SS OU First real team

[Grosnoub]

Hi guys,

I'm beginning on showdown, I started like a week ago and I would like to have your opinion on my first "real" team after playing mostly with meme pokemons. I peaked around 1350 elo using it.

https://pokepast.es/1292c06a05c25fea

Melmetal @ Assault Vest
Name: Me eat you
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs : 128 HP / 172 Atk / 196 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
-Double Iron Bash
-Ice Punch
-Thunder Punch
-Superpower

Melmetal is the big tank on my team, I slapped the Assault Vest on him to help surviving special fire moves which aren't stab. I tried to tweak the Evs from his basic set to make his defense and special defense even, let me know if that's not a good idea. His great coverage also allows him to put pressure once he's on the field. Since Landorus is already on my team I chose Superpower instead of Earthquake. He's basically the pivot of my team and helps regain momentum.


Landorus-T @ Leftovers
Name: Rarely used
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide
-U-turn
-Defog

So this guy's job is simple, providing a sweat defog and a ground/electric immunity on switch. I chose to run Rock Slide instead of Stealth Rock, I don't know if that's a mistake but I often manage to get my opponent to switch on his bird to avoid the Earthquake and then get hit by the Rock Slide for ok damage. I run him defensively because his presence really helps Melmetal and Urshifu to stay alive and avoid the demonic Earthquake/Thunderbolt.


Zapdos @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Name: Twitter
Ability: Static
Evs: 252HP / 216 Def / 40 Spe
Timid Nature
-Toxic
-Heatwave
-Roost
-Volt Switch

Zapdos provides an other ground immunity helping once again Melmetal to stay in the game, the grass and flying resistances are also helping Urshifu. His Toxic move is usefull to disrupt the set up attempts and his Heatwave forces Ferrothorn and Rillaboom to switch out. I sometimes use him as a suicide switch to paralyze a problematic mon faster than my team.


Urshifu-Rapid-Strike @ Life orb
Name: Bruce
Ability: Unseen Fist
Evs: 252Atk / 252Spe / 4SpD
Jolly Nature
-Surging Strikes
-Close Combat
-Thunder Punch
-U-turn

Urshifu is my main physical sweeper, his water stab move Surging Strikes usually does a lot of damage boosted by the life orb and his Ice Punch does the coverage of
the grass type, I mainly think of Rillaboom here which is often switched in by the opponent on Urshifu. Honestly his job is just to hit hard and bypass the screens/stats boosted of the opponent. If I had to choose a member to replace I think it would be him, the first version of this team had a DD Gyarados, maybe It would be better, what do you think ?


Grimmsnarl @ Choice scarf
Name: Gobelin
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252Atk / 248HP / 8SpD
Adamant Nature
-Light Screen
-Thunder Wave
-Trick
-Play Rough

So this guy is the support of the team, his fairy type brings a safe switch in on dragon moves plus a switch out of the opponent. Light screen helps the team surviving Regieleki and Thunder Wave is here for speed control. Trick is really usefull against foes set up like Volcarona. Thunder Wave also set up the Hex spam by Dragapult, this guy is only here to regain momentum.


Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Name: Torpedo
Ability: Infiltrator
Evs: 252SpA / 252Spe / 4SpD
Timid Nature
-Draco Meteor
-Shadow Ball
-Flamethrower
-Hex

Here's the most dangerous member of the team, he usually doesn't come out before the end game where is job is to sweep and clean the already weakened foes. I put Flamethrower on him to help dealing with the steel type, it usually works when I have a safe switch and bring him out, the opponent switch on his steel type (when his fairy one is already out) expecting Draco Meteor or Dragon Darts and end up with a 1 HKO. Zapdos and Grimmsnarl helps setting up the Hex spam with the para and poison status.


So that's basically it, I tried to detail as best as I can, I begin so I lack the knowledge on many points, most of Evs sets are from smogon, I can't explain you why Melmetal has 12 in speed for exemple. Anyway thanks for reading, looking forward to your advices :)

 

[ironwater]

Hey there, here to give you my thoughts on the team and advices to try improving it.

First, I must admit that for someone who began to play competitive Pokemon one week ago the team is not that bad. Sure, it has some flaws but it’s a good basis and the team seems balanced with some good ideas. As you’re pretty new to all the competitive stuff I’ll try to make my suggestions as clear as possible and to give explanations when it’s needed.

So, regarding the team you’ve built, I like the offensive combo with Urshifu-R + Dragapult . I’ll come back on the sets later, but theses mons paired pretty well as they can pressure each other checks. For instance, mons that like to come on Dragapult are things like Blissey , Tyranitar , Mandibuzz , Spécial defensive Heatran or even Galarian Slowking and all of them are pressured by Urshifu, being OHKO or at least 2HKO by Surging Strikes/Close Combat. Dragapult has access to Thunderbolt to pressure Toxapex and its ghost STAB Shadow Ball for Slowbro who are the main Urshifu-R checks. Melmetal is a good additition to switch onto Fairy types like Clefable and pressure them in return while steel being able to weaken Toxapex , Mandibuzz or Corviknight with its coverage. However, I feel like your defensive options are not that great because you lack a good special wall and some mons like offensive Garchomp can also easily become a problem. Indeed, if Melmetal is pretty bulky with Assault Vest, it cannot act as a strong special defensive option because it is unable to recover the health it will lose. Finally, Grimmsnarl with Trick and a Choice Scarf can be a good bait. However, I think that this mon is not great overall and even if you can annoy some mons by tricking them a Choice Scarf, I feel like it won’t be really useful in a lot of games as it’s not good as a defensive options and not strong as a breaker. Sure, it has a support role, but you don’t really need screens support in these king of Balance type of team.


