Project heat

Zapdos-Galar @ Figy Berry
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Agility
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- Bulk Up

This bad boy absolutely slaps on any team that can get two layers of hazards up. I've been using it on hyper offense and it is by far my MVP. How do people deal with Zappy-G? Two main ways: Corviknight / Toxapex, or something to outspeed it. Agility completely negatives the latter and Bulk Up destroys Corv straight up and Tox on the switch. And if they try to Defog on you and you get to +2 speed that's the ball game.

Adamant is chosen to 2HKO Unaware Clefable with some luck or chip. Figy Berry gives you more turns to use Brave Bird. Since it is usually self-activated, you will be in the <1/3 HP range almost every game, making a superior choice to Sitrus Berry. Sitrus can be used with Acrobatics but you miss the Clef 2HKO and Corviknight is more annoying.
 
Grimmsnarl @ Roseli Berry/Lefties
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Bulk Up
- Darkest Lariat
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

I've been trying a lot of Bulk Up Grim teams lately, and this is the best set I've used so far. For those who don't know, Prankster works in conjunction with Sleep Talk, giving Grimmsnarl +1 priority and randomly selecting one of its other moves - ideally Darkest Lariat or Bulk Up.

Grim is great at a lot of things, but one of her biggest draws is shutting down Dragapult completely. Removing Pult opens up your own dragon spam, letting Garchomp/Kyurem/your Dragapult blow holes through teams. Grimmsnarl is a fearsome cleaner in her own right - get one or two Bulk Ups off and you consistently beat any physical attacker that's not Bisharp or Melmetal or maybe Kart. Seriously, it beats Arcozolt, Garchomp, Shifu, Weavile, Lando, etc., not to mention Corv and Ferro.

Roseli Berry is to take a Moonblast from Fini or Lele and get another shot at firing back, while Lefties are consistent recovery. Lariat is used over Crunch or Sucker Punch because a) you don't need Sucker Punch priority with Prankster Sleep Talk, and b) Lariat ignoring stats helps you win setup battles. You can run Spirit Break/Play Rough as your attack, but when I do, I find myself wishing I had Lariat.

Grim is great with dragon spam, purely because it removes opposing dragons so well. Pairing with Heatran or Melmetal helps deal with Fairies, who are the biggest threat to Grim and your dragons. Fini has been the biggest hurdle in my experience so far, so I'd love suggestions on partners to deal with it.
 
Banded Weavile attracts Fini like a moth to a flame, and actually deals sizeable chip, between Knock Off removing Leftovers recovery and Triple Axel dealing a bunch. You can even run Poison Jab in the 4th slot instead of Low Kick.
 
Defensive Volcarona
:ss/volcarona:
Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SpA
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Roost
- Fiery Dance
- Toxic

This Volc is offensive role compression to the extreme. Want a tank that can take down some of the game's strongest threats right now? How about a deadly special sweeper that destroys everything once fire resists have been removed? What about a physical wall that spreads status?

This Volc borrows an idea from Spikes Greninja: if you can't damage your checks directly, cripple them passively. Volc comes on Ferro, Corv, and a million other things and when the opponent switches to Dragonite, SpDef Lando, Chomp, TTar, he cripples them with status. None of these pokemon bar Dragonite have reliable recovery, and even for Dragonite, breaking his multiscale instantly can be huge.

Another problem with Volc is that he'll lose against physical attackers, most prominently, SD Weavile. If Weavile clicks Knock Off on offensive Volc, it's a guaranteed 2HKO. With Zeraora, as well: Plasma Fists 2HKOs while +1 Flamethrower from Modest Volc only OHKOs 12% of the time. Finally, Tapu Lele is often used as a check due to Volc's low defense, as +1 Flamethrower never kills even after rocks and specs psyshock OHKOs.

This set fixes both these problems with a defensive Toxic set. The goal is to provide a check to physical attackers while spreading status and serving as a late game wincon if Heatran, Pex, and Ttar have been removed. With a Timid Nature and 0 EVs, Volc still packs enough speed to outrun Torn-T at +1 and defeat it. You could try max speed, but that would only have you outspeed Tapu Koko (who you beat anyway with Quiver Dance), Zeraora (who does less than half with his strongest attack), and special Dragapult, who you once again beat with Quiver Dance.

Koko still beats you if he's specs TBolt and comes in before you Quiver, but loses if he switches into Quiver . Physical Dragapult can beat you as well but they tend to run adamant. If they switch after you have clicked Quiver, you can safely Toxic them then Roost stall until they die. If they try to set up instead of attacking just click Fiery Dance. At worst this will be a trade.

This set excels against HO and balance teams while applying immense pressure with Quiver Dance. With these EVs, Volc actually takes some insane hits:

:weavile:
+2 252 Atk Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 309-364 (83.2 - 98.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
16 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Weavile: 258-306 (91.8 - 108.8%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
If Volc comes in on SD he lives the knock and has a 50% shot to OHKO.

252 Atk Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 154-183 (41.5 - 49.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Weavile Knock Off vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 103-123 (27.7 - 33.1%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252 Atk Weavile Ice Shard vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 32-38 (8.6 - 10.2%) -- possibly the worst move ever
If he comes in on Knock, he sets up a Quiver the second turn and Roosts on the Ice Shard.

:landorus-therian:
0 Atk Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 153-181 (41.2 - 48.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
You lure SpDef (or defensive) Lando, Toxic him, and roost off the damage with ease. Earthquake doesn't even 2HKO. Of course if Lando does have toxic it's a problem, but many of them do not. And even if they do, simply poisoning Lando on the switch is a great option.

:tapu lele:
252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psyshock vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona in Psychic Terrain: 262-310 (70.6 - 83.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele: 148-175 (52.6 - 62.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Tapu Lele is sometimes used to revenge kill Volc with Psyshock after its already gotten a boost, this is impossible with this set. Specs Lele unfortunately defeats Volc in a straight 1v1, but in any other situation Volc wins.

:corviknight:
0 Atk Corviknight Brave Bird vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 236-282 (63.6 - 76%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 248 HP / 92 SpD Corviknight: 230-272 (57.6 - 68.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
You successfully tank a Brave Bird and 2HKO Corviknight.

:dragonite:
252 Atk Dragonite Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 276-328 (74.3 - 88.4%) -- approx. 2HKO
You can sack Volc to get off a Toxic, or fish for burns with roost.

Also, a lot of Dragonites these days are Ice Punch / EQ / DD / Roost, and Volc walls this to hell:
252 Atk Dragonite Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 115-136 (30.9 - 36.6%) -- 68.2% chance to 3HKO
He can try to set up on you, but you can also continuously roost after you land the first toxic, and just stall him out.

:kartana:
+1 252 Atk Kartana Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 209-247 (56.3 - 66.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
You can come in on scarf Kart after he claims a kill, roost on the first one, and then use him as setup fodder as you heal more than Knock does damage, and Kart also runs the risk of being burned.
+1 252 Atk Kartana Knock Off vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 141-166 (38 - 44.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Most hilariously,
:urshifu-rapid-strike:
252 Atk Choice Band Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Aqua Jet vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 204-240 (54.9 - 64.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Obviously you will never be able to 1v1 Watershifu (especially without Psychic). BUT, if you get a quiver as they switch to Urshifu to revenge kill, the Urshifu often finds itself burned (which you can fish for once or twice with roost) or chipped heavily with fiery dance or poisoned with Toxic. If it gets burned and locked into Aqua Jet, Volc uses him as setup fodder. Even if he doesn't get burned, Volc can fire off a strong hit and that chip can make a huge difference

+1 0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: 126-149 (36.9 - 43.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
For instance, this guarantees Urshifu dies if it takes rocks twice and helmet chip from Surging Strikes once, and also puts it in range of a lot of physical attacks.

