I've been taking a crack at coming up with a HO team. I have always been more of a balanced offense type of player and wanted to give a different playstyle a shot. Here's what I've come up with that I've had some pretty good fun with.
Lucario @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Bullet Punch
The pokemon I built this team around. Comes in late and hits things hard once they are dented. With a fantastic base speed, Adaptability Close Combat sweeps in the lategame are very common. Chose Bullet Punch as the last move as I was having considerable trouble hitting fairies. I previously had Crunch on the last spot to deal with any ghost/dark type that I hadn't cleared out previously. Been considering switching to a special variant even as most of my team hits on the physical side. Should I do this or no?
Tyranitar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
Tyranitar provides some much needed bulkiness against special hits. And also comes in on Psychic or Ghost types. With AV and his EV spread, he can take a Focus Blast from Gengar or Alakazam and KO with Crunch. This is important as both of these outspeed the blue canine and need to be cleared out of the way so he can sweep. I've been really surprised with how bulky this thing is now compared to when I used it back in Gen 3. And the fact that weather only lasts 5 turns is to the benefit of my team as only Lucario resists the chip damage from the sand.
Conkeldurr @ Leftovers
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 20 Spd / 236 HP
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
Conkeldurr acts as a lure for bringing out the Pokemon that Tyranitar traps. Conk also acts as the team's status absorber (usually burn) and thus I have gone with the Guts/Lefties set. I've found that he can even sometimes take out the Ghost/Psychic types himself. Bring him in threatening a Mach Punch kill and Knock Off the switch in. If it's not a Ghost/Psychic type, it still helps to remove whatever item they are holding. Eating a burn and then hitting hard with Drain Punch is really fun as most people seem to assume I'm running an Iron Fist Conk.
Salamence @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Outrage
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
One of my favorite Pokemon of all time. Can usually come in on predicted EQs and wreak havoc from there, or comes in after someone's been killed. First time to actually use a Scarfed Moxie mence and I have been very, very pleased with how this thing performs. Scarfed outrages hit anything that isn't steel/fairy really hard. And it's able to take down a Pokemon or 2 before getting taken out. Scarf also allows Mence to revenge kill a lot of Pokemon without priority and I have even been able to sweep whole teams with just this guy. Really happy to see that Salamence has been able to withstand the test of time a bit and is still a solid Pokemon to use.
Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 32 Atk / 224 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Hammer Arm
- Taunt
With a team full of physical threats, I decided I needed something that hits from the special side. And with that I have chosen to go with Thundurus-I. A mixed Thundurus-I at that. I originally had Thunder Wave at the last slot but I found that having priority Taunt felt more useful for stopping BP chains or other Prankster mons from kicking in rather than having Thunder Wave support on the team. Hammer Arm is a nasty surprise for opposing Tyranitars, Excadrills, Chanseys and Blisseys who think they can wall the Thunder genie. This guy has pretty much been one of the MVPs of the team and usually is able to dish out a lot of pain before going away.
Deoxys-Speed @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Magic Coat
- Spikes
- Fire Punch
Usually leads the way for the team, and honestly I don't seem to see why a Hyper Offense team wouldn't want him around. Magic Coat bounces taunts back. And I went with dual hazards as this thing outspeeds the entire metagame and is able to get off a layer of both before going away. The residual damage from SR and Spikes really helps the team with cleaning up the opposition. Fire Punch lets him hit Excadrill and Genesect leads. Although everyone knows he's running Fire Punch as his only attack move.
Closing Notes:
I have had a bit of success with this Hyper Offense team but I am open to suggestions as I feel that the team could still use a bit of tweaking. I've found that opposing fairy types can be a bit of a problem. Clefable is one of the pokemon I really hate seeing on team preview as I can't even wear that one down with residual damage.
Lucario @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Bullet Punch
The pokemon I built this team around. Comes in late and hits things hard once they are dented. With a fantastic base speed, Adaptability Close Combat sweeps in the lategame are very common. Chose Bullet Punch as the last move as I was having considerable trouble hitting fairies. I previously had Crunch on the last spot to deal with any ghost/dark type that I hadn't cleared out previously. Been considering switching to a special variant even as most of my team hits on the physical side. Should I do this or no?
Tyranitar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
Tyranitar provides some much needed bulkiness against special hits. And also comes in on Psychic or Ghost types. With AV and his EV spread, he can take a Focus Blast from Gengar or Alakazam and KO with Crunch. This is important as both of these outspeed the blue canine and need to be cleared out of the way so he can sweep. I've been really surprised with how bulky this thing is now compared to when I used it back in Gen 3. And the fact that weather only lasts 5 turns is to the benefit of my team as only Lucario resists the chip damage from the sand.
Conkeldurr @ Leftovers
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 20 Spd / 236 HP
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
Conkeldurr acts as a lure for bringing out the Pokemon that Tyranitar traps. Conk also acts as the team's status absorber (usually burn) and thus I have gone with the Guts/Lefties set. I've found that he can even sometimes take out the Ghost/Psychic types himself. Bring him in threatening a Mach Punch kill and Knock Off the switch in. If it's not a Ghost/Psychic type, it still helps to remove whatever item they are holding. Eating a burn and then hitting hard with Drain Punch is really fun as most people seem to assume I'm running an Iron Fist Conk.
Salamence @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Outrage
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
One of my favorite Pokemon of all time. Can usually come in on predicted EQs and wreak havoc from there, or comes in after someone's been killed. First time to actually use a Scarfed Moxie mence and I have been very, very pleased with how this thing performs. Scarfed outrages hit anything that isn't steel/fairy really hard. And it's able to take down a Pokemon or 2 before getting taken out. Scarf also allows Mence to revenge kill a lot of Pokemon without priority and I have even been able to sweep whole teams with just this guy. Really happy to see that Salamence has been able to withstand the test of time a bit and is still a solid Pokemon to use.
Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 32 Atk / 224 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Hammer Arm
- Taunt
With a team full of physical threats, I decided I needed something that hits from the special side. And with that I have chosen to go with Thundurus-I. A mixed Thundurus-I at that. I originally had Thunder Wave at the last slot but I found that having priority Taunt felt more useful for stopping BP chains or other Prankster mons from kicking in rather than having Thunder Wave support on the team. Hammer Arm is a nasty surprise for opposing Tyranitars, Excadrills, Chanseys and Blisseys who think they can wall the Thunder genie. This guy has pretty much been one of the MVPs of the team and usually is able to dish out a lot of pain before going away.
Deoxys-Speed @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Magic Coat
- Spikes
- Fire Punch
Usually leads the way for the team, and honestly I don't seem to see why a Hyper Offense team wouldn't want him around. Magic Coat bounces taunts back. And I went with dual hazards as this thing outspeeds the entire metagame and is able to get off a layer of both before going away. The residual damage from SR and Spikes really helps the team with cleaning up the opposition. Fire Punch lets him hit Excadrill and Genesect leads. Although everyone knows he's running Fire Punch as his only attack move.
Closing Notes:
I have had a bit of success with this Hyper Offense team but I am open to suggestions as I feel that the team could still use a bit of tweaking. I've found that opposing fairy types can be a bit of a problem. Clefable is one of the pokemon I really hate seeing on team preview as I can't even wear that one down with residual damage.
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