Introduction
Hey everyone. With ORAS only a month away, I've decided to go ahead and share the RU Team I've used the most since the end of Stage 3 Suspect voting. This team came about when I wanted to make use of Choice Scarf Moltres on Spikes Offense. It was around this same time that I had discovered the Cobalion + Accelgor hazard core and felt it was a perfect chance to use Choice Scarf Moltres. Anyone who visits #rarelyused, follows me on Twitter, visits the RarelyUsed room on PS!, or sees the RU subforum probably knows that I'm really high on Accelgor + Cobalion. Anyhow, this has been a pretty solid team that I've had good success with since I made it after the end of Stage 3. So without further ado, on with the show!
Team Preview
Team in Full Detail
Mow Lightning (Rotom-Mow) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Leaf Storm
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Rotom-C is kind of a forgotten Pokemon in RU I feel. So many people talk about Jolteon, Eelektross, Heliolisk, and Magneton, but I don't see many people talk about Rotom-C. With that said, Rotom-C really accomplishes what I needed. Most people assume in Team Preview that Moltres is this team's wallbreaker and Rotom-C its cleaner. However, their roles are reversed and they work really well together. Volt Switch works really well with the design of this team. Ideally, Stealth Rock and Spikes will be down very early in a match, thus allowing Rotom-C to Volt Switch around. Leaf Storm punishes Pokemon looking to take Volt Switch. It is especially useful when stuff like Rhyperior and Gastrodon come in since Rotom-C can then smash them with Leaf Storm to open a massive hole for Moltres to take advantage of later. Thunderbolt is a reliable STAB move that Rotom-C can use if I need it to stay in without murdering its own Special Attack. HP Fire fills in the last slot to hit Escavalier and opposing Grass-types. The EVs let Rotom-C outspeed all the base 80s, which is really all it needs to do without a Scarf equipped. Expert Belt lets Rotom-C lure in the Ground-types it needs to dispose of to clear the way for Moltres.
Steel Justice (Cobalion) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 160 HP / 96 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Volt Switch
- Close Combat
Support Cobalion has been a star on pretty much every team I have ever used it on. By now I feel like everyone that's around me knows about what Cobalion does. Stealth Rock is the best move in the game (sorry Knock Off) and limits the amount of damage stuff like Moltres, Delphox, and Flentchinder can attempt to do to this team. Taunt cold stops Defog users, setup sweepers, and opposing entry hazard users. To top it off, Cobalion has a favorable matchup against many Pokemon in these categories. Volt Switch allows Cobalion to build early-game momentum and allows Cobalion to be a great overall pivot throughout the game. Close Combat 2HKOes Virizion with the EV investment and also handles the likes of Sharpedo, Registeel, and various other Pokemon weak to Fighting-types. The EV spread allows Cobalion to 2HKO Virizion with Close Combat and maximizes Speed to ensure Cobalion can Taunt what it needs to. The rest is put in HP to let Cobalion come into physical attackers much more reliably.
Ninja SV (Accelgor) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Encore
- Final Gambit
- Bug Buzz
Accelgor is one of the faces of Hyper Offense in RU. Its amazing Speed lets it make great use of its support movepool. However, people often misuse Accelgor and mistake it as a Suicide Lead. While its main job is to lay down Spikes just like Omastar or Qwilfish, Accelgor lacks the ability to threaten Taunt users like Omastar and Qwilfish can. For this reason, I usually find myself getting Accelgor into the match early on via a Volt Switch or U-turn from Cobalion, Rotom-C, or Moltres. Spikes racks up damage on all grounded Pokemon and helps to wear down most common Moltres switch-ins. Encore is really cool to lock opponents into weak attacks or useless support moves to create more free turns for Spikes. Final Gambit is a one-off move that lets Accelgor prevent Defog or Rapid Spin once. Thankfully, once is usually enough to get the job done as it will allow a teammate to come in and force out the hazard remover at hand to let the entry hazards do their work. Bug Buzz isn't used often, but it lets Accelgor push damage onto particularly dangerous Pokemon when necessary. The EVs simply maximize Speed and HP since Accelgor doesn't focus on attacking much at all. Unburden is the ability of choice since it's a nice way to get an extra layer of Spikes or a Bug Buzz off against opposing Scarf users that break Accelgor's Focus Sash. It's also nice for whenever Knock Off is used.
Keystone (Spiritomb) (F) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
Spiritomb began to rise in popularity just before I made this team as an answer to most Psychic-types, Meloetta being the biggest one. Between Sucker Punch and Pursuit, Spiritomb is able to cause a lot of grief for the likes of Delphox, Meloetta, and Sigilyph along with anything that's been weakened over the course of a battle. Taunt seems like a weird choice on Spiritomb considering the fact that it's really slow, but this team is pretty weak to Reuniclus and Cresselia and Spiritomb can't deal with them without the move. Will-O-Wisp nerfs physical attackers and creates more passive damage in general on top of the entry hazards. As Spiritomb is meant to take on Psychic-types and remove them quickly. Attack and HP are the focus of the EV spread. 8 Speed EVs lets me creep other Spiritomb to ensure I can hit Taunt before they Will-O-Wisp.
