XY OU Assault Hydreigon based team - Please Rate!!

[King Kuro]

Hi guys, please rate my team and hive me any advice on how it can be improved! I'm fairly new, and the main thing I struggle with is choosing EVs, I usually just stick to 252/252/4, so if you can try and help me out there it'd be much appreciated! If I have forgotten anything please let me know! Thanks alot! :)

Team overview:

Explanation:

Hydreigon @ Assault vest
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Sp.Att / 252 Sp.Def / 4 Sp
Nature: Calm (+SpD, -Atk)
~ U-turn
~ Draco Meteor
~ Dark Pulse
~ Flash Cannon
​

Assault vested Hydreigon is one of my favourite pokes to use, so I decided to base my team around him. I decided to go with 252 Sp.Att / 252 Sp.Def, to be able to take a hit and deal massive damage back. Draco meteor and dark pulse were chosen as STAB moves. I chose draco over D.Pulse for the extra power. I decided to go with Flash Cannon to be able to hit fairies on the switch (which has happened numerous times in my testing of this team). I threw in U-turn to try and get a bit of momentum.

Slowbro @ Rocky Helmet
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Def / 12 Spd
Nature: Bold (+Def, - Atk)
IVs: 0 Att
~ Toxic Thunder wave
~ Iron Defense Slack off
~ Scald
~ Psyshock
​

My next choice for my defensive core was Slowbro. Hydreigon and Slowbro have fairly good synergy, sharing only a bug weakness. I originally had leftovers on 'bro, but elected to use rocky helmet when I picked my next 'mon, plus with the regenerator he regains HP anyway. The 12 spd evs (I believe) are used to creep on Amoongus and other base 30 'mons. The rest was invested in defense and hp to make him an absolute wall. Scald and Psyshock were chosen as STAB moves, thunder wave is now on him to help out my team as it isn't particularly fast. Slack off is now on him to regain HP.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk
Nature: Relaxed (+def, -Spd)
~ Leech Seed
~ Stealth Rock
~ Gyro Ball
~ Power Whip
​

To round out my defensive core I used Ferrothorn. It shares the fighting weakness with Hydreigon, but Slowbro resists it, and they both resist fire. Ferrothorn is used as a physical wall and stealth rock setter when i get the opportunity. The EVs are standard for Ferrothorn, with relaxed nature to increase gyro balls power a bit. Leech seed helps regain health, along with leftovers. Gyro ball and power whip are STAB attacks.

At this stage I had two common weaknesses, fighting and bug. So I wanted something that could resist/do well against bug. I looked for a good offensive fire type, but didn't want char as Y would bring sun, which didn't really help my team, and X brings another dragon. I ended up choosing:

Manectric (Mega) @ Manectite
Trait: Lightning rod >> Intimidate
EVs: 252 Sp Atk / 4 Sp Def / 252 Spd
Nature: Modest (+ Sp Atk, - Atk)
~ Volt Switch
~ Thunderbolt
~ HP Ice
~ Flamethrower
​

Manectric worked really well with the team. Lightning rod (prior to mega-evolving) helps with Slowbro's weakness, Hydreigon's levitate negates Manectric's ground weakness and flamethrower hits bug types. Standard EVs, with modest nature to maximise Sp Atk power. Volt switch provides a volt-turn combo with Hydreigon which help synergise together greatly. Thunderbolt is his powerful STAB and HP ice is there for coverage against ground types, particularly Lando, Garchomp and Gliscor.

The only common weakness I had left that wasn't accounted for was fighting, and I chose to go with my absolute favourite pokemon in terms of competitiveness.

