HydreRonaGross Core

[Lord Wallace]

Team HydreRonaGross!


As part of my comeback to competitive Pokemon i remade my favorite DS team on PO! With some major changes to make this team as good as i intended it to,heres how i got to the final product:

I've always wanted to try out the new psuedo legendary Hydregion,so I decided to build my first 5th gen team around him*

Next came the second member of the core,Volcarona. His coverage may be mediocre but has great stats and can take fighting and ice attacks that Hydregion fears like a man and they compliment each other very well.

So now I have to cover Volcaronas rock weakness and I decided to use Metagross. Oh my god,this*core*works*wonders for me as each pokemon covers the others weaknesses. Hydreigon is immune to Metas ground weakness and resists his fire weakness. While Metagross takes Ice and Dragon and Rock for the former two. Now that the core is done,now comes the support.

Since my core involves switching a lot and Volcarona has that nasty SR weakness a spinner was a must. *Tentacruel is very appealing because it can set up Toxic Spikes as well which is quite useful to me. A STABed Water move also helped to take down those pesky TauntApes and Areodactyl. All of his weaknesses are covered by Hydreigon*

As soon as I decided to use Toxic Spikes I knew a Spinblocker would be ideal. After some thought though I decided
It was not worth the team slot for
JUST Toxic Spikes. But then I took a look at Gengar. Always loved the guy,always will. Why not add him? He covers Hydregions fighting and Bug weaknesses as well as Metagrosses and Tentas Ground.*

From the start I knew Special walls such as Jellicent where going to be a problem so I needed another physical attacker.............SEAKING! HELL YAH!

Just Kidding! Gallade fit my bill perfectly with access to the always welcome STAB CCbat and Leaf Blade to slam Jellicent trying to stall. Other than that he is mostly filler.

Eventually I decided that my ground weaknesses were a bit much so I replaced Tentacruel with Starmie. He offers better coverage along with Recover.

Sadly Starmie was quickly replaced because of it's Psychic typing that gave me a huge Ghost weakness. Blastoise may not be the best spinner in OU but he settled in nicely with his pure Water typing and nice bulk on both sides.

Blastoise didnt last long either as a spinner because of a gaping Excadrill weakness. So i came up with Claydol,being able to both Rapid Spin and counter the damn mole. Unfortunatley my Ghost weakness has reappearred but resisting the QuakeEdge combo most Excadrill carry is too good.

Gallade just wasent pulling his weight together and gave the team a huge ghost weakness as well as a flying one. But where could i find another Physical attacker with great coverage and little weaknesses? At first I thought Eelektross,but then i thought i would turn to one of the most unappreciated Electric types,and so far he has worked great,with both higher Speed and Attack and coverage than Gallade and a better Ability that is easier to use

After I decided to stick with Electivire I brought Starmie back so I can actually use Motor Drive and I missed having my offensive spinner.


FINAL LINEUP:

Honestly Gengar was mostly a filler mon and ended up deadweight more and more,so i replaced him with Porygon2,who added a much needed defensive backbone to the team.

Closer Look:

Hydregion@Choice Scarf
Levitate
Modest
252 Speed 252 Sp attack 4 HP

Flamethrower
Draco Meteor
Dark Pulse
Focus Blast

Hydregion lead is rather original and mine puts most weather teams at an early disadvantage by being able to KO T-Tar,Abomasnow,Bronzong under some circumstances,most Ninetales and severely cripple the Toad swiftly if they don't switch. Immune to spikes he can switch out and in freely most of the time on attacks aimed at other team members (EQ most notable). Basically just tear through whatever you can
hit super effectively until you die,simple. Im using a scarf to outrun most threats and revenge kill,including Jolly Haxorus. Dark Pulse is nice secondary STAB and is my best option against Slowbro and Espeon. i chose Flamethrower over Fire Blast since most steels ill be hitting have a double weakness to it and mediocre special defenses. i guess i could run Fire Blast for Metagross though. Hydreigons immunity to Ground is a godsave and can also take the fire and water attacks that Metagross and Volcarona (respectiviely) fear.

