SV OU AV Hitmonchan

[AccelgorDefender]

Hello everyone, I'm back with another bad team! I chose Hitmonchan to build around this time, but I'm considering scrapping this team and going for a more semi-stall or balance archetype. I appreciate any advice that you guys have. My main gripe is that this team feels really weak to flying and fairy types.

The Team: https://pokepast.es/f6597da9c8ffb54d

Hitmonchan

Hitmonchan @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Mach Punch
- Thunder Punch

I think the most appealing things about Hitmonchan are probably its very good special defense with assault vest, its decent attack, and its iron fist-boosted drain punch. Ice punch and thunder punch makes for good coverage, and mach punch is a decent priority attack for Kingambit. Is it entirely outclassed by Zamazenta? Yes. But it is a bit different.

Dragapult

Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
- U-turn

I chose Dragapult because of its ability to quickly take out Pokemon that Hitmonchan can't hit, like Gholdengo, Pecharunt, and Slowking-Galar. Of course, u-turn is also a very useful utility move, which is always appreciated. I chose this set over a set with hex because of its immediate firepower, and we have will-o-wisp on Moltres.

Iron Treads

Iron Treads @ Leftovers
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin

I also chose Iron Treads with Hitmonchan in mind, but I probably could have used Great Tusk, too. Out of the stealth-rock and rapid spinners in OU, Iron Treads stood out to me because of its resistance to flying type attacks, which I think this team is very weak to. And I also think it's always great to have at least one knock off user. Iron Treads is very good role compression.

Rillaboom

Rillaboom @ Life Orb
Ability: Grassy Surge
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Grassy Glide
- Knock Off
- Wood Hammer

I like to use three special attackers and three physical attackers for simplicity. So, for my last physical attacker, Rillaboom seemed like a good choice because of its priority and powerful breaking potential that Iron Treads and Hitmonchan don't have. I think I could have used choice band, and that might be a better option, but swords dance will theoretically let it sweep more. However, I haven't had much of a chance to sweep with it.

Moltres

Moltres @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 248 HP / 248 Def / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
- Flamethrower
- Roost
- U-turn
- Will-O-Wisp

Moltres is useful for its mid-speed (not quite slow) u-turns, and its ability to spread burns, and that helps out with Hitmonchan's underwhelming defense stat. Additionally, it gives this team a ground immunity and a bulky fire resist, covering for Rillaboom and Iron Tread's weaknesses. Its reliable recovery is very helpful in slower, bulkier games.

Darkrai

Darkrai @ Leftovers
Ability: Bad Dreams
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Bomb
- Focus Blast

This is probably the most replacable slot on this team, I think. I just thought that a fast, special setup sweeper might have been good for this team. Sludge bomb covers slightly for this team's fairy weakness, but it's inaccurate and inconsistent, so that's probably something that needs to be fixed. I went with focus blast over ice beam because of the ice beam coverage on Hitmonchan, and focus blast might be needed for an emergency Kingambit counter if I got a sweep off with Darkrai.

 

[latias999999999]

Hi, I'm a bit new to this but I like your thought process, Assault Vest Hitmonchan does have the potential to 1v1 a special Kyurem but it still is a ZU pokemon after all. The first thing I would do is change Himonchan's spread to this:

Hitmonchan @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Atk / 136 SpD / 48 Spe
Careful Nature
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off

This is because 48 Speed is a key benchmark for you to out speed Kingambit and the 136 SpD lets you survive any hit from Choice Specs Kyurem while still threatening Drain Punch. The Knock Off is so that it can make progress against any Ghost-types like Gholdengo or any big walls that you face. I know you want to keep all the punches for the theme but Thunder Punch unfortunately doesn't have much use against most of the tier. Ice Punch is pretty good for sniping Dragonite and Gliscor tho. I think I'd also replace Mach with Rapid Spin just for utility's sake.

I think I would replace Dragapult with Raging Bolt since Raging Bolt would really appreciate Hitmonchan for being a check into Kyurem and can pivot into it with Volt Switch. It also has a flying resist that you mentioned. It has good synergy with Rillaboom too through typing and allowing it a way to enter and set up. Also, your team currently gets melted by Ogerpon wellspring so one more check would be nice.

Raging Bolt @ Choice Specs
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 20 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderclap
- Volt Switch

I'm also going to replace Iron treads with Ting Lu since Hitmonchan can work as a spinner and it's a bulky hazard setter that has more overall longevity than iron treads.

