ORAS OU ~ Diancie the Flame (Peaked top 18) ~

Hello frens!

I am 10th Squad Toshiro/Captain/Taichou and once again posting one of my favorite teams on the forums!
My previous team I posted was "Sceptilyzed" which got a lot of support(over 4.3k views!) from you guys so I thought I might as well post some other teams of mine :]
http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/1800-sceptilyzed.3542571/ <- Team "Sceptilyzed" Link

Proof of Elo: http://puu.sh/iJyKp/ef32e7466e.jpg

THE TEAM AT FIRST GLANCE

diancie-mega.gif
skarmory.gif
keldeo.gif
talonflame.gif
latios.gif
hippowdon.gif


THE MEMBER

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Le Diancie (Diancie-Mega) @ Diancite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Moonblast
- Protect
- Diamond Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Now the first thing we see when we look at Mega-Diancie are its HUGE overall base-staats (700, only 20 less then arceus). Also none of those points are wasted! Base 110 Speed, 160/160 offenses and 110/110 defenses, hell yeah I´ll take it. The only dissapointing staat is it´s hp but hey lets be glad it is that bad else diancie would be ubers :] One thing to note is that your non-mega defences are higher then your mega defences so think if you can abuse that in certain situations (like tanking rotom-w hydros or a +4 sharp beak talonflame brave bird)

When looking at Diancies set there are some things worth mentioning. First of all Moonblast / Diamond Storm are the best available STAB moves, making you incredible hard to get walled and I would absolutely recommand running those. Now most Diancie go with A COVERAGE MOVE and A SELF-SUPPORTIVE-MOVE.

The best options for coverage moves are Earth Power and Hidden Power Fire, mainly for steel types wich resist both our coverage moves. For this Team I have chosen to run Hidden Power Fire, because it is our only fire coverage move on the team since Talonflame runs Will-o-Wisp and Latias has no Space for Hidden Power Fire. I also think Hidden Power Fire would be a better choice then Earth Power for most Diancie IF it wasnt for the Speed loss because the problems Earth Power solves (heatran, magnezone) can already get 2hko´d (obviously sometimes thats not enough) with Diamond Storm / Hidden Power Fire while Diancie gets walled by ferrothorn/scizor/defensive skarmory if not running HP Fire.

For the Self-Support there are 3 choices I considered. Rock Polish, Calm Mind, Protect. I am not going to explain what exactly the first two do, you can look it up on your own, however Protect was chosen to give Diancie a Free Mega-Evolution (the only way it is not a free mega evolution is if the opponent is boosting his staats the turn you go for protect OR if he has Mold Breaker + Hazards example Excadrill) because he obviously cant damage you that turn and every other move is going to go in your favor thanks to Magic Bounce.

Note: Hippowdown may increase your SpD by 1.5
Note2: If you are not Mega-Evolved yet or in sand you counter torn-t 100% however if you already mega evolved and are not in sand this happens:
216 SpA Life Orb Tornadus-T Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Diancie: 94-109 (39 - 45.2%) -- 12.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE: NONE
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The Flame (Talonflame) @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Will-O-Wisp
- Swords Dance
- Roost

During a year and a half when I was playing mons competitively Talonflame has climbed the #1 spot of my favorite mons. Its bulky set stallbreakes and walls like a champ while its SD Set´s Sweeping Potential is INSANE, so insane that people always look for counter against "birds" when building a team. However this can work to our advantage, since Talonflame can learn this naiche :] move called Will-o-Wisp, crippeling common switchins like Hippowdown, Rocky Helmet Garchomp, Landorus-Therian, Tyranitar, Gliscor REALLY HARD, while burning rotom-w and slowbro helps dealing with those over time as well.

Now what the hell is this set? Well, let me explain. At first this set started out as 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 Spe Jolly Regular Sword Dance Sweeper Set with Brave Bird / Flare Blitz / Roost / Swords Dance to barely outspeed non-scarf Raikou and every Magnezone, ohko Raikou, Magnezone, Thundurus with +2 Flare Blitz, however it had a very hard time wearing down the "hard counter" to it and I was really unsatisfied with its bulk.

Now it has THE FULL POTENTIAL of the SD + Brave Bird Sweep(its actually better because of the adamant nature), while crippeling its own counters + better bulk to take on the likes of Mega-Venusaur and Mega-Altaria with ease, however it can not kill the likes of Raikou, Magnezone and Thundurus that easy anymore but we are lucky to happen to have 4 more spots on the team so this job will move over to hippowdon, who completely counters those, allowing Talonflame to wallbreak for itself early-midgame and to set up easier :]

Note: Will-o-Wisp also annoys defensive unaware clefable.

