Bulky Offense has always been my favorite playstyle. Core 4 is what I affectionately call this team which consists of 4 mons (Metagross, Landorus, Greninja, Tapu Lele) that are very clearly the most metagame defining threats of Gen 7 OU. I've always had a lot of respect for people who are able to craft good teams that perform consistently well in various settings and in all my time playing I've never considered myself a very good team builder at all, which is why it was a pleasant surprise that this ended up as solid as it is. I am aware that this team does not exactly have any revolutionary stuff on it, but from the time of its inception until now, it has had good results in both tournament and ladder play early on this generation. Helped BKC in his run to the finals of the SUMO OU Release Tournament, as well as being what I used to obtain voting requirements while peaking #1 on the suspect ladder for the most recent Genesect suspect test. Several friends who I have passed this to over the past couple of months can attest to how well it plays too. I am pretty much done using this for now because metagame trends are changing every day and it's hard to keep up with those, especially when using the same stuff. This is more of a showcase of sorts for something that holds a special place for me. I will try to keep it mostly short here, but many thanks go out to people who take the time to give this a read.
The Squad:
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Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch
- Hammer Arm
Metagross is the best Pokemon in the tier and I don't think it's even close. He is so good that his existence alone defines what is usable and what is not and he alone invalidates the use of pretty much every mega released at this point. The classic boltbeam set from ORAS makes a return here and it is just as good as it ever was. Ice Punch and Thunder Punch provide general coverage that compliment the power and spammability of the obvious STAB Meteor Mash. The last slot has gone through the most changes, being Bullet Punch at one point because this team can obviously have problems with Pheromosa and having an extra priority move always helps with that. Earthquake is also nice for opposing Metagross and Chople Magnezone and I've toyed with Zen Headbutt in the past for its obvious synergy with Psychic Terrain, but I always try to limit the amount of free turns I give Ferrothorn to be annoying, so I mostly use Hammer Arm.
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Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Outrage
- Fire Fang
Garchomp is one of the best Scarfers in SM OU because he sits in a nice speed tier just above some of the tier's top threats. He is chosen as the team's revenge killer because he provides a much needed check to Volcarona, Mega Charizard X and Salamence, all stuff that sits in the base 100 speed tier. Garchomp's typing, natural bulk and strength also means he is fully capable of cleaning house lategame vs a lot of offensive teams provided I play correctly and dent what needs to be dented, namely defensive Landorus-T. Moveset is self-explanatory and has been a staple on Scarf Garchomp for several generations.
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Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
Spikes are so good. They are a very important part of how this team functions because every Pokemon on here is naturally good at forcing switches. This obviously makes them great Spikes abusers. Ferrothorn gives me general utility vs stuff that I wouldn't handle that well otherwise. Think Tapu Koko, Metagross, Greninja. It is the team's only water resist, so stuff like HP Fire Greninja and Keldeo (thank goodness he hasn't been seen as much early on) can be pretty problematic. Most of the time I'll just throw Ferro in to get as many layers of Spikes up and that'll be the end of it. If I am able to do this, one of Garchomp or Greninja will almost always clean up vs offense. Again, standard moveset/EV spread, although the increasingly popular dual hazards with Knock Off set can definitely be worth a go here too.
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Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- U-turn
Greninja is still the threat it always was in gen 6 and the addition of Battle Bond only helped to cement him as one of the top metagame threats. I remember first seeing this when stats and mons were getting leaked and thinking it was going to be ass because of a potential nature lock. Pretty sure I wasn't alone in thinking that either. If you play OU I think you know how this Greninja works by now. Hydro Pump and Dark Pulse are great STABs and Water Shuriken becomes a stupidly powerful priority attack once you are able to transform. 4th moveslot is not critical to Greninja's function since you're going to be clicking the other 3 moves like 90% of the time. For this reason, Ice Beam or U-turn are fine here, but I normally use U-turn because the amount of switches Greninja forces means it is quite easy to grab momentum with it. The first person I saw mess around with this set was ABR and it is one of the few innovations he has made that I have been on board with (get that HP Fire Landorus/Scizor shit outta here dude).
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Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
Landorus might be the most important member of the team. He is used as the Stealth Rock setter and if played correctly, there won't be a game in which it doesn't nab at least one kill. Worst case scenario, he heavily weakens the opposing team's physical wall and makes it easier for Scarf Garchomp or Metagross to win in the lategame. I play Landorus pretty aggressively by trying to get a Swords Dance with any opportunity I get so I can nuke something with Continental Crush. Normally I'm a +Speed nature fiend but I really do enjoy the power this provides. If I ever made Ferrothorn dual hazards, I guess this slot would become Jolly dual dance, which would be a nice win condition under the right circumstances.
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Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Last, but certainly not least, we have the top Tapu in Lele. This is the mon on the team that I think has received the most changes. Started out as Scarf back when that set had a lot of hype around it. As more people started expecting Scarf, I made the switch to Calm Mind Twisted Spoon because it gave me a nice win condition and could bluff a choice item. With the more recent popularity of Dugtrio stall however, I picked this set after seeing ben gay dismantle several stall teams with a combination of Shed Shell Tapu Lele and Taunt Mega Gyarados, so kudos to him on that one. I'd love to run CM Spoon again, but I think this is the superior metagame choice.
Importable
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch
- Hammer Arm
Metagross is the best Pokemon in the tier and I don't think it's even close. He is so good that his existence alone defines what is usable and what is not and he alone invalidates the use of pretty much every mega released at this point. The classic boltbeam set from ORAS makes a return here and it is just as good as it ever was. Ice Punch and Thunder Punch provide general coverage that compliment the power and spammability of the obvious STAB Meteor Mash. The last slot has gone through the most changes, being Bullet Punch at one point because this team can obviously have problems with Pheromosa and having an extra priority move always helps with that. Earthquake is also nice for opposing Metagross and Chople Magnezone and I've toyed with Zen Headbutt in the past for its obvious synergy with Psychic Terrain, but I always try to limit the amount of free turns I give Ferrothorn to be annoying, so I mostly use Hammer Arm.
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Outrage
- Fire Fang
Garchomp is one of the best Scarfers in SM OU because he sits in a nice speed tier just above some of the tier's top threats. He is chosen as the team's revenge killer because he provides a much needed check to Volcarona, Mega Charizard X and Salamence, all stuff that sits in the base 100 speed tier. Garchomp's typing, natural bulk and strength also means he is fully capable of cleaning house lategame vs a lot of offensive teams provided I play correctly and dent what needs to be dented, namely defensive Landorus-T. Moveset is self-explanatory and has been a staple on Scarf Garchomp for several generations.
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
Spikes are so good. They are a very important part of how this team functions because every Pokemon on here is naturally good at forcing switches. This obviously makes them great Spikes abusers. Ferrothorn gives me general utility vs stuff that I wouldn't handle that well otherwise. Think Tapu Koko, Metagross, Greninja. It is the team's only water resist, so stuff like HP Fire Greninja and Keldeo (thank goodness he hasn't been seen as much early on) can be pretty problematic. Most of the time I'll just throw Ferro in to get as many layers of Spikes up and that'll be the end of it. If I am able to do this, one of Garchomp or Greninja will almost always clean up vs offense. Again, standard moveset/EV spread, although the increasingly popular dual hazards with Knock Off set can definitely be worth a go here too.
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- U-turn
Greninja is still the threat it always was in gen 6 and the addition of Battle Bond only helped to cement him as one of the top metagame threats. I remember first seeing this when stats and mons were getting leaked and thinking it was going to be ass because of a potential nature lock. Pretty sure I wasn't alone in thinking that either. If you play OU I think you know how this Greninja works by now. Hydro Pump and Dark Pulse are great STABs and Water Shuriken becomes a stupidly powerful priority attack once you are able to transform. 4th moveslot is not critical to Greninja's function since you're going to be clicking the other 3 moves like 90% of the time. For this reason, Ice Beam or U-turn are fine here, but I normally use U-turn because the amount of switches Greninja forces means it is quite easy to grab momentum with it. The first person I saw mess around with this set was ABR and it is one of the few innovations he has made that I have been on board with (get that HP Fire Landorus/Scizor shit outta here dude).
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
Landorus might be the most important member of the team. He is used as the Stealth Rock setter and if played correctly, there won't be a game in which it doesn't nab at least one kill. Worst case scenario, he heavily weakens the opposing team's physical wall and makes it easier for Scarf Garchomp or Metagross to win in the lategame. I play Landorus pretty aggressively by trying to get a Swords Dance with any opportunity I get so I can nuke something with Continental Crush. Normally I'm a +Speed nature fiend but I really do enjoy the power this provides. If I ever made Ferrothorn dual hazards, I guess this slot would become Jolly dual dance, which would be a nice win condition under the right circumstances.
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Last, but certainly not least, we have the top Tapu in Lele. This is the mon on the team that I think has received the most changes. Started out as Scarf back when that set had a lot of hype around it. As more people started expecting Scarf, I made the switch to Calm Mind Twisted Spoon because it gave me a nice win condition and could bluff a choice item. With the more recent popularity of Dugtrio stall however, I picked this set after seeing ben gay dismantle several stall teams with a combination of Shed Shell Tapu Lele and Taunt Mega Gyarados, so kudos to him on that one. I'd love to run CM Spoon again, but I think this is the superior metagame choice.
Importable
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Conclusion: This team is far from perfect (and no team can be perfect), but it has been fun as hell to use. It does a good job at giving an idea of how dominant the faces of bulky offense in SM OU are. I also think it has no matchup that is too shit to overcome from team preview, which is always a nice plus. I look forward to playing more SM and seeing how it develops in the future.
Lastly I'd like to shoutout two groups who continue to make Smogon an enjoyable community for me:
1) Everyone in the "cbb circlejerk meme crew" (waaaay too many to tag), for being awesome friends and enjoyable people to interact with every day.
2) My SPL team, the Indie Scooters, for being a great bunch of dudes who are easy to get along with and enjoy the grind of preparing for each SPL week.
Lastly I'd like to shoutout two groups who continue to make Smogon an enjoyable community for me:
1) Everyone in the "cbb circlejerk meme crew" (waaaay too many to tag), for being awesome friends and enjoyable people to interact with every day.
2) My SPL team, the Indie Scooters, for being a great bunch of dudes who are easy to get along with and enjoy the grind of preparing for each SPL week.
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