Gengar @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Sp Atk / 252 Spd
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
IVs: 0 Atk
~ Destiny bond
~ Shadow ball
~ Sludge wave
~ Dazzling gleam
​

Scarf gengar is soooo good. With maxed speed from his timid nature, it outspeeds alot. Destiny bond helps to take out sweepers who have started to set up, or pokemon I'm struggling to take out. Shadow ball and sludge wave are STAB, I went with sludge wave over bomb for the extra power but am not sure about this. Dazzling gleam filled the last slot and hits dark types who threaten 'gar, fighting and dragons that threaten Hydreigon.
I love this set and am keeping it as is! Thanks! :)

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Trait: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Sp def
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -Sp Atk)
~ Belly drum
~ Aqua Jet
~ Waterfall Superpower
~ Play rough
​

The main thing my team was missing was a physically offensive 'mon. I wanted something to set up, and the typing of Azumarill fit my team well. So I ran the Belly durm/ Sitrus set. Aqua jet is priority STAB, and I chose Waterfall as a more powerful alternative. However, I got walled completely by Porygon, so decided to change this to superpower. Play rough is secondary STAB. The 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Sp def, helps to set up the B.Drum and dish out massive damage.

Any advice is welcomed guys! I appreciate it! :D



Output:

Fluffy (Hydreigon) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- U-turn
- Flash Cannon

Help me (Slowbro) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 244 HP / 4 Def / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Slack Off
- Scald
- Psyshock

WhipIt (Ferrothorn) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip

Zapdog (Manectric) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Flamethrower

Death (Gengar) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Dazzling Gleam

Sir Swag (Azumarill) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Superpower
- Play Rough​

 

[AD impish john]

there is no need to say it twice. your team is good but move sets are iffy let me help. assult vest hydra is terrible dont use it. use a different set like scarf hydra with earth power, flamethower, draco meteor, and dark pulse. your slowbro i dislike the most iron defense is horrible.slowbro with slack off scald psyshock and t-wave is a better set. slowbro is not meant to stall. the rocky helmet was a great idea. if you dont like that replace gyro ball on ferrothorn with t-wave. your team is pretty slow so thats why t-wave is helpful. scarf gengar is the set i use but again moveset is awful use this sludge wave focus blast shadow ball and t-bolt. scarf with destiny bond is useless. have nice day.

 

[King Kuro]

Thanks for your input man! The t-wave on Slowbro was a great idea and has helped immensely (as well as the slack off).

 

[AD impish john]

Thanks for your input man! The t-wave on Slowbro was a great idea and has helped immensely (as well as the slack off).

your welcome but magneone is a threat still. So earth power or flamethrower on hydra would be good. I mention this because if manctric is gone its a threat.

 

[Iridiscent97]

Hi! Really innovative team you have there. I never really came across Hydreigon in OU more than a handful of times, and I certainly never encountered one centred around an AV variant. As such, here are my suggestions, and I hope you will take them in the right spirit:

1. I suppose I must tell you that Hydreigon is solidly UU, being largely outpaced by Lati@s and Garchomp, out-bulked by Dragonite and outclassed by Kyurem-B. With the advent of ORAS, Salamence (which itself already outclasses Hydreigon as a mixed attacker with access to Dragon Dance to boot) will become a monster. So in all fairness, I should recommend one of the above dragons, but since you want to make Hydreigon a teammember, the rest of these recommendations are designed to help with that.

2. Hydreigon's only saving grace is its sheer versatility. No one expects it in OU, and even those who do never know exactly what set it might run. Hydreigon is therefore naturally suited to a Choice Scarf and not an Assault Vest. I seriously recommend:

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- U-turn

This Hydreigon forms a decent VoltTurn with Manectric (at least, as decent as Hydreigon can manage) while having a strong STAB to fire off. Fire Blast is preferable, as it roasts Ferrothorn & Co. Flash cannon is not advisable as you do not want to keep Hydreigon up against fairies. They won't even take that much from it anyway.

2. Manectric must be Timid. Half its usefulness comes in maintaining its crucial speed tier, and it isn't worth losing that for the slight power gain. Please do make that change.

