SM OU Fancy Horse's Time to Shine- Virizion/Drapion Balance

[mccarthyism]

Introduction​

Hey it's my first RMT! I built this team after coming back to OU after losing interest in the tier earlier this year and wanting to play with stuff that's not just basic metagame trends. Virizion has always been a pokemon I don't really have a strong opinion of, it's a minor legend that's never been particularly relevant competitively that came out in a gen in between when I'd stopped playing pokemon and when I started back up again. But lately, I've been trying out a lot of previously overlooked pokemon to see if any of them have a genuine niche in OU and surprisingly, Virizion does! This is the team I ended up with to maximize Virizion's potential.

The Team​

Virizion @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 136 Def / 112 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Synthesis
​

Virizion's the centerpiece of the team. Initially, I just thought that because of its typing and natural special bulk, it would just be a great Greninja answer, but it turns out that not only is it that, but it's just a great special pivot and sweeper overall. It has a lot of easy switch-ins in the present bulky metagame, so it's got a lot of opportunities for setup, and it's got plenty of longevity over the match with Synthesis. The question with Virizion though, that I grappled with while building this team, is "what is it that make Virizion better than Tapu Bulu as a sweeper or Tangrowth as a bulky pivot?" And the answer is that Virizion's added flying typing lets it 1v1 the plethora of steels in the tier. Heatran, Ferrothorn, Kartana, Celesteela, Magnezone, and a weakened Mega Mawile all have trouble against Virizion, and those are all pokemon that Bulu and/or Tangrowth struggle with. So Virizion offers somewhat better role compression in that, earning it its spot on this team.

Leaf Blade and Close Combat are Virizion's STABS, but you could definitely swap Leaf Blade for Stone Edge or something else because Leaf Blade is mostly just on here for scouting purposes, as well as being a STAB with more PP and no stat recoil. Swords Dance+Synthesis is what makes Virizion shine, it's taking less than 50% from the pokemon it's trying to 1v1 which allows it to alternate Swords Dances and Synthesis (+ Leftovers recovery) and quickly get up to +6 and start taking KOs while staying at a high HP. I did consider swapping Leftovers for Rockium Z or Fightinium Z sometimes but never got around to testing that. I honestly forget what exactly I EV'd the bulk and 8 Adamant for but it's worked fine. 112 Speed EVS lets Virizion hit 280, always outpseeding Heatran and standard Zygardes.

Virizion can, when played correctly from full, switch in on and 1v1 the following S & A ranked pokemon: Non-Z Landorus-T, Ferrothorn, Ash Greninja, Protean Greninja without Gunk Shot/Extrasensory/Ice Beam, Tangrowth, Zygarde, Celesteela, Non-Specs/Non-Steel-Z Magnezone, Non-Brave-Bird Tapu Koko, Chansey, Non-SD+Facade Gliscor, Tyranitar, Mega Tyranitar.

And it can 1v1 the following pokemon but can't switch into them safely: Heatran, Kartana, Assault Vest Magearna.

Mega Mawile, when weakened (and its really easy to weaken Mega Mawile let's be real, thet mon is always takin some chip damage) will go down to a +2 Close Combat. This doesn't mean Virizion can check Mega Mawile obviously, but when setting up a Virizion sweep it's important to keep that in mind.

Overall Virizion vastly overperforms on this team, it can come in so many times over the course of the match and force switches, getting up to +6 is incredibly easy, and it sweeps way more often than you'd think. Very good pokemon overall, I recommend you give it a try.

