XY OU Defensive with Pressure. (Peaked 1811)

[TheRogerRabbit]

The Team

​

Team Building Process

I started off with standard lead Breloom. I recently had been using Breloom a lot and really liked the poke. It offers a guaranteed sleep/kill 90% of games.

Next, I added Greninja to have more offensive pressure. A Greninja/Breloom core is nothing to be messed with especially with Greninja's spectacular coverage.

After that, I added Heatran for hazards and as a nice Fire-Type immunity. With a Protect/Roar set it is easy to scout Choice users and make the appropriate switch

After Heatran, I added Landorus-Therian. Landorus was virtually the perfect mon to add. Before Landorus, the team really struggled with Charizard-X and mons like scarfed Excadrill which could spam EQ. Landorus can be used as a great physical wall and can still hit hard.

Next, I added Rotom-W. Rotom-W seemed like a good defensive mon to add to the team. With Heatran there, Landorus and Rotom covered it's weaknesses very well. Also, I ran a painsplit set to cripple mons like Chansey.

After Rotom, I added Amoonguss. Amoonguss was really there as a safe switch-in to Rotom-W and the like.

After playing many games with this team, and after facing many a Mega-Medicham; I realized how unbelievably weak my team was to it. Every time my opponent would bring it in on Heatran or Rotom-W (if weakened) or Amoonguss, it got a kill. My solution was to add Slowbro. Slowbro, in my opinion, is probably the best mon in the tier thanks to it's unique typing and it's coverage.

Finally, I gave in and realized that my team needed hazard support. With Breloom being sashed and hazard stacking in general I thought it would be bet to have a defogger. I put on Skarm without Rocks but with taunt instead to cripple stall.

The Team (with sets)

Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Tomb

This is standard lead Breloom. There is really not much else to say. This Poke is basically a guaranteed sleep/kill. If you come lead against something slower than you, you basically get a free sleep. This pokemon also forces a lot of switches and can get easy kills on things like Greninja and Azumarill. Also, predicting switches with Rock Tomb is usually quite easy and help you pick up and extra kill on things like Talonflame and Charizard.

Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Rock Slide
- Dark Pulse

Ah, Greninja. The Sonic of the Pokemon world. This thing partnered with Breloom makes for a very solid Offensive Core. With Greninja's coverage, this pokemon can easily sweep half a team if it is presented the opportunity. Also, Rock Slide is on there in order to pick up an easy kill on Zard-Y. This originally had Hidden Power Fire on it to counter Ferrothorn but I decided I already had Heatran and Slowbro with Fire Blast.

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Roar
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume

I needed to throw on Heatran. It covered a Fire-Type Weakness in Breloom and is a great SpD wall all around. It also takes on Talonflame which is a nice bonus. This also provides my teams Hazards which are vital. I have Protect on Heatran to scout choice users and find an appropriate switch. Also, having Roar forces extra hazard damage.

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Toxic

Landorus paired with Heatran makes for a very good defensive core. Also, Landorus handles a lot of offensive threats with great bulk and Intimidate. Landorus also applies good offensive pressure with a base 145 attack stat. Also, U-Turn is there for momentum if you want to predict a switch. Rock Slide i for Talonflame mostly and all other birds.

Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Defog
- Taunt
- Brave Bird

Skarmory was the most recent addition to this team. 24 Speed evs is needed to outspeed Wobbuffet (lol). Also, I decided to run Taunt on this Skarmory to break stall against Chanseys and Wishers. Roost is there for recovery. Defog is there for hazards in general. Also, having a breloom that has it's sash preserved is nice no matter who you are playing. Brave bird is there for damage and stuff.

Slowbro @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpA
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Shadow Ball
- Psyshock
- Fire Blast

This is the Mega-Medicham check. With this EV spread you can easily 2HKO a Mega Medicham with Shadow Ball and switch in to Hi Jump Kicks. This coverage lets you hit virtually everything for at least neutral damage. Also having Regenerator is nice so you don't get dented too much by Medicham. Assault Vest also lets you have very good bulk on both sides.

THREAT LIST​

• Red indicates a very big threat to the team that is relatively hard to handle.
• Orange indicates a pretty big threat that can break the team if given the opportunity.
• Green Indicates a neutral threat that some members of the team struggle with.

Azumarill​

Some members of the team struggle with pressuring Azumarill offensively. The best way to deal with it is Breloom. That's about it.

Bisharp
Bisharp is quite easy for this team to handle. Breloom will out speed if it is adamant and OHKO with Mach Punch. Also, even while giving it +1 Attack Landorus can also deal with it.

Conkeldurr
Conkeldurr poses a big threat to this team especially if it is holding the Assault Vest. Only one poke can damage it well and that is Slowbro. If not, you have to play around with roosts with Skarm and kill with Brave Bird.

Mega-Gardevoir
This team struggles with Mega Gard. It is much worse when Breloom's sash is broken. The best way to handle is to eat some hits with Heatran and then come in and Shadow Ball it with Slowbro.

Gyarados/Mega-Gyarados
This pokemon is only a problem if it has bounce. Other than that, Breloom can handle it pretty well and if it is mega you can Mach Punch it.

Keldeo
Usually people will bring Keldeo in on Heatran. More often than not, Keldeos are choiced. You can just protect and switch in whatever you want.

Kyurem-Black
This pokemon is always a threat. Especially to this team. It's mixed set is definitely the biggest problem and is very hard to play around.

Mega-Medicham
Threat numero uno. The only switch in is Slowbro. You can try to protect with tran, but that can end badly.

Talonflame
This team really doesn't struggle with Talonflame. But you should always be prepared.

Thundurus
Thundurus is dangerous if you are not careful. The only thing to outspeed is Greninja. But Tran can take it on pretty well.

That's it! I hope you guys like the thread. Please let me know how I can improve. Thanks!
-Roger​

 

[MegaMogwai]

Mega Heracross is a huge threat to your team too bro :P

Sup Roger! Nice to see you around here. I like your team. Outstanding defensive core filled with annoying fatness haha. But seriously, it's well built, i'm not particularly experienced in constructing defensive teams, but it seems like you got a way to deal with the 3 most threatning wall-breakers in the metagame (mega heracross, gardevoir and medicham). I also like how you can also pressure offensively with greninja, which is one of the best checks available to opposing offensive teams.

I'm not too keen on AV Slowbro though, I think that perhaps a variant with leftovers and slack off would be more efficient. Also a mon with access to heal bell/aromatherapy/wish is something that you may miss out on, since only one of your 4 defensive mons has access to reliable recovery.

Unfortunately that's all I can come up with now, it's kinda late and I need more time to slowly analyze the team and such to see if there are any glaring weaknesses that i'm unaware of, cause team synergy does seem to be present. :]

 

[Nurse JoyDivision]

something really fast with bolt beam coverage could really put a dent in this team. like HP ice manectric or even Starmie with bolt beam and a water move for heatran (although i have no idea how common that is in OU lel). and yeah Mega Medicham with the right coverage looks like the biggest threat to ur team along with Thundurus if Greninja is gone. other than that this looks like a really cool team. nice :] <3

 

[MegaMogwai]

Yep, Nurse is right. Forget Mega Medicham, Mega Manectric is a tremendous threat to your team, all it needs is to wear down your heatran and then it completely sweeps you (since Heatran lacks reliable recovery, he cannot wall Manectric forever). That's the whole issue i'm implying, for such a defensive team, the lack of reliable recovery is kind of big, I hate to say it but perhaps Chansey (ugh, lol) is a good option for this team.

 

[Nurse JoyDivision]

That's the whole issue i'm implying, for such a defensive team, the lack of reliable recovery is kind of big, I hate to say it but perhaps Chansey (ugh, lol) is a good option for this team.

lmao thought i'd never see the day mogwai would recommend chansey haha

 

[Jacks0n]

Hey TheRogerRabbit, nice team but I see a few changes that will be able to help the overall function, giving it more momentum, power, and a better match up vs stall, because right now you're match up vs stall is honerundus. Greninja + Breloom are very fast-paced, offensive pokemon. With Pokemon such as Slowbro and Skarmory on you're team, you loose the momentum those two pokemon would give you. I also do not understand you're landorus set, if you are not using Stealth rock you should be using a scarf. To give yourself more momentum and power you should use Latias > Skarmory, Scarf Landorus-Therian > defensive leftovers and Mega Gardevoir > Slowbro. You should also give Heatran 40 Speed Ev's to outspeed max speed Azumarill, and then you should give heatran will-o-wisp over roar to hit azumarill, which is very dangerous for your team. You should also give Greninja Hidden Power [Grass] > rock slide, because azumarill can switch into greninja otherwise and spam its stabs.

Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Evs: 252 Spa / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Healing Wish

This Latias will do so much more to your team than Skarmory. Skarmory will just sap away at all momentum your team would give you, giving your oponents many free switch ins. This latias will be able to provide offensive pressure, defog and heal your offensive pokemon, as in Breloom/garde/lando t/gren to full health for them to be able to continue to pummel your opositions team.

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge / Superpower
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Scarf Landorus-Therian is so amazing at the moment. It can check sand offence, ddance sweepers, birds ect. Scarf landorus Therian brings power, momentum and speed to you're team. Wether you use stone edge or superpower is wether you find mega gyara or birds more dangerous to you're team.

Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 24 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Taunt

Your match up is horrendous vs stall, any good stall team would have the capability to 6-0 you. Mega gardevoir smash through stall, especially when modest and this will greatly help your match up vs stall. It is also a great switch into the Lati's to be able to fire of its ridiculously powerful stabs. 24 Defence is to avoid the 2ohko of Latios's psyshock after rocks.

These should really help your team, all the best!

 

[PokefanAidan]

Reality sinks in as I give up testing this team. I'm not a stall player so this critique may not be all that constructive. It's well constructed and handles balanced and offensive teams well, but lacks ANY sort of offensive momentum. For a stall team, that may be well and fine, but this team loses outright to any stall team even remotely fatter than yours if the players are equal in skill. Bear in mind I'm no OU expert, but this team, aside from Skarm's Taunt, has no real way of dealing with the fatter walls of the meta.

Your wall core is very well constructed. When picking the offensive mons, I would have picked something with more offensive presence than Greninja/Breloom. Yeah Spore's great utility but what you need is a nuke or two to force your opponent to give up defensive momentum. I would run Thundurus and Mega-Medicham personally. Thundy's T-Wave and Megachams horrendous power would work well to steal momentum from your opponent while at the same time providing a much needed boost in offensive presence. If you really want an offensive mon with power that synergizes well with your team, you may try MegaZard X as well.

And, finally, AV Slowbro, though near and dear to my heart, is suboptimal as the only thing it really deals with is Mega-Medicham honestly. You'd probably be better off with Leftovers and Slack Off as the threat of a Scald burn will often be enough to scare off Mega-Medicham. I'm new-ish to competitive battling and tried to present my criticisms in the most polite, yet straightforward way I could. Hope this helps.