[OU RMT] My new HeartGold/SoulSilver Wi-Fi Team

[Kozoi]

Introduction -

Hey guys, I haven't been on here for a while. I quit this place for a while because I got tired of people saying that Gardevoir was an inferior Alakazam and people whoring tiers in general. I'm glad to know Gardevoir and Alakazam are both UU now, it's good to know smogon has noticed Gardevoirs overall better movepool and good supporting options.

Anyway, this is a team that will be used in recorded Wi-Fi battles for Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver when I decide to ship the game from Japan. For now, it will be used on Platinum. What I propose to you guys; tell me what moves and EV spread I should replace the current with and rate it out of ten.

The Current Team -

Azelf, Naive
Item: Focus Sash
EV Spread: 252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, 6 Attack.
Moves:

*image removed*

- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
- Fire Blast
- Explosion

This is my current lead. I don't see the point in running a mixed Azelf with Fire Blast because that would mean that my Explosion would be rendered pretty much useless. It sets up Stealth Rock on the first turn, then uses Zen Headbutt for general STAB and a 30% chance of flinching. Fire Punch is meant to deal with Zong and Explosion is just a generally powerful last minute option, although I tend to switch out on Azelf for death fodder / a late game KO after scouting for ghost types. I don't run Taunt for some reason or another. I guess Fire Blast was too aluring of an option to counter Zong who would otherwise wall this set. Reccomended by Anti, Pokedra, etc.

Gyarados, Adamant Nature.
Item: Life Orb
EV Spread: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 6 Defense.

*image removed*

- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

I run Stone Edge > Ice Fang because it can still hurt Salamence pretty well. The accuracy isn't all that great but it's pretty darn powerful. A +1 Waterfall from this thing is deadly, although it does get walled by Skarmory without +2 DD. It's pretty standard but I like it, due to it having a good partner which we'll move onto now.

Electivire, Timid Nature.
Item: Choice Specs.
EV Spread: 252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, 6 Hp.

*image removed*

- Thunder Bolt
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power Ice
- Baton Pass

Reccomended by Anti and Pokedra. Basically, this thing covers Gyas Electric weak which would otherwise allow me to be swept by other Jolteons. Baton Pass to scout for Blisseys and HP Ice for Mence.

Shaymin, Timid Nature.
Item: Choice Specs
EV Spread: 252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, 6 HP.

*image removed*

- Seed Flare
- Earth Power
- Air Slash
- Psychic

Unfortunately it doesn't have hp ice or fire so I ran psychic where that should be. Other than that it's pretty standard. I guess I will be trying to get a new Shaymin asap. This thing is the teams special attacker, it does a pretty awesome job too. It can outspeed base 100 neutral nature Pokemon because it's timid.

Infernape, Naive Nature.
Item: Life Orb
EV Spread: 252 Attack, 64 Special Attack, 192 Speed.

*image removed*

- Close Combat
- Grass Knot
- Stone Edge
- Overheat

This Pokémon is the only OU fire type that I can actually use and be sure that it'll do a good job. I don't like Heatran due to its x4 ground weak. Grassknot for Swampert, Close Combat and Overheat for general stab.
Pretty standard too, I know.

Jirachi, Jolly Nature.
Item: Choice Scarf
EV Spread: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 6 Hp.

*image removed*

- Iron Head
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch
- U-Turn

Anti reccomended a steel type so I chose this. I love Jirachi and it makes a great counter to +1 base 100 Pokémon like Gya and Mence. Not much to say here, pretty standard. New EV spread reccomended by Pokedra.

Final Comments -

I really like this team, the only problem is bulky special beaters like Latias because I don't really have a special sponge. I don't plan on using a Blissey because they're pretty much my most hated Pokémon in competetive battling. I guess Dusknoir can counter Latias and score a 2HKO but will probably get raped by a CalmMind Latias.

Also, I always use one fire type, one water type, one grass type and one psychic type in every team. I had trouble picking the grass type so I chose Shaymin since it's bulky and a generally powerful sweeper. In either case, please rate this team and give me suggestions. I will be sure to check this thread on a daily basis.

 

[Anti]

Electivire is useless really. Since you left however long ago, I don't know if you were around for the realization that Electivire is actually very easy to stop. It's especially not good for this team because it isn't adequately supported, and nothing is going to really deal with its counters besides forcing them to switch. I would replace it (changes will be a bit later).

Next, you really should change your Azelf lead to the standard set. Physical attacks do less to most leads (Swampert, Hippowdon, Metagross, etc.), and the loss of power on Explosion really doesn't hurt Azelf much. In return, Azelf will be able to torch Metagross (well, as much as it can given MM + Bullet Punch), and Psychic is especially useful for the big Ground-types. However, I really would consider Taunt over Fire Blast to block Stealth Rock early. Nothing on your team has recovery (Pain Split is very shaky on Dusknoir) and some members take extra damage from Stealth Rock (Gyarados) or Life Orb recoil (Infernape & Gyarados). Cutting down on passive damage would be a major help.

