SM OU Faster Than Light (ft. Alolan Raichu) - Peaked #24

[Haken]

Hi guys ! It’s barely been 2 weeks since my last RMT, but I got really inspired when I decided to build around the most diabolically cute threat ever: Alolan Raichu. Once again, I know that you’ve probably never seen me on this forum, but that’s ok ! All you need to know is that my only goal in this game is to have FUN, by turning my beloved gimmick Pokemons into gold. Well, I try at least…

Raichu-Alola @ Aloraichium Z
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Nasty Plot​

Who would have guess that Pikachu was going to evolve into Satan in Pokemon Sun and Moon ?
Being able to outspeed the entire Metagame, Alolan Raichu is clearly one the best Revenge Killer in the entire game. And even if it can sometimes fail checking a Set-Up Sweeper with its regular moves, add the Aloraichium Z and you’ll be sure that your threat is either dead or paralyzed !
But it’s not even what this thing is the best at: Raichu is also a fantastic Late Game Sweeper, and more surprising: a very decent Stallbreaker.
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Stoked Sparksurfer vs. 4 HP / 252 SpD Eviolite Chansey in Electric Terrain: 387-456 (60.2 - 71%)
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 144+ SpD Sableye-Mega in Electric Terrain: 294-346 (96.7 - 113.8%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Stoked Sparksurfer vs. 252 HP / 192+ SpD Unaware Clefable in Electric Terrain: 309-364 (78.4 - 92.3%)

« Ok man, it looks great on paper, but how the fuck do you want to get a Nasty Plot against an offensive team ? » Well, I was also very skeptical at first too, but this is actually very easy if you threaten correctly a fast sweeper.
Example: A sweeper of your opponent just killed one your mons. If you can Revenge Kill it with Raichu (which is very common), and if your opponent has something that looks like a check (Ferrothorn, Tyranitar, Magearna, Excadrill, Zygarde, Latios, Landorus, Tapu Bulu, Tangrowth, Marowak and Nihilego essentially) you can go for Nasty Plot.

Let’s see what a +2 Raichu does to those « checks » next turn:
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 356-420 (101.1 - 119.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Stoked Sparksurfer vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Tyranitar: 505-595 (147.6 - 173.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Stoked Sparksurfer vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Magearna in Electric Terrain: 444-523 (122.3 - 144%)
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Hidden Power Fire vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Excadrill: 328-388 (90.6 - 107.1%)
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zygarde: 271-319 (75.9 - 89.3%)
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Stoked Sparksurfer vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latios in Electric Terrain: 348-409 (116.3 - 136.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Psychic vs. 252 HP / 24 SpD Landorus-Therian: 304-358 (79.5 - 93.7%)
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Bulu: 271-321 (96.4 - 114.2%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Stoked Sparksurfer vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Tangrowth in Electric Terrain: 273-322 (67.5 - 79.7%)
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Marowak-Alola: 312-367 (119.5 - 140.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Nihilego: 410-486 (114.2 - 135.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

As you can see, most Raichu’s common checks are getting raped by the evil mouse. Chansey, Assault Vest Tangrowth and bulky Zygarde are really the only mons that can still annoy you at +2. But hopefully, Raichu is not alone in this team.

PS: I chose HP Fire over Focus Blast because I like having 4 moves on a Pokemon, but also because Stall Teams’ Shedinja can immediately stop my sweep if I don’t pack HP Fire.

