Hi all, and welcome to my second RMT for ORAS OU, Pest Control. This is a team I have been tweaking and using pretty consistently over the last month or so, and it has performed very well on the ladder (tied for #10) and in WCoP testing. For most of my time on Smogon I built exclusively stall, and this team was part of my first forays into building offense. As my first really successful offensive team, it's a favorite of mine, so I hope you all like it!
The team is loosely based on spreading paralysis to allow Mega-Heracross to break holes in the opposing team, although it has several viable win conditions and a bunch of slightly different builds you can use. I will be presenting what I found to be the most consistent version of the team, and the version that I used during the above ladder run.
The team name comes from the core of the team - Mega-Heracross and Serperior - since bugs and snakes are typically cues to call an exterminator. But opponents tend to find that these two hit a bit harder than the average household pest!
I started off wanting to build around Mega-Heracross, since Heracross is my favorite Pokemon and I hadn't built a team around his new mega evolution. Heracross has gotten significantly better in the current metagame with the increase in fat balance squads, which he naturally preys upon. However, he still has his typical weaknesses, namely being quite slow, lacking recovery, and being weak to a couple of very common types, so team support is definitely necessary.
The partner that finally came to me as being perfect for Mega-Heracross was Serperior. At first blush this seems an unlikely pairing, since they share several key weaknesses. But Serperior's access to Glare and Heracross's wallbreaking prowess allow these two threats to complement each other perfectly. Common switch-ins for Serperior include Tornadus-T, Talonflame, Charizard-Y, Charizard-X and Altaria. These Pokemon are also major threats to Mega-Heracross, due to a combination of their defensive typings and their ability to outspeed and OHKO the bug. With some good prediction, Serperior can lure in and paralyze these threats, allowing opportunities for Heracross to clean up later in the game. On the flipside, Heracross's ability to overpower bulky Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Mega-Scizor, Celebi and Jirachi gives Serperior time to overcome its average initial damage output and clean up weakened teams.
At this point the general team concept was taking shape - use lures to paralyze Heracross and Serperior's checks and counters to allow either threat to clean in the lategame. With that in mind, some additional team support is needed. I felt I needed a Prankster paralysis user to guarantee the ability to paralyze faster threats, and I also needed several Talonflame checks, since with Gale Wings it can bypass paralysis to KO both Serperior and Heracross. Thundurus comes in to provide Talonflame check #1 as well as Prankster paralysis support, while Heatran serves as a Talonflame counter and our Stealth Rock setter. Both Pokemon are quite versatile and can serve different roles based on their movesets, but they serve as a backbone of support to the primary core and can each take over a game when necessary.
The next slot fills a couple important needs. I wanted a Ground type, since electrics (particularly Mega-Manectric) were otherwise quite capable of Thunderbolting and Volt Switching with impunity. I also wanted a Choice Scarfer, just to provide an emergency safety net against boosters and other fast threats. Landorus-T is the typical choice in that situation, but I found Excadrill to fit better for a couple of reasons. Access to Mold Breaker gave the ability to clean with Earthquake much more reliably, especially given that my team is already set up to remove Flying-type Pokemon. Additionally, although Stealth Rock is not crippling for my team, it is annoying and Spike-stacking is more and more common - SR and a layer of Spikes is quite difficult to deal with. Excadrill lets me Rapid Spin away hazards, giving my wallbreakers additional opportunities to do their jobs.
For my final Pokemon, I wanted a third paralysis user and a Fighting resist, since Mega-Lopunny in particular was a major threat to my team. I chose Slowbro since it pivots very well with Regenerator, can spread Scald burns when paralysis is unnecessary, and is bulky enough to take a hit and paralyze a good majority of the important offensive Pokemon.
Heracross @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie / Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast
- Swords Dance / Bullet Seed
Mega-Heracross is the star of the team, and it's quite a threat. If it gets an opportunity to fire off one of its powerful STABs - or even better, set up a Swords Dance - something is going to hurt, badly. The issue, of course, is in making those opportunities - but that's what the rest of the team is for!
