INTRODUCTION:
Hey everyone, I'm Guilt Trips, and I go by Flawless Creation on PS. This is my team. It has been extremely successful for me, netting me a 40-0 w/l record on the PS ladder while achieving an 88% GXE. It has also won numerous room tours in the OU room as well. I wanted to post this on the forums as DLC2 is coming soon and the metagame will shift drastically, and so I thought it would be nice to share a team which I feel is the embodiment of the pre DLC2 metagame. This team can largely be classified as balance. It consists of a the standard, solid Coviknight | Clefable | Toxapex core which by itself walls the vast majority of threats. Hippowdon complements that defensive trio tremendously by providing a classic electric immunity and utility, as well as negating other weather setters which disrupts the opponent's team. Dragapult & Rotom-H is what shifts the team from stall to balance, as they are incredible win cons that can clean up late game once the opponent's team has been significantly weakened. Attached below is a screenshot illustrating the proof of peak:
TEAM AT A GLANCE:
TEAM BUILDING PROCESS:
These Pokemon are all extremely common in the metagame and this team may appear extremely standard as a result. However, their synergy matches with each other perfectly and the end result is an extremely durable team that can be incredibly difficult to break or wear down over time. Like I said previously, the defensive trio of Corviknight | Clefable | Toxapex by itself is an amazing defensive core that can check the majority of the metagame. It provides switch ins to things like SD Excadrill, SD Bisharp, Aegislash, Dragapult, Rillaboom, Hawlucha, Urshifu, etc. There are a few things that can prove to be problematic vs that core however. Specs Magnezone | NP Rotom-H | NP Gengar | Toxtricity can dismantle that core with little difficulty. Spdef Hippowdon was then added on to complement that core, as it handles all the aforementioned pretty well, can set up SR, and provides a valuable form of counterplay vs opposing weather teams, especially Sun teams. Dragapult was then added as a much needed form of speed control. It allows the team to have a way to revenge kill problematic opposing mons, and at worse can force them to switch out after they net a kill. This includes things such as NP Hydreigon, Specs Kyurem, Crawdaunt, NP Alakazam. Finally, Rotom-H was added as the final additional member of the team because it provides a much needed backup ground immunity in case Corviknight ever falls or gets trapped by Magnezone. Speaking of Magnezone, Rotom-H also provides a 2nd backup to Rillaboom + Magnezone teams directly, and fares well vs Magnezone on its own as well.
A CLOSER LOOK:
Dragapult @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hex
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn
Dragapult fits into this team perfectly. Consistently the #2 used pokemon in the tier, Dragapult proves to be one of the most useful and versatile Pokemon in competitive play. In terms of this team specifically, due to the fact that this team spreads status everywhere to weaken the opposing team (Toxapex's scald, Hippowdon's toxic, Dragapult's own will o wisp), it is extremely common to status nearly every Pokemon on the other team, and then send out Dragapult late game to get kill after kill with boosted Hexes. Early game, Dragapult's purpose is to pivot out of opposing mons to generate momentum, spread burns to get early chip, or to threaten out dangerous attackers with Draco Meteor.
The speed control Dragapult provides is invaluable to this team. Because the rest of the team is slow & bulky, Dragapult's speed gives the team a much needed form of counterplay vs dangerous offensive threats. Being the second fastest pokemon in the tier by far has incredible benefits. With its speed and offensive typing, Dragapult can force out Pokemon that could otherwise be be difficult to play around, such as Reuniclus, NP Rotom-H, NP Hydreigon, Specs Kyurem, NP Gengar, Marowak Alola, Crawdaunt, etc. I chose Will o Wisp & Draco Meteor over Thunder Wave & Dragon Darts for several reasons. Will o Wisp hits every single pokemon in the tier besides fire types, and there are no fire types in OU that want to switch into Dragapult at all. On the other hand, ground types are immune to twave, and several of them would otherwise be able to sponge Dragapult's hits, such as Spdef Rhyperior, Spdef Hippowdon, defensive Gastrodon, etc. Will o wisp is also extremely valuable for the extra chip damage it does to Corviknight & Toxapex, as that extra 6% chip damage can mean the difference between a 2HKO and wasting more valuable Hex PP. Finally, Will o Wisp can provide a last ditch method to stop things such as non scarf Urshifu and BD Azu. Draco Meteor is used over Dragon Darts as it outdamages things this team needs such as Rotom-H & Crawdaunt. Due to not having Dragon Darts, Dragapult is then allowed to not need a -def nature, allowing it to tank physical hits significantly better, and also pour maximum investment into spatk meaning stronger Hexes (and Dracos).
