This is my first time building a team on SM's OU, so I would love an suggestions and feedback you guys can give me! I wanted to build around two things here: 1) Mega Charizard X, as it is not only one of the coolest looking Megas, but also a very threatening sweeper as well, and 2) hazard-stacking, as it's generally super annoying to play against, and great support for sweeper mons. I gave it my best shot and here's what I came up with:
The squad, in all of its glory.
Teambuilding Process
Obviously, Zard X was first chosen because it's the mega I wanted to build around. Lele was chosen next, not only because it stops priority but also because of its fantastic wallbreaking capabilities. Ferro and Lando-T were then added as bulky hazard setters/other utility mons. I then realised that I had no way to remove hazards myself, so I chose a Spinner over a Defogger as this team is hazard-stack based. Starmie was chosen because of its speed and synergy with the rest of the team. Finally, Tyranitar was added as sort-of a glue pokemon, capable of tanking many hits because of its awesome bulkiness. This team is sort of bulky offense and sort of balance.
The members:
Goldfinger (Ferrothorn) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Protect
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
Ah, Ferrothorn. Easily (one of) the best entry hazard setters in the tier. Given great bulk and a very good typing, our spiky little metal cactus thing has a lot going for it. Spikes is the main move on this, as it deals consistent damage to grounded switch-ins and is relatively easy to stack considering 'thorn's longevity. Sadly, it doesn't get instant recovery, so we must improvise with the dreaded Leech Seed + Protect to regain any HP. The EVs are nothing original, but they work wonders and give it lots of mixed bulk. Gyro Ball is chosen because I need some form of damage. With a Relaxed (-Spe) nature and 0 IVs in Speed, Gyro actually does a fair amount of damage. Leftovers was chosen for the extra HP recovery.
La Bestia (Landorus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
Intimidate plus almost maximum physical bulk means that Lando-T can easily switch into physically-based Pokemon, ignore Spikes and set up Stealth Rocks, which hits the floating pokemon that Spikes cannot. In addition to this, U-turn allows for momentum gain by switching to another team member. Earthquake is a pretty strong STAB move even with little investment, and Stone Edge lets me hit airborne enemies. Rocky Helmet damages said physical pokemon Lando switches into. EVs allow me to have great physical bulk whilst outpacing Azumarill.
Dark Star (Starmie) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spe / 4 SpA
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Reflect Type
All this talk of entry hazards aside, I actually need an anti-hazard Pokemon, and my solution is Starmie. Blisteringly fast, it is great for hazard removal. Natural Cure is another boon, allowing you to virtually ignore status. Scald is the spam move, and comes with a 30% burn chance. Although burn has been nerfed, the drop to the foe's attack stat is still worth it in most cases. Rapid Spin clears hazard, which is especially important for Charizard to, erm, not lose half of its HP. Recover lets me keep Star running like a well-oiled machine and Reflect Type? Well, it allows Star to match the type of its foe, meaning it takes MUCH less damage from Pursuits and Thunderbolts. Lefties are chosen for passive recovery and the EVs and Nature max out my Speed. The rest is put in HP for bulk.
RAWR (Tyranitar) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Atk / 80 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Payback
- Ice Punch
AV Tyranitar is the really bulky tank on my team, capable of taking neutral and resisted Special attacks with ease. However, this is not your average T-Tar. You will see that I have chosen Payback over Pursuit or Crunch. Since Tyranitar's speed is utter [bad word], I went for power and bulk over speed, with Relaxed + 0 IV speed giving me the last turn, and a 100 BP attack, almost all of the time. Stone Edge is for the other STAB and Earthquake and Ice Punch are for coverage. Ice Punch is especially good for bulky grounds. What's Tyranitar's job? Well, it has great synergy with my other pokemon and can easily take a hit and fire back, meaning it can easily come in on a double-switch. T-Tar's job on my team is to weaken and/or remove enemy pokemon that could be bad for Charizard, as well as tank hits all day. I chose the EVs so that T-Tar can still do a good amount of damage whilst having good defenses as well.
