SM OU Awakened (27-0)

[Zeusen]

Awakened

Introduction​

Hey everybody! I'm Zeus3n, and this is actually my first post on Smogon. My 1 year anniversary on playing competitive Pokémon is coming up so I decided to share you one of my most successful team I've ever built. This team is in the middle of the Bulky Offense and Balance archetype, and it actually secured me a 27 win streak recently. I know that is not impressive in any way, however I think the team has high potentials.

Teambuilding Process​

The one weakness I knew right away when I looked at Hoopa-U's stats is his physical defense. I knew M-Scizor would be a great fit because he has insane physical defense, has recovery and is able to bring Hoopa in with a slow U-Turn.

Tapu Bulu was my choice for the Third Member because of his ability to not only check dangerous Pokémon such as Tapu Koko and Ash-Greninja, but also to set up and win, once dangerous checks are eliminated, since 70 / 115 / 95 bulk is amazing, especially when you factor in his ability and typing.

At the time I was building this team, Tornadus-Therian was a rising star. Tornadus-T provides the team defog, as well as a momentum generator, an offensive check for Swords Dance Kartana and Landorus-T, and provides utility with Knock Off.

When I looked at the team, I noticed the team was weak to threats such as Protean Greninja, Volcarona and Magearna. Toxapex was able to help me solve that problem, as well as providing Toxic Spikes for the team.

There was 1 huge threat the team was really weak to, and that threat is Heatran, the best Pokémon in OU currently. Gliscor checks heatran, provides the team with Stealth Rock and is able to provide the team momentum with U-Turn.

In-Depth Analysis​

Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Band
Ability: Magician
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Gunk Shot
- Fire Punch
- Drain Punch

Unlike Ash-Greninja and Zygarde, Hoopa-U can immediately break once he is in battle and nothing can really switches into him. Hoopa-U serves as the team's primary wallbreaker. With 160 attack and a spammable 100 Base Power STAB move known as Hyperspace Fury, Hoopa can OHKO or 2HKO any Pokémon that doesn't resist it. Gunk Shot is chosen as Hoopa's next move because it can OHKO fairies that can switch into Hyperspace Fury and wall it or scare it out, such as Clefable and Tapu Bulu. Fire Punch is the 3rd move because Hoopa can heavily damage Pokémon that doesn't mind Hoopa's first 2 moves, such as Magearna and Mawile. Fire Punch can also OHKO M-Scizor, a big threat to the team if toxapex is eliminated. Finally, Drain Punch is to OHKO dark types such as Tyranitar and Bisharp if needed. Zen Headbutt is not needed as Toxapex cannot do much back to Hoopa besides fishing for a burn with Scald.

The spread allows Hoopa to dish out maximum damage as well as outspeeding Magearna and 248 speed Heatran. Adamant nature is preferred over Jolly because you can actually 2HKO standard Choice Band Tyranitar if Stealth Rock is up on the field

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 16 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Roost
Mega Scizor serves as the team's set-up win condition with Swords Dance and Bullet Punch. Swords Dance is used over Curse because of 2 reasons. The first reason is SD. M-Scizor can actually beat M-Mawile lacking Fire Fang 1v1. This is because +2 Bullet Punch does 2HKO M-Mawile and there is no speed drop when using SD, so Scizor can Roost before Mawile sucker punches or Scizor can just B.P and eliminate Mawile. The second reason is that Curse doesn't help Scizor check much, as Coil Zygarde is already checked by Tapu Bulu. U-Turn is chosen over Knock Off to scout for doubles and potentially bringing in Hoopa-U. Roost is to keep Mega Scizor consistenly check threats such as Zygarde and Tapu Bulu.

The HP and the Special Defense prevents Mega Scizor from being 2HKO from +1 Thunderbolt from Magearna. 8 Speed is used to outspeed most Mega Mawile. The rest is dumped into Defense along with an Impish nature to help Scizor check Zygarde and Tapu Bulu better.

