ORAS OU No Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Die [Mega Scizor]

[Dumbledot]

Hello!

Long time lurker, 1st time RMT poster. T'is a team that has done pretty well (with some variations), but I'd like to see in what ways I can improve it.

Basic premise of the team is simple - Build a team around Mega Scizor, keep momentum up with switching through hard-hitting pokemans, whittle away the opponent's pokemans with added SR support, and when threats have been removed go for a sweep with either a physical sweeper or a special sweeper.

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Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 76 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Toxic

Bulky TankChomp. Usually the lead to set up rocks, unless opponent has an obvious fairy or dragon counter. Earthquake can still do decent damage, even without any investment in attack. Dragon tail is immense, especially if the other team has a set-up pokeman (does require some prediction though), or otherwise just force switches them out for more SR damage. The spread allows it to survive almost every physical hit (barring icicle crash/ice punch etc), with helmet + skin doing roughly ~28% dmg back as passive. Garchomp has to be kept alive if there is a set up sweeper that Scizor or Landorus can't handle with priority/scarfed speed. It can also be switched in repeatedly for physical hits, letting helmet + skin do a lot of stacking damage. Toxic is for annoyance purposes against the likes of Rotom-W or Slowbro etc.

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off

Standard scarfed set, nothing unusual. One of the staples in OU, boasting immense attack, high speed, intimidate support and the ability to hit surprisingly hard with a non-STAB U-turn (especially against the likes of Lati@s). Earthquake and Knock Off are self explanatory, Stone Edge for those pesky flying types (jk it misses most of the time anyway, gg). Forms the Volt-Turn duo with Raikou, each covering the others weaknesses pretty well.

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump

Standard analytic LO Starmie. If it forces a switch, analytic can let it deal some hefty damage, and even without it the damage is very respectable. BoltBeam combo for maximum coverage, and psychic to help deal with Mega Venusaurs/Keldeo etc which would otherwise cause massive problems to this team (e.g., Psychic 1HKO's Keldeo and analytic boosted psychic 1HKO's offensive Mega Venusaur - for reference, Thunderbolt can only 2HKO Keldeo).

This is a purely offensive set, without rapid spin or recover. Rocks don't really pose a huge threat to any member on the team, although spikes can be troublesome, particularly if multiple layers are up. Haven't met any pure hazard stack teams, so haven't missed the lack of a spinner that much. Starmie typically doesn't stay in long enough to use recover, and I've found that if it forces a switch it helps the team more to deal massive damage with an analytic boost. The only ability that could be changed out is Psychic, but Starmie can bait in spinblockers and 1 shot them with Psychic anyways.

Heatran @ Power Herb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Solar Beam
- Stone Edge

All out offensive Heatran. I am open to changing sets on this. The stallbreaker set with Magma storm + taunt + toxic was pretty useful, but I opted for the more offensive oriented set. Fire blast, obligatory STAB (when it hits...). Earth Power for opposing Heatrans mostly. The solar beam + power herb combo is there for baiting purposes. It can deal massive damage to water/ground types that switch in (~70% to Manaphy, for e.g.). Ground types in general can be quite troublesome for this team, so if the bait is successful it can create a hole in the other team. Even if the beam doesn't kill, it can soften the pokeman up enough for another member to come in and finish the job. Scarf Keldeo is the exception, as it outspeeds everything -_- Stone edge to put a massive dent in Talonflame, if not kill it.

NOTE: This is usually a Volt Switch Raikou, but at the time of writing this I'm trying out the Calm Mind + Sub set.

Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Substitute

The 1st of the set up sweepers, on the special side. If this thing sets up, it can demolish an entire team by itself. Thunderbolt is the usual STAB, with HP Ice for pesky dragon/ground types which would otherwise wall it. Some CM boosts are needed in order to effectively use HP ice, however. +2 is generally enough to deal with most threats. Substitute to avoid status and weak attacks from stall teams, letting this set up all over them. With a Timid nature, it is fast enough to outspeed non-scarfed Keldeo and Serperior, and with +2 CM boost can potentially 1 shot both.

