Hello all, I come to you with a team that I have been using for the last day or two that has been performing somewhat well in OU. I'm currently 4-1 with this version of the team, though the wins are getting a little tougher! Please check below for my team and analysis, and I look forward to your feedback.
This team is often carried by the special attackers, especially before I swapped out my suicide lead Gengar for Great Tusk.
Sucker Punches (but not actually)
King Bumi (Rillaboom) @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Knock Off
- Grassy Glide
- U-turn
Newer addition to the team. This is my wallbreaker and backup speed check. He provides a lot of damage and can pretty much be thrown into any matchup, since he'll either out-run the opponent or scare them into switching into something more passive.
Grassy Glide is a very helpful priority option, though I almost always click Wood Hammer or Knock Off. U-Turn is here in case I need to make a quick pivot, though I haven't done so yet. I'll sometimes lead with boom to get a couple quick hammers in before swapping out. Wood Hammer is a massive hit (156 BP), so it's my go-to unless they have a Corviknight or something similar.
Tom Holland (Iron Moth) @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 124 Def / 132 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Fiery Dance
- Sludge Wave
- Energy Ball
Iron Moth is another relatively new addition, though he's definitely earned a spot on the team so far. This set has some very clear downsides, but Moth provides great speed control and is hard to handle when you're not ready for it. I'll occasionally lead with him, especially when the opponent is clearly going to try to lay down a sticky web, since I can get up a substitute and potentially some boosts with Fiery Dance.
Heatran or Arcanine-Hisui are tough to deal with, and you can't really break past Dragapult, but it builds up momentum with Fiery Dance and can sometimes snowball mid-game. I've tried some Specs mons in this spot, but Moth has the position until I have a reason to switch. He probably gets the Tera most often, though he doesn't always deserve it. I'm debating using a different tera type, i.e. flying for defense or ghost for dragapult, but obviously have not made a switch yet.
The Walls
Slowking-Galar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Def / 120 SpA / 120 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Future Sight
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
- Psyshock
SK has carried a surprising number of my matchups. I almost always cold switch into him, though he does help against certain leads like Ribombee or Glimmora.
He completely walls some matchups (Iron Moth, Greninja with tera) and Future Sight is super helpful to pressure switches. It helps force people into a certain switch or catch them on the back foot. Psyshock is for opposing Slowkings, Blissey, or other swaps, and Flamethrower is great for Corv. Sludge Bomb OHKOs Iron Valiant and causes huge damage on Hatterene, so it's definitely a must in this set. I haven't found Surf all that useful, so I didn't include it, but I will if Heatran becomes more common.
Elon Tusk (Great Tusk) @ Leftovers
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
The newest addition to the team, I added Tusk primarily for help clearing hazards. I originally had Zapdos to sponge physical attacks and Cinderace in Moth's spot, but made this switch for a bit more heft. I basically just swap into him if something looks like it's winding up for a punch.
Not settled with this yet. Tusk honestly doesn't live all that long, since everyone is so used to seeing him at this point and gets nerfed by my own team's grassy terrain. So, he's basically just here for Knock off and Rapid Spin. He's also a bit difficult to switch back OUT of, so I'll often just spin, knock off, and throw up some rocks before spamming earthquake until he dies.
Vengeance
Garlic (Garchomp) @ Loaded Dice
Ability: Rough Skin
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Scale Shot
- Substitute
Garchomp is my favorite Pokemon, so I've recently added him back onto the team. He's revenge killer number 1, but I'll lead against certain teams with him.
I was using Leftovers over LD, but he's been much more reliable after the switch. I opted for Substitute over a coverage move, which may be controversial, but it's really helpful against mons like Kingambit, and it's actually won several matches for me against Sun teams, who often lead with Torkoal and try to Yawn or place rocks on the first turn out. Also, pro-tip, Garganacl's Salt Cure doesn't deal enough damage to break a substitute, so it's usually a free dance. After Swords Dance, Scale Shot tears through most opponents, so it's a very spammable move.
Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Battle Bond
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Dark Pulse
- Grass Knot
- Water Shuriken
Greninja is a primarily a revenge killer that really punishes opponents for bad switches. Once we're a few turns in and the opposing team has been softened up a bit, I let the opponent get a kill and bring Greninja in to tear a hole in their team. He carries me through many battles and can quickly turn the tide, though he doesn't usually get me all the way through the battle.
The move selection here isn't a huge surprise. Dark Pulse occasionally 2HKOs Ogerpon-W, Surf causes huge damage on most others, and Grass Knot helps against certain opposing water types. I had Ice Beam, but it was often a better choice to just use Surf, so I carry GK in case of things like Dondozo. I have considered Loaded Dice for Water Shuriken, but that only bumps it to a 60-75 BP move. Greninja is fast enough that, again, it's usually wiser to just use Surf.
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So, that's the team! Let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions. I'm pretty happy with the core of the team (Garch, Greninja, Slowking), but I'm open to suggestions to switch up the other three.
This team is often carried by the special attackers, especially before I swapped out my suicide lead Gengar for Great Tusk.
Sucker Punches (but not actually)
King Bumi (Rillaboom) @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Knock Off
- Grassy Glide
- U-turn
Newer addition to the team. This is my wallbreaker and backup speed check. He provides a lot of damage and can pretty much be thrown into any matchup, since he'll either out-run the opponent or scare them into switching into something more passive.
Grassy Glide is a very helpful priority option, though I almost always click Wood Hammer or Knock Off. U-Turn is here in case I need to make a quick pivot, though I haven't done so yet. I'll sometimes lead with boom to get a couple quick hammers in before swapping out. Wood Hammer is a massive hit (156 BP), so it's my go-to unless they have a Corviknight or something similar.
Tom Holland (Iron Moth) @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 124 Def / 132 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Fiery Dance
- Sludge Wave
- Energy Ball
Iron Moth is another relatively new addition, though he's definitely earned a spot on the team so far. This set has some very clear downsides, but Moth provides great speed control and is hard to handle when you're not ready for it. I'll occasionally lead with him, especially when the opponent is clearly going to try to lay down a sticky web, since I can get up a substitute and potentially some boosts with Fiery Dance.
Heatran or Arcanine-Hisui are tough to deal with, and you can't really break past Dragapult, but it builds up momentum with Fiery Dance and can sometimes snowball mid-game. I've tried some Specs mons in this spot, but Moth has the position until I have a reason to switch. He probably gets the Tera most often, though he doesn't always deserve it. I'm debating using a different tera type, i.e. flying for defense or ghost for dragapult, but obviously have not made a switch yet.
The Walls
Slowking-Galar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Def / 120 SpA / 120 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Future Sight
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
- Psyshock
SK has carried a surprising number of my matchups. I almost always cold switch into him, though he does help against certain leads like Ribombee or Glimmora.
He completely walls some matchups (Iron Moth, Greninja with tera) and Future Sight is super helpful to pressure switches. It helps force people into a certain switch or catch them on the back foot. Psyshock is for opposing Slowkings, Blissey, or other swaps, and Flamethrower is great for Corv. Sludge Bomb OHKOs Iron Valiant and causes huge damage on Hatterene, so it's definitely a must in this set. I haven't found Surf all that useful, so I didn't include it, but I will if Heatran becomes more common.
Elon Tusk (Great Tusk) @ Leftovers
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
The newest addition to the team, I added Tusk primarily for help clearing hazards. I originally had Zapdos to sponge physical attacks and Cinderace in Moth's spot, but made this switch for a bit more heft. I basically just swap into him if something looks like it's winding up for a punch.
Not settled with this yet. Tusk honestly doesn't live all that long, since everyone is so used to seeing him at this point and gets nerfed by my own team's grassy terrain. So, he's basically just here for Knock off and Rapid Spin. He's also a bit difficult to switch back OUT of, so I'll often just spin, knock off, and throw up some rocks before spamming earthquake until he dies.