Volcarona@Life Orb
Flame Body
Timid
252 Attack 252 Speed 4 HP

Fire Blast
Quiver Dance
HP Rock
Bug Buzz
.
I changed to a more Offensive Volcarona,while ChestoRest worked great im going to give this set a try as suggested by mklo14. I chose Fire Blast over Fiery Dance because the extra power helps me pick off Pokemon if i cant afford to set up. Bug Buzz keeps Latios and Reuniclus in check while HP Rock handles other Volcarona,Salamence and is my best option against Heatran. The EVs support my very offensive style of play and after just one QD Volcarona can powerhouse entire teams instead of having to work with the tedious Rest to boost multiple times. Since i opted for a Timid nature a Life Orb makes up for the lack of power. Volcarona is the main switch in to Bug and Fighting attacks aimed at Hydreigon.

Metagross@Leftovers
Clear Body
Adamant
252 Attack 252 HP 4 SP Defence

Bullet punch/Meteor Mash
Hammer Arm
Ice Punch
Thunderpunch


I decided to change my Metagross from an Agility sweeper to a more Tankish approach. As you can see a BoltBeam combo going on here to deal with Gyarados and Gliscor,as well as Skarmory and Dragonite. Hammer Arm is a great offensive move for Metagross as now it can hit Tyranitar much harder as well as Ferrothorn,and it ensures RotomW doesnt wall it (but ill rarely keep him in on Rotom for long or at all). Bullet Punch seems like a whimpy sole STAB move but provides much needed priority and belittles the speed penalty that comes with Hammer Arm,often times a very close to fatal blow on say,Latias, Is an oppurtunity to use Bullet Punch to spare Metagross from an extra blow. Besides,Metagross does not suffer offensivley at all,so running Bullet Punch is very viable however the much more powerful Meteor Mash is still an option. Leftovers is to(obviously) provide Metagross with an extended lifetime. Metagross can switch into ice and rock attack for Hydreigon and Volcarona respectivley.

Starmie@Leftovers
Natural Cure
Timid
252 SP attack 252 Speed 4 HP

Ice beam
Scald
Rapid Spin
Thunderbolt

Whoaaa,this ain't the same Starmie as before. Scald? Thunder? Awesome Picture? Since the bulky Starmie set just wasnt convincing i added Scald as my STAB move so i can potentially burn Dragonite and Scrafty and others. Thunderbolt is here mainly to screw over the Toad and abuse the popularity of Rain teams as well as just to knock Skarm right outta the sky. Ice Beam covers dragons and Gliscor as always and of course Rapid Spin provides Starmies main niche. I kept the spinning seastar mainly for synergy with Electivire,so whenever Rotom,Jolteon or even other Starmie start getting in my hair i can just switch,activate Motor Drive and go wild. I also kept leftovers on him just for added survivability and so i wouldnt have to turn to Life Orb. Yes hes an offensive spinner but in the end just a spinner,and i cant have him killing himself with his own attacks.

Electivire@Expert Belt
Motor Drive
Adamant/Jolly
252 Attack 252 Speed 4 Defense

Wild Charge
Ice Punch
Cross Chop
Earthquake

This is Electivires classic Super Effective set straight from Gen 4,and works wonders with a Motor Drive boost,after Conkeldurr and Eelektross are gone this guy tears through teams like a hot knife through butter,as i have run into whole teams that Electivire can hit Super Effectively. Wild Charge is Electivires most reliable form of STAB and cuts straight through Jellicent,Gyarados and the occasional Braviery,Ice Punch blows holes into Gliscor and Salamence. Cross Chops accuracy may be shaky but sends Tyranitar and Chansey/Blissey running and helps Electivire hold its own against Ferrothorn as well. EQ rounds off the coverage hitting Heatran and Infernape and opposing Metagross. I thought about Fire Punch but it has relativley low BP and i already had Hydreigon with flamethrower so ultimatley EQ was the better choice. Not much changed here. I cant decide whether to use Jolly instead in case i dont get a Motor Drive boost,but if i do theres a huge loss in power.

Porygon2@Eviolite
Trace
Calm
252 HP 252 SP Defence 4 Defence

Toxic
Ice Beam
Thunderbolt
Recover

Ahhh the saving grace to an otherwise fairly frail team. Being able to take hits on both ends of the spectrum Porygon2 spams Recover like no other while dishing out damage with the infamous BoltBeam combo. The EVs and Nature provided make Porygon2 a great mixed wall thanks to Eviolite. Toxic wears down the bulkiest of foes while i spam Recover. Trace is used to copy immunities such as those granted by Flash Fire ir take advantage of abilities like Hydration so Porygon2 becomes REALLY annoying.


