ORAS OU Executing my Offense (got reqs)

[Aberforth]

So after getting reqs I'd again like feedback on the team I used to do so.

This team started out shortly after I re-read Borat's Guide To GSC again, which is a truly fantastic thread I feel that everyone should read. In it there are a lot of concepts I feel are particularly valid even after GSC, not just in that one metagame, and one of them is the concept of the three teamstyles, Stall, Offense and Fail, with the concept that it is never possible for an offense team to lose to stall because of the stall's doing, but because the offense user failed to execute their offense (hence the name of the team). After re-reading it I felt the desire to build, and I wanted to try and build around Raikou (hey I'd just been reading something about GSC after all).

Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Raikou was obviously the first mon on the team, I wanted to build around it. I personally enjoy the sub calm mind raikou set most in ORAS, so that was the set I decided to build around. The moves are all fairly standard, just sub cm + bolt beam coverage. I can normally set up a sub on rather weak special attackers or electric type attackers, as well as things like ferrothorn without power whip.

Keldeo @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
Mostly standard here, but I went for a Life Orb 4 attacks keldeo, with HP flying over the usual HP Ice so as to help weaken Venusaur for the Raikou which cant really touch it. It can 2hko venusaur after burn + rocks damage so its quite useful. other moves are all standard. This also gives me a decent way of stopping bisharp and weavile from running through me, and burning physical attackers simply increases the number of mons my Sub CM Raikou can set up on.

​

Sceptile @ Sceptilite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dragon Pulse
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast
- Substitute
A bit of an odd choice here, but in the first itteration of the team this was part of a FWG core, with talonflame eventually being replaced. I wanted something that could outspeed and KO fast offensive threats like Mega Lopunny, as well as stopping volt turn from things like Manectric and Rotom-W. I wasn't expecting it to do much, but it actually has done fairly well. The spread is from Sceptile's analysis, and I'm using sub over leaf storm to ensure I mega evolve and get the lightning rod ability against threats like Thundurus-I, so that I dont just get destroyed by a hidden power ice. Sub also helps again in Bisharp (and really all sucker punch users) and against strategic sacks, meaning I'm safely behind a sub before my opponent's scarfer/megakazam can come in and revenge kill me.

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 60 HP / 252 SpA / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Air Slash
- Heal Bell
- Roost
This set was initially a talonflame with bulk up, but I felt too weak to standard stall teams, and with stall being popular on a Hoopa-U-less ladder, I decided to go with the set that can just blow straight past them in most circumstances. Heal bell also means I can play more recklessly against status users with things like my Landorus-T, and it can also destroy teams that let their faster mons get killed/weakened by Klefki. Also offers me a handy resistance to both of Garchomp's STABs.
​

Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Magnet Rise
- Play Rough
I mainly play ubers, so when I find myself weak to a lot of special attackers, Klefki is my go to response. Surprisingly, it actually works on this team, checking things like Mega Gardevoir, Alakazam, Torndaus and more. Mega Alakazam can be an issue though, especially if it has substitute. Also spikes turns a lot of 3hkos into 2hkos which is very nice. Magnet Rise is standard and Play Rough gives me a way to chip slightly at Sableye.

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 196 HP / 44 Atk / 160 Def / 108 Spe
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
Needed rocks, needed a talonflame answer, needed something to help with the many physical attackers that beat me and most particularly I needed a solid answer to Sand teams. Enter Landorus-Therian, with leftovers over rocky helmet to help it continuously check the things it needs to check over the course of the game. Initially this was a defensive Lando-T set with Uturn, but I struggled a lot with Mega Sableye teams, and I still do with ones which have steel types like Jirachi that Togekiss cannot muscle past, so having Lando-T have a way to pressure sableye is kinda nice. I went with a very random EV spread here, largely its to have general physical bulk, outspeed ttars, and the 44 attack evs mean I need slightly less chip damage on Sableye in order to OHKO it with a +2 EQ.
​

So yeah that's the team, lmk how I can improve it please.

importable

Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Keldeo @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump

Sceptile @ Sceptilite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dragon Pulse
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast
- Substitute

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 60 HP / 252 SpA / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Air Slash
- Heal Bell
- Roost

Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Magnet Rise
- Play Rough

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 196 HP / 44 Atk / 160 Def / 108 Spe
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

 

[p2]

hi pornman, this squad looks nice

though, im not too fond of the lopunny matchup here because the team looks like it really struggles to pressure lop. to help with that, id run rocky helm on lando. the extra chip damage + hazards will quickly deal with lop, easing pressure off the team when it comes to actually dealing with it. this also pressures stuff like driller better and just ruins its longevity if its life orb. also, nobody ever runs jolly 252 ttar without scarf, so if you're gonna creep stuff, just aim for 241 for adamant base 70s because ttar before mega evolving (the only realistic time this team will ever see jolly 252 non-scarf ttar) is a really obscure speed tier and in almost all scenarios, lando won't be coming in when its at neutral (not to mention you've also got keldeo and sceptile for it).

if you're using fairy stab on klefki to pressure sableye, use 88 spa along with dgleam instead of play rough, which gives you a reasonable chance to 2hko 252/0 sab and you pressure it a lot better than you would with play rough. you said alakazam with sub is a pain, but dgleam will always break the sub too so using dgleam won't open up any issues. credit goes to mcm for the spread tho

im also not keen on that toge spread either, because again, 243 is a pretty awkward speed tier to aim for and i think just going with the standard spread would benefit you more because it also takes hits from lop a bit better, and i don't see any particular important benchmarks toge loses out on by dropping all the spa investment, so going for the extra bulk is probably worth it tbh. it also gives you a really safe way to pick off loomer since it saves anything on the team from taking a mach punch too.

toge set

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 4 SpD / 176 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Air Slash
- Heal Bell
- Roost

hope these little tweaks could help and gl with the team

 

[GhoulWrath]

Hey man, I hope you're well :) I echo most of p2s suggestions namely the bulkier Togekiss set and Dazzling Gleam is a much better option than Play Rough for Klefki. If youre adamant on keeping Landorus-T I think you have to run a fully defensive set on this team with the number of Pokemon it is crucial for to check/counter - threats like Mega Metagross, Excadrill, Talonflame, Char X etc. all of which can body your team without it. The item would need to be Yache Berry as Mega Manectric is still a big threat to this team if it manages to Mega before your Sceptile and your opponent maintains the offensive pressure to prevent you Mega Evolving, and opposing CM Raikou is a threat full stop. This would lure both of them into staying in and attacking, allowing you to remove them from the game.

However I recommend you run Hippowdon over Landorus-T which has the luxury of being able to hold Leftovers due to only having a 2x Ice weakness, allowing it to defeat Raikou and Mega Manectric. Granted you lose Intimidate and a Ground immunity but you gain a phazing move, a rock resist, instant recovery and the ability to render these Electric threats irrelevant. Of the dangerous threats I listed, the one Pokemon youll become considerably weaker to is Excadrill in sand, but if you play intelligently and dont switch Hippowdon in directly at a point when an Adamant EQ will 2HKO, you will be fine.

I would definitely run Specs on Keldeo, for a few reasons. The increase in power is notable and you dont compromise the natural bulk of Keldeo, which is actually useful on this team to switch in on Dark, Steel, Ice and Rock attacks from the likes of Tyranitar, Weavile, Bisharp and threaten them out. Firstly, the example you mentioned about Mega Venusaur being burned and you having rocks up has very specific conditions which arent guaranteed to be in place - even if they are it will have cost you a minimum of 10 percent HP to burn the Venusaur plus a further 20 percent to 2HKO it on the switch in.
Also the usual complaint regarding Specs is that it requires prediction, but your set does too - if you use anything other than HP Flying on the incoming Mega Venusaur, youre going to be switching out and will have lost HP. Specs HP Flying 2HKOs with less conditions and Scald is the exact type of move that is forgiving when you mispredict due to its 100 percent burn chance XD