According to this short analysis, here are the changes I would made:


As I said, I don’t think that Grimmsnarl is useful here. I think you rather have a strong special defensive option in this slot able to pivot and support your breakers (Dragapult and Urshifu-R) and so Slowking seems to be an appropriate choice. Slowking is extremely bulking on the special side and can absorb hits from a wide variety of mons. For instance, you can sponge Nidoking , Tapu Lele :tapu lel: and even Heatran hits pretty well. Moreover, it is able to slow pivot with Teleport and its negative priority which will allow you to safely in your breakers. On top of that, its access to Future Sigh makes him really good when paired up with Urshifu-R as Toxapex cannot act as a switch-in to Urshifu when you’ve fired a Future Sigh before Teleporting with Slowking. Here is a standard special defensive Slowking set you can use:

Slowking @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Slack Off
- Future Sight
- Teleport


Zapdos is a good defensive Flying type who is able to take hits from Kartana and Rillaboom . It also brings some support with Defog. However, as you need a Ghost Resist with Grimmsnarl gone, I would suggest you to play Mandibuzz here instead. Mandibuzz fulfill a somehow similar role but with the ability to check Dragapult and some Sword Dance users thanks to its access to Foul Play. It is also able to pivot with U-Turn so that you can in safely your breakers and can Defog. Here is the standard defensive Mandibuzz set that allows you to beat Choice Specs Dragapult and mons like Kartana:

Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 144 SpD / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn


That was the two biggest changes, now for the others mons I think you should just adjust the sets as follow:


Defensive Landorus can be great to stop some threats that can pressure Mandibuzz and Slowking like some offensive Garchomp sets. It is also a good Stealth Rocks setter so as you lack one you should use him with Stealth Rocks. U-Turn is great for pivoting into your breakers and after setting Rocks and Earthquake is its main STAB. For the last slot, you can consider Toxic and Knock Off which both annoy most Defoggers that come on Landorus to remove Hazards. Knock Off brings more support to the team as you don’t have another item remover while Toxic can annoy some defensive mons and some set-up sweepers. I give you a modified version of your Lando with Rocks just below (the spread is a bit different and allow you to outspeed some additional mons) :

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Knock Off/ Toxic


Choice Specs Dragapult is a threatening wallbreaker with an incredibly good Speed tier. Your moveset can be a bit improved, however. Indeed, you need to have U-turn on this mon because you want to be able to pivot on defensive walls that check you like Blissey and keep the momentum and the pressure you are applying to your opponent. Hex is not useful here with Grimmsnarl gone so you can remove it. I also think that thunderbolt would be more useful than Flamethrower to threaten bulky Water types for Urshifu and Flying types like Mandibuzz . Here is the new version of Dragapult:

Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn
- Thunderbolt/ Flamethrower


Urshifu-R pairs well with Dragapult as I said it before but I think you would rather play him with Choice Band as it doesn’t like the chip damages from Life Orb. Another thing I would change here, is using Aqua Jet instead of Ice Punch because Ice Punch is mainly here for Landorus-T and Garchomp who already die/take huge damages on Surging Strikes. Aqua Jet can help killing weaken faster mons or things like Volcarona (You can go Slowking when you face him and Teleport into Urshifu to revenge kill him with Aqua Jet). Here is the set with these changes:

Urshifu-Rapid-Strike @ Choice Band
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Surging Strikes
- Close Combat
- Aqua Jet
- U-turn


Melmetal can be a solid option to deal with Ice types like Kyurem or Fairy types like Clefable . I think you can try a lot of different sets here and find what works the best. Assault Vest can be great to tank Kyurem Earth power. Leftovers give you some recovery to avoid getting cheap on the long term against mons like Clefable . Banded could also be an option for extra damage but you’ll lose a lot of defensive utility. Concerning the moveset, I think that Earthquake is better then Ice punch because the mons that are weak to Ice Punch already take massive damages on Double Iron Bash and Earthquake is great for Toxapex .


Now, here is the past of the team with all these changes. Don’t hesitate to give it a try and see if it works better:

The team

Melmetal @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 128 HP / 172 Atk / 196 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Earthquake
- Thunder Punch
- Superpower

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 144 SpD / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn

Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn
- Thunderbolt

Urshifu-Rapid-Strike @ Choice Band
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Surging Strikes
- Close Combat
- Aqua Jet
- U-turn

Slowking @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Slack Off
- Future Sight
- Teleport

Hope this was helpful and clear enough. Thanks for reading and have a good day.

 

[Grosnoub]

Hello ironwater, thanks for giving me your advices and thank you for the compliment, I occasionally watched some competitive content before starting so I had some basics already covered.

