Wishful Thinking
Introduction
This is a team that I've used ever since Genesect was released into the OU metagame. It's reminiscent of the teams that were run during the old Dream World metagame, though of course Excadrill is no longer with us, so it has some key differences. I originally made it to test out Rock Polish Landorus, a set that swept me 6-0 a few times in Dream World when I thought it was nothing more than a gimmick. As soon as some people I was talking to brought it up again, I knew I should finally try it out, as it not only proved to be an effective sweeper against offensive teams, but it has the prowess to simply 6-0 most common sun builds. Needless to say, the team has probably been my most successful since the release of Black and White 2. I've won almost all the tournament matches I've played with it, losing only to hax or misplays on my part. I've also peaked at the top of Pokemon Showdown!'s ladder, but I don't really consider that too big of a deal considering the quality of most of the players I faced (I'm pretty sure that at least four of my opponents forfeited the second they entered the battle).
I brought a tried and tested formula from back in the old Black and White era into this team. It's basically a high-powered sand team that can hold against many teams because of its defensive backbone. A few users showed me an amazing set to counter rain: specially defensive Rotom-W. After I saw this, I knew I needed to try it out, and I've probably used it on every team since (no joke). I have two bulky Water-types to help sponge rain hits (though one is not very bulky even with investment; however, it's not exactly meant to be my primary sponge). Additionally, I have sun's biggest counter, Heatran, and I carry Rock Polish Landorus, a set that's capable of 6-0ing almost any sun team provided I can get Stealth Rock up. I've found that while the team build isn't perfect, it covers most of the threats in the metagame. Possibly the biggest threat to this team is Terrakion, as almost any variant will give me a hard time. However, Choice Band Terrakion is easy to revenge kill, and Choice Scarf Terrakion is not powerful enough to break my team on its own. Lead Terrakion are also not very tough to face, especially because once they faint, I can simply spin hazards away.
So yeah! There's really not much to this team. I just made sure I had a method of maintaining momentum through a VoltTurn core, a way to sweep effectively between Genesect and Landorus, and way to keep rain from straight-up demolishing me through some key members. There are certainly holes in the team but with proper prediction it's always possible to play out of them. Maintaining momentum is key with this team because I don't have enough of a defensive presence to switch into all hits. I tend to play it like a heavy offensive team versus common offensive teams, while I can use it as a balanced team against more defensive builds. I do have more defensive versions of the team with Hippowdon / Stoutland and Tyranitar / Garchomp cores that tend to take on hits better, but I settled on this variant because I really like all the offensive power it brings. The team name comes from my main ladder alt, wishful_thinking. I think I've done enough talking, though. Let's get to the team!
The Team
Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Tail
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Crunch
Tyranitar is a pretty cool supporter for my team, even if the set doesn't look like a supporter. I use it to open up sweeps in the late-game for Landorus, and that's pretty much all I need from it. Sand damage is good against Pokemon that are equipped with Choice items, and it wears down Choice Specs Latios, Life Orb Latias, Choice Scarf Rotom-W, Choice Scarf Keldeo, and many others. One of the biggest assets for my team that Tyranitar provides is the ability to trap troublesome Pokemon that can hamper my Landorus sweep, such as Latios, Latias, and Celebi. They can all survive a Landorus Hidden Power Ice when healthy, so I decided that I'd like them removed sooner rather than later. Obviously, Pursuit is necessary for this case. It does major damage to Latios and Latias even if they choose not to flee, though against Celebi, I am typically more aggressive with Crunch. Besides, even if Celebi switches out, Crunch will hit nearly anything that's not a dedicated physical wall fairly hard. Stone Edge hits those physical walls extremely hard, though, so I don't really have to worry about those (seriously, it 2HKOes Skarmory after some residual damage). Of course, I have to make sure I don't miss with Stone Edge, and we all know how often Stone Edge hits.