Offensive Calcs

8+ Atk Virizion Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 252-296 (65.4 - 76.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 8+ Atk Virizion Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 498-588 (129.3 - 152.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
8+ Atk Virizion Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 252-296 (78 - 91.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 8+ Atk Virizion Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 498-588 (154.1 - 182%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 8+ Atk Virizion Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 92 Def Ferrothorn: 386-456 (109.6 - 129.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
8+ Atk Virizion Leaf Blade vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 272-324 (95.4 - 113.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
8+ Atk Virizion Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 362-428 (127 - 150.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
8+ Atk Virizion Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 117-138 (32.2 - 38%) -- 94.3% chance to 3HKO
+2 8+ Atk Virizion Close Combat vs. 40 HP / 0 Def Mawile-Mega: 216-255 (86 - 101.5%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
+6 8+ Atk Virizion Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 28 Def Tangrowth: 420-495 (103.9 - 122.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 8+ Atk Virizion Close Combat vs. 188 HP / 0 Def Zygarde: 442-522 (109.4 - 129.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 8+ Atk Virizion Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 104+ Def Celesteela: 418-493 (105.2 - 124.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
8+ Atk Virizion Close Combat vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Kartana: 206-246 (79.2 - 94.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
8+ Atk Virizion Close Combat vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Magnezone: 234-276 (82.9 - 97.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 8+ Atk Virizion Close Combat vs. 244 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 692-816 (98.5 - 116.2%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
+6 8+ Atk Virizion Leaf Blade vs. 244 HP / 44 Def Gliscor: 312-367 (88.6 - 104.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO after Poison Heal
+5 8+ Atk Virizion Leaf Blade vs. 80 HP / 84 Def Landorus-Therian: 340-402 (100.2 - 118.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
8+ Atk Virizion Leaf Blade vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Diancie-Mega: 204-240 (84.6 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Defensive Calcs

0 SpA Heatran Magma Storm vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Virizion: 218-258 (56.4 - 66.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery and trapping damage
252+ SpA Heatran Lava Plume vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Virizion: 234-276 (60.6 - 71.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Heatran Magma Storm vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Virizion: 288-342 (74.6 - 88.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery and trapping damage
0 Atk Ferrothorn Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 136 Def Virizion: 169-199 (43.7 - 51.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Virizion: 92-108 (23.8 - 27.9%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Greninja Hydro Vortex (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Virizion: 103-122 (26.6 - 31.6%) -- 24.1% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Magearna Fleur Cannon vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Virizion: 282-332 (73 - 86%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
140+ Atk Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 252 HP / 136 Def Virizion: 67-80 (17.3 - 20.7%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Celesteela Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Virizion: 112-132 (29 - 34.1%) -- 99.2% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Kartana Smart Strike vs. 252 HP / 136 Def Virizion: 162-192 (41.9 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Magnezone Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Virizion: 106-126 (27.4 - 32.6%) -- 67.1% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Diancie-Mega Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Virizion: 290-344 (75.1 - 89.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Roost
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Defog
​

Around the time I made this team, Koko/Lucha was everywhere and consistently kicking my ass. Zapdos is the most consistent answer to that core, able to beat it 100% of the time unless Hawlucha's running Stone Edge for some reason. Zapdos is honestly super slept on right now, there've been so many games where my opponent has only one mon that could really beat Zapdos, and it pretty much shits all over their team once that pokemon's gone, able to pivot in and wall pretty much.. everything. It does struggle against offensive teams once rocks are up, which is awkward because it's the only Defogger on the team, but it's whatever.

I prefer Static over Pressure since this team's not really interested in PP stalling but LOVES free paralysis, vastly improving my Medicham matchup. I prefer HP Ice over Heat Wave since it means Zapdos can always 1v1 Landorus-T and can get a decent chunk off on Zygarde (remember, the first Thousand Arrows is neutral, not supereffective- Zapdos only takes like 30% from it). This set is pretty standard tbh, there's not much more to add about it.

Zygarde @ Groundium Z
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 236 HP / 160 SpD / 112 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Substitute
- Coil
- Glare
​

With Virizion and Zapdos, I needed a way to make my team even weaker to Kyurem-B, so I threw in Zygarde. Zygarde is honestly just one of my favorite mons to play in USUM OU, up with Mega Mawile, Celesteela and Toxapex. I'd been curious about the Glare+Coil set, and it was pretty easy to fit on this team. And true to Zygarde fashion, it's good as shit. Sub+Coil makes Zygarde a pretty reliable sweeper when i need it, able to come in on mons like Heatran, Sableye and Landorus and start setting up. Glare is amazing on this team, Virizion really appreciates outspeeding things like Scarf Landorus and Protean Greninja. I opted for Groundium Z over Leftovers because it lets Zygarde nab some KOs with Thousand Arrows + Tectonic Rage at +1, most notably on Toxapex. Groundium Z also makes it easier to beat Volcarona (I kept meaning to give Zygarde attack EVs to get a guaranteed KO on Volcarona with Tectonic Rage but never got around to it, right now it's a roll). Extremely good mon overall.

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 248 HP / 104 Def / 156 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
​

Celesteela is, alongside Zygarde, one of my favorite mons in USUM OU. It walls like, half the tier, has great recovery, and racks up lots of chip damage over the game, which is what this team loves. Like Zygarde, it's also incredibly easy to fit on a team. It's an easy switchin to Tapu Lele, Tapu Bulu, and Kartana, all huge threats to this team, and it also 1v1s Clefable, a mon this team can't really beat otherwise unless your opponent lets you get up to +6 with Zygarde or Virizion somehow. It also cores nicely with Zygarde and Virizion, with those two mons being able to absorb electric and fire type attacks for Celesteela. Leech Seed isn't a guaranteed setup in this grass-heavy meta, however, which means Celesteela's best source of recovery isn't as reliable and it's more susceptible to taking a ton of chip damage that it can't quickly heal up. There really isn't too much to say about Celesteela tbh, it's a pretty solved set and is super consistent, and if you've play OU at all in the past year you know what it does.

Drapion (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 40 HP / 216 Atk / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Poison Jab
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Knock Off
​

So at this point I had my four-pokemon core of Virizion/Zapdos/Zygarde/Celesteela, and I was trying out a lot of pokemon for the last two slots, with mediocre success. Heatran, Garchomp Mega Diancie, Toxapex, and probs a few more that I forget... nothing was working. The standout problems, however, were that this team could not reliably beat Serperior or Mega Alakazam. I thought about this all day, wondering how id find a specially defensive pokemon that could reliably beat those two- and I came to Drapion.

Assault Vest gives Drapion some pretty good special bulk, meaning it can safely 1v1 the pokemon it needs to. It only takes around ~30% from Alakazam's focus blast and 216 Adamant Knock Off is exactly enough to OHKO Zam (Pursuit is a 2HKO if they stay in), and 2HKO Serperior with Poison Jab. Drapion is also a secondary check to Heatran and Clefable in a pinch.

Now, I do have to say that, while I do think that Virizion is actually good and has a good niche in the OU tier, I can't say the same for Drapion. This mon is generally dead if your opponent doesn't have Zam, Clef or Serp, and the only reason it's not a liability is that the combination of Virizion/Celesteela/Zygarde/Zapdos is really, really good on its own and can afford to have a mon whos job is to check a couple things and get sac'ed later. If you aim to use this team seriously, I'd recommend just swapping Drapion for Alolan Muk, the only reason I didn't was because Drapion isn't too much of a liability and also it looks WAY cooler.

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 156 SpD / 112 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earthquake
- Heal Bell
- Soft-Boiled
- Ice Beam
​

Those five pokemon worked well together, but this team really didn't have a safe switch-in to Heatran (Zygarde without recovery can only come in so often, and hates getting Toxic'ed). I also really wanted something to take care of status, because Zapdos, Zygarde and Virizion all hate being statused. So I put in specially defensive Mew!

Heal Bell is, I honestly think, in a great position in this current status-filled bulky metagame. Having your sweeper paralyzed or burned and your pivots toxic'ed can be catastrophic, and so being able to get rid of all that in a single turn is GREAT. It lets you predict a bit more riskily (switching Zygarde into a potential Toxic or Virizion into Scald, for example). It also gives you an out to freeze hax, which as we all know can turn a perfectly played game into a loss. It's just good! Soft Boiled is on this set because it's pretty much mandatory on pivot Mew, it lets it come in throughout the match. Earthquake and 112 Speed EVs are to outspeed and 2HKO Heatran, which is the whole reason for having Mew on the team at all.Originally I had Stealth Rock in the last slot, but honestly this team just... doesn't want to be clicking Stealth Rock. When I had it on Mew I never really had an opportunity to get rocks up, and when I did they didn't do a ton. So i swapped it for Ice Beam, to catch the Landorus switch-in and be able to check Zygarde better. You could really run anything in that slot though.

