ORAS OU Dungeons and Dragons: Gallade and Bisharp Core

Bulma from Dragon Ball · May 1, 2016

Good morning/day/evening Smogonites.

Introduction
Today's the day where I would like to present you one of the teams I have created for the ORAS OU Metagame. I had lots of fun creating this team, tried it out on the ladder and it turned out to be pretty successful, and the main focus on this team is on this infamous core of Mega Gallade and Bisharp!

Thanks to everyone in advanced for willing to help me!
I wish everyone a lot of fun reading, therefore I would like to say: I'm open to any kind of criticism, improvement or change of my team. Anyway, on to the team!

The Team

(yes I got this from the internet because I suck at graphic design lol)

Team Details

Gallade (M) @ Galladite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Knock Off/Ice Punch
- Zen Headbutt

There we have the main star of my team, and the reason why it was created. My favorite Psychic type Mega Pokemon, an underrate but terrifying sweeper, who, along with another teammate, creates a very dangerous core with great synergy.

I'm using the set Mega Gallade can pull off best, boost and sweep.
However, what I couldn't decide about was whether I should run Knock Off or Ice Punch as a coverage move on him. Either hit Slowbro or Gliscor, I guess.
I need moar coverage, definitely.

Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower
- Soft-Boiled

How I love this cute and seemingly innocent looking Pokemon!

Clefable serves as my status absorber and my special attacker of the team. She also serves as a counter to Mega Sableye, which my team has really big problems dealing with.

Calm Mind raises Clefable's SpA and SpD to insane levels, and thanks to its ability Magic Guard, it isn't concerned about passive damage such as burns or poison.
I am using Flamethrower instead of Thunder Wave on Clefable, because fewer people expect it and feel like they could safely switch into it. Well, they're in for a rude awakening... *giggles maniacally*.

Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Healing Wish

Nyoooooooooom!

Because Latias takes you places.
Latias serves as a check to fast Electric types which are a huge pain to deal with. It also has Defog so I can get rid of hazards from my side of the field.

Psyshock is a great move that hits the ever so annoying walking jungle (Mega Venusaur) for super effective damage. Draco Meteor is another great STAB move which hits like a truck with a Life Orb boost.
Finally, Healing Wish completes this set and serves as an escape from Pursuit users such as Tyranitar and Bisharp, while also completely healing one of the Pokemon of my choice.

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Heart Stamp
- U-turn
- Trick

Moar cuteness!

I'm sure you are all used to seeing this thing on almost every team (and annoyed by it as well), but it just comes in so handy and has saved me from many situations. I cannot stress the importance of Choice Scarf Jirachi on my team enough.

Iron Head is the main spamming move here, which thanks to Serene Grace, has a ridiculously high chance of flinching your opponent and not even letting him breathe. Jirachi just nopes all over you.
And of course Trick is also a very useful move, especially when it comes to defensive walls, so by tricking them a Choice Scarf, you render them useless and they will be forced to switch out.

Garchomp (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 240 HP / 176 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Fire Blast

Touch me.
I dare you...

Now here we have my Stealth Rock setter, my physical tank, and the thing that makes any Pokemon who touches it regret their existence, the most used Pokemon in OU itself, Garchomp!

Well, what else can I say besides that I never use any other Stealth Rock user on my teams except for Garchomp, and for many good reasons. It can hit hard, while also being a pain to take down thanks to the combination of Rough Skin + Rocky Helmet, which takes a great chunk of health from any Pokemon that touches it.

Garchomp has always been a staple in my teams, whether it was an offensive beast or any other role. An all purpose Pokémon indeed!

Bisharp (M) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 52 SpD / 204 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit

I'll make sushi out of you!

And the second part of the infamous core, Bisharp is a great partner to Mega Gallade and together they cover each others weaknesses very well. Not without reason is this Pokémon in OU.

Great STAB priority in Sucker Punch, the ability to trap various Psychic types with Pursuit, hitting Fairy types with Iron Head... I could go on and on talking about this glorious Pokémon. And there we have it, Bisharp completes this great core and also is a great addition to any team.

