Creative and innovative sets :) no shitty gimmicks

[TaBuu]

This is a pretty niche-style set, but it serves its purpose well.

tyranitar @ chople berry
ability : sandstream
brave nature (+atk , -spe)
248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def
28 speed ivs
- crunch
- earthquake
- stone edge
- pursuit / stealth rock

this set serves to eliminate aegislash, arguably one of the biggest threats in the metagame given its ridiculous stat spread and typing.
the chople berry is utilized because tyranitar needs to be able to tank a sacred sword. as shown below, chople berry, with the given investment, provides tyranitar with a means of surviving aegislash's sacred sword. nobody even runs max attack adamant aegislash anyways so you can imagine the other more likely scenarios lol
(252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Sacred Sword vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Chople Berry Tyranitar: 220-260 (54.5 - 64.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO)
the brave nature in tandem with 28 speed ivs allow tyranitar to be outsped by minimum speed , quiet natured aegislash. this allows aegislash to hit first and expose its achilles' heel : blade-forme's horrendous defensive stats. after tanking a sacred sword, crunch / earthquake should be enough to finish off the aegislash.
flash cannon is of little concern as ...
(252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 216-254 (53.5 - 63%) -- guaranteed 2HKO)
the moveset itself is quite explanatory. crunch is stab while pursuit turns tyranitar into a formidable trapper against the likes of gengar and alakazam.
earthquake handles things like heatran and terrakion while stone edge rips through zapdos and volcarona, as well as talonflame. stealth rock can be utilized if your team so desperately needs it.
the evs can be moved around to your personal liking. i just use 248/252/8 because it provides bulk and power which is all this tyranitar needs, frankly.
and of course, fire blast and ice beam are options as well. however, you'll need investments for critical KOs which may result in a loss of bulk or attack power. but to each his own.

 

[Knight of Cydonia]

Magnezone @ Expert Belt
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 112 HP / 252 SAtk / 144 Spd
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Magic Coat

Here's something I used a bit for the last suspect test on a flying spam team. Of course its main job was to trap Skarmory etc for Pinsir but I was finding it difficult to use multiple Stealth Rock weak pokemon when every third team I faced was hazard stacking offense with spinblockers and defiant users. I put Magic Coat on Magnezone since it didn't stop it doing its main job and grabbed me momentum from the start against Deoxys-d especially. It worked out very nicely in practice since no one expected it and took a lot of pressure off of Latias to remove hazards. Definitely worth a shot if you happen to try Bird teams again. EVs were to outspeed slow Mega Scizor I think.

 

[Sucker Lunch]

BLUE (Azumarill) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Facade/Superpower
- Waterfall/ Facade
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet

Facade received an amazing buff this gen where it ignores the attack drop from burns. Azumarill can really pack a punch while burned with Huge Power and Choice Band. If you use CB Azumarill and your team lacks a healer, consider this set. Facade hits for neutral Play Rough Damage when statused.

252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Suicune: 175-207 (43.3 - 51.2%) -- 58.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery (Healthy)

252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Suicune: 182-215 (45 - 53.2%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery (Burned)

Azumarill is often used on offensive teams because he has a 436 (invested) Attack stat after Huge Power, a bulky 343 HP pool (404 when fully invested), and an amazing Water/Fairy typing that resists Fire, Ice, Water, Dragon, Dark, Fighting, and Bug. Choice Band Azumarill puts huge dents in everything not named Venusaur, Skarmory, Tentacruel, or Ferrothorn. But problem is, once CB Azumarill is burned by a lucky scald, bad switch, or unexpected move, he becomes pretty useless. Facade allows Azumarill second wind and can be considered Guts, the Trial Edition.

Normal isn't the best offensive typing due to being walled by Ghosts, Rocks, and Steels. But Facade allows Azumarill to go out with a bang, BP 140 Facade even outdamages Super-Effective hits with his STABs while Burned.

252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Conkeldurr: 290-342 (70 - 82.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power burned Azumarill Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Conkeldurr: 280-330 (67.6 - 79.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

The general plan with Burned Facade Azumarill is to use Facade against pokemon that don't resist Normal. But of course, smart play is still required. However there are some perks.

- Rotom-W gets hit hard on a switch in.

252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Rotom-W: 191-225 (62.8 - 74%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

- Quagsire without Curse can't really rely on Unaware to wall you.

