This six is exactly what i was about to submit but as it turned out to be very similar to many teams that have been already built in the past i ended up not posting it :D Great team though
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OU DPP OU Teambuilding Competition
- Thread starter Oatmon
- Start date
Voting has begun for the teambuilding competition featuring trick iron ball metagross with an offensive ground type! This round features another 6 entries, all contesting for the top spot. The teams submitted were:
:Latias: :Metagross: :Mamoswine: :Gyarados: :Rotom-Heat: :Scizor:
From SalvatoreSesso: https://pokepast.es/4a2df11321fa7b0d
:Gyarados: :Latias: :Metagross: :Magnezone: :Swampert: :Tyranitar:
From Jhall99: https://pokepast.es/e8b9846deb7be271
:Latias: :Flygon: :Metagross: :Nidoqueen: :Clefable: :Magneton:
From Gh: https://pokepast.es/f61e89d1cfb044af
:Gliscor: :Metagross: :Clefable: :Swampert: :Starmie: :Gyarados:
From Dridri457: https://pokepast.es/d612f372d9de569f
:Heatran: :Snorlax: :Metagross: :Latias: :Flygon: :Gliscor:
From Sweetlou357: https://pokepast.es/3c011784ff2eb5a9
:Metagross: :Flygon: :Tyranitar: :Starmie: :Heatran: :Gyarados:
From Mikellazzo: https://pokepast.es/b16394089000b4d2
Who built the best team? The deadline for voting is next Saturday (12/09/2026), 11:00 pm GMT.
Once voting concludes and the winner is announced, they will choose the theme for the next competition.
:Latias: :Metagross: :Mamoswine: :Gyarados: :Rotom-Heat: :Scizor:
From SalvatoreSesso: https://pokepast.es/4a2df11321fa7b0d
:Gyarados: :Latias: :Metagross: :Magnezone: :Swampert: :Tyranitar:
From Jhall99: https://pokepast.es/e8b9846deb7be271
:Latias: :Flygon: :Metagross: :Nidoqueen: :Clefable: :Magneton:
From Gh: https://pokepast.es/f61e89d1cfb044af
:Gliscor: :Metagross: :Clefable: :Swampert: :Starmie: :Gyarados:
From Dridri457: https://pokepast.es/d612f372d9de569f
:Heatran: :Snorlax: :Metagross: :Latias: :Flygon: :Gliscor:
From Sweetlou357: https://pokepast.es/3c011784ff2eb5a9
:Metagross: :Flygon: :Tyranitar: :Starmie: :Heatran: :Gyarados:
From Mikellazzo: https://pokepast.es/b16394089000b4d2
Who built the best team? The deadline for voting is next Saturday (12/09/2026), 11:00 pm GMT.
Once voting concludes and the winner is announced, they will choose the theme for the next competition.
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Mikelazzo, broken team
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2676866501-9n9sdapq6qor7p2hs1a3umelowjvocvpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2676866501-9n9sdapq6qor7p2hs1a3umelowjvocvpw
SalvatoreSesso
Mikellazzo
Mikel
gh
In a sweep of four votes to one, the winner of the teambuilding competition featuring trick iron ball metagross with an offensive ground type is Mikellazzo! Congratulations!
:metagross: :Flygon: :Tyranitar: :Starmie: :Heatran: :Gyarados:
From Mikellazzo: https://pokepast.es/b16394089000b4d2
Since the next competition is an even numbered one, the next theme can be any Pokémon with no restrictions, and will be chosen by the winner as a reward for winning the last competition. If they don’t want to choose, or don’t choose by 15/08/26, then I’ll post a theme by 16/08/26 (GMT).
:metagross: :Flygon: :Tyranitar: :Starmie: :Heatran: :Gyarados:
From Mikellazzo: https://pokepast.es/b16394089000b4d2
Since the next competition is an even numbered one, the next theme can be any Pokémon with no restrictions, and will be chosen by the winner as a reward for winning the last competition. If they don’t want to choose, or don’t choose by 15/08/26, then I’ll post a theme by 16/08/26 (GMT).
Once it's announced you win the competition, comment your choice in a new post with the new theme at the top of the message.
There are some rules as to what you are able to pick.
- For every odd teambuilding competition, you can pick any Pokémon from the top 30 of the VR (link).
- For every even teambuilding competition, you can pick anything you want with no restrictions.
These rules are in place to ensure that we don’t get too many difficult mons to build with in a row, which has caused inactivity in the past.
You can also choose a set or a theme to build with instead of a Pokémon. E.g., Build with banded tyranitar, or build with water spam. You can choose more difficult themes if you wish, but please exercise discretion.
Once picked, your choice can't be changed, so bear that in mind.
There are some rules as to what you are able to pick.
- For every odd teambuilding competition, you can pick any Pokémon from the top 30 of the VR (link).
