ORAS OU Couple of Classics│Balance

[Davon]

Intro
Hello frens, some of you may know me as an xynu'er (shoutout to everybody who hangs out in the NU chatroom!), but I like playing many different tiers actually and experimenting with different mons in every tier. Before I jumped into the oras ou meta i heard of a couple threats, so I built around countering them as best as I could. The team has a couple of classics from adv ou which is pretty cool. So here is my first oras ou team:

Preview

Teambuilding Process

- First pokemon on the list is suicune. The reason I chose suicune is because I know that greninjas don't typically run grass knot anymore, so I knew suicune would be a solid switch in to it. Starting with suicune means that I'm gonna have a bulky team.

- sceptile is an interesting addition to the team because suicune is seen on defensive teams and sceptile is seen on offensive teams, so it looks like the team play style is gonna be some sort of balance. I added sceptile because it's a perfect partner for suicune, it causes constant 50/50s against thundurus which gives more slack for suicune.

- I added heatran because it was the start of a standard.fwg core. Heatran was my flying type resist which is pretty much mandatory on every team, even if you don't have a sceptile or any flying weak mon.

- zapdos was added because I wanted a pokemon that resists flying, is immune to/resists ground, and isn't setup bait for salamence. Zapdos is my defogger which is useful when I am against spike stacking teams, a common way of wearing suicune down is through hazard stacking, and in general defog is good for bulkier teams.

- clefable was added because I already had 3 steel resists and needed a special wall anyways. Clefable is great for luring in ferrothorn so suicune doesn't have to deal with leech seed late game. Clefable is also a good switch in to kyurem black which threatens this team quite a bit with sub and assault vest variants.

- landorus therian is just a great mon in this metagame, it checks so many things with a scarf. It's immediate speed is why I use it with sceptile because sceptile needs a turn to be super fast. Landorus therian tends to bring in skarmory which if I uturn on the switch there are plenty of things I can go into.

- replacing jirachi with heatran makes me less weak to excadrill, since landorus isn't defensive I don't really like to use it as a pivot. Jirachi outspeeds exca and can use fire punch on it. Jirachi also adds a rock resist which I didn't have before. I like jirachi better because it threatens last mon clefable more aggressively with iron head rather than heatran constantly having to roar.

The Team

Procune (Suicune) @

Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Calm Mind

The Suicune set I'm using is the popular crocune set. The reason I chose to use crocune is because it beats mono attacking slowbro by pressure stalling it and because crocune can wall greninja without grass knot. Suicune is a very key ice resist for this team so it can switch into mamoswine's ice shard aimed at sceptile and landorus-t. Suicune is also an okay switch in to metagross's meteor mash and suicune threatens a scald burn on metagross. Suicune is usually my win condition against mega sableye stall. What I'm trying to get at is Suicune is really underrated in the current meta and should be a staple on most balanced/stall teams.

Car Insurance (Sceptile) @

Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Giga Drain
- Dragon Pulse
- Focus Blast
- Substitute

Mega Sceptile is such a threat to offense. It outspeeds almost everything, even some scarfers like adamant landorus-t which can whittle my own landorus-t and zapdos, which I need to keep zapdos healthy for mega salamence. Grass + dragon + fighting is really solid coverage for OU, it allows Sceptile to check some of the big threats like Keldeo, Lati@s, mega Lopunny, Greninja, +6 Azumarill which can setup on clefable and Landorus-T of it's locked into knock off, Garchomp, and it can counter Rotom-W and get a free sub. Mega Sceptile is really useful for electric types that try to hit Suicune, and often times I can stay in and setup with Suicune as they try playing around mega Sceptile. The reason I use focus blast instead of hp fire is so I don't get outspeed by beedrill and other mega sceptiles, hitting heatran with focus blast gives jirachi more leeway, and because scizor is not too big of a threat to this team.