And here are some more just for fun:

:zeraora: :arctozolt: :victini: :excadrill: :swampert: :hawlucha: :mamoswine:
:zeraora:
252 Atk Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 153-180 (41.2 - 48.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+1 0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zeraora: 202-238 (63.7 - 75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
If caught in this 1v1, you win 100% of the time if you just take the first hit, get to +1 Quiver, then roost until he gets burned because you do not outspeed him at +1 if he is Jolly. If he is adamant, you will be 2HKO'd but can sitll roost off the damage until he gets burned as you are now faster than him.
From there you can keep boosting and try to sweep or just keep Volc at good health if there are other threats in the back that would preclude a sweep.

:arctozolt:
252 Atk Arctozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 238-282 (64.1 - 76%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after hail damage
0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Arctozolt: 300-354 (93.4 - 110.2%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
100% chance to OHKO if zolt has any chip or tries to go for sub first. I wouldn't switch it in, but it's a good soft check and can also find opportunities to roost off the damage later.

sand rush :excadrill:
252 Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 226-266 (60.9 - 71.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Excadrill: 318-374 (88 - 103.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Life Orb recoil
Once again, not a switch but a good soft check.

:swampert:
Swampert is a very common switch in to Volc, but is destroyed by Toxic. also, not super significant but just neat:
0 Atk Swampert Flip Turn vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 146-174 (39.3 - 46.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Volc doesn't beat Swampert unless it's literally the last 2 pokemon in the game (because they toxic each other but Volc has roost so he wins). Still cool that you could potentially burn Pert with Flame Body and then roost off all the damage in one turn.

:hawlucha:
252+ Atk Hawlucha Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 320-380 (86.2 - 102.4%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
Far from reliable but there's a good chance unboosted Lucha doesn't OHKO Volc. From here you can Toxic and then use your defensive backbone, or priority offensive pokemon to stop him until he dies to poison. And of course, if he does kill you, you can always burn him.

:mamoswine:
252 Atk Life Orb Mamoswine Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 220-259 (59.2 - 69.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Mamoswine Icicle Crash vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 94-109 (25.3 - 29.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mamoswine: 338-398 (93.6 - 110.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
This only applies to Oblivious Mamoswine and AV or Sash Mamoswine, but basically, Volc can switch into Mamo Icicle Crash, live an EQ, and then one shot kill it with Fiery Dance.

Basically, you trade the ability to deal with Toxapex (which was sketchy anyway given Haze and Regenerator) for the ability to defeat of OU's most fearsome offensive pokemon right now. Using it is a lot of fun! If anyone wants to help me build a team around this let me know :)
 
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:ss/Haxorus:
Haxorus @ Lum Berry
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Scale Shot
- Poison Jab
- Earthquake

This boy is a nice wallbreaker/late game cleaner/stallbreaker. What is has that Garchomp has not is an extra 17 points in attack (fairly huge), a resistance to Grassy Glide, and a mono weakness to Ice (it can live Ice Shards even at -1 if behind its Aurora Veil), meaning it exchanges the Yache berry for a Lum one. And Mold Breaker, to get past Unaware guys and ensure Dragonite is OHKO'd by Scale Shot even with only 2 hits. I've tried Life Orb Jolly, but it was killing itself all the time. Then Lum berry Jolly, but that extra speed never felt clutch. In theory it's needed to outspeed Scarf Fini/Lele at +1, but in practise these guys often directly switch in while I'm setting up, so it goes to waste. Lum berry Adamant is the way to go. I'm using it with an Aurora Veil Ninetales-A for setting up. The berry is incredibly clutch: see in this replay where it can confortably set up in front of a Blissey trying to get a Toxic off.
Earthquake takes care of Toxapex that would try to go for a Haze (since Scale Shot is not a OHKO at +2), Poison Jab wrecks Tapu Fini and Unaware Clefable. While in theory Corviknight is a hard stop to this set, it's actually a fairly easy guy to chip, as seen in the replay where Knock Off + Stealth Rocks + Taunt from Krookodile forces it to go U-turn and Body Press with no Roost in between, only to take more chip from Xatu's Rocky Helmet. Same goes for Ferrothorn. Plus, having a 100% accurate non-contact damaging move is useful.
 
Defensive Volcarona
:ss/volcarona:
Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SpA
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Roost
- Fiery Dance
- Toxic

This Volc is offensive role compression to the extreme. Want a tank that can take down some of the game's strongest threats right now? How about a deadly special sweeper that destroys everything once fire resists have been removed? What about a physical wall that spreads status?

This Volc borrows an idea from Spikes Greninja: if you can't damage your checks directly, cripple them passively. Volc comes on Ferro, Corv, and a million other things and when the opponent switches to Dragonite, SpDef Lando, Chomp, TTar, he cripples them with status. None of these pokemon bar Dragonite have reliable recovery, and even for Dragonite, breaking his multiscale instantly can be huge.

Another problem with Volc is that he'll lose against physical attackers, most prominently, SD Weavile. If Weavile clicks Knock Off on offensive Volc, it's a guaranteed 2HKO. With Zeraora, as well: Plasma Fists 2HKOs while +1 Flamethrower from Modest Volc only OHKOs 12% of the time. Finally, Tapu Lele is often used as a check due to Volc's low defense, as +1 Flamethrower never kills even after rocks and specs psyshock OHKOs.

This set fixes both these problems with a defensive Toxic set. The goal is to provide a check to physical attackers while spreading status and serving as a late game wincon if Heatran, Pex, and Ttar have been removed. With a Timid Nature and 0 EVs, Volc still packs enough speed to outrun Torn-T at +1 and defeat it. You could try max speed, but that would only have you outspeed Tapu Koko (who you beat anyway with Quiver Dance), Zeraora (who does less than half with his strongest attack), and special Dragapult, who you once again beat with Quiver Dance.

Koko still beats you if he's specs TBolt and comes in before you Quiver, but loses if he switches into Quiver . Physical Dragapult can beat you as well but they tend to run adamant. If they switch after you have clicked Quiver, you can safely Toxic them then Roost stall until they die. If they try to set up instead of attacking just click Fiery Dance. At worst this will be a trade.

This set excels against HO and balance teams while applying immense pressure with Quiver Dance. With these EVs, Volc actually takes some insane hits:

:weavile:
+2 252 Atk Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 309-364 (83.2 - 98.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
16 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Weavile: 258-306 (91.8 - 108.8%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
If Volc comes in on SD he lives the knock and has a 50% shot to OHKO.

252 Atk Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 154-183 (41.5 - 49.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Weavile Knock Off vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 103-123 (27.7 - 33.1%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252 Atk Weavile Ice Shard vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 32-38 (8.6 - 10.2%) -- possibly the worst move ever
If he comes in on Knock, he sets up a Quiver the second turn and Roosts on the Ice Shard.

:landorus-therian:
0 Atk Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 153-181 (41.2 - 48.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
You lure SpDef (or defensive) Lando, Toxic him, and roost off the damage with ease. Earthquake doesn't even 2HKO. Of course if Lando does have toxic it's a problem, but many of them do not. And even if they do, simply poisoning Lando on the switch is a great option.

:tapu lele:
252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psyshock vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona in Psychic Terrain: 262-310 (70.6 - 83.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele: 148-175 (52.6 - 62.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Tapu Lele is sometimes used to revenge kill Volc with Psyshock after its already gotten a boost, this is impossible with this set. Specs Lele unfortunately defeats Volc in a straight 1v1, but in any other situation Volc wins.

:corviknight:
0 Atk Corviknight Brave Bird vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 236-282 (63.6 - 76%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 248 HP / 92 SpD Corviknight: 230-272 (57.6 - 68.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
You successfully tank a Brave Bird and 2HKO Corviknight.

:dragonite:
252 Atk Dragonite Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 276-328 (74.3 - 88.4%) -- approx. 2HKO
You can sack Volc to get off a Toxic, or fish for burns with roost.

Also, a lot of Dragonites these days are Ice Punch / EQ / DD / Roost, and Volc walls this to hell:
252 Atk Dragonite Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 115-136 (30.9 - 36.6%) -- 68.2% chance to 3HKO
He can try to set up on you, but you can also continuously roost after you land the first toxic, and just stall him out.

:kartana:
+1 252 Atk Kartana Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 209-247 (56.3 - 66.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
You can come in on scarf Kart after he claims a kill, roost on the first one, and then use him as setup fodder as you heal more than Knock does damage, and Kart also runs the risk of being burned.
+1 252 Atk Kartana Knock Off vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 141-166 (38 - 44.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Most hilariously,
:urshifu-rapid-strike:
252 Atk Choice Band Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Aqua Jet vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 204-240 (54.9 - 64.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Obviously you will never be able to 1v1 Watershifu (especially without Psychic). BUT, if you get a quiver as they switch to Urshifu to revenge kill, the Urshifu often finds itself burned (which you can fish for once or twice with roost) or chipped heavily with fiery dance or poisoned with Toxic. If it gets burned and locked into Aqua Jet, Volc uses him as setup fodder. Even if he doesn't get burned, Volc can fire off a strong hit and that chip can make a huge difference

+1 0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: 126-149 (36.9 - 43.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
For instance, this guarantees Urshifu dies if it takes rocks twice and helmet chip from Surging Strikes once, and also puts it in range of a lot of physical attacks.

And here are some more just for fun:

:zeraora: :arctozolt: :victini: :excadrill: :swampert: :hawlucha: :mamoswine:
:zeraora:
252 Atk Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 153-180 (41.2 - 48.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+1 0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zeraora: 202-238 (63.7 - 75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
If caught in this 1v1, you win 100% of the time if you just take the first hit, get to +1 Quiver, then roost until he gets burned because you do not outspeed him at +1 if he is Jolly. If he is adamant, you will be 2HKO'd but can sitll roost off the damage until he gets burned as you are now faster than him.
From there you can keep boosting and try to sweep or just keep Volc at good health if there are other threats in the back that would preclude a sweep.

:arctozolt:
252 Atk Arctozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 238-282 (64.1 - 76%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after hail damage
0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Arctozolt: 300-354 (93.4 - 110.2%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
100% chance to OHKO if zolt has any chip or tries to go for sub first. I wouldn't switch it in, but it's a good soft check and can also find opportunities to roost off the damage later.

sand rush :excadrill:
252 Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 226-266 (60.9 - 71.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Excadrill: 318-374 (88 - 103.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Life Orb recoil
Once again, not a switch but a good soft check.

:swampert:
Swampert is a very common switch in to Volc, but is destroyed by Toxic. also, not super significant but just neat:
0 Atk Swampert Flip Turn vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 146-174 (39.3 - 46.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Volc doesn't beat Swampert unless it's literally the last 2 pokemon in the game (because they toxic each other but Volc has roost so he wins). Still cool that you could potentially burn Pert with Flame Body and then roost off all the damage in one turn.

:hawlucha:
252+ Atk Hawlucha Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 320-380 (86.2 - 102.4%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
Far from reliable but there's a good chance unboosted Lucha doesn't OHKO Volc. From here you can Toxic and then use your defensive backbone, or priority offensive pokemon to stop him until he dies to poison. And of course, if he does kill you, you can always burn him.

:mamoswine:
252 Atk Life Orb Mamoswine Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 220-259 (59.2 - 69.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Mamoswine Icicle Crash vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 94-109 (25.3 - 29.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mamoswine: 338-398 (93.6 - 110.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
This only applies to Oblivious Mamoswine and AV or Sash Mamoswine, but basically, Volc can switch into Mamo Icicle Crash, live an EQ, and then one shot kill it with Fiery Dance.

Basically, you trade the ability to deal with Toxapex (which was sketchy anyway given Haze and Regenerator) for the ability to defeat of OU's most fearsome offensive pokemon right now. Using it is a lot of fun! If anyone wants to help me build a team around this let me know :)

Absolutely love the set! Toxic is so powerful on volc. Love the fact that, at +1, you outspeed Weavile as well, but I would also make sure you outspeed Koko at +1 just in case you face specs or cm. You achieve this with only 20 speed EVs reaching 265 speed and it makes you also outspeed the occasional mamoswine or any 252 base 80s (259) and every 252+ base 70s (264).
I would also run flamethrower > fiery dance. The whole point of those 16 EVs you commonly see is koing rillaboom with flamethrower: you obviously don't with fiery dance. It also gives you a 100% ohko against Weavile

16 SpA Volcarona Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Weavile: 290-344 (103.2 - 122.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
 
Hey all! I'm back with a few more weird ideas I had while screwing around on the OU ladder.
First up is everyone's favorite James Bond wannabe, Inteleon.
1636749970883.png
Very Serious Inteleon Fan Art by salanchu on DeviantArt
Inteleon@Life Orb
Ability: Sniper
252 Spe / 252 SpA / 4 HP
Timid Nature
-Focus Energy
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Scale Shot
The idea is to go for Focus Energy, then scale shot purely for the +1 speed boost, then run through town with sniper crit-boosted Hydro Pumps and Ice Beams, since they hit just about everything for at least Neutral damage. Pretty simple, works best as a late game cleaner once its checks(like Toxapex and Blissey) have been removed, behind screens/veil so it can set up safely.
Next up is something anyone who's played enough random battles with be familiar with:
1636750835811.png
Salazzle by Slovenskiy on DeviantArt
Salazzle@Black Sludge
Ability: Corrosion
252 Spe / 252 HP / 4 Def
Timid Nature
-Toxic
-Substitute
-Protect/Encore/Disable/Torment/Attract
-Flamethrower
The idea is pretty simple again: be annoying and spread Poison. Not a groundbreaking set since its actually something you can pull in RandBats, but an underrated set that I've had a ton of fun playing with in OU. Salazzle's fast speed lets it spam Protect and Sub while the opponent slowly dies, and Corrosion means you can pull it off on any non-Magic Guard mon. It's typing also makes a good switch-in to scarf Lele's Moonblast, and its speed alongside Flamethrower means it can revenge non-scarfed Kartana. Other than that it's really up to you to pick whatever combo of support moves would annoy the opp the best. I've been using Protect/Sub, but I can see Encore/Disable working, as well as Attract/Sub, Torment/Protect, etc.
And finally, one of my favorite sets in the last couple weeks:
1636750916017.png
Noctowl by Seepia on DeviantArt
Noctowl@Life Orb
Ability: Tinted Lens
252 Spe / 252 SpA / 4 Def
Modest Nature
-Hurricane/ Air Slash
-Hyper Voice
-Agility
-Nasty Plot
This is the same concept as the double dance Drapion I posted not too long ago, get both set-up moves off then wreck. The choice between Hurricane and Air Slash is dependent on the team you use it on. If its a rain team, or your feeling like risking that 30% miss every time for the substantial power boost, go for Hurricane. If not, Air Slash. And after a NP, this things hits hard enough that you wouldn't believe it has a sub-90 SpA stat. Defensive Zapdos? Gone. PhysDef Lando? Gone. Pex with even a little chip? Gone. Late game it get extremely hard to stop this thing from wrecking a weakened squad once it gets in on something it scares or doesn't threaten it, like Ferro, Buzz, Defensive Lando, Pex lacking Toxic, etc. Especially if you have screens support. Alternatively, if you're on a rain team, you can use a Specs set with the same spread as above, swapping LO for specs, Agility for Heat Wave, and NP for Defog. You can go timid if you want, but it doesn't outspeed much other than Adamant Bisharp, which murders us with Sucker Punch anyway. Tinted Lens means this thing's Hurricane is actually harder to switch into than Torn's, albeit at the price of being slower and frailer, so use every opportunity to get it in with things like Barraskewda's Flip Turn, Koko's Volt Switch, and Pelipper's U-Turn.
 
Defensive Volcarona
:ss/volcarona:
Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SpA
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Roost
- Fiery Dance
- Toxic

This Volc is offensive role compression to the extreme. Want a tank that can take down some of the game's strongest threats right now? How about a deadly special sweeper that destroys everything once fire resists have been removed? What about a physical wall that spreads status?

This Volc borrows an idea from Spikes Greninja: if you can't damage your checks directly, cripple them passively. Volc comes on Ferro, Corv, and a million other things and when the opponent switches to Dragonite, SpDef Lando, Chomp, TTar, he cripples them with status. None of these pokemon bar Dragonite have reliable recovery, and even for Dragonite, breaking his multiscale instantly can be huge.

Another problem with Volc is that he'll lose against physical attackers, most prominently, SD Weavile. If Weavile clicks Knock Off on offensive Volc, it's a guaranteed 2HKO. With Zeraora, as well: Plasma Fists 2HKOs while +1 Flamethrower from Modest Volc only OHKOs 12% of the time. Finally, Tapu Lele is often used as a check due to Volc's low defense, as +1 Flamethrower never kills even after rocks and specs psyshock OHKOs.

This set fixes both these problems with a defensive Toxic set. The goal is to provide a check to physical attackers while spreading status and serving as a late game wincon if Heatran, Pex, and Ttar have been removed. With a Timid Nature and 0 EVs, Volc still packs enough speed to outrun Torn-T at +1 and defeat it. You could try max speed, but that would only have you outspeed Tapu Koko (who you beat anyway with Quiver Dance), Zeraora (who does less than half with his strongest attack), and special Dragapult, who you once again beat with Quiver Dance.

Koko still beats you if he's specs TBolt and comes in before you Quiver, but loses if he switches into Quiver . Physical Dragapult can beat you as well but they tend to run adamant. If they switch after you have clicked Quiver, you can safely Toxic them then Roost stall until they die. If they try to set up instead of attacking just click Fiery Dance. At worst this will be a trade.

This set excels against HO and balance teams while applying immense pressure with Quiver Dance. With these EVs, Volc actually takes some insane hits:

:weavile:
+2 252 Atk Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 309-364 (83.2 - 98.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
16 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Weavile: 258-306 (91.8 - 108.8%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
If Volc comes in on SD he lives the knock and has a 50% shot to OHKO.

252 Atk Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 154-183 (41.5 - 49.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Weavile Knock Off vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 103-123 (27.7 - 33.1%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252 Atk Weavile Ice Shard vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 32-38 (8.6 - 10.2%) -- possibly the worst move ever
If he comes in on Knock, he sets up a Quiver the second turn and Roosts on the Ice Shard.

:landorus-therian:
0 Atk Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 153-181 (41.2 - 48.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
You lure SpDef (or defensive) Lando, Toxic him, and roost off the damage with ease. Earthquake doesn't even 2HKO. Of course if Lando does have toxic it's a problem, but many of them do not. And even if they do, simply poisoning Lando on the switch is a great option.

:tapu lele:
252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psyshock vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona in Psychic Terrain: 262-310 (70.6 - 83.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele: 148-175 (52.6 - 62.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Tapu Lele is sometimes used to revenge kill Volc with Psyshock after its already gotten a boost, this is impossible with this set. Specs Lele unfortunately defeats Volc in a straight 1v1, but in any other situation Volc wins.

:corviknight:
0 Atk Corviknight Brave Bird vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 236-282 (63.6 - 76%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 248 HP / 92 SpD Corviknight: 230-272 (57.6 - 68.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
You successfully tank a Brave Bird and 2HKO Corviknight.

:dragonite:
252 Atk Dragonite Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 276-328 (74.3 - 88.4%) -- approx. 2HKO
You can sack Volc to get off a Toxic, or fish for burns with roost.

Also, a lot of Dragonites these days are Ice Punch / EQ / DD / Roost, and Volc walls this to hell:
252 Atk Dragonite Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 115-136 (30.9 - 36.6%) -- 68.2% chance to 3HKO
He can try to set up on you, but you can also continuously roost after you land the first toxic, and just stall him out.

:kartana:
+1 252 Atk Kartana Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 209-247 (56.3 - 66.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
You can come in on scarf Kart after he claims a kill, roost on the first one, and then use him as setup fodder as you heal more than Knock does damage, and Kart also runs the risk of being burned.
+1 252 Atk Kartana Knock Off vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 141-166 (38 - 44.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Most hilariously,
:urshifu-rapid-strike:
252 Atk Choice Band Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Aqua Jet vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 204-240 (54.9 - 64.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Obviously you will never be able to 1v1 Watershifu (especially without Psychic). BUT, if you get a quiver as they switch to Urshifu to revenge kill, the Urshifu often finds itself burned (which you can fish for once or twice with roost) or chipped heavily with fiery dance or poisoned with Toxic. If it gets burned and locked into Aqua Jet, Volc uses him as setup fodder. Even if he doesn't get burned, Volc can fire off a strong hit and that chip can make a huge difference

+1 0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: 126-149 (36.9 - 43.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
For instance, this guarantees Urshifu dies if it takes rocks twice and helmet chip from Surging Strikes once, and also puts it in range of a lot of physical attacks.

And here are some more just for fun:

:zeraora: :arctozolt: :victini: :excadrill: :swampert: :hawlucha: :mamoswine:
:zeraora:
252 Atk Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 153-180 (41.2 - 48.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+1 0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zeraora: 202-238 (63.7 - 75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
If caught in this 1v1, you win 100% of the time if you just take the first hit, get to +1 Quiver, then roost until he gets burned because you do not outspeed him at +1 if he is Jolly. If he is adamant, you will be 2HKO'd but can sitll roost off the damage until he gets burned as you are now faster than him.
From there you can keep boosting and try to sweep or just keep Volc at good health if there are other threats in the back that would preclude a sweep.

:arctozolt:
252 Atk Arctozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 238-282 (64.1 - 76%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after hail damage
0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Arctozolt: 300-354 (93.4 - 110.2%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
100% chance to OHKO if zolt has any chip or tries to go for sub first. I wouldn't switch it in, but it's a good soft check and can also find opportunities to roost off the damage later.

sand rush :excadrill:
252 Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 226-266 (60.9 - 71.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Excadrill: 318-374 (88 - 103.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Life Orb recoil
Once again, not a switch but a good soft check.

:swampert:
Swampert is a very common switch in to Volc, but is destroyed by Toxic. also, not super significant but just neat:
0 Atk Swampert Flip Turn vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 146-174 (39.3 - 46.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Volc doesn't beat Swampert unless it's literally the last 2 pokemon in the game (because they toxic each other but Volc has roost so he wins). Still cool that you could potentially burn Pert with Flame Body and then roost off all the damage in one turn.

:hawlucha:
252+ Atk Hawlucha Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 320-380 (86.2 - 102.4%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
Far from reliable but there's a good chance unboosted Lucha doesn't OHKO Volc. From here you can Toxic and then use your defensive backbone, or priority offensive pokemon to stop him until he dies to poison. And of course, if he does kill you, you can always burn him.

:mamoswine:
252 Atk Life Orb Mamoswine Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 220-259 (59.2 - 69.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Mamoswine Icicle Crash vs. 240 HP / 252 Def Volcarona: 94-109 (25.3 - 29.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mamoswine: 338-398 (93.6 - 110.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
This only applies to Oblivious Mamoswine and AV or Sash Mamoswine, but basically, Volc can switch into Mamo Icicle Crash, live an EQ, and then one shot kill it with Fiery Dance.

Basically, you trade the ability to deal with Toxapex (which was sketchy anyway given Haze and Regenerator) for the ability to defeat of OU's most fearsome offensive pokemon right now. Using it is a lot of fun! If anyone wants to help me build a team around this let me know :)

Absolutely love the set! Toxic is so powerful on volc. Love the fact that, at +1, you outspeed Weavile as well, but I would also make sure you outspeed Koko at +1 just in case you face specs or cm. You achieve this with only 20 speed EVs reaching 265 speed and it makes you also outspeed the occasional mamoswine or any 252 base 80s (259) and every 252+ base 70s (264).
I would also run flamethrower > fiery dance. The whole point of those 16 EVs you commonly see is koing rillaboom with flamethrower: you obviously don't with fiery dance. It also gives you a 100% ohko against Weavile

16 SpA Volcarona Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Weavile: 290-344 (103.2 - 122.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
I did a full write up on defensive Volc!
 
Hydreigon @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Belch
- Rest

With the rise of Blacephalon hydra is one of the rare pokemon resisting both fire & ghost with a reliable recovery , what about trading roost for a worse recovery that helps against status spread but also open a way to deals with the fairies and blissey ?

+2 252 SpA Hydreigon Belch vs. 252 HP / 56+ SpD Clefable: 476-560 (120.8 - 142.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Hydreigon Belch vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Clefable: 392-462 (99.4 - 117.2%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

+2 252 SpA Hydreigon Belch vs. 252 HP / 64 SpD Tapu Fini: 384-454 (111.6 - 131.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Hydreigon Belch vs. 252 HP / 192+ SpD Tapu Fini: 318-376 (92.4 - 109.3%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO

+2 252 SpA Hydreigon Belch vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: 385-453 (112.9 - 132.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252 SpA Hydreigon Belch vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Buzzwole: 422-497 (100.9 - 118.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Hydreigon Belch vs. 248 HP / 28 SpD Buzzwole: 402-474 (96.4 - 113.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
 
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Just wanted to share the most demon set in existence.



melmetal.gif

Melmetal @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- Substitute
- Double Iron Bash
- Acid Armor


An inherent benefit of this set is that it's a nice check to Weavile, Rillaboom, Bisharp, Kartana and Scizor.


The real reason to use this set is the setup potential. Some nice targets to set up on are, Corviknight, Ferrothorn and Blissey. If you manage to get up one acid armor undisturbed basically no physical attacker can realistically threaten you aside from maybe Choice Band Surging Strikes Urshifu. What's also really nice is that most special attackers in OU can't take an uninvested double iron bash after they break your substitute leading to situations where even if you don't sweep you at least took out a Mon Melmetal has no right generally 1v1'ing.

Obviously, this set isn't uncounterable. Infiltrator flamethrower Dragapult is a big issue and normally needs some prediction to beat. Haze Toxapex can stop anything from happening in its tracks and Slowbrow/Zapdos is quite unrealistic to break through as well. Blacephalon and Victini pose a threat even if you already have a sub up but you can still get some great chip on them. It also needs at least 1 freeish turn to get something going.
 
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Interesting set. Do you really need to fully invest in Def though? This dude has a titanic Def stat already. If you invest in SpDef instead you can ensure Toxapex needs 3 Scalds to break your sub, meaning you can heal off the sub damage entirely. Or now if a Specs Tapu Lele comes to RK you from full after your sub is broken, it does 90% max and you kill it. If you're at full life, subbing will leave you at 75% and then Infiltrator Specs Dragapult Fireblast deals 70% max so you're good there too. And even with 0 investment in Def, after an Acid Armor tank Garchomp does not break your sub.
 
Interesting set. Do you really need to fully invest in Def though? This dude has a titanic Def stat already. If you invest in SpDef instead you can ensure Toxapex needs 3 Scalds to break your sub, meaning you can heal off the sub damage entirely. Or now if a Specs Tapu Lele comes to RK you from full after your sub is broken, it does 90% max and you kill it. If you're at full life, subbing will leave you at 75% and then Infiltrator Specs Dragapult Fireblast deals 70% max so you're good there too. And even with 0 investment in Def, after an Acid Armor tank Garchomp does not break your sub.

Well I think the full defense really helps in staving off physical attackers while gaining boost alongside ensuring body press deals a ton of damage. That said I haven't really optimised this sets EV's very much so that could work. Maybe you could dump some of the HP ev's into special defense
 
I’ve found it. I’ve found the set that lets Excadrill break Corviknight. It’s been so sad, watching one of the kings of Gen 5 fall due to omnipresent Lando and metal birds, so I made it a personal mission to find a set that would let Excadrill break through. Here it is.

:ss/Excadrill:

Excadrill @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 48 Def / 208 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance

The main problem is that normally Excadrill can’t touch Corv. Your best moves to hit it with are Rock Slide and Brick Break. 75 BP neutral non-STAB? Does nothing. In order to make Rock Slide a threat, you need absolute maximum power on Excadrill. That’s why you have to have Adamant Sand Force. This means that, under certain conditions, Excadrill can beat full health Corv 1 on 1.

1. Send in Drill against something it forces out while sand is up for at least 3 turns.
2. SD as your opponent hard swaps to Corv.
3. Use Rock Slide (40-50%) as Corv goes for Body Press (60-70%).
4. With Weakness Policy activated, Rock Slide is now a guaranteed kill.

It’s easier to pull this off than you might think, and the added flinch chance means you occasionally get the chance to use Rapid Spin. This is really important, as Sand Force Adamant means you’re dirt slow without the boost. This spread is designed to outspeed Volcanion at neutral, Koko at +1, and all Scarfers at +2. This isn’t great, but I’ve done the calcs and yes, you really do need adamant AND Sand Force to beat Corv. What this set really excels at is taking advantage of things Excadrill normally loses to. Not just Corv, but also Skarm, Ferro, Defensive Buzzwole, and even defensive Flare Blitz Mew. Excadrill can lure and beat all these, and 48 defense EVs also guarantees survival of Banded Aqua Jet from Urshifu-R, non-banded Glide from Rillaboom, and after taking a Body Press from Corv, you can still take non-banded Ice Shard from Weavile.
This set is insanely fun to play with, and even just Weakness Policy on its own can be a real surprise for the opponent. Sometimes you can even bluff Sand Rush as no one ever suspects Sand Force. It’s obviously kind of niche and half the time you really wish you were Sand Rush, but the other half of the time you’re too busy sweeping. Calcs and Replays are below.

Calcs:
+2 252+ Atk Sand Force Excadrill Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 168-198 (42 - 49.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
+4 252+ Atk Sand Force Excadrill Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 252-297 (63 - 74.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Def Corviknight Body Press vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Excadrill: 232-274 (64.2 - 75.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Excadrill in Grassy Terrain: 290-343 (80.3 - 95%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery

Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1449797887
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1453266446
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1455317450-b4nqsk6cyeb0xh4cw3v2482pwm7qrtzpw
(Btw I know these are mid-ladder replays, that’s because I’m bad, not the set)

Hope you enjoy if you do give this set a try!
 
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Absolutely love the set! Toxic is so powerful on volc. Love the fact that, at +1, you outspeed Weavile as well, but I would also make sure you outspeed Koko at +1 just in case you face specs or cm. You achieve this with only 20 speed EVs reaching 265 speed and it makes you also outspeed the occasional mamoswine or any 252 base 80s (259) and every 252+ base 70s (264).
I would also run flamethrower > fiery dance. The whole point of those 16 EVs you commonly see is koing rillaboom with flamethrower: you obviously don't with fiery dance. It also gives you a 100% ohko against Weavile

16 SpA Volcarona Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Weavile: 290-344 (103.2 - 122.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
I put the 16 in SpA instead of speed without much thought, and I agree that they should go into speed. However, I disagree strongly with Flamethrower over Fiery Dance. Fiery Dance is generally better for snowballing and is especially good at pressuring and defeating non-Toxic Slowking :slowking: and Galarian Slowking :slowking-galar:, as well as Lando-T. Rillaboom isn't really a threat to Volcarona at all and is OHKO by Fiery Dance'd after rocks anyways.

Here's an important calc:

+1 0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 202-238 (52.8 - 62.3%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 135-159 (35.3 - 41.6%) -- 80.2% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

With rocks up, that's almost a guaranteed kill if defensive Lando switches in and you get the SpA boost. OHKOing Weavile could be nice if you're facing one down who has already set up an SD, but I haven't found that changing those odds outweighs the ability to potentially beat Lando on the switch or 1v1 Glowking or Slowking. I just don't think beating Weavile or Rilla even harder justifies sacrificing the snowball potential of Fiery Dance
 
I put the 16 in SpA instead of speed without much thought, and I agree that they should go into speed. However, I disagree strongly with Flamethrower over Fiery Dance. Fiery Dance is generally better for snowballing and is especially good at pressuring and defeating non-Toxic Slowking :slowking: and Galarian Slowking :slowking-galar:, as well as Lando-T. Rillaboom isn't really a threat to Volcarona at all and is OHKO by Fiery Dance'd after rocks anyways.

Here's an important calc:

+1 0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 202-238 (52.8 - 62.3%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 135-159 (35.3 - 41.6%) -- 80.2% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

With rocks up, that's almost a guaranteed kill if defensive Lando switches in and you get the SpA boost. OHKOing Weavile could be nice if you're facing one down who has already set up an SD, but I haven't found that changing those odds outweighs the ability to potentially beat Lando on the switch or 1v1 Glowking or Slowking. I just don't think beating Weavile or Rilla even harder justifies sacrificing the snowball potential of Fiery Dance
defensive lando nowadays 99% of the time is specially defensive, usually 244/252+, which makes the fiery dance clac extremely unreliable even before you realise that fiery dance isn't a guaranteed boost in the first place. as far as the slowkings are concerned, fiery dance makes little to no difference because you can just set up on them with quiver dance anyway, which is arguably better due to the increased special defense. johto slowking also becomes incapable of checking volcarona in the long term once poisoned so that's a non-issue. at last, fiery dance damage is honestly pitiful against the slowkings when it isn't backed up by previous quiver dance boosts, so you will only waste pp trying to get some boosts that you would just obtain much more easily by clicking quiver dance. speaking of pp, flamethrower has 24 pp compared to fiery dance's 16.
such a volcarona set doesn't need to snowball because it's supposed to sweep teams when they've already been weakened by volc itself and teammates.

i personally don't think fiery dance offers much value over flamethrower: the lower pp count is kinda lame since flamethrower is also stronger and thus gets potentially game-changing rolls, plus getting 50% chance of special attack boosts on a mon that gets quiver dance boosts so easily is quite redundant. yes, the odds of fiery dance not koing are low, but I'm not putting myself in the hands of rng when I get very little utility in return for doing so. this game and its choices are about maximizing the odds in your favour and, for this reasons, flamethrower is strictly superior to fiery dance, in my opinion
 
defensive lando nowadays 99% of the time is specially defensive, usually 244/252+, which makes the fiery dance clac extremely unreliable even before you realise that fiery dance isn't a guaranteed boost in the first place. as far as the slowkings are concerned, fiery dance makes little to no difference because you can just set up on them with quiver dance anyway, which is arguably better due to the increased special defense. johto slowking also becomes incapable of checking volcarona in the long term once poisoned so that's a non-issue. at last, fiery dance damage is honestly pitiful against the slowkings when it isn't backed up by previous quiver dance boosts, so you will only waste pp trying to get some boosts that you would just obtain much more easily by clicking quiver dance. speaking of pp, flamethrower has 24 pp compared to fiery dance's 16.
such a volcarona set doesn't need to snowball because it's supposed to sweep teams when they've already been weakened by volc itself and teammates.

i personally don't think fiery dance offers much value over flamethrower: the lower pp count is kinda lame since flamethrower is also stronger and thus gets potentially game-changing rolls, plus getting 50% chance of special attack boosts on a mon that gets quiver dance boosts so easily is quite redundant. yes, the odds of fiery dance not koing are low, but I'm not putting myself in the hands of rng when I get very little utility in return for doing so. this game and its choices are about maximizing the odds in your favour and, for this reasons, flamethrower is strictly superior to fiery dance, in my opinion
yes the point of clicking fiery dance and getting boosts is to force the slowking to click slack off instead of scald, which can be dangerous if it crits and Volc has some chip (this has been fairly common in my experience). the lando being spdef would make fiery dance even more important because you cannot set up on lando for fear of toxic or stone edge so making it more difficult to switch is a necessity. I don't necessarily agree that Volc finds a ton of opportunities to set up in this meta, every team has a few answers to it in some form, or at least that's the way it's played for me when testing. in fact, the whole point of the set is that there are so many answers these days that you take advantage of them switching in with toxic.

also lower pp has not mattered to me in the slightest you're never clicking fiery dance 16 times in a game, I have literally never run out of PP with it in my laddering. maybe you are envisioning using it with a different type of team than I have been but that's been my experience

the two pokemon you mentioned it making a difference for were rillaboom and weavile, who physdef volc already destroys, so I'm not really sure what game changing rolls you are talking about. honestly i think your statement about "maximizing the odds in your favor" applies more so to fiery dance because on average, 2 fiery dances does more damage on average than 2 flamethrowers and that difference only increases the more times you click it
 
yes the point of clicking fiery dance and getting boosts is to force the slowking to click slack off instead of scald, which can be dangerous if it crits and Volc has some chip (this has been fairly common in my experience). the lando being spdef would make fiery dance even more important because you cannot set up on lando for fear of toxic or stone edge so making it more difficult to switch is a necessity. I don't necessarily agree that Volc finds a ton of opportunities to set up in this meta, every team has a few answers to it in some form, or at least that's the way it's played for me when testing. in fact, the whole point of the set is that there are so many answers these days that you take advantage of them switching in with toxic.

also lower pp has not mattered to me in the slightest you're never clicking fiery dance 16 times in a game, I have literally never run out of PP with it in my laddering. maybe you are envisioning using it with a different type of team than I have been but that's been my experience

the two pokemon you mentioned it making a difference for were rillaboom and weavile, who physdef volc already destroys, so I'm not really sure what game changing rolls you are talking about. honestly i think your statement about "maximizing the odds in your favor" applies more so to fiery dance because on average, 2 fiery dances does more damage on average than 2 flamethrowers and that difference only increases the more times you click it
Idk how fiery dance would force slowking into slack off when 1 you already have toxic and 2 fiery dance is just going to tickle slowking. toxic is what is forcing slowking to slack off and switch out to reset the damage. also, when you're trying to pressure slowking with fiery dance, you take more damage from scald overall than you do when you're using quiver dance, which means you are also forced to roost more often. crit sucks but those can happen while you are trying to fiery dance through slowking anyway, so if you take crits into account you shouldn't stay in front of slowking in the first place, just attack or toxic on the switch and then peace out.

As for rillaboom and weavile, since fiery dance doesn't always ohko there's always that chance that - if you happen to face a +2 rilla or weavile - you don't ohko either in return, giving them a chance to KO volc that they really shouldn't have. The chance to not ohko is very slim, yes, but it's there and I don't want any of that when I can easily avoid it. you are statistically bound to get a bad roll at some point, that's why I say they are very important rolls, especially since you most likely can't chip weavile with hazards.

As far as pp go, yeah it probably doesn't even matter, but I only pointed out how that's a bit lame. I can concede that that's a weak argument.

my main issue with your points about fiery dance is that they go against how you would play this volc: this volc sees a lot of action early on and at that time you should try to cripple stuff or get chip damage. toxic does the crippling and flamethrower chip is higher than fiery dance chip. When stuff is weakened you setup and sweep. Realistically, you should try to have lando be in +1 flamethrower range before you sweep, which is easier to get to than +1 fiery dance range. You also get more chip early on with flamethrower than with fiery dance, and since lando is SpDef at full hp, even if you win the fiery dance coin flip, you are still forced out meaning you don't even get the benefits from that coin flip. if it's lower than full, you are still relying on a 50% chance to do more damage compared to the always consistent damage output flamethrower has.

This same reasoning applies to slowking or to any other volc check. the most efficient game plan with this volc set is chip and stuff early game, set up once or twice late game and sweep. Flamethrower is strictly better at this.

I'm not trying to be mean or discredit your opinion and experience with the set, I just think flamethrower fits a lot better in a more efficient way to play this volc.
 
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Idk how fiery dance would force slowking into slack off when 1 you already have toxic and 2 fiery dance is just going to tickle slowking. toxic is what is forcing slowking to slack off and switch out to reset the damage. also, when you're trying to pressure slowking with fiery dance, you take more damage from scald overall than you do when you're using quiver dance, which means you are also forced to roost more often. crit sucks but those can happen while you are trying to fiery dance through slowking anyway, so if you take crits into account you shouldn't stay in front of slowking in the first place, just attack or toxic on the switch and then peace out.

