Savior

A Team by complete legitimacy
Hey guys, I'm complete legitimacy here with an RMT. I posted my last team,
an RU team, about six months ago, the most successful team that I've ever used in that metagame. Now, I'll share the most successful team that I've ever used in the OU metagame. However, before I do that, I'd like to share my history in the OU metagame, as well as this team's history. I first started playing Pokemon in like August of 2011, and of course I started with OU. I obviously sucked back then, and I was just content with playing on the simulator for a few months and just content with the metagame that I was playing, too new to really care about tiering or anything like that. That being said, I decided to join Smogon in November of that year, and my
first post was an RMT that showcased my team-building ability and playing skill at that point (admittedly, not that good). I decided to immediately involve myself in tiering then, and I made a bunch of posts in the Deoxys-S suspect thread, having really no idea what I was talking about. I then dabbled in C&C, generally posting bad sets and trying to revamp analyses that didn't need an update. I was pretty much a generic new user.
I didn't have much luck in BW1 OU, so I decided to delve into the lower tiers, namely RU, and I honed my skills there in a much better metagame, and became decent at this game. I got into RU tiering then and started writing analyses, and actually started to contribute something of acceptable quality. However, when BW2 OU tiering started, I wanted to try my hand at the tier again, and I'd get a chance to see how far I'd come. I've now qualified for 3 of the last 4 suspect tests, and it's been a great feeling to know that you have actually gotten better at something that you've been spending the majority of your time on for the past year. I think that I'm a pretty good ladder player, and I have gotten further in some tournaments than in the past, but I still don't really consider myself a good player because when I hear the teambuilding and playing processes of an actually good player, I see the difference between myself and them (tbh I'm using one particular person as an example but I'll keep him anonymous). That being said, I feel like I have accomplished something from when I started out making shitty contributions, because I'm now badged for the things that I started out doing poorly.
I created this team during the Garchomp suspect test, back in September I believe. I had always had success with semistall, but I knew how offensive BW2 OU was. That still in mind, I wanted to create the perfect team to help me to qualify for voting reqs. When I first made this team, I kept getting destroyed by Sheer Force Landorus-I (and literally everyone was using it at this time), and I thought of giving up on the team. Instead, I decided to fix the team, and the result was a masterpiece. This is pretty much the only team I've used since I made it in September, and I'll likely continue to use it. One of the reasons why I like this team so much is that it is exactly what the BW2 OU metagame is not; I don't have weather, I'm not using offense, I don't have priority, and I don't have a Choice Scarf mon. It's also not prone to team matchup at all, and I can easily defeat any other team so that if I lose, it's because I was outplayed (or haxed obv). I hope that this team is a pioneer for stall in BW2, because although it's not traditional stall, it does rely upon three things: entry hazards, status, and abusing hax. I truly believe that this is the perfect team for me in the BW2 OU metagame, and I hope that you feel the same way after reading this RMT.
Team-Building Process
I started with Landorus-T. From the start of BW2 I thought it had potential, and boy was I right.

I was beginning to form my near-impregnable defensive core, and Jirachi was a great addition. Not only was it the best Tornadus-T counter and pretty much every stallish team needs a Jirachi anyway, it had good synergy with Landorus-T and could pass it Wishes.


Now that I had my Stealth Rock out of the way, I was looking to add some Spikes. Realistically, I'm only going to use Skarmory or Ferrothorn for Spikes, and at this point I really need Water resists to check rain, so Ferrothorn was the easy choice. Also, Skarmory has a lot of overlap with Landorus-T.



Now that I had hazards and paralysis support, what better Pokemon to take advantage of them than MixMence? The embodiment of badass lure, it also provided some nice resistances to Water-, Fighting-, and Fire-type attacks, as well as checking that annoying bitch Breloom.




I always like to have Rapid Spin on my teams, and Salamence appreciates it the most. Starmie was the natural choice to provide another rain check while also being a hard stop to Tentacruel, and helps a lot against Deoxys-D offense.





I honestly forget what I had here originally, but I knew that it made the team really weak to Sheer Force Landorus. I went through a bunch of things in the last slot, and I know I used a Gastrodon at one point (2HKOed by Earth Power :[), but I eventually settled on Latias. Latias was a godsend to the team, giving me a reliable Landorus, Keldeo, and Thundurus-T switch-in.
Team at a Glance





