1. The Concept
After seeing some slander towards a mon that I think is easily at least top 10 if not better in the current SVOU metagame, I decided to build around
, immediