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Hi guys. I was in the process of quitting Smogon, having not battled in like a week and started visiting the site once every day or two. But I LOVE Pocket, and I made him a promise that I would be very active in contributing to this CCAT. So I am going to be stalking this thread about as much as I did the last one, except actually posting this time.
Without further adieu, my nomination is.....
HeraBoss
Heracross@Leftovers
Guts; Jolly
212 HP/84 Atk/16 Def/196 Spe
Bulk Up
Megahorn
Low Kick
Stone Edge
Let's face it, Heracross = win. This Heracross set was once criticized by me, back when it was still in C&C. But I've come to truly appreciate how mighty he is. Bulk Up Heracross is almmost exactly the kind of thing that would work well from what we learned in the last CCAT. In the last CCAT, Nidoking got the spotlight stolen from him due the awesomeness of our defensive core. Breloom was the MVP more often than not (in my experience, anyway). I chose this set in part to avoid having the spotlight stolen once again. No, I was not looking for a BU-Breloom-analogue, it's simply a coincidence that they both use Bulk Up. But BU Heracross is able to perform in multiple roles, the main one (sweeper) is just what he excels at the most. This allows him to find use in almost any battle, and keep the spotlight all for himself as our CCAT Pokemon.
This set really does well when you cater to its needs. Walls are, for the most part, utterly unable to stop it from accumulating Bulk Ups and stomping around, because Guts gives it that Conkeldurr effect of terrifying the opponent to status it. Skarmory is, frankly, the only wall who can do anything to it other than phazing (but Hippowdon, Vaporeon, and other phazers all take massive damage as they phaze it out). This set is on the slow side for a sweeper (beating out only Heatran), but its typing allows it to perform excellently in a solid core.
I've adjusted the EVs to my preference, which is a clear deviation from those given in the analysis. But the analysis hasn't been updated since before the Excadrill/Thundurus banning, and these EVs are, in my opinion, superior. I gave it enough HP and Defense to survive a Jolly LO Stone Edge from Terrakion, accounting for Stealth Rock damage. Given how huge of a threat the bulldog is, it seemed like an excellent benchmark to hit. Additionally, it will always survive an Adamant LO Meteor Mash from Metagross by the skin of its teeth. This bulk allows it to serve as a tank in the battle, in the event that it won't get the chance to sweep, similar to a Snorlax with incredible STABs. I'm sure that the Attack investment seems absurdly low, but it's Heracross. There's about a 1% decrease in attack power after a Bulk Up - hardly a noticeable difference. It still OHKOes CM Reuniclus after a boost, which is the main KO that the current analysis brags on anyway. I considered giving it 44 Def EVs, in order to survive a Jolly LO Meteor Mash from Metagross after Stealth Rock, but I disregarded the idea. However, this spread would still have the ability to OHKO Reuniclus, in case anyone else likes that.
I'm not gonna lie, this Heracross isn't invincible. It still suffers from some of the same problems as other BU users. But even the fearsome Dragonite has its Stealth Rock to worry about. At risk of redundantly repeating what's on-site, I'll wrap up. The OU CCAT seeks to bring out the beauty of forgotten jewels, like Nidoking, and that is precisely what Heracross is - a forgotten jewel. So let's get down with HeraBoss!
Okay, this set just oozes class. Azelf is one underrated manly-ass mofo who throws up Stealth Rocks like it's nobody's business. You get this cool move called Stealth Rock that basically rips up like 300% of your opponents' health while they switch into your bad-ass Zen Headbutts all day. Now, Azelf might look classy but he knows how badass he is so he sometimes likes taunting his opponents. Now, in some sports taunting gets you a 15-yard penalty but in Pokemon it's 100% legal. Opponent has one of those gay-ass Deoxys? TAUNT AND SWITCH. Now, just look at Azelf. You know that red symbol he has on his head? Yeah, he's a Buddhist. What, Buddhists don't wear the red dot? Well fuck you this guy's racing towards Nirvana with 125 Base Speed and you better get out of his way before he uses that inner peace to Zen Headbutt your ass back to the thirteenth century. Now, Azelf is also one bad-ass team player. Most people will fight for a cause, but how many will willingly DIE for it? I don't know, but this mofo will freaking strap a bomb to himself and BOOM right in the opponent's face? What, explosion got weakened this gen? Big whoop, any 250 BASE POWER MOVE OFF OF THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY THREE ATTACK IS GONNA HURT IN THE FACE.