- For every even teambuilding competition, you can pick anything you want with no restrictions.
These rules are in place to ensure that we don’t get too many difficult mons to build with in a row, which has caused inactivity in the past.
You can also choose a set or a theme to build with instead of a Pokémon. E.g., Build with banded tyranitar, or build with water spam. You can choose more difficult themes if you wish, but please exercise discretion.
Once picked, your choice can't be changed, so bear that in mind.
With the power of another no restrictions round, Mikellazzo has chosen Porygon-Z as the next theme!
As usual, the winner of this competition gets to choose the next theme.
Submissions are open now, and will close on Saturday the 3rd of October, at 11:00 pm GMT. From there we'll move onto voting, which will most likely close on Saturday the 10th of October at 11:00 pm GMT.
As usual, the winner of this competition gets to choose the next theme.
Once it's announced you win the competition, comment your choice in a new post with the new theme at the top of the message.
There are some rules as to what you are able to pick.
- For every odd teambuilding competition, you can pick any pokemon from the top 30 of the VR (link).
- For every even teambuilding competition, you can pick anything you want with no restrictions.
These rules are in place to ensure that we don’t get too many difficult mons to build with in a row, which has caused inactivity in the past.
You can also choose a set or a theme to build with instead of a pokemon. E.g., Build with banded tyranitar, or build with water spam. You can choose more difficult themes if you wish, but please exercise discretion.
Once picked, your choice can't be changed, so bear that in mind.
There are some rules as to what you are able to pick.
- For every odd teambuilding competition, you can pick any pokemon from the top 30 of the VR (link).
- For every even teambuilding competition, you can pick anything you want with no restrictions.
These rules are in place to ensure that we don’t get too many difficult mons to build with in a row, which has caused inactivity in the past.
You can also choose a set or a theme to build with instead of a pokemon. E.g., Build with banded tyranitar, or build with water spam. You can choose more difficult themes if you wish, but please exercise discretion.
Once picked, your choice can't be changed, so bear that in mind.
Submissions are open now, and will close on Saturday the 3rd of October, at 11:00 pm GMT. From there we'll move onto voting, which will most likely close on Saturday the 10th of October at 11:00 pm GMT.
https://pokepast.es/6e03adaa0c668aec
People focused a lot on pory's role as a wallbreaker, while i don't think it's the worst thing ever, i found it a bit outclassed by stuff like choice specs empoleon or choice specs heatran, choice specs starmie too if u want something speedy. looking at his stats, it's speedy enough to outspeed the entire tier while being modest at +2, and modest adaptability triattack hits hard, this agility porygon can break stuff immediately too in some mu where it doesn't need to go over 264speed, lum obviously helps him set up, and helps in the stall mu, chopple could be considered too.
rest of the team is nothing unusual in a spikes offense, obligatory ghost in scarf rotom, taunt gyara, cause our coverage on porygon doesn't beat skarmory (so we wanna weaken in in advance with gyara before sweeping or breaking later with porygon), latias could be specs here, it's cm colbur mostly because i wanted to test the set and didn't want to be too weak to ttar in this team with rotom in the back, skarm only steel ins't really viable here (i had lucario over porygon initially tbf) scizor band over ttar could be considered with a different moveset on porygon, but didn't want to test more...
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2680575008-0pvsdn6xqemiy96qdm9wor9p9i8nlvppw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2680577543-fjee384sj2yirlcttvqfvhxbcr8tfrdpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2680581557-q29tj5i1pnw3p0mhv0bqb7s8448wrivpw
Niceee I’ll have to try this out
I thought I was going to become the next BKC for coming up with the first ever agility porygon-z team before you posted this
https://pokepast.es/8587609aa73246e0
I've built a lot of Porygon-Z(ed) teams over the past year and also gained a lot of experience in what PZ can do in DPP OU. Its wallbreaking is frankly superb; being able to ohko skarm with specs ice beam while threatening a 2hko on clef and bulkless tar after rocks is kind of crazy. PZ can just as easily click tbolt for the same result so steel types not named steelix are not necessarily safe. Not to mention that it can beat many other wallbreaking leads due its barely adequate bulk, decent speed and its very high special attack.
But despite this wallbreaking power I think what actually makes PZ most useful and unique in DPP is its ability download, particularly in the lead slot. The above ranges are only possible because of download, but that's just the start of what makes it so good.
As a lead, download can reveal the speed of the opposing lead, can reveal their set/spread and discover information on turn 1 that you wouldn't obtain with any other mon (except download p2 lead, lol). Knowing you are facing a typical gyarados or a defensive one indicates certain team structures your opponent could be using. Helping you form at least an idea of gameplan on just turn 1. I tend to try to keep PZ healthier vs stall than offense for example, which download helps reveal. Naturally, savvy players can tech their evs to always give PZ an attack boost rather than special attack. That's fine, it's not always easy or optimal to do so if you want to cover non-PZ matchups. Additionally the matchups where it's relevant aren't usually changed too much. PZ doesn't like seeing zong even with a spatk boost, though it will make it easier to handle. Heatran is still slower and threatened by hidden power coverage regardless of spatk boost, and if it's bulky enough to survive a hit, it's probably not threatening a ko in return. Download still has more utility by scouting speeds since the ability will proc before or after an opponent's sand stream, pressure, intimidate, etc. Finding a timid zapdos or a slower one is really nice, especially because PZ has a pretty solid matchup into lead zapdos. Only specs zapdos can ohko bulkless PZ, and timid only does so at 50% odds; modest specs zapdos just dies to timid ice beam. Knowing the opponent is scarftar is also nice. Outside of gaining information, download is great for turning would be checks into crippled or defeated pokemon. Switching clef into a download boosted PZ will not end well for clef; especially so if clef is not 252+ spdef.
Outside of download, I think PZ has one more thing going for it that is not easy to replicate with another mon and that is how it interacts with rotom. PZ is a pure normal type that is faster than rotom. When paired with an electric immunity, you can put rotom in some very difficult situations. PZ doesn't really care about being burned; it even enjoys it since it can no longer be para'd. PZ is great trick fodder, happily receiving a scarf or specs, and/or locking rotom into trick. Obviously PZ can't be damaged by shadow ball, but the other coverage options aren't reliable enough to 2hko. Thunderbolt does 2hko, but that's why we pair it with an electric immunity. If it's defensive rotom, then PZ gets a download boost and threatens a ko or massive damage to rotom or whatever switches in. Utility rotom has the best odds of winning over PZ, but timid PZ will still outspeed and kill first in a vacuum. You can even run spdef PZ to turn all but specs rotom into setup fodder with nasty plot and recover. Admittedly the practicality of doing so should be questioned, but I think it's at least a possible way of running PZ.
An extra less important thought: PZ does hold the strongest hidden power in OU, boltbeam ground/fighting is pretty good.
This preface has gone on a bit long already, and while I would like to type more about the particulars of PZ here, perhaps it is better served in a different post. Let me know if I should addon more to this post if you'd like me to go over synergies and matchups as well as its shortcomings and negative quirks (there are many).
But despite this wallbreaking power I think what actually makes PZ most useful and unique in DPP is its ability download, particularly in the lead slot. The above ranges are only possible because of download, but that's just the start of what makes it so good.
As a lead, download can reveal the speed of the opposing lead, can reveal their set/spread and discover information on turn 1 that you wouldn't obtain with any other mon (except download p2 lead, lol). Knowing you are facing a typical gyarados or a defensive one indicates certain team structures your opponent could be using. Helping you form at least an idea of gameplan on just turn 1. I tend to try to keep PZ healthier vs stall than offense for example, which download helps reveal. Naturally, savvy players can tech their evs to always give PZ an attack boost rather than special attack. That's fine, it's not always easy or optimal to do so if you want to cover non-PZ matchups. Additionally the matchups where it's relevant aren't usually changed too much. PZ doesn't like seeing zong even with a spatk boost, though it will make it easier to handle. Heatran is still slower and threatened by hidden power coverage regardless of spatk boost, and if it's bulky enough to survive a hit, it's probably not threatening a ko in return. Download still has more utility by scouting speeds since the ability will proc before or after an opponent's sand stream, pressure, intimidate, etc. Finding a timid zapdos or a slower one is really nice, especially because PZ has a pretty solid matchup into lead zapdos. Only specs zapdos can ohko bulkless PZ, and timid only does so at 50% odds; modest specs zapdos just dies to timid ice beam. Knowing the opponent is scarftar is also nice. Outside of gaining information, download is great for turning would be checks into crippled or defeated pokemon. Switching clef into a download boosted PZ will not end well for clef; especially so if clef is not 252+ spdef.
Outside of download, I think PZ has one more thing going for it that is not easy to replicate with another mon and that is how it interacts with rotom. PZ is a pure normal type that is faster than rotom. When paired with an electric immunity, you can put rotom in some very difficult situations. PZ doesn't really care about being burned; it even enjoys it since it can no longer be para'd. PZ is great trick fodder, happily receiving a scarf or specs, and/or locking rotom into trick. Obviously PZ can't be damaged by shadow ball, but the other coverage options aren't reliable enough to 2hko. Thunderbolt does 2hko, but that's why we pair it with an electric immunity. If it's defensive rotom, then PZ gets a download boost and threatens a ko or massive damage to rotom or whatever switches in. Utility rotom has the best odds of winning over PZ, but timid PZ will still outspeed and kill first in a vacuum. You can even run spdef PZ to turn all but specs rotom into setup fodder with nasty plot and recover. Admittedly the practicality of doing so should be questioned, but I think it's at least a possible way of running PZ.
An extra less important thought: PZ does hold the strongest hidden power in OU, boltbeam ground/fighting is pretty good.
This preface has gone on a bit long already, and while I would like to type more about the particulars of PZ here, perhaps it is better served in a different post. Let me know if I should addon more to this post if you'd like me to go over synergies and matchups as well as its shortcomings and negative quirks (there are many).
Most PZ teams I make get discarded, but some of them I really end up liking. As sloppy offense as it is, this is one of them.
Magless dragmag, or drapzor as I call it, where PZ gets to play a role of wallbreaker and pseudo skarm trapper. I'm not exactly sure when the idea of drapzor came to me, but it somewhat surprisingly took a while for me to actually build it. The biggest progress maker I had in building it came from pairing scizor with PZ which took way too long for me to try. Similar to P2, PZ supports scizor quite well (not to the same extent, but differently), while also being supported in return. PZ really really really likes steels, priority, pursuit and u-turn support. Probably my favourite pokemon to switch PZ into is skarm which zor allows frequently. Forcing the opponent to sac skarm or receive effectively a nasty plotted pz attack elsewhere is fun (for me). This version of the team runs BandZor with some speed investment for MixedTar and other zors. ScarfZor is also an excellent alternative that handles a few troublesome mons like starmie or lucario. I usually prefer running BandZor for that lovely bullet punch power.
Metagross has been the most reliable rocker for me while using lead PZ as it can switch into most matchups that PZ doesn't like. Skarmory has also been tried on this team with decent success, but usually metagross is better. Sometimes specs PZ and custap metagross alone is enough to beat teams (though often favourable rolls/hax are involved).
Latias is another mon that I've found hard to drop while using PZ, though certainly doable. This version of the team has opted for Mixed Latias with healing wish. She usually only switches in once, drops a draco, pretends to be choiced, EQs a steel, and then HW the best threat to the enemy team. She lets PZ take an early paralysis without feeling bad. Or lets our next mon, Dragonite get a second round of slaughter or at least come in at full hp with rocks up.
I went with MixedNite because I wanted it to be immediately threatening to everything since it likely will only switch in once. Usually early in the game or at the end to clean up with extreme speed. Definitely the most important move dnite brings to the team is extreme speed. Between PZ, Zor and Nite you rack up a lot of damage which lets our final mon, Adamant Scarfgon do the rest.
As mentioned in the preface, I think PZ is at its best when paired with an electric immunity, and flygon is the one I've went with here. It resists SR, immune to spikes, has u-turn and is a way to handle DDers that get out of hand. Scizor makes me feel comfortable in dropping Jolly Scarfgon. Really the only situation where I'm sad I don't have Jolly Scarfgon is endgame Scarfgon mirrors which is 50/50 anyway, I usually walk away from those games thinking I could've played better.
Finally let's talk about PZ, I'm running icy wind here to better handle aero and azelf leads. I can and have run tri attack in its place, and it is clicked sometimes, but ice beam is the number one clicked move because it just does enough 90% of the time. Since we don't have a ghost type, explosion is annoying for us, we either hope for tri attack to status azelf, or sac it, or damage our precious steel types. Icy wind gets around that problem most of the time while also having the benefit of slowing down scarfers, sometimes even into 2hko range. I think some variations of this team appreciate running trick instead of tri attack/icy wind/thunderbolt but I prefer 4 attacks on my specs PZ.
I think what I like most about these 6 is how flexible they are together. This may my preferred way of running the team, but you can change pretty much everyone's set and position. Only metagross is kinda stuck as is since it's the only rocker. but you can run trick iron ball rocks to mix it up. Dnite can be scarf, band, dd, or lead. Zor can be sd, scarf, or lead. Latias can be anything. Flygon can be physical or specially mixed or even lead with scarf or band. PZ can even drop specs for a nasty plot or agility lead. It can even be double dance in the back with ice ground or ghost fighting coverage (usually behind a specs latias lead). I'm not sure there is a best version of these 6, they all have different strengths and different weaknesses though with some common themes. I like my submitted version for how fast it can play. Sometimes your opponent getting rocks up while you are just attacking is enough to overwhelm opposing offense. There are many games I have won on ladder without feeling the need to put rocks up. Going 2/3-1 is the name of the game for this team and it often lives or dies based on how well you can position your threats while gathering information to build your sweep. Just make sure you don't create a situation where your opponent reverse sweeps you instead.
Magless dragmag, or drapzor as I call it, where PZ gets to play a role of wallbreaker and pseudo skarm trapper. I'm not exactly sure when the idea of drapzor came to me, but it somewhat surprisingly took a while for me to actually build it. The biggest progress maker I had in building it came from pairing scizor with PZ which took way too long for me to try. Similar to P2, PZ supports scizor quite well (not to the same extent, but differently), while also being supported in return. PZ really really really likes steels, priority, pursuit and u-turn support. Probably my favourite pokemon to switch PZ into is skarm which zor allows frequently. Forcing the opponent to sac skarm or receive effectively a nasty plotted pz attack elsewhere is fun (for me). This version of the team runs BandZor with some speed investment for MixedTar and other zors. ScarfZor is also an excellent alternative that handles a few troublesome mons like starmie or lucario. I usually prefer running BandZor for that lovely bullet punch power.
Metagross has been the most reliable rocker for me while using lead PZ as it can switch into most matchups that PZ doesn't like. Skarmory has also been tried on this team with decent success, but usually metagross is better. Sometimes specs PZ and custap metagross alone is enough to beat teams (though often favourable rolls/hax are involved).
Latias is another mon that I've found hard to drop while using PZ, though certainly doable. This version of the team has opted for Mixed Latias with healing wish. She usually only switches in once, drops a draco, pretends to be choiced, EQs a steel, and then HW the best threat to the enemy team. She lets PZ take an early paralysis without feeling bad. Or lets our next mon, Dragonite get a second round of slaughter or at least come in at full hp with rocks up.
I went with MixedNite because I wanted it to be immediately threatening to everything since it likely will only switch in once. Usually early in the game or at the end to clean up with extreme speed. Definitely the most important move dnite brings to the team is extreme speed. Between PZ, Zor and Nite you rack up a lot of damage which lets our final mon, Adamant Scarfgon do the rest.
As mentioned in the preface, I think PZ is at its best when paired with an electric immunity, and flygon is the one I've went with here. It resists SR, immune to spikes, has u-turn and is a way to handle DDers that get out of hand. Scizor makes me feel comfortable in dropping Jolly Scarfgon. Really the only situation where I'm sad I don't have Jolly Scarfgon is endgame Scarfgon mirrors which is 50/50 anyway, I usually walk away from those games thinking I could've played better.
Finally let's talk about PZ, I'm running icy wind here to better handle aero and azelf leads. I can and have run tri attack in its place, and it is clicked sometimes, but ice beam is the number one clicked move because it just does enough 90% of the time. Since we don't have a ghost type, explosion is annoying for us, we either hope for tri attack to status azelf, or sac it, or damage our precious steel types. Icy wind gets around that problem most of the time while also having the benefit of slowing down scarfers, sometimes even into 2hko range. I think some variations of this team appreciate running trick instead of tri attack/icy wind/thunderbolt but I prefer 4 attacks on my specs PZ.
I think what I like most about these 6 is how flexible they are together. This may my preferred way of running the team, but you can change pretty much everyone's set and position. Only metagross is kinda stuck as is since it's the only rocker. but you can run trick iron ball rocks to mix it up. Dnite can be scarf, band, dd, or lead. Zor can be sd, scarf, or lead. Latias can be anything. Flygon can be physical or specially mixed or even lead with scarf or band. PZ can even drop specs for a nasty plot or agility lead. It can even be double dance in the back with ice ground or ghost fighting coverage (usually behind a specs latias lead). I'm not sure there is a best version of these 6, they all have different strengths and different weaknesses though with some common themes. I like my submitted version for how fast it can play. Sometimes your opponent getting rocks up while you are just attacking is enough to overwhelm opposing offense. There are many games I have won on ladder without feeling the need to put rocks up. Going 2/3-1 is the name of the game for this team and it often lives or dies based on how well you can position your threats while gathering information to build your sweep. Just make sure you don't create a situation where your opponent reverse sweeps you instead.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2650706316-dkyo0tb39pneq82l11sc9dc18n8lrhppw
(alt account) https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2647970366-uy523sxa6jk3its34iw3i7q6f0m6rd8pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2649045086-4q30x68cbv9r76wwqmomaok9fy2tpiqpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2650707257-l525nhlr1634pginuadltne6o7kyq8vpw?p2
(Modified version + skarm) https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2656631724-jdx7ngddf3e0fd6jr9s6j67kitat11npw?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2682664894-tepfyukw8je94c5k20nmnba82oul88tpw?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2682671779-63dkdbwuhkaey3jigxs4vgg97j6b1hopw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2682675295-ntfmmqguvimnlnwpbvvywhcfkm9lcmrpw?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2682677215-srgv0lxcry8100plqlik6miy6wy26fipw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2682678979-t5yeu08oe03ne20905qxk61tgkokxv0pw
(alt account) https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2647970366-uy523sxa6jk3its34iw3i7q6f0m6rd8pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2649045086-4q30x68cbv9r76wwqmomaok9fy2tpiqpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2650707257-l525nhlr1634pginuadltne6o7kyq8vpw?p2
(Modified version + skarm) https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2656631724-jdx7ngddf3e0fd6jr9s6j67kitat11npw?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2682664894-tepfyukw8je94c5k20nmnba82oul88tpw?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2682671779-63dkdbwuhkaey3jigxs4vgg97j6b1hopw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2682675295-ntfmmqguvimnlnwpbvvywhcfkm9lcmrpw?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2682677215-srgv0lxcry8100plqlik6miy6wy26fipw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2682678979-t5yeu08oe03ne20905qxk61tgkokxv0pw
It was surprisingly difficult to choose what team to submit. In the end I just went with this team because of how solid it is, but I really wanted to show something that isn't specs lead. So because I love PZ so much I'm including a fun bonus team that I'm not submitting, but showing off anyway:
https://pokepast.es/4ea5f1e2b377d5cd
No replays or commentary on the bonus team. But it's really fun.
https://pokepast.es/4ea5f1e2b377d5cd
No replays or commentary on the bonus team. But it's really fun.
https://pokepast.es/e1f76a90a12818b7
I was somewhat torn on what I wanted to build at first I was trying to figure out some sort of semi stall with pory as a breaker but that didn't work in the end.
In gameplay I was noticing how Z is really good when its faster than other mons so I thought I would try it on a paraspam. This is what I settled on in the end.
CB ttar is the lead, it seems quite nice for this team to lead a mon that can pressure those faster than Z as well as trapping ghosts and being an alternate sweeper if porygon is dead
Jirachi runs quite a standard iron head body press duo, it runs fire punch for the purpose of dealing with scizor (imo one of Z's best counters) I wanted to run wish as the last move as it gives longevity to the mons who don't have recovery options as well as supporting celebi
Porygon Z runs hidden power ground, tri attack and thunderbolt as its attacking moves thunderbolt is really nice against the water and flyers in the format. at first I was unsure how often I would be able to get off a nastyplot but having so many para options it becomes quite easy, and after +2 most mons do not survive. other hidden power's such as fighting could also work over ground, as long as it hits steels you should be fine. No dark pulse has not really proven to be an issue cbttar sort of allows me to not run it. in terms of stats, I knew I wanted max speed invest so It could outspeed stuff even before thunderwave, because its nasty plot I decided not to run max attack (and honestly you dont really need to, I do not think any important rolls change otherwise, and that let me make porygon bulkier so it could live more
Starmie is sort of just a generic balance starmie not too much to say about it, other than the fact that it seems to be my only real counter against infernpe
rotom was chosen as a way to deal with HO/stall, It does that reasonably well although it is probably the most movable in the team, will-o-wisp is a really nice move to land on Z's counters and the fighting immunity is very much needed, trick is also a really good tool for allowing the other mons to set up
Celebi acts as quite a nice mon to deal with swampert as well as just being a really bulky mon that is able to thunder wave working as setup for porygon. it also felt like my best mon for stealthrock in this team
In gameplay I was noticing how Z is really good when its faster than other mons so I thought I would try it on a paraspam. This is what I settled on in the end.
CB ttar is the lead, it seems quite nice for this team to lead a mon that can pressure those faster than Z as well as trapping ghosts and being an alternate sweeper if porygon is dead
Jirachi runs quite a standard iron head body press duo, it runs fire punch for the purpose of dealing with scizor (imo one of Z's best counters) I wanted to run wish as the last move as it gives longevity to the mons who don't have recovery options as well as supporting celebi
Porygon Z runs hidden power ground, tri attack and thunderbolt as its attacking moves thunderbolt is really nice against the water and flyers in the format. at first I was unsure how often I would be able to get off a nastyplot but having so many para options it becomes quite easy, and after +2 most mons do not survive. other hidden power's such as fighting could also work over ground, as long as it hits steels you should be fine. No dark pulse has not really proven to be an issue cbttar sort of allows me to not run it. in terms of stats, I knew I wanted max speed invest so It could outspeed stuff even before thunderwave, because its nasty plot I decided not to run max attack (and honestly you dont really need to, I do not think any important rolls change otherwise, and that let me make porygon bulkier so it could live more
Starmie is sort of just a generic balance starmie not too much to say about it, other than the fact that it seems to be my only real counter against infernpe
rotom was chosen as a way to deal with HO/stall, It does that reasonably well although it is probably the most movable in the team, will-o-wisp is a really nice move to land on Z's counters and the fighting immunity is very much needed, trick is also a really good tool for allowing the other mons to set up
Celebi acts as quite a nice mon to deal with swampert as well as just being a really bulky mon that is able to thunder wave working as setup for porygon. it also felt like my best mon for stealthrock in this team
I think PZ really is a frustrating mon to try and make work and to be frank just very bad. What I find annoying in particular is that it tends to really struggle against the legit faces of the metagame in ttar and rachi. I think setup sets require way too much support for minimal reward since you really cant lean into your power with life orb cause you just die way to quickly and just getting a free turn to setup is easier said than done really. Also folding to basically all priority is also pretty terrible too. Thats why I think it's best to just use its sheer power in the form of specs and also pray for the freeze and burn bonuses. But even then, normal is such a rough STAB type for a breaker.
