Biohazard

TEAM LAYOUT

Before I begin the description, I just wanted to give you guys insight on the meaning of Reuniclus' nickname, and the meaning of the RMT title. Reuniclus reminds me of a fetus, but at the same time it reminds me of a virus. I don't know why, but Reuniclus just has the kind of virus look to it, and it inspired me to name the RMT Biohazard, since biohazard literally means "Biological Hazard". Most of you probably still don't get the meaning of his nickname, "Zaire", but for those who do get it, doesn't it make perfect sense? Zaire is a form of the Ebola virus, which as many of you probably know, is considered one of the most dangerous species of virus on the entire planet. If Ebola were to spread across the entire nation, scientists compare the outcome to be similar to a Zombie Apocalypse. Basically, it would mean the end of mankind. There are four main strands of Ebola, Zaire being the most dangerous. Zaire's side effects are terrifying so I wont go into detail, but the main term used to describe the effects of Zaire is the term "Crash and Bleed Out". Zaire also has a 90% fatality rate, and is considered incurable. After saying all that, I feel you now realize why Reuniclus is named Zaire. It's so devestating to teams, that I like to compare it to one of the most deadliest virus on Earth.

Trick Room Reuniclus is the definition of anti meta game. With the OU tier being primarily fast paced offense, Reuniclus fits right at home in OU by completely using that strategy to its own advantage, simply with the touch of a button. After talking to several people about Reuniclus and hearing ignorant posters bashing the hell out of Reuniclus, I decided to try the supposedly, "Unfit for OU Pokemon". After using it, I came to realize what people are missing. If you are an avid OU player, you should know how dangerous Reuniclus is. Every experienced OU player has witnessed Reuniclus in action, and every experienced OU player has learned to fear it. I'm not kidding, every time I see Reuniclus on the team preview I shit my pants. Calm Mind Reuniclus isn't bad at all, but I think Latias is a much better CM sweeper. Trick Room Reuniclus however, is probably the only user of Trick Room that can solely execute the strategy without having to be on a Trick Room based team, making Trick Room Reuniclus really good, even on non TR Teams. My Reuniclus is obviously Trick Room, with the EV spread being standard for maximum power, lots of bulk, and slow as molasses. However under TR, it's one of the fastest offensive Pokemon in the game. Life Orb is to take advantage of it's ability Magic Guard, which protects it from recoil and the residual damage from Weather, status, and hazards.

The goal of Trick Room Reuniclus is to clean up mid to late game. Depending on how easy it is to get in Reuniclus and how bulky the opposing team is, Reuniclus can also come in and and break down the opponents offense early on in the battle, making it much easier for the rest of my team to tear the opponent apart. Reuniclus' move set is also quite standard, and gives Reuniclus near perfect coverage. Although some prefer to use Hidden Power Fire over Shadow Ball or Focus Blast, Heatran and Breloom deal with most of the Steel types that would stand in its way. Psychic is an incredibly powerful STAB move that decimates everything in it's path. Super effective hits always result in a KO, and neutral hits always result in a 2HKO, some still resulting in a KO. Psychic and Trick Room go together like peanut butter and jelly due to the prevalence of fast Fighting types like Keldeo, Terrakion, and priority Breloom, and it's also useful against Chlorophyll sweepers such as Venusaur, who under Trick Room are incredibly slow. Focus Blast is an incredibly important move for Reuniclus to have in it's arsenal, since it OHKOs Tyranitar, who is arguably the greatest answer to Reuniclus. It's also good for dealing solid damage to anything that resists Psychic, and if Steel types are still present, it can still handle them quite nicely, mainly Forretress and Ferrothorn who have no reliable form of recovery and the latter being weak to it. Shadow Ball rounds off the set by giving Reuniclus a solid answer to other Psychic types such as Latios, Latias, and Celebi, while also dealing solid damage to max specially defensive Jellicent.​