Now, some sets have some finesse-y EVs and Nature but this guy just says ADAMANT TWO FIFTY TWO ALL DAY.
Azelf is a really underrated Pokemon in this metagame capable of setting up fast Stealth Rocks, putting the hurt on stuff, and booming when it's boom time. Azelf is a true suicide lead. Sometimes people say "leads don't exist" anymore, but there are definitely viable Pokemon designated as leads in Gen V, and azelf is one of them.
Hey I might actually participate in this thing this time around!
Anyways there are millions of good nominations here but I'd just like to showcase this guy.
Jirachi @ Expert Belt
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- Drain Punch / U-turn / Energy Ball / Stealth Rock
As Scarf Jirachi is starting to pick up speed and finally get the recognition it deserves, this Jirachi has been quite fun for me. Jirachi is the perfect Pokemon to start with- there are definitely elements to a team that help him out, like Spikes, weakening Heatran, paralysis support, but at the same time he's a great team player and lures out counters for other dangerous Pokemon, like Lucario, Salamence, Reuniclus and the like. This set is unexpected, by beyond its unexpectedness, actually good on its own merit, and Jirachi is blessed with the versatility to be easily altered to best fit our needs (as evidenced by the hefty slashing done in the 4th slot). He can really be tailored to fit the team, or the team can be tailored to fit him, and he gives us a very definitive way to begin a team in my opinion.
First of all, it is underused. At this point, it even looks like it might drop to UU. However, people have just forgotten about scrafty, that is all. Just like how people forgot about the prowess of wobbuffet. Scrafty is a destructive force that can SWEEP 6-0 with the right support (and that is what CCAT is for. building a team with a RIGHT SUPPORT) I see that the current OU has become a metagame with no true "sweepers." there are no more sub+sd chomps or excadrills, heck now all the terrakions are choiced, and all lukes are gone.
People have to be reminded of the beast that once was the best. With one dragon dance in hand, it is able to kill many things and at +1, and jolly, its speed tier is at a VERY favorable place. Ice punch allows it to go past gliscor and other dragons while crunch and drain punch are STAB attacks that are unresisted bar heracross and toxicroak.
The lum berry allows it to get an extra dragon dance in front of jellicent/mew/rotom/watevers face before it gets will-o-wisped or thunderwaved, or watever. This also means random scald burns dont ruin scrafty's sweep. Life orb can be used for power, but we can decide on that later.
Drain punch also allows scrafty to stay around longer with its fantastic bulk (even uninvested) as it can live a conkeldurrs mach punch even univested. Scrafty is a magical beast and after one kill, it will be sitting at +2 attack +1 speed or even +3 attack +2 speed, at which point, the whole metagame is OHKOed with SR in play.
Love Specs / Scarf Jellicent, Wobbuffet too. But...I'm going to go out on a limb here and nominate:
Whimsicott @ Leftovers, Calm nature
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpDef (yeah you can fiddle the EV's, from memory going Calm just stops max SpAtk standard Rotom from breaking the sub with Volt Switch).
-Leech Seed
-Encore
-Substitute
- Protect /Taunt / Tailwind etc
Justification. Yeah, its the pokemon all the noobs use. But I know I and at least two other guys have made the top 10 on PO using Whimsicott-centric teams. I just think for something so potentially destructive it deserves some actual focus on how to build a team around it.
Just something to mention, Protect is the main slash in there over more mainstream options for if we wanted it to act more as a "sweeper". Case in point; with Protect Whimsicott can do crazy stuff like take a Scarf Terrakions X-Scissor as it Leech Seeds and then stall it out while actually gaining health. Moreover it also messes with Scizor and Landorus which would otherwise break the Sub without caring about Leech Seed.
@ Lefties
nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
-Wish
-Calm Mind
-Thunder
-Water Pulse / Psychic / Flash Cannon
This Jirachi should be obviously used in a rain team, and it is pretty amazing and unexpected. The most amazing thing about this Jirachi is it's excellent blend of offensive and defensive abilities. It can pass big Wishes just like the SpDefensive Jirachi we all know to support it's team, while also using these Wishes to become an unkillable offensive threat once it starts setting up.
Thanks to the rain support, the only thing that can take this thing down after 1 CM are very strong physical ground attacks, and this means that Gliscor's shitty EQ's won't even do half of its life. Also in rain this thing is one of the few true counters to the classic offensive DD Dnite that lack EQ (most of them), and most Dnites in general including the SubDD one and most special attacking sets.
Another plus this Jirachi has over others is that Dugtrio is unable to trap and kill you anymore since it fails to 2hko you with EQ, while you ohko with Water Pulse.
