SM OU Hoopa Unbound Offense

[5-4-K]

THE FAST AND THE (HYPERSPACE) FURIOUS

Introduction:
Hoopa-Unbound has been one of my most favorite pokemon since the day it has been released. This pokemon is so dangerous that I thought it would be banned from SM OU like it was from ORAS OU. But as it isn't, I decided to have some fun with it and made this team. Shoutout to Arik and AZM7 for playing quite a lot of matches with it and showing that this team is really fun to use. Arik has a really long wining streak with it so far and he also made some changes to the movesets which made this team more effective. He is the one who suggested me to make an RMT and so here I am, with my very first RMT.

The Team:

In Depth Analysis:

• The Furious One

Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Band
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Gunk Shot
- Fire Punch
- Drain Punch

The MVP of this team. It's a weapon of mass destruction. I like the banded set most because no matter what your opponent's team is, if you can bring in this guy to the field, you can blindly click Hyperspace Fury 90% of the time. Gunk Shot for fairies, Fire Punch for OHKOing Ferrothorn and defensive Mega Scizor and Drain punch for Tyranitar and for recovery.

Alternatives -> Zen headbutt can be used instead of Gunk shot or Drain punch. The specs set is also a good alternative. But I don't like it because as AZM7 said,

I dont wanna get walled by some certain pink stuffs

• The Fast One

Greninja @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Gunk Shot

Next I was searching for something fast that will force switch ins and pivot into Hoopa-U early in the game, and clean weakened teams late in the game. Physical scarfed Greninja nicely suits the role. U-turn for momentum, Rock slide to revenge kill Volcarona, Mega Charizard Y etc, Ice beam kills stuffs like Landorus and Zygarde and Gunk Shot for fairies.

Alternatives -> Hidden Power Fire may be useful as this team will have hard time against the Swords Dance Mega Scizor set which is rare now a days. But I am not so sure which move should be replaced for that.
​

• The god of Thunder

Tapu Koko @ Wise Glasses
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
- Grass Knot

Honestly, I added this pokemon because it's one of my most favorite gen 7 pokemon. This one is my answer to annoying defensive water type pokemon. Hoopa and Greninja (and also the other 3 members of this team) cannot switch in to scald safely because of the chance of getting burned. This is my go to guy for those type of situations.

Alternatives -> Initially I had Life orb instead of Wise glasses and Roost instead of Grass knot. But Arik changed it because without Grass Knot, things like Quagsire, Gastrodon and Swampert becomes really impossible to handle. And Life Orb without roost means less longevity. Hence, Wise Glasses. Another alternative is using Volt switch instead of U-turn. But what I like about U-turn is you won't have to be worried about a ground type switch in. So, less mind gaming, more safety.
​

• The Venomous Serpent

Zygarde @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Dragon Dance

The next thing I needed was a set up attacker to help Hoopa weakening the opposing team or to clean late game. Also I have no good switch in to Mega Charizard Y, Volcarona etc. So I picked Zygarde. The Dragon Dance set is the best for wall breaking. Z Outrage to kill or severely weaken things like Landorus-T, Tangrowth or other annoying walls.

Alternatives -> The Choice Band set is also good, if you want instant power. Also that will allow you to keep Toxic/Iron tail in order to deal with Tangrowth or Tapu Bulu on the switch.
​

• The Wall

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock

When you need a physical wall and a hazard setter you just blindly pick this guy. Nothing else to say. Rocky helmet because this team really appreciate all the chip damages. Hidden Power Ice for Zygarde, opposing Landorus-T etc. U-turn for the thing that is most valuable to this team - momentum.

Alternatives -> Leftovers or Yache berry instead of Rocky helmet may be. I don't know, this set seems to be the most suitable for this team.
​

• The Fairy Killer

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 200 SpD
Careful Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost

So far things this team doesn't have are: a steel type pokemon, a Mega pokemon, a spinner/defogger. Mega scizor fits in all the aforementioned categories. Also it provides momentum. I made it specially defensive because in this team, only Hoopa-U can take on one or two special attacks which is not enough. And also I want to keep Hoopa alive as long as possible

Alternatives -> Swords Dance instead of defog if you are not afraid of hazards.
​

Basic Strategy:
Simple strategy. Keep using U-turn, pivot into Hoopa whenever possible, SMASH.

