EUPHORIA
IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS
Welcome to my RMT! As you can tell by the title, Euphoria is a balanced Sand team. Ultimately the goal of this team is to sweep with SubSalac Terrakion or CM Latias, using Gothitelle to remove their counters. The Volt-Turn core of Rotom-W and Genesect provides scouting and makes it easier to trap things with Gothitelle. I've been using this team for a while now and it's definitely my favorite team to use. This will probably be my last RMT for a while because I can't stand the OU metagame as it currently is. That being said, I'd still like to perfect this team as much as possible so I've turned to the Smogon community for assistance in fixing the issues outlined in the threat list.
IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS
HIPPOWDON @ Leftovers
Sand Stream | Impish (+Def, -SpA)
248 HP / 244 Def / 12 SpD / 4 Spe
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
With the recent surge in Dugtrio-based weather teams, Hippowdon is arguably the most reliable weather starter in the metagame. Its superb bulk and reliable recovery allows it to laugh off any attempts at being trapped by Dugtrio, something Tyranitar can only dream of doing. Thus, Hippowdon is excellent for winning weather wars which is crucial in this metagame. Although this team isn't reliant on Sandstorm to function, it makes dealing with opposing weather much easier by neutering Chlorophyll sweepers and Tornadus-T. The sand also provides Terrakion with a nice special defense boost. Hippowdon has many other important roles on this team besides controlling the weather. It is also my Stealth Rock user and primary check to most physical attackers in the game.
I normally prefer to use a specially defensive EV spread on Hippowdon but this team has enough special sponges with Latias and Rotom-W. Thus, the onus is on Hippowdon to check physical attackers so I need it as physically bulky as possible. The 12 special defense EVs prevent it from being 2HKO'd by Expert Belt Landorus' HP Ice even after Stealth Rock damage. The moveset is very straightforward. Earthquake provides STAB and hits pretty hard even without the attack investment thanks to Hippowdon's 112 base attack. Whirlwind provides pseudo-hazing and prevents Hippowdon from turning into set-up fodder. Slack Off provides recovery, keeping it healthy throughout the match and outlasting opposing weather starters. Stealth Rock provides residual damage and keeps threats like Multiscale Dragonite and Volcarona at bay.
GOTHITELLE @ Choice Specs
Shadow Tag | Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
252 SpA / 16 SpD / 240 Spe
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Fire
- Trick
Gothitelle is a fairly mediocre Pokemon that has been blessed with arguably the best ability in the game. I'm actually quite surprised that it's still rather uncommon. It's an excellent tool to have against Stall teams and it pairs well with many physical sweepers. In particular, Gothitelle is an incredible partner for Terrakion since it can trap and eliminate nearly all of Terrakion's counters. Similarly, Gothitelle can remove things like Forretress, Ferrothorn, and sometimes even Scizor so that Latias has an easier time sweeping. Furthermore, Gothitelle works well with Hippowdon by aiding in winning the weather war. Although it's not as good of a weather-trapper as Dugtrio, Gothitelle can pick off weakened Politoed and Ninetales to secure the weather war in my favor. In fact, non-Scarf Politoed are easy prey for Gothitelle since it can outspeed them and KO with Thunderbolt once they fall below 65% HP.
Psychic is the STAB move of choice. I prefer it over Psyshock because of its ability to 2HKO Gliscor which reduces the need for HP Ice. Thunderbolt is great for trapping Skarmory and weakened Politoed. Hidden Power Fire eliminates Ferrothorn, Forretress, and Scizor. Sometimes I use HP Ice over HP Fire for Gliscor. Although Psychic does 2HKO it, SubToxic Gliscor can be a pain in the ass and Terrakion really appreciates having it removed. Trick allows Gothitelle to cripple just about any wall, such as Blissey and Chansey that would otherwise wall it. The EV spread is straightforward. 240 speed allows Gothitelle to outspeed a number of things, such as 72 speed Gliscor, Modest Politoed, and Adamant Breloom. This also means it can outrun practically any common wall. The random 16 special defense EVs guarantee that Specs Tornadus-T's Hurricane never OHKOs Gothitelle at full health.
TERRAKION @ Salac Berry
Justified | Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
I use Terrakion on many of my OU teams because of its incredible offensive prowess. While I normally prefer the nuking power of the Choice Band set, I decided to give the SubSalac set a shot after seeing Gimmick's RMT and was amazed at its ability to effortlessly sweep practically any kind of team. Stall teams struggle to wall a +2 Terrakion while most offensive teams fail to outspeed it once Salac Berry activates. Thus, many teams are unprepared for it, especially since it can easily bluff a Choice set. The special defense boost from Sandstorm along with Terrakion's decent bulk allows it to come in on many powerful attacks and survive with enough HP to trigger Salac Berry. Terrakion also forces many switches, making it easy to set up Substitute and put a ton of pressure on my opponent. With Gothitelle removing the majority of Terrakion's counters, it has little trouble sweeping through any team.
Close Combat and Stone Edge provide incredible neutral coverage together. Thus, very little is safe once Terrakion gets a Swords Dance boost in. Substitute protects it from revenge killers and can be used to activate Salac Berry. The EV spread is a simple offensive spread. Max attack to hit as hard as possible, while speed is maxed to outrun many Scarfers after the Salac Berry boost. 4 special defense EVs gives Genesect an attack boost through Download.
LATIAS @ Leftovers
Levitate | Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
88 HP / 168 SpA / 252 Spe
- Calm Mind
- Dragon Pulse
- Psyshock
- Roost
Latias is quite a versatile Pokemon that is often overlooked by Latios. Unlike her more offensive brother, she can be used defensively and offensively in whatever the situation calls for. Latias is primarily used in a defensive and supportive role on this team, only going for a sweep if the cards fall into place. Latias is my main answer to opposing weather teams since her typing provides her with key resistances to Water, Electric, Fire, and Grass attacks commonly found on those teams. Besides checking weather teams, Latias is my main answer to the plethora of powerful Fighting types in the OU metagame, such as Keldeo, Breloom, and Terrakion. It also checks many special attackers like Thundurus-T, Rotom-W, and Venusaur. Furthermore, Latias is an excellent partner for Terrakion since she lures in things like Tyranitar, Heatran, and Genesect which Terrakion can use as set-up bait. She also baits Dark type attacks for Terrakion to capitalize on with its Justified ability.
Calm Mind boosts Latias' excellent special stats to even higher levels. Dragon Pulse provides STAB and excellent neutral coverage. Psyshock provides secondary STAB and comes in handy in CM wars. It's also useful for checking the aforementioned Fighting types. Roost significantly improves Latias' longevity, allowing her to shrug off the weather-boosted Fire and Water attacks she takes. The special attack EVs ensure that Latias always OHKO's Keldeo with Psyshock after a Calm Mind, as well as securing an OHKO on offensive Dragonite with Dragon Pulse before a Calm Mind, after Stealth Rock. Max speed is crucial for outspeeding the likes of Terrakion and Keldeo. The remaining EVs are placed in HP for some extra bulk.
ROTOM-W @ Chesto Berry
Levitate | Calm (+SpD, -Atk)
248 HP / 28 SpA / 224 SpD / 8 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder Wave
- Rest
Rotom-W is the first half of my Volt-turn core with Genesect. The two form an excellent scouting duo which makes it easier to trap things with Gothitelle. Rotom-W is also my main answer to Rain teams alongside Latias, providing an important secondary Water resistance. It is my best check to Tornadus-T who is otherwise a huge threat to this team. That is why I opted to use a specially defensive EV spread; Tornadus-T's Choice Specs Hurricane is only a 3HKO on Rotom-W even after Stealth Rock damage. The specially defensive spread also lets it handle Rain-boosted Scalds and Hydro Pumps a bit better, and makes it an excellent check for many special attackers in general.
