ORAS OU Nerves of Steel ft. Mega Scizor

[Bulma from Dragon Ball]

Nerves of Steel ft. Mega Scizor​

Introduction

Hello guys, recently I have been trying out Mega-Scizor and it turned out to be beyond my wildest expectations, so I made a team centering around it! I had a lot of fun creating this team and was also pretty successful trying it out on the ladder, but I just felt like it was missing something and I wanted to share it with you guys. On to the team!

The Team

Team Details

Scizor-Mega (M) @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 16 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off / Superpower

The star of my team, Mega-Scizor is an absolute beast! I also love it how Mega-Scizor can be defensive, while being an offensive powerhouse at the same time. It is almost impossible to OHKO this monster unless using a Fire type attack, but even some of the strongest attacks only 3HKO it.

I am using the standard set for Mega-Scizor, where we have best of both worlds, offense and defense combined. However, I could not decide whether I should run Knock Off, or Superpower on it. Guess I'll have to change it later after battling for a while with this team, to see what weaknesses I should cover.

Tornadus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 76 Atk / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hurricane
- Knock Off
- Focus Blast
- U-turn

For some reason, I can never create a team without adding Tornadus-Therian in it. It always lands on my team! But it is an amazing Pokemon and very versatile.

I've decided to run Life Orb instead of Assault Vest on Tornadus, since I already have a specially defensive Pokemon (Scizor) and I thought a full offensive set with a boosting item would work better on it.

Hurricane is the main spamming move here, along with a boost from Life Orb, it's going to hurt almost anything that switches into it, even though the not so great accuracy has really screwed me over sometimes...
Knock Off is there to get rid of crucial items such as Choice Scarf or Eviolite.
In the third moveslot was actually Heat Wave, however, except for Scizor, Ferrothorn and Skarmory, it did not really hit much else, so I replaced it with Focus Blast, which hits them equally hard and can land a huge amount of damage to Mega-Diancie and Tyranitar as well.
U-Turn is for scouting and regaining my health with Regenerator.

Azumarill (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Knock Off

Don't let this cute and innocent face fool ya.

Azumarill is the first wallbreaker on my team. It has an amazing typing in Water/Fairy, giving it many handy resistances.
Huge Power + Choice Band however, is the stuff that makes even the sturdiest of walls crumble, including Slowbro, Quagsire, Unaware Clefable etc.
I chose the Choice Band set over the BD set, because this one can deal easier with Unaware Walls, something my team struggles against.

Waterfall and Play Rough are the two main moves that get STAB here, dealing a huge amount of damage to anything that switches into it.
Aqua Jet is for weakened targets and it can easily even OHKO frailer Pokemon such as Excadrill and Mega-Diancie.
Knock Off is there because of the limited movepool Azumarill has, and hits Pokemon who resist its STAB moves, such as Tentacruel and Ferrothorn and I feel I'm overdoing it with the Knock Off'ers here...

Diggersby (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Huge Power
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Frustration
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack

Damn I love those bunnies.

Diggersby is my second wallbreaker on my team and also my revenge sweeper. He takes Azumarill's gimmick and makes it even better!

Diggersby's STAB combination of Earthquake + Frustration/Return is only completely walled by Gengar (maybe even another Pokemon but sorry if I forgot to add it here).
At +2, Frustration/Return there is almost nothing that can stop Diggersby from sweeping (hell even Skarmory is 2HKO'ed after a Swords Dance boost), and for faster targets, there is always Quick Attack.

Diggersby is honestly way too underrated. Power to the bunnies!

Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Trick

Now I realized I was terribly weak to Mega-Charizard X and after one Dragon Dance, it could easily sweep my whole team, and also had nothing to remove hazards away from my side of the field, so I chose Latios!