A Closer Look

Landorus-T (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 200 HP / 64 Atk / 244 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk,-SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
Landorus-T is probably my favorite new addition to the OU metagame from BW2. It's just so good at what it does, and it's great to have a hard counter to Terrakion, and also have a generally good check to Dragonite and Salamence that can set up Stealth Rock. It just has a lot of uses, and sticks around for a while despite its lack of reliable recovery. It's also a hard counter to Scizor. I typically lead with Landorus-T because I like to have my Stealth Rock up early, especially if the opponent doesn't have a spinner. It's also a very reliable Jirachi switch-in, and can even counter SubCM sets with Water Pulse in the rain because it's really weak even after a boost. Landorus-T doesn't have much use against rain teams except for setting up Stealth Rock, so I typically use it for getting rid of Ferrothorn. If it's still in good health in the late-game, I can use it to tank a Hurricane from Tornadus-T and OHKO in return with Stone Edge. The EV spread is pretty standard, and allows Landorus-T to beat even SD Rock Gem Terrakion thanks to Intimidate. Earthquake is generally my go-to move and it's pretty powerful, and Stone Edge is useful to hit those Flying-types and Rotom-W, and I'll use it if I predict a switch to the latter. I don't really use U-turn that much, but it does get that extra 20% on Politoed or paralyzed Rotom-W, and hits some things like Latias harder than anything else. Paralysis support is key for Landorus-T to function to the best of its potential, and it can often go on a mini-sweep late-game when the opposing team is all slower than it. Landorus-T is pretty underrated, for now.

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 228 SDef / 32 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef,-SAtk)
- Wish
- Protect
- Body Slam
- Iron Head
Jirachi is just so good in the metagame right now. In a Tornadus-T metagame, there's really no reason not to use it on any stall-based team. Generally, in any given situation Jirachi is too valuable to be sacrificed. Even when it's not my first switch-in to anything left on the opposing team, its inability to be OHKOed by a neutral attack 99% of the time is often invaluable, and Wish support can be game-changing. Wish is just such a good move, and although I mostly use it to heal Jirachi, it can also be used to effectively heal Landorus-T or Ferrothorn because they are the only team members that lack reliable recovery. I use Protect out of necessity, and it's helpful in case I get critted or something so I have an insurance policy. Body Slam and Iron Head are just a brutal combination, and I've paraflinched Jellicents to death. Jirachi is a decent Breloom check that I can switch into, because Salamence gets Spored 95% of the time. It's also decent against Thundurus-T, and can cover Latias if it gets in a pinch. Body Slam is superior to both Thunder Wave and Thunder in my opinion, because 60% is still a very good chance, and the ability to paralyze Dugtrio and Thundurus-T is so valuable. Of the many Dugtrios that I've faced that try to trap Jirachi, I've paralyzed literally every single one of them, at least in recent memory. The EV Spread is pretty standard as well, and outspeeds max Speed Tyranitar, as well as Adamant Breloom. Just as a note, if max HP makes my Pokemon take more from
any entry hazards, then I'll take a point out and place it somewhere else. I used to use Jirachi to serve as a decent Genesect check, but the Rock Polish set destroyed me if I didn't get the paralysis with Body Slam.

Ferrothorn (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 88 Def / 172 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def,-SAtk)
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Thunder Wave
- Power Whip
Unlike the previous two mons, I can't really say that Ferrothorn is really good in this metagame in particular, because it's always been really solid in any BW metagame. Ferrothorn is my Spiker of choice that is really good against rain, which is everywhere. The EV spread is nothing but standard, and it allows Ferrothorn to take both Outrages and Hydro Pumps, which both tend to hurt a majority of the metagame. Leech Seed is pretty much a necessity on any Ferrothorn set because it's its only method of recovery outside of Leftovers. Thunder Wave compliments Jirachi and Latias's paralysis and is good for Landorus-T and Salamence in particular so that they can mitigate their relatively low Speed. Power Whip fits a lot better than Gyro Ball on this set because I'm using Thunder Wave, and one of Ferrothorn's main roles on the team is to kill bulky Waters and Starmie. Ferrothorn is pretty necessary for the team and is irreplaceable imo, but it's the mon that honestly matters least in most situations. I typically use it to sponge Outrages from Dragonite and Salamence that are easily lured if Landorus-T is at low health or I want it to be healthy to take on Terrakion or something. Ferrothorn is my first switch-in to Politoed if I haven't figured out its set yet, because a burned Ferrothorn is better than a dead Starmie, and Specs Toed hits like a truck. But yeah, it's Ferro, switch in on stuff you resist, set up Spikes, use Leech Seed, hit switch-ins with Thunder Wave; the usual stuff.