252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Quagsire: 222-262 (56.3 - 66.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

- Scaldmons (IE Keldeo and RNG-loving Crocune) are your bitches

252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Facade (140 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Keldeo: 304-358 (94.1 - 110.8%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO

Now lets be real. Facade is an insurance policy. You give up the ability to nail Ferrothorn (one of your biggest counters) in order not to be a complete slave to the RNG/HAX lords. As such, any team that has a healer should not use Facade Azumarill. However, Offensive and Hyper Offensive should consider it. If Azumarill is burned early, it's best to keep him on the benches until mid game. Once other mons are weakened he can come in and punch a few major holes before his inevitable fate. I like Facade over Superpower because I have solid answers to Ferrothorn on other pokemon so I can give up the slot. If your team has trouble with Thorn, I don't suggest giving up Superpower.

However, I will say that burn-insurance is nice to have on a choice bander.

 

[Shurtugal]

This isn't really my set but I've use this set a decent amount today in a couple of tour matches and I've had pretty good results.

Deoxys-Defense @ Mental Herb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Atk / 120 SDef / 96 Spd
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Superpower
- Mirror Coat

This set functions just like the standard lead but with a couple added bonuses. The idea behind the set is to basically beat Aegislash and Bisharp as both are common counter leads to all Deoxys-D. With the given EV spread, you outspeed Adamant Bisharp by 1 point which allows you to OHKO with Superpower. Because no one is going to Sucker Punch a Deoxys-D, this is a matchup that you will always win barring the random Jolly Bisharp. The rest of the EVs are invested in bulk to take a Life Orb or Spooky Plate Shadow Ball from Aegislash and OHKO with a Mirror Coat.

I should mention that this set doesn't beat Aegislash if its the Subsitute variants as Mirror Coat doesn't go through subs.

As an avid user of DeoD, I just want to make some comments.

Superpower DeoD is worth investing in because Bisharp is worth luring -- that, and since Bisharp never Sucker Punch, you have 100% HP, which means you are likely to get up SR despite the -1 defenses. However . . . what is the point of Mirror Coat? Taunt is essential to stop slow Defog users like Mandibuzz. Personally, there is no reason for any DeoD team to lure Aegislash -- most offensive threats are pretty solid answers to Aegislash (see: Bisharp, Charizard, Garchomp, Pinsir, Tyranitar, Mawile, Landorus, Talonflame, other Aegislash, Excadrill, Thundurus, etc.). While Aegislash is a very solid Pokemon, I just don't see common DeoD teams that utilize even one top tier threat that is going to really benefit from the luring of Aegislash.

The other issue it brings up is the fact that DeoD has to take damage for this to work, and it will be less likely to perform it's most mandatory role: setting up hazards. The lure of Aegislash is hardly worth it. By opting not to lure Aegislash, you can invest EVs back into speed, while also being able to run Taunt, and you can switch the item choice to Red Card (personally, that stumps Aegis leads since you SR, they Shadow Ball, and then they're forced out: most of the time into a slower threat).

The set should look a bit more like this:

Deoxys-Defense @ Red Card / Mental Herb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 192 HP / 40 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Superpower
- Thunder Wave / Taunt / Magic Coat

The speed is quite important this metagame, and Red Card is usually the most worth-while investment. The luring of Aegislash has pretty slim chances of ever being as helpful as luring out Bisharp, and even then, you can only really lure those two Pokemon out: Excadrill needs to take SR + 1 Spike before two Superpowers can 2HKO, and even then, I believe Scarf Drill and Chople Drill are common enough to make it . . . eh, while Tyranitar takes nothing from Superpower, and Mirror Coat, while it has a few more uses, certainly doesn't help it perform its role as a suicide hazard lead.

Those are my opinions based of tests after tests, but they are still my opinions. I haven't used Mirror Coat as often simply because I've never needed to lure Aegislash (like ever, a lot of offensive threats don't mind it much other than it's bulky and can't usually be OHKOd without set up), but perhaps someone can prove me wrong? Has anyone actually made a DeoD team that can utilize that lure?

Kyurem-B also gets iron head, which is an option to kill Sylveon and Clef before they can do much to you.

One of the best anti-meta mons right now is Toxicroak. I was looking into checks for Azumarill that fit into hyper offense, and kept going back to Venusaur, who kills any offensive momentum you have, and came up with this.

Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch

Which does solid damage to so much.

First off is Toxicroak's speed tier. At 85 speed, you're slower than every one of the "fast" mons, but you still beat Adamant Gyarados, Adamant Dragonite, Adamant Mamoswine, Jolly Breloom, Jolly Mega-Tar as well as every defensive Pokemon up to Mew running 128 speed.

The typing and ability combination means you can switch into quite a lot, mainly the Choice'd Water attacks from Azumarill and Keldeo, but also Crocune, Venusaur, Lando's Rock Attacks.

The set itself is just an all-out 4 move attacker. Come in, pick the best move, use it, repeat till forced out or dead. Here's some calcs.

