ORAS OU Not your average team

[BeyondFishy]

Hey, this is the first team I've shared and I'm winning the majority of my games with this, and naturally it has some flaws but I'd love some feedback and useful ideas.

This is a UU team that I like to play in OU(no megas) and have honed by myself over a few months.

I have intentionally not included Megas or Legendaries in my team. I understand the tier system helps keep these things fair, but personally I don't like to use either, regardless of whether they are deemed fair or not.

#1 Nosepass

No this is not a fear Nosepass!

Nosepass @ Eviolite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Pain Split
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Magic Coat

• I normally lead with Nosepass for a quick setup(as I only plan on using rocks) It being able to have both Stealth Rock and Magic Coat is why I like to start with Nosepass.
• If they lead with their entry hazard setup, I can choose to Magic Coat it back, or accept the hazard, and setup my rocks. However swapping out is also an option(as you will see later).
• With naturally high defensive stats, paired up with eviolite and Maxed EVs in both defenses, Nosepass can normally endure a hit. This makes him great to swap into when I'm low on options.
• I didn't EV it's HP as it has Sturdy, which when paired up with Pain Split can reduce their health to an easy KO and help keep Nosepass' health up!

#2 Espeon

Espeon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Dazzling Gleam
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball

• Espeon is a great swap in for when they lead with their entry hazards, and it's not worth Magic Coating them all back, due to it's Magic Bounce ability. This is why I chose to give it HP Fire, I've found most entry setup leads have been weak to fire(Ferrothorn/Klefki)
• I've decided to give it Choice Specs because at 252 Speed it's normally fast enough to out-speed anything that's not setup, with a few exceptions. The Specs also bump it's already maxed out Spec Attack out to huge levels allowing it to deal a decent chunk of damage, to even those who resist.
• Being Choiced in may seem like a problem, but on Espeon I find it works well when timed right. The Espeon Nosepass combo helps keep most of my team status free most of the time. When timed right you can cripple their Pokemon(For example T-Wave Togekiss, or most Prankster Pokemon) and then you just need to choose wisely. I've found my move pool has caught most people out.
• As a standard I'm also running Psyshock, as with that much Spec Attack behind it, it can really catch out unprepared Spec Defense walls.
• Shadow Ball and Dazzling Gleam are just there for Coverage, and the off chance I can out speed a Ghost or Dark type.

#3 Cofagrigus

Cofagrigus @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Mummy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Pain Split
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Nasty Plot

• Cofagrigus has one of the Highest defenses I have ever seen, paired up with a Ghost typing giving it immunity to Fighting and Normal, which are normally physical types makes this such a great Defensive wall.
• It's exclusive ability Mummy is great for taking down physical attackers that rely on their ability(Eg. Talonflame's Gale wings, Azumarill's Huge Power or Conkledurr's Guts/Iron Fist) rendering a lot of physical attackers almost useless against it.
• Pairing it's ability up with Will-o-Wisp is a great shut down for physical sweeps, with such high defense you take so little damage from what what normally be a hard to stop Physical sweeper.
• I gave it Pain Split regardless of giving it such high HP, as I found even though it had such high Defense, a single knock off can take down my main Physical wall. Pain Split comes in advantage however when dealing with Pokemon that whittle your health down with Status, or when predicting a switch, essentially giving my wall a second chance.
• Nasty plot is great for a predicted switch when you're still good on Health as this puts a large amount of power behind Shadow Ball.
• I've given it a Rocky Helmet, as it's a double whammy when they hit you with a contact move, they lose their ability and lose some Health.