Melanie (Tapu Lele) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt
Tapu Lele is my go-to wallbreaker, with its Specs-boosted, terrain-boosted Psychic dealing huge amounts of damage to most walls. Moonblast is to hit what Psychic can't, Focus Blast gives me a way to hit Steel-types for good damage and Thunderbolt is for bulky waters that would hinder Charizard (like Tapu Fini). The EVs are for maximum Speed and SpA, with a Timid nature for speed because let's face it, it doesn't need any more SpA investment. IDK why Smogon sets Pokemon to 0 IV in attack. Psychic Terrain also blocks priority for Charizard too.
Heinrich (Charizard-Mega-X) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
The star of the show, Zard X is no less threatening in Gen 7 as it was in Gen 6. This is your standard sweeperzard set, with Flare Blitz as your main STAB move, denting everything hard with the 1.33x from Tough Claws. D-Claw was chosen over Outrage because I prefer the ability to switch moves over raw power, and it is your other STAB. D-Dance boosts your Atk and Spe, allowing you to plow through teams after a few boosts. Roost is there to keep Zard healthy so it can finish its sweep, though I am considering Earthquake for the extra coverage. The EVs are for max Speed and Attack, and I shouldn't have to explain why I chose them. Jolly was chosen so that after one boost you outspeed the whole unboosted meta (even Phero).
Known Problems with the team:
Stall: Whilst I can deal with offensive and balanced teams just fine, stall teams are a bit of a problem, especially ones with Defog Skarmory. I have no strong stallbreakers on my team, as Zard X is DD not SD. Stall teams easily counter a lot of the mons on my team, and can just sit there and wall. If they lack an entry remover, or I am able to remove said entry remover, it becomes a whole lot easier though.
Ash-Greninja: If AG is allowed to transform, it becomes a massive pain to deal with, as I have very few pokemon on my team that can switch into it safely without dying. My only hope is that Lele stays healthy in this case.
Bulky Waters: Tapu Fini especially, but I have very little on the team that actually can deal with these pokemon reliably without having to forgo another move for coverage.
Play with the team!
Well, that's all I guess. Thanks for reading my RMT and I hope you have a good day!
The squad, in all of its glory.
Teambuilding Process
Obviously, Zard X was first chosen because it's the mega I wanted to build around. Lele was chosen next, not only because it stops priority but also because of its fantastic wallbreaking capabilities. Ferro and Lando-T were then added as bulky hazard setters/other utility mons. I then realised that I had no way to remove hazards myself, so I chose a Spinner over a Defogger as this team is hazard-stack based. Starmie was chosen because of its speed and synergy with the rest of the team. Finally, Tyranitar was added as sort-of a glue pokemon, capable of tanking many hits because of its awesome bulkiness. This team is sort of bulky offense and sort of balance.
The members:
Goldfinger (Ferrothorn) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Protect
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
Ah, Ferrothorn. Easily (one of) the best entry hazard setters in the tier. Given great bulk and a very good typing, our spiky little metal cactus thing has a lot going for it. Spikes is the main move on this, as it deals consistent damage to grounded switch-ins and is relatively easy to stack considering 'thorn's longevity. Sadly, it doesn't get instant recovery, so we must improvise with the dreaded Leech Seed + Protect to regain any HP. The EVs are nothing original, but they work wonders and give it lots of mixed bulk. Gyro Ball is chosen because I need some form of damage. With a Relaxed (-Spe) nature and 0 IVs in Speed, Gyro actually does a fair amount of damage. Leftovers was chosen for the extra HP recovery.
La Bestia (Landorus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
Intimidate plus almost maximum physical bulk means that Lando-T can easily switch into physically-based Pokemon, ignore Spikes and set up Stealth Rocks, which hits the floating pokemon that Spikes cannot. In addition to this, U-turn allows for momentum gain by switching to another team member. Earthquake is a pretty strong STAB move even with little investment, and Stone Edge lets me hit airborne enemies. Rocky Helmet damages said physical pokemon Lando switches into. EVs allow me to have great physical bulk whilst outpacing Azumarill.