Lastly, I would seriously consider Baton Pass over Heal Bell on Togekiss. As much as Heal Bell is one of my favourite moves in the game, I believe Baton Pass would suit this team better and here's why. In light of the Keldeo change Ive mentioned above, your team can now struggle to break common stall cores such as Wish Chansey paired with Mega Venusaur. With Togekiss the threat of Air Slash will usually force Mega Venusaur out into another Pokemon, usually Chansey or Heatran. If the opponent makes a futile move and stays in, you significantly damage their biggest threat, whereas if they do switch, you can Nasty Plot freely on either of these Pokemon assuming they are the standard stall sets and Baton Pass to whatever will best shred the opponents team, usually Keldeo or Mega Sceptile against stall. The fantastic thing about passing +4 to Mega Sceptile against stall (easy to do) is that it can 1 vs. 1 Chansey due to immunity to Thunder Wave and Chanseys huge HP enabling you to recover more with Giga Drain than it can deal back. As for Keldeo, Pokemon like Slowbro and Mega Venusaur might enjoy switching into Specs Scalds, Hydro Pumps and Secret Swords, but these become brutal at +2 with the Specs boost.
The move doesnt lack utility against offense either, just come in on something that cant touch you - Chomper, Serperior, Mega Scep, Landorus T etc. and dry pass out to gain momentum as they bring in the typical Togekiss counters - Heatran, Excadrill, Bisharp, Scizor, Tyranitar, Kyurem B, Thundurus etc.
A common theme of these is that they get ravaged by Specs Keldeo, so that gives you a free opportunity to fire off nukes, with the exception of Thundurus which is a perfect invitation for either Mega Sceptile if its weakened or Calm Mind Raikou to set up on in any situation :)
Finally I don't think your team is affected enough by status to really miss Heal Bell. Hippowdon, Raikou and Mega Sceptile are all immune to Thunder Wave, Klefki is immune to Toxic, Raikou has Sub to avoid status. Mega Sceptile, Keldeo, Klefki or Togekiss dont care massively about Toxic or Burn.

I hope these suggestions are helpful to you dude, I put a ton of time and thought into this post so I hope you appreciate it and at least consider these improvements :) I would love to know your thoughts on them.
Also a replay of mine demonstrating how the Togekiss set can enable a huge comeback in what otherwise looks like a hopeless unwinnable situation
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oususpecttest-355305667

 

[GhoulWrath]

I disagree with Scarf Rachi here. There is a serious weakness to Mega Venusaur I agree, but I dont feel that is enough to remedy it. You also lose any semblance of a switchin to threats like Gengar and a Mega Zam player who can predict. I feel that between the chip damage dealt everytime you switch Rachi in either by Giga Drain, Leech Seed or HP Fire, the slight recovery of Leech Seed and Giga Drain, the opponent finding opportunities to Synthesis, the opponent intelligently switching to Skarm/Slowbro/Heatran (all common MVenu partners) whenever Jirachi is active against Mega Venusaur and possibly even Wish support, Mega Venusaur should easily outlast Jirachi.
Furthermore Thunder Wave is a crucial panic button against set up sweepers that have got out of control particularly things like Zard X which can mow most of this team down at +1 and it can also cripple Gengar, Mega Metagross, Mega Lopunny, Mega Zam, Zard Y etc., all huge threats to the team otherwise.

 

[busyguy]

Hey man, cool team !
The Pokemon that caught my eye is Togekiss. You said that you put it on the team just to deal with stall. However, offense/bulky offense is the most used playstyle, so Togekiss is almost deadweight in those matchups. It can't really fulfil the role as the Grass resist, because Serperior will overpower it with Rocks up unless you run a SpD set, it can't take Psyshocks from Latios and gets 2hkod by Keldeos Scalds. On Togekiss opponents will just bring in their Heatran (or M-Metagross, then Lando has to suffer) on it, then you have to switch into Keldeo, risking a Lava Plume burn and combined with Rocks and Life Orb damage, it will get worn down very quickly. Dark types like Bisharp and Weavile or Scizor will then have a lot more of room with Keldeo weakened.
Another problem I see here is that the team lacks immediate power to break through more defensive teams. Physical walls are not problematic, but special walls like Chansey or CM boosters like Clefable and Reuniclus look very hard to break, especially after they get their "free" boost on Sceptile, Keldeo or Klefki. To me it looks like you tried to remedy the lack of physical threats with SD Lando, but that gives it too many roles, it has to get up rocks, gain momentum and wall a bunch of threats.

