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Teambuilding is an important aspect of playing competitively in the Pokemon video games. This article intends to help improve your knowledge of building teams in order to make you a more successful battler. Rather than going over the basics of building multiple different kinds of teams such as stall, hyper offense, weather, etc., this will be a more in-depth article on how to build teams in a specific style: bulky offense.
Bulky offensive teams are, as you have probably figured out by now, offensive, and use bulky Pokemon. When building a bulky offensive team, you try to build your team based around one or two specific sweeping Pokemon. When choosing these Pokemon, it's important to look at more than just the offensive stats and moves that it has; you need to be aware of its defenses as well. Now, "bulky offense" does not mean you have to try to make Pokemon with sky-high defenses like Blissey or Skarmory into sweepers. That would be bad and a miserable failure. Bulky offensive Pokemon just need to be able to take a hit while sweeping. It just means that rather than choosing frail sweepers like Azelf or Gengar, you choose more bulky ones, like Reuniclus or Dragonite.
The process of building isn't as difficult as you might think. It simply involves picking a sweeper, a core, a lead, and a "roamer" or filler. A basic formula to remember would be something like this:
~1 specific sweeper - This will be the Pokemon we base our entire team around
~a 3-Pokemon core- This kind of Pokemon is designed to eliminate Pokemon that threaten our 1 sweeper
~1 lead or hazard layer - This Pokemon should use hazard moves. Stealth Rock is a necessity, as it turns many 2HKO's into OHKO's, and 3HKO's into 2HKO's. Spikes is optional. Toxic Spikes is not often used in offensive teams, but is also an option.
~1 Roamer, or Filler- This Pokemon is in the 6th slot and is designed to take out anything that the previous 5 Pokemon don't already. For example, you build the team and have 5 Pokemon so far, but notice it's weak to 2 Pokemon- Landorus and Excadrill. The 'roamer' Pokemon should be something that can take out Landorus and Excadrill (so something like Gliscor or Wash Rotom would fit here).
Now, that formula is not the end-all be-all of bulky offensive team building. It's just a basic outline, and it works most of the time. Maybe your hazard layer is included in your 3-Pokemon core, giving you an extra filler spot and more flexibility in building your team.
Here is a more in-depth look at the formula, and how to apply it when team building:
As mentioned before, you want a sweeper that's not frail. You want it to be able to take a hit. You don't need amazing defenses; you just need them to be decent. Having a move that raises a defense stat such as Bulk Up or Calm Mind does help, but isn't a necessity. There are plenty of bulky Pokemon that can utilize Swords Dance and Nasty Plot.
Another thing to look for is typing. You don't want to pick a Pokemon that has a typing that is weak to many Pokemon in today's metagame. Do you see Jirachi used a lot today? Sure you do. But do you see it sweeping through entire teams? Unless you consider the times when it literally flinches everyone to death, no, you don't. This is because it's weak to common Pokemon such as Gliscor, Excadrill, Infernape and Heatran. This doesn't mean Jirachi is bad (because it isn't), it just means you don't want it to sweep. Volcarona is another example. Bug/Fire might not make it weak to too many Pokemon, but it does have one huge weakness - Stealth Rock. Every time Volcarona switches in, it takes 50% of its max HP in damage from Stealth Rock. That alone to keep many Pokemon out of competitive play altogether. A bulky sweeper generally shouldn't lose half of its health every time it switches in. Pokemon like Dragonite or Salamence can still sweep even though they lose 1/4th of their health to Stealth Rock because they can simply Roost it off. Instant recovery is another bonus for bulky sweepers. Moves like Recover, Roost, or Giga Drain can play a huge part in keeping your sweeper alive. Although they are not required, they are a big plus to have on your side.
