OM Team Study! [Week 2: PU featuring FLCL]

Welcome to the OM Team Study. The goal of this project is to help unite the community while improving the overall quality of the playerbase by studying the art of teambuilding at the highest level.

What is this for?
This project was shamelessly stolen from Melee Mewtwo. Princess Bri created an OU thread of the same type, and PsYch071c created one for UU. I stole the format from them and am just changing basic things to make it make more sense for the OM Subforum, which gets a ton of traffic already, but the ladders are less than stellar, which is frustrating for those of us who enjoy these games. The basic idea of this thread is to look at a high level player's team under the microscope and see what the community can find and learn from each team. Discussing a team helps not only you learn and think about it, but the fellow OM'rs who are new can learn by reading your post. It is a win-win situtation! Additionally, you are supplied with high-level teams to take ideas from if you like a build, and it gives us a look at what is "good" in the high-stakes Tournament metagame. This will also give new players the building blocks necessary to get themselves started in a new metagame, without the awkwardness of not even knowing where to start.

How does it work?
Each week (more or less) there will be a high-level team from one of the more popular metagames (as evidenced by forum activity) that will be displayed for the community as a whole to discuss. The aim of this discussion will be to analyze the team by identifying roles and explaining their purpose, investigating specific movesets and Pokemon choices, strong points of the team, flaws it may have and even questions concerning unusual or confusing aspects. Essentially, the team will serve as a model to learn from and an example to refer to. Once the discussion is over, the teambuilder will post explaining his decisions and answering any questions or false ideas concerning them. This will also allow newer players to the OM scene to get an idea of how different Metagames are played, as well as learn new strategies, new Pokemon niches, etc.

What do I get out of it?

• Good posting can result in nominations for a Ladybug or Community Contributor badge depending on your work in the OM subforum.
• A good look at current tournament teams and trends.
• Insight on how teams are built and more knowledge of the different Other Metagames out there.
• There may be another prize or so, but it's still not worked out yet. Don't let this discourage you, however.
• A good, intelligent thread!

Some things to consider are:

• What do think was the main/inspiring idea/goal FLCL had when building this team?
• Is there a discernible core that he tried to build around?
• What are the strong points of the team?
• What are the weak spots?
• How could his use of certain EV/Moveset/Abilities twists help his team vs specific threats or archetypes?
• How does he use some underrated threats to give his team an advantage?
• Just about anything else you might want to comment on or ask about.

Though I don't know much about the PU metagame, i'm going to give this my best shot.

At first glance I notice that this team has 2 seriously bulky pokemon, Vileplume and Camerupt. Who both help support this teams sweepers in different ways. Plumes Aromatherapy gives the sweepers (Fraxure and Klang) great support, being able to heal off annoying status effects such as Burn or Para. Camerupt sets up SR, to insure that extra damage is there in the battle, and insures KO's on certain Pokemon. I have no calcs to prove that though. Choice Specs Beheeyem hits like a truck, after the boost from specs and analytic it's one of the most powerful pokemon in the tier. The ev spread on it is nice as well, maximizing the hp to give it extra bulk, because it doesn't need or want any speed. The last Pokemon on the team is choice scarf Rotom-f, From what i've been told, and actually know about this meta, it is the best revenge killer in the tier, blessed with the wonderful duel stab of bolt beam, though it actually doesn't get Ice beam, I see FLCL has gone with the safer option of using HP Ice> Blizzard, opting for less power to be safer with the accuracy. It may not have the power to OHKO fraxure, but it still has the chance with hazards up

252 SpA Rotom-F Hidden Power Ice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Fraxure: 83.94 - 99.27%. 2hko possible ohko

252 SpA Rotom-F Blizzard vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Fraxure: 390-462 (142.33 - 168.61%) -- guaranteed OHKO


Once again; I don't claim to have a vast knowlegde of the meta, This looks like a very solid team that I wouldn't change at all. Very well done FLCL it shows as to why you're one of the best players. ( not just because you're my teammate )

FLCL's team represents a solid indication of how standard offensive plays out in the PU metagame; such play-style consists of one or two setup sweepers, with both in particular being able to setup on a lot of weak attackers and bust through a myriad of defensive cores. I would say FLCL intended to formulate an offensive core that can break down a lot of defensive while also being able to combat opposing offensive teams.