#4 Snorlax

Snorlax @ Assault Vest
Ability: Immunity
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
- Power-Up Punch

• Snorlax is a natural Special wall, with generally high HP and pretty decent Spec Defense it's perfect when paired up with an Assault Vest
• I chose the Assault vest as this helps Snorlax take any Spec Attack with no problem, and requires 0 setup to use it.
• It's Ability Immunity is one I've caught a lot of people off with, helping me waste one of their turns, and keeping my Snorlax alive so much longer!
• It's Normal typing means both my walls work great in harmony! Any super effective moves against Snorlax, Cofagrigus is immune to, and any Ghost moves sent Cofagrigus' way, Snorlax is immune to, giving some clean swaps.
• It's base stats mean I can focus on getting it to do what it needs to best; fend off Spec Attacks, and deal decent damage.
• Return is generally a great move for most Normal Types, this gives Snorlax good capability to hit any Pokemon hard, this gives it the capability to chip damage a swapped in wall, or deal a huge chunk of damage to an unprepared Spec Attacker.
• I've found running Pursuit on this has been perfect when swapping into choiced ghost sweepers(Like Gengar or Chandelure) Normally KOing any that swap out.
• EQ because it gives decent coverage and is my only move other than Pursuit(which is Base power 40...) to hit Ghost types
• Power-up Punch has been good for finishing off low Pokemon and giving my wall more capability to hit hard.

#5 Scrafty

Scrafty @ Focus Sash
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off

• Scrafty has actually won me more games than I first anticipated. It's Dark/Fighting typing helps cover 2 of Espeon's and Cofagrigus' weaknesses(Dark and Ghost) Meaning a safe swap. Which can cause a switch, giving you time to D-Dance up.
• The only thing Scrafty lacks in is Speed, so maxed out Speed and a Jolly nature is a MUST, paired with a D-Dance you just about get enough Speed to start being able to Out-Speed
• It's Moxie gives this Physical sweeper easy Snowballing potential, once it's got it's Speed up, You have 3 choices against it, out-speed it, priority it, or die! This feeds Moxie and produces a nice and easy sweep.
• I've given it a Focus Sash in the instance that it's coming into a clean field for a revenge kill. This gives me the chance to D-Dance up and get enough speed to out-speed most things, with a few exceptions
• Drain punch was pretty much a no brainer, it's great for recovering after having to use my Sash, or if I haven't used my sash yet, getting high enough HP to be able to survive a hit with the help from the Sash. Being a stab move made it perfect for Scrafty.
• Knock off, again is a great move for Scrafty, giving it a tonne of power behind it, as almost all pokemon use an item. This also helps take out any pokemon relying on items(eg. choice scarfs, eviolites and leftovers)
• Ice punch was my other move, as Dragons, Ground and Flying types are quite common in game play, giving Scrafty that extra unexpected edge

#6 Ambipom

Ambipom @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Aerial Ace
- Thief
- Power-Up Punch

• Ambipom is a perfect revenge killer, with STAB priority, Technician life orbed Fake Out, on Full EVs you're looking at a guaranteed large amount of damage every time it's swapped in.
• With Maxed speed and a Jolly nature you're looking at 361 Speed, there is very little that can actually out speed this.
• Life orb naturally is a blessing and a curse, this limits Ambipom's usage, but can also make the most of it!
• It's Technician ability, is it's only real usable ability in Showdown, but this is still such a powerful ability paired up with it's moveset available.
• I went with each move mainly for coverage and to make the most of Technician, this seems to have made this Ambipom incredibly unpredictable.
• Aerial ace with the ability gives a Base power of 90 and ignores any chances to miss giving guaranteed decent damage
• Thief is my coverage for Ghost, people really have not expected this move and has cost them their Gengars, as only scarfed Gengars can out-speed this. Also nice to pick up an item if I get knocked off!
• Power-up punch gets a Base Power of 60, but also gives 1.5x Attack, which makes Ambipom that much more of a wrecking ball when it comes to it. It's a great move for finishing off weak pokemon that you know you can out-speed

Known weaknesses

• I am well aware, that this team is incredibly weak to fighting, making me heavily dependent on Cofagrigus. 4/6 Pokemon are weak to it, and Espeon, is too squishy to take a strong fighting hit well.
• Knock off is pretty rough against my team. Being a physical move naturally I would want to swap to Cofagrigus or Nosepass. But being a Dark, I would avoid Cofagrigus. And it being Knock off, I wouldn't want to lose Nosepass' Eviolite.
• I've noticed a lot of my pokemon rely on each other quite a bit, meaning once one is out, unless I have the upper hand I can go down easily.
• Shadowtag Gothitelle. Everytime I go against Shadowtag Gothitelle I die a little bit on the inside, as I know I'm going to lose a lot of Pokemon to this, as they can set up easy if they trick a choice scarf onto most of my Pokemon.
• There's bound to be more - but none spring to mind, but I'd love to hear what you have to say

