SS OU first time teambuilding!

[Nabu]

DISCLAIMER: This is my first time teambuilding, so theres probably lots of things im doing wrong since I dont really know what im doing xD

Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Mirror Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn

Corviknight is my defensive pivot into Dragapult, which also runs Defog when I need it. I have read that you need a ground immunity, which is why I picked Corviknight.

Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt

Dragapult is my main wallbreaker, used for type coverage and to just kill. The reason I run him on spa is to cover more typings with the better movepool. I also run a modest nature and choice specs to hopefully ohko or do lots of damage since i barely survive after taking a hit

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aromatherapy
- Wish
- Thunder Wave
- Moonblast

Clefable is the cleric of the team, to cure status ailments, speed control with thunder wave, and to heal non-regenerators like corviknight and quagsire with wish. The reason i run unaware clefable is to wish into unaware quagsire (if its a viable switch in) against a pokemon that managed to set up with stat boosts, then haze

Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Psychic
- Energy Ball

My stall breaker on the team, i usually send out late game when the dark and other resistant typings are cleared. I run a defensive calm mind set to set up on stallers while i have magic guard, and energy ball which im considering to replace with focus blast, but currently not running it due to my terrible luck

Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Foul Play
- Sludge Bomb

My lead and tank with regenerator, allows me to spore (if theyre not grass) and sludge bomb if they are (unless its kartana) and then manage to get a switch in on dragapult and hopefully get a ko or do alot of damage

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Haze
- Recover

My phaser on the team, which i use for electric immunity. His main goal is to only remove the enemy stat boosts and for some type coverage.

Hope that was enough description as im not so sure what to add ^^'
Open to every advice I get!

 

[VTaxi]

Hello Nabu, and welcome to Smogon! This is a really cool team, and these are some changes I would like to implement on the team:
Minor set changes
/
Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet / Leftovers
Ability: Mirror Armor
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Def / 92 SpD
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost
Mirror Armor is such a cool and underrated ability, and it makes Corviknight a great check to Dragapult. Since Corviknight is your main switch-in to Dragapult, you have to run a little SpDef to avoid the 2HKO from Dragapult as seen in this calc.
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 92 SpD Corviknight: 169-199 (42.3 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO


Dragapult @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hex
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave / Will-O-Wisp
I honestly think that a Hex status spreader Dragapult would fit this team better. There are already 2 direct status spreaders in Clefable and Amoonguss (actually there’s also a Scald user but that’s only a chance to burn). Hex Dragapult is an insanely strong breaker thanks to Hex being doubled in power because of status.

/
Reuniclus @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Recover
- Thunder
Very minor change; Psychic should be replaced with Psyshock to hit Blissey, and Energy Ball should be replaced with Thunder as the main coverage move. Thunder hits Corviknight and Mandibuzz for super effective damage, 2 Pokemon who can otherwise wall Reuniclus with Energy Ball.


Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Focus Blast
- Sleep Powder / Stun Spore
I believe Tangrowth would be a better Rocky Helmet user as it has a higher bulk (on the physical side) compared to Amoonguss. In addition to that, it’s also a better check to Garchomp and Landorus-Therian, as Tangrowth resists Ground, unlike Amoonguss, who takes neutral damage from Earthquake.
(p.s. rocky helmet users should run max def)

New team

Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet / Leftovers
Ability: Mirror Armor
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Def / 92 SpD
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost

Dragapult @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hex
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave / Will-O-Wisp

Reuniclus @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Recover
- Thunder

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Haze
- Recover

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aromatherapy
- Wish
- Thunder Wave
- Moonblast

Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Focus Blast
- Sleep Powder / Stun Spore

Have a great day/night and hope I helped!

ironwater did i miss anything?

 

[ironwater]

Hey there, welcome to the RMT section, I’m here to rate your team and propose changes in order to improve it!

Looking at the team and the sets you are using, you seem indeed pretty new to SS OU. There are some good things here, but also some mistakes in the move choices and in the way you have chosen your Pokemon. While proposing changes, I will try to point out these mistakes and detail why there are better choices. As for the team in itself, it seems to be some kind of semi stall with Dragapult as your only offensive option. To be fair, this is a rather weird structure as Dragapult wants to have the support of other offensive teammates. This is because most teams are prepared to face Choice Specs Dragapult and have a solid answer to it. Now, if you’re planning to play a Stall archetype, I would just suggest removing Dragapult for a sixth defensive Pokemon or an offensive option that fits better in a semi-stall. However, as you said in the intro that you were not really sure about what you were trying to do, I will suggest changes in order to make a balance kind of team keeping the Corviknight + Dragapult + Clefable core, as this archetype is way easier to use when you’re new in the tier. As for the three other Pokemon, Reuniclus is a good win condition and can be a great stallbreaker, but it is basically a defensive option which doesn’t bring much defensive utility and if it can be used in Stall teams because you already have teammates to cover most threats, it doesn’t fit well in balance teams. Same goes for Quagsire who is a very niche pick, only seen in some stalls. As for Amoonguss , this Pokemon is not very common in OU and even if it has an interesting niche with Spore, I think you can easily find a more useful Pokemon in that slot.