Threats

Mega Diancie: Probably my most glaring weakness of my entire team. Almost everything on my team is hit super effectively by its moves, but I can pressure it with my Jirachi and Clefable.

+

Sand Offense: So yeah, my team gets owned by the combination of Hippowdon and Excadrill, as nothing on my team outspeeds Excadrill in the sand, so I usually don't bother continuing anymore and just click "X".

Setup sweepers: Well, opposing Bisharp don't do me any favors at all, and neither do Mega-Charizard X and Mega Scizor, they're terrifying and you should never, ever let them give a set up opportunity, as you probably know how the match will go...

Importable

Gallade @ Galladite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Zen Headbutt

Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower
- Soft-Boiled

Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Healing Wish

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Heart Stamp
- U-turn
- Trick

Garchomp (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 240 HP / 176 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Fire Blast

Bisharp (M) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 52 SpD / 204 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit

Thanks to everyone for reading this, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Tinberz · May 1, 2016

Hey Bulma, nice team there. Here, I'll go through some basic changes that should help your team.

Firstly,

Defensive Lando-T > TankChomp

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Knock Off/Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

This helps to mitigate your weakness to Sand Offense a lot. It doesn't affect you too much as it fulfils the same role as TankChomp.

Now your team is extremely weak to Bisharp so...

Keldeo > Jirachi

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind/HP Electric/Focus Blast

I didn't really want to replace Jirachi because it is your best Diancie check but then it is the least important mon for now (since I didn't want to break your core). Keldeo adds raw power to your team and helps to check Dark types. I like Focus Blast Keldeo lol.

Now I'll deal with your MDiancie weakness:

AV Tangrowth > Latias

Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Leaf Storm/Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power Ice

This thing checks Electrics and Mega Diancie. It is extremely useful in this team, even being able to check Volcanion (a big threat) locked into Steam Eruption. HP Ice wears down TankChomps and Lando-Ts.

Now for your sets:

I think Shadow Sneak is the best filler for your Mega Gallade since you have Knock Off from Bisharp and HP Ice from Tangrowth already. It provides you with priority so faster stuff will not really stop your sweep.

Thunder Wave > Flamethrower for Clef because you need some speed control. TWave can save games too.

That's about what I have to say. Hope it helps!

Edit 1: Bolded some words for added clarity.
Edit 2: Edited the sets I provided.
Edit 3: Added pictures.

Nedor · May 1, 2016

yo. i understand the basic concept of the team in hw + wincons alongside a basic steel / ground / fairy backbone, which has good aspects implemented into it (such as phys. spam to help in wearing down similar checks), but there's honestly a ton of drawbacks preventing the team from doing well. again, you pointed out that relevant setup sweepers are issues which is definitely the case, but it doesn't help that you have a few 'mons providing things like sd offensive m-scizor opportunities to setup, especially considering chomper is going to get worn down considerably fast by the end game. offensive weather builds, whether that is sand offense or rain are extremely hard to manage too, as your build gives respective abusers chances to break down your team for a late game wincon to clean up; the team has little to no counterplay towards these playstyles, even though offense already has a bad matchup. jirachi is mandatory on this team to provide something to revenge kill or pick off relevant threats, but more importantly function as an offensive fairy resist. also, bulky grounds look immensely annoying to break down as latias is simply not strong enough & ice punch m-gallade isn't all too reliable due to the fact that it more than often comes in only late game to setup. other than a few optimizations to help the team, this rate will focus more on applying pressure with the team while not including any 'dead mons' to cut momentum.

first off, phys. defensive landorus-t is needed as the rocker slot of the build instead of garchomp if you want to maintain a similar team structure, & this is for a few (obvious) reasons. mainly, it provides a consistent & reliable ground resist to manage sand drill way better than you currently do (bisharp's priority + chomp taking a hit; unreliable), checks dd zard-x which the team simply folds over to, while providing more offensive pressure in a pivot through u-turn to support the team in gaining momentum, or swords dance which overwhelms and paves a way for the team's main wincons. not only this, rocky helmet still chips at phys. attackers like garchomp which means m-gallade's checks get put in range easily. even though this change mitigates multiple weaknesses, it exacerbates a weakness to both bisharp & m-scizor which definitely set up on various members of the team & easily sweeps with their respective priority.