Offensive Heatran is probably one of my favorite Pokemon to use in OU. Sporting a massive 130 base special attack and all around great bulk, Heatran is a forced to be reckoned with. His main role on the team is to dish out powerful attacks such as Fire Blast and Earth Power to deal with Steel types and opposing physical walls that can resist most of Reuniclus' moves. He also is the teams Stealth Rocker, which also helps Reuniclus in the long run since it further weakens down the opponent. The EV spread is quite explanatory, as max speed lets it out speed Defensive Gliscor and Adamant Dragonite, both who are OHKOed by HP Ice, and preventing Heatran from having to waste his Air Balloon. Speaking of Air Balloon, it's probably one of the most essential items Offensive Tran can carry. It prevents Heatran from being trapped by Dugtrio, while also giving it a free immunity to Ground attacks, giving Heatran a chance to actually take down Garchomp and Landorus. Since Sun teams are also a problem to this team at times, Heatran pretty much completely solves that problem.

Offensive Heatran is quite the force. A simple move set with three attacking moves hits most of the tier for super effective damage, while also severely denting pretty much anything. Like Reuniclus, Heatran's move set is quite standard for an offensive variant. Fire Blast is a super powerful STAB that OHKOs every steel type and Grass type in the tier bar Specially defensive Jirachi and Celebi in the Rain. Coverage against Steel types are incredibly important for Reuniclus to succeed, making Heatran a very valuable team member. Earth Power is mostly for opposing Heatran lacking an Air Balloon, and it's also used for Tentacruel on the switch as well as opposing Fire types such as Ninetails, Infernape, and Victini. Hidden Power Ice gives Heatran a pseudo Ice move which rounds of his set quite nicely, giving him a weapon against Gliscor, Landorus, and Dragon types. Since almost all of the Dragons in the tier are x4 weak to Ice, Heatran can net some surprising KOs against Dragonite after Stealth Rocks, Garchomp, and Salamence. Stealth Rocks is the most important move in the game, and it helps Reuniclus sweep by weakening down opposing Scarfers and heavily crippling the dreaded Volcarona. Stealth Rocks is the first part of the hazard core on my team.​

Honestly, there isn't too much to say about Breloom. Everyone knows just how dangerous Breloom is in this meta game, and how with only one turn of set up Breloom can KO half the tier with a STAB boosted priority Mach Punch. Similar to Heatran, Breloom is one of the most important members of my team. Since Reuniclus has a huge problem breaking through special walls such as Blissey, Chansey, and Jellicent, Breloom is here to help. Breloom provides the team with priority Fighting and a solid answer to Rain teams, and also serving as the team's back up sweeper. Sometimes Reuniclus just can't find a good opportunity to come in, which is why Breloom can act as the team's back up sweeper. Spore is also a great move too, and can sometimes make it a 6-5 match just by using it. The EVs are incredibly standard, and Life Orb is there for extra power.

Just like the EV spread, everyone knows what move set Technician Breloom's generally run. Mach Punch is obvious as a Fighting STAB that's not only boosted by Technician, but also always goes first. This makes what was once a pitifully slow Pokemon, into a fast powerhouse. Mach Punch is great for cleaning up late game, but it's mostly used for the Pink Blobs, Tyranitar, and Terrakion. The choice between Low Sweep and Swords Dance is tricky. The question is, do I want Breloom to be a back up sweeper, or do I want Breloom to force more switches? Swords Dance makes Breloom nearly unstoppable, while Low Sweep provides Breloom with an alternative powerful STAB that requires precise prediction to be successful. With that said however, Low Sweep is incredibly useful for not only doing massive damage to obvious switch ins such as Latios (who is actually 2HKOed by Low Sweep)but also has good move synergy with Spore, since Breloom can now out speed switch ins such as Mence and Latios. Bullet Seed is another Technician boosted STAB that utterly decimates Water types, no matter how much bulk they have. It's a perfect move to use against Jellicent, Politoad, Vaporeon, and Gastrodon. With a Swords Dance boost, it can KO most of the tier, even resisted. Spore is one of the main reason Breloom can be so devastating. It gives Breloom a free turn of set up, or just useful for shutting down a Pokemon for the majority of the match. Spore has great synergy with Reuniclus, as it gives Reuniclus a good opportunity to switch in.​