All in all physically defensive Jirachi is an excellent poke, bringing to any team many offensive and defensive traits that are hard to be found elsewhere, but for some reason it is criminally underused. So let's fix this mistake shall we?
Good to see this up. I followed the last one very closely, even thought I didn't participate. I even tested the team before it was finished and must say that Nidoking's power is amazing. But lets get to the point, I'd like to nominate one of my favorite pokemon with a set that was a beast last generation but seems to have fallen out of favor this generation. I bring you Agiligross:
Metagross @ Life Orb
Ability: Clear Body
Evs: 252 Atk / 204 Spd / 52 HP
Nature: Jolly
-Agility
-Meteor Mash
-Earthquake
-Thunder Punch/Ice Punch
Metagross has a pretty easy time setting up on random Outrages or weaker neutral physical attacks, and once it does there's little stopping it. He laughs at pretty much all priority moves, resisting Bullet Punch and Extremespeed, and not taking much from Mach Punch or Shadow Sneak either thanks to its natural physical bulk. Its problems lie in defensive pokemon such as Skarmory, Forretress, Ferrothorn. But what do those three have in common? Magnezone loves them! True, they are not the only ones giving this set trouble, but that's what team mates are for.
The choice between Ice Punch and Thunder Punch is basically the choice between beating all versions of Gliscor and Dragonite with SR up and beating Gyarados and hitting bulky waters hard. The provided EV spread gives almost 500 speed after a single Agility, outspeeding the likes of positive nature Scarf Landorus.
Nasty plot mew is a relatively rare set that's often overlooked for its stallbreaker set, but is incredibly effective. Mew has a ridiculous movepool that gives it access to all the moves it could possibly want to pull off a nasty plot sweep. Having the rare aura sphere is one of the things it boasts over its nasty plotting counterpart, Celebi. Another thing that makes Mew shine over Celebi is that it doesn't have to choose between hitting dragons or Heatran. All in all, the nasty plot set is a great, under-appreciated threat that can often turn the match around in an instant when the opponent mispredicts a stallbreaker set.
Obviously, only use Blizzard if we make it a Hail team. Kyurem itself is a very underrated threat, so I feel like if we base our team around Kyurem, not much is gonna stand in its way. Although its typing leaves much to be desired, its defenses are rather high and can tank a looot of hits.
I'm gonna nominate a 4th Gen classic that's fallen out of grace in 5th Gen.
I've always believed in starting a team with a solid, durable Pokemon. Nothing frail like Weavile or Azelf, but nothing too weak to threaten Pokemon looking to set-up. You need a solid building block for a foundation, not breakable glass nor manipulable dirt. I chose Swampert & Zapdos because they have bulk and power to fend for itself.
It was a hard decision between Zapdos & Swampert, but in the current metagame, I think Swampert shines a bit more than Zapdos just because of the threats he handles. At least until Zapdos gets Lightning Rod.
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 216 Def / 52 SpD
Nature: Relaxed (+Def, -Spe)
~ Stealth Rock
~ Ice Beam / Avalanche (Becomes 100% accurate Physical Blizzard after tanking any hit [Useful against Lati@s & Dragonite])
~ Earthquake
~ Scald / Superpower / Roar
Swampert, like many Pokemon, disappeared from OU very early in 5th Gen, where Hyper Offense & Rain-boosted attacks ruled. Yet oddly, with OU finally calmed down, Swampert hasn't quite found his way home yet. He's instead wandering the ranks of UU with his old pals Zapdos & Suicune even with OU calling his name with Terrakion, Landorus, & Dragonite ruling the roost.
Some might say Swampert's outclassed, but he was never outclassed. He's always been, and still is, bulkier than his Water/Ground cousins.
Quagsire & Gastrodon wish they had calcs like that.
Being able to tank hits from not only Sand Sweepers, but Dragon, Fighting, Water, & Electric Powerhouses while being able to OHKO them as well is an invaluable asset. There's not many Pokemon that can boast that like Swampert can. Swampert's still a fantastic Pokemon with a great typing, access to SR, and the bulk to make it all work. Ferrothorn is Swampert's biggest obstacle but after Celebi & Roserade of 4th Gen, I know for a fact that it's nothing his team can't handle.
He's just one of those Pokemon that deserves far more credit than he's probably ever going to get, and it's a shame because this metagame seems almost tailor-made for him.