First off, just for comparison:

252+ Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Deoxys-D: 161-191 (52.9 - 62.8%)
252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Azumarill Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Deoxys-D: 153-183 (50.3 - 60.1%)

So right off the bat, you have a move stronger than Azumarill's Play Rough (although admittedly, most Azu's would run Choice Band).

Gunk Shot is your best option against almost anything.

252+ Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Venusaur: 152-179 (41.7 - 49.1%) -- Does almost half to the most physically defensive Mega Venu available, any sort of S.Def or Spe investment will get it killed.
252+ Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Gunk Shot vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Dragonite: 253-300 (78 - 92.5%) -- KO's after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Keldeo: 265-313 (82 - 96.9%) -- Easily forced out if locked into a water move
252+ Atk Toxicroak Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 450-530 (111.3 - 131.1%)
252+ Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 429-507 (108.8 - 128.6%)
252+ Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Gunk Shot vs. +1 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 283-338 (71.8 - 85.7%)
252+ Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Gunk Shot vs. +2 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 218-257 (55.3 - 65.2%) -- You can still win against Clefable even after a Cosmic Power
252+ Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Suicune: 160-188 (39.6 - 46.5%) -- Strategy is to Knock Off, then Drain Punch till you force a Rest. At that point, use Gunk Shot twice, then Drain Punch for the KO. If one of the Gunk Shot misses, use Drain Punch until you force another Rest. Pressure give you only 4 Gunk Shots, leading to some unpleasant hax from the 80% accuracy.
252+ Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mandibuzz: 169-200 (39.8 - 47.1%) -- a 3HKO after SR.
252+ Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Conkeldurr: 253-300 (61.1 - 72.4%) -- Gunk Shot + Drain Punch to KO.
252+ Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Gunk Shot vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latios: 292-344 (96.6 - 113.9%) -- Can't come in.

Gunk Shot also has a 30% chance to poison, so even stuff that otherwise would resist (Lando, Hippowdon) risk getting crippled.

Drain Punch helps offset the damage from LO, and is your best option against Tyranitar and Ferrothorn.

Knock Off deters Aegislash from switching in (although most charge in anyway. Oh well.)

Sucker Punch helps a few revenge kills here and there, mostly against Zard-Y/X.

The main reason to use Toxicroak is as a check to a lot of current threats. It's very hard to fit a check to Belly Drum Azu in an offensive team, to Crocune, to Clefable, to Mega-Venusaur, to Conkeldurr, to Keldeo, to Ferrothorn, to Tyranitar, and to somehow have it fit into a single teamslot. It frees up a teamslot that you can use on different things.

I love Toxicroak, and it's pretty neat, but Knock Off + Sucker Punch + Stealth Rock from Bisharp just makes the KO iirc. Keldeo's Specs Secret Sword is a 2HKO while the HP Flying variants OHKO, and without the rain supplying Dry Skin, it's pretty hard to keep this thing alive. Mind you, it seems like a fantastic wallbreaker though, but I'd mention these little flaws since Toxicroak, at first, seems like a pretty reliable answer to Keldeo and Bisharp, when it's a check at best.

I wouldn't say Sucker Punch is a good way to face ZardY and ZardX either when they can easily Roost, the former causing Droughts, which mean LO + Dry Skin damage. Ouch. Pretty much coinflips in the Zard player's favor if you ask me.

Just curious but how much does Banded Espeed from Dragonite do to Toxicroak? Can it live after SR + LO damage?

Don't get me wrong, this seems like an invaluable Pokemon for breaking stall teams (it can break Chansey / Clefable / Venu / Conk, which makes it pretty great if you ask me), but I just wanted the flaws to be more apparent for the newer players browsing this threat, if that's OK with you! :)

 

[doughboy]

Shurtugal you need 28 Atk EV's in order to guareentee a OHKO on 0 HP / 0 Def Bisharp. Without those attack EV's you have a good chance to not KO and not get hazards up at all. I can not provide you with the percentage (on phone) unfortunately. You should pair that Deoxys-D with Aegislash since it is free to spam Shadow Ball vs opposing offensive teams.

 

[Shurtugal]

Doughboy if you look closely at my post, the DeoD set I included has 40 Atk evs, for, iirc, 32 Hp Bisharp. I am well aware that without Atk evs that you don't score the KO, so I don't get what, exactly, the point of your post was . . . ? Maybe I'm missing something, but I am well aware of the 28-40 Atk evs being needed, and my post should demonstrate as such?

Also, as for your last statement, I'm not sure if you're saying "Pair it with Aegislash because it likes luring Bisharp" or lure "Pair it with Aegislash to lure both Bisharp AND Aegislash," because Aegislash can still spam Shadow Ball even if the opponent has an Aegislash . . .

