StatHazard - OU (Gen V)

[Orophin]

So I'm new to the whole competitive battling scene and have been working on coming up with a team I'd like to work with. I've come up with one that has a focus on Entry Hazards and Status Ailments. I have no idea what items go best on different pokemon, so any suggestions are appreciated. Any comments on the move sets and overall build of the team is helpful too.

Pokemon: Skarmory
Ability: Keen Eye (Working on getting one with Sturdy)
Item: Shed Shell
Moveset:
- Spikes
- Roost
- Roar
- Brave Bird

Pokemon: Haxorus
Ability: Mold Breaker
Nature: Naughty (Working on getting an Adamant)
Item: Lum Berry/Life Orb
Moveset:
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw / Outrage
- Earthquake
- Brick Break

Pokemon: Cofagrigus (or possibly Jellicent)
Ability: Mummy
Nature: Bold
Item: Leftovers
Moveset:
- Will-o-Wisp
- Shadow Ball
- Haze
- Rest / Taunt

Pokemon: Tyranitar
Ability: Sand Stream
Item: Leftovers
Moveset:
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake

Pokemon: Magmortar
Ability: Flame Body
Item: ???
Moveset:
- Will-o-Wisp
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Taunt

Pokemon: Breloom
Ability: Poison Heal
Item: Toxic Orb
Moveset:
- Seed Bomb
- Spore
- Substitute
- Focus Punch

Updated: 29/08/11

 

[champagnepapi]

Hi Orophin.

You've made some good choices with this team, but there are definitely some improvements that can be made.

Skarmory @ Shed Shell
252 HP/252 Defense/4 Speed
Impish Nature
Trait: Sturdy
-Roost
-Spikes
-Whirlwind
-Brave Bird

With this set, Skarmory becomes one of the most potent Phazers, Spikers and Physical Walls in the game. Shed Shell is to prevent Skarmory from being trapped by Magnezone, and Sturdy works as a focus sash this generation, which can come in handy. Brave Bird is there over Steel Wing because Flying is a better offensive type than steel and Brave Bird will deal much more damage with its 140 base power.

As for Haxorus

Haxorus @ Life Orb/Lum Berry
4 HP/252 Attack/252 Speed
Jolly
Trait: Rivalry
-Outrage
-Dragon Dance
-Earthquake
-Brick Break

Rivalry is much better than Mold Breaker, since Pokemon on PO are set to male, so it will give you a boost. Outrage may seem unappealing because it locks you in for 2/3 turns, but it can 2HKO nearly the whole metagame after one Dragon Dance and will be vital in taking down strong defensive foes that resist earthquake and can take a Brick Break, like Gliscor or Tangrowth. You could also have a Lum Berry instead of Life Orb to get you a second free outrage, since it will null the confusion or any other ailments you may pick up. Finally, Haxorus won't be doing much with Toxic, and Brick Break can help with coverage, beating things like Ferrothorn.

Dusknoir isn't that great, really, use Cofagrigus instead since it can phaze the opponent.

Cofagrigus @ Leftovers
252 HP/152 Def/104 SpD
Bold Nature
Trait: Mummy
-Will O Wisp
-Shadow Ball/Hex
-Haze
-Rest

Always use Will O Wisp first, and then just Haze any opponents that try to boost, and rest when needed. Mummy really wrecks things like Conkeldurr and Scizor, by taking away their precious abilities making it one of the most valuable abilities for a wall.

For Tyranitar, use Dragon Dance if you'd like it to be a sweeper.

Tyranitar @ Leftovers/Lum Berry
4 HP/252 Attack/252 Speed
Jolly Nature
Trait: Sand Stream
-Dragon Dance
-Superpower
-Crunch
-Stone Edge

I reccomend specially defensive Heatran over Magmortar, since Will O Wisp can allow it to beat Physical attackers and it can wall Pokemon like Latios with ease.

