ORAS OU Purple Gems Balance

[C9 DRM2K]

Purple Gems​

Hello all! My name is ChaosTwilly, though I'm more commonly known as C9 DRM2K, on the Pokemon Showdown server. Today, I present to you, Purple Gems Balance, a team that I have found a bit of success with. It's the first successful team I have ever built, and I'm really proud to call it my own. Changes in red.

Team Building Process

I started off with this core I found on the Good Cores Forum posted by Clone.

Added Talonflame because I needed a fairy switch in.

Added Hippowdon for blanket check and for rocks.

The team was looking weak to lati@s, so I added klefki for t-wave and spikes support.
The Squad​

Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Roost
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Fusion Bolt

​

This thing is such a threat. I added it because it was in the core I started out with. The EV spread is to out speed Manaphy that gives this team trouble. Kyurem-B just destroys slower builds and nothing switches into this monster. It provides immense pressure because of its massive 170/120 offenses and almost always puts in work for the squad. Nothing enjoys switching into this behemoth, and it's just a great pokemon to have on the team.
​

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Recover

This thing works really well with the other 2 parts of the core. It comes in on fire types which force Sableye out, and it spins away hazards for the rest of the team. It also acts as a status absorber with it's ability, Natural Cure. Being able to take on threats like Keldeo is also always a plus.

Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Metal Burst
- Recover
- Knock Off

The main man of the squad. This thing is so good. He can annoy mons with his ability to burn. Heatran can't safely switch in without fear of Knock Off, and he isn't passive as hell with Metal Burst, which allows Sableye to deal a good chunk of damage against strong attackers. Of course, Magic Bounce acts as a way bounce back hazards that your opponents try to use. With so much utility, it's able to give balance teams all sorts of trouble.

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock

Hippowdon is here as a stealth rock setter and a really nice blanket check. It's also a switch in to threats like Talonflame, that scares the core my team is built off of. It also takes on Thundurus-I, Mega Manectric, and Raikou, which the rest of my team struggles with. It also acts as a nice Charizard X check that otherwise threatens the team.

Talonflame
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 244 SpD / 16 Spe
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Will-O-Wisp
- Acrobatics


Ah. What's a Mega Sableye team without an obligatory fairy switch in? No item to absorb Knock Offs and acrobatics over Brave Bird for no recoil damage. In addition to being a great fairy switch in, it also comes in on major threats like Gengar or Charizard Y. With Will-O-Wisp, it can easily burn checks and counters that switch into Talonflame. Talonflame also is a good mon to counter Serperior and Mega Venusar, which otherwise gives my team some trouble. Finally, it provides a potential win-con with the use of Bulk Up.

Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 28 Def / 228 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Flash Cannon
- Magnet Rise
- Thunder Wave


Everyone's least favorite set of keys. This thing provides a lot of utility with Spike support, t-wave support, and it even carries Magnet Rise to take on DD Altaria, Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Mega Diancie. It also provides a nice lati@s switch in as well just a nice steel typing to begin with. With Klefki, it can easily cripple threats with the use of Thunder Wave, and it provides Hazard pressure in the form of Spikes. Finally, Flash cannon is used over Dazzling gleam for Mega Diancie.

Importable

Hide

Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Roost
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Fusion Bolt

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Recover

Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Metal Burst
- Recover
- Knock Off

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock

Talonflame
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 244 SpD / 16 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bulk Up
- Roost
- Will-O-Wisp
- Acrobatics

Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 28 Def / 228 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Flash Cannon
- Magnet Rise
- Thunder Wave

Shoutouts​

Though I don't know most of these people well enough for me to actually call them friends, I really appreciate their help and support while building this team.
​

AM for never being annoyed by my endless stream of questions, and answering all of them in earnest. You also inspired me to branch out of just playing on the ladder, and instead, trying to play in tournaments.

Trinitrotoluene for taking a look at my team, even though you had no obligation to.

Albacore for giving amazing advice on improving my team.

GeeMick for being a really nice person and taking time out of his busy day to help me with my team.

Mudvayne for being one of the first friends I've ever had on this server. That really means a lot to me. You keep doing you buddy.

PDC for being an inspiration for me. I love watching your videos, and I aspire to be as good as you.

Zamrock You were really hard to approach at first, but I'm glad I did because you are a really nice person who gave me some really good advice.

bludz for being a really nice person who took a look at every team I asked him to and never stopped being kind to me.

AD impish john for helping me out and being an inspiration to me as a battler and team builder.

Team Pokepals for helping me think up a name for this RMT.

StarmeiTheGod for giving me a nice rate on PS and dropping a like :]

AllAttack for showing me where to get those minisprites and for giving me a nice, quick rate.

Thank you for reading!​

 

[C9 DRM2K]

Reserved for threatlist.