Skarmory is THE definition of a physical wall, and it always has been since GSC. No matter how many new physical powerhouse GF throws at Skarmory, nothing really seems to be able to break it. Even a Adamant CB Outrage from Kyurem-B fails to 2HKO Skarmory. What about Super Effective attacks? Well, CB Garchomp fails to 3HKO with Fire Fang. That should show you just how bulky Skarmory is. Not only that, but Skarmory also provides the team with hazard support in the form of Spikes, which makes Reuniclus that much more threatening. Skarmory walls Dragons like nothing, laughs at Fighting types, and proceeds to phaze teams to death with Whirlwind, while roosting off damage that the opponent throws at it. Skarmory's typing is amazing too, because it leaves him neutral to Stealth Rocks, Fighting types, Rock types, and an immunity to Ground types. Skarmory has one of the most important roles on the team as a Spiker. Spikes can turn Reuniclus' 2HKOs into OHKOs, making Skarmory very valuable team member, and one of Reuniclus biggest assets. If you don't take down Skarmory quick enough, you're just one step closer from being torn apart by Reuniclus. The EVs are mostly standard. 224 HP EVs give Skarmory a Stealth Rock number, which lets him switch into Stealth Rock and get his Sturdy back after two turns of Leftovers. The rest is dumped into maxing out his Defense, and putting a little more bulk into his pitiful special defense.

Skarmory walls, lays hazards, recovers, spams Whirlwind. Rinse and repeat. With the amount of physical attackers in the tier, Skarmory finds it very easy to set up Spikes. Like mentioned previously, Spikes support is huge for Reuniclus, because it turns many 2HKOs into OHKOs, and rare 3HKOs into 2HKOs. Spikes is all around very helpful, as it makes it really hard on the opponent, and forces them to be careful on who they switch in. Brave Bird is a surprisingly powerful STAB that's mostly useful for Fighting types such as Breloom and Conkeldurr, while also dealing nice damage to anything else that's unresistant. Roost is what makes Skarmory so hard to take down. No matter how hard you try, if you can't 2HKO Skarmory, then you can't beat him. Only problem with Roost is that it makes him vulnerable to Ground and Fighting attacks, but at the same time makes him resilient against Stone Edge and neutral to Electric attacks. Whirlwind is one of Skarmory's trademark moves, as it keeps sweepers from setting up on him, and also shuffling around teams to further weaken them down from residual Spikes damage. I've never used a Skarmory on a serious team until now, and I must say I'm not disappointed. Skarmory is a great Pokemon, and always will be.​

Latias was always deemed out classed by her brother, even in the early years of ADV. However, players have come to realize that power isn't everything, and Latias shows just how good a Bulky Attacker can be. Sporting a really nice 130 base special defense and 110 special attack combined with 110 base speed, Latias is no pushover. Most Latias sets you'll see are the Sub Calm Mind set, since it not only takes advantage of her bulk but also makes her extremely hard to handle after a few boosts. As the meta game has started to become more faced pace however, Latias was yet again shafted into lower usage, as Latios soared up in usage because of his instant raw power. Once BW2 came into effect, new threats such as Thundurus-T were destroying everything in it's path, and Latios was sometimes even 2HKOed by Thunder. After Genesect left the building, people began taking a different approach to Latias by using her as a bulky attacker, taking advantage of her impressive bulk and speed while giving her a Life Orb to negate the loss of the extra 20 BP that Latios has. Thanks to this curiosity, Latias has found a new found niche in OU as not only a Set up sweeper, but also a Bulky Attacker. Unlike Latios, she is able to come into a plethora of attacks such as CB Close Combat from Terrakion and Specs Hydro Pump from Politoad, while still posing a threat. On top of that, she's probably the greatest Keldeo counter in the game. Although she lacks the insane power of her brother, she has the ability to switch into something without having to worry about the repercussions. Her Bulky Life Orb tank set usually has the EVs that are used above, however they can be tweaked a bit. They give her max speed, and a decent amount of bulk to help her avoid the 2HKO from CB Terrakion's Close Combat after Stealth Rocks. Life Orb is for extra power.

