SM OU Airborne Robots (Mega Beedrill VoltTurn Offense)

[War Incarnate]

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(Click sprites for importable!)
Airborne Robots
Mega Beedrill, while unranked on the OverUsed VR, is not bad. If anything, it's quite good. Even though its poor defenses let it down, it patches that up with its absurd speed tier, astronomical offensive presence, and access to decent coverage moves in Drill Run and Knock Off. Basically, it's a super strong, alebit unexplored option for a team's mega slot if the situation applies. I would have done a more bulky VoltTurn team, but in the end, I was happy with how the team turned out.

Teambuilding Process

Of course, a team has got to start somewhere; and of course, like I do with all of my RMTs, I try to teambuild around less viable pokemon which are in fact, viable. Mega Beedrill is never seen in OverUsed; its bulk is even worse than Mega Alakazam's, its typing leaves it weak to SR, and it's outclassed by many of the resident mega evolutions in OverUsed. However, the ability to be a fast pivot that pressures some of the top meta trends, namely Heatran, Ash-Greninja, Magearna, Toxapex, etc. is why I started with Mega Beedrill. Adaptability further powering up its STAB moves, namely U-Turn and Poison Jab and having access to coverage in Drill Run and Knock Off in tandem with its astronomical attack stat means that once it's on the field, you gotta have something to counter it or else your team gets sweeped.

Even with Drill Run, Mega Beedrill can't break past many Steel-Types, so of course, to cover that, I chose to put Magnezone on the team for its ability to trap and eliminate problematic Steel-Types that this team would otherwise be walled by or have great difficulty breaking through. It appreciates Mega Beedrill being able to handle Heatran, something that otherwise OHKOs it through its poor special defense, while Mega Beedrill appreciates the removal of steel-types such as Ferrothorn, Celesteela, and Mega Scizor.

Next, I needed another bulky Volt Switch user, this time with more offensive presence; so I chose Rotom-W over Magearna due to its better speed tier. However, even with maximum special attack investment, its damage output was still, to an extent, underwhelming, so to solve this, I ran Choice Specs on Rotom-W. Of course, this came at the cost of being a momentum drain at times, but this helped with Rotom-W's middling damage output. The team also felt kind of slow even with Mega Beedrill, so I chose Ash-Greninja for my fast attacker due to having an excellent STAB combination, monstrous offensive stats, and access to priority in Water Shuriken, allowing it to rip offensive cores for my team that would otherwise prove disastrous.

The last two members of this team are pretty easy to explain about and what they do. This team has problems with entry hazards chipping them down due to their lack of reliable recovery, so of course, I knew that this team would need a Defogger that could conserve momentum for this team with a pivoting move. I chose Tornadus-T due to having reliable recovery in Regenerator and being able to take on Mega Medicham, one of OverUsed's most dangerous and dominant pokemon thanks to Hurricane. It also shares great team synergy with Mega Beedrill. I ran Garchomp as my Stealth Rock setter because of its great offenses and better speed tier than Heatran, allowing it to pressure many entry hazard removers.

However, the team had a gaping weakness to bulky waters, and without any counterplay against them, the team would get eliminated easily by the likes of Mega Swampert, so a check to those water-types and rain teams in general was needed, and an offensive AV Magearna was the way to go for this. I also changed the EVs for Mega Beedrill from a bulkier one to a faster and more offensively-based one and the nature from Adamant to Jolly.

In-Depth Look:

Offensive Pivot

Stinger (Beedrill-Mega) (M) @ Beedrillite
Ability: Adaptability
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Drill Run
- U-turn
- Poison Jab
- Knock Off