I've toggled between Superpower and Aqua Tail, but I actually chose Aqua Tail because ripping a hole in Hippowdon and Gliscor on the switch-in is awesome. Stone Edge 2HKOes Gliscor already, but with Poison Heal recovery and Protect, it's not a real 2HKO. Aqua Tail does massive damage to threats if I'm ever caught in the rain, and while that's fairly unlikely, it's happened before! Superpower can be useful if I think the opponent will bring another Tyranitar sand team, but that's pretty much a minor change because I'll be using Pursuit, Crunch, or Stone Edge much more anyways. The EVs allow me to beat out Skarmory so that I can smack it with Stone Edge quickly. If I play my cards right and don't get lucked, I can rid the opponent of a key wall and Spiker before I even need to get my hands dirty with Rapid Spin or special attackers. The opponent generally assumes that I'm running specially defensive Tyranitar and specially defensive Heatran from Team Preview, so I can typically beat out Deoxys-D leads if they try and Taunt me. If they have a hunch that I am carrying a Choice Band early, then they'll typically send out Terrakion, which can be a bit problematic. If this is the case, I'll just sac the Pokemon that does the least to the opposing team.
Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Download
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- U-turn
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Bug Buzz
Genesect has been a staple on almost every offensive team since the advent of Dream World, and its usage has remained steady ever since its release (it's now number one in the usage statistics, unsurprisingly). The instant momentum it brings with U-turn is incredible for offensive teams, especially in conjunction with Rotom-W's Volt Switch. I don't really bring Genesect in on many attacks; instead I use it as a revenge killer. One thing you have to realize when you're using Genesect is that you can't overpredict or underpredict, you really need to analyze the situation. If you use U-turn on a +1 Dragonite because you assume it will switch to Heatran, it could be the difference between winning and losing. However, the opposite can happen, and you can end up hitting Heatran with Ice Beam. I am a bit more conservative with Genesect because I can revenge kill a Pokemon and then sac one of my own Pokemon the next turn, but if using a coverage move would give the opponent the game, I use U-turn and sponge a hit instead.
Flamethrower is mostly for Ferrothorn, and I generally don't use it for any other Pokemon. Genesect already has a hard counter in Heatran, and I don't need to give it more opportunities to set up. I could have chosen Thunderbolt in its place, but Thunderbolt is mainly for Water-types that Bug Buzz hits hard enough, and Gyarados is already covered by Rotom-W. Ice Beam is for Dragonite, Salamence, and Garchomp.
I've been switching around between Bug Buzz and Flash Cannon, and I actually use Flash Cannon quite a lot in tournament matches to prevent Choice Band Terrakion and other slow variants from ripping my team up. However, I see a lot of Deoxys-D teams on the ladder, and I know I can sweep in the late-game with Bug Buzz, so I use that move more when I'm playing for fun. The choice basically depends on what you want coverage against, though in a tournament environment I tend to see many more Terrakion than on the ladder. I chose the EV spread to maximize Speed and Special Attack, and while I know that U-turn is the most used move on Genesect, investing in Attack doesn't seem very appealing to me, especially when it may prevent Genesect from KOing what it needs to KO. The Naive nature lets me survive priority moves that could otherwise KO me because I don't need to settle for a Defense drop.
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 32 SpA / 228 SpD
Calm Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Specially defensive Rotom-W is probably my favorite Pokemon in this metagame due to its utility. I run a spread with 32 Special Attack to guarantee that I can OHKO Gliscor with minimal investment. I can also OHKO Thundurus-T in the rain after Stealth Rock, which is probably the only rain threat Rotom-W can't deal with exceptionally. Tornadus-T, normally a giant threat for sand teams, cannot do very much against Rotom-W due to the heavy investment in Special Defense (the Calm nature compounds this). While Leftovers recovery can be sufficient, I will often need Rotom-W to sponge random hits from Genesect, so Pain Split is often an excellent move to ensure that I can keep Rotom-W healthy throughout the match. I could have chosen a ChestoRest set to heal off status, but I honestly find that I tend to use Pain Split multiple times in matches, so I'd rather keep the set stable. By the way, to emphasize Rotom-W's sponging capabilities, it can only be 4HKOed, and even then that's not guaranteed. Superpower can't 3HKO either, so Rotom-W is a pretty safe switch-in. It does very well against Politoed too, but if I see that Politoed is defensive early on, I'll typically use Starmie as my switch-in instead so that I don't risk poisoning or burns.
