ORAS OU RMT: Goodstuffs

[AKA]

Hey guys! I've been working pretty hard on my OU team lately. I'm stuck with an ELO in the 1400s with a GXE of 70 and I just want to make sure my team is completely polished before I continue grinding. I know this team has some common weaknesses (Fairy, Ice, and Water) but I'm not sure how I should go about patching those up. If you don't watch to read all of the descriptions, this is the team: **Specially Defensive Heatran, Bulky Mega Altaria, Mixed Scarf Tyranitar, HP Fire Latios, Choice Band Scizor, and HP Ice Landorus-I.**

If you have the time, please take a moment to read my explanations.

---

Heatran @ Leftovers

Ability: Flash Fire

EVs: 248 HP / 192 SpD / 68 Spe

Calm Nature

- Lava Plume

- Earth Power

- Stealth Rock

- Toxic

Spdef Heatran is really great for me. It can survive focus blasts from Landorus-Is (if they’re predicting a switch), earth powers from opposing Heatrans, and Hydro Pumps from even the most offensive Rotom-Washes. In addition to being my rocks setter and my special defense tank, Heatran also functions as a pivot for Fairy moves, Bullet punches, and U-Turns. I run Earth Power over Flash Cannon because I value hitting other Heatrans more than I value hitting fairies (which I can wall with toxic anyways). Toxic is great for wearing down my opponents switch-ins and crippling certain walls like Slowbro.

---

Altaria @ Altarianite

Ability: Natural Cure

EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 96 SpD / 28 Spe

Impish Nature

- Return

- Dragon Dance

- Roost

- Heal Bell

I think bulky Mega Altaria is the best mega evolution in OU right now. It’s a great pivot for elemental attacks, Dragon attacks (after mega evolution) and Fighting attacks. I run Heal Bell over Earthquake as it’s easier for me to identify Steel and Poison types that wall Mega Altaria than it is for me to identify Pokemon that could be running status moves to stop my sweep. This also allows Altaria to function as a cleric. In addition, Natural Cure allows Altaria to sponge predicted Spores, Will-O-Wisps, etc. before mega evolution, which makes Altaria even more resilient against status. It has enough EVs in speed to outspeed Mega Lopunny at +2 with the rest solely invested into bulk.

---

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf

Ability: Sand Stream

EVs: 200 Atk / 56 SpA / 252 Spe

Hasty Nature

- Crunch

- Earthquake

- Stone Edge

- Ice Beam

Scarfed Mixed Tyranitar is actually something that was more popular back in XY. Investing partially into special attack allows Tyranitar to check things like Gliscor, Garchomp, and Landorus-I with Ice Beam. It’s another solid special wall (when Sand Storm is up) but it shares the same water weakness as my other special wall, which is pretty unfortunate.

---

Latios (M) @ Life Orb

Ability: Levitate

EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

- Draco Meteor

- Psyshock

- Hidden Power [Fire]

- Defog

The only reason I’m running Latios over Latias is because I want to get the most out of my HP Fires when I’m facing Scizor. Otherwise, this Latios is fairly standard. I get a lot of utility out of Defog and a Life Orbed Draco Meteor can hit most non-Fairy/Steel types extremely hard.

---

Scizor @ Choice Band

Ability: Technician

EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD

Adamant Nature

- Bullet Punch

- Superpower

- U-turn

- Knock Off



Choice Band Scizor is my designated Fairy check and it’s typing synergizes pretty well with my Mega Altaria. Technician boosted Bullet Punch hits like a truck with a Choice Band on it and Scizor’s natural bulk allows it to pivot into many attacks and give me a slow U-Turn out into something else. Superpower lets me hit Heatran super hard on predicted switch-ins and Knock Off helps me deal with Eviolite users and first turn Gliscors. Scizor also helps me check Mega Lopunny although I’ve noticed that some Lopunnies have started running Fire Punch.

---

Landorus @ Life Orb

Ability: Sheer Force

EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

- Sludge Wave

- Earth Power

- Focus Blast

- Hidden Power [Ice]

Finally, we have Sheer Force Life Orb Landorus. This is easily my favorite Pokemon of the format and there’s a reason why it’s considered S tier on the viability thread. Simply put, Landorus-I destroys everything that’s in a lower speed tier. The mandatory STAB Earth Power hits anything that doesn’t have an immunity to/resists it like a truck. Focus Blast’s accuracy is not optimal but it allows me to hit even the bulkiest special defense walls like a truck (I’m looking at you, Blissey). Sludge Wave also lets me destroy Fairies (which tend to be slower) although I usually need to weak threats like Sylveon first before I can rely on the KO. Finally, HP Ice gives me another check to opposing Landorus-Is and Gliscors. It also lets me beat Landorus-Ts 1v1.

---

That’s my team! I’d love suggestions or tips for making this better! I’ve been polishing it for about 2 weeks and I’m pretty happy with the results but I’m not afraid to admit that there are some obvious issues with it (especially in terms of common type weaknesses).

