Try not to quit!

[TheUeki]

Hello everyone, I am here to present a team I recently put together that has been having great success. It is far from your "standard" team, while it uses commonly seen pokémon, it also uses some underrated ones. I hope with this team I can prove that some "not-so-used" pokémon are perfectly viable and have a place in the new OU metagame, while presenting something new and refreshing!

So, here it is:

Try not to quit

​

Gourgeist-Super @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Impish Nature
- Phantom Force
- Leech Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Substitute

Gourgeist is amazing, it's a great physical wall. This candle/pumpkin will take hits like it's nothing and burn the opponent to laugh in their faces while their damage is decreased even further.
Like if burning them wasn't enough, it then proceeds to Leech Seed them, taking their HP while recovering his own.
Substitute is there to protect it from status. Now you must be asking: Phantom Force, what?
Yes, that's right - Phantom Force. This move isn't only powerful coming from a base 100 attack stat, it makes you invulnerable for 1 turn which is great for stalling and stacking up more Leftovers/Leech seed recovery.
It's biggest downside is the fact that it can cause a normal pokémon to switch in, but hey, why is that so bad? Just burn them away, seed them, and off you go. Phantom Force works like a Protect that will deal damage next turn.



Goodra @ Assault Vest
Ability: Gooey
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Calm Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Dragon Pulse
- Flamethrower

As everyone knows, dragons have been nerfed this last gen due to the new Fairy type. But just look at Goodra's smile, does he look like he cares? That's right, he doesn't. Goodra is amazing on any team, even more so when paired with great physical walls to help cover for his weakest side.
This set is so simple, yet so effective. Assault vest boosts Goodra's special defense by 1.5x, reaching an amazing 657 value right off the bat! HP is maximized to provide him even more bulk and the 4 EVs in speed are for speed ties.

Not only is his special defense insane, he also brings great coverage to the team. He can often 2HKO alot of threats since his special attack is pretty decent, even uninvested.
His biggest selling point, however, is the ability to save his teammates - Is Landorus prone to be hit with a special water move? Go Goodra. Is there a special Fire move aimed at Gourgeist or Tangrowth? Go Goodra! This guy never ceases to amaze me.
Last but not least, there's that nifty ability of his - Gooey - the chance to lower an opponent's speed while getting hit is just amazing.




Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 212 SDef / 4 Spd
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

I'm sure you're pretty tired of seeing this guy, but for good reason. Rotom-W is a great pokémon, seeing alot of usage lately due to how useful he is.
Leftovers are a stapple for recovery, Hydro Pump and Volt Switch are STABs and also make a VoltTurn core with Landorus. Will-O-Wisp is as helpful as ever, burning stuff here and there while Pain Split can be a big pain (pun intended) for your opponent and recovers your hp when needed.
HP Evs are maximized, as expected, to improve his bulk. 40 Def in just enough for me to take Brave Birds from Talonflame easily and K.O him back. 4 Evs on speed to prevent ties and the rest goes into Special Defense.
Along with Goodra, he sponges most special hits thrown at his teammates and also absorbs paralyzis. I'm sure most of you know not to take this bouncy fella lightly.




Landorus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 188 SDef / 72 Atk
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Landorus is more often than not my lead, EdgeQuake provides great coverage, Intimidate lowers the opponent's attack and U-turn gets me out when I need to. With Assault vest and Intimidate his bulk becomes great, since it is as if both his defenses were boosted, not to mention his gigantic attack stat that allows him to hit pretty hard.
Hidden Power Ice is a nasty surprice for other Landorus, Gliscor, Chomp and his fellow dragons, hitting just hard enough to take a big chunk of their HP.
The EVs in HP are for bulk, 72 in Attack to increase his offensive presence and 188 Special Defense since most hits thrown at him are special.
This guy also absorbs Electric moves aimed at Talonflame with his great typing and pisses his opponents off together with Rotom, VoltTurning in and out.




Tangrowth (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 Spd
Bold Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Leech Seed
- Giga Drain
- Infestation

This set is my proudest creation. I've had people call it "pure evil", and while there's nothing evil about it (okay, maybe just a bit) it is so damn good.
Tangrowth seriously is the definition of bulky on the physical side and that's the reason why this set works so well. There's not much science to it, just switch in on a physical move that can't hurt you, proceed to use Infestation so they can't switch then either:
1- Put them to sleep and then Leech Seed them.
2- Leech Seed them then put them to sleep.

