https://pokepast.es/3134addc920498d0
Introduction
Hello everyone, and welcome to my very first RMT! Few of you may recognize me from having been active on the OU scene for what seems like forever now, topping ladder a few times during SS OU days. I had always wanted to share my teams (especially the ones that topped) but I guess I never got around to it. SV OU has been very fun and equally as challenging for me, as I have been able to reach 1900 Elo repeatedly but never able to quite grasp the elusive 2000 Elo. A few days ago, I had one of my infamous tilts, dropping from 1950 ELO to about high 1500s ELO. I decided to toy around with different cores and unconventional sets, to see what would work and what I could expand on. As of the time I am writing this, I've still yet to top the SV OU ladder; but I was able to finally reach the 2000 Elo plateau thanks to this team that got me from around 1600 ELO to my current ELO of 2027.
Without further ado, here's the team!
Proof of Peak:
Tried to get to #1 on random different times throughout the day, but kept running into a lot of unlucky hax and would end right back around 2025ish ELO. Decided it was the universe trying to give me a hint and decided to quit while I was ahead. (Shoutout to my good friend Storm Zone for being such a beast, 88% gxe and always being at the top of ladder is insane)
Team:
Samurott-Hisui @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sharpness
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 248 HP / 84 Atk / 124 SpD / 52 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Ceaseless Edge
- Razor Shell
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
H-Sam is a premier hazard setter in the tier, and initially I had intended on building a core around iron treads/moltres/hsam but found it to be too easily broken. I had fallen in love for a long time with using a life orb swords dance set with H-Sam, but finally decided to give the famous AV set a try. It did not take long for me to understand why it was so popular, and it fit the play style for my team perfectly. Flip Turn was considered as the last slot over Sucker Punch, but I felt the added priority for the team was more important than pivoting around and inviting more unnecessary damage whether it be helmet chip or hazard damage. The goal with this mon is to spread hazards (obviously) but also knock as many items as you can. Don't be afraid to razor shell as many tusk's or corviknights as you can, especially after things like Dragapult, Darkrai, or Gholdengo are taken care of. H-Sam is not your win con on this team, but rather your battering ram to get the floodgates open.
Zapdos @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Static
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hurricane
- Roost
- Thunder Wave
Zapdos has always been a favorite of mine, and like I mentioned before was initially not in my thoughts for building a new successful team. Zapdos is one of those mons that does its job exceptionally well, and in this case its dealing with priority mons, spreading paralysis, and (as best as it can) dealing with Zamazenta. You want to abuse Static as much as you can, bringing in Zapdos for the predicted flip turns or u-turns. This is important, as the three powerhouses for the team don't run a lot of speed investment and helps them overwhelm teams without relying on priority moves. Tera Steel could be changed to Tera Fairy or whatever preference, you are generally not terraforming Zapdos unless its a win or lose situation. The max def ev's are for dealing with Zamazenta if it gets off a few iron defenses, as well as being able to survive a +2 Ivy from Ogerpon's Water Form. When faced against a mon it can't do much against such as Slowking-Galar or Kingambit, your goal is to T-Wave and Volt Switch.
Iron Treads @ Leftovers
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
I must say, this mon has grown on me quite a bit recently. I was always a big ting-lu/gliscor/great tusk fan, and always had one of those three if not two of the three on my teams but after playing with iron treads, its an amazing mon. The careful nature set with max hp and max spdef is very useful and on other builds my preferred set, but max atk and max speed helps this team with getting off a fast spin or fast rock (always remember Stealth Rock is the best move in the game.) Hazards is a very important part to the team, and abusing them is a must. Keeping that in mind, that's why the choice of forgoing ice spinner for knock off was not hard to make. Defensive Great Tusk or Ting Lu will try and annoy you when you have Iron Treads on the field, but that's what you have other mons on your team for. Knock on these and other defensive mons (especially those with boots) helps the hazard damage rack up for Gambit and Ceruledge to have easier times later on.The maximum atk is also meant to dent mons that are brave enough to stay in on it expecting it to be a defensive set, such as balloon Gholdengo, Tyranitar, etc. While the rest of the team can handle mons of that nature, relieving them of that helps later when you lean on them for endgame.
Ceruledge (M) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Weak Armor
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 232 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Poltergeist
- Bitter Blade
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance
Ceruledge in my opinion is a top two threat in this meta, and the scariest to face after a +2 in my opinion. The ev spread was stolen from a sun team made by this guy named Vert (amazing player in case you missed the sarcasm) and I instantly became in love with the idea of a bulky non bulk up version of Ceruledge. Tera Fairy allows you to Tera and not only live moves it otherwise wouldn't, but also get off a Swords Dance as well as a Weak Armor boost. The Speed ev's allows you to hit 422 after a boost, enough to outspeed Dragapult and the rest of the unboosted metagame (outside of Deoxys Speed.) The bulk comes in handy for facing non knock off Iron Valiants and non tera blast Iron Moths, as with bitter blade you're able to 1v1 those otherwise huge threats to the team without exhausting Tera. When well played, especially with boots, you're able to revenge kill a lot of mons with shadow sneak and even spin block. Shadow Sneak was chosen over Close Combat due to the sets of the rest of the team, and the priority suits the team more nicely. When playing, don't be afraid to try and push the issue with Ceruledge as it has amazing synergy with Kingambit as they both have the same checks throughout the tier. Those two go hand and hand in this team.
Gholdengo @ Air Balloon
Ability: Good as Gold
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hex
- Thunder Wave
- Recover
- Focus Blast
One of the MVP's of not only this generation of Pokemon but probably of all time, Gholdengo does it all. Keeping that idea in mind, I originally had this set as Choiced Scarf featuring trick and thunder wave, but found that recover was something I was always missing. I decided to mix both ideas together, and the standard fat balloon hex spread was just what the doctor ordered. Dengo is your priority spin blocker, and in many games will be your MVP. Dengo's job on this team aside from abusing its insane ability, is to stop Dragonite and Zamazenta. T-Wave on both mons is devastating for them, as both with try and pop balloon (especially in Dragonite's case) allowing you to start hex spamming and helping Iron Head shenanigans get going later on. Focus Blast as the last move slot was selected cause during gameplay, I would find that Kingambits would always stay in expecting the T Wave. Focus Blast only hits 50% of the time as you all know (haha), but when it lands its a game changer (true with any move of course.) In my play, I have not missed make it rain but instead was more appreciative of not having the drop and allowing hex to spammed more frequently. Do not hesitate to tera with Dengo, especially if its a pivotal point in the match for your team. Tera Fairy allows you to face Hex Pult, and take on attacks from the tier while firing back a T Wave or a well timed Tera + Hex on a Tusk after a Headlong attack.
Kingambit (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Supreme Overlord
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Low Kick
- Iron Head
The star of the show, Kingambit is the teams backbone in many ways. I know that tera dark alongside cleave is the more popular Tera + atk combo, but Low Kick in my opinion is the way to go. Tera Fighting alongside Low Kick allows you to take on a switching in late game Dondozo, ohko Kingambits, and after a Swords Dance boost with a few allies fainted, 2KO most Corviknights. The added power of an Adamant nature is forgone for the added speed of a Jolly set, as outspending standard Primarina, Clefable, Corviknight, Skarmory, and opposing Kingambits. Late game Tera also allows you to 1v1 a Great Tusk. My only advice with using Kingambit is to not get into the mind games you'll often see with Kingambit interactions with other players trying to avoid the Sucker Punch.
Threats:
Facing Iron Valiant is like trying to guess the weather the next day without looking at the Weather Channel, and you won't know until it shows you what set its running. This team handles the Flutter Mane encore set very well, but struggles with SD Knock if Zap and Dengo are not healthy enough to T Wave/kill it. In most cases, especially with Specs, Ceruledge is bulky enough to take it on 1v1. A lot of Iron Valiants wait till late game to attempt to sweep, so keep that in mind as the game rolls along.
Dragonite is just as much as a guessing game when facing as Iron Valiant, and one Dragonite set in particular gives this team headaches. Encore + Tera blast + Roost sets will give this team fits, especially if Dengo is no longer around. Dragonite handles Ceruledge on its own, and although Kingambit can hit a Dragonite attempting to boost hard, you'll eventually lose momentum with trying to correctly time a Sucker Punch.
Kyurem of all kinds are always a lot to struggle with, but the Substitute Tera Ground dual stab set can 6-0 this team if not played carefully. Most Kyurems will attempt to set a Sub early and begin firing off attacks, and unfortunately the responsibility of stopping it falls on Hsam and Gambit to tera early and outplay it. Kyurem in general is a tough mon and a tough ask for any build. I would prioritize this mon on preview and either knock it with treads or hsam, or outright try and kill it but tera'ing with gambit early.
Zam is the top of the food chain in OU, and for alot of my builds all gen has been a bane of my existence. The combination of Zap + Dengo was meant to put a stop to that and has performed extremely well, but that was mainly centered around stopping the ID set. If going against life orb or band sets, you'll have to be creative with not letting it CC freely while also avoiding getting sniped by a Crunch (aimed at Dengo) or Stone Edge (Zap).
Replays:
vs Storm Zone (w) :
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2557070479-extvj20rmu65eeyr3cuck8v9dfkthljpw
vs Miguel O'Herra's boots team (sorry if I misspelled) (w) :
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2557066929-6qsyd0maq99yaixcleevhmk6yiojsuepw?p2
vs Sand + Grass Spam (w) :
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2556879426-3nhp7gotswxnr39ud6whvwg12blpk5hpw
vs Coach Jones (w) :
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2556197399-u4dhhqf1t6ndpm465oiiht98yqfq8pcpw?p2
vs CloudyEJ (L) :
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2555423249-9lag8wjj0ke1f8o2jsxvrsuku506jvrpw
vs MikeTheGuitarist (L) :
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2555550685-6cjxvi3re5fqi5nfblfb9fybvt1id75pw
vs Vitoran (L) :
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2556206568-1ichwlwnb36qp2duv0q63s9tjqt1t5bpw?p2
Matchups and Conclusion:
Sorry I didn't get more replays, but the matchups against the popular archetypes of Stall, Weather, and BO are all winnable by the same formula as the teams main objective. Spread hazards, spread paralysis, and abuse priority is the name of the game. Stall matchups will lean on trying to make you exhaust iron treads for hazards and leaning on Dondozo to stop you. The main goal for you in Stall matchups will be trying to get rid of Gliscor first, as that is more of an issue for the team than Dozo or any other stall mon. As for the Sun matchup, Bolt is the biggest scare of the sun abusers for this team. For HO matchups, prioritize HSam early and not letting webs stay on your side of the field. Against HO, prioritize not letting their lead achieve their goal, whether it be webs hazards or setting screens and dying. HO hates hazards and paralysis, and the team can handle each popular HO choice with several options. (i.e Ceruledge + Gholdengo for Valiant, Ceruledge + HSam for Moth & Ceruledge , Zap for Tusk, etc etc.)
Big shoutout to OU lobby for pushing me to finally make a RMT, and I hope you enjoy using the team! Any feedback is greatly appreciated, and you can always find me on Showdown in the OU lobby if you have any questions whether it be with this team or anything in general. Im always happy to help.
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