Hydro Pump is obviously a necessary move on this set, as it allows me to stop opposing Pokemon from setting up, especially opposing SubSD Garchomp. I use Will-O-Wisp sparingly against these threats because I don't want to risk allowing them to set up a Substitute. Will-O-Wisp is my best bet against physical attackers though, and if they reveal their item early on, I can burn them later on and make them a non-threat. Volt Switch is strictly for momentum, and it's extremely helpful against rain teams. Volt Switch threatens all Water-types, but opponents cannot switch in Ferrothorn safely for fear of Will-O-Wisp. For this reason, I actually enjoy facing rain teams, as they should have the advantage against me, but Rotom-W effectively nullifies that. I use Will-O-Wisp a lot against these teams to ensure that I can burn the Ferrothorn at some point in the battle, and if I don't, a lot of opposing Pokemon will be crippled. Rotom-W is also important because it serves as one of my Ground immunities, and it effectively beats Rock Polish Landorus if it's healthy enough. Use more Rotom-W, it's an amazing Pokemon in this metagame!
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power Ice
- Stealth Rock
Air Ballon Heatran has always been a favorite of mine, and with all the Dugtrio running around in the current metagame, it fits my team perfectly. While it can't reliably be my switch-in to Genesect (until opposing Dugtrio have been removed, of course), I typically let my own Rotom-W switch into Genesect's coverage moves, and my own Genesect can take a U-turn and then take the momentum. However, this is a last resort, as if I'm playing the game how I'd like to, the opponent won't be gaining momentum anyways. Anyways, because I am running Choice Band Tyranitar, I needed to put Stealth Rock somewhere on the team. I really like Stealth Rock on Heatran because Xatu cannot reliably switch in to block me, as Fire Blast wrecks it. The offensive power granted by Heatran lets me set up without having to fear the opponent gaining momentum. I can also set up Stealth Rock on Dragons that are locked into Outrage (or Earthquake, in the case of some Choice Band or Choice Scarf Dragons), and then kill them with Hidden Power Ice on the next turn if they do not switch. Hidden Power Ice doesn't really hit Latios too hard, and because I fear Surf, Rotom-W and Tyranitar are generally my switch-ins for it and Latias.
I chose to make Heatran as offensive as possible, just like typical offensive Stealth Rock users. The Timid nature allows me to beat out Adamant Dragonite (people that run Jolly Dragonite are doing it wrong), and having Heatran as fast as possible helps out against lots of threats. Full Special Attack investment, even without the Modest nature, still allows Heatran to pack quite a punch. Air Balloon also helps against Rock Polish Landorus, as it is forced to use Focus Blast against me and risk the miss, though I can't really rely on that to win because Focus Blast still OHKOes Heatran. That's only a last resort situation though, as Rotom-W is a much better switch-in. One of the biggest reasons I chose Heatran is Flash Fire and insurance against sun teams. It checks all variants of Venusaur unless I lose my Air Balloon early on, as some people have began to run Earthquake and mixed Venusaur. However, Heatran is typically healthy against sun teams because Ninetales cannot touch it, Xatu fears it, Dragons have to rely on Dragon or Fighting-type moves (as Earthquake won't work), and typical sun spinners suck!
Starmie @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Scald
- Psyshock
I chose bulky Starmie as my spinner because I really needed to rid the field of Spikes and Stealth Rock to keep my VoltTurn core and momentum intact. I don't want to lose a bunch of my health from repeatedly switching in and out of entry hazards, so I tend to always use a spinner. Starmie works best for my team because it takes on Terrakion better than almost any other spinner. After Terrakion reveals its set, I generally know what to send out to beat it. If it is a Choice Band set, I'll sac something to the incoming Stone Edge and then revenge kill it with Starmie. If it's a Choice Scarf set, it's much weaker, so I can again allow something to faint so that Starmie can come in, sponge a hit, and KO it. I will usually use Psyshock, but if my opponent has a Tyranitar or a Genesect in the midst, I can use Scald to hopefully snag a burn on them. The bad thing about Starmie is that even with the relatively heavy HP investment, it still is fairly frail. I don't rely on it to counter many threats except for the occasional Calm Mind Keldeo. Psyshock is key here because it hits the weaker Defense, so I don't need to worry too much about Keldeo's Calm Mind boosts.
Recover is obviously to keep Starmie healthy, as I will often need it to come out quite a few times each match. A healthy Starmie is a good Starmie because it allows me to fully beat Terrakion. If I let it get too low on health, Choice Scarf Terrakion can come in and wreak havoc with Stone Edge. Leftovers recovery is not enough because Sand Stream from Tyranitar negates it. I chose the EV spread and debated between what I wanted to outrun: base 111 Speed threats or base 115. Ultimately, I realized that I wanted to always be able to at least Speed-tie opposing Starmie so that I could have the possibility to use Rapid Spin before they KO me. Additionally, there aren't any noteworthy base 111 Speed Pokemon now that the Therian formes have taken over. Outspeeding Choice Scarf Magnezone is a plus too, though smarter players are using Magneton instead so they can outpace Tornadus-T. Starmie is pretty much an indispensable member, and I consider it to be one of the very few good spinners in the OU metagame. Forretress, Tentacruel, Donphan, Hitmontop, and even Blastoise all simply open up way more holes than they fix.
Landorus @ Life Orb
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rock Polish
- Earth Power
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power Ice
Landorus is the Pokemon I built the team around! Basically, the goal of this team is to weaken the opponent sufficiently in order to have Landorus sweep at the very end. It doesn't matter whether I lose one Pokemon or five along the way because as long as Landorus is healthy and the opponent lacks priority, Landorus can usually find a way to set up and outpace the entire opposing team. Setting Landorus up can be a tad difficult due to its relative frailty, but I can generally do so on weaker attacks, such as Pokemon locked into resisted moves, walls, and the like. Sadly, Focus Blast doesn't always like to hit the opponent, so you can't be too reliant on it to win the game. It's best to get Pokemon like Skarmory out of the way early on so that Landorus won't have to pray for a 2HKO in the late-game, especially when it has to deal with Focus Blast's accuracy. Of course, if you see a Ferrothorn or Air Balloon Heatran, you're going to need to cross your fingers, but these situations are exactly why I use the move in the first place! If you're using this set, you want to be using Earth Power as much as possible. It gets STAB, Sheer Force, and Life Orb boosts, and it's extremely powerful coming off of Landorus's surprisingly decent Special Attack stat. Hidden Power Ice is only for coverage, but it really is a useless move. It also forces Landorus to take Life Orb recoil, as it has no added effect.
I've tinkered with Psychic in the place of Hidden Power Ice, but I really don't think Gengar is the biggest problem between Rotom-W and Tyranitar putting pressure on it. Of course, because I'm not using specially defensive Tyranitar, I can't really do much when I need to deal with Focus Blast. This is another reason why prediction is key! Dealing with threats that wall Landorus must be done early on, but surprisingly, the case is generally that Landorus isn't walled, but it's beaten by another team member. This comes down to the opponent's carrying a priority move, applying offensive pressure, and stuff like that. That's why momentum is so key, as you need to remove these threats early on before you can go to town with Landorus. I chose the spread and a Timid nature because I need maximum Speed, and Timid allows me to use Landorus against faster teams instead of having to carry it around like dead weight. While I really love the power granted by Modest, I think Timid tends to be a better choice. Like I said earlier, I tried a SubSalac Garchomp in this spot on a more defensive team with a specially defensive Tyranitar and a more defensive Heatran, but I ultimately chose Landorus because base 102 Speed without a boost won't sweep very effectively in this metagame, and even at +1 it's not incredibly fast.
Conclusion
Like I said before, this has been my go-to team for most tournament matches. I know Terrakion is much more common in tournament matches than it is on the ladder, but I just have to play around it and find a time where I can effectively set up Landorus to sweep. I have no Rock resistance, but to fit one in I'd have to change up almost half the team. Like I said before, I've used a SubSalac Garchomp version that took Tyranitar on better, but I ultimately settled with Landorus because +2 Speed is great and it requires less support than Garchomp does. I've managed to use this to peak the ladder on Pokemon Showdown and the main Pokemon Online server (though neither peak says very much), and it has been pretty successful for me outside of rated battles as well. I hope you enjoyed my RMT, thanks for reading! I appreciate all rates as well! If you have a question about something that I didn't address, go ahead and point it out.
