Introduction
In late February I joined Smogon and first began playing OU on Pokemon Showdown. I had moderate success within my first weak on the ladder building a fairly standard Mega-Venusaur balanced team. Within a week i peaked in the mid 1500's and reached the top 500 on the OU ladder. Before long however i began to struggle and my GXE fell from 75 to a very mediocre 65. I quickly became disheartened and tried other archetypes including hyper offense and semi-stall, but without success. So when the OU no-mega ladder was started on PS I was ready for something new, and I welcomed a meta without Mega-Metagross who seemed to destroy every team I built. After weeks of experimentation, and ups and downs I reached #1 on the ladder. Admittedly the OU-No mega ladder is not nearly as competitive as the regular OU ladder and reaching #1 is not nearly as impressive, but I would like that to change. The OU no-mega ladder is in my view a lot less match up based than the regular ladder and is a lot of fun. The lack of all these super powerful and fast mega wall-breakers and Mega-Sableye is quite refreshing and the experience is almost entirely different from the regular ladder.Team Preview
Team-Building Process
I started with Tornadus-T Starmie, and Ferrothorn because I wanted a defensive core that could control the hazard game that synergized well together. Ferrothorn helps mitigate Starmie's and Tornadus' electric weakness and sets spikes, something I felt would be really strong without Mega-Sableye. Starmie's main purpose is to spin and revenge kill fast threats while Tornadus beats many threats to balanced cores such as Tornadus and Gengar. Can't remember if i saw this core somewhere and copied it or came up with it by myself but it's pretty standard and other people have used it.
Team-Building Process
Tornadus-Therian (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 132 HP / 160 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Tornadus is an awesome Pokemon and something that I wanted to have on this team because balanced and bulky offense are in general so weak to Landorus-I and Gengar and lack speed, something this Pokemon is great at providing. It also beats Keldeo though it has never been a problem for this team. Like most of my sets this one is pretty standard. I went with focus blast over Superpower so I didn't have to run a negative defense nature and to hit harder but honestly I'd be willing to change it because 70% accuracy is suspect and Hurricane is already inaccurate, though missing focus blast hasn't messed me up too much. Knock off gives you a great matchup against Latios and Latias as well as Gengar and psychic types in general. In a meta where there are no mega evolutions knock off is really safe. It's 100% accuracy means that I rely on it a lot, probably more than I should. 216 speed with a timid nature allows you to out-speed scarf Tyranitar and hit it with focus blast. With Assault vest and 132 HP EV's this thing loses a little bit more than half it's health to a life Orb Latios Draco meteor which isn't bad for a non-resist, and after a knock off of it's like orb and a Latios Special Attack drop you can live another draco meteor or Psyshock. U-turn is so amazing for pivoting and gaining back health especially when stealth rock isn't up. Even if Stealth rock is up Tornadus can still pivot because Regenerator is so good and Tornadus is immune to spikes.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Psyshock
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
I originally had defensive Starmie with Scald, Psyshock, and Recover but felt my team needed a way to get past Gliscor and have more offensive pressure in general. Life orb gives Starmie an offensive boost to hit harder. Ice beam is to hit Dragonite, Gliscor, Garchomp, anything weak to ice really and is more reliable than Hydro Pump because it is more accurate, although considerably weaker because it is not stab. Hydro Pump is Starmie's main attack and hits hard, especially if it can get an analytic boost. Psyshock is for hitting fighting types and is especially helpful against Keldeo and Assault Vest Conkeldurr. It's ability to hit from the physical side is also extremely beneficial and it can dent Special Walls or Specially Bulky Pokemon such as Sylveon.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
Ferrothorn's role is to beat water and electric types. If a team has Azumarill, Feralligator, Thundurus, Raikou, etc. Ferrothron is something that should be preserved. Against other teams you can play more aggressively with Ferrothorn laying down hazards which is really the main purpose of this set. Duel stabs give Ferrothorn the ability to hit water and fairy types especially hard. Leech Seed to recover damage if setting spikes isn't something you need to do immediately. The lack of protect on this set makes Leech Seed less useful however, but it does help a partner switch in to an incoming attack and works well with spike support to wear down the opponent and recover health along with leftovers. The spread is rather standard with EV's going to both Defense and Special to check both physical and special attackers. The relaxed nature and 0 Speed IV's allows Gyro Ball to hit very hard.