This is exactly what this team is built around; I chose it for its ability to be a fast and deadly pivot that can pressure its checks and counters very, very nice and hard. Maximum attack investment allows it to hit very hard, even without an Adamant nature, whereas maximum speed investment with a Jolly nature allows it to outspeed pretty much every single Choice Scarf user and unboosted threat outside of Mega Alakazam and the largely unviable Mega Aerodactyl. It's up to you. Adamant=Attack, Speed=Jolly. Drill Run provides nice coverage; being able to check Heatran and Magearna from the mega slot is really relaxing for your team if the situation calls for it; Magnezone appreciates the removal of a problematic steel-type in Heatran, which is why I put this move on Mega Beedrill. U-Turn is essentially the "bread and butter" of Mega Beedrill; being able to pivot out of bad matchups is super nice, especially since that keeps the momentum going. Sure it doesn't hit too much, but even if you don't dish out too much damage, the sight of Mega Beedrill getting out of a poor matchup and kicking in a teammate that can handle the situation is a calming sight to see. Poison Jab is Mega Beedrill's main STAB move; which is nothing special, though poisoning your opponent is decent since it chips down many walls Mega Beedrill would have problems with breaking past or getting crippled through status. Knock Off is used over Toxic Spikes due to how common Toxapex is; if it absorbs it, you're not going to be able to set it up again due to being forced out due to the threat a Scald burn or being outright KO'ed by their coverage; whereas Knock Off provides more utility for crippling bulky pokemon that generally rely on their items, scouting for Z-Crystals, and forcing out some stall teams. Not only does this provide good team synergy with Magnezone in being able to eliminate problematic steel-types, but also in the fact that it's able to remove problematic electric-types for Tornadus-T to pave the way to victory.

Pivot Trapper

Enemy Spotted (Magnezone) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt

Even with Drill Run, Mega Beedrill has problems breaking past many Steel-Types barring Heatran, so of course, it comes as no surprise that Mega Beedrill is one of the many pokemon that appreciate Magnezone's ability to trap and eliminate problematic steel-types with its coverage. The EV spread that this set uses is ran because [1] it allows Magnezone to hit as hard as possible, [2] patch up Magnezone's poor special defense, and [3] make Magnezone not as sluggish. Hidden Power Fire allows it to remove problematic steel-types such as Scizor and Ferrothorn for Mega Beedrill, while the killer bee deals with Heatran with Drill Run, something that Magnezone can't hit outside of Thunderbolt but usually dies before it can pull it off due to its poor special defense and it appreciates Mega Beedrill's ability to eliminate problematic steel-types for Magnezone, such as Heatran and Excadrill. Flash Cannon is Magnezone's secondary STAB move; nothing special; though hitting a decent variety of pokemon for neutral damage is nothing close to bad. Volt Switch is what makes Magnezone a "Pivot Trapper"; being able to switch out once its duty has been done and replacing its place with a pokemon that can handle what's in front of it while keeping momentum really allows it to keep the game going. Thunderbolt is Magnezone's main STAB move; allowing it to hit stuff such as Celesteela that would otherwise take literally nothing from even HP Fire and the chance to paralyze anything that's not named Rotom-W is certainly useful when the situation calls for it.

Offensive Assault Vest

Mecha Queen (Magearna) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 160 HP / 96 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Energy Ball
- Fleur Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Iron Head

While a cleric set is certainly useful, Magearna's ability to pivot in on a massive amount of mons that this team would have trouble with is the main reason why I ran an Assault Vest Magearna. Energy Ball allows it to hit troublesome mons for this team, such as Mega Swampert (has to survive Earthquake, which won't be an easy task), Rotom-Wash, and Tapu Fini. Fleur Cannon is Magearna's main and only STAB move, hitting Mega Latias, Ash-Greninja, Mega Alakazam, etc. hard. While the special attack drops are annoying, there's Volt Switch for getting rid of those. Speaking of Volt Switch, this handy move is what makes Magearna part of the VoltTurn core this team is intended to make. It allows it to pivot out of poor matchups and get in with a teammate that can handle the situation it's in. Iron Head is ran to make sure Magearna isn't hard-walled by stuff such as Chansey and gives it a secondary STAB move that doesn't miss, has a chance to do hax on the opponent, and doesn't have a harmful secondary effect.

Fast Specs

Ash (Greninja-Ash) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- U-Turn
- Hydro Pump
- Water Shuriken

Since the team so far feels kind of slow, even with Mega Beedrill, it comes as no surprise that this would serve as the primary, non-mega evolution fast attacker on this team. The ability to pack strong mixed coverage and monstrous offensive capabilities is what makes this a vital part of my team. Dark Pulse is its secondary STAB move, which is nothing special, although the added flinch chance when using this move can be useful when the situation calls for it. U-turn is used over Spikes because whenever I use a "Choice" item, you never want to be locked into a non-status move, unless it's a recovery move, but even then, you risk getting locked into Struggle due to the "Taunt Factor". U-Turn is ran despite a Timid Nature (I might end up changing the EVs later) to make it a mostly specially-based pivot. Hydro Pump is Ash-Greninja's strongest STAB move - 110 base power coming off of a monstrous 608 special attack stat allows it to hit pretty much the whole tier for a ton of neutral damage, even if the 80% accuracy is annoying. Water Shuriken is the "Bread and Butter" of every Ash-Greninja set - STAB priority coming off of a godlike special attack stat means that even neutral or resisted hits are going to hit hard.