Tapu Koko @ Terrain Extender
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Nature's Madness
- Taunt
​

Tapu Koko was the most obvious partner. Not only this guy can set up 8 turns of Electric Terrain for free, but he can also make some crucial damage to the aforementioned counters.
Chansey and AV Tangrowth are indeed one of the most automatic switches on Koko, which is why it’s one of the best mon to lure them. Nature Madness + Taunt on Chansey and Nature Madness + Volt Switch on AV Tangrowth ensure that both of them are going to be at the KO Range of my +2 Raichu, as Chansey will be at 50% and Tangrowth will lose 50% + 12% minimum:
252 SpA Tapu Koko Volt Switch vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Tangrowth in Electric Terrain: 50-59 (12.3 - 14.6%)

If you’re still following me, when Tangrowth will try to stop Raichu later on, it will be at 71% maximum (because of the Regenerator) which is going to be a roll in your favor, and I don’t even take some SR damage into account here! (100% dead with the Rocks)

Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
- Earthquake
- Roost / Flame Charge​

Now think about it: some of the most common switches into Tapu Koko are Ferrothorn, Tangrowth, Tapu Bulu, Venusaur, Magnezone and AV Magearna. As you also quickly noticed, Mega Zard Y can easily come in and destroy them all. But the best part is that your opponent will have to switch again, as those mons are some nice counters to Raichu. The typical switches into Zard Y are now Zygarde, Garchomp, Latios and Nihilego.
« Damn, those names feel familiar… » Yeah boy, it’s because those mons are actually some of the best checks to an unboosted Raichu that I listed before! You got it: Charizard is here to force my opponent to weaken his best answers to Raichu.
But the sun can also directly help Raichu, as « He Who Must Not Be Named » will have a hard time revenge killing me with Water Shuriken now, and it also enables me to break through Excadrill, Magnezone or Ferrothorn more easily, without being forced to Nasty Plot before.

Landorus-Therian @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion​

(Shoutout to Stratobodom as it’s really one of his « signature » sets ! :D)
The goal is simple: put the Rocks, and if the Defogger/Spinner comes in, juste explode at his face ! It will a) kill it b) block Defog/Rapid Spin. Ok, it seems a bit retarded on paper. But I soon realized that this set truly has an interesting synergy with Raichu, as it forces my opponent into his Tapu Fini, Tapu Bulu, Tangrowth or Landorus very early in the match, and my Lando can then kill it with a +2 Explosion.
But why would I care about Tapu Fini and Bulu ? Simple: their Terrain ! Indeed, even if Raichu is close to unstoppable under the Electric Terrain, my opponent can still very easily sacrifice his own Tapu to stop my sweep.

Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Surf / Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- U-turn / Ice Beam​

At this moment, I felt that the team was starting to be very weak to both Sand Rush Excadrill and Rock Polish Landorus (as they are one the few mons that Raichu can’t Revenge Kill easily), which is why I initially picked Greninja. But it turned out that it was even better than I thought, as Greninja can also force my opponent into Ferrothorn, Tangrowth, Magearna, etc (like Tapu Koko does) and then U-Turn, which enables me to bring back my Zard Y to make some holes into my opponent’s team.

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 32 HP / 252 Atk / 224 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- U-turn
- Defog​

Charizard being in the team, I wanted a way to get rid off the entry hazards. I originally opted for a Choice Banded Pheromosa in order to be more agressive, but the team was really « Match-Up dependent » as Belly Drum Azumarill could very easily 6-0 me, Mega Mawile and Choice Banded Zygarde were too threatening, and I also couldn’t check Mega Alakazam if it Traced my Raichu’s Surge Surfer. Scizor really helps the team dealing with those threats (Speed EVs are here to make sure that I’m faster than any Mawile/Azumarill and Adamant Tyranitar), but it also has another crucial role: trapping both Mega Alakazam and Scarf Tapu Lele, which are clearly the best Offensive counters to Raichu.


And… wow, I realize that I’ve been chatting for far too long now: time to conclude !
Ok, so this is clearly not the most competitive team ever, and I’m faaar from being an amazing player. But I’m still very proud of it, as I feel like I’ve managed to build a squad where Raichu can truly shine ! It works very well in high ladder and that’s more than enough for me, as I’m not skilled enough to get like #1. So if you also wanna have a blast with this Pokemon, welp, it’s here guys ! :D Cheers.

