XY OU Dante`s Inferno - Megazard Y Sun Team

[Dumbidoom]

My first ever post on the Smogon forums.I first played Showdown about 2 years ago,but only for fun against friends.Started playing competetively some time ago,and I wanted to create a team.I read somewhere on these forums that Hyper Offense,Weather and Trick Room teams are the main metagame at this time.I also read that Rain teams are a bit predictable and overused,so I went ahead with the sun team.Here`s what I got.

Dante (Charizard) @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 132 HP / 252 SpA / 124 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fire Blast
- Focus Blast
- Solar Beam
- Roost

The MVP of the team.Obviously,you`re going to be using Charizard in it`s mega form,when it gets Drought.Bringing out the sun,Fire Blast has 100% accuracy instead of the shaky 85%.But it`s not just for OHKO-ing non-Focus Sashed Ferrothorns.A STAB Fire Blast from a Mega Charizard Y in the sun does an insane amount of damage,even to those pesky water types.But for those Water and Rock types that Fire Blast just can`t get to,Solar Beam is there.I can`t tell you how many times Solar Beam saved me from a Banded Waterfall.Solar Beam charges in one turn in the sun,instead of 2,so you`ll be able to take down Starmie`s and do around 50% to Milotic`s.Roost is there to keep Megazard Y alive as long as it can,and Dragon Pulse is for predicting or outspeeding Dragon-Types.

Nebulon (Venusaur) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Growth
- Giga Drain/Leech Seed/Synthesis
- Sludge Bomb
- Earthquake

Named after that magic tree from the dissapointing,but still better than Season 2,Season 3 of Teen Wolf.I also made an alternative version of this team,where i replaced Megazard Y with Ninetales,and gave the Mega stone to Venusaur,but it didn`t work as well.Growth ups Atk and Sp.Atk by 1,regulary.But in the sun,it ups both of them by 2.Giga drain for returning health,Sludge Bomb for dealing massive damage,and Earthquake is there for Metagross.You can also run Leech seed or Synthesis instead of Giga Drain.

Barry Allen (Flygon) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Dragon Claw
- Stone Edge

Run,Barry,Run ! Or in this case,fly awkwardly,Barry,fly awkwardly.A Scarfed Flygon is definatly a force to be reckoned with,you can EQ bulky Steel types,Fire Punch frail Ice Types,Dragon Claw Garchomps or other,non-Scarfed Flygons,and Stone Edge Landorous or Aerodactly`s.Flygon`s kryptonite,however,is definatly Ice Shard,but if you`re carefull,you can pop 2 or 3 opposing mons in half a minute,and still keep him alive.

Destroyer of Worlds (Victini) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- U-turn
- Bolt Strike
- Brick Break

There was originally an Infernape here,but Victini replaced him.V-Create is an abnormally strong attack.180 Base power,with life orb,IN THE SUN,is cataclysmic.Whenever I switch in to Victini against a mon with a weakness to fire,I always know that whatever my oponnent switches into,WHATEVER it is,it is not going to appreciate a V-Create from this thing.U-Turn for getting outta there,Bolt Strike is there for water types,Brick Break for when you want to burn some steel,but don`t want to get that speed dropped,so you just kinda chop it with those little hands.

Metallica (Skarmory) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
- Defog
- Stealth Rock
- Brave Bird
- Toxic

Look,I`ll be honest.I`m not a fan of this thing.It`s ugly and disgusting and I hate it.But hey,Bulky Stealth Rocker with Toxic,and most imporantly,Defog.Also carried Spikes,but found way too many situations in which I needed this thing to attack,but didn`t have anything to attack with.

Ice Cube (Mamoswine) @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Atk
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

This thing is awesome.I always liked Mamoswine`s design,but I never really found it a powerfull pokemon.Until now.Banded Ice Shard is awesome,but when you`re sure you`ll outspeed,there`s Icicle Crash and EQ for STAB,and Stone Edge for flying types.

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Welp,that`s it.Please leave some criticsm.This is the first team that I really sat down and thought about,so if you have anything to say,please do.

