ORAS OU Suicune Zard-X Balance RMT

[Vusty]

Introduction

The last time I was actively playing Pokémon was six years ago, and ORAS was my favorite and main tier. This contest felt like a good chance to bring something from back then into the current metagame, so I picked one of the teams I built that helped me win several individual ORAS tours back then: the Suicune team​

(https://pokepast.es/bca26a324daa7aea).

Yes, it is a very hard team to use if you are not familiar with it, but it covers a lot of scenarios and has a shot in many games. However, time flies, and a lot of new techs have shown up since then, so I felt it was a great time to revise it. Of course, the core idea of the team is still Toxic Suicune.


Team-building process
​

The original version was a double Calm Mind balance, with Heal Bell on Mega Diancie to support Suicune's Rest.
​

The team is built around Suicune. Calm Mind + Toxic lets it beat a lot of Pokémon one-on-one, which makes it a great endgame cleaner. If you trust your Scald, it is a very strong late-game win condition, but it needs a lot of groundwork from the rest of the team first.

This set leaves two problems for its teammates to solve:
1. Bulky Pokémon that resist Water and can set up on or attack Suicune, like Serperior, Mega Venusaur and Manaphy.
2. This set needs Heal Bell.

Toxic is what lets Suicune beat Calm Mind Latias and Water-immune Pokémon. These are exactly the Pokémon the opponent keeps healthy and status-free to deal with Suicune, and hazards alone are not enough to wear them down.
​

To fix these problems, I added Clefable as the cleric, plus Serperior and Thundurus for speed control and double paralysis support (Glare + Thunder Wave).
YES, THUNDURUS is the tech I barely seen before and want to bring it in. Serperior and Thundurus are a great fit for two reasons:
1. Both of them outspeed Manaphy and threaten it.
2. Both get plenty of chances to paralyze opposing Serperior and Mega Venusaur. A paralyzed Mega Venusaur is still a tough matchup when it runs the offensive Growth set, but with a "bit" of luck Suicune might win the 1v1, since it is usually already at +2 Calm Mind by the time Venusaur can do anything.​

Excadrill is the standard glue: it sets Stealth Rock and clears hazards with Rapid Spin.
​

At this point, the team was still weak to Serperior, Talonflame and Volcarona, and its speed tiers were still too slow. Mega Charizard X fits perfectly here. It is a reliable Serperior resist; it does get Glared, but Heal Bell takes care of that. The standard Dragon Dance set also gives the team another way to win the endgame: once Suicune has Toxiced a bulky Water like Calm Mind Slowbro (one without Thunder Wave), Zard X has a much easier time breaking through.​

Team member analysis
:suicune:
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 16 SpD / 64 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Toxic
- Rest
​

The win condition of the team. Calm Mind + Scald + Rest is standard; Toxic over Sleep Talk / Roar / Substitute is what lets it beat the Pokémon that normally stall it out.

The EVs focus on physical bulk because Calm Mind takes care of the special side. 176 Def is a jump point (341 Def, two points more than 172), and 64 Spe (222) outspeeds max Speed Adamant Tyranitar (221) and the usual 8 Spe Impish Landorus-T (220), so Suicune can Scald them first.​

252+ Atk Choice Band Gale Wings Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 176+ Def Suicune: 163-193 (40.3 - 47.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 Atk Tyranitar-Mega Crunch vs. 252 HP / 176+ Def Suicune: 162-192 (40 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Lopunny-Mega High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 176+ Def Suicune: 153-180 (37.8 - 44.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 252 HP / 176+ Def Suicune: 144-171 (35.6 - 42.3%) -- 90.9% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

:serperior:
Serperior @ Coba Berry
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 112 HP / 144 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Glare
- Synthesis
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Leaf Storm
​

Serperior gives the team speed control and paralysis support with Glare.