I use Choice Scarf of my Latios, because it can outspeed Mega-Charizard X even after a Dragon Dance boost and OHKO it with a STAB Draco Meteor. Oh they're in for a surprise...
Psyshock is another great STAB move which hits the annoying Mega-Venusaur for super effective damage, and Chansey for bigger damage after using Trick on her and rendering her useless with a Choice Scarf and getting rid of Eviolite. It is very useful for other walls as well, so they're stuck with only one move.

Garchomp (F) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 240 HP / 176 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Fire Blast

Now here we have my Stealth Rock setter, my physical tank, and the thing that makes any Pokemon who touches it regret their existence, the most used Pokemon in OU itself, Garchomp!

The combination of Rough Skin + Rocky Helmet is what makes Garchomp really annoying. For every contact move the opposing Pokemon uses on it, they are taken a great chunk of their health away (30%!). So yeah, you better think twice before you touch this thing.

The 92 speed EV's let Garchomp allow to outspeed Bisharp and Breloom, and then proceed to KO them with Earthquake and Fire Blast, respectively. The latter is also very useful for defeating Ferrothorn, Skarmory and opposing (Mega)Scizor.
Dragon Tail is there to stop setup sweepers and to phaze opposing Pokemon.

Threats

they can take a hike

Mega-Medicham: It's very powerful attacks can hurt my team severely, as nothing on my team takes a High Jump Kick from it easily.

Mega-Manectric: Ugh, this thing. The only way I can deal with it is my Latios, as many do not expect it to be scarfed. And Diggersby if he is at full health. Otherwise, its road is clear for sweeping.

Mega-Charizard X: As mentioned, after one Dragon Dance it's pretty much GG for me. Only my Latios can beat it after one boost, otherwise it can easily sweep my whole team. Even Azumarill takes a huge amount of damage from a Flare Blitz...

Rotom Wash: This thing is so annoying, and I've got nothing super effective to hit it with. Only Diggersby at +2 and my Latios can take care of it, and its Will O Wisp renders half of my team useless.

Importable

get some!

Scizor-Mega (M) @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 16 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off

Tornadus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 76 Atk / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hurricane
- Knock Off
- Focus Blast
- U-turn

Azumarill (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Knock Off

Diggersby (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Huge Power
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Frustration
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack

Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Trick

Garchomp (F) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 240 HP / 176 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Fire Blast

Thanks to everyone in advance!

 

[Nedor]

hey Bulma from Dragon Ball, i was attracted to this build immediately based on how it looked at preview, especially as it is a playstyle i'm extremely familiar with. i'll cut right to the chase, bulky sd m-scizor does sound great on paper, but it is simply not optimal in the current metagame as it is easily taken advantage of, it's easily checked on common teamstyles without really trying, rather slow speed tier, and really weak. don't get me wrong though, it can still function well in some match-ups and against poorly built teams, while blanket checking a large portion of the tier; but i honestly feel as if offensive swords dance mega scizor should be used as opposed to the bulky set on this team. it hits a much better speed tier, nets many ohko's at +1 that bulky m-scizor simply can't achieve, and is much harder to check / revenge kill due to the fact that you break and whittle down it's checks exceptionally well with multiple wallbreakers. also, superpower > focus blast should definitely be used on tornadus-t to maintain consistency; utilizing two extremely inaccurate moves may put you at a disadvantage (the 76 attack ev's you already had on the spread aims to ohko utility tyranitar). as for a larger issue within the build, i don't find scarf latios to be optimal for this team as it really cuts momentum, may provide the opponent a set-up opportunity at -2, as well as fairy types easily taking advantage of it being locked into a move.

calcs and rolls

+2 252+ Atk Technician Mega Scizor Bug Bite vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Rotom-W: 246-291 (81.1 - 96%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (just get some prior damage, shouldn't be too challenging with u-turn tornadus-t putting it in range)