Hax IMO (Jirachi) @

Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Atk / 160 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- Toxic
- Substitute

Sub Toxic Jirachi is really great for switching into Lati@s and their mega forms. I run enough speed to outspeed jolly excadrill so I can life orb stall it into fire punch range. It's also useful for switching into Metagross that run grass knot instead of earthquake, where grass knot variants can get past suicune. 252 hp is for 404 subs, it's good because Rotom-W's volt switch can't break the sub after it tries to will-o-wisp my initial switch in to Rotom-W (which is sceptile). Jirachi is a great switch in to clefable and sylveon which wall/hit sceptile with fairy STAB. Jirachi also checks mega diancie which is a threat if it rock polishes since it will outspeed scarf lando. Toxic is just all around useful for extra residual when flinching with iron head or trying to wear down a wall. This set is walled by Heatran but that's okay because it's a free switch for Suicune. Jirachi is another ice resist which is useful for mamoswine's ice shard aimed at sceptile and lando, and rachi can 2hko mamoswine with iron head.

Binky (Zapdos) @

Ability: Pressure
EVs: 192 HP / 252 Def / 64 Spe
Bold Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
- Defog

Zapdos is my mega Mence and flying check. 192 hp is a lefties number then I maxed out defense then put the rest in speed. Defog is for when I'm against hazard stack which will affect Suicune and Jirachi's bulk more than I want. The reason I chose Zapdos over Skarmory was because Zapdos can't be trapped and we all know how common Magnezone is now. Using Zapdos over Skarmory also means I don't get last monned by sub roost Mence. Two mons with pressure also means double the pressure stall :]

Freeze Me (Clefable) @

Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Fire Blast
- Soft-Boiled
- Stealth Rock

Clefable is the rocker. Having sr clefable also brings heatran in so suicune can setup or get damage on it for later. Sr pressures talonflame and zard which I don't have dedicated checks/counters for. Sr is good for bringing in common defoggers like skarmory and lati@s because they'll get skarmory weakened trying to defog which is good for landorus-t later in the game, and lati@s being weakened is good because it takes pressure off Jirachi which doesn't have healing besides leftovers. I named it freeze me cuz not even joking kyurem black always freezes it. Fire blast is useful for not giving megagross a free switch.

Doge #2 (Landorus-Therian) (M) @

Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Scarf Lando is one of the best mons right now for some good reasons. Lando is my check to beedrill, a safer check to mega lopunny, and it can outspeed and kill mega diancie. 212 speed is for outspeeding mega lopunny specifically. Lando is also a soft check to talonflame which can do some damage to my team given the opportunity. Using scarf lando also means I can check if greninja has grass knot when suicune is on the field. Being locked into earthquake, knock off, or stone edge isn't the end of the world because of this team's defensive back bone. You have clefable/sceptile for ferrothorn when you're locked into stone edge, zapdos for mega Mence, and clefable for conkelldur when lando is locked into knock off.


Conclusion
Thank you for reading my rmt ^_^
I've peaked at 12 on the ladder with this team, I was hoping to reach number 1 which I'm sure this team is capable of doing, but haven't had the time. If you reaaaaalllly want proof of my peak just look at the end of this rmt. No shoutouts, fuck yall. Feel free to spam this team on the ladder if you like :]

Procune (Suicune) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Calm Mind

Car Insurance (Sceptile) @ Sceptilite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Giga Drain
- Dragon Pulse
- Focus Blast
- Substitute

Hax IMO (Jirachi) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Atk / 160 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- Toxic
- Substitute

Binky (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 192 HP / 252 Def / 64 Spe
Bold Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
- Defog

Freeze Me (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Fire Blast
- Soft-Boiled
- Stealth Rock

Doge #2 (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Knock Off

 

[silver97]

This teams seems pretty good, i have some suggestions to see if i can improve it further.
At a first glance you seem to be very prepared to offense, while your only answer to stall is suicune. Imo CM clefable is more effective than suicune, so i suggest replacing stealth rock with cm and go Fully physically defensive and also replace suicune with another fat water: alomomola. Mola checks similar things and given an appreciated wish support. Jirachi is not that reliable as an exca check, furthermore mola and lando-t can check it quite well, so i would turn rachi into specially defensive as it checks ninja decently; subtoxic can work, but to check ninja more efficiently twave is prolly better.
Hope i was helpful :]