As for rillaboom and weavile, since fiery dance doesn't always ohko there's always that chance that - if you happen to face a +2 rilla or weavile - you don't ohko either in return, giving them a chance to KO volc that they really shouldn't have. The chance to not ohko is very slim, yes, but it's there and I don't want any of that when I can easily avoid it. you are statistically bound to get a bad roll at some point, that's why I say they are very important rolls, especially since you most likely can't chip weavile with hazards.

As far as pp go, yeah it probably doesn't even matter, but I only pointed out how that's a bit lame. I can concede that that's a weak argument.

my main issue with your points about fiery dance is that they go against how you would play this volc: this volc sees a lot of action early on and at that time you should try to cripple stuff or get chip damage. toxic does the crippling and flamethrower chip is higher than fiery dance chip. When stuff is weakened you setup and sweep. Realistically, you should try to have lando be in +1 flamethrower range before you sweep, which is easier to get to than +1 fiery dance range. You also get more chip early on with flamethrower than with fiery dance, and since lando is SpDef at full hp, even if you win the fiery dance coin flip, you are still forced out meaning you don't even get the benefits from that coin flip. if it's lower than full, you are still relying on a 50% chance to do more damage compared to the always consistent damage output flamethrower has.

This same reasoning applies to slowking or to any other volc check. the most efficient game plan with this volc set is chip and stuff early game, set up once or twice late game and sweep. Flamethrower is strictly better at this.

I'm not trying to be mean or discredit your opinion and experience with the set, I just think flamethrower fits a lot better in a more efficient way to play this volc.
ok man agree to disagree i guess it's personal preference :) have a nice day

edit: SLDR I lost to two dittos in a row who used fiery dance while i tried to stall them out with roost and lost... i guess i've been converted to flamethrower haha
 
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Now that BDSP is on the upswing I feel comfortable releasing this monstrosity:

1637702357234.png


Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic

I was so sick of dying to fricking Magnezone and tired of Corviknight defogging my hazards. This set is optimally designed to correct that. As long as you stay equal in defense stages to Magnezone you will prevail. Corviknight just sits there looking stupid as it’s overpowered. Toxic helps keeps rocks down vs the rest of the defoggers not packing Heat Wave (you’ll overwhelm that idiot Lando). Consider taking a few speed EVs out of Special Defense to creep other Ferro. As always, Knock Off is a highly usable option (over Toxic).


168+ Def Ferrothorn Body Press vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Magnezone: 120-142 (42.5 - 50.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Def Magnezone Body Press vs. 252 HP / 168+ Def Ferrothorn: 112-132 (31.8 - 37.5%) -- 0% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

+6 168+ Def Ferrothorn Body Press vs. +6 4 HP / 252+ Def Magnezone: 120-142 (42.5 - 50.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

+6 252+ Def Magnezone Body Press vs. +6 252 HP / 168+ Def Ferrothorn: 112-132 (31.8 - 37.5%) -- 0% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

+4 168+ Def Ferrothorn Body Press vs. 248 HP / 168+ Def Corviknight: 204-240 (51.1 - 60.1%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

I didn’t save many replays of this in action as it is plays just a standard rocker. Here’s an example of how quickly teams can be overrun:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8oublitz-1453876646-01cnj5tttpywvft6f7ylisde1uboqtypw


As an honorable mention, these two guys can fulfill the exact same role while accounting for typing / defensive holes your team may lack. Regi is better vs. Kyurem while Steelix compresses a crucial electric immunity:

1637704212613.png


Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic

1637704287803.png


Steelix @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
 
SubSalac Kommo-o
:ss/kommo-o:
Kommo-o @ Salac Berry
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 132 HP / 124 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Belly Drum
- Drain Punch
- Earthquake

I think I mentioned this in some other thread as well, but Kommo-o is a really strong anti-meta pick right now.

:dragapult: :blacephalon:
Offensively, ghosts are really powerful and Pult is probably the most prominent offensive pokemon in the tier. Kommo-o abuses this with an immunity to Shadow Ball. If choice-locked Blacephalon and Pult mindlessly click Shadow Ball, Kommo-o comes in, subs up, clicks Belly Drum, and sweeps.

:ferrothorn: :heatran: :toxapex: :corviknight: :blissey::mandibuzz:
Defensively, he can come in (with VoltTurn or Teleport support) on Ferrothorn, Heatran, non BB Corviknight, Pex, Blissey, and Mandibuzz and do the same thing. He's especially strong against Ferrothorn and Pex. Only the most defensive Ferrothorn with Body Press can break Kommo-o's sub, as he resists Power whip, knock off, and is immune to Gyro Ball. As for Pex, he can never break your sub with Scald or knock, and is forced to continuously Haze. However, you can Earthquake without setting up, get him down to low health, and when pex tries to recover, that's when you belly drum and sweep.

:landorus-therian:
SpDef or offensive Lando is not a check to Kommo-o after you've set up.
+5 124 Atk Kommo-o Drain Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Landorus-Therian: 186-220 (48.6 - 57.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery (28.7 - 33.9% recovered)
0 Atk Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 132 HP / 0 Def Kommo-o: 123-145 (37.9 - 44.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
As you can see, a Kommo-o at 25% (assuming the sub has been broken) will always beat SpDef Lando by recovering too much with Drain Punch for EQ to kill.

+5 124 Atk Kommo-o Drain Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Landorus-Therian: 186-219 (58.3 - 68.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery (28.7 - 33.9% recovered)
252 Atk Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 132 HP / 0 Def Kommo-o: 147-174 (45.3 - 53.7%) -- 38.7% chance to 2HKO
Against offensive Lando, it's a little closer. But if you're at 25% or higher, you are still guaranteed to recover too much for EQ to kill, and you of course 2HKO even without rocks.

Speed is enough so that you speed tie with scarf Tapu Fini after setup and kill it with Earthquake. 132 HP so that your sub takes exactly 25% and you get the Salac activation after Belly Drum, and so that neither max defense Corviknight Body Press nor bulky Scizor Bullet Punch breaks your sub (or KOs you if your sub is already broken in Scizor's case). The rest is in attack for obvious reasons.

Drain Punch is mandatory so you don't die to Helmet chip. You can try to use Ice Punch instead of EQ if you care more about hitting flying types than Pex and fairies, but the power drop is very noticeable on neutral targets and I found it much easier to use team support to kill Lando and Zapdos. Also, you can even beat :tornadus-therian: because a lot of them don't run Hurricane and even the ones that do can miss.

Even in games where Kommo-o can't sweep, he's often very useful defensively against rain, Rillaboom, Zeraora, and of course the ghosts. His naturally high bulk often comes in handy. For some examples:

:excadrill: :arctozolt: :melmetal: :victini: :volcarona:
+2 252 Atk Excadrill Earthquake vs. 132 HP / 0 Def Kommo-o: 277-327 (85.4 - 100.9%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Arctozolt Icicle Crash vs. 132 HP / 0 Def Kommo-o: 250-296 (77.1 - 91.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Victini V-create vs. 132 HP / 0 Def Kommo-o: 102-120 (31.4 - 37%) -- 78.8% chance to 3HKO
+2 252 SpA Volcarona Flamethrower vs. 132 HP / 0 SpD Kommo-o: 144-171 (44.4 - 52.7%) -- 23.4% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 132 HP / 0 Def Kommo-o: 230-272 (70.9 - 83.9%) -- approx. 2HKO
This isn't to show that Kommo-o can beat these pokemon 1v1, but rather to show he can be useful defensively and provide chip so a teammate can take care of these threats. Kommo-o hates flying types that resist Drain Punch (specifically Lando-T, Zapdos, and Torn-T, so pokemon that can lure them and cripple or kill them are invaluable.

Here's a game against the #1 player on ladder, Storm Zone, where I successfully used Kommo-o to clean up at the end and win the game. This shows even against high ladder, experienced players, Kommo-o can still put in work with the proper support. I'm planning to do a full RMT for this squad too with more replays!