Normally, the Assault Vest Volt Switch set is used, letting it act as a good pivot in conjunction with Landorus.

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Bug Bite

Mega Scizor, at +2, is a monster. Technician boosted Bullet Punch literally punches holes in things that don't resist it. Fairies can go die in hell. This is the all out attacking set, with superpower for added coverage on things like Ferrothorn and Heatran which resists the dual STABs. Bug bite over knock off to take advantage of technician and STAB, and for hitting things like Rotom-W extremely hard without the drawbacks of superpower. Scizor is the physical set up sweeper to compliment Raikou, and can cause some serious damage if it is kept alive. The fire weakness is countered by Heatran, Starmie and Garchomp (to an extent).


OTHER OPTIONS

I'm open to suggestions for the team. Tempted to try an offensive Garchomp set as well, although if 1 member needs changing I think it is Starmie. It provides a lot of useful coverage, but perhaps there are other pokemans who can fill the slot. Maybe Serperior to cover the slight weakness to ground + water the team has?

I have played around with a triple Volt-Turn team which was also quite good fun.

- Mega Manectric instead of Raikou
- Choice Band Scizor instead of Mega Scizor
- Bulk Up, SpDef, Acrobatics Talonflame instead of Heatran
- Spin + Recover Starmie instead of the offensive variant (needed because of Talonflame getting shredded by rocks, and MManectric didn't appreciate them either)

The double intimidate duo of MManectric + Landorus, combined with the triple pivot of volt switch/u-turn can create some crazy momentum. The CB Scizor is a lethal pursuit trapper, opening up many holes for the rest of the team to come in and go ham. Bulk Up talonflame with Will-o-wisp could further reduce the pressure from physical hits.

THREATS

- Fast (or priority) Will-o-wispers, Scald hax. Because the team lacks healing wish or cleric support, if Landorus or Scizor gets burned, it can be a VERY uphill battle. Need to predict the WoW and swap in Heatran (it is usually quite obvious to be fair), and as for scald... well, nothing that can be done for that except hoping Raikou is still alive. Leftover + Sub can let it counter the burn and set up on the water types. Garchomp gets burned 95% of the time by scald I swear, so... yeah.

- Charizard-X or Mega Gyarados and other dragon dancers are also quite troublesome, because after a DD they can outspeed and cause serious damage. Charizard-X in particular is extremely dangerous, being able to 1 shot almost every member of the team with Dragon Claw or Flare Blitz. The only way to really take it down is to switch in Garchomp for the helmet + skin damage and hope Landorus can either revenge kill it or force it to swap.

- Things with hard hitting ground attacks, especially faster ones such as scarfed Landorus or Excadrill in sand, can cause huge damage to everything on the team. The only reliable option against them is my own Landorus, and once that's down it's pretty much gg.

- Hard hitting water types can cause problems as well. Specs Keldeo, Specs Omastar in rain (this thing is ridiculous, RESISTED Hydro Pump takes 80% off Rotom-W) etc. Once again, Raikou is the only real answer, and even that gets hit way too hard with a specs boosted attack.

IMPORTABLE

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Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 76 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Toxic

Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Substitute

Heatran @ Power Herb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Solar Beam
- Stone Edge

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Bug Bite

 

[Zane Elliott]

Hi. So what I gather from this team is it is very aggressive. You seem to only have one member (Garchomp) dedicated to a defensive set up. While this is a perfectly legitimate strategy, you need to make sure you have safe switches to most Pokemon otherwise you'll find yourself in trouble pretty quickly. You also need to make sure you cover all your bases with type coverage (which you seem to have done quite well). Let's look at some threats to your team that I see pretty immediately:

1. Ferrothorn walls your entire team outside of Heatran. That could become a real problem if your opponent recognizes this and leaves Ferrothorn in the back or abuses it to force hard switches into Heatran counters. What I can recommend for this is Magnezone > Raikou. What Magnezone can do for you that Raikou can't is trap Ferrothorn and other Steel Types and get an easy KO without having to worry about it coming back to wall you in.

