First OU attempt - Advice is appreciated

Question

I've been playing Pokemon for years, but just last year was it that I got into competitive. I've only ever battled in 1v1, and had some pretty good sets. I've decided I'm going to try OU, but I know for a fact I'm not the best at building teams, so here we go! Please be respectful and give me advice, I am very new to OU and am interested in learning anything and everything that I can. And I also know that this team is probably horrible, but it's my first time.

DISCLAIMER: Yes, I know that OU is NOT like 1v1, but that's all I've ever battled in, so please be nice if I make comparisons. And yes, I have already used this team a few times and have lost only three out of twenty battles so far.

EDIT: The team members have names now=]

Kamikaze (Azelf) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Knock Off
- Explosion

Okay, this is ripped almost straight from Smogon. And I ain't even sorry. This is my lead Pokemon. Azelf's main purpose is to set up Stealth Rock, cripple some Pokemon with Knock Off, Taunt whatever tries to set up, and once he's at low-ish health, he explodes, doing massive damage.

Kuro (Umbreon) (F) @ Lagging Tail
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Moonlight
- Protect
- Payback
- Toxic

This is my staller. I've used this Umbreon in countless 1v1 battles, and I've tweaked the set over the few months I've been using her. First, I'll use Toxic to start. I'll Protect to stall while the poison does some damage, then use Payback. The Lagging Tail assures that I get full power on Payback, and 0 Speed IVs and a Brave nature also help just in case of Knock Off. I can usually OHKO with two turns of Toxic damage, but just in case, Moonlight is there to heal while the poison finishes them off.

Hot Potato (Darmanitan) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Stone Edge
- Brick Break

This is my all-out attacker. Sheer Force gives Darmanitan that extra boost, 8 Speed IVs help him outspeed some of the slower Steel types, the Assault Vest gives him extra protection from Special Attackers, and the Adamant nature is for obvious reasons. Fire Punch is a powerful STAB move, Earthquake is for coverage and other Fire types, Stone Edge is for pesky Flying types, and Brick Break is for Rock types. I chose Fire Punch over Flare Blitz because the recoil really crippled him early on, rendering him useless during the lategame.
EDIT: Replaced Focus Blast with Brick Break.

Fluffy (Altaria) (F) @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Cotton Guard
- Dragon Dance
- Moonblast
- Aerial Ace

I traded my Ampharos with Altaria for two reasons. One, Ampharos was my weakest link. He didn't really stand too much of a chance against anything. Two, Altaria has better coverage with Aerial Ace and Moonblast, making her a much bigger threat. Especially after she sets up a Cotton Guard and a Dragon Dance.
EDIT: Replaced Ampharos with Mega Altaria.

Free Hugs (Ferrothorn) (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Thunder Wave
- Leech Seed
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off

One of the most annoying Pokemon, Ferrothorn's only real weakness is Fire types. Leech Seed is for health regen, Giga Drain is to recover more health and make it all the more annoying, Thunder Wave is for paralysis, and Knock Off is for removing items. Ferrothorn typically only comes out late game, to annoy the heck out of Mega Garchomp and Mega Tyranitar users.
EDIT: Replaced Iron Defense with Giga Drain.

Pringles (Jellicent) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 12 SpD / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Shadow Ball
- Ice Beam

I had a Blissey here, but she wasn't doing too much. I switched her out for a Jellicent for not only coverage, but to give me a water type. He's really solid and can outlast more hits than most of my other Pokemon. Scald is a STAB move with a chance of burn, Recover is for obvious reasons, Shadow Ball is for Psychics, and Ice Beam for Dragons. I'm probably going to change Water Absorb, though. It doesn't really do much.
EDIT: Replaced Blissey with Jellicent.

Weaknesses: My biggest weakness right now is Fighting type Pokemon and Pokemon that set up entry hazards since I don't have a Rapid Spinner. Mega Lopunny, Lucario, and Infernape are my biggest challenges. Smeargle does NOT pose too much of an entry hazard threat because Azelf has Taunt, which renders Smeargle more or less useless.
EDIT: Apparently I'm really weak to Rotom-W and Tentacruel. I don't know if it's my skills in OU or if it's my team though.
EDIT2: Hawlucha wrecked my team single-handedly. No joke. Fighting types are horrible to my team. Any suggestions?

Please let me know what you think and thank you for taking the time to read this! I'm really hoping I'll be able to actually pull together a (somewhat) cohesive team and I'm always looking to learn!

Comments

You can't Knock Off Mega Stones, just saying.

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Thanks for the correction; fixed it now

Answer 1

Hey, I decided I'll try and help you with your team. I like to split my assessments into 3 sections. Now I'll get started.

Typing: Typing is decent. You have a pretty big fighting weakness (x4), but that isn't the worst type to be weak to. You also have a x2 weakness to bug, but again not the worst type to be weak to. Overall I wouldn't worry too much about these weaknesses, just be aware when battling that your weak to them.

Synergy: I see a big problem with your synergy, you have no moves that switch out. As you play more competitively (and get out of lower ladder) you will realize this is very important. They work as great scouts if they are fast. I like to have at least 2 pokemon with moves that switch them out. Your team is pretty well rounded other than that.

Looking at your team you have 4 pokemon that are UU and 2 OU. This might be a better team to switch to a UU than OU, but that's just a suggestion.

Movesets Before I start I'd like to give you a word of advice. Use smogon's movesets for all your pokemon until you get used to battling and see what you need to cover. I'll assess your movesets now.

Azelf: This moveset is made for UU (the EV's are different on the OU one). I'd switch the EV's to 196 Atk / 60 SpA / 252 Spe and then you should be good.

Umbreon: 1v1 and OU are VERY different. People will switch out to counter Umbreon. This is a decent staller moveset, but it's different in OU. I'd switch to a Baton Passing wish set if I were you.

Darmanitan: Flare Blitz instead of Fire punch. I know it is weaker but the speed is worth it. Give it a Life Orb or choice scarf instead of assault vest. Give it U-turn instead of focus blast. Give it pure speed EV's and nature as well.

Ampharos: Not really any suggestions. The only thing that I might change is thunderbolt in for thunder, but that's a personal preference.

Ferrothorn: This is my favorite wall, but not with this moveset. I usually run SR on mine, but since azelf already has that I would run spikes. Give it gyro ball and power whip. And then keep Leech seed on it.

Blissey: Chople berry is a no on blissey. I'd run blissey as a cleric, so give it heal bell or aromatherapy (one sometimes doesn't work, but I forget which one), soft boiled, seismic toss and toxic. If they are using a Sp Attacker you can force them to switch and if they can't or don't then you can KO them and heal your team, including yourself. It doesn't need any Sp att EV's just give it seismic toss.

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If you have any questions please ask in comments. I hope this helps with your competitive teambuilding!

Comments

Yes, no Fighting threats to worry about like Terrakion, Breloom, Mega Lopunny, Mega Metagross's Hammer Arm, Conkeldurr, Keldeo, et cetera, et cetera.

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Thank you for answering! I actually switched out Blissey for a Jellicent so that I have a Water Pokemon, and I have a way to deal with Dragons and Psychic types. I also gave Ferro Giga Drain and I'm trying out Spikes on him in place of Knock Off.  I'll totally try out the suggestions you gave me for Darmanitan; he's not doing so well as I get higher up on the ladder. Also, someone I had a battle with did use some very strong, offensive language about me not playing UU because of my number of UU Pokemon. I just don't like Forretress as much as I like Ferrothorn. And I'm switching in my Umbreon for a Baton Pass/Wish set.

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So basicly your staying in OU for ferro? If that is the case I would use more OU pokemon.  They are better than most of the UU pokemon and that's why they are in OU.