 
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I already posted a heat regieleki core a while back, but I wanted to drop another one that I found pretty fun, and this one is actually even older than that.
:SS/regieleki::ss/hawlucha::ss/tapu koko::ss/victini:

People have figured out that regieleki and gapdos make great partners, and it works quite similarly for hawlucha, since it shares the same offensive typing. However, teams using hawlucha tend to lend themselves to a more HO approach due to its' more all in nature, and this core is a HO core, albeit one that is constructed a bit differently to throw the opponent off from team preview. You see when they see this kind of structure, the opponent usually guesses that regieleki is here to set screens, while koko is here to set terrain and be a CM wincon. Koko IS here to set terrain, but regieleki is actually specs rising voltage, which absolutely destroys even bulky resists, and as the opponent might predict you to have a screen setter regieleki, they might not be as careful with their ground type. Another layer of deception here is victini, as most people expect some kind of HDB, or less commonly band, they might feel relatively confident sending in their ground type against victini, only to have said ground type deleted by the final gambit this scarfed victini is running. Most teams usually have only one thing to stop hawlucha and one to stop regieleki, so you are have pretty good chances to take out something that is vital to the opposing team, and this core loves playing 5v5.

The last two pokemon should probably be something you would expect on screens HO to further reinforce the idea that regieleki is the screen setter and not a threat. I have personally been using banded azumarill to fake belly drum and catch people by surprise, and LO dragapult pivot to get momentum while faking a mixed dragon dance variant(the team is a bit old, from like summer, so this might not be optimal RN), but there are some more conventional options here, like goltres,demon mew,volcarona(could be good since heatran is a common switch into victini, and usually a team's primary volc counter), *insert dangerous setup sweeper here*

They biggest key is to strike hard and fast, and unbalance the enough before they realise exactly what each set on the team is that they can't come back.

PASTE:
https://pokepast.es/60c4628d9902fd3c (for maximum mind games, swap out infiltrator on dragapult for clear body)

REPLAY:
edit:
added another one with a slightly different team, and removed the other one because i didnt realise it was private, mb sry
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1484584109
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1484594198
 
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I was working on making a lure for toxapex and that's when I realised that Hydreigon also gets fire spin. I came up with this set as a lure to pex but only after that did I realise that pex wouldn't want to come in on anything except scarf hydrei anyway for fear of being set up fodder and getting blown away by draco, so now I present to you:

Earthquake hydreigon

Hydreigon @ Leftovers/Soft Sand/Muscle Band/Roseli Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Atk / 152 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Superpower
- Fire Spin
- Taunt
- Earthquake

This hydreigon is basically a trapper, where you bluff the scarf or nasty plot special attacker so they try to go into their blisseys, tyranitars or toxapexes only to get bopped by earthquake. 152 speed evs makes you hit 270 because many nidoking these days are running modest though the hp evs are probably extra and could be adjusted. This hydreigon doesn't beat stuff that special sets might have beat e.g flash cannon nasty plot LO destroying clef or plotting on the switch to spdef lando etc. and also doesn't beat fini, the slow twins (though they probably wouldn't switch in unless they knew your set), corviknight etc. but it can do it's role of removing blissey toxapex ttar ferro pretty well. It can also take any one hit from many things like cc from zera or sacred sword from scarf kart etc. and KO them back. Also checks heatran variants pretty well.
It would probably do well when paired with fast CB Melm, Gapdos to capitalise on spdef lando switchins and Scarf Blaceph especially (after removing blissey, toxapex, tyranitar etc.)

Calcs
252+ Atk Hydreigon Superpower vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 448-528 (62.7 - 73.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Hydreigon Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 112-132 (36.8 - 43.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ Atk Hydreigon Superpower vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tyranitar: 452-536 (111.8 - 132.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Hydreigon Superpower vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Ferrothorn: 196-232 (55.6 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Hydreigon Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 392-464 (101.5 - 120.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Kartana Sacred Sword vs. 104 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 276-326 (78.6 - 92.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0- SpA Hydreigon Fire Spin vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Kartana: 264-312 (101.9 - 120.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Zeraora Close Combat vs. 104 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 258-304 (73.5 - 86.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Hydreigon Earthquake vs. -1 0 HP / 0 Def Zeraora: 392-462 (123.6 - 145.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Hydreigon Superpower vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Bisharp: 496-584 (183 - 215.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Soft Sand Hydreigon Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Nidoking: 306-362 (100.9 - 119.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Hydreigon Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Nidoking: 256-302 (84.4 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Tapu Koko Dazzling Gleam vs. 104 HP / 0 SpD Roseli Berry Hydreigon: 230-272 (65.5 - 77.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Hydreigon Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 238-280 (84.6 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
 
:whipped Dream: Magic :room service: Room :clover sweet:
:ss/tapu lele: :ss/kartana:
:star sweet: Specs Tapu Lele + Scarf Kartana :star sweet:

First of all, many thanks to Pinkacross for the help with this tech. I never got around to having much success with the original team or my variations of it, but I felt that this was too fun for private eyes and wanted to briefly share so others could experiment.
Are you bored? Of course you are! I usually am. However, one of the few things that has entertained me recently is Magic Room. Magic Room disables the effects of held items for 5 turns, which immediately sounds like a gold mind of fun. Of course, if you have a good idea it's likely that someone else has thought about it. Joey already experimented with it (here), utilizing other noteworthy abusers of Magic Room such as Choice Scarf Gengar alongside Magic Room facilitators like Tapu Fini and Mew. Nonetheless, I still wanted to find something to build with.

When searching for a viable Magic Room setter, Tapu Lele had my interest. It plays a very casual role as the Magic Room setter of the pair, condensing the roles of things like Tapu Fini and Mew; so rather than needing several mandatory Magic Room setters on a team, you only need one. Most of the time you are still clicking its coverage with Specs, occasionally setting up for Kartana or another sweeper of choice.

Kartana pairs quite well with Tapu Lele, providing speed control and a strong Special-Physical core. Under most circumstances it won't be necessary to sweep with Magic Room, although when it can, Kartana turns entire teams on their heads as they scramble to deal with it. This must be done cautiously, however, as naturally faster threats to it can easily check Kartana inside of Magic Room. It is appropriate to account for the number of turns you utilize Magic Room, as they can play into the effectiveness of the strategy.

Looking forward to seeing some experimentation with this concept, if any! Have fun!
 

dex

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This is a set I found over on PSChina that actually played fairly well in games. May I introduce you all to the Power Washer:

POWER WASHER (Volcanion) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Spin
- Steam Eruption
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power

The concept of the Power Washer is fairly straightforward: trap defensive Water-types. This set relies on the fact that there are simply not that many good switch-ins to Volcanion. Its coverage is devastating, allowing it to successfully trap and KO Toxapex and Tapu Fini. While you may think that losing consistent Fire coverage is not worth it, Ferrothorn is still 2HKOed by Fire Spin, Weavile still gets blown up by Steam Eruption, and Arctozolt drops to EP. The Speed EVs are for outspeeding Zolt outside of hail, with the rest shunted into HP to better take hits from Weavile. You can run a spread of 128 HP / 252 SpA / 128 Spe with a Modest nature to always live one Garchomp Earthquake if zolt is not a big issue. I think this set works super well on Ghost-spam, as both Dragapult and Blacephalon love having those Water-types eliminated. Have fun, and wash responsibly!
 
I made a balance team with morpeko at the center for OU, after some play testing this is turning out pretty well. It can handle rain, offense, and hyper offense pretty well but i have yet to face that many stall teams so i cant really give proper judgement on that just yet, feel free to try it out all lovers of morpeko and if you have any suggestions or questions feel free to lmk!
877Morpeko_Full_Belly_Dream.png

Peeky! (Morpeko) @ Life Orb
Ability: Hunger Switch
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aura Wheel
- Super Fang
- Parting Shot
- Fire Fang
download.jpeg

Tapypy! (Tapu Koko) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Electric Surge
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Dazzling Gleam
- Defog
- Roost
download (1).jpeg


Seismy! (Seismitoad) @ Rindo Berry
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Liquidation
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
unnamed.jpg


Puu! (Slurpuff) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sweet Veil
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Misty Explosion
- Magic Coat
- Sticky Web
- Toxic
823_f2.png

Kuro! (Corviknight) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost
clefable-dw.png

Opal! (Clefable) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Toxic
- Teleport
 
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