Vexatious OU Team; rate-appreciate

[Vexatious]

Hey, new to the forums while hanging around shoddy battle and youtube since diamond and pearl was released. Just got back into Pokemon over this Christmas break and i have been testing around with different team combination's and this is the first I've had the most success with. The problem is that while it, in my opinion, is a strong solid team and has consistent victories it seems to have a 50/50 or close to that ratio of wins to losses. I want to obviously up the percentage in favor of wins over losses. Anyway, I have some unique choices in here which have been proving very useful to me as well as I like being different.

First out is Aeropostale the Aerodactyl
Ability: Pressure
Item: Focus Sash
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4hp/252att/252spd
-Taunt
-Stealth Rock
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake

Pretty basic Aerodactyl but I enjoy its play. It out speeds almost every pokemon and more importantly other stealth rockers. Depending on how I feel about my opponent I may taunt and disrupt their rocks, set up my rocks, or attack. The sash provides me a guaranteed SR setup as well as beating other common leads. Its simply a tested and true lead with few counters and I feel it works well with my team.

Next up is a very common switch from my Aerodactyl, Casper the Gengar
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid
Item: Focus Sash
EVs: 4hp/252spatt/252spd
-Hypnosis
-Shadow ball
-Counter
-Thunderbolt

Simple EV spread on Gengar. I like having him on this team especially to counter a fake-out on the opposing lead which would render Aerodactyl and his focus sash unable to perform his job properly. Hypnosis is standard while I place thunderbolt for water types and gyarados and shadow ball for a decent STAB move. Counter I've been testing out and it seems to be effective. With focus sash back up its been a surprise kill on physical attackers who would normally wall this set or would expect my Gengar to leave. Pretty basic Gengar.

Next on my team is my Lucario, Solo.
Ability: Inner Focus
Nature: Adamant
Item: Life Orb
EVs: 4hp/252att/252spd
-Close Combat
-Extreme Speed
-Swords Dance
-Bullet Punch

I, love, Lucario. I'm not sure what to really say about him since he's the basic Lucario set with bullet punch dealing with Gengar and Extreme Speed for quick revenge kills. I chose expert belt over life orb due to the constant switching my opponent does when i through out Lucario, most of which end up in my attack being resisted and my health dropping 10%. Expert belt gives a little extra punch to bullet punch occasionally and I'd just prefer not losing health every time my opponent makes a switch to counter my attacks.

Zippo the Flygon is next.
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Jolly
Item: Choice Band
EVs: 4hp/252att/252spd
-U-turn
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Crunch

I never thought of using Flygon until he became OU recently and I am ashamed I never tried before. I really enjoy using him. His great typing allows awesome resistances and good switches. Choice band only helps his power out and doesn't seem to hamper his strikes unless I used EQ on a poor switch call. U-turn is a great asset to expect a switch and get the heads up ready to counter the opponent. Outrage is a little risky to lock myself into but it's powerful enough to justify in end game situations.

Next up is Megayan the Yanmega
Ability: Speed boost
Nature: Modest
Item: Leftovers
EVs: 4hp/252def/252spatt
-Air Slash
-Bug Buzz
-Protect
-Roost

This is something I haven't ever seen anyone else try and I really enjoy how it works out. Yanmega with a defense EV build gets 271 defense on this set. This makes him pretty good at walling opponents. I've had countless experiences against Metagross's where they're ice punches do a third damage to yanmega allowing me to attack, protect, then roost away everything and continue pounding down on their team. The only physical move I've lost yanmega to has been stone edge, everything else he's survived with enough health to stall out with roost. The lack of speed isn't missed as one protect will give him a speed boost bringing him to 339 speed which is enough to counter most threats speed wise. Also as no one expects him to have zero speed evs or nature boost to it, threats that outspeed him as he is like Infernape wouldn't naturally stay in due to fear of air slash.

Finally my favorite pokemon (ever since he existed) Vex the Scizor
Ability: Technition
Nature: Quiet
Item: Life Orb
EVs: 4hp/252att/252spatt
IVs: 28/28/28/29/31/31
-Bullet punch
-Quick attack
-Vacuum Wave
-Hidden Power Ice

This pokemon is something everyone's been calling me a newbie for or an idiot. I've got a lot of criticism about this. Now let me explain. I was thinking of all the things that prove problems to Scizor and spent time figuring out how to fix them. Two common counters are obviously Zapdos and Heatran so I wanted to figure out how to stop them most of all. First off, with that IV spread, you'll get an Ice Hidden Power with a strength of 60 which will gain a technician boost giving it 90 power which almost matches ice beam in strength. Following the average set for Zapdos, with Stealth rock up Zapdos will switch in and lose 1/4 of his health followed by getting hit with hp ice on the switch will lose another 50%+ on average allowing quick attack to finish of his remaining health. With a little prediction, this allows a switch onto Scizor to turn out to be a mistake on their part. As for Vacuum wave, Heatran takes, from experience, average of 40% damage. This is great for getting the finish off of choice scarfed Heatran or better yet if your brave, staying in and eating his earth power or dragon pulse if he was expecting you to switch out of him which will let you beat him one on one. Vacuum wave also does better as a priority move to hit other weakened Scizor and can well over 2HKO Lucario with around 75% damage to him with one vacuum wave which works great to get rid of life orb damaged variants. HP ice also works great on defensive walls such as Gliscor (60%+) and Donphan (50%+).

I don't know what else to really say that's not rambling at this point. I'd really appreciate some criticism and ideas to help better my team. I await your destructive comments!


--=Some Changes=--
Scizor's set is standard CB at the moment.
Flygon has been replaced by standard DD Tyranitar that was suggested below.
Yanmega has been replaced by Aforementioned Vaporeon replacement.
Gengar has been replaced by a standard support variation of Cresselia.

These changes are temporary as of current but may become permanent after enough testing of the team.

--=Status Updates=-- [Jan. 14]

Cresselia is definitely a flunk out unfortunately. It just can't assert itself as a stable member of the team. However I've replaced it with a Life Orb variant of MixMence:
-Draco Meteor
-Brick Break
-Flamethrower
-Crunch

I chose flamethrower for the accuracy to guarantee the kill on Scizor. He seems to be working fine for now and might be the permanent replacement.

Vaporeon is also doing very well as a wall and attacker and is possible a suitable replacement.

Tyranitar is doing fine for now. He's doing no better or worse than Flygon did at the moment.

No noticeable difference in Lucario as of yet.

Scizor is performing wonderfully as he always does. CB seems to really give him a powerful punch when U-turning out or simply Bullet Punching. Pursuit has not served much purpose yet but I will wait a little longer for it to do so.

 

[Raipooo]

Gengar doesn't benefit from the sash with all the Stealth Rocks around so replace Counter for Focus Blast. Lucario should replace ES or BP for Crunch unless Gengar terrifies you. You can also afford to run life orb Luke as it 4x resists SR and is immune to sandstorm. If you want Yanmega to outpace some scarf threats after a speed boost, then it needs at the very least it needs about 270 speed. Now it gets interesting on Scizor. If that benefits your team, don't hesitate to use it. You explained your reasoning well. Don't listen to someone that calls you a noob. It's all part of the learning process.

 

[Overcast2020]

I like how you use stone edge on areodactl over rock slide because he needs the extra power.

For gengar I agree with railooo. Counter and sash are useless in today's metagame. Also, with hypnosis' acuraccy being really shakey you might want to replace that with substitute or even focus blast if u wanna keep the counter sash.

I dont see crunch getting much use on flygon so I suggest replacing it with a fire move. Probably with ur ev spread it should be fire punch or u could go special and and use fire blast. The fire move is to help take down skarm and bronzong which I could see ur team having a hard time taking down.

I think ur yanamega is a nice idea. Keep with it.

Scizzor is awsome. To be able to see the possibilty for a set like that makes u anything but a noob. Although i'm not sure if quick attack is absolutely nessieary.

Good team.

 

[Itchni]

5/6 pokes tremble in fear from heatran
Heatran also carries dragon pulse sometimes so that can make it 6/6

Could you also spellcheck next time?

