I would like to introduce you to Team Germany, my OU team. Each team member is presented with an animated sprite and a graphic displaying their respective set. This is obviously a themed team so each member has an appropriate nickname relating to the theme. Without further ado, Team Germany:
Team Building Process:
I started with Ferrothorn. His excellent typing, access to hazards, and ability to wall a plethora of types makes him a very solid, reliable Pokemon.
I decided a Fire/Water/Grass core would be appropriate. Ferrothorn keeps Milotic safe from any Grass attacks the opponent might be carrying, and also walls Water attacks aimed at Infernape. Milotic is often overlooked for use in OU, but in my opinion the sea creature functions gorgeously in this tier. Milotic covers the Fire weakness of Ferrothorn and the Water weakness of Infernape. Infernape provides power on the other side of the spectrum; being very frail defensively, but packing one heck of a punch. Jellicent, Gyarados, Heatran, and Arcanine were also considered for these positions, but once I tested them I felt Infernape and Milotic performed more efficiently.
Porygon2 was added to the team. This computer program can make great use of Eviolite. Trace is also a very useful ability that always manages to annoy the opponent. Not much else to say, really.
Ah, Reuniclus.... One of my all-time favorite Pokemon. He helps take care of the Fighting weakness that Ferrothorn and Porygon2 share, not to mention that after a few Calm Minds he can sweep an unprepared team. Magic Guard is also a very useful ability, making him immune to entry hazard damage, Leech Seed, Life Orb recoil, burn damage, and poison damage. Gaining a Pokemon that's able to rip through stall teams is nice, too.
Here's the finalized version of the team. Gliscor seemed like a very good choice to wrap the team up. He provides a very well-appreciated means of countering Sand teams. His own weaknesses to Water and Ice are covered by Ferrothorn and Milotic, and in turn he protects them from Fighting and Electricity (respectively).
I think the nickname I've chosen for Ferrothorn suits him very well. Being Grass/Steel, he only has two weaknesses, Fighting(x2) and Fire(x4). He resists some of the most common move-types, such as Electric, Water, and Grass.
Moves:
Leech Seed gives Ferrothorn a nice means of recovery alongside Leftovers. Power Whip provides Ferrothorn a very strong STAB attack which OHKO's Gastrodon and Quagsire. Politoed, Rotom-W, and other Water types should be weary of Power Whip as well. I chose Thunder Wave over Gyro Ball because most of the team is slow, so I thought some enemies being paralyzed would give the team a little edge. Stealth Rock was picked over Spikes because I couldn't fit Stealth Rock anywhere else on the team.
EVs:
Max HP is important to Ferrothorn because, simply put, it allows him to perform his job more efficiently. Being a wall, he needs the most HP he can get to make each blow dealt that much less threatening. I maximized his Special Defense to absorb special attacks, but I did something unusual. Instead of using a Careful nature, I chose Impish to balance out his defenses, it really helps if Ferrothorn has to take on a boosted physical attacker or is forced to take a Fighting move.
Strategy:
As I've said before, Ferrothorn is to be used as a Mixed Wall. This is made easier by Leftovers + Leech Seed recovery. Thunder Wave is used if I predict a switch (usually they switch to a sweeper) or as a last-ditch effort to help the other teammates that will have to face the opponent. He completely destroys Gastrodon with Power Whip, which is widely used nowadays.
Other Options:
I could replace Thunder Wave with Toxic for more residual damage, and/or Stealth Rock with Spikes. Protect might be viable for a free turn of Leech Seed recovery. As far as EVs go, I could run more Defense EVs and/or a Careful nature instead of Impish.
In German, Meerestier means sea creature. I find it ironic that the word has "rest" in it, considering I'm using RestTalk Milotic.
Moves:
Obviously a RestTalk set needs Rest and Sleep Talk. Rest heals up damage that Milotic takes, yes, but it also puts Milotic to sleep. Ergo, Milotic's ability Marvel Scale kicks in. Milotic's Defense is doubled while Marvel Scale is active, making Milotic an even more bulky leviathan. With Scald and Dragon Tail, Milotic racks up some serious residual and chip damage. Scald can burn the enemy, while Dragon Tail is used to switch them out and "infect" the entire opposing team with a burn. All the while Stealth Rock is up (thanks to Ferrothorn), each opposing Pokemon that switches in takes some damage.