Bisharp @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
Bisharp not only revenge kills threats but can set up on walls or when you expect the opponent to switch out. Some prediction is often needed, but Bisharp after a swords dance is simply incredible. I originally ran pursuit on Bisharp but quickly realized there was no point. This team doesn't need to trap psychics or ghosts for something like keldeo to sweep. I needed Bisharp to be self sufficient and win games by itself, and having Latios or Latias switch out is not the end of the world. Defiant is so good. If the opponent has Talonflame I play very aggressively with Bisharp and will sometimes make risky switches into Latios/Latias with Bisharp to make sure that they don't defog. I decided to run an adamant nature with Bisharp to hit as hard as possible. Black glasses allows sucker punch and knock off to hit threats hard but not get damaged by recoil. Sometimes to set up a swords dance bisharp has to take damage, and I have found that Life Orb is just not helpful for Bisharp on this team. Sucker Punch is to revenge kill boosted Pokemon, though it could put you in a bad spot if your opponent switches out. The EV's allow Bisharp to be fast while hitting hard. I really want to keep the adament nature because Bisharp's main purpose on this team is not to set up but to revenge kill and Jolly Bisharp is just not strong enough without a Life Orb.
Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Fire Blast
Tank Garchomp is literally amazing. There is a reason why Garchomp is #1 in usage among the top ranked players on the regular OU ladder. it sets rocks against so many threats and a large number of players in this meta seem to lead with Talonflame for some reason and I can get momentum if I lead with Garchomp. Dragon tail is to get hazard damage and stop sweepers from setting up. Earthquake is standard stab. Fire Blast is rediculously good because there are so many players that for some reason think they can Swords dance on Garchomp with Scizor. Fire Blast also is amazing against Ferrothorn and physically defensive Skarmory.
Victini @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- V-create
- U-turn
- Zen Headbutt
- Bolt Strike
Victini is a really cool mon. Is role is to break defensive cores including Skarmory, Clefable, Mew, etc (though a lot of Mew do carry knock off). V-Create is the main attack and hits like a truck and is what will be clicked most of the time. The other move that will be used often is U-Turn, especially if there are no stealth rocks on my side of the field. U-Turn allows Victini to pivot and not get locked into a bad move. Zen Headbutt is for pokemon like Terrakion where no other attack really does very much damage. It's also great stab. Be careful when using it if the opponent has a dark type pokemon however as Victini can get Pursuit-trapped by Tyranitar or Bisharp easily if you're not careful. If the opponent has Tyranitar you mostly have to click U-Turn becasue i don't have Brick Break to lure it in and KO it. Bolt Strike is to hit bulky Waters like Slowbro if for some reason I need to stay in against them. Choice Scarf is to outspeed key threats and Adamant nature is for max attack. I have thought about running either Gengar or Azumarill in this spot and I have tried Gengar and it was good but I felt like my team became too weak to other threats. Azumarill however would not be a bad option except for the fact that it leaves me more weak to Skarmory and electric types.
Proof of peak- Sorry it's so big I don't know how to hide it I googled it and I'm sorry to say but I was confused as to how to work the magic.
Threat list-
Weavile-The sole reason I'm running Choice Scarf on Victini rather than Band is because of how weak I am to this thing. The Low Kick set in particular gives me nightmares as it destroys Bisharp and does over half to Ferrothorn. Victini is literally the only thing on my team that can efficiently revenge kill it because Bisharp's Sucker Punch does around 40% damage. Luckily Weavile is frail and very easy to wear down. Pursuit Weavile can also be annoying if it gets in on Starmie.
Mandibuzz-After dropping Clefable I became much weaker to Mandibuzz. Victini is OHKO'd by foul play after a defense drop from V-Create though Bolt Strike does about the same amount of damage and Bisharp has to Swords Dance to beat buzz and even then it takes about 60% from foul play. Foul play does over half to Starmie and Ice Beam only takes about half from Mandibuzz. Overall Mandibuzz and Weaville are two dark type threats that have made me consider whether Azumarill would be better on my team, though adding Azumarill would give me other issues.
Tyranitar-Tyranitar is yet another dark type that can cause problems for my team. Victini can't hit Tyranitar very hard and Starmie can get pursuit trapped. Garchomp is a very good check to the scarf set usually but some defensive variants carry ice beam. Tornadus hits it very hard with focus blast but stone edge destroys it. Really though its the scarf set that can cause problems because it can pursuit trap starmie and Victini. Still a lesser threat though compared to Mandibuzz and Weavile.
