Other OU CCAT - Round 4 - Voting

[Nova]

Thanks to Doughboy for most of the OP
Approved by Subject18

Hello friends! Welcome to the XY OU Community Create a Team. In this project, we will be working to nominate Pokemon sets that work well together and form a cohesive team as the final product.

STEPS:

1. In round 1, users will submit the focus pokemon of the team. The majority of the time the pokemon is a sweeper, however any type of pokemon can become the focus pokemon for the team. Remember that while the focus pokemon should be successful the majority of the time, it should also be interesting enough to sustain interest in the CCAT. The CCAT is also a learning experience, so don't be afraid to go a little outside of the box and explore. At the end of the round 1, there will be a vote on the submitted pokemon sets by users. The round will last a few days or until there are a decent number of pokemon in the poll. The pokemon that wins the majority of the votes will be the focus pokemon
2. At the beginning of each new round, users will submit a pokemon set to compliment the focus Pokemon. The pokemon set should aim to contribute to the function of the focus pokemon (the pokemon chosen in round 1) and prevent the team as a whole from being threatened by the majority of the metagame. Again, the sets submitted by users will be subject to vote and whichever pokemon garners the most votes wins.
3. After step 2 has been repeated for all the Pokemon in the team, we will have our semi-final team. We will then test drive the team on the ladder and look for ways to fine tune it.

So let's try this again and build the best team we can, while being interesting at the same time! Try not to have a submission be your only contribution for the CCAT. Discussion is important too for convincing / guiding users on the direction the team should take, the flaws of other submitted sets, and the threats that are found in the metagame now.

Be sure to include the full set of the pokemon, like how it would appear in PS importable. This is useful because different EVs, movesets, nature can affect the dynamic of the rest of the team and it makes it easier to create an importable that everyone can use.

You may now start your nominations, and be sure to explain your nomination.

Current Team:

Ampharos @ Ampharosite
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Def
Modest Nature
- Agility
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Dragon Pulse

Gengar @ Black Sludge
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 28 HP / 148 SAtk / 80 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt

 

[Nog]

DD Landorus-Therian

Landorus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 56 HP / 252 Atk / 200 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge / Rock Slide / Smack Down
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance

This thing is just a monster and without a doubt my favorite set for Landorus-Therian. It can bypass a lot of its checks and counters by boosting and creates so much offensive pressure for your opponent. Given that it's not hard to set up and can beat a lot of its checks, it makes an ideal late game cleaner / power house. You also are given an opportunity to either boost your already high attack to hit things insanely hard or buff up your mediocre speed enabling you to outpace pretty much any threat in OU bar a choice scarfed Deoxys-Speed (which is trash btw so don't use). Edgequake is usually the preferred pair of attacks but Rock Slide can be used for increased accuracy and Smack Down is the Rock type attack version of Gravity meaning that everything can be hit by ground type moves.

 

[Bizdis]

Mega Pinsir

It puts massive offensive pressure on the opponent, has few pokemon that can switch in on it, and has a high speed stat. Furthermore, it can even wreck faster pokemon after an SD using Quick Attack, such as Deo-S, a pokemon that would give other set-up sweepers trouble. Mega Pinsir is strong at applying pressure early game, and as I already mentioned, can function very well as a late game cleaner, which is how I prefer to use it. Obviously, this pokemon needs support, in terms of defog and SR to help get those crucial +2 Quick Attack kills off, so I believe that, overall, it will make a very nice starter pokemon to build our foundations on. I realise that this may not be the most diverse of pokemon, but it can certainly deal massive damage to the opponent in a very small number of turns. There are many ways in which we can exploit its Flying type with Ground coverage to excellent effect, and I can really see it being something that you can ladder with, as it is effective against many different types of teams, including the dreaded Baton Pass.

In short, a consistent, powerful choice that can shred through weakened teams which will also give us a good direction on what else we might want to add.

EDIT: This is the exact set I'd like to use. I prefer Mold Breaker because it can hit Rotom-W on the switch. Hyper Cutter isn't a bad choice either though.

Pinsir @ Pinsirite
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack

 

[doughboy]

Bizdis Mega-Pinsir has been so overdone I really wouldn't want to make another team with that thing. Nog Double Dance Landorus-T was the subject of the last CCAT unfortunately. I wouldn't want to do it again, even if it is a different metagame.