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Brave Bird
- Body Press
Corviknight provides a vital role to this team for its purposes as the premier defogger and primary check to an abundance of physical attackers in the tier. Although the team doesnt really mind SR on my field much at all, since 2 of the mons have HDB and then there is a regenerator mon, MG mon, and hippo who resists SR, multiple layers of spikes can be quite a nuisance for Toxapex & Hippowdon, who rely on their massive bulk to sponge hits, and if they are weakened by spikes that limits their usefulness tremendously. Vs the common SR users in the tier, Corvi fares well vs the vast majority of them as they can't touch it and get their PP wasted by pressure. This list composes of mons like defensive SR Ttar, defensive toxic kommo, sr knock clef, hippo, and blissey. Corviknight also does well vs Spikes Skarm, and even Ferro once its leftovers gets knocked off and burnt.
As a handful of teams dont carry spikes and only SR, and this team doesn't mind SR much, Corvi's primary role in those games is not as a Defogger, but as a check to some other wise scary dangerous physical attackers. Rillaboom is one of the most used mons in the tier atm and Corviknight is such an excellent counter vs it, unless its paired with a Magnezone. It also fares well vs Hawlucha, SD Excadrill, SD Bisharp, SD Weavile, Scizor, Mamoswine, among others. Body press is vital for being used to defeat Excadrill & Bisharp 1 v 1, as well as destroying Defensive Ttar with SR. Brave bird is also extremely vital and I could never picture myself using a Brave Birdless Corviknight. It does essentially solid damage to everything and makes it so nothing can switch in without taking a handful from Brave Bird, and alleviates the passiveness. Specifically, Brave Bird deals solid damage to physical variants of Dragapult switching in, Gengar, Scizor, Rillaboom, Zarude, Alakazam, Hawlucha, Heracross, Volcarona on the switch, Venusaur, etc. All of those are dangerous Pokemon that would otherwise not be damaged by Body Press | U-Turn alone, and so Brave Bird is necessary to ensure that none of those can switch in.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 16 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Soft-Boiled
- Heal Bell
- Moonblast
Clefable is the most influential pokemon in OU and it is, imo, the most broken Pokemon in the metagame. It doesn't hit as hard as Urshifu, nor is it as bulky as Toxapex, however its versatility, movepool, and immunity to all passive damage + recovery makes it able to chip down your team little by little until you eventually give, or it gives its other members on the team an infinite lifespan. Due to its typing and bulk, Clefable is able to check a majority of the metagame on its own in a 1 v 1 scenario. It doesn't have to wall everything, thats not its role and it has other teammates for that. On this team, Clefable is a secondary check to various Pokemon, such as Kyurem, Hydreigon, Kommo, Dragapult, Urshifu, Zarude, & Hawlucha.
Because of its bulk and natural immunity to all residual damage, Clefable does not have to spend time recovering a good majority of the time. Due to this, it can create many free turns. On this team, Clefable utilizes those free turns as an all time cleric on this team. This team's purpose is to outlast the opponent, and then chip at the opposing team until they're significantly weakened enough to where you can use one of the win conditions to break past them. This would be impossible with Clefable and thus I consider Clef to be the cornerpiece of this team. Dragapult & Rotom-H are the team's primary win conditions, however they have no recovery besides Rotom-H's pain split, not even leftovers, so Wish is vital to replenish both their HP when they are significantly weakened in those long drawn out battles. The other members of the team all have recovery, but every single member of the team is still vulnerable to status. Whether its annoying burns that are affecting Corviknight, or Rotom being poisoned, or Toxapex being paralyzed, Heal bell allows me to be more reckless when it comes to status affiliations in trade off situations. For instance, a Hippo vs hippo situation can lead to both Hippo's being toxiced. That can usually be problematic for your own Hippo as if its poisoned it can no longer check things like Zeraora effectively, but with Clef's heal bell, you can still trade your Hippo in order to toxic the other Hippo, and then heal up your team later on during the game. The team support Clefable provides is irreplaceable.