EVs:
Just like Ferrothorn, Milotic is a wall. Therefore, it's very important to maximize it's HP. I felt 4 Defense EVs were enough considering Milotic's defense is doubled when Marvel Scale is active (i.e. when it's asleep). Banking on Milotic's decent Special Defense, I used a Calm nature with 252 EVs. This allows it to absorb most special attacks with ease, even some super effective hits.
Strategy:
Milotic is used in sync with Gliscor to wall the Ice and Water attacks that threaten Gliscor, and in return Gliscor protects Milotic from Electric attacks. Ferrothorn and Milotic have a similar relationship, where Milotic takes Fire attacks for Ferrothorn and Ferrothorn takes Grass and Electric attacks for Milotic. In addition, Ferrothorn sets up Stealth Rock which helps Milotic rack up chip damage with Dragon Tail. Infernape can rely on Milotic to wear down opponents to make his job of sweeping easier. Boosting sweepers like DDnite, DDMence, Gliscor, Haxorus, Reuniclus, etc, must beware Milotic's Dragon Tail, and Physical sweepers should be weary of Scald's chance to burn.
Other Options:
I don't really see any need for change here. If you do though, please say so in the comments!
Kamin is the German word for fire. Pretty much self explanatory.
Moves:
I decided to go with a specially based MixApe. Close Combat is mainly for Blissey and Tyranitar, but it no doubt helps destroy other things as well. HP Ice takes care of Landorus and Gliscor, which would other wise threaten Infernape. Grass Knot does quite a number on Gastrodon, Quagsire, Starmie, Politoed, and really any Water types. Flamethrower was chosen over Fire Blast for better accuracy, however I'm considering change it as it could snag me KO's that Infernape otherwise wouldn't get. Flamethrower gets Scizor, Excadrill (if I predict the switch), Ferrothorn and other Grass types, and Skarmory.
EVs:
Like I said before, this MixApe is specially based, so the EVs reflect that. Max Speed with a Timid nature is needed because Infernape is so fragile that he can't afford to take a hit. 252 EVs in Special Attack means stuff is going to die. A lot of stuff. Even with a hurting nature, Infernape's attack is high enough that it doesn't hamper Close Combat's damage too much.
Strategy:
Infernape gets a lot of support from the rest of the team (namely Milotic and Ferrothorn), which means his job as a sweeper is made oh so much easier. He's an amazing mid to late game sweeper. Not much else to say.
Other Options:
I could replace Flamethrower with Fire Blast, but I'm not sure if the pros outweigh the cons. Or, I could run a Physical based set. There's also the question of whether or not I should use a choice item. Personally, I think Infernape's wide coverage is what makes him such a deadly sweeper, so forcing him into one move (unless he plays the role of revenge-killer) is silly.
Vieleck means "polygon" in German. Seeing as that's obviously what Porygon2's name is based off of, I find it appropriate.
Moves:
Thunderbolt and Ice Beam provide near perfect type coverage, allowing Porygon2 to hit most enemies for neutral or super-effective damage. Toxic allows Porygon2 to sit and watch while it's opponent dies a slow and painful death, hits practically bouncing off of Porygon2 like they were nothing. Recover helps Porygon2 to Toxic stall and comes in handy since Porygon2 misses out on Leftovers recovery due to holding an Eviolite. Combine residual damage with the ability to hit nearly all foes with neutral or super-effective damage and you're opponent's going to have quite a bit of trouble.
EVs:
I opted for Max HP because Porygon is holding an Eviolite, which means it misses out on Leftovers recovery. The way I have the defenses set up makes them balanced, meaning Porygon2 can take hits from either end of the spectrum (physical and special) in stride.
Strategy:
Porygon2 is mainly used in conjunction with Reuniclus, seeing as how it is immune to Ghost type attacks and Reuniclus resists Fighting type attacks. Gliscor also provides a resistance to Fighting type attacks. Now lets talk about Trace. With Trace, Porygon2 can do all sorts of nasty things to annoy your opponent. If it's poisoned, it can switch in on a Gliscor and then it gains HP because it adopts Gliscor's Poison Heal. Porygon2 can then proceed to KO Gliscor with Ice Beam. Porygon2 then keeps the ability even after Gliscor faints, meaning it's still gaining HP from Poison Heal as long as it stays in. Levitate, Flash Fire, Water Absorb, Volt Absorb, Serene Grace, Storm Drain, the list of possibilities goes on. The point is: this little bugger can cause some major headaches for your opponent.
Other Options:
I could run Discharge over Thunderbolt, I don't really see why I didn't in the first place... Magic Coat is also an option. It can really tick your opponent off, but you miss out on one of your attacking moves such as Ice Beam. Any other ideas are greatly appreciated! EDIT: I've changed Thunderbolt to Discharge.
Translated from German to English, Bodenluft is literally "ground air", but I think it means something closer to "lifted earth" when spoken German. Not quite sure though. Obviously the name is fitting to Gliscor, a Ground/Flying type Pokemon.
Moves:
Earthquake and Ice Fang are staples on Gliscor nowadays. Earthquake hits Excadrill, Heatran, Tyranitar, and really anything that doesn't have Levitate or isn't a Flying type. Ice Fang hits those Levitators/Flying types, and breaks Air Balloons. I chose Taunt over Protect because I wanted Gliscor to be slightly more offensive. Once you Taunt Ferrothorn or Skarmory, they can't really do anything to you, so you're free to start setting up with Swords Dance.
EVs:
Other than the Speed EVs, everything is pretty standard for Gliscor. I run two more Speed EVs than usual. Why? To outspeed 90 Speed EV Gliscors (the typical Gliscor) and to outspeed Jirachis that invest just enough Speed to just barely outspeed the 90 Speed EV Gliscors.
Strategy:
Switch Gliscor in on Earthquakes, Taunt Skarmory and Ferrothorns and set up SD on them, Counter Excadrill, absorb physical hits. Gliscor's niche is being a bulky sweeper. He synergizes really well with core of the team. He can also absorb status once his Toxic Orb has activated.
Other Options:
The only thing I could see ever changing is Protect over Taunt. What are your thoughts?
Zelle is the German word for cell. Reuniclus is based on a cell that has divided several times, so I figured the name fits.
Moves:
Pretty standard. Psyshock to kill Blissey, Virizion, Fighting types, and used as a general STAB move. Focus Blast is used to kill Skarmory, Normal types, Tyranitar, and Excadrill (for the last two it's really a matter of luck). Reuniclus can set up Calm Mind while healing himself with Recover. A +3 Reuniclus is extremely deadly.
EVs:
The only oddity here is that I'm running minimum Speed. The reason being Conkeldurr's Payback. There are, of course, cons to this, and in fact I'm thinking about running regular Speed EVs. A boosted Payback will kill Reuniclus yes, but a Guts Conkeldurr with 600+ attack using an unboosted Payback and striking first will pretty well kill Reuniclus, too. To be honest, I'm probably going to change the Speed EVs later on, but for now I'll see how it works out.
EDIT: I've changed his speed EVs to normal, I'm now running max defense w/ Bold nature. 180 HP / 252 Def / 76 SpA
Strategy:
You must play Reuniclus safely or else you'll lose him very early in the game. Pursuit, Payback, U-turn, and Crunch completely destroy him, so make sure the threats are taken care of. Gliscor, Milotic, and Infernape can take care of Scizor, Tyranitar, and Conkeldurr. His main use is to break stall and sweep mid to late game. At +3 or more Calm Minds, Reuniclus is close to unstoppable unless the opponent has a powerful sweeper such as Haxorus to take out Reuniclus.
Other Options:
As I stated before, I will eventually change the Speed EVs. Any other changes I should make?
In conclusion, the main focus of this team is chip damage with a few sources of real damage for mid to late game sweeping.
Thank you for reading my first official RMT!
~SPM3