Tapu Bulu @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Synthesis
Tapu Bulu is the current premier grass type in OU because he resist both of Ash-Greninja's STAB, as well as checking dangerous ground types such as Zygarde. Swords Dance makes Tapu Bulu the team's 2nd set-up win condition, with Horn Leech and Superpower as the coverage moves. Horn Leech does great damage natural damage but the key thing is it allows Tapu Bulu to heal 1/2 of the damage that Bulu deals to the target. This, when coupled with Grassy Terrain's passive healing and Leftovers, make Tapu Bulu basically not able to be killed if it is not resisted. Superpower deals great damage to Pokémon that resists Horn Leech such as Ferrothorn and Heatran. Synthesis is chosen as the last move for Bulu because while Protect is very nice for scouting Pokémon such as Kartana, the immediate healing is much more desired in order to better check threats such as Tapu Lele and M-Alakazam.

The spread is very standard. 248 hp with 252 Special Defense is used along with a Careful Nature in order to minimize the damage taken from Tapu Lele and Alakazam.

Tornadus-Therian @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 136 HP / 168 SpA / 204 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- U-turn
- Hurricane
- Knock Off
Tornadus-T is able to check Swords Dance Kartana and provides the team with a reliable defogger. U-Turn is used for Tornadus's second move slot because it is a great scouting tool because it prevents the opponent from making a double switch. It is also nice for getting some chip damage on Pokémon such as Mega Latios. Hurricane is Tornadus's best Flying STAB move, and when coupled with Flyinium-Z, it can deal some serious damage and the accuracy becomes 100%. Knock Off is chosen as the last move to remove/scout items from switch ins such as Heatran and Zapdos.

204 speed is needed outspeed Choice Scarf Magnezone and anything below 360 Speed. The Special Attack investment makes it so that Supersonic Skystrike will OHKO 80/84/-0 Landorus-T, in other words, this OHKO the standard Scarf Landorus-T. The rest is dumped into HP to check threats such as Landorus-T and SD Kartana better.

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Haze
- Scald
- Recover
Toxapex is one of the best Pokémon right now in my opinion. Toxapex's typing and Haze lets it check the most dangerous set-up sweeper in my opinion: Volcarona. Toxapex can also check every Protean Greninja set except Z-Dig. Toxapex also provides something that is very valuable for the team: Toxic Spikes. Once 1 layer is set up, dangerous Pokémons like Zygarde and Medicham can only live for so long before they are in range of Scizor's Bullet Punch. Scald is Toxapex's best water move because there is a 30% burn chance, potentially making dangerous physical attackers useless. Recover is to help Toxapex 1v1 threats such as Mega Scizor and Greninja.

The spread is, once again, very simple. Max HP and Max Sp.Def is used to check Greninja best.

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 240 HP / 156 SpD / 112 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Roost
The last member, to my surprise, is not a scarfer. Gliscor is the glue of this team, providing the team a Heatran answer and a Stealth Rocker. U-Turn is used as Gliscor's second moveslot to scout for potential doubles. Earthquake is needed to instantly eliminate Pokémon such as Heatran and Toxapex. Roost is used as the last slot to consistently check Heatran.

112 Speed and a Jolly nature is to outspeed Timid Heatran. 240 HP and 156 Sp.Def is used to check Heatran best. Note that 244 HP is not needed as Gliscor is not using Substitute: doing so will actually hurt Gliscor as he will take more damage switching into Stealth Rock. This can be important when switching in vs. Heatran's Corkscrew Crash.

Threat List​

Z-Move Heatran: This is a very big threat and could screw up the team, if predicted wrong. If you went Toxapex, predicting Heatran to use a Z-Move to OHKO Gliscor, but the Heatran actually uses Magma Storm and trapped your Toxapex. This could open up a hole for their Protean Greninja to go HAM on your team, since there are no scarfer on the team and Greninja outspeeds every single one of the member in the team.

Z-Move Tornadus-Therian: Toxapex is the only switch-in for this. If Tornadus-T lands a Hurricane of Pex and Pex got confused, Torn could unleash his Z-Move and if somehow the opponent got insane luck and Toxapex hit itself again, you would have to let one of your Pokémon take heavy damage and recover with Toxapex if an opportunity is given.

All-out Attacker Mawile: This Mawile is very hard to switch into because it has all the coverage that it needs to destroy walls on the team: Fire Fang for M-Scizor, Thunder Punch for Toxapex and Ice Punch for Gliscor. It should be noted however, this can be played around.