Next, Dusknoir is a pretty horrible DDMence counter. It takes 83%-98% damage (and that's with max Def instead of 228 Def), which is pretty much always going to KO with Stealth Rock down when you consider prior damage. New MixMence does up to 79% with a Draco Meteor, which is always going to 2HKO Dusknoir bar a miss. As admirably bold as a team with no Steels or Dragons is, you really should get a better Salamence counter or at least something to catch it on a revenge kill like Scarf Jirachi (though since this is WiFi I doubt that's an option). Like Electivire, Dusknoir is pretty outdated, and I would consider replacing it.

Now to replacements. Instead of Dusknoir, I would put in a Steel-type to anchor your defenses. A Choice Scarf Heatran or Metagross would be a very wise choice. I would go with Metagross because it's easier to access and you can breed it, but more importantly it can revenge kill Jolly Gyarados with ThunderPunch. Right now, Gyarados is a problem, so that will help limit its effectiveness to an extent. You can also revenge kill Outraging Salamence. No Steel-type and nothing faster than it after a DD means that otherwise it's going to crush you. SalaZone still will win, but there's only so much you can do about that anyway. It also helps deal with Latias, which has no problems doing a ton of damage to a lot of your team.

In Electivire's slot, you could just run Jolteon if you want a more effective Electric-type sweeper. Another option is a Wish supporter like the sturdy Vaporeon, which helps a bundle with Rain teams, MixApe (relying on Gyarados to beat it is a bad idea), and also Gyarados (which would allow you to use ScarfTran if you really wanted). It also keeps your team healthy, which is a nice touch. However, it would leave you vulnerable to Electric attacks besides Shaymin, which is at risk of being picked off by HP Ice. You really can do whatever you want with that slot as long as your defenses against common threats is adequate, whether it's through revenge killing or a moer conservative method (which I doubt you're going for given the offensive nature of this team).

Lastly, just to avoid any misunderstandings, Alakazam was not moved down to UU because "smogon has noticed Gardevoirs overall better movepool and good supporting options" but really because Smogon noticed that no one used Alakazam in OU play, so it was brought down for that reason. Gardevoir had nothing to do with it. and really, comparing them is unfair since each one does certain things better than the other.

 

[Kozoi]

Electivire is useless really. Since you left however long ago, I don't know if you were around for the realization that Electivire is actually very easy to stop. It's especially not good for this team because it isn't adequately supported, and nothing is going to really deal with its counters besides forcing them to switch. I would replace it (changes will be a bit later).

Next, you really should change your Azelf lead to the standard set. Physical attacks do less to most leads (Swampert, Hippowdon, Metagross, etc.), and the loss of power on Explosion really doesn't hurt Azelf much. In return, Azelf will be able to torch Metagross (well, as much as it can given MM + Bullet Punch), and Psychic is especially useful for the big Ground-types. However, I really would consider Taunt over Fire Blast to block Stealth Rock early. Nothing on your team has recovery (Pain Split is very shaky on Dusknoir) and some members take extra damage from Stealth Rock (Gyarados) or Life Orb recoil (Infernape & Gyarados). Cutting down on passive damage would be a major help.

Next, Dusknoir is a pretty horrible DDMence counter. It takes 83%-98% damage (and that's with max Def instead of 228 Def), which is pretty much always going to KO with Stealth Rock down when you consider prior damage. New MixMence does up to 79% with a Draco Meteor, which is always going to 2HKO Dusknoir bar a miss. As admirably bold as a team with no Steels or Dragons is, you really should get a better Salamence counter or at least something to catch it on a revenge kill like Scarf Jirachi (though since this is WiFi I doubt that's an option). Like Electivire, Dusknoir is pretty outdated, and I would consider replacing it.

Now to replacements. Instead of Dusknoir, I would put in a Steel-type to anchor your defenses. A Choice Scarf Heatran or Metagross would be a very wise choice. I would go with Metagross because it's easier to access and you can breed it, but more importantly it can revenge kill Jolly Gyarados with ThunderPunch. Right now, Gyarados is a problem, so that will help limit its effectiveness to an extent. You can also revenge kill Outraging Salamence. No Steel-type and nothing faster than it after a DD means that otherwise it's going to crush you. SalaZone still will win, but there's only so much you can do about that anyway. It also helps deal with Latias, which has no problems doing a ton of damage to a lot of your team.

In Electivire's slot, you could just run Jolteon if you want a more effective Electric-type sweeper. Another option is a Wish supporter like the sturdy Vaporeon, which helps a bundle with Rain teams, MixApe (relying on Gyarados to beat it is a bad idea), and also Gyarados (which would allow you to use ScarfTran if you really wanted). It also keeps your team healthy, which is a nice touch. However, it would leave you vulnerable to Electric attacks besides Shaymin, which is at risk of being picked off by HP Ice. You really can do whatever you want with that slot as long as your defenses against common threats is adequate, whether it's through revenge killing or a moer conservative method (which I doubt you're going for given the offensive nature of this team).