So I tried the team with the changes you recommended and the sets are better on Urshifu , Melmetal and Landorus , especially the choice band on Urshifu .
I only did a few games so I don't know how much are worth my 2 cents on the subject but I think there is a major problem that keeps the team from functioning well, the weaknesses shared between the offense and defense.
The team is really weak to the electric type, both Mandibuzz and Slowking share this with Urshifu so I can't really switch on any of them if I face an electric type, I know that Melmetal and Landorus are great switch in but it makes my moves predictable, my opponent can easily negate the pressure Urshifu was applying (also Tapu Koko destroys 4/6 of the team with Dragapult being weak to fairy).

Furthermore slowking shares the dark and ghost weaknesses of dragapult , I am well aware that he's really good but I don't think he fits well in this team since I can't switch on him as often as I would like.

So I thought about this and I came up with a replacement, rotom heat This guy has an immunity to ground and resists fairy, grass, electricity, ice, flying and fire. So type based he is a really great fit to Melmetal and Urshifu as well as providing a fairy and ice resistance for Dragapult . He can also apply pressure on both ferrothorn and rillaboom , here is the set I was thinking about :

Pizza time (Rotom-Heat) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Will-O-Wisp

So here is the team :
https://pokepast.es/81d2c251ddd832d5

What do you think about it ?

Also I considered replacing Mandibuzz by scrafty in the case I would like to be more offensive, I imagine Mandibuzz is better overall but is Scrafty a viable option here ?

Thank you again for your advices and for reading, have a nice day/evening/night.

 

[ironwater]

Hi again, glad you read my advices and try the changes!

As you pointed it out, Offensive Electric types can be hard to deal with. I also think that some Ice types can be problematic, so I'll also come back on that also. You also mentioned the pressure from Dark and Ghost types being able to threaten both Slowking and Dragapult.

So, I think I'm going to talk a bit about how I would handle these threats with the current team, then what you could change in the team to have a better match-up against some of these threats.


Let's begin with Electric types. The main Electric types played in OU are Zeraora , Tapu Koko , Regieleki , Dracozolt and Zapdos .

Zeraora can be an issue because it threatens the majority of your mons and outspeed Dragapult. However, he is unable to threaten Landorus even if it is annoying with Knock Off and potentially Toxic. Against a team with Zeraora you want to play around him with Melmetal and Lando to avoid getting chipped with Lando when you can. You should also keep the offensive pressure on the opponent team to avoid getting wear down with your Lando on the long term and eventually lose to Zeraora.

Tapu koko two main sets are Choice Specs and Boots with Roost. The former is really hard to deal with for the team. You basically have to predict which move it will use between Dazzling Gleam that can wear down Landorus and Thunderbolt/Volt Switch which deal massive damages to Slowking and Melmetal. Slowking is able to take a Specs Thunderbolt when full life but you'll have to heal it fully before Koko comes back. Apart from doing predictions you can try to always keep the momentum against teams with a mon threatening yours as all your mons are able to pivot. However, this can be really hard in some matchup, especially if the opponent has several big threats. Non locked Tapu Koko can also break down the team as it 2HKO Slowking and also forces you to make predictions because if Slowking can come on every moves you cannot stay to click Teleport and take momentum back.

Is not that much played but still OU. Anyway, if you face one don't let your Landorus did and you should be fine. It can be threatening paired up with Tapu Koko as both will pressure Landorus but most of the time is played as a screen setter in HO teams and shouldn't be an issue.

Dracozolt is extremely hard to wall. Landorus also is one of its best answer but can be weaken by Draco Meteor. You'll have to make good predictions against him to avoid being overwhelmed with Lando. It is quite rare however and relatively easy to chip so this shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Defensif Zapdos is not an issue because you can always go Slowking on him and pivot around because its Electric moves won't do much. Offensive Zapdos (mainly played in Rain teams) is a problem, however. Slowking cannot wall him and your only way to deal with him is to carefully play with Pult, Melmetal and Lando to avoid a Thunder on Melmetal or a Hurricane on Pult or Lando.


Regarding Ice types, you didn't mention them because they aren't omnipresent unlike Electric types, but they can still be a huge issue. I'm mainly thinking here about Weavile and Kyurem .

Weavile is a problem because it threatens Lando and Mandi with its Ice moves and also threaten Slowking and Melmetal with Knock Off. To beat Weavile you want to use Urshifu. However, Urshifu cannot recover its health and thus even if it resists both Weavile STABs, it doesn't want to switch-in on them. It can act as a switch two or three times but not more. Thus, you're force to keep the momentum against Weavile to avoid having to hard switch Urshifu on its moves.

Kyurem can be played with Choice Specs or with Sub and Roost. Against the Specs one, it's basically the same issue as versus Tapu Koko: Slowking can sponge a hit but need to recover all its health to take another one. Melmetal can come on freeze dry but not on Earth Power so you will often have to guess right. However, Specs Kyurem can be pressure by Stealth Rocks as they will limit its opportunities to come on the field so you should try to maintain Rocks up. Now for the Sub Roost variant, it's also the same as with Tapu Koko and you need to play around with Melmetal and Slowking to sponge its hits and threaten him.


Lastly, you mentioned the fact that Ghost and Dark types can pressure both Slowking and Dragapult. This is true but not necessary a big issue because Mandibuzz can sponge Ghost and Dark moves pretty well. However, when the opposing team also has a Rillaboom or a Kartana you should be cautious because if Mandibuzz get overwhelmed, your whole team may fall apart.