Before going over the changes, I want to emphasize on something. So, as I said, this team is very defensive with Dragapult as your only offensive option and only form of Speed Control. When you are trying to build a very defensive team, you’re forced to deal with most wallbreakers and metagame threats defensively and thus need to have a solid answer to each main threats. If you won’t be able to cover every single offensive threat with six Pokemon, you still need to be prepared to face the main ones. That’s why building a stall kind of team is not easy when you are new: you need to have very good metagame knowledge to came up with a team able to deal with most metagame threats and you also need that knowledge to make the right decisions in game. A lot of beginners who try to use Stall teams end up letting die a very important Pokemon that was required to prevent one of the opposing Pokemon from sweeping and lose because of that. If I raise that point, it’s because here for instance, there are several very common wallbreakers that can just smack your team as you have no or almost no defensive counterplay and cannot rely on Dragapult to deal with them. Heatran is a great example as its stallbreaker set will just force kills each time it comes. Tapu Lele , Urshifu-R :urshifu-rapid-strikes: with the support of Knock Off and Volcarona are examples of Pokemon you will struggle against.

Ok, this intro was a bit long, but I hope this was somehow clear. Now let’s dive into the interesting part which is what you could change to make this team better.


Major Changes:

:quagisre: -> : Slowking is a way better Bulky Water type in Balance teams, being able to slowly pivot into your breakers with Teleport as well as to support them by firing a Future Sigh which is especially helpful against more defensive teams. Overall, it’s a great Special wall that can also deal with Urshifu-R :urshifu-rapid-strikes: with some Defensive investment (even if you can be overwhelmed by U-turn spam). It can also somehow deal with Heatran or at least weaken it enough so that it’s not a threat anymore. Here is the set I would use (classic one with some Def invest to avoid a 2HKO by Close Combat from Urhsifu-R):

Slowking @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Future Sight
- Slack Off
- Teleport


-> : Landorus-T is a very solid option in balance teams, as it provides Stealth Rock support, Intimidation to deal with some Physical threats and a rather slow U-turn to pivot into your breakers. I think that Landorus-T would fit better than Amoonguss here as the latter will often make you lose momentum and you really need to have a Rock setter to help your breakers and force damage on their answers. Here is the classic defensive Landorus-T set:

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Toxic


-> : Weavile had a rise in usage recently and have shown to be a deadly offensive option pairing really well with Dragapult and pressuring most current defensive cores. Reuniclus is really hard to fit here, and I think you rather use something like Weavile to form a nice offensive duo with Dragapult as well as abuse the Weavile + Future Sigh combo. Here is the common Swords Dance set:

Weavile @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Triple Axel
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard


Minor Changes:

: Special Defensive Clefable can be used to deal with Dragapult but I think you rather have a mixed spread here with Calm Mind to act as a win condition against some teams (the SpD investment is just here to take 2 Shadow Ball from Specs Dragapult). In a balance kind of team, Magic Guard is often better than Unaware to avoid hazards and status damages. Lasty, you don’t want to use Wish without Protect and Soft Boiled is just a better option to heal yourself. Here is the set you should use:

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Calm Mind
- Thunder Wave


: Only two things to change here. The first one is its ability as Pressure is way better than Mirror Armor. Pressure allows you to beat some Pokemon in one vs one by pp stalling low PPs move while Mirror Armor have very little use because lowering stat moves are very rare in SS OU. The second one is using Body Press over Brave Bird. This is a more debatable change but overall Body Press is better to beat Bisharp , Kartana and Weavile . Brave Bird could be better against Rillaboom and Garchomp but you can U-turn into Dragapult on them. Here is the new set:

Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost


: Here too there’s two things to change here. First, you should use a Timid nature instead of Modest to outspeed Tapu Koko notably and speed tie with other Dragapult if you need to. The second thing is using U-turn as you need this move to pivot on special walls that will come against you in order to keep the momentum. Keeping Flamethrower may be better than keeping Thunderbolt, but basically the first one deals with Melmetal and can catch a reckless switch into Weavile or Bisharp while Thunderbolt can be used against Tapu Fini and Mandibuzz (and both deal with Corviknight ). Here is the modified set:

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


And here we are with the changes, the past of the new team is just below, feel free to try it.