If you want the CCAT to stay alive, we need something fresh. Something new, something interesting. With that in mind, I am going to nominate this set:

Offensive Agility Baton Pass Zapdos

Zapdos @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 148 SAtk / 112 Spe
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Agility
- Baton Pass

Zapdos isn't normally thought of as an offensive Electric-type, due to its great Defog support. As an offensive Electric, Zapdos receives heavy competition from Thundurus-I, but this set distinguishes itself from Thundurus-I with things Thudurus-I doesn't have: bulk and Baton Pass. Zapdos is decievingly powerful. With the given EV's and nature, Zapdos has 6 more special attack points than Thundurus-I. With the addition of Life Orb, the power you dish out comes as quite a surprise to the opponent. Unlike Thundurus-I, Zapdos has a lot of bulk, which makes it much easier to set up. Zapdos is one of the more priority resistant sweepers out there; resisting all of Brave Bird, Bullet Punch, and Mach Punch. 112 Speed EV's let's it outpace positive base 70's without an Agility, and with an Agility outpace base 110 Scarfers.

The real cool thing about this set is Baton Pass. If Zapdos doesn't have the ability to continue its sweep, you can give an Agility boost to a different Pokemon to the end of the game. Baton pass can also be used to scout switch-in's with dry-passing. Hidden Power Ice is chosen over Flying because considering this is a CCAT, no one is going to be taken by surprise. So luring is not going to be a very effective strategy. Overall this needs to be kept in mind throughout the CCAT: strategies based on surprises such as lures will not usually work.
__________________________

Agility Baton Pass Zapdos is an interesting set that will keep the CCAT fresh and make it our worthwhile to see the team to completion to round 6, unlike a lot of other Pokemon that will result in cookie-cutter teams.

Also are there any plans for streaming like the last one?

edit: holy crap its Nova gay

 

[Bizdis]

Well fine, but the sets also have to be consistent. My problem with this Zapdos set is two fold:
a) Electric Ice is no longer the offensive typing it once was, and especially with the nerf to both moves, this set is much weaker than it would have been, say, last generation.
b) Whilst its initial special attack, as you mentioned, is indeed impressive, and the +2 speed could be really threatening, it doesn't really have any way of boosting its special attack. Thundurus' power comes from its ability to have strong Electric Ice typing, have naturally fast speed, and t wave things that other members of the team don't like, often stopping sweeps. This Zapdos lacks the immediate offensive presence that Thundurus does, due to its lower base speed, and it can't check nearly as many things as Thundurus can. Yes, I like the idea of speeding up our own pokemon, but are you sure that something that can throw paralysis around, and slow the opposing team down, couldn't do the job better?

 

[President Shinra]

Well, I do agree with Doughboy in that we should nominate things that are not as commonly used. So, I will nominate Substitute Utility Gengar.

Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 148 SAtk / 80 SDef / 28 HP
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt

 

[JebusChrist]

Kyurem-B @ Leftovers
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 56 HP / 200 SAtk / 252 Spe
Mild Nature
-Substitute
-Fusion Bolt
-Earth Power
-Ice Beam

Good old Kyurem-B, the highest BST OU Pokemon, capable of shredding teams behind the safety of a substitute. Not used as much as its BST would suggest due to bad defensive typing and limited physical movepool.

 

[Sweep]

Landorus-I

Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Atk
Naive Nature
- Knock Off
- Earth Power
- Focus Blast
- Psychic

I know the community CAT likes to focus on building around sweepers instead of wallbreakers, but Lando-I is so good in this metagame that I feel it's worth a nomination. The combination of Life Orb, Sheer Force and a strong 115 base Special Attack ensure that Landorus hits almost everything extremely hard. The pink blobs that can wall Lando are badly crippled by Knock Off, cutting off their access to Eviolite/leftovers and making them unfit to take on Landorus-I's brutal Focus Blasts. Earth Power is one of the most powerful moves in OU at the moment; it is capable of 2HKOing Speically Defensive Venusaur after SR. Psychic is preferred over Sludge Wave because it nails Landorus-T/Lando-I/Gliscor while hitting threats like Mega Venusaur and Conkeldurr harder than Earth Power. No attack investment is needed to OHKO Latios after Stealth Rock, so I didn't customize this spread (those 4 extra evs can go anywhere I guess). You need 108 attack EVs to guarantee the kill on Latias unfortunately, which isn't even close to being worth it.