 

[Mur]

Hey man nice team it looks pretty solid! I like the idea of luring ferro with hp fire lati and the general scheme of things but I do have a few suggestions to improve the team a little bit n_n

First and foremost I would not worry too much about individual typing weaknesses. As long as you have checks and ways to beat the common mons in the meta you should be fine! I use this when I teambuild to help cover everything and have the important resistances taken care of. Now onto the team!

I think it would be beneficial to change scarf tyranitar to scarf magnezone for a few reasons. The main goal of the team is for Malt to sweep so trapping and removing ferro and scizor will help you achieve this goal much faster if played correctly. Scarf mag also provides a nice check to Mdiancie which is a huge threat to your team along with altaria and clefable. Losing tyranitar does not open you up to talon much either considering mag is an ok check but the main thing is that you have heatran to either toxic it or just outright beat it and pressuring it with rocks is not too much of a challenge. I would also put taunt over earth power on heatran so you can beat clefable easier but that is up to you. On another small side note I would change your Malt spread to 40 HP / 212 Atk / 12 Def / 40 SpD / 204 Spe with a jolly nature. You may recognize this spread from jamvad's latest teambuilding video where he uses this on his mono attacking altaria. This spread maintains some bulk and speed while providing more power than your spread which imo is much better so you can sweep easier since you are relying on a single coverage move.

Now mag+hp fire lati may seem a little overkill(spoiler it is!) so I have a solution to that which is swapping hpfire on latios to earthquake. This combination of mag+eq lati can effectively remove Malt's main counters so it can inevitably sweep late game. Now since we have mag another small switch we can make is replacing focus blast with rock slide on landorus. Focus blast doesn't really beat blissey or chansey to begin with and most of your team sets up or beats the pink blobs anyways so I don't think focus blast it necessary. Rock slide is a nice lure for talonflame and torn-t which both can be pretty tough for your team to handle since specific sets can threaten heatran and bulkier talonflames check altaria so I feel that rock slide on lando can help open up more holes for Malt to run away with the game.

One final change I will give is to change band scizor to scarf keldeo. This is because of the switch to magnezone above we have now opened up the team even more to heatran so a water type to threaten it out would be very valuable for the team. Also the team lacks any immediate speed so Mega loppuny and other offensive mons threaten your team to a degree so scarf keldeo can help provide a nice check for said threats. I put hp electric on keld to revenge azu and also give it no room to set up since after a belly drum it can potentially sweep you if alt is weakened and keldeo is its on opportunity for a safe set up with out having to out play you(ie letting ferro get trapped so it can set up on mag).

Thats all I got! I apologize for the two big switches but I feel that this improves the team a bit but overall nice team I enjoy using lures in this tier and I agree with you that altaria is the best mega in the tier right now. Have fun with the team!

Changes

Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon

Latios (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Earthquake
- Defog

Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]

 

[AKA]

Hey man nice team it looks pretty solid! I like the idea of luring ferro with hp fire lati and the general scheme of things but I do have a few suggestions to improve the team a little bit n_n

First and foremost I would not worry too much about individual typing weaknesses. As long as you have checks and ways to beat the common mons in the meta you should be fine! I use this when I teambuild to help cover everything and have the important resistances taken care of. Now onto the team!

I think it would be beneficial to change scarf tyranitar to scarf magnezone for a few reasons. The main goal of the team is for Malt to sweep so trapping and removing ferro and scizor will help you achieve this goal much faster if played correctly. Scarf mag also provides a nice check to Mdiancie which is a huge threat to your team along with altaria and clefable. Losing tyranitar does not open you up to talon much either considering mag is an ok check but the main thing is that you have heatran to either toxic it or just outright beat it and pressuring it with rocks is not too much of a challenge. I would also put taunt over earth power on heatran so you can beat clefable easier but that is up to you. On another small side note I would change your Malt spread to 40 HP / 212 Atk / 12 Def / 40 SpD / 204 Spe with a jolly nature. You may recognize this spread from jamvad's latest teambuilding video where he uses this on his mono attacking altaria. This spread maintains some bulk and speed while providing more power than your spread which imo is much better so you can sweep easier since you are relying on a single coverage move.

Now mag+hp fire lati may seem a little overkill(spoiler it is!) so I have a solution to that which is swapping hpfire on latios to earthquake. This combination of mag+eq lati can effectively remove Malt's main counters so it can inevitably sweep late game. Now since we have mag another small switch we can make is replacing focus blast with rock slide on landorus. Focus blast doesn't really beat blissey or chansey to begin with and most of your team sets up or beats the pink blobs anyways so I don't think focus blast it necessary. Rock slide is a nice lure for talonflame and torn-t which both can be pretty tough for your team to handle since specific sets can threaten heatran and bulkier talonflames check altaria so I feel that rock slide on lando can help open up more holes for Malt to run away with the game.