FlarePhoenix (Moltres) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hurricane
- Flamethrower
- U-turn
Moltres is arguably the strongest Pokemon in the entire tier atm, and for good reason. It has great STAB moves, a high Special Attack, and a good enough Speed tier. This team focuses on making the most of Choice Scarf Moltres's ability to beat opposing offensive teams and the fact that U-turn eases switch-ins against more defensive teams. Fire Blast and Hurricane hit pretty hard with that base 125 Special Attack and STAB backing them up. However, they're inaccurate and can cause headaches when Moltres absolutely needs to land an attack. Flamethrower fills in as a reliable STAB move Moltres can use when its checks and counters are weakened or outright removed from play. U-turn allows Moltres to perform as a scout lead that puts early pressure on the opposing team and it also lets Moltres chip away at its checks and counters throughout the match. Since Choice Scarf Moltres is all about offense, Speed and Special Attack are maximized. Timid is used over Modest since losing out to Scarf Rotom-C would suck pretty badly.
Falcon Kick! (Hitmonlee) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
- Sucker Punch
Hitmonlee isn't quite as common as it was back in Stage 3, but it's still a pretty solid Pokemon in the tier. It's the team's Rapid Spinner and Hitmonlee also performs as a wallbreaker and makeshift revenge killer as well. High Jump Kick quite simply hurts; a lot. Anything without a resistance is getting 2HKOed at worst. Knock Off nails Psychic- and Ghost-types looking to take HJKs while also removing items. 2nd best move in the game next to Stealth Rock. Rapid Spin is key since Moltres can't stand Stealth Rock and Defog would be counter-productive for this team. Sucker Punch seems like an odd choice, but it lets Hitmonlee lure in Fletchinder and smack it in the face before Acrobatics comes along as long as Stealth Rock is on the field. The EV spread just lets Hitmonlee hit as hard and as fast as possible since it won't be taking many attacks any time soon.
Team in Full Detail
Mow Lightning (Rotom-Mow) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Leaf Storm
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Rotom-C is kind of a forgotten Pokemon in RU I feel. So many people talk about Jolteon, Eelektross, Heliolisk, and Magneton, but I don't see many people talk about Rotom-C. With that said, Rotom-C really accomplishes what I needed. Most people assume in Team Preview that Moltres is this team's wallbreaker and Rotom-C its cleaner. However, their roles are reversed and they work really well together. Volt Switch works really well with the design of this team. Ideally, Stealth Rock and Spikes will be down very early in a match, thus allowing Rotom-C to Volt Switch around. Leaf Storm punishes Pokemon looking to take Volt Switch. It is especially useful when stuff like Rhyperior and Gastrodon come in since Rotom-C can then smash them with Leaf Storm to open a massive hole for Moltres to take advantage of later. Thunderbolt is a reliable STAB move that Rotom-C can use if I need it to stay in without murdering its own Special Attack. HP Fire fills in the last slot to hit Escavalier and opposing Grass-types. The EVs let Rotom-C outspeed all the base 80s, which is really all it needs to do without a Scarf equipped. Expert Belt lets Rotom-C lure in the Ground-types it needs to dispose of to clear the way for Moltres.
Steel Justice (Cobalion) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 160 HP / 96 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Volt Switch
- Close Combat
Support Cobalion has been a star on pretty much every team I have ever used it on. By now I feel like everyone that's around me knows about what Cobalion does. Stealth Rock is the best move in the game (sorry Knock Off) and limits the amount of damage stuff like Moltres, Delphox, and Flentchinder can attempt to do to this team. Taunt cold stops Defog users, setup sweepers, and opposing entry hazard users. To top it off, Cobalion has a favorable matchup against many Pokemon in these categories. Volt Switch allows Cobalion to build early-game momentum and allows Cobalion to be a great overall pivot throughout the game. Close Combat 2HKOes Virizion with the EV investment and also handles the likes of Sharpedo, Registeel, and various other Pokemon weak to Fighting-types. The EV spread allows Cobalion to 2HKO Virizion with Close Combat and maximizes Speed to ensure Cobalion can Taunt what it needs to. The rest is put in HP to let Cobalion come into physical attackers much more reliably.