Ok, it was a bit long (and I hope not too boring and somehow clear) but now let’s go to the interesting part. What can you change in the team to improve these hard matchups? However, keep in mind that changes often improve some matchups at the cost of making other matchups worst.


First, let’s go over the changes you’re proposing. Scrafty : I don’t think that it can replace Mandibuzz. It won’t act as a defensive wall and you will lose your main Defogger. Moreover, I don’t think Scrafty is a good offensive option because it doesn’t hit hard and is really slow. You can consider playing him in OU with the good support but here I think it wouldn’t be a viable option and will leave you with a huge weakness to Dragapult, Rillaboom and Kartana as Scrafty (or Rotom Heat that you’re proposing as well get wear down easily and are not long term checks).

For Rotom-Heat , it has a great typing, but they are two main issues if you choose him over Slowking. The first one is that you lack a reliable recovery move (you should use Pain Split for more durability but even with Pain Split it can get weaken and overwhelmed pretty easily). Thus, I don’t think Rotom will deal with the afford mentioned issues because you won’t be able to come multiple times on Tapu Koko or Kyurem for instance even if you resist their moves. The second one is that Slowking is your only defensive water resist and having Rotom-H instead would leave you extremely weak against rains and strong water breakers but also against Heatran that can wear you down easily.

Thus, for alternatives that you can try to see if the team works better, I think you should keep the basis of Lando, Mandi, Dragapult and Urshifu and try to change Slowking and Melmetal to have better defensive answers to the aforementioned threats.


First solution:

The first solution I thought about was to replace the core Melmetal and Slowking by Blissey and Slowbro .

Blissey + Slowbro is a well-known core as they are both very bulky on one defensive side and can both Teleport into another mon. Slowbro has basically the same role as Slowking being able to Future Sigh and Teleport to help Urshifu and Dragapult. However, it is bulkier on the physical side and thus a better option if you have Blissey to sponge special hits. Blissey will be a way more reliable answer to all the special threatening mons like Tapu Koko, offensive Zapdos and Kyurem. Blissey also brings some support options with Wish to heal Lando, Dragapult and Urshifu as well as Teleport and Aromatherapy. However, Blissey is really passive and you will lose a lot of offensive pressure without Melmetal. This is not that much of an issue as healing your other breakers with Blissey is relatively easy against most defensive teams. The real problem with this core is that your way weaker to Heatran and Calm Mind Clefable. As both are top threats in the current meta, I don’t think it’s a good change overall but I’m still mentioning it as it can give you some other ideas.

Here are the sets for both:

Blissey (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Wish/ Aromatherapy
- Teleport

Slowbro @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Scald
- Slack Off
- Future Sight
- Teleport


Another solution:

Replaced Slowking by Slowking Galar and keep Melmetal :

Slowing galar can act as a Tapu Koko, offensive Zapdos and Kyurem check and is also able to win the 1v1 against most Heatran with Earthquake. It can also handle Nidoking if you don’t directly come on Earth Power. However, this change imply that you will lose your only defensive water resist which can be extremely detrimental against water breakers and in the rain matchup.

Here is the Slowking Galar set I’m thinking of:

Slowking-Galar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Future Sight
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
- Earthquake


Third solution which may be the best one:

Replaced Melmetal with Ferrothorn and keep Slowking :

At first, one may think that losing Melmetal for Ferrothorn will make you lose a lot of offensive pressure. That’s not completely right mainly because of Ferrothorn access to Spikes. Basically, Ferro can setup hazards while annoying Defoggers with Leech Seed and Knock Off. Sure, it doesn’t hit as hard as Melmetal but hazards support and another Knock Off user to remove opposing Bottes more efficiently can help Urshifu and Dragapult destroy the opposing team. Ferro can also check really well Tapu Koko and somehow Kyurem while acting as a second Water resist when Slowking is overwhelmed and another Grass resist to prevent Mandibuzz from having to deal with both Rillaboom and Kartana against Grass spam teams. Moreover, with Iron Head you can easily check Clefable and prevent the Calm Mind one (who is often played with Thunderbolt for Toxapex and not Flamethrower) to sweep your team.

Here is the Ferro set I’m thinking of (the spread is the Smogon one and can be optimized):

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Knock Off
- Iron Head


I think the version with Ferro can work better and solve some of the aforementioned issues. You can still be pressured quite hard by some mons like Heatran and Weavile. Anyway, don’t hesitate to take these changes into account and try them. I give you a past with Ferro:

New version

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Knock Off
- Iron Head

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 144 SpD / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn

Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn
- Thunderbolt

Urshifu-Rapid-Strike @ Choice Band
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Surging Strikes
- Close Combat
- Aqua Jet
- U-turn

Slowking @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Slack Off
- Future Sight
- Teleport

Hope this help and that it was not too long and boring. Have a good day!

 

[Niketchup]

Hello ironwater, thanks for giving me your advices and thank you for the compliment, I occasionally watched some competitive content before starting so I had some basics already covered.

So I tried the team with the changes you recommended and the sets are better on Urshifu , Melmetal and Landorus , especially the choice band on Urshifu .
I only did a few games so I don't know how much are worth my 2 cents on the subject but I think there is a major problem that keeps the team from functioning well, the weaknesses shared between the offense and defense.
The team is really weak to the electric type, both Mandibuzz and Slowking share this with Urshifu so I can't really switch on any of them if I face an electric type, I know that Melmetal and Landorus are great switch in but it makes my moves predictable, my opponent can easily negate the pressure Urshifu was applying (also Tapu Koko destroys 4/6 of the team with Dragapult being weak to fairy).