Fast Defogger and Pivot

Man-Bird (Tornadus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- Taunt
- U-turn
- Hurricane

Since this team has a problem with entry hazards chipping them down to the point where they either die upon coming in or get put in the range of a KO, of course, every competitively viable team - at least the really good ones - will need a good defogger. I chose this over stuff such as Lando-T and Rotom-W due to being able to pressure one of, if not, the most dangerous pokemon to approach unprepared in OverUsed - Mega Medicham. This set functions as a fast, offensive pivot that utilizes Tornadus-T's decent bulk and Regenerator to come in and nab some KOs and then get out while still maintaining momentum offensively. Defog provides HUGE amounts of support to my team - seeing as none of my teammates have reliable recovery sources, this move is basically the main reason I put this on my team. Taunt is ran to dismantle passive teams due to denying them a boosting opportunity or their recovery options. U-Turn is what makes Tornadus-T a really good pivot; this in tandem with Regenerator allows Tornadus-T to get out of a poor situation in a pinch and regain HP - and keep the momentum going for the team. Hurricane is Tornadus-T's main STAB move; sure, the 70% accuracy is annoying, but this gives it a way to hit Mega Medicham and Mega Lopunny, both of which outspeed everything bar Mega Beedrill, pack strong priority in Fake Out, and have Ice-Type coverage that they bring along with them for the ride in Ice Punch. Hurricane can also hit a decent amount of the tier for neutral damage, which, backed up by Tornadus-T's special attack stat clocking out at 350, can mean that it hits a huge amount for a sheer amount of damage.

Fast Offensive SR

D.R.A.K.E (Garchomp) (M) @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 180 Atk / 76 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock

To sum this RMT up, I introduce you to our primary hazard setter: Garchomp. I chose to put the shark-dragon on this team due to being able to outspeed many entry hazard removers, something Heatran can't do. Earthquake is Garchomp's main STAB, and holy fuzzy, does this thing hit a lot for neutral or super effective damage. Magearna gets outsped and 2HKOed or OHKOed by this move, Mega Mawile is guaranteed to die against this move, and Toxapex gets 2HKOed if it stays in to fish for Scald burns. Outrage is nothing special, although it does hit a decent amount of the tier for neutral damage. Swords Dance is ran on the set (although I really do not like it on classic Chomp) to boost its already decent offensive prowess even further. Stealth Rock provides MASSIVE support to this team; chipping down bulky mons that this team would have trouble against, such as Chansey (although it dies to Garchomp and Mega Beedrill anyways), Tornadus-T, and HP Ground variants of Volcarona, with the latter being able to set up on this team and then proceed to annihilate whatever's in front of it.

(DISCLAIMER: Mega Beedrill outspeeds all of these checks barring Mega Alakazam, but even that's not a safe check, so none of these checks can reliably take on Mega Beedrill. Do note that U-Turn can deny all of these matchups if needed.)

Threatlist

Mega Alakazam
This is one of the only mons that outspeed Mega Beedrill without a Choice Scarf or boosts, which is dangerous because it pierces Mega Beedrill's only decent special bulk with its astronomical special attack stat and can proceed to OHKO it with Psychic. However, it doesn't want to switch in on Mega Beedrill directly due to the fear of an Adaptability - boosted U-Turn or Poison Jab OHKOing it through its poor physical bulk.

Landorus-Therian
While it can't come in safely due to the threat of being poisoned by Poison Jab, it forces out Mega Beedrill with the threat of EQ, Stone Edge, or Fly, and threatens to OHKO Mega Beedrill if it stays in. However, do note that only the Choice Scarf variants outspeed Mega Beedrill, so Mega Beedrill can bring in a partner safely via U-Turn or cripple defensive variants with Knock Off.

Steel-Types (That don't mind Drill Run)
Even with Drill Run, Mega Beedrill struggles to break past steel-types that either are immune to the move or don't really mind taking damage from Drill Run. Examples include Celesteela, Ferrothorn, and Mega Scizor, which is deadly since none of them really mind taking Drill Run due to being immune to it or taking neutral damage from the move and can prepare to retaliate back with strong priority in the latter's case, stall it out with Leech Seed in the case of the former two, or eliminate it from the field with Flamethrower and Gyro Ball, respectively. Mega Aggron in particular is troublesome for this team due to Drill Run only being a 5HKO on it and being able to exploit Mega Beedrill's weight via Heavy Slam or outright eliminate it with Fire Punch. However, all fear Magnezone, which Mega Beedrill is paired with.

