OU DPP OU Teambuilding Competition

[Aristrea01]

https://pokepast.es/2e11b0b8be2cbd84
A fun little concept I've been messing around with recently, CM luca pairs surprisingly well with DD gyara, and head smash phan is really good at punishing flying types and attempts to block spin.

 

[Warped Worlds]

https://pokepast.es/3c1dd064fbd9b94f

Team Description

This is a physical offense team that uses Magnezone as an enabler. I chose Scarf Magnezone since the speed makes it useful when it isn't trapping something. The Donphan is one of the potential TR beneficiaries, along with CB Tar.

Taunt is solid in general on Gyarados for defensive Latias and other defensive threats. Substitute is another good move since it can ward off various status moves and weaker attacks, making it useful against Body Slam Jirachi. Bulky Gyarados was chosen since the team needs a sturdier fighter resist and a better switch into fighters and Scizor. If the Scizor is a Bulky Roost SD set, Magnezone can trap it with HP Fire.

I went with double scarf since this team would be too slow otherwise. You need the speed so you aren't weak to pokemon like Infernape/Mix Flygon/Gengar/DD Gyara etc. Magnezone is too slow to count as a real scarfer.

Healing Wish is great here since the entire team appreciates a heal, but I like Surf since Tyranitar and Scizor almost always switch into Latias.

Even though this team has TR, Thunder Wave on Magnezone is still good to cripple Jirachi and other annoying pokemon when needed.

SR can work on Donphan instead of Tyranitar, but Ice Shard and Head Smash looked too useful to pass up.

 

[aerialace110]

Offensive Donphan awesome. It can really and empower some amazing stuff and has so many options!


This is my favourite Porygon-Z team to date. I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to Student of Sinnoh and mikellazzo for helping me in building this team. Student of Sinnoh especially, gave a lot of support in putting this team together and I don't think I would have been able to come up with this team without him.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2579844488?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2580520381-qj35oq6c15ffxde1n8xomft1q2utf1xpw?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2578536649-mdom514yakl5lhtdu1mrg6v6d77oaompw

Build Process

==>

==>

This team does a lot of damage. I think that's the best description for this team.

 

[steve22]

Fantastic team featuring a very offensive donphan set. Basically, everything is a wallbreaker, and all of the sets are extremely surprising. It is really difficult to get yourself oriented against this team, and it has a ton of speed and power to blow past most walls, and outspeed/ko dders before they get set up. Swampert and starmie get completely cooked by that donphan with regularity. Clefable finds itself trying to switch into gyara. This lead infernape forces a lot of uncomfortable switches and just doesn't lose much.

 

[afterburn]

These days I’m trying to play this game as little as possible because every time I pick it up and I enjoy it a ton and then hax sends me down a rabbit hole of tilt and tunnel vision… especially this post spore ban meta is mad entertaining. Dpp is all I play and this sub forum all I follow on Smogon really

I went through a phase about a year and a half or two ago where I kept spamming trick room + gravity + dumb strong eq users or serial slow missers. Here is a version with Donphan. I’m very happy for my boy’s offensive skills finally being recognized. Such a sweet movepool with a more than decent attack stat.

Here it is:

https://pokepast.es/e662d7af35041dc3

Yes it can be optimized further, quite a bit, but I had something for this exact theme and thought I’d share. TR + gravity and eq all. This similar team has been Marowak’s home whenever he comes up to OU to play, but unlike Wak, Donphan is far more bulky and no priority or physical attack is gonna bring him down easy as he goes on an EQ spree for a few turns.. ofc with less attack

Weavile is there to trap Lati and Rotom when gravity isn’t up, Magneton for revenge killing and skarm- giving you some options when gravity isn’t there.

 

[Dridri457]

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2583179138-5th8mir73gf4j0pq2j4btqqm9874uiqpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2583190607-q9fsd4djivyhf51t4bii6dodeomfmtspw
https://pokepast.es/049c2709d5b7548b

infernape tend to bring out flying mons and starmie which then allows ttar to do some trappings which make it easier for donphan to make some damage, gliscor kinda double on ground/rock offense, trying to weaken some skarm with +2 fire fang, empo is cool to switch and pressure the waters coming into gliscor/donphan, shuca so it can gk pert, maybe some speed would be nice on it for pert, but for now i tried like this, lati helps to wish something later if needed and revenge kill dd gyara if necessary.
with those off stats, donphan can destroy gyara trying to set up on it, with head smash +ice shard, u have a decent chance to kill gyara from full with intimidate, (sand or any chip makes it much easier, head smash-1 doing 82-97 and ice shard 10-13).

 

[mackie]

i have an offensive donphan team that i had success with in the dpp winter seasonal (if i recall i beat Vulpix03 in my first match with the team before he won the next two in the bo3 - too bad i didnt save the replay) also i think i beat tycarter and dex with it

i dont want to share it now since i want to use it in the dpp global championship - ill just say that it uses expert belt sets and what not to surprise the opponent to take out skarmory so that donphan can sweep easier

just using the vulpix guy as an example since he is still in the seasonal and he may even win the tournament so the fact that the team has a win over him is justification to the team being a good team

 

[Gingerbread_22]

https://pokepast.es/5da25a3768ea0152

Finally got my dumb ass over 1500 with this hazardless FWG team, which coincidentally uses max attack Donphan quite effectively.

Gyara lead puts immediate pressure on the opponent and guarantees it’s in at least once w/o running into rocks. Lum helps it against stuff that tries to para or burn it, like Rachi or Celebi. Tried a few things here, most notably DD Dnite, but found myself wanting both EQ and Fire Punch w/o wanting to give up ESpeed or Outrage.

Had to run a team with Infernape since it’s my fav mon. Standard mixed set with Overheat over Fire Blast for the better power and accuracy, after which you can U-Turn out to reset the SpA drop. EBelt is a nice power upgrade over Lefties without destroying your health every time you want to pivot when using LO. This thing dropping to 30+ on the VR just a few years ago was absolutely ridiculous tbh, it’s still good and only on the rise w/ the recent bans.

SuperCune is a ton of fun and the best answer to DD Gyara. Great check to the water and ice attacks that threaten Donphan. Stuff like Starmie, opposing Suicune, Breloom, and Latias struggle to do much after a CM. Being a steel resist helps too.

ScarfTar is fantastic against a lot of things that threaten Nape and Gyara, including Rotom, Latias, Gengar, and Starmie. Also dispatches ghosts to allow Donphan to spin hazards when need be. FB is mainly for Skarm, along with Forretress and Scizor.

Donphan itself has the second-strongest non-banded EQ in the tier, only behind Mamo, which allows it to clear plenty of things in 1 or 2 hits that would otherwise take 2 or 3 with the defensive set (Ttar, Meta, Scizor, Rachi, etc). Rapid Spin does its usual job, which Gyara especially appreciates. Ice Shard is huge, making a healthy Donphan your best option against DD Dnite (2HKO even thru Yache after sand). It’s great against Loom, Celebi, Flygon, and can pick off weakened Latias or Zapdos too. Assurance is in the last slot for ghosts, able to break defensive Rotom’s sub in 1 hit, 2 if burned, which Ice Shard/non-max attack Assurance cannot do, while Assurance -> IS also takes out Gengar after sand. Head Smash is fun but it’s a LOT of recoil and isn’t the most accurate.

Nasty Plot Celebi rounds out the FWG core really nicely, giving up coverage on dragons and doubling down against steels w/ Earth Power and HP Fire. Its natural bulk lets you live +2 BP from Scizor and OHKO back w/ HP Fire. Leaf Storm has the power to deal with a chipped Gyara or Cune, remove Starmie and Hippo, and take a chunk out of most switch-ins. This thing WILL set up in front of your Clefable, w/ Lefties for Seismic Toss and Natural Cure for TWave. Even Blissey gets 2HKO’d by LS when at +4 after sand.

Only replay I’ve got where Donphan is used much, but it picks up several KO’s here: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2589424104-34f6q08b1kjyxqjlwoawkyrmjqssc89pw

 

[mackie]

https://pokepast.es/5da25a3768ea0152

Finally got my dumb ass over 1500 with this hazardless FWG team, which coincidentally uses max attack Donphan quite effectively.

Gyara lead puts immediate pressure on the opponent and guarantees it’s in at least once w/o running into rocks. Lum helps it against stuff that tries to para or burn it, like Rachi or Celebi. Tried a few things here, most notably DD Dnite, but found myself wanting both EQ and Fire Punch w/o wanting to give up ESpeed or Outrage.

Had to run a team with Infernape since it’s my fav mon. Standard mixed set with Overheat over Fire Blast for the better power and accuracy, after which you can U-Turn out to reset the SpA drop. EBelt is a nice power upgrade over Lefties without destroying your health every time you want to pivot when using LO. This thing dropping to 30+ on the VR just a few years ago was absolutely ridiculous tbh, it’s still good and only on the rise w/ the recent bans.

SuperCune is a ton of fun and the best answer to DD Gyara. Great check to the water and ice attacks that threaten Donphan. Stuff like Starmie, opposing Suicune, Breloom, and Latias struggle to do much after a CM. Being a steel resist helps too.

ScarfTar is fantastic against a lot of things that threaten Nape and Gyara, including Rotom, Latias, Gengar, and Starmie. Also dispatches ghosts to allow Donphan to spin hazards when need be. FB is mainly for Skarm, along with Forretress and Scizor.

Donphan itself has the second-strongest non-banded EQ in the tier, only behind Mamo, which allows it to clear plenty of things in 1 or 2 hits that would otherwise take 2 or 3 with the defensive set (Ttar, Meta, Scizor, Rachi, etc). Rapid Spin does its usual job, which Gyara especially appreciates. Ice Shard is huge, making a healthy Donphan your best option against DD Dnite (2HKO even thru Yache after sand). It’s great against Loom, Celebi, Flygon, and can pick off weakened Latias or Zapdos too. Assurance is in the last slot for ghosts, able to break defensive Rotom’s sub in 1 hit, 2 if burned, which Ice Shard/non-max attack Assurance cannot do, while Assurance -> IS also takes out Gengar after sand. Head Smash is fun but it’s a LOT of recoil and isn’t the most accurate.

Nasty Plot Celebi rounds out the FWG core really nicely, giving up coverage on dragons and doubling down against steels w/ Earth Power and HP Fire. Its natural bulk lets you live +2 BP from Scizor and OHKO back w/ HP Fire. Leaf Storm has the power to deal with a chipped Gyara or Cune, remove Starmie and Hippo, and take a chunk out of most switch-ins. This thing WILL set up in front of your Clefable, w/ Lefties for Seismic Toss and Natural Cure for TWave. Even Blissey gets 2HKO’d by LS when at +4 after sand.

Only replay I’ve got where Donphan is used much, but it picks up several KO’s here: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2589424104-34f6q08b1kjyxqjlwoawkyrmjqssc89pw

just want to mention that fwg cores are more effective in uu since we have latias in ou
tar is your answer for that use case here

 

[Jhall99]

just want to mention that fwg cores are more effective in uu since we have latias in ou
tar is your answer for that use case here

TBF, Latias isn’t the complete bane against FWG, though Heatran is mandatory as your fire type due to Heatran’s superior defense, power, & utility over Infernape. (Also bc Heatran is the #1 best Jirachi check)

On Ape teams, I usually run type overlap (Double Fighters or Fire, maybe both), U-Turn spam, Azelf HO, or hazard stack. I tried making FWG Infernape teams, but I gave up & realized they work better on balance teams.

 

[mackie]

TBF, Latias isn’t the complete bane against FWG, though Heatran is mandatory as your fire type due to Heatran’s superior defense, power, & utility over Infernape. (Also bc Heatran is the #1 best Jirachi check)

On Ape teams, I usually run type overlap (Double Fighters or Fire, maybe both), U-Turn spam, Azelf HO, or hazard stack. I tried making FWG Infernape teams, but I gave up & realized they work better on balance teams.

true, but fwg is way more common in uu (arcanine/venusaur/milotic for example) however that trio of pokemon would never work in ou primarily due to latias (of course other factors but latias is the first pokemon that comes to mind)

 

[Jhall99]

https://pokepast.es/5da25a3768ea0152

Finally got my dumb ass over 1500 with this hazardless FWG team, which coincidentally uses max attack Donphan quite effectively.