(CB) >

I have a few more options for this role, but I came to the conclusion that Tyranitar offers the most use to the team. A Choice Band set has a lot of immediate power and nothing in OU can really switch into it. It has the ability to punch holes into defensive teams, to clear the way for the other teammates. This works well with Keldeo, because Tyranitar can remove common Keldeo checks from the game, like Latios, Starmie, Celebi, Slowbro (if you catch it on a Pursuit it can no longer switch into Scald from Keldeo) and even Venusaur and Amoonguss get 2hkod on the switchin. Raikou also benefits from that, since it can't really set up with Latis still alive at a decent amount of health. The team also has T-Wave support, so Ttar can pick off paralyzed Pokemon. There was also a lot of pressure on Klefki, it has to wall many things like Fairies and is the main SpD wall on your team. TTar helps with that with its bulk, it can switch into weaker special hits and takes on the Latis. The set is just max attack adamant, the speed can be chosen as you like, I try to speedcreep Venusaur which is 192 or 204 EV investment.
The team gets slightly weaker to Grass types though, Breloom Serperior look more threatening, because the Flying/Fire/Poison/Bug part is not present, but as I mentioned earlier, Togekiss struggles to fulfil this role anyway. There are ways to play around these though. Keldeo will be a bit more problematic too, it could come in on Tyrantar, but if you limit its switchins by not giving it free switchins , you should be good. Ttar almost Ohkos Keldeo with Superpower and it can only really come in when you set Rocks with Lando.

The Sceptile set you use relies on Focus Blast to deal with Heatran. Looking at your team, Raikou, Klefki and Lando hate switching into Lava Plume from Heatran. Keldeo gets burned over time and if it's SpD Heatran you can't reliably deal with it. I recommend running Earthquake>Substitute with a Naive nature. Something to consider is Energy Ball>Giga Drain, because it scores some Ohkos on common OU threats. Sceptile's job is to revenge or clean so it's up to you, but here are some calcs that show the difference:

calcs

252 SpA Mega Sceptile Energy Ball vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-W: 302-356 (99.6 - 117.4%) -- 93.8% chance to
252 SpA Mega Sceptile Giga Drain vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-W: 254-300 (83.8 - 99%)
252 SpA Mega Sceptile Energy Ball vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Azumarill: 386-456 (100.5 - 118.7%)
252 SpA Mega Sceptile Giga Drain vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Azumarill: 320-380 (83.3 - 98.9%)
252 SpA Mega Sceptile Energy Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Manaphy: 320-378 (93.8 - 110.8%)
252 SpA Mega Sceptile Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Manaphy: 266-314 (78 - 92%)
252 SpA Mega Sceptile Energy Ball vs. 252 HP / 24 SpD Slowbro: 372-440 (94.4 - 111.6%)
252 SpA Mega Sceptile Giga Drain vs. 252 HP / 24 SpD Slowbro: 312-368 (79.1 - 93.4%)

With TTar as breaker, Lando can now focus on getting rocks and sponging physical attacks, so you can go for the standard set with U-turn to gain momentum. I agree with the Rocky Helmet, it can put Lopunny in range if Sceptile easier.

With Life Orb, Keldeo will get worn down very quickly, I'd just go for a specs set. Rest + Sleep Talk with Life Orb is an option too, but it loses out on coverage.

Other options:

(CB)>

Similar to Ttar, it is hard for defensive teams to switch into banded Terrakion. The benefits of it are a better speed tier, Fighting coverage and even priority if you want, but it doens't offer as much as TTar to the team.

(LO) >

First I wanted to put Life Orb Tornadus-T>Togekiss, to get VoltTurn going. Torn forces in Birdchecks like Rotom, Manectric, Raikou, Hippo and Sceptile could abuse that very nicely. However, without Hazard removal it will be at 75% all the time and combined with Life Orb recoil it will just get picked off by a usual priority attack like Aqua Jet or Bullet Punch. It would need a lot more changes to smooth out this change though.

team

Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Focus Blast

Sceptile-Mega @ Sceptilite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Focus Blast
- Earthquake
- Energy Ball
- Dragon Pulse

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Dazzling Gleam
- Spikes
- Foul Play

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Superpower
- Pursuit

OR

Terrakion @ Choice Band
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Rock Slide
- Quick Attack