The Armoured Dragons

[Cherub Agent]

Hey there Smogon. Welcome to my team, the Armoured Dragons. I decided to base this team on the often overlooked defensive capability of dragon Pokemon. The team also has incredible synergy, with at least 2 resistances to every type (actually 3 to every type except fire, flying and electric). An average of over 3 resistances allows me to have numerous backup switchins. All 4x weaknesses are covered by 4x resistances or immunities too. Every Pokemon has an immunity, and the entire team is unaffected by Toxic Spikes. sorry about that guys, couldn't help bragging there :P​

　

Empoleon
Item: Focus Sash
Nature: Modest
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 156 HP / 252 SpA / 100 Spe
Moves: Hydro Pump / Aqua Jet / Grass Knot / Stealth Rock​

This groovy penguin serves as an excellent lead. Many are completely unprepared for it, are unsure of what it's meant to do, and watch in disbelief as Empoleon disposes of their own lead in his groovy way while simultaneously setting up rocks. He has trouble only with a few leads, mainly Infernape, who is easily countered by my dragons. His total of a massive 12 resistances allow him many switch ins later on in the game too, and he has perfect synergy with Latias, with both of them together resisting every type in the game. Now that's synergy! Empoleon fares best against the bulky leads, like Hippowdon and Swampert, easily OHKOing them. Generally I try to dispose of my opponent's lead first, the set up SR afterwards. This strategy allows Taunt leads to be a non issue, since they'll have wasted a turn, and Empoleon can bring them down to really low health and finish them off with priority. One of my absolute favourite things about Empoleon is his Torrent ability. Coupled with two water moves and Focus Sash, he's gonna be itting like a truck. Empoleon is also one of my main answers against Rain Dance teams, walling sweepers like Kabutops and Kingdra. Hydro Pump is Empoleon's main move, dealing massive damage to nigh on everything that doesn't resist it. To give you an example of it's power, your standard Magnezone coming in to trap you is cleanly OHKOd. As I said before, it becomes even more deadly when Empoleon is at low health, and it begins to dent even stuff that resists it. Aqua Jet mainly allows me to finish off Focus Sash users not named Roserade, which is very important for a lead. Grass Knot allows me to kill off Swampert, who could give my team quite a bit of trouble otherwise. It's also my best weapon against Gyarados, Kingdra and other water Pokemon. Stealth rock is the one move that basically every team needs, turning many 2HKOs into OHKOs, racking up the damage on your dangerous sweepers like Mence and Gyara. Electric attacks are directed to Latias and Magnezone, fighting attacks go to Salamence, Latias and Gengar, while ground attacks got again to Salamence, Latias and Gengar.​

　

Salamence
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Impish
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 212 HP / 116 Def / 180 Spe
Moves: Dragon Dance / Roost / Earthquake / Dragon Claw​

This has got to be my favourite Salamence set of all time. Coupled with the right support, in some ways it can be even deadlier than your standard DDer. This support comes in the form of a mental little magnet that takes out Skarmory and Bronzong, the only Pokemon in OU that resist the dragon/ground combo. Salamence is able to set up in the face of many of his normal checks, like Scizor. The thing that makes this so deadly is the ability to get off several dances, not just one, all the time healin goff the damage taken. This also means that SR, sanstorm and LO recoil, Mence's most common way of dying, are irrelevant. One might say: surely dragonite outclasses Salamence in the role of a bulky sweeper! In a way, that is true, but Mence's ability to reach higher speeds and Intimidate (which makes him more physically bulky than Nite) make him a fine choice to use too. It also has the surprise factor up it's sleave, because when someone sees a Dragonite, they know it's gonna be either a stall-breaker or a bulky sweeper. Salamence can be anything. The speed EVs allow me to outpace the common Lucario, killing it with EQ, while the HP ones give me an extra Leftovers point. The rest was poured into defense to take physical hits better, which is what this Mence should be doing. Dragon Dance is the main move here, since it turns a pretty good tank into an incredible bulky sweeper. Roost allows me to remove my rock weakness and halve my ice one, while recovering health at the same time. Earthquake hits all the grounded steels that resist Dragon Claw and plaugue the OU metagame, while Dragon Claw is my prefered choice over Outrage, since I don't like the confusion it induces on a bulky sweeper. Dragon Claw is plenty powerful anyway. Dragon attacks are directed at Empoleon, Lucario and Magnezone, rock attacks go to the same ones, and, wait for it, ice attacks go to those same Pokemon again.​

　

Gengar
Item: Choice Scarf
Nature: Timid
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Moves: Shadow Ball / Thunderbolt / HP Ice / Trick​

Gengar Gengar Gengar! I mean come on, everyone loves Gengar! Especially with that awesome mischievous grin on his face. Anyway, entertaining as he is, that's not why I chose Gengar for my team. I chose him because he's simply an awesome revenge-killer that few people expect (his revenge-killer set I mean, not Gengar himself). I previously had a scarfed Azelf here, who despite his fearsome offensive stats and speed, didn't really help with my teams problems against Latias and Rotom-A. Gengar does this, even if he has to watch out if Latias gets Calm Minds. I chose Gengar as my revenge-killer because I feel that every team needs someting to stop Salamence and Gyarados from sweeping an entire team after a Dragon Dance. Gengar always prevents this thanks to his boltbeam coverage, instantly OHKOing both of them, even if they have a positive nature. An interesting thing is that he even outspeeds the lethal SubPetaya Empoleon after an Agility, OHKOing it. Once those threats have been eliminated, Gengar can lose his Scarf to become a highly effective special sweeper. His 3 immunities allow him to come in on common attacks and fire off a powerful elemental attack, normally resulting in a KO. Gengar is also one of my Pursuit bates, giving Lucario a free turn to set up. Shadow Ball is his STAB move, and allows me to kill off enemy ghosts and psychics. Thunderbolt, as I said before, OHKOs Gyarados and deals a crapload of damage to other Pokemon weak to it, thanks to Gengar's massive special attack. HP Ice lets me kill off the common dragons and Gliscor without hassle. Trick is to incapacitate the slow bulky wall that will likely be coming in to sponge his attacks, giving stall team hell with one of their pokemon crippled. I'm thinking of mabye switching it to Destiny Bond, but that's just a thought, since Trick has proven very useful. Ghost attacks go to my three steels, as do psychic attacks, except in nthis case Latias takes Lucario's place, and Dark attacks again go to Empoleon, Maggy and Luke.​

​

Magnezone
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Naive
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 40 Att / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Moves: Thunderbolt / HP Grass / Substitute / Explosion​

If there's an MVP on this team, it's Magnezone. He really is the glue that holds the Armoured Dragons and their ghostly pal together. Salamence works wonders with Bronzong and Skarmory out of the way, Gengar has a much easier time with Scizor fried to a crisp and Blissey crippled with an explosion to her face, and Latias can sweep entire teams with the opponent's steel Pokemon gone. Magnezone also forms another perfect-synergy combo, this time with Salamence, who together resist every type in the game. I had the Scarf set before, but with Gengar now on the team, and the revenge-killer spot occupied, Magnezone could fully dedicate himself to what he does best: steel killing. not only does he stop steels, he can also prove to be a valubale asset against Gyarados that lack Earthquake, should Gengar fall. He also outspeeds and kills Swampert, but this job in nomrally left to Empoleon, since I've only ever seen Pert as a lead. Thunderbolt is his main attack, doing massive damage to steel types, even if it's not super effective, as they can't really do much back. HP Grass is there so that he's not setup fodder for ground types, especially Swampert. Substitute lets me avoid status and gives him a safety barrier to scout opposing moves, and Explosion if for when the inevitable Blissey comes in once Skarmory/Bronzong have been taken out. There's not much more to say here: without Magnezone, this team would fall apart. He has never, ever let me down before. Ground and fighting attacks got to the dragons and Gengar, while fire attacks go to the dragons.​

​

Latias
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Timid
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 208 HP / 48 Def / 252 Spe
Moves: Calm Mind / Substitute / Recover / Dragon Pulse​

I sure am a jolly little fellow that Latias has stayed in OU for so long. This Latias set is meant to sweep VERY late game, when I'm sure that Tyranitar, Blissey and steel Pokemon are gone. Bla bla bla, perfect synergy with Empoleon, bla bla bla. Anyway, back to Latias. She is the second one of my Armoured Dragons, and unlike Salamence, focuses on taking hit from the special side of the spectrum. He EVs let her at worst tie with and nomrally outspeed other Latias and Gengar (who often carry HP Fire) and get the kill on them. The defensive investement really buffs up her Subs, and allow her to avoid the 2HKO from Breloom's Focus Punch, and the OHKO from +2 Luke's ES and +1 Gyarados' Ice Fang. It must be said, however, that Latias is the Pokemon I rely on the least in my battles. However, when she's on form, she's a complete monster. Calm Mind buffs her special stats to very high levels, making her Subs impossible to penetrate from the special side. Substitute give her a barrier against status and critical hits, and gives her a way to escape from Pursuit. Recover simply allows me to heal up damage lost from SS, subs, etc. and Dragon Pulse is her bog standard STAB attack with excellent coverage, good PP and power. Need I say the synergy thing? Nah, I think you can all figure out where attacks directed at Latias go (hint: steels)​

​

Lucario
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Att / 6 Def / 252 Spe
Moves: Swords Dance / Close Combat / Crunch / Bullet Punch​

And finally we're at the end, thank god too, my hand is sore lol. Enter the ultimate end-game sweeper: Lucario! i'm sorry if my comments are a little half-hearted here, because I'm kinda sleepy and i think you all know what this guy can do at the end of a match. He. Kills. Stuff. However, I'm sure that isn't enough for you, so I'll expand the info. Lucario easily switches in on the Pursuits aimed at Gengar and Latias, and Rock attacks aimed at Salamence, giving him a free Swords Dance. There is one little difference here that probably stands out though: Bullet Punch. I previously had both Bullet Punch and Xspeed, but thanks to lots of people pointing out my Rotom-A weakness, I've now replaced it with Crunch, in order to deal with him better. Stuff Xspeed would normally deal with, like Infernape, can be used as setup fodder for Latias.​

So that's it for the moment guys, I'll do a threat list and team building process later on. Also, help with nicknames would be appreciated! I also havbe to say one more thing: I have a bit of a weakness to LO Mamoswine. Hope you enjoyed the team, and thanks in advance!​

 

[sce4]

After finishing this RMT I immediately noticed (thanks to Bullet Punch on Lucario) a gaping Rotom-A weakness, especially if its a fridge/toaster. Playing around it with Salamence and Magnezone may seem good but to kill it you will probably have to sack a poke so that Gengar can revenge kill it. Even then it's easy to switch out as it will probably guess that you have a rotom weakness and using 5 other pokes it could get rid of 2 pokes easily. An easy method is put Crunch on Lucario, but I have a feeling that you wouldn't do that. Instead I would forgo wish on Latias, the reason being is that you testify that most pokes won't break its sub in one move so leftovers will often suffice, and replace it with Draco Meteor. Draco Meteor easily disposes of Rotom and most other pokemon mid-game and can severely dent any poke besides blissey, snorlax and steels (who lucario easily takes care of). Then you can bluff a scarf until when Latias comes in late game. People will never expect a moveset of Substitute, CM and Dragon Pulse making your sweep easier to achieve.

Additionally I think Salamence should have a Lum Berry over Leftovers thanks to Roost. Lum Berry also strengthens you as you can easily run Outrage with it without worrying about confusion. And once magnezone deals with steel types, a minimum of 4 outrages is enough to 'intimidate' anybody.

The last one is really a nitpick which is a testament to how well this team is constructed and the excellent synergy of it. Your introduction sums up how well you've made it.

One last thing, if you ever switch Lucario into a dragon attack aimed at Salamence/Latias I will be amazed.

 

[xplayer55]

Looks good except Emoleon...
First of all Pick Hydro Pump or Aqua Jet and add Ice Beam
or Just take off both for Surf(I recommend Aqua Jet).. I understand you want a powerful stab and a priority move, but you might want ice beam to help against the pokemon that may hurt your team..

 

[PinkLemonade]

Might I suggest a more efficient Salamence spread?

Salamence @ Leftovers
Impish ; 212 Hp / 116 Defence / 180 Spe

Dragon Dance
Roost
Dragon Claw
Earthquake

212Hp gives you 384, which is a magic lefties number, 180 speed hits 281 for Lucario, and 116 Def + Impish gives you 7 more def, and you can opt for Adamant as well giving you 30 more attack.

 

[davud363000]

Instead I would forgo wish on Latias, the reason being is that you testify that most pokes won't break its sub in one move so leftovers will often suffice, and replace it with Draco Meteor. Draco Meteor easily disposes of Rotom and most other pokemon mid-game and can severely dent any poke besides blissey, snorlax and steels (who lucario easily takes care of). Then you can bluff a scarf until when Latias comes in late game.

If you do decide to do that, make sure to switch leftovers to something that doesn't damage/heal latias so that your opponent doesn't see lefties recovery/life orb recoil if u r gonna bluff the scarf

 

[Cherub Agent]

thanks for the rates! I'm gonna use that new mence ev spread, and give outrage a go. Regarding latias, it really is the low point of my team, and something i reckon i can replace, mainly to deal with rotom-a. I was thinking scarved tyranitar, but his ss hurts gengar and salamence. However, gengar shouldn't be taking hits anyway and mence has roost... I'm all for removing latias and sticking in a pokemon that can patch up my rotom weakness

@empoleon rate: fact is, hydro pump and aqua jet have such good neutral coverage i need them both. HP also dents even things that resist it, and makes use of torrent. Also, i have other ways to deal with the stuff that ice beam would deal with

 

[On the Wind]

Personally, I don't think ScarfTar is that great of an idea, as you'd end up with 4 ground weaknesses and only two immunities. It's also weak to scizor, and is kinda similar to what Gengar does. Like sce4 said, crunch on luke would be the easiest way, though Latias still has a good chance to set up on it. I would think you would have to switch wish to recover for that though, if you're willing to sacrifice wish support.

 

[PinkLemonade]

That ev spread is more efficient when using Dragon Claw & Leftovers. Bulky-Mence should generally use Lum with Outrage, so I would use a spread like this if you want Outrage -

Salamence @ Lum Berry
Adamant ; 252 Hp / 76 Atk / 180 Spe

Dragon Dance
Outrage
Sub
Roost

 

[Setsuna]

Hi. Quite a solid team, but the reason why I'm posting here is because I'm confident that with a few good recommendations, it can become even much better. To begin with, as you yourself have stated, Scarf Tyranitar is a very used tool these days, and hence Pokémon such as Starmie, Latias, Gengar and Rotom run the risk of being easy preys if the set they're using is not the appropriate one to combat this variant of Tyranitar. Focusing on your Gengar, the reason why the Scarf set has not been very common in the last months is because of two Pokémon in particular: Scizor and Tyranitar -- the usual users of Pursuit in OU. Therefore, is not like Gengar will always be there to save you from DD Gyarados and DD Salamence (among others), besides the rest of purposes that he could accomplish for your team. On the other hand, I'd say that the set of Latias you're using is not being too 'precise' to be honest -- Wish without Protect or at least Reflect is not such a great idea, simply because you are not guaranteeing your own recovery since Latias can be victim of an attack in the turn she's waiting for the Wish. Given this scenario, and after having given an in-depth analysis to your team, I've got a couple of suggestions that I would like to make regarding these two Pokémon. First off, considering that the aforementioned variants of Gyarados and Salamence need to be dealt with, and that Latias is right there making the duo with Gengar, I suggest taking the Scarf from Gengar and putting it on Latias. By giving Latias the Scarf, using the moves Draco Meteor / Thunderbolt / Surf / Trick, and changing her EVs to 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe, you will still be able to revenge kill both Salamence and Gyarados, besides DD Kingdra. Also, unlike Gengar, Latias has now Surf, which is super-effective to Tyranitar. This meand that after some previous damages Tyranitar will think it twice before switching in on Latias.

All these changes have a purpose, to finally remove Gengar from your team. Why? If you check for threats, you'll notice how Agility Metagross and even SD Scizor (to an extent) give your team some troubles -- Gengar, as you may see by now, is the most replaceable member. In his place, I will recommend to use Rotom-H, specifically the following set with Leftovers as the item:

Bold nature.
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 Spe
Thunderbolt | Shadow Ball | Will-o-Wisp | Substitute/Overheat

With such good defensive capabilities, this set of Rotom-H can perfectly handle the likes of Agility Metagross and SD Scizor, by either using Will-o-Wisp or Overheat. The reason why I listed Substitute in the last slot is because it is a handy move for scouting purposes (i.e.:Tyranitar), and it is advisable to consider it. With the given EVs, Rotom can serve as an effective check for Gyarados and bulky Water-types in general. The 88 Speed EVs allow Rotom-H to outrun maximum Speed Adamant Scizor.

To sum all this up, I've put you out of the "using Scarf Gengar" situation, while also maintaining the most common threats covered. The new addition to the team complements the few points the team was missing.

Feel free to ask anything related to the rate. Good luck.

 

[sce4]

I wouldn't switch Latias. But I think a redesign of it would help. I would suggest something like this:

Latias @ Life Orb
Modest
40 HP/ 252 SpA/ 216 Spe
~Draco Meteor
~Surf/Thunderbolt
~Recover
~Psycho Shift

Draco Meteor helps leaving gaping holes in your opponents team as well as a nice move to end the game on. Surf or Thunderbolt is up to you but as Gengar has thunderbolt I'd opt for surf. Recover is obvious as with life orb and the ever common Sandstorm it is greatly appreciated and psycho shift is a move that really helps against stall. It is the most accurate way of inflicting burn/toxic and thunderbolt to ground types. It also makes Latias a good status absorber so there will be many time to switch in and cripple the pokemon switching in. I think it works much better on this team. (Wish is viable over recover but I think recover is better but it can, potentially, free up a moveslot on Salamence, but I still don't recommend it).

 

[donbosco]

I don't really see what the significance of being able to outspeed Lucario, it only has HP Ice on the Specs set, and never carries Stone Edge anymore, unless the Speed in Salamence is significant for outspeeding other threats to it I would move some of the EV's into either Defense, Special Defence, or Attack.

 

[Cherub Agent]

you've done it again, setsuna :)
Thanks a lot for the rate. I've already given latias the scarf, and it's really helped, especially against kingdra (seem to run into a lot of those). I've also put in rotom, but wondered if i should mabye bump up his speed evs to outspeed neutral lucario, since he's basically a perfect counter, and then invest more evs in mence's defenses. Also, regarding his movepool, i ran tbolt, overheat and shadow ball, but am playing with wow and pain split for the last slot, since he'll be taking some beatings and likes the recovery, but wow helps against tyranitar switchins, and no guard machamp to an extent, since most run either lum or rest.

 

[Setsuna]

Well, you can always use 248 HP / 72 Def / 188 Spe (or place the Defense EVs into Special Attack or something else) with a Timid nature on Rotom-H, in order to outspeed Adamant Lucario. However, the reason why I didn't suggest this at a beginning was because you are using a physically bulky Salamence, who can take a +2 LO Extremespeed from an Adamant Lucario with no problems; even if Salamence switches in while Lucario Swords Dances, a +1 Extremespeed will do a maximum damage of 48%, which means that factoring in SR twice Salamence can still stand against Adamant Lucario. Actually now that I got into Salamence, I suggest using a simpler spread: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 Spe with a Jolly nature. Notice that it's really important to tie with opposing max Speed Salamence, and other base 100 Pokémon as well (i.e: max Speed Jirachi). By simply using 252 HP and 180 Defense EVs, Salamence has enough bulkyness, and the calcs that I put above are a prove of his fortitude. So basically, I recommend you to leave Rotom-H with the defensive spread I advised in my first rate, so that in late games, or whenever the likes of Metagross and SD Scizor show up, Rotom will be able to take them down easier -- feel free to use both sets for a while and see which one works better, though.