3. Your team is pretty vulnerable to Mega Venusaur, Heatran and Chansey; they can stall out all your members. I suggest replacing Gengar with Latios. Latios can handle all the above with the right set, while also forming a good partner for Hydreigon by eliminating threats like Keldeo, Terrakion and Charizard, aside from providing Defog support (which you don't have). May I suggest:

Latios @ Life Orb
EVs: 4 Attack / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Earthquake
- Defog

This adds a more useful partner than Scarf Gengar, which can also support your team. In any case, Destiny Bond Gengar is only used in Ubers or doubles, and never with Choice Scarf at that (I seriously question the logic behind being locked into Destiny Bond to result in a loss-loss situation)

4. Azumarill is a great mon, but Belly Drum is very hard to set up today in OU, thus resulting in AV Azumarill being more common. But if you truly want a powerful physical water type that can set up easily, I suggest a Bulky DD Gyarados. Gyarados works very well with Manectric, as it can take care of Ground-type Pokemon that normally scare Manectric. In addition, they both have Intimidate, and a double Intimidate core severely hampers Pokemon that depend on physical moves. May I suggest:

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 88 HP / 192 Atk / 4 Def / 224 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Bounce

Gyarados has excellent synergy with Latios and Ferrothorn; I suggest changing Gyro Ball to Thunder Wave on it to spread paralysis and assist Gyarados and Hydreigon. In any case, Gyro ball's power is drastically reduced if the target is paralyzed, and hence mustn't be run with Thunder Wave.

5. Ferrothorn, Hydreigon and Gyarados appreciate some form of protection against status especially with Rotom-W running (floating?) amok, so Slowbro is better replaced by a wish/heal bell user that can check Rotom. Slowbro is also best used only on full stall or extremely defensive teams, which isn't what you have here. So perhaps you'd like to consider Clefable :

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Soft-Boiled
- Heal Bell

This Clefable has enough bulk to avoid the 2HKO from both Greninja's Hydro Pump and Latios's Psyshock after leftovers recovery, while also serving the team well with cleric support. Fairies might be Hydreigon's greatest threats, but they are also its greatest allies.

That's all. Thanks for having the patience to read through all of this. I realize that I've asked you to make major refits to your team, but it is aimed to help Hydreigon as much as possible in the OU environment. With this, you can make a good team that can take many standard cores by surprise, and work to your advantage. Wish you all the best!

 

[King Kuro]

your welcome but magneone is a threat still. So earth power or flamethrower on hydra would be good. I mention this because if manctric is gone its a threat.

I am actually going to change it to either of these as I did get completely walled by Magnezone. I'm not sure which yet though.

Thanks Again! :)

 

[King Kuro]

I've come here to say that AD is completely wrong on most of what he said. He needs to lurk much more before posting. Assault Vest Hydregion is a fantastic Pokemon. It has great coverage and access to U-Turn. I would suggest Flamethrower over Flash Cannon, just due to the fact that Fairies don't take too much from that anyways. Flamethrower helps deal with Ferrothorn a bit better. I have a question though. How well does Hydregion take Special Attacks? It seems cool on paper, but I'd prefer to have a Timid Nature and have 252 SpA and 252 SpE EVs, but that's just me.
On Gengar, Focus Blast is better than Dazzling Gleam as long as you don't mind the occasional miss. Destiny Bond is a fine choice for a Scarfed set, so there's no need to change that. On Manectric, I would suggest a Timid nature. On the first turn you mega evolve, you keep your old speed, so it's not fun to be outspeed by certain Pokemon like Latios. Also, I would use Overheat instead of Flamethrower. Even though you get a Special Attack drop, Flamethrower will miss out on crucial K.O.s that Overheat will get. I also notice that Assault Vest Raikou can be a pretty big threat. If the opponent has an efficient Wish passer, it could cause a lot of trouble. But at the moment, I can't think of anything to counter it, so I'll come back.
These are just small little nitpicks, but this team looks very solid! Would it be too much to ask if I could ladder with this team for a little bit to see other problems?

Also

Wtf are you saying

Awesome! Thanks for your help. I'll try the suggestions out tomorrow!

