ORAS OU Balance is Key, My Child. (14/2 W/L)

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Hi! I've decided to start getting back into competitive Pokemon, what what better way to restart than with a new account and RMT? Here is a team I built from looking at many of the OU resource guides here on the forums. So far, I have a 14/2 win/loss ratio with it at low ladder. I am aware that this isn't the most original team, but it seems to be pretty substantial and it works great. Without further ado, I present to you my first Pokemon team since coming back...

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Balance is Key, My Child.
An ORAS OU Balance Team

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The Team

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Keldeo-Resolute @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
Keldeo is the first half of my offensive core, and is what I originally wanted to base this team around. This water pony thing runs a standard Sub CM set with two STAB attacks. As usual, Keldeo functions as a late-game setup sweeper. I occasionally can switch him in around mid-game to mess up the flow of my opponent or if I have a good chance to get a burn in. I usually end up using Keldeo the least of all my team due to him running a quite predictable set, but if all the walls / threats to Keldeo are KOed beforehand, I can get a pretty nice sweep going. The biggest problems I've had to deal with so far are the Latitwins, Mega Pinsir, and Mega Venusaur. Even with a sub up, Keldeo can't really do anything to these guys and relies on his teammates to expose of them before he can really have and use.

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Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Hammer Arm
- Grass Knot
- Zen Headbutt

I've never used Metagross before, but I read on a few different threads that Mega Metagross and Keldeo pair pretty well together, so I decided to use it. This is what I believe to be a pretty standard Megagross set, but I've chosen Hammer Arm over Earthquake to hit Air Balloon Heatran / Heatran and general, and Grass Knot to hit Mega Swamperts coming in for a STAB Earthquake. Apparently not to many players expect Grass Knot, so it's somehow has a surprise factor. Mega Metagross serves as a wallbreaker and the main sweeper for my team. His stats are simply monstrous and helps shut down and wall many threats to my team, especially those that Keldeo has trouble with. The hardest thing about using Mega Metagross is avoiding status conditions. I tried having Clefable act as a cleric for him, but my team fell apart without the Fire Blast as an answer to opposing steel types. I have to often switch out against Rotom-Ws and Mega Sableyes to be sure I don't end up burned, which is a nuisance and disrupts the sweeping. Despite that, Mega Metagross ends up getting the most KOs and sweeping chances, and can smash through many defensive Pokemon who wall Keldeo, Weavile, and on occasion, Clefable.

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latest

Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick

Weavile, the third member of the offensive side of my balance team, acts as a Weavile should and cleans up throughout the mid and late-game. This set has outsped everything I've faced so far besides for Scarfed Thunderous-T, who can't 1HKO with Volt Switch, and scarfed Latitwins, however those aren't much of a problem versus a Pokemon who carries STAB Knock Off. I see many players gamble on whether or not I run Icicle Crash, and I end up getting a significant amount of KOs from that move, most notably on Dragonites who lost Multiscale from Skarm's Stealth Rocks, and other unsuspecting dragon and flying types. Low Kick is on the set over Fake Out because Heatran is a common annoyance to my team. It also can help me out with cleaning up Ferothorn if necessary. Weavile helps cover Keldeo and Megagross' problems and helps keep the Latitwins out of play. He can also outspeed Mega Pinsir and either scare switch it or Ice Shard it out of play.

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Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Fire Blast
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave

Clefable, the anchor of my not-so-defensive defensive side of the team, has the main goal of shutting down dragons with Moonblast and spreading paralysis with Thunder Wave. Soft-Boiled and leftovers are the standard ways of staying healed up, and Magic Guard gets Clefable in with as much health as possible while also serving as another Toxic stall blocker. Fire Blast is very useful, as it helps do a ton of damage on switching opponents, most notably steel types. Clefable is definitely an S ranked Pokemon in the tier this generation, and doesn't have any huge flaws that the rest of my team can't take care of.

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Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

As a very well known Pokemon in OU, Rotom-W is a pretty straightforward Pokemon with a pretty straightforward set. His purpose on the team is to shut down physical sweepers like Scizor and Mega Scizor with Will-O-Wisp, and build offensive momentum with Volt Switch. I chose a Leftovers / Pain Split heal combo over Chestorest because with this, Rotom can get a significant amount of damage on full health switch ins. The only problem with Pain Split is that he still can get broken down and often lacks the chance for a full or half health heal. However, when it happens, Rotom-W becomes a very useful Pokemon again and can last until around late-game. Rotom is always the suspected lead on my team, which allows me to get an upper hand early on. When I do lead with him, his utility becomes to spread burns early game. When this is the case, Hydro Pump becomes his best friend against Heatran, Gliscor, and Hippowdon. STAB 120 base Hydro Pump and the ability to burn physical attackers gives Rotom a good function on my team.

