Team at a glance
Introduction
Hello all :)
Thought I'd bring you another Gen 5 OU team. This kind of team really suits my playstyle, using lures to remove checks for a late game sweep. This means that even if I make some bad plays mid-game, I can still recover pretty well and even snatch a win.
Also, I'd like to thank all the folks that helped contribute to the team. I usually get frustrated with defensive holes in teams and end up either butchering them beyond recognition or scrapping the team altogether, but Prankster, ShootingStarmie and a few others held this team together for me, so shoutouts to them :D Also a minor shoutout to Shuckle4Ubers, who unwittingly inspired the concept of this team
Apart from that, not much else to say about the team. No theme, no over-arching story behind it's creation. It was just made as an experiment, to test the effectiveness of a certain set. As for the team name, anytime I say the word wallbreaker, I can't help but think of Chris Jericho's old theme song from WWF, that and I couldn't think of a better name. So, without further ado, lets get started.
Closer Look
Tyranitar @ Leftovers/Chople Berry
252 HP / 16 Sp.atk / 240 Sp.Def
Sassy Nature
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Superpower
- Stealth Rock
Whilst this is by no means a weather team, Tyranitar, and by extension his sandstorm, are vital to this team. Controlling the weather allows Tyranitar to disrupt threats that rely on weather, such as Tornadus, Venusaur and a number of other problematic pokes. Tyranitar also has great special bulk allowing him to switch in easily on a lot of pokes, such as Heatran and Latios.
Crunch is there mainly for a decent STAB move, hitting the likes of Latios, Reuniclus and Gengar for really solid damage. Fire Blast plus 16 special attack EVs allows me to 2hko Ferrothron with ease and the rare Specially Defensive Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage. Superpower was chosen over both Ice Beam and Earthquake as Gliscor poses little threat to this team, so luring him wasn't necessary and Balloon Heatran meant that Hydreigon couldn't do his job properly, so having a second answer to it was nice. Stealth Rock, just because it is, in my opinion, the best move in the game and Tyranitar is a great user of it, considering the amount of switches he can force.
As for the item, I'm still relatively undecided between the two. I'd really prefer to use Leftovers, as without it Tyranitar risk just being worn down by repeated attacks, which can usually lead to a lost weather war. However, this team is pretty weak to fast special attackers, namely Gengar and Alakazam, as both can break through Tyranitar with Leftovers and cause some serious damage.
Skarmory @ Leftovers
252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
Skarmory is the second part of my defensive core, sponging the physical Fighting-type and Ground-type attacks that plague Tyranitar. More importantly, he is my second hazard setter, as with spikes support this team really begins to shine. Skarmorys great physical bulk also allows him to shrug off the likes of Landorus, Terrakion and Gliscor with ease and set up spikes with little effort.
HP and Defense were maximised, with enough speed to outrun Wobbuffett, although in my experience it is such a rare threat I wonder if it is necessary. Brave Bird is the STAB of choice, allowing Skarmory to leave large dents in the wide array of fighting-types running around OU, such as Scrafty, Toxicroak and Breloom. Roost is to keep Skarmory healthy and Spikes is the move no Skarmory should be without. I chose Whirlwind over Taunt as the ability to phaze threats out was needed against Dragon Dance Dragonite. Also this team doesn't have too many issues with last pokemon stat-uppers, so Taunt seemed a little redundant. The only benefit I can see would be the ability to stop Ferrothorn and Forretress from setting up along side Skarmory, so it is still a possibility.
The items is fairly straight forward, as Leftovers recovery is vital to avoiding certain 2hko's and with the advent of team preview, trappers such as Magnezone can be played around anyway, though at the loss of a couple of layers of Spikes.
Hydreigon @ Draco Plate
104 Atk / 240 Sp.atk / 164 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Outrage
- Earthquake
Remember the mystery set I talked about in the introduction? Well this is it, in all it's glory. Mixed Hydreigon has been an absolute star for this team, as very few people expect it to be running a mixed set, which is a little perplexing. People are willing to use Mixed Dragonite without question, whereas Hydreigon has better speed, better attack (when compared to Dragonites special attack), arguably better typing with Levitate, but the analysis for the set sits at the bottom of the page, in relative obscurity.