Skarm lead HO cause I think spikes are almost mandatory with any PZ set. Spikes really let PZ be able tear through non heavily spedf invested steels. Max hp tran and meta with some spedf can really only switch in to tri attack once with sr and a spike down.
CM LO lati because ttar is such a pain for PZ so it really needs someone to bait it. Forcing chip on other steels like empo and rachi is always appreciated too.
Ttar set is pretty unorthodox but I like it here. IMO if you want PZ to really do it's thing vs stall, you need to trap rotom 100% effectively. You want to be free to just spam tri attack and not worry and over-predict with dark pulse so you don't have to switch out and rack up extra hazard damage. Because of that I don't think you can afford to have a crunch ttar get burned on the switch and get trolled by rotom. I originally had standard suit tar with lum but chople is required here because if an lo gar comes in on tri attack and subs up, you lowkey just lose the game. So I whipped out the forgotten tech of dark pulse ttar. Spread allows you to 2hko refelctias after rocks, OHKO scarf/specs lati with pursuit after rocks, roll in your favor to 2hko donphan after sr + a spike, and outspeed uninvested sciz. With this I think pz can afford to run ice beam or tbolt over dark pulse but its whatever I guess. Kind of a side tangent but I think dark pulse tar may have more merit nowadays with all the reflectias and now donphan running around. you can try to fit black glasses to really up the hurt too but I'm probably over hyping it.
Scarf tom cause as mentioned before, you really want to keep spikes up for PZ. One thing i've always hated about scarftom is that your spin blocker is your scarfer, so
https://pokepast.es/1082556c2019f001
I also wanted to explore pz's possibilities in a spikes offense team like Planet and Dridri, I also think that this is the way to compensate it's limited power.
But I had the idea of using it in a spikes offense with forre. Forre can get up hazards and spin and maybe get an explosion of with custap.
Mixnite can break early game and also helps vs fat.
Scarftran for speedcontrol and has good synergy with forre also.
Gar can spinblock and is also a strong breaker.
And then you have two sweepers in DD gyara and agil adaptability pz.
I also wanted to explore pz's possibilities in a spikes offense team like Planet and Dridri, I also think that this is the way to compensate it's limited power.
But I had the idea of using it in a spikes offense with forre. Forre can get up hazards and spin and maybe get an explosion of with custap.
Mixnite can break early game and also helps vs fat.
Scarftran for speedcontrol and has good synergy with forre also.
Gar can spinblock and is also a strong breaker.
And then you have two sweepers in DD gyara and agil adaptability pz.
https://pokepast.es/2b78995925cd848c
This building experience was more frustrating than usual because it's so hard to cover all your bases with PZ in your squad. I cooked up several different versions of this team and each one had a glaring weakness to either DD Tar, Swampert, Scizor, or Rachi. The sets I settled on are the ones I felt work the best(fyi, I only played two games with the team), but even then it still doesn't feel like it has the tools to cover everything it needs to. Nevertheless, it is usable(maybe not against stall) and has some nice synergies to support PZ in the form of Pursuit Tar, U-turn Rachi, and Explosion Gar.
Lastly, I wanted to shoutout Aerodactyl Legend for being ahead of the curve and seeing the vision over 10 years ago https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/dpp-cores.3538499/post-6224379.
This building experience was more frustrating than usual because it's so hard to cover all your bases with PZ in your squad. I cooked up several different versions of this team and each one had a glaring weakness to either DD Tar, Swampert, Scizor, or Rachi. The sets I settled on are the ones I felt work the best(fyi, I only played two games with the team), but even then it still doesn't feel like it has the tools to cover everything it needs to. Nevertheless, it is usable(maybe not against stall) and has some nice synergies to support PZ in the form of Pursuit Tar, U-turn Rachi, and Explosion Gar.
Lastly, I wanted to shoutout Aerodactyl Legend for being ahead of the curve and seeing the vision over 10 years ago https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/dpp-cores.3538499/post-6224379.
Icy Wind Specs Porygon-Z, the beta Keldeo lol.
