SM OU Rate my OU Team

[Daqous]

Hello, all! I've been trying to put together a team that's both effective and that uses Pokémon that I enjoy, and this is the result. I just wanted it up here to get any helpful feedback to improve this team. The team not allowed to have legends on it (so it's not exactly following OU).

I wanted to take Mega Lopunny, who I've been using as my main damage dealer on my mono-normal team, and create a team around her.

I then added Greninja to give myself a fast special attacker to pair with Lopunny. I debated whether to use Choice Scarf or Life Orb, but decided to use Life Orb when I chose to run Spikes on him to give the team hazards.

I like Gliscor, and he made a solid choice for a bulky Pokémon that can switch into Fighting-moves that would be directed at the other two, as well as giving me a Defogger.

Another Pokémon that I like to use, Toxapex is the defensive wall, as well as toxic spike setter. Also runs Haze to help it combat set-up sweepers.

At this point I was going back and forth between Mega Scizor or Mega Lopunny, and I ended up switching to Mega Scizor, as I tend to like slightly bulky Pokémon.

Tangrowth lets me get through some water types, and also gives resistances to Electric and Ground type moves, relieving some pressure from Gliscor.

I love the ability Unaware, and decided to add Clefable as she not only has this ability, but can be used for Wish and Heal Bell support, and has decent offensive presence with Moonblast.

After three weeks or so of battling with this team, I decided to change Toxapex out for Heat-Rotom. Toxapex was doing fine, but I was having difficulty with some Steel types such as Scizor and Metagross. I bred a new Greninja to pass on Toxic Spikes, replacing Spikes. So there's the current team.

Scizor-Mega (M) @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 244 HP / 64 Atk / 124 Def / 20 SpD / 56 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost

The main physical damage of the team. The moves are standard and the EVs were taken from... somewhere, I can't exactly remember from where. They seem to be working well though. Swords Dance lets Scizor set-up and do solid damage with a Technician-boosted Bullet Punch. U-turn lets it chip away at something it doesn't want to fight and switch out. Roost lets it heal up, giving it good sustain with it's relative bulk. Honestly, I'm still debating whether using him or Lopunny is the better choice.

Greninja (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam

My main special damage dealer. I changed Spikes to Toxic Spikes after taking Toxapex out. Life Orb gives it a damage boost, and unlike Choice Scarf or Choice Specs, doesn't force me to switch out if I place Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes are there to poison switch-ins, and drain their health. Hydro Pump hits hard, and Dark Pulse lets me hit Ghost and Psychic types super-effectively. Ice Beam lets me hit Dragon and Ground types hard.

Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 152 SpD / 112 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Defog
- Roost
- Knock Off

Gliscor is one of my personal favorites, and I feel that he fits well on the team (feel free to tell me otherwise). Toxic Orb and Poison Heal allow Gliscor to avoid harmful statuses and heal every turn. 112 Speed EVs and Jolly nature let him outpace Heatran, who I commonly see. The rest of the EVs go into HP and Special Defense. Earthquake lets him not only switch in on Electric attacks, but retaliate well. Defog lets me clear hazards away. Roost increases Gliscor's longevity, and Knock off can help neuter Pokémon that particularly like their held items, such as Chansey and other walls, as well as hitting Ghosts hard.

Rotom-Heat @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 84 Def / 176 Spe
Bold Nature
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Defog
- Will-O-Wisp

I'm sure there are many better choices than this, but off the top of my head I can't think of any. Rotom-Heat has Levitate, removing what would be a 4x weakness to Ground, which is helpful. 176 Speed EVs lets it outpace Jolly, full speed-invested Scizor, and while it's not totally necessary as Rotom-Heat can survive a +2 Superpower from Scizor without it, outspeeding Scizor prevents me from losing over half of my Rotom's HP. Overheat lets me annihilate some Steel-types that have given me trouble, namely Scizor and Metagross, as hit Grass types hard. Volt Switch lets me pivot into another Pokémon. I started running Defog to lighten Gliscor's load a bit, since Rotom-Heat can switch into Ice and Water types that Gliscor would prefer not to. Will-O-Wisp let's me burn steel types that can't be poisoned or halve the attack of an opponent's physical Pokémon.

Tangrowth (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 28 Def / 228 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 30 Spe
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Earthquake

Tangrowth is here primarily to take on Water types. the Evs and Assault Vest give it solid bulk against special attacks. Giga Drain hits Water types hard and heals Tangrowth up. I'm not too sure whether running this or Leaf Storm would be better. Knock Off let's it take out an opponent's item. 30 Speed IVs make it's Hidden Power an Ice type move, letting it chip at other Grass types, as well as Dragons. Finally, Earthquake lets it take on Rock and Steel types relatively well.

Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell
- Moonblast

I often run Mono-Water teams (I enjoy mono-type teams), and many of them include Quagsire for the ability Unaware. Clefable also has this ability, as well as solid bulk and access to both Wish and Heal Bell to support the team. Wish let's it sustain and potentially heal up it's teammates. Protect lets it scout moves and wait for a Wish heal. Heal Bell takes away all of the teams statuses, if need be, though Gliscor slightly regrets this. Moonblast give Clefable some offensive presence and hit Dragon types very hard. I may end up shuffling some Defense EVs to SpDef to make it a bit more of a mixed tank, to go up against Calm Mind users a bit better.

And that's my team! While it was made with some of my personal favorite Pokémon in mind, I now want to fine tune it, which means if another Pokémon would fit a position better, please say so. I'm looking for as much criticism and advice about Pokémon, moves, etc. as possible to make this a very solid team, with the only restriction being no legendary Pokémon. Thanks for reading!

Importable

Tangrowth (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 28 Def / 228 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 30 Spe
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Earthquake
Scizor-Mega (M) @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 244 HP / 64 Atk / 124 Def / 20 SpD / 56 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost
Greninja (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam
Rotom-Heat @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 84 Def / 176 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Defog
- Will-O-Wisp
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 152 SpD / 112 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Defog
- Roost
- Knock Off
Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell
- Moonblast

 

[TheTapDancer]

This team is kind of all over the place. None of the mons are too horrible but they don't really have any kind of plan I can see.

1. How do you win? BP Scizor isn't really good enough.
2. I can't see why Rotom-H is on this team. It's not providing anything you don't already have.
3. Unaware Clef isn't great on teams unless they're really weak to setups. With Scizor and solid defensive options in Gliscor and Tangrowth, it might be better to use Magic Guard with Stealth Rock + Softboiled in place of WishTect.
4. This team needs rocks. Really, really badly. T-Spikes can hurt some teams but you don't have good means of breaking Scizor or Toxapex who can both get rid of them. (And no, Rotom doesnt beat Scizor, it's too easy to switch in on.)
5. Tangrowth isn't a bad mon, but most teams run AV Tapu Bulu in that slot, as it more effectively blanks Greninja and Keldeo with its Dark and Fighting resist.
6. That Gren should be Battle Bond. If you want to run Protean, make sure you're getting optimal coverage. Gunk Shot, Spikes, Z-moves are good on Protean sets for the surprise blowouts and defensive utility. You don't have to be specs but using the standard Ash-Gren set with a LO is still more effective than what you've got there.

 

[Daqous]

This team is kind of all over the place. None of the mons are too horrible but they don't really have any kind of plan I can see.

1. How do you win? BP Scizor isn't really good enough.
2. I can't see why Rotom-H is on this team. It's not providing anything you don't already have.
3. Unaware Clef isn't great on teams unless they're really weak to setups. With Scizor and solid defensive options in Gliscor and Tangrowth, it might be better to use Magic Guard with Stealth Rock + Softboiled in place of WishTect.
4. This team needs rocks. Really, really badly. T-Spikes can hurt some teams but you don't have good means of breaking Scizor or Toxapex who can both get rid of them. (And no, Rotom doesnt beat Scizor, it's too easy to switch in on.)
5. Tangrowth isn't a bad mon, but most teams run AV Tapu Bulu in that slot, as it more effectively blanks Greninja and Keldeo with its Dark and Fighting resist.
6. That Gren should be Battle Bond. If you want to run Protean, make sure you're getting optimal coverage. Gunk Shot, Spikes, Z-moves are good on Protean sets for the surprise blowouts and defensive utility. You don't have to be specs but using the standard Ash-Gren set with a LO is still more effective than what you've got there.

Hey, thanks for the advice! In reply to each of those points...

1. I suppose the team mainly uses the bulkier Pokémon to soften up the opponent for Greninja and Scizor to take out. It's the typical style of team I use, two damage dealers and four bulky Pokémon.

2. I believe I explained the reasoning, I wanted the fire STAB and decent physical bulk Rotom-Heat has, and couldn't think of a replacement for that. What would you recommend I replace it with?

3. That sounds right, I kinda overlooked the fact that my team isn't to frightened by set-up, and the Stealth Rocks will help out a lot more.

4. Yeah, need Rocks, and will add them to Clefable. I'm not sure who to replace Rotom with, but as of right now he's been doing solid in nuking Scizor.

5. But I can not run Tapu Bulu, as I stated I have the restriction of no legendaries.

6. Never really liked Battle Bond, but will certainly give it a try, and running Stealth rock on Clefable makes me feel better about replacing T Spikes with another coverage move on Greninja.

A lot of this advice is sound, and I will be trying out the team with many of these changes. Thank you for the help!