Introduction
This is a team that I've used ever since Genesect was released into the OU metagame. It's reminiscent of the teams that were run during the old Dream World metagame, though of course Excadrill is no longer with us, so it has some key differences. I originally made it to test out Rock Polish Landorus, a set that swept me 6-0 a few times in Dream World when I thought it was nothing more than a gimmick. As soon as some people I was talking to brought it up again, I knew I should finally try it out, as it not only proved to be an effective sweeper against offensive teams, but it has the prowess to simply 6-0 most common sun builds. Needless to say, the team has probably been my most successful since the release of Black and White 2. I've won almost all the tournament matches I've played with it, losing only to hax or misplays on my part. I've also peaked at the top of Pokemon Showdown!'s ladder, but I don't really consider that too big of a deal considering the quality of most of the players I faced (I'm pretty sure that at least four of my opponents forfeited the second they entered the battle).
I brought a tried and tested formula from back in the old Black and White era into this team. It's basically a high-powered sand team that can hold against many teams because of its defensive backbone. A few users showed me an amazing set to counter rain: specially defensive Rotom-W. After I saw this, I knew I needed to try it out, and I've probably used it on every team since (no joke). I have two bulky Water-types to help sponge rain hits (though one is not very bulky even with investment; however, it's not exactly meant to be my primary sponge). Additionally, I have sun's biggest counter, Heatran, and I carry Rock Polish Landorus, a set that's capable of 6-0ing almost any sun team provided I can get Stealth Rock up. I've found that while the team build isn't perfect, it covers most of the threats in the metagame. Possibly the biggest threat to this team is Terrakion, as almost any variant will give me a hard time. However, Choice Band Terrakion is easy to revenge kill, and Choice Scarf Terrakion is not powerful enough to break my team on its own. Lead Terrakion are also not very tough to face, especially because once they faint, I can simply spin hazards away.
So yeah! There's really not much to this team. I just made sure I had a method of maintaining momentum through a VoltTurn core, a way to sweep effectively between Genesect and Landorus, and way to keep rain from straight-up demolishing me through some key members. There are certainly holes in the team but with proper prediction it's always possible to play out of them. Maintaining momentum is key with this team because I don't have enough of a defensive presence to switch into all hits. I tend to play it like a heavy offensive team versus common offensive teams, while I can use it as a balanced team against more defensive builds. I do have more defensive versions of the team with Hippowdon / Stoutland and Tyranitar / Garchomp cores that tend to take on hits better, but I settled on this variant because I really like all the offensive power it brings. The team name comes from my main ladder alt, wishful_thinking. I think I've done enough talking, though. Let's get to the team!
The Team
Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Tail
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Crunch
Tyranitar is a pretty cool supporter for my team, even if the set doesn't look like a supporter. I use it to open up sweeps in the late-game for Landorus, and that's pretty much all I need from it. Sand damage is good against Pokemon that are equipped with Choice items, and it wears down Choice Specs Latios, Life Orb Latias, Choice Scarf Rotom-W, Choice Scarf Keldeo, and many others. One of the biggest assets for my team that Tyranitar provides is the ability to trap troublesome Pokemon that can hamper my Landorus sweep, such as Latios, Latias, and Celebi. They can all survive a Landorus Hidden Power Ice when healthy, so I decided that I'd like them removed sooner rather than later. Obviously, Pursuit is necessary for this case. It does major damage to Latios and Latias even if they choose not to flee, though against Celebi, I am typically more aggressive with Crunch. Besides, even if Celebi switches out, Crunch will hit nearly anything that's not a dedicated physical wall fairly hard. Stone Edge hits those physical walls extremely hard, though, so I don't really have to worry about those (seriously, it 2HKOes Skarmory after some residual damage). Of course, I have to make sure I don't miss with Stone Edge, and we all know how often Stone Edge hits.