Thank you if you have got this far! I understand that this may have been a bit of a long read(it certainly took a long time to write!) My apologies for being new and not knowing how to use the Spoiler function on here. But once if I figure it out, I can come back here and edit this!
LASTLY! I cannot take credit for the Scrafty, my friend(I call Waffle) showed me this build for it, and it's won me many games.

Thanks again for reading!

 

[dankmemesfam]

Ok, I'll begin to help I guess. I will have to change most of these mons completely, however.
Nosepass needs to be level one holding berry juice, this guarantees him alive fore two turns and doesn't change your strategy at all. Espeon seems good enough, I really don't need to change anything there. Next, I would reccomend changing cofagrigus to Sableye. Sableye is basically a cofagrigus but more supportive and with prankster. For snorlax, I would reccomend changing him to Chansey. One of the most overused Pokemon but for good reason. Now for a good fighting type, I would suggest breloom. Breloom hit most of the tier for at least neutral damage and will not fail you. Last but not least, I would change ambipom to Mega Lopunny. This monster is amazing is OU. Keep in mind I'm not as experienced as some others here so try out my suggestions, see what works, and post a new rmt with your changes.

Sets:

Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Knock Off
- Taunt

Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
- Toxic
- Seismic Toss
- Wish
- Aromatherapy

Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Mach Punch
- Seed Bomb
- Substitute
- Swords Dance

Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Ice Punch
- Return

I'm sorry I can't help much, but after you post a new rmt with these basic changes someone can change it to be a bit better. Best of luck!
P.S. Sorry for crappy quality I'm on my iPad

 

[Alfonso Dragonlord]

Literally all the mons in this team are unviable (or barely viable) in the OU metagame. They are simply outclassed by other mons which do their job better, and the whole team doesn't have a clear purpose, it seems to be a bunch of mons you like put together on a team.

I recommend you to see this threads to know a bit more about the OU metagame, what things are viable and what not, and maybe build a better team in the future :)

Good Cores
Sample Teams
Viability Rankings

 

[BeyondFishy]

Ok, I'll begin to help I guess. I will have to change most of these mons completely, however.
Nosepass needs to be level one holding berry juice, this guarantees him alive fore two turns and doesn't change your strategy at all. Espeon seems good enough, I really don't need to change anything there. Next, I would reccomend changing cofagrigus to Sableye. Sableye is basically a cofagrigus but more supportive and with prankster. For snorlax, I would reccomend changing him to Chansey. One of the most overused Pokemon but for good reason. Now for a good fighting type, I would suggest breloom. Breloom hit most of the tier for at least neutral damage and will not fail you. Last but not least, I would change ambipom to Mega Lopunny. This monster is amazing is OU. Keep in mind I'm not as experienced as some others here so try out my suggestions, see what works, and post a new rmt with your changes.

Sets:

Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Knock Off
- Taunt

Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
- Toxic
- Seismic Toss
- Wish
- Aromatherapy

Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Mach Punch
- Seed Bomb
- Substitute
- Swords Dance

Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Ice Punch
- Return

I'm sorry I can't help much, but after you post a new rmt with these basic changes someone can change it to be a bit better. Best of luck!
P.S. Sorry for crappy quality I'm on my iPad

Firstly, you've been really helpful thanks!
However, I'm not looking to use a fear nosepass, so level 1 berry juice is not what I'm after. Nosepass is a pretty solid physical wall, and it has sturdy, his core focus is getting rocks on the field, after that he is a spare mon to switch into if I need a clean switch.

Sableye is good, I've tried him out before, but he's not as much as a physical wall as Cofagrigus. I'd be very reluctant to swap Cofagrigus out for Sableye.