Hera doesn't typically come out right away, because it needs its checks paralyzed or weakened, so save it for later in the game. Keep in mind that you don't need to mega-evolve it immediately - in fact it's often not correct to. I use Moxie as the ability on the base form, which can allow you to pick up a boost with Close Combat (which is still very powerful), or even Pin Missile if the foe is weakened. Getting an extra boost can be critical to power past switch-ins like Landorus-T and Gliscor, and it puts a lot of pressure on opponents if they can't sac stuff, since that gives opportunities for Serperior to get free boosts later. It's also important to remember that mega-evolving Heracross drops you from 85 speed to 75, which is critical. Staying in base form and mega-evolving only at the perfect moment can give you the jump on threats like Dragonite, Gyarados, Adamant Excadrill, Mild Kyurem-B, Togekiss and Mega-Altaria. Heracross also ties together some loose ends defensively. Its bulk is surprisingly decent, and its typing allows me to check Bisharp, Excadrill, Tyranitar and Landorus-T.
Bullet Seed is an option over Swords Dance, but Quagsire is quite uncommon and at +2 you can power past Hippowdon pretty easily anyway. Having SD puts so much pressure on fat balance that dropping it would be very difficult.
Serperior @ Meadow Plate / Leftovers / Coba Berry
Ability: Contrary
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire] / [Ground] / [Rock]
- Glare
Serperior may not have the top billing, but it's just as important as Heracross is to making this team tick. Contrary Leaf Storm puts immense pressure on opponents and the ability to spread paralysis with 100% accuracy is icing on the cake. Serp is able to play a dual role of threatening to clean or supporting Heracross with paralysis depending on the opponent's team, and there are plenty of teams that just get 6-0ed by Serperior from team preview.
Serp is able to come out at any point in the match and start threatening stuff, although it appreciates Stealth Rock being up. What Serp check your opponent has and what Hidden Power you're running largely dictates how Serperior plays. If they have SpD Heatran and you're running HP Fire, then Serperior is gonna play the role of luring in Heatran so you can double to Heracross for a free attack, or cleaning after Heatran is weakened. If they have Tornadus-T, Serps job is to para it and possibly clean later in the game. The flexibility that Serperior provides is quite impressive given its very limited movepool.
Serperior's set has a bunch of different options. The most straightforward is the choice between HP Fire or HP Ground, which depends on whether you feel like beating Ferrothorn/Scizor or Heatran. I personally believe that this team has more trouble with Scizor and as such run HP Fire, but it's not clear-cut. Coba HP Rock is also a reasonable option to more directly deal with the Flying types that trouble Heracross, but this set takes the route of paralyzing them and then letting Hera deal with them. If you'd rather just dispatch Talonflame in particular, Coba HP Rock is reasonable, but would lead to a pretty significant team shakeup. Glare is what the team is based on so it's staying, but in the items the choice between Meadow Plate and Leftovers (if you run Miracle Seed you're bad) is a personal preference. Lefties gives more staying power and helps keep your health up so you can sweep through something like Raikou, but Meadow Plate gives you the oomph to get past stuff like AV Torn and Mega Altaria.
Thundurus @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice] / [Flying]
- Sludge Wave / Grass Knot / Nasty Plot
Thundurus is the primary support for our main core and serves as a major threat in its own right. It's most important as a Flying resist and to use Prankster Thunder Wave, so I have leeway against offensive threats like DD Char-X or Altaria. However, Thundurus also helps to punch holes in stuff like Rotom-W, SpD Jirachi or Clefable, and serves as my check to Manaphy.
Thundy typically plays as an emergency check and as such is held in reserve. However, some teams are quite vulnerable to it, so it can pop out earlier in the game to do some damage. There is a lot of variability available after Thunder Wave and Thunderbolt, which are mandatory. I like Hidden Power Ice over HP Flying to hit Dragons that Serperior dislikes along with Landorus-T, particularly since I don't have too much trouble with Mega-Venusaur. In the last slot I like to use Sludge Wave to "lure" Clefable, since Unaware variants in particular are a big struggle for this team. Grass Knot is a very legit option to improve the matchup against rain offense (Swampert otherwise is a massive pain) and remove Hippowdon. An interesting choice is Nasty Plot to serve as an additional win condition, which should be run with Leftovers. Moving to an NP set requires some shifts in the rest of the team to support it a bit, but it's a cool set and definitely viable.
