Help with my grass team... again?

[Nolafus]

That's right, I've been playing around with the new gen and made some major modifications to my grass team. I've been doing surprisingly well so far against other teams, but you guys have always given me some great advice in the past, so I thought I would make another thread and see what you guys can help me with. I've been after the best grass team for a while now, and each time I've asked for help I feel like I've gotten closer to that goal. Let's face it, when I'm using the type with the most weaknesses, I need all the help I can get.Without further ado, here's the team:

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SDef
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed

Ferrothorn is here for the entry hazards. With the new gen, Ferrothorn has become an even bigger part of my team with access to that deadly Gyro Ball. After playing a bit, I realized that I needed Ferrothorn to stay around a bit and tank some hits. So, I decided to fully invest in defensive EV's. The loss in attack isn't nice, but at least Ferrothorn can stick around long enough to get the chance to attack now.

Venusaur-Mega @ Venusaurite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Leech Seed
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Ground]
The mega pokemon on my team, and the newest addition. Mega-Venusaur replaced Roserade as my special wall. With the change of Nature Power to Tri-Attack on simulators instead of Earthquake, I needed another strategy other then Shiftry to deal with fire teams. Megasaur can offer a neutrality to fire and ice that Roserade can't, so I went ahead and made the switch. It's a decent special wall and although I haven't had many battles with it, I'm happy with it so far.

Ludicolo @ Damp Rock
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Modest Nature
- Ice Beam
- Rain Dance
- Giga Drain
- Surf

I finally managed to squeeze this guy on this team and I couldn't be happier. I wasn't expecting much, but this guy is great. If I can get the Rain Dance up, I know my opponent is in for a rough time. I swapped Substitute for Ice Beam because PlatinumDude made a very good case for it and I needed the extra coverage. Ludicolo has done great and is even deadlier then I could have hoped.

Breloom @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Rock Tomb
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed

Although I still love this guy, his usefulness has taken a hit this gen. Don't get me wrong, Breloom is still one of the deadliest pokemon on this team, but I went ahead and switched out a Focus Sash for the Life Orb since Breloom needs all the extra power it can get. I can usually get the Spore in first, so the Swords Dance is good to go, but I must admit. I'm feeling the effects of not having that Focus Sash. But, I just felt like there were too many entry hazards to make much use of it, so I'm happy with the switch.

Shiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Seed Bomb
- Rock Slide

Shiftry is here to provide some much needed priority. I can Fake Out pokemon that don't have much life for the quick kill, or Sucker Punch them into submission. I was greatly disappointed when they changed Nature Power to Tri-Attack instead of Earthquake, so I replaced it with Rock Slide so Shiftry still has something for those pesky fire types. Plus, now I can hit Charizard and other flying types without having to switch out. Normally I would go with a Jolly nature since I have the Life Orb on it, but Shiftry needs all the power it can get. Plus I'm using a lot of priority on it, so it doesn't really matter.

Tangrowth @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Focus Blast
- Synthesis

If you know me, then you know how much I love Tangrowth. This thing has been on my grass teams since the very beginning and it's not hard to see why. Tangrowth is here to act as a physical wall. Tangrowth can take that Brave Bird and strike back with HP Ice, often for the KO. Fighting teams especially struggle with Tangrowth as most of them are physical attackers. HP Rock is there to give me a better chance of bringing down Talonflame while still bringing down other flying types.

So there's my team. I have yet to face a fire team, so I have no clue how this team fares against that, but I still struggle heavily against bug teams. I feel like I've got flying and ice down pretty well. I don't win every time, but I can normally pull it out for the win. Notable threats include Heatran, Talonflame, Nidoking, and Volcarona. I'm sure there are more, but those are just the ones off the top of my head.

I'm open to any and all advice including switching out pokemon. Thanks in advance!

 

[Nah]

Not sure if i can be of much help here: Grass isn't a type I use often, and your team has been fine-tuned a lot already, it seems. But I gotta put in my 2 cents.

If Mega Venusaur is meant to be a special wall, shouldn't you put a few more EVs into Sp.Defense? Also, change its Hidden Power type to Ground or maybe even Water. You can hit Heatran and Nidoking harder that way than with HP Rock. Or give someone else a Ground attack at least.

...And that's all I got.

 

[Nolafus]

I gave Megasaur the EV spread it currently has because I needed the power. It's normally bulky enough to take a few special hits anyway, but it's definitely not the special version of Tangrowth. I think I will change the HP to ground simply because I do have Rock Slide on Shiftry and I need the coverage against Heatran. Thanks!