+2 252+ Atk Mega Scizor Superpower vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 608-716 (157.9 - 185.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO (outspeeds spdef tran variants, while bulky m-zor fails to)

first off, i'd strongly advise running healing wish latias > scarf latios. your match-up against offensive electric types is still bothersome, not only does latias provide extra bulk to check thundurus, raikou, and mega manectric variants, but access to healing wish may provide momentum at any point in the match by giving one of your wallbreakers or sweepers a secondary chance at breaking through the opponent or cleaning, respectively. this also maintains a form of hazard counterplay, but it does lose your main form of revenge killing faster threats to the build despite having multiple priority users, which leads me onto the second change. with a few ways of easily dismantling bulkier builds with the combination of lo u-turn tornadus-t + sd diggersby alongside healing wish support, i felt like scarf keldeo can be used as opposed to banded azumarill to provide an excellent revenge killer against stuff like mega lopunny, charizard-x, mega diancie, mega gyarados, etc., offense breaker as typical builds rely on stuff like latios to consistently check it, or even late-game cleaner once the team wears down the opposition to be in range of attacks from it.

to enhance the backbone of the build greatly, defensive landorus-t can simply be used over tankchomp. this doesn't change the goal or foundation of the team much, but landorus-t provides a consistent ground resist so you can be less susceptible to sand offense and offensive ground types which are rising in usage, a momentum generator to provide your wallbreakers free switch-ins which puts the opponent on the back foot well, and due to intimidate and an extra slot unlike garchomp, it better checks talonflame and mega pinsir. furthermore, my previous change of keldeo remedies the fact that landorus-t makes the build slightly more vulnerable to all bisharp variants.
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optional
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this is not mandatory, but i'd definitely try out cm + volt switch raikou as opposed to lati@s (depending on whether or not you take my original suggestion). there's a ton of strain on landorus-t to check all variants of talonflame (wisp or bulk up especially) and mega pinsir as the rest of the build doesn't deal with either well at all. not only this, it completes a voltturn core with tornadus-t, and momentum is extremely important in the current state of oras ou.
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sets

Scizor-Mega (M) @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bug Bite
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower

Tornadus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 76 Atk / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hurricane
- Knock Off
- Superpower
- U-turn

Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric] / Hidden Power [Ice]

Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Healing Wish

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-Turn

there's not much left that i have to say about the build honestly. although it may seem like i have made a lot of changes, they all enhance the goal of cleaning late game with sd mega scizor, while not changing the foundation too much. a few bulky waters are still problematic (if you make the final decision that raikou isn't optimal for the build of course), but they can definitely be broken down through constant pressure from sd diggersby, sd mega scizor, and lo tornadus-t. hope i helped and good luck with the team, if you have any questions about my changes feel free to inquire!

 

[Bulma from Dragon Ball]

Hello there Nedor, thanks a lot for your suggestions!

I immediately had a lot more success with your tips, however, I wanted to ask: Isn't my team super weak to Draco Meteor now? Well, Dragons in general I mean. Azumarill was the only Pokemon on my team who could like, fully counter them.

Edit: I also seem to have a lot of trouble dealing with Mega-Sableye and Skarmory...

 

[Nedor]

This is all about applying offensive pressure, you can try to keep bulky SD M-Scizor if that's what you prefer to help fix your Latios issue, but if anything, Dragons like Lati@s would be freely spamming Psyshocks, which Azumarill gets 2HKO'd by anyways. Not to mention, multiple forms of priority to put it in range of attacks or create a set-up opportunity at -2 SpA. As for other offensive Dragons like Garchomp, it can easily be played around and worn down, while Mega Altaria is easily put in range of Mega Scizor's Bullet Punch or Keldeo's HP Ice.

If you're having trouble with Mega Sableye stall, you have a few options to work off of. SD + Fire Punch Diggersby pretty much solos those builds by itself, not to mention Keldeo freely spams Scald early game going for burns which cripples the opposing team. A second option you have is running Taunt + 3 Attacks LO Tornadus-T which standard Mega Sableye stall doesn't deal with well.

Again, this is all match-up based in theory and everything you mentioned can be played around by not playing defensively (pressure is required to function).