Furthermore slowking shares the dark and ghost weaknesses of dragapult , I am well aware that he's really good but I don't think he fits well in this team since I can't switch on him as often as I would like.

So I thought about this and I came up with a replacement, rotom heat This guy has an immunity to ground and resists fairy, grass, electricity, ice, flying and fire. So type based he is a really great fit to Melmetal and Urshifu as well as providing a fairy and ice resistance for Dragapult . He can also apply pressure on both ferrothorn and rillaboom , here is the set I was thinking about :

Pizza time (Rotom-Heat) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Will-O-Wisp

So here is the team :
https://pokepast.es/81d2c251ddd832d5

What do you think about it ?

Also I considered replacing Mandibuzz by scrafty in the case I would like to be more offensive, I imagine Mandibuzz is better overall but is Scrafty a viable option here ?

Thank you again for your advices and for reading, have a nice day/evening/night.

Hi! I'm new to this gen so I've been trying out some teams. I tested this one and it worked like a charm. I managed to win 8 out of 10 matches, it seems pretty solid in my opinion. The only one I'm having issues with is Urshifu since I don't get to do much with him unless he's ready to sweep. Either way, thank you for the analysis and the great team!

I'll let you know if I do any changes that might help the team.

Hi again, glad you read my advices and try the changes!

As you pointed it out, Offensive Electric types can be hard to deal with. I also think that some Ice types can be problematic, so I'll also come back on that also. You also mentioned the pressure from Dark and Ghost types being able to threaten both Slowking and Dragapult.

So, I think I'm going to talk a bit about how I would handle these threats with the current team, then what you could change in the team to have a better match-up against some of these threats.


Let's begin with Electric types. The main Electric types played in OU are Zeraora , Tapu Koko , Regieleki , Dracozolt and Zapdos .

Zeraora can be an issue because it threatens the majority of your mons and outspeed Dragapult. However, he is unable to threaten Landorus even if it is annoying with Knock Off and potentially Toxic. Against a team with Zeraora you want to play around him with Melmetal and Lando to avoid getting chipped with Lando when you can. You should also keep the offensive pressure on the opponent team to avoid getting wear down with your Lando on the long term and eventually lose to Zeraora.

Tapu koko two main sets are Choice Specs and Boots with Roost. The former is really hard to deal with for the team. You basically have to predict which move it will use between Dazzling Gleam that can wear down Landorus and Thunderbolt/Volt Switch which deal massive damages to Slowking and Melmetal. Slowking is able to take a Specs Thunderbolt when full life but you'll have to heal it fully before Koko comes back. Apart from doing predictions you can try to always keep the momentum against teams with a mon threatening yours as all your mons are able to pivot. However, this can be really hard in some matchup, especially if the opponent has several big threats. Non locked Tapu Koko can also break down the team as it 2HKO Slowking and also forces you to make predictions because if Slowking can come on every moves you cannot stay to click Teleport and take momentum back.

Is not that much played but still OU. Anyway, if you face one don't let your Landorus did and you should be fine. It can be threatening paired up with Tapu Koko as both will pressure Landorus but most of the time is played as a screen setter in HO teams and shouldn't be an issue.

Dracozolt is extremely hard to wall. Landorus also is one of its best answer but can be weaken by Draco Meteor. You'll have to make good predictions against him to avoid being overwhelmed with Lando. It is quite rare however and relatively easy to chip so this shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Defensif Zapdos is not an issue because you can always go Slowking on him and pivot around because its Electric moves won't do much. Offensive Zapdos (mainly played in Rain teams) is a problem, however. Slowking cannot wall him and your only way to deal with him is to carefully play with Pult, Melmetal and Lando to avoid a Thunder on Melmetal or a Hurricane on Pult or Lando.


Regarding Ice types, you didn't mention them because they aren't omnipresent unlike Electric types, but they can still be a huge issue. I'm mainly thinking here about Weavile and Kyurem .

Weavile is a problem because it threatens Lando and Mandi with its Ice moves and also threaten Slowking and Melmetal with Knock Off. To beat Weavile you want to use Urshifu. However, Urshifu cannot recover its health and thus even if it resists both Weavile STABs, it doesn't want to switch-in on them. It can act as a switch two or three times but not more. Thus, you're force to keep the momentum against Weavile to avoid having to hard switch Urshifu on its moves.

Kyurem can be played with Choice Specs or with Sub and Roost. Against the Specs one, it's basically the same issue as versus Tapu Koko: Slowking can sponge a hit but need to recover all its health to take another one. Melmetal can come on freeze dry but not on Earth Power so you will often have to guess right. However, Specs Kyurem can be pressure by Stealth Rocks as they will limit its opportunities to come on the field so you should try to maintain Rocks up. Now for the Sub Roost variant, it's also the same as with Tapu Koko and you need to play around with Melmetal and Slowking to sponge its hits and threaten him.


Lastly, you mentioned the fact that Ghost and Dark types can pressure both Slowking and Dragapult. This is true but not necessary a big issue because Mandibuzz can sponge Ghost and Dark moves pretty well. However, when the opposing team also has a Rillaboom or a Kartana you should be cautious because if Mandibuzz get overwhelmed, your whole team may fall apart.


Ok, it was a bit long (and I hope not too boring and somehow clear) but now let’s go to the interesting part. What can you change in the team to improve these hard matchups? However, keep in mind that changes often improve some matchups at the cost of making other matchups worst.


First, let’s go over the changes you’re proposing. Scrafty : I don’t think that it can replace Mandibuzz. It won’t act as a defensive wall and you will lose your main Defogger. Moreover, I don’t think Scrafty is a good offensive option because it doesn’t hit hard and is really slow. You can consider playing him in OU with the good support but here I think it wouldn’t be a viable option and will leave you with a huge weakness to Dragapult, Rillaboom and Kartana as Scrafty (or Rotom Heat that you’re proposing as well get wear down easily and are not long term checks).

For Rotom-Heat , it has a great typing, but they are two main issues if you choose him over Slowking. The first one is that you lack a reliable recovery move (you should use Pain Split for more durability but even with Pain Split it can get weaken and overwhelmed pretty easily). Thus, I don’t think Rotom will deal with the afford mentioned issues because you won’t be able to come multiple times on Tapu Koko or Kyurem for instance even if you resist their moves. The second one is that Slowking is your only defensive water resist and having Rotom-H instead would leave you extremely weak against rains and strong water breakers but also against Heatran that can wear you down easily.

Thus, for alternatives that you can try to see if the team works better, I think you should keep the basis of Lando, Mandi, Dragapult and Urshifu and try to change Slowking and Melmetal to have better defensive answers to the aforementioned threats.


First solution:

The first solution I thought about was to replace the core Melmetal and Slowking by Blissey and Slowbro .

Blissey + Slowbro is a well-known core as they are both very bulky on one defensive side and can both Teleport into another mon. Slowbro has basically the same role as Slowking being able to Future Sigh and Teleport to help Urshifu and Dragapult. However, it is bulkier on the physical side and thus a better option if you have Blissey to sponge special hits. Blissey will be a way more reliable answer to all the special threatening mons like Tapu Koko, offensive Zapdos and Kyurem. Blissey also brings some support options with Wish to heal Lando, Dragapult and Urshifu as well as Teleport and Aromatherapy. However, Blissey is really passive and you will lose a lot of offensive pressure without Melmetal. This is not that much of an issue as healing your other breakers with Blissey is relatively easy against most defensive teams. The real problem with this core is that your way weaker to Heatran and Calm Mind Clefable. As both are top threats in the current meta, I don’t think it’s a good change overall but I’m still mentioning it as it can give you some other ideas.

Here are the sets for both:

View attachment 330326
Blissey (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Wish/ Aromatherapy
- Teleport

View attachment 330323
Slowbro @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Scald
- Slack Off
- Future Sight
- Teleport


Another solution:

Replaced Slowking by Slowking Galar and keep Melmetal :

Slowing galar can act as a Tapu Koko, offensive Zapdos and Kyurem check and is also able to win the 1v1 against most Heatran with Earthquake. It can also handle Nidoking if you don’t directly come on Earth Power. However, this change imply that you will lose your only defensive water resist which can be extremely detrimental against water breakers and in the rain matchup.

Here is the Slowking Galar set I’m thinking of:

View attachment 330325
Slowking-Galar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Future Sight
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
- Earthquake


Third solution which may be the best one:

Replaced Melmetal with Ferrothorn and keep Slowking :

At first, one may think that losing Melmetal for Ferrothorn will make you lose a lot of offensive pressure. That’s not completely right mainly because of Ferrothorn access to Spikes. Basically, Ferro can setup hazards while annoying Defoggers with Leech Seed and Knock Off. Sure, it doesn’t hit as hard as Melmetal but hazards support and another Knock Off user to remove opposing Bottes more efficiently can help Urshifu and Dragapult destroy the opposing team. Ferro can also check really well Tapu Koko and somehow Kyurem while acting as a second Water resist when Slowking is overwhelmed and another Grass resist to prevent Mandibuzz from having to deal with both Rillaboom and Kartana against Grass spam teams. Moreover, with Iron Head you can easily check Clefable and prevent the Calm Mind one (who is often played with Thunderbolt for Toxapex and not Flamethrower) to sweep your team.

Here is the Ferro set I’m thinking of (the spread is the Smogon one and can be optimized):


View attachment 330322
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Knock Off
- Iron Head


I think the version with Ferro can work better and solve some of the aforementioned issues. You can still be pressured quite hard by some mons like Heatran and Weavile. Anyway, don’t hesitate to take these changes into account and try them. I give you a past with Ferro:

New version

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Knock Off
- Iron Head

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 144 SpD / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn

Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn
- Thunderbolt

Urshifu-Rapid-Strike @ Choice Band
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Surging Strikes
- Close Combat
- Aqua Jet
- U-turn

Slowking @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Slack Off
- Future Sight
- Teleport

Hope this help and that it was not too long and boring. Have a good day!

I'll definitely take this suggestions into account. The analysis was fantastic, specially for someone new to the game, thank you!

 

[Grosnoub]

Hi again, glad you read my advices and try the changes!

