Team Pokemonculus
Hello and welcome ladies and gentlemen of Smogon, Today I present you with another Rate My Team, this time It will be featuring a rather bold team given the current situation of the OU Metagame.
And so I present to you: Pokemonculus, a Balanced team based around Hoopa-Unbound.
And so I present to you: Pokemonculus, a Balanced team based around Hoopa-Unbound.
How the team came to be:
Hoopa- Unbound: I was challenged to make a balance'd Hoopa-Unbound team, and decided to build my own team around it. after i made the raw Beta of the team i decided to go with Assault Vest Hoopa-Unbound to check other Nasty Plot Hoopa-Unbound and other special attackers in general.
Skarmory: Next would be a strong physical tank, to compensate for Hoopa-Unbound's weak Physically defensive properties, It's also there to take Fairy and Ground type attacks, I gave it a Rocky Helmet so it could wear down U-turn users for Hoopa-Unbound. Along side with all it's other jobs its the teams designated deffoger.
Venusaur Mega: I was really weak against the likes of Belly Drum Azumarill, Clefable and Keldeo, so I decided to go with one of my favourite Mega's, Venusaur-Mega, due to the fact that the only Venusaur set that can beat Thunder Wave Calm Mind Clefable is an Offensive set I decided to go the Offensive Venusaur-Mega set.
Kyurem-Black: I needed a more solid Balance breaker that could take on Heatran, Rotom-Wash and Generic Grass type's, I went with the Life Orb set because of its sheer Breaking potential for the team.
Clefable: Now that the team was weak against opposing Kyurem-Black I needed a solid answer for it, preferably one that would also be able to beat Offense and Stall, it's also the teams status absorber. It's also there to spread Thunder Wave to make it easier for the rest of my team
Hippowdon: I also needed a solid Volt-Switch stopper that could set Stealth Rock and take on Charizard Mega X and Charizard Mega Y, Hippowdon was ofcourse the most obvious answer, it also is this teams Talonflame answer.
Some music to listen to while reading:
Team preview:
In depth:
Hoopa-Unbound: Pride
Ev's: 240 HP/ 252 Atk /20 Spd
Nature: Adamant (-Spatk + Atk)
Item: Assault Vest
Ability: Magician
Typing:
Assault Vest Hoopa-Unbound is one of the better Balanced checks to the Nasty Plot Hoopa-Unbound set, it however does require a Physical movepool in order to do so effectively, and thus this set was put on this team. Assault Vest Hoopa-Unbound prefers Health Points over points in Special Defense so it can take physical hits better, allowing it to take on pokemon it couldn't dream of beating before(Assuming they don't pull shenanigans), it however does need some speed to hit the vital base speed tier of 200, allowing it to check full speed Adamant Azumarill, the rest was put in its Attack stat in addiotion to its Adamant nature to maximize it's damage output.
Moves:
Hyperspace Fury
Hyperspace Fury is Hoopa-Unbound's STAB option of choice, it's a reliable 100 base power Dark type attack that bypasses the moves Substitute and Protect, in adition unlike Knock Off, Hyperspace Fury doesnt lose power if it hits a Mega pokemon.
Drain Punch
Drain Punch is Hoopa-Unbound's main form of recovery, it also presents it with a nice coverage move so that it can hit pokemon like Heatran, Bisharp and Kyurem-Black without having to worry about losing too much health.
Gunk Shot
Gunk Shot is another preferable coverage move, being able to hit Fairy type pokemon is a blessing for Dark type pokemon like Hoopa-Unbound.
Fire Punch
Fire Punch is the best filler move for Hoopa-Unbound's Assault Vest set there is, reliably hitting and taking down Scizor and Ferrothorn is a welcome addition to Hoopa-Unbound's arsenall.