Threats​

Mega Charizards- these two pokemon 6-0 this team almost singlehandedly. If it's Zard Y you can 1v1 it with Zygarde but since you can't switch Zygarde into Zard X you're generally sac'ing another mon (usually Drapion) to scout for which Charizard it is. The gameplan against Zard X is basically to hope for Static to kick in and then revenge kill it with Zygarde, or to kill it with Flare Blitz Recoil. Either way it's a massive uphill battle to beat either of these mons.

Clefable- Clefable can come in on pretty much every member of this team except for Celesteela for free and then do whatever the hell it wants. The gameplan then is to get rid of their Celesteela answers so they can't deal with that mon, and you can force a Celesteela vs Clefable endgame, which you win 100% of the time.

Stall- Stall is a rough matchup and also a pain in the ass, you basically need to get rid of their Unaware mon and then set up a Zygarde Sweep. If it's Quagsire or Pyukumuku, Virizion can deal with them, but Clefable is tougher without Toxic or Taunt on this team. This matchup honestly isn't the worst, but it just sucks to play.

Zapdos- Without Toxic, this team's best way to break Zapdos is a Zygarde sweep, and a good player isn't gonna let that happen. Virizion literally cannot sweep if they have a Zapdos, they can Roost stall you super easily. Like Clefable with Celesteela, you need to eliminate their Zygarde counters and then force a Zygarde vs Zapdos endgame.

Wallbreakers- These two are the most threatening, but this team on the whole just doesn't switch in nicely to wallbreakers. Kyurem requires you to switch perfectly and either Leech Seed stall it with Mew and/or Celesteela, or get it low enough and then Close Combat it down with Virizion. Hoopa also requires good predicts, Virizion can destroy it if it doesn't have a psychic-type move, and Drapion is bulky enough to switch in and Pursuit/Knock Off. Overall not a mon you want to see, though.

Replays

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-827431428
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-827133270
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-826981369
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-826972158
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-826531328
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-826134304
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-825990835

Importable

Virizion @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 136 Def / 112 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Synthesis

Drapion (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Battle Armor
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 40 HP / 216 Atk / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Poison Jab
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Knock Off

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 156 SpD / 112 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earthquake
- Heal Bell
- Soft-Boiled
- Ice Beam

Zygarde @ Groundium Z
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 236 HP / 160 SpD / 112 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Substitute
- Coil
- Glare

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Roost
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Defog

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 248 HP / 104 Def / 156 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower

 

[psitasbelike]

Hi! I'm not that good at teambuilding but i think i can help you with your team.

First, the major changes:

Switch Drapion for Tyranitar:

Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Pursuit
- Screech
- Stone Edge

Tyranitar provides SR, pursuit trap psychic types and flying types (for virizion), and helps against zapdos, both mega charizard and choice locked hoopa. This spread allows you to survive 2 dragon claws from zard x after SR damage, the remaining on sp def to tank hits from psychic types and pursuit them back. Chople berry allows you to tank focus blast from both alakazam-mega and gengar. Screech is there so you don't lose to acid armor Reuniclus and Calm mind Mega Latias. The only problem with this is the ability, since it reduces the healing of Virizion Synthesis, but even with unnerve ttar can still tank a focus Blast from Alakazam-Mega after SR.

Switch Celesteela for Magearna:

Magearna @ Steelium Z
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 152 SpD / 104 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Pain Split
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon

This improves your matchup against stall teams while still giving you a bulky steel type. I made it flash cannon instead of fleur so you don't lose to clefable and heavily damage mega mawile. It even helps against Venusaur-Mega which your team struggles to kill. The speed EVs are to outspeed Heatran with no speed investment and the standard Mawile-Mega.

Minor changes:

Now that you have Z Magearna, use Leftovers on Zygarde.

Change Zapdos ability to pressure so you can PP stall Serperior Leaf Storms. Also, change HP ice for Heat Wave so you can beat Ferrothorn and Kartana.

Optional:

Thunderbolt on Zapdos so you can guarantee the kill on Pinsir-Mega.

Will-o-Wisp on Mew to help against mons like CB hoopa, tyranitar, Kyurem B, etc.

Hope this helps you! Have a nice day!