So, keeping all that in mind, you need to pick a sweeper. Somebody with decent defenses, good typing, and possibly instant recovery. Who comes to your mind when you think about these factors? That's for you to decide. In this example, I'll be going through the team-building process of one of my more successful teams. The Pokemon I chose to base my team around was Celebi. Celebi is one of the Pokemon that has base stats of 100 in every stat, so it retains passable offenses in addition to good defenses. It also has a great movepool, and good typing. Grass/Psychic typing gives it plenty of resistances, with only a few weaknesses. It's weak to Bug, Ghost, Ice, Flying, and Fire. This may seem like a lot, but let's think. How many good Bug moves are actually out there? Three, right? Bug Bite, U-turn, and Megahorn. How many Pokemon in OU can actually use these moves? Even less. The same goes for Flying. Hurricane and Air Slash are the only real good flying moves, and it appears even less Pokemon use these move competitively. Scizor comes to mind immediately when thinking about Bug, which is why I have a specific set in mind- Nasty Plot Celebi. The set is:
Celebi @Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
Modest
220 HP/252 SpAtt/36 Speed
~Nasty Plot
~Recover
~Giga Drain
~Hidden Power Fire
There's the sweeper. Celebi with Life Orb and 252 Special Attack EV's with a Modest nature is going to hit like a truck if set up properly. Giga Drain is your main STAB attack, and the recovery provided helps neutralize the damage taken by Life Orb. Hidden Power Fire helps with it's weakness to Scizor. If they attempt to U-turn or Pursuit, you just hit them for 4x the damage. Recover provides instant recovery, and Nasty Plot is your set-up move, which sharply raises Celebi's Special Attack stat. The 220 HP EV's complement Celebi's natural bulk great and it allows it to take a hit very well. 36 Speed EV's lets you hit 244, allowing you to tie with the standard SD Gliscor. So as you can see, this Pokemon hits hard offensively, but still has great bulk defensively, and good recovery moves to help keep it alive.
Choosing the core to base around your sweeper is the more difficult part of building the team. It's easy to say, "That set looks cool, let's build a team around it!" It's not as easy to say, "These three Pokemon counter a vast majority of the metagame, and at the same time get rid of threats to my sweeper." So, when picking a core, there are a few things to consider. Frail or defensive Pokemon are OK in your core, just as long as they help your main goal of helping your sweeper. Frail Pokemon, when used on a bulky team, should generally carry some kind of immunity (such as Flash Fire or Levitate), or they should carry some kind of cool recovery option (like Recover or Poison Heal). Defensive Pokemon should generally have instant recovery, but they should also do something specific to help your Pokemon out. It could set up hazards, it could be used to shut down one specific threat, or it could be used as a Wish passer to help heal your team.
Another thing to consider inside your core of three should be a scout. A scout's job is to find out information about your opponent's team. Ideally, it should also have similar weaknesses as your sweeper. This way, when your opponent switches in a Pokemon to counter the scout, you can then realize "OK, my opponent uses /this/ Pokemon. I now know that I need to kill /this/ Pokemon." A scout is less prevalent with the introduction of Team Preview, since you can scout your opponent's team before the match, but it's still nice to have. Make sure your core works together. You don't want to use a core that's all weak to the same Pokemon, because then it will just get torn to pieces and it won't accomplish much. Balance types, weaknesses, and resistances. You want to use this core to scout your opponent's entire team, and eliminate all threats to your sweeper. Remember to pick your core based on your sweeper. In this example, I used Celebi as my sweeper. I must ask myself "What is Celebi weak to? What can I use to counter the Pokemon that Celebi is weak to?" Celebi is weak to a few things: Latios and Latias both resist Giga Drain and HP Fire. Tyranitar isn't close to OHKO'd by a +2 Giga Drain, and can fire back super-effective Dark attacks. Heatran and Blissey both also completely wall this Celebi. So.... what can I use to counter these, and maintain synergy with each other? First, I decided to use Jirachi.
