Introduction
Yo. This is my first RMT and first post, for probably my favourite tier, BW OU. I've lurked on Smogon for a while so I wouldn't say I'm new and I enjoy team building quite a bit but I've never gotten a proper review of a team that I've built. I've had a lot of success laddering with these 6 but I've ran into a few issues with specific threats.
Building Process
This time around I decided I wanted to build around Choice Scarf Tyranitar because I was sort of bored of laddering with just standard Chople Tar and I hadn't built with scarf before.
After that I wanted something that appreciated the scarf pursuit support that tar provided, so I decided on specs Keldeo.
One of Scarf Tar's biggest issues is that even +Speed Scarf does not outspeed Alakazam. So I needed a counter, which led me to Specially Defensive Jirachi.
So far all my team was grounded meaning I was super spikes weak. To get rid of this I added offensive Excadrill as a reliable spinner + decent offensive presence.
At this point I'd built up all the real offense my team needed so I needed to build up its defensive backbone. Nothing on my team switched in well to Specs Keldeo, so the easiest way to patch this up was add Specially Defensive Celebi. It also worked well in tandem with Jirachi to completely wall nearly any Latios set.
Finally, my team was looking for a Stealth Rock user with decent Physical Defensive utility, as well as a ground immunity. My choice was between Skarmory and Landorus-T, but ultimately I settled with Lando as I felt Skarmory was too passive and didn't check everything I needed it to. Although this did end up leading me to be somewhat weak to Mamoswine, which I'll touch on later.
The Team
Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
In a metagame where Latios has such a huge offensive presence with some decent defensive traits, Scarf Pursuit from Tyranitar's attack stat having the ability to consistently remove it provides huge utility. As well as this Tyranitar will always have the incredible utility of being able to set up Sand against opposing Rain. Scarf Tar can be brought in through a double switch as the opponent switches in their Keldeo check (e.g. Latios, Tentacruel, Celebi) and either Pursuit trap it or hit it hard. The other main way to bring in Tar is through switching moves in order to reset weather. Earthquake is used to consistently dispatch of Tentacruel not expecting a Choice Scarf as well as just being a consistent spammable move. Stone Edge is a strong STAB move that can hit a lot of things really hard. Superpower rounds off the set because of its ability to hit and 2HKO Ferrothorn which slightly annoys this team.
Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 3 Atk / 30 SpA
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Surf
Choice Specs Keldeo provides a huge amount of offense to the team. Scarf Tar's ability to remove most of Keldeo's checks makes this threat even more potent. Hidden Power Electric is used over other options like Ghost as it still hits targets like Jellicent, but sacrifices the ability to hit Latios or Celebi for the ability to hit Tentacruel Super-Effectively. This team prefers this as Tar does not remove Tentacruel as consistently as Latios or Celebi meaning it may still switch in later. Please note that in Rain Hydro Pump still does more than HP Electric.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
- Wish
- U-turn
SpDef Jirachi can switch into a lot of hard hitting Special Attackers and then get back out with U-turn to gain offensive momentum. The main use of Jirachi is to switch into nearly any Alakazam and nearly completely wall it, then click U-turn which will heavily hit Zam or gain moment over whatever switches in, but it can also be used to switch into most other Special Attackers. T-Wave is used over Body Slam on this set to more consistently cripple setup sweepers like Volcarona, Dragonite and Salamence, which otherwise use Jirachi as setup fodder.
Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Iron Head
Excadrill is generally considered the most consisted spinner on Sand, which is its main function on this team. An offensive set is used to be an extra breaker on the team other than Keldeo, as well as decently chunk Ferrothorn. Protecting against Choice users is really useful for this team, as Jirachi or Celebi will generally be able to switch in and handle the majority of attacks thrown at Excadrill's Protect.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Baton Pass
- Recover
- Giga Drain
- Thunder Wave
Celebi has a similar function to Jirachi on this team, however, it switches into different types. Celebi switches into basically everything Keldeo can throw out, besides possibly HP Ghost, which only 2HKOs with hazards + Specs. It can then threaten Keldeo with Giga Drain or other mons with T-Wave, such as setup sweepers. The utility of natural cure is very useful against status users such as Jellicent, which it can also threaten with Giga Drain. Baton Pass is used over U-turn as Celebi really needs to stick around for a while so getting hit with Pursuit from Tyranitar is sub-optimal.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 244 HP / 176 Def / 88 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Lando-T is a very consistent Stealth Rock user as well as switch in against a large number of Physically Offensive threats in the tier. HP ice is used for anything that is 4x weak such as setup Dragon types like Dragonite and Salamence, as well as opposing Lando-T. If an opposing Dragon does successfully setup, it will most likely have to use Outrage to hit Lando meaning while it is locked in a Steel like Jirachi can switch in and damage or Paralyze it.