 

[Erazor]

Ok. About Lucario, you should replace Expert Belt with Life orb. Or at the very least a Muscle band. Fighting + Steel doesn't hit many types for SuperEffective damage(only Ice, Rock,Normal,Steel) so your item is essentially useless most of the time. And maybe replace Bullet punch with Ice punch and a Jolly nature. This gives you better coverage, as well as smacking those dragons hard.

Heatran can give this team some problems. I suggest a change in Yanmega's set. Replace Air Slash with Hidden Power Ground. This is brilliant at baiting Heatran and Magnezone, and then watching them die in one hit.
You can still scare away Infernape with HP Ground, and even bluff an Air Slash.

Your Scizor is novelty, but if it is effective, by all means, continue using it.

Gengar is crying out for something like explosion or Focus blast. Explosion ensures that Blissey dies soon after switching in to "wall" Gengar.

 

[Vexatious]

Woah lots of responses awesome. Alright let me respond in order here.

1. I see what you mean about Lucario it's just that once Scizor goes down its nice to have someone with priority moves to rely on. Although bullet punch is just to not get walled by Gengar I should remove that. As for Gengar I'll be mentioning him further down.

2. Crunch was definitely one of my more "filler" moves that I put in without really thinking to much. Definitely a mistake when i look at it. A fire move would definitely be a good idea but which do you suppose would be better over all against the defensive threats? A Physically blocked punch backed up with Flygons strength or a special blast that hits harder but Is not backed up as much?

3. I can see that at a first glance but a lot of my team really don't. Aerodactyl, Gengar(with sash still active), Flygon, and my Scizor all come in on him with proper prediction as well as Yanmega with the earth power. Scizor, Flygon and Aerodactyl also have good means of taking him down as well once he's stuck on one move. Also, I don't believe I have any spell errors because I did use a check but I would gladly fix anything specific you might point out.

4. Everyone seems to agree on Lucario needing life orb. My only problem is that everyone knows what to expect out of him and most of my attacks get blocked by a resisted type and I take constant damage off of life orb. Aside from choice band and life orb, are there really any other options to power him up without hurting him? As for Yanmega I have to say I have never thought of that. I built him just giving him two good STABs, i never too into consideration HP ground I will DEFINITELY be trying that one out. Also Gengar seems to be my other main problem with this team. Explosion is a good idea in my opinion as it serves to finish off his sash.

Overall I'm getting better responses than I expected for which I'm grateful. I've been thinking of replacing Gengar and Lucario not only because of your comments (although they carry merit and have made me consider it more) but also because when they provide help its never significant. I still would like a ghost to absorb fake out if possible and induce status and as for Lucario as much as I love him it seems that to many people are prepared for him to get off his strategy easily and it does not seem worth the two times out of ten that he gets useful for me over my other pokemon. Basically who could replace Gengar and Lucario needs a new end game sweeper who does not need to set up to take down many common types. Thanks in advance!

 

[Solidus]

I'm mostly concerned about the moveset you're running for Scizor. I do give you props for coming up with a creative strategy by arranging your IV's in a certain way so that Hidden Power's strength is weakened, therefore activating Technician on it. I'll get back to that later. As for now, I'd like to point out something else I don't really agree with. Putting Focus Sash on Gengar isn't that helpful because you aren't leading with it, so why not give it Life Orb instead. Making it more offensive would be more helpful too. Running Focus Blast > Counter would be a better option. Instead of Hypnosis, you could use Hidden Power Ice, or Explosion if you want to revenge kill some slower threats, but don't expect to KO Blissey with Explosion without weakening it first. Residual Stealth Rock damage is supportive of this, so making good use of Aerodactyl at the beginning of the match will pay off. If you decide to run Explosion, go for a Naive nature instead of Timid so it can be stronger. I don't understand why you're trying to make Yanmega defensive. It's just seems like a waste. Either place those EV's in Speed, or replace Yanmega for a bulkier Pokemon which your team is in need of. I can see Choice Scarf Heatran and Bronzong giving this team a lot of problems. As I said earlier, it would be best if you just took Yanmega out, because it seems misplaced. Adding a bulky Water will help out nicely. Vaporeon would be great at playing that role. I recommend a Wish Vaporeon:

Vaporeon @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP/124 Def/124 SpD/68 SpA
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
~ Wish
~ Surf
~ Ice Beam
~ Hidden Power Electric

This covers that Tran weakness, but you should still watch out for Hidden Power Grass, since it can pose a potential threat to Vaporeon. I arranged the EV's in a way so that it can be a physical wall while still being able to withstand some special attacks that are SE against it and still survive. Celebi will easily stall this set out. Some special walls such as Cresselia can also counter this with ease, but with the correct adjustments in your team, you can prevent this. First off, I would replace Flygon with Tyranitar, as this will cover said weaknesses while providing similar offense that CB Flygon does. A DD Tar would do the job nicely. Anyways, going back to Scizor, I was going to suggest you run the standard Swords Dance/Bullet Punch/Brick Break/X-Scissor movset. Change all the IV's back to 31, and the EV's should be: 32 HP / 252 Atk / 224 Spe. Continuing with Tyranitar, a DD variant would be able to handle Hippowdon, Gliscor, and Heatran, as well as a few other Pokemon that your team looks like it would have problems with. Bronzong also deserves a mention since I don't see any Pokemon in your team that can cause enough harm to it efficiently. As such, Tyranitar will cover most of these things, and so here is the set:

Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
~ Dragon Dance
~ Crunch
~ Stone Edge
~ Fire Punch / Aqua Tail

Here are the options to consider with this set: if you want higher power but want to risk being KO'd earlier due to residual damage, use Life Orb over Leftovers. I don't completely recommend this, but if you're after that extra bit of power, use it. The reason I say Jolly over Adamant is because after one DD, you can reach 363 Speed, which is enough to outspeed all those Pokemon in the 115 base Speed tier. You'd be able to outspeed Gengar, who would otherwise be faster and use Focus Blast to OHKO Tar. Now this is where that hard part comes, whether or not to use Fire Punch or Aqua Tail. From personal expierences, Fire Punch proved to be more useful since it OHKO's those common Steel types such as Scizor, Forretress, ect, if you managed to use at least one DD. Aqua Tail is for Hippowdon and Gliscor, as well as Heatran. As for replacing Lucario, I don't think you should. The only thing I would change is replacing Expert Belt with Life Orb, or possibly even going for a mixed atacking Lucario, depending on your preferences. I don't have any other comments to make. I hope this advice helps you out, and the best of luck with your team! =D

 

[Vexatious]

Gave me a lot to think about there. Vaporeon does seem to be a good asset and a better counter towards Heatran in that case. For the question of why the defensive Yanmega its for unsuspected stalls on pokemon that would normally counter it. It's successfully walled pokemon like Hippodown with ice fang easily and other normally SE physical hits. However Vaporeon might do the job slightly better than him with less risk of being OHKOd as well as not being weak to stealth rock which was the big flaw in his existence. I'm going to try that out for a couple of matches and see how the spectrum slides before adjusting my first post to reflect the replacement.

For Scizor I have had great success with the standard set as have we all and I will not discount its usefulness. However I'm still testing out the mix variant to discern whether or not its usefulness outweighs the power of the standard set. This will remain testing for now.

Tyranitar was definitely a pokemon I was looking towards using again. The only real question between them is that Flygon is a good 100 base speed able to come in and either u-turn out that turn, blast off a STAB earthquake or go down with the enemy locking into Outrage where as Tyranitar has less powerful/reliable STAB options and needs a DD to get started up. Although its obvious once that dragon dance is up he outshines Flygon very easily. Would replacing Lucario into Tyranitar provide a fair switch up of the pokemon?

For Lucario I'm most likely going to go with that ice punch suggestion over bullet punch so I can deal with Hippodown and Gliscor easier as well as probably replacing with life orb over expert belt.

I'm still curious about replacing Gengar as well. I'm not sure if I want three life orb users on my team meaning If they're that necessary I'd like to remove either him or Lucario and give the latter a life orb. Suggestions on Special sweeper replacement on his part? I was thinking a long the lines of a more classic Nasty Plotting Azelf to keep up with the ground immunity.

 

[Solidus]

My reason for recommending Tyranitar was so you could have a counter to Heatran, along with Cresselia and some of the Pokemon I stated earlier. Taking Lucario out would lessen your teams offense, so I don't think you should do that. If you were to put Flygon back in your team, you need to make sure it is able to take on Bronzong and Forry by giving it Fire Blast or Flamethrower, because Bronzong and Forry would give your team problems. As for replacing your Gengar, it's somewhat unnecessary. If you don't want three Life Orb holders, why not just give Gengar Choice Specs, or better yet, go for a Calm Mind Cresselia:

Cresselia @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 96 HP/252 SpA/160 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
~ Calm Mind
~ Psychic
~ Moonlight
~ Charge Beam/Hidden Power Fighting

For this set, just keep using Calm Mind, and occasionally using Moonlight when your HP gets too low. Psychic is for a strong STAB attack. For your last slot, use Charge Beam if you're more afraid of Gyarados, or use Hidden Power Fighting if you want to effectively damage Tyranitar and Weavile.

 

[Vexatious]

I've listed the changes in my first post to reflect. Just for easier viewing down here;

--=Some Changes=--
1. Scizor's set is standard CB at the moment.
2. Flygon has been replaced by standard DD Tyranitar that was suggested below.
3. Yanmega has been replaced by Aforementioned Vaporeon replacement.
4. Gengar has been replaced by a standard support variation of Cresselia.

1. I've tested the mix set and it works quite well but with the addition of Vaporeon it does not seem all to necessary so I'm going to try running the choice band set with:
-u-turn
-pursuit
-bullet punch
-super power
to see how it works with the rest of the team layout playing on his huge attack stat and replacing Flygon as the u-turner of the group. Also I gave him a 252hp/252att instead of 252spd for the sheer fact that I'm not aware of enough reasons that he needs the speed with a low 65 base anyway. The health will at least let him live longer.

2. Flygon is a fun pokemon to use but Tyranitar just seems more effective once he gets the DD off. He runs Jolly with leftovers and Aqua tail and standard from there.

3. Yanmega is a good pokemon but Vaporeon is a better aid overall to the team. As a single player I'd rather play Yanmega but Vaporeon seems like it would help more overall in eliminating threats.

4. Cresselia is going to be tested for now on the support set. She's currently running Psychic for its STAB, reflect, thunder wave, and rest. The reason I chose rest over moonlight is for the that if I chose to send Tyranitar out beforehand, the sandstorm would cut it's healing down to a joke. Currently she is running leftovers but I might make it a chesto berry to cure rest off once.

*On a side note, I've given Lucario his life orb.

Hows the new build looking?

 

[Raipooo]

May I suggest charge beam resttall cress? Psychic and Ice Beam have great coverage with charge beam, it really depends on if you want to rape dragons.

 

[Kir]

I'm thinking that the original version was better, tbh.

Looking at the original post, I would say give Lucario the Life Orb (looks like you already did), and Gengar the Specs/Scarf that others have suggested. I really like the way that you were using the MixZor to beat down Lucario counters so Lucario could later sweep. I think this version of the team is worth trying again, but with Lucario having the Life Orb as it guarantees a lot of crucial OHKOs (Bronzong, Swampert, etc.). That simple change will make a pretty big impact on the way the team plays.

I believe HP Ground Yanmega was mentioned earlier; that is a great idea for this team in particular.


As far as the newer version of the team-

Cresselia isn't going to be doing any sweeping in Platinum. Either go Restalk or use a different Pokemon. Scarf and Support are viable too, but not with the sandstream (the rest + chesto seems ok though; its up to you).

I'm not a fan of DD Tar anymore. You will be devastated when your T-tar gets 3 or 4 DDs and is around 50% health, only to have all of those late game Scizors come out and ruin your fun. A Choice Band is always a good idea on Tyranitar.

Vaporeon over Yanmega seems to be a pretty good change.


Welcome to Smogon!