Importable

Raichu-Alola @ Aloraichium Z
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Nasty Plot

Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
- Earthquake
- Roost

Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- U-turn

Landorus-Therian @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- U-turn
- Defog

Tapu Koko @ Terrain Extender
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Nature's Madness
- Taunt

 

[legend slayer]

nice team but use psyshock over psychic on raichu, ice beam over u-turn or surf and,while i like ur charizard y idea, the d dance charizard y has been coming back. heres my set:
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 Att / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power [Ice]/Rock Slide
- Dragon Dance

​

 

[Haken]

nice team but use psyshock over psychic on raichu, ice beam over u-turn or surf and,while i like ur charizard y idea, the d dance charizard y has been coming back. heres my set:
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 Att / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power [Ice]/Rock Slide
- Dragon Dance

​

Heyyy thanks a lot man !
Ice Beam really makes sense on Greninja instead of U-Turn, I completely agree with that ! I don't know man, maybe I don't have balls enough, but I kinda like the comfort that U-Turn brings... It's totally up to you ! :D

I wouldn't say that I agree with Psyschock though, as the only benefit is to hit harder Chansey (but not harder than the Z move for example). Then, Psyshock is not even stronger than Psychic on AV Tangrowth for example, and you will lose so much power most of the time !
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Psychic vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 297-351 (82.9 - 98%)
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Psyshock vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 241-285 (67.3 - 79.6%)
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Psychic vs. 252 HP / 24 SpD Landorus-Therian: 304-358 (79.5 - 93.7%)
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 216+ Def Landorus-Therian: 184-217 (48.1 - 56.8%)

That's absolutely crucial, because you can't go for a Nasty Plot if those counters are not at your KO range, and some counters like Scarf Garchomp are only taking some SR damage during the whole match (as Raichu is the only mon that outpseeds it in my team). It means that you only need 1 SR damage early game, before getting the opportunity to Nasty Plot if you have Psychic. But with Psyschock, you will have to
a) wait for your opponent to choke and switch his Garchomp into something like Charizard's Flamethrower or Scizor's U-Turn (which never happens if your opponent plays correctly)
b) force Garchomp on Rocks 5 times !
This is just an example, but same goes for Landorus, Zygarde, Marowak, Hippodown, etc...

And yeah I really like that Charizard set too ! :D But the team isn't builded around it, here, Charizard is not my win condition but something that I can bring early/mid-game thanks to my Volt/Turns in order to force my opponent into his Raichu's counters. But with the DDance set, Charizard won't be able to hit those specific mons as hard as I want him to. It's not a bad idea by any means, but I don't think it's optimal in this team. Flame Charge instead of Roost might be an option though if you still want to be more aggressive !

Thanks for your reply man, I'm going to add Ice Beam and Flame Charge thanks to you ! :)

 

[Enenra]

Choice band Scizor with defog is not a good idea,Hypothetically let's say the opponent set's up SR turn One on you're Greninja lead You U-turn out to Scizor or whatever Mon, Then they Switch on your choice banded defog Turn 2, at this point you are at a disadvantage and your pressure has stopped you are forced to play very defensively and won't get to bring out your Set Up sweepers because they would take a chunk from whatever is putting pressure.The biggest flaw with this team is that some mons such as Scizor and Zard Y slow don't apply enough pressure and can easily be Switched in on by heatran which decimates your team once Lando is out the way. My suggestion would be to replace Zard and Scizor.

 

[Haken]

Hi man, thanks for your rate ! :)
Well, I've to admit that this Banded Defog is really annoying sometimes, you're absolutely right: it's clearly the biggest flaw to this team.

But the thing is that I absolutely need the Choice Band, even more than Defog. It enables me to OHKO Mega Zam after the Rocks (very important if it Traced my Surge Surfer), make some huge damage to Scarf Lele with Pursuit (so that it won't be able to come more than twice on the Rocks), but also because Rocks damage + Koko's (Nature Madness + Volt Switch) + Scizor's Pursuit 100% kills AV Tangrowth, which is a scenario that always happen. Without the Choice Band, I wouldn't be able to trap it, which is big, as this is one of the best Defensive counters to Raichu.