One final change I will give is to change band scizor to scarf keldeo. This is because of the switch to magnezone above we have now opened up the team even more to heatran so a water type to threaten it out would be very valuable for the team. Also the team lacks any immediate speed so Mega loppuny and other offensive mons threaten your team to a degree so scarf keldeo can help provide a nice check for said threats. I put hp electric on keld to revenge azu and also give it no room to set up since after a belly drum it can potentially sweep you if alt is weakened and keldeo is its on opportunity for a safe set up with out having to out play you(ie letting ferro get trapped so it can set up on mag).

Thats all I got! I apologize for the two big switches but I feel that this improves the team a bit but overall nice team I enjoy using lures in this tier and I agree with you that altaria is the best mega in the tier right now. Have fun with the team!

Changes

Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon

Latios (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Earthquake
- Defog

Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it! I just want to clarify a something very quickly.

First off, I don't think the main goal for this team is to pull off an Altaria sweep. Sure, Altaria is my frequently my win condition. However, I don't think Altaria is the singular win condition I should be centralizing my team around.

Anyways, all of your suggestions are really interesting. I don't know how comfortable I am with the Magnezone change. What threats does it handle exactly? Off the top of my head, I see Scizor, Ferrothorn, Starmie, and Keldeo. I'm not sure I'm willing to trade checks for Talonflame, Tornadus-T, Latios, Latias, Gliscor, Landorus-I and Heatran for that. Can you please elaborate on Magnezone a little bit more?

I'm also curious to see what the Altaria spread you posted accomplishes. I used Smogon's bulky EV spread as Altaria serves as my main physical pivot but I'm not opposed to changing it if I see compelling calcs.

What EV spreads would you run for Earthquake Latios and Rock Slide Landorus? I think you made these suggestions contingent on my inclusion of Magnezone but I'm still curious.

Finally, I'm very interested in using Keldeo. I know it's a great pokemon in the current metagame and I'm also aware that my team is fairly slow. I don't think Choice Specs or Sub + CM Keldeo fit on my team so I will definitely test out some Keldeo sets. Are you sure Hidden Power Electric optimal? I'm not sure I want Keldeo to get walled by Latios/Latias, especially if I remove Tyranitar from my team.

Anyways, thank you so much for taking the time to reply! I really appreciate your input.

 

[Mur]

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it! I just want to clarify a something very quickly.

First off, I don't think the main goal for this team is to pull off an Altaria sweep. Sure, Altaria is my frequently my win condition. However, I don't think Altaria is the singular win condition I should be centralizing my team around.

Anyways, all of your suggestions are really interesting. I don't know how comfortable I am with the Magnezone change. What threats does it handle exactly? Off the top of my head, I see Scizor, Ferrothorn, Starmie, and Keldeo. I'm not sure I'm willing to trade checks for Talonflame, Tornadus-T, Latios, Latias, Gliscor, Landorus-I and Heatran for that. Can you please elaborate on Magnezone a little bit more?

I'm also curious to see what the Altaria spread you posted accomplishes. I used Smogon's bulky EV spread as Altaria serves as my main physical pivot but I'm not opposed to changing it if I see compelling calcs.

What EV spreads would you run for Earthquake Latios and Rock Slide Landorus? I think you made these suggestions contingent on my inclusion of Magnezone but I'm still curious.

Finally, I'm very interested in using Keldeo. I know it's a great pokemon in the current metagame and I'm also aware that my team is fairly slow. I don't think Choice Specs or Sub + CM Keldeo fit on my team so I will definitely test out some Keldeo sets. Are you sure Hidden Power Electric optimal? I'm not sure I want Keldeo to get walled by Latios/Latias, especially if I remove Tyranitar from my team.

Anyways, thank you so much for taking the time to reply! I really appreciate your input.

No problem man :] Anyways for the ev spreads you asked for I put them in the changes tab at the bottom of my rate so you can find them there! Also I agree that specs and subcm keld do not fit on your team but i recommended scarf keldeo so that isnt a problem:] Hp electric can be changed to another coverage option of your choice I just put hp electric because belly drum azu can be a threat and hp electric helps give it less room to set up. The alt spread I was not saying should be changed 100% I was just giving you a similar but more offensive spread to try out either one works fine for your team. Next the switch to magnezone would not make you lose out on too many of the checks you mentioned because either keldeo or another member on the team can reliably take them on and magnezone provides amazing support for altaria to sweep so it's worth the change imo. Assuming the changes heatran reliably takes on talonflame, both latis and sets up rocks on them, and also torn-t lacking superpower. Keldeo checks lando-i, heatran, and gliscor(lando-i also beats this with hp ice) and possibly picking off a weakened torn-t. I apologize about the win con situation I just assumed the team was built for alt to sweep off first glance. A step-by-step teambuilding process(most rmt posts contain them! n_n) included in the OP may make your other win condition scenarios a little easier to see if you showed your thought process when you built your team:]

I knew making the suggestions you may feel uncomfortable with a few of the changes since they were a little drastic so I have a solution to this. Copy the team so you have two except have one with the changes and one as the original so you can try out both and see what you like best! Hope I made things more clear good luck!