As you pointed it out, Offensive Electric types can be hard to deal with. I also think that some Ice types can be problematic, so I'll also come back on that also. You also mentioned the pressure from Dark and Ghost types being able to threaten both Slowking and Dragapult.

So, I think I'm going to talk a bit about how I would handle these threats with the current team, then what you could change in the team to have a better match-up against some of these threats.


Let's begin with Electric types. The main Electric types played in OU are Zeraora , Tapu Koko , Regieleki , Dracozolt and Zapdos .

Zeraora can be an issue because it threatens the majority of your mons and outspeed Dragapult. However, he is unable to threaten Landorus even if it is annoying with Knock Off and potentially Toxic. Against a team with Zeraora you want to play around him with Melmetal and Lando to avoid getting chipped with Lando when you can. You should also keep the offensive pressure on the opponent team to avoid getting wear down with your Lando on the long term and eventually lose to Zeraora.

Tapu koko two main sets are Choice Specs and Boots with Roost. The former is really hard to deal with for the team. You basically have to predict which move it will use between Dazzling Gleam that can wear down Landorus and Thunderbolt/Volt Switch which deal massive damages to Slowking and Melmetal. Slowking is able to take a Specs Thunderbolt when full life but you'll have to heal it fully before Koko comes back. Apart from doing predictions you can try to always keep the momentum against teams with a mon threatening yours as all your mons are able to pivot. However, this can be really hard in some matchup, especially if the opponent has several big threats. Non locked Tapu Koko can also break down the team as it 2HKO Slowking and also forces you to make predictions because if Slowking can come on every moves you cannot stay to click Teleport and take momentum back.

Is not that much played but still OU. Anyway, if you face one don't let your Landorus did and you should be fine. It can be threatening paired up with Tapu Koko as both will pressure Landorus but most of the time is played as a screen setter in HO teams and shouldn't be an issue.

Dracozolt is extremely hard to wall. Landorus also is one of its best answer but can be weaken by Draco Meteor. You'll have to make good predictions against him to avoid being overwhelmed with Lando. It is quite rare however and relatively easy to chip so this shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Defensif Zapdos is not an issue because you can always go Slowking on him and pivot around because its Electric moves won't do much. Offensive Zapdos (mainly played in Rain teams) is a problem, however. Slowking cannot wall him and your only way to deal with him is to carefully play with Pult, Melmetal and Lando to avoid a Thunder on Melmetal or a Hurricane on Pult or Lando.


Regarding Ice types, you didn't mention them because they aren't omnipresent unlike Electric types, but they can still be a huge issue. I'm mainly thinking here about Weavile and Kyurem .

Weavile is a problem because it threatens Lando and Mandi with its Ice moves and also threaten Slowking and Melmetal with Knock Off. To beat Weavile you want to use Urshifu. However, Urshifu cannot recover its health and thus even if it resists both Weavile STABs, it doesn't want to switch-in on them. It can act as a switch two or three times but not more. Thus, you're force to keep the momentum against Weavile to avoid having to hard switch Urshifu on its moves.

Kyurem can be played with Choice Specs or with Sub and Roost. Against the Specs one, it's basically the same issue as versus Tapu Koko: Slowking can sponge a hit but need to recover all its health to take another one. Melmetal can come on freeze dry but not on Earth Power so you will often have to guess right. However, Specs Kyurem can be pressure by Stealth Rocks as they will limit its opportunities to come on the field so you should try to maintain Rocks up. Now for the Sub Roost variant, it's also the same as with Tapu Koko and you need to play around with Melmetal and Slowking to sponge its hits and threaten him.


Lastly, you mentioned the fact that Ghost and Dark types can pressure both Slowking and Dragapult. This is true but not necessary a big issue because Mandibuzz can sponge Ghost and Dark moves pretty well. However, when the opposing team also has a Rillaboom or a Kartana you should be cautious because if Mandibuzz get overwhelmed, your whole team may fall apart.


Ok, it was a bit long (and I hope not too boring and somehow clear) but now let’s go to the interesting part. What can you change in the team to improve these hard matchups? However, keep in mind that changes often improve some matchups at the cost of making other matchups worst.


First, let’s go over the changes you’re proposing. Scrafty : I don’t think that it can replace Mandibuzz. It won’t act as a defensive wall and you will lose your main Defogger. Moreover, I don’t think Scrafty is a good offensive option because it doesn’t hit hard and is really slow. You can consider playing him in OU with the good support but here I think it wouldn’t be a viable option and will leave you with a huge weakness to Dragapult, Rillaboom and Kartana as Scrafty (or Rotom Heat that you’re proposing as well get wear down easily and are not long term checks).

For Rotom-Heat , it has a great typing, but they are two main issues if you choose him over Slowking. The first one is that you lack a reliable recovery move (you should use Pain Split for more durability but even with Pain Split it can get weaken and overwhelmed pretty easily). Thus, I don’t think Rotom will deal with the afford mentioned issues because you won’t be able to come multiple times on Tapu Koko or Kyurem for instance even if you resist their moves. The second one is that Slowking is your only defensive water resist and having Rotom-H instead would leave you extremely weak against rains and strong water breakers but also against Heatran that can wear you down easily.

