ORAS OU L'Oréal Because you're worth it

[NighthawkL06]

The inspiration from this team was more of a personal choice of sorts, Mega Ampharos being in a unique class of its own with very good bulk in 90/105/110 defenses and a great typing which is Zekroms typing Electric/Dragon, this makes it a great slow Volt Switch Pokemon and a excellent status absorber. I wished to take advantage of the strengths of Ampharos and build the team around this often forgotten but awesome pokemon.

Amphabiolous (Ampharos) @ Ampharosite
Ability: Static
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Def / 12 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Dragon Pulse
- Sleep Talk
- Rest

I've seen plenty of Mega Ampharos running Agility, and even tho it has nice power I decided to abuse its bulk, with 90/105/110 defenses it wasn't that hard, also with 165 Sp Atk it doesn't even need evs to hit reasonable hard, 2hkoing many pokemon with neutral damage. The Defensive evs let it live an EQ from Scarf Landorus-T while having around 40% of health remaining, and with its Sp Atk it 2hkos it, making Lando-T not a reliable switch in, Sand Rush exca has a 25% chance to 1hko it and Megazard X can't 1hko it with Dragon claw while unboosted.
Also it becomes a Talonflame hard counter, since it can't touch you, the only set that can somewhat set up on it is the Sp Def Variant which takes around 65% damage from volt switch.
With Mold Breaker it can ignore sturdy from skarmory which is 1Hkoed after SR damage, and has a 25% to 1HKO Dragonite while living a non band Outrage.
And with slow Volt Switch it can take a hit and then switch to another reliable teammate to take down the opponent, while RestTalk makes it have some form of recovery and still be able to deal damage or gain momentum.

Weaknesses:
Sand Offense is a huge problem for Ampharos, while he can live almost any type of EQ it still doesn’t have reliable recovery to take hits all day.
Having Rest and sleep talk can make it unreliable in crucial situation if you don’t get the right move on time

Calcs

252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 244 HP / 252+ Def Mega Ampharos: 335-398 (87.6 - 104.1%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 244 HP / 252+ Def Mega Ampharos: 248-294 (64.9 - 76.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Dragon Claw vs. 244 HP / 252+ Def Mega Ampharos: 260-308 (68 - 80.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Dragonite Outrage vs. 244 HP / 252+ Def Mega Ampharos: 306-362 (80.1 - 94.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Huge Power Azumarill Play Rough vs. 244 HP / 252+ Def Mega Ampharos: 252-296 (65.9 - 77.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 96 HP / 160 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Hurricane
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Knock Off/Heat Wave

Now I had good Physical bulk but still was weak to ground spam, so I decided to go with Tornadus-T which provides ground immunity and momentum in U-turn making this a reliable volt-turn core, I made it the Assault Vest because it will give the core good bulk in both sides

Hurricane is of course the mandatory stab, while Superpower lets Tornadus deal with sand Tyranitar and Excadrill which really hurt Mega Ampharos, although you have to be careful since Scarf tyranitar and Sand Rush Excadrill can destroy it. U-Turn is for momentum and on the last slot I added Knock Off for utility, but it can be replaced for Heat Wave if you want more options against Ferrothorn and Scizor.
Regenerator makes it ignore SR damage upon switching out and makes it a more reliable Sp Def Tank

Weaknesses:
It lacks power on the physical side and is still pretty weak to sand teams

Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Recover

After Tornadus I decided I wanted a win con and a good pokemon that can take on rock types without much effort, that’s where Reuniclus comes in, with maximum defensive bulk since there are no threatening special rock type attacks in the metagame. With Calm mind and recover you can easily set up and with its maximized defensive bulk you will become really hard to take down real fast. Magic Guard lets you set up without fearing Toxic, you can enter without worrying about hazards.
Psyshock + Focus blast give Reuniclus perfect neutral coverage while being able to hit Special Blobs such as Chansey relatively hard while setting up on its face.
I decided to go full Physical Bulk since I have Av Torn-T for special attacks and I will be boosting my special defense

Weaknesses:
Hoopa-U simply annihilates this set and Gengar has a high chance to 1HKO if Reuniclus has no Calm Minds up.