 

[Love Handles]

Ahoy! I think overall your team is heavily reliant on access to Sunlight, which only lasts 5 turns with only one Pokemon that's pivotal to your team able to provide it. I'm not sure where you'd be able to throw a Ninetails in though honestly; I've never tried it but it could be beneficial just to have one Pokemon with Sunny Day?

I use to run a Mamoswine, and I think you'd get much more mileage out of it with a defensive set up because of it's incredible coverage through Thick Fat. It's high base attack helps keep it as a threat though even defensively.

Flygon's an interesting choice, I haven't messed with him but I feel like there's probably a more optimal choice if you're noticing any lack in performance or options.

Overall though the team looks fairly strong if everything goes according to plan; I'm a big fan of Sun teams and have been meaning to try one out so if I find anything else that would help I'll share :)

 

[temp]

Hello, Dumbidoom ! Pretty solid team there. Onto the rate:

I don't really understand these EVs too much. I would just run 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe Timid Nature. With that, try out Focus Blast > Dragon Pulse. It is overall more useful coverage, hitting mons such as Tyranitar and more specifically; Heatran.

I would advise Life Orb > Black Sludge here. The extra damage is very important when trying to score good KOs. I don't see heatran as too much of a problem for the team, so I would just go Weather Ball / Sleep Powder > Earthquake. Also for the nature (as you don't see to have one); try Modest.

Flygon is an interesting pick, but I think your team may benefit much more from Tyranitar. It provides a dual weather core, as well as a viable pursuit trapper.

Tyranitar Set

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 100 HP / 252 Atk / 156 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Superpower
- Pursuit

An Adamant nature and maximum Attack investment allow Tyranitar to hit as hard as possible. 156 Speed EVs are used to outspeed minimum Speed Mandibuzz, but 76 Speed EVs can be used if Tyranitar only needs to outpace Skarmory. The rest of the EVs are thrown into HP to make Tyranitar as bulky as possible. Sand Stream is crucial to Tyranitar's role as a bulky wallbreaker and Pursuit trapper because the ability gives Tyranitar the Special Defense boost it needs to switch into Latios's Draco Meteor and other neutral and resisted special attacks.

Victini is not a bad pick here at all, but I would definitely run a Choice Scarf set here. It provides extra speed and V Create is already going to hit lots of mons hard in the sun.

Scarf Victini Set

Victini @ Choice Scarf
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- V-create
- Bolt Strike
- U-turn
- Final Gambit / Zen Headbutt

Maximum Attack and Speed investment maximize Victini's ability to outspeed and successfully revenge kill foes with a Choice Scarf. An Adamant nature is preferred over a Jolly one for more power, as it doesn't really let Victini outspeed much that is notable besides Jolly Choice Scarf Landorus-T, which it cannot OHKO. Choice Scarf is what makes the set work, transforming Victini into a capable revenge killer.

I like the usage of Skarmory, but I think Excadrill would fit much more. Being able to work very well in the sand as a sweeper. It can also rapid spin, as the switch rids of Skarmory.

Excadrill Set

Excadrill @ Life Orb / Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance / Rapid Spin

Maximum Attack and Speed investment allows Excadrill to hit as hard and fast as possible. An Adamant nature is generally preferable for the power boost, allowing Earthquake to 2HKO Ferrothorn with no boost and Slowbro with a boost. However, A Jolly nature is also a viable option to tie with opposing Excadrill at worst, outrun +2 Jolly Gyarados, and outrun neutral-natured base 100 Speed Pokemon such as Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Gardevoir. Life Orb is the preferred item to increase Excadrill's damage output, but easily wears Excadrill down. An Air Balloon can be used instead to gain free switches into Choice-locked Ground-types and improve Excadrill's matchup against opposing Ground-types in general; it can be used to gain extra opportunities to spin or beat the likes of Hippowdon, Gliscor, and Landorus-T if Excadrill uses Swords Dance on the switch. Teams that struggle with Ground-types will appreciate Air Balloon the most.

