Balance Teams in National Dex OU

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Introduction

National Dex OverUsed is an incredibly diverse and exciting metagame. In National Dex, flagship features from previous generations like Z-Moves and Mega Evolutions—as well as the full Pokédex—are added back into the Generation 8 landscape. New top threats such as Calm Mind Mega Latias now stand alongside classic staples like Ash-Greninja, Mega Mawile, and Gliscor, not to mention a variety of new defensive options in Corviknight and Galarian Slowking. This guide introduces five successful balance archetypes that take advantage of this diverse NDOU metagame. Heavily featuring Megas Evolutions and Z-Moves, the following teams mix old and new concepts from both USM OU and SS OU to create a flavor unique to National Dex.

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1. Mega Latias Bulky Balance

This team demonstrates a tried-and-true balance archetype centered around Mega Latias. Latias gained access to Aura Sphere this generation, which allows it to break through a plethora of its traditional Dark- and Steel-type checks like Tyranitar, Weavile, and Heatran. The given EV spread of 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe with a Timid nature gives Mega Latias the most opportunities to set up with Calm Mind and Roost. Bulky Mega Latias exerts offensive and defensive pressure against archetypes like rain, which cannot reliably 2HKO it after a Calm Mind boost. The defensive core of Corviknight, Galarian Slowking, and Clefable sponges status and chips opposing defensive Pokémon to give Mega Latias long-term opportunities to set up. Notably, physically defensive Galarian Slowking with Calm Mind and Waterium Z acts an effective lure to Dark- and Ground-types, shrugging off Pursuit and Knock Off and chipping them with Scald. Weavile revenge kills or traps opposing Dragon-types like Garchomp while removing items with Knock Off. Corviknight, Clefable, and Gastrodon cover a plethora of threats like Ash-Greninja, Tapu Koko, and Mega Medicham.

Replay

PSPL IX Quarterfinals (Roginald vs R8)

Roginald and R8 both bring similar Mega Latias balance teams; R8 uses this team, while Roginald supports Latias with a similar core of Toxapex, Gliscor, Corviknight, and Weavile. Both teams wear down each other's defensive cores with entry hazards and PP stalling. Notably, Mega Latias threatens a sweep in the endgame (and loses due to a low roll on Toxapex!).

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2. Mega Lopunny Balance

Mega Lopunny is an excellent pick for balance teams with an incredible Speed tier, perfect coverage through Scrappy, and STAB priority that pressure both offensive and defensive teams. Moreover, it gained Close Combat in Generation 8—a reliable upgrade over High Jump Kick. Yet, the true headliner of this team is Corviknight, which acts as a wincon with Bulk Up, Substitute, and Pressure. The Special Defense investment allows it to set up on Slowbro, Toxapex, and a myriad other passive Pokémon that often rely on Scald to chip the bird. With Bulk Up and Brave Bird, Corviknight soon threatens said the aforementioned Pokémon under the safety of Substitute.

However, as Corviknight forgoes its usual defensive pivot duties as a Defogger with U-turn, strong revenge killers with diverse coverage like Mega Lopunny and Protean Greninja are required to stop offensive Pokémon from taking advantage of Corviknight's initial passivity. Greninja carries Gunk Shot to lure opposing Fairy-types that give Corviknight trouble, like Tapu Fini and Calm Mind Clefable, and also sets Spikes to soften opposing Steel-types and other switch-ins to Corviknight. Landorus-T has Rockium Z and Stone Edge to lure and take out Zapdos, which otherwise hard checks the avian. Tapu Fini is a much-needed switch-in to Weavile and other Knock Off users that can remove Corviknight's Leftovers and hinder its wincon potential. Lastly, Magnezone is a reliable Pokémon that can be brought in by Mega Lopunny's U-turn and trap opposing Corviknight and Mega Scizor, as well as being threatening in its own right with its Choice Specs-boosted STAB attacks.

Replay

National Dex Premier League II, Week 1 (Kaitlen vs Fardin)

Kaitlen's Corviknight has a positive matchup against Fardin's defensive core of Slowbro and Blissey, but it must find room to set up against Fardin's Mega Medicham and Weavile. Landorus-T and Tapu Fini check the former threat, while Mega Lopunny handles the second. Moreover, Greninja successfully lures Garchomp to snipe it with Protean Ice Beam in a situation where Battle Bond Ash-Greninja would usually be checked. Magnezone then has free rein to gain momentum against Blissey as well as limit Fardin's Corviknight from checking Kaitlen's Corviknight. With Mega Medicham checked once again with by Tapu Fini and Landorus-T, Corviknight sets up on Slowbro and forces Fardin to trade much of his own Corviknight's health to prevent it from winning upon its initial entrance. Kaitlen also has to sack her Tapu Fini to Mega Medicham, but Mega Lopunny forces out the Mega Medicham and allows Corviknight to once again set up and finish the game.

