A tale as old as time... A song as old as rhyme...
Beauty and the Beast
Formed in the pre-ladder meta I've been having a lot of good fun and consistent performance with this team. Constructed around the anti-hazard core of Defog Scizor and Rapid Spin Donphan this bulky Volt Turning team aims to wear down opponents with bulky pivots before tearing through with priority and Chandelure's devastating Shadow Ball.
Maurice (Scizor) (M) @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost
Despite the loss of a few resistances, steel typing is as valuable as ever, being able to not only switch into but demolish the new fairy types. For this new generation Scizor seemed like an obvious choice, not only retaining great utility in Bullet Punch and U-Turn but also gaining the ability to clear away the hazards he detests so much. Maurice plays many roles on this team, as a pivot, revenge killer, hazard clearer, and even sweeper a nice balanced stats distribution of max HP/Attack with Scizorite was chosen to give him a solid boost in all these areas. Overall Scizor is a solid Pokemon that always finds a use, a trait incredibly important in a tier with such a plethora of diverse threats.
Cogsworth (Donphan) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
Mrs. Potts (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 232 HP / 56 SAtk / 220 Spd
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Lumière (Chandelure) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Trick
Chandelure is a huge winner this generation, as with the new-found neutrality to steel Ghost is looking to replace Dragon is the premiere offensive typing this generation. Lumière is able to spam Shadow Ball straight through previous roadblocks such as Heatran, 2HKOing offensive variants while walling defensive variants that often carry only Lava Plume. Aside from steel types, another issue that used to hold back our spooky chandelier was the prevalence of Stealth Rocks which really hindered its hit and run playstyle. But this gen thanks to Defog not only is it easier to clear away rocks but opponents are a lot less likely to rely on them and focus on setting them up. Less hazards also means that Chandelure can take advantage of its excellent defensive typing, checking a plethora of threats such as Blaziken (lol nice stabs), Scizor, Genesect, Volarona, and Lucario. Shadow Ball and Fire Blast were chosen for big strong STAB damage and decent coverage, with Energy Ball chosen as coverage on Pokemon like Rotom W and Gastrodon. Trick was chosen to make sure that at the very least I can cripple a wall, though I haven't gotten too much use out of it. Chandelure has a lot of other viable options such as WoW and Hp Fighting for TTar as well as Toxic and Trick Room for some niche utility. Chandelure is a really big damage dealer on this team, finding ample opportunity to switch in and fire off Shadow Balls freely in a ladder where few people bother to bring a ghost resist.
Belle (Meloetta) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 Def
Modest Nature
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- U-turn
Beast (Dragonite) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- ExtremeSpeed
In a team that reliably clears away hazards, who better to capitalize than Multiscale Dragonite? With all new kinds of speed control in new priority users, Sticky Web, and Speed Boost, having big strong priority is vital and while I already have two other priority users Beast definitely leads the pack with his Banded Extreme Speed. With possibly the largest and scariest threat list of any OU tier before, Beast is there as a fail safe against whatever the ladder may bring. First of all his great typing allows him to take hits from threats such as Keldeo, Volcarona, and Blaziken and failing that Multiscale is there to make sure he lives anything but a strong ice move. Even if Multiscale is broken there is Extreme Speed allowing him to surpass any other kinds of priority and dish out a strong hit, killing or weakening threats to the point where my other priority user's can finish the job.
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