Latias always seems to find her way onto my team. Her bulky Life Orb set is phenomenal, and this set acts as more of a hard hitting special wall, being able to come into Rain boosted and Sun boosted Water and Fire Attacks without having to worry about the 2HKO. For example, she can come in on Thundurus-T's Thunder and threaten it with Draco Meteor, or even Surf in the Rain. Draco Meteor is the most powerful Dragon type move in the game, and coming off of a 302 SpA stat combined with Life Orb and STAB, it's really nothing to scoff at. Although it's not a good move to spam because of the huge SpA drop, it's often used as a nuke on a predicted switch in, or just to get off as much damage as possible before she faints. Although it's not Latios' Draco Meteor, it still does a ton of damage. Psyshock is another STAB that really puts a beating on Fighting types such as Terrakion, Breloom, and Keldeo, as well as Poison types like Tentacruel and Venusaur. Surf is primarily for coverage, and it's a great move to use against Rain teams. Surf hits Fire types pretty damn hard, and it's also a great move to use against Landorus and Gliscor. Heatran, who completely walls this set, is also shut down by Surf. Last but not least is Recover, which gives Latias an instant source of healing 50% of her health, and also negates LO recoil. Recover is what makes this set so deadly, since Latias is already hard to take down.​

Finding the correct Choice Scarfer is always somewhat of a pain. They have to have good synergy with the rest of the team, and also provide the team with a solid offensive presence in order to revenge kill common threats. After having a hard time finding the correct partner, I happened to stumble upon Landorus-T, another Pokemon that I've yet to use on a team. Ever since I slapped a Choice Scarf on him, I've never looked back. With a gargantuan Attack stat, Intimidate, and relatively mediocre speed stat, Landorus-T screams Choice Scarf. Even with a +Spe nature, Landorus-T still has a whopping 388 attack stat, almost as high as Adamant Garchomp. That's impressive. Speaking of Garchomp, you may be asking, why use Landy when there's Garchomp? There are several reasons. The first one is Landorus-T's sky high attack without the need of a positive nature. The second is his amazing ability Intimidate, which makes it very easy for Landorus to come into physical attacks. Third, he's immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes. And last but not least, Landorus has a more usable SpA stat. This lets Landorus-T run a Hidden Power of his choice, most who would usually use HP Ice to hit Gliscor who walls this set. All in all, Landorus-T is a hidden gem that deserves some recognition. Sure everyone knows about his good old Bulky Pivot set, but no one really knows just how effective Landorus can be with a Choice Scarf.

Scarfed Landorus has a rather practical move set, with only HP Ice being the wildcard. U-Turn is another advantage that Landy has over Garchomp, as it gives Landorus instant switch advantage, while doing decent damage at the same time. Earthquake is Landy's only STAB move, and coming off of 388 Attack it really hits like a truck. Landorus can OHKO max HP Jirachi 67% of the time after Stealth Rocks, which is quite a feat seeing as how bulky Jirachi really is. It's also a great move to deal with pretty much anything that doesn't resist it, and it almost rips common Sun team Pokemon to shreds. Stone Edge is a very powerful move that hits almost the entire meta game in conjunction with Earthquake. Stone Edge's main selling point is the ability to take down +1 Salamence, Gyarados, and Volcarona. It's one of Landorus-T's most helpful moves, and he honestly uses that more often then his own STAB move. Hidden Power Ice rounds off the set by giving Landorus a more reliable move to take down Dragon types such as Salamence and Dragonite without risking the Stone Edge miss. It's greatest use however is it's ability to OHKO other Landorus after Stealth Rocks, 2HKO Gliscor, and OHKO Garchomp. Landorus-T may seem out classed by other Choice Scarfers in the meta game, however Landorus-T has a ton of things going for it that make it really good at what it does, and it's a great addition to my team.​