Draco Meteor is possibly the most important move on this set, at least on a psychological level. At -2 Special attack, most opponents believe themselves to be safe, even against non-choice locked variants of Hydreigon, only to have their special sponge wiped out by a powerful physical move. Fire Blast rounds out the coverage nicely, hitting all steel-types, bar Heatran, for at least neutral damage. Outrage gives Hydreigon a second powerful STAB, which is especially useful for specially bulky pokemon, such as Jellicent and Blissey, who are neutral to it, 2hko'ing both after Stealth rock damage. Even Chansey is 2hko'd by Outrage after Draco Meteor and Stealth Rock damage. Finally, Earthquake allows me to hit specially defensive Steel-types for decent damage, Ohko'ing Specially defensive Heatran and 2hko'ing Specially defensive Jirachi, although Wish + Protect variants can avoid this.
The EVs allow Hydreigon to 2hko Bliseey after Stealth rock damage, as well as outspeed neutral natured base 100 speed pokemon, such as Salamence and Celebi, with the rest thrown into special attack to boost the power of Draco Meteor and Fire Blast. I tried a couple of items before settling with Draco Plate. Life orb was nice, but immediately alerting people to the fact I wasn't scarfed detracted from it's luring capabilities. Expert belt helped him act as a better lure, but allowed Blissey to survive 2 rounds of Outrage, which was one of Hydreigons major selling points. Draco Plate gave Hydreigon a nice mix of power with the ability to act as a better lure. Not only can he get a number of surprising KO's, but tricking people into thinking he is scarfed will deter opponents from trying to set up in front of him, which can give me a nice amount of momentum.
All in all, Hydreigon is the MVP and without him the team would not function, so I'd really like to keep him the same.
Celebi @ Leftovers
176 HP / 152 Sp.atk / 180 Spe
Modest Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power Fire
- Recover
- U-turn
Celebi, I feel, is a really underrated pokemon right now. It causes a lot of problems for Rain teams and Sand teams alone, as well as being a really solid switch to Rotom-W, which is vital for this team. I originally had the Tinkerbell set in place of this one, which in theory was so much better. Luring Scizor with HP Fire meant Reuniclus could sweep better, Thunderwave put a lot of pokes into the perfect speed tier where Hydreigon could outspeed them but Reuniclus was still slower and to top it off, it still hit like a truck. But it wasn't to be, Life orb plus Sandstorm would wear her down far too quickly and I found her to be a momentum killer at -2, so something had to change. Enter Navi. The EVs give her a really nice mixture of bulk, speed and power and with Leftovers, she can perform her duties more consistently.
Leaf Storm is the chosen STAB move and at 140 BP coming off of a Modest nature, it's really nothing to laugh at. Whilst Giga Drain or Grass Knot may be more useful for bulky water-types, the extra power of Leaf storm is needed against pokemon, such as Gliscor and Landorus, who are only hit for neutral damage. Hidden Power Fire was chosen over Hidden Power Ice as I felt Scizor was a bigger threat to this teams overall game plan than any Dragon was. Recover is there so Celebi can take repeated Scalds, Hydro Pumps and Volt Switches from Politoed and Rotom-W respectively. Finally, U-turn rounds off the set and fixes the problem Celebi had of losing all momentum for the team. With the given speed EVs, Heatran switching in for free isn't too much of a problem, as Celebi can outspeed and simply U-turn away, possibly removing Heatran's Balloon in the process. U-turn also does a nice chunk against Latios and Hydreigon who think they can switch in for free as well as getting my own Hydreigon in unscathed, as he is not the bulkiest dragon around.
Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
252 Atk / 4 Sp.def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- X-scissor
- Rock Slide
Terrakion reminds me a lot of Flygon back in 4th Gen. He has great typing, good movepool, decent stats, makes a fantastic scarfer and they're both the pokemon I tack onto the ends of teams when I don't know what else to use. There were a fair number of pokemon that occupied this spot before I settled on Terrakion (sorry Scarf Heatran, you almost made it ;_;), but ultimately Terrakion fixed a lot of holes in this team, with his great mix of speed and power. He's also the only pokemon on this team which benefits from Tyranitars Sand Stream, which is odd because he may not have even been included. Finally, he makes a great pokemon to clean up with during the late game, if Reuniclus can't quite get the job done
Close Combat and Stone Edge are staples of any Terrakion set, backed up by STAB they are ridiculously powerful. X-scissor does a bit more than just hit bulky psychic-types for this team. It's my only solid answer to Alakazam, Ohko'ing it clean, bar the very annoying focus sash versions >:( Rock Slide is there for the same reason as Scarf Heatran running both Overheat and Flamethrower, the former is for power, the latter is for checking threats and cleaning up late game, where misses are super crucial. That and there was little else to put in it's place, Toxicroak is handles by other threats so wasn't much of an issue.
Terrakion is a decent work horse. He does what he is meant to do fantastically, but not much else. I wouldn't be too disheartened if he bowed out of the team, but until a suitable replacement is found, he is here to stay.
Reuniclus @ Life Orb
192 HP / 64 Def / 252 Sp.atk (0 Speed IVs)
Quiet Nature
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Trick Room
If Hydreigon was the MVP of the team, Reuniclus would be a close 2nd. Combined with Hydreigon, the pair can break through offensive and Defensive teams alike. Unlike many other late-game sweepers in OU, Reuniclus has great defenses and can still be used mid-game as a defensive pivot against threats such as Conkledurr.
Psychic, whilst not having great coverage in OU, is mainly there for a solid STAB. Neutral hits with this will leave a massive dent in anything not named Blissey or Chansey, whilst Focus Blast and Shadow Ball provide respectable coverage along side it, despite the former being a terrible move, hitting the Dark-types and Psychic-types that resist Psychic.
The EVs are fairly simple, maximum special attack, then the rest thrown into HP and defense to take hits from Conkledurr a bit better. The HP EVs also give Reuniclus stellar bulk, so even if she can't find a perfect opportunity to set up trick room, she can usually tank a hit and just KO in response next turn. speaking of which, Trick Room is a great move for the late-game. When opponents hold back their Terrakion or Scarf Salamence, expecting just to sweep you clean are sadly dissapointed when the only thing that will be "outspeeding" Reuniclus under Trick Room is Ferrothorn, which will hopefully be removed before you attempt to sweep.
On the subject of pokemon that need removing, the list is a little more extensive that the usual list of counters. Whilst it is important that Scizor, Jirachi, Specially Defensive Heatran and Blissey are removed, immunities can be just as detrimental to your sweep. Trick Room only gives you 4 turns to sweep, so Gengar switching in on a Focus Blast or Hydreigon switching in on a Psychic can be the difference between a win and a loss, so be cautious. Also common Protect users such as Gliscor and Abomasnow, whilst not being able to do much in response, can shorten your sweeping time, especially if they can get a lucky double Protect off. But if you can get these pokemon out of the way, 70% of the time it's clean sailing (I really hate Focus Blast ;_;).
Conclusion
So there we are, that's the team. In addition to some of the problems I've already mentioned (Alakazam, Gengar), This team can struggle with fast mixed attackers, especially Infernape, as Reuniclus is my best option against it currently, though I'm reluctant to bring him out early game.
As for changes, I'm relatively open to suggestions. I would like if at all possibly to keep both Hydreigon and Reuniclus as they are, but any other changes will be very welcome.
Peace~
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Introduction
Hello all :)
Thought I'd bring you another Gen 5 OU team. This kind of team really suits my playstyle, using lures to remove checks for a late game sweep. This means that even if I make some bad plays mid-game, I can still recover pretty well and even snatch a win.
