XY OU The Pincher's Mega Offense

[pweav]

Introduction
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Hello guys, I have this team here. I wanted to post this since back in May but I had complications in school and forgot about this. Then came the day came I found out that Deoxys-S is banned to Ubers, and after that, I had second thoughts whether will I still post this or not, but I decided to post it now, although it is very late. So enjoy, have a look on my team.


This team was originally a balanced team when I started playing XY OU that consists of Mega Pinsir, Talonflame, Rotom Wash, Heatran, Skarmory and Deoxys-S, but from what I have observed, it has become ineffective when getting higher on the ladder. That’s why I decided to turn this team to a more offensive oriented team to take on stall better than what it was. It is now an offensive team that still features Mega Pinsir and now with three powerful attackers. It utilizes Sand + Stealth Rock offense or just Sand offense, which became more popular style of battling. The main goal is to weaken dangerous threats to the point that Mega Pinsir sweeps late game, which is where a sweeper is good at.

Team Building Process
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Hide

1)

I started out with Pinsir because it is the sweeper of the team I want to base around. It is one of the tier’s top threats that any team must be prepared. Having a huge base 105 Speed along with sky-high Attack means it can play its role very well. It is a perfect example of a Pokémon that can just sweep through teams with little effort if played correctly.

2)

I chose Deoxys-S because I need a Special Attacker and it’s also a Mixed Sweeper rather than just a standard special attacker. Greninja was my second option to act as a Taunt Lead but the taunting can be done better by Thundurus, movepool and flexibility is inferior to Deoxys-S.

3)

Thundurus, it completes the offensive core along with Pinsir and Deoxys-S; it can paralyze faster sweepers, it takes out Talonflame and a real threat overall. Thundurus deserves this spot as it can support the team while still dealing huge amount of damage.

4)

The next slot will be a Stealth Rocker, which is every team needs, and because I want this slot to have a way to deal with Skarmory, Tyranitar is by far, the best guy who suits on this spot. It provides rocks, got some nice offensive stats and supplies sand. But if you want a sturdier one, you can use Hippowdon, but be aware that this decreases the team’s offensive firepower and loses the ability to hit Skarmory hard. Garchomp is another option but no sand is no good.

5)

Excadrill may be inferior to stronger defoggers like the Latis but because I have sand on my team, I want to make good use of it to my advantage by utilizing this sand demon as my spinner and as a revenge killer. Latis can be used as the alternative if you chose Garchomp as your rocker because Sand Drill will be basically just a dead weight without sand, thus dropping the “sand” in sand offense.

6)

Rotom-W is chosen for my last slot. My team needs some bulk, he obliges, it’s my switch-in to Mega Pinsir’s main counters. He supports the team very well, and still deals a decent damage, making him the best option for this spot.

The Team

Pinsir (M) @ Pinsirite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SpA)
- Quick Attack
- Return
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance​

Mega Pinsir is a very terrifying sweeper that can easily plow through teams after a Swords Dance boost. It also makes a great tandem with Deoxys-S to break walls with sheer hard hitting power. The team supports Pinsir very well by keeping entry hazards off the field and weakening or eliminating its checks and counters to let it go out on a rampage. Due to its high attack, its common switch-ins like Lando-T, Thundurus and Hippowdon will take a good amount of damage from its STAB-Aerilate Return, making it a big threat to every team. Moxie can give it a free Attack boost when it's against a severely weakened foe, which helps it to dish out even more powerful attacks to apply offensive pressure at the opposing team. Its moveset has a nice coverage to cover more threats, Earthquake is for Heatran and Aegislash to help Deoxys spam powerful attacks, Return is its strongest move that will hit hard on anything nonresistant, Quick Attack is a very strong priority that is always great, helps to KO weakened Latis or anything faster. Close Combat can also be used but is inferior to Earthquake while Rock Slide is also a great option if you want to catch that Thundurus on the switch.