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3. Four Attack Mega Mawile Balance

To open up positions for Mawile to consistently wallbreak, a supportive core of Tapu Fini and Rocky Helmet Tangrowth is placed to covers a wide array of Fire-, Fighting-, Dark-, and Ground-types. Specially defensive Heatran is chosen to help in the Mega Charizard Y matchup, provide longevity against Mega Scizor and Volcarona builds, and also cripples Mega Latias with Toxic if necessary. Gravity Landorus-T pairs well with Mega Mawile to pressure Corviknight, Zapdos, and Fire-types. Weavile is necessary speed control on this team, to revenge kill a plethora of faster threats like Garchomp, Tapu Lele, Mega Charizard Y, Mega Latias, and Mega Latios.

However, this team is relatively slow, with Weavile acting as the sole revenge killer. Furthermore, each Pokémon is weak to entry hazards, and only Tapu Fini provides entry hazard control with Defog. Thus, the team trades its solid offensive and defensive role compression for fewer opportunities to pivot.

Replays

National Dex Spring Seasonal, Semifinals (Mollymt1 vs Clone)

Molly leads Tapu Fini, while Clone starts with a threatening Choice Specs Tapu Lele. However, once Tapu Fini falls to Tapu Lele, Molly's Weavile cleanly Pursuit traps it, which gives Molly a major defensive advantage. A few turns later, Molly sets up Landorus-T's Gravity and Swords Dance against Zapdos, and with Tapu Lele gone, Clone must also trade his own Landorus-T to take it down, losing a strong check to Mega Mawile. Clone's last remaining wallbreaker is Kartana, which is hard checked by Tangrowth. He's also a bit thin on defensive options, and his Toxapex is taken down by Mega Mawile's Thunder Punch.

National Dex Spring Seasonal, Semifinals (Mollymt1 vs Decem)

Decem brings a Mega Latias bulky balance team with Gliscor. Molly leads Heatran, often a solid presence against such teams, and sets Stealth Rock. Meanwhile, Decem's Gliscor is revealed to be Swords Dance; it cannot break through Tangrowth while also fulfilling its defensive role against Heatran and Mawile. Molly forces Gliscor out with Weavile and then brings Mega Mawile against Clefable, so Decem calls Gliscor back into play. A turn behind, Gliscor is forced to use Roost; but Molly brings in Landorus-T onto a predicted Earthquake with great timing, and subsequently uses Gravity to severely damage Decem's Corviknight. Decem is running out of defensive options, so he goes for an early sweep with Mega Latias, which falls to Toxic from Heatran.

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4. Mega Heracross Balance

Mega Heracross sports a massive base 185 Attack and near-perfect coverage in Close Combat and Rock Blast. Similar to Mega Mawile, it is unwallable on paper, but it also has an advantage with its base 75 Speed. Running a Jolly nature, Heracross achieves 273 Speed and outspeeds a crowded Speed tier that includes Modest Heatran, Tapu Fini, Gliscor, and defensive Zapdos and Landorus-T sets. Moreover, with a respectable bulk of 80 / 115 / 105, Heracross sets up on slower defensive Pokémon like Ferrothorn and Toxapex with Substitute or Swords Dance. Substitute protects it from status and eases the prediction game against faster revenge killers, while Swords Dance lets it achieve an OHKO on maximum HP Tapu Fini with Rock Blast and OHKO Corviknight, Mega Scizor, Tangrowth, or virtually any other Pokémon on a neutral hit with Close Combat to open opportunities for Kartana.

Jirachi and Mantine provide a defensive backbone against a plethora of Psychic-, Fairy-, and Fire-types that threaten Heracross, like Tapu Lele and Volcarona. Jirachi also provides Wish support to give Heracross a second chance. Tapu Koko carries an uncommon physical set with Electrium Z to surprise traditional checks to its special set like Heatran and Galarian Slowking, as well as score damage on opposing Zapdos and Tapu Koko. U-turn also helps Tapu Koko pivot Heracross into other Ground- and Grass-type checks like Ferrothorn. Landorus-T carries Rocky Helmet to punish U-turn users and Hidden Power Ice to chip opposing Landorus and Gliscor. It also keeps Stealth Rock up against Corviknight through Smack Down and OHKOes Kartana with Earth Power. Kartana acts as the team's revenge killer with Choice Scarf and as a secondary wincon. Heracross and Tapu Koko synergize wonderfully with Kartana by pummeling opposing Steel- and Grass-types and softening up the opponent's team for Kartana to break through in the endgame.