as i mentioned in the intro, offensive darks & m-scizor are prominent threats to the team for reasons i've already gone through, & prevalent grounds, whether they're offensive or bulky variants are annoying to consistently break down, which is not too great for more offensively inclined teams. with not that many completely dependable ways of compressing roles into one 'mon out there, resttalk keldeo > cm clefable is essentially obligatory as a change. those threatening 'mons that can't be handled through priority or scarf rachi as your main source of speed make this specific keldeo set appropriate on this build in particular because it shouldn't be splashed on just like that (referring to its counterpart in specs which is better the majority of the time). keldeo frequently finds itself being put in range / worn down quickly or even lured early-mid game, meaning it cannot efficiently beat what its meant to, especially considering its the main method of directly beating darks, m-scizor, etc. rest + sleep talk enables it to not get beat down gradually through hazards, status, and so on, meaning keldeo will be healthy enough to prevent them from sweeping late game. also, it immediately forces grounds out to their keldeo check, potentially allowing themselves to get crippled by scald, making keldeo much more threatening throughout the match. furthermore, the opponent can't play around the set if they're forced into a position to do so, while pressuring m-sableye in unison with a change i will make soon as losing clefable worsens your weakness to it. not to mention, even though clefable has its advantages, i feel it is sort of a momentum sap in the goal of making m-gallade or another wincon sweep.

i feel like this next adjustment is important enough to not be classified as a minor optimization because it makes a pretty large impact on the team's success; sd lum bisharp > av pursuit would help in many ways. not only is pursuit quite irrelevant with not much on the build taking advantage of what it traps, but is also outclassed as a pursuit 'mon most of the time. sd provides a threatening wincon to more offensive & balanced builds alike, especially seeing as its checks get pressured consistently on this team. lum is the choice of item in this case to put a greater amount of pressure on 'mons such as m-sableye, rotom-w, & mew which can all endure the team's attacks; having a way to keep them low is generally nice. furthermore, sd helps against both sand & rain if you manage to find a setup opportunity (which can definitely be done through 50/50's or more 'passive' mons like ferrothorn). thanks to the utility of healing wish on this team, sd bisharp can find a second circumstance to clean up! also, bisharp can be used as an early-mid game breaker if need be to weaken an opponent's say, garchomp or hippowdon to give an easier time with scarf rachi / sd m-gallade.

last drastic change of the build would be roost 3 attacks latios > latias. to put it briefly, latios provides a much more threatening offensive presence that can still use its defensive typing to help check waters, m-mane & friends. hp fire is being used as the third attack with its main stabs so steels like m-scizor, ferrothorn, klefki, & rachi can't exploit you nor cut the team's momentum in any way. there's honestly not much else to say other than the fact that latios is much more immediately threatening, as well as the fact that latias' bulk isn't particularly needed as the threats it does deal with slightly better are dealt with through priority, scarf rachi, & latios in itself. the only thing you'd be losing out on is hw which can be made up for, as well as defog which is more of a momentum sap than useful on this team anyways. instead of making another mini-section for a single optimization, i'll just do it here; even though trick can help in certain situations, hw > trick on scarfrachi is much better on this team as a way of giving a second opportunity to any one of your 'mons in case you make a misplay, & it can provide momentum as well.
====

tl;dr:
-----

phys. defensive landorus-t > tankchomp

resttalk keldeo > cm clefable

swords dance w/ lum > av pursuit

roost 3 attacks latios > hw defog latias

healing wish > trick
-----
so, that about concludes the rate. even though it may seem like quite a few changes, the team structure didn't change all that much, but rather i improved it. standard water / ground / dragon / steel backbone on a build like this, despite being common, is definitely the best version of the team without making an incredible amount of changes. feel free to ask if you still have any concerns about the alterations, but other than that gl with the team n_n

