First official OU team

So I've been into Showdown for a while, but I've never actually made a concrete team; I've just played around with teams from Pokemon that I thought were cool. I figured it would be a good idea if I made a serious team with actual synergy besides "big Mon big strong", and decided this would be the right place to get feedback. With that being said, here goes:


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Rillaboom@Choice Band

EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spe/4 SpD

Nature: Adamant

Ability: Grassy Surge

-Knock Off
-Drain Punch
-U-Turn
-Grassy Glide

Rillaboom, other than setting up the Grassy Terrain crucial to Hawlucha's sweeping potential, is a versatile physical Mon in and of itself. Grassy Glide is a phenomenal priority move that grants STAB for dealing with neutral targets while also posing a huge threat to Rain teams and Regieleki. As if 2HKOing Pelipper and OHKOing Barraskewda wasn't enough, Rillaboom gets the infamous Knock Off. Besides removing items from Mons that depend on them, such as Toxapex and Heavy-Duty Boots-users, Knock Off provides super-effective damage against Dragapult, Slowbro, Gengar and the Latis, among others. Drain Punch and U-Turn serve the same purpose for Rillaboom that they do for other Mons that use them, being coverage and pivoting respectively.


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Hawlucha@Grassy Seed

EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spe/4 SpD

Nature: Adamant

Ability: Unburden

-Swords Dance
-Iron Head
-Close Combat
-Acrobatics

There are many team cores that have defined this generation of competitive Pokemon, and Rillaboom + Hawlucha is the one that piqued my interest the most. Hawlucha is one of the best wallbreakers in the current metagame, especially after a few setup turns. Grassy Seed doubling the holder's Defense allows Hawlucha an extra layer of protection against physical-Mon counters such as Corviknight and (Foul Play) Mandibuzz. Working in tandem with this is Unburden; Other than making Hawlucha fast enough to sweep entire teams, no longer having an item boosts Acrobatics to deadly proportions, especially after a Swords Dance. Being part Flying gives Hawlucha immunity to Ground-type moves that aren't weakened by Rillaboom's Grassy Terrain, mainly Nidoking's Earth Power. Hawlucha's Fighting STAB, the ubiquitous Close Combat, also shreds through Blissey, who otherwise stops momentum generated by Gardevoir. From my experience, Iron Head is a very unconventional choice for Hawlucha. Nonetheless, a sweeper with a partial Fighting-typing needs a good Fairy counter; Upon suggestion from a friend, I chose Iron Head, as it's the best anti-Fairy move Hawlucha has. All in all, Rillaboom and Hawlucha are two mons with excellent synergy, and are an equally excellent offensive core for this balance team.



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Incineroar@Choice Scarf

EVs: 252 SpD/252 Spe/4 HP

Nature: Careful

Ability: Intimidate

-Will-o-Wisp
-Taunt
-Parting Shot
-Darkest Lariat

Incineroar and Slowking make up a defensive core that I believe has a lot of untapped potential in the current metagame. Since I know this is already raising eyebrows, allow me to explain. Incineroar is bar none my favorite Pokemon (What can I say? I love professional wrestling). When I saw that Incineroar dropped to RU last January, I became driven to prove its greatness. With that being said, what niche does Incineroar fill exactly? Put simply, Incineroar is an excellent status-spreader and debuffer. On top of an automatic Attack cut thanks to Intimidate, Incineroar has access to Burn via Will-o-Wisp, as well as further offensive drops thanks to Parting Shot. Parting Shot also lets Incineroar pivot out of dicey situations, further adding to what I lovingly refer to as its "trickiness". Darkest Lariat, though sticking out like a sore thumb on this moveset, serves to provide Dark-type coverage that nobody else on this team has. More importantly, Darkest Lariat can cripple Latios and Slowbro as well as OHKO Dragapult, giving Incineroar even more viability. Choice Scarf is relatively unseen on Incineroar; However, maximum Speed investment with Scarf makes Incineroar faster than a lot of the threats of the metagame, mainly Kartana, who Incineroar usually wants to Burn to prevent its own OHKO via Sacred Sword.



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Slowking@Heavy-Duty Boots

EVs: 252 HP/252 SpA/4 Def

Nature: Calm

Ability: Regenerator

-Slack Off
-Ice Beam
-Scald
-Psychic

With the rising threat of Terrakion, Incineroar needs a wall to cover its physical weaknesses, since it's been EVd to be Specially defensive. This is exactly where Slowking comes in. Although Slowking has been seen as more of a Special wall in the past, I have created a set that I believe can wall both sides. Regenerator is unequivocally one of the best abilities in the game. All you have to do is switch Slowking out, and it regains 30% of its max HP. On top of this, Heavy-Duty Boots lets Slowking switch in on potential hazards that this team can't get rid of, such as Stealth Rocks from Heatran, Garchomp and Excadrill. Slowking's moveset is purely defensive. Slack Off is the standard recovery move for the set; Ice Beam and Scald both serve as status-spreading damage moves for when Incineroar isn't necessary for the task at hand. For the last move, I'm going to give a rather blunt outlook on things: Psyshock just isn't worth it. The only real reason why you'd want to use it is for walls like Blissey; If you go into the match well-prepared for such walls, you can get around using an odd move like Psyshock, hence why I chose Psychic. Incineroar and Slowking are an overall unorthodox defensive core, but their pivoting capabilities and ease of spreading status make them quite the momentum killers if one is not prepared for their trickery.



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Blaziken@Life Orb

EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spe/4 SpD

Nature: Adamant

Ability: Speed Boost

-Protect
-Bulk Up
-Flare Blitz
-Close Combat

When I set to making this team, one of the Pokemon I most wanted to use is Blaziken. Blaziken has the unique niche of being an offensive wallbreaker that relies on a defensive strategy to get things going. Although Urshifu-R can bypass Protect by way of Unseen Fist, this is the only threat that Blaziken has to worry about in that regard. Quite frankly, Blaziken after a few turns trading Bulk Up and Protect is disgusting, especially with an Adamant nature, max investment, and a Life Orb boost. Flare Blitz, one of the most common moves for Blaziken sets, exists on my set specifically because I forewent Fire coverage on my Incineroar. The odd one out on this moveset is Bulk Up. Most people who use Blaziken choose Swords Dance for their boosting move; consider this: Hawlucha is known for sweeping entire teams with its boosted Close Combat; Blaziken does the exact same thing, but its Attack stat is larger. Why use one turn to boost your Attack by two stages when you can boost your already high Attack AND Defense? If anything, boosting Defense makes Blaziken more of an adept sweeper, because it can patch up its Defense stats to protect against potential priority. Overall, Blaziken is an extremely dangerous Mon this format, who has the offensive capabilities to sweep, with the defensive capabilities to stall until the time is right to retaliate with supremely strong STAB.


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Gardevoir@Choice Specs

EVs: 252 SpA/252 Spe/4 HP

-Shadow Ball
-Thunderbolt
-Psychic
-Moonblast

Gardevoir's role on this team is to serve as both a Special wallbreaker, and a Special wall when the situation doesn't call for Slowking. Although Gardevoir's Special Defense pales in comparison to that of Assault Vest Slowking, its different typing allows it to take neutral damage from attacks that prey on Slowking's Water-typing. Shadow Ball and Thunderbolt are on this set purely for coverage; Because I chose to not put Thunder Punch on Blaziken, I've chosen to give Thunderbolt to Gardevoir because of its potent wallbreaking abilities. With Choice Specs and maximum investment, all four of Gardevoir's moves hit like a truck. Because Blaziken, and Hawlucha are both Physical wallbreakers, a Special wallbreaker was all but necessary on this team. Kartana, easily the biggest threat Gardevoir faces in this format, is easily walled by Blaziken and Hawlucha. All in all, Gardevoir is a Special cleaner capable of denting even the toughest walls, while also being capable of taking a few hits itself if you play things correctly.


I would greatly appreciate any feedback you guys have about my team composition, as well as any team-member changes you guys might have suggestions for. Thanks, and happy battling!
 
