XY OU Steeplechase

[afterburn]

Steeplechase

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Introduction:

With Aegislash probably heading towards a ban, thought I'd share this team. I wanted to build an offensive team but also use some cool and interesting sets at the time instead of the standard Deo-S / Genie 1 / Genie 2 / Bisharp base. I tend to enjoy using offence mainly because I don't have the attention span to use stall n_n and because it is hands down the most effective play style this gen. The team started off as a fun team I used on the ladder (got to like top 20 till ggbatonpass got annoying and I didn't try further) but was later fine tuned for a World Cup match. I ended up making about 10 different versions of this team, but this is the version I feel most comfortable playing with and is the most effective one.

The team is definitely weak to certain common threats, but I just wanted to break from the norm and have some fun with the sets :)

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In-depth:

Starscream (Garchomp) (M) @ Roselli Berry

Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Outrage
- Fire Blast / Swords Dance
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First three sets of the team are pretty standard (ok maybe I'm one of the few retards running around with a Roselli Berry). It's probably one of the best users of Stealth Rock on an offensive team due to the sheer amount of switches it causes. It also instantly applies pressure to the main defoggers of the metagame, Latios, Latias and Skarmory. The former two have to be very careful to Defog on chomp itself, because if I decide against switching out from the threat of a Draco Meteor and go for the Outrage, Keldeo will have a field day. Since most Garchomp usually don't carry Fire Blast nowadays, I tend to catch Skarmory off guard as well thinking they have a free turn to Defog because they assume I have SD.

As you could tell from the preview under the title, this team has a weakness to Azumarill, and if I see one on the opposing team I try not to play as recklessly with Garchomp (same thing if they have a Talonflame), and keep it relatively healthy to tank a Play Rough and weaken it with Earthquake.

I used to run Swords Dance over Fire Blast a lot in the past, but with Lum Berry, mainly for the annoying Rotom-W who like to lead off predicting either Lando-T or Garchomp as my own lead. With Lum Berry I would pretty much nab a free SD off of them and go to town. But yeah, it's just that I despise Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor trying to be cute, so I usually go with Fire Blast.

Luftwaffe (Latios) (M) @ Life Orb

Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Defog
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Best option for a defogger on offence. It's importance to the team is huge as it's my main switch-in to Rotom-W and Keldeo. Admittedly though, it can get worn down fairly quickly versus Rotom-W, especially if I pick up a Will-O-Wisp burn. This is the main reason why I've used Latias over it on a different version of the team, but the reason I keep coming back to Latios is because of its power, and it's definitely noticeable with Latias. For example, I can't weaken out Tyranitar and Heatran for Houndoom through HP Fighting (fuck xy for making it 60 bp btw) as reliably. It also checks shit like Charizard-Y and it's sweet resistances give it plenty of chances to come in and defog for Houndoom, or launch a Draco Meteor and hit something hard right off the bat.

Sultan of Bling (Aegislash) (M) @ Air Balloon

Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
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What a monster. With this set Aegislash is able to hit most things on stall teams very hard, the common Heatran / Venusaur / Skarmory core gets hammered with correct prediction. Opted for an all out attacker to keep up with the fast paced nature of the team and also because I need it to hit as hard as possible vs defensive teams. Usually if the opposition's main Ghost resist is weakened, in which case if it's Tyranitar that's not too hard to do with Latios / Houndoom, I will usually spam Shadow Ball. Priority is very important to a team like this and Shadow Sneak also somewhat mitigates Aegislash's abysmal speed against faster mons, and it's great to pick off weakened Landorus / Thundurus with. Flash Cannon is more than a secondary STAB in that it can hit CM Clef hard even after a boost, else it can do work against this team. Air Balloon is useful against SubToxic Gliscor who otherwise can be annoying to face.

Solum (Landorus-Therian) @ Leftovers

Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 236 HP / 52 Atk / 92 Def / 128 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Rock Polish
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
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Lando-T functions as my check to numerous physical threats, as well as having the ability to instantly become a win condition with Rock Polish versus offence, or punch holes in stall teams with SD boosted hits. Garchomp is a big help in weakening Skarmory and Ferrothorn with Fire Blast to allow Landorus to muscle its way through them. I usually keep Rock Polish / Swords Dance hidden and let my opponent think that I'm carrying the standard tank set, then whenever an opportunity arises, boost up and get to work. I'd love to run max attack on this thing, but the truth is I need him for Banded Talonflame as well, I don't really like having Garchomp as my only switch-in to it.

With these EVs CB Talonflame cannot 2HKO Landorus-T, and the speed EVs allow me to outpace Scarf Garchomp after a Rock Polish. In other versions of the team with Latias, Healing Wish is very helpful in allowing Landorus to regain health after it has absorbed a good couple hits from physical threats and prevents priority users from KOing him if he wants to attempt a sweep. I have used HP Ice over Swords Dance in the past to make it easier to get by Gliscor and other Landorus-T, but the option to puncture stall after an attack boost (yes even with 52 atk he still hits like a truck after a Swords Dance) is too good to pass up.