Azumarill @ Lum Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Power-Up Punch

The Defensive core was ready but was still pretty weak to Weavile and Mega Sableye could set up easily on me, so I added Azumarill but decided not to go with the Choice Band set in favor of P-U-P, since after 1 attack you have the same power as Band, lets you ignore intimidators drop and pressure them, the other moves are pretty simple, dual STABS and priority. Lum berry helps me dent W-o-W users and have a higher chance to deal with Mega Sableye.

Weaknesses:
Easily walled/checked by Amoongus and fast grass types, Ferrothorn can wall you pretty easily since you don’t want to take continuous Iron Barb damage from using P-U-P

Serperior @ Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Substitute
- Giga Drain

I wanted a Special set up sweeper, and fire coverage as well, my first thought was manaphy but I didn’t want to add another electric weakness so I went for Serperior, its set is pretty standard with Life Orb and Giga Drain to mitigate the recoil, Substitute since it forces many switch ins and Of course the boosting move being Leaf Storm. Hidden Power Fire to hit Scizor and Ferrothorn.
The only downright is that Serperior has the only Fire Coverage on the team so it has to be kept safe if Ferrothorn or Scizor are strong and healthy

Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide

I noticed I lacked speed in general and Steel Coverage, so I decided to go for Scarf Mold Breaker Excadrill which gives me just what I needed. Since the team isn’t exactly weak to SR it doesn’t give Excadrill much pressure to spin.
Standard move set but the thing that shines is what it synergies very well with Mega Ampharos which dents/KOs Flying types allowing Excadrill to clean with EQ and the other advantage is that Mega Ampharos can take on many pokemon that threaten Excadrill. It is excellent to late sweep and by the time your opponent realizes that Excadrill can sweep him it is too late since its team is dented.

Threatlist

Hoopa-U is a great threat since my main defensive walls can't deal much damage to it and are pretty much forced to switch out or take a huge hit

Sand offense is a big threat since it can destoy half the team without much effort, it has to ble played carefully and abuse the momentum to try and take down Tyranitar as fast as possible

Mega Charizard X can be one of the most threatening pokemon to this team, specially at +1 since it outspeeds Scarf Excadrill and 1HKOs Mega Ampharos

Mega Alakazam is another threat since it has better speed than the rest of the team and with Substitute it can dent or Ko many pokemon before being taken down
data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACgAAAAoCAMAAAC7IEhfAAAAPFBMVEX///8xMTFrtec1NTVKjMZqsuRSU1QyMzSK0/uUxs7G7/eM1v9CYrOteznTkkH7wyltteRUU1Hse3yrKSmfNeGRAAAAuklEQVQ4je2SOxbDIBADYX9gwNhJ7n/XCL+0YUmRzqrnCQYRwp0/hVe5nNZBlHJ0QZWUU9TqFbOmmImS1wjuYv0rNotqPoc2MjVUOixrbUpELTsyDA8Sao40RwX1DAJ4AgKr4NIrEM10WGqlTy7u6zgcEZiYlYIVWWbHg7YmFoJFKc6IaEJpk7I5DyTHieNdLvBx7KfYthVvm773Do84d7kq+z4gb+0h3h8mCx9oCC2DsgaOkZa4O7/mDRIDBJMPVAB0AAAAAElFTkSuQmCCKingdra under rain has no switch ins and has to be played carefully, but rain isn't a problem for this team in general
data:image/png;base64,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 Mega Gardevoir can clean once Excadrill is gone and has little switch-ins

Replays

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-329391376
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-330281228 Lost due to missed tho, but showcases how the team works really well
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-330280660
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-330279399
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-330278328
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-330284715 Mega Ampharos living a + Dragon Claw from Charizard Mega X

Importable

Amphabiolous (Ampharos) @ Ampharosite
Ability: Static
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Def / 12 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Dragon Pulse
- Sleep Talk
- Rest

Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 96 HP / 160 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Hurricane
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Recover

Azumarill @ Lum Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Power-Up Punch

Serperior @ Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Substitute
- Giga Drain

Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide

And that is all, the whole team with a full in depth analysis, I hope you liked it and that I made you want to use it
Any question or suggestion is welcomed since I believe every team can be improved, so I'm all ears

 

[_Astral_]

Ehy :) Why are you using a team without Hazard? 0_0 How did you notice, you are weak at Hoopa, Charizard X, Excadrill, tyranithar and bisharp that 6-0 you against SD. My advice is to replace Hippodown>Reuniclus that solves some problems and also provides you team with the Hazard, that are crucial in this metagame. Other suggest is to Change the Excadrill ability. Change Dragon pulse>Giga Drain on Serperior because is very important for coverage ( Dragon Pulse hits Dragon-types such as Latios and Dragonite after Multiscale is broken. It's also good for neutral damage on Pokemon such as Talonflame on the switch. ) Change Heat Wave>Superpower on Tornadus.