Heatran @ Leftovers
252 HP/4 Def/252 SDef
Calm Nature
Trait: Flash Fire
-Lava Plume
-Protect/Stealth Rock
-Will O Wisp
-Roar

Roar allows you to phaze things, while Protect can gain you a bit of recovery, but Stealth Rock is probably the better option since it can limit how many times a Pokemon can switch in.

Breloom looks good, just remember to give it a Toxic Orb and [EDIT] Spore, but Swords Dance might be a viable option over Substitute, just make sure to change Focus Punch to Mach Punch if you make that change.

 

[Orophin]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm seriously considering switching Dusknoir for Cofagrius now.

 

[Fairy]

EDIT : WELL DAMN, KARPMAN BEAT ME TO IT

I think you have a very, very innovative idea here. While it's true that new battlers are best when kept to comfort zones, I think you've found a very nice niche here. Just remember that we also need the EV spreads for each Pokemon as well. If you don't know what EVs are, than just tell one of our raters and we will be more than happy to explain it or link you to a guide that does! Another thing that you lack are natures on your Pokemon. Natures are pretty much another essential element of your Pokemon to make them competitive battling ready. If you need a list of natures and what they do for your Pokemon along with a detailed example of how they work, feel free to ask! I'm going to be recommending natures and EVs for some of your Pokemon to give you an idea of what to do, but I am not going to this this for all of them. It's not because I don't want to help you, it's because I want to see how much help you need, does that make sense?

Pokemon: Skarmory
Ability: Keen Eye
Item: ???
Moveset:
- Spikes
- Roost
- Roar
- Steel Wing

The Shed Shell or Leftovers would probably be the best option for Skarmory. The Shed Shell is basically a preventative measure against Magnezone's Magnet Pull and will allow Skarmory to switch out despite being a Steel Type. While Leftovers are.. Well, they're Leftovers. They restore 1/16th of your HP at the end of each turn. Now, again, we still need an EV spread for Skarmory so just ask if you need help. Keen Eye is generally not preferred over Skarmory's secondary ability Sturdy. Sturdy more or less functions as a free Focus Sash and provides more competitive value as opposed to Keen Eye. As far as your moves are concerned, I only have a few things to mention. People use Whirlwind over Roar on Skarmory. Is there a real difference? I don't think so.. But I've never seen a Skarmory with Roar. And Brave Bird would be a better option for your Skarmory just because you'll be able to deal more damage and have a better chance at killing threats. Skarmory can pretty much shrug of any recoil damage, especially with Leftovers.

Pokemon: Haxorus
Ability: Mold Breaker
Item: ???
Moveset:
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Toxic

Personally, I like a Choice Band on Haxorus. And I'm not really sure how good Haxorus can be at dealing Status effects because of its general frailty.. But going along with what you have now, I'd say the Life Orb is your best option. That will provide a good boost to all of your Attacks at the cost of some HP. Haxorus might be something you'll want to revise as a status inducer. It functions just as well, if not better, with a Choice Band (something that is more or less impossible with Status effecting moves). EVs would be best divided between Attack and Speed with the remainder in HP with an Adamant [+Attack; -Sp.Attack] nature. Just remember, not all Pokemon need to have status effecting moves. Haxorus makes a much better physical sweeper than anything else. If someone could come in and figure this whole status Haxorus out, that would be great.

Pokemon: Dusknoir
Ability: Pressure
Item: ???
Moveset:
- Will-o-Wisp
- Shadow Sneak
- Gravity
- Taunt

While Dusknoir is an excellent Pokemon with amazing defensive stats, it's just outclassed by other Pokemon like Blissey in terms of utility. Also, Jellicent could be a good replacement for Dusknoir as well, because it can basically function the same way in terms of a Rapid Spin blocker. So, it's really whatever you find more useful. Blissey would be able to give your team Wish or Aromatherapy support along with a very potent Thunder Wave. While Jellicent can give you Spin Blocking support, with Will-O-Wisp, Scald and Taunt. A set that isn't too far from your current Dusknoir set. I'm going to recommend Jellicent. While it won't be able to do as much for your team, it will give you a mess of useful resistances and work much better than Dusknoir all together.