Defog on the other hand isn't that crucial on a very offensive team like this, as the battles are always rather short and Charizard Y usually does its job early/mid game. To be honest, I pretty much never use Defog, and I think that it should be considered more as an emergency move. It's mainly useful against stall, because if Toxapex managed to put the Toxic Spikes, it means that you won't be able to Nasty Plot correctly with Raichu as long as they're on the field.

But you're right, it's still kind of a problem ! I'm really open to any suggestion to replace Zard and Scizor, as I personally can't find any :s

PS: When I peaked with this team I was using Earthquake on Charizard Y instead of HP Ice, and it's the set that I originally posted in this RMT. When Enenra wrote his comment, it was "HP Ice" instead of EQ. Indeed, I thought without really testing it that it would be optimal to lure Zygarde, but you're right, that Heatran weakness would be concerning ! I changed it back for EQ, thanks a lot man ! :)

 

[Enenra]

Okay these would be what I would changes
Pelipper W/ Knock off > Zard Y
Mega Swampert or Scizor > CB Scizor
(Swamperite is going to be released this month or next)
I believe this Team Benefits more off rain because, it boosts Water Shuriken, Can Opt to run Thunder on both Raichu and Koko, weakens Fire weakness for Scizor to set Up SD. Pelippers knock off can be used to cripple chansey or leftovers on mons.

 

[Haken]

I don't know how to feel about those changes man, it's really not what the team is about, and it also has a serious problem ! :s

For example, Swampert or Pelipper absolutely don't force my opponent into Zygarde like Charizard Y does (which is its main role), but way more into Tapu Fini and Ferrothorn, 2 mons that my Raichu absolutely doesn't care about. Plus what I like the most about the Sun is that it prevents Ash Greninja from Revenge Killing Raichu. With the Rain, it would be the complete opposite, and a Nasty Plot set on Raichu wouldn't be viable judging by how common this thing is ! However, the whole team is builded around Nasty Plot Raichu: every members are here to prepare its sweep ! If you ask me to change Nasty Plot and HP Fire, you're pretty much asking me to make a whole new team !

But the team would also have a very serious problem against Ash Greninja: even with the Sun, it's aldready a huge threat, but with the Rain... !
Man... just look how everything in the team would get destroyed by this thing ! :O
Even Pelipper ! 252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 64 SpD Pelipper in Rain: 280-330 (86.6 - 102.1%)
And the difference would be ridiculous:
In the Sun: 252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Water Shuriken (20 BP) (3 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Raichu-Alola: 93-111 (35.9 - 42.8%)
In the Rain: 252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Water Shuriken (20 BP) (3 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Raichu-Alola: 288-342 (111.1 - 132%)

My only chance to deal with it would be to try the Speed Tie with my own Greninja...
Well, I think you got the problem.
Once again, I really appreciate the fact that you want to help me with this team. Your changes are far from stupid, as I know for fact that Raichu can truly work in the Rain, but not with this set, and not with this team. I hope that you'll see my "PS" on my last message, as it really solves a lot of problems ! Thanks again for your contribution man ! :)

 

[endwich]

I used this team for about twenty times. Cuz of the popularity, the sticky web offense always have Zygarde . So i changed the set a little bit:

Raichu-Alola @ Aloraichium Z
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 32 HP / 252 SpA / 224 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Nasty Plot

since hp ice，we dont need the psychic to hit lando or garchomp. Also it will save the Z move for others but im not sure.

and i think the only benefit of eq is to hit Heatran , which u can also use focus blast to work it. Different from the last generation, specially defensive Heatran is rare now，so fb is more powerful than eq，even may to OHKO Heatran and Tyranitar. Though it could miss(=,i still think it is more meaningful than eq

 

[Haken]

Hi man, glad you liked using this team ! :D

Haha yeah Focus Blast is stronger most of the time on paper, that's for damn sure, but I hate hax so badly that it even influences my Team-Building ! ^^ It's totally up to you though if you've no problem about that ! :)
But I honestly don't think that HP Ice on Raichu is optimal in this team looking at the way it was builded. Zygarde is indeed everywhere, but Charizard really does an amazing job weakening it. I don't think that HP Ice is really needed if you play around that correctly, plus Raichu will really struggle against Excadrill and Ferrothorn, and can also be directly stopped by Shedinja's Stall Teams. But Psyschock really make sense if you use HP Ice, I totally agree with that !