More often known as a Bulk Up user, the choice band set offers Conkeldurr immediate power. Superpower can do a ridiculous amount of damage, more powerful than a banded D'nite Outrage, 2HKOing physically defensive Skarm most of the time even with the attack drop (if it roosts it gets hits for SE). Mach Punch provides always useful priority, while Payback/Stone Edge are for coverage.
If the Atk/Def drop is offputting, Hammer Arm can be used (though 90% acc isn't ideal) or Drain Punch for healing/accuracy with less power. Ability could be Guts or Iron Fist. If Hammer Arm/Drain Punch is chosen I'd go with Iron Fist for a consistent 1.2x to that and Mach Punch, while with Superpower Guts is superior.
In terms of team support, removal of the few pokemon that can actually stop this beast, such as Gliscor, Slowbro, Reuniclus etc., as well as possibly some team healing, as he's going to be taking lots of hits with his speed. Alternatively, a Trick Room team could be interesting.
Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Ability:Magic Guard
Nature: Quiet
IV's: 0 Spe
EV's: 192 HP / 64 Def / 252 SpA
Moveset:
- Trick Room
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Focus Blast / Hidden Power Fire
- Shadow Ball
My all time favourite OU pokemon. He boasts great special attack, good bulk and the best ability in the game. Thanks to magic guard he takes no notice of weather, entry hazards, or his Life orb recoil, giving his attacks that extra boost for free. Magic guard also helps him shut down stall completely as he is not taking residual damage every turn. HO offensive teams are also countered by this pokemon as he steals there momentum rather easily with trickroom.
He is not without his flaws, depending on what 4th move you chose, he is countered by either Scizor and Jirachi or Tyranitar, which is why team support to get these threats out the way is essential. He also appreciates entry hazards like all sweepers to help turn all those 2HKO's into OHKO's
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Well I was gonna do Expert Belt Hydreigon with U-Turn, as it bluffs choice sets great and smashes stuff with attacks, but Hydreigon is getting suggested a lot. Tangrowth isn't that underrated, but I do have one Pokemon that, with proper team support, smashes through the OU Metagame.
Staraptor, who was quickly banned from the UU tier after it proved its destructiveness, is almost never seen in OU. People avoid using it due to its frailty, especially on the special side, and SR weakness. However, with the right team support, Staraptor can destroy a lot of the tier. I chose the SubRoost with Sharp Beak set for a couple of reasons. Sharp Beak is great for bluffing Choice Items, which is what everybody assumes Staraptor has. It is used over LO for that reason, along with the fact that Staraptor has enough trouble with Brave Bird recoil. This set can also set up on slower pokemon to avoid status and priority with Substitute, and then heal off any residual damage with Roost. Flying is also a very.... spammable STAB in this metagame (You've all seen Tornadobro's Hurricane). Combine that with the Steel-Killing powers of Close Combat, and you've got a monster. Reckless boosts STAB even more, and good enough Speed lets it get by without Scarf.
Life isn't perfect for Staraptor, however, and despite all of these strong points, it has a few flaws. It is frail, weak to many common attacks, including SR and BoltBeam, and can be hard to switch in. This is why Staraptor is such a good pokemon to base a team around. It has some flaws, but with team support, it can wreck the metagame.
I am disappointed by the severe lack of Zoroark in this thread. I already used up my nom on Swampert, but someone should show the troll fox some love.
Slap Protect on it's Special Attacker set and mmmm~ delicious, delicious leading/scouting/overall trolling.
I didn't realise we were strictly limited to one nom each.
Plus, if you can change from Swampert to Zoroark, please, please do it. Swampert may be underrated, but it's a rather boring Pokemon to build a team around.
Well I love Zoroark, but Swampert really needs to get attention.
I mean what are the top Pokemon in OU? Dragonite, Heatran, Tyranitar, Terrakion, Jirachi, Landorus, Gliscor, & Tentacruel? That's an all-you-can-tank buffet for Swampert.
Zoroark on the other hand is just really fun. Not extremely good, but extremely fun at least.
Ah. Well in that case I'll nominate Zoroark as well.