Camerupt serves an important niche of a pivot onto this team that uses a lot of its resistances, Electric- immunity, Stealth Rock support, and the ability to phaze as means of functioning as a glue on this team. Without Camerupt, various Electric-types such as opposing Rotom-F and Raichu will be able to wear down and pick off FLCL's team periodically with Volt Switch while also being capable of revenge killing his setup sweepers with their coverage moves (being Hidden Power Ice/Blizzard and Focus Blast, respectively). Camerupt's high Special Defense and useful Fire resistance also allows it to check dangerous threats like Combusken, Simisage, or Swoobat. Camerupt is also able to handle match ups with most other Stealth Rock users; they often have low Special Defense and are weak to Ground, meaning that they wouldn't advocate towards switching in.

Vileplume has always been a popular pivot in the PU metagame, and for good reason. The spread that is being used has a number of efficient qualities for this team, allowing Vileplume to function as a solid answer to most physical attacks such as Leafeon, Whiscash, and most Rock- or Ground-type attackers. The ability to heal off with Synthesis (or Moonlight) is a vital asset for Vileplume's role, as it allows it to pivot against threats and have more opportunities of supporting the team. The use of Aromatherapy is nice, but I believe that FLCL's habit of safe play is overselling its value on its team. The reasoning behind this is because not a lot of Pokemon carry status moves in this metagame, and the offensive Pokemon on this team is either meant to get out after disrupting or revenge killing something or protect themselves with Taunt or Substitute as a way of preventing status and setting up afterwards. It is, however, useful when matching up against Pokemon with sleep-inducing moves such as Jumpluff or Butterfree. Otherwise, I would say that Sleep Powder is more advantageous as far as pressuring the opposing team goes, as I find that to become the focal point of this team when it comes to achieving that win condition.

Fraxure is one of the main setup sweepers for the team, and is known for being one of the most dangerous tier. It is capable of ripping holes for a lot of teams that lack a Steel-type (though Superpower mitigates that to a degree) and the use of Eviolite makes it difficult to revenge kill. Fraxure's access to Taunt allows it to shut down a lot of defensive Pokemon, which in turn allows it to setup more. The most important goal when using Fraxure on this team is to not be careless upon the use of Outrage, which is especially dangerous when facing a healthy Klang. It allows it to turn into setup bait and the team will be very hard-pressed towards dealing with it if Camerupt has been somewhat weakened and if Klang gets more than one boost, meaning that it will be able to outspeed Rotom-F. Nevertheless, Fraxure's offensive presence carries a high reward value on this team and thus will dent a lot of opposing teams.

Klang is the best example of a bulky sweeper in this team that uses its defense typing to check a lot of Pokemon with its resistances, primarily Normal-, Flying-, Grass-, Poison-, and Psychic-type threats. Its ability to act as an offensive check for a lot of threats allows it to setup on and beat Pokemon that would otherwise take sacrifice in order for this team to deal with, such as Dodrio, Duosion, Stoutland, or Fraxure. Klang also shares rather good typing synergy with Vileplume, who is able to switch into Water-, Ground-, and to a lesser extent, Fighting-type Pokemon (there aren't many viable Fighting types in a tier and Vileplume has a shaky match up against Throh) that bothers Klang, while in return it can come in on the number of Flying-, Psychic-, or Poison-type Pokemon that annoys Vileplume. Camerupt is also able to check the Fire-types that Klang often can't do much to as well. The EVs that are used invest a good amount of bulk for Klang, while the remainder runs into speed so that it can outpace Rapidash after a Shift Gear boost. Substitute allows it to avoid status and can be used to stall a lot of offensive Pokemon out of their recoil from Life Orb and help push them into KO range. Overall, its a great sweepers whose capabilities is to not be underestimated for this team.

Beheeyem is quite the interesting option for this team, who definitely carves its way of success on the metagame with its overall damage output and power that is further boosted with the help of Analytic. I believe that FLCL used Trick Room Beheeyem before, and while it was a powerful late-game sweeper, the utility of the Choice Specs sets really seemed enticing for the team. It serves as a wall-breaker that is deceptively difficult to switch to, and its tendency of forcing a lot of switches can give it a lot of opportunities to activate analytic. This allows it to shatter most walls with Psychic, being able to 2HKO Audino on the switch with Choice Specs after Stealth Rock while otherwise busting through most Pokemon that doesn't resist the move. Thunderbolt is used to deal more damage to bulky Water-types like Mantine or Golduck, and otherwise provide similar damage output to that of a super effective Hidden Power Fighting in most cases. Signal Beam is to hit Dark-types that would otherwise switch in on Beheyeem with impunity, such as Zweilous, Shiftry, or Sneasel. Trick is one of the biggest selling points of this set, allowing it to cripple a defensive Pokemon while also giving Beheeyem the option of switching moves afterwards. Beheeyem is the definition of a role player on this team that definitely plays its part here.