It's AMAZING how many pokémon are COMPLETELY shut down by this, they can't even fight back or hurt you! Most of the time you end back at full HP, but if you don't, hell just switch out and Regenerator takes you there! I'm surprised no one has seen the potential on this set before, because so far it has won me alot of matches (a whole lot of them by rage quits) and it is completely viable in OU.
The EVs speak for itself and Lefties are obvious. Don't underestimate this.




Talonflame (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 144 Spd / 252 Atk / 112 HP
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Swords Dance
- Roost

This set is pretty standard, but Talonflame sure does his job well. Brave Bird has priority and hits really hard with Flare Blitz, Swords Dance boosts his power to dangerous levels and Roost is priority recovery, which helps deal with recoil.
Attack is maximized for more power, but I'm not sure wether I should be Jolly or Adamant. HP Evs are there to survive a few more hits which sometimes allows me set up.
Late game Talonflame picks off weakened enemies with his priority and finishes some up here and there through the match. While he is good at that, I consider him the least important member of the team, simply because everyone else seems to do better than him.



Replays:
(almost) insta-quits -
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pokebankoubeta-68136568
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pokebankoubeta-68143961
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pokebankoubeta-68144760
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pokebankoubeta-68144760
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pokebankoubeta-68148052
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pokebankoubeta-68148912

Regulars -
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pokebankoubeta-68153382
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pokebankoubeta-68253272
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pokebankoubeta-68246419

Someone I found I believe deserves a mention for his epicness -
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pokebankoubeta-68240641

 

[dcae]

Hey there! This seems like quite a solid team you have here. However, a few issues arise to me. Most notably, you seem to be rather weak to Ice type moves, as only Rotom-W can switch into them. Also, Stealth Rock bothers you quite a bit. Apart from this, Dragon spam can cause a few issues as well, seeing as Landorus T has no recovery to speak of, and apart from that only Gourgeist can switch in and bother said Pokemon. Thus, I recommend a few switches around. First, I think using a Defogger and having Stealth Rocks are huge bonuses, especially for the amount of switching your team does, so I would propose trying out a Skarmory set:

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 Spe
Nature: Impish
- Brave Bird
- Stealth Rock
- Defog
- Roost

This would replace Tangrowth and provide you with a vital Steel typing that can really mess up most of the meta. Also, it maintains massive physical bulk and provides Defog support.

Next, on your Landorus-T set, I would highly encourage running Knock Off over Stone Edge. Since you run Hidden Power Ice Stone Edge is redundant, and Knock Off's buff coupled with its indomitable utility in terms of removing items aids so much, Knock Off is the preferred move here.

For your Goodra, due to its inherent massive Special bulk, maxxing out Special Defense is completely unnecessary, especially with Assault Vest. I highly recommend moving your 252 SpD EVs to your Special Attack stat along with Modest nature in order to pose a decent offensive threat as well. I would also recommend trying out Focus Blast over Ice Beam to hit Heatran, which is always irritating, since Ice Beam has a rather redundant coverage.

Overall this is an interesting stall team, and I hope I helped!

EDIT: @below Gourgeist is the far better Pokemon in the current metagame due to the fact that it deals well with Mega Kangaskhan, arguably the most dangerous Pokemon in the metagame. Thus, keeping it maintains an important roadblock against Mega Kanga. Thus, Tangrowth is the redundant one on this team.

 

[cdiddyman911]

Wow... This team may just be the coolest team i've seen all day. (Like I'm literally fangirling just looking at this). The only thing I would do is to switch the assault vest on Landours to choice scarfs. But other than that your set!

 

[Arcanine is Regal]

really cool team I have to say I do not think tangrowth is all that great but I have seen some pretty weird things work very well this gen. The only thing I would change is to switch swords dance on your talonflame to bulk up. It is very good and throws people off, especially with lefties because most people expect the band.

I like your lando set with assault vest...keep it.