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Knock Off
- Recover
- Haze
Due to its massive bulk, Regenerator, Black Sludge, and recovery, Toxapex is by far the most difficult Pokemon on the team to knock out. By virtue of its bulk and the combination of Scald + Recovery, Toxapex is able to instantaneously slow down the pace of the game by forcing opponents into a situation where breaking Toxapex by brute force is not a feasible option majority of the time; they have to cripple or status Toxapex somehow by statusing it and then attacking it later, or PP stalling it. Scald + Knock off is a combination that nearly no offensive Pokemon in the metagame want to reliably switch in on. Toxapex serves this team well as its one of those Pokemon that is able to start removing items and statusing the opponent right from the start of the game, so it can be a reliable lead more often than not. Haze prevents Toxapex from being set up bait to a whole slew of Pokemon that would be able to take advantage of Toxapex's negligible offenses, such as CM Primarina, CM Keldeo, QD Volcarona, and CM Clefable. Haze also has a considerable amount of PP, so haze Toxapex + Pressure Corviknight is an effective PP stalling duo.
With its EV investment poured all out into HP and defense, Toxapex is able to tank an abundance of physical hits while still being quite difficult to break on the special side as well. Spdef Toxapex can be used, but you then open yourself up to being abused by strong physical attacks. With max physdef investment, this Toxapex is able to tank a +6 Azumarill's knock off provided SR isnt up and Toxapex is at full. It also can do things such as avoiding the 2HKO from things like Surging Strikes in Rain from Water Urshifu, and facade from Conkeldurr if SR is not in play.
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 236 HP / 20 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Earthquake
- Toxic
Hippowdon is an insane durable mixed tank. Even uninvested, its physical bulkiness is truly tremendous while its special bulkiness is enhanced significantly due to maximum EVs. Hippowdon has all those spdef evs on this team because this team benefits more from its special bulk while majority of the physical bulk its missing can be compensate elsewhere (mainly with the physdef core of Corviknight, Clefable, & Toxapex). With this special bulk, Hippowdon can achieve some truly impressive feats such as being able to tank a +2 LO Gengar's shadow ball and OHKO back, avoids the 2HKO from +1 max spatk Volcarona's flamethrower so it can toxic and then slack off the damage, being able to tank a +2 LO Alakazam's Psychic, being able to switch in vs defensive Pelipper without fear as scald doesn't even come close to 2HKOing and you can negate rain.
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Psychic vs. 236 HP / 252+ SpD Hippowdon: 347-409 (83.4 - 98.3%)
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Gengar Shadow Ball vs. 236 HP / 252+ SpD Hippowdon: 300-355 (72.1 - 85.3%)
+1 252 SpA Volcarona Flamethrower vs. 236 HP / 252+ SpD Hippowdon: 201-237 (48.3 - 56.9%) -- 38.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 236 HP / 252+ SpD Hippowdon: 202-238 (48.5 - 57.2%) -- 45.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Magnezone Flash Cannon vs. 236 HP / 252+ SpD Hippowdon: 190-225 (45.6 - 54%) -- 3.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Balance teams in general benefit greatly from Hippowdon's presence to disrupt other weather setters. As mentioned, Hippowdon is a fine switch in to defensive Pelipper as scald cant 2HKO you and then you disrupt rain behemoths such as Specs Kingdra/Pelipper, Mantine, and Urshifu Water from spamming their high powered STABs. Hippowdon also fears nothing from Torkoal as well (unlike Tyranitar which has to be wary of Body Press), so you can switch in and disrupt sun, and use that as a free opportunity to set up SR. Besides disrupting other weather setters, Hippowdon is the only electric immunity this team provides, and as such it is responsible for stopping volt switchers in its path such as Magnezone & Zeraora, both which would be incredibly annoying otherwise.