For most offensive teams, Rotom-F is the essential go-to revenge killer, as its typing and coverage allows it to pick off a lot of the top offensive threats in this metagame, such as Golduck, Fraxure, Swanna, or Jumpluff, all of which are very troublesome without it. In other matters. it typically provides momentum for the team with Volt Switch and has the ability to cripple a lot of defensive Pokemon, both traits that are very beneficial for any offensive team. Likewise for Beheyeem, Rotom-F also carries Trick. The presence of Trick on this team allows for a lot of opportunities to disrupting a lot of defensive threats, which in turn benefits the team's setup sweepers as they gain safer setup opportunities.

In other matters, notice how all of FLCL's Pokemon that hits on the special side uses no Attack IVs (and minimal for Rotom-F while still maintaining a 70 base power Hidden Power). This also shows example of his "safe play" as this allows him to better prepare for Swagger Murkrow, a popular Pokemon last month's ladder that primarily centered its set around hax and getting most of its damage output from Swagger-boosted Foul Plays. FLCL uses this to his advantage as it allows him to lessen the damage that his team take with Foul Play with the less attack IVs that he runs.

Overall, this is a quite solid team that has definitely made its name on the ladder, peaking #1 on the ladder for the entire PU month. As far as the weak points go, I've noticed a general weakness to offensive Water-type Pokemon that carries a coverage move to hit Vileplume super effectively. Rain Dance Golduck is probably the biggest threat that has to offer in this category, as it can take advantage of Camerupt, Klang, or Rotom-F, and proceed to devastate the team with boosted Hydro Pumps or Ice Beam and FLCL has no means of revenge killing it as long as the weather is active. The best way he can handle this is by switching around a lot to the target of Ice Beam, but even then Golduck still does similar damage with Hydro Pump in the rain and try to stall out rain turns, making this strategy backfire. Luckily for FLCL, people didn't discover how dominant Golduck is in PU until late, and were mostly using other sets when that time came. To a lesser extent, Water-types that can give his team trouble includes Swanna, Mantine, or Simipour for similar reasons, but generally different approaches with their sets.

Not much else to say. Good work with the team, FLCL.

Jeez Agent Dell.

Give the other kids in the class a chance to answer, yeah?

I'm kidding though. What a great write up!

Great post Laga! Keep up the good work folks! Don't be intimidated by the Essays, or a lack of knowledge of the metagame. You can still post an analysis as someone new to the tier!

Could you add 1v1 meta to the poll? (don't worry, that was a joke)

TheBurgerKing99 said:

Could you add 1v1 meta to the poll? (don't worry, that was a joke)

Click to expand...

Hahahahahahahahahano

2 days left to vote and post folks. We are 20 votes short of what the last thread got.

STABmons is still 3 ahead of Doubles. If that doesn't change in the next 12-24 hours, next week will be STABmons team study!

I already have a STABmons team to post. However, if Doubles comes from behind to win this, I'll need a team to dissect. If you have one, please PM it to me.

Also, FLCL, can I get your closing post in here before Arcticblast closes the thread?

that was the initial team i built for pu and it's probably not the best since i just slapped a bunch of pokemon that i knew were going to work together. agent dell already went over some of the main weaknesses, but i wanted to point out that it's swept clean by riolu with a layer of spikes and stealth rocks up. you guys already stated what each team member does so i won't go over that again.

I've only played a few matches of PU so I still have no idea about the threats in this meta. Also haven't read any of the above posts aside from FLCL's as they are mostly tl;dr. That being said I've rarely seen much water types in there so I'd say Camerupt's a solid choice defensively. The most threatening poke is easily Rotom-W thanks to Boltbeam and STAB on both, while Trick's probably used to cripple walls and this team notably lacks a wallbreaker, but I wouldn't know much about the walls of this tier as I haven't played it much. I'm not aware of Beheyeem's defensive stats but I do know that Specs Analytic Magnezone hits harder than or almost as Kyurem-W, and from what I just checked, this guy has just 5 points lower in special attack so is definitely a scary threat. Vileplume, idk, seems good on paper but is walled by steels and poisons, making it set up bait sometimes. As for Klang and Fraxure I've personally never used them myself so idk what to say about them. All in all a good team with decent synergy, could probably use a spinner though maybe.

Can't wait to see STABmons.

So I guess STABmons is next, huh?