Now for some positives!
Chansey is a good shout, again it's something I've considered and probably will try. The thing I like about my snorlax is the ability to take a Spec Attack really well and be able to hit back hard. Something Chansey can't do, but Chansey can delivery some really good support - I'll try this out when I get a chance

Mega Lopunny is a great shout! I'll definitely give that a go over Ambipom, I do like Ambipom for it's movepool and having technician which allows him to take advantage of more of his moves. But Mega lopunny definitely looks like a great replacement for Ambipom, I'll see how well it out performs!

Literally all the mons in this team are unviable (or barely viable) in the OU metagame. They are simply outclassed by other mons which do their job better, and the whole team doesn't have a clear purpose, it seems to be a bunch of mons you like put together on a team.

I recommend you to see this threads to know a bit more about the OU metagame, what things are viable and what not, and maybe build a better team in the future :)

Good Cores
Sample Teams
Viability Rankings

Thanks for the links, I'll be sure to give them a look

I can truthfully say this team is certainly viable for the OU metagame - I've won many games with this team against rather 'Meta' teams if you'd like some clips I'll get some uploaded over the next few days? Let me know if you'd want some proof

Espeon is outclassed by Mega Sableye as a magic bounce user, and by Alakazam as a psychic-type special attacker.

I wouldn't always say Mega Sabeleye outclasses it as a magic bouncer, there are situations where i'd agree, but I do find having to Mega evolve first does slow does cause a small stumbling block, especially as there's no Defog/Rapid spinner
Alakazam Definitely outclasses as a Psychic-type special attacker, but I find Espeon is a good Mix between Mega Sableye and Alakazam, with Spec power(when boosted by specs) similar to Alakazams, only being slightly slower, and the ability to bounce back any conditions and entry hazards

Thanks again both of you for your help, I've taken plenty on board!

 

[Alfonso Dragonlord]

Thanks for the links, I'll be sure to give them a look

I can truthfully say this team is certainly viable for the OU metagame - I've won many games with this team against rather 'Meta' teams if you'd like some clips I'll get some uploaded over the next few days? Let me know if you'd want some proof


I wouldn't always say Mega Sabeleye outclasses it as a magic bouncer, there are situations where i'd agree, but I do find having to Mega evolve first does slow does cause a small stumbling block, especially as there's no Defog/Rapid spinner
Alakazam Definitely outclasses as a Psychic-type special attacker, but I find Espeon is a good Mix between Mega Sableye and Alakazam, with Spec power(when boosted by specs) similar to Alakazams, only being slightly slower, and the ability to bounce back any conditions and entry hazards

Thanks again both of you for your help, I've taken plenty on board!

Well, your team is definitely not viable in the OU metagame. The job that your mons do can be done better by others (I forgot to add this link, but this Role Compendium has all the viable options of each role that you may need on a team, including even most unorthodox options)

The fact that it worked for you a few times doesn't mean that is viable (honestly, low ladder isn't a good place to test teams, since there are a lot of unexperienced players. I've seen the replay you sent before, and the amount of misplays that your opponent did was incredible...).

Definitely there's no team where you'd want to use Espeon instead of Mega Sableye as a magic bounce user. Mega Sableye has the drawback of the mega evolution, which forces you to mega evolve soon to have the magic bounce active, and fills your mega slot, but Espeon is way worse in general. It's bulk and defensive typing is really bad, it can't take even neutral physical hits, and it's special bulk isn't outstanding either, so it's unable to switch into most hazard setters without risking being OHKO'd or 2HKO'd by its STAB moves (e.g. it can't switch into Hippo's EQ, Ferrothorn's gyro ball, Skarmory's brave bird or iron head, Garchomp's EQ, etc., while Mega Sableye can), and offensively it's totally outclassed by Alakazam, which is faster, hits harder, and it's ability is more useful for an offensive mon, negating LO recoil and hazard damage to keep a potential focus sash intact.

So, if you want to build a team around the concept of a magic bounce user and hazard-weak mons, Mega Sableye is definitely your better choice, since Espeon's bulk and typing doesn't let it bounce hazards reliably against most hazard setters, and if you want a fast powerful special attacker, Alakazam (or even Mega Alakazam) is your better choice.

