DEMOLISH
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Hey there! I'm going to give making an RMT a shot after having lurked around for so long around these forums. This team was once built around Deoxys-D, who could provide me with two layers of hazards that I could then abuse with my purely offensive team. The team was scrapped after Deoxys-D's ban to ubers, because without reliable hazards, this team functions very poorly. However, then, the gods shined upon me and revealed the rather famous Big Birds RMT. And now the focus of this team is Custap Berry Skarmory, which provides me with the hazards that I need to win. I haven't made very huge accomplishments with this team, mostly because I suck at laddering. However, it is still a very fun Hyper Offense team that thrives on momentum, and I'm hyped to see ways raters could help me improve it.[pimg]227[/pimg] [pimg]381[/pimg] [pimg]503[/pimg]
THE TEAM
Skarmory @ Custap Berry
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Brave Bird
Skarmory @ Custap Berry
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Brave Bird
This is the Pokemon that brought this entire team together, and also the one that drives it forward. Skarmory has one job and one job only, get Stealth Rocks and a layer of spikes up, and then die. These hazards are essential to all members of the team as they KO and force switches on the opponent's side. I almost always lead with Skarmory, unless my opponent has an obvious anti-lead on his side. Because I can't really resort to stall using such an offensive team, Skarmory usually serves as a suicide lead. The idea of a suicide lead Skarmory is foreign to a lot of players, and thus, they'll attempt to play around it as if it were a wall that I want to preserve. This allows Skarmory to get up plenty of hazards as my opponent tries predict switches. The investment into speed allows me to taunt common leads as they attempt to set up stealth rocks on me (note that the entire team is immune to spikes and toxic spikes, so that's not a blaring issue).
Latios (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Surf
- Roost
Latios's main purpose on this team is to check the numerous fighting types in the tier, most specifically, Technician Breloom and Keldeo, both of which threaten this team in their own ways. I initially ran specs Latios; however, the idea of being locked into one move proved annoying, and the set is very common and easy to predict around. So I opted for the life orb route, which gives me freedom to switch up my moves without giving up too much power. Despite the lower damage output than the specs variant, a Draco Meteor from this thing still scores many handy KO's. Latios can also help this team check some of the common dragons in the tier (granted they haven't set up), who can also pose a threat to my team.
Rotom-Wash @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Trick
Rotom-Wash's main purpose for being on this team is to serve as the choice scarfer, who is essentially necessary on any team in my opinion (especially in a fast paced tier like OU). Rotom-Wash also brings a nice number of resistances to my team, most importantly, a 4x resistance to the almighty Scizor's Bullet Punch. It also deals with rain teams aptly, being able to switch into Hurricanes and Hydro Pumps knowing that it can volt switch without much to fear. Although I don't get a chance to capitalize on its great typing due to my lack of HP EV's, Rotom-Wash is still a very resilient Pokemon that can take numerous hits because of it's typing and overall decent bulk.
Bisharp @ Life Orb
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Brick Break
- Pursuit
Bisharp serves as my counter to a lot of the dragons that feel it's safe to spam outrage/Draco Meteor on my team. It has the choice of either setting up on said dragons locked into outrage or simply taking them out with a stab Sucker Punch. Bisharp also does the job of trapping many pokemon within the ou tier, such as Gengar and Latios, as many of them switch out fearing sucker punch, only to take a pursuit to the face. Although Bisharp has a much harder time breaking through walls than the previously used Honchkrow due to relatively low base power moves and the lack of a viable special moves, it still pulls it's weight around with a typing that overall provides great help to this team. Bisharp also helps with my massive ice weakness that I had somehow overlooked previously. Thanks to user SwampertGuru for suggesting it!
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Brick Break
- Pursuit
Bisharp serves as my counter to a lot of the dragons that feel it's safe to spam outrage/Draco Meteor on my team. It has the choice of either setting up on said dragons locked into outrage or simply taking them out with a stab Sucker Punch. Bisharp also does the job of trapping many pokemon within the ou tier, such as Gengar and Latios, as many of them switch out fearing sucker punch, only to take a pursuit to the face. Although Bisharp has a much harder time breaking through walls than the previously used Honchkrow due to relatively low base power moves and the lack of a viable special moves, it still pulls it's weight around with a typing that overall provides great help to this team. Bisharp also helps with my massive ice weakness that I had somehow overlooked previously. Thanks to user SwampertGuru for suggesting it!