And yeah, go for it!

 

[King Kuro]

Hi! Really innovative team you have there. I never really came across Hydreigon in OU more than a handful of times, and I certainly never encountered one centred around an AV variant. As such, here are my suggestions, and I hope you will take them in the right spirit:

1. I suppose I must tell you that Hydreigon is solidly UU, being largely outpaced by Lati@s and Garchomp, out-bulked by Dragonite and outclassed by Kyurem-B. With the advent of ORAS, Salamence (which itself already outclasses Hydreigon as a mixed attacker with access to Dragon Dance to boot) will become a monster. So in all fairness, I should recommend one of the above dragons, but since you want to make Hydreigon a teammember, the rest of these recommendations are designed to help with that.

2. Hydreigon's only saving grace is its sheer versatility. No one expects it in OU, and even those who do never know exactly what set it might run. Hydreigon is therefore naturally suited to a Choice Scarf and not an Assault Vest. I seriously recommend:

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- U-turn

This Hydreigon forms a decent VoltTurn with Manectric (at least, as decent as Hydreigon can manage) while having a strong STAB to fire off. Fire Blast is preferable, as it roasts Ferrothorn & Co. Flash cannon is not advisable as you do not want to keep Hydreigon up against fairies. They won't even take that much from it anyway.

2. Manectric must be Timid. Half its usefulness comes in maintaining its crucial speed tier, and it isn't worth losing that for the slight power gain. Please do make that change.

3. Your team is pretty vulnerable to Mega Venusaur, Heatran and Chansey; they can stall out all your members. I suggest replacing Gengar with Latios. Latios can handle all the above with the right set, while also forming a good partner for Hydreigon by eliminating threats like Keldeo, Terrakion and Charizard, aside from providing Defog support (which you don't have). May I suggest:

Latios @ Life Orb
EVs: 4 Attack / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Earthquake
- Defog

This adds a more useful partner than Scarf Gengar, which can also support your team. In any case, Destiny Bond Gengar is only used in Ubers or doubles, and never with Choice Scarf at that (I seriously question the logic behind being locked into Destiny Bond to result in a loss-loss situation)

4. Azumarill is a great mon, but Belly Drum is very hard to set up today in OU, thus resulting in AV Azumarill being more common. But if you truly want a powerful physical water type that can set up easily, I suggest a Bulky DD Gyarados. Gyarados works very well with Manectric, as it can take care of Ground-type Pokemon that normally scare Manectric. In addition, they both have Intimidate, and a double Intimidate core severely hampers Pokemon that depend on physical moves. May I suggest:

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 88 HP / 192 Atk / 4 Def / 224 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Bounce

Gyarados has excellent synergy with Latios and Ferrothorn; I suggest changing Gyro Ball to Thunder Wave on it to spread paralysis and assist Gyarados and Hydreigon. In any case, Gyro ball's power is drastically reduced if the target is paralyzed, and hence mustn't be run with Thunder Wave.

5. Ferrothorn, Hydreigon and Gyarados appreciate some form of protection against status especially with Rotom-W running (floating?) amok, so Slowbro is better replaced by a wish/heal bell user that can check Rotom. Slowbro is also best used only on full stall or extremely defensive teams, which isn't what you have here. So perhaps you'd like to consider Clefable :

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Soft-Boiled
- Heal Bell

This Clefable has enough bulk to avoid the 2HKO from both Greninja's Hydro Pump and Latios's Psyshock after leftovers recovery, while also serving the team well with cleric support. Fairies might be Hydreigon's greatest threats, but they are also its greatest allies.

That's all. Thanks for having the patience to read through all of this. I realize that I've asked you to make major refits to your team, but it is aimed to help Hydreigon as much as possible in the OU environment. With this, you can make a good team that can take many standard cores by surprise, and work to your advantage. Wish you all the best!

Thanks for your help! I'll try out your suggestions and update it when I find things that are helpful!

Thanks heaps! :)