ORAS OU First RMT: Mega Venusaur with Sand

Hello! This is my first RMT, so I apologize if I make any mistakes. Thank you for any hints or criticisms you may have of the team. I have played with this team a large number of times and both lost and won with it, however I rarely found myself in a situation at the end of a battle where I thought that I could not have won if I had made the right plays. I hope you enjoy!

THE TEAM

azumarill-2.gif

Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD / 92 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Superpower

First up is the main priority user of the team. The moveset is pretty standard and I put Superpower over Knock Off for any Ferrothorn switches. I also run enough speed to outspeed Tyranitar with no speed investment and Clefable.

tyranitar.gif


Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- Stone Edge

Tyranitar is the Stealth Rocker of the team. Yes, I have a pretty strange moveset for this Pokemon, however I have found the moves to be a surprise for most opponents. Garchomp and Landorus-T switch into Tyranitar, so I use Ice Beam on them for whenever I already have Stealth Rocks up, and I expect them to set up their rocks. Flamethrower is used for Scizor and Ferrothorn switches (also OHKOs most Forretress), which also happen a lot. I used to run Earthquake instead of Flamethrower because the team kind of has a hard time with Heatran, which I will explain later, so switch out the move with Earthquake whenever.

excadrill.gif

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

Excadrill is the method of hazard removal and late-game sweeper. Typical set and helps deal with scarf users whenever sand is up.

ferrothorn.gif

Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Gyro Ball

Ferrothorn is the spiker to abuse teams with no hazard control and mainly a defensive pivot. It also helps deal chip damage against physical attackers with the Iron Barbs + Rocky Helmet damage.

venusaur-mega.gif

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 232 HP / 252 SpA / 24 Spe
Modest Nature
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Earthquake

I am personally a big fan of Mega Venusaur because it counters/checks a good amount of Pokemon in the tier (Azu, Keldeo, Breloom, Rotom-W...). I run Earthquake for Heatran switches because most Heatran are specially defensive and slower than Mega Venusaur and guaranteed 2HKOs Heatran even with Leftovers recovery. It's also difficult to time a Synthesis along with sand being up throughout a battle. However, I used to run Synthesis over Earthquake, so that is also viable.

thundurus.gif

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- Volt Switch
- Taunt

Lastly, I have Thundurus for Prankster Taunt and T-wave support. I use Volt switch to help keep offensive momentum, but Thunderbolt could also be used.

Troublesome for the team:

Heatran- The team has a hard time dealing with Heatran. Tyranitar is the main switch for it, however there's not much Tyranitar can do if it gets burned with Lava Plume. Of course, Excadrill deals with Heatran just fine, but it's risky to switch Excadrill into a Heatran. That's why Earthquake can be run on Tyranitar instead of Flamethrower, and then running Synthesis on Mega Venusaur.

Mega Venusaur- Mega Venusaur also provides problems for the team because there's nothing on the team that can do a good amount of damage to opposing Mega Venusaur. The best the team can do is slowly whittle it down.

A well-played Mega Sableye- Mega Sableye is hard enough to deal with already, and the main thing to hit it with on this team is Azumarill, so it's really important to have Azu healthy (and not burned) whenever facing a team with Mega Sableye.

To be continued...
 
Hey Pillow Chrome, cool team. I only have a few suggestions to try to improve it.

For one i'd change your Tyranitar to a more offensive spread with Chople Berry to check Gengar & Zard Y as well as carry Pursuit to get rid of Tornadus-Therian, Talonflame and Latis that annoy your M-Venusaur. Fire Blast is better than Flamethrower since it grabs more 2HKOs vs SpDef Skarmory and Ferrothorn although its accuracy is a bit shaky.

I'd also say change your Excadrill from Life Orb to Air Balloon since your only ground resist is Thundurus which isn't all too reliable as a sole ground resist. Plus opposing Sand Rush Excadrill and Landorus-T can be annoying even though you have Azumarill to keep them in check.

You should run Synthesis > Earthquake on your M-Venusaur to help with longevity. With a more offensive Tyranitar, an Azumarill, and some other suggestions i'll be making, Heatran shouldn't be too big of a threat. Synthesis is a staple on M-Venusaur and they all should run it to make the most of its insane natural bulk and ability.

One huge change to help you break through balance and bulky offense alongside CB Azumarill would be to change your Thundurus from Taunt + Volt Switch to Nasty Plot + 3 Attacks. Excadrill in the sand and Azumarill + M-Venusaur checks virtually all of the speed boosters in the meta, so taking advantage of Nasty Plot Thundurus is great for punching holes through teams with it's ridiculous power at +2 and solid coverage.

Lastly, since the Pokemon that Ferrothorn checks overlaps with Tyranitar and M-Venusaur, i'd change Ferrothorn to fast Heatran, especially since an SD M-Scizor can break your team at +2 if M-Venusaur gets too weak to take something like a +2 Bug Bite. Heatran also checks opposing Heatran for you, and nabs convenient surprise kills versus Bisharps with Lava Plume while still having good enough bulk to check Clefable, M-Sableye, Volcorona, Jirachi, Serperior, and more. It also helps check opposing M-Venusaur which can be hard for you to break.

Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 64 Atk / 196 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Pursuit
- Fire Blast
- Stone Edge
- Ice Beam

Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 232 HP / 252 SpA / 24 Spe
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Synthesis

Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
Hope i was able to help!
 
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Hey Pillow Chrome, cool team. I only have a few suggestions to try to improve it.

For one i'd change your Tyranitar to a more offensive spread with Chople Berry to check Gengar & Zard Y as well as carry Pursuit to get rid of Tornadus-Therian, Talonflame and Latis that annoy your M-Venusaur. Fire Blast is better than Flamethrower since it grabs more 2HKOs vs SpDef Skarmory and Ferrothorn although its accuracy is a bit shaky.

I'd also say change your Excadrill from Life Orb to Air Balloon since your only ground resist is Thundurus which isn't all too reliable as a sole ground resist. Plus opposing Sand Rush Excadrill and Landorus-T can be annoying even though you have Azumarill to keep them in check.

You should run Synthesis > Earthquake on your M-Venusaur to help with longevity. With a more offensive Tyranitar, an Azumarill, and some other suggestions i'll be making, Heatran shouldn't be too big of a threat. Synthesis is a staple on M-Venusaur and they all should run it to make the most of its insane natural bulk and ability.

One huge change to help you break through balance and bulky offense alongside CB Azumarill would be to change your Thundurus from Taunt + Volt Switch to Nasty Plot + 3 Attacks. Excadrill in the sand and Azumarill + M-Venusaur checks virtually all of the speed boosters in the meta, so taking advantage of Nasty Plot Thundurus is great for punching holes through teams with it's ridiculous power at +2 and solid coverage.

Lastly, since the Pokemon that Ferrothorn checks overlaps with Tyranitar and M-Venusaur, i'd change Ferrothorn to fast Heatran, especially since an SD M-Scizor can break your team at +2 if M-Venusaur gets too weak to take something like a +2 Bug Bite. Heatran also checks opposing Heatran for you, and nabs convenient surprise kills versus Bisharps with Lava Plume while still having good enough bulk to check Clefable, M-Sableye, Volcorona, Jirachi, Serperior, and more. It also helps check opposing M-Venusaur which can be hard for you to break.

Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 64 Atk / 196 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Pursuit
- Fire Blast
- Stone Edge
- Ice Beam

Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 232 HP / 252 SpA / 24 Spe
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Synthesis

Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
Hope i was able to help!

Awesome! I'll try out those sets right now and see how it goes. Thanks! :D

Edit: The team kind of has a struggle with Mega Lopunny, but it's not something that can't be played around. Ferrothorn was my way of punishing Fake Outs from Mega Lopunny, even though it was a 50-50 each time (between High Jump Kicks).

Replay: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-257414231
 
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Hey n_n

It's crazy cause I was gonna suggest what celes suggested like exactly, lol.

I'm a fan of sand teams and I like the structure you built your team with, though it struggles with a few things. Fast offensive threats like Weavile and Mega Lopunny threaten your team and your best way to deal with them is by revenge killing with Excadrill after you set the sand up. So basically, when said threats come in, it usually means you must sac a mon or greatly weaken a key member. So I'll suggest one thing that may or may not help deal with these issues.

Go with a defensive Mega Venusaur set. This gives you a solid switch in to the likes of Mega Lopunny and Weavile without you having to sac or weaken members of your team. A spread of 248 HP / 168 Def with a Bold nature is enough to dodge a 2HKO from both Weavile and Mega Lopunny after SR damage and sand, with 20 EVs into speed to outpace Adamant Azumarill. The rest can be dumped into special attack or elsewhere; 248 HP / 168 Def+ / 72 SpA / 20 Spd is what it should look like. There were paragraphs under here which basically had the same changes as celes so yeah n_n test out this Venu and see if it helps. Gl with the team!

Venusaur-Mega @ Venusaurite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Def / 72 SpA / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Synthesis
 
Hey n_n

It's crazy cause I was gonna suggest what celes suggested like exactly, lol.

I'm a fan of sand teams and I like the structure you built your team with, though it struggles with a few things. Fast offensive threats like Weavile and Mega Lopunny threaten your team and your best way to deal with them is by revenge killing with Excadrill after you set the sand up. So basically, when said threats come in, it usually means you must sac a mon or greatly weaken a key member. So I'll suggest one thing that may or may not help deal with these issues.

Go with a defensive Mega Venusaur set. This gives you a solid switch in to the likes of Mega Lopunny and Weavile without you having to sac or weaken members of your team. A spread of 248 HP / 168 Def with a Bold nature is enough to dodge a 2HKO from both Weavile and Mega Lopunny after SR damage and sand, with 20 EVs into speed to outpace Adamant Azumarill. The rest can be dumped into special attack or elsewhere; 248 HP / 168 Def+ / 72 SpA / 20 Spd is what it should look like. There were paragraphs under here which basically had the same changes as celes so yeah n_n test out this Venu and see if it helps. Gl with the team!

Venusaur-Mega @ Venusaurite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Def / 72 SpA / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Synthesis

I haven't really found Weavile as much of a problem as Mega Lopunny has been to the team, and I was considering using a defensive Mega Venusaur since I had no Pokemon that would reliably take a High Jump Kick + Return after a switch, and since fighting types were a bit of a problem for the team overall. So, I definitely agree that the defensive set will help out the team. Thanks for the help!
 
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