Coba Berry and Hidden Power Rock are there for Talonflame. Suicune is not a good Talonflame answer imo, so Serperior takes the first Brave Bird with Coba Berry and removes Talonflame early with Hidden Power Rock (an OHKO after Stealth Rock). The same combination helps against Tornadus-T and Zapdos, which normally check Serperior.​

0 SpA Tornadus-Therian Hurricane vs. 112 HP / 0 SpD 30 IVs Coba Berry Serperior: 135-160 (42.3 - 50.1%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO
0 SpA Zapdos Hurricane vs. 112 HP / 0 SpD 30 IVs Coba Berry Serperior: 151-178 (47.3 - 55.7%) -- 78.5% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Aerilate Pinsir-Mega Return vs. 112 HP / 0 Def 30 IVs Coba Berry Serperior: 261-307 (81.8 - 96.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 144 SpA Serperior Hidden Power Rock vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Volcarona: 312-368 (100.3 - 118.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
144 SpA Serperior Leaf Storm vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Keldeo: 288-342 (89.1 - 105.8%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO

:charizard-mega-x:
Charizard-Mega-X @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Roost
​

Mega Charizard X is the team's second win condition and its most reliable Serperior resist. It does get hit by Glare, but Heal Bell takes care of that. It runs the standard Dragon Dance set.​

:excadrill:
Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 32 HP / 56 Def / 168 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
​

Standard glue. I use the fast utility spread.​

:thundurus:
Thundurus (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 172 HP / 84 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
​

Thundurus is the team's pivot and speed control. Prankster Thunder Wave is a last-resort check to almost every sweeper, and together with Glare it gives the team two ways to paralyze opposing Serperior and Mega Venusaur. Volt Switch keeps momentum, while Hidden Power Ice and Focus Blast cover Landorus-T, Garchomp, Gliscor, Tyranitar and Heatran.

The EVs are built around opposing Serperior. Serperior outspeeds Thundurus, so Thundurus has to switch into a +0 Leaf Storm and then survive any +2 move on the next turn while it uses Prankster Thunder Wave. 172 HP lets it take +0 Leaf Storm into +2 Hidden Power Rock even from a 200 SpA Serperior (112 HP is the bare minimum). 84 SpA is the minimum for Focus Blast to always OHKO Choice Band Tyranitar after Stealth Rock, even in sand.​

200 SpA Serperior Leaf Storm vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Thundurus: 84-99 (24.5 - 28.9%) -- possible 5HKO
+2 200 SpA Serperior Hidden Power Rock vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Thundurus: 208-246 (60.8 - 71.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
84 SpA Thundurus Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 8 SpD Landorus-Therian: 272-320 (71.2 - 83.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
84 SpA Thundurus Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 300-356 (87.9 - 104.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

:clefable:
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Knock Off
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Heal Bell
​

Clefable is the cleric and the only Knock Off user. Heal Bell lets Suicune Rest without Sleep Talk and removes the paralysis Zard X picks up from Glare. Knock Off removes key items like Heatran's Leftovers, which gives Zard X a much better chance to break it.
​

Replays
I just built this team for RMT in 15 minutes, I dont have any replays, and I bet no one wanna see 2020 oras replays for the original version.


Team Weakness
Mega Alakazam, with or without Encore :alakazam-mega:
Nasty Plot Thundurus :thundurus:
Growth Mega Venusaur :venusaur-mega:
Cofagrigus with hazards, or classic hazard teams that can chip down Excadrill easily :cofagrigus:
Calm Mind Mega Diancie :diancie-mega:
Talonflame :talonflame:
HP Rock Serperior :serperior:

Team paste links
https://pokepast.es/4ec2e8f23030dcfd

If you do not like toxic just change it with substitute and it still works. And yes, if you dont like suicune, change it to manaphy/keldeo also works :(

Thanks for reading​

 

[Paprikaflow]

Hey, thanks for your RMT and sorry for the late reply.

I like how it looks: it's aggressive and has a lot of offensive potential.

Structurally, combining offense and defense always comes with a certain risk. Using Suicune as a win condition on a more offensive team isn't easy, but it's really cool when it works out.

Pairing Heal Bell Clefable with Rest Suicune is a nice idea, and so is Toxic on Suicune. With Gastrodon making the occasional comeback in today's meta, Toxic can really pay off. If you don't expect Gastrodon or Seismitoad, running Substitute in Toxic's slot alongside Rest could be even better, and if they do show up, Serperior is a good switch-in.

On a team like this, you could consider a bulkier Adamant Charizard-X. This isn't the kind of structure where you weaken everything until Zard X can set up and win. On a more balanced team, you want it to tank a few hits and switch in and out. A bulkier set would also help against Volcarona, which is a threat to this team.

I like how much thought you put into this RMT and that you let us be part of the teambuilding process. Nice job!