Threats:

1.

I am not so sure how to deal with the Swords dance + Roost set.

2.

And basically all strong water type attackers. This team doesn't have any good switch in to Hydro pump.

Conclusion:

This team was made to have fun only but it turned out to be a 'Not So Bad' team. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Importable:

Hide

Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Band
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Gunk Shot
- Fire Punch
- Drain Punch

Tapu Koko @ Wise Glasses
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
- Grass Knot

Greninja @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Gunk Shot

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 200 SpD
Careful Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock

Zygarde @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Dragon Dance

Replays:

Hide

Supa dupa hoopa (vs Rain team) - http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-650260122
Stall is dead - http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-656062234
Good match - https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-654177737
Keep U-turning till you win - http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-647980270
Zygarde smash - http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-647030895
vs Ox the Fox - http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-653299260
vs Kickasser - http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-651215583

 

[AZM7]

This team is really so fun to use. Also Gren seriously suffers from four moveslot syndrome imo. Low Kick is definitely an option worth considering as it would handle sand teams then single-handedly.

 

[LittleBigness]

While using this team, I found I had a big issue with Rain and Greninja. You pointed out the weaknesses to Scizor as well as offensive Water types, so I worked to patch this up.
The first change I made was scrapping Greninja and replacing it with Mantine

By adding Mantine to the team, rain and Greninja are far less threatening. Having a Mantine with a sky high Sp. Def stat and Water Absorb as well as Water/Flying typing helps against all offensive water types running around in the tier. Swampert, Kingdra, Ash-Greninja, and every Greninja set is checked apart from sets with Rock Slide, which gets checked by Scizor barring an HP Fire variant. Greninja is tough to straight up answer, so this is really the best it can get. Mantine also replaces an offensive check to Volcarona with a defensive check. Shattered Psyche at +1 does minimal damage.

Since Mantine is another viable defogger that doesn't have to worry about getting poisoned by Toxic Spikes, I decided to switch up the Scizor move set a tad bit. I replaced Defog with Swords Dance.

Having Scizor's bulk and ability to pivot is still nice, so I kept the same spread. It helps against Landorus-T, Tapu Bulu, and many other Pokemon running around the tier to have a bulky pivot in Scizor. By adding Swords Dance to it's arsenal, it adds one more potential setup sweeper to win the game other than Zygarde. Scizor doesn't have a problem running Swords Dance on this team because many other Pokemon already on the team pressure the Celesteela + Toxapex defensive core as well as any Heatran variant, leaving Scizor more room to set up and sweep.

Finally, I decided to change the Tapu Koko set and make it Choice Specs. With no Dugtrio in the meta anymore, Specs Koko gets so much extra damage and it works really nicely with this team. I also suggest changing the moves up and giving Koko Dazzling Gleam + HP Fire. Dazzling Gleam is a good neutral option on Landorus and Tapu Bulu and a strong option against Zygarde. HP Fire allows Tapu Koko to take out threats such as Ferrothorn and Scizor, which can help our own Scizor sweep. One preference I also made was adding extra speed to Landorus-T because I like my defensive Landorus-T to be fast in order to HP Ice other defensive Landorus-T sets before they can beat me.

Here are my updated sets:

Tapu Koko @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 200 SpD
Careful Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Swords Dance
- Roost

Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 124 SpD
Calm Nature
- Roost
- Scald
- Toxic
- Defog

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock

Hope you enjoy my feedback!