Mega-Medicham: Medicham is a majour threat for the team: HJK for Scizor and Hoopa, Ice Punch for Gliscor, Tapu Bulu and Tornadus-T, and Zen Headbutt for Toxapex. Just like Mawile, it should be noted that Medicham can be played around. There is also a small chance HJK will miss.

Z-Move Garchomp: Continental Crush Swords Dance Garchomp is a very big threat to the team. However, if Garchomp chooses to SD vs. Tornadus-T and Torn decided to unleash Z-Hurricane, Garchomp can be eliminated. If Garchomp were to go for a Continental Crush instead and Scizor was switched in, Scizor can roost off that damage and proceed to set up Swords Dance. Garchomp does not get much free turn, as the safest switchins Chomp can make is going in vs. Gliscor, but if Gliscor U-Turns, Chomp is now in range of Z-Hurricane.

Conclusion​

First of all, I just want to thank you for reading this RMT. This team is built just to show the power of the Pokémon Hoopa-Unbound, as seeing him and Rotom-W being ranked the same as Mega Lopunny on the VR just triggers me. Anyway, this team is not perfect and has a shit ton of flaws, but it is my favourite build so far because the team represents me as a player. This team is actually the most consistent team I've had in my Teambuilder. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my attempt to build a good team, and if you do plan to use the team on ladder, I wish you the best of luck. Peace :)

Importable

Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Band
Ability: Magician
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Gunk Shot
- Fire Punch
- Drain Punch

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 16 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Roost

Tapu Bulu @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Synthesis

Tornadus-Therian @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 136 HP / 168 SpA / 204 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- U-turn
- Hurricane
- Knock Off

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Haze
- Scald
- Recover

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 240 HP / 156 SpD / 112 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Roost

 

[badabing]

real battles usually start around 30. also lan-t over gliscor for intimadate support

 

[MFJK]

Hello Zeusen, that’s a pretty nice team you got there! I really like the base of this team being Hoopa-U and the way you’ve surrounded it, making for an overall solid team + you did a really good job explaining your team choices / spreads / weaknesses as well so props on you for that. Outside of the weaknesses that you’ve already mentioned, one that I’ve noticed is your weakness against Celesteela, especially when paired with something like Tangrowth or Clefable which can ease the pivoting around Hoopa. Also, psychic-types can be a pain to deal with since you’re only reliant upon Scizor and Bulu as checks, which can both get overwhelmed by stuff like Lele.

The first major change I’m suggesting is Heatran > Gliscor. Although Gliscor does help against some threats, it does not really help much against the team’s most problematic threats such as Celesteela and Tornadus, which is why I feel like Heatran would fit better since it can deal with both of these mons while still providing rocks as well as a psychic resist. The set kinda depends on your Tornadus’ set but I’ll touch upon that later. The set I recommend is the Spdef set with 132 HP / 128 SpD / 248 Spe Calm. The spread outspeeds max speed Magearna and wins 1v1 vs. most Heatrans (doesn’t win vs max speed modest). The only tran that outspeeds you is max speed timid which doesn’t ohko with Earth Power and gets ohkoed back ; both non-max speed modest and opposing spdef tran are beaten 1v1 as well.

The second major change I suggest is Scarf Greninja > Toxapex. The main reason why I believe it would be beneficial over pex is because it provides much-needed speed control as well as Spikes support, improving your matchup against most of the offensive threats you outlined in your threat list. Having something that can consistently pressure faster threats and revenge kill them if they get out of hand is huge. The moveset I suggest is the following: Ice Beam | U-turn | Gunk Shot / Rock Slide | Spikes.

Two minor nitpicks I would suggest is Bulk Up > SD on Bulu as well as Curse > SD on M-Scizor because they both help them take on physical attackers better while setting up, making mons like Celesteela (in bulu’s case) and M-Medicham less painful to deal with.

Alternative Options:

- You can go for Firium Z Tran > Spdef + Rocky Helmet > Flyinium Z Torn, giving you more breaking power with Heatran and the ability to chip down pokemons like Landorus-T with rocky helmet torn. The downside is that you cannot take on psychic-types as well and you're weaker to Kartana.