I've toggled between Superpower and Aqua Tail, but I actually chose Aqua Tail because ripping a hole in Hippowdon and Gliscor on the switch-in is awesome. Stone Edge 2HKOes Gliscor already, but with Poison Heal recovery and Protect, it's not a real 2HKO. Aqua Tail does massive damage to threats if I'm ever caught in the rain, and while that's fairly unlikely, it's happened before! Superpower can be useful if I think the opponent will bring another Tyranitar sand team, but that's pretty much a minor change because I'll be using Pursuit, Crunch, or Stone Edge much more anyways. The EVs allow me to beat out Skarmory so that I can smack it with Stone Edge quickly. If I play my cards right and don't get lucked, I can rid the opponent of a key wall and Spiker before I even need to get my hands dirty with Rapid Spin or special attackers. The opponent generally assumes that I'm running specially defensive Tyranitar and specially defensive Heatran from Team Preview, so I can typically beat out Deoxys-D leads if they try and Taunt me. If they have a hunch that I am carrying a Choice Band early, then they'll typically send out Terrakion, which can be a bit problematic. If this is the case, I'll just sac the Pokemon that does the least to the opposing team.
Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Download
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- U-turn
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Bug Buzz
Genesect has been a staple on almost every offensive team since the advent of Dream World, and its usage has remained steady ever since its release (it's now number one in the usage statistics, unsurprisingly). The instant momentum it brings with U-turn is incredible for offensive teams, especially in conjunction with Rotom-W's Volt Switch. I don't really bring Genesect in on many attacks; instead I use it as a revenge killer. One thing you have to realize when you're using Genesect is that you can't overpredict or underpredict, you really need to analyze the situation. If you use U-turn on a +1 Dragonite because you assume it will switch to Heatran, it could be the difference between winning and losing. However, the opposite can happen, and you can end up hitting Heatran with Ice Beam. I am a bit more conservative with Genesect because I can revenge kill a Pokemon and then sac one of my own Pokemon the next turn, but if using a coverage move would give the opponent the game, I use U-turn and sponge a hit instead.
Flamethrower is mostly for Ferrothorn, and I generally don't use it for any other Pokemon. Genesect already has a hard counter in Heatran, and I don't need to give it more opportunities to set up. I could have chosen Thunderbolt in its place, but Thunderbolt is mainly for Water-types that Bug Buzz hits hard enough, and Gyarados is already covered by Rotom-W. Ice Beam is for Dragonite, Salamence, and Garchomp.
I've been switching around between Bug Buzz and Flash Cannon, and I actually use Flash Cannon quite a lot in tournament matches to prevent Choice Band Terrakion and other slow variants from ripping my team up. However, I see a lot of Deoxys-D teams on the ladder, and I know I can sweep in the late-game with Bug Buzz, so I use that move more when I'm playing for fun. The choice basically depends on what you want coverage against, though in a tournament environment I tend to see many more Terrakion than on the ladder. I chose the EV spread to maximize Speed and Special Attack, and while I know that U-turn is the most used move on Genesect, investing in Attack doesn't seem very appealing to me, especially when it may prevent Genesect from KOing what it needs to KO. The Naive nature lets me survive priority moves that could otherwise KO me because I don't need to settle for a Defense drop.
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 32 SpA / 228 SpD
Calm Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Specially defensive Rotom-W is probably my favorite Pokemon in this metagame due to its utility. I run a spread with 32 Special Attack to guarantee that I can OHKO Gliscor with minimal investment. I can also OHKO Thundurus-T in the rain after Stealth Rock, which is probably the only rain threat Rotom-W can't deal with exceptionally. Tornadus-T, normally a giant threat for sand teams, cannot do very much against Rotom-W due to the heavy investment in Special Defense (the Calm nature compounds this). While Leftovers recovery can be sufficient, I will often need Rotom-W to sponge random hits from Genesect, so Pain Split is often an excellent move to ensure that I can keep Rotom-W healthy throughout the match. I could have chosen a ChestoRest set to heal off status, but I honestly find that I tend to use Pain Split multiple times in matches, so I'd rather keep the set stable. By the way, to emphasize Rotom-W's sponging capabilities, it can only be 4HKOed, and even then that's not guaranteed. Superpower can't 3HKO either, so Rotom-W is a pretty safe switch-in. It does very well against Politoed too, but if I see that Politoed is defensive early on, I'll typically use Starmie as my switch-in instead so that I don't risk poisoning or burns.