Heatran @ Leftovers / Chople Berry / Power Herb / Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast / Lava Plume
- Hidden Power Ice / Solar Beam / Toxic / Taunt / Flash Cannon / Earth Power
- Stone Edge
Heatran's primary roles are to set up Stealth Rock and hard counter Talonflame, everything else is just a bonus. Fortunately, I do get some more use out of this thing. It has some defensive utility as my compulsory Steel type, which gives me a check to Lati@s, opposing Serperior, Jirachi and more.
Heatran also has a bunch of options available to give you edges over different Pokemon and teams. Stealth Rock, a Fire STAB and Stone Edge (for SpD Talonflame) are mandatory, but the last move can be just about anything. I like HP Ice to catch cheeky Landorus-Ts and defensive Garchomps, weakening them for Heracross. Solar Beam is slightly redundant with Serperior, but luring those bulky waters that tend to just switch away from Serp can help for Heracross and Slowbro. Toxic chips annoying stallmons and Taunt stops them from recovering. Flash Cannon helps against Clefable, but since the biggest threat is the CM set, it isn't too great. Earth Power nukes opposing Heatran and deters Charizard-X from setting up. For the item, Leftovers is best to be a reliable Lati@s check, which otherwise is a big issue. But Power Herb allows Solarbeam and Air Balloon helps against stuff like Excadrill and Landorus-T, which is nice. Special mention for Chople Berry which is very viable to shore up weaknesses to Mega Charizard Y and Mega Alakazam, allowing Heatran to take a hit and do a bunch of damage back.
Excadrill @ Choice Scarf / Air Balloon
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
Excadrill fills the last few critical niches for my team. A second steel type is very useful, but the Electric immunity is what is very important to stop VoltTurn teams from keeping momentum the entire game. You can't switch Excadrill into threats like Manectric or Raikou with complete impunity, but he does slow down their gameplan and help gain back momentum. Meanwhile, the ability to spam Mold Breaker EQ makes Excadrill a legitimate threat to sweep teams in the lategame. This is particularly true because with Glare Serperior/Thundurus/Heatran, the team is already setup to lure and kill the Flying type that would otherwise trouble Excadrill - Landorus-T is the only major issue. Of course, it's also important that Excadrill can Rapid Spin away hazards after the setter has gone down, which allows my threats more longevity.
Excadrill's moveset is pretty set in stone, but there's choice available in the item. If you're confident in the team's ability to restrain DDers with paralysis, Air Balloon can be a potent choice for Excadrill, allowing him the ability to switch moves and thereby pose a greater threat late in the game, as well as checking opposing Excadrill, which is pretty important. You could try SD over Rapid Spin or an attack, but I don't think that's worth it giving our other wallbreakers and the lack of Sand Stream support. Another option if you go with the Balloon is to stick SR on Excadrill and play around with the Heatran slot, which I haven't experimented too much with.
Slowbro @ Rocky Helmet / Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave / Calm Mind
- Scald
- Psyshock / Ice Beam
- Slack Off
In the last slot the biggest need was a Keldeo counter. I also needed a Lopunny check and extra paralysis support, so Slowbro was the Pokemon of choice. Having Slowbro also gives me a solid check to Metagross and Charizard-X. Slowbro is basically just a glue Pokemon for the team, pivoting as it usually does with Regenerator and spreading status where possible.