Skarmory: Greed
Ev's: 248 HP / 252 Spd / 8 Spe
Nature: Careful (-Spatk +Spdef)
Item: Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
Typing:
Skarmory's main roles are; stopping Physical threats, removing Stealth Rock, Sticky Web, Spikes and Toxic Spikes from my side of the field, Wearing down U-Turn user's with its item Rocky Helmet, Taking Fairy type and Ground type attack's. And it does all of these things amazingly well. I decided to run a Specially Defensive set in order to counter Gardevoir Mega better.
Moves:
Defog
The move Defog is one of the main reasons why Skarmory was put on this team, it allows it to, paired with its natural bulk and its Flying typing, to safely remove Stealth Rock, Spikes, Sticky Web and Toxic Spikes from my side of the field, without having to wory about Bisharp comming in to take advantage of the Attack boost it can get from Defog.
Iron Head
Iron Head is vital on Specially Defensive Skarmory, it allows it to take on the likes of Clefable, Gardevoir Mega and Diancie Mega without having to worry about not being able to hit them, it also provides steady damage on anything else that's trying to switch in on Skarmory.
Roost
Every wall needs some form of reliable recovery, and in Skarmory's case Roost fit the bill, being it's only reliable recovery move, not much can be said about this move because we all already know wha it's there for.
Counter
With Skarmory being one of my answers to Physical threats like Bisharp, Scizor and Gyarados it would be quite odd if it didn't have a way of beating these Physical threats, so I gave it the move Counter, Allowing it to beat just about any Physical threat that is currently being used in the OU Metagame.
Venusaur Mega: Envy
Ev's: 248 HP / 240 Spatk / 20 Spd
Nature: Modest (-Atk +Spatk)
Item: Venusaurite
Ability: Overgrow (Thick Fat if Mega evolved)
Typing:
The team needed a reliable Counter to both Keldeo and Azumarill, and ofcourse Venusaur Mega was first to hit my mind. Being one of those annoying walls out there that can out-right wall entire teams if the conditions are right it still has to watch out with wearing itself down, so usage can be rather limitid if the battle conditions arent looking in its favour. But i digress, onto it's Ev's, it wants to have as much Health as possible so it can take hits to its fullest of potential, it also wants to be able to hit as hard as possible, explaining why i run a Modest nature, but it however does need to be able to actually outspeed Azumarill, and it needs some speed in order to be able to do that.
Moves:
Giga Drain
Venusaur doesn't have a wide variation of STAB Grass type moves, and out of the few option's it has Giga Drain is by far it's best choice. Doing moderate damage and allowing it to have a Secondary way of regaining it's Health it's a pretty decent move, and it certainly is one of the more mandatory moves it has at it's disposal.
Sludge Bomb
Just like with it's problem with finding Grass type STAB moves it also has a bit of trouble finding Poison type STAB moves, but out of the very few options it has Sludge Bomb is far superior to the rest of its options. Doing moderate damage and giving Venusaur Mega the chance to inflict a Poison status on it's opponent makes this a viable move to run on any type of Venusaur Mega set.
Hidden Power Fire
Seeing how my team dislikes Scizor and Ferrothorn dispite having Hoopa-Unbound's Fire Punch i decided to run Hidden Power Fire so that i can have a Secondary way of taking down Scizor and Ferrothorn.
Synthesis
Just like with Skarmory Venusaur Mega doesn't really have recovery moves to spare, in-fact it's only reliable recovery move is Synthesis, which is quite a shame, non-the-less it needs this move to keep its Health up to pace.
Kyurem-Black: Wrath
Ev's: 84 Atk / 192 Spatk / 232 Spe
Nature: Naive (-Spdef +Spd)
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
Typing:
I need a more reliable way to beat Balanced and Bulky Offense teams, and not so strangely enough Kyurem-Black came to mind, having a terrible Defensive typing but a passable Offensive typing it ofcourse needs something better then the reason of "I wanted to run it". And i have a solid reason to run it too, this set allows me to take on Manaphy sets that try to out-speed creep Charizard Mega X, it has as much Special Attack as possible to enlarge it's damage, it has Life Orb so it can do even more damage, at the cost of gradually losing Health.
Moves:
Ice Beam
Kyurem-Black has a decently high Special Attack stat if you combine it with the item Life Orb, and combine that with the decently powerfull STAB move Ice Beam and you've got a golden Offensive move option, with the Ice type having arguably the best Offensive coverage of all types its certainly no lie when people tell you to watch out for Kyurem-Black's Ice Beam.
Fusion Bolt
With its extremely high stat of 170 attack, Kyurem-Black's physical potential is no laughing matter. Untill you look at its patheticly shallow Physical movepool. It does however get Fusion Bolt, giving it Mixed Bolt-Beam coverage, a dreaded combination.
Earth Power
Kyurem-Black does however need a way of reliably hitting Steel type pokemon, giving the que for Earth Power, a Special Ground type move that allows it to hit pokemon such as Rotom-Wash, Jirachi and Heatran harder.
Roost
This being a Balanced team it ofcourse revolves around being able to have both Offensive pressure and being able to endure harsher periods of times. It is no suprise that I would run Roost on Kyurem-Black on this team, it prefers recovery over coverage in this case.
Clefable: Lust
Ev's: 248 HP / 164 Def / 96 Spd
Nature: Calm (-Atk +Spdef)
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Typing:
Opposing Kyurem-Black were quite troublesome to face, but no more with this Specially Defensive Clefable set. Outside of countering most Kyurem-Black sets its other job is to take any form of status, being able to just blatantly ignore Burn and Poison damage whilst not caring about a minor speed drop, it's also there to take some pressure off Venusaur Mega when it comes to dealing with Rotom-Wash.
Moves:
Moonblast
Moonblast is by far Clefable's most reliable source of damage, having a moderate base power and the given chance of being able to drop it's opponents Special Attack combined with the move being a STAB move it's a heavily reliable move to run on Clefable.
Thunder Wave
Clefable never really had a way of being able to beat Heatran and Venusaur Mega, untill someone decided to be a thorn in humanity's side and started to run Thunder Wave on Clefable. Thunder Wave allows it to outspeed threats it couldnt outspeed before, like Heatran, Venusaur Mega and Charizard Mega Y. The speed drops also aid the rest of the team.
Calm Mind
A Clefable like this must have Calm Mind, it allows Clefable to boost its Special attack and Special Defense, being quite usefull and allowing it to sweep certain teams.
Softboiled
Clefable has a wide variation of recovery moves, out of all of those moves Softboiled is usually the most reliable source of regaining Health, having 16 Power Points its one of the harder moves to outstall, it also isnt affected by weather unlike Moonlight.
Hippowdon: Gluttony
Ev's: 240 HP / 148 Def / 120 Spd
Nature: Impish (-Spatk + Def)
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
Typing:
The team needed a way of setting Stealth Rock and being able to deal with both Charizard Mega X and Charizard Mega Y, luckily enough Hippowdon exists, doing exatcly that. It's also there to take some pressure off Venusaur Mega, eating Volt Switch so Venusaur Mega doesn't have to. It's biggest let down is that it has to run Sand Stream in order to take on Charizard Mega Y, hindering Venusaur Mega's Synthesis, but it is how it is.
Moves:
Stealth Rock
Hippowdon is the teams Steath Rock setter, and it needs to have the move Stealth Rock in order to do so, not much can be said about this move as we all know what it's used for and why we use it.
Earthquake
Hippowdon needed a solid way to hit opposing pokemon such as Heatran, Jirachi and Diancie Mega, with Earthquake being the best candidate with its decently high base power of 100 and its Offensive STAB coverage its a solid move on Hippowdon,
Stone Edge
Hippowdon is this teams main answer to taking down Talonflame and other birds alike, presenting Stone Edge, a 100 base power Rock type move that gives Hippowdon Edge-Quake coverage combined with Earthquake. It's quite usefull.
Slack Off
Same case as with Venusaur Mega and Skarmory, it only has one way of reliably recovering its Health, luckily enough for Hippowdon Slack Off is an amazing recovery move, not being hindered by weather and having 16 Power Points, its a must have.