Mamoswine would function better as a Life Orb user. Remember that there is no item clause on Smogon. The set I'm providing also gives a good answer to Rotom-Wash.

LO Mamoswine Set

Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 244 Atk / 12 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash / Icicle Spear
- Freeze-Dry

Life Orb gives Mamoswine great amount of both physical and special power and allows it to OHKO offensive Garchomp with Ice Shard. 244 Attack EVs take advantage of its base 130 Attack stat. The Special Attack investment allows Mamoswine to 2HKO bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W and Slowbro with Freeze-Dry. Maximum Speed and a Naive nature lets Mamoswine Speed tie with Gallade before it Mega Evolves and outspeed Breloom and Dragonite. 29 HP IVs reduce Life Orb recoil by 1 point. Thick Fat is helpful to tank occasional Fire- or Ice-type moves thrown at Mamoswine.

Potential Threats and Possible Additions | Additions are Green and Threats are Red

Hello, this section of my RMT is here because I do not want to make too many changes. here are some options you may want to consider. Of course, I have some threats to your team as well. These are threats I noticed right off the bat, and I have provided some tips you may find helpful when dealing with these threats. The potential additions have an explanation of what Pokemon it should be used over, why and a moveset(s). Feel free to consider these ideas if you feel the need to at some point!

Talonflame could be a decent addition over Victini as a pretty good revenge killer. It is still a fighting resist, but adds another rock weakness. Thing is, you have hazard control!

Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Steel Wing / Tailwind

Raikou is fast and powerful. It can hit basically everything for fair damage! Your best way of defeating this would be to get up sand and switch in Excadrill safely.

That is all I have! Good team and good luck. :]

 

[Dumbidoom]

Hello, Dumbidoom ! Pretty solid team there. Onto the rate:

I don't really understand these EVs too much. I would just run 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe Timid Nature. With that, try out Focus Blast > Dragon Pulse. It is overall more useful coverage, hitting mons such as Tyranitar and more specifically; Heatran.

I would advise Life Orb > Black Sludge here. The extra damage is very important when trying to score good KOs. I don't see heatran as too much of a problem for the team, so I would just go Weather Ball / Sleep Powder > Earthquake. Also for the nature (as you don't see to have one); try Modest.

Flygon is an interesting pick, but I think your team may benefit much more from Tyranitar. It provides a dual weather core, as well as a viable pursuit trapper.

Tyranitar Set

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 100 HP / 252 Atk / 156 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Superpower
- Pursuit

An Adamant nature and maximum Attack investment allow Tyranitar to hit as hard as possible. 156 Speed EVs are used to outspeed minimum Speed Mandibuzz, but 76 Speed EVs can be used if Tyranitar only needs to outpace Skarmory. The rest of the EVs are thrown into HP to make Tyranitar as bulky as possible. Sand Stream is crucial to Tyranitar's role as a bulky wallbreaker and Pursuit trapper because the ability gives Tyranitar the Special Defense boost it needs to switch into Latios's Draco Meteor and other neutral and resisted special attacks.

Victini is not a bad pick here at all, but I would definitely run a Choice Scarf set here. It provides extra speed and V Create is already going to hit lots of mons hard in the sun.

Scarf Victini Set

Victini @ Choice Scarf
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- V-create
- Bolt Strike
- U-turn
- Final Gambit / Zen Headbutt

Maximum Attack and Speed investment maximize Victini's ability to outspeed and successfully revenge kill foes with a Choice Scarf. An Adamant nature is preferred over a Jolly one for more power, as it doesn't really let Victini outspeed much that is notable besides Jolly Choice Scarf Landorus-T, which it cannot OHKO. Choice Scarf is what makes the set work, transforming Victini into a capable revenge killer.

I like the usage of Skarmory, but I think Excadrill would fit much more. Being able to work very well in the sand as a sweeper. It can also rapid spin, as the switch rids of Skarmory.