Threats
Mamoswine has very good coverage to hit a lot of this team really hard. Of course it won't switch into most offensive threats, as Keldeo, Excadrill and Tyranitar all heavily threaten it, however, it can smack Jirachi, Celebi and Lando. Your best bet is to switch in Keldeo or Tyranitar on an Ice Shard or Icicle Crash and threaten it out like that, or stay in on a predicted Earthquake. If Mamoswine makes a correct prediction against most of this team it can be very difficult.
Ferrothorn is generally just a nuisance for a lot of members on this team. Neither Keldeo nor Tyranitar can OHKO it from full and will get hit hard with Power Whip in return and it is very annoying for Excadrill to either Spin or take out Ferro with the combination of Iron Barbs and Leech Seed or Leftovers recovery. Your best bet against Ferrothorn is to slowly weaken it until it is in range of Tyranitar Superpower or Keldeo Secret Sword.
Tentacruel under rain is infamously difficult to kill and this stays true to this team as well. HP Electric from Keldeo hits it decently, and if Paralyzed, Lando and Excadrill can threaten it with fast Earthquakes.
Having a Calm Mind Rueniclus setup on you in BW is probably one of the most disheartening things in my Pokémon experience. Reuniclus on an opponents team should always be kept in mind and should not be given a free switch. Surf from Keldeo always 2HKOs if it starts setting up from +0 and Hydro Pump from +1.
Closing Words
I hope I did well for my first RMT, it was more standard this time but in the future I hope to post more interesting teams on here.
Yo. This is my first RMT and first post, for probably my favourite tier, BW OU. I've lurked on Smogon for a while so I wouldn't say I'm new and I enjoy team building quite a bit but I've never gotten a proper review of a team that I've built. I've had a lot of success laddering with these 6 but I've ran into a few issues with specific threats.
Building Process
This time around I decided I wanted to build around Choice Scarf Tyranitar because I was sort of bored of laddering with just standard Chople Tar and I hadn't built with scarf before.
After that I wanted something that appreciated the scarf pursuit support that tar provided, so I decided on specs Keldeo.
One of Scarf Tar's biggest issues is that even +Speed Scarf does not outspeed Alakazam. So I needed a counter, which led me to Specially Defensive Jirachi.
So far all my team was grounded meaning I was super spikes weak. To get rid of this I added offensive Excadrill as a reliable spinner + decent offensive presence.
At this point I'd built up all the real offense my team needed so I needed to build up its defensive backbone. Nothing on my team switched in well to Specs Keldeo, so the easiest way to patch this up was add Specially Defensive Celebi. It also worked well in tandem with Jirachi to completely wall nearly any Latios set.
Finally, my team was looking for a Stealth Rock user with decent Physical Defensive utility, as well as a ground immunity. My choice was between Skarmory and Landorus-T, but ultimately I settled with Lando as I felt Skarmory was too passive and didn't check everything I needed it to. Although this did end up leading me to be somewhat weak to Mamoswine, which I'll touch on later.
The Team
Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
In a metagame where Latios has such a huge offensive presence with some decent defensive traits, Scarf Pursuit from Tyranitar's attack stat having the ability to consistently remove it provides huge utility. As well as this Tyranitar will always have the incredible utility of being able to set up Sand against opposing Rain. Scarf Tar can be brought in through a double switch as the opponent switches in their Keldeo check (e.g. Latios, Tentacruel, Celebi) and either Pursuit trap it or hit it hard. The other main way to bring in Tar is through switching moves in order to reset weather. Earthquake is used to consistently dispatch of Tentacruel not expecting a Choice Scarf as well as just being a consistent spammable move. Stone Edge is a strong STAB move that can hit a lot of things really hard. Superpower rounds off the set because of its ability to hit and 2HKO Ferrothorn which slightly annoys this team.
Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 3 Atk / 30 SpA
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Surf
Choice Specs Keldeo provides a huge amount of offense to the team. Scarf Tar's ability to remove most of Keldeo's checks makes this threat even more potent. Hidden Power Electric is used over other options like Ghost as it still hits targets like Jellicent, but sacrifices the ability to hit Latios or Celebi for the ability to hit Tentacruel Super-Effectively. This team prefers this as Tar does not remove Tentacruel as consistently as Latios or Celebi meaning it may still switch in later. Please note that in Rain Hydro Pump still does more than HP Electric.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
- Wish
- U-turn
SpDef Jirachi can switch into a lot of hard hitting Special Attackers and then get back out with U-turn to gain offensive momentum. The main use of Jirachi is to switch into nearly any Alakazam and nearly completely wall it, then click U-turn which will heavily hit Zam or gain moment over whatever switches in, but it can also be used to switch into most other Special Attackers. T-Wave is used over Body Slam on this set to more consistently cripple setup sweepers like Volcarona, Dragonite and Salamence, which otherwise use Jirachi as setup fodder.
Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Iron Head
Excadrill is generally considered the most consisted spinner on Sand, which is its main function on this team. An offensive set is used to be an extra breaker on the team other than Keldeo, as well as decently chunk Ferrothorn. Protecting against Choice users is really useful for this team, as Jirachi or Celebi will generally be able to switch in and handle the majority of attacks thrown at Excadrill's Protect.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Baton Pass
- Recover
- Giga Drain
- Thunder Wave
Celebi has a similar function to Jirachi on this team, however, it switches into different types. Celebi switches into basically everything Keldeo can throw out, besides possibly HP Ghost, which only 2HKOs with hazards + Specs. It can then threaten Keldeo with Giga Drain or other mons with T-Wave, such as setup sweepers. The utility of natural cure is very useful against status users such as Jellicent, which it can also threaten with Giga Drain. Baton Pass is used over U-turn as Celebi really needs to stick around for a while so getting hit with Pursuit from Tyranitar is sub-optimal.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 244 HP / 176 Def / 88 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Lando-T is a very consistent Stealth Rock user as well as switch in against a large number of Physically Offensive threats in the tier. HP ice is used for anything that is 4x weak such as setup Dragon types like Dragonite and Salamence, as well as opposing Lando-T. If an opposing Dragon does successfully setup, it will most likely have to use Outrage to hit Lando meaning while it is locked in a Steel like Jirachi can switch in and damage or Paralyze it.
Threats
Mamoswine has very good coverage to hit a lot of this team really hard. Of course it won't switch into most offensive threats, as Keldeo, Excadrill and Tyranitar all heavily threaten it, however, it can smack Jirachi, Celebi and Lando. Your best bet is to switch in Keldeo or Tyranitar on an Ice Shard or Icicle Crash and threaten it out like that, or stay in on a predicted Earthquake. If Mamoswine makes a correct prediction against most of this team it can be very difficult.
Ferrothorn is generally just a nuisance for a lot of members on this team. Neither Keldeo nor Tyranitar can OHKO it from full and will get hit hard with Power Whip in return and it is very annoying for Excadrill to either Spin or take out Ferro with the combination of Iron Barbs and Leech Seed or Leftovers recovery. Your best bet against Ferrothorn is to slowly weaken it until it is in range of Tyranitar Superpower or Keldeo Secret Sword.
Tentacruel under rain is infamously difficult to kill and this stays true to this team as well. HP Electric from Keldeo hits it decently, and if Paralyzed, Lando and Excadrill can threaten it with fast Earthquakes.
Having a Calm Mind Rueniclus setup on you in BW is probably one of the most disheartening things in my Pokémon experience. Reuniclus on an opponents team should always be kept in mind and should not be given a free switch. Surf from Keldeo always 2HKOs if it starts setting up from +0 and Hydro Pump from +1.
Closing Words
I hope I did well for my first RMT, it was more standard this time but in the future I hope to post more interesting teams on here.
Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 3 Atk / 30 SpA
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Surf
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
- Wish
- U-turn
Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Iron Head
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Baton Pass
- Recover
- Giga Drain
- Thunder Wave
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 244 HP / 176 Def / 88 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 3 Atk / 30 SpA
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Surf
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
- Wish
- U-turn
Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Iron Head
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Baton Pass
- Recover
- Giga Drain
- Thunder Wave
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 244 HP / 176 Def / 88 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ice]