Ting-Lu @ Leftovers
Ability: Vessel of Ruin
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Ruination
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind


Moltres is definitely a good option for physical attackers like Zamazenta and Great Tusk so I'd keep it as is. I think Darkrai is a serviceable sweeper for breaking walls that Rillaboom might struggle with and it appreciates Hitmonchan for somewhat dealing with Blissey. The team still does have some problems though cos Hitmonchan is quite easy to break through, but I think this would be an improvement.

https://pokepast.es/8a2a04024b339383

 

[AccelgorDefender]

Hi, I'm a bit new to this but I like your thought process, Assault Vest Hitmonchan does have the potential to 1v1 a special Kyurem but it still is a ZU pokemon after all. The first thing I would do is change Himonchan's spread to this:

Hitmonchan @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Atk / 136 SpD / 48 Spe
Careful Nature
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off

This is because 48 Speed is a key benchmark for you to out speed Kingambit and the 136 SpD lets you survive any hit from Choice Specs Kyurem while still threatening Drain Punch. The Knock Off is so that it can make progress against any Ghost-types like Gholdengo or any big walls that you face. I know you want to keep all the punches for the theme but Thunder Punch unfortunately doesn't have much use against most of the tier. Ice Punch is pretty good for sniping Dragonite and Gliscor tho. I think I'd also replace Mach with Rapid Spin just for utility's sake.

I think I would replace Dragapult with Raging Bolt since Raging Bolt would really appreciate Hitmonchan for being a check into Kyurem and can pivot into it with Volt Switch. It also has a flying resist that you mentioned. It has good synergy with Rillaboom too through typing and allowing it a way to enter and set up. Also, your team currently gets melted by Ogerpon wellspring so one more check would be nice.

Raging Bolt @ Choice Specs
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 20 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderclap
- Volt Switch

I'm also going to replace Iron treads with Ting Lu since Hitmonchan can work as a spinner and it's a bulky hazard setter.

Ting-Lu @ Leftovers
Ability: Vessel of Ruin
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Ruination
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind


Moltres is definitely a good option for physical attackers like Zamazenta and Great Tusk so I'd keep it as is. I think Darkrai is a serviceable sweeper for breaking walls that Rillaboom might struggle with and it appreciates Hitmonchan for somewhat dealing with Blissey. The team still does have some problems though cos Hitmonchan is quite easy to break through, but I think this would be an improvement.

https://pokepast.es/4a69534dd8fc1f3e

Click to collapse...

Thanks for the improvements. Do you think the remaining flaws are anything that could be fixed with Hitmonchan's teammates, or all they all from Hitmonchan itself? Also, what do you think about replacing Rillaboom with Ogerpon Wellspring? I think that might be useful because it can absorb scalds, sweep with swords dance, and has an extra STAB ontop of that. The only problem is that it doesn't have grassy terrain healing or boosted grass attacks, but I'm pretty sure grassy terrain reduces earthquake damage, right?

 

[latias999999999]

Thanks for the improvements. Do you think the remaining flaws are anything that could be fixed with Hitmonchan's teammates, or all they all from Hitmonchan itself?

Click to collapse...

hmmmm. I think you could definitely build a better team if you have specific matchups in mind. The one I provided is a somewhat common core that synergizes with each other and I think they kind of work with Hitmonchan. I'm sure there are other decent synergies like Dragapult with Kingambit or Gholdengo. Hitmonchan is generally a passive pokemon that at best trades one for one if you give it a free switch in. It's definitely fun when it works, but I think it'd be hard to find a team that can consistently climb. Even here, the team I provided is still flawed because I couldn't find a way to alleviate the bad Fairy matchup. Perhaps you could slot in Poison jab or something to catch them by surprise

I guess I could see it more on a bulky offense sort of team where you know what you want to trade for? But it's stats are still a bit too low to do any wallbreaking or tanking against most of the metagame.

 

[latias999999999]

I was also thinking about using Ogerpon Wellspring over Rillaboom haha. I think it's got nicer coverage and can sweep in more situations, it wouldn't be a bad pick. And yeah grassy terrain can be nice for Raging Bolt/Iron Treads in case of any Earthquakes.

 

[AccelgorDefender]

hmmmm. I think you could definitely build a better team if you have specific matchups in mind. The one I provided is a somewhat common core that synergizes with each other and I think they kind of work with Hitmonchan. I'm sure there are other decent synergies like Dragapult with Kingambit, but Hitmonchan is generally a passive pokemon that at best trades one for one if you give it a free switch in. It's definitely fun when it works, but I think it'd be hard to find a team that can consistently climb.

Click to collapse...

I was also thinking about using Ogerpon Wellspring over Rillaboom haha. I think it's got nicer coverage and can sweep in more situations, it wouldn't be a bad pick. And yeah grassy terrain can be nice for Raging Bolt/Iron Treads in case of any Earthquakes.

Click to collapse...