Ev's: 240 HP/ 252 Atk /20 Spd
Nature: Adamant (-Spatk + Atk)
Item: Assault Vest
Ability: Magician
Typing:
Assault Vest Hoopa-Unbound is one of the better Balanced checks to the Nasty Plot Hoopa-Unbound set, it however does require a Physical movepool in order to do so effectively, and thus this set was put on this team. Assault Vest Hoopa-Unbound prefers Health Points over points in Special Defense so it can take physical hits better, allowing it to take on pokemon it couldn't dream of beating before(Assuming they don't pull shenanigans), it however does need some speed to hit the vital base speed tier of 200, allowing it to check full speed Adamant Azumarill, the rest was put in its Attack stat in addiotion to its Adamant nature to maximize it's damage output.
Moves:
Hyperspace Fury
Hyperspace Fury is Hoopa-Unbound's STAB option of choice, it's a reliable 100 base power Dark type attack that bypasses the moves Substitute and Protect, in adition unlike Knock Off, Hyperspace Fury doesnt lose power if it hits a Mega pokemon.
Drain Punch
Drain Punch is Hoopa-Unbound's main form of recovery, it also presents it with a nice coverage move so that it can hit pokemon like Heatran, Bisharp and Kyurem-Black without having to worry about losing too much health.
Gunk Shot
Gunk Shot is another preferable coverage move, being able to hit Fairy type pokemon is a blessing for Dark type pokemon like Hoopa-Unbound.
Fire Punch
Fire Punch is the best filler move for Hoopa-Unbound's Assault Vest set there is, reliably hitting and taking down Scizor and Ferrothorn is a welcome addition to Hoopa-Unbound's arsenall.
Skarmory: Greed
Ev's: 248 HP / 252 Spd / 8 Spe
Nature: Careful (-Spatk +Spdef)
Item: Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
Typing:
Skarmory's main roles are; stopping Physical threats, removing Stealth Rock, Sticky Web, Spikes and Toxic Spikes from my side of the field, Wearing down U-Turn user's with its item Rocky Helmet, Taking Fairy type and Ground type attack's. And it does all of these things amazingly well. I decided to run a Specially Defensive set in order to counter Gardevoir Mega better.
Moves:
Defog
The move Defog is one of the main reasons why Skarmory was put on this team, it allows it to, paired with its natural bulk and its Flying typing, to safely remove Stealth Rock, Spikes, Sticky Web and Toxic Spikes from my side of the field, without having to wory about Bisharp comming in to take advantage of the Attack boost it can get from Defog.
Iron Head
Iron Head is vital on Specially Defensive Skarmory, it allows it to take on the likes of Clefable, Gardevoir Mega and Diancie Mega without having to worry about not being able to hit them, it also provides steady damage on anything else that's trying to switch in on Skarmory.
Roost
Every wall needs some form of reliable recovery, and in Skarmory's case Roost fit the bill, being it's only reliable recovery move, not much can be said about this move because we all already know wha it's there for.
Counter
With Skarmory being one of my answers to Physical threats like Bisharp, Scizor and Gyarados it would be quite odd if it didn't have a way of beating these Physical threats, so I gave it the move Counter, Allowing it to beat just about any Physical threat that is currently being used in the OU Metagame.
Venusaur Mega: Envy
Ev's: 248 HP / 240 Spatk / 20 Spd
Nature: Modest (-Atk +Spatk)
Item: Venusaurite
Ability: Overgrow (Thick Fat if Mega evolved)
Typing:
The team needed a reliable Counter to both Keldeo and Azumarill, and ofcourse Venusaur Mega was first to hit my mind. Being one of those annoying walls out there that can out-right wall entire teams if the conditions are right it still has to watch out with wearing itself down, so usage can be rather limitid if the battle conditions arent looking in its favour. But i digress, onto it's Ev's, it wants to have as much Health as possible so it can take hits to its fullest of potential, it also wants to be able to hit as hard as possible, explaining why i run a Modest nature, but it however does need to be able to actually outspeed Azumarill, and it needs some speed in order to be able to do that.