Excadrill Set

Excadrill @ Life Orb / Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance / Rapid Spin

Maximum Attack and Speed investment allows Excadrill to hit as hard and fast as possible. An Adamant nature is generally preferable for the power boost, allowing Earthquake to 2HKO Ferrothorn with no boost and Slowbro with a boost. However, A Jolly nature is also a viable option to tie with opposing Excadrill at worst, outrun +2 Jolly Gyarados, and outrun neutral-natured base 100 Speed Pokemon such as Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Gardevoir. Life Orb is the preferred item to increase Excadrill's damage output, but easily wears Excadrill down. An Air Balloon can be used instead to gain free switches into Choice-locked Ground-types and improve Excadrill's matchup against opposing Ground-types in general; it can be used to gain extra opportunities to spin or beat the likes of Hippowdon, Gliscor, and Landorus-T if Excadrill uses Swords Dance on the switch. Teams that struggle with Ground-types will appreciate Air Balloon the most.

Mamoswine would function better as a Life Orb user. Remember that there is no item clause on Smogon. The set I'm providing also gives a good answer to Rotom-Wash.

LO Mamoswine Set

Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 244 Atk / 12 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash / Icicle Spear
- Freeze-Dry

Life Orb gives Mamoswine great amount of both physical and special power and allows it to OHKO offensive Garchomp with Ice Shard. 244 Attack EVs take advantage of its base 130 Attack stat. The Special Attack investment allows Mamoswine to 2HKO bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W and Slowbro with Freeze-Dry. Maximum Speed and a Naive nature lets Mamoswine Speed tie with Gallade before it Mega Evolves and outspeed Breloom and Dragonite. 29 HP IVs reduce Life Orb recoil by 1 point. Thick Fat is helpful to tank occasional Fire- or Ice-type moves thrown at Mamoswine.

Potential Threats and Possible Additions | Additions are Green and Threats are Red

Hello, this section of my RMT is here because I do not want to make too many changes. here are some options you may want to consider. Of course, I have some threats to your team as well. These are threats I noticed right off the bat, and I have provided some tips you may find helpful when dealing with these threats. The potential additions have an explanation of what Pokemon it should be used over, why and a moveset(s). Feel free to consider these ideas if you feel the need to at some point!

Talonflame could be a decent addition over Victini as a pretty good revenge killer. It is still a fighting resist, but adds another rock weakness. Thing is, you have hazard control!

Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Steel Wing / Tailwind

Raikou is fast and powerful. It can hit basically everything for fair damage! Your best way of defeating this would be to get up sand and switch in Excadrill safely.

That is all I have! Good team and good luck. :]

Thanks ! I do run Modest,but It didn`t paste when I copied it from the .txt file.I gotta say,your rates are amazing and incredibly in-depth.
I took your advice and Scarfed Victini and is working much better,and im sure the Focus Blast over Dragon Pulse is going to work just as well.
Thank you for your amazing rate ! :D

 

[Martin]

Weather Ball / Sleep Powder > Earthquake.

Weather Ball is incompatible with Chlorophyll.
=============================================================================
Hi Dumbidoom! There are a number of problems with this team that I will try to cover in this post. I will try to not cover anything that Exodus Latios did in his post, although I may disagree with him on some things. Here's the rate:

• While I agree that Focus Blast is better than Dragon Pulse in this instance, I disagree with Exodus Latios that Timid is the optimal choice for this team. On some teams it is a better option, but your team definitely benefits more from the ability to do things such as 2HKO 248/8 AV Slowking with Solar Beam than it does from tying with timid M-Voir and Zard.
  • You also have a few things off in your descriptive paragraph. Firstly, Fire Blast does not gain 100% accuracy in the sun. It retains its 85% accuracy. Despite this, don't change it to Flamethrower, as Zard needs as much power as possible for wallbreaking and Flamethrower misses out on certain KOs. Secondly (and this is a common theme throughout your entire RMT), you mustn't assume that people don't know the mechanics of the game, such as when you mention that Solar Beam charges in 1 turn under the sun. Just state the targets of the attack instead of stating the obvious. Finally, sash Ferrothorn and [insert Milotic set here] are not things. But I digress.