Deoxys-Speed @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 92 Atk / 180 SpA / 236 Spe
Naive Nature (+Spe, -SpD)
- Ice Beam
- Knock Off
- Psycho Boost
- Superpower​

Deoxys-S, the team's main wallbreaker that destroyed many unsuspecting opponents. By leading off with it, it tricks the opponent into thinking that it will just set up hazards or screens, then gets the opponents surprised by its superb offensive capabilities. The EVs on both of its Attack stats allows it to take out as many threats as possible to give way for Pinsir to sweep. Knock Off is your only fighting chance against Aegislash switch-ins, a great way to break stall, as well as your way to take out the Latis trying to defog away your rocks. Superpower is your main weapon to remove Greninja, Tyranitar, Mega Tyranitar, and for Bisharp if he predicted the switch out and gone for the Pursuit. Ice beam for Garchomp and gives an overall great coverage. Psycho Boost is the strongest move, OHKOing many threats even Assault Vest Conkeldurr, as well as doing a lot of damage against Specially Defensive Mega Venusaur it's also my best bet against Quagsire (I believe Quagsire is not aware of my stat drops), which 2HKOs. Meteor Mash if you dislike Fairies, Extremespeed is also an option if you want to give Talonflame a hit before going down to Brave Bird.

Rotom-Wash @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 SpD
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
IVs: 30 Spd
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rest​

Back in 5th gen, Rotom Wash is one of the most frequently used Pokémon because of the support it provides to its team and definitely one of the best pivots in the game. But right now I don't see Rotom Wash that much maybe because most teams I have faced always have a way to handle Rotom and Talonflame, also, I felt that Rotom Wash is just very predictable. But this team appreciates help from a tank like him, you shall see. Anyways, let's go ahead and talk about the set, although I think I don't even need to. As it is very common, this set features a physically defensive spread meant for Talonflame. It’s my primary switch-in to many attackers. The Speed IVs are set 30 to Volt Switch last against the opposing Rotom, in order to have a free switch to Pinsir or Deoxys. Acting as a pivot is where Rotom excels, since practically no one on my team wants to switch directly in on the opposing attackers. It also cripples strong physical attackers by burning them, which is very helpful because my team is really frail. Hydro Pump deals damage to most things, also to remove those annoying bulky ground types. Rest is my only reliable recovery and heals off random burns and random Toxics. This makes Rotom a great status absorber which can always come in handy. Pain Split + Leftovers can also be used and is very useful against Chansey and Blissey. Rotom is still a very viable tank and overall, it remains to be a pain to the opposing teams.

Tyranitar (F) @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 60 Atk / 196 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature (+Spe, -SpD)
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Crunch
- Ice Beam
​

Tyranitar's function is to supply sand for the team and to do its most important role, to set up Stealth rocks. Having rocks on the opposing side ensures kills for my main attackers, Pinsir and Deoxys. It acts as a pivot switch to force the Latis out to give Excadrill a good amount of time to have as many kills as possible. It also provides a solid check to Talonflame which gives you time to set up the rocks but must be wary of CB U-turn. You can replace any move if you want but of course, you have to keep Stealth Rock. Roar can be used to phaze stat boosters and to rack up more hazard damage. Stone Edge or Crunch for a powerful STAB that will hit many things with neutral. Fire Blast is required to completely decimate any form of Scizor which tends to set up on most TTars, it also removes Ferrothorn and prevents Skarmory from defogging away the rocks.

Excadrill (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide​

With Aegislash everywhere, most spinners now are less used but Excadrill stands out as the best spinner in OU. Its primary role is to remove hazards but it can go offensive when needed. Packing Sand Rush and the extended turns of Sand, it can punish almost anything that try to stand its way. Sporting an insanely high Attack stat reaching 405 and Speed reaching 550, Excadrill is not a Pokémon you might not want to mess around. With the speed boost, it can now outpace and beat its threats that normally give it a problem, namely Talonflame, Greninja, both forms of Charizard, Scarfed Kyurem-B, Terrakion, and more. Fairies are taken care of Iron Head, 2HKOing the majority of them. Air Balloon can be used to replace Life Orb to have more opportunities to spin and to checkmate Toxic stall Gliscor. Although the lack of Mold Breaker loses its ability to hit Rotom-W and Gengar, Deoxys-S and Thundurus can take care of them but not switching directly in.

Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Thunder Wave
- Focus Blast
​

If there will be a list of the most used Pokémon in the OU tier, Thundurus will easily be on the number 1 spot. It is a much abused Pokémon for its excellent offensive stats, ability to paralyze most setup sweepers like Charizard X and DD Mega Tar, plus Taunt to stop walls and potential baton pass chains. It is very common sight on many offensive teams for that reasons. Even though Excadrill already outspeeds everything, Prankster Thunder Wave is the highlight of this set, stopping setup sweepers and fast Pokémon when both Deoxys and Excadrill are gone (which is what you don't want to happen). Thunderbolt is there for STAB, hitting bulky waters such as Azumarill, Vaporeon and Suicune that otherwise can be annoying to the team. I prefer HP Flying over Ice because of its ability to hit Mega Venusaur, Mega Heracross and Conkeldurr harder and the neat coverage is too bad to lose. The last slot can be anything you want, the options can go between Nasty Plot, Taunt, Volt Switch and Grass Knot. Since my Sandstorm last like forever, it is optimal to replace Life Orb with Leftovers and moving some Sp. Attack EVs to HP, so that I don't wear down to my own Sand. Its counters are mainly handled by Excadrill, Mega Pinsir and Deoxys. With its counters gone, Thundurus now pressures Talonflame, Skarmory and Rotom Wash to give Mega Pinsir an easier time.