Note2: HP is optimized so you can get 2 switches into stealth rocks

btw:
+2 252+ Atk Sharp Beak Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Thundurus: 250-295 (83.6 - 98.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Sharp Beak Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raikou: 238-281 (74.1 - 87.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (prior damage needed for this one)

POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE: NONE

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Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Atk / 204 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Spikes

Nice Def, Noob. Yes, this is the same thing I think when looking at this set. However I felt like the Atk investment was necesarry for Ferrothorn to beat cm thunder wave unaware Clefable which is a gigantic threat in this Meta, epecially because SD Talonflame cant beat it (although WoW can annoy Clefable) and the only thing that can 2hko clefable on this team (Keldeo) can neither switch into it, nor does it appreciate SpD boost from clef or a thunder wave.

By giving ferrothorn some Atk investment it obviously had to lose some bulk so I decided to make it mainly my SpD Wall, however it can still take hits on the defensive side because of its great natural tankyness and HP investment. This does not mean my Team is weak to certain physical attacker, it just puts more pressure on Hippowdon to take those on.


For the set Gyro Ball is chosen as its main attacking move, Leech Seed is mandatory on Ferrothorn, Spikes is the better Hazard for it(especially because we can afford to have a 2nd stealth rock user) and Protect has a lot of nice interactions with leftovers and leech seed and the lack of direct recovery ferrothorn has, while being able to scout for choiced user such as keldeo as well as punish high jump kicks. Running no power whip leaves you a bit weaker to mega-gyarados and azumaril however keldeo can somewhat deal with it after mega evolution and talonflame does revenge it rather fine while gyro ball can possibly break its sub.

Note: This is your main Draco-Catcher

POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE: Skarmory (!) Suggested by Alkov. I think Skarmory is an amazing alternative as it covers the same needs for this team ferrothorn does (it actually covers some even better like diancie or azumaril). You can also move defog over to lati/skarm how you please and acces to spikes taunt whirlwind make it a very nice supportive mon.

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Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Roost
- Psyshock

One of the first things you are looking for while running Talonflame is Hazard Removal. While Diancies Magic Bounce certainly can help out, you still need direct hazard removal. Although Rapid Spin is obviously superior to Defog, I did not find a way to implement a good Rapid Spinner into the Team. Therefore I had to chose a Defog user, and as such I chose latias. It synergizes overall very good with the Team, is very unpredictable for your opponent, dishes out nice damage with dracos, counters Pokemon like mega venusaur, keldeo, char Y ect and has great bulk.

While you do want to defog, there are certain times where you dont need your talonflame to win and your win condition lies in spamming spikes + stealth rocks OR where hazards are more painful for your opponent then for you OR where talonflame can just come in and heal the damage off OR situations where you can FORCE YOUR OPPONENT to defog "for you", so dont be greedy to defog and try to drop some dracos :]

As for the moveset Roost/Defog/Draco Meteor seem like a must-have for me, the 4th Moveslot is kind of a preference (HP fighting, surf, EQ, HP fire, Psyschock, Psychic, Thunderbolt) but I chose to go with the classic Psyshock as it is the most consistant option and needed for Mega-Venu.

POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE: Latios (Stronger if Skarmory is the chosen option as it counters mega-venu and you can go for more offensive pressure)

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Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind

Looking at the Team there is no doubt that we are weak to bulky Ground types as well as Tyranitar. One of the best mons to deal with those is Keldeo.

I´ve been using Keldeo for a very long time at its is impressing how it is good against all kind of playstyles as it is able to beat the chansey/sableye core and annoy stall with burns, survive a hit from HO and ohko back (it even counters some mons on HO like weavile and bisharp) and against balance it has very few switch ins to its powerful specs hidden powers / icy wind especially with hazards up and its hard for your opponent to predict against keldeo while it is also able to screw up some switch-ins like azumaril and gyarados with scald burns (or just hp electric :p)

Scald / Secret sword are the main spamable STAB moves with amazing side effekts of being able to get posible burns and hitting the other defensive side of a mon. Hydro Pump has a lot more "consistant power" then scald (scald+burn could do more) but sadly it is only 80% accurate, but it is needed against the likes of clefable, burned slowbro (did you forget talon can burn it? :p), sylveon ect...
Icy wind is a personal preference of mine to 2hko and outspeed Latios, Dragonite, Mega Altaria after rocks, possibly Latias and non-spD celebi (you also ohko tank garchomp).


Possible other options for the last moveslot are Focus Blast (for rotom-W) HP Bug (for celebi,slowbro,starmie and you are also hitting lati@s) and HP Electric.

POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE: Manaphy (leaves you weaker to Tyranitar however stronger against stall)
Breloom (didnt test this one in practice yet, however the life orb variant definitly should work in theory)

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

Hippowdon is amazing. It is the mon that completes the Team, being part of a defensive backbone of Ferrothorn/Latias/Hippowdon. It counters: Bisharp, Excadrill, Manectric, Thundurus, Magnezone, Raikou, Talonflame, DD Char X (bulky and full offensive sweeper)Non-Grass knot Metagross, Mega-Lopunny..... You get it by now I hope

Its other main job is to set up rocks.

POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE: Landorus-Therian(this leaves you much weaker to ice coverage, and I would suggest running a set on latias that can counter thundurus if this mon is chosen over Hippowdon as well as flare blitz on talonflame with speed. its main advantage is the intimidate and u-turn momentum as well as a third ground imunity)

Threatlist

Grass Knot Mega-Metagross
Hoopa-U

Updates comming soon


Importable:
Le Diancie (Diancie-Mega) @ Diancite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Moonblast
- Protect
- Diamond Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Atk / 204 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Spikes

The Flame (Talonflame) @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Will-O-Wisp
- Swords Dance
- Roost

Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Roost
- Psyshock

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
 
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If it shows as illegible, highlight it all and it will be much more legible.


One thing I personally prefer is HP Fire > Defog on Latias. It allows you to hit many things that normally force you out. Ferro looks like it annoys your team, so that's a good example. This also allows you to hit nearly all steel types (argh tran) for decent damage. Also, with this switch I'd run Latios > Latias because you are moving into a more offensive build. This would also mean you can put Earth Power > HP Fire on m-diancie if you wish, depending on which you find more needed.

Nice looking team, good luck with it.

Latias as defog and it will not change because talon flame take 50% with SR. The only valable change is change latias to a rapid spinner; but they are no rapid spinner who are as good as latias in this team.
 
Hi there 10th Squad Taichou, really sick team you have there but I've got some suggestions to help improve this team. :]
  • Firstly, I noticed that your team is a little weak to Choice Banded Azumarill as it is able to OHKO/2HKO everything on your team every time it gets to come in safely. To help alleviate the problem, I'll recommend a Skarmory instead of Ferrothorn, it is also able to set up Spikes while also deal with opposing Clefable by means of using Taunt and Iron Head on the Clefable reveals Flamethrower, Talonflame beats it easily. Skarmory can also be EV'ed to take on hits from Lati convincingly and Roost it off making it much more reliable. Skarmory will be able to help cope with your Mega Metagross and things like Mega Gardevoir weakness as well.
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  • Secondly, a Latias is used usually if you're running the 72HP spread so that it can come in a bit more often and Roost it off while also having a "Life Orb number". If you prefer to use 252/252, it's better to go with Latios as it is better off being a nuke by dropping Draco Meteors around.
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  • Lastly, I think you made a mistake with Talonflame's nature as 168EVs into Speed with an Adamant nature doesn't accomplish anything while a Jolly nature one helps to outpace things like Raikou which can be useful if you're using Flare Blitz but if you're going with Will-O-Wisp with Swords Dance, it might be better to run the usual SpDef variant that's used to take on quite a lot of threats and annoy the living shit out of passive teams.
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Hope it helps :]
 
Any real reason for running Roost over Healing wish because otherwise latios completely outclasses it as a defogger since it can hit harder with a coverage move or be a better user of roost since it is harder to switch into. I would personally suggest running Latios since you dont need the extra bulk.

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Earthquake/Roost
- Defog
 
Hello Alkov!

Thank you for your very nice and constructive critism!
Skarmory is an amazing alternative, at the moment I prefer it over ferrothorn. The only thing I dislike about it is that magnezone can trap it A LOT easier and it cant be annoying like ferro can be to magnezone with leech seed/lefties + protect. Also shed shell kind of ruins its potential.

Latios > Latias if Skarmory is choosen.

I dont really know what your problem with talonflame is tho. First of all my talonflame runs 0 speed and I just mentioned that I ran the first set that you mentioned with an jolly nature before. I am running an adamant max atk half spD talonflame now, I think you just missread as my english isnt that great :p
 
Hello Alkov!

Thank you for your very nice and constructive critism!
Skarmory is an amazing alternative, at the moment I prefer it over ferrothorn. The only thing I dislike about it is that magnezone can trap it A LOT easier and it cant be annoying like ferro can be to magnezone with leech seed/lefties + protect. Also shed shell kind of ruins its potential.

Latios > Latias if Skarmory is choosen.

I dont really know what your problem with talonflame is tho. First of all my talonflame runs 0 speed and I just mentioned that I ran the first set that you mentioned with an jolly nature before. I am running an adamant max atk half spD talonflame now, I think you just missread as my english isnt that great :p
My bad about the Talonflame edit, I read SpD as Spd instead xD sorry about that
 
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