Dark Star (Starmie) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spe / 4 SpA
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Reflect Type
All this talk of entry hazards aside, I actually need an anti-hazard Pokemon, and my solution is Starmie. Blisteringly fast, it is great for hazard removal. Natural Cure is another boon, allowing you to virtually ignore status. Scald is the spam move, and comes with a 30% burn chance. Although burn has been nerfed, the drop to the foe's attack stat is still worth it in most cases. Rapid Spin clears hazard, which is especially important for Charizard to, erm, not lose half of its HP. Recover lets me keep Star running like a well-oiled machine and Reflect Type? Well, it allows Star to match the type of its foe, meaning it takes MUCH less damage from Pursuits and Thunderbolts. Lefties are chosen for passive recovery and the EVs and Nature max out my Speed. The rest is put in HP for bulk.
RAWR (Tyranitar) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Atk / 80 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Payback
- Ice Punch
AV Tyranitar is the really bulky tank on my team, capable of taking neutral and resisted Special attacks with ease. However, this is not your average T-Tar. You will see that I have chosen Payback over Pursuit or Crunch. Since Tyranitar's speed is utter [bad word], I went for power and bulk over speed, with Relaxed + 0 IV speed giving me the last turn, and a 100 BP attack, almost all of the time. Stone Edge is for the other STAB and Earthquake and Ice Punch are for coverage. Ice Punch is especially good for bulky grounds. What's Tyranitar's job? Well, it has great synergy with my other pokemon and can easily take a hit and fire back, meaning it can easily come in on a double-switch. T-Tar's job on my team is to weaken and/or remove enemy pokemon that could be bad for Charizard, as well as tank hits all day. I chose the EVs so that T-Tar can still do a good amount of damage whilst having good defenses as well.
Melanie (Tapu Lele) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt
Tapu Lele is my go-to wallbreaker, with its Specs-boosted, terrain-boosted Psychic dealing huge amounts of damage to most walls. Moonblast is to hit what Psychic can't, Focus Blast gives me a way to hit Steel-types for good damage and Thunderbolt is for bulky waters that would hinder Charizard (like Tapu Fini). The EVs are for maximum Speed and SpA, with a Timid nature for speed because let's face it, it doesn't need any more SpA investment. IDK why Smogon sets Pokemon to 0 IV in attack. Psychic Terrain also blocks priority for Charizard too.
Heinrich (Charizard-Mega-X) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
The star of the show, Zard X is no less threatening in Gen 7 as it was in Gen 6. This is your standard sweeperzard set, with Flare Blitz as your main STAB move, denting everything hard with the 1.33x from Tough Claws. D-Claw was chosen over Outrage because I prefer the ability to switch moves over raw power, and it is your other STAB. D-Dance boosts your Atk and Spe, allowing you to plow through teams after a few boosts. Roost is there to keep Zard healthy so it can finish its sweep, though I am considering Earthquake for the extra coverage. The EVs are for max Speed and Attack, and I shouldn't have to explain why I chose them. Jolly was chosen so that after one boost you outspeed the whole unboosted meta (even Phero).
Known Problems with the team:
Stall: Whilst I can deal with offensive and balanced teams just fine, stall teams are a bit of a problem, especially ones with Defog Skarmory. I have no strong stallbreakers on my team, as Zard X is DD not SD. Stall teams easily counter a lot of the mons on my team, and can just sit there and wall. If they lack an entry remover, or I am able to remove said entry remover, it becomes a whole lot easier though.
Ash-Greninja: If AG is allowed to transform, it becomes a massive pain to deal with, as I have very few pokemon on my team that can switch into it safely without dying. My only hope is that Lele stays healthy in this case.
Bulky Waters: Tapu Fini especially, but I have very little on the team that actually can deal with these pokemon reliably without having to forgo another move for coverage.
Play with the team!
Dark Star (Starmie) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Psyshock
Melanie (Tapu Lele) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt
Heinrich (Charizard-Mega-X) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
Auric (Ferrothorn) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Protect
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
La Bestia (Landorus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
RAWR (Tyranitar) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Atk / 80 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Payback
- Ice Punch
Ability: Natural Cure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Psyshock
Melanie (Tapu Lele) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt
Heinrich (Charizard-Mega-X) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
Auric (Ferrothorn) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Protect
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
La Bestia (Landorus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
RAWR (Tyranitar) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Atk / 80 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Payback
- Ice Punch
Well, that's all I guess. Thanks for reading my RMT and I hope you have a good day!
