAP

Magnezone @Choice Scarf
Timid, 252 SPEED, 252 SP.ATK, 4 HP
Thunderbolt
Flash Cannon
Hidden Power [Fire]
Volt Switch

Honchkrow's biggest problems when trying to sweep are Steel types. Enter Magnezone. Not only does he take the myriad of Electric and Rock attacks being directed to Honchkrow and Starmie, but he traps steels cold before OHKOing them with the appropriate move. Flash Cannon is purely filler, and is just here because it is STAB and hits super effective on obscure things like Terrakion locked into Stone Edge.

THE SECONDARY SWEEPER

Gliscor @Toxic Orb
Impish, 252 HP, 184 DEF, 72 SPEED
Earthquake
Ice Fang
Swords Dance
Taunt

Gliscor received a fantastic new toy this Gen in the ability Poison Heal. This allows Gliscor to consistently replenish a good amount of health while sweeping through the opponent's team. Also, when building this team, I noticed that Starmie was my only Fighting resist. Starmie is definitely not the bulkiest of pokemon, so including another Fighting resist was important. Gliscor fits the bill perfectly, being very bulky and being able to easily set up and sweep if Honchkrow's sweep doesn't go according to plan.

THE BOSS

Honchkrow @Life Orb
Adamant, 20 HP, 252 ATK, 232 SPEED
Brave Bird
Substitute
Sucker Punch
Roost

This thing is fantastic. The basic idea is to come in on something that can't hurt you (a choice locked Earthquake, for example) and set up a Substitute. All of the steel types on the opposing team should be eliminated at this point, so from behind the Sub Brave Birds can be fired off without worry. Sucker Punch is an amazing move; a lot of people actually try to set up against me behind a Sub because they think I can't really hurt them. While they set up, I weaken, or even KO, them with super powerful Brave Birds. If they survive and try to attack, Sucker Punch easily picks them off before any real damage can occur. Honchkrow is just much better than people give him credit for.

CONCLUSION
Well thats the team. Thanks for reading, and please leave any insightful rates below. I don't want simple 1-line rates.

 

[Dark Azelf]

Firstly put Stealth Rock on Ferrothorn its a waste of time trying to set Spikes up without a ghost especially considering (according to usage) Tentacruel, Starmie and Forretress are rather high in usage and will just spin them away wasting 3 turns of yours. Plus Stealth Rock is a universally better move than Spikes if you have to choose.

Another option would be putting Stealth Rock AND Spikes on Ferrothorn (over Leech Seed as its illegal with said seed) and then shoving a ghost (possibly Gengar) over something, maybe over Magnezone ? Spikes and SR wear down alot of Krows counters anyway to the point you wont require Zone. The only thing that is steel that walls krow which zone would help with is Skarm, but alot of those pack a shed shell anyway.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[PlatinumDude]

Just something else to add to what Dark_Azelf said: if you drop Leech Seed for another hazard, then Ferrothorn won't have much recovery apart from Leftovers. So you'll have to think about 2 factors: having only 1 hazard while having semi-reliable recovery or having 2 hazards at the cost of less healing.

And always, always use Timid on Starmie. While Modest has its merits, Timid is the superior option because going Modest would mean that Starmie would lose out to positive-Speed natured Mienshao, Infernape, Terrakion and other Starmie.