- Another alternative is to go for Scarf Lando-T > Tornadus-T + Ash-Greninja > Scarf Greninja. This variant helps you compensate the loss of your ground-type with Scarf Landorus, and gives you a more consistent way of pressuring teams in Ash-Gren. As for sets, I would suggest classic offensive lando with Earthquake | Stone Edge | U-turn | Defog and classic Ash-Gren.

Edit: Import - 1 | 2

If there’s anything unclear that needs further explanation, feel free to contact me.
Hope I helped!

 

[Zeusen]

Hello Zeusen, that’s a pretty nice team you got there! I really like the base of this team being Hoopa-U and the way you’ve surrounded it, making for an overall solid team + you did a really good job explaining your team choices / spreads / weaknesses as well so props on you for that. Outside of the weaknesses that you’ve already mentioned, one that I’ve noticed is your weakness against Celesteela, especially when paired with something like Tangrowth or Clefable which can ease the pivoting around Hoopa. Also, psychic-types can be a pain to deal with since you’re only reliant upon Scizor and Bulu as checks, which can both get overwhelmed by stuff like Lele.

The first major change I’m suggesting is Heatran > Gliscor. Although Gliscor does help against some threats, it does not really help much against the team’s most problematic threats such as Celesteela and Tornadus, which is why I feel like Heatran would fit better since it can deal with both of these mons while still providing rocks as well as a psychic resist. The set kinda depends on your Tornadus’ set but I’ll touch upon that later. The set I recommend is the Spdef set with 132 HP / 128 SpD / 248 Spe Calm. The spread outspeeds max speed Magearna and wins 1v1 vs. most Heatrans (doesn’t win vs max speed modest). The only tran that outspeeds you is max speed timid which doesn’t ohko with Earth Power and gets ohkoed back ; both non-max speed modest and opposing spdef tran are beaten 1v1 as well.

The second major change I suggest is Scarf Greninja > Toxapex. The main reason why I believe it would be beneficial over pex is because it provides much-needed speed control as well as Spikes support, improving your matchup against most of the offensive threats you outlined in your threat list. Having something that can consistently pressure faster threats and revenge kill them if they get out of hand is huge. The moveset I suggest is the following: Ice Beam | U-turn | Gunk Shot / Rock Slide | Spikes.

Two minor nitpicks I would suggest is Bulk Up > SD on Bulu as well as Curse > SD on M-Scizor because they both help them take on physical attackers better while setting up, making mons like Celesteela (in bulu’s case) and M-Medicham less painful to deal with.

Alternative Options:

- You can go for Firium Z Tran > Spdef + Rocky Helmet > Flyinium Z Torn, giving you more breaking power with Heatran and the ability to chip down pokemons like Landorus-T with rocky helmet torn. The downside is that you cannot take on psychic-types as well and you're weaker to Kartana.

- Another alternative is to go for Scarf Lando-T > Tornadus-T + Ash-Greninja > Scarf Greninja. This variant helps you compensate the loss of your ground-type with Scarf Landorus, and gives you a more consistent way of pressuring teams in Ash-Gren. As for sets, I would suggest classic offensive lando with Earthquake | Stone Edge | U-turn | Defog and classic Ash-Gren.

Edit: Import - 1 | 2

If there’s anything unclear that needs further explanation, feel free to contact me.
Hope I helped!

Thank you for your thoughts on the team! I would 100% use Curse over SD on Scizor since upon further testing I found out that Tapu Bulu cannot beat Glare variants of Zygarde. However, when I finally looked over the team, I thought Heatran could be used instead of Scizor, and upon reading your review, you mentioned Bulk Up Bulu, which should beat Coil+Glare Zygarde in theory. I really wanted Gliscor because it is the most reliable check to Heatran while providing Stealth Rock at the same time (this team has a majour weakness to Mawile and Bisharp, so I think running Wisp+Taunt+Magma+E-power is the best set for Heatran). I absolutely agree on the Scarf Greninja>Pex because it is the first Scarfer to actually be able to OHKO Volcarona, an absolute threat, while still providing speed control+momentum with U-Turn.
I will implement these changes to my team and test it out on a new account, thank you so much for your thoughts again!