Jirachi @Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
Careful
252 HP/224 SpDef/32 Speed
~Wish
~Protect
~Iron Head
~Body Slam
Now, Why choose Jirachi? Well, Jirachi easily counters Latias and Latios. With these EV's, it can tank Latios's Draco Meteor and Dragon Pulse thanks to Steel typing. Surf and HP Fire are also able to be dealt with thanks to reliable recovery and high Jirachi's high Special Defense. Jirachi then threatens to paralyze with Body Slam. It also counters Tyranitar with STAB Iron Head, that hits super effectively, and has a nice 60% flinch rate. If needed, Iron Head can also cause Blissey to flinch to death. While countering all of these, Jirachi is also weak to Heatran, so I can scout the moveset if I need to, because I will draw it in on multiple occasions. Now, I need something to complement this. I chose:
Tyranitar @Choice Band
Trait: Sand Stream
Adamant
252 HP/36 Att/220 SpDef
~Crunch
~Pursuit
~Stone Edge
~Aqua Tail
Tyranitar has a lot of synergy with Jirachi. Tyranitar is weak to Grass moves, which Jirachi can easily switch in to. Jirachi is weak to Fire moves, which Tyranitar likes to eat all day (he must be wary of stray burns, though). Tyranitar also helps out Celebi. Pursuit, in addition to the Special Defense EV's, allows Tyranitar to switch right into Latias and Latios, and trap them for the easy KO. Tyranitar can also hurt Heatran a bunch with a super effective Aqua Tail, or a powerful Stone Edge. Pursuit is also huge for taking out Blissey - it does a ton on the switch out, and if it doesn't KO, Celebi can always finish it off if I have used Nasty Plot correctly. Now, for the last Pokemon, I needed something to help eliminate Celebi's threats while still keeping synergy with Jirachi and Tyranitar. I chose:
Rotom-Wash @Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
Modest
128 HP/252 SpAtt/128 Speed
~Hydro Pump
~Thunderbolt
~Will-o-Wisp
~Pain Split
Wash Rotom hurts Tyranitar and Heatran with STAB Hydro Pump, which hits them for massive amounts of damage. Will-o-Wisp cripples physically attacking Pokemon such as Landorus, Excadrill, and Scizor. Pain Split allows Wash Rotom to stay alive throughout the match. Tyranitar and Jirachi are both weak to Ground, so Levitate lets Wash Rotom happily switch in and take no damage, while threatening to fire back with STAB Hydro Pump. Wash Rotom is weak to only Grass, which Jirachi counters nicely. Rotom can also switch into Jirachi's weakness to Fire.
So far, we have a team of Celebi, Tyranitar, Wash Rotom, and Jirachi.
Celebi is our sweeper, and we have a good core of Tyranitar, Wash Rotom, and Jirachi. Now we need somebody to lay down hazards.
When laying down hazards in bulky offense, Stealth Rock is a must. It gets residual damage to everything in the game that doesn't have Magic Guard. It can help Celebi OHKO or 2HKO things with Giga Drain in a huge way. Other hazards you might consider are Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Spikes is cool to use because they cause that little bit of extra damage, and you can stack layers. Toxic Spikes is less common, but it's still useful if your sweeper is weak to bulky Waters like Suicune or Vaporeon. An important thing to note when selecting your hazard layer is that it should not be a suicide lead. Pokemon like Focus Sash Azelf and Aerodactyl would not help here. You want your hazard layer to stay alive for most of the match, and continue to threaten your opponent's team.
Continuing with the example team, I selected my hazard layer to be Heatran.
Heatran @Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
Timid
252 SpAtt/252 Speed/4 HP
~Stealth Rock
~Fire Blast
~Earth Power
~Hidden Power Rock/Hidden Power Ice
Heatran is a great bulky offensive Pokemon. He boasts a massive base 130 Special Attack, while still having excellent base 91 HP and 106 Defense and Special Defense. Flash Fire also provides for an excellent immunity to Fire, so he can switch into Fire attacks aimed at Celebi and Jirachi. Heatran also takes out Scizor easily, which threatens most of this team so far. Hidden Power Rock is there to hurt Volcarona. Wash Rotom is normally enough to take it out, but HP Rock is what I use just in case. I do sometimes switch with HP Ice, to help take out Gliscor, and other Dragon Pokemon that can sometimes hurt this team. Heatran sets up Stealth Rock quite easily, as it can switch into quite a few things with a Fire immunity, a temporary Ground immunity, and a giant amount of resistances.
The roamer, or "filler" Pokemon arguably plays the most important part on a bulky offensive team. It is your emergency check to Pokemon your team does not have countered. Your filler can be pretty much any Pokemon. It can be frail, heavily defensive, bulky, and anything in between, just as long as it gets it's specific purpose for the team done. Your roamer Pokemon is most often where you decide to use Pokemon with Choice Items, because they will counter specific Pokemon. Now, if you've been following the team so far, what do you notice?