Vengeance
Garlic (Garchomp) @ Loaded Dice
Ability: Rough Skin
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Scale Shot
- Substitute
Garchomp is my favorite Pokemon, so I've recently added him back onto the team. He's revenge killer number 1, but I'll lead against certain teams with him.
I was using Leftovers over LD, but he's been much more reliable after the switch. I opted for Substitute over a coverage move, which may be controversial, but it's really helpful against mons like Kingambit, and it's actually won several matches for me against Sun teams, who often lead with Torkoal and try to Yawn or place rocks on the first turn out. Also, pro-tip, Garganacl's Salt Cure doesn't deal enough damage to break a substitute, so it's usually a free dance. After Swords Dance, Scale Shot tears through most opponents, so it's a very spammable move.
Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Battle Bond
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Dark Pulse
- Grass Knot
- Water Shuriken
Greninja is a primarily a revenge killer that really punishes opponents for bad switches. Once we're a few turns in and the opposing team has been softened up a bit, I let the opponent get a kill and bring Greninja in to tear a hole in their team. He carries me through many battles and can quickly turn the tide, though he doesn't usually get me all the way through the battle.
The move selection here isn't a huge surprise. Dark Pulse occasionally 2HKOs Ogerpon-W, Surf causes huge damage on most others, and Grass Knot helps against certain opposing water types. I had Ice Beam, but it was often a better choice to just use Surf, so I carry GK in case of things like Dondozo. I have considered Loaded Dice for Water Shuriken, but that only bumps it to a 60-75 BP move. Greninja is fast enough that, again, it's usually wiser to just use Surf.
---
So, that's the team! Let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions. I'm pretty happy with the core of the team (Garch, Greninja, Slowking), but I'm open to suggestions to switch up the other three.
for 
. Greninja is too frail as well as being very prone to opposing priority stopping its sweeps. Manaphy is a bulkier alternative that still serves as a setup sweeper. It works extremely well as it boosts its defensives to sweep, and Grassy Terrain + Leftovers heals the damage off taken when you are setting up. We will be using a bulky Double Dance set. 228 hp Evs to give some bulk to Manaphy and is optimized for Gterrain + Leftovers recovery. 252 SpA and a Modest nature lets you hit hard even when not setup. The rest was poured into speed to outrun most Gliscor, Gholdengo and Great Tusk. Acid Armour and Take heart are setup moves, they both boost our defenses. Take Heart also boosts SpA and heals off status so things like Burn and Paralysis won’t get in the way of us setting up. Scald is water stab and can be used to fish for burns to make setup on physical mons easier. Stored Power as coverage and to nuke things when setup (like Blissey and Clodsire). Tera Posion to resist Fighting, Fairy and Grass. It gets even better because Eq is weakened under terrain meaning that we pretty much have one weakness. You generally want to use this mon late game, when walls are weakened. Try to bait in things like Cinderace and Rillaboom, because you can use them both as setup fodder (Rillaboom needing Tera). Also, watch out for Encore on certain mons. It can lock us into setup moves meaning we are dead weight. Common mons that run it are: Ogerpon-Wellspring and Iron Valiant as well as misc users.
for 
. Cinderace is a better fit for the team as it provides Wisp support, easier Hazard removal and a pivot. We are just running the standard bulky set. Pyro ball to deal some damage, notably to hit Gholdengo. Will-O-Wisp for chip and to cripple physical attackers. U-turn to offensively pivot you mons in and Court Change to remove/set hazards.
for 
. Sneasler is a far better physical setup sweeper in Gterrain as it has high speed thanks to unburden. Swords Dance to boost attack, Dire Claw for Poison stab and fishing for status, which helps hax Toxapex or other walls with status. Close Combat to nuke things, hitting really hard. Acrobatics’ power is doubled thanks to Grassy Terrain activating our item, this is just more coverage. Tera Flying to boost Acrobatics’ power, and a ground immunity. This set is walled by Gholdengo, so make sure to beat Gholdengo down with Iron Moth, Cinderace and Rillaboom (Knock-Off) before letting Sneasler hit the field.