 

[TheUeki]

Hey there! This seems like quite a solid team you have here. However, a few issues arise to me. Most notably, you seem to be rather weak to Ice type moves, as only Rotom-W can switch into them. Also, Stealth Rock bothers you quite a bit. Apart from this, Dragon spam can cause a few issues as well, seeing as Landorus T has no recovery to speak of, and apart from that only Gourgeist can switch in and bother said Pokemon. Thus, I recommend a few switches around. First, I think using a Defogger and having Stealth Rocks are huge bonuses, especially for the amount of switching your team does, so I would propose trying out a Skarmory set:

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 Spe
Nature: Impish
- Brave Bird
- Stealth Rock
- Defog
- Roost

This would replace Tangrowth and provide you with a vital Steel typing that can really mess up most of the meta. Also, it maintains massive physical bulk and provides Defog support.

Next, on your Landorus-T set, I would highly encourage running Knock Off over Stone Edge. Since you run Hidden Power Ice Stone Edge is redundant, and Knock Off's buff coupled with its indomitable utility in terms of removing items aids so much, Knock Off is the preferred move here.

For your Goodra, due to its inherent massive Special bulk, maxxing out Special Defense is completely unnecessary, especially with Assault Vest. I highly recommend moving your 252 SpD EVs to your Special Attack stat along with Modest nature in order to pose a decent offensive threat as well. I would also recommend trying out Focus Blast over Ice Beam to hit Heatran, which is always irritating, since Ice Beam has a rather redundant coverage.

Overall this is an interesting stall team, and I hope I helped!

EDIT: @below Gourgeist is the far better Pokemon in the current metagame due to the fact that it deals well with Mega Kangaskhan, arguably the most dangerous Pokemon in the metagame. Thus, keeping it maintains an important roadblock against Mega Kanga. Thus, Tangrowth is the redundant one on this team.

Thanks for your suggestions man! As for Ice type moves, my walls are so bulky they have never been a problem so far!

Mamoswine is by far the biggest physical Ice threat out there, yet look at this:
252+ Atk Mamoswine Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tangrowth: 188-224 (46.5 - 55.4%) -- 15.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

He will hardly even 2HKO Tangrowth after Lefties. Meanwhile he gets put down to sleep. My Tangrowth has never lost to one so far, even after Rotom-W is dead. Sure, he is a threat, but can be handled with relative ease.

On the Special side I will take a leap here and use Kyogre (yes Kyogre) to show how bulky Goodra is:
252+ SpA Kyogre Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Goodra: 96-114 (25 - 29.6%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

That's a Super Effective hit coming from a MODEST maximized EVs Kyogre. And all he can do is 4HKO. Goodra's bulk is amazing.
Not to mention he would also 4HKO Kyogre, even uninvested.
The point here tho, is that Goodra just doesn't crack so easily. Even SE hits can be handled (he has no 4x weaknesses), which is astounding.


Now you also mentioned Dragon spam. Well, while Ice is something I should be careful, Dragon spam hardly is:
252+ Atk Garchomp Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tangrowth: 133-157 (32.9 - 38.8%) -- 5.5% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Chomp only has 5.5% chance of 3HKOing Tangrowth. So yeah, most times it takes 4 outrages. That's enough time for me to seed him, put him sleeping and THEN (since he's already trapped) use Infestation. There's no way tangrowth will lose.

The special side is a little trickier, I admit. But Goodra will still take things like a champ and KO back (Goodra doesn't lose to special Dragons).

Rocks are indeed an issue, they slowly hurt my team since I do switch alot, but I really can't replace Tangrowth since he glues this team together. His ability to shut down so many big threats, like scizor, chomp, excadrill, even Skarmory is just too good. I consider him the most important member of the team, I just love it.

Wow... This team may just be the coolest team i've seen all day. (Like I'm literally fangirling just looking at this). The only thing I would do is to switch the assault vest on Landours to choice scarfs. But other than that your set!

Thanks!! I've been having alot of fun playing with this team :)
The Assault vest on landorus makes his bulk just great, that's why I've been using it. He can take alot more hits and KO stuff back (say latios for instance, with U-turn). I also feel like being able to come in, EQ something and then U-turn out is valuable.. But I will try to Scarf him a few times and see how it goes!