Welp thanks for your rate man, I really appreciate ! :)

PS: I don't get why are you giving those useless 32 HP EVs ? ^^ Haha man, just go max Speed: with this set, Timid Tapu Lele can outspeed you for example ! :) And knowing that it will always come in order to "reset" the terrain, it's very important to make sure that you're faster if you can stay in and kill it.

 

[mploz]

Love this team. So much fun. Havent had too much of a problem against this webs team with zygarde going around lately it normaly depends on the skill of the player using it.
I found its great against scolipass as well being able to paralyze through protect.

One question though, when greninja gets banned (I hope) what could be replaced with it?

 

[legend slayer]

Love this team. So much fun. Havent had too much of a problem against this webs team with zygarde going around lately it normaly depends on the skill of the player using it.
I found its great against scolipass as well being able to paralyze through protect.

One question though, when greninja gets banned (I hope) what could be replaced with it?

starmie could be a replacement. it is what happened in ORAS and starmie is really fast (the fastest spinner) and a very diverse movepool with cosmic power and tbolt being some of the more unusual moves he knows. I love the thing because it is very good with specs and can even utilize a bulky set with scald, cosmic pow, rapid spin and recover. tell me what u think guys

 

[legend slayer]

Heyyy thanks a lot man !
Ice Beam really makes sense on Greninja instead of U-Turn, I completely agree with that ! I don't know man, maybe I don't have balls enough, but I kinda like the comfort that U-Turn brings... It's totally up to you ! :D

I wouldn't say that I agree with Psyschock though, as the only benefit is to hit harder Chansey (but not harder than the Z move for example). Then, Psyshock is not even stronger than Psychic on AV Tangrowth for example, and you will lose so much power most of the time !
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Psychic vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 297-351 (82.9 - 98%)
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Psyshock vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 241-285 (67.3 - 79.6%)
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Psychic vs. 252 HP / 24 SpD Landorus-Therian: 304-358 (79.5 - 93.7%)
+2 252+ SpA Raichu-Alola Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 216+ Def Landorus-Therian: 184-217 (48.1 - 56.8%)

That's absolutely crucial, because you can't go for a Nasty Plot if those counters are not at your KO range, and some counters like Scarf Garchomp are only taking some SR damage during the whole match (as Raichu is the only mon that outpseeds it in my team). It means that you only need 1 SR damage early game, before getting the opportunity to Nasty Plot if you have Psychic. But with Psyschock, you will have to
a) wait for your opponent to choke and switch his Garchomp into something like Charizard's Flamethrower or Scizor's U-Turn (which never happens if your opponent plays correctly)
b) force Garchomp on Rocks 5 times !
This is just an example, but same goes for Landorus, Zygarde, Marowak, Hippodown, etc...

And yeah I really like that Charizard set too ! :D But the team isn't builded around it, here, Charizard is not my win condition but something that I can bring early/mid-game thanks to my Volt/Turns in order to force my opponent into his Raichu's counters. But with the DDance set, Charizard won't be able to hit those specific mons as hard as I want him to. It's not a bad idea by any means, but I don't think it's optimal in this team. Flame Charge instead of Roost might be an option though if you still want to be more aggressive !