 

[Vexatious]

--=Status Updates=-- [Jan. 14]

Cresselia is definitely a flunk out unfortunately. It just can't assert itself as a stable member of the team. However I've replaced it with a Life Orb variant of MixMence:
-Draco Meteor
-Brick Break
-Flamethrower
-Crunch

I chose flamethrower for the accuracy to guarantee the kill on Scizor. He seems to be working fine for now and might be the permanent replacement.

Vaporeon is also doing very well as a wall and attacker and is possible a suitable replacement.

Tyranitar is doing fine for now. He's doing no better or worse than Flygon did at the moment.

No noticeable difference in Lucario as of yet.

Scizor is performing wonderfully as he always does. CB seems to really give him a powerful punch when U-turning out or simply Bullet Punching. Pursuit has not served much purpose yet but I will wait a little longer for it to do so.

That is it for updates as of now. Those will be added to the top page. Quick responses to you guys.

1. I tried rest stall too but Cresselia just does not prove valuable to my team unfortunately.

2. Thank you, I really do enjoy the original team and have saved it for use in non-ranked matches but sadly, when I'm playing serious this new team is showing a better edge and easier comfort to win as it flows better as a whole. As for Tyranitar vs Scizor, I am worried about that but I am currently trying to save Tyranitar for the end game sweep once I'm sure that his counters are out of my way. Thanks for the comments and the welcome!

 

[Vexatious]

First off i hope it's not illegal to bump this topic, I did not want to have two topics. Also this is not really a bump as I've updated my team significantly since my last post. Anyway on to it.

I've decided to get some new critique on my current team. This team has been by far the most successful I've ever had and has pushed my score from 1200 to a 1502 which is the highest I've ever been. Some of the pokemon I've now stapled but there are still questions about some with suitable replacements.

Aerodactyl (Aeropostale)
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Pressure
Item: Focus Sash
EVs: 4hp/252att/252spd
-Taunt
-Stealth Rock
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake

Aerodactyl has not changed at all actually but his use for the team dramatically has. I hardly use him to suicide now, preferring to only SR when safe or attack against opposing speedy leads and save him for late game sweeps which I have just begun realizing his potential for.

Scizor (Vex)
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Technician
Item: Choice Band
EVs: 252hp/252att/4spd
-Bullet Punch
-Super Power
-U-turn
-Pursuit

First off, I've replaced his speed EVs into his HP category to eat more attacks then he usually would. His speed is not that important to me with bullet punch. Super power I only use on expected switches as with pursuit and usually U-turn. The only time speed has ever harmed me was against Celebi but they switch out of my u-turn more then half of the time although the other half I die to a HP fire. It is really the only downside. Not much has changed with him other than the HP.

Tyranitar (Godzilla)
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Sandstream
Item: Leftovers
EVs: 4hp/252att/252spd
-Dragon Dance
-Crunch
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake

I replaced aqua tail with earthquake. I really see no need for it except hitting Gliscor and Hippodown for SE damage which are both pokemon he should not be in against nor would I have set up dragon dance with those two pokemon still in the game. I run perfect speed on him so his dragon dance will put me above most pokemon that are not scarfed or boosted like myself.

Salamence (Mence)
Nature: Hasty
Ability: Intimidate
Item: Life Orb
EVs: 32att/252spd/224spatt
-Draco Meteor
-Flamethrower
-Earthquake
-Outrage

I've switched him up a fair bit since my last update. I've replaced brick break and crunch for the more powerful earthquake and outrage. Since he mostly was used to revenge kill or take down a powerful wall he never survived all that long and his weaker attacks were useless. I decided I needed that speed because he was just getting out-sped by everything. Flygon and other Salamence were really problematic as they would always beat mine out. I had to take a blow to his att and spatt stats to give him speed but so far it has been worth it.



My last two pokemon are who I really need to get some answers with. I'll provide the supplements in their current sets.

Suicune (Cunai)
Nature: Bold
Ability: Pressure
Item: Leftovers
EVs: 252hp/128spatt/128spdef
-Calm Mind
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-HP Electric

Suicune is my basic bulky water type which I use mostly to scare away Gyarados, Heatran and Swampert. So far however calm mind has not really provided use for my team as the other team is usually prepared for it and I have better end game sweepers then Suicune. I replaced Vaporeon for Suicune for the sake of better defenses to eat hits and they both carry a viable HP electric. However Suicune can take a better hit but Vaporeon can heal my team with wish which was always useful. The Vaporeon was the suggested variant Solidus posted a few posts ago.