Jellicent @ Leftovers
Water Absorb
248 HP / 216 Defense / 44 Speed
Bold [+Defense; -Attack]
- Scald
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt

This, in my opinion, maximizes Jellicent's excellent bulk and a respectable Special Defense, and will do more or less, exactly what Dusknoir is doing (minus having a STAB priority attack). A Bold nature will help you defend against physical sweepers like Air Balloon Excadrill (who will no doubt benefit from the Sand) and really mess it up with Will-O-Wisp. I prefer Water Absorb because it has much more functionality on a regular basis, but Cursed Body has a lot of situational utility as well.

Pokemon: Tyranitar
Ability: Sand Stream
Item: ???
Moveset:
- Pursuit
- Stealth Rock
- Hone Claws
- Earthquake

Again, Natures are essential for your Pokemon. There's a lot of ways to run Tyranitar, some people like a Mixed set (my personal favorite) and other people like a Physical set. The natures and EVs reflect all of that. Considering how you currently have your Tyranitar set up, I'm going to recommend Pursuit or Crunch / Stealth Rock / Stone Edge / Earthquake or Superpower. Hone Claws is kind of unnecessary on Tyranitar, sorry to say. I like having a Sassy [+Sp.Defense; -Speed] to Tyranitar has a little more special bulk, but other natures are absolutely viable. A good item could be an Expert Belt which proves a 20% boost to any super effective attacks.

Pokemon: Magmortar
Ability: Flame Body
Item: ???
Moveset:
- Will-o-Wisp
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Taunt

Magmortar is outclassed by many other Pokemon in OU. The best I can recommend for this is to replace him with something like Heatran, who can actually use Toxic very well, and uses a set much like your Magmortar. While it is true that Magmortas has access to a small pool of moves, it is completely outclassed by the superior bulk, movepool, stats, and typing of Heatran.

Heatran @ Air Balloon / Leftovers
Flash Fire
252 HP / 252 Sp.Attack / 4 Speed
Timid [+Speed; -Attack]
- Toxic
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Substitute / Taunt

Fire Blast and Earth Power and the core of Heatran's offensive tactics. They provide decent coverage between them as well. Toxic is going to wreck bulky Water types who commonly switch-in on Heatran and Substitute will help you stall for damage. Alternatively, Taunt can be used as well. Honestly, you're team is rather offensive based.. If we were in a different generation, I would be recommending Explosion, but I'm afraid that it's just not viable in this metagame. Still, that doesn't change the fact that common Heatran switch-ins like Dragonite, Tyranitar, and Water types hate being poisoned.

Pokemon: Breloom
Ability: Poison Heal
Item: ???
Moveset:
- Seed Bomb
- Toxic
- Substitute
- Focus Punch

Okay, there are some serious problems with your Breloom. It NEEDS SPORE. I can not say that big enough. Breloom isn't Breloom without Spore. It is the best Sleep Inducer in the game and not using Spore is a disservice to Brelooms everywhere. You need Spore. Forget Toxic. You need Spore. Other than that, you're set is fine. Substitute and Focus Punch are an excellent combination on Breloom and Seed Bomb is your next best STAB option. Drain Punch can be viable, but I prefer Seed Bomb. As far as Items are concerned, if you have Poison Heal, than you need a Toxic Orb! The Toxic Orb will automatically poison Breloom, healing it more than Leftovers would and making Breloom able to ignore statuses that your opponent will try to use. An Adamant [+Attack; -Sp.Attack] nature will give you an attack of 394 (with corresponding EVs) which is stupid good. While a Jolly [+Speed; -Sp.Attack] will let you outspeed other Breloom. EVs are best placed in 12 HP / 252 Attack / 244 Speed. This is probably the best Breloom set in existence. Just remember to give it Spore! :>

Anyway, there you go. You're team doesn't really have too many outstanding weaknesses, although I can see Tyranitar giving this team a hard time with Stone Edge. Other than that, I think you're pretty prepared for competitive battling!