Please point out holes in my team and rate it honestly,I can take legit critisism. It can be harsh as long as it is reasonable and points out clear weaknesses for my benefit,not just to flame me.

 

[D-Nite FTW]

Goddamn it, use Dragonite!! jkjk

Seriously though, kudos to you for making a excellent core! I never could imagine those 3 Pokemon being a core together.

Ok now on to the team rating!

Firstly, Volcarona's moveset can be improved slightly by running this moveset: Fiery Dance/Bug Buzz/Rest/Quiver Dance. This moveset is to be used to set up and Rest off the damage. This set is obviously run with a Chesto Berry and Max HP and Max Def to maximize bulk for you to set up safely. Of course, just make sure you spin away the rocks before Volcarona comes in.

Next, change Gengar's nature to Timid or Modest. I suppose you are trying to get to the Focus Sash with Mild Nature lowering your defense but Gengar cannot take hits anyway.

For Gallade, I suggest that you change Psycho Cut to Shadow Sneak just in case you lose Gengar so this way, you won't fall to every set-up sweeper you meet. This is just a suggestion as Gengar can take out most set-up sweepers you meet but Haxorus with Dual Chop will end Gengar easily.

These are just some suggestions you can do if you feel that they make the team stronger.

Good luck!!!!

 

[Lord Wallace]

Thanks for the feedback! That Volcarona set looks interesting,I'll breed another and try it out. I was going for modest Gengar but I thought it didn't matter if it was mild because he can't survive through ANYTHING. I was thinking Night Slash on Gallade but Shadow Sneak sounds fun enough to try. If the changes work out I will edit my original post.

 

[Lord Wallace]

Bumppp....

Anyone know the sprite code for Smogon?

 

[Lord Wallace]

BUMP. Fixed my sprite problem and made major changes

 

[Rofellos]

I really like this core! But I think scald is better for blastoise cuz of it's burning power. Also if your worried about getting metagross to fight gyarados why not give metagross thunderupunch? Would also be a good back up for siglyphs that might cosmic power too high and be too much for gengar

 

[Lord Wallace]

I really like this core! But I think scald is better for blastoise cuz of it's burning power. Also if your worried about getting metagross to fight gyarados why not give metagross thunderupunch? Would also be a good back up for siglyphs that might cosmic power too high and be too much for gengar

on paper Thunderpunch sounds nice but i prefer STAB and i have Gengar(thunderbolt) and Gallade(Stone Edge) for Gyarados. and ive never seen a siglyph in OU but ill stil consider it. and yes youre right,Scald is better.

 

[Rofellos]

Well ever since I saw solums core and tested it's siglyph for myself I can say that once it roost and becomes full psychic and then cosmic powers for a shield it can be lethal.

 

[Lord Wallace]

Well ever since I saw solums core and tested it's siglyph for myself I can say that once it roost and becomes full psychic and then cosmic powers for a shield it can be lethal.

can you please refer to me to a link on this solums core team? i really dont coonsider siglyph a threat and Zen headbutt is so much more useful for the likes of Infernape and Conkeldurr,which are so much more common

 

[Rofellos]

http://www.smogon.com/smog/issue15/featured_rmt_ou

 

[Lord Wallace]

http://www.smogon.com/smog/issue15/featured_rmt_ou

ummm that sigilyph cant touch Hydreigon or Metagross and wont do much to even Blastoise.....it is not a threat

 

[Rofellos]

Cosmic and stored power ain't nothing to scoff at but if your set with gengar then ok so what are you gonna do with metagross? Keep
his set or try out other moves
like bullet punch?

 

[Lord Wallace]

Cosmic and stored power ain't nothing to scoff at but if your set with gengar then ok so what are you gonna do with metagross? Keep
his set or try out other moves
like bullet punch?

gengar is amazing with a sash and Destiny bond,which can bring down that Siglyph with it (again,NOT a threat). Bullet Punch is pointless with Agility. did you even read this RMT?