Magnezone Air Balloon
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 248 HP/ 252 SpA/ 8 SpD
Modest Nature
-Hidden Power Fire
-Thunderbolt
-Volt Switch
-Flash Cannon

2. Any strong Ice-Type (like Weavile) will give your team a problem (especially running both Garchomp and Landorus-Therian). Even though Landorus has the Scarf, you may want to have a safer switch in to an Ice-type move (Starmie will get KOed by most common Ice-type move users like the fast electric types and Weavile). What I'd recommend is running a defensive Heatran over the offensive one:

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP/ 8 SpA/ 252 Spc Def
Calm Nature
-Magma Storm
-Stealth Rock
-Protect
-Roar

What this Heatran will do is allow you to have a safe switch into most Special Attackers (primarily Ice-types) and also remove setup sweepers with Roar.

That's all I can recommend for now, just remember to be careful and keep Heatran alive as long as possible during every game. Hope I've helped!

 

[Dumbledot]

Hi, thanks for the input!

I'll address the changes you suggested:

1. Magnezone - I thought about Magnezone before, but I believe Raikou offers far greater utility for the team as a whole. Ferrothorn can be handled by both Heatran and Scizor, with Landorus's Earthquake also doing considerable damage to it. Other common steel types such as Skarmory or Bisharp can also be handled by a combination of Raikou/Heatran/Scizor/Garchomp etc. The only steel that Magnezone can handle which Raikou and co. can't is opposing Scizors. Regardless, the main reason I prefer Raikou over Magnezone is the increased speed, and the ability to set up on opposing mons + HP Ice, which is often invaluable against bulky ground types (which Magnezone can't do anything against) with some CM boosts.

2. Heatran - I will try a defensive set, but I think the moves you suggested is slightly off. I already have a SR setter in Garchomp, so having another one seems pointless. Also, if using magma storm, I think toxic + taunt would be better as a stallbreaker set. Roar on a Heatran is interesting, but I haven't really gotten it to work before. Every popular set up sweeper has water, ground or fighting attacks, all of which heatran is weak against. Furthermore, the sweeper will most likely outspeed the Heatran. The only way this would work is if the heatran is in BEFORE the sweeper sets up, but even then it's quite risky. Dragon tail on Garchomp is better from experience, purely because it's not as weak to so many common attacks that can 1 shot it.

 

[Zane Elliott]

Hi, thanks for the input!

I'll address the changes you suggested:

1. Magnezone - I thought about Magnezone before, but I believe Raikou offers far greater utility for the team as a whole. Ferrothorn can be handled by both Heatran and Scizor, with Landorus's Earthquake also doing considerable damage to it. Other common steel types such as Skarmory or Bisharp can also be handled by a combination of Raikou/Heatran/Scizor/Garchomp etc. The only steel that Magnezone can handle which Raikou and co. can't is opposing Scizors. Regardless, the main reason I prefer Raikou over Magnezone is the increased speed, and the ability to set up on opposing mons + HP Ice, which is often invaluable against bulky ground types (which Magnezone can't do anything against) with some CM boosts.

2. Heatran - I will try a defensive set, but I think the moves you suggested is slightly off. I already have a SR setter in Garchomp, so having another one seems pointless. Also, if using magma storm, I think toxic + taunt would be better as a stallbreaker set. Roar on a Heatran is interesting, but I haven't really gotten it to work before. Every popular set up sweeper has water, ground or fighting attacks, all of which heatran is weak against. Furthermore, the sweeper will most likely outspeed the Heatran. The only way this would work is if the heatran is in BEFORE the sweeper sets up, but even then it's quite risky. Dragon tail on Garchomp is better from experience, purely because it's not as weak to so many common attacks that can 1 shot it.

