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Yo. Not been here for a long long while, mainly because I hate it here but whatever. Still couldn't resist teambuilding like a madman for the Hell of it, even if Lando-i, the offence lord, had to sadly leave our joyous metagame, though now we do accommodate balanced lord Hoopa-U so shit ain't all that bad.
Anyway, while it would be a false claim to say my teambuilding has improved because it really hasn't, I've still been dicking around with different methods of going about my building. Heavy offence, while still very workable, especially with Hoopa-U, king of coverage and raw power, isn't quite the same without splashing Lando-i to fill in whatever position with whatever coverage you lacked. I've gone about making more Speed, Breaker, Breaker, Utility, Speed, Sweeper teams, I've gone off taking a page out of mah boi False Hopes' book and splashing Sub BP Lop everywhere, and as of recently I tried to pull a semi Flaming Victini and tried raking together every viable HO mon out there, assess their roles, gauge the checks and counters of every mon on the OU viability rankings, assess the main threats to hyper offensive teams, both individual mons and cores, and identify good answers to them and rake together a team with the best combination of general synergy and being able to handle the most shit; yeah I quit halfway through trying to build that last team... Instead, I went with something a bit simpler in concept. The best time to really grab momentum from an opponent is turn fucking one, so if most of your team isn't really equipped to handle opposing Pokemon X right from the get-go then it's up to you to go through the hassle of clawing your momentum back or you risk falling behind and staying behind, especially vs opposing offensive teams. As such, composing a team that can allow me to work with handling almost any lead decently to ensure I get the upper hand from the first turn while also holding lasting utility and good overall synergy to ensure I can keep my momentum was my goal here. I ended up with this. Enjoy.
YAY!
Doge (Landorus-Therian) @ Soft Sand
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 78 HP / 252 Atk / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Superpower / Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
Starting off with my Rocks setter, the most used mon in OU! ...Wait, he's not the most used anymore? I just don't understand the world anymore... Anyway, this thing sets hazards and demolishes Heatran leads really, Hoopa-U doesn't appreciate taking an Adamant U-Turn to the face either and not much appreciate taking an Adamant Soft Sand EQ besides levitaters and shit. He makes a very effective breaker as well for that reason and this team's best answer to Sand Rush cores who are very annoying.
Earthquake is my obvious STAB, I always advocate running a powerful STAB EQ on any team and from base 145 Adamant with Soft Sand it is a very powerful hitter that can crack a lot of walls. The next move is really a toss-up between Superpower and Stone Edge. I personally prefer Superpower since Lando is a good bait for Ferro so after a bit of wear or an EQ that doesn't quite do 50% or if the fucker Leech Seeds me and think he can stay in or what the fuck ever, it's good to break that thing so it doesn't hang over my head all the time. Stone Edge is acceptable too vs Birdspam since Diancie is your only hard-counter to Talonflame and Raikou is quite a soft check, if you feel birds are a bigger issue by all means run Stone Edge. U-Turn is my momentum keeper, switch initiative after intimidating an offensive threat or scaring out a defensive one, this guy can force a lot of switches so I can keep momentum in my favour. Lastly, hazards are hazards, they help wear opposing teams down, make it easier to clean up, break Sashes and Sturdy, limit the effectiveness of Birdspam, Volc and the Zards, etc. You already know that shit.
Adamant was chosen over Jolly because Lando doesn't really need that speed, he needs the raw power to brutally smash shit and that's what Adamant Soft Sand does. Speaking of Soft Sand, it helps me boost my EQ to astronomical levels and allows me the possible 2HKO against shit like Ferro, offensive Mega Venu, Chansey, bulky Mega Sciz, Quagsire after Rocks, all shit I'd miss the mark against without these conditions. The speed allows me to outspeed max speed Breloom and Bish, mainly Breloom so I can get the U-Turn off before the Spore or Bullet Seed, it also outspeeds max Speed Hoopa-U with a neutral speed nature, to outspeed max speed I'd need to be Jolly and I explained why I shouldn't do that before. Max Atk as mentioned before for raw power. Rest in HP for a little more bulk.