Celebi, Jirachi, Tyranitar, Wash Rotom, Heatran.
What am I weak to? Have you guessed by now? You should notice a weakness to Fighting Pokemon, such as Machamp and Conkeldurr. You should also notice a slight weakness to Sandstorm sweepers, like Landorus and Excadrill. Wash Rotom is really the only Pokemon I have to take them out. Will-o-Wisp hurts fighters, although many times they run Guts. Wash Rotom can take out Landorus and Excadrill, but they both will outspeed me, and could get a KO in if Wash Rotom is weakened. So my filler needs to be something to counter Fighting-types and Sandstorm sweepers. What immediately comes to mind?
Gliscor @Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
Impish
252 HP/184 Defense/72 Speed
~Swords Dance
~Taunt
~Earthquake
~Ice Fang
Gliscor is almost a textbook definition of "bulky offense." Base 125 Defense and 75 HP and Special Defense (not the greatest, but not terrible.) Gliscor also has base 95 Speed, 95 Attack, and access to Swords Dance. Gliscor can function as a back-up sweeper if Celebi dies early in the match. Otherwise, it's my counter to Fighting-types and Sandstorm sweepers. Taunt prevents Fighting-types from getting in easy Bulk Ups, and Swords Dance allows me to set up on them. Ice Fang hits Landorus super effectively, and it breaks Excadrill's Air Balloon (if it holds one) allowing me to kill it with STAB Earthquake. Gliscor fits the team together perfectly, allowing me to counter both sand sweepers and and Fighting-types, while serving somewhat as a stall breaker if I need to (Taunt allows me to shut down and set up on Ferrothorn and Blissey).
This was an in-depth look at how to build bulky offensive teams. Pick a sweeper, base a core around your sweeper, get hazards down, and use your "roamer" to counter the last few Pokemon. Hopefully, I helped you gain some insight on what to do when considering who to choose for your bulky offense teams. Thanks for reading this article, and happy teambuilding!
Props go to safariblade for the awesome banner up on top. ^_^
Intro
Teambuilding is an important aspect of playing competitively in the Pokemon video games. This article intends to help improve your knowledge of building teams in order to make you a more successful battler. Rather than going over the basics of building multiple different kinds of teams such as stall, hyper offense, weather, etc., this will be a more in-depth article on how to build teams in a specific style: bulky offense.
Bulky offensive teams are, as you have probably figured out by now, offensive, and use bulky Pokemon. When building a bulky offensive team, you try to build your team based around one or two specific sweeping Pokemon. When choosing these Pokemon, it's important to look at more than just the offensive stats and moves that it has; you need to be aware of its defenses as well. Now, "bulky offense" does not mean you have to try to make Pokemon with sky-high defenses like Blissey or Skarmory into sweepers. That would be bad and a miserable failure. Bulky offensive Pokemon just need to be able to take a hit while sweeping. It just means that rather than choosing frail sweepers like Azelf or Gengar, you choose more bulky ones, like Reuniclus or Dragonite.
The Process
The process of building isn't as difficult as you might think. It simply involves picking a sweeper, a core, a lead, and a "roamer" or filler. A basic formula to remember would be something like this:
~1 specific sweeper - This will be the Pokemon we base our entire team around
~a 3-Pokemon core- This kind of Pokemon is designed to eliminate Pokemon that threaten our 1 sweeper
~1 lead or hazard layer - This Pokemon should use hazard moves. Stealth Rock is a necessity, as it turns many 2HKO's into OHKO's, and 3HKO's into 2HKO's. Spikes is optional. Toxic Spikes is not often used in offensive teams, but is also an option.
~1 Roamer, or Filler- This Pokemon is in the 6th slot and is designed to take out anything that the previous 5 Pokemon don't already. For example, you build the team and have 5 Pokemon so far, but notice it's weak to 2 Pokemon- Landorus and Excadrill. The 'roamer' Pokemon should be something that can take out Landorus and Excadrill (so something like Gliscor or Wash Rotom would fit here).
Now, that formula is not the end-all be-all of bulky offensive team building. It's just a basic outline, and it works most of the time. Maybe your hazard layer is included in your 3-Pokemon core, giving you an extra filler spot and more flexibility in building your team.
