ORAS OU Brains and Brawn

Clone

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nice edits reymedy


Huge thanks to MiniArchitect for the awesome banner =]​

Introduction:

Hello Smogon. My name is Clone. Many of you probably know who I am by now, as my claim to fame is running the OU Player of the Week project in the OU Subforum. Aside from that, I'm an avid poster in the OU Subforum, and I join the smaller tournaments in the Tournaments Subforum, where my success is pretty inconsistent =[. Anyways, this is my 1000th post and one year anniversary on Smogon, so to commemorate this special occasion, I have decided to make an RMT of my favorite ORAS team. The team, which I have titled "Brains and Brawn" is a Hyper Offense team based around the Metagross-Keldeo core that I absolutely adore (I even like to claim that I created it since I was the first to post about it hehe bwoi). I normally don't play hyper offense, but this team was created back when Greninja was still legal in OU. Since he gave most of my balance teams problems, I decided to move out of my comfort zone and create a hyper offense team to better handle Greninja, as well as the rest of the Metagame.

I used this team quite extensively, as I tested it against friends, used in in Serebii War matches (yes I came from Serebii; sue me), and achieved suspect reqs during the Greninja Suspect period. This is my favorite and most successful ORAS team to date, and I have no intentions of retiring it any time soon. You're probably bored of reading this long-ass intro by now, so I'll move onto the teambuilding process.



I started off with my favorite offensive core of Metagross + Keldeo. I made Keldeo a Choice Scarfed variant to better take on offense while simultaneously checking the threats it needed to, mainly Lando T, Bisharp, and Greninja, while also handling Gyarados as I chose HP Electric as its coverage move.



I needed a hazard setter, and I wanted one that was capable of punching holes early game, while also beating Mega Sableye 1v1. Two mons fit the bill, being Lando I and SD Lum Berry Garchomp. I chose Garchomp simply because it has Rough Skin, which gets chip damage against physical attackers, while also not being weak to Aqua Jet and having better overall resistances. So far I have not been disappointed.



Raikou. I've fallen in love with this mon. He's so good right now it's not even funny. He checks a bunch of shit, including burdz, any bulky water (bar Quag. Fuck Quag and every other stall mon out there.), Gengar, Thundurus, and (Mega) Scizor. I'm using the AV set to better be able to do this, as I find Choice Specs to be a set that wouldn’t really fit this team. I mainly use Raikou as a pivot and late game cleaner thanks to his great speed tier.



Gengar, Clefable's evil shadow (if you don't know this myth look it up cuz it's pretty fuckin cool). Gengar is a huge threat to balance teams right now, and seeing as how balance had a decent match up against me so far, it was a no brainer to pick Gengar. Aside from balance, Hyper Offense has literally zero switch ins to the 3 Attacks LO set bar TTar and Bisharp, which are incredibly obvious and can be played around accordingly. Speaking of Bisharp…



Bisharp was chosen because he's a great mon right now, and because he has Defiant. As this is a Hyper Offense team, I forewent removing hazards myself, and I wanted to prevent opposing teams from doing the same. Bisharp was the optimal choice, as it checks the main Defoggers in OU (Lati@s), and still puts in work when they aren’t present. I've been alternating between the fast AV set and Black Glasses SD, although I feel more comfortable with AV as it gives me a better safety net against the Fairies I often switch into.


Since I have nothing else to say, time to see the team more in-depth:

The Team:




Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hammer Arm
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Zen Headbutt

What better way to start the team off than to start with the star of the team? Metagross is one of my favorite mons, and him getting a Mega Evolution only solidified his place in my personal ranking of favorite mons. Regardless, Metagross's effectiveness in the current meta is amazing, as he sports great power, speed, and bulk to make for a formidable tank that threatens any playstyle. Metagross is one of the main wallbreakers on the team (alongside Gengar and Garchomp), and doubles as a crucial Fairy check that every team needs, as well as checking the Latis and Fighting-types such as Keldeo and Terrakion. The set I chose to run is the standard all-out attacker set, as I had no need for an agility set and a bulky set would actually hurt the team as it would lose out on crucial speed ties as well as be slower than Keldeo, a pretty big threat to my team. Since Speed ties are the bane of my existence, as well as Mega Diancie and Scarf mons, I chose Bullet Punch over Grass Knot / Ice Punch. If you're gonna rate this team please do not suggest to replace it, because Bullet Punch is so clutch its not even funny. Aside from revenge killing faster things that have been weakened, Bullet Punch also allows me to avoid Speed ties from Latios at 40%, Gengar at 50%, and Mega Gallade at half if it has already used Close Combat. Avoiding speed ties and potential Meteor Misses has won me too many games to count, and is definitely one of the most important moves on the set. Every other move is standard, and I chose Hammer Arm over Earthquake because fuck Ferrothorn. EVs are standard.




Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]

Part two of the KeldeoGross core I innovated. Keldeo is simply amazing, and it's not hard to see why. He has great dual STABs in Water / Fighting, and the single, most spammable move in the game, Scald. As for his role on the team, I use him as a general safety net against offense, as I chose to run the Choice Scarf variant over Specs. Most notably, this set takes on Scarfed Lando T, Scarfed Excadrill, and +1 DDers such as Zard X and Mega Gyara very well, which is invaluable to my team as they would otherwise plow through it. Additionally, Keldeo is my Bisharp check, as that thing is a huge threat in the meta and having a check to it (especially when running Mega Metagross) is necessary to not get destroyed by it. Additionally, Keldeo lures in stuff like the Lati twins, Slowbro, and Amoonguss, which allow me to get in my heavy hitters through smart double switching, which can really pressure my opponents. I still need to get better at this, but there's no better feeling than doubling to Gengar on a Slowbro switch in and getting a free kill. As for the set itself, it's just a standard Scarf set with HP Electric as its coverage move to take on Gyarados a bit better. I honestly never use it so switching to HP Ice might be a good option, but idk.




Garchomp @ Lum Berry
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance
- Dragon Claw

Ahh, Garchomp, another one of my favorite mons. He's lost a lot of glory since his initial DPP days, but he's still a great mon. His bulky, typing, speed, and offensive presence are what makes him the best Stealth Rock lead in the game. I needed rocks to score the usual 1/2HKOes, and I needed a setter that maintained offensive presence, while also threatening hazard removers. I had two options to choose from: Garchomp and Lando I. I used both, and by far Garchomp has been the better choice 100% of the time. Its typing gives it a much needed Fire resist, while also sporting a neutrality to Rotom's Hydro Pump, which otherwise threatened Lando I too much for my liking. Anyways, Garchomp was chosen, and I chose the Lum SD set for immediate offensive presence, as it can set up on bulky waters and not give a fuck about Scald, while also beating Mega Sableye 1v1 thanks to absorbing Will o on the first turn. Additionally, should Garchomp live past the first 4 turns of the match, it acts as a check to shit like Heatran, Magnezone, and TTar. It also takes on annoying things like Ferro, as a +2 earthquake weakens it to the point where it can't wall half my team anymore, Leech Seed or not. Lastly, Garchomp makes for a great sac late game, as Rough Skin can get off that crucial damage needed for a teammate to revenge kill certain physical attackers, such as Metagross, Lando-T (as it spams U-Turn against my team 99% of the time), and Talonflame.




Raikou @ Assault Vest
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Shadow Ball

Raikou is a mon that is really underrated and really underappreciated. During late XY, Mega Manectric was everywhere, as it had advantages over Raikou such as intimidate, better speed, and a better Special Attack. However, things changed in ORAS, as the competition for a Mega slot hurt Mega Mane's viability quite a bit, causing it to plummet in usage. However, Raikou has stepped up to take its place on many a team, including mine. Raikou's role on the team is to act as a safety net against Talonflame, as well as checking the likes of Gengar, Keldeo, Thundurus, and the Lati twins reliably. I chose an Assault Vest for this reason, as Specs was too prediction reliant for my team and the added Special Bulk along with the ability to switch moves was needed. Additionally, Raikou is my only "true" form of gaining momentum, as it's the only mon on my team with a switching move. It's useful for gaining momentum against slower teams once their Ground-type is gone, as well as gaining chip damage. The set itself is the standard AV set, with enough speed to outrun Thundurus. Shadow Ball is the coverage move of choice to hit the likes of Gengar, Latios, and most importantly, Mega Metagross.




Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Taunt
- Focus Blast

Gengar is another underrated threat in the meta atm. He hits insanely hard with his STABs, has good speed, and gets perfect three move coverage, which leaves the last slot open for a support move. Gengar is used on my team to break down opposing defensive cores to pave way for a sweep with either Bisharp or Metagross, depending on the opponent's team. Balance teams were annoying at the time that I added Gengar, so having a mon that takes on these common fat cores is too good to pass up. Shadow Ball is the main move I spam, as it hits everything bar Dark-types hard, and has a nice SpDef drop chance. Sludge Wave hits fairies and Chesnaught hard, because that mon is annoying and being walled by it when you would otherwise OHKO it is fucking retarded. Who gives a shit about poisoning with Sludge Bomb when you hit harder and get past something that otherwise walls you? I have Taunt in the third slot because fuck stall and I have nothing better to put there. Sub could be nice but Gengar is really hit and run and despite his frailty, I really dont like him being worn down to the point where he can only get off a few attack. Focus Miss goes in the last slot because fuck TTar, Heatran, and Ferrothorn. Fuck hax too. IVs hit a LO number.




Bisharp @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance

What is Hyper Offense without Bisharp? No seriously, why would you run HO without this guy? Defiant helps keep rocks up, and Bisharp itself is a huge threat. Jolly SD is really good right now, as it sets up on a lot of shit and outspeeds otherwise would be checks like Heatran, Adamant Mamoswine, and Dragonite, to name a few. I had been switching between SD and AV for the longest time, but I finally settled on SD because it fucks up offense better and having a wincon that just BS's its way through offense after a boost was really appealing to me. Aside from being a wincon, Bisharp acts as one of my Lati checks as it deters Defog and scares them out with Sucker Punch to give me a free SD. Additionally, it takes on Mega Metagross after a little prior damage or a boost, and it's one of my main switch ins to Clefable as he forces her out and can get a potential free Defiant boost from the SpAtk drop from Moonblast. Bisharp is usually my main wincon because offense, and even some balance, have few ways to deal with this outside of Keldeo, for which I have Gross, Raikou, and even Gengar and my own Keldeo for. Once that thing is dead all I need is a free turn and 9 times out of 10 its gg from there. I have Glasses over LO because I hate having my sweep ended prematurely from dying to my own LO recoil.

Conclusion:
Overall, this team has been very successful for me. It was the team I used to achieve voting reqs during the Greninja Suspect Test, and netted me a pretty decent 50-24 record during my time on the ladder (I did change Garchomp to Lando at one point to try it out, and ended up losing like 12 matches out of 18). It has also fared well in OU Room tours, as it and another one of my teams got me first place. However, this team is not perfect, as it does have its fair share of weaknesses. Ground types give my team problems, as my only immunity is Gengar, which forces me to play a lot more aggressively when facing something like a Scarf Lando-T. Additionally, stall is a bitch to face, and this team almost auto loses against it unless I make plays all game. This is a bitch to do and honestly not worth the effort most of the time so I usually just forfeit because fuck stall and fuck the people who wanna waste other people's time. Lastly, Rain Offense poses a big problem to my team, as I'm forced to sack things when the opposing player is competent. It's not an impossible matchup, but it forces me to play way more aggressively than I'm comfortable playing. Below I'll give a few shout outs because its the cool thing to do for a 1k post.

Shout outs:

Smogon:

MiniArchitect: you're art really needs more attention cuz its really good. =]

Recreant: my dashes will be here 5evr unless smogon does a purge =[

Aragorn the King: cool dude who runs victim of the week =]

unfixable: finish that megagross pic pls =[ but srly you're a cool dude / gal (idrk o_o) and I see a scroller in the making =]

boltsandbombers: how much free time do u have that u can write so many analyses? O_o

Mysteria: Same as above. I dun get it

firehusky: I've seen you go from a total shitposter to someone who makes pretty good posts. Keep it up bud =]

praj.pran: praj fren ^^ keep kicking ass in mons and keep being cool =]

AM: if there was an award for most intelligent posts, youd be a top contender. =] edit: also nice mods nerd :^)

Jukain: i know we didnt really get along when i first started posting, but i honestly feel that we're past that (at least what it felt like at the time) mutual feeling of not really liking each other, especially after the things we talked about. if we're not there yet, hopefully i can call u a fren one day =]

alexwolf: idk how you can mod OU and still be as chill as you are, but you do it and get mad respect points for it =] edit: i wrote this before your retirement, but everything still holds true. enjoy your break from smogon dude =]

The DragonKnight: like before, thanks for taking me under your wing. Good luck in SPL fren, im rooting for you =]

Also shoutouts to everyone who let me interview them for PotW. I wont tag any of you, but thanks for taking the time out of your day to make the project what it is today =]

PS:

Reverb, fingerscrossed, Mob Barley, gizmotron, seventyfive, daftmau5, MegaScizor, WECAMEASROMANS, Henry, Ox the Box, TheEnder, Flan76, , Draeden, Dread Arceus, Tokyo Tom, Mistaken, Haunter, Krauersaut, Destiny Device, FNH

Shoutouts to all my based ou frens in the OU room. Y'all made it easier for me to feel integrated into the community more and I appreciate it n_n


Importable:

Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hammer Arm
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Zen Headbutt

Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]

Garchomp @ Lum Berry
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance
- Dragon Claw

Raikou @ Assault Vest
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Shadow Ball

Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Taunt
- Focus Blast

Bisharp @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
 
Last edited:
Hi Clone ! Contrary Serperior was released after Greninja s'ban, i think you should run additional speed for Raikou.


Raikou @ Assault Vest
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 16 SpD / 240 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Shadow Ball

Great team !
 
Mega-Loppuny like always, threatens(but does not destroy, if something destroys you you can sue me) this team, so yeah,I suggest something that can bring Keldeo back in the game like...HW Latias? I, however do not know who to replace....Can you rate my RMT of Mega Absol Awesomeness! I am a Serebiier and many people liked me for the team rates-100 Likes!
 
We can't do anything for the Lopunny-Mega weakness imo. But Metagross-Mega takes the 1vs1 / can do a decent amount of damage with Bullet Punch, Keldeo takes a hit and revenge kill it, Garchomp beats 1vs1 if Lopunny-Mega doesn't have Ice Punch. This team is a HO, it is normal that you can't counter (you can generally check) common threats.
 
If Gyarados set up a DD, Raikou can't outspeed it anymore.

+1 252+ Atk Gyarados Waterfall vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raikou: 265-313 (82.5 - 97.5%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
 
Hey interesting team , your team looks powerful but is fairly weak to keldeo , spikes ferrothorn and SD talonflame which flat out sweeps your team once it gets to +2 and jolly band basically gets a kill every time it comes in. This is a problem because starmie beats half your team and no mons can switch in allowing it to spin easily. The easiest way to prevent this would be switching your current metagross to an adamant agility set which beats talonflame after the speed boost and can sweep man offensive teams this also gives your team more potential speed which is need because your team has issues with 115+ speed mons. Ideally you would run mega man over raikou as this would help you deal with ferrothorn and talonflame better But obviously that is not possible. I would definitely run max speed on raikou so it can actually deal with starmie allowing you to tbolt before a psyshock, reflect type or rapid spin. Although it helps against starmie and clefable I feel like bisharp does not particularly help your team in terms of offensive synergy due to overlappings with gengar and metagross with coverage and your team does not fair particularly well against sableeye so perhaps belly drum azumarill would be useful over bisharp as it gives you a secondary lati check and belly drum + knock off is deadly against stall. I hope you try and my suggestions and they go well. Other options rocky helmet or sash on garchomp to better deal with talon flame (especially useful now that belly drum azumarill can wallbreak) and fire blast > sd on garchomp for Ferro. (sorry I would bold changes but on my phone :p)
 
Wow, great team Clone, and thanks for the shoutout :]
One thing that I noticed from looking over this team is that it's kinda of SD Talonflame weak. At +2, it OHKOes Mega Metagross, Garchomp, and Raikou, while even without a boost it can OHKO Gengar and Keldeo. Bisharp has to predict perfectly to beat Talonflame. Therefore, I suggest Rotom-W over Raikou. The team isn't as hyper offensive as it was before, but at least now it's not 6-0ed by Jolly SD Talonflame.

Rotom-W | Leftovers
Levitate | 248 HP | 216 Def | 44 Spe
Hydro Pump | Volt Switch | Pain Split | Will-O-Wisp

Other than that, your team looks fine. Good luck, and hope this helped n_n
 
Nice team, I have very minimal suggestions that wouldn't lead you into the teambuilder whack-a-mole phase, it's just a really solid Hyper Offence team. Still, I have a few things you can try.
Firstly, run max speed on Raikou, now that Serp is a thing and may be potentially problematic then a chance to hit it with Raikou is always good. I'm saying max speed because honestly, when you're at that speed tier you might as well just max out entirely instead of saving some spare near-useless EVs for minimal bulk. Also, Raikou is tough, but a bit more bite to his STABs is always nice, I've moved on from AV Raikou to Battery recently and I have to say it works like a charm, the loss of bulk for some more grit to my Volt Switches is very nice and it bluffs AV perfectly, allowing him to pick up kills from opponents not expecting the extra power. You could go all-out with Life Orb too, I guess.
HP Flying on Keldeo might be nice too for Serp, but mainly for Mega Lop. Mega Lop is the bane of many teams, and though you do have Megagross you really can't spare any expenses when it comes to hitting that slut hard, or else she can do a number on you. I think Lop is a bigger threat to you than Gyara in all honesty, but it depends how you can handle either.
Sash on Garchomp could be an option to guarantee Rocks up safely, though I'm not sure if the risk vs reward of that change is entirely in your favour since Chomp does boast very good presence on your team even after Rocks and really isn't a suicide lead as such, so keeping him free from status can seem very important as mentioned. Regardless, it's an option so I'm suggesting it.
That's pretty much it. This team is solid as all fucking Hell, congrats!
 
HP Flying on Keldeo might be nice too for Serp, but mainly for Mega Lop. Mega Lop is the bane of many teams, and though you do have Megagross you really can't spare any expenses when it comes to hitting that slut hard, or else she can do a number on you. I think Lop is a bigger threat to you than Gyara in all honesty, but it depends how you can handle either.
He has Secret Sword for Mega Lopunny, and Secret Sword hits Serperior harder than HP Flying.

252 SpA Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Serperior: 144-171 (49.4 - 58.7%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Keldeo Hidden Power Flying vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Serperior: 136-162 (46.7 - 55.6%) -- 71.9% chance to 2HKO
 
He has Secret Sword for Mega Lopunny, and Secret Sword hits Serperior harder than HP Flying.

252 SpA Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Serperior: 144-171 (49.4 - 58.7%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Keldeo Hidden Power Flying vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Serperior: 136-162 (46.7 - 55.6%) -- 71.9% chance to 2HKO
I was just about to edit and remove that, I had a retard moment and forgot Secret Sword. It's late and I'm tired, don't judge!
 

AM

is a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Past WCoP Champion
LCPL Champion
Yeah I'd go full speed on Raikou at this point in the meta. You at least can bank on the speed tie against Starmie instead of having the potential to lose the speed game 5/6 times and using Keldeo as your check when that's just gonna get worn down to begin with. Everything else looks pretty good and other changes like the one I'm seeing up above are either subjective or I feel just changes the entire lay out of checks and counters. Like for example the Agility Gross suggestion seems nice cause you have a better match-up against Sand Offense but taking out Bullet Punch makes you pretty much lose to LO Bisharp in a 1v1 scenario. At least with Bullet Punch you have both priority to pick off weakened targets and the ability to play mind-games with Bisharp instead of being at a disadvantage. Nice job dude.
 

Clone

Free Gliscor
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thx for the rates guys.

Re: Raikou: changed raikou to max speed. actually had it this way for a while now, but i wrote this up like 2 weeks ago so i forgot to change it.

Re: Talonflame:
yes, it is a problem, but not nearly as big of one as it may seem. it gets literally zero switch in opportunities against me unless it predicts a sucker punch against bisharp against another mon. thats one thing i have going for it, with the other being that it gets very safe setup opportunities against my team, as i play aggressively and sac heavy. still, it would be wrong for me to say that i dont have to keep it in mind when playing, so yes, its a huge threat, but it does not 6-0 my team.

Re: everything else: most of these changes ive seen suggested either open up a huge hole (azu over sharp; defog and fast stuff + mega mane rape me; agility megagross may help a bit w/ speed but gross doesnt have very many set up opportunities w/ the way i play him and bp is too clutch to give up), or are very minor and accomplish very little (sash on chomp may help get rox up but i now lose to sab & bulky waters eps rotom, which is fkin annoying for this team). i appreciate all the feedback, and it means a lot, but theyre suboptimal in my opinion. i may give them a spin though in a future rendition of this team.

i appreciate all the support guys. sorry if i sound reluctant to changes, as its not my intent. i appreciate all the feedback ive received, as it means a lot. just because i dont change something doesnt mean i dont keep it in mind for future renditions of this team.
 

Tokyo Tom

Somewhere between psychotic and iconic
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Hey -Clone-, it's pretty cool how you innovated the Keldeo + Metagross core. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever though of pairing one of the best Pokemon in OU with another one of the best Pokemon in OU. I guess I'm not based enough to be a based OU fren yet...hehe bwoi am I right?????? haha dash space ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Anyway, the main weaknesses that stand out to me are Sableye Stall (which kind of summarizes Stall in the current metagame), Jolly SD Talonflame, Excadrill Sand, and Rain (although rain is bane to all HO teams).

The main problem I see is since your SR setter is used in a suicidal fashion, the rest of your team simply doesn't hit hard enough to pressure opposing stall, even if you go crazy double switching. Thus, my rate will attempt to make the team more consistent, but less offensive as a result.

The first thing I would do is change the Keldeo set from Scarf to SubCM. This gives you a defined win-con and also improves your balance and stall matchups. The set I'm suggesting runs a little bit of bulk, so it can still check Pokemon like Mega Gyarados effectively. Because of this change, I'm also going to suggest Pursuit > Bullet Punch on Metagross. Since Lati@s can get free Dracos on a decent chunk of your team, and currently can switch in and out freely, Keldeo will typically have a difficult time cleaning up. With the change to SubCM Keldeo, the removal of Lati@s becomes even more relevant, and allows Keldeo to finish up opposing teams much more easily. You do lose the priority backup against things such as Diancie, however, currently nothing on your team allows Diancie to set up, so it's not too bad of a downside.

The next thing I'll address is the threat of Jolly SD Talonflame. It's a pretty prevalent threat in the meta, and a special case because it outruns Raikou. To fix this, I'd suggest changing Garchomp to a bulkier spread with Rocky Helmet, which allows you to push a ton of residual damage on Talonflame and prevent it from Roosting with the threat of Earthquake. Although the set is arguably more Lati@s bait, Pursuit Metagross helps circumvent this. Rocky Helmet Garchomp also helps you push more damage onto opposing Lando-T, which helps Metagross a lot.

With Pursuit Metagross, I'd suggest changing Bisharp to Magma Storm + Taunt Heatran, which further helps the balance and stall matchup, which I think are the two most prevalent playstyles right now. TrapTran's offensive synergy with Metagross is amazing, being able to punish most of its common switchins alongside Keldeo. It also allows you to have a check to things like SpDef Talon, and remove Pokemon like Clefable that threaten Keldeo. I wouldn't worry too much about the loss in priority, since Metagross is now trapping things like Lati@s, and Raikou generally checks stuff like Gengar fine. Alternatively, for a more offensive take, you can run Scarf Latios, which offers a utility Trick to keep the stall matchup in check, luring things like Clefable and giving Keldeo an easier time, while helping the offense matchup with Defog and high initial speed. It should be noted that Scarf Katios outspeeds Kabutops and Mega Swampert, helping the rain matchup as well. Thus, Scarf Latios can also be used instead of the next Pokemon I'm going to replace.

Finally, I'd suggest a change of Celebi > Gengar. This may seem a little weird due to the hyper offensive nature of the team, but with TrapTran and SubCM Keldeo increasing your capabilities against Balance and Stall builds, using Celebi gives you a Keldeo switchin, and also a Sand and Rain (Swampert, for example) check all in one. Additionally, since Garchomp has Rocks, this frees up Celebi to use and pass Calm Minds to Heatran, Raikou, or Keldeo (it's especially nifty passing to Heatran against fat builds). Calm Mind also prevents you from being too weak to Pokemon such as CM Slowbro (that Gengar could usually immediately threaten), which appears to be rising in usage. Alternatively, a combination of TWave + Healing Wish allows you to provide support for Heatran while allowing Keldeo / Metagross / what have you another chance to sweep.

Overall, I know a lot of my changes geared the team away from pure HO, but I believe it made the team more consistent as a whole (I still think HO is very inconsistent in a volatile meta such as the current one). Anyway, cool team, let me know if my suggestions helped, I can definitely elaborate on any of them should you think they're too suboptimal...

TL;DR:
-->

--> Pursuit
-->

-->

-->


OR
over
/


Sets:
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Hammer Arm
- Pursuit
- Zen Headbutt

Keldeo @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 120 HP / 136 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Secret Power

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 240 HP / 200 Def / 68 Spe
Lax Nature
- Dragon Tail
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 184 HP / 72 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Taunt
- Toxic / Protect
- Earth Power

Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 240 HP / 216 Def / 36 SpD / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Baton Pass

Latios (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 16 HP / 240 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Defog / Roost
- Trick
- Psyshock
 

Clone

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Hey -Clone-, it's pretty cool how you innovated the Keldeo + Metagross core. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever though of pairing one of the best Pokemon in OU with another one of the best Pokemon in OU. I guess I'm not based enough to be a based OU fren yet...hehe bwoi am I right?????? haha dash space ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Wtf r u talking about ur in the middle of the ps nerds????? Ur def based enuff fren =]

And yeah who would've thought that two top tier mons would work well together amirite??

Anyway, the main weaknesses that stand out to me are Sableye Stall (which kind of summarizes Stall in the current metagame), Jolly SD Talonflame, Excadrill Sand, and Rain (although rain is bane to all HO teams).

The main problem I see is since your SR setter is used in a suicidal fashion, the rest of your team simply doesn't hit hard enough to pressure opposing stall, even if you go crazy double switching. Thus, my rate will attempt to make the team more consistent, but less offensive as a result.
Damn u basically built me a new team with these changes =].

The first thing I would do is change the Keldeo set from Scarf to SubCM. This gives you a defined win-con and also improves your balance and stall matchups. The set I'm suggesting runs a little bit of bulk, so it can still check Pokemon like Mega Gyarados effectively. Because of this change, I'm also going to suggest Pursuit > Bullet Punch on Metagross. Since Lati@s can get free Dracos on a decent chunk of your team, and currently can switch in and out freely, Keldeo will typically have a difficult time cleaning up. With the change to SubCM Keldeo, the removal of Lati@s becomes even more relevant, and allows Keldeo to finish up opposing teams much more easily. You do lose the priority backup against things such as Diancie, however, currently nothing on your team allows Diancie to set up, so it's not too bad of a downside.

The next thing I'll address is the threat of Jolly SD Talonflame. It's a pretty prevalent threat in the meta, and a special case because it outruns Raikou. To fix this, I'd suggest changing Garchomp to a bulkier spread with Rocky Helmet, which allows you to push a ton of residual damage on Talonflame and prevent it from Roosting with the threat of Earthquake. Although the set is arguably more Lati@s bait, Pursuit Metagross helps circumvent this. Rocky Helmet Garchomp also helps you push more damage onto opposing Lando-T, which helps Metagross a lot.

With Pursuit Metagross, I'd suggest changing Bisharp to Magma Storm + Taunt Heatran, which further helps the balance and stall matchup, which I think are the two most prevalent playstyles right now. TrapTran's offensive synergy with Metagross is amazing, being able to punish most of its common switchins alongside Keldeo. It also allows you to have a check to things like SpDef Talon, and remove Pokemon like Clefable that threaten Keldeo. I wouldn't worry too much about the loss in priority, since Metagross is now trapping things like Lati@s, and Raikou generally checks stuff like Gengar fine. Alternatively, for a more offensive take, you can run Scarf Latios, which offers a utility Trick to keep the stall matchup in check, luring things like Clefable and giving Keldeo an easier time, while helping the offense matchup with Defog and high initial speed. It should be noted that Scarf Katios outspeeds Kabutops and Mega Swampert, helping the rain matchup as well. Thus, Scarf Latios can also be used instead of the next Pokemon I'm going to replace.

Finally, I'd suggest a change of Celebi > Gengar. This may seem a little weird due to the hyper offensive nature of the team, but with TrapTran and SubCM Keldeo increasing your capabilities against Balance and Stall builds, using Celebi gives you a Keldeo switchin, and also a Sand and Rain (Swampert, for example) check all in one. Additionally, since Garchomp has Rocks, this frees up Celebi to use and pass Calm Minds to Heatran, Raikou, or Keldeo (it's especially nifty passing to Heatran against fat builds). Calm Mind also prevents you from being too weak to Pokemon such as CM Slowbro (that Gengar could usually immediately threaten), which appears to be rising in usage. Alternatively, a combination of TWave + Healing Wish allows you to provide support for Heatran while allowing Keldeo / Metagross / what have you another chance to sweep.
I'll try these out. If it lets me beat stall easily, then there's no reason not to, right? But yeah, reading over these, I like them. They completely change the team, but I like them (Raikou is literally the only mon left untouched lol). I'll test out this new bulky offense team and post my findings. Though I am curious about the chomp EVs since I've never seen that spread before, so some clarification on that (and I guess the Keldeo bulk too) would be pretty cool.

Overall, I know a lot of my changes geared the team away from pure HO, but I believe it made the team more consistent as a whole (I still think HO is very inconsistent in a volatile meta such as the current one). Anyway, cool team, let me know if my suggestions helped, I can definitely elaborate on any of them should you think they're too suboptimal...

TL;DR:
-->

--> Pursuit
-->

-->

-->


OR
over
/


Sets:
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Hammer Arm
- Pursuit
- Zen Headbutt

Keldeo @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 120 HP / 136 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Secret Power

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 240 HP / 200 Def / 68 Spe
Lax Nature
- Dragon Tail
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 184 HP / 72 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Taunt
- Toxic / Protect
- Earth Power

Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 240 HP / 216 Def / 36 SpD / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Baton Pass

Latios (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 16 HP / 240 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Defog / Roost
- Trick
- Psyshock
HO is fun tho =[ I'll let u know how these work out once I test them. And I wouldn't call building me a new team "suboptimal" ;] less work for me in the long run. Thanks for the rate =]
 
Hello Clone, this is a nice team and as stated already Excadrill, Talonflame, Latios, Gengar and Stall Team gives you some issues, let's see if we can do something about it.

I do have three changes that can help you against these threats.

The first change i would like to suggest you is Scarf Tyranitar over Raikou
While Raikou is without a doubt a great underrated choice in the current Metagame, it is still a bit frail on the physical side, since a +2 flare blitz from sb Talonflame will ohko it, actually cb jolly flare blitz has a 75% chance to ohko it after stealth rocks, Tyranitar on the other hand, still acts as a check for stuff like Thundurus, "birds" opposing Metagross, Gengar (even better than Raikou thanks to pursuit too), while also helping you Against both Talonflame and Latios, due to scarftar speed you will also have to rely less on 110 speed ties/bullet punch on low health.


The second change Is Lum Berry Landorus-Therian over Garchomp

As stated, you have too many ground weak 'mons, with a single immunity which is fragile enough, ground is a very common attacking type, so, sooner or later this will bite you in the ass, while a strange choice Lum Berry Lantherian allows you to set up rocks, and having an answer against mega Sableye, actually the damage output against it is higher, so this will also help you on stall, other than giving you another ground immunity, excadrill/talonflame check and an Intimidate user.
While yes you get another water weakness you should still be able to keep at bay most ou water types.



Now with these changes I believe that only Stall Weakness is left, I'd suggest you to simply put Grass Knot over Bullet Punch
Now, I know you said you don't want to lose Bullet Punch, but I believe that after these changes your dependance on it is minor and Grass Knot truly helps you, it is able to destroy Quagsire, 2hko Hippowdon, and 2hko Slowbro with Stealth rocks, giving you another solid answer against Stall Teams without changing too much your team.

Sets:

Tyranitar (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Superpower
- Stone Edge/Ice Punch
- Pursuit

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock

Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Hammer Arm
- Grass Knot

Hope it helped, good luck!
 

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