Thanks for your reply man, I'm going to add Ice Beam and Flame Charge thanks to you ! :)

just looked at this closely and psyshock will often do a 2hko to lando-t that psychic is guaranteed. i use hp ice in the exact set that endwich uses so these kill misses don't really matter

 

[Haken]

Wow, thank you guys for resurrecting this thread haha ! ^^

@ mploz
Thank you so much man, that's really some comments like this that push me to make those RMTs ! :D If you think that the team is both fun and effective, well, I couldn't be happier, as this is everything this team should be about ! :D

And good question bro: Greninja ! :) Welp, I also hope (and think) that it will eventually get banned. But I honestly think that this team will be even better then, as it's really the most common and annoying check to Raichu ! ^^
As you said Legend Slayer, I also think that Starmie would be much more viable if Greninja gets banned, and it could be a very interesting addition to this team ! But of course, Greninja has sereval roles that Starmie can't replace, like checking Rock Polish Landorus and Sand Rush Excadrill, so you can't just replace Greninja by Starmie...
BUT, knowing that Starmie brings us a new way to get rid off the Entry Hazards, I think that the best option would be to replace both Scizor and Greninja by Starmie and Weavile.

Indeed, Choice Banded/Life Orb Weavile brings an even stronger Pursuit to this team, which is absolutely crucial as I explained earlier to Enenra. It's also better than Scizor when it comes to trapping the Lati (which are very annoying to Raichu) and Tapu Lele, as Weavile can Trap both Scarfed and non Scarfed Lele, contrary to Scizor that fears the HP Fire from non scarfed ones. Plus, Weavile can still very easily check Mega Zam like Scizor did, and Rock Polish Lando like Greninja did !
Starmie's Rapid Spin would replace the problematic "Banded Defog", but would also finally bring this team a real switch into Keldeo ! I wouldn't use a Cosmic Power set in a very offensive team like that legend slayer, but I think that using Reflect (with or without the Light Clay) would be much more interesting, as it can help Raichu's set-up, but more important: make it harder to Revenge Kill.

252+ Atk Huge Power Mawile-Mega Sucker Punch vs. 8 HP / 72 Def Raichu-Alola through Reflect: 221-260 (84.6 - 99.6%)
252+ Atk Choice Band Zygarde Extreme Speed vs. 8 HP / 72 Def Raichu-Alola through Reflect: 91-108 (34.8 - 41.3%)

As you can see, with a Reflect, giving some Defense EVs to Raichu really makes sense as it enables you to survive a Sucker Punch coming from a Mega Mawile !
Well, to sum it up, if Greninja gets banned, I would keep my Tapu Koko, Charizard and Landorus as they are right now, but add:

Raichu-Alola @ Aloraichium Z
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 8 HP / 72 Def / 252 SpA / 176 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Nasty Plot

Starmie @ Light Clay / Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt (crucial in order to check BD Azumarill like Scizor did + Boosted by the Electric Terrain)
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
- Reflect

Weavile @ Choice Band / Life Orb
Ability: Pickpocket
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard

This whole "Reflect" part might not be the best option, but I think that it's still an idea that is worth digging. Thanks again for your support guys, it means a lot to me ! :)

PS: Damn, Alolan Muk is such a great partner to Raichu, it's even better than Weavile for this role ! :D But unfortunately, the team would still be weak to Rock Polish Lando and Exca... Ok, honestly, if Greninja gets banned, I think that I'm going to rebuild this team around the same core + Alolan Muk, I should've noticed earlier that this mon was designed to help Raichu ! :p

 

[Virizain]

---->

"Now think about it: some of the most common switches into Tapu Koko are Ferrothorn, Tangrowth, Tapu Bulu, Venusaur, Magnezone and AV Magearna. As you also quickly noticed, Bulky Volcarona can easily come in and destroy them all. But the best part is that your opponent will have to switch again, as those mons are some nice counters to Raichu."

MegaZardY has nothing over bulky Volcarona, at least not on your team. While im pretty sure Tapu Bulu OHKOes ZardY with Wood Hammer after rocks and Zard doesn;t exactly switch into Magnezone's t-Bolt, Volcarona is a different story.