Don't replace Tangrowth, that is his best pokemon by far. If anything replace Gourgeist but only maybe.

I thought about this too, if anything I would replace Gourgeist because they have about the same physical bulk (Tangrowth's is a little better) and Tangrowth has been more useful so far.
As for Mega Kanghaskan, Dcae, well you still don't see how good Tangrowth can be:

252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tangrowth: 163-195 (40.3 - 48.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

That's just enough for me to shut him down. Not to mention, most of the time they think Tangrowth is useless (you have no idea how many times this has happened) and they try to spam power up punch. Which for the record:

252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Power-Up Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tangrowth: 43-52 (10.6 - 12.8%) -- possibly the worst move ever

+2 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Power-Up Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tangrowth: 87-103 (21.5 - 25.4%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery

It's not good. Tangrowth WILL stop him. The only scary variant is Substitute ones, but I have yet to run into any. Most people don't appreciate Substitute without having recovery (not even lefties) and don't use it on him. Also, I've seen quite a few of them running Fire Punch, so Tangrowth or Gourgeist is redundant. They both shut him down

really cool team I have to say I do not think tangrowth is all that great but I have seen some pretty weird things work very well this gen. The only thing I would change is to switch swords dance on your talonflame to bulk up. It is very good and throws people off, especially with lefties because most people expect the band.

I like your lando set with assault vest...keep it.

Hey there man! Thanks alot :)

As for Tangrowth, look at my first replay and you will see what I mean. I was most likely going to 6-0 his team with tangrowth alone (even breloom can't touch Tangrowth) and infestation + giga drain + lefties would kill him (yes, Talonflame would be much easier, I'm just trying to show how good he can be).
If you want values, just look at the Calcs I presented above. Tangrowth can only be described in one word, Underrated, which is why many teams have fallen to it :)

The only reason I've been running Swords Dance is for immediate power. I don't plan on Talonflame to get hit, his job is to either provoke a switch, Swords Dance, then kill stuff OR come in and revenge kill/late game sweep

 

[tcr]

Pretty cool team here man. From what it looks like you are aiming for a talonflame sweep. However, a very simple thing like stealth rocks really messes up your team. With your fwg core of rotom, talonflame, and gourgeist, stealth rocks really hampers your switching abilities. As Dcae said, tangrowth is superfluous and redundant. It has the exact same goal as gourgeist, who is better overall. However i disagree with the skarmory suggestion. Run Bulky Defog Mega Scizor. This gives you an excellent pivot with excellent synergy between it rotom and landorus, with the great voltturn cores all around. However you still would appreciate stealth rocks, to stop things that mega charizard from punching holes in your team.

As such run Offensive Pivot Landorus. This gives you stealth rocks, and the passive leftovers recovery really helps. You already have goodra and rotom for special hits. Running the pivot set from generation 5 helps you check things like talonflame sp much better, as brave bird runs through your team.

Lastly, run ChestoResto Rotom-W. Chesto is just much better pivot than pain split ever will be. It gives you a second life, and lets you abdorb toxics and things for other teammates, essentially being a nice status absorber.

Hope i helped, good luck with your team!

sets

Scizor @ Scizorite
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP/ 16 Atk/ 244 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off/ Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost

Leftovers ---> Chesto Berry
Pain Split ---> Rest

 

[Arcanine is Regal]

i have been testing out your tangrowth and I retract all doubts I ever had about it. It can single handedly win games. I mean wow, as for your team though I do think you have to pick betweeen gourgeist and tangrowth and I think you should keep tangrowth.

 

[vonK]

Here's a question: How valuable is Goodra really? He can take a few hits which is nice, but with no reliable recovery she gets eaten up by hazards and toxic. Chansey/Blissey hard counter him, and do the same job better, the only area where she really exceeds is the ability to absorb special fighting hits from Mega-Lucario. By the same token she doesn't make a great defensive core with Tangrowth because they're both weak to ice. Plus Chansey is a great Cleric.
I like this team and think I'll try it out, but after replacing Gourgeist with Scizor and Goodra with Chansey.
EDIT: Regarding Gourgeist vs Tangrowth. Gourgeist's weakness to most of the same things plus very common dark and ghost types (good M-Kangaskhans carry crunch), paired with Tangrowths fantastic ability make me think that Gourgeist rather than Tangrowth should be dropped for scizor.