Charizard Set

Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Modest Nature
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Focus Blast
- Roost

• On Venusaur, I suggest that you change the moveset to Giga Drain/Solar Beam, Sludge Bomb, Hidden Power Fire and Sleep Powder. After the changes I suggest in this rate, Earthquake will become mostly redundant coverage. Meanwhile, Hidden Power Fire gets boosted by the sun and trades the ability to hit Heatran and Empoleon for the ability to hit every other relevant Steel-type in the metagame off of your higher special attack stat. It also allows you to hit Ferrothorn, Skarmory and Bronzong super effectively, which are more beneficial to Venusaur. Additionally, I don't suggest running Growth as you are really susceptible to Talonflame and, by setting it up, you are providing it a free switch-in, only to force you to switch out and lose your boosts. I won't suggest Weather Ball as it is incompatible with Chlorophyll. Also, yeah, use Modest and move the 4 attack EVs into special defense.

Venusaur Set

Venusaur @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain / Solar Beam
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power
- Sleep Powder

• Flygon is absolute trash. Also, your team really needs a secondary setter. I suggest using Sunny Day Whimsicott. I say this because Whimsicott is a good secondary setter due to having access to all of Prankster, U-Turn and Memento. I won't go into detail here as it is pretty self-explanitory, so here's the set:

Whimsicott Set

Whimsicott @ Heat Rock
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk
Bold Nature
- Sunny Day
- U-turn
- Encore
- Memento

• For this team, neither Choice Band or Choice Scarf Victini are optimal. In my opinion, the team would benefit more from using Victini as a stallbreaker with Taunt and Will-O-Wisp. In addition, you should run just enough speed to outpace adamant Excadrill and to live two High Jump Kicks from adamant Mega Medicham, as it can otherwise take a chunk out of anything if it comes in on anything slower than it. The set I am going to post will have the appropriate EV spread to achieve these. Like with Whimiscott, the set is pretty self-explanitory, so I'll just post it.

Victini Set

Victini @ Leftovers
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 248 HP / 132 Atk / 68 Def / 60 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- V-create
- Bolt Strike

• I agree with Exodus Latios that Excadrill is a better choice, but even without Tyranitar you are better off using Sand Rush Excadrill. This is because the team needs any sandstorm deterrents it can get, and carrying Sand Rush Excadrill allows you to directly take advantage of your opponent's sandstorm while also clearing hazards for your team. The set I'm going to give you is running Jolly so that it has good presence outside of sandstorm. Other than that, there isn't much else to say as it is a given that a sun team will struggle v.s. sandstorm.

Excadrill Set

Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide

• Finally, Mamoswine is not a good choice for this team. You want to be able to trap and KO Tyranitar in order to prevent it from setting sand up later on in the match, and you also want to have a way of easily taking out Heatran which is a pain to this team. Therefore, Dugtrio is the perfect choice for the last member of this team as Arena Trap allows it to do just that while also being able to lay down Stealth Rock for the team. It should use a hasty nature and no defensive investment in order to take best advantage of its great speed tier and get it down to its sash in 1 hit so that Reversal's power is as high as possible, although it shouldn't run a 0 IV in any of its defenses so that it can live certain weak hits if its sash is broken and so that it is able to live two Seismic Tosses. In addition, I suggest using Stone Edge as your team doesn't have the easiest of times v.s. Flying-types, so being able to hit any which are slower than Dugtrio is your primary concern. Here is the set:

Dugtrio Set

Dugtrio @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Earthquake
- Reversal
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge

So that was my rate. Good luck with the team!

 

[Pikeldeo]

It looks like a cool team. I've seen a lot of sun teams, but this one has some pretty unusual Pokemon which you wouldn't normally see on a sun team, it's pretty unique. Also, why not use Scarfed Garchomp>Scarfed Flygon? It's more powerful, bulkier, faster, and (imo) has a better ability, and, if you're going to use a banded Mamoswine, I'd suggest just using life orb with max speed and attack+jolly nature instead, mainly because you can switch moves and Mamoswine really doesn't have the bulk to run 252 EVs in HP imo.