Summary
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Overall, every single member of the team has a single role; to take out anything that gives your teammates a problematic situation. The team is not really centered to Mega Pinsir, but instead they support each other to be successful. Most of the team members can also sweep the opponent depending on the given situation so the team support is really important. The synergy revolving around the team is great, by minimizing the number of threats, the sweepers can have as many kills as possible. This team is built nothing too fancy, but tends to be straightforward and fast paced.

What Threatens the Team
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Offensive (numerical)

Charizard-Mega X: Drill outspeeds it at +1 when sand is up, Rotom can take any +1 hit not Outrage and deal quite a damage with Hydro, then revenge kill with any remaining sweepers, Pinsir outspeeds, Thundurus para, SR helps greatly

Charizard-Mega Y: Pinsir OHKOs, Deo OHKOs after some previous damage, T-tar removes sun

Blastoise-Mega: Thundurus, Deo, Rotom, rocks are helpful securing the kill

Alakazam: Pinsir OHKOs on the switch, Drill OHKOs

Alakazam-Mega: Pinsir can take a hit and OHKO back, sand Drill

Gengar: Deo OHKOs, Drill after previous damage

Starmie: Rotom, Thundurus, T-tar can take a hit and KO back

Pinsir-Mega: Deo OHKOs after previous damage, Rotom takes a few hits and can burn

Gyarados: Thundurus OHKOs, Rotom, Deo does a lot, Pinsir does a lot

Gyarados-Mega: Rotom burn, Thundurus

Aerodacty-Mega: Rotom can take a hit, Deo can take a hit (although not advisable) not Crunch and KO back after previous damage

Azumarill: Thundurus, Rotom burn, Deo and Pinsir can do a lot

Scizor: Rotom walls and can burn, T-tar Fire Blast on the switch or as it sets up, Pinsir and Drill does a lot

Scizor-Mega: Rotom walls and can burn, Pinsir does a lot

Kingdra: T-tar removes rain, Deo can OHKO especially if rocks are up, same with Pinsir

Raikou: Pinsir OHKOs on the switch, Deo does a lot, Drill outspeeds and OHKOs

Tyranitar: Deo destroys, Rotom burn, Drill

Tyranitar-Mega: Deo murders, Drill, Rotom burn, Thundurus para

Breloom: ...sand to break sash? Deo, Thundurus and Pinsir OHKOs

Mawile-Mega: Pinsir, Drill can take a sucker punch and OHKO when not at -1, Rotom burn

Medicham-Mega: Pinsir, Drill and Thundurus OHKOs, Deo has a very high chance to OHKO

Manectric-Mega: Pinsir EQ on the switch, Drill quake

Absol-Mega: Deo, Drill and Pinsir OHKOs

Latias: Pinsir, Deo, T-tar

Latios: Pinsir OHKO on the switch, Deo, T-tar can take few hits

Staraptor: Banded / Scarfed-Reckless Brave Bird is very scary, Drill in sand, T-tar, Thundurus

Garchomp: Deo outspeeds scarf and OHKO with Ice Beam

Garchomp-Mega: Deo OHKOs

Weavile: Deo and Drill outspeeds and OHKOs, T-tar but need to watch out for Low Kick / Brick Break

Mamoswine: Rotom, Drill, Deo

Azelf: T-tar OHKOs

Victini: banded are very threatening, everything outspeeds

Scolipede: Deo and Pinsir kills

Bisharp: anything but Deo can take a Sucker Punch then KO back, Rotom can burn

Volcarona: Rotom, Pinsir

Terrakion: Rotom can burn, Deo and Drill OHKOs

Thundurus: Deo OHKOs after rocks

Thundurus-T: Deo after rocks, Drill in sand

Landorus: Deo OHKOs, Rotom

Landorus-T: ^

Kyurem-Black: Excadrill has a very high chance to OHKO it, I definitely need rocks