Yeah, I'll try both of those out and see what works. Thanks for the advice!

 

[OatIsHere]

bit of a late reply but I have noticed some crucial problems with your team:
- no toxic spike absorber, 4/6 of your 6 pokemon are affected by tspike and all of them are crucial for you breaking your opposing team, this can be really annoying as almost all of the time glimmora is paired with a spin blocker like gholdengo, pecharunt or dragapult to annoy your treads when spinning.
- No ice resist, this isnt crucial but weavile and kyurem can be huge threats, when testing hitmonchan could be easily exploited by subtect, specs & dragon dance kyurem whilst weavile with knock off can easily get past moltres and your physical wall dead.
- No knock off absorber, your team hates dealing with knock off, nothing on your team wants to get knocked the least caring being treads but without recovery threats like zapdos and raging bolt can easily get through treads without lefties and put dents in your team.
A change that I could suggest would be :darkrai: -> :pecharunt:

:sv/pecharunt:
Pecharunt @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Poison Puppeteer
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 248 HP / 220 Def / 40 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Parting Shot
- Malignant Chain
- Foul Play

- This gives you a tspike absorber, a secondary physical wall to put pressure off of moltres and a semi decent knock absorber that is able to take weak knocks and recover them back. Foul play tera dark pech helps check ceruledge while also giving you a second pivot.

Set Changes:
:hitmonchan: - I hated how your hitmonchan could not touch gholdengo at all, for this i replaced mach punch with knock off. Swords dance rillaboom grassy glide and darkrai and dragapult provide excellent speed already so having mach on hitmontop was kind of a dead slot.
:iron-treads: - You already have lots of immediate power on the team, making treads into a more defensive spread is more optimal. I made it outspeed tusk and the rest into bulk which will help you check pokemon like fairies and electrics better. Also made treads tera dark to give extra power to knock off as you already have a good fighting resist in moltres.
:moltres: - I made this a specially defensive moltres, this will super help out against kyurem as subtect kyurem was super annoying and this will let your moltres be able to roar kyurem or u-turn into a pokemon like infiltrator pult and threaten it out

https://pokepast.es/9320410a494bae91

 

[AccelgorDefender]

bit of a late reply but I have noticed some crucial problems with your team:
- no toxic spike absorber, 4/6 of your 6 pokemon are affected by tspike and all of them are crucial for you breaking your opposing team, this can be really annoying as almost all of the time glimmora is paired with a spin blocker like gholdengo, pecharunt or dragapult to annoy your treads when spinning.
- No ice resist, this isnt crucial but weavile and kyurem can be huge threats, when testing hitmonchan could be easily exploited by subtect, specs & dragon dance kyurem whilst weavile with knock off can easily get past moltres and your physical wall dead.
- No knock off absorber, your team hates dealing with knock off, nothing on your team wants to get knocked the least caring being treads but without recovery threats like zapdos and raging bolt can easily get through treads without lefties and put dents in your team.
A change that I could suggest would be :darkrai: -> :pecharunt:

:sv/pecharunt:
Pecharunt @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Poison Puppeteer
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 248 HP / 220 Def / 40 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Parting Shot
- Malignant Chain
- Foul Play

- This gives you a tspike absorber, a secondary physical wall to put pressure off of moltres and a semi decent knock absorber that is able to take weak knocks and recover them back. Foul play tera dark pech helps check ceruledge while also giving you a second pivot.

Set Changes:
:hitmonchan: - I hated how your hitmonchan could not touch gholdengo at all, for this i replaced mach punch with knock off. Swords dance rillaboom grassy glide and darkrai and dragapult provide excellent speed already so having mach on hitmontop was kind of a dead slot.
:iron-treads: - You already have lots of immediate power on the team, making treads into a more defensive spread is more optimal. I made it outspeed tusk and the rest into bulk which will help you check pokemon like fairies and electrics better. Also made treads tera dark to give extra power to knock off as you already have a good fighting resist in moltres.
:moltres: - I made this a specially defensive moltres, this will super help out against kyurem as subtect kyurem was super annoying and this will let your moltres be able to roar kyurem or u-turn into a pokemon like infiltrator pult and threaten it out

https://pokepast.es/9320410a494bae91

Click to collapse...

Thanks for the improvements. Do you think it would be suboptimal to run something like leftovers on Rillaboom, by the way?

 

[OatIsHere]

Thanks for the improvements. Do you think it would be suboptimal to run something like leftovers on Rillaboom, by the way?

Click to collapse...

usually you want an offensive item, makes rillaboom less passive overall, i personally wouldn't recommend lefties but if you really wanted a defensive item for a reason then boots is always there that helps with hazard chip.