Defensive Haxorus = New Meta
POP:
Team Process:
Axew (Haxorus) @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Counter
- Dragon Claw
So Garchomp is the main defensive dragon in the meta at the moment, and for obvious reasons! With the access to rocks, having an amazing ability that stacks with rocky helmet to threaten out physical threats and access to powerful ground, dragon and fire moves for max coverage Garchomp serves as a valuable mon on every team. But that’s boring –o- so here is my attempt to spice the meta game up a bit before Sun and Moon.
Defensive Haxorus is more effective than people believe. The ability to throw off opponents with such an unpredictable set and with amazing defensive capabilities it deserves more attention. So Haxorus with full defensive investment hits 356 HP and 306 Defence. It may not look like much but look at these calcs:
252 Atk Mega Lopunny High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Haxorus: 169-201 (47.4 - 56.4%) -- 28.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Pure Power Mega Medicham High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Haxorus: 273-322 (76.6 - 90.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
· The ability to live a HJK + Fake Out Combo and kill in return with counter is the funniest thing ever XD
252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Dragon Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Haxorus: 288-342 (80.8 - 96%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Mega Heracross Pin Missile (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Haxorus: 230-275 (64.6 - 77.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Dragonite Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Haxorus: 338-402 (94.9 - 112.9%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Haxorus: 192-226 (53.9 - 63.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
And you just click counter and get a free kill
Dragon Claw is for STAB to hit mons you otherwise wouldn’t counter
Earthquake is specifically for Rotom-W and Heatran {due to Mold Breaker}
Taunt is amazing at shutting down stall. You can Taunt MEGA SABELEYE to oblivion due to Mold Breaker. Chansey Cant Wish stall and you can just Counter/DClaw, Haxorus also outspeeds Defensive Landorus-T and prevents it from using Stealth Rocks lol.
0 Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Haxorus: 115-136 (32.3 - 38.2%) -- 1.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
If it EQs you get a hefty 70% off.
Haxorus is an incredibly effective Pokémon and I encourage everyone to try it out.
Sneasel (Weavile) @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash
- Pursuit
Banded Weavile doesn’t see as much use as LO but is still incredibly effective. There are very few switch-ins to this monster. Defensive Clefable takes 60% from Crash, Heatran takes 60% from Knock Off, Rotom-W takes 55% from KO, Mega Gardevoir gets OHKOed by Crash too. Choice Band also helps cancel out any intimidation drops so Weavile will be at its natural attack stat which helps against Landos and Mega Mane. Pursuit is perfect for switch-outs on Weavile, which is fairly common by Latis, SpDef Jirachi, Zam ect.
Banded Ice Shard also hits very Hard for a Priority move. It can Kill Mega Medi at 40% and outspeed a BP.
Scyther (Scizor-Mega) @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 244 HP / 16 Atk / 232 Def / 16 SpD
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost
- Swords Dance
The combination of a strong Priority STAB, recovery, insane defensive capabilities and momentum allows MScizor to be a valuable asset to this team. Physically defensive MSci has freely run rampart lately in ORAS and for GOOD reason. It can beat Lando-T 1v1, it can beat Azu 1v1 (If it’s not BD) and can beat MDiancie, Garchomp (tank without FB) and completely check Weavile. It beats all versions of non HP Fire BKyurem and most ice types. It can live a -2 HP Fire from the Lati twins and kill with U-turn. It is an incredible late game sweeper that can turn matches around in the matter of a single turn. It also helps me check MMetagross and Excadrill and scarf TTar {sand}. It also allows me to check what Haxorus otherwise couldn’t.
Larvitar (Tyranitar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 240 HP / 24 Atk / 244 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Roar
Now this set may seem weird but hear me out, I really needed a Lati switch in and a Talon switch in! SpDef is so I take the least amount of damage from Latios (35% from both Draco and Surf XD) it also helps me take on Mega Alakazam and Gengar and take 1 FB from both. Stone edge is for nice stab and hits both Flying and Fire threats that Scizor might not take on such as Thundurus, Torn-T (SP only does 80% ouch, but liveable if necessary) and the Zards. Roar allows me to phase out set up sweepers and SD SpDef Tflame. Roar is very underrating and can put added pressure onto the opponent.