Gyara lead puts immediate pressure on the opponent and guarantees it’s in at least once w/o running into rocks. Lum helps it against stuff that tries to para or burn it, like Rachi or Celebi. Tried a few things here, most notably DD Dnite, but found myself wanting both EQ and Fire Punch w/o wanting to give up ESpeed or Outrage.

Had to run a team with Infernape since it’s my fav mon. Standard mixed set with Overheat over Fire Blast for the better power and accuracy, after which you can U-Turn out to reset the SpA drop. EBelt is a nice power upgrade over Lefties without destroying your health every time you want to pivot when using LO. This thing dropping to 30+ on the VR just a few years ago was absolutely ridiculous tbh, it’s still good and only on the rise w/ the recent bans.

SuperCune is a ton of fun and the best answer to DD Gyara. Great check to the water and ice attacks that threaten Donphan. Stuff like Starmie, opposing Suicune, Breloom, and Latias struggle to do much after a CM. Being a steel resist helps too.

ScarfTar is fantastic against a lot of things that threaten Nape and Gyara, including Rotom, Latias, Gengar, and Starmie. Also dispatches ghosts to allow Donphan to spin hazards when need be. FB is mainly for Skarm, along with Forretress and Scizor.

Donphan itself has the second-strongest non-banded EQ in the tier, only behind Mamo, which allows it to clear plenty of things in 1 or 2 hits that would otherwise take 2 or 3 with the defensive set (Ttar, Meta, Scizor, Rachi, etc). Rapid Spin does its usual job, which Gyara especially appreciates. Ice Shard is huge, making a healthy Donphan your best option against DD Dnite (2HKO even thru Yache after sand). It’s great against Loom, Celebi, Flygon, and can pick off weakened Latias or Zapdos too. Assurance is in the last slot for ghosts, able to break defensive Rotom’s sub in 1 hit, 2 if burned, which Ice Shard/non-max attack Assurance cannot do, while Assurance -> IS also takes out Gengar after sand. Head Smash is fun but it’s a LOT of recoil and isn’t the most accurate.

Nasty Plot Celebi rounds out the FWG core really nicely, giving up coverage on dragons and doubling down against steels w/ Earth Power and HP Fire. Its natural bulk lets you live +2 BP from Scizor and OHKO back w/ HP Fire. Leaf Storm has the power to deal with a chipped Gyara or Cune, remove Starmie and Hippo, and take a chunk out of most switch-ins. This thing WILL set up in front of your Clefable, w/ Lefties for Seismic Toss and Natural Cure for TWave. Even Blissey gets 2HKO’d by LS when at +4 after sand.

Only replay I’ve got where Donphan is used much, but it picks up several KO’s here: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-2589424104-34f6q08b1kjyxqjlwoawkyrmjqssc89pw

This team either desperately needs an Azelf or Heatran tbh. Rocks are too good if you want to keep DDers on a leash. (Gyara & D-Nite, Zap can also go crazy if there’s no rocks.)

 

[Oatmon]

Rocks are too good if you want to keep DDers on a leash. (Gyara & D-Nite, Zap can also go crazy if there’s no rocks.)

I'm fairly sure they are going for hazardless for the flex, not because they do not appreciate them.

over 1500 with this hazardless FWG team

 

[Oatmon]

Voting has begun for the teambuilding competition featuring Offensive Donphan! This round is contested by another eight entries aiming for first place. The teams submitted were:


From Jhall99: https://pokepast.es/42ea20ae7fea7855


From Aristrea01: https://pokepast.es/2e11b0b8be2cbd84


From Warped Worlds: https://pokepast.es/3c1dd064fbd9b94f


From Aerialace110: https://pokepast.es/eec2499aa82127e0


From Steve22: https://pokepast.es/6ad7a7512eb08128


From Afterburn: https://pokepast.es/e662d7af35041dc3


From Dridri457: https://pokepast.es/049c2709d5b7548b


From Gingerbread_22: https://pokepast.es/5da25a3768ea0152

Who built the best team? The deadline for voting is next Saturday (2/05/2026), 11:00 pm GMT.
Once voting concludes and the winner is announced, they will choose the theme for the next competition.

 

[Student of Sinnoh]

Aerialeace team

 

[Jhall99]

This is indeed tough, I'd go with Warped World.

Also shout out to Aerialace's team since I ran into someone with a similar team.