I hope this was helpful! Keep up the good work! :D

 

[Orophin]

Thanks a lot, that was a huge help. I'll add Jellicent as another option to try along with Confagrigus as a replacement for Dusknoir. I'm really holding out getting rid of Magmortar as he's one of my favorite Pokemon and I'm really not a fan of Heatran. If he really fails compared to the rest of the team, I'll probably end up switching him out for something else though.

EVs are something I've just been learning about this week. I've been reading a lot of articles from Smogon. Nature wise, I'll try to catch some of the pokemon for my team in the nature's you suggested. Thanks again.

EDIT: I figure I should post what my intention is with each Pokemon.

Skarmory: Physical Wall and Phazer
Haxorus: Physical Sweeper
Dusknoir/Confagrigus/Jellicent: Rapid Spin Blocker / Status Inducing Wall
Tyranitar: I'd like to turn him into a mixed Wall Breaker
Magmortar: One of my main status inducers and Special Sweeper
Breloom: My other main status sweeper

 

[Folly~]

Hmmm... I don't know if I should still reply to this or not, but whatever. I do have some input on Breloom. I know you're going for the whole Sub-Punch set and that works. However, sometimes, that can be a bit predictable, and can expose some weaknesses if the other person sees it coming. I've found that when I put a set together for Seed Bomb, Spore, Wake Up Slap, and Protect, (with the Toxic Orb and Adamant nature, of course) Breloom can be a deadly killer toward anything that's weak to it, and you can get the Toxic Orb off on the first turn without taking any damage, because of Protect. That also helps you scout the enemy's moves. And since Spore has the 100% accuracy, I do believe it would work well. I guess try both in contrast with eachother is my recommendation.

Everything else looks fine, though. Welcome aboard the competitive battling train. :)

Give me a shout if you ever need more help. Always here.

 

[Zadikal]

I personally prefer this Breloom.

Pokemon: Breloom
Ability: Poison Heal
Item: Toxic Orb
Moveset:
- Spore
- Wake-up Slap
- Swords Dance
- Seed Bomb

It might sound very diffrent, but TTar could be replaced with Gliscor.

Gliscor
Poison Heal
Toxic Orb
Moveset:
Swords Dance
Ice fang
Facade
Earthquake.

Im to lazy to check all the other stuff, you could figure it out yourself ;)

 

[Orophin]

Interesting suggestion. I'm figuring Impish would be the best nature for Gliscor, right?

But yeah, the only issue I have with that is Tyranitar is supposed to be a mixed wall breaker and Gliscor's SpA is so low, I don't think he could get the job done against a physical wall.

 

[champagnepapi]

Interesting suggestion. I'm figuring Impish would be the best nature for Gliscor, right?

But yeah, the only issue I have with that is Tyranitar is supposed to be a mixed wall breaker and Gliscor's SpA is so low, I don't think he could get the job done against a physical wall.

I'd keep Tyranitar over Gliscor, since Skarmory and Cofagrigus collectively check and haze/phaze the same threats Gliscor does and Tyranitar also gives you valuable weather control. Also, I wouldn't go with his suggestion of Wake Up Slap [no offense to Zadikal, of course], since Focus Punch is more powerful/Mach Punch gets priority and Wake Up Slap will null the effects of Spore and the whole point of Breloom is to set up while the opponent is asleep.

 

[Perriechu]

Interesting suggestion. I'm figuring Impish would be the best nature for Gliscor, right?

But yeah, the only issue I have with that is Tyranitar is supposed to be a mixed wall breaker and Gliscor's SpA is so low, I don't think he could get the job done against a physical wall.

Gliscor is actually incredibly good. ;o; I run one and he's seriously saved me more times than I can remember.

