Pestilence (Peaked #23)

Fireburn

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I figured I might as well post this now since Landorus was kicked to the curb in the latest suspect test. I don't play OU much outside of suspect tests and occasional dabbling, but this team is a little special to me since it marks the best run I've had in OU ever. I made it way before the suspect test and used it to success in casual play (albeit on trashed alts), but I never took it on a serious ladder run. When I did finally hit the ladder for the Landorus test, I got an ACRE of 2039 with a final record of 42-3 (which includes a 30-win streak before I finally lost a game), putting me at the time at #23. Although it isn't spectacular per se, it is still my most successful OU team so far, and it still gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling of accomplishment since I'm not an OU main. :V

That being said, it has Landorus on it, and since he is banned I obviously can't use the team anymore. I guess now would be as good of a time as any to post it and get some critque/improvements/Landorus replacements, as heaven knows this team (and my OU game) has its flaws.

At A Glance



The ideal gameplan is to use my VoltTurn core and sand to pick away at the opponent's core and find opportunities to get Hydreigon a free switch-in to start blasting away, hopefully killing Latias's counters to open up a sweep for her. Scizor and Landorus are also able to sweep on their own in case Latias can't quite finish the job.

You should also notice that:
  • No one is weak to Stealth Rock.
  • 4/6 of the team is immune to Spikes.
  • Only one Pokemon is affected by Toxic Spikes.
So this team does pretty darn well against defensive and generally bulkier teams as far as residual damage is concerned, and it has enough bulk and tools of its own to weather offense as well. Generally.

The Details


Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Slack Off

Role: Hippowdon is mainly here to stop some things from tearing me a new unnecessary orifice while providing Stealth Rock and weather control. Sand is nice as it keeps the Fire moves my Dragons have unfettered by rain, helps wear down enemy tanks, and boosts Landorus's attacks and gives him nice late-game sweeping potential. Hippowdon's very presence causes most Sun teams I see to fall flat on their face (unless they run Gothitelle, but most don't since it just accentuates the Tyranitar weakness), and being the only inducer with reliable recovery means that Hippo can usually stick around long enough to win the weather war. However, I mostly just use Hippowdon for Stealth Rock and checking the devil Jirachi, Tyranitar, Terrakion, and other random physical attackers. I don't mind using him on offense since he packs 112 base Attack and Ground/Ice coverage, meaning very little can actually set up on him, and it is generally easy to predict what will come in on him since Hippowdon is such a straightforward Pokemon.

Hippowdon ultimately got the nod over Tyranitar due to needed physical bulk, a Rock-resistance, and a lack of a Fighting-weakness (which I didn't need when I also had Hydreigon).

Moveset: Stealth Rock is obvious, as is Earthquake. Slack Off provides healing. Ice Fang allows me to kill Landorus-T and Dragonite, pop Heatran's Balloon, and hurt Lati@s and Breloom that think they get a free switch. I do not like Whirlwind as I think having just Earthquake as an attack is too easy to wall, and I lack Spikes so it is not as useful as it normally could be.

EVs: Max HP and Defense to take physical hits effectively. I don't think SpD Hippo is really necessary here since I have ways around the things it does better against.


Scizor @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 248 HP / 8 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Pursuit
- Superpower

Role: I have two Dragons so a Steel-type is pretty much necessary to protect against other Dragons. Scizor is able to check every other Dragon in OU (mostly Lati@s) at least somewhat well (except Kingdra but that's rare) with his strong Bullet Punch and adequate bulk. Scizor is just a really nice utility Pokemon, having good synergy with the rest of the team and able to harass the enemy almost constantly with the threat of Bullet Punch or starting a U-turn chain with Rotom-W or Landorus, keeping valuable momentum on my side. He's my only real check to Lati@s, and helps against Celebi and Reuniclus as well. I usually play Scizor pretty cautiously and try to save him until late-game if possible, where I can abuse his strong Bullet Punch to clean up late-game if needed.

Moves: These are all standard to the core. Bullet Punch is strong priority, killing things like Gengar and Terrakion, punching out Dragons, and even getting late-game sweeps if conditions are right. U-turn is very powerful and lets me use Scizor as a pivot to either get Hydreigon into battle or chain switching moves with Rotom-W or Landorus to rapidly chisel away at the opponent's defenses. Pursuit is pretty much only for Lati@s if I think they will switch out ; I really don't use it much since it is easy to set up on. Superpower isn't used much either, but it is handy for nuking Ferrothorn and wrecking Heatran that try to come in, which can sometimes open up a Latias sweep.

EVs: 248 HP to give good overall bulk while minimizing hazards damage, rest goes into Attack (with Adamant) for power and SpDef for a little extra bulk.


Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 56 SAtk / 232 HP / 220 Spd
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Will-O-Wisp

Role: Pretty much the perfect partner for Scizor - the two share near perfect synergy and started the "VoltTurn" craze we all know and love and/or hate depending on which end of it we're on. Rotom-W does a lot of things for this team - it counters Gyarados and Mamoswine, it can help wear down things such as Ferrothorn with burns, it baits things like Celebi that I can Volt Switch to Hydreigon on for kills, and it takes a considerable amount of pressure off of Latias for taking Water-type attacks and initially coming in on Keldeo and special Landorus, letting me save her until late-game. It also generally helps out a lot against Rain-teams, against which Hippowdon has a harder time keeping up weather. Rotom-W, along with Scizor, also helpfully resists Ice, which is really nice considering 2/3rds of my team is weak to it.

Moveset: Volt Switch is for shenanigans and pivoting to Scizor/Landorus/Hydreigon when I need to, though sometimes it doesn't do enough to things like SpDef Jellicent which annoys me. Hydro Pump is strong STAB that does decent damage to most things, though I usually just end up spamming Volt Switch or Will-O-Wisp when I use Rotom-W. Hidden Power Ice is there for Gliscor and Dragonite that think they can play around me, and it is useful for killing Landorus(-T) that think they can stay in. Will-O-Wisp is mostly for wearing down Ferrothorn or other hard to kill defensive Pokemon, and it is helpful for catching Breloom, Garchomp, or other things that try to come in on Volt Switch.

EVs: Enough SpAtk with Modest to always OHKO Gliscor with Hydro Pump, enough in Speed to outrun Jolly Breloom (and slower Gyarados before they use Substitute) and Will-O-Wisp it before it can use Spore or Bullet Seed, rest in HP for bulk. This spread has a nice mix of bulk, speed, and power that I rather enjoy, though i wouldn't mind trying a full specially defensive spread.


Landorus (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Role: While Landorus is now banned (and for good reason), he was good while he lasted, and probably the best Scarfer in OU after Keldeo. He lasts quite a while and has impressive utility - he's not hit by Spikes, not weak to Stealth Rock, gets U-turn for scouting and preserving momentum, and his ability grants him a free Life Orb in Sand, making late-game cleans with him a very real possibility. He's also just fast enough to outrun Volcarona, important as Landorus is my only real check to the fiery moth. Landorus works well with the rest of the team, joining Scizor and Rotom-W in their VoltTurn schemes or by simply cleaning up the mess my two dragons made. People often forgot about physical Landorus when trying to prepare for his special sets, so he is often able to cause quite a bit of pain. Well, "was," since he's banned now. Good riddance, though!

Moveset: Earthquake is STAB and boosted by Sand Force, capable of OHKOing quite a few things. Stone Edge is also Sand Force boosted, forming the infamous QuakeEdge combo that helps make physical Landorus so deadly. U-turn is good for picking off weakened Celebi, Lati@s and Alakazam and preserving momentum, and Hidden Power Ice allows me to kill Gliscor, Landorus-T, and stuff like Dragonite without risking Stone Edge missing.

EVs: Max power and speed, with Naive to let Hidden Power Ice kill the things it needs to.


Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Atk
Mild Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Superpower
- Fire Blast
- Roost

Role: Alright, so here's where things get interesting and not quite so bog standard. Unlike the rest of my team, which enjoys setting up rocks and silly U-turn pranks, Hydreigon just wants things to die. Fortunately for him, whatever he hits usually dies. He usually comes in on U-turns, Volt Switches, or easy targets such as the enemy's weather starter (he's great against sun and decent vs. most rain teams) and usually just proceeds to kill or severely cripple something. Although he's only meh versus fast offensive teams, Hydreigon is fully capable of beating stall teams mostly by himself and trashing on slower, bulkier teams (like most weather). His main job is to get in and kill Latias's counters so she can sweep late-game. This isn't too hard to do, as Hydreigon is so threatening that most people have no choice but to send in their dragon counter to get crippled.

I did think about using Kyurem-B instead, who has overall higher stats, but I have no spinner and Hydreigon is much better at playing against entry hazards than Cube, being immune to Spikes and not weak to Stealth Rock. Hydreigon also gets Fire Blast and Superpower, two things Cube would kill for.

While I admit Hydreigon is not the best Pokemon ever - he is somewhat slow and his Fighting weakness is a pain, especially against heavy offense - he is much better than people give him credit for. He usually doesn't live long, but he usually doesn't need to live long - just long enough.