 

[Blåhaj Blast]

voting for aristrea love their lack of donphan

 

[aerialace110]

Steve22’s team!

 

[robertshortgrass]

Afterburn

 

[mikellazzo]

aerialace team, I used it on ladder and it felt quite good, it's also pretty customizable (e.g Gyarados can be dd, defensive, pz can run ice beam/dark pulse over tb, donphan can run seed bomb/head smash)

 

[Oatmon]

voting for aristrea love their lack of donphan

Sorry Aristrea, I have no idea how that happened, it was a completely different team shown in the sprites compared to the paste. Fixed

 

[Dridri457]

Jhall99

 

[Warped Worlds]

Jhall99

 

[Aristrea01]

voting for aristrea love their lack of donphan

Dw I just put it in the 7th slot :P
Voting for aerialace, the pory cult will rise.

 

[Emeral]

Jhall99: solid 6 the one Skyrio used in SPL. This variant has an interesting twist with Gyara being CB instead of DD. While it provides a much appreciated immediate threat as a fight / water resist I believe this is too fast paced to make spinning valuable so ild stick to dd lefties. Passho on ttar is a nice idea as this team has 3 water weak. Overall decent but could be better. 7/10

Aristrea1: im kinda pleased with this team tbh. It is not perfect it has several issues like not dealing with fire punch rachi very well however it is much less popular this season and this team is greatly trying to be anti Meta I feel like. This Jirachi looks amazing, solid stealth rock pivot into Ttar/Latias that keeps the pressure against Mie/Phan, shit ton of utility mid game and overall solid lead. We have the fearsome controversial CM Luc that is pretty solid choice here, abusing locks and making the stall / mag balance very playable alongside donphan and cb tar + gyara suported by spin and hw. I like that this team gives almost 0 entry point to Ttar. Could probably lose to some fast paced due to the lack of actual good speed control. Very cool ideas worth noting. 8/10

AerialAce110: This team is just solid bulky offense with random PZ. I dont think it provides anything here, its gonna get easily trapped by TTar and its not like damaging it is achieving meaningful progress for the team. Just put an Infernape here and use Skyrio's team its much better. Still its a fine addition and fits the pace of the team but its just trying to be cool and not actually good. 4/10

Warped Worlds: interesting team but I feel like this lacks a real stealth rocker. I feel like this team doesn't have the backbone to make up for the negatives of CB Tar lead + its not a great stealth rocker gonna be forced into bad trades or play without SR. I understand the reasoning behind running it as it needs all the breaking power + it synergizes with OTR Zong.. Just a tough structure to make work tbh still some fine ideas so ill give it that. Should be alright but pretty inconsistant. 6/10

Steveish: Yoloesque kind of team not rly good imo. Although its creative its using some subpar sets like defensive np celebi (this spread with this nature is for sure not it). Passho Phan is an interesting tech here as a way to check Gyara as long as it doesnt get flinched and headsmash doesn't miss looool might as well play slot machine pretty scary tbh cus this shit 6-0s. It has great has great anti stall combo with mag bi pursuit, cb gyara provides a great dynamic and I could see it having some success but this is just too yolo. 5/10

Afterburn: do i need to say anything about it? A trick room with some random artifacts. A gravity team could have been interesting for this week as donphan hits like a truck and role compress spin but this looks like troll. Dont waste your time with the Phan and use a damn rhyperior if you wanna spam cb eq under tr gravity. This is simply just outclassed. 3/10

Dridri: honestly interesting structure, surprised to see ebelt nape lead but why not. Scarf tar on offense is a bit unorthodox but is a pretty wise choice here its helps litteraly all members and provides much needed speed control. Ape usually baits in gliscor check so its a pretty cool offensive dynamic and empoleon is an interesting choice for stealth rock here: Shuca gives it the potential to stay on gyarados which is pretty nice cus no switch in. Just for this specific reason i assume donphan could run passho berry because the team is clearly stacking water weaknesses and can t switch into it more than once + its with scarf Latias lmao. Overall pretty decent not perfect but fine to just click moves and enjoy ladder games. 6.5/10

Gingerbread_22: no steel type, no stealth rock, looks fun but chatgpt kind of team. 1/10

Voting for Aristrea1, best build of this list.