 

[Rofellos]

Yea I did and that's why I read your second thinking about metagross and having zen headbutt as simle stab I thought that meant you were trying to replace it

 

[Lord Wallace]

Yea I did and that's why I read your second thinking about metagross and having zen headbutt as simle stab I thought that meant you were trying to replace it

not really,i was considering rock slide for QuakeEdge but...meh.BP was too low(as with Thunderpunch) and that secondary STAB helps with pesky Conkeldurr and Tentacruel.

 

[Ninjadolphin]

It looks like your team is incredibly week to excadrill, you might want to replace blastoise with gliscor: impish, 252 hp, 196 defense, 60 speed, protect, earthquake, fling, acrobatics. Ev spread is really flexible.

 

[Lord Wallace]

It looks like your team is incredibly week to excadrill, you might want to replace blastoise with gliscor: impish, 252 hp, 196 defense, 60 speed, protect, earthquake, fling, acrobatics. Ev spread is really flexible.

SS teams are indeed annoying but replacing Blastoise may not be a good idea,i really need that spinner. He can probably survive an Earthquake (ill do battle calcs later) and criple it with Scald,besides switching Gengar in on an EQ guarantees ill get an HP fire in on him even with Sand up (thanks to Sash). ill get a Gliscor though but if the lack of my spinner hurts too much im bringing Blastoise back without a second thought. can you suggest an Excadrill counter that can spin? if you can ill be more than happy to replace Blastoise

 

[Ninjadolphin]

SS teams are indeed annoying but replacing Blastoise may not be a good idea,i really need that spinner. He can probably survive an Earthquake (ill do battle calcs later) and criple it with Scald,besides switching Gengar in on an EQ guarantees ill get an HP fire in on him even with Sand up (thanks to Sash). ill get a Gliscor though but if the lack of my spinner hurts too much im bringing Blastoise back without a second thought. can you suggest an Excadrill counter that can spin? if you can ill be more than happy to replace Blastoise

If gengar switches in, than he will take ss damage at the end of the turn, breaking his sash. I haven't down any calcs, but dolphin might be able to counter it and use rapid spin.

 

[Lord Wallace]

If gengar switches in, than he will take ss damage at the end of the turn, breaking his sash. I haven't down any calcs, but dolphin might be able to counter it and use rapid spin.

ugh,i forgot about that (but how could i after that was the very reason i lost my last wifi match). Donphan.....thats a good idea,might add a water weakness but meh. please recomend a set?

 

[Ninjadolphin]

Donphan@ leftovers
Sturdy
Adamant
252 hp, 68 defense, 168 attack
Earthquake
Rapid spin
Ice shard
Stealth rock
This is the basic ou set, you might want to make it more or less defensive after testing it.

 

[Lord Wallace]

Donphan@ leftovers
Sturdy
Adamant
252 hp, 68 defense, 168 attack
Earthquake
Rapid spin
Ice shard
Stealth rock
This is the basic ou set, you might want to make it more or less defensive after testing it.

i will try this out and hopefully fix my Excadrill problem,thank you

 

[Lord Wallace]

Made some major changes and filled in some holes,please do rate

 

[Atimix]

Isn't Hydreigon Uber?

 

[Lord Wallace]

Isn't Hydreigon Uber?

not even close!

 

[CheezyMoon]

Electivire doesn't seem like he should be on this team. You have no electric weaknesses, and 3 resists/immunities(including him). You could add Starmie back in for an offensive spinner, as this is a more offensive team. You could even add an Excadrill as one, but it's a little reliant on the opponent setting up the weather. If you don't want to switch out Claydol as your spinner, how about trying Conkeldurr, Scrafty, Terrakion, Salamence, Darmanitan or Lucario?

Just a little sidenote "STAB CCbat and Leaf Blade to slam Jellicent trying to stall and Rotom-W trying to spinblock" Rotom-A can't spinblock anymore.

You say in the RMT that Claydol counters Excadrill - however, the majority of Exca's use X-Scissor (and air balloon, to avoid an Earth Power). I'd also remove Sunny Day off him, as every weather inducer can come in and hit him with a Super Effective move. Maybe you can add Stealth Rock over it, as it puts pokemon such as Volcarona at bay when switching in. And what's up with the EVs, and the Ground/Ice gem as items?

For Gengar, you should have Hasty/Naive/Timid, since with a Mild nature, you allow Base 97+ speed pokemon to outspeed you. I would personally take out Focus Sash, since Stealth Rock or Sandstorm render it useless.