Thunder Wave was chosen to assist the paralysis theme, but Calm Mind or a third attack is a legitimate option to turn Slowbro into more of an offensive threat. Scald is standard and I find Psyshock a necessary evil given the threat of SubCM Keldeo putting a lot of pressure on this team. However, if you're comfortable with your ability to predict that and use Serperior/Thundurus to check it, another attack like Fire Blast or Ice Beam might support the rest of the team better. I spent a long time using standard Leftovers Slowbro and getting worn down by U-Turners and other physical attackers like Lopunny before realizing how useful Rocky Helmet could be. The Helmet means Lopunny can't toss around Fake Outs like candy and limits the health of stuff like Scarf Landorus-T, which is very helpful - try to keep it from being Knocked Off if those threats are in play. The EVs are to avoid being 2HKOed by Mega-Lopunny's Return after Stealth Rock damage from full, and then go into SpD to cushion against Mega-Alakazam in particular, since Slowbro is my emergency method of paralyzing it.
- Mega Alakazam is a huge threat to the team, outspeeding everything but Excadrill and doing huge damage to the whole squad. Paralyzing this is critical to having any chance against it, as otherwise you're relying basically on a Focus Blast miss against Heatran. Slowbro can pivot into Psychic/Focus Blast and tank a Shadow Ball to paralyze it, or Thundurus can force it out with the threat of Prankster TWave. Substitute Zam, though, is close to a 6-0.
- Mega Charizard Y actually looks like a bit more of a threat than it actually is, but it is annoying. It OHKOs every member of the team but Slowbro, but it tends to switch into Serperior aggressively and get paralyzed for its efforts. Once it's paraed, the whole team deals with it pretty easily. This and Mega-Zam are the best reasons to run Chople Heatran.
- Heracross is my only real check to SD Bisharp, although it doesn't set up easily against any member of the team bar Slowbro.
- Surprisingly annoying for this team with its ability to tank Thundurus hits, outspeed Serperior, and hit reasonably hard. If you have Scarf Exca it becomes less threatening, but it can chip down Excadrill over time and pose a big threat.
- An issue that needs to be accounted for on a set somewhere, either with Sludge Wave Thundurus or Taunt Heatran or something, since it can spread Paralysis against Serperior and the Unaware sets wall Serp and Heracross.
- Doesn't typically end up a huge problem since I have stuff to outspeed and cripple it, but can fire off Hyper Voices pretty freely if it gets in.
- A problem. Heracross tanks Knock Off + Icicle Crash from reasonably high health but a flinch is obviously doom. Heatran can also take Icicle Crashes to wear it down from LO, but gotta try to force it out somehow and wear it down between SR and LO damage.
That's the team! I have really enjoyed tweaking it and laddering with it over the past couple weeks. I'm not the best ladderer, but I suspect that somebody smarter could have done even better with the team than I. It's not perfect, of course, so if you have suggestions for how to improve it I'd love to hear them, or if you just have questions feel free. Thanks a bunch!
I want to specifically shoutout Trinitrotoluene for tutoring me and making me much more confident in how to build offense, and TDK for assisting with an early version of the team and always being willing to help me out in general whenever I bug him with questions.
The team is loosely based on spreading paralysis to allow Mega-Heracross to break holes in the opposing team, although it has several viable win conditions and a bunch of slightly different builds you can use. I will be presenting what I found to be the most consistent version of the team, and the version that I used during the above ladder run.
The team name comes from the core of the team - Mega-Heracross and Serperior - since bugs and snakes are typically cues to call an exterminator. But opponents tend to find that these two hit a bit harder than the average household pest!
Teambuilding Process
I started off wanting to build around Mega-Heracross, since Heracross is my favorite Pokemon and I hadn't built a team around his new mega evolution. Heracross has gotten significantly better in the current metagame with the increase in fat balance squads, which he naturally preys upon. However, he still has his typical weaknesses, namely being quite slow, lacking recovery, and being weak to a couple of very common types, so team support is definitely necessary.