Landorus-I provides some flexibility while teambuilding, since its typing and reasonable bulk ensure it can mesh on some balance teams as a check for scarf Excadrill and company while improving balance's overall match-up vs. stall. Naturally, offense appreciates wallbreakers so Lando can fit there, too. It's just a really good Pokemon and I feel that its positive attributes (power/immunity to Ground and Electric moves) would set the foundation for a creative and strong OU team.

 

[Subject 18]

Nominating Agility Mega Ampharos.

Ampharos @ Ampharosite
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Def
Modest Nature
- Agility
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Dragon Pulse

Since we want something that's not cookie cutter, Agility Ampharos seems like a fun choice. Pretty simple moveset, Thunderbolt and Dragon Pulse for STABs and Focus Blast for Steel types and Tyranitar. At +2 you can outspeed everything up to Timid Greninja. With good bulk you can usually find several opportunities to tank a hit and be able to set up. Modest is the prefered nature since you don't get the jump on anything huge with Timid barring Mega Alakazam and Mega Manetric, both of which can't beat you 1v1.

 

[Alter]

nominating my lad Swords Dance Mega Absol (maybe not the usual set)

Mega Absol @ Absolite | Justified -> Magic Bounce
Jolly Nature | 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Swords Dance / Sucker Punch / Play Rough / Ice Beam

While not your average pick for a physical sweeper due to its questionable bulk, Mega Absol is definitely something we should consider as a basis for this generation's first CCAT. With a unique ability to use a powerful Sucker Punch in tandem with Magic Bounce, Mega Absol forces Pokemon that would otherwise rely on status to defeat a boosted sweeper (e.g Thundurus-I, Sableye, etc.) to attack Absol and fall victim to its ridiculously powerful +2 Sucker Punch. I generally think Jolly is the best nature to use on Mega Absol given that it allows Absol it outspeed Adamant CB Talonflame after Mega Evolution, a threat which isn't as easy to lure in/break down compared to Absol's defensive checks. Mega Absol is also a really distinctive Pokemon by virtue of its ability to checkmate hazard leads such as Deoxys-D with its ability, Magic Bounce. An additional boon to using Mega Absol is that it can bypass otherwise great checks such as Gliscor and Landorus-T with Ice Beam thanks to its great special movepool and decent Special Attack. Overall, this Mega Absol set is an interesting and suitable choice for our first Pokemon.

Importable

Absol @ Absolite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Ice Beam

 

[Halcyon.]

Nominating Substitute DD Gyarados

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Bounce


Let's do something fun instead of the standard "build around a Mega" style of teambuilding. There are a lot of reasons why I like the idea of building around regular Gyarados. The first reason is that Gyarados both let's us bluff a Mega and lets us save our Mega for later, meaning we could use something like Tyranitar later on if we so choose. I also like Gyarados because it has a wonderful defensive typing right off the bat, giving us a solid switch-in to both Keldeo and Landorus without even trying. Moxie is a really cool and forgotten ability with Gyarados and Salamence being overshadowed by other Mega Pokemon, but it can still be effective at creating late-game sweeps. Bounce is also a really cool move to have, as Flying is an amazing offensive type.

Threats we would have to watch out for mostly include electric types such as Rotom-W, Zapdos, and Thundurus-T. A spinner or Defogger would also come in handy due to Gyarados' weakness to Rocks.

 

[The Immortal]

Nominating Wallbreaker Charizard.

Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Focus Blast
- Dragon Pulse

The set is the regular old special attacker, with a Timid nature to outspeed key threats. With the help of Drought, Mega Charizard destroys anything in front of it.

 

[vyomov]

I'd like to nominate a sweeper that can easily destroy most of the metagame - but needs a team built around it in order to do so:

Medicham@Medichamite
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 4 Def/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Hi Jump Kick
- Psycho Cut
- Ice Punch

Mega-Medicham has an obscene attack stat post-Pure Power and can easily sweep through most teams given the right support - the set is a standard Sub Set that takes advantage of Medicham's ability to force switches in order to 2HKO the switch in. However, with the prominence of Aegislash and a few mons that outspeed and KO Medicham(or can tank a hit or so, which is rare), it is a necessity to build the team around Mega-Medicham, which is why I feel it is appropriate for the project - viable, but also not overused and with room for creativity.

 

[The Shellder Smuggler]

Nominating Wallbreaker Charizard.

Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Focus Blast
- Dragon Pulse

The set is the regular old special attacker, with a Timid nature to outspeed key threats. With the help of Drought, Mega Charizard destroys anything in front of it.

I guess then it would only be right to nominate...

Dragon Dance Sweeper Charizard X

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze ---> Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw / Outrage
- Roost / Earthquake

S rank is not enough for this dragon. Dragon Dance sets Charizard X up for sweeping, by boosting its Attack and Speed each by a stage. Flare Blitz is a powerful STAB physical move that is boosted by Tough Claws that has the unfortunate drawback of recoil. Dragon Claw is a STAB Tough Claws boosted attack that does decent damage after a Dragon Dance boost. However, Outrage is much more powerful, but with the abundance of Fairies this generation, Outrage may not be the best move to use as Charizard X will be locked in Outrage, allowing an opposing Fairy type to OHKO or setup. Roost is great recovery for Flare Blitz, but Earthquake covers TTar and other threats.

 

[Clair]

If you want the CCAT to stay alive, we need something fresh. Something new, something interesting. With that in mind, I am going to nominate this set:

Only worthwhile nominations so far are Agility Zapdos and Amphy.

Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
212 Atk / 44 Def/ 252 Spe, Adamant
- Stone Edge
- Aerial Ace
- Earthquake / Ice Fang / Fire Fang / Taunt
- Earthquake / Ice Fang / Fire Fang / Taunt

The most underrated Mega in the current meta. I chose the offensive spread (you can run a bulky version with Taunt and Roost to fuck with stall) because it's better at dismantling the more common offensive teams. Stone Edge and Aerial Ace are necessary STAB's which actually cover the majority of the meta's top threats between them. All the listed options are viable in the last two slots and it should come down to the rest of the team; if it can't handle stall, run Taunt; if Aegislash is a problem, run Earthquake, and so on.

I'm too lazy tonight to do a full write up so I'll just list some pros and cons:

Pros

• Insane speed tier allows it to run Adamant and still outpace +1 Dragonite, Mega Gyarados, Mega Tar, Timid Greninja and everything below.
• Good combination of coverage and power, particularly with Tough Claws boosting Aerial Ace and the elemental fangs.
• Useful defensive typing. 44 Def EV's allow you to counter CB Talon and M-Pinsir from full health. You can also check Heatran and Char-Y. Can be used with sandstorm to buffer Aero's SpDef.
• Cannot emphasise enough how completely this thing screws the standard offense builds.

Cons

• Average bulk and SR weakness means it can have trouble switching in directly.
• Weakness to common priority attacks makes it difficult to sweep.

 

[Ladder Heroes]

Nominating Mega-Gardevoir

Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Substitute/Calm Mind

Gardevoir-Mega is such an underated Mega and a strong special sweeper. A base 175.5 Hyper Voice after Pixelate and STAB coming off a huge 165 Special Attack makes sure that not much can switch in to Gardevoir. Coupled with solid speed and great special bulk, Gardevoir can check many of the metagame's special attackers.

However, its miniscule HP and defense cause it to need some team support to function. Also, the base 100 speed tier is pretty average so faster threats need to be taken care of before it can sweep. It is a great "glue" Pokemon for teams due it walling the Latis and having a 4x fighting resistance.

 

[Monte Cristo]

Nominating special Victini

Victini @ Life Orb
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
Blue Flare | Psyshock | Glaciate OR Thunder/bolt OR Energy Ball | Focus Blast

Lets get it.

Special Victini is one of the most underrated sweepers and wallbreakers out there. As not only can it easily clean up weakened teams, it can rampage through many teams with little worry. Blue Flare is the main atomic weapon here. Blue Flare can easily threaten many pokemon in the metagame, as a 130 BP fire move, nearly as strong as fire blast from Mega Zard Y. Along with this fact, one of it's only counters is Chansey, which can easily be dealt with by team support, which this project provides. Psyshock 2HKOs sdef rotom-w, which dodges the 2HKO from LO Thunder, it also beats Goodra, and it beats some important fire resists, like, Zard X and Y.
252 SpA Life Orb Victini Psyshock vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard X: 130-153 (43.6 - 51.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Life Orb Victini Focus Blast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard X: 162-192 (54.3 - 64.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Life Orb Victini Psyshock vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard Y: 175-207 (58.7 - 69.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
Glaciate easily lures in things like Garchomp, Dragonite, and Keldeo, expecting to switch into the physical set, and lowering their speed for another attack (another glaciate or psyshock, it also breaks dnites multiscale). Focus Blast is a lethal weapon for disposing of Victini's biggest general counters: Heatran, and Tyranitar.