Strong priority
Because this team lacks ways to block strong priority, strong priority from the likes of Mega Scizor, Ash-Greninja, Mega Medicham, and Mega Lopunny all threaten to OHKO Mega Beedrill through its poor defense.
Stealth Rock
Spikes aren't as deadly due to Tornadus-T being immune to them, but Stealth Rock chips down Mega Beedrill and Tornadus-T by 25% of their max HP, limiting the amount of times they can come in. However, the latter can somewhat mitigate this with Regenerator.

Replays

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-870441104
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-870444112
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-870446619
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-874287557
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-874291616
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-874295467
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-874396119
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-874710262

Conclusion

Overall, I was actually really happy with how the team turned out. On paper, you would have expected disappointing results from a dangerous yet frail megamon. But in practice, it's very fast-paced, keeps momentum, and is very fun to tinker around with, even if there are some slow teammates on this team. Sure, it has a ton of weaknesses, but besides, no team is made of 100%, precisely checked, precisely built, well-thought out, thoroughly checked, researched, honed-up, and sharpened-to-its-absolute-best perfection. Even the best RMTs have weaknesses is one way or another. But all teams flesh them out in one way or another. I really hope you like the team, and any feedback that you guys give on this team can and will be appreciated by me.
-SteelixPrismGX

 

[SunnyBones]

Honestly dude, I don't even know where to begin. When your threat list includes literally like half of all the whole tier, maybe that's a good time to restart. "peak at 1200" says more than enough.

Your team gets completely murdered by scarf Lando + heatran.

 

[Slave Of Passion]

Yo, those mons have potential together, I think Mega Beedrill can do well in OU with proper support. I made changes to every set.

EVs - 252 Atk | 80 SpD | 176 Spe
There is nothig important between Mega Lopunny and Mega Alakazam, so you can save some EVs and put them on the special defense to better stomach Water Shurikens.

Magnezone is undoubtedly the best partner for Beedrill because it can eliminate it's hardest counters (Scizor, Skarmory, Celesteela)

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One Z-Move per team!
EVs - 252 SpA | 4 SpD | 252 Spe
Nature - Modest
I see more potencial for a Z-Move in Garchomp. Specs Zone can punish ground types harder with Flash Cannon and just hits consistently hard. I didn't understand your spread. Modest nature and max speed let you hit as hard as possible, while outpacing things like Mega Mawile or the fearsome adamant Crawdaunt.

Garchomp is a nice pick, as it can wallbreak for Beedrill and check problematic Fire types, while providing rocks and good speed.

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EVs - 252 Atk | 4 SpD | 252 Spe
Nature - Jolly
Earthquake | Outrage | Swords Dance | Stealth Rock
Thanks to Magnezone dealing with Skarmory and Celesteela, Garchomp is free to run Dragonium Z, which can inmediately nuke Lando for Beedrill and is pretty helpful against Quagsire and Pyukumuku stall (Beedrill + Zone is also good against Clefable stall). Swords Dance and max attack are needed for breaking. I really like how these three go together.

I think you should use the full defensive potential of Magearna, as it can Pivot into a ridiculous amount of things, giving you freedom to use more offensive mons, like the first three.

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EVs - 248 HP | 72 Def | 188 SpD
Nature - Sassy
Iron Head | Fleur Cannon | Volt Switch | Energy Ball
Assault Vest Magearna can deal with the Psychic types and is a good switch-in to things like both Greninjas or other Magearnas. It can also lure several Steel types and pivot out into Magnezone or Garchomp. You don't need Heal Bell on such an offensive team, leave that for the bulky ones. Iron Head helps checking Fairy types and Energy Ball is choosen over other any option because it hits Gastrodon, which is the hardest counter to Magnezone. The spread makes you as Specially bulky as possible, while letting you always live a +2 HJK from Hawlucha from full.

Tornadus forms an amazing pivoting duo with Mag, together guarding against so much, but your set some has problems.
Torn is amazing because it provides speed, a switch-in/check to multiple physical attackers, a defogger that can heal rocks damage by switching out, among other things.