The partner that finally came to me as being perfect for Mega-Heracross was Serperior. At first blush this seems an unlikely pairing, since they share several key weaknesses. But Serperior's access to Glare and Heracross's wallbreaking prowess allow these two threats to complement each other perfectly. Common switch-ins for Serperior include Tornadus-T, Talonflame, Charizard-Y, Charizard-X and Altaria. These Pokemon are also major threats to Mega-Heracross, due to a combination of their defensive typings and their ability to outspeed and OHKO the bug. With some good prediction, Serperior can lure in and paralyze these threats, allowing opportunities for Heracross to clean up later in the game. On the flipside, Heracross's ability to overpower bulky Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Mega-Scizor, Celebi and Jirachi gives Serperior time to overcome its average initial damage output and clean up weakened teams.
At this point the general team concept was taking shape - use lures to paralyze Heracross and Serperior's checks and counters to allow either threat to clean in the lategame. With that in mind, some additional team support is needed. I felt I needed a Prankster paralysis user to guarantee the ability to paralyze faster threats, and I also needed several Talonflame checks, since with Gale Wings it can bypass paralysis to KO both Serperior and Heracross. Thundurus comes in to provide Talonflame check #1 as well as Prankster paralysis support, while Heatran serves as a Talonflame counter and our Stealth Rock setter. Both Pokemon are quite versatile and can serve different roles based on their movesets, but they serve as a backbone of support to the primary core and can each take over a game when necessary.
The next slot fills a couple important needs. I wanted a Ground type, since electrics (particularly Mega-Manectric) were otherwise quite capable of Thunderbolting and Volt Switching with impunity. I also wanted a Choice Scarfer, just to provide an emergency safety net against boosters and other fast threats. Landorus-T is the typical choice in that situation, but I found Excadrill to fit better for a couple of reasons. Access to Mold Breaker gave the ability to clean with Earthquake much more reliably, especially given that my team is already set up to remove Flying-type Pokemon. Additionally, although Stealth Rock is not crippling for my team, it is annoying and Spike-stacking is more and more common - SR and a layer of Spikes is quite difficult to deal with. Excadrill lets me Rapid Spin away hazards, giving my wallbreakers additional opportunities to do their jobs.
For my final Pokemon, I wanted a third paralysis user and a Fighting resist, since Mega-Lopunny in particular was a major threat to my team. I chose Slowbro since it pivots very well with Regenerator, can spread Scald burns when paralysis is unnecessary, and is bulky enough to take a hit and paralyze a good majority of the important offensive Pokemon.
Under the Microscope
Heracross @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie / Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast
- Swords Dance / Bullet Seed
Mega-Heracross is the star of the team, and it's quite a threat. If it gets an opportunity to fire off one of its powerful STABs - or even better, set up a Swords Dance - something is going to hurt, badly. The issue, of course, is in making those opportunities - but that's what the rest of the team is for!
Hera doesn't typically come out right away, because it needs its checks paralyzed or weakened, so save it for later in the game. Keep in mind that you don't need to mega-evolve it immediately - in fact it's often not correct to. I use Moxie as the ability on the base form, which can allow you to pick up a boost with Close Combat (which is still very powerful), or even Pin Missile if the foe is weakened. Getting an extra boost can be critical to power past switch-ins like Landorus-T and Gliscor, and it puts a lot of pressure on opponents if they can't sac stuff, since that gives opportunities for Serperior to get free boosts later. It's also important to remember that mega-evolving Heracross drops you from 85 speed to 75, which is critical. Staying in base form and mega-evolving only at the perfect moment can give you the jump on threats like Dragonite, Gyarados, Adamant Excadrill, Mild Kyurem-B, Togekiss and Mega-Altaria. Heracross also ties together some loose ends defensively. Its bulk is surprisingly decent, and its typing allows me to check Bisharp, Excadrill, Tyranitar and Landorus-T.
Bullet Seed is an option over Swords Dance, but Quagsire is quite uncommon and at +2 you can power past Hippowdon pretty easily anyway. Having SD puts so much pressure on fat balance that dropping it would be very difficult.
Serperior @ Meadow Plate / Leftovers / Coba Berry
Ability: Contrary
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire] / [Ground] / [Rock]
- Glare
Serperior may not have the top billing, but it's just as important as Heracross is to making this team tick. Contrary Leaf Storm puts immense pressure on opponents and the ability to spread paralysis with 100% accuracy is icing on the cake. Serp is able to play a dual role of threatening to clean or supporting Heracross with paralysis depending on the opponent's team, and there are plenty of teams that just get 6-0ed by Serperior from team preview.