Shiny Ponyta (Keldeo) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Icy Wind
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
Keldeo is one of the biggest threats in the OU tier atm. It has a solid Speed stat allowing it to outspeed all base 105, like Kyurem-B, it acts as an amazing wallbreaker, and notorious ability to wear down its checks with Scald burns, it excels offensively. Keldeo rests nicely in 90% of Bulky Offense teams and gives my team the necessary power it needs to apply pressure and hit hard. Keldeo can also easily bluff a scarf which can really confuse teams as Haxorus isn’t.
It also helps this team check many powerful threats such as Bisharp, Mega Gyarados, and defiantly Heatran, which can easily threaten this team.
Icy wind can be replaced with HP Bug/Electric for Slowbro, Gyra and Celebi but I haven’t found trouble with them and have been able to work around them.
Battery Pidgey (Zapdos) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Defog
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Zapdos is by far the funniest member to use on this team. For some strange reason it works so well! I only wanted to use for Defog and Volt Switch and I was originally contemplating Defensive/support but I said screw it and smacked a LO onto it and let me tell you I throws so many people off. You OHKO Ferro, Gliscor, Chomp, Lando-T, you do 60% to Rotoms and Amoonguses, you can tank an espeed from Dnite and Kill after multiscale is broken. The added momentum acts perfectly with this team. Zapdos requires little prediction skills to work effectively and due to its natural bulk can tank hits well. This mon has saved me from many Ls.
Threat List:
Speed is something that this team lacks so it can become an issue with some matches.
If it gets a quiver off and TTars ded/weakened you’re in for hell :[
Haxorus can Taunt it to prevent Synthesis/Sleep and possible revenge kill with Weavile as Crash does 45% on Def Vena.
Like I said speeds an issue so after +1 you’re in for a hard time. Putting a Rocky Helmet on TTar may help but TTar can roar or SE for 60+%.
[+1 252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Dragon Claw vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tyranitar: 234-276 (57.9 - 68.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO]
Importable:
Axew (Haxorus) @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Counter
- Dragon Claw
Sneasel (Weavile) @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash
- Pursuit
Scyther (Scizor-Mega) @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 244 HP / 16 Atk / 232 Def / 16 SpD
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost
- Swords Dance
Larvitar (Tyranitar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 240 HP / 24 Atk / 244 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Roar
Shiny Ponyta (Keldeo) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Icy Wind
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
Battery Pidgey (Zapdos) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Defog
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
POP:
Team Process:
Axew (Haxorus) @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Counter
- Dragon Claw
So Garchomp is the main defensive dragon in the meta at the moment, and for obvious reasons! With the access to rocks, having an amazing ability that stacks with rocky helmet to threaten out physical threats and access to powerful ground, dragon and fire moves for max coverage Garchomp serves as a valuable mon on every team. But that’s boring –o- so here is my attempt to spice the meta game up a bit before Sun and Moon.
Defensive Haxorus is more effective than people believe. The ability to throw off opponents with such an unpredictable set and with amazing defensive capabilities it deserves more attention. So Haxorus with full defensive investment hits 356 HP and 306 Defence. It may not look like much but look at these calcs:
252 Atk Mega Lopunny High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Haxorus: 169-201 (47.4 - 56.4%) -- 28.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Pure Power Mega Medicham High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Haxorus: 273-322 (76.6 - 90.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
· The ability to live a HJK + Fake Out Combo and kill in return with counter is the funniest thing ever XD
252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Dragon Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Haxorus: 288-342 (80.8 - 96%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Mega Heracross Pin Missile (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Haxorus: 230-275 (64.6 - 77.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Dragonite Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Haxorus: 338-402 (94.9 - 112.9%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Haxorus: 192-226 (53.9 - 63.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
And you just click counter and get a free kill
Dragon Claw is for STAB to hit mons you otherwise wouldn’t counter
Earthquake is specifically for Rotom-W and Heatran {due to Mold Breaker}
Taunt is amazing at shutting down stall. You can Taunt MEGA SABELEYE to oblivion due to Mold Breaker. Chansey Cant Wish stall and you can just Counter/DClaw, Haxorus also outspeeds Defensive Landorus-T and prevents it from using Stealth Rocks lol.
0 Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Haxorus: 115-136 (32.3 - 38.2%) -- 1.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
If it EQs you get a hefty 70% off.
Haxorus is an incredibly effective Pokémon and I encourage everyone to try it out.