Gliscor @Toxic Orb
Impish Nature [+Def; -SpA]
Ev's; 252 Hp / 180 Def / 72 Spe
Trait: Poison Heal
~ Earthquake
~ Protect / Taunt
~ Ice Fang / Acrobatics / Facade
~ Swords Dance / Fling

I run Earthquake / Swords Dance / Ice Fang / Protect and it works out fine. :3 The only physical walls that you have to deal with are; Gliscor, Bulky Gyarados, Regirock, Deoxys-D, Registeel and some others but I forget.

Gliscor, of course doesn't really have to deal with them, but after a few SD he can take care of other Gliscor and Registeel/Rock.

 

[Orophin]

Well, no harm in me catching one to test out anyway. ^_^

 

[Vrai]

Taunt is preferable on Gliscor if you're using him to break stall. That way you can prevent phazing from Skarmory etc (as well as cutting their recovery). You'll still have trouble with Pokemon like Hippowdon who have reliable recovery + commonly use an Ice-type move but otherwise Gliscor is a very effective stallbreaker being immune to Spikes/T-Spikes, neutral to SR, immune to status, and abusing Taunt to prevent phasing.

 

[PlatinumDude]

Magmortar isn't as good in OU as Darmanitan is because it's a bit slow. Also, Darmanitan hits a lot harder than Magmortar does:
-Flare Blitz
-Rock Slide
-Earthquake/Superpower
-U-turn
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Choice Band/Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force

Also, having the EVs in the OP would be great.

 

[Orophin]

I caught the EV thing, but as I'm just getting into them, its going take me a while to get comfortable enough with them to know what I'm putting in the OP.

Had lots of suggestions if I need to replace Magmortar, not sure what I'm doing with that slot yet.

 

[Zadikal]

I'd keep Tyranitar over Gliscor, since Skarmory and Cofagrigus collectively check and haze/phaze the same threats Gliscor does and Tyranitar also gives you valuable weather control. Also, I wouldn't go with his suggestion of Wake Up Slap [no offense to Zadikal, of course], since Focus Punch is more powerful/Mach Punch gets priority and Wake Up Slap will null the effects of Spore and the whole point of Breloom is to set up while the opponent is asleep.

Thats the trick. Wake up slap hits twice as more if the opponent is asleep. 60x2=120+Stab boost. isnt it great, or what. Focus Punch can fail, if the oponent suddenly wakes up!

 

[PlatinumDude]

Thats the trick. Wake up slap hits twice as more if the opponent is asleep. 60x2=120+Stab boost. isnt it great, or what. Focus Punch can fail, if the oponent suddenly wakes up!

Wake-up Slap doesn't have much merit competitively because if you're faster than the opponent and the attack falls short of KOing the opponent, then you'll be hit back. The SubPunching Breloom is pretty much the best bet:
-Spore
-Substitute
-Focus Punch
-Seed Bomb/Stone Edge
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 12 HP/252 Atk/244 Spe
Item: Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal

 

[Dark Azelf]

ITT: People need to stop suggesting/hyping Wake Up slap Breloom which frankly sucks. Sorry to sound mean/harsh but its the truth.

Focus Punch is more powerful and more useful so if the opponent switches out of sleep to something (read: competent players + sleep clause) then you arent stuck with a weak as heck move. "If the opponent Wakes Up suddenly" is also not a viable argument because 1. You have Spore so you can put them straight back to sleep. 2. You have a sub to guard you from status and to prevent Focus Punch from failing. :\

Anyway if the OP could update with his current team and EV's that would be great so we can help further.

 

[Orophin]

Sorry for the late reply, I was away for the long weekend.

Right now I'm still working on catching the pokemon I need with the natures I want. An adamant Axew seems to be near impossible to catch, I've caught a good 50+ so far with not even one adamant. Once I get all the pokemon I need caught, I'll work on the EVs and can update my OP list.

 

[Cycle]

Considering you're doing it ingame, use Mold breaker and not rivalry. In fact, even if you're using pokemon online, I'd rather use mold breaker; once you get higher on the ladder, people prefer to change up their genders to avoid attract and rivalry.

 

[Orophin]

I was planning to stick with Mold Breaker, if not for the sole reason that it negates Sturdy.