I hope I helped with this, and good luck with the team :)

 

[BeyondFishy]

Well, your team is definitely not viable in the OU metagame. The job that your mons do can be done better by others (I forgot to add this link, but this Role Compendium has all the viable options of each role that you may need on a team, including even most unorthodox options)

The fact that it worked for you a few times doesn't mean that is viable (honestly, low ladder isn't a good place to test teams, since there are a lot of unexperienced players. I've seen the replay you sent before, and the amount of misplays that your opponent did was incredible...).

Definitely there's no team where you'd want to use Espeon instead of Mega Sableye as a magic bounce user. Mega Sableye has the drawback of the mega evolution, which forces you to mega evolve soon to have the magic bounce active, and fills your mega slot, but Espeon is way worse in general. It's bulk and defensive typing is really bad, it can't take even neutral physical hits, and it's special bulk isn't outstanding either, so it's unable to switch into most hazard setters without risking being OHKO'd or 2HKO'd by its STAB moves (e.g. it can't switch into Hippo's EQ, Ferrothorn's gyro ball, Skarmory's brave bird or iron head, Garchomp's EQ, etc., while Mega Sableye can), and offensively it's totally outclassed by Alakazam, which is faster, hits harder, and it's ability is more useful for an offensive mon, negating LO recoil and hazard damage to keep a potential focus sash intact.

So, if you want to build a team around the concept of a magic bounce user and hazard-weak mons, Mega Sableye is definitely your better choice, since Espeon's bulk and typing doesn't let it bounce hazards reliably against most hazard setters, and if you want a fast powerful special attacker, Alakazam (or even Mega Alakazam) is your better choice.

I hope I helped with this, and good luck with the team :)

I appreciate you returning to this - I guess at the very start I should have mentioned that I'm not a serious competitive player, I like to play, but I also like to have fun, which is why I like to avoid using legendaries and 'meta' mons.

You're definitely right that the thing that espeon lacks is defense, which is why I need to predict carefully. I have found however that if Espeon switches in, it can OHKO or 2HKO some of the most common setups, like Ferrothorn, skarmory and forretress. It can also often OHKO and 2HKO things that often use status. Like Sableye, Clefable, Chansey...

But it does sound like you're suggesting I swap out 1 Average pokemon to replace it with 2 great pokemon to do the same job as that 1 pokemon... Correct me if I'm wrong

 

[Alfonso Dragonlord]

I appreciate you returning to this - I guess at the very start I should have mentioned that I'm not a serious competitive player, I like to play, but I also like to have fun, which is why I like to avoid using legendaries and 'meta' mons.

You're definitely right that the thing that espeon lacks is defense, which is why I need to predict carefully. I have found however that if Espeon switches in, it can OHKO or 2HKO some of the most common setups, like Ferrothorn, skarmory and forretress. It can also often OHKO and 2HKO things that often use status. Like Sableye, Clefable, Chansey...

But it does sound like you're suggesting I swap out 1 Average pokemon to replace it with 2 great pokemon to do the same job as that 1 pokemon... Correct me if I'm wrong

Well, like Thatwackycruton said, if you only want to play for fun, just play and don't ask in a competitive forum how to improve your team, because we will suggest all kind of changes that may eliminate the things that made you enjoy the team, like seems to be using Espeon in OU.

Yes, Espeon can OHKO or 2HKO back the things that is meant to switch into, but the only act of switching into them is a huge risk where you can lose your Espeon, and then your foe can set up rocks, spikes, seeds, etc. without a problem. And its very difficult to predict well every time this happens.

I didn't even suggest to change Espeon for Mega Sableye and Alakazam, I only used those mons as examples of what you should use if you want either a good magic bounce user or a good special attacker. Espeon has the combination of that ability and good specially offensive stats but it can't give them a good use due to its lack of bulk and being totally outclassed by other mons that do the job a thousand times better. Also, the combination of having magic bounce and being a decent special attacker is not specially benefitial for any team, so you'd be better choosing one of those attributes and the mon that performs them better.

 

[Reymedy]

ha
ha
ha

 

[Reymedy]

if you want it to be unlocked, pm me a good reason as to why i'm staring at a nosepass in OU
have a nice day