Sneasel (Weavile) @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash
- Pursuit
Banded Weavile doesn’t see as much use as LO but is still incredibly effective. There are very few switch-ins to this monster. Defensive Clefable takes 60% from Crash, Heatran takes 60% from Knock Off, Rotom-W takes 55% from KO, Mega Gardevoir gets OHKOed by Crash too. Choice Band also helps cancel out any intimidation drops so Weavile will be at its natural attack stat which helps against Landos and Mega Mane. Pursuit is perfect for switch-outs on Weavile, which is fairly common by Latis, SpDef Jirachi, Zam ect.
Banded Ice Shard also hits very Hard for a Priority move. It can Kill Mega Medi at 40% and outspeed a BP.
Scyther (Scizor-Mega) @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 244 HP / 16 Atk / 232 Def / 16 SpD
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost
- Swords Dance
The combination of a strong Priority STAB, recovery, insane defensive capabilities and momentum allows MScizor to be a valuable asset to this team. Physically defensive MSci has freely run rampart lately in ORAS and for GOOD reason. It can beat Lando-T 1v1, it can beat Azu 1v1 (If it’s not BD) and can beat MDiancie, Garchomp (tank without FB) and completely check Weavile. It beats all versions of non HP Fire BKyurem and most ice types. It can live a -2 HP Fire from the Lati twins and kill with U-turn. It is an incredible late game sweeper that can turn matches around in the matter of a single turn. It also helps me check MMetagross and Excadrill and scarf TTar {sand}. It also allows me to check what Haxorus otherwise couldn’t.
Larvitar (Tyranitar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 240 HP / 24 Atk / 244 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Roar
Now this set may seem weird but hear me out, I really needed a Lati switch in and a Talon switch in! SpDef is so I take the least amount of damage from Latios (35% from both Draco and Surf XD) it also helps me take on Mega Alakazam and Gengar and take 1 FB from both. Stone edge is for nice stab and hits both Flying and Fire threats that Scizor might not take on such as Thundurus, Torn-T (SP only does 80% ouch, but liveable if necessary) and the Zards. Roar allows me to phase out set up sweepers and SD SpDef Tflame. Roar is very underrating and can put added pressure onto the opponent.
Shiny Ponyta (Keldeo) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Icy Wind
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
Keldeo is one of the biggest threats in the OU tier atm. It has a solid Speed stat allowing it to outspeed all base 105, like Kyurem-B, it acts as an amazing wallbreaker, and notorious ability to wear down its checks with Scald burns, it excels offensively. Keldeo rests nicely in 90% of Bulky Offense teams and gives my team the necessary power it needs to apply pressure and hit hard. Keldeo can also easily bluff a scarf which can really confuse teams as Haxorus isn’t.
It also helps this team check many powerful threats such as Bisharp, Mega Gyarados, and defiantly Heatran, which can easily threaten this team.
Icy wind can be replaced with HP Bug/Electric for Slowbro, Gyra and Celebi but I haven’t found trouble with them and have been able to work around them.
Battery Pidgey (Zapdos) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Defog
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Zapdos is by far the funniest member to use on this team. For some strange reason it works so well! I only wanted to use for Defog and Volt Switch and I was originally contemplating Defensive/support but I said screw it and smacked a LO onto it and let me tell you I throws so many people off. You OHKO Ferro, Gliscor, Chomp, Lando-T, you do 60% to Rotoms and Amoonguses, you can tank an espeed from Dnite and Kill after multiscale is broken. The added momentum acts perfectly with this team. Zapdos requires little prediction skills to work effectively and due to its natural bulk can tank hits well. This mon has saved me from many Ls.
Threat List:
Speed is something that this team lacks so it can become an issue with some matches.
Haxorus can Taunt it to prevent Synthesis/Sleep and possible revenge kill with Weavile as Crash does 45% on Def Vena.
Like I said speeds an issue so after +1 you’re in for a hard time. Putting a Rocky Helmet on TTar may help but TTar can roar or SE for 60+%.
[+1 252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Dragon Claw vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tyranitar: 234-276 (57.9 - 68.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO]
Importable:
Axew (Haxorus) @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Counter
- Dragon Claw
Sneasel (Weavile) @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash
- Pursuit
Scyther (Scizor-Mega) @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 244 HP / 16 Atk / 232 Def / 16 SpD
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost
- Swords Dance
Larvitar (Tyranitar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 240 HP / 24 Atk / 244 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Roar
Shiny Ponyta (Keldeo) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Icy Wind
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
Battery Pidgey (Zapdos) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Defog
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
