Hai Smogon :3
After being bored with my weather teams, I decided to go back to Clear Skies OU teambuilding. Weather was getting stale for me, and the prominence of rain teams made me sick of using one. For some weird reason, I wanted to use a Scarf Jirachi again, because I remember loving it back in the BW era. But instead of running Fire Punch like I normally do, I decided to run something else that saves my butt so many times in battling in Showdown. Then I added Pokemon that pretty much get Jirachi's counters out of the way, and a couple of sweepers to get work done in case Jirachi goes down. This is pretty much an extremely standard team, because I am insanely boring and obviously have no originality whatsoever. It's been pretty successful, as it does have a pretty good win to loss ratio. However, I'm not really the type to person to ladder, because I hate doing time consuming things :C
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Preview:
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After being bored with my weather teams, I decided to go back to Clear Skies OU teambuilding. Weather was getting stale for me, and the prominence of rain teams made me sick of using one. For some weird reason, I wanted to use a Scarf Jirachi again, because I remember loving it back in the BW era. But instead of running Fire Punch like I normally do, I decided to run something else that saves my butt so many times in battling in Showdown. Then I added Pokemon that pretty much get Jirachi's counters out of the way, and a couple of sweepers to get work done in case Jirachi goes down. This is pretty much an extremely standard team, because I am insanely boring and obviously have no originality whatsoever. It's been pretty successful, as it does have a pretty good win to loss ratio. However, I'm not really the type to person to ladder, because I hate doing time consuming things :C
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Preview:
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The team:
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
- Iron Head
- Ice Punch
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
Jirachi's Scarf set is one of the most extremely fun sets to use. Because of the prominence of Specially Defensive Jirachi and Substitute and Calm Mind sets, ScarfRachi can surprise a whole ton of players that come in expecting some paraflinch shenanigans. Except a different on is usually on their way. EVs give me maximum attacking potential, the ability to speed tie with opposing base 100 Speed Scarfers, and the SpD EVs give any Download Pokemon such as Porygon2 and Porygon-Z a wonderful Attack boost, which they can further boost with Sharpen. STAB Iron Head is the move I'll usually be spamming during the match, unless I see a Steel Pokemon on the opposing side of the team. The 60% Flinch chance really helps on wearing Pokemon down for my other Pokemon to finish them off. Jirachi's base 100 Speed also lets Iron Head revenge kill most of the time. Since the OU tier is plagued with Pokemon that are weak to Ice, Jirachi's Ice Punch revenge kills a good chunk of the tier, such as Gliscor, Dragonite, Salamence, and Landorus-T. When I do see a Fire or Steel Pokemon on the opponent's team, or I have a weakened Pokemon in front of me, a healthy U-turn puts in a little damage and allows me to scout what the opponent is about to do, and switch into an appropriate counter or check. Finally, Healing Wish forces Jirachi to sacrifice itself and completely heal a teammate. This is extremely useful in making comebacks, especially when one of the Special sweepers receives it.
Latios (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Surf
Latios is the Special nuke of the team. The sheer power that it provides for the team allows me to pave the way for ScarfRachi to sweep, and at times, it will clean up teams itself. Threats that Jirachi cannot get past, such as Physically Defensive walls like Skarmory and Slowbro just need a little U-turn for this guy to come in. The official nuclear move that Latios has to offer is its insanely powerful STAB Draco Meteor, which hits all but the Specially Defensive of Pokemon really hard. The rest of Latios' moves is there to help Latios clean up using Draco Meteor. One of the biggest threats to my team are Calm Minding Pokemon, like Keldeo. By using its STAB Psyshock, I can get around it, as well as getting hits on the incredibly Specially Defensive Chansey and Blissey. The only problem is, Psyshock doesn't hurt Calm Minding Jirachi, which walls Latios' STAB moves, While Hidden Power Fire helps nail most Steel Pokemon, Like Ferrothorn and Scizor, it fails against SubCM variants of Jirachi. It's a great move to cover nevertheless, having good synergy with Draco Meteor, a combination only Heatran can take. Surf was slapped on Latios to deal with Heatran, and with Heatran and friends gone, I'm free to spam Draco Meteor.
Landorus-T (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 200 HP / 64 Atk / 244 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
Staring at the two Pokemon I had so far, I saw that I was going to need two things done on the team. Something to hard counter Terrakion, and a way to get up hazards, because it helps Latios' Draco Meteors reach OHKOs instead of 2HKOs, and 3HKOs turn into 2HKOs. The two options that I was confronted with were Golurk and Lnadorus-T, and since Landorus-T excelled at maintaining momentum, Golurk was cut from the team. Landorus-T's access to Intimidate forces many switches, so laying down Stealth Rock as my hazards causes residual damage to the opposing team, which is great for grabbing momentum. Since Landorus-T is often switching into Terrakion and has that godly base 145 Attack stat, STAB Earthquake really helps in dealing good damage to Terrakion and in the OU tier. Combined with Earthquake, Stone Edge keeps offensive pressure on the opponent, as the EdgeQuake combination has excellent neutral coverage. U-turn also grants Landorus-T and the team momentum, and forms a little VoltTurn core with Rotom-W and Jirachi :3
Keldeo-R @ Expert Belt
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Surf
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind
- Hidden Power [Bug]
After adding Landorus-T to the team, I noticed that Specially Defensive Celebi would be a pain to take down. Sure, repeated U-turns would take it down, but considering I have no Rapid Spinner, constant VoltTurning causes a lot of residual damage to the team. Plus, Celebi usually sees that coming and Recovers off the damage anyways. What I needed was some type of lure to attract Celebi, and take it out surprisingly. I found Keldeo to be quite effective in doing just that job. Using an Expert Belt as an item, Keldeo could easily bluff a Choice sets, which helps lure out Celebi. Also, Keldeo's ability to switch moves helps get loads of damage off the opposing team, as Scarfed Keldeo is extremely popular in the current metagame. EVs are standard Special sweeping ones, with 4 SpD to give Downloaders an Attack boost. After testing both STAB Hydro Pump and Surf, and finding out that Hydro Miss was extremely unlucky with me, I opted for the safer, more reliable Surf as my primary STAB move. STAB Secret Sword allows me two take on Blissey and Chansey more reliably, as well as taking out Tyranitar, who can hit most of my team for lots of damage. Icy Wind is now the Ice move of choice since Hidden Power is currently occupied by something else, and allows me to beat the plethora of Ice weaknesses in OU, as well as catching Pokemon like Latias and slowing her down. When Celebi has been lured out, and it has been weakened by hazards or damage it took by switching in, Hidden Power Bug is fired of, preying on Celebi's weakness to it. If the Lati twins have been weakened beforehand, HP Bug usually is good enough to finish them with some hazards.