Zoroark @ Life Orb
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
~ Dark Pulse
~ Focus Blast
~ Flamethrower
~ Protect
Zoroark is known as that frail sweeper with the amazing ability. (Ninjask?) While it contradicts my previous post about how the 1st member of a team shouldn't be frail, this Zoroark is a bit of a special case. The set designed around a simple concept; Illusion abuse. With Illusion and Protect, the words "It's Super Effective" should never apply to any hit Zoroark takes. Protect is known almost strictly as a stalling tactic by most players, but Protect is not only what gives Zoroark it's staying power, but also lets it scout-out the opponent's Pokemon. For instance, protecting against a Scizor will reveal if it's really going to Bullet Punch or just trying to scare-out Zoroark and U-turn away, and protecting against Politoed reveals if it's Choiced or not due to it's move choice with Hydro Pump, Hidden Power, & Focus Blast generally being the clear signs of a Choice Politoed. But if the Pokemon your Illusion appears as provokes a hard-switch from Rotom-W or Landorus, it's a safe bet that they're not Choiced, but still be careful.
There are many other applications of Illusion. One of the most valuable of them being the ability to break Hyper Offense's Leads.
Let's say you're facing lead Deoxys-D in Team Preview, you know that he's going to Taunt your Stealth Rocker...but why not use that to your advantage? Move your Ferrothorn or w/e to the back slot & lead with Zoroark disguised as Ferrothorn. Deoxys-D will naturally Taunt the Ferrothorn only to get 2HKOed by Zoroark's Dark Pulse, which has a chance to Flinch anyway.
How about Dual Screens Espeon? It's faster than Zoroark. Well, you know that Espeon will set up a Reflect on your Physical Attacker, so again, let's use that to your advantage. Lead with Zoroark disguised as your Lucario, Ferrothorn, or something else that's Physical. Espeon will see them and set up the wrong screen, leaving it OHKOed by Zoroark's Dark Pulse and leaving their team with only a Reflect against a dangerous Special Attacker.
Zoroark may be UU, but to an extent, unlike most Pokemon, it's only as good as the trainer controlling it is crafty and with an entire community's worth of craftiness, I can imagine Zoroark being quite a great base for this CCAT.
This guys just sweeps left and right with proper support and he is the perfect Pokemon to build a team around. He looks for the support, not the opposite. And don't think because he's not used he sucks. After a Shell Smash he OHKO's nearly anything with Hydro Pump, even Rotom-W! Even better is his insane ability to kill weather. He mauls Sun Pokemon, gets a Speed boost from Rain and gets a SpD boost from Sand! But wait, there's more. Even after a Shell Smash he's incredibly bulky! Conkeldurr's Mach Punch does ~70%, and same with a CB Scizor Bullet Punch! Choose Omastar not only because of these features, but for the ability to say "Omastar" (like "I'm a star"...).
Kingdra is a beast. Giving rain teams a run for their money is good, though any Kingdra set (or decent Swift Swimmer for that matter) can boast that. Rain Dance takes that up a notch, allowing it to take on many weather teams with ease. And as a cherry topping, this can bluff a fully Special set after Dmeteor to lure in Blissey, only for it to taste a Rain boosted STAB Waterfall that will hurt even without full investment...never mind Blissey, ANY pokemon will try to take advantage of a -2 Kingdra. And even if you are forced out, you still have the bluff of a Special set. All it asks in return is for a hazard free entry and Ferrothorn to be removed, as well as certain other bulky pokemon that can take a hit (though usually crippled afterwards) and do something back.
Yeah Kingdra is nice. Running a DD set especially with Magnezone is an auto-win vs 90% of rain teams. Since I just found out we can make more than one nom I'm going with something else pretty interesting:
Beast set. Honestly I've experimented with it a few times over the last week and if you can maintain a few entry hazards it just steamrolls teams, you can literally sacrifice 5 team members to taking out their spinner and the one or two counters to this set then sweep. Idea isn't as complicated as it seems. You find a setup spot, which is incredibly easy, then Agility, followed by relentless spamming of Substitute / Cosmic Power and Recover. Taunt obviously on anything which could set up. Between entry hazards and Pressure stalling, coupled with an inability for the opponent to heal or do anything besides keep trying to chip away, entire teams tend to just disintegrate.
Of course it isn't quite that simple. The biggest problem is dealing with Rapid Spinners and grounded Poison pokemon, since there aren't many suitable trappers / lures which can deal with them. In addition this set needs a lot of support in terms of hazards. But like I said if we could provide it with that consistently it's one of the absolute best "sweepers" in the meta.
*Sub vs Cosmic Power is interesting. Sub blocks Critical Hits which tend to come when you're using CP. On the other hand it makes you vulnerable to combinations like Scizor + Latios which the Cosmic Power variation doesn't really care about. For what it's worth I preferred CP when trying the set. However as you can imagine Scald can be a massive pain when using CP, not because it will usually kill you directly, but because it burns up your PP for Recover.