Replay

National Dex Ladder Tournament II, Finals (peap vs Anique)

Tapu Koko immediately uses its Z-Move to chip the opposing Tapu Koko, which otherwise exerts significant pressure on peap's team. Mantine is a hard check to Heatran and Mega Scizor, both of which struggle to make an impact throughout the match. Mantine notably keeps Stealth Rock off the field for Heracross to get the most mileage against Anique's defensive team. Landorus-T acts as a one-time check to Swords Dance Gliscor, which is then forced to switch out by Jolly Heracross. Tapu Koko keeps up offensive pressure, allowing Heracross to switch into Tangrowth and claim a subsequent KO on Mega Scizor. With Jirachi and Mantine absorbing attacks from the opposing Tapu Fini and Heatran, Mega Heracross comes in a third time to set up with Swords Dance and sweep through Gliscor, Tapu Fini, and Tangrowth.

The six Pokémon on this team were adapted from an USM OU team used by Empo.

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5. Ash-Greninja + Z Kartana Offensive Balance

Here we have a more offensive team centered around Kartana with secondary wincons in Mega Latios and Ash-Greninja. Kartana is a menacing wallbreaker that forces out common pivots like Tapu Fini, Slowking, and Blissey out. When equipped with Normalium Z and Swords Dance, it also breaks through its common checks like Zapdos and Grass-types. Kartana can also opt for Fightinium Z with Knock Off over Giga Impact to hit Mega Scizor and Corviknight harder. Landorus-T provides role compression and secondarily pressures Corvknight with the unconventional Smack Down + Earth Power combination while also hitting Gliscor and opposing Landorus-T with Hidden Power Ice. However, as a Defogger and a physically defensive check, Landorus-T is vulnerable to being worn down so each turn on the field should be calculated carefully—keeping entry hazards up on both sides is often a beneficial trade for this team.

Heatran makes for a sturdy specially defensive option against Zapdos, Corviknight, and Volcarona while also checking Clefable with Heavy Slam. Toxapex rounds out the team's defensive core, notably removing boosts from foes like Volcarona and Mega Charizard X with Haze and reliably checking Mega Lopunny and Ash-Greninja. The team's own Ash-Greninja excels at setting Spikes to wear down Toxapex on the switch and keep up momentum. Mega Latios handles Kartana and has excellent coverage for Mega Scizor and Heatran through Mystical Fire and Aura Sphere. A well-played Toxapex can handle Mega Latias, but you should play proactively against bulky Pokémon like Latias, Reuniclus, and Kyurem, which are difficult for Kartana and Greninja to revenge kill.

Replays

National Dex Ladder

Kartana bluffs Choice Scarf against an opposing Mega Lopunny and cripples Corviknight on the second turn, allowing Mega Latios to claim a KO every time it comes onto the field.

National Dex Premier League, Week 1 (peap vs ez)

Heatran and Landorus-T exert initial pressure against ez's bulky Mega Latias balance team, which also features Reuniclus as a secondary wincon that peap has no immediate answers to. While initially pressuring with Greninja, peap struggles long-term to bring down Reuniclus and Mega Latias, which overwhelm his counterplay. Even though Kartana is at one point in a position to win with +2 Kartana against Mega Latias, peap plays too passively, fearing Mega Latias from KOing Kartana with Ice Beam after Stealth Rock. ez then pilots the rest of the game with his Calm Mind wincons, showing the consistency of this article's first National Dex team archetype.

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Endless Evolution

As with any metagame, new trends are constantly developing in National Dex. More recently, Deoxys-D has seen usage as a Pressure stall wincon with Cosmic Power and Taunt. Protean Greninja offers unparalleled offensive coverage, especially with lure sets with Groundium or Psychium Z. Mega Aerodactyl has risen in usage as a response to Mega Lopunny's frequent presence. Mega Diancie can now run Mystical Fire to hit its Steel-type checks and even sees usage on hail teams. Last but not least, Mega Garchomp is one of the strongest offensive behemoths of this generation, due to its newfound access to Scale Shot for boosting its Speed. This article only showcases the tip of the iceberg—what teams will evolve next?

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