Hi everyone, I'm here to showcase my favorite team which I used a lot on both PS and PO. This team is based around gaining as much momentum as possible using your pivots and also showcases an incredible offense core (which I like to refer it as the "offense trinity") which tears up every single playstyle, and still have a very interesting revenge-killer chilling at the back. I would say this team has been extremely successful for me, it is a team which encompasses MMetagross' incredible power and also fits my incredibly aggressive playing style. Just to show its success,the team easily got me 1580 on the PO OU ladder and 1860 on the PS OU ladder (before I tilted trying to get #1 which was just 5 point s away > ___ >), won countless OU tours in the OU room and in PO League where I am the current gym leader it also turned a 1-6 w/l record to a 16-11 overall and went 24-4 across all challengers despite getting lucked by pretty much everyone,,, MMetagross is likely going to be banned, so I hope that this team makes it into the team archive/showcase to showcase MMetagross' dominance in the metagame prior to its banishment (but if it doesnt get banned then eh you got a nice team to steal)
When ORAS was released, there was a huge new toy syndrome and everyone started to try out the new megas. This team was the fourth team which I built in the ORAS meta. I wanted to try MMetagross since it looked like an incredible wallbreaker and used RP to simulate the threatening late game terror it was since DPP days.
In theory, MMetagross looks like it threatens bulky offense/balanced builds the most because they were simply overwhelmed by MMetagross' terrific firepower, so I wanted something that could easily cause a lot of trouble for HO and Stall. Finding a pokemon that could deal with stall was easy and SubCM Keldeo was given the spot on the team because it had fantastic offensive and defensive synergy with MMetagross. In every team I build, I would try to bring up an underrated (yet very good or has a significant niche) pokemon as the metagame would probably be unprepared for it. I chose Scarf Hydreigon because most HO teams only have Keldeo or Bisharp as their sole dark resist/check, and this makes Hydreigon's role as a revenge-killer much easier. There are also many other reasons why I used Scarf Hydreigon which I will detail it later.
Next, I wanted a pivots. Pivots are incredibly important atm, every team needs at least one of them in order to survive in the harsh OU environment. I chose the infamous LandTom-w pivot core since it just checks so many dangerous threats atm, and they synergise so perfectly with the team.
Finally, I realised my team was fairly slow and I needed priority. I also realised Slowbro could potentially be a huge threat to my team, hence I put Bisharp on the team as it ticked both boxes.
I realised I needed another fighting check, and most importantly something that could deal with Keldeo. I tried SDef Sylveon since it fulfilled what I needed, and also looked like it synergised well with the team, but honestly it was immensely disappointing in fulfilling its role. I rather had Bisharp as it could exert more offensive pressure on the opponent's team and also made them think twice about defogging. Sylveon simply opened up a lot more weaknesses which I was unprepared for, and I was ready to retire the team when suddenly...
THE RELEASE OF SERPERIOR'S DW ABILITY: CONTRARY. I realised how great it could fit on the team. It dealt with every bulky water and ground, and had amazing offensive synergy with MMetagross in general. With serp on the team, I no longer needed Keldeo for breaking stall, hence I turned to Azu to fill in the holes and providing the team with yet another solid win-condition and priority.
METALGROSS (Metagross)
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 176 HP / 252 Atk / 80 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
Rock Polish | Meteor Mash | Hammer Arm | Zen Headbutt
Part 1 of the offense trinity. MMetagross is easily one of if not the most dominant pokemon currently in OU. The combination of stellar bulk, great defensive typing, incredible attack, an excellent ability, decently-powered STAB moves and fantastic speed ensures it will never be deadweight against any playstyle. I wanted to try RP because it finds so many chances to set-up on, such as Azumarill / Celebi / Conkeldurr / Latias / Latios / MDiancie / MLopunny / MSceptile / MVenusaur / resisted choice-locked moves etc. The trick to playing RP MMetagross is never to attempt an early game sweep, this merely makes you more open to taking an unnecessary hit and preventing you from cleanly sweeping the entire team. Rather, what you should do is to first wear down MMetagross' checks such as Landorus-T and only proceed to sweep when everything on the opponent's team is sufficiently weakened. Hammer Arm+RP seems counter-productive at first glance, but I feel that Hammer Arm is mandatory because of its amazing coverage, hitting stuff such as Air Balloon Excadrill and Heatran / Ferrothorn / MGyarados and most importantly Skarmory (outslows at -2, hence hitting skarm for SE damage should it roost, forcing it into a checkmate position). I run a bulk-inclined spread since I feel that the team handles everything that is faster than MMetagross before RP and MMetagross appreciates the extra bulk to eat hits better. I also absolutely love Adamant on MMetagross as it is capable of achieving huge feats such as 2HKOing physically defensive Rotom-W after SR damage. Truly an excellent pokemon, which is why Smogon is currently suspecting it.
I named this after - POUTL and my co-leader MetalGro$$ because it is such a crime not to lmao,,, MetalGross is one of the most established OU players on PO, and also defeated PO League in the previous season. MetalGross is also making a break into Smogon's competitive scene, getting picked up in SPL and slaying people in OU (sadly in rby,,, but still slaying niggas)
SNOWCRISTAL (Azumarill) (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Trait: Huge Power
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 188 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
Belly Drum | Aqua Jet | Knock Off | Play Rough
Part 2 of the offense trinity. When I had Keldeo on the team, I realised that I needed another dragon check as MMetagross is usually overwhelmed or left at a precariously low amount of health after nuking them and hence is unable to pull of a late game RP sweep. The team also needed a second fighting-resist as the only fighting-resist was Landorus-T which honestly isn't even a good fighting check to begin with as it lost to Ice Punch Conkeldurr / Keldeo / Breloom. The team also had severe troubles with Zard Y, and I also like every Bulky Offense team I build to at least have some form of priority. Azu ticked all the boxes for me, and soon became one of the most important members defensive synergy wise as it relieves a lot of pressure from its teammates. However, Azu's main role isn't to pivot for the team, that is better left to other team members. It's main role is to provide a second win-condition vs offense and much like MMetagross, it also finds a lot of time to set-up a Bdrum safely before overwhelming the opponent with +6 Aqua Jet. Knock Off being finally legal with Bdrum is a huge blessing that was bestowed onto Azumarill during its transition from XY to ORAS, as Azu finally can get past defensive behemoths such as Skarmory and Ferrothorn with just a tiny bit of chip damage on both of them, just to show how menacing of a sweeper Azumarill is. The EV spread lets me speedcreep 24speed ev skarm and other Azumarill and giving me an even hp number so that Sitrus Berry activates after a Bdrum. I love bunnies!
Gotta give tribute to the best OU teambuilder hands down on this site,
KLAND (Serperior) (M) @ Miracle Seed
Trait: Contrary
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
Leaf Storm | Dragon Pulse | Hidden Power [Fire] | Taunt
Part 3 of the offense trinity. It is well-known that MMetagross' best checks are bulky waters / grounds, such as Hippowdon / Gliscor / Manaphy / Quagsire / Suicune / Slowbro etc. Hence Serperior fits amazingly well with MMetagross and Azumarill as it is able to get rid of these and start snowballing. Serperior fills two extremely crucial roles on the team, and it is the team works in the first place. Serperior is the key stallbreaker on the team, wiping out stall teams that rely on Skill Swap Cresselia / Chansey to beat Serp, only to fall to Taunt. Serperior's second role on the team is the enabler of a sweep, basically it's role is to bait in Serp's counters such as DD MAltaria and Heatran. Taunting both of them forces them to kill Serp and hence forfeit their momentum in the process. This gives an open window for MMetagross and Azumarill to win me the game as they can't prevent them from setting up ( i.e. heatran can't roar or toxic Azu as it bdrums). This is the true beauty of offensive synergy, sacrificing oneself in order to pave the road for another sweeper to win the game. I use miracle seed because I never found the extra power from Life Orb worth the recoil damage as I can't let stall stall out Serp's health with LO recoil. Furthermore miracle seed allows Serperior to eat a hit when it really needs to, such as LO 184 satk Latias' DMeteor or MLopunny's HJK. Ultimately it comes down to personal preference, although I think miracle seed is so much better on this team. Also there is nothing more rewarding than your opponent defogging on Serp and then missing a move that would otherwise kill it n_N;
I named this after kland because he is the lord I respect a lot, a player who dedicated time to tutor me and help me improve by leaps and bounds, a player who helped me take my game to the next level.
ZAMROCK (Landorus-T) (M) @ Earth Plate
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 152 HP / 252 Atk / 104 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
Earthquake | Stealth Rock | Stone Edge | U-turn
Part 1 of the pivot core. Landorus-T is so ridiculously good in the current metagame and is the best offensive pivot on bulky offense teams. Landorus-T provides a lot of offensive momentum right from the start of the game should I lead with it as I am almost always guarenteed to get up SR and begin pressuring my opponent. Earth Plate + max attack hits so ridiculously hard, it is so strong that it has a 80~% chance of 2hkoing MSableye on the switch in, punishing it for thinking of even trying to bounce back the SR and improves my match up vs stall. Being a solid pivot it is, Landorus-T takes on a lot of otherwise very threatening pokemon such as Dragonite / Hawlucha / MLopunny and MMetagross (provided they lack Ice Punch) / Scizor. Landorus-T bridges a lot of holes, and that is what makes it incredibly effective in the current metagame. It's ability to check many pokemon and flexibility on the team makes it more useful imo than Landorus-I. Both have their pros and cons, but I think Landorus-T's pros far help the team more. That being said, if you would like an extra wallbreaker to help combat stall, Landorus-I can be swapped although I must stress that you open up a lot more weaknesses to the team, most importantly losing a pokemon that can take Scizor's U-turns.
I named this after my nigga Zamrock because again I don't think I will be as successful as a player without him. Before moving to PS, I was always under the impression that PS had an inferior ladder because of its larger playerbase and hence led to more noobs on the ladder, but Zamrock changed my mindset when he invited me into bof which is supposedly where "elite ou players" are in. He also helped me integrate into the new PS environment and I think I learnt a lot from their top ladder players and realised that I honestly was not too far off from being a top ladder player myself as well. I also would have taken a significantly longer time being "known" in the overused room without Zamrock introducing me to some of his frens :]]]]] thanks buddE hope you take souls in SPL!! shoutouts to bof for being a great community and made gud frens with JohnYiu Prankster. Bluwing Alkov GOD praj.pran and many others >:]
Z+V (Rotom-W) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spd
IVs: 0 Atk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
Volt Switch | Hydro Pump | Will-O-Wisp | Pain Split
Part 2 of the pivot core. Rotom-W is honestly a very predictable pokemon and sometimes it just seems so overloaded because it needs to check so many stuff in the current metagame such as Landorus-T / Scizor / Talonflame (bulky sdef wisp gaining a lot of usage lately too) / Sand Offense / Rain Offense etc and also hits so weak. But that being said, Rotom-W is still a huge asset as the team needs it to check so many things such as the above-mentioned pokemon, wisp which chips away at the opponent's health and most importantly volt switch as coupled with Landorus-T and Hydreigon, they make a nice volt-turn core that helps generate momentum and start pressuring the opponent by bringing in the win conditions of the team in safely.
I named this after Z+V because we've been friends for 2+ years :] It's always a pleasure playing against an actually competent player such as yourself, since good players are very rare now and I enjoy each and every one of our games. Thanks for always being super willing to test teams with me, appreciate it bud n_N;
ZORODARK (Hydreigon) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
Draco Meteor | Dark Pulse | Fire Blast | U-turn
The unsung hero of the team. Scarf Hydreigon's role is very niche, yet I think its because of Hydreigon's niche that glues the team together. It's not a slappable pokemon unlike Landorus-T, yet it is an equally excellent pokemon that can pull its own weight regardless of the team match-up. When I looked at late XY / early ORAS meta, I realised most HO / BO teams usually only had 1 dark-resist (usually Azumarill / Bisharp / Clefable / Keldeo / MDiancie) and they also rely on Scarf Landorus-T as their revenge-killer. I theorised Scarf Hydreigon could turn into a very dominant driving force into the metagame and fit amazingly on this team as it had a strong and reliable dark-stab which lets it finish off weakened HO teams (and MMetagross gets rid of every dark-resist) and also outruns and nukes Scarf Landorus-T trying to pivot out, dealing enough damage to prevent it from continuously pivoting out and also preventing Landorus-T from checking MMetagross effectively, making it a very interesting anti-meta scarfer. I chose Fire Blast > Earth Power because I wanted to get rid of Ferrothorn / MScizor / Skarmory, and I felt that the team deals with every Heatran varient just fine altho if you are scared of fire blast's accuracy when you need to hit Bisharp, I guess Earth Power is an alright replacement. As evidenced by Landorus-T's soaring usage, Scarf + U-turn is an incredibly deadly combination that allows the user to pivot out before the opponent lands an attack, U-turn is mandatory on Hydreigon to bring in one of the team's win-conditions safely. Scarf Hydreigon is MMetagross' partner in crime, this core definitely should see a lot more usage, try this out and you won't be disappointed! ^ _ ^
I named this after ZoroDark because Zoro and MetalGross are brothers irl, and therefore it would make sense for two partners in crime to be named after each other n_N; Zoro is one of the players I respect most on PO, he is an all around amazing player, as evidenced by reaching POT and LTT finals, yet being the Ubers Gym Leader shows that he is a very flexible player that can adapt quickly to any tier. I also have to credit zoro for letting me teambuild with him for POT finals, where we made an incredible MMawile team to counterstyle Elyis' overeliance of Ferrothorn / Latias as his glue on bulky offense teams. The team won zoro the game, but sadly he got lucked in the other two x_x Teambuilding with him made me realise that teambuilding with 2 people are extremely fun and you also learn your other partner's teambuilding style. Everybody has their own teambuilding style, and being able to look in another person's perspective lets you spot holes in teams far easier. hence building more solid and better teams. It's been a pleasure being your teambuilder ^ _ ^
METALGROSS (Metagross) @ Metagrossite
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 176 HP / 252 Atk / 80 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rock Polish
- Meteor Mash
- Hammer Arm
- Zen Headbutt
SNOWCRISTAL (Azumarill) (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Trait: Huge Power
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 188 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
KLAND (Serperior) (M) @ Miracle Seed
Trait: Contrary
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Taunt
ZAMROCK (Landorus-T) (M) @ Earth Plate
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 152 HP / 252 Atk / 104 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
Z+V (Rotom-W) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spd
IVs: 0 Atk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
ZORODARK (Hydreigon) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- U-turn
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 176 HP / 252 Atk / 80 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rock Polish
- Meteor Mash
- Hammer Arm
- Zen Headbutt
SNOWCRISTAL (Azumarill) (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Trait: Huge Power
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 188 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
KLAND (Serperior) (M) @ Miracle Seed
Trait: Contrary
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Taunt
ZAMROCK (Landorus-T) (M) @ Earth Plate
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 152 HP / 252 Atk / 104 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
Z+V (Rotom-W) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spd
IVs: 0 Atk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
ZORODARK (Hydreigon) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- U-turn
threatlist:
luck - srs man lucky n bad > unlucky but good
enjoy
~
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