Moves:
Giga Drain
Venusaur doesn't have a wide variation of STAB Grass type moves, and out of the few option's it has Giga Drain is by far it's best choice. Doing moderate damage and allowing it to have a Secondary way of regaining it's Health it's a pretty decent move, and it certainly is one of the more mandatory moves it has at it's disposal.
Sludge Bomb
Just like with it's problem with finding Grass type STAB moves it also has a bit of trouble finding Poison type STAB moves, but out of the very few options it has Sludge Bomb is far superior to the rest of its options. Doing moderate damage and giving Venusaur Mega the chance to inflict a Poison status on it's opponent makes this a viable move to run on any type of Venusaur Mega set.
Hidden Power Fire
Seeing how my team dislikes Scizor and Ferrothorn dispite having Hoopa-Unbound's Fire Punch i decided to run Hidden Power Fire so that i can have a Secondary way of taking down Scizor and Ferrothorn.
Synthesis
Just like with Skarmory Venusaur Mega doesn't really have recovery moves to spare, in-fact it's only reliable recovery move is Synthesis, which is quite a shame, non-the-less it needs this move to keep its Health up to pace.
Kyurem-Black: Wrath
Ev's: 84 Atk / 192 Spatk / 232 Spe
Nature: Naive (-Spdef +Spd)
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
Typing:
I need a more reliable way to beat Balanced and Bulky Offense teams, and not so strangely enough Kyurem-Black came to mind, having a terrible Defensive typing but a passable Offensive typing it ofcourse needs something better then the reason of "I wanted to run it". And i have a solid reason to run it too, this set allows me to take on Manaphy sets that try to out-speed creep Charizard Mega X, it has as much Special Attack as possible to enlarge it's damage, it has Life Orb so it can do even more damage, at the cost of gradually losing Health.
Moves:
Ice Beam
Kyurem-Black has a decently high Special Attack stat if you combine it with the item Life Orb, and combine that with the decently powerfull STAB move Ice Beam and you've got a golden Offensive move option, with the Ice type having arguably the best Offensive coverage of all types its certainly no lie when people tell you to watch out for Kyurem-Black's Ice Beam.
Fusion Bolt
With its extremely high stat of 170 attack, Kyurem-Black's physical potential is no laughing matter. Untill you look at its patheticly shallow Physical movepool. It does however get Fusion Bolt, giving it Mixed Bolt-Beam coverage, a dreaded combination.
Earth Power
Kyurem-Black does however need a way of reliably hitting Steel type pokemon, giving the que for Earth Power, a Special Ground type move that allows it to hit pokemon such as Rotom-Wash, Jirachi and Heatran harder.
Roost
This being a Balanced team it ofcourse revolves around being able to have both Offensive pressure and being able to endure harsher periods of times. It is no suprise that I would run Roost on Kyurem-Black on this team, it prefers recovery over coverage in this case.
Clefable: Lust
Ev's: 248 HP / 164 Def / 96 Spd
Nature: Calm (-Atk +Spdef)
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Typing:
Opposing Kyurem-Black were quite troublesome to face, but no more with this Specially Defensive Clefable set. Outside of countering most Kyurem-Black sets its other job is to take any form of status, being able to just blatantly ignore Burn and Poison damage whilst not caring about a minor speed drop, it's also there to take some pressure off Venusaur Mega when it comes to dealing with Rotom-Wash.
Moves:
Moonblast
Moonblast is by far Clefable's most reliable source of damage, having a moderate base power and the given chance of being able to drop it's opponents Special Attack combined with the move being a STAB move it's a heavily reliable move to run on Clefable.
Thunder Wave
Clefable never really had a way of being able to beat Heatran and Venusaur Mega, untill someone decided to be a thorn in humanity's side and started to run Thunder Wave on Clefable. Thunder Wave allows it to outspeed threats it couldnt outspeed before, like Heatran, Venusaur Mega and Charizard Mega Y. The speed drops also aid the rest of the team.