I was also merely commenting on DeoD -- and I was asking what teammates could utilize the luring of Aegislash not Bisharp, since there are plenty of things that appreciate a Bisharp lured, but few really for Aegislash. So clarify more? 'Cuz I'm not sure it's worth luring Aegislash just so another Aegislash can utilize it, especially since on HO, where you tend to want Pokemon that are faster than slower Defog users, and Aegislash is Defog bait for most common Defog Pokemon, so it isn't ideal to build an entire HO DeoD team around Aegislash (Aegislash can support the DeoD team, but it can't be what the DeoD team is supporting, if that makes sense.)

 

[Cherub Agent]

His last statement means that you should pair it with aegislash since it spinblocks your hazards and loves the fact that DxD lures out and kills bisharp, which is a pain for your aegislash

It goes without saying though that you cant ever really go wrong with all three of those mons on a team...

 

[Jukain]

Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 212 Atk / 44 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Ice Fang
- Aerial Ace
- Earthquake / Fire Fang / Stealth Rock

Mega Aerodactyl is so underrated in this metagame. Base 150 Speed allows it outrun literally the whole metagame besides Deoxys-S with an Adamant nature. Max Speed puts it at 399. With this Speed tier, it outruns +1 Mega Tyranitar, +1 Mega Gyarados, and +1 Dragonite, which is very impressive. It can outrun slower Char X with a Jolly nature but that in itself is a toss-up and it's not really worth the drop in power. Anyways so due to this Speed, it is extremely good against offense, even outrunning what besides Deoxys-S will generally be their fastest Pokemon outside of the odd Mega Manectric or w/e Scarfer. With the 44 Def EVs given from the leftover it actually barely manages to avoid the 2HKO from CB Talonflame Brave Bird, allowing it to function as a good offensive check. It's also one of the best offensive Mega Pinsir checks and can revenge kill numerous Pokemon with its excellent, Tough Claws-boosted coverage, from Keldeo to Latios to Landorus to Greninja...the sheer amount of offensive Pokemon that Mega Aerodactyl can threaten is enormous. It's a great anti-meta Pokemon right now.

Coverage is pretty simple, SEdge is obvious STAB, Ice Fang is important for Chomper, Lando, and Latios, and Aerial Ace gives a 100% accurate STAB super effective move vs Pinsir and other things in addition to (more importantly) hitting Keldeo and letting it pose a significant threat to Mega Venusaur/Amoonguss/Chesnaught. Last slot is basically whatever you want. EQ is better for Aegislash but FFang can hit it on the switch-in, in addition to smashing through Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor that attempt to set up on you, as well as pressuring Skarmory:

252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Aerodactyl Fire Fang vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 122-144 (36.5 - 43.1%)

So that's chunking out half of its health taking SR into account, which forces it to Roost and gives you the free switch. SR is also a good option if you can't fit in elsewhere, Megadactyl is a pretty good setter anyways due to high Speed and such.

Diggersby @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Frustration
- Earthquake
- Wild Charge
- U-turn

Choice Scarf Diggersby has seen a bit of usage in Tour, for example Alexander had a good Deo-D HO with it that he used one week (you can search for replays on PS), but it's still very underrated and IMO worthy of featuring. Especially if you're stacking it with Pinsir many people expect Diggersby to SD, and will respond accordingly. A Choice Scarf lets it surprise normal threats to it and function as a wildly threatening attacker against offense. Its STABs are great, and even with no boosting item fully invested Huge Power-boosted Attack STABs are going to hurt. Rotom-W isn't really that bulky but just as some showing off:

252+ Atk Huge Power Diggersby Frustration vs. 252 HP / 212+ Def Rotom-W: 153-181 (50.3 - 59.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

It even still chunks at fucking Impish Landorus-T admirably:

-1 252+ Atk Huge Power Diggersby Frustration vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-T: 111-132 (29 - 34.5%) -- 6.3% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

It OHKOes Mega Charizard Y, Latios, and friends easily and does ~80% to Keldeo. Overall very impresive. Its U-turn lets it pivot around and:

252+ Atk Huge Power Diggersby U-turn vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latios: 238-282 (78.8 - 93.3%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Like other Ground-type Scarfers it naturally can't be crippled by Thund-I TWave, and over Lando-T/Chomper has the ability to actually take an HP Ice from Thund-I if it predicts. Overall I feel this is the better set against offense. SD has a lot of trouble setting up and generally has to rely on its QA to get hits off, which just doesn't get the job done. A Scarf lets it outrun and annihilate top offensive threats with its immense power. Another cool set.