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Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Defog
- Stealth Rock

I picked Skarmory as the final defensive Pokemon on my team because it had high defense and was used by good players. My first set was a Brave Bird oriented set where the idea was to just kill anything that wanted to set up things, but that didn't work at all... I then decided to ditch that set and go for the Stealth Rocks control set. I switched Brave Bird out for Whirlwind on this, which seemed strange to me at first, but turns out to be really good. Many teams aren't prepared for Skarmory, and I can keep him in from the start and just whirlwind out Pokemon as they get collateral damage from Stealth Rocks. When I don't lead with Rotom-W, I usually lead with this guy and get rocks up as soon as possible. Skarmory acts as my field control, as he gets full control of hazards with Defog and rocks. Skarmory has a huge problem with Talonflame and electric types, but the rest of the team usually can cover for him. If he doesn't die early on, Skarm can come back late mid-game and get a final defog in to clear the way for weaker Pokemon who would otherwise die from the hazards in play.

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Threats

My team can handle most things quite well, even out of its threats, but some Pokemon are still troublesome. The biggest problems I face are usually fire or electric types such as Talonflame, Heatran, Mega Charizard Y, Raikou, Rotom-H, and Scarfed Thunderous-T.

Talonflame is often handled well by Rotom-W and Stealth Rocks, but it can be a problem if the opponent utilizes it really well.

Heatran is just a nuisance more than anything, as it pressures Skarmory and hinders Metagross' sweeping abilities while in play. It can be handled by Weavile, Keldeo, and Rotom-W, but usually is just switched around a lot and won't die. Once Clefable gets a Thunder Wave on it, it's usually deemed useless, but it still can be an annoyance.

Mega Charizard Y is something I would never suspect to be such a threat, but it is. With sun, one turn Solarbeams can 1-2HKO Rotom-W and can 1HKO Keldeo while sun boosted STAB Fire Blasts and kill off Metagross, Skarmory, and Weavile, if it comes to it. I can usually shut Charizard down with good switching and tanking and all. It's not that common and teams that run it usually are easy for me, so the threat usually is diminished.

Raikou usually requires a sacrifice on my team, as Weavile, Keldeo, and Rotom-W can't hit it hard enough. Mega Metagross and Clefable can get it to lower health often, but it's still a pain in the butt.

Rotom-H is probably the biggest threat I've faced. His typing and STAB attacks literally kill everything on my team i don't know what to do lord help me

Scarfed Thunderous-T is another electric type who often causes problems. He can pressure Skarmory and can shut down Rotom-W and Keldeo , and can also outspeed Weavile and Volt Switch out before I can get a hit in. Mega Metagross and Clefable can usually pressure him out, but a threat is sometimes there late-game.

Outside of the fire and electric typing, there isn't much that can harm my team. Bulky psychic types can be a pain such as Mega Gallade and especially the Latitwins, but they usually go down one way or another.

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So that's the team, yay <3 An exportable version is in the spoiler below if you want to try my team out for yourself. When giving criticism, please keep in mind this is the first team I've made in a while.

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Thank you for reading!
You're a real bae

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Keldeo-Resolute @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Substitute
- Calm Mind

Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Hammer Arm
- Grass Knot
- Zen Headbutt

Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Fire Blast
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Defog
- Stealth Rock
 
Last edited:
Hey, cool team. Looks solid.
If you want to have an answer to Charizard Y, you can run Latios or Latias over Clefable. That would make you weaker to (Sableye-)stall, but Calm Mind Keldeo deals with these type of teams if you use the sub at the right time. Latios also helps against fast electric types like Raikou. Mega Manectric is a bigger issue to your team, because of its coverage and speed. Although Clefable tanks any hit with that set you run, Latios balances weaknesses on your team. Specs Keldeo still does a lot to every of your Pokemon and Latios switches into that, if they don't run Icy Wind. Latios can also run Earthquake since you already have Defog on Skarmory, so Heatran can be removed after just a little prior damage. Running HP Fire for steels is also an option.
Good luck with it ! :)
 
Last edited:
Hey, cool team. Looks solid.
If you want to have an answer to Charizard Y, you can run Latios or Latias over Clefable. That would make you weaker to (Sableye-)stall, but Calm Mind Keldeo deals with these type of teams if you use the sub at the right time. Latios also helps against fast electric types like Raikou. Mega Manectric is a bigger issue to your team, because of its coverage and speed. Although Clefable tanks any hit with that set you run, Latios balances weaknesses on your team. Specs Keldeo still does a lot to every of your Pokemon and Latios switches into that, if they don't run Icy Wind. Latios can also run Earthquake since you already have Defog on Skarmory, so Heatran can be removed after just a little prior damage. Running HP Fire for steels is also an option.
Good luck with it ! :)
I didn't even consider running one of those guys. Pretty much solves my electric and fire crisis, lal. Thank you <3
 
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