Serp is able to come out at any point in the match and start threatening stuff, although it appreciates Stealth Rock being up. What Serp check your opponent has and what Hidden Power you're running largely dictates how Serperior plays. If they have SpD Heatran and you're running HP Fire, then Serperior is gonna play the role of luring in Heatran so you can double to Heracross for a free attack, or cleaning after Heatran is weakened. If they have Tornadus-T, Serps job is to para it and possibly clean later in the game. The flexibility that Serperior provides is quite impressive given its very limited movepool.
Serperior's set has a bunch of different options. The most straightforward is the choice between HP Fire or HP Ground, which depends on whether you feel like beating Ferrothorn/Scizor or Heatran. I personally believe that this team has more trouble with Scizor and as such run HP Fire, but it's not clear-cut. Coba HP Rock is also a reasonable option to more directly deal with the Flying types that trouble Heracross, but this set takes the route of paralyzing them and then letting Hera deal with them. If you'd rather just dispatch Talonflame in particular, Coba HP Rock is reasonable, but would lead to a pretty significant team shakeup. Glare is what the team is based on so it's staying, but in the items the choice between Meadow Plate and Leftovers (if you run Miracle Seed you're bad) is a personal preference. Lefties gives more staying power and helps keep your health up so you can sweep through something like Raikou, but Meadow Plate gives you the oomph to get past stuff like AV Torn and Mega Altaria.
Thundurus @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice] / [Flying]
- Sludge Wave / Grass Knot / Nasty Plot
Thundurus is the primary support for our main core and serves as a major threat in its own right. It's most important as a Flying resist and to use Prankster Thunder Wave, so I have leeway against offensive threats like DD Char-X or Altaria. However, Thundurus also helps to punch holes in stuff like Rotom-W, SpD Jirachi or Clefable, and serves as my check to Manaphy.
Thundy typically plays as an emergency check and as such is held in reserve. However, some teams are quite vulnerable to it, so it can pop out earlier in the game to do some damage. There is a lot of variability available after Thunder Wave and Thunderbolt, which are mandatory. I like Hidden Power Ice over HP Flying to hit Dragons that Serperior dislikes along with Landorus-T, particularly since I don't have too much trouble with Mega-Venusaur. In the last slot I like to use Sludge Wave to "lure" Clefable, since Unaware variants in particular are a big struggle for this team. Grass Knot is a very legit option to improve the matchup against rain offense (Swampert otherwise is a massive pain) and remove Hippowdon. An interesting choice is Nasty Plot to serve as an additional win condition, which should be run with Leftovers. Moving to an NP set requires some shifts in the rest of the team to support it a bit, but it's a cool set and definitely viable.
Heatran @ Leftovers / Chople Berry / Power Herb / Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast / Lava Plume
- Hidden Power Ice / Solar Beam / Toxic / Taunt / Flash Cannon / Earth Power
- Stone Edge
Heatran's primary roles are to set up Stealth Rock and hard counter Talonflame, everything else is just a bonus. Fortunately, I do get some more use out of this thing. It has some defensive utility as my compulsory Steel type, which gives me a check to Lati@s, opposing Serperior, Jirachi and more.
Heatran also has a bunch of options available to give you edges over different Pokemon and teams. Stealth Rock, a Fire STAB and Stone Edge (for SpD Talonflame) are mandatory, but the last move can be just about anything. I like HP Ice to catch cheeky Landorus-Ts and defensive Garchomps, weakening them for Heracross. Solar Beam is slightly redundant with Serperior, but luring those bulky waters that tend to just switch away from Serp can help for Heracross and Slowbro. Toxic chips annoying stallmons and Taunt stops them from recovering. Flash Cannon helps against Clefable, but since the biggest threat is the CM set, it isn't too great. Earth Power nukes opposing Heatran and deters Charizard-X from setting up. For the item, Leftovers is best to be a reliable Lati@s check, which otherwise is a big issue. But Power Herb allows Solarbeam and Air Balloon helps against stuff like Excadrill and Landorus-T, which is nice. Special mention for Chople Berry which is very viable to shore up weaknesses to Mega Charizard Y and Mega Alakazam, allowing Heatran to take a hit and do a bunch of damage back.