EVs - 252 HP | 64 Def | 192 Spe
Nature - Timid
Hurricane | U-Turn | Taunt | Defog
You need to be faster than mons like Medicham, Kartana or Serperior or you are doing nothing. You also need to be as bulky as possible in order to properly pivot around. Heat Wave is not necessary when you have a Magnezone, you can just U-Turn into it and trap the move's targets (Ferro, Scizor). Instead, you should run Taunt, that helps controlling entry hazards and prevents recovery and status moves from passive mons.

Ash Greninja is a good pick that heavily threatens offensive teams and can act as a solid revenge killer and sweeper.

Extrasensory --> U-Turn
Nature - Timid!!! I'll asume modest was a mistype or a lapse or something. Never do that again.
Extrasensory is not a move for Ash-Gren, just believe me. U-Turn works amazing with Beedrill and Zone because you will be forcing lots of switches into bulky Grass and Water types that they can abuse. Spikes is an option, but I personally don't stack hazards when I have a rocks weak mon.

This kind of Volt-Turn offense relies on offensive pressure, speed and momentum to win. If you want to succeed with something like this you have to play agressively.

Speed boosting threats like Volcarona or Charizard-X can be hard to handle. Against those you need to keep rocks up and always think about the scenarios that don't give free switches to them, and force them to happen. But if you feel overwhelmed you can change Greninja to a scarf Protean set. Grass Knot is useful against rain teams, that are problematic for this team.

The team:

Hope you leave low ladder soon!

 

[Dingosig]

Hi SteelixPrismGX. I think Slave of passion gave you good advices. In my opinion you should use AV magearna as he suggested.
Like he said, you don't need heal bell on such an offensive team, and heal bell magearna is barely a set anyway. The team have trouble switching safely into heatran or offensive fire type in general, so letting them switch for free because of heal bell can get you into a really bad spot.
Also you really need assault vest to check mons like lele or ash greninja more reliabily, especially considering the fact that the team lack of a solid water resist (that's also why energy ball is a good pick, rain team are really hard to deal with)
About iron head, it is required because otherwise it will be really hard to prevent opposing shift gear magearna from sweeping your team. It also help you to deal with mons like lele or mega diancie.
At the level you're at, it is strongly advised to use smogon set, or set suggested by good player, until you get better, because there is a high chance the set you made yourself will be suboptimal, considering you don't have enough metagame knowledge yet.
Thanks for reading and good luck on the ladder.
ps: Sorry if there is any grammar issue in my post, english isn't my first language

 

[Sickist]

Hi, I'll also do a rate here! I took a different approach then Slave of Passion, so here we go.

Major Changes

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Tapu Fini gives you a more solid Heatran answer, while still acting as a defogger. It also provides an Ash Greninja answer, and eases the Stall Matchup with Taunt+Misty Terrain.

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With Fini having Defog, Tornadus was replaced with Landorus for several reasons. The team was Mawile weak, and a pivot into lop/cham/etc. I went with defensive Landorus beacause it fit the bill. Landorus also provides U-turn and Toxic support, which can be nice for wearing down Beedrill's answers, as well as pivoting into said Mawile (slightly) and other physical attackers.

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With Rocks now being on Landorus, as well as the team needing a mildly consistent Landorus answer as well as Kartana still being scary, Tangrowth fit this slot pretty well. I went with a physically defensive variant, as it handles Garchomp, Landorus, and Kartana alot better. Tangrowth also gives this team somewhat of a Bulu answer as well, just in case, and can put things to sleep via Sleep Powder, if it lands that is.

Minor Changes

Choice Specs --> Choice Scarf

The team lacked speed outside of Beedrill, so this is what was done about it. Magnezone still does Magnezone things, but the added speed makes it a little safer vs defensive landorus creeping Modest Heatran, allowing you to pick off a weakened one with Flash Cannon, as well as revenging some stuff, like SD Kartana.

Assault Vest --> Shift Gear Steelium Z

The team really lacked a win-con, and it's defensive utility wasn't needed as much now. I settled on Steelium+Tbolt and Focus blast, because it helped with other Magearna and Mega Venusaur, which the team struggles against. It still can switch into Zam, etc, and can handle stuff like opposing Magearna, etc. But now, the team isnt as passive, which is important.

Importable and Closing thoughts

Sorry if my descriptions were really crappy, I'm kinda tired, so thats why they're that way. This version is a little annoyed by psyspam and bulu, but other than that it should be fine. Hope you have fun and have a good day. Click the sprites below for an importable.