- Pretty much any variant of this little prick is annoying as hell to switch in to. Usually though, I can get a Will-O-Wisp off with Talonflame.

- Both Thundys give my team a whole list of trouble. Nothing enjoys taking a Thunderbolt(besides Hippowdon), and if they are NP or Mixed, then it's gg.

- Can be annoying as my only real switch in is Starmie, but it's pretty easy to revenge or cripple with Talonflame or Klefki respectively.

- Really annoying as there is no easy way to weaken it. I can cripple it with knock off, and it really does nothing against my team, but still stupid.

- This thing 2HKOs or OHKOs my whole team, bar Klefki. Klefki can generally 1v1 it, but it's still a massive threat.

 

[I Am Doz]

On Hippowdon, I think it would still be worth using Sand Stream as the ability, purely for the extra chip damage that can break sashes, or secure kos a little easier.

 

[C9 DRM2K]

On Hippowdon, I think it would still be worth using Sand Stream as the ability, purely for the extra chip damage that can break sashes, or secure kos a little easier.

maybe, but I don't want my sableye to take passive damage because it doesn't have passive recovery.

 

[Starmei]

I gave you some feedback on PS but I just figured I'd write it up here too

Really solid team but you water types can easily overwhelm your squad. 1 Keldeo switchin in the form of Starmie, easily Pursuited and if weakened could easily be in range of specs hydro or 2 scarf hydro/swords. Other water types like Azumarill really just get a kill for free and you have to sack Talonflame just to burn it. Rain teams would probably be a pain in the ass but they're a lot less common than your average Azumarill/Keldeo.

You could try something like Ferrothorn > Klefki. It beats most of the things you mentioned that Keys do like:
Diancie, non HP Fire Lati@s, non Fire Blast Altaria, and it can annoy Lando-T by punishing U-Turn and going decent damage w/ Gyro/Power Whip and leech seed. It also gets spikes and Thunder Wave. Garchomp is still problematic but most are rocky helmet tank chomp and you have MSableye, KyuB, Bulkmie, WoW Talon and Hippowdon so it's not a big issue.

Ferro would also help you deal with things like Azumarill and Keldeo a little better (not calling it a counter to either) but it takes a little bit of pressure off of Starmie and WoW Talon.

I would also recommend Chople Berry to help vs Azu, keldeo and other annoying fighting types/mons with good fighting coverage like Lopunny

Ferrothorn

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers/Chople Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Impish Nature
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Protect/Thunder Wave

TWave just to cripple things like Lopunny, Altaria which really helps out KyuB and the rest of your team in general which is a little on the slow side

 

[C9 DRM2K]

I gave you some feedback on PS but I just figured I'd write it up here too

Really solid team but you water types can easily overwhelm your squad. 1 Keldeo switchin in the form of Starmie, easily Pursuited and if weakened could easily be in range of specs hydro or 2 scarf hydro/swords. Other water types like Azumarill really just get a kill for free and you have to sack Talonflame just to burn it. Rain teams would probably be a pain in the ass but they're a lot less common than your average Azumarill/Keldeo.

You could try something like Ferrothorn > Klefki. It beats most of the things you mentioned that Keys do like:
Diancie, non HP Fire Lati@s, non Fire Blast Altaria, and it can annoy Lando-T by punishing U-Turn and going decent damage w/ Gyro/Power Whip and leech seed. It also gets spikes and Thunder Wave. Garchomp is still problematic but most are rocky helmet tank chomp and you have MSableye, KyuB, Bulkmie, WoW Talon and Hippowdon so it's not a big issue.

Ferro would also help you deal with things like Azumarill and Keldeo a little better (not calling it a counter to either) but it takes a little bit of pressure off of Starmie and WoW Talon.

I would also recommend Chople Berry to help vs Azu, keldeo and other annoying fighting types/mons with good fighting coverage like Lopunny

Ferrothorn

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers/Chople Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Impish Nature
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Protect/Thunder Wave

TWave just to cripple things like Lopunny, Altaria which really helps out KyuB and the rest of your team in general which is a little on the slow side

Thanks bro, really appreciate it. I originally had Ferrothorn over Klefki, but I had trouble dealing with LO Torn-T, but I will definitely be sure to try it out. Thanks a lot :)

 

[Jarii]

It's a quite solid team only i see you having problems with M-Diancie. Also chansey can almost freely wish pass if it wants to, what can be annoying for the rest only landorus rock polish CM could be a problem but that would be probably banned so. Very very solid team

 

[C9 DRM2K]

It's a quite solid team only i see you having problems with M-Diancie. Also chansey can almost freely wish pass if it wants to, what can be annoying for the rest only landorus rock polish CM could be a problem but that would be probably banned so. Very very solid team

Thanks a lot bro! Yea M-Diancie is a problem, but Klefki can deal with it if it's healthy. Chansey is pretty annoying as I have no way of killing it, but I can usually find a way to knock it off or something. Thanks for your feedback I really appreciate it. I'll be sure to add both to the threatlist.