Rotom-Heat @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat
- Pain Split
Rotom-H rounds off this team fantastically. It serves as a late game win condition and an offensive threat that is surprisingly difficult to wall and outlast. It also is no slouch defensively as well, being able to check a myraid of threats in the metagame. Offensively, NP Rotom-H breaks a bunch of defensive cores commonly found on balance teams. These usually consist of some combination of Amoonguss | Clefable | Toxapex | Corviknight | Mandibuzz | Ferrothorn | Tangrowth | Thunder Wave Blissey. All of those are essentially set up bait for Rotom-H and then get broke down by boosted attacks. Typically, balance teams usually comprise of 1-2 faster Pokemon that can threaten out Rotom-H, such as Urshifu (which gets outsped if its Adamant nature, Hydreigon, Dragapult, Specs Kyurem, etc. Because all of these have no recovery and are prone to getting worn down, once they fall, Rotom-H usually can have a field day with those slow, bulkier teams.
Defensively, Rotom-H provides a cushion and is a secondary back up check to numerous threats. For instance, Rillaboom can be handled by Coviknight perfectly, however if they are paired with Magnezone, Corvi may not always be reliable vs that. Rotom-H provides a fine answer for Rillaboom, outspeeding and OHKOing, while also checking Specs Magnezone amazingly. Besides Corviknight | Rillaboom cores, Rotom-H also handles Sand Rush Excadrill if they're paired with Magnezone, CM Clefable with 2 attacks, Zeraora, Scizor, and Togekiss | Comfey degeneracy. The flexibility Rotom-H has in both offense and defense depending on the game is extremely valuable for this team.
IMPORTABLE VERSION:
https://pokepast.es/8493940f8e8d5f80
REPLAYS:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1200216068
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1200220016
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8oublitz-1201162802
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8ou-521590
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1203245099
Hey everyone, I'm Guilt Trips, and I go by Flawless Creation on PS. This is my team. It has been extremely successful for me, netting me a 40-0 w/l record on the PS ladder while achieving an 88% GXE. It has also won numerous room tours in the OU room as well. I wanted to post this on the forums as DLC2 is coming soon and the metagame will shift drastically, and so I thought it would be nice to share a team which I feel is the embodiment of the pre DLC2 metagame. This team can largely be classified as balance. It consists of a the standard, solid Coviknight | Clefable | Toxapex core which by itself walls the vast majority of threats. Hippowdon complements that defensive trio tremendously by providing a classic electric immunity and utility, as well as negating other weather setters which disrupts the opponent's team. Dragapult & Rotom-H is what shifts the team from stall to balance, as they are incredible win cons that can clean up late game once the opponent's team has been significantly weakened. Attached below is a screenshot illustrating the proof of peak:
TEAM AT A GLANCE:
TEAM BUILDING PROCESS:
These Pokemon are all extremely common in the metagame and this team may appear extremely standard as a result. However, their synergy matches with each other perfectly and the end result is an extremely durable team that can be incredibly difficult to break or wear down over time. Like I said previously, the defensive trio of Corviknight | Clefable | Toxapex by itself is an amazing defensive core that can check the majority of the metagame. It provides switch ins to things like SD Excadrill, SD Bisharp, Aegislash, Dragapult, Rillaboom, Hawlucha, Urshifu, etc. There are a few things that can prove to be problematic vs that core however. Specs Magnezone | NP Rotom-H | NP Gengar | Toxtricity can dismantle that core with little difficulty. Spdef Hippowdon was then added on to complement that core, as it handles all the aforementioned pretty well, can set up SR, and provides a valuable form of counterplay vs opposing weather teams, especially Sun teams. Dragapult was then added as a much needed form of speed control. It allows the team to have a way to revenge kill problematic opposing mons, and at worse can force them to switch out after they net a kill. This includes things such as NP Hydreigon, Specs Kyurem, Crawdaunt, NP Alakazam. Finally, Rotom-H was added as the final additional member of the team because it provides a much needed backup ground immunity in case Corviknight ever falls or gets trapped by Magnezone. Speaking of Magnezone, Rotom-H also provides a 2nd backup to Rillaboom + Magnezone teams directly, and fares well vs Magnezone on its own as well.