Honchkrow set previously used.
Honchkrow @ Life Orb
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Heat Wave
- Brave Bird
- Pursuit
Honchkrow is a strange case. It is by no means the most powerful pokemon on my team, but it scores many KO's simply due to the surprise factor surrounding it. A lot of OU players don't pay much attention to Honchkrow, as it is a pokemon that isn't seen too often, even in its own tier. However, Honchkrow is certainly a threat, as it can check a great number of pokemon in the OU tier. Two of the most important of these are Latios and Gengar, specifically Latios, because other than Honchkrow, my other two available ways to deal with this thing are through two shaky speed ties with Gengar and my own Latios. It can pursuit trap these two and other common psychic and ghost types in the tier, seeing as how almost everyone switches out on this thing, fearing a sucker punch. Heat Wave is also an interesting move that catches a lot of the physical walls in the tier by surprise, helping me nab a few easy attack boosts right off the bat. Sadly, the insane amounts of recoil damage this thing takes with a stealth rock weakness, life orb, and brave bird makes a full blown sweep rare, but it does punch holes through teams with ease.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Stone Edge
Landorus-Therian is an absolute powerhouse. It serves as a nice pivot switch and counters A LOT of the common physical attackers in the tier because of how damn bulky this thing becomes after it's opponent is at -1. Landorus-T effectively counters threats like Scizor and Terrakion, and can grab momentum very easily due to the switches it can force. I've chosen to go with a choice band mostly because none of it's non-attacking moves appealed to me whatsoever. I didn't want to set up with it because U-turn is essential, and I also didn't want to run a scarf because lack of hp investment makes it harder to counter things like Terrakion if they are at +1. The plus side to the choice band is mainly that it lets Landorus hit like a truck and scores clean OHKO's on many of the bulkier pokemon within the tier.
Gengar @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Pain Split
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
Gengar finds it's way into nearly every Hyper Offense team in the Overused tier for a reason. Due to how important hazards are to this team, a spinblocker is vital, and because of how important momentum is to this team, the spinblocker must not rely too heavily on stall. Gengar fits these requirements to a tee. There isn't too much to be said about this thing: it's fast, powerful, and can also aid in breaking through certain walls via the use of Substitute and Pain Split. The main problem I face with Gengar is that it has difficulty switching into Starmie and Tentacruel, two very common rapid spinners in the tier. If it carries Gyro ball, a Forretress also OHKO's it. Usually, at the cost of attempting to prevent a spin, I lose my Gengar and a pokemon has to come in to scare out (or KO) the spinner. Despite all of this however, there really is no adequate replacement for this thing on a team like this (as far as I know).
THREAT LIST
Toxicroak: More specifically, the bulk up variant. My main way of dealing with this thing is through Landorus-T's intimidate, which allows me to sponge most of it's hits and fire back with earthquake. However, if it's behind a sub and carries ice punch, then I look at a potential 2 hit KO, and that's assuming it hasn't gotten any boosts up. One of the few instances in which I preserve my Skarmory is when I see a Toxicroak on the opposing team.
Starmie: The main reason as to why this thing poses a threat to the team is because of how risky it is to spinblock against this thing. It can rob me of my precious hazards or steals my Gengar from me. With the offensive rapid spin set, it even does quite a number on my team, granted that Honchkrow is out of the way.
Latios is a humongous threat not a lot on my team likes taking hits from this thing. Although the addition of Bisharp lessens the threat this thing poses, Bisharp still doesn't like to take Surfs and other coverage moves from this thing, so I have to play very carefully against Latios, and a misprediction can cost me. The addition of Hidden Power Fire on my Latios also means that I only have Gengar to speed tie with this thing after Bisharp goes down, so I'm forced to play VERY conservatively with my Bisharp.
After playing against numerous sun teams, I realized how amazingly weak the team was to Venusaur. After a chlorophyll boost, it outspeeds my entire team, and my priority does nowhere enough to take it out right away. It has very nice coverage against my team and if it gets a growth off, it OHKO's it too. I definitely need a counter/check to this thing ASAP.
Here's an importable to aid you guys in testing out my team.
Well, that's it for the RMT. I'm interested to see what suggestions you may have to make for the team, so please feel free to give me as much criticism regarding this team as you feel is necessary. Thank you! Have this totally unrelated gif as my parting gift to you.