Featherweight (Keldeo) @ Choice Scarf

Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind
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Revenge kills Dragon Dance Mega Tyranitar and Gyarados (after the mega evolution) who otherwise rip through this team. Also has the potential to sweep late-game if I've weakened Scald / Secret Sword switch-ins beforehand. Being able to outspeed and KO Greninja is also a huge bonus because it can be very troublesome against everything on the team. Most of the time they stay in, get outsped and get knocked up not expecting Scarf. Icy Wind is piss weak without Specs, but it's there to reliably take out Dragonite and a healthy Garchomp (without resorting to Hydro Miss). Lati@s can also be picked off with it when weakened.

Gunmetal Grey (Houndoom) (M) @ Houndoominite

Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Taunt / Sludge Bomb
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After a Nasty Plot (which isn't that hard to set-up), this thing will definitely get in a couple kills, and against fast and frail offensive teams, it's moves will hurt even when unboosted. Tyranitar, Keldeo, Terrakion and Azumarill are the 4 top tier threats that resist both its STABs and it only has so many moveslots so not all 4 can be covered. I'm honestly not too worried about Tyranitar because all the other members of my team can make quick work of it, and I have Latios to lure it out too. Keldeo and Terrakion do not enjoy +2 Dark Pulse / Fire Blast and cannot switch-in directly or risk getting 2HKOed. Azumarill is an overall bitch to the team, and Sludge bomb will take care of it. Same reason why I have Roselli on Garchomp as well, to soften the bunny up for Houndoom and Latios. Taunt and Sludge Bomb are interchangeable really. In tournaments if I think my opponent will bring stall I'll usually go with Taunt, to completely shut down Chansey and non Earth Power Heatran and rack up some massive damage. If I think they'll probably use offence or a balanced team I'll usually pack Sludge Bomb for the threat of Azumarill. Houndoom also helps check Aegislash as long as I don't recklessly switch in to a Sacred Sword.

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Major Threats:

Greninja- Can one shot anything on the team with the right move set. Pretty much have to bring Keldeo on a resisted hit and with its type not resistant to water/fight to take it out with Hydro Pump / SS

Azumarill- Assault Vest and Belly Drum are both annoying to face. Have to keep Garchomp healthy enough to take a Play Rough and hit it hard with EQ. Latios can also kill it around ~56% with Psyshock. Aegislash can take a Play Rough and hit it back hard, but doesn't have the investment to take repeated hits.

Rotom-W- Latios is my only real answer and without recovery it can get worn down fast. They usually try to burn Garchomp when leading so Outrage can weaken it nicely for someone else to pick off.

Landorus- If it has Rock Polish, and gets in on -2 Latios or Keldeo's Secret Sword, it's gg. With the regular variant have to rely on Latios, but have to be very cautious against Knock Off.

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Conclusion:
So yeah in conclusion this was a very fun team to use. Seeing Landorus-T shred the remains of an offensive team with Rock Polish or Houndoom rip through a team at +2 is very satisfying to watch because you don't see those things everyday in this metagame. The flaws with the team and weaknesses to threats could probably be patched up if I switched to some standard sets, but then it would become another bog standard offensive team.

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[craing ;_;]

Ima fan of hipster muhself so I think I'll say a few words o_o

A few minor nitpicks i see from the beginning are latios and houndoom. Hp fighting is rly only useful against bisharp, but your entire team can outspeed and ohko it so I don't find it entirely necessary. Earthquake>hp fighting would be ideal to lure heatran for houndoom while still being able to hit tyranitar and frens, but healing wish latias as you have already mentioned is also a viable replacement if you feel the need for longevity. I would also use hp grass>sludge bomb on houndoom because sludge bomb only hits azumarill harder, but hp grass can ohko keld/terrak after rocks and +2, hit ttar harder while still doing passive damage to azu. Your team is also rly thundurus weak if I do say so myself so I would at least consider making landorus-t scarfed, while making keldeo a sub endeavor set to break stall. Scarf lando-t is still able to take care of +1 mega gyara and ttar with superpower if that's any concern. The keldeo set is pretty bizarre, but if you seen this wcop match http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ou-12696, it actually does work lol. Against offense, you can sub down on a thundy lati or gren, activate salac and kill it off behind a sub which would give you an immense advantage, as the things that may wall or check you are brought to 1 hp because of endeavor :0. The last two changes are just things you can test out for yourself though, as this team looks like it can go in many different directions. Also thanks for sharing such a creative team, I hope the keldeo set meets your standards of sheer epicness :<

 

[afterburn]

Thanks for the rate ben gay. Some very good suggestions.

HP Grass definitely sounds nice and worth trying out (can't believe I didn't think of it earlier lol), being able to hit Keldeo, Terrakion and Azumarill is definitely great. Taunt was mainly there to fuck chansey on stall. Earthquake is also a good suggestion, but the reason I run HP Fight was to combat the pursuit bisharp + thundurus combo, as earthquake wouldn't kill bisharp. But heatran is a massive dick to houndoom, and you're right about 4/6 of the team taking ttar fine, so it's worth a try.

Regarding scarf lando-t and sub endeavor keld: I actually have a version with scarf lando-t and specs keldeo, so if i do choose to run scarf lando-t, i pretty much have to run taunt on houndoom to handle stall better, and i'm really digging the hp grass idea. i've seen that keldeo set used to good success in world cup and some other big games, but i'm not sure whether it's a reliable way to take on stall by itself, especially if i make lando-t a scarf variant. I've never used it myself though, so I could be wrong, gonna test it out and see how it does.