Thus, for alternatives that you can try to see if the team works better, I think you should keep the basis of Lando, Mandi, Dragapult and Urshifu and try to change Slowking and Melmetal to have better defensive answers to the aforementioned threats.


First solution:

The first solution I thought about was to replace the core Melmetal and Slowking by Blissey and Slowbro .

Blissey + Slowbro is a well-known core as they are both very bulky on one defensive side and can both Teleport into another mon. Slowbro has basically the same role as Slowking being able to Future Sigh and Teleport to help Urshifu and Dragapult. However, it is bulkier on the physical side and thus a better option if you have Blissey to sponge special hits. Blissey will be a way more reliable answer to all the special threatening mons like Tapu Koko, offensive Zapdos and Kyurem. Blissey also brings some support options with Wish to heal Lando, Dragapult and Urshifu as well as Teleport and Aromatherapy. However, Blissey is really passive and you will lose a lot of offensive pressure without Melmetal. This is not that much of an issue as healing your other breakers with Blissey is relatively easy against most defensive teams. The real problem with this core is that your way weaker to Heatran and Calm Mind Clefable. As both are top threats in the current meta, I don’t think it’s a good change overall but I’m still mentioning it as it can give you some other ideas.

Here are the sets for both:

View attachment 330326
Blissey (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Wish/ Aromatherapy
- Teleport

View attachment 330323
Slowbro @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Scald
- Slack Off
- Future Sight
- Teleport


Another solution:

Replaced Slowking by Slowking Galar and keep Melmetal :

Slowing galar can act as a Tapu Koko, offensive Zapdos and Kyurem check and is also able to win the 1v1 against most Heatran with Earthquake. It can also handle Nidoking if you don’t directly come on Earth Power. However, this change imply that you will lose your only defensive water resist which can be extremely detrimental against water breakers and in the rain matchup.

Here is the Slowking Galar set I’m thinking of:

View attachment 330325
Slowking-Galar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Future Sight
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
- Earthquake


Third solution which may be the best one:

Replaced Melmetal with Ferrothorn and keep Slowking :

At first, one may think that losing Melmetal for Ferrothorn will make you lose a lot of offensive pressure. That’s not completely right mainly because of Ferrothorn access to Spikes. Basically, Ferro can setup hazards while annoying Defoggers with Leech Seed and Knock Off. Sure, it doesn’t hit as hard as Melmetal but hazards support and another Knock Off user to remove opposing Bottes more efficiently can help Urshifu and Dragapult destroy the opposing team. Ferro can also check really well Tapu Koko and somehow Kyurem while acting as a second Water resist when Slowking is overwhelmed and another Grass resist to prevent Mandibuzz from having to deal with both Rillaboom and Kartana against Grass spam teams. Moreover, with Iron Head you can easily check Clefable and prevent the Calm Mind one (who is often played with Thunderbolt for Toxapex and not Flamethrower) to sweep your team.

Here is the Ferro set I’m thinking of (the spread is the Smogon one and can be optimized):


View attachment 330322
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Knock Off
- Iron Head


I think the version with Ferro can work better and solve some of the aforementioned issues. You can still be pressured quite hard by some mons like Heatran and Weavile. Anyway, don’t hesitate to take these changes into account and try them. I give you a past with Ferro:

New version

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Knock Off
- Iron Head

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 144 SpD / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn

Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn
- Thunderbolt

Urshifu-Rapid-Strike @ Choice Band
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Surging Strikes
- Close Combat
- Aqua Jet
- U-turn

Slowking @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Slack Off
- Future Sight
- Teleport

Hope this help and that it was not too long and boring. Have a good day!

Hi, it wasn't borring at all, thanks for the feedback. Well yeah Ice could be a problem with both Mandibuzz and Landorus-T in the team but even if half the team is weak to it with Dragapult the other half resist it so I think that's ok, It's rarely an issue.

I tested Scrafty and yeah It's a bad idea, Rotom heat does the job tho. I thought about Slowking galar but I didn't know it had access to such great coverage so I will use him in replacement, thank you for the tip. His Flamethrower can pressure both Rillaboom and Ferrothorn so he will be better than Rotom heat overall.

I don't think I will use Blissey or Ferrothorn tho, it doesn't suit the playstyle I was thinking of when creating the team. Maybe later to progress on other fields.

Thank you for your advices, I really appreciate it :)

Hi! I'm new to this gen so I've been trying out some teams. I tested this one and it worked like a charm. I managed to win 8 out of 10 matches, it seems pretty solid in my opinion. The only one I'm having issues with is Urshifu since I don't get to do much with him unless he's ready to sweep. Either way, thank you for the analysis and the great team!

I'll let you know if I do any changes that might help the team.



I'll definitely take this suggestions into account. The analysis was fantastic, specially for someone new to the game, thank you!

Hi Niketchup, that's nice to have feedback from someone who tested the team, happy you doing good with it !

For Urshifu he's a great lead if you are confident your opponent will not lead with an electric type. He can threaten both Landorus-T and Ferrothorn by a possible OHKO and force them to hard switch, so you can gain momentum right from the start on top of preventing hazards.
His Surging Strikes will do respectable damage even on mons who resist it if they aren't defensive thanks to the crits so if I manage to find a good spot for him to switch in that's usually free damage.

If you find new sets for the team I will be happy to hear it, I will do the same, thank you :)