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

The EV spread avoids the 2HKO from Life Orb Thundurus's and Mega Manectric's Hidden Power Ice, i advice Leftovers to provide passive recovery that could mean the difference between getting OHKOed and getting 2HKOed.

Excadrill @ AIron Ballon/Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin

I Suggest maximum Attack and Speed investment allows Excadrill to hit as hard and fast as possible. An Adamant nature is generally preferable for the power boost, allowing Earthquake to 2HKO Ferrothorn with no boost and Slowbro with a boost. However, a Jolly nature is also a viable option to tie with opposing Excadrill at worst, outrun +2 Jolly Gyarados while in sand, and outrun neutral-natured base 100 Speed Pokemon such as Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Gardevoir without it. Life Orb is the preferred item to increase Excadrill's damage output, but easily wears Excadrill down. An Air Balloon can be used instead to gain free switches into Choice-locked Ground-types and improve Excadrill's matchup against opposing Ground-types in general.

SET:

Hide

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

Excadrill @ AIron Ballon/Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin

CALCS:

Hide

+2 252 Atk Life Orb Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Ampharos: 231-273 (60.1 - 71%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 112 SpD Hippowdon: 190-224 (45.2 - 53.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Mega Manectric Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 112 SpD Hippowdon: 154-182 (36.6 - 43.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Hope i have help you :)

 

[GingerNinja87]

I agree with some of the above changes, some alterations can be tweaked to further enhance this line up :)

 

[NighthawkL06]

Yo,

Straight away, I know you mention your team is weak to sand, but I think you're understating just how bad the weakness is. The combination of Excadrill + Sand Setter + Amoonguss (a very common Pokemon on sand) beats your entire team, and you don't even have any semi-reliable counterplay besides hurricane confusing the sand setter to death whilst dodging stone edge. You also have a few strange Pokemon like Reuniclus splashed onto the team for very strange reasons. You stated your reason for adding Reuniclus was that you 'wanted a good pokemon that can take on rock types without much effort'. However, the most common Rock type in OU is Tyranitar, which carries super effective Dark type coverage for you. Your team also lacks Stealth Rock, which is a necessity on 99.9% of teams, and this does not happen to be an exception.

Firstly I suggest changing Reuniclus for Landorus-T. Landorus-T is a far more reliable answer to Tyranitar, as well as giving your team a reliable answer to the aforementioned sand offense. Landorus-T also gives you a Stealth Rocker, and a more reliable Ground immunity than Tornadus-T, all of which are useful aspects your team appreciates.


tl;dr

>

Tweak Spread on

Leftovers > Life Orb on

I agree with the Torn-T and Serperiori changes, since it will give longevity and better matchup to my team.

The problem with adding landorus over reuniclus is that it accentuates my ice weakness which isn't very good at all

 

[NighthawkL06]

Ehy :) Why are you using a team without Hazard? 0_0 How did you notice, you are weak at Hoopa, Charizard X, Excadrill, tyranithar and bisharp that 6-0 you against SD. My advice is to replace Hippodown>Reuniclus that solves some problems and also provides you team with the Hazard, that are crucial in this metagame. Other suggest is to Change the Excadrill ability. Change Dragon pulse>Giga Drain on Serperior because is very important for coverage ( Dragon Pulse hits Dragon-types such as Latios and Dragonite after Multiscale is broken. It's also good for neutral damage on Pokemon such as Talonflame on the switch. ) Change Heat Wave>Superpower on Tornadus.

Thanks for the tips, but I don't really want to rely on sand offense for this team, since mold breaker excadrill is an excellent late cleaner, although I'll give tornadus heat wave and dpulse on serp