Keldeo: Thundurus, Deo, Pinsir, Rotom

Greninja: Deo, Drill in sand outspeeds and OHKO right away

Talonflame: T-tar, Rotom walls, Drill outspeeds in sand

Aegislash: Rotom burn, Pinsir and Drill EQ

Goodra: very annoying Gooey. Pinsir and Drill can power its way through

Defensive (numerical)

Clefable: Drill, Pinsir 2HKOs

Chansey: Deo removes Eviolite, then knock it out with Superpower

Zapdos: Deo, Thundurus, Drill

Quagsire: Deo can 2HKO

Umbreon: oh my,

Wobbuffet: Pinsir OHKOs at +2

Suicune: what a pain when it starts to set up Calm Minds, Thundurus 2HKOs

Amoonguss: Pinsir OHKOs, Deo has a high chance to OHKO after rocks

Sylveon: Drill, Pinsir

Florges: Drill, Pinsir

I admit that I really felt bad about the Deoxys-S ban, seeing how many of the threats mentioned above are manhandled by it, this team really took a big blow to the face but yeah, there’s nothing I can do and there’s nothing I will do about it. Just about time to move ahead and adjust to everything what the metagame gives me, and hope that he will return to OU again. His departure made me explore the game more and create different and probably unique teams, which is I think a positive impact to me. That’s it, I think that’s enough, I’m sorry for talking too much about this ban thing. Hope you liked my team and I will gratefully accept any criticism you might want to say.

Importable

Deoxys-Speed @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 92 Atk / 180 SpA / 236 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Beam
- Knock Off
- Psycho Boost
- Superpower

Pinsir (M) @ Pinsirite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Quick Attack
- Return
- Earthquake

Tyranitar (F) @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 60 Atk / 196 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Crunch
- Ice Beam

Excadrill (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide

Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Thunder Wave
- Focus Blast

Rotom-Wash @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rest

Thanks,
pldh.net and veekun.com for the sprites and icons
Jirachee for telling me that this is not an "in-depth" RMT. :)

 

[deepwalker]

Hello, nice looking team there, but I believe Deoxys-S is now Uber so you might want to swutch him for another mon.
Also I recommend running Feint instead of Q-Attack on Pinsir because Talonflame is a thing now, and Feint helps you attack before a Brave Bird.
+2 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Feint vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Talonflame: 193-228 (64.7 - 76.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Also that move breaks through protect and King's Shield lol

 

[pweav]

Also I recommend running Feint instead of Q-Attack on Pinsir because Talonflame is a thing now, and Feint helps you attack before a Brave Bird.
+2 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Feint vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Talonflame: 193-228 (64.7 - 76.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Also that move breaks through protect and King's Shield lol

I think no Mega Pinsir wants to stand against Talonflame, plus I have Swords Dance for Protect, King's Shield. Also, Quick Attack is more powerful in late game sweeping.

EDIT: I forgot to thank you for the rate deepwalker! How rude of me, Thanks man!

 

[Unbirthday]

Hey, even though Deoxys is rather irreplacable, your team could really use insurance against Greninja, Bisharp and maybe even Mega Mawile. A Water-type resistance also looks like it would help a lot with holding off the likes of Keldeo. As you don't really need something to kill Mega Venusaur and Fighting types in general with both Mega Pinsir and Hidden Power Flying on Thundurus, I would suggest trying out Choice Scarf Keldeo over Deoxys-S. While it is obviously not comparable in either revenge killing or mixed attacking, it does give you another revenge killing option which means you can play more recklessly with your Thundurus as you don't necessarily need it for Pokemon such as Mega Gyarados anymore. It also gives you a surprise kill against Greninja who usually don't expect Keldeo to be Choice Scarfed while also being a "Mixed Attacker" through Secret Sword. As you are now quite a bit more vulnerable to Stall in general, I would also replace Focus Blast on Thundurus with Superpower to better deal with Chansey while still doing solid damage to Tyranitar, Ferrothorn and Heatran.

Summary

Keldeo-R @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind

Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 56 Atk / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Thunder Wave
- Superpower
​

​

 

[pweav]

Hey Unbirthday, I totally agree with the use of Choice Scarf Keldeo. First thing that came through my mind is that it can be a better check to Choice Scarf Garchomp, the other one being Sash tar but it need its sash. It also takes care of Chansey, Tyranitar, Heatran, Ferrothorn. Because of that, I think I will just keep Focus Blast on Thundurus.. or not. I'll just Taunt. This team has a problem with Lead SashLoom and Stall in general after all. Thanks! Helped a lot. :)