The moveset is the standard defensive Rotom-W set except with Thunder Wave over Will-O-Wisp. Thunder Wave neuters many fast special attackers, such as Latias/Latios that commonly switch in to check Rotom-W. With Latios/Latias paralyzed, they can no longer revenge kill Terrakion. Thunder Wave can also allows Rotom-W to act as an emergency check to Volcarona by paralyzing it so that Terrakion can revenge kill it with Stone Edge. Thanks to the EV spread, Rotom-W can even survive a +1 LO Bug Buzz from Volcarona after SR damage. ChestoRest allows Rotom-W to shrug off random Scald burns and Toxics and it bluffs a Choice set early game. The 28 special attack EVs guarantee an OHKO on Gliscor with Hydro Pump. 8 speed EVs for some speed creep against other bulky Rotom-W.
GENESECT @ Choice Scarf
Download | Hasty (+Spe, -Def)
112 Atk / 144 SpA / 252 Spe
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
I'm sure most of you have never heard of this obscure set. Yeah...this set is about as bog standard as it gets but Genesect is truly an amazing Scarfer. It's primary duties on this team are to scout and revenge kill. Thanks to its incredible ability, typing, and stats, it performs these roles very effectively. Genesect is the second half of my Volt-Turn core along Rotom-W. The two make an excellent scouting pair and work well alongside Gothitelle's trapping abilities. Genesect is also an incredible lure for things like Volcarona and Heatran, which Terrakion can often force out and get a free Substitute.
The moveset is fairly standard. U-turn is used for scouting and is generally the move used most often. Iron Head isn't seen often on Scarf Genesect but it can be a decent secondary STAB option for killing the likes of Terrakion, Gengar, and Mamoswine. Iron Head also takes advantage of the fact that many people prefer giving Genesect an attack boost through Download. Ice Beam and Flamethrower provide excellent neutral coverage and can be used to revenge kill things like Dragonite and Lucario. I adjusted the EVs to better fit the needs of this team. In particular, the attack EVs guarantee that U-turn OHKOs max HP Latias after SR, effectively eliminating one of Terrakion's best checks. I prefer using Hasty over Naive so that Genesect has an easier time checking Latios/Latias. There's not much else I can say about Genesect. It does what it needs to do and it does it very well.
THREAT LIST
The biggest threats to this team are Gengar, Breloom, Latios/Latias, and Deoxys-D. I really don't have a solid check for Gengar so I just have to hope it doesn't get behind a Substitute. Breloom is a pretty big problem since it can outspeed the majority of my team. Adamant Breloom is a bit easier to check since Gothitelle outspeeds it. Latias is my best check for Jolly Breloom so keeping it healthy is important. Despite having Genesect, Latios/Latias can be very difficult to switch into. Entry hazards in general are a pain since 4/6 of my team take damage from Spikes and Stealth Rock while 3 are susceptible to Toxic Spikes. Gothitelle can trap most hazard users but Deoxys-D has little trouble setting up layers against this team.
Hippowdon (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 12 SDef / 4 Spd
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
Gothitelle (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 SAtk / 16 SDef / 240 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Trick
Terrakion @ Salac Berry
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
Latias (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 88 HP / 168 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Dragon Pulse
- Psyshock
- Roost
Rotom-Wash @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 28 SAtk / 224 SDef / 8 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder Wave
- Rest
Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Download
EVs: 112 Atk / 144 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 12 SDef / 4 Spd
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
Gothitelle (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 SAtk / 16 SDef / 240 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Trick
Terrakion @ Salac Berry
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
Latias (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 88 HP / 168 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Dragon Pulse
- Psyshock
- Roost
Rotom-Wash @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 28 SAtk / 224 SDef / 8 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder Wave
- Rest
Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Download
EVs: 112 Atk / 144 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower