ORAS OU My first RMT (Crawdaunt+Talonflame core)

[-Ixtamacunxi-]

Hey everyone, this is my first RMT as the title says, and also my first time at the Smogon forums. I made this team from the Crawdaunt + Talonflame core posted by firehusky in the ORAS good cores thread, and I find it really fun to play. I wanted to hear your opinions on what I can change to make it better, because I'm not really good at teambuilding atm. So, without further to do, here's the team!

Teambuilding Process:

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I started off with Crawdaunt and Talonflame, two mons with really solid offensive synergy.

I added Latias to remove hazards,help the core with Healing Wish, and also have a Keldeo switch-in.

The team lacked a way to break past Unaware Clef and a reliable switch-in to Azumarill, so Mega Venusaur was added in.

Clefable was used to help against Mega Sableye and also pass Wishes to other mons.

Added Hippowdon to help against birdspam and set up rocks.

Changed Lati to SpDef Skarm, as it provided a better switch in to Mega Garde and Mega Diancie, and also an answer to MMeta with Grass Knot.

Talonflame @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost

Talonflame is the team's main sweeper. Brave Bird is pretty self explanatory (high power and priority, it's on pretty much every Talon set). Flare Blitz is a secondary STAB that helps him against Ferrothorn, Scizor and some Electric types like Raikou. Roost helps Talonflame stay alive longer and get more chances to set up, and SD allows him to sweep lategame after its main counters have been weakened. It runs 168 Speed and a Jolly nature so it can outspeed Max Speed Raikou and then KO it with +2 Flare Blitz. It can also help Crawdaunt because it helps against some of its main counters, such as Chesnaught and Mega Venusaur.

Crawdaunt @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Crabhammer
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance

I used Crawdaunt because it has great offensive synergy when coupled with Talonflame, weakening Rotom-W, Heatran, and pretty much every rock type. I honestly think that Crawdaunt is a bit underrated atm, it is an impressive wallbreaker and it can really punch holes through many teams. It weakens a lot of stuff for Talon, since pretty much every single one of its checks and counters take a lot of damage from Adaptabilty Crabhammer or Knock Off. It also has priority in Aqua Jet, which can also help him clean late game. It can also use SD to help against stall teams(OHKOs Mega Sableye at +2), and it can also help him be a secondary wincon, although it's difficult to set up due to Crawdaunt's low defenses. I'm using Jolly so Crawdaunt can outspeed standard Defensive Lando-T and severely weakening it with Crabhammer.
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Some calcs:

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+2 252 Atk Life Orb Adaptability Crawdaunt Crabhammer vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Sableye: 330-390 (108.5 - 128.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Adaptability Crawdaunt Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Slowbro: 328-390 (83.2 - 98.9%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Adaptability Crawdaunt Crabhammer vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 304-359 (91 - 107.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Adaptability Crawdaunt Crabhammer vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 304-359 (91 - 107.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Life Orb Adaptability Crawdaunt Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 216+ Def Rotom-W: 185-218 (61 - 71.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

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Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Counter
- Defog
- Roost

Specially defensive Skarm was suggested by Celticpride, and it really helped with the team's weakness to many fairies, especifically Mega Gardevoir and Mega Diancie, while also providing Defog support. It can also help with MMeta carrying Grass Knot, who can also threaten the team if rocks are on my side of the field. Iron Head helps against the fairies, while Counter takes care of Megagross without much trouble. Defog allows Skarm to support the team (especially Talonflame, who hates them) and Roost is there to keep Skarm healthy troughout the match.

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 20 Spe / 232 HP / 4 Def
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
Modest Nature
-Giga Drain
-Sludge Bomb
-Hidden Power Fire
-Synthesis

A problem I noticed was that the core didn't have a way to get past Unaware Clef. Mega-Venusaur helped me do this, and also provided a safer switch in to Keldeo (Latias can get worn down by Scald burn + LO) as well as Azumarril, who otherwise is a huge threat to the team. Giga Drain and Sludge Bomb are pretty self explanatory. Anyways, standard EV spread for Tank Venu, with 20 in Speed to outspeed Adamant Azumarill. Giga Drain is the main STAB move and Sludge Bomb is used to be able to get past fairies and damage things that resist Giga Drain. HP Fire is there to deal heavy damage to Ferro and Mega Scizor, and Synthesis is there for recovery, which Venusaur really appreciates. He also completes a F/W/G core along with Crawdaunt and Talonflame.

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk
Bold Nature
-Moonblast
-Wish
-Protect
-Heal Bell

Clef was used so I have something for dragspam as well as Mega Sableye and many mons with boosting moves. Max HP and Def because Clef usually takes on things like Mega Gyara, and the spread allows it to survive them without much trouble . Moonblast is its main STAB and can threaten Dragon Dancers like Mega Gyara and Dragonite. Wish because I personally find it better than Moonlight (higher PP), and because it can also pass Wishes onto other Mons if they need it. Protect is there because otherwise Wish isn't really a reliable way to recover health, and it can also help me avoid some 2HKOS thanks to the Leftovers recovery. Heal Bell is used so Clef can support the team, helping them get rid of annoying status.

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
-Stone Edge

My team lacked a Stealth Rocks setter. Hippowdon is one of the most reliable rocks user in the game, and he also helped my team deal better with Adamant SD Life Orb Bisharp, who is a pretty huge threat to everyone else on the team. The mixed wall set is used because Clef can take most physical hits pretty well, and Hippo takes the ones that threaten Clefable pretty well even without Max Def. EQ is the main STAB attack and can deal a lot of damage to many things, while also helping against Bisharp because it's almost guaranteed to KO after LO recoil. Rocks are used so Crawdaunt and Talonflame have an easier time sweeping, and Slack Off for a reliable way to recover health. I'm using Stone Edge over Toxic or Whirlwind because Hippo is my main answer to birdspam, and without Stone Edge it can't do much to opposing Talon or MPinsir. Using Sand Force because the only thing that isn't damaged by sand is Hippo.
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PAST TEAM MEMBERS:

Gengar @ Life Orb
Timid Nature
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
IVs: 0 Atk
-Shadow Ball
-Sludge Wave
-Focus Blast
-Taunt

Gengar was used to get past fairies, but was replaced because otherwise my team was destroyed by a lot of dragons like CB Dragonite.

Manectric @ Manectite
Timid Nature
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 Def
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
-Thunderbolt
-Volt Switch
-Overheat
-Hidden Power Ice​

Honestly, when I made the team I used Mane just because I wanted to use him. He was really good and gave me some momentum with Volt Switch, but without Gengar I needed something for fairies.

Latias @ Life Orb
Timid Nature
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
IVs: 0 Atk
-Draco Meteor
-Psyshock
-Defog
-Healing Wish

Latias was the team's original defogger. I personally think that it can fill Skarm's position pretty well, making the team weaker to fairies but helping it against Kyurem-B, who is a huge threat to the current team, and also providing support with Healing Wish.




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Threat List:

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Kyurem-B: Kyurem can 2HKO my entire team. Skarm and Clef can take a hit, but their STABs can't OHKO (Moonblast does 65% max, Iron Head 49), so I usually have to sack them and then go into Talon to revenge kill.

Importable:

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Crawdaunt @ Life Orb

Ability: Adaptability

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Aqua Jet
- Crabhammer
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance


Talonflame @ Sharp Beak

Ability: Gale Wings

EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Swords Dance
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Counter
- Defog
- Roost​

Hippowdon @ Leftovers

Ability: Sand Force

EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD

Impish Nature

- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Stone Edge


Venusaur @ Venusaurite

Ability: Chlorophyll

EVs: 252 SpA / 20 Spe / 232 HP / 4 Def
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe

Modest Nature

-Giga Drain
-Sludge Bomb
-Hidden Power Fire
-Synthesis

Clefable @ Leftovers

Ability: Unaware

EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Def
IVs: 0 Atk

Bold Nature

- Moonblast
- Heal Bell
- Wish
- Protect

Thank you for reading, I'm open to any kind of feedback you can give me.

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[Chesty]

It has been a while since I have done this. But my knowledge of battling has improved so I think I will be going back to helping out people like you with these teams. Either ways enough with the rambling here is one pokemon that is pure power house (dragonite). I ran a few tests on showdown here are the results

Crawduant

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252+ Atk Choice Band Dragonite Thunder Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Crawdaunt: 316-372 (117.9 - 138.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Dragonite basically can OHKO your Crawdaunt with the set it currently runs. This is also factoring in a choice band. For some odd reason the focus sash item does not exist on the showdown calculator but I have seen someone do a focus sash set. They would basically set up a dragon dance and then you have a sash to back you up. Your choice on this but I can't use the showdown calculator for this test for some odd reason. Also crauwdant has superpower and that right there is power.

Talonflame

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252+ Atk Choice Band Dragonite Outrage vs. 88 HP / 0 Def Talonflame: 438-516 (137.3 - 161.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Multiscale Dragonite: 74-87 (22.9 - 26.9%) -- 45.3% chance to 4HKO
Talonflame is more then dead after one thunder punch and personally I like to run Adamant max invested in attack. My reasoning is because brave bird already has priority so what you should try to do is run max attack.

Don't believe me well I decided to run a test to show you.
252+ Atk Life Orb Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 88 HP / 0 Def Talonflame: 270-320 (84.6 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

I think you should run adamant life orb Talonflame

252 Atk Sharp Beak Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 88 HP / 0 Def Talonflame: 228-268 (71.4 - 84%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

The battle damage is much more significant and the talonflame you run would die to recoil damage I am sure. The extra fire power is personally the reason why I think you should run this set. The moveset you use is just fine in my opinion

latias

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252+ Atk Choice Band Dragonite Outrage vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latios: 794-936 (264.6 - 312%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Latios Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Multiscale Dragonite: 277-328 (85.7 - 101.5%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
Dragonite no surprise can OHKO your latias. However on the plus side your latias has a 12.5% chance to OHKO. Yeah that's not really a plus.

So let's say we decide to swap out your latias for a choice specs latios. You get these results

252 SpA Choice Specs Latios Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Multiscale Dragonite: 318-375 (98.4 - 116%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

This is including the fact that you A) don't have stealth rocks which essentially gets rid of multiscale and B) you outspeed a choice banded dragonite. You can win this fight easily.

Gengar

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252+ Atk Choice Band Dragonite Outrage vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gengar: 499-588 (192.6 - 227%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Gengar Sludge Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Multiscale Dragonite: 101-120 (31.2 - 37.1%) -- 79.5% chance to 3HKO
Gengar is so dead because he is so frail.

Mega manectric

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So this is factoring in Manectric's intimidate
-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Dragonite Outrage vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Manectric: 262-310 (93.2 - 110.3%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Mega Manectric Hidden Power Ice vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Multiscale Dragonite: 136-160 (42.1 - 49.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
So even with a minus one. Dragonite has a 62.5% chance to OHKO even with an intimidate. Hidden power Ice only 3 hit KO's.

Hippowdon

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so this is factoring in leftovers
252+ Atk Choice Band Dragonite Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 211-250 (50.2 - 59.5%) -- 80.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Hippowdon Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Multiscale Dragonite: 62-74 (19.1 - 22.9%) -- 90.7% chance to 4HKO after sandstorm damage
So obviously not having your hippowdon being invested really stings. Even with sand storm not being invested means rock slide only can 4HKO dragonite. Dragonite can 2HKO even with your leftovers and you being fully invested in defense.

suggestions:
The first thing you mentioned was that you had problems with Rotom wash. And Honestly your team still looks pretty weak to rotom wash. Crawduant yes can OHKO rotom with a knock off. However let's say that rotom is running a full out offensive set. It would have 252 special attack 252 speed probably.

So this is a timid rotom with choice specs
252 SpA Choice Specs Rotom-W Thunderbolt vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Crawdaunt: 612-722 (228.3 - 269.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

And it outspeeds. So your essentially dead.

252+ SpA Choice Specs Rotom-W Thunderbolt vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Crawdaunt: 674-794 (251.4 - 296.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
That is modest and look your mega dead and he still outspeeds. So let's try something else for a change.

Let's put rotom up against the dragonite I was talking about.
252+ SpA Choice Specs Rotom-W Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Multiscale Dragonite: 104-123 (32.1 - 38%) -- 95.1% chance to 3HKO

Ok so it takes 3 hits to KO.

252+ Atk Choice Band Dragonite Outrage vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Rotom-W: 312-367 (128.9 - 151.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Dragonite OHKO's

That was against timid. Let's see the results for a bulky rotom set.

252+ Atk Choice Band Dragonite Outrage vs. 248 HP / 216+ Def Rotom-W: 234-276 (77.2 - 91%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

against a bold rotom with leftovers dragonite's outrage can 2HKO. Still pretty good

So here is my idea. Swap your talonflame for dragonite swap your crawduant for Azumarill because Azumarill can wreck dragonite.

So now the big question is lets say you swap the latias out for dragonite. Well now you need a way to get rid of entry hazards. Swap your hippowdon out for Donphan. Donphan has stealth rocks and rapid spin.

Final verdict:
Swap your talonflame, hippowdon, latias, and crawduant out for choice banded dragonite, choice specs latios, Standard sitrus berry azumarill, and Donphan with stealth rocks and rapid spin.

Other things to look out for that I checked for fun.

Mega alakazam and Mega charizard can cause problems for the team you are currently using. You do have the fire power to deal with this stuff right now but be careful of those. Also if you don't want to use donphan you can also try out skarmory who knows defog and stealth rocks but in all honesty if you apply my advice you noticed you don't have any glaring weakness's to stealth rocks so maybe you don't need to run defog or rapid spin. Also ferrothorn works as well and if your into UU then you can try forretress.

These are just some thoughts hopefully my advice helps.


edit: I may not have all your replacement pokemon but I do like to help battlers. I have a few of the pokemon you need in my trade thread which is in my signature. If you need help please let me know.

edit edit: My final review. I think that you have a pretty solid team although I feel like what your trying to do is run an offensive power house team. With the advice I provided above I feel like that will bring out the true offensive potential of this team and cause less weakness's to pokemon such as rotom wash.

 

[-Ixtamacunxi-]

Thank you for the feedback man. You are right, my team is really weak to Dragonite. I think it's weak to dragon dance users in general, so instead of applying all of those changes I think I'll replace Gengar with Unaware Clef to also have something for MAlts, because I wanted to build a team around Crawdaunt+Talonflame, so I really don't wanna change those two.

 

[-Ixtamacunxi-]

Bump

 

[Celticpride]

Hi basedscald, per your request I'm here to give this squad a look. It looks pretty overall solid, just a few small tweaks. I would run SDef Skarmory over Latias, as it still removes hazards and prevents you from getting run over by Mega Gardevoir. Every good Mega Venu core should have a way to deal with Gard. Outside of that everything else looks good, if you feel SD Crawdaunt is too slow to setup / can't find windows to setup (because you're playing off of Talonflame most of the time) you could go for Banded > SD LO. More of a personal choice depending on how you play but gets you more immediate power.

Sets

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Brave Bird / Iron Head
- Counter
- Defog
- Roost

 

[-Ixtamacunxi-]

Thanks for the rate. I'll definitely try spdef skarm once the suspect is over, because I'm not sure this team will be good in the aegi meta.

 

[Celticpride]

Mixed Hippo and Tank Venu are pretty good Aegi checks actually. Not perfect counters but you aren't exactly Aegi weak, especially because Craw and Talon don't give free turns for Aegi to come in.

 

[-Ixtamacunxi-]

Thanks for that, never played during the aegi meta, so idk a lot about it. Will try to ladder a bit then see if I change teams or not :]

 

[giovanidude]

Due to your threat list I noticed that Ferrothorn fixes both of those problems while providing great synergy with existing team members, FWG with the two mains, and a FDS with clef and lati. He also provides stealth rocks and can easily replace Mega Benisaur. Lati patches up Ferro's Fire weakness and clefable the fighting. It also makes you less weak to strong u-turners such as mega scizor. It also frees up a mega slot and could allow you to use mega mane again and possibly replace hippo. Due to bisharp being a problem I could suggest mega lopunny as tyranitar is a fair problem to you team along with gross. Lopunny also provides some great speed that can be used, speeding up your team. It also helps with Aegi.

 

[-Ixtamacunxi-]

Thanks for the rate, but I'm really thinking replacing Lati with SpDef Skarm, as Lati's job of dealing with Keldeo is now done by Venu, and it also helps against Diancie, Garde or MMeta with GK, all of which are pretty huge threats to the team. Also, Ferro doesn't really stop Garde, because Modest Hyper Voice+Focus Blast is guaranteed to KO after rocks.