Offensive Garchomp-The rise of Defensive Garchomp means that Offensive sets have been somewhat neglected in OU, though in the no-mega metagame Offensive Garchomp has hit a resurgence. Having only one mon immune to Earthquake means I have to be careful as to how I play against garchomp, especially because Tornadus is so much better on the Special side. Ferrothorn can handle it decently well if it doesn't have fire blast, though after a swords dance that is no longer true. Garchomp struggles switching in against a lot of my team. I obviously can't use my own Garchomp to check the opposing Garchomp because the opponent simply clicks outrage and my Garchomp loses 70% of its health or more.
Excadrill- Another physically offensive Ground type who is a pain to handle for this team. Garchomp is my only check and Bisharp is needed to revenge kill it. Not as problematic as some other threats but felt like he was very important to mention because Ferrothorn is not a good check and sand rush Excadrill can sweep very easily. The Choice-Scarf set is much easier for this team to take advantage of and is not as much of an issue. Also is very annoying because Excadrill and Tyranitar are usually paired together on sand, though have not seen the play style very much.
Thundurus- i don't like seeing Thundurus in team preview at all. Thunder Wave messes up many of my Pokemon. Focus Blast Variants can mess up Ferrothorn and Tornadus my main Specially Defensive Pokemon can't check this thing. Starmie and Victini hit this thing pretty hard and Bisharp can revenge kill it but I'm always so relieved when it's gone.
Rotom-Wash-This pivot from hell rears it's ugly head from time to time and I hate it. Ferrothorn walls it of course but walling Rotom isn't the issue. The issue is the fact that after Rotom-W Volt Switches on Ferro something that threatens Ferro can come in and it makes it hard to gain momentum. Ferrothorn also doesn't like Will-o-Wisp. Garchomp blocks Volt Switch but I don't really want Garchomp taking Hydro Pumps or worse Will-o-wisp. Switching to Victini is not bad sometimes because it is immune to Will-o-Wisp and can provide momentum if the opponent doesn't have a solid counter to it because the opponent would like to keep Rotom-W in against Victini not Volt Switch it out. However Victini gets blasted by Hydro pump. Tornadus doesn't constantly want to take Volt Switches and can't really hit Rotom-W hard at all. Starmie also doesn't hit it that hard unfortunately and hates Volt Switch.
Conkeldurr-This fighting type that has seen a resurgence in this metagame is very hard for my team to handle. Ice punch does over half to garchomp and Ferrothorn hates fighting STAB. Starmie and Victini can't stomach knock-off and Bisharp gets destroyed by it. Tornadus also doesn't want to take a knock-off or ice punch. Conkeldurr is very easy to revenge kill for my team however, just very hard to switch into. Starmie, Victini, and Tornadus all hit it fairly hard with their STAB moves and mach punch does minimal damage.
So mainly my team has trouble with some ice and electric types as well as some physical ground types. Kyurem-B and Mamoswine are lesser threats to this team in my experience but can be problems. I am really thinking that Belly-drum Azumarill could be an option over Victini although I'm still worried about electric types.
Replays:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ounomega-222451661
A match that shows how most of the pieces in this team gell together.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ounomega-222666870
Shows the team's problems with Mandibuzz and to Azumarill to a lesser extent but also how Victini can be an absolute wrecking ball.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ounomega-222659370
Shows the problem Conkeldurr can be.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ounomega-222471047
A match where I play rather badly against fighting spam and Entei. Shows how Garchomp can get overwhelmed.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ounomega-222456497
Close match against stall where I missplay with Victini. Shows how the team fairs against the play style.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ounomega-222260418
Someone else running the old version of my team. I sweep with Gliscor showing the reason why I needed to change to offensive Starmie.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ounomega-221341182
Old version of my team that shows very well how the members gell together.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ounomega-224101536
Against Weavile, Rotom-W and Garchomp
Thanks everyone for reading. This team and the previous version have both been very successful but they definitely both have weaknesses to various stall builds. I would like to know especially whether people think I should change Victini out for Azumarill or a different mon and whether I should change Focus Blast on Tornadus to Superpower. Any other suggestions are appreciated. Most of my sets are standard but if there's something more unusual or team specific that could help I'd be glad to here it. As mentioned earlier this tier is amazing and I think more people should play it. I hope this RMT helps bring awareness to the tier. If anyone wants to use my team and see it work feel free! I'd love to hear some opinions and feedback.
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