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Hey there, here to give you my thoughts on the team and how I think you can improve it.

Rillaboom + Hawlucha is a really good offensive duo as they both threaten a lot of mons and can be very dangerous sweepers. Blaziken also is a good sweeper even if it struggles a bit more in OU then the two others. However, I don’t think this offensive core fits well in a balanced team as both Hawlucha and Blaziken are mons that either sets-up and win, or sets-up and make a big hole in the opponent team which will allow one of your other sweepers to clean.

Thus, I don’t think you need a defensive pivot like Slowking in that kind of team, but you rather play some Screen support to facilitate Lucha and Blaziken work.

As for the two remaining mons, Gardevoir is basically a bad Tapu Lele and Incineroar is kinda niche but as it is the mon you really want to use, I think you can keep it in the team with a more efficient set.



With that saying, here are the changes I would recommend:

:slowking: As I said it, you don’t need Slowking here. I think the best way to make the team more viable is to go for a screen Hyper offense. Thus, I suggest you use a Screens setter instead of Slowking. A suggestion could be Regieleki :regieleki:. He is not the only one so you can also try mons like Tapu Koko or Ninetales Alola instead. Here is a good Screens setter set for Regieleki:

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Regieleki @ Light Clay
Ability: Transistor
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Rapid Spin
- Explosion

Rapid spin is for removing Rocks and Explosion is here to have a maximum of useful screen turns. You could consider playing Volt Switch.


:gardevoir: You should just play Tapu Lele :tapu lele: here as it does basically the same things as Gardevoir but with better stats. Also, as we’re going for a Screen HO, I think a Calm Mind variant could be better here. So, here is the Tapu Lele set I would use:

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Tapu Lele @ Life Orb
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast


:rillaboom: Choice banded Rillaboom is one of the top OU threats. However, if we’re going for a Screen team, I think you should try a Sword dance set, I give you one just here:

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Rillaboom @ Life Orb
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Grassy Glide
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off


:hawlucha: Not much to change here. The only change I would maid is going for Taunt instead of Iron Head. This is because taunt can be useful against mons like Hippo or Pex while Iron Head doesn’t help much as it doesn’t OHKO Clef after an Sd. Another option could be Stone Edge for Zapdos.

+2 252+ Atk Hawlucha Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 266-314 (67.5 - 79.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252+ Atk Hawlucha Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 273-322 (69.2 - 81.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

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Hawlucha @ Grassy Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Taunt
- Acrobatics
- Close Combat


:blaziken: I’m convinced that Blaziken can put some work with Screens support. With Screens up, you don’t need protect anymore and thus you can go for a coverage move like Thunder Punch.

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Blaziken @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Blaze Kick
- Close Combat
- Thunder Punch


:incineroar: The optimal choice would be to use another mon instead. (Sd, Scale Shot Garchomp for instance or maybe Weakness Policy Dragapult). If you really want to use it however, here is a set that can work in this kind of team. You should consider replacing Blaziken by one of the dragons cited above if you want to play Incineroar (even if I think Blaziken is better than Inci).

incineroar.gif

Incineroar @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Flame Charge
- Close Combat
- Darkest Lariat


Bonus: The Garchomp set I’m thinking of: (You want to set up before Rillaboom comes to avoid nerfing your Earthquake with Grassy Terrain).

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Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Scale Shot
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake


And here is the past (with Inci and Garchomp but as I said you can consider playing Blaziken instead of Inci):

Rillaboom @ Life Orb
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Grassy Glide
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off

Hawlucha @ Grassy Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Taunt
- Acrobatics
- Close Combat

Tapu Lele @ Life Orb
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast

Incineroar @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Flame Charge
- Close Combat
- Darkest Lariat

Regieleki @ Light Clay

Ability: Transistor
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Rapid Spin
- Explosion

Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Scale Shot
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

Hope this helps! With that saying, I wish you a good day.
 
you might want to try to stop mamoswine from going crazy, it threatens rilla and lucha and can maybe sweep your team
 
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