Also, I'd like to thank all the folks that helped contribute to the team. I usually get frustrated with defensive holes in teams and end up either butchering them beyond recognition or scrapping the team altogether, but Prankster, ShootingStarmie and a few others held this team together for me, so shoutouts to them :D Also a minor shoutout to Shuckle4Ubers, who unwittingly inspired the concept of this team
Apart from that, not much else to say about the team. No theme, no over-arching story behind it's creation. It was just made as an experiment, to test the effectiveness of a certain set. As for the team name, anytime I say the word wallbreaker, I can't help but think of Chris Jericho's old theme song from WWF, that and I couldn't think of a better name. So, without further ado, lets get started.
Closer Look
Tyranitar @ Leftovers/Chople Berry
252 HP / 16 Sp.atk / 240 Sp.Def
Sassy Nature
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Superpower
- Stealth Rock
Whilst this is by no means a weather team, Tyranitar, and by extension his sandstorm, are vital to this team. Controlling the weather allows Tyranitar to disrupt threats that rely on weather, such as Tornadus, Venusaur and a number of other problematic pokes. Tyranitar also has great special bulk allowing him to switch in easily on a lot of pokes, such as Heatran and Latios.
Crunch is there mainly for a decent STAB move, hitting the likes of Latios, Reuniclus and Gengar for really solid damage. Fire Blast plus 16 special attack EVs allows me to 2hko Ferrothron with ease and the rare Specially Defensive Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage. Superpower was chosen over both Ice Beam and Earthquake as Gliscor poses little threat to this team, so luring him wasn't necessary and Balloon Heatran meant that Hydreigon couldn't do his job properly, so having a second answer to it was nice. Stealth Rock, just because it is, in my opinion, the best move in the game and Tyranitar is a great user of it, considering the amount of switches he can force.
As for the item, I'm still relatively undecided between the two. I'd really prefer to use Leftovers, as without it Tyranitar risk just being worn down by repeated attacks, which can usually lead to a lost weather war. However, this team is pretty weak to fast special attackers, namely Gengar and Alakazam, as both can break through Tyranitar with Leftovers and cause some serious damage.
Skarmory @ Leftovers
252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
Skarmory is the second part of my defensive core, sponging the physical Fighting-type and Ground-type attacks that plague Tyranitar. More importantly, he is my second hazard setter, as with spikes support this team really begins to shine. Skarmorys great physical bulk also allows him to shrug off the likes of Landorus, Terrakion and Gliscor with ease and set up spikes with little effort.
HP and Defense were maximised, with enough speed to outrun Wobbuffett, although in my experience it is such a rare threat I wonder if it is necessary. Brave Bird is the STAB of choice, allowing Skarmory to leave large dents in the wide array of fighting-types running around OU, such as Scrafty, Toxicroak and Breloom. Roost is to keep Skarmory healthy and Spikes is the move no Skarmory should be without. I chose Whirlwind over Taunt as the ability to phaze threats out was needed against Dragon Dance Dragonite. Also this team doesn't have too many issues with last pokemon stat-uppers, so Taunt seemed a little redundant. The only benefit I can see would be the ability to stop Ferrothorn and Forretress from setting up along side Skarmory, so it is still a possibility.
The items is fairly straight forward, as Leftovers recovery is vital to avoiding certain 2hko's and with the advent of team preview, trappers such as Magnezone can be played around anyway, though at the loss of a couple of layers of Spikes.
Hydreigon @ Draco Plate
104 Atk / 240 Sp.atk / 164 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Outrage
- Earthquake
Remember the mystery set I talked about in the introduction? Well this is it, in all it's glory. Mixed Hydreigon has been an absolute star for this team, as very few people expect it to be running a mixed set, which is a little perplexing. People are willing to use Mixed Dragonite without question, whereas Hydreigon has better speed, better attack (when compared to Dragonites special attack), arguably better typing with Levitate, but the analysis for the set sits at the bottom of the page, in relative obscurity.