Here is a more in-depth look at the formula, and how to apply it when team building:
Picking a Sweeper
As mentioned before, you want a sweeper that's not frail. You want it to be able to take a hit. You don't need amazing defenses; you just need them to be decent. Having a move that raises a defense stat such as Bulk Up or Calm Mind does help, but isn't a necessity. There are plenty of bulky Pokemon that can utilize Swords Dance and Nasty Plot.
Another thing to look for is typing. You don't want to pick a Pokemon that has a typing that is weak to many Pokemon in today's metagame. Do you see Jirachi used a lot today? Sure you do. But do you see it sweeping through entire teams? Unless you consider the times when it literally flinches everyone to death, no, you don't. This is because it's weak to common Pokemon such as Gliscor, Excadrill, Infernape and Heatran. This doesn't mean Jirachi is bad (because it isn't), it just means you don't want it to sweep. Volcarona is another example. Bug/Fire might not make it weak to too many Pokemon, but it does have one huge weakness - Stealth Rock. Every time Volcarona switches in, it takes 50% of its max HP in damage from Stealth Rock. That alone to keep many Pokemon out of competitive play altogether. A bulky sweeper generally shouldn't lose half of its health every time it switches in. Pokemon like Dragonite or Salamence can still sweep even though they lose 1/4th of their health to Stealth Rock because they can simply Roost it off. Instant recovery is another bonus for bulky sweepers. Moves like Recover, Roost, or Giga Drain can play a huge part in keeping your sweeper alive. Although they are not required, they are a big plus to have on your side.
So, keeping all that in mind, you need to pick a sweeper. Somebody with decent defenses, good typing, and possibly instant recovery. Who comes to your mind when you think about these factors? That's for you to decide. In this example, I'll be going through the team-building process of one of my more successful teams. The Pokemon I chose to base my team around was Celebi. Celebi is one of the Pokemon that has base stats of 100 in every stat, so it retains passable offenses in addition to good defenses. It also has a great movepool, and good typing. Grass/Psychic typing gives it plenty of resistances, with only a few weaknesses. It's weak to Bug, Ghost, Ice, Flying, and Fire. This may seem like a lot, but let's think. How many good Bug moves are actually out there? Three, right? Bug Bite, U-turn, and Megahorn. How many Pokemon in OU can actually use these moves? Even less. The same goes for Flying. Hurricane and Air Slash are the only real good flying moves, and it appears even less Pokemon use these move competitively. Scizor comes to mind immediately when thinking about Bug, which is why I have a specific set in mind- Nasty Plot Celebi. The set is:
Celebi @Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
Modest
220 HP/252 SpAtt/36 Speed
~Nasty Plot
~Recover
~Giga Drain
~Hidden Power Fire
There's the sweeper. Celebi with Life Orb and 252 Special Attack EV's with a Modest nature is going to hit like a truck if set up properly. Giga Drain is your main STAB attack, and the recovery provided helps neutralize the damage taken by Life Orb. Hidden Power Fire helps with it's weakness to Scizor. If they attempt to U-turn or Pursuit, you just hit them for 4x the damage. Recover provides instant recovery, and Nasty Plot is your set-up move, which sharply raises Celebi's Special Attack stat. The 220 HP EV's complement Celebi's natural bulk great and it allows it to take a hit very well. 36 Speed EV's lets you hit 244, allowing you to tie with the standard SD Gliscor. So as you can see, this Pokemon hits hard offensively, but still has great bulk defensively, and good recovery moves to help keep it alive.
The Core
Choosing the core to base around your sweeper is the more difficult part of building the team. It's easy to say, "That set looks cool, let's build a team around it!" It's not as easy to say, "These three Pokemon counter a vast majority of the metagame, and at the same time get rid of threats to my sweeper." So, when picking a core, there are a few things to consider. Frail or defensive Pokemon are OK in your core, just as long as they help your main goal of helping your sweeper. Frail Pokemon, when used on a bulky team, should generally carry some kind of immunity (such as Flash Fire or Levitate), or they should carry some kind of cool recovery option (like Recover or Poison Heal). Defensive Pokemon should generally have instant recovery, but they should also do something specific to help your Pokemon out. It could set up hazards, it could be used to shut down one specific threat, or it could be used as a Wish passer to help heal your team.