Hydro Pump is obviously a necessary move on this set, as it allows me to stop opposing Pokemon from setting up, especially opposing SubSD Garchomp. I use Will-O-Wisp sparingly against these threats because I don't want to risk allowing them to set up a Substitute. Will-O-Wisp is my best bet against physical attackers though, and if they reveal their item early on, I can burn them later on and make them a non-threat. Volt Switch is strictly for momentum, and it's extremely helpful against rain teams. Volt Switch threatens all Water-types, but opponents cannot switch in Ferrothorn safely for fear of Will-O-Wisp. For this reason, I actually enjoy facing rain teams, as they should have the advantage against me, but Rotom-W effectively nullifies that. I use Will-O-Wisp a lot against these teams to ensure that I can burn the Ferrothorn at some point in the battle, and if I don't, a lot of opposing Pokemon will be crippled. Rotom-W is also important because it serves as one of my Ground immunities, and it effectively beats Rock Polish Landorus if it's healthy enough. Use more Rotom-W, it's an amazing Pokemon in this metagame!
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power Ice
- Stealth Rock
Air Ballon Heatran has always been a favorite of mine, and with all the Dugtrio running around in the current metagame, it fits my team perfectly. While it can't reliably be my switch-in to Genesect (until opposing Dugtrio have been removed, of course), I typically let my own Rotom-W switch into Genesect's coverage moves, and my own Genesect can take a U-turn and then take the momentum. However, this is a last resort, as if I'm playing the game how I'd like to, the opponent won't be gaining momentum anyways. Anyways, because I am running Choice Band Tyranitar, I needed to put Stealth Rock somewhere on the team. I really like Stealth Rock on Heatran because Xatu cannot reliably switch in to block me, as Fire Blast wrecks it. The offensive power granted by Heatran lets me set up without having to fear the opponent gaining momentum. I can also set up Stealth Rock on Dragons that are locked into Outrage (or Earthquake, in the case of some Choice Band or Choice Scarf Dragons), and then kill them with Hidden Power Ice on the next turn if they do not switch. Hidden Power Ice doesn't really hit Latios too hard, and because I fear Surf, Rotom-W and Tyranitar are generally my switch-ins for it and Latias.
I chose to make Heatran as offensive as possible, just like typical offensive Stealth Rock users. The Timid nature allows me to beat out Adamant Dragonite (people that run Jolly Dragonite are doing it wrong), and having Heatran as fast as possible helps out against lots of threats. Full Special Attack investment, even without the Modest nature, still allows Heatran to pack quite a punch. Air Balloon also helps against Rock Polish Landorus, as it is forced to use Focus Blast against me and risk the miss, though I can't really rely on that to win because Focus Blast still OHKOes Heatran. That's only a last resort situation though, as Rotom-W is a much better switch-in. One of the biggest reasons I chose Heatran is Flash Fire and insurance against sun teams. It checks all variants of Venusaur unless I lose my Air Balloon early on, as some people have began to run Earthquake and mixed Venusaur. However, Heatran is typically healthy against sun teams because Ninetales cannot touch it, Xatu fears it, Dragons have to rely on Dragon or Fighting-type moves (as Earthquake won't work), and typical sun spinners suck!
Starmie @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Scald
- Psyshock
I chose bulky Starmie as my spinner because I really needed to rid the field of Spikes and Stealth Rock to keep my VoltTurn core and momentum intact. I don't want to lose a bunch of my health from repeatedly switching in and out of entry hazards, so I tend to always use a spinner. Starmie works best for my team because it takes on Terrakion better than almost any other spinner. After Terrakion reveals its set, I generally know what to send out to beat it. If it is a Choice Band set, I'll sac something to the incoming Stone Edge and then revenge kill it with Starmie. If it's a Choice Scarf set, it's much weaker, so I can again allow something to faint so that Starmie can come in, sponge a hit, and KO it. I will usually use Psyshock, but if my opponent has a Tyranitar or a Genesect in the midst, I can use Scald to hopefully snag a burn on them. The bad thing about Starmie is that even with the relatively heavy HP investment, it still is fairly frail. I don't rely on it to counter many threats except for the occasional Calm Mind Keldeo. Psyshock is key here because it hits the weaker Defense, so I don't need to worry too much about Keldeo's Calm Mind boosts.