 

[Ramses]

hey there, solid team you've got. hoopa-u is one of my favorite 'mons right now since it's a rather devastating threat to face. one big issue i see though is, you don't have much at all for water-types (as you pointed out) so threats like keldeo, ash-greninja, and rain can give you a very hard time. volcarona / victini are also pretty scary to face, the former especially considering you're best bet is revenge killing it with greninja since psychium variants destroy zygarde. mega venusaur and ferrothorn are also super annoying as your team has some issues with breaking it as they rely almost solely on hoopa to break them. but with a few tweaks here and there, these threats will be a lot easier to deal with.

>

to start, i'm gonna piggyback a bit off the above users suggestions of mantine > greninja. mantine is the easiest transition for this team and helps you immensely with your problem concerning water-types with its excellent bulk + great ability in water absorb. it's one of the best ways you could ever combat both greninja forms in one slot, while also being a solid stop to mega scizor and volcarona with haze. it also shifts the necessity of defog onto another teammate to open new possibilities for mega scizor to take advantage of.

Mantine

Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 124 SpD
Calm Nature
- Roost
- Scald
- Haze
- Defog

with the loss of a choice scarfer, you will definitely need something to fill that void. an easy change would be choice scarf > wise glasses on tapu koko. tapu koko brings a significant amount of defensive utility to the plate, believe it or not. it's pretty much the deciding factor of whether or not mega pinsir gives your team an incredibly hard time. so while you could possibly use a better scarfer, tapu koko is a good scarfer in its own right and fits the needs of your team. the ev spread outpaces greninja and the remaining ev's were placed in attack to power up brave bird.

Tapu Koko

Tapu Koko @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 64 Atk / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power Ice
- Brave Bird

since mantine is running defog, you can now run swords dance on mega scizor just like the above user suggested. reason being, swords dance mega scizor is an amazing supplementary breaker for dd zygarde as it wears down a considerable amount of annoyances that would prevent zygarde from cleaning up while also having the potential to clean up itself with its deceptively strong bullet punches. i suggest you utilize a more offensive spread of 248 HP / 64 Atk / 120 Def / 16 SpD / 60 Spe with an adamant nature. yes, i know. the spread is quite specific and maybe confusing. the speed is meant to outpace mega mawile and magnezone while the attack investment 2HKOes uninvested zygarde. the defensive evs are for increased ability to setup against mons its normally should check like tapu bulu. i'd also run knock off > u-turn so mega scizor is more self-sufficent and can weaken annoyances like zapdos.

as for minor changes, hoopa-u should be running a jolly nature to make the most of its speed tier and zen headbutt > gunk shot. zen headbutt basically goes what gunk shot does (hitting fairies) except more reliably and it 2HKOes clefable rather than OHKO. it also gives you a secondary spammable stab that hits very hard, which is a godsend many a time considering its easy to run out of pp on hyperspace fury and you're left with weaker coverage moves. i'd also run yache berry / leftovers on landorus-t. if you find youself struggling too much with tapu koko, yache berry is a neat option so you can nab a surprise KO on it (also works for mega medicham as well bar a solid KO), while leftovers promote longevity. rocky helmet is still fine too.

the new team is played similarly to the old one with the goal of pivoting around and breaking stuff with hoopa-u is key. the end goal is to setup a clean by either zygarde or mega scizor, depending on which one has a better overall chance of doing so. even if one fails, they at least weakened the opposition even more for the other to prosper. landorus-t and mantine is your primary defensive core and is used whenever you find yourself on the backfoot, or need to setup rocks again or defog. finally, tapu koko is your scarfer, or in other words, your insurance against faster threats that are hard to deal with. it's worth noting that tapu lele (and mega diancie by extension) is very annoying to face considering your steel-types can't exactly take an hp fire or specs boosted psychic under terrain. so it's going to take careful play around it with matine, scizor, and even hoopa-u if it comes down to it and revenge killing with tapu koko.

 

[5-4-K]

LittleBigness, Ramses
You guys are right. Mantine solves almost all the problem that this team was having and also it allows Scizor to have SD. And I will try both of the koko sets and see which fits my style. Thanks for those amazing feedbacks guys.