Another thing to consider inside your core of three should be a scout. A scout's job is to find out information about your opponent's team. Ideally, it should also have similar weaknesses as your sweeper. This way, when your opponent switches in a Pokemon to counter the scout, you can then realize "OK, my opponent uses /this/ Pokemon. I now know that I need to kill /this/ Pokemon." A scout is less prevalent with the introduction of Team Preview, since you can scout your opponent's team before the match, but it's still nice to have. Make sure your core works together. You don't want to use a core that's all weak to the same Pokemon, because then it will just get torn to pieces and it won't accomplish much. Balance types, weaknesses, and resistances. You want to use this core to scout your opponent's entire team, and eliminate all threats to your sweeper. Remember to pick your core based on your sweeper. In this example, I used Celebi as my sweeper. I must ask myself "What is Celebi weak to? What can I use to counter the Pokemon that Celebi is weak to?" Celebi is weak to a few things: Latios and Latias both resist Giga Drain and HP Fire. Tyranitar isn't close to OHKO'd by a +2 Giga Drain, and can fire back super-effective Dark attacks. Heatran and Blissey both also completely wall this Celebi. So.... what can I use to counter these, and maintain synergy with each other? First, I decided to use Jirachi.
Jirachi @Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
Careful
252 HP/224 SpDef/32 Speed
~Wish
~Protect
~Iron Head
~Body Slam
Now, Why choose Jirachi? Well, Jirachi easily counters Latias and Latios. With these EV's, it can tank Latios's Draco Meteor and Dragon Pulse thanks to Steel typing. Surf and HP Fire are also able to be dealt with thanks to reliable recovery and high Jirachi's high Special Defense. Jirachi then threatens to paralyze with Body Slam. It also counters Tyranitar with STAB Iron Head, that hits super effectively, and has a nice 60% flinch rate. If needed, Iron Head can also cause Blissey to flinch to death. While countering all of these, Jirachi is also weak to Heatran, so I can scout the moveset if I need to, because I will draw it in on multiple occasions. Now, I need something to complement this. I chose:
Tyranitar @Choice Band
Trait: Sand Stream
Adamant
252 HP/36 Att/220 SpDef
~Crunch
~Pursuit
~Stone Edge
~Aqua Tail
Tyranitar has a lot of synergy with Jirachi. Tyranitar is weak to Grass moves, which Jirachi can easily switch in to. Jirachi is weak to Fire moves, which Tyranitar likes to eat all day (he must be wary of stray burns, though). Tyranitar also helps out Celebi. Pursuit, in addition to the Special Defense EV's, allows Tyranitar to switch right into Latias and Latios, and trap them for the easy KO. Tyranitar can also hurt Heatran a bunch with a super effective Aqua Tail, or a powerful Stone Edge. Pursuit is also huge for taking out Blissey - it does a ton on the switch out, and if it doesn't KO, Celebi can always finish it off if I have used Nasty Plot correctly. Now, for the last Pokemon, I needed something to help eliminate Celebi's threats while still keeping synergy with Jirachi and Tyranitar. I chose:
Rotom-Wash @Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
Modest
128 HP/252 SpAtt/128 Speed
~Hydro Pump
~Thunderbolt
~Will-o-Wisp
~Pain Split
Wash Rotom hurts Tyranitar and Heatran with STAB Hydro Pump, which hits them for massive amounts of damage. Will-o-Wisp cripples physically attacking Pokemon such as Landorus, Excadrill, and Scizor. Pain Split allows Wash Rotom to stay alive throughout the match. Tyranitar and Jirachi are both weak to Ground, so Levitate lets Wash Rotom happily switch in and take no damage, while threatening to fire back with STAB Hydro Pump. Wash Rotom is weak to only Grass, which Jirachi counters nicely. Rotom can also switch into Jirachi's weakness to Fire.
So far, we have a team of Celebi, Tyranitar, Wash Rotom, and Jirachi.
Celebi is our sweeper, and we have a good core of Tyranitar, Wash Rotom, and Jirachi. Now we need somebody to lay down hazards.