Salamence (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 100 Atk / 176 SAtk / 232 Spd
Rash Nature (+SAtk,-SDef)
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Brick Break
- Roost
MixMence is definitely the best lure I've ever used. Salamence pretty much singlehandedly destroys stall, and can lure out both physical and special walls (pretty much just Tyranitar but still). Good thing too, because otherwise I'm actually very weak to stall. Salamence is so good because I can just double switch to come in on Gliscor, Tyranitar, or Landorus-T, and they'll all die to the appropriate move after Stealth Rock. It doesn't really have many defensive responsibilities aside from Breloom and SD Roost Scizor, so all its time is spent on the offensive. This is probably the best Salamence set imo, because while I like DD it's always been revenge killed a bit too easily, and Scarf is so lacking in immediate power that it's always been incredibly easy for me to play around. I think that Moxie in general is overrated and Intimidate is too awesome to pass up, and I got that double Intimidate to counter any physical attacker so they can get at me. Anyway, Draco Meteor is really strong and does a ton to like anything and OHKOes most physical walls which is awesome (although Sp Def Hippo can suck my dick). Fire Blast is mainly used against Ferrothorn, Forretress, and Skarmory, although the latter takes like 60% from Draco Meteor anyway iirc. The mighty Brick Break is really only useful for Tyranitar and the blobs, but I need to predict the switch and have some hazards to actually do something to them. It's also the only move with perfect accuracy, and can be helpful if I wanna do like 30% to Rotom-W or something. Roost is a godsend though, and is actually really easy to use, especially against a stall team, which is of course what Salamence is most useful for. The spread isn't standard anymore, but it's still very good, with the Speed outrunning Adamant Haxorus and neutral Kyurem-B so they both die to Draco Meteor (the former even at -2), and the Attack always allowing Salamence to OHKO Tyranitar after Stealth Rock. The rest is placed in Special Attack. If you're gonna use MixMence imo, you should be using this set, because otherwise you still lose to stall, and the point of this set is to beat stall.

Starmie @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 20 Def / 24 SAtk / 216 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd,-Atk)
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Recover
- Psyshock
Starmie is an integral part of my team, not only because it is the fastest member of my team, but it's also my spinner, which is so crucial to have in this metagame. This is a pretty much standard defensive Rapid Spin set, which focuses on longevity (as does everything on this team). Scald is a really awesome move in general, and it burns things. Psyshock is a great move on this set because it will always OHKO Gengar with my EVs, and still outspeeds ofc. It also allows Starmie to deal significant damage to Tentacruel, and it does like 30% to most Jellicent so I can beat it with some hazards and other residual damage. The Defense EVs allow Starmie to always live a CB Terrakion Stone Edge, and I like to have a 0 Attack IV on anything that doesn't have a use for Attack to reduce confusion damage, which is actually relevant because of Tornadus-T. Starmie is my primary switch-in to defensive Politoed after it's revealed Scald or Leftovers, and it also revenge kills Terrakion and Keldeo. It can deal a good number on threats such as Garchomp and Thundurus-T with Scald too, and its Speed comes in handy a lot. It also is my secondary switch-in to Breloom provided it's taken Stealth Rock damage, because then Psyshock OHKOes. Tyranitar isn't as big an issue as you would think, because I can easily double switch to Salamence and kill it with Brick Break. The only time Starmie usually dies is when I'm saccing it, and things generally don't go well if I let Starmie die earlier than I wanted it to.

Latias (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 44 SAtk / 24 SDef / 192 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd,-Atk)
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dragon Pulse
- Surf
- Thunder Wave
- Roost
Latias is the MVP of the team. Like Starmie, it hardly ever dies if I don't want it to, and it holds the team together by checking so many crucial threats in the metagame, such as Keldeo, Landorus, and Thundurus-T. This is an original set that I created to fit the team's needs perfectly, and the EVs ensure that Latias outspeeds Garchomp and will always live 2 HP Ices from LO Sheer Force Landorus after Stealth Rock, and can 2HKO with Surf. The leftover EVs are thrown into Special Attack. Dragon Pulse is a reliable and powerful STAB move that does a lot of damage to a lot of stuff, and is of course useful for revenge killing Dragons like Salamence and Garchomp. Surf compliments Dragon Pulse really well, and hits the especially important Heatran, which Latias can beat all variants of that lack Toxic. Because rain is up in a lot of battles, Surf actually becomes psuedo-STAB as well, and is slightly more powerful against neutral targets. Thunder Wave is the real crux of the set though, and Latias is incredibly good at spreading paralysis. It used to be good for luring in and paralyzing Genesect, but that ship has sailed. Nowadays, Latias can take a hit from Tornadus-T and paralyze it, and keep Roosting until it gets para'd, and then 2HKO it. Roost is the obligatory recovery move, and is chosen over Recover because the mighty Imprison is more likely to be used alongside Recover than Roost. If you haven't already noticed, those are just the kind of things that I do. Latias is slightly weaker to Tyranitar than even Starmie because it can't burn, but once again, champion Salamence can kill it with Brick Break. Latias is an amazing Pokemon in the metagame right now, but it's getting the praise it deserves.