Hide

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower
- Soft-Boiled

Alomomola @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Toxic
- Wish
- Protect

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Iron Head
- U-turn

 

[Davon]

This teams seems pretty good, i have some suggestions to see if i can improve it further.
At a first glance you seem to be very prepared to offense, while your only answer to stall is suicune. Imo CM clefable is more effective than suicune, so i suggest replacing stealth rock with cm and go Fully physically defensive and also replace suicune with another fat water: alomomola. Mola checks similar things and given an appreciated wish support. Jirachi is not that reliable as an exca check, furthermore mola and lando-t can check it quite well, so i would turn rachi into specially defensive as it checks ninja decently; subtoxic can work, but to check ninja more efficiently twave is prolly better.
Hope i was helpful :]

Hide

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower
- Soft-Boiled

Alomomola @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Toxic
- Wish
- Protect

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Iron Head
- U-turn

Thx for the suggestions!
I feel like taking away Jirachi's speed makes me really weak to spdef stallbreaker talonflame, and alomomola also makes me weaker to Stallbreakers and makes it so Crobro can 6-0 me. Having stealth rock on Clefable is actually really key against stall since stall teams depend on mega sableye to bounce back rocks.

 

[Albacore]

Very good team you have here, not too much to add. Honestly, I don't think you can really improve this team too much, and really the only things I have to say are minor nitpicks but here goes anyway :

- I think you can get away with running a spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD with on Clefable. The 2 main reasons for the spread you're currently running is, or rather was, the ability to properly counter Thundurus and Greninja. Greninja runs Gunk Shot now so that spread doesn't beat it anymore, and you don't really seem weak to Thundurus (you have one very good switchin in Jirachi and 2 solid checks). Just running max physical defense lets you better take on physical attackers like Terrakion, Heracross, Gallade (all big threats to your team especially the last 2), etc... in general. That being said, the added special defense does let you deal with Life Orb Kyurem-B, although I'm not sure how common that set is, it is pretty threatening for your team, so this one is completely up to you.

- Another option would be making Clefable Unaware : while you do lose the ability to shake off any passive damage, it does give you a way to beat Mega-Heracross, Mega-Gallade, and Stored Power Mega-Latias, which can be very troublesome if you let them set up (you can slow down MHera with Lando-T and pivot to something else, but something still has to take a hit given that Lando-T outspeeds). It also lets you deal with CM MSableye a bit better. Unfortunately, Softboiled is incompatible with Unaware, so you need to run Moonlight, which is pretty annoying due to its low PP. You also need to run Calm Mind on it to actually beat SP MLatias, which makes it hard to fit Stealth Rocks on it (though I guess you can try and fit them on Jirachi, but that hampers the effectiveness of the SubToxic set overall).

- Charizard-Y, although quite rare in ORAS, looks like a huge problem for your team. Clefable and Landorus-T locked into EQ give it completely free switchins, and can put you into immense trouble. One way to deal with this is to run Latias>Zapdos, however I no not recommend this in the current metagame, since that meams you lose to MMence. I would only consider this change after MMence's ban.

Otherwise, this is really an excellent team, and all of its flaws are really minor, so good job!

 

[Davon]

Very good team you have here, not too much to add. Honestly, I don't think you can really improve this team too much, and really the only things I have to say are minor nitpicks but here goes anyway :

- I think you can get away with running a spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD with on Clefable. The 2 main reasons for the spread you're currently running is, or rather was, the ability to properly counter Thundurus and Greninja. Greninja runs Gunk Shot now so that spread doesn't beat it anymore, and you don't really seem weak to Thundurus (you have one very good switchin in Jirachi and 2 solid checks). Just running max physical defense lets you better take on physical attackers like Terrakion, Heracross, Gallade (all big threats to your team especially the last 2), etc... in general. That being said, the added special defense does let you deal with Life Orb Kyurem-B, although I'm not sure how common that set is, it is pretty threatening for your team, so this one is completely up to you.