Yeah I just realized that Garchomp was a Rock Setter otherwise i would have recommend the Taunt/Toxic Heatran. And do as you will with Raikou/Magnezone. They're both great, I just think Magnezone is the easiest way to deal with Ferrothorn. Good luck in battle!

 

[XiM]

Looks pretty good to me. Good type coverage and weakness checks. Starmie is great isn't it? I have always liked it's movepool. I know my comment isn't very helpful, but although I have played pokemon for age, I am a noob when It comes to competitive teams haha.

 

[BlackSIlk90]

Honestly I've been playing around with Offensive Mega Scizor and I feel that Bullet Punch+Bug Bite more than suffices. The coverage isn't great but you shouldn't be setting up until checks and counters are removed anyway. Bug Bite at +2 is a clean 2HKO on Ferrothorn even without Stealth Rock(Doing 68-80%) So Superpower isnt even really necessary. While Knock Off does offer more utility, you will be clicking BP 9/10 anyway.

 

[DennisEG]

Hey man, the team looks really solid but reading your RMT the team could be better without a doubt. A first glance your team is weak to strong water types such as Keldeo because your switch in consist in a none recovery offensive Starmie which takes over 50% from Keldeo's Specs Hydro Pump. Ground type attacks are a bit annoying as well specially as you mention Excadrill. I let my suggestions that might help your team:

• The first is Latios > Starmie, this Mon give you a solid and longevity water resist, also another ground immunity. The last move could be Defog if you feel hazard are annoying which in my opinion is the best option but you can always put EQ to lure opposing Heatran and leave Scizor a Freeway.
• Right now I think Volt Switch > Substitute on Raikou is better because you complete the Volt Turn core and give you more momentum.
• Heatran should have Magma Storm > Fire Blast and having Latios to deal with ZardY and Magma + EPower for Talon you don't need Edge anymore so Taunt > Sedge allow you to trap efficiently.
• And last Explosion > Knock Off on Lando give a surprise factor against those set up sweepers that think you can't HKOed, also for the fat set up mons.

set

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Roost
- Defog / Earthquake

Hope I help you and Gl.!!

 

[njnp]

Hey man, the team looks really solid but reading your RMT the team could be better without a doubt. A first glance your team is weak to strong water types such as Keldeo because your switch in consist in a none recovery offensive Starmie which takes over 50% from Keldeo's Specs Hydro Pump. Ground type attacks are a bit annoying as well specially as you mention Excadrill. I let my suggestions that might help your team:

• The first is Latios > Starmie, this Mon give you a solid and longevity water resist, also another ground immunity. The last move could be Defog if you feel hazard are annoying which in my opinion is the best option but you can always put EQ to lure opposing Heatran and leave Scizor a Freeway.
• Right now I think Volt Switch > Substitute on Raikou is better because you complete the Volt Turn core and give you more momentum.
• Heatran should have Magma Storm > Fire Blast and having Latios to deal with ZardY and Magma + EPower for Talon you don't need Edge anymore so Taunt > Sedge allow you to trap efficiently.
• And last Explosion > Knock Off on Lando give a surprise factor against those set up sweepers that think you can't HKOed, also for the fat set up mons.

set

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Roost
- Defog / Earthquake

Hope I help you and Gl.!!

What I think About Your Team First Glance

I agree with everyone my man dennis says here. His changes make this team much better and they blend very nicely. I like this build it isn't bad at all I only have one correction I would make.

How You Can Improve Your Team

x Weakness? (Heatran) (M) @ Power Herb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 140 HP / 116 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 30 Def
- Magma Storm
- Solar Beam
- Stone Edge
- Hidden Power [Ice]

I have posted this set on another rmt.
I just love this set and it fits well on alot of teams and is anti meta.
There really isn't many safe tran switch ins and this set takes advantage of that.
This set allows you to take out many of scizor's counters.
This set allows you to live a fb from timid char y and kill it in return as well.
You can also lure in bulky chomps for your scizor and bop them with hp ice.

Conclusion
I enjoy this build! Good, nice, and solid.
I wish you massive success buddy and hope you take my changes into consideration.