 

[doughboy]

Jukain I feel that Mega-Aerodactyl heavily overlaps already with Mega-Manectric. It checks all the same Pokemon that you mentioned Aerodactyl checked bar bulky DD ZardX and DD TTar. Aerodactyl offers more power, but Mega-Manectric has a better defensive buffer with Intimidate and a pivot move to work off its high speed that checks threats (Volt Switch). Intimidate is really cool because it removes the attack boost from DD even if Mega-Manectric can fully KO and goes down himself. Manectric can check Mega-Gyarados much more safely because its STAB is still super effective after Gyarados' mega-evolution. It also lacks an SR weakness which is nice. Overall I would say Mega-Manectric is probably a better choice for a speedy-revenge killer most of the time.

Also Choice Scarf Diggersby is great, but just to play devil's advocate, if you had properly EV'ed your Rotom-W:

252 Atk Huge Power Diggersby Return vs. 248 HP / 216+ Def Rotom-W: 139-165 (45.8 - 54.4%) -- 96.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

You still have a 4% chance to survive :p 248 HP puts you at 303 HP to take less SR damage, and that extra EV goes to defense where it gets you an extra point for reaching 216 EV's for a positive nature in defense.

Shurtugal when I mentioned the 20 attack EV's I meant that you could run less than the 40 Atk EV's you posted. I didn't think you were seeking to go up to 32 HP Bisharp and were just looking for the OHKO on 0 HP / 0 Def Bisharp

 

[Shurtugal]

Doughboy I don't know I just faced that same Aerodactyl set (but with Ice Fang) and it did fairly well against me (mind you, I won, but still, it was quite a decent battle). Also sorry I didn't realize that lol glad we've come to an understanding there.

While Manectric is similar, Aerodactyl isn't EQ weak or walled by Tyranitar (which can get annoying if you face that DD set) and Aero does better against ZardX, since Manectric is set up fodder to it. I think Aero warrants some usage - it's certainly good enough.

Jukain add Ice Fang on there fuck Landorus-T + Garchomp.

 

[Jukain]

Doughboy I don't know I just faced that same Aerodactyl set (but with Ice Fang) and it did fairly well against me (mind you, I won, but still, it was quite a decent battle). Also sorry I didn't realize that lol glad we've come to an understanding there.

While Manectric is similar, Aerodactyl isn't EQ weak or walled by Tyranitar (which can get annoying if you face that DD set) and Aero does better against ZardX, since Manectric is set up fodder to it. I think Aero warrants some usage - it's certainly good enough.

Jukain add Ice Fang on there fuck Landorus-T + Garchomp.

It's in the second slot.

 

[Shurtugal]

Derp I was looking in the fourth slot. I'm such an idiot sometimes, please don't mind me.

 

[Jukain]

some diggersby sets (not mine, bkc's, but i've used them):

Diggersby @ Focus Sash
Trait: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Frustration
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack

7:36 PM<•BKC> e-z
7:36 PM<•BKC> sash sd mons are good 99% of the time

The biggest issue that SD Diggersby is that, while it is good vs slower balanced and stall teams, it struggles vs offense. Focus Sash changes the whole dynamic of that, adding a new layer of depth. It can guarantee an SD at any point if you can keep off hazards; not just that, but with its power it can 'revenge kill' anything with its sash intact. The ability to tank a hit and set up against offensive teams is very, very useful, allowing it to function better against the main style of play in this metagame while still being killer against defensive teams.

Diggersby @ Focus Sash
Trait: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Spikes
- Frustration
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack

Spikes Diggersby is generally seen as a pretty nooby sort of thing, but it's actually surprisingly effective. Forcing numerous switches, Diggersby gets numerous opportunities to set up Spikes, and has the flexibility of the sash to get an extra layer at any point, and survive, or get a guaranteed hit if needed. The reason to use this over Deo-S? You use Deo-S to clean. Paired with Bisharp to take advantage of Defogs, I've found this set pretty neat.

 

[Kushalos]

Keldeo @ Salac Berry / Petaya Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
Timid Nature
IVs: NaN Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Endeavor
- Substitute

I've used this set to decent succes. It lures in stuff like Mega Venusaur and Azumarill and brings them down low with Endeavor, so teammates like Mega Gyarados, Charizard X or Mega Tyranitar can sweep. Still experimenting though cause im still not sure on the item :x.

 

[Shurtugal]

Salac Berry seens neat on that set: allows it to also be good vs. offense (you outspeed DeoS iirc).

EDIT: Thanks for giving me credit for the Salac slash on the set above!!

 

[Rhaegar]

When I play rain teams, my favorite sweeper is by far Omastar. Since I don't find it wise to run both Omastar and Kabutops due to typing, I came up with this Kingdra set for my physical nuke. It may seem a bit gimmicky at first glance, but has proven to be quite effective.