Overall, this thing is a threat to be reckoned with, and is an underrated threat at that. It can easily threaten and break many teams, it also pretty much makes common stall cores shit their pants, which is important on both balance and offense.

 

[Frogifier]

Nominating SD M-Heracross. It is just so powerful and bulky, and is very underrated.

Heracross @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast
- Pin Missile
- Swords Dance

The POWER on this thing is just too much. Very few pokemon want to take a STAB Close combat coming off of 185 base attack. 85/115/105 bulk is also more than enough to function in today's meta.

However, not all is perfect for this... stag beetle? Its poor speed means that, once weakened, many pokemon can revenge kill it. Talonflame and Skarmory are HUGE counters to this (although neither want to switch in on a +2 rock blast/close combat) and need to be dealt with by the rest of the team. Clearly, Heracross is an underrated threat and should be considered for the team.

 

[Tesung]

Sub nasty plot thundurus

Thundurus @ leftovers
Ability: prankster
Evs:252 spe, 252 spatk, 4 def
-substitute
-nasty plot
-thunderbolt
-hidden power (ice/flying)

This is one of my favorite mons to use on offense. Nasty plot thundurus is a well known mon. Substitute allows it to beat some of its best checks, and it stops revenge killers. It also eases prediction a lot, for example you can sub on a predicted switch without having to worried about them going into a scarfer. Eg: you have a clean switch in a mega-pinsir, and they have a scarf chomp and a greninja. Substitute takes away that prediction. It also helps to just scout random shit or stall turns of rain/sand/tr I guess. Sub also let's it usually beat aegislash and mess with chansey. With that said, it can struggle with stall, so it needs to be paired with wall breakers etc.

 

[Imitatia]

Nominating:
CM Manaphy

Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Rain Dance
- Rest

CM Manaphy is really underrated due to Tail Glow. In spite of that, this Manaphy takes on most of its usual checks and counters much easier due to Hydration, Rest, and the better bulk. Unlike Tail Glow Manaphy, this set can beat Thundurus, once it has gained some Special Defense boosts. It can also set up on Chansey without risking getting Toxic stalled, unlike Tail Glow variants. All CM Manaphy really needs to be taken care of are Water immunities, phazers, and strong Physical attacker.

Onto the set itself, Scald is the main move due to STAB and the chance to burn. This lets Manaphy wear down the opposing pokemon more and neuters Physical pokemon. Calm Mind is rather obvious, while Rain Dance boosts Scald's power and heals any status. Rest is for reliable recovery under the rain. The given EVs gives it as much Physical bulk as possible, since that's the only side not to be boosted by CM. A small portion, however, is alotted to Speed. 20 Spd allows it to outspeed neutral base 70's such as Bisharp. 32 Speed is an option for unboosted Mega T-Tar tho.

Overall, this set is really good and rather fun to use. People should try it when they can. It's bound to get the job done.

 

[Nova]

Voting for Round 1 will now begin. Please vote for only 1 set and write the set name in BOLD. Sets you can vote for:

DD Landorus-T
SD Mega Pinsir
Offensive Agility Baton Pass Zapdos
Substitute Utility Gengar
Sub 3 Attacks Kyurem-B
LO Landorus-I
Agility Mega Ampharos
SD Mega Absol
Sub DD Gyarados
Wallbreaker Mega Charizard Y
Sub 3 Attacks Mega Medicham
DD Charizard X
Mega Aerodactyl
Mega Gardevoir
Special Victini
SD Mega Heracross
Sub NP Thundurus
CM Manaphy

Pastebin link for all the sets: here
Voting will be open for 48 hours, so it will close around 7 PM GMT -5 5/19

 

[Subject 18]

I won't vote for my own set, so my vote goes to...

CM Manaphy

 

[Trinitrotoluene]

viloplumes with a substitute

agility mega ampharos

 

[Tesung]

Landorus

 

[Ladder Heroes]

Not gonna be that guy to vote for own set so... Agility Mega Ampharos