Ferrothorn (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Impish Nature (+Def, -SpA)
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Power Whip
This Ferrothorn was originally a Forretress, but Ferrothorn's resistances and good Special Defense seemed more optimal for the team. Grass, Electric, and Rock are extremely important resistances to have, for this team. Rapid Spin support from Forretress would have been nice, but looking at the team, they weren't too much of the problem. Nobody is weak to Stealth Rock, 1 Pokemon is affected by Toxic Spikes, while Spikes could be a small problem. And since this team forces switches most of the time, even more hazards besides Stealth Rock would be quite beneficial. Since Landorus-T has the job done with Stealth Rock, Ferrothorn got stuck with laying down layers of Spikes, which gets even more residual damage in the way, which is great for Jirachi, who doesn't exactly have the greatest damage output, even with full Attack investment. None of my team members have any type of reliable recovery, and since I had no Rapid Spinner, repeated switches will eventually wear the team down. Leech Seed is the way in getting some recovery to Ferrothorn and the team very easily, as well as getting even more residual damage. I've always used Thunder Wave in the next slot, but I decided to try out how Protect worked out. It worked wonders; not only do I get some Leech Seed recovery, Choiced users that commonly switch into Ferrothorn are usually scouted using Protect, easing prediction. Finally, so Ferrothorn doesn't become total bait when Taunted, STAB Power Whip hits pretty hard off of a 92 base attack stat, and is only of my only ways in dealing with Gastrodon.
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 28 SpA / 232 SpD
Calm Nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder Wave
- Pain Split
Rotom-W has been a staple on a lot of my teams lately, mainly due to the utility it provides to the team. At first, Rotom-W was added because it has decent defensive synergy with Ferrothorn, resisting the nasty Fire weakness that Ferrothorn had. Rotom-W became more than that, switching into the onslaughts of Rain and Sand teams, taking loads of the Special hits that the teams commonly carry, like Hydro Pump, Ice Beam, Fire Blast, and more. The EV spread ensure the OHKO on max HP Gliscor, and the rest is thrown into HP and Special Defense for maximum Special bulk. Like Landorus-T, Rotom-W can force switches due to its great typing and it's access to a pivoting move; in this case, it's STAB Volt Switch. Volt Switch puts lots of pressure on rain teams, due to the Water types on them. Also, it synergizes well with STAB Hydro Pump for multiple reasons. Pokemon that switch into Rotom-W's Volt Switch are typically Ground Pokemon, and they get nailed with Hydro Pump. More importantly, rain teams have Politoed, who is scared to take Volt Switch at times, and rain teams tend to pack a Pokemon that has a Electric absorbing Pokemon, such as Thundurus-T and Jolteon. Rain boosted Hydro Pump usually knocks them out, unless Hydro Miss gets in the way. Most players expect the Will-O-Wisp coming from Rotom-W, switching in a Natural Cure Pokemon or a Special Attacker. With Thunder Wave, however, Rotom-W severely cripples the opponent's team, as my fastest Pokemon is my Scarfed Jirachi, and having the first move is generally important. Paraflinch becomes something if Rotom-W gets the Volt Switch into Rachi. However, this leaves me extremely walled by Ferrothorn and Gastrodon, which can be a major pain. Finally, Pain Split usually will grant healing due to Rotom-W's base 50 HP, and the number of times that it switches into the battle.
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Threats:
From what I've played with so far, the biggest threats to my team are usually:
- Ferrothorn: Unless I can get into Keldeo and Latios with some residual damage, this thing can be a pain if it does get paralyzed. Gyro Ball and Power Whip does do a number on my team. Even if my Ferrothorn is out, we would probably be trading hazards, and many hazards on my side can be dangerous.
- Gastrodon: The only Pokemon that can really get this thing to die is Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn is usually switching in and out, taking damage along the way. Gastrodon can start being a dick with Scald and burn, and then laugh at my face with Recover. If Landorus-T gets in, it can 2HKO with Earthquake.
- Fire Pokemon with Flare Blitz: Nothing on my team can take repeated Flare Blitzes. Rotom-W usually is 2HKO'd by most Fire Pokemon, like Darmanitan and Arcanine. My best bet is to sack something and go into Keldeo for the Surf.
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Importable:
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Iron Head
- Ice Punch
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
Latios (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Surf
Landorus-T (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 200 HP / 64 Atk / 244 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
Keldeo-R @ Expert Belt
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Surf
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind
- Hidden Power [Bug]
Ferrothorn (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Power Whip
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 28 SAtk / 232 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder Wave
- Pain Split
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Final look at the team:
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