A CLOSER LOOK:
Dragapult @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hex
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn
Dragapult fits into this team perfectly. Consistently the #2 used pokemon in the tier, Dragapult proves to be one of the most useful and versatile Pokemon in competitive play. In terms of this team specifically, due to the fact that this team spreads status everywhere to weaken the opposing team (Toxapex's scald, Hippowdon's toxic, Dragapult's own will o wisp), it is extremely common to status nearly every Pokemon on the other team, and then send out Dragapult late game to get kill after kill with boosted Hexes. Early game, Dragapult's purpose is to pivot out of opposing mons to generate momentum, spread burns to get early chip, or to threaten out dangerous attackers with Draco Meteor.
The speed control Dragapult provides is invaluable to this team. Because the rest of the team is slow & bulky, Dragapult's speed gives the team a much needed form of counterplay vs dangerous offensive threats. Being the second fastest pokemon in the tier by far has incredible benefits. With its speed and offensive typing, Dragapult can force out Pokemon that could otherwise be be difficult to play around, such as Reuniclus, NP Rotom-H, NP Hydreigon, Specs Kyurem, NP Gengar, Marowak Alola, Crawdaunt, etc. I chose Will o Wisp & Draco Meteor over Thunder Wave & Dragon Darts for several reasons. Will o Wisp hits every single pokemon in the tier besides fire types, and there are no fire types in OU that want to switch into Dragapult at all. On the other hand, ground types are immune to twave, and several of them would otherwise be able to sponge Dragapult's hits, such as Spdef Rhyperior, Spdef Hippowdon, defensive Gastrodon, etc. Will o wisp is also extremely valuable for the extra chip damage it does to Corviknight & Toxapex, as that extra 6% chip damage can mean the difference between a 2HKO and wasting more valuable Hex PP. Finally, Will o Wisp can provide a last ditch method to stop things such as non scarf Urshifu and BD Azu. Draco Meteor is used over Dragon Darts as it outdamages things this team needs such as Rotom-H & Crawdaunt. Due to not having Dragon Darts, Dragapult is then allowed to not need a -def nature, allowing it to tank physical hits significantly better, and also pour maximum investment into spatk meaning stronger Hexes (and Dracos).
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Brave Bird
- Body Press
Corviknight provides a vital role to this team for its purposes as the premier defogger and primary check to an abundance of physical attackers in the tier. Although the team doesnt really mind SR on my field much at all, since 2 of the mons have HDB and then there is a regenerator mon, MG mon, and hippo who resists SR, multiple layers of spikes can be quite a nuisance for Toxapex & Hippowdon, who rely on their massive bulk to sponge hits, and if they are weakened by spikes that limits their usefulness tremendously. Vs the common SR users in the tier, Corvi fares well vs the vast majority of them as they can't touch it and get their PP wasted by pressure. This list composes of mons like defensive SR Ttar, defensive toxic kommo, sr knock clef, hippo, and blissey. Corviknight also does well vs Spikes Skarm, and even Ferro once its leftovers gets knocked off and burnt.
As a handful of teams dont carry spikes and only SR, and this team doesn't mind SR much, Corvi's primary role in those games is not as a Defogger, but as a check to some other wise scary dangerous physical attackers. Rillaboom is one of the most used mons in the tier atm and Corviknight is such an excellent counter vs it, unless its paired with a Magnezone. It also fares well vs Hawlucha, SD Excadrill, SD Bisharp, SD Weavile, Scizor, Mamoswine, among others. Body press is vital for being used to defeat Excadrill & Bisharp 1 v 1, as well as destroying Defensive Ttar with SR. Brave bird is also extremely vital and I could never picture myself using a Brave Birdless Corviknight. It does essentially solid damage to everything and makes it so nothing can switch in without taking a handful from Brave Bird, and alleviates the passiveness. Specifically, Brave Bird deals solid damage to physical variants of Dragapult switching in, Gengar, Scizor, Rillaboom, Zarude, Alakazam, Hawlucha, Heracross, Volcarona on the switch, Venusaur, etc. All of those are dangerous Pokemon that would otherwise not be damaged by Body Press | U-Turn alone, and so Brave Bird is necessary to ensure that none of those can switch in.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 16 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Soft-Boiled
- Heal Bell
- Moonblast
Clefable is the most influential pokemon in OU and it is, imo, the most broken Pokemon in the metagame. It doesn't hit as hard as Urshifu, nor is it as bulky as Toxapex, however its versatility, movepool, and immunity to all passive damage + recovery makes it able to chip down your team little by little until you eventually give, or it gives its other members on the team an infinite lifespan. Due to its typing and bulk, Clefable is able to check a majority of the metagame on its own in a 1 v 1 scenario. It doesn't have to wall everything, thats not its role and it has other teammates for that. On this team, Clefable is a secondary check to various Pokemon, such as Kyurem, Hydreigon, Kommo, Dragapult, Urshifu, Zarude, & Hawlucha.
Because of its bulk and natural immunity to all residual damage, Clefable does not have to spend time recovering a good majority of the time. Due to this, it can create many free turns. On this team, Clefable utilizes those free turns as an all time cleric on this team. This team's purpose is to outlast the opponent, and then chip at the opposing team until they're significantly weakened enough to where you can use one of the win conditions to break past them. This would be impossible with Clefable and thus I consider Clef to be the cornerpiece of this team. Dragapult & Rotom-H are the team's primary win conditions, however they have no recovery besides Rotom-H's pain split, not even leftovers, so Wish is vital to replenish both their HP when they are significantly weakened in those long drawn out battles. The other members of the team all have recovery, but every single member of the team is still vulnerable to status. Whether its annoying burns that are affecting Corviknight, or Rotom being poisoned, or Toxapex being paralyzed, Heal bell allows me to be more reckless when it comes to status affiliations in trade off situations. For instance, a Hippo vs hippo situation can lead to both Hippo's being toxiced. That can usually be problematic for your own Hippo as if its poisoned it can no longer check things like Zeraora effectively, but with Clef's heal bell, you can still trade your Hippo in order to toxic the other Hippo, and then heal up your team later on during the game. The team support Clefable provides is irreplaceable.
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Knock Off
- Recover
- Haze
Due to its massive bulk, Regenerator, Black Sludge, and recovery, Toxapex is by far the most difficult Pokemon on the team to knock out. By virtue of its bulk and the combination of Scald + Recovery, Toxapex is able to instantaneously slow down the pace of the game by forcing opponents into a situation where breaking Toxapex by brute force is not a feasible option majority of the time; they have to cripple or status Toxapex somehow by statusing it and then attacking it later, or PP stalling it. Scald + Knock off is a combination that nearly no offensive Pokemon in the metagame want to reliably switch in on. Toxapex serves this team well as its one of those Pokemon that is able to start removing items and statusing the opponent right from the start of the game, so it can be a reliable lead more often than not. Haze prevents Toxapex from being set up bait to a whole slew of Pokemon that would be able to take advantage of Toxapex's negligible offenses, such as CM Primarina, CM Keldeo, QD Volcarona, and CM Clefable. Haze also has a considerable amount of PP, so haze Toxapex + Pressure Corviknight is an effective PP stalling duo.
With its EV investment poured all out into HP and defense, Toxapex is able to tank an abundance of physical hits while still being quite difficult to break on the special side as well. Spdef Toxapex can be used, but you then open yourself up to being abused by strong physical attacks. With max physdef investment, this Toxapex is able to tank a +6 Azumarill's knock off provided SR isnt up and Toxapex is at full. It also can do things such as avoiding the 2HKO from things like Surging Strikes in Rain from Water Urshifu, and facade from Conkeldurr if SR is not in play.