The past

Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost

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

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Calm Mind
- Thunder Wave

Slowking @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Future Sight
- Slack Off
- Teleport

Weavile @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Triple Axel
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Toxic

Bonus part: Making a stall team with this

This rate is already pretty long so I will try to keep this part short, but I was unsure about what you were trying to do, and thus I will propose a more efficient stall team based on yours with a short explanation for each member.

: Corviknight is almost mandatory in stall teams, acting as a Physical wall, a Defogger and a check to Kartana , Rillaboom , Garchomp and Landorus-T most notably. However, in stall teams, you don’t want to use him as a pivot with U-turn but you rather have either an Iron Defense + Body Press set to deal with the aforementioned threats, or a Bulk Up Special Defensive set to use it as a Win condition and deal with the annoying Tapu Lele .


: Unaware is the ability of choice in a stall team that help dealing with a plethora of setup sweepers. Usually, it runs Calm Mind to act as a win condition against teams weak to Calm Mind Clefable and to beat some special setup sweepers like Volcarona and other Calm Mind Clefable.


: Toxapex is the bulky Water type of Choice in stall teams, being able to completely wall Urshifu-R :urshifu-rapid-strikes: and beat a lot of Physical setup sweepers with both Haze and/or Scald. It can also spam Knock Off to annoy the opposing team or use Toxic Spikes that may annoy a lot of non-Boots breakers.


: Blissey is the best special wall and act as a Ghost resist to deal with Special Dragapult and most special wallbreakers.


: Dragonite is very interesting for two things. Its ability to reliably beat Heatran who is often a problem for stall teams, and the fact that it can alleviate the pressure on Corviknight by checking Kartana and Rillaboom which can be incredibly useful when they are paired up with Magnezone .


: Hippowdon is a great Rock setter and Electric immunity, helping against Zeraora most notably. Note that with Dragonite in your team, you don’t want to use Sand Stream on Hippowdon to avoid breaking Multiscale.


Here is an example of Stall team you can make using this six Pokemon:

The stall team

Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Brave Bird
- Bulk Up
- Roost
- Substitue / Body Press / Defog

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder / Aromatherapy

Toxapex @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Knock Off
- Recover
- Haze
- Scald / Toxic Spikes

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

Dragonite @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Ice Beam
- Earthquake
- Roost
- Defog / Heal Bell

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic

That’s all I had to say here, feel free to test one of the teams or to ask questions if some things are not clear. Have a nice day!


Edit: VTaxi you outspeed me by a few minute, but as I didn't published my answer yet, I will also comment on the points you made.

On Corviknight I still think that Pressure is more useful than Mirror Armor (in OU at least) as against Dragapult the main issue is that most of them carry Flamethrower or Thunderbolt and they will eventually click it if you keep going Corviknight on them.

About Dragapult Hex is indeed a cool option with a Thunder Wave Clefable, but Shadow Ball is so easy to spam that I rather have it too. Maybe you can just use Shadow Ball in the last slot as Tangrowth + Clefable can spread status for you and Specs Thunder Wave / Will-O-Wisp is rather impractical to use.

On Reuniclus , this is the set you want to use as yeah Thunder is way better than Energy Ball. However, I feel that Reuniclus doesn't feel well here for the reasons I mentionned and because the team can have troubles dealing with Bisharp and Weavile who can come rather freely on this set.

Lastly, on Tangrowth , I like this suggestion. I thought about Tangrowth instead of Landorus-t and it is a better pick than Amoonguss that could solve the Urhsifu-R weakness.

Overall these suggestions are great, and can also lead to way more solid team with some changes in the Clefable set (adding Rock for instance) and maybe changing Quagsire for another Heatran switch-in.

 

[Nabu]

id like to say, thank you everyone for the suggestions! im really thankful and would love to implement these changes on my team as i learn more about the metagame, thanks again! :DD

 

[Nabu]

oh yeah im sorry, i also forgot to ask, the reason i ran wish and aromatherapy on clefable was to be a cleric and haze for quagsire to be a phaser if i accidentally let them or they manage to set up. Are these required in a stall team or a not at all?

 

[Ol_dragon]

oh yeah im sorry, i also forgot to ask, the reason i ran wish and aromatherapy on clefable was to be a cleric and haze for quagsire to be a phaser if i accidentally let them or they manage to set up. Are these required in a stall team or a not at all?

Imo they can be useful, but aren't essential on a lot of teams. Furthermore haze on an unaware quagsire is pointless since you ignore boosts thanks to the ability. VTaxi and ironwater gave you great suggestions, you'd better follow them: boots help Weavile avoid chip damage and Corviknight can easily find opportunities to roost, slowking and tangrowth have access to regenerator to stay healthy.

 

[Nabu]

ah i see, thanks again!