Question is, which is more useful for my team? Taking more hits or a medic.

Metagross (Metal)
Nature: Naughty
Ability: Clear Body
Item: Expert Belt
EVs: 252att/132spd/124spatt
-Bullet Punch
-Explosion
-Grass Knot
-HP Fire

The mixed variant of Metagross is something I've never seen in the meta game but it proves itself worthy of being in it. Bullet Punch can pack enough to kill off most weak defensed pokemon or finish off strong ones. Explosion is to deal a lot with Suicune and Cresselia and other basic walls that my team usually has problems taking down. Grass Knot allows me to fully counter Swampert which is usually something annoying to deal with. Also helps hit other heavy characters for decent damage. HP fire is for guess who, Scizor. They never expect it either. The preferred situation is both pokemon faint and we both switch to Scizor and Metagross. They tend to expect me to switch as Metagross cannot usually do anything and then proceed to faint as do fortress and weakened Skarmorys.

Now with Metagross, I had replaced a Donphan, 252hp/252def rapid spinner for him. As an attacker Metagross exceeds him but Donphan could spin and was immune to electric thunder waves which I am not vulnerable against. I need advice on the switch here.

As I was writing this I thought of Swampert. Being part ground I could use him as my anti-thunder wave as well as my bulky water. I'd prefer a special variant however and he would need HP Electric to take down Gyarados. Would he be a good replacement for Suicune instead of Vaporeon or should Suicune stay?

Those last two pokemon have so many options I still need to cover for my team which I cannot really replace anyone else for.
I have my SR lead + end game sweeper
Mid game, scout, revenge killer
End Game sweeper
Anytime sweeper, revenge killer

The last two end up being walls of the respective types and counters to my common weaknesses. There are a few tasks that need to be done between them being: Electric Immunity, immediate removal of bulky walls like Cresselia, Gyarados counter, physical wall, special wall (not weak to water although Tyranitar is still doing a good job at it).

Any ideas, critique? Comments also welcome.

 

[discoboy]

I am extremely glad you changed your scizor. its hp ice doesnt even OHKO mence without stealth rock and does about 30% to gliscor. It really bothered me when I played a guy with an identical scizor set because it didn't work at all.

 

[Vexatious]

Well I changed Scizor half a month ago but thank you.

Are there any comments on Metagross and Suicune or advice on what would better help my team instead of them?

 

[Kir]

You have a noticeable weakness to opposing Lucario/Scizor. Replacing Suicune with a Resttalk Gyarados would help quite a bit here. The problem then is that you have 3 Pokemon weak to Stealth Rock, which is unacceptable imo, even if Aerodactyl is one of the best at stopping the Rocks from going up in the first place.

Choice Band Flygon could then replace Salamence because he resists rock and also because he rivals Salamence as one of the best wall breakers in the game. He can also abuse U-turn like Scizor to stick with your offensive tempo and keep the matchups in your favor.

I don't think Dragon Dance Tyranitar is going to be doing much late game sweeping in Platinum, largely because of Scizor. I think it is worth a try to have Tyranitar and Metagross switch roles. Metagross could run an Agility set (Agility, Meteor Mash, Earthquake, Thunderpunch/Explosion) to clean up in the late game, and Tyranitar can run a mixed set that would probably look something like this:

Tyranitar @ Expert Belt
Sandstream | Brave
252 Atk / 232 SpA / 24 Spe
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam

EVs allow you to outspeed Blissey, even with the speed drop from the Brave nature. Nothing is a safe switch into this, and it has good bulk too.

Summary: Restalk Gyarados over Suicune, MixTar over DD Tar, Agiligross over MixGross, and finally, CB Flygon over Salamence.

I know that seems like a lot of changing. It is all just suggestions and you can completely ignore this if you want. The team obviously works the way you have it right now.

Good luck, and I hope this helps a little bit (I'm new to team rating, so bear with me xD). I'm glad you got your ranking up above 1500! Good job!