Kingdra @ Choice Band
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Outrage
- Sleep Talk
- Bounce

• The set acts as a sleep absorber while providing the x4 water resistance that rain teams benefit from. For reference, Waterfall is just slightly more powerful than Kabutops' Life Orb Waterfall, without the recoil. Granted, it is definitely not as good a sweeper as Kabutops, since it gets locked into a move and doesn't get priority. It's role isn't to sweep, but rather hit hard for a turn or two and switch out, which is why I do not recommend it for Hyper Offensive Rain with the suicide Deo-S lead. This set works much better on a team which has switch-ins to most threats.

• One very important thing that Choice Band Kingdra boasts is being the only swimmer to beat Venusaur and Amoonguss, 2HKOing the former and OHKOing the latter with Outrage.
• Sleep Talk helps take the Spore from Breloom and Amoonguss, two major threats to rain.
• Bounce is filler, but an important filler. Sleep Talk cannot call Bounce, which means that now using Sleep Talk guarantees one out of your two 120 Base Power Choice Banded STABS, which is pretty neat. Also, Outrage is great with Sleep Talk since it doesn't get locked.
• Another notable point is that a sleeping Kingdra OHKOes Thundurus while immune to Thunder Wave.

I only have a couple of replays which aren't exactly high level, or have many Kingdra turns, but do show the set coming in handy. I'm sorry I don't have better ones to upload but I don't generally save replays and don't remember saving these either actually.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-130637320 - Kingdra is basically present in only the first and last turns, but wins the game.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-132265208 - Hilariously gets a surprise last turn kill on MHera with Bounce.


tl dr; Good on O, not HO. x4 water resist. Hole puncher. Sleep absorber. Beats Venu. Chansey lure. Good partner: Omastar. Bad Partner: Suicide Deo-S.

 

[Kushalos]

Salac Berry seens neat on that set: allows it to also be good vs. offense (you outspeed DeoS iirc).

Yeah it probably is but I was using it on Sticky Web offense lol.

 

[Monte Cristo]

WORDS BY Albacore, SET BY ME

Victini @ Leftovers / Twisted Spoon
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spd Alternate spread that I use (not albacore): 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe- outspeeds standard speedy Choice Band Dnite
Adamant Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- V-create
- Taunt
- Bolt Strike / Substitute / Zen Headbutt / Filler coverage

Credit to Monte Cristo for this (oi)awesome set

It might seem odd to run a defensive set on Victini, a Pokemon who is often considered to have a terrible defensive typing, but don't be fooled. Stalltini is designed to be used on Stall teams as a counter a few wallbreakers that give them a hard time, namely Mega Medicham (even Fire Punch variants, whho can severely weaken Aegislash), Mega-Charizard Y, non-Knock Off Mega Mawile, and non-Shadow Ball Mega-Gardevoir. Not only that, but it's also able to wallbreak on its own thanks to its extremely powerful STAB. Will-O-Wisp is great at disabling physical attackers, especially the ones that will inevitably attempt to Sucker Punch you. Taunt is very useful at breaking down Stall even further. Final move is filler, Bolt Strike is good for generic coverage and breaking MMedi's Sub without dropping its defenses and letting it 2HKO it back. I personally like Substitute in order to annoy Stall even further, as well as mess with Mawile if it subs on the switch to Victini (Max HP isn't necessary since the only relevant Seismic Toss user in OU, Chansey, is cleanly 2HKO'd by V-Create). Glaciate for Dragonite, Gliscor and Dragons in general and Grass Knot for Quagsire and other Water types are all possible choices too. The given EVs are pretty obvious : they maximize its wallbreaking power, give it enough speed to outspeed Adamant Bisharp, and the rest is invested in HP. An alternative spread of 252 HP / 176 Attack / 64 Def / 16 Speed enables it to always live 2 Hi Jump Kicks from Adamant Mega-Medicham, but is pretty situational, loses out on crucial wallbreaking power, and statistically only matters in one battle out ofa hundred.

Overall, this set basically beats a few threatening wallbreakers and wallbreaks at the same time, while benefiting from the element of surprise, as Pokemon will almost always try to Sucker Punch it when they can

my words n stuff:
WoW is fantastic at neutering checks like Hippo, Quagsire and Tyranitar. Also Bolt Strike is needed to break mmedis sub without lowering your defenses which Albacore found out later on. Also twisted spoon + zen headbutt 2hkos choice band dnite and bulky dd zard X. if your not using twisted spoon, zen is p much worthless. I'm pretty sure a spread floating around like 80 speed outspeeds modest speedy heatran while the most you should go is 96 for Choice Band Dnite

replays:

• me vs albacore: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-133019321

 

[MikeDawg]

(Don't hate me pls)

Talonflame
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 8 Spd / 248 HP / 252 Atk
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Swords Dance

These were 30 second evs. There is almost certainly a more optimal spread. Maybe more speed, or more defensive, idk. However, it isn't awful, and it has a nice niche as a knock off absorber too (and lovely bisharp check).

So what had happened was I was chilling there in RU where fletchinder is kind of a thing. So then I was like, I need to learn ou again because that's an important tier and I had just been using TR (which is absolutely incredible in every single tier bar maybe uu but I don't know how to play uu soooo), and while TR wins like every game, I don't need to actually learn the tier to use it.

So I made a 5 minute team with some weird shit and I needed a bisharp check but I didn't want to run any megas (so I could bluff mega ttar and then kill thundys/landies with scarf ttar and sweep with scoli or something. Idk). So I decided that no item talonflame fared quite well against bisharp (because fletchinder doesn't have brave bird so this is all it's got, but talon is bulkier and stronger and faster sooo). It can't switch in to +2, but it can definitely take a life orb knock off

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Talonflame: 196-231 (54.4 - 64.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Then it can will-o-wisp and game over 4 bisharp. Acrobatics also synergizes much better with roost and the like than brave bird does because sometimes talonflame is at +6 because it burns the shit out of everything and sets up, but it only has like 10% left. Bam. no recoil acrobatics.

It is rather niche, but that niche is not giving a shit about knock off so >>>

And I like it because even if the opp doens't have knock off, it still fares very well as a pokemon. It does pretty much what normal talonflame does except minus flare blitz (but who cares. will o wisp, less 4mss, etc.), and flying spam is pretty great when you get rid of electric types (tyranitar) and steel types (magnezone). Give it a try. Also try out ru because it's pretty great except for right now because shuckle is popular.

Here's some (bad) replays where talonflame won the game for me (in a position where brave bird talonflame wouldn't have).

Keep in mind that I played poorly, and my opponents played almost as poorly, but their slightly better playing was no match for talonflame

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-133578075
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-133577433

 

[Lord Wallace]

I saw someone post Facade Azumarril and I wanted to go ahead and put this Azu set I used to use on my ladder team. Ultimately it ended up being replaced by an AV set but I used this Banded set to some pretty decent success on the suspect ladder (and tons of evil laughs)

Azumarril @ Choice Band
12 HP 252 Atk 244 Spd
Adamant
Huge Power

Waterfall
Play Rough
Aqua Jet
DOUBLE EDGE

So yeah the wild card move here is Double Edge, and the idea was that some players can probably anticipate Superpower from a scouted Band set and hesitate to make the obvious switch to Ferrothorn.
However, up until the creation of this set I realized no one would hesitate to switch in their healthy Venusaur or Amoonguss on Azumarril, ever. The fear of getting smacked by a coverage move is practically nonexistent with those two (especially the former). So I decided to run a couple calcs and found that:
252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Venusaur: 193-228 (53 - 62.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
And
252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Venusaur: 148-175 (40.6 - 48%) -- 64.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

So even the most physically bulky Venusaur gets cleanly 2HKOed by Double Edge Azu after Rocks if it tries to switch in un-Megaevolved, and the EVs give Azumarril just enough Speed to outpace min Spe Venusaur in order to land those two hits. Offensive variants of Mega Venusaur get 2HKOed after Rocks regardless of whether they switch in Mega evolved or not.

Tl:dr Azumarill attracts Grass/Poison mons like flames attract moths so Double Edge fucks em up [:

 

[Valmanway]

I brought this up in the non-VR version of this thread, but thought it would be worth bringing up here as well.

Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Spe / 244 SpD
Calm Nature
- Fire Blast / Flamethrower
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Tailwind / Solar Beam

Mega Charizard Y becomes specially defensive to take hits for the team. With this spread, Zard Y becomes a check/counter to some top tier threats, such as Landorus without Calm Mind, Greninja, Aegislash, and Gengar. Some damage calcs worth bringing up:

252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Sludge Wave vs. 248 HP / 244 SpD Mega Charizard Y: 127-151 (35.3 - 42%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Greninja Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 244 SpD Mega Charizard Y in Sun: 143-172 (39.8 - 47.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 244 SpD Mega Charizard Y: 117-138 (32.5 - 38.4%) -- 97.8% chance to 3HKO

252 SpA Gengar Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 244 SpD Mega Charizard Y: 142-168 (39.5 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

And the best part is Zard Y can still hit incredibly hard:

0 SpA Mega Charizard Y Fire Blast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Landorus in Sun: 321-378 (100.3 - 118.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

0 SpA Mega Charizard Y Solar Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Greninja: 342-404 (119.5 - 141.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

0 SpA Mega Charizard Y Flamethrower vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Gengar in Sun: 276-325 (105.3 - 124%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Will-O-Wisp on a special wall is as clever as it gets, as Rotom-W has shown us, while having Tailwind can aid your team in case if you need to outspeed something in an emergency. Solar Beam is still an option though, as it allows Zard Y to threaten the Water- and Rock-types that resist Fire-type moves. The real strength to this set though is the surprise factor that this carries. Physical sweepers would typically be good matchups when against regular Zard Y, but burning them when they expect offensive sets could really change the tide of battle. HP EVs are for Stealth Rock, Speed EVs outrun Adamant Bisharp, and the rest maximize his special walling potential.