Draco Meteor is possibly the most important move on this set, at least on a psychological level. At -2 Special attack, most opponents believe themselves to be safe, even against non-choice locked variants of Hydreigon, only to have their special sponge wiped out by a powerful physical move. Fire Blast rounds out the coverage nicely, hitting all steel-types, bar Heatran, for at least neutral damage. Outrage gives Hydreigon a second powerful STAB, which is especially useful for specially bulky pokemon, such as Jellicent and Blissey, who are neutral to it, 2hko'ing both after Stealth rock damage. Even Chansey is 2hko'd by Outrage after Draco Meteor and Stealth Rock damage. Finally, Earthquake allows me to hit specially defensive Steel-types for decent damage, Ohko'ing Specially defensive Heatran and 2hko'ing Specially defensive Jirachi, although Wish + Protect variants can avoid this.
The EVs allow Hydreigon to 2hko Bliseey after Stealth rock damage, as well as outspeed neutral natured base 100 speed pokemon, such as Salamence and Celebi, with the rest thrown into special attack to boost the power of Draco Meteor and Fire Blast. I tried a couple of items before settling with Draco Plate. Life orb was nice, but immediately alerting people to the fact I wasn't scarfed detracted from it's luring capabilities. Expert belt helped him act as a better lure, but allowed Blissey to survive 2 rounds of Outrage, which was one of Hydreigons major selling points. Draco Plate gave Hydreigon a nice mix of power with the ability to act as a better lure. Not only can he get a number of surprising KO's, but tricking people into thinking he is scarfed will deter opponents from trying to set up in front of him, which can give me a nice amount of momentum.
All in all, Hydreigon is the MVP and without him the team would not function, so I'd really like to keep him the same.
Celebi @ Leftovers
176 HP / 152 Sp.atk / 180 Spe
Modest Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power Fire
- Recover
- U-turn
Celebi, I feel, is a really underrated pokemon right now. It causes a lot of problems for Rain teams and Sand teams alone, as well as being a really solid switch to Rotom-W, which is vital for this team. I originally had the Tinkerbell set in place of this one, which in theory was so much better. Luring Scizor with HP Fire meant Reuniclus could sweep better, Thunderwave put a lot of pokes into the perfect speed tier where Hydreigon could outspeed them but Reuniclus was still slower and to top it off, it still hit like a truck. But it wasn't to be, Life orb plus Sandstorm would wear her down far too quickly and I found her to be a momentum killer at -2, so something had to change. Enter Navi. The EVs give her a really nice mixture of bulk, speed and power and with Leftovers, she can perform her duties more consistently.
Leaf Storm is the chosen STAB move and at 140 BP coming off of a Modest nature, it's really nothing to laugh at. Whilst Giga Drain or Grass Knot may be more useful for bulky water-types, the extra power of Leaf storm is needed against pokemon, such as Gliscor and Landorus, who are only hit for neutral damage. Hidden Power Fire was chosen over Hidden Power Ice as I felt Scizor was a bigger threat to this teams overall game plan than any Dragon was. Recover is there so Celebi can take repeated Scalds, Hydro Pumps and Volt Switches from Politoed and Rotom-W respectively. Finally, U-turn rounds off the set and fixes the problem Celebi had of losing all momentum for the team. With the given speed EVs, Heatran switching in for free isn't too much of a problem, as Celebi can outspeed and simply U-turn away, possibly removing Heatran's Balloon in the process. U-turn also does a nice chunk against Latios and Hydreigon who think they can switch in for free as well as getting my own Hydreigon in unscathed, as he is not the bulkiest dragon around.
Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
252 Atk / 4 Sp.def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- X-scissor
- Rock Slide
Terrakion reminds me a lot of Flygon back in 4th Gen. He has great typing, good movepool, decent stats, makes a fantastic scarfer and they're both the pokemon I tack onto the ends of teams when I don't know what else to use. There were a fair number of pokemon that occupied this spot before I settled on Terrakion (sorry Scarf Heatran, you almost made it ;_;), but ultimately Terrakion fixed a lot of holes in this team, with his great mix of speed and power. He's also the only pokemon on this team which benefits from Tyranitars Sand Stream, which is odd because he may not have even been included. Finally, he makes a great pokemon to clean up with during the late game, if Reuniclus can't quite get the job done
Close Combat and Stone Edge are staples of any Terrakion set, backed up by STAB they are ridiculously powerful. X-scissor does a bit more than just hit bulky psychic-types for this team. It's my only solid answer to Alakazam, Ohko'ing it clean, bar the very annoying focus sash versions >:( Rock Slide is there for the same reason as Scarf Heatran running both Overheat and Flamethrower, the former is for power, the latter is for checking threats and cleaning up late game, where misses are super crucial. That and there was little else to put in it's place, Toxicroak is handles by other threats so wasn't much of an issue.
Terrakion is a decent work horse. He does what he is meant to do fantastically, but not much else. I wouldn't be too disheartened if he bowed out of the team, but until a suitable replacement is found, he is here to stay.
Reuniclus @ Life Orb
192 HP / 64 Def / 252 Sp.atk (0 Speed IVs)
Quiet Nature
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Trick Room
If Hydreigon was the MVP of the team, Reuniclus would be a close 2nd. Combined with Hydreigon, the pair can break through offensive and Defensive teams alike. Unlike many other late-game sweepers in OU, Reuniclus has great defenses and can still be used mid-game as a defensive pivot against threats such as Conkledurr.
Psychic, whilst not having great coverage in OU, is mainly there for a solid STAB. Neutral hits with this will leave a massive dent in anything not named Blissey or Chansey, whilst Focus Blast and Shadow Ball provide respectable coverage along side it, despite the former being a terrible move, hitting the Dark-types and Psychic-types that resist Psychic.
The EVs are fairly simple, maximum special attack, then the rest thrown into HP and defense to take hits from Conkledurr a bit better. The HP EVs also give Reuniclus stellar bulk, so even if she can't find a perfect opportunity to set up trick room, she can usually tank a hit and just KO in response next turn. speaking of which, Trick Room is a great move for the late-game. When opponents hold back their Terrakion or Scarf Salamence, expecting just to sweep you clean are sadly dissapointed when the only thing that will be "outspeeding" Reuniclus under Trick Room is Ferrothorn, which will hopefully be removed before you attempt to sweep.
On the subject of pokemon that need removing, the list is a little more extensive that the usual list of counters. Whilst it is important that Scizor, Jirachi, Specially Defensive Heatran and Blissey are removed, immunities can be just as detrimental to your sweep. Trick Room only gives you 4 turns to sweep, so Gengar switching in on a Focus Blast or Hydreigon switching in on a Psychic can be the difference between a win and a loss, so be cautious. Also common Protect users such as Gliscor and Abomasnow, whilst not being able to do much in response, can shorten your sweeping time, especially if they can get a lucky double Protect off. But if you can get these pokemon out of the way, 70% of the time it's clean sailing (I really hate Focus Blast ;_;).
Conclusion
So there we are, that's the team. In addition to some of the problems I've already mentioned (Alakazam, Gengar), This team can struggle with fast mixed attackers, especially Infernape, as Reuniclus is my best option against it currently, though I'm reluctant to bring him out early game.
As for changes, I'm relatively open to suggestions. I would like if at all possibly to keep both Hydreigon and Reuniclus as they are, but any other changes will be very welcome.
Peace~
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Code:
Hydreigon @ Draco Plate
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 104 Atk / 240 SAtk / 164 Spd
Hasty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Outrage
- Earthquake
Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 SDef / 252 Spd / 252 Atk
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
- Rock Slide
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 16 SAtk / 240 SDef
Sassy Nature
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Superpower
- Stealth Rock
Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 192 HP / 252 SAtk / 64 Def
Quiet Nature
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Trick Room
Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 176 HP / 152 SAtk / 180 Spd
Modest Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Recover
- U-turn
