Great teammates for Haxorus

Hey, PSS, it's Sand again. This is my second RMT thread.
Here's a standard OU team I've been using that I've been really happy with. And it's non-weather! Oh joy!


Shadow (Gengar) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Disable
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast

Gengar as a lead? Pretty much.
I wanted to use an anti-lead instead of a usual lead like Tyranitar or Metagross. And while Machamp is a decent anti-lead, it has become way too predictable lately.
SubDisable Gengar is one of the most annoying things you can face, since it can scout a move you are going to use and then Disable it the following turn. This can be especially frustrating for non-Scarfed choice users.
Unfortunately, Jirachi can wall this set (or virtually any set if Gengar isn't carrying HP Fire), so that's where the Lead Support of my team comes in...


Anal Rape (Metagross) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Hammer Arm
- Bullet Punch

The nickname is a tribute to the FB page "Metagross" that is famous for talking a lot about anal rape (by Metagross), the rock band Rush, Pokemon Generation Equality, and Squid Girl. Hence, the nickname.
All jokes aside, though, Metagross is designed to come in against Jirachi, since most of them cannot deal much damage to Metagross. This is a standard lead Metagross that sets up rocks and deals heavy damage with its other attacks. The reason why it's not my usual lead, however, is because I wanted to use an anti-lead, and it's also a great supporter for Gengar.


Sensei (Mienshao) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Hi Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Fake Out
Ah, Mienshao. One of the most difficult Pokemon to face if you do not have priority or outspeed it. Mienshao mainly takes advantage of Regenerator by dealing damage with Hi Jump Kick and then U-Turning out to heal off the Life Orb recoil. Mienshao is actually part of my team's core, and you'll see why in a minute. Of course, like I said earlier, I have to watch out for much faster Pokemon or powerful priority users, primarily Technician Scizor, or to an extent, Technician Breloom, with Bullet Punch and Mach Punch respectively, both of which can KO Mienshao with STAB and Technician boosts, even if they haven't set up Swords Dance. So overall, I have trouble keeping it alive, but if I play him correctly, he can wear down teams along with its other teammates.


Iron Man (Magnezone) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 36 HP / 252 SAtk / 220 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
Another Pokemon that is part of my core. The Air Balloon is to cover my Ground weakness for a while until I get hit. Thunderbolt is for STAB, and HP Fire is to take out Ferrothorn, who usually walls Magnezone. The reason why I use Volt Switch is to create the Volt-Turn core with Mienshao. As long as those two are constantly U-Turning/Volt Switching out, I can wear down my opponent more easily. Early, I have to keep them alive, but later on they can become expendable, so if I'm in a difficult spot, they can come in as death fodder.
Another purpose for Magnezone is to trap Skarmory, who is the biggest counter to the team's sweeper, using Magnet Pull and killing it with a Thunderbolt. As long as it doesn't have Sturdy, or as long as Skarm takes Stealth Rock damage, and as long as I'm not dealing with the rare Shed Shell Skarmory, I can OHKO it and make my sweeper's job much easier.


George (Infernape) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 64 Atk / 252 SAtk / 194 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Fire Blast
- Close Combat
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Grass Knot
Long ago, there was an age where Infernape was one of the greatest revenge killers out there. That all changed when Terrakion was introduced. However, ScarfApe is still quite viable even in today's metagame. Obbiously, it's this team's revenge killer, so it's designed to come in after one of my Pokemon is KO'd, takes it out, and switches back out for later. While it is a lot more expendable than my team's core, it is still a key piece in my team's formula for victory. Getting rid of threats is what this Infernape strives to do. Fire Blast and Close Combat are the obligatory STAB moves, and can get rid of Heatran, Scizor, Ferrothorn, etc., who can all be good checks to my team's sweeper. Hidden Power Ice is to get rid of Gliscor (and possibly Landorus, if it isn't scarfed itself), and Grass Knot can get rid of specially weak Ground types that are threats to my team's core (hint: Magnezone after the Balloon popped). Overall, despite being rarely used, Scarf Infernape is still an excellent revenge killer.


AxeGod (Haxorus) (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Brick Break
And finally, the sweeper I've been talking about! My favourite Dragon type ever, Haxorus. With Sky high attack, it can at least 2HKO anything that doesn't resist its attacks when unboosted. Once I've worn down my opponent and have gotten rid of the counters to Haxorus, it can set up at least 1 Dragon Dance (or if I get the opportunity, 2) and turn this monster into a behemoth. While Smogon recommends 36 HP EVs and an Adament nature, I prefer Jolly+Max Attack and Speed because I can surprise my opponent once they see a faster than usual Haxorus. Plus, Haxorus's bulk is pathetic anyways, so I don't really see the point of trying to survive a Psychic from Reuniclus or something like that (since it will get killed by priority, anyways). The Lum Berry is to avoid being statused, and if I somehow avoid consuming it, it can snap me out of confusion after Haxorus is done Outrage-ing, so he can go on even more of a rampage.

Checks and Counters:
I have discussed some of the Pokemon that can easily hamper Haxorus's rampage, but there are actually some specific kind of Pokemon and abilities that this team as a whole has trouble with. One of these is Prankster. Sableye and Whimsicott can easily put a big dent in my team's strategy of scouting, setting up hazards, and getting rid of counters. This team also has trouble against paralysis teams, especially since I rely on speedier Pokemon (bar Magnezone and Metagross).

So what do you think? If you have a comment on anything, whether I should change something or replace a Pokemon entirely, please leave it below. I plan to retire this team some time soon, but if I can't think of another team, this might as well be my usual team.

Thanks for hearing me out n_n

Skarmory to me is to stall out the opponent and then slowly kill them, and then Haxorus comes and does it's job. Magnezone does it's job well. Wobbuffet is to make unsuspecting opponents witness it's other side. It's really hard for me to choose.

Ok. Just a few things I have to say (cuz that giant haxorus got in the way making it hard to read ).

First thing I noticed, you have three Pokemon with a Psychic weakness, Gengar, Mienshao and Infernape. Alakazam could probably take out Gengar without a problem due to having faster speed, Mienshao would probably be taken out after a Fake Out which could help break a Focus Sash that many Alakazam carry but it will probably die after that. Infernape should probably be fine if the sash is broken on Alakazam. However, Alakazam isn't the only Psychic pokemon, Reuniclus could probably do the job too as well as Cresselia due to their bulkiness. So, that is probably one thing to look out for because they tend to be boasting a Focus Blast as well that could be problematic to Magnezone and even possibly Metagross.

Next thing I noticed is that you also have three pokemon with a Ground weakness, which is partly dealt with using those Air Balloons. However, after your balloons are popped, Earthquakes will murder half your team possibly. Fake Out and Bullet Punch, most notably from the ever present Scizor, will help deal with all those balloons, leaving them open for Earthquake or Earth Power. So, to solve the above stuff, you could possibly take out Infernape, which will drop lessen both of your weaknesses to a manageable two. Some suitable replacements could be: Dragonite, Latios, Gyarados, Cloyster, Salamence, Donphan or Volcarona.

The last thing I noticed is that you have no Spinner on your team. There isn't a quite threateningly large threat to your team from hazards but they could be problematic, especially after some of your balloons are popped. So, for this reason, I would recommend Donphan as a spinner. However, if you do replace Infernape with him you would probably lose some of that speed killing ability from Infernape. To solve this, you could add in a Cloyster to your team, possibly in place of Magnezone. This would work beautifully with Donphan, who could spin away any hazards that may break the likely sash on your Cloyster.

If you do the above mentioned changes, which are purely just examples, the only weaknesses that would be present in two Pokemon of yours are Grass, Ice and Psychic, the first one that is not too common.

Nom wrote:Ok. Just a few things I have to say (cuz that giant haxorus got in the way making it hard to read ).

First thing I noticed, you have three Pokemon with a Psychic weakness, Gengar, Mienshao and Infernape. Alakazam could probably take out Gengar without a problem due to having faster speed, Mienshao would probably be taken out after a Fake Out which could help break a Focus Sash that many Alakazam carry but it will probably die after that. Infernape should probably be fine if the sash is broken on Alakazam. However, Alakazam isn't the only Psychic pokemon, Reuniclus could probably do the job too as well as Cresselia due to their bulkiness. So, that is probably one thing to look out for because they tend to be boasting a Focus Blast as well that could be problematic to Magnezone and even possibly Metagross.

Next thing I noticed is that you also have three pokemon with a Ground weakness, which is partly dealt with using those Air Balloons. However, after your balloons are popped, Earthquakes will murder half your team possibly. Fake Out and Bullet Punch, most notably from the ever present Scizor, will help deal with all those balloons, leaving them open for Earthquake or Earth Power. So, to solve the above stuff, you could possibly take out Infernape, which will drop lessen both of your weaknesses to a manageable two. Some suitable replacements could be: Dragonite, Latios, Gyarados, Cloyster, Salamence, Donphan or Volcarona.

The last thing I noticed is that you have no Spinner on your team. There isn't a quite threateningly large threat to your team from hazards but they could be problematic, especially after some of your balloons are popped. So, for this reason, I would recommend Donphan as a spinner. However, if you do replace Infernape with him you would probably lose some of that speed killing ability from Infernape. To solve this, you could add in a Cloyster to your team, possibly in place of Magnezone. This would work beautifully with Donphan, who could spin away any hazards that may break the likely sash on your Cloyster.

If you do the above mentioned changes, which are purely just examples, the only weaknesses that would be present in two Pokemon of yours are Grass, Ice and Psychic, the first one that is not too common.

I probably can't implement these changes right away, since I don't want to break this team's synergy, but I will definitely keep these tips as a guide for when I make a similar team in the future. Thanks for the feedback, Nom.

SandMaster1996 wrote:I probably can't implement these changes right away, since I don't want to break this team's synergy, but I will definitely keep these tips as a guide for when I make a similar team in the future. Thanks for the feedback, Nom.

k

Pretty solid. Just use Metagross as a lead and replace Volt switch with charge beam on Magnezone. PM me for an in-depth RMT. (It's late lol)