:jirachi::porygon-z::gyarados::heracross::swampert::gengar:
https://pokepast.es/7158f68673451f2a
I was looking through PZ's moveset and saw that it got Pain Split so I thought I'll try it out. Haven't really gotten a game where it did anything since most teams on ladder are offensive, but I thought it'd be cool vs defensive Jirachi and Clef. LO Gyara and Gengar just to help break stuff and make this team a lot more offensive. Swampert just helps vs a lot of stuff like Mag and Jirachi, other steels, etc. Heracross has a condensed role of trapping and revenging, so kinda clunky. Team's fun to use.
https://pokepast.es/7158f68673451f2a
I was looking through PZ's moveset and saw that it got Pain Split so I thought I'll try it out. Haven't really gotten a game where it did anything since most teams on ladder are offensive, but I thought it'd be cool vs defensive Jirachi and Clef. LO Gyara and Gengar just to help break stuff and make this team a lot more offensive. Swampert just helps vs a lot of stuff like Mag and Jirachi, other steels, etc. Heracross has a condensed role of trapping and revenging, so kinda clunky. Team's fun to use.
https://pokepast.es/b634d9350a169bc9
Have used lead LO, specs, scarf in the past, wanted to try something new. This is what I got. Winter is coming etc
I love P-Z despite being a bit awkward to build around due to normal type that isn’t helped by very average bulk. But once in and once it has the download boost esp he can be very hard to switch into. Blizzard imo more spammable than Tri Attack, and really takes advantage of the good chunk of the top guns in the metagame being weak to ice these days esp the bulky grounds.
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Voting has begun for the teambuilding competition featuring Porygon-Z! This round features 8 submissions, all vying for the top spot. The teams submitted were:
:Skarmory: :Porygon-Z: :Rotom-Heat: :Tyranitar: :Gyarados: :Latias:
From Dridri457: https://pokepast.es/6e03adaa0c668aec
:Porygon-Z: :Scizor: :Metagross: :Latias: :Flygon: :Dragonite:
From Aerialace110: https://pokepast.es/8587609aa73246e0
:Tyranitar: :Jirachi: :Porygon-Z: :Starmie: :Rotom-Heat: :Celebi:
From Munchie2ff: https://pokepast.es/e1f76a90a12818b7
:Skarmory: :Metagross: :Tyranitar: :Latias: :Rotom-Wash: :Porygon-Z:
From Planet: https://pokepast.es/8427cad6463c6f8a
:Dragonite: :Forretress: :Heatran: :Gengar: :Gyarados: :Porygon-Z:
From SalvatoreSesso: https://pokepast.es/1082556c2019f001
:Porygon-Z: :Tyranitar: :Metagross: :Latias: :Jirachi: :Gengar:
From Robertshortgrass: https://pokepast.es/2b78995925cd848c
:Jirachi: :Porygon-Z: :Gyarados: :Heracross: :Swampert: :Gengar:
From Lady Bug: https://pokepast.es/7158f68673451f2a
:Rotom-Frost: :Nidoking: :Porygon-Z: :Abomasnow: :Heatran: :Bronzong:
From Afterburn: https://pokepast.es/b634d9350a169bc9
Who built the best team? The deadline for voting is this Saturday (17/10/2026), 11:00 pm GMT.
Once voting concludes and the winner is announced, they will choose the theme for the next competition.
:Skarmory: :Porygon-Z: :Rotom-Heat: :Tyranitar: :Gyarados: :Latias:
From Dridri457: https://pokepast.es/6e03adaa0c668aec
:Porygon-Z: :Scizor: :Metagross: :Latias: :Flygon: :Dragonite:
From Aerialace110: https://pokepast.es/8587609aa73246e0
:Tyranitar: :Jirachi: :Porygon-Z: :Starmie: :Rotom-Heat: :Celebi:
From Munchie2ff: https://pokepast.es/e1f76a90a12818b7
:Skarmory: :Metagross: :Tyranitar: :Latias: :Rotom-Wash: :Porygon-Z:
From Planet: https://pokepast.es/8427cad6463c6f8a
:Dragonite: :Forretress: :Heatran: :Gengar: :Gyarados: :Porygon-Z:
From SalvatoreSesso: https://pokepast.es/1082556c2019f001
:Porygon-Z: :Tyranitar: :Metagross: :Latias: :Jirachi: :Gengar:
From Robertshortgrass: https://pokepast.es/2b78995925cd848c
:Jirachi: :Porygon-Z: :Gyarados: :Heracross: :Swampert: :Gengar:
From Lady Bug: https://pokepast.es/7158f68673451f2a
:Rotom-Frost: :Nidoking: :Porygon-Z: :Abomasnow: :Heatran: :Bronzong:
From Afterburn: https://pokepast.es/b634d9350a169bc9
Who built the best team? The deadline for voting is this Saturday (17/10/2026), 11:00 pm GMT.
Once voting concludes and the winner is announced, they will choose the theme for the next competition.
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aerialace
was hoping we'd see some conversion :(
was hoping we'd see some conversion :(