SM OU Coming back to competitive Pokemon battles after a year

Viraden

Viraden

So I decided that I wanted to play again, cause why not. Anyways I don't think I really know what I'm doing but the team I've used so far has managed to get me into the 1500 so now I've come here for help.

Garchomp @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
- Swords Dance
Really good wall breaker, 96% of the time I never send it out first but I use Garchomp to threaten force switches to gain a edge on my opponent. Poison Jab is just there to catch grass types and Tapu Bulu off guard. Sword Dance to power up and break past walls, and Dragonium Z for a one time nuke to get rid of annoying threats to my team. I'm usally forced to switch often if I try playing this with potential scarfed or faster ice beam/hidden power pokemo on the field.

Greninja @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
EVs: 176 Atk / 80 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Spikes
Has been pretty useful, a really good revenge killer for my team when facing set up sweepers like non mega gyrados or mega charizard X with rock slide. U-turn to keep the momentum on predicted switches. Ice beam cause it is a pretty good coverage move, takes care or tempts other players to switch out their pokemon, and spikes because wearing my opponent down greatly aids in the success of my team. But for the majority of my battles, I don't even end up using spikes, I just use the other three moves so I'm considering changing that.

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 196 SpD / 64 Spe
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
Great Tapu lele check, tanks and eats up physics like they are nothing, and can easily retaliate with wish and u-turn off or just iron head away. Also when I'm low, I can use Healing Wish once Jirachi is useless. A great support pokemon but lately I've been using it more as a Tapu lele check so I'm considering changing healing wish maybe into stealth rocks but I really don't know.

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Volt Switch
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
Offers a nice relief from ground attacks (except Zygarde) and I really needed a hazard removal, cause as I was playing with this team hazards got super annoying for me. Volt switch for momentum and wilo wisp to cripple set up sweepers or defensive pokemon. Pain Split for healing when I'm low. I feel like this guy could change but like I said before I really don't know what I'm doing. Heatran can be a bit of a pain to deal with since I lack hydro pump, so I just volt switch outta there.

Landorus-Therian @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Swords Dance
I found this set to be more fun than I thought, but I learn through the hard way of not getting rid of my opponents defoggers or rapid spinners before using explosion to nuke. This is dead most of the time before even mid game but it always has taken another pokemon out for me so it serves it's job well. Sword Dance for breaking past fat walls, and stealth rocks cause it helps put a lot of pokemon in OHKO range for my team.

Pinsir @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack
I wouldn't say my team lacks speed but greninja is locked into a move once it uses it, so I decided to get a heavy hitting priority abusing nuke. It's been pretty good, takes care of heatran, grass types, and many more pokemon even after just a single sword dance, and after two it becomes nearly unstoppable. Zapados stops it pretty hard though but usually I save it for late game and by then my Landorus or Garchomp has nuked it with Z-Outrage or Explosion, or chip damage has weaked it enough with stealth rocks on the field. In all I really like it.

I'm open for suggestions so please help me.
Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Made some bigger edits I found to be useful

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 196 SpD / 64 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Healing Wish

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp

Tapu Koko @ Electrium Z
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Roost
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn

I completely scratched garchomp, as while it's offensives did help the team in wall breaking, it left me really struggling with skarmory and other bulky pokemon that could take garchomp on, so I went for Tapu Koko which provides a solid special wallbreaker that my team was lacking, easily taking care of zapdos, other water types, and several other flying types.

Now the three biggest pokemon up to debate on their moves is landorus, jirachi, and rotom. I found out defog was interchangeable between lando and rotom, and I felt like I was really wasting lando early game by nuking with explosion, and sometimes explosion didn't get anything done except offer a turn of momentum, which is appreciated but not always the most efficient way to win the match, cause it ended up costing me some wins due to lando being dead. So I went for a more bulkier build with defog instead of rocks since Jirachi will do that for me. However I'm debating leaving rotom the defogger like before (but lando does create a lot of force switches), and if that becomes the case, Lando would get t rocks and jirachi would get wish, but it's all debatable.

So if anyone would like to help me with the fourth move on those particular pokemon please help me. Basically a contest between Landorus-T, Jirachi, and Rotom as to who will set rocks and who will defog.
 
My latest change is the removal of mega pinsir.

Medicham @ Medichamite
Ability: Telepathy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Ice Punch
- Zen Headbutt
I boot kicked pinsir mostly because of several reasons. One, while it was a good wall breaker it was not particularly hard to switch into, which often at times slowed down the momentum for my team since it often forced me to switch. However, Mega Medicham has huge wall breaking potential with high jump kick and pure power, making this move even a nightmare for resistant pokemon to switch into. Also now my team has a way to get chip damage in to allow for other faster pokemon like tapu koko and espeically greninja to revenge kill after, or I can switch rotom or jirachi in for a slower paced volt switch or u-turn. Also now I no longer have to always switch out on Zapdos. However, Blacaeon can still be a prevalent threat to my team if it is not taken care of properly, but usually greninja takes care of blaceon (unless it's one of those z-move speed boosting sets after the kill, then I might really be screwed over if it KO more than 1 of my pokemon before greninja is in). I guess my team has gotten more solid, since I'm in the 1600, but I'm still open to suggestions, thanks :)).
Also I changed jirachi to shiny just to make those who suspect a happy hour z jirachi overthink it.
 