 

[Arcanine is Regal]

Just letting you know I just made a RMT and featured your Tangrowth :) I hope thats ok. I am growing to love it and it is really nice change of pace from my usual play style.

 

[TheUeki]

Pretty cool team here man. From what it looks like you are aiming for a talonflame sweep. However, a very simple thing like stealth rocks really messes up your team. With your fwg core of rotom, talonflame, and gourgeist, stealth rocks really hampers your switching abilities. As Dcae said, tangrowth is superfluous and redundant. It has the exact same goal as gourgeist, who is better overall. However i disagree with the skarmory suggestion. Run Bulky Defog Mega Scizor. This gives you an excellent pivot with excellent synergy between it rotom and landorus, with the great voltturn cores all around. However you still would appreciate stealth rocks, to stop things that mega charizard from punching holes in your team.

As such run Offensive Pivot Landorus. This gives you stealth rocks, and the passive leftovers recovery really helps. You already have goodra and rotom for special hits. Running the pivot set from generation 5 helps you check things like talonflame sp much better, as brave bird runs through your team.

Lastly, run ChestoResto Rotom-W. Chesto is just much better pivot than pain split ever will be. It gives you a second life, and lets you abdorb toxics and things for other teammates, essentially being a nice status absorber.

Hope i helped, good luck with your team!

sets

Scizor @ Scizorite
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP/ 16 Atk/ 244 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off/ Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost

Leftovers ---> Chesto Berry
Pain Split ---> Rest

Thanks alot for your rate TCR! I decided to try Mega Scizor but I found him slightly disappointing, since his defenses aren't so great and he wasn't very helpful, atleast not nearly as much as Tangrowth.

I also gave Offensive Pivot Landorus a try and while the speed is greatly appreciated, his bulk really suffers a big blow, and I enjoy being able to count on his tankiness with Intimidate + Assault Vest, I just feel it's more helpful and has performed better due to my playstyle :)

However, your ChestoRest Rotom-W suggestion was a real breath of fresh air! It sure is better since he absorbs status and it does give him a second life! Thanks alot for that!

i have been testing out your tangrowth and I retract all doubts I ever had about it. It can single handedly win games. I mean wow, as for your team though I do think you have to pick betweeen gourgeist and tangrowth and I think you should keep tangrowth.

Thanks alot man! It's good to see someone appreciate Tangrowth as much as I do, it really performs admirably even tho most people don't see that :)

Here's a question: How valuable is Goodra really? He can take a few hits which is nice, but with no reliable recovery she gets eaten up by hazards and toxic. Chansey/Blissey hard counter him, and do the same job better, the only area where she really exceeds is the ability to absorb special fighting hits from Mega-Lucario. By the same token she doesn't make a great defensive core with Tangrowth because they're both weak to ice. Plus Chansey is a great Cleric.
I like this team and think I'll try it out, but after replacing Gourgeist with Scizor and Goodra with Chansey.
EDIT: Regarding Gourgeist vs Tangrowth. Gourgeist's weakness to most of the same things plus very common dark and ghost types (good M-Kangaskhans carry crunch), paired with Tangrowths fantastic ability make me think that Gourgeist rather than Tangrowth should be dropped for scizor.

Gourgeist has a small niche compared to Growth due to the fact that if can burn opponents.I will upload a small replay (with a different team I made) just to show how good Gourgeist can be (focus on Gourgeist):

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pokebankoubeta-68528731

Look at Turn 18 and you will see what I mean. In the end I lost, but Gourgeist showed what true stall is

As for Goodra, well I think the reason I chose him is because not only does he laugh at special hits, he can also dish out damage and K.O quite a few pokémon. I also wanted to try something different from "same old" Blissey :)

Just letting you know I just made a RMT and featured your Tangrowth :) I hope thats ok. I am growing to love it and it is really nice change of pace from my usual play style.

It is ok man, no worries :)
Yeah, from mine too, I was never really a stall guy but I'm enjoying it alot