Recover is obviously to keep Starmie healthy, as I will often need it to come out quite a few times each match. A healthy Starmie is a good Starmie because it allows me to fully beat Terrakion. If I let it get too low on health, Choice Scarf Terrakion can come in and wreak havoc with Stone Edge. Leftovers recovery is not enough because Sand Stream from Tyranitar negates it. I chose the EV spread and debated between what I wanted to outrun: base 111 Speed threats or base 115. Ultimately, I realized that I wanted to always be able to at least Speed-tie opposing Starmie so that I could have the possibility to use Rapid Spin before they KO me. Additionally, there aren't any noteworthy base 111 Speed Pokemon now that the Therian formes have taken over. Outspeeding Choice Scarf Magnezone is a plus too, though smarter players are using Magneton instead so they can outpace Tornadus-T. Starmie is pretty much an indispensable member, and I consider it to be one of the very few good spinners in the OU metagame. Forretress, Tentacruel, Donphan, Hitmontop, and even Blastoise all simply open up way more holes than they fix.
Landorus @ Life Orb
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rock Polish
- Earth Power
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power Ice
Landorus is the Pokemon I built the team around! Basically, the goal of this team is to weaken the opponent sufficiently in order to have Landorus sweep at the very end. It doesn't matter whether I lose one Pokemon or five along the way because as long as Landorus is healthy and the opponent lacks priority, Landorus can usually find a way to set up and outpace the entire opposing team. Setting Landorus up can be a tad difficult due to its relative frailty, but I can generally do so on weaker attacks, such as Pokemon locked into resisted moves, walls, and the like. Sadly, Focus Blast doesn't always like to hit the opponent, so you can't be too reliant on it to win the game. It's best to get Pokemon like Skarmory out of the way early on so that Landorus won't have to pray for a 2HKO in the late-game, especially when it has to deal with Focus Blast's accuracy. Of course, if you see a Ferrothorn or Air Balloon Heatran, you're going to need to cross your fingers, but these situations are exactly why I use the move in the first place! If you're using this set, you want to be using Earth Power as much as possible. It gets STAB, Sheer Force, and Life Orb boosts, and it's extremely powerful coming off of Landorus's surprisingly decent Special Attack stat. Hidden Power Ice is only for coverage, but it really is a useless move. It also forces Landorus to take Life Orb recoil, as it has no added effect.
I've tinkered with Psychic in the place of Hidden Power Ice, but I really don't think Gengar is the biggest problem between Rotom-W and Tyranitar putting pressure on it. Of course, because I'm not using specially defensive Tyranitar, I can't really do much when I need to deal with Focus Blast. This is another reason why prediction is key! Dealing with threats that wall Landorus must be done early on, but surprisingly, the case is generally that Landorus isn't walled, but it's beaten by another team member. This comes down to the opponent's carrying a priority move, applying offensive pressure, and stuff like that. That's why momentum is so key, as you need to remove these threats early on before you can go to town with Landorus. I chose the spread and a Timid nature because I need maximum Speed, and Timid allows me to use Landorus against faster teams instead of having to carry it around like dead weight. While I really love the power granted by Modest, I think Timid tends to be a better choice. Like I said earlier, I tried a SubSalac Garchomp in this spot on a more defensive team with a specially defensive Tyranitar and a more defensive Heatran, but I ultimately chose Landorus because base 102 Speed without a boost won't sweep very effectively in this metagame, and even at +1 it's not incredibly fast.
Conclusion
Like I said before, this has been my go-to team for most tournament matches. I know Terrakion is much more common in tournament matches than it is on the ladder, but I just have to play around it and find a time where I can effectively set up Landorus to sweep. I have no Rock resistance, but to fit one in I'd have to change up almost half the team. Like I said before, I've used a SubSalac Garchomp version that took Tyranitar on better, but I ultimately settled with Landorus because +2 Speed is great and it requires less support than Garchomp does. I've managed to use this to peak the ladder on Pokemon Showdown and the main Pokemon Online server (though neither peak says very much), and it has been pretty successful for me outside of rated battles as well. I hope you enjoyed my RMT, thanks for reading! I appreciate all rates as well! If you have a question about something that I didn't address, go ahead and point it out.