Other options include Smack Down for Rotom baiting, but this team does have decent enough support vs Rotom, but it's not unwarranted if it's really being a bother. Max speed is an option too though the bulk is helpful especially vs Sand Rush cores to avoid being worn down as easily even if just marginally. Or the opposite, less speed and more bulk is possible to better check Sand Rush, but it will leave you outpaced by some threats.
Au Contraire (Serperior) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Knock Off
Serp is mon No1 to help get my game off to a good start. When an opponent sees Lando they're generally drawn towards clicking Hippo or Slowbro which is easy +2 bait to kick off with. High speed and ease of set-up make it nice vs some more offensive teams as well as also a late game cleaner if not an early game sweeper.
Leaf Storm is my base 130 STAB Nasty Plot. Spam this whenever the opportunity arises unless something absolutely needs to be caught by another move. All in all, it's the whole reason to use Serp. Dragon Pulse helps vs Garchomp, the Latis, and Zard-X who can be quite annoying, being able to threaten it out so it's not just Draco-spam paradise or hitting a Chomp nice and hard is always good, as is revenging a Zard that hasn't set up yet or flat-out preventing it from setting up on your face. HP Fire is support for Scizors and Ferros, you can never really have too little support for them because they can be very annoying if you're under-prepared and I don't want to be that guy watching a Ferro Iron Barbs me to death. Lastly, when there's a Serp spamming Leaf Storm and about to run you through, who do you send in? Chansey! Except you don't, because Knock Off. Good bait for the pink blob, I found Knock Off on Sciz kind of a waste since who the fuck would leave a Chansey in on a Sciz anyway? It missed the point of usefulness on Sciz, but not on Serp. So many fucking teams run a damn Chansey for no reason, you can't not be prepared.
Timid made the best use of Serp's speed which is one of the main reasons to use Serp, a Modest Serp can't sweep quite as well since it's more liable to being easily revenged. The IVs are optimised HP Fire IVs, 0 Atk minimises Confusion and Foul Play damage and the 29 HP IVs give me a Life Orb number. There's no fancy EV spread, just the standard, max speed makes the best use of her speed while max SpA makes the best use of her offensive capabilities, simple sweeper EVs, hit hard and fast. The remaining 4 go into Def since most priority is physical so for whatever little it may help I threw them in there.
Other options include Miracle Seed, mainly if you don't want to waste your HP using Knock Off which is more utility above anything else really, understandable and always an option, though you might miss the extra power on your non-STAB moves. Sub/Lefties is good too to better get an early sweep coming, though the pink blob may just as well ruin your easy sweep and just make you wish you had Knock Off again... HP Ground is an option as well, though this team I feel is much less threatened by Tran and has generally more support for it anyway, but if you don't then that's fine.
20% Cooler (Keldeo-Resolute) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Keldeo... My most used mon. Namely Scarfed Keldeo, my most used set of my most used mon. I don't think I've built a single team without Scarfed Keld since I got back, it's a fantastic anti-anti-offence revenger killer revenger. Basically, it beats anti-offensive mons like Lop, Scept, Aero, Weavs and other Scarfers like Lando, T-Tar, Kyurem, Hoopa, as well as also being my Bish counter. This thing never ever proves to be dead weight and always comes in handy.
Hydro Pump is raw power, when you just need to throw accuracy out the window and hit something as hard as you can, odds are you will be using Scald more due to the accuracy to guarantee your revenge, but Hydro is always good to have when you just need to bust a hole. Scald is your accurate STAB with a chance to Burn to not let those defensive walls think they can totally have their way with you. Secret Sword is secondary STAB which helps with Bish, Hoopa, Ferro, Chansey, Mega Lop and such, the power to hit on the physical side also makes Keld a threat vs special walls due to the ability to hit from both dies pretty hard. Lastly, HP Ice is to revenge shit like Chomp and Scept while also baiting out Flying types or helping wear down a Lati (or flat-out killing it if it's suffered heavy wear).
Timid, like Serp, maximises Keld's speed for optimal revenging capabilities, Modest would hit harder, but the aim is speed which I means even with Scarf I can't drop to Modest or else I risk being outsped by other Scarfers. The IVs are optimised HP Ice IVs, 0 Atk is to minimise Foul Play and Confusion damage. The EVs follow the same principal as before: hit hard and hit fast, as such I have max speed to make the best use of her speed tier and max SpA to hit as hard as possible with a neutral SpA nature. The last 4 EVs go to Def as most priority is physical and every little helps.
Other Options include Icy Wind though given that you're Scarfed dropping opponents' Speed likely won't help you unless you run Modest, HP Ice also guarantees the HOKO vs Mega Scept from full health so I don't have to risk losing my Keld to a low roll. HP Electric is also an option to bait out fat Waters or revenge them after some wear, though fat Waters are set-up fodder for both of my sweepers so support vs things like Chomp is more ideal since I can't set up on that thing, I just need it dead.
Iris (Scizor) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- U-turn
- Superpower
Scizor, my second Choice user, massive hard-hitter, only source of priority, Fairy check, pivot, and general power-house. She's here to patch in the Mega Venu problem I've been having as well as support me against Fairies and assist with revenging thanks to powerful Technician Banded Bullet Punch. Hard as fuck to switch into for a lot of things meaning its switch-ins are pretty limited making the plays an opponent is forced to make pretty predictable. Great utility, never dead-weight.
Bullet Punch is my STAB priority, boosted by Band and Technician allows me to hit very hard, threatening mainly fast threats like Gengar, Zam, and +2 RP Mega Diancie, but also doing a number on fat Fairies like Clef an Mega Alt and wallbreaking ones like Sylve, Azu, and Diancie. Essentially, Fairies just can't handle this shit. Nor can T-Tar, Weavile or Kyurem. Bug Bite is my main STAB, I chose it over Knock Off for Mega Venu support since U-Turn doesn't KO and I can't spam that over and over, but Bug Bite seems to hit everything Knock Off would hit only harder, STAB Technician booster means Mega Slowbro, Megagross, Rotom-W and whatever take a good good chunk more. Not like Sciz is baiting out Chanseys any time soon. U-Turn is my STAB switch initiative, Sciz can force a Hell of a lot of switches, so a powerful STAB U-Turn can take advantage of that, chunking the chosen switch-in and letting me decide the match-up. Lastly, my only non-STAB move on this thing, Superpower is to bait out Heatrans and Magnezones mainly so I can OHKO them on the switch in, it also helps vs Ferro who I keep complaining about too...
Adamant is used for as much power as possible, being a Banded breaker the aim of this set is to emphasise power over speed so Adamant was the choice over Jolly to shatter walls and even offensive threats with her priority. 216 Speed is so I can outspeed 44 Spe Rotom-W and U-Turn out before the Will-O while the rest was investing in maximising Atk to hit as hard as possible and the leftover 40 went to HP for sustainability and a little more bulk.
Other Options include Pursuit to help trap shit like Mega Zam, Lati@s, Gengar, Megagross and all that shit. I'm personally not a fan of it due to the fact that it's just so non-spammable and can potentially send my momentum crashing. I guess maybe running either max HP or max Speed for a speedy or bulky Band Sciz is possible, but that's about it.
Mona Lisa (Diancie-Mega) @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 32 Atk / 224 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Diamond Storm
- Moonblast
- Earth Power
- Protect
Mega Shiny-Eyeballs exists. Mega Diancie. Birdspam also exists. Mega Diancie. A lot of my recent teams were having trouble with the two threats, he latter is a threat to almost every team I build anyway. Mega Diancie is a great answer to both, hitting them both for super effective damage and bouncing back any status they try to throw.
Diamond Storm is my physical STAB which hits birds and Mega Zard Y pretty hard as well as more specially defensive opponents for a bit more damage than my SpA attacks. Moonblast is my main STAB of choice, hitting Mega Shiny-Eyeballs, Mega Alt, Garchomp, Lati@s and such all for super effective damage as well as hitting anything else hard enough. Earth Power is for some certain Steel switch-ins, mainly Heatran but also useful vs Megagross and Magnezone. Lastly, Protect lets me Mega Evolve safely and can be used throughout the match for scouting and sending a High Jump Kicking Lop crashing which is always nice, dumb slut.
Naive nature was chosen to prevent any drop in one of my offences and maintained my Def on a neutral level as well due to priority mostly being physical, meaning SpD had to be sacrificed. The EVs are standard Diancie EVs, 32 Atk allows my the 2HKO on defensive Zapdos, max speed allows me to speed tie with other base 110s as well as outspeed some depending on their moveset and investment such as HP Fire Latios. The remaining EVs go to SpA for offensive capabilities.