Ninja SV (Accelgor) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Encore
- Final Gambit
- Bug Buzz
Accelgor is one of the faces of Hyper Offense in RU. Its amazing Speed lets it make great use of its support movepool. However, people often misuse Accelgor and mistake it as a Suicide Lead. While its main job is to lay down Spikes just like Omastar or Qwilfish, Accelgor lacks the ability to threaten Taunt users like Omastar and Qwilfish can. For this reason, I usually find myself getting Accelgor into the match early on via a Volt Switch or U-turn from Cobalion, Rotom-C, or Moltres. Spikes racks up damage on all grounded Pokemon and helps to wear down most common Moltres switch-ins. Encore is really cool to lock opponents into weak attacks or useless support moves to create more free turns for Spikes. Final Gambit is a one-off move that lets Accelgor prevent Defog or Rapid Spin once. Thankfully, once is usually enough to get the job done as it will allow a teammate to come in and force out the hazard remover at hand to let the entry hazards do their work. Bug Buzz isn't used often, but it lets Accelgor push damage onto particularly dangerous Pokemon when necessary. The EVs simply maximize Speed and HP since Accelgor doesn't focus on attacking much at all. Unburden is the ability of choice since it's a nice way to get an extra layer of Spikes or a Bug Buzz off against opposing Scarf users that break Accelgor's Focus Sash. It's also nice for whenever Knock Off is used.
Keystone (Spiritomb) (F) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
Spiritomb began to rise in popularity just before I made this team as an answer to most Psychic-types, Meloetta being the biggest one. Between Sucker Punch and Pursuit, Spiritomb is able to cause a lot of grief for the likes of Delphox, Meloetta, and Sigilyph along with anything that's been weakened over the course of a battle. Taunt seems like a weird choice on Spiritomb considering the fact that it's really slow, but this team is pretty weak to Reuniclus and Cresselia and Spiritomb can't deal with them without the move. Will-O-Wisp nerfs physical attackers and creates more passive damage in general on top of the entry hazards. As Spiritomb is meant to take on Psychic-types and remove them quickly. Attack and HP are the focus of the EV spread. 8 Speed EVs lets me creep other Spiritomb to ensure I can hit Taunt before they Will-O-Wisp.
FlarePhoenix (Moltres) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hurricane
- Flamethrower
- U-turn
Moltres is arguably the strongest Pokemon in the entire tier atm, and for good reason. It has great STAB moves, a high Special Attack, and a good enough Speed tier. This team focuses on making the most of Choice Scarf Moltres's ability to beat opposing offensive teams and the fact that U-turn eases switch-ins against more defensive teams. Fire Blast and Hurricane hit pretty hard with that base 125 Special Attack and STAB backing them up. However, they're inaccurate and can cause headaches when Moltres absolutely needs to land an attack. Flamethrower fills in as a reliable STAB move Moltres can use when its checks and counters are weakened or outright removed from play. U-turn allows Moltres to perform as a scout lead that puts early pressure on the opposing team and it also lets Moltres chip away at its checks and counters throughout the match. Since Choice Scarf Moltres is all about offense, Speed and Special Attack are maximized. Timid is used over Modest since losing out to Scarf Rotom-C would suck pretty badly.
Falcon Kick! (Hitmonlee) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
- Sucker Punch
Hitmonlee isn't quite as common as it was back in Stage 3, but it's still a pretty solid Pokemon in the tier. It's the team's Rapid Spinner and Hitmonlee also performs as a wallbreaker and makeshift revenge killer as well. High Jump Kick quite simply hurts; a lot. Anything without a resistance is getting 2HKOed at worst. Knock Off nails Psychic- and Ghost-types looking to take HJKs while also removing items. 2nd best move in the game next to Stealth Rock. Rapid Spin is key since Moltres can't stand Stealth Rock and Defog would be counter-productive for this team. Sucker Punch seems like an odd choice, but it lets Hitmonlee lure in Fletchinder and smack it in the face before Acrobatics comes along as long as Stealth Rock is on the field. The EV spread just lets Hitmonlee hit as hard and as fast as possible since it won't be taking many attacks any time soon.
Mow Lightning (Rotom-Mow) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Leaf Storm
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Steel Justice (Cobalion) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 160 HP / 96 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Volt Switch
- Close Combat
Ninja SV (Accelgor) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Encore
- Final Gambit
- Bug Buzz
Keystone (Spiritomb) (F) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
FlarePhoenix (Moltres) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hurricane
- Flamethrower
- U-turn
Falcon Kick! (Hitmonlee) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
- Sucker Punch
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Leaf Storm
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Steel Justice (Cobalion) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 160 HP / 96 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Volt Switch
- Close Combat
Ninja SV (Accelgor) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Encore
- Final Gambit
- Bug Buzz
Keystone (Spiritomb) (F) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
FlarePhoenix (Moltres) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hurricane
- Flamethrower
- U-turn
Falcon Kick! (Hitmonlee) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
- Sucker Punch