 

[doughboy]

Valmanway

It's a pretty cool set but your Sp. Def Charizard Y receives heavy competition from Moltres. For starters, here is one of the benchmark hits you used:

252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Sludge Wave vs. 248 HP / 164+ SpD Moltres: 155-182 (40.4 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Charizard Y certainly has more bulk than Moltres as seen by the amount of damage it does, but Moltres has passive recovery in Leftovers. Moltres still hits decently hard behind base 125 special attack. Not quite as hard as Charizard Y, but still good. Both have very similar, maybe even the same support options. Moltres has PP stalling shenanigans too I guess. Bulk Up Talonflame also has a similar role. My main problem with the set is that there is such a huge opportunity cost to using that Charizard Y as a Mega-Evolution. Losing out on stuff like Mawile for offensive teams and mega-saur / char x for defensive teams is pretty big for what essentially looks like an upgraded Sp. Def Moltres.

 

[Valmanway]

Valmanway

It's a pretty cool set but your Sp. Def Charizard Y receives heavy competition from Moltres. For starters, here is one of the benchmark hits you used:

252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Sludge Wave vs. 248 HP / 164+ SpD Moltres: 155-182 (40.4 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Charizard Y certainly has more bulk than Moltres as seen by the amount of damage it does, but Moltres has passive recovery in Leftovers. Moltres still hits decently hard behind base 125 special attack. Not quite as hard as Charizard Y, but still good. Both have very similar, maybe even the same support options. Moltres has PP stalling shenanigans too I guess. Bulk Up Talonflame also has a similar role. My main problem with the set is that there is such a huge opportunity cost to using that Charizard Y as a Mega-Evolution. Losing out on stuff like Mawile for offensive teams and mega-saur / char x for defensive teams is pretty big for what essentially looks like an upgraded Sp. Def Moltres.

I see where you're coming from, but this set is more for the surprise factor than anything, not meant to be a mainstream set or anything.

 

[Reverb]

I like to call this my "Catch-All" Heatran.

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 48 SpD / 208 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Lava Plume
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock / Roar

The EVs give in maximum special bulk while allowing it to outspeed all Bisharp, Breloom, and Mega-Ttar. Will-O-Wisp +the Speed EVs allow it to burn Pokemon who would normally OHKO it with EQ. Instead, Heatran lives, and the opponent has a burned Pokemon. Lava Plume is for STAB+potential burns. Taunt is excellent because it shuts down support/wall Pokemon. For example, a common switch-in to Heatran is Ttar. Heatran can burn Ttar on the switch-in and Taunt it before it has the chance to use Stealth Rock. It also beats set-up Pokemon like CM Clefable. The last slot lets Heatran set up Stealth Rock (while preventing the opponent from doing the same). Alternatively, if you have SR on another Pokemon, you can give Heatran Roar, which allows it to phase the opponent (since Sub-CMers can be a problem for this set) and accumulate residual damage.

This set was the glue on a team I used that hit 2000 Elo. I hope you enjoy ~_~

 

[BenTheDemon]

Valmanway

It's a pretty cool set but your Sp. Def Charizard Y receives heavy competition from Moltres. For starters, here is one of the benchmark hits you used:

252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Sludge Wave vs. 248 HP / 164+ SpD Moltres: 155-182 (40.4 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Charizard Y certainly has more bulk than Moltres as seen by the amount of damage it does, but Moltres has passive recovery in Leftovers. Moltres still hits decently hard behind base 125 special attack. Not quite as hard as Charizard Y, but still good. Both have very similar, maybe even the same support options. Moltres has PP stalling shenanigans too I guess. Bulk Up Talonflame also has a similar role. My main problem with the set is that there is such a huge opportunity cost to using that Charizard Y as a Mega-Evolution. Losing out on stuff like Mawile for offensive teams and mega-saur / char x for defensive teams is pretty big for what essentially looks like an upgraded Sp. Def Moltres.

Moltres cannot tout the absolute nuking power of Zard-Y's 159 SpA boosted by the sun, nor can it tout the ability to actually use Solarbeam to get past those pesky Water types and the occasional Rock types even with 0 SpA EVs.
And as stated, the surprise value of this set merely adds to its effectiveness. Even if this goes mainstream, I still feel like this set would work well given Zard-Y's utility.