Moveset: Draco Meteor kills everything not named Jirachi or Blissey. The end. It is about as strong as Timid Specs Latios Draco Meteor, so nothing is going to enjoy it. Fire Blast, however, is usually what I use first, since most people's gut reaction is to send in their steel immediately to take the Meteor. Then I get a nice laugh as their Jirachi or Ferrothorn is burned to a crisp. Superpower OHKOes Tyranitar and 2HKOes Heatran and Chansey after Stealth Rock, granting Hydreigon perfect coverage and the ability to 2HKO all of OU. Roost allows Hydreigon to recover off sand and Life Orb damage and keeps him alive against defensive teams, important as he is key to beating stall. I originally ran U-turn to expand the VoltTurn core, but I never actually used it since Hydreigon was too busy pounding in the foe's face.

EVs: Max power and speed, plain and simple. Mild is used over Rash since Hydreigon's impressive set of resistances are mostly against special types, and it helps when I try to bring him in on stuff like Rotom-W, defensive Politoed, and Ninetales.


Latias (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Recover

Role: Whether Ubers or OU, Latias is a Pokemon that makes it onto most of my teams due her nice combination of bulk, speed, power, and utility. She checks quite a few things, especially special Landorus, Keldeo, Breloom, and Thundurus-T, and is quite capable of punching holes into stuff. I don't usually use her as the main late game sweeper, but she functions in this role quite well. She can easily set up Calm Minds against a large portion of the metagame, and once Hydreigon has taken out her counters she can usually sweep very easily...as long as Scizor or Landorus didn't clean up everything first, which tends to happen. She's a touch slow to get going, but once she does she is very hard to stop.

Moveset: Calm Mind allows Latias to sweep and help take on things like Thundurus-T. Recover is obvious healing. Dragon Pulse is reliable STAB. Hidden Power Fire is nice for Scizor since it can be kind of a jerk with Pursuit, so eliminating it early is nice. It also gives me a way to kill Ferrothorn and Forretress and pick off weakened Jirachi, which is useful as sometimes I have to bring in Latias before Hydreigon can come out.

EVs: I like running max HP and Speed on Calm Mind Latias as it makes use of her two most useful attributes - her bulk and speed. I generally have enough power to do what I need to do after a few boosts anyway.

Main Threats


Volcarona - I usually have to send in Landorus immediately and Stone Edge it. If Landorus is down and it gets a Quiver Dance, I pretty much lose.


Choice Band Terrakion - Banded Close Combat is VERY hard to switch into, and it can kill Hippowdon with just a little prior damage. It's not too hard to revenge kill though, and most of my team threatens it.


HP Fire Latias - If it has HP Fire I could be in some trouble since it can kill Scizor - though usually only LO carries HP Fire and that is easy to wear out with VoltTurn and sand. Her defenses make her more of a threat than Latios in the long run.


Conkeldurr - Nothing really likes tangoing with it - it has immense coverage and power, and the only Pokemon I have that can OHKO is weak to Mach Punch. I usually can beat it by getting in Rotom-W on Ice Punch and landing Will-O-Wisp since most now are Sheer Force instead of Guts, but it is still really annoying.


Kingdra - welp (Don't let it get rain for free and play smart with Hippowdon).

That's about it. Some rates would be nice, as I really would like to be good at a tier other than Ubers, and I'm sure I missed something really obvious. :p Thanks for reading!

Here's an importable:
Importable said:
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Slack Off

Scizor @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Pursuit
- Superpower

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 232 HP / 56 SAtk / 220 Spd
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Will-O-Wisp

Landorus (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Mild Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Superpower
- Fire Blast
- Roost

Latias (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Recover
 

Scotti

we back.
Great Team Fireburn i really like it. After the Landorus ban i think you can utilize Landorus-T with the same Landorus set you already have. Anway I love this team.
 
But if you put Landorus-T instead of Landorus i think the team auto-loses to Scarfmence since Lando-T only hits base 91 so once hippo falls then you'll have to rely upon intimidate + scizor to beat it. Same story for DD Mence though thats less common.

EDIT: Finally a sexy team with a hydreigon <3
 

MCBarrett

i love it when you call me big hoppa
Hey Fireburn, awesome team! I think I have what you are looking for to replace you Scarf Landorus-I. I would suggest using a Scarf Garchomp as it has the same powerful Ground STAB, is over 100 base speed, and has access to Stone Edge for Volcarona. Although you do lose the ability to U-Turn you obviously gain awesome sweeping power with a strong Outrage.

Lastly, since you say you play your Hydreigon to not stay around too long you may want to look into another attacking move instead of Roost such as Dark Pulse, Earthquake, U-Turn, Focus Blast or Surf. The added coverage/ ability to scout with U-Turn could be a game-changer.

Hopefully my suggestions help! Let me know how it goes and good luck with the team!
 
If terrakion and lati@s are a problem, why not using scarf jirachi over scizor ? You can trick on ferrothorn later to help Latias sweeping too btw.