 

[PlatinumDude]

If Ludicolo is using Rain Dance, I'd make it an offensive set to make the most out of the 8 turns of rain. Substitute just wastes turns.:
-Rain Dance
-Hydro Pump/Surf
-Giga Drain
-Ice Beam/Focus Blast
Nature: Modest/Timid
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Damp Rock/Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim

Breloom generally won't have time to get up Swords Dance because of all the hard-hitting attacks thrown around. Generally, I feel that an all-out attacking set may be better:
-Spore/Force Palm
-Bullet Seed
-Mach Punch
-Rock Tomb
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Focus Sash
Ability: Technician

Breloom already provides this team with priority, so I don't think Shiftry is necessary. Something like Trevenant or Gourgeist (Super size) helps because they provide another useful Fighting resistance:

Trevenant:
-Horn Leech/Wood Hammer
-Earthquake/Rock Slide
-Will-o-Wisp
-Rest
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP/180 Def/76 Spe
Item: Leftovers/Lum Berry
Ability: Natural Cure/Harvest

or
-Horn Leech
-Shadow Claw/Leech Seed
-Will-o-Wisp
-Protect
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP/180 Def/76 Spe
Item: Sitrus Berry
Ability: Harvest

or
-Substitute
-Leech Seed
-Will-o-Wisp
-Phantom Force
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP/180 Def/76 Spe
Item: Sitrus Berry
Ability: Harvest

Gourgeist:
-Will-o-Wisp
-Leech Seed
-Pain Split/Protect
-Seed Bomb/Shadow Sneak
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP/4 Atk/252 Def
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Frisk

This team is screwed over by Talonflame big-time. Not even Rain Dance from Ludicolo can save it, as Talonflame can plow through the team with Brave Bird. Just putting this out there.

 

[Nolafus]

If Ludicolo is using Rain Dance, I'd make it an offensive set to make the most out of the 8 turns of rain. Substitute just wastes turns.:
-Rain Dance
-Hydro Pump/Surf
-Giga Drain
-Ice Beam/Focus Blast
Nature: Modest/Timid
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Damp Rock/Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim

Alright, I switched out Ice Beam for Substitute and I'm really liking the extra coverage for flying teams. I decided with Ice Beam over Focus Blast because Surf already hits Ice and Steel teams pretty hard in rain anyway.

Breloom generally won't have time to get up Swords Dance because of all the hard-hitting attacks thrown around. Generally, I feel that an all-out attacking set may be better:
-Spore/Force Palm
-Bullet Seed
-Mach Punch
-Rock Tomb
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Focus Sash
Ability: Technician

I switched out Swords Dance with Stone Edge because I would have to agree with you there. It seems that a lot more teams are carrying pokemon that can easily counter Breloom, so I can't bank on that Swords Dance anymore.

Breloom already provides this team with priority, so I don't think Shiftry is necessary. Something like Trevenant or Gourgeist (Super size) helps because they provide another useful Fighting resistance:

This is where I feel like you're wrong. Shiftry has taken down many things and is a huge component against ghost and fire teams alike. With access to Chlorophyll, Shiftry can outspeed just about every fire pokemon in the sun and strike with a SE Rock Slide. Besides, I don't need more defensive pokemon. Between Ferrothorn, Tangrowth, and Megasaur, I can feel the pain as some of them rip their hair out in annoyance. I don't need more defense, I need more power. With this type, just about every pokemon is carrying something that's SE against me, so I need to eliminate threats that commonly OHKO me before they get the chance. And with that Sucker Punch, Shiftry is just the pokemon for the job.

This team is screwed over by Talonflame big-time. Not even Rain Dance from Ludicolo can save it, as Talonflame can plow through the team with Brave Bird. Just putting this out there.

I think this is something that every grass team is struggling against right now.

Thanks for all the advice. As usual, it's been very helpful and I appreciate it. Oh, and I finally got paired up against a fire team. They mowed me down without breaking a sweat. Although, I just feel like I need to go up against a lot of them to figure out a strategy against them.

 

[Nah]

It'd actually be better to give Breloom Rock Tomb instead of Stone Edge. Rock Tomb got boosted to 60 power 95 accuracy. So it gets a boost from Technician, and its more accurate than Stone Miss. Yeah, its 10 BP less than Stone Edge, but you'll really appreciate the better accuracy and the Speed drop it provides (since your team isn't terribly fast outside of priority and weather dependent speed boosting abilities).

 

[Nolafus]

It'd actually be better to give Breloom Rock Tomb instead of Stone Edge. Rock Tomb got boosted to 60 power 95 accuracy. So it gets a boost from Technician, and its more accurate than Stone Miss. Yeah, its 10 BP less than Stone Edge, but you'll really appreciate the better accuracy and the Speed drop it provides (since your team isn't terribly fast outside of priority and weather dependent speed boosting abilities).

I can't believe I forgot about the Technician boost! I completely spaced on that, so I thought it was a really weak move. Okay, I switched it over. Thanks!