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 236 HP / 20 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Earthquake
- Toxic
Hippowdon is an insane durable mixed tank. Even uninvested, its physical bulkiness is truly tremendous while its special bulkiness is enhanced significantly due to maximum EVs. Hippowdon has all those spdef evs on this team because this team benefits more from its special bulk while majority of the physical bulk its missing can be compensate elsewhere (mainly with the physdef core of Corviknight, Clefable, & Toxapex). With this special bulk, Hippowdon can achieve some truly impressive feats such as being able to tank a +2 LO Gengar's shadow ball and OHKO back, avoids the 2HKO from +1 max spatk Volcarona's flamethrower so it can toxic and then slack off the damage, being able to tank a +2 LO Alakazam's Psychic, being able to switch in vs defensive Pelipper without fear as scald doesn't even come close to 2HKOing and you can negate rain.
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Psychic vs. 236 HP / 252+ SpD Hippowdon: 347-409 (83.4 - 98.3%)
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Gengar Shadow Ball vs. 236 HP / 252+ SpD Hippowdon: 300-355 (72.1 - 85.3%)
+1 252 SpA Volcarona Flamethrower vs. 236 HP / 252+ SpD Hippowdon: 201-237 (48.3 - 56.9%) -- 38.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 236 HP / 252+ SpD Hippowdon: 202-238 (48.5 - 57.2%) -- 45.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Magnezone Flash Cannon vs. 236 HP / 252+ SpD Hippowdon: 190-225 (45.6 - 54%) -- 3.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Balance teams in general benefit greatly from Hippowdon's presence to disrupt other weather setters. As mentioned, Hippowdon is a fine switch in to defensive Pelipper as scald cant 2HKO you and then you disrupt rain behemoths such as Specs Kingdra/Pelipper, Mantine, and Urshifu Water from spamming their high powered STABs. Hippowdon also fears nothing from Torkoal as well (unlike Tyranitar which has to be wary of Body Press), so you can switch in and disrupt sun, and use that as a free opportunity to set up SR. Besides disrupting other weather setters, Hippowdon is the only electric immunity this team provides, and as such it is responsible for stopping volt switchers in its path such as Magnezone & Zeraora, both which would be incredibly annoying otherwise.
Rotom-Heat @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat
- Pain Split
Rotom-H rounds off this team fantastically. It serves as a late game win condition and an offensive threat that is surprisingly difficult to wall and outlast. It also is no slouch defensively as well, being able to check a myraid of threats in the metagame. Offensively, NP Rotom-H breaks a bunch of defensive cores commonly found on balance teams. These usually consist of some combination of Amoonguss | Clefable | Toxapex | Corviknight | Mandibuzz | Ferrothorn | Tangrowth | Thunder Wave Blissey. All of those are essentially set up bait for Rotom-H and then get broke down by boosted attacks. Typically, balance teams usually comprise of 1-2 faster Pokemon that can threaten out Rotom-H, such as Urshifu (which gets outsped if its Adamant nature, Hydreigon, Dragapult, Specs Kyurem, etc. Because all of these have no recovery and are prone to getting worn down, once they fall, Rotom-H usually can have a field day with those slow, bulkier teams.
Defensively, Rotom-H provides a cushion and is a secondary back up check to numerous threats. For instance, Rillaboom can be handled by Coviknight perfectly, however if they are paired with Magnezone, Corvi may not always be reliable vs that. Rotom-H provides a fine answer for Rillaboom, outspeeding and OHKOing, while also checking Specs Magnezone amazingly. Besides Corviknight | Rillaboom cores, Rotom-H also handles Sand Rush Excadrill if they're paired with Magnezone, CM Clefable with 2 attacks, Zeraora, Scizor, and Togekiss | Comfey degeneracy. The flexibility Rotom-H has in both offense and defense depending on the game is extremely valuable for this team.
IMPORTABLE VERSION:
https://pokepast.es/8493940f8e8d5f80
REPLAYS:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1200216068
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1200220016
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8oublitz-1201162802
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8ou-521590
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1203245099
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