Now that you got a choice scarf and Landorus is gone, why not Jellicent ? It's a nice check to Terrakion ( Hippo+Jellicent+Jirachi is more than enough to check this monster ), a good rain counter that you'll need ( Scarf rachi is also a better answer that non-calm rotom for Tornadus ) because Rotom can't heal and Latias will be hard pressured, and he can taunt / toxic-scald out Volcarona pretty easily imo.

Btw i'd rather use hydreigon as a specs with u-turn to keep a bit of a momentum, since you'll have only one choice with Jirachi, you can afford to have Specs hydreigon, who is never a waste since he is really deadly too. You can run a expert belt to bait things like Ferrothorn before smashing them with Fire Blast / Superpower.
 
Hey BARN ALL!

... This team is awesome and I have just a few suggestions you should try out. Volcarona seems like a huge weakness, so you might as well add a Modest Choice Scarf Heatran over Landorus-I. Sure you lose U-turn, but I think it'll just fit. As you mentioned to revenge and outpace Volcarona, but that's a crap 80% chance of hitting, while Heatran can't exactly outpace Volcarona, it hard wall it, especially the Giga Drain kind, and can retaliate back with Hidden Power [Rock]. It also provides a Fire immunity, so you can nuke sun teams. You should also give Draco Plate a shot on Hydreigon because Sand + Life Orb damage will wear it down. You said its meant to die, so that's where the utility in Roost almost never comes to handy. There, you can forgo Dark Pulse which lets you hit Jellicent for the 2HKO with Draco Meteor + Dark Pulse. This team is really cool, and maybe you should try Thunder Wave on Rotom-W, but I like it.

Good Luck! ^__^

___________________________


Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs:252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Overheat / Fire Blast
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Flamethrower / Flash Cannon
  • Description
Heatran can wall Volcarona, but since Quiver Dance raises Special Defense, you should just go for Hidden Power [Rock]. I also hits other 4x wek though! Dragon Pulse is obviously for Dragon-types and Overheat is like blow up something then switch. This is nice with Flamethrower. Or you can for Fire Blast and Flash Cannon. Flash Cannon hits Kyurem-B for the surprise kill too. Flash Fire is nice, and synergizes nice with Scizor. Having a second steel-type is helpful too, since that's more to switch into. I like Modest more, but if outpacing +1 Dragonite is important (Heatran walls it) and +1 Gyarados (that's more important IMO), then you can go for Timid. EVs are simple and same with the item. It's useful against sun teams, since you nuke them after coming in with a Flash Fire boost, U-turn, kill, or Volt Switch. Choice Scarf Heatran also surprises Dugtrio, since it think it can go for the Reveersal kill, or if it fail to "OHKO", then it'll want to Earthquake you. The only problem is Volcarona with Hidden Power [Ground], but I don't think that's common.​
 
hi there nice team,
Well, i think that you could use stone edge/rock slide over ice fang on your hippo, it will surprise volcanoras that try setting up on it but it doesn't really matter since volca and sun are not that used in the higher ladder.
other than that you should add specs latios in a drag mag teams as the No.1 in your threat list.
for the landorus replacement i recomment keldeo, because keldeo is one of the best choice scarfer/revange killers if not the best.
 
Finding a Scarf Lando-I replacement is a hard job especially since you cant be +1 volc with base 91 spd on Lando-T so i feel the Garchomp is the closest replacement you can get in terms of speed and power. If however you still desperately need the spikes and t-spikes resistance and U-turn then you can try Flygon who sports base 100 so you have to rely on speed tie to beat +1 volc which isnt the best option but you gotta give something to get something.
 
Congrats on the peak despite not being an OU main!But there are quite a lot of threats that this team struggles with which can be fixed extremely easily.

Your weakness to HP Fire Latias(Provided it does not have Substitue in the same set),Volcarona, and Kingdra can be changed with one simple suggestion:try Specially Defensive Rotom over Bulky attacker with a set of Hydro Pump/Volt Switch/Thunder Wave/Pain Split.This set has a 88% chance of surviving a +1 Life orb Timid Giga Drain after Stealth rock and can cripple Volcarona with Thunder Wave.After that you can switch out or try to get some damage off with pain split or Hydro Pump.Thunder Wave cripples Venusaur switch-ins and Thunder Wave also cripples Kindra and Latias (if it does not have Substitute).Without will-o-wisp it will cause some problems,but I am sure your other team members can fix that.

Also,the closest thing to Scarf Lando is Scarf Chomp with Stone edge :p.
 

Fireburn

BARN ALL
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Hi, sorry for not responding until now.

Scarf Garchomp>Scarf Landorus is probably the closest I'll get to keeping a similarly useful Scarfer. Flygon sucks in OU and while Heatran is interesting, it's not quite fast enough to do what I want it to do. I wish I could use Landorus-T, but he can't outrun +1 Volcarona which is unfortunate.

I'll definitely try TWave SpDef Rotom>my current set, seems pretty useful.

Glad you guys like the team!
 

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