Lastly, just to avoid any misunderstandings, Alakazam was not moved down to UU because "smogon has noticed Gardevoirs overall better movepool and good supporting options" but really because Smogon noticed that no one used Alakazam in OU play, so it was brought down for that reason. Gardevoir had nothing to do with it. and really, comparing them is unfair since each one does certain things better than the other.

I'm going to replace my Electivire with this (if Jirachi doesn't do a good enough job of covering its weak to mence, etc):

Jolteon, Timid Nature.
Item: Expert Belt / Choice Specs
EV Spread: 252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, 6 Special Defense.
Moveset:

- Thunderbolt
- HP Ice
- Shadow Ball
- Signal Beam

I don't see the point in running BatonPass since I wont be passing any stat boosts and I will already be locked into a move. The one problem with Jolteon is that it gets walled by Blissey far too easily. Ah well, it still seems pretty reliable of a choice to counter Mence.

Edit 1: I just decided to replace Dusknoir for a Jirachi, I don't know what to replace Azelf with yet but I am looking for a specially bulky Pokémon which can set up Stealth Rock.

Edit 2: Just gotta find a Naive Azelf... This could take a while.

 

[wolf]

I don't see the point in running BatonPass since I wont be passing any stat boosts and I will already be locked into a move.

Baton Pass is used to scout like how Scizor uses U-turn. e.g. You bring Jolteon in on Zapdos, forcing it to switch to Swampert, then you Baton Pass while it switches, so you can then you can switch to Shaymin. Baton Pass is also useful for scouting Jolteon's counters and then gives you an idea what move to use next time. Signal Beam only deals ~2% more to Tyranitar than Thunderbolt and Celebi is already 2HKO'd by Shadow Ball. So, in my opinion Baton Pass is overall more useful.

Ah well, it still seems pretty reliable of a choice to counter Mence.

Well, it can't counter Salamence, all of Salamence's moves probably OHKO it except maybe Fire Blast / Flamethrower. Jolteon can revenge kill Salamence however, but not after a Dragon Dance.

 

[Jukain-Arashi]

May I suggest Gliscor to replace Azelf? You can set up Stealth Rock and cripple your opponents lead using Taunt to prevent it from inflicting any kind of status.

 

[Kozoi]

May I suggest Gliscor to replace Azelf? You can set up Stealth Rock and cripple your opponents lead using Taunt to prevent it from inflicting any kind of status.

That's actually a good idea since I have both an Impish and a Jolly Gliscor. My Impish one is shiny too. :3 I'll look for a decent spread later, or tommorow because I am just watching Arby 'n' the Chief at the moment then I am gonna go to bed.

On the matter of Batonpass, I am not 100% sure on how it works. If you Batonpass then they switch do you get to see their Pokemon before you send yours out? Does it really work like that?

 

[Jukain-Arashi]

Here's what I'm running:

Gliscor @ Leftovers
Impish
Hyper Cutter
252 HP / 40 Atk / 216 Spe
~ Stealth Rock
~ Earthquake
~ Roost
~ Fire Fang

I just got done EVing him today, so I have yet to test him. I've seen many successful teams with Gliscor. You may want to give this a try.

 

[wolf]

On the matter of Batonpass, I am not 100% sure on how it works. If you Batonpass then they switch do you get to see their Pokemon before you send yours out? Does it really work like that?

Yes. Like this:

Opponent switches to Swampert
Jolteon uses Baton Pass
You switch to Shaymin

That all happens in one turn.

 

[Pokedra]

Run 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe on your Jirachi, I've run both spreads and I know by far this one is superior. Outspeeding ScarfGon who only run 176 EV's is nice and tying with DDMence is also nice and in general it's much more useful then just outspeeding base 90's.

Although ABYAY is gonna kill me for this Vire sucks and is basically walled by the whole metagame especially PhysicalVire. I'd replace it with something like Jolteon which still can absorb TWaves and provide an immunity to Electric.

Jolteon @ Choice Specs
Nature : Timid
EV : 4 HP / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- HP [Ice]
- Baton Pass

Azelf wants Psychic >> Zen Headbutt and Fire Blast >> Fire Punch, this way you can hurt leads like Metagross and Swampert better.

I don't really see the point of Psychic on Shaymin, you can already hit Poison and Fighting types, tbh you could probably replace it with Rest and with Natural Cure have a form of recovery.

Good luck with the team ^_^

 

[Kozoi]

Thank you Pokedra, my friend just supplied me with an almost perfect IV HP Ice Eevee so I can use that.

As for the Jirachi, that's no problem because I have that EV spread too. I have like 10 different Jirachi. I don't know about Shaymin, though. I'm not sure if I should use Azelf or Gliscor but I will give this Azelf a try since more people have reccomended it. (Got one today, almost EV trained)

On the matter of Shaymin, I have a defensive one. I don't see why I would run Rest on an offensive Shaymin which is choiced. I have this one if you think it's a good idea:

Shaymin, Bold Nature.
252 HP, 252 Defense, 6 Speed.

- Seed Flare
- Rest
- Aromatherapy
- Leech Seed

 

[Joltz]

Jolteon is good, but with specs and baton. I would replace the specs for something like Life orb or leftovers.