Calm Mind
A Clefable like this must have Calm Mind, it allows Clefable to boost its Special attack and Special Defense, being quite usefull and allowing it to sweep certain teams.
Softboiled
Clefable has a wide variation of recovery moves, out of all of those moves Softboiled is usually the most reliable source of regaining Health, having 16 Power Points its one of the harder moves to outstall, it also isnt affected by weather unlike Moonlight.
Hippowdon: Gluttony
Ev's: 240 HP / 148 Def / 120 Spd
Nature: Impish (-Spatk + Def)
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
Typing:
The team needed a way of setting Stealth Rock and being able to deal with both Charizard Mega X and Charizard Mega Y, luckily enough Hippowdon exists, doing exatcly that. It's also there to take some pressure off Venusaur Mega, eating Volt Switch so Venusaur Mega doesn't have to. It's biggest let down is that it has to run Sand Stream in order to take on Charizard Mega Y, hindering Venusaur Mega's Synthesis, but it is how it is.
Moves:
Stealth Rock
Hippowdon is the teams Steath Rock setter, and it needs to have the move Stealth Rock in order to do so, not much can be said about this move as we all know what it's used for and why we use it.
Earthquake
Hippowdon needed a solid way to hit opposing pokemon such as Heatran, Jirachi and Diancie Mega, with Earthquake being the best candidate with its decently high base power of 100 and its Offensive STAB coverage its a solid move on Hippowdon,
Stone Edge
Hippowdon is this teams main answer to taking down Talonflame and other birds alike, presenting Stone Edge, a 100 base power Rock type move that gives Hippowdon Edge-Quake coverage combined with Earthquake. It's quite usefull.
Slack Off
Same case as with Venusaur Mega and Skarmory, it only has one way of reliably recovering its Health, luckily enough for Hippowdon Slack Off is an amazing recovery move, not being hindered by weather and having 16 Power Points, its a must have.
My experience with the team:
I found this team quite enjoyable to use, not many people expect the Hoopa-Unbound set making for a fun situation whenever you face Bisharp. It's not that hard to use once you get a grasp on preserving your pokemon. All in All i had a blast making this Rate My Team, and I hope that you had fun reading it, I sure hope so. Leave a Rate below, it would be well appreciated. Omega out.
Importable:
I found this team quite enjoyable to use, not many people expect the Hoopa-Unbound set making for a fun situation whenever you face Bisharp. It's not that hard to use once you get a grasp on preserving your pokemon. All in All i had a blast making this Rate My Team, and I hope that you had fun reading it, I sure hope so. Leave a Rate below, it would be well appreciated. Omega out.
Importable:
Pride (Hoopa-Unbound) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magician
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot
- Fire Punch
Greed (Skarmory) (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Defog
- Iron Head
- Roost
- Counter
Envy (Venusaur) (M) @ Venusaurite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 248 HP / 240 SpA / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Synthesis
Wrath (Kyurem-Black) @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 84 Atk / 192 SpA / 232 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Beam
- Fusion Bolt
- Roost
- Earth Power
Lust (Clefable) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 164 Def / 96 SpD
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Thunder Wave
- Soft-Boiled
- Calm Mind
Gluttony (Hippowdon) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 240 HP / 148 Def / 120 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
Ability: Magician
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot
- Fire Punch
Greed (Skarmory) (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Defog
- Iron Head
- Roost
- Counter
Envy (Venusaur) (M) @ Venusaurite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 248 HP / 240 SpA / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Synthesis
Wrath (Kyurem-Black) @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 84 Atk / 192 SpA / 232 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Beam
- Fusion Bolt
- Roost
- Earth Power
Lust (Clefable) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 164 Def / 96 SpD
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Thunder Wave
- Soft-Boiled
- Calm Mind
Gluttony (Hippowdon) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 240 HP / 148 Def / 120 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
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