 

[Jarii]

Thanks a lot bro! Yea M-Diancie is a problem, but Klefki can deal with it if it's healthy. Chansey is pretty annoying as I have no way of killing it, but I can usually find a way to knock it off or something. Thanks for your feedback I really appreciate it. I'll be sure to add both to the threatlist.

Np bro what i maybe would suggest to you is maybe whirlwind on hippo so that wish pass won't be as annoying as it is now.

 

[C9 DRM2K]

Np bro what i maybe would suggest to you is maybe whirlwind on hippo so that wish pass won't be as annoying as it is now.

I need Stone Edge for birds, otherwise they destroy my team.

 

[Jarii]

I need Stone Edge for birds, otherwise they destroy my team.

kyurem-black kinda deals with it, also klefki resists it and can T-wave it.

 

[MANNAT]

Great team here ChaosTwilly! I think there is one thing that could make it better from what I can see.

Play rough on Klefki lets it beat the latis and other dragons with twave+play rough. It also provides utility as a nice way to serve as a better blanket check for dragons as magnet rise allows it to avoid their most common coverage move in earthquake. As you can see from the below calcs, it can 2HKO dragons after rocks and can even cripple them with twave, helping out kyurem-b by eliminating the faster checks to it. You might also want to test out offensive starmie as it is really good atm, but it isn't really that important, and it might not be as good as your set atm

Calcs

0 Atk Klefki Play Rough vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Altaria: 150-176 (51.3 - 60.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Klefki Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Latios: 194-230 (64.4 - 76.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Klefki Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dragonite: 168-200 (52 - 61.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
0 Atk Klefki Play Rough vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 168-200 (46.9 - 55.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
0 Atk Klefki Play Rough vs. 56 HP / 0 Def Kyurem-B: 162-192 (40 - 47.4%) -- 96.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Edit: Finished rate ChaosTwilly

 

[C9 DRM2K]

kyurem-black kinda deals with it, also klefki resists it and can T-wave it.

Talonflame, I mean, destroys my team if it gets off an SD, but I will be sure to try out Whirlwind on Hippowdon. Thanks for the rate! Much appreciated!

 

[kumiko]

yo,

Pretty cool team, seems fairly solid, although I see two things that could be fixed to improve the team;

Firstly, although it gets limited chances, opposing Mega Sableye, especially Calm Mind Variants, look very threatening to your team. I'd suggest running Swords Dance > Bulk Up on Talonflame. I don't think your team really needs the bulkier win con that cripples Landorus-Therian and Hippowdon, as you hard wall these two 'Mons pretty well with the combination of Hippowdon + Mega Sableye. Opposing Sableye, on the other hand, isn't an easy thing for your team to deal with if you opt to run Bulk Up. SD still provides you with a win condition, although it may miss the defense boosts from time to time, the extra boost in attack will be really helpful in matchups with Sableye and sometimes Clefable.

+1 0 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Mega Sableye: 93-109 (30.6 - 35.9%) -- 43.4% chance to 3HKO
+2 0 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Mega Sableye: 123-145 (40.5 - 47.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

+1 0 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 248 HP / 164 Def Mega Sableye: 108-127 (35.6 - 41.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+2 0 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 248 HP / 164 Def Mega Sableye: 144-169 (47.5 - 55.7%) -- 78.1% chance to 2HKO

The other thing on your team I see is Klefki. Klefki does have priority Thunder Wave, which can be really nice, but it has no recovery and gets worn down really fast. It also isn't the best of checks to things like Diancie, as they can Earth Power / HP Fire it, and due to Magic Bounce, you can't Thunder Wave, making it a very poor check. I'd go with a SDef Skarmory > Klefki. This also helps you a lot with Mega Altaria, giving you two solid, reliable answers. Skarmory handles every Fairy type Klefki did, but far more reliably, as well as being insanely durable thanks to Roost. Klefki was also your only answer to Latios, which is very unreliable due to the fact it takes a ton from HP Fire. Skarmory is far more reliable vs Latios, as HP Fire only has a 16% to 2HKO, and not every Latios runs HP Fire.

Sets

Talonflame
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 244 SpD / 16 Spe
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Will-O-Wisp
- Acrobatics

Skarmory (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Roost
- Iron Head

If you have any questions feel free to ask. n_n

 

[C9 DRM2K]

yo,

Pretty cool team, seems fairly solid, although I see two things that could be fixed to improve the team;

Firstly, although it gets limited chances, opposing Mega Sableye, especially Calm Mind Variants, look very threatening to your team. I'd suggest running Swords Dance > Bulk Up on Talonflame. I don't think your team really needs the bulkier win con that cripples Landorus-Therian and Hippowdon, as you hard wall these two 'Mons pretty well with the combination of Hippowdon + Mega Sableye. Opposing Sableye, on the other hand, isn't an easy thing for your team to deal with if you opt to run Bulk Up. SD still provides you with a win condition, although it may miss the defense boosts from time to time, the extra boost in attack will be really helpful in matchups with Sableye and sometimes Clefable.