_Astral_ · May 1, 2016

Ehy man really solid build :3
The team is pretty solid but there are things to improve: Talonflame is really annoyng for this team, if it is with Will-O-Wisp + Bulk Up really destroy this build: you haven't switch in for it outside Clefable and Garchomp, but Clefable don't touch it. Sands team are another annoying problem for this team, Garchomp is your only switch in for this team but don't take off really well Excadrill. Heatran is annoying for this build, you haven't a good switch in for it: Garchomp can switch but isn't really well. Also this is a balance team, but the moment isn't really good and you haven't a good speed control. Charizard X is another problem for this team: you haven't a safe switch in for it, and Clefable can really help against it because isn't unaware and hasn't T-Wave. Ground type like Hippodown are difficult to kill: things like Landorus for example are really hard to kill, you haven't a switch in and with u-turm take off most momentum at the team.

My first suggest is to try Landorus-Therian > Garchomp: Landorus outside to gives you a good Stealth Rock support helps against Excadril, also gives you a good switch in for things like Charizard X that are big threat for this build and gives momentum at the team: Honestly I think that Rocky Helmet is the best option for this team, because allow you to punish things like Lopunny and Excadrill that are annoying for the team, leftovers is a good option but I don't think that you need more longevity in this team. Without Garchomp Mega Scizor and Bisharp are big problem for this team (especially Bisharp because you have an intimidate user and not switch in) for this reason my second suggest is to try Keldeo > Jirachi: Keldeo gives you a second Bisharp check and helps against Weavile that are your main problem also helps against Scizor that destroy this build relatively easily. , Scarf gives you a good speed- Control that helps to revegekill many problems such Weavile for Example or other fast letegame sweeper. Last advice is to use Thunderbolt > Flamethrower on Clefable: Talonflame and Skermory are for the most of the time the main Clefable switch-in. With Thunderbolt you can lure outside of Skeemory, Talonflame! That stop your Gallade. Another suggest is to try SD Bisharp > Assault Vest honestly I think that in this balanced build you don't neeed to Pursuitter, SD Bisharp really help because pressure balanced build like Rotom-W and Sablaye (with Lum Berry)also pressure things like Hippodown that helps the Gallade Sweep. (Outside of that gives you a second wincon). With Bisharp honestly I think that Ice Punch > Knock Off on Gallade, honestly Knock Off is good but you have Bisharp that pressure many pokemon with Knock Off, Ice Punch can really helps because lure things like Landorus and Garchomp that are the main Gallade switch in, outside of that this thing helps Bisharp, because Garchomp really disturbing it without Garchomp Bisharp can switch relatively easily.

Set Complete:

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn

Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Wind

Bisharp @ Lum Berry
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance

Hope I help :3

Bulma from Dragon Ball · May 2, 2016

Hello Tinberz, nedor and _Astral_, I thank you all dearly for your suggestions, they have all greatly improved my team, and I already seen the first results.

Namely, Keldeo and Landorus have helped me actually countering ~~the devil~~ Mega-Charizard X, Mega Scizor and opposing Bisharp. Although RestTalk Keldeo sounds uh... I don't know. I'm just used to usually seeing Choice Scarfed or Specsed ones, but if it keeps being effective just as is it right now, I'll gladly keep using it

although sometimes I really miss my Clefable.

I still haven't decided if I should run either Ice Punch or Knock Off on Megallade. On one side, Gliscor is a really big pest and hard to take down, but Slowbro is also kinda annoying for this team.

Besides, what's with the weird EV spread for Landorus? I thought they usually run 252HP/240DEF/8SpD/8Spe. What purpose do the Speed EV's serve?

I know this team was weak to like half of the metagame, but I actually just planed to make it a fun theme team, thus the name Dungeons and Dragons, but after using it a bit on the ladder, I thought hey, it's actually competitively viable.

Thanks a lot once again, I'll write here later again to tell you the results of my battling ;)

Edit: Having troubles with Mega Mane... like big ones.

ORAS OU Dungeons and Dragons: Gallade and Bisharp Core

Bulma from Dragon Ball

Tinberz

Nedor

thiccc

_Astral_

Bulma from Dragon Ball