Need help fitting Zekrom into my team

[Darthrai]

Been trying this team out on PO and it seems to be working pretty well:

Light Yagami (Arceus-Ghost) @ Spooky Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Judgment
- Will-O-Wisp
- Magic Coat
- Stealth Rock

My lead and spinblocker. Stealth Rock is there for obvious reasons, Magic Coat is there in order to bounce back SR/Spikes from opposing leads and Dark Voids from Darkrai, Will-O-Wisp cripples many physical sweepers (and is especially effective against "Extreme Killer" Arceus), and Judgment provides him with a means of attacking.


Darth Vader (Zekrom) @ Life Orb
Trait: TeraVoltage
EVs: 104 HP / 148 Atk / 252 SAtk / 4 Spd
Lonely Nature (+Atk, -Def)
- Lightning Strike
- Draco Meteor
- Outrage
- Volt Change

Yes, here he is. I hardly find any situation to use him, despite the fact that he's supposed to be the team's main physical sweeper, and that's what I'm having problems with. Zekrom is too slow for me to safely switch him in to anything I want to kill


Space PINGAS (Palkia) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Spacial Rend
- Surf
- Aura Sphere
- Thunder

Pretty standard Palkia, quite an effective revenge killer. Aura Sphere is there in order to hit Dark-types such as Tyranitar and Darkrai hard, and can also get Nattorei.


Barbossa (Kyogre) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Boil Over
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

This guy ended up being the main sweeper on the team; I just switch him in to something he's not afraid of, then spam Calm Mind, Rest when I feel that his HP is running low, and fire away. I love this set, and even ended up OHKOing a Palkia (!!) with Boil Over after 6 Calm Minds.


Starscream (Skarmory) (M) @ Wacan Berry
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 248 SDef / 8 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind

Physical wall, I need a Steel-type and phazer on the team. I personally prefer this guy to Lugia and Giratina because of his typing. I usually switch this guy in to Dragon-type attacks and set up something nasty on the opponent.


pinkfailblob (Chansey) (F) @ Evolution Stone
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Seismic Toss
- Wish
- Protect
- Thunder Wave

My special wall. I actually put Thunder Wave on her with the intention of making opposing Pokes more manageable by Zekrom, but it ended up being a useful general-purpose move rather than a means of helping one specific Pokemon set up.


There's one problem, though: I hardly get any use out of Zekrom, even though he's my favorite Pokémon. His low base Speed and average bulk turn me off, and I often switch into Palkia rather than Zekrom in order to get rid of Kyogre. My original intention, in fact, was to have a team with Zekrom as a staple, but that sadly seems to not be the case. Does anyone have an idea how I can make Zekrom more useful, and what partners I can add to the team to help with this?

 

[Danmire]

Might want to expand your descriptions a bit more.
Also, why not try adding pictures? It makes your RMT a bit more lively. Click on the little mountain picture when you edit it, and post the URL.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/ and Welcome to Smogon!

 

[min min]

Scarc Zekrom is much better on your team, but if you're iffy with dropping Palkia or carrying 2 scarfers then I advise against it. Overall you seem to lack a lot of offensive power, teetering that thin line between stall and offense. Happy Holidays!

 

[Jibaku]

Fitting Zekrom is very difficult indeed and I still struggle with it (especially with non Scarf ones), but I'd like to share a team in which I managed to fit it in.

Forretress / Ghost Arceus / Groudon / Mix Zekrom / Scarf Palkia / Ho-Oh

(This is for Dream World only, due to Regen Ho-Oh)

In here, Zekrom does a couple of roles for the team - break down walls (and lure Groudon if possible, because if I can get rid of it, Ho-Oh will have a much easier time wrecking things. Oh and it doesn't outright die to Shandera, unlike Dialga), check Ho-Oh (thanks to that useful Flying resist) Heatran (kind of), destroy defensive Kyogre (which Palkia struggles with), kill slower Lugias, adds another electric resist should Groudon die, and provide a physical attacking force since the team doesn't really have a Toxic immunity (bar Forry), so I can't let Blissey rampage through the team.

The team does have a few issues though, particularly with CM psycho Shock Latias (the team handles Latios better) and to an extent, Mewtwo, but it does fine.

I know this isn't a rate but I hope this helps!

 

[Darthrai]

Scarc Zekrom is much better on your team, but if you're iffy with dropping Palkia or carrying 2 scarfers then I advise against it. Overall you seem to lack a lot of offensive power, teetering that thin line between stall and offense. Happy Holidays!

Thanks :)

Recently I replaced my Palkia and Zekrom with the following 2 sweepers (oh, and renamed my entire team after Decepticons, something I probably won't do when I use the team in the actual game):

Megatron (Zekrom) @ Choice Band Trait: TeraVoltage
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Lightning Strike
- Outrage
- Crunch
- Dragon Claw


The Fallen (Mewtwo) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Psycho Break
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
- Aura Sphere

In addition, I replaced Ghost Arceus and Skarmory with a Giratina-O and standard Forretress (with Occa Berry), in order to provide Rapid Spin support, and also replaced Chansey with a CM Blissey because of problems with Tail Glow Manaphy.


Zekrom is a bulky CB sweeper, and Mewtwo is a Scarf sweeper meant to hit hard (hence the Modest nature); I put him on my team due to problems with Rock Polish Groudon. Zekrom's getting a bit more use now since he hits a lot harder and survives hits a bit better, but I still avoid switching him to anything that would have a Dragon/Ice/Ground attack since Zekrom's no Tyranitar in terms of bulk (well at least with respect to the rest of the tier).


Thoughts?

 

[min min]

That is certainly scary. At least now you have a good answer to SD Arceus since Zekrom easily survives a boosted Extremespeed with that spread.

 

[Darthrai]

That is certainly scary. At least now you have a good answer to SD Arceus since Zekrom easily survives a boosted Extremespeed with that spread.

Wow, I didn't know that! XDD

Previously, I thought that Giratina-O would be my only check to SD Arceus.