+1 0 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Mega Sableye: 93-109 (30.6 - 35.9%) -- 43.4% chance to 3HKO
+2 0 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Mega Sableye: 123-145 (40.5 - 47.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

+1 0 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 248 HP / 164 Def Mega Sableye: 108-127 (35.6 - 41.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+2 0 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 248 HP / 164 Def Mega Sableye: 144-169 (47.5 - 55.7%) -- 78.1% chance to 2HKO

The other thing on your team I see is Klefki. Klefki does have priority Thunder Wave, which can be really nice, but it has no recovery and gets worn down really fast. It also isn't the best of checks to things like Diancie, as they can Earth Power / HP Fire it, and due to Magic Bounce, you can't Thunder Wave, making it a very poor check. I'd go with a SDef Skarmory > Klefki. This also helps you a lot with Mega Altaria, giving you two solid, reliable answers. Skarmory handles every Fairy type Klefki did, but far more reliably, as well as being insanely durable thanks to Roost. Klefki was also your only answer to Latios, which is very unreliable due to the fact it takes a ton from HP Fire. Skarmory is far more reliable vs Latios, as HP Fire only has a 16% to 2HKO, and not every Latios runs HP Fire.

Sets

Talonflame
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 244 SpD / 16 Spe
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Will-O-Wisp
- Acrobatics

Skarmory (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Roost
- Iron Head

If you have any questions feel free to ask. n_n

Thanks dude! I will definitely try out these set! I really like SD Talonflame, so I might as well change it rn.

 

[C9 DRM2K]

Great team here ChaosTwilly! I think there is one thing that could make it better from what I can see.

Play rough on Klefki lets it beat the latis and other dragons with twave+play rough. It also provides utility as a nice way to serve as a better blanket check for dragons as magnet rise allows it to avoid their most common coverage move in earthquake. As you can see from the below calcs, it can 2HKO dragons after rocks and can even cripple them with twave, helping out kyurem-b by eliminating the faster checks to it. You might also want to test out offensive starmie as it is really good atm, but it isn't really that important, and it might not be as good as your set atm

Calcs

0 Atk Klefki Play Rough vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Altaria: 150-176 (51.3 - 60.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Klefki Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Latios: 194-230 (64.4 - 76.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Klefki Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dragonite: 168-200 (52 - 61.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
0 Atk Klefki Play Rough vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 168-200 (46.9 - 55.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
0 Atk Klefki Play Rough vs. 56 HP / 0 Def Kyurem-B: 162-192 (40 - 47.4%) -- 96.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Edit: Finished rate ChaosTwilly

ahh thanks for the rate. Definitely going to try out Play Rough.

 

[Of Moose & Men]

So, I don't mean to step on TDK's toes with this, but the very first thing that came to me was exactly SpD Skarmory, it does damn near everything Klefki does, with recovery, but it also removes pressure from either your Starmie or Hippowdon, whether it carries Defog or Whirlwind, though, I'd recommend the latter out of the two. This isn't the only suggestion I have, however. With the set you are running on Starmie, I would encourage running Reflect Type over Psyshock to prevent Starmie from being Bisharp bait. Since you do have a team relatively deterred by Hazards, it's very important that you try to keep your hazard remover as healthy as possible. With Bisharp as common as it is, this is the easiest way to do so.

 

[BlazeLatias]

Alright as i promised ill rate your team. Overall it looks really good at a glance. Really solid hazard stacking team. As everyones been saying whirlwinds a option on hippo but its also true its not mandatory as i think stone edge/rock slide is better as you really dont want talonflame lurking around and phazing it, while will hurt talon a bit means you lose to stall breaker talonflame and it can set up on you with taunt+bulk up so i think stone edge is better in that regard. Other then that i dont see that much wrong! Cool Team and good luck with it!

 

[North Gate]

I know I could probably just say something on Skype but I'm going to quickly say that Latios does put an intense amount of pressure on your team, especially ones with HP Fire. SpDef Skarm and SpDef Talon lessen this pressure but it is worth noting that if the opponents manages to keep rocks up you are probably going to be pressured by Latios. Every match I've played with this team that has a Latios in it it put a lot of pressure on my side which is pretty disheartening if you ask me, Latias isn't as much of a problem tough, thankfully.

Although with that I'd recommend Ice Beam on Starmie over Psyshock.

Also consider Ferro > Skarmory because you have a horrible rain matchup (as I experienced firsthand) and Sand Stream on Hippowdon.

 

[C9 DRM2K]

Bump