Other options include HP Fire for Ferro bait, but that would cause you to lose the speed tie vs EQ mixed Latios. Calm Mind over Protect is also an option to help break walls, however that would mean you are at greater risk when Mega Evolving.
Ugly (Raikou) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Extrasensory
- Calm Mind
Calm Mind three attacks Raikou, this is quite the underrated set but I have had much success with it, I've very rarely found myself missing Volt Switch and a set-up Raikou can put it work. Raikou assists with the likes of Skarm leads as well as supporting Serp in sweeping and offering additional offensive utility to help with threats I need a little more support for such as Mega Venu, fat Waters, and Lando.
Thunderbolt is my main STAB, hitting fat Waters hard along with Flying types like Talon and Skarm hard for super effective damage. Hidden Power Ice gives the the good ol' Bolt-Beam coverage which lets me hit Lando, Glisc, Garchomp, the Latis, Mega Alt, etc for super effective damage to quite great extents once set up. Extrasensory is my additional support vs Mega Venu since my best answer right now suffers from the risk of HP Fire spam, relying on Sciz alone is far too risky, though I do have Lando who can hit very hard, it's still not worth going in without a better contingency plan. Lastly, Calm Mind is my set-up, once he gets to +1 or +2, things just get all kind of bloody as I run around with the power of Specs and the bulk of AV, it's fucking wonderful, it really is.
Returning to plain EV spreads and natures, Raikou is a Timid cat, running fast and abusing that base 115 speed of his to the greatest extent. The IVs are HP Ice IVs which have been optimised, 0 Atk is to minimise Foul Play and Confusion damage. Lastly, max Speed allows him to be as fast as possible to keep ahead of a lot of other fast threats. Max SpA is to hit as hard as possible with an offensive neutral nature. The remaining 4 went into SpD as Raikou has a high base SpD which I can minimally support to more easily switch into fat Waters to set up.
Other options include Shadow Ball over Extrasensory, but Shadow Ball doesn't really offer any support for things I can't cover well unlike Extrasensory. Sub over Extrasensory is possible too, but straight up sacrificing your coverage is just a bad idea, Sub is better for Serp. Life Orb over Leftovers is an option too, however it does limit sustainability for late-game cleaning.
Weather based teams or cores can screw me pretty damn hard. Sand is just about manageable since everything on this team bar Raikou can fuck T-Tar up and I can hold Exca back till the sand runs out so it's not that huge a deal but still threatening. Rain is almost auto-loss, honestly. I have decent enough Water support, but getting outsped and out-powered at every turn is not the way I want a battle to go.
Fast Electrics, always a threat. While +1 Raikou can generally deal with them decently being able to take a hit better and hit back harder that the opponent, they're still annoying. Opposing CM three attacks Raikou are the main threat if they get to +1 or more on me. Sub CM I can beat 1v1 though.
Opposing Scarfed Kelds can also be very annoying to handle, being able to outspeed anything on my team bar my own Keld and not taking shit from my one source of priority. It can always get at least one good hit in and it generally hurts most of my team. Specs and CM are fine because of their manageable speed tier.
I tried to accommodate for Mega Venu and it certainly is far from unbeatable, but it's still quite a nightmare in the long run and will take some time to wear down before he finally breaks, in all this time the fucker can spam Gigas and Leech Seeds and what the fuck ever else he wants.
This thing can outspeed me at every turn bar Sciz and Keld, it has that damn Regenerator to make it more annoying to wear down, and the 100% Confusion chance on Hurricane spam really is not helpful either. On Rain offence it's pretty much an auto-loss.
Trick Room, of course. My team is fast, so Trick Room can really screw it over. I really do hate this shit so much.
Landorus-Therian @ Soft Sand
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 78 HP / 252 Atk / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
Serperior @ Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Knock Off
Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- U-turn
- Superpower
Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 16 Atk / 242 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Diamond Storm
- Moonblast
- Earth Power
- Protect
Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Extrasensory
- Calm Mind
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 78 HP / 252 Atk / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
Serperior @ Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Knock Off
Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- U-turn
- Superpower
Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 16 Atk / 242 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Diamond Storm
- Moonblast
- Earth Power
- Protect
Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Extrasensory
- Calm Mind
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