Here comes the Sun
An OU Sun Team by Feel the Aura
We all know that weather is a HUGE part of the OU metagame.
I was coming back to OU after a long trip to UU and RU, but after seeing the awesomeness of Moltres, I was determined to make a Sun team with this underrated threat.
Moltres, to be honest, is an awesome Pokémon with no serious issues. It sweeps like a boss, revenges like a boss- Moltres is a boss. Sure, it has that annoying stealth rock weakness, but that's not hard to get around. An incredibly high base 125 special attack, access to sweet moves such as Fire Blast, Solar beam, Air Slash, and most of all Roost makes Moltres an absolute monster- with the right support.
I had also seen Sceptile’s dominance in RU and wanted to try it out on a sun team with Moltres- but it was a complete fail. Sceptile was far too frail for OU, and is pretty much dead weight on the team. I ended up replacing it with another lower tier favorite in a later version of the team- Exeggutor.
So obviously Ninetales is on my team. I try out different sets, but I’ll get into details later. Now that I have my offensive duo of Moltres and Sceptile (Remember, hasn’t been replaced yet), I work on supporting them.
Hazard support was obvious, I was using Moltres, after all. But no one seemed to cut it. Hitmontop gets trolled by Ghost types, Blastoise is a water type, Forretress is dead weight offensively, and the others (Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, Sandslash) were too frail and/or slow. So I was stumped. Then I remembered being trolled by a Xatu, and knew exactly what I was going to do. I put Espeon on my team as protection against hazards, and it has performed flawlessly. Then I need a few checks for powerful Fire type special attackers and Dragon types, among others. I decided upon Hariyama and Clefable.
Now that I had them on the team, I not only had solid defense, but also checks to some threatening Pokémon- Volcarona, to name one, and a durable cleric. Hariyama also packs quite a punch.
Anyways, on to the team:
At a glance:
In-Depth:
Ninetales @Leftovers
Calm Nature, 252hp/60spatk/84spd/112spe (EVs), Drought ability
Moveset:
Fire Blast
Sunny Day
Solarbeam
Hidden Power (Rock)
Many say that Ninetales is the worst weather inducer, but I say that that’s just a bunch of bat crap. Ninetales hits ridiculously hard with a STAB Fire Blast boosted by the sun, and is pretty durable with leftovers and the given EVs. Solarbeam, along with Sunny Day, allows me to troll Politoed and the other weather inducers, and easily keep the weather in my favor. HP Rock is for those stupid Volcarona who think that they’re so boss, without it, I have been 6-0ed by one.
The EV spread allows me to outspeed the other inducers, give me good tanking abilities, and allow me to usually 2HKO Volcarona with HP Rock. Drought is pretty obvious, and Leftovers is extremely useful.
Moltres @Leftovers
Timid Nature, 4def/252spatk/252spe (EVs) Pressure ability
Moveset:
Fire Blast
Solarbeam
Air Slash
Roost
HOLY CRAP. This thing hits like a truck that’s really Optimus Prime. Seriously. I encourage you to go and use it, it speaks for itself. Fire Blast does absolutely obscene amounts of damage to anything not named Snorlax, Blissey, Chansey, or Dusclops. Solarbeam plows through bulky waters and Air Slash is a nice secondary STAB with good coverage. Roost increases its longevity by leaps and bounds and is probably the most important move on the set. Morning Sun could be used as well to heal 66% health.
The EVs are standard for a special sweeper, allowing Moltres to hits incredibly hard and be pretty dang fast. Sometimes I use Modest over timid when using a scarf, but that’s so much raw power its almost overkill.
However, its stealth rock weakness can’t be overlooked, and that’s where Espeon comes in.
Espeon @Leftovers
Timid Nature, 252hp/68spd/188spe (EVs) Magic Bounce ability.
Moveset:
Psychic
Shadow Ball
Morning Sun
Hidden Power (Fire)
Espeon is an awesome Pokémon. It has amazing speed, great special attack even without investment, and an even better ability.
Espeon’s job is to keep hazards off the field, a job it performs admirably. Psychic is a powerful STAB move, and Shadow Ball gets very good coverage. Morning Sun offers great recovery, and HP Fire murders Ferrothorn, Forretress, and Skarmory. The EV spread allows me to outspeed max base 101s, while giving me maximum HP and a special defense boost. Magic Bounce is amazing. It really is. There’s not much else to say about Espeon, so let’s finish our offensive core.
Exeggutor @Choice Specs
Modest Nature, 4def/252spatk/252spe (EVs) Chlorophyll ability
Moveset:
Leaf Storm
Psychic
Hidden Power (Fire)
Giga Drain
This thing is an offensive juggernaut. Obscene attack with Choice Specs and powerful STAB moves in Solarbeam and Psychic guarantee Eggy at least one or two kills per match. Psychic is chosen over Psyshock as it usually does more damage. Solarbeam is self-explanatory, and HP Fire is for coverage. In the fourth slot, Giga Drain is used for a reliable grass STAB when sun isn’t up and for healing, and also because I don’t find Sleep Powder all that useful. The EVs give Eggy some serious firepower, and Cholorpyhll gives it a much needed speed boost.
Hariyama @Leftovers
Careful Nature, 252atk/4def/252spd
Moveset:
Close Combat
Fire Punch
Ice Punch
Rock Slide
Hariyama serves as my special wall, but moreso to take Fire and Ice attacks. Hariyama’s typing is also invaluable in that it resists rock.
Close Combat hits pretty hard, and Fire Punch takes advantage of the Sun to murder Forretress, Scizor, and foolish Grass types. It also doesn’t drop my defensive stats. Ice Punch destroys Dragonite, without which I would be very susceptible to. Rock Slide is extra insurance against Volcarona but also hits Fire and Flying types hard. The EVs give me maximum special bulk while allowing Hariyama to make good use of its base 120 attack. Overall, though a rare one, Hariyama is definitely a great Pokémon and has its various niches.
Clefable @Leftovers
Impish Nature (Bold When Fire Blast is being used), 252hp/152def/104spd (EVs), Magic Guard ability
Moveset:
Stealth Rock
Heal Bell
Double-Edge /Fire Blast
Softboiled
Clefable is my hazard setter. Stealth Rock really helps out my team, and so does Heal Bell. Double-Edge is a powerful, reliable STAB move and I don’t receive recoil due to Magic Guard. Fire Blast has its uses, though, and is often better than Double Edge. Softboiled is for obvious reasons, as it provides me with instant recovery.
Clefable is quite bulky, though powerful Fighting attacks can easily overwhelm it. Overall a great addition to the team.
So, that’s the team. I’ve had a ton of success with it, and I hope you liked this RMT! Please comment and make suggestions, as I feel it can still be improved. Thanks for reading!