- Another option would be making Clefable Unaware : while you do lose the ability to shake off any passive damage, it does give you a way to beat Mega-Heracross, Mega-Gallade, and Stored Power Mega-Latias, which can be very troublesome if you let them set up (you can slow down MHera with Lando-T and pivot to something else, but something still has to take a hit given that Lando-T outspeeds). It also lets you deal with CM MSableye a bit better. Unfortunately, Softboiled is incompatible with Unaware, so you need to run Moonlight, which is pretty annoying due to its low PP. You also need to run Calm Mind on it to actually beat SP MLatias, which makes it hard to fit Stealth Rocks on it (though I guess you can try and fit them on Jirachi, but that hampers the effectiveness of the SubToxic set overall).

- Charizard-Y, although quite rare in ORAS, looks like a huge problem for your team. Clefable and Landorus-T locked into EQ give it completely free switchins, and can put you into immense trouble. One way to deal with this is to run Latias>Zapdos, however I no not recommend this in the current metagame, since that meams you lose to MMence. I would only consider this change after MMence's ban.

Otherwise, this is really an excellent team, and all of its flaws are really minor, so good job!

Thx for the suggestions!
For now I'm going to keep the ev spread on Clefable. Clefable is a nice middle ground for thundurus since landorus-t and sceptile are 4x weak to hp ice. Also, this team lacks a specially defensive pokemon so I'd like to keep it just incase I do come across gunk shot-less greninjas.
Unaware is an interesting option, but I think I'm gonna keep magic guard so I can pivot around easier. Thx for the suggestions tho, they're really great.

 

[Rosen]

i very much like the build of this team overall, but i would definitely clean up a few things.

one is jirachi. i love jirachi, but relying on outspeeding so you can fire punch it makes me cringe, expecially since most jolly excadrill happen to be scarved, whereas the rest (aka the majority) are sand rush variants that jirachi dies to. also hoping to get a switch in against metagross after scouting for grass knot and hoping it doesn't have earthquake is also really shaky. fortunately there is a similar mon that more reliably handles what you say you want jirachi to:

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bronzong performs much better as a whole here, as sand rush excadrill can't touch it, heatran can't switch in, mega diancie can't even hope to leave a mark on it (remember, she learns earth power), it still murders all the fairies jirachi does, kills sceptile, etc... you become more vulnerable to being burned by rotom, yes, but this is trivial in comparison to the very large benefits gained as a result (plus, you can still toxic stall with protect). the set:

Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 28 Def / 232 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Protect

rest of it looks really nice, good job

 

[yoloburn]

this team looks amazing and really looking forward to trying it out

thanks for sharing

 

[Scotti]

Really solid and cool team Davon. I was laddering with it a few days ago, to get the feel of the ORAS meta and it helped a lot. However, I noticed that this team has some trouble with rain teams.

Zapdos, Suicune, and Sceptile all help vs rain, but swift swim mons outspeed sceptile and do big damage. Kingdra in my opinion is the hardest to stop because your only truly safe switch in is suicune, and it loses to specs kingdra. Rain Dance - Rest - Hydration Manaphy is also really annoying to face, and the tail glow set is really threatening. This is a wierd change, but I feel like ferrothorn or empoleon would be better over jirachi. They both give rocks which free up a moveset on clefable which is nice, but if you want to keep rocks on clefable then its fine. Empoleon also counter greninja which could be a problem to this team, and ferrothorn can check greninja. Both work really well imo.

Hide

Ferrothorn set is standard.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 192 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Protect
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed

Empoleon Set

Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Roar
- Ice Beam

The team is really good, and you don't really need to make this change if you don't want to, but i find it helpful against some of the rain teams on the ladder. I hope I helped somewhat :]