252+ Atk Choice Band Tapu Bulu Wood Hammer vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Charizard-Mega-Y in Grassy Terrain: 148-174 (49.8 - 58.5%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Tapu Bulu Wood Hammer vs. 248 HP / 30 Def Volcarona in Grassy Terrain: 165-194 (44.2 - 52%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery

252+ SpA Choice Specs Magnezone Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Charizard-Mega-Y: 428-506 (144.1 - 170.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Magnezone Thunderbolt vs. +1 248 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 156-184 (41.8 - 49.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

---->

If you choose to get rid of Mega zard Y, then you can free Choice Band Defog Scizor from his torment and let him hold the correct item.

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 116 Def / 128 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn

 

[Haken]

Hi Virizain, thanks for your rate ! :)

Well, first off, I don't get why you're making those Charizard/Bulu calcs, as I would NEVER switch my Charizard Y into a Tapu Bulu knowing that I've a Scizor ! Scarfed Tapu Bulu always has Stone Edge, so it's really a useless risk when you can just safely switch into Scizor, threaten it next turn with BP, and go for U-Turn instead in order to keep the momentum.
And you're right, Volcarona can also destroy the mentioned mons... But so as any Fire Type honestly ! ^^ The only difference is that Charizard hits so much harder ! I don't need a Bulky mon instead, I want straight up damage.
Plus Charizard Y is an absolutely crucial check to Scarfers like Garchomp, Excadrill and Lando, as my own Landorus Therian is a Lead that dies early game. I really need that Ground immunity man ! :) (and to be fair, Raichu also really appreciates the Sun VS Greninja for example)

Now as I've explained to Enenra, the most crucial role of Scizor is to Trap some annoying mons with Pursuit. But if I used Mega Scizor, Pursuit wouldn't be strong enough to kill Tangrowth in the aforementioned scenario for example ! Again, I don't want a Bulky mon in this team, it's really not what it is about ! ^^

Haha well sorry man if I sounded rude to you, I really can't emphasize enough how much I appreciate the fact that you took your time to help me improving this team ! :) But looking at your suggestions, it looks like you want to play this team Bulkier than I want it to. It's not a bad idea at all ! If you feel more comfortable with those changes, it's really up to you ! :) But honestly, running a Mega Scizor in this team without Pursuit kinda hurts my little heart ! :3

 

[Ktütverde]

Simply.... fantastic.
Your team gives a new breath to Hyper Offense and Gimmick at the same time. Truly amazing, nothing to add this time haken! Landorus and scizor are so fun, you explained so well how to get rid of raichu's counters..... It's the first time I've been reading a RMT and thinking " I wanna see what comes after, I can't wait! " ^^ Most people keep writing "just spam specs kek" or "standard you know"; but this one has a real structure and makes the reader hold his breath. My favorite team man! Keep on doing teams this way, that's what we want to see !

 

[Ktütverde]

Oh do you mind adding an importable of the team please? It helps a lot people who want to try the team (like me lol) :)

 

[adoptedpanda]

Hey! I personally love your team and have used it a lot to some success! But now that pheromosa is banned, I recommend to get rid of water shuriken

New Set
Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam
- U-turn

Hope this helps :)

 

[Haken]

@Ktütverde:
Ahaha, oh man... ! :')) I just cannot thank you enough bro ! I'm getting more amazed each new RMT by your support, it's just crazy ! :D You're also the first person who mentions my "writing" itself, and I'm very glad that you found my explanations clear, as the French dude that I am really struggles writing those long RMTs in English ! ^^

Oh do you mind adding an importable of the team please? It helps a lot people who want to try the team (like me lol) :)

Haha ok guys, this is my third RMT now, I think it is time to confess: I simply have no clue how the f*** people do that ! XD Ahaha shame on me ! It's sooo much more convenient indeed, I would really be glad if someone could explain that to me ! :3

@adoptedpanda:
Hey thank you buddy, welcome to Smogon ! :D Welp, Water Shuriken's purpose wasn't really to check Pheromosa honestly. Like I said in the main post:

I felt that the team was starting to be very weak to both Sand Rush Excadrill and Rock Polish Landorus (as they are one the few mons that Raichu can’t Revenge Kill easily), which is why I initially picked Greninja

Water Shuriken really helps against those mons, but also against Mega Mawile and Bisharp, whose Sucker Punch looks wayyy too frightening at +2 ! Haha but you're right, Ice Beam is a nice option. I would just suggest to get rid off U-Turn or Surf instead though, as Water Shuriken is pretty much the selling point of Ash Greninja ! :)

Well, thanks to everybody who contributed to this RMT: this is what I like the most about the whole process ! :) But sadly, I'll have to be out of this game during the next months due to some study purposes, so I won't be able to answer if you post anything here. Until next time: cheers ! :D

 

[Dirkhann]

Hi, could you include some replays?

 

[Haken]

Hi man ! Unfortunately I don't have any, and as I said in my previous post, I'm really busy with my studies right now... :S
Sorry bro, but thanks for the advice, I will do better for my next RMT, with an importable and replays ! :)

 

[hero]

So I don't usually rate but I used this team because it looked fun and it was, so nice job on making a fun team in a pretty mediocre meta atm.
Now I made a couple of changes. CB Scizor is not my favorite but I kept it because I didn't really care and I would use Zard-Y at the start anyway. Defog did come handy sometimes but yeah, almost never clicked it. The main change that I made was using HP Ice > HP Fire and Psyshock > Psychic because they both help with the Zygarde (important stuff since it's rising so much in usage) and Volcarona matchup. The latter was a problem because CB Scizor allowed it to setup and sometimes Sun could screw you over. Psyshock enables you to hit Volc on its weaker defensive stat once it sets up, which helps putting it in range of water shuriken or viceversa, giving you more freedom to play with your z-move and not having to rely on paralizing it, which Volcarona still bypasses by setting up some more. Also there's the added benefit of being able to actually beat Chansey without using your z-move which allows you to play more freely with it.
Other than that, I liked the team, even with these changes it has a lot of weaknesses like still not having a Zygarde (especially CB) switch in and hardly being able to OHKO it back but I imagine you already know how to play around it. This team is not for just picking up and using it, you gotta learn some matchups first otherwise you'll get stomped.

Hide

Raichu-Alola @ Aloraichium Z
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Nasty Plot

 

[DRAMPAAGE]

Interesting team to say the least. Seems pretty fun but I have an idea on how you could fix that glaring issue (being that scizor). What I reccomend:
Alolan Raichu
Raichu's Z move ---> Life orb
Raichus z move is interesting, but just a gimmick at that. With LO, you pick up certain kills that you previously did not, such as ohkoing offensive landorus with psychic at plus 2 and it being a 5050 roll to ohko defensive landorus.
With you missing a z mover, I suggest:
Charizard---> Psychium z volcarona
Volcarona has shown itself to be a major threat in sm ou. I reccomend that you use qd psychic fire blast and hp ground/ice. If you opt to use ice, I would drop ice beam from ash gren if you have it.
My last recommendation is that you change:
Cb scizor---> defog mega scizor.
With volcarona, you need something to remove hazards. Defog msciz is probably the best option right now. I suggest the mixed defense defog roost set. This would also help with any problems with mega metagross. That is all, hope I helped :)

 

[dragontamertaytay]

I have a question about how this team plays. When facing stall, I can kill the Chansey with Raichu's Z-move, but then I seem pretty stuck against clefable. In other words, I need to use the Z-move twice to really break through things. How do I work around that?

 

[legend slayer]

I have a question about how this team plays. When facing stall, I can kill the Chansey with Raichu's Z-move, but then I seem pretty stuck against clefable. In other words, I need to use the Z-move twice to really break through things. How do I work around that?

which team variation r u using? band scizor bullet punch has to do a lot to it and im sure Koko can 1 v 1 it with taunt and nm, as well as his electric STAB