Hello Viraden, nice team! From what I can see, this team seems to revolve around M-Pinsir. Although this pokemon hasn't been getting much love lately, it can still be threatening so it's very nice to see it being used here. However, this team has some flaws such as: an overlapping weakness to Celesteela which is also a big threat to M-Pinsir, the use of unconventional sets that do not necessarily fit here, as well as the lack of a consistent switchin to common offensive threats including but not limited to; Zygarde, Ash-Greninja and Zygarde. These issues mean that your team will mainly struggle against common structures found on common bulky offense due to your lack of ways to consistently pressure some threats or consistently. Thankfully, these issues can be covered without making many major changes. My suggestions are the following:
  • 645-s.png
    ->
    465.png

  • 658.png
    choicescarf.png
    ->
    658-a.png
    choicespecs.png

  • 445.png
    :
    latest
    ->
    latest
    ; Stealth Rock > Poison Jab
  • 385.png
    :
    latest
    ->
    choicescarf.png

  • (optional)
    127-m.png
    : Close Combat > Earthquake
  • (optional)
    479w.png
    :
    latest
    ->
    latest
These changes help against a lot of the issues I outlined above. Tangrowth is the only major change I made to the team and it helps IMMENSELY against Zygarde and Ash-Gren among other things. Rockium Z Garchomp is the best Garchomp set currently and shares amazing offensive synergy with Pinsir since it can lure threats such as Celesteela and Rotom-W which are pretty annoying to Mega Pinsir. As a rocker, Garchomp does a pretty good job because of the pressure it applies on p much every defoggers currently + a lot of common defensive structures, making it a consistent means of keeping hazards on the opponents' field and opening holes on early game. Ash-Gren ,I feel, is better on this build than scarf gren because it can better abuse the team's ability to pressure grass-types, especially with the addition of rockium garchomp. It's also a more consistent way of applying pressure on p much every types of teams, also making it easier to set-up spikes. Scarf rachi may seem like an odd choice here but I feel it does find a place on this build. It's ability to use fast healing wish is a godsend for M-Pinsir to give it a second chance at sweeping, especially since it can be difficult to keep hazards off the field. Also, having a decent switchin to psychic-types that also gives you speed control is just nice in general. CC on Pinsir is just a small nitpick but I just feel like the ability to hit stuff like Ferro while still hitting tran and stuff is pretty good. It's up to you tho. Similarly, Iapapa on Rotom is a small nitpick which is really up to your prference but I just feel like it's p useful considering that Rotom gets worn down quite easily.

If there's anything that's unclear and need some help, feel free to contact me.
Hope I helped, enjoy the team!

Garchomp @ Rockium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock

Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- Spikes

Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Grass Knot
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Earthquake

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers / Iapapa Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Defog

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Fire Punch
- Healing Wish

Pinsir-Mega @ Pinsirite
Ability: Aerilate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Close Combat / Earthquake
- Quick Attack
- Swords Dance
 
MFJK said:
Hello Viraden, nice team! From what I can see, this team seems to revolve around M-Pinsir. Although this pokemon hasn't been getting much love lately, it can still be threatening so it's very nice to see it being used here. However, this team has some flaws such as: an overlapping weakness to Celesteela which is also a big threat to M-Pinsir, the use of unconventional sets that do not necessarily fit here, as well as the lack of a consistent switchin to common offensive threats including but not limited to; Zygarde, Ash-Greninja and Zygarde. These issues mean that your team will mainly struggle against common structures found on common bulky offense due to your lack of ways to consistently pressure some threats or consistently. Thankfully, these issues can be covered without making many major changes. My suggestions are the following:
  • 645-s.png
    ->
    465.png

  • 658.png
    choicescarf.png
    ->
    658-a.png
    choicespecs.png

  • 445.png
    :
    latest
    ->
    latest
    ; Stealth Rock > Poison Jab
  • 385.png
    :
    latest
    ->
    choicescarf.png

  • (optional)
    127-m.png
    : Close Combat > Earthquake
  • (optional)
    479w.png
    :
    latest
    ->
    latest
These changes help against a lot of the issues I outlined above. Tangrowth is the only major change I made to the team and it helps IMMENSELY against Zygarde and Ash-Gren among other things. Rockium Z Garchomp is the best Garchomp set currently and shares amazing offensive synergy with Pinsir since it can lure threats such as Celesteela and Rotom-W which are pretty annoying to Mega Pinsir. As a rocker, Garchomp does a pretty good job because of the pressure it applies on p much every defoggers currently + a lot of common defensive structures, making it a consistent means of keeping hazards on the opponents' field and opening holes on early game. Ash-Gren ,I feel, is better on this build than scarf gren because it can better abuse the team's ability to pressure grass-types, especially with the addition of rockium garchomp. It's also a more consistent way of applying pressure on p much every types of teams, also making it easier to set-up spikes. Scarf rachi may seem like an odd choice here but I feel it does find a place on this build. It's ability to use fast healing wish is a godsend for M-Pinsir to give it a second chance at sweeping, especially since it can be difficult to keep hazards off the field. Also, having a decent switchin to psychic-types that also gives you speed control is just nice in general. CC on Pinsir is just a small nitpick but I just feel like the ability to hit stuff like Ferro while still hitting tran and stuff is pretty good. It's up to you tho. Similarly, Iapapa on Rotom is a small nitpick which is really up to your prference but I just feel like it's p useful considering that Rotom gets worn down quite easily.

If there's anything that's unclear and need some help, feel free to contact me.
Hope I helped, enjoy the team!

Garchomp @ Rockium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock

Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- Spikes

Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Grass Knot
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Earthquake

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers / Iapapa Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Defog

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Fire Punch
- Healing Wish

Pinsir-Mega @ Pinsirite
Ability: Aerilate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Close Combat / Earthquake
- Quick Attack
- Swords Dance
Click to expand...

I'll try the team with the edits and thanks for helping!
 
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