Laying Down Hazards
When laying down hazards in bulky offense, Stealth Rock is a must. It gets residual damage to everything in the game that doesn't have Magic Guard. It can help Celebi OHKO or 2HKO things with Giga Drain in a huge way. Other hazards you might consider are Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Spikes is cool to use because they cause that little bit of extra damage, and you can stack layers. Toxic Spikes is less common, but it's still useful if your sweeper is weak to bulky Waters like Suicune or Vaporeon. An important thing to note when selecting your hazard layer is that it should not be a suicide lead. Pokemon like Focus Sash Azelf and Aerodactyl would not help here. You want your hazard layer to stay alive for most of the match, and continue to threaten your opponent's team.
Continuing with the example team, I selected my hazard layer to be Heatran.
Heatran @Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
Timid
252 SpAtt/252 Speed/4 HP
~Stealth Rock
~Fire Blast
~Earth Power
~Hidden Power Rock/Hidden Power Ice
Heatran is a great bulky offensive Pokemon. He boasts a massive base 130 Special Attack, while still having excellent base 91 HP and 106 Defense and Special Defense. Flash Fire also provides for an excellent immunity to Fire, so he can switch into Fire attacks aimed at Celebi and Jirachi. Heatran also takes out Scizor easily, which threatens most of this team so far. Hidden Power Rock is there to hurt Volcarona. Wash Rotom is normally enough to take it out, but HP Rock is what I use just in case. I do sometimes switch with HP Ice, to help take out Gliscor, and other Dragon Pokemon that can sometimes hurt this team. Heatran sets up Stealth Rock quite easily, as it can switch into quite a few things with a Fire immunity, a temporary Ground immunity, and a giant amount of resistances.
The Roamer
The roamer, or "filler" Pokemon arguably plays the most important part on a bulky offensive team. It is your emergency check to Pokemon your team does not have countered. Your filler can be pretty much any Pokemon. It can be frail, heavily defensive, bulky, and anything in between, just as long as it gets it's specific purpose for the team done. Your roamer Pokemon is most often where you decide to use Pokemon with Choice Items, because they will counter specific Pokemon. Now, if you've been following the team so far, what do you notice?
Celebi, Jirachi, Tyranitar, Wash Rotom, Heatran.
What am I weak to? Have you guessed by now? You should notice a weakness to Fighting Pokemon, such as Machamp and Conkeldurr. You should also notice a slight weakness to Sandstorm sweepers, like Landorus and Excadrill. Wash Rotom is really the only Pokemon I have to take them out. Will-o-Wisp hurts fighters, although many times they run Guts. Wash Rotom can take out Landorus and Excadrill, but they both will outspeed me, and could get a KO in if Wash Rotom is weakened. So my filler needs to be something to counter Fighting-types and Sandstorm sweepers. What immediately comes to mind?
Gliscor @Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
Impish
252 HP/184 Defense/72 Speed
~Swords Dance
~Taunt
~Earthquake
~Ice Fang
Gliscor is almost a textbook definition of "bulky offense." Base 125 Defense and 75 HP and Special Defense (not the greatest, but not terrible.) Gliscor also has base 95 Speed, 95 Attack, and access to Swords Dance. Gliscor can function as a back-up sweeper if Celebi dies early in the match. Otherwise, it's my counter to Fighting-types and Sandstorm sweepers. Taunt prevents Fighting-types from getting in easy Bulk Ups, and Swords Dance allows me to set up on them. Ice Fang hits Landorus super effectively, and it breaks Excadrill's Air Balloon (if it holds one) allowing me to kill it with STAB Earthquake. Gliscor fits the team together perfectly, allowing me to counter both sand sweepers and and Fighting-types, while serving somewhat as a stall breaker if I need to (Taunt allows me to shut down and set up on Ferrothorn and Blissey).
Conclusion
This was an in-depth look at how to build bulky offensive teams. Pick a sweeper, base a core around your sweeper, get hazards down, and use your "roamer" to counter the last few Pokemon. Hopefully, I helped you gain some insight on what to do when considering who to choose for your bulky offense teams. Thanks for reading this article, and happy teambuilding!
Props go to safariblade for the awesome banner up on top. ^_^
Thanks TPO3!