Excadrill @ Choice Scarf / Air Balloon
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
Excadrill fills the last few critical niches for my team. A second steel type is very useful, but the Electric immunity is what is very important to stop VoltTurn teams from keeping momentum the entire game. You can't switch Excadrill into threats like Manectric or Raikou with complete impunity, but he does slow down their gameplan and help gain back momentum. Meanwhile, the ability to spam Mold Breaker EQ makes Excadrill a legitimate threat to sweep teams in the lategame. This is particularly true because with Glare Serperior/Thundurus/Heatran, the team is already setup to lure and kill the Flying type that would otherwise trouble Excadrill - Landorus-T is the only major issue. Of course, it's also important that Excadrill can Rapid Spin away hazards after the setter has gone down, which allows my threats more longevity.
Excadrill's moveset is pretty set in stone, but there's choice available in the item. If you're confident in the team's ability to restrain DDers with paralysis, Air Balloon can be a potent choice for Excadrill, allowing him the ability to switch moves and thereby pose a greater threat late in the game, as well as checking opposing Excadrill, which is pretty important. You could try SD over Rapid Spin or an attack, but I don't think that's worth it giving our other wallbreakers and the lack of Sand Stream support. Another option if you go with the Balloon is to stick SR on Excadrill and play around with the Heatran slot, which I haven't experimented too much with.
Slowbro @ Rocky Helmet / Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave / Calm Mind
- Scald
- Psyshock / Ice Beam
- Slack Off
In the last slot the biggest need was a Keldeo counter. I also needed a Lopunny check and extra paralysis support, so Slowbro was the Pokemon of choice. Having Slowbro also gives me a solid check to Metagross and Charizard-X. Slowbro is basically just a glue Pokemon for the team, pivoting as it usually does with Regenerator and spreading status where possible.
Thunder Wave was chosen to assist the paralysis theme, but Calm Mind or a third attack is a legitimate option to turn Slowbro into more of an offensive threat. Scald is standard and I find Psyshock a necessary evil given the threat of SubCM Keldeo putting a lot of pressure on this team. However, if you're comfortable with your ability to predict that and use Serperior/Thundurus to check it, another attack like Fire Blast or Ice Beam might support the rest of the team better. I spent a long time using standard Leftovers Slowbro and getting worn down by U-Turners and other physical attackers like Lopunny before realizing how useful Rocky Helmet could be. The Helmet means Lopunny can't toss around Fake Outs like candy and limits the health of stuff like Scarf Landorus-T, which is very helpful - try to keep it from being Knocked Off if those threats are in play. The EVs are to avoid being 2HKOed by Mega-Lopunny's Return after Stealth Rock damage from full, and then go into SpD to cushion against Mega-Alakazam in particular, since Slowbro is my emergency method of paralyzing it.
Threatlist
Wrapup
That's the team! I have really enjoyed tweaking it and laddering with it over the past couple weeks. I'm not the best ladderer, but I suspect that somebody smarter could have done even better with the team than I. It's not perfect, of course, so if you have suggestions for how to improve it I'd love to hear them, or if you just have questions feel free. Thanks a bunch!
I want to specifically shoutout Trinitrotoluene for tutoring me and making me much more confident in how to build offense, and TDK for assisting with an early version of the team and always being willing to help me out in general whenever I bug him with questions.
Serperior @ Meadow Plate
Ability: Contrary
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Glare
Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stone Edge
Heracross @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast
- Swords Dance
Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Sludge Wave
Slowbro @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Slack Off
Ability: Contrary
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Glare
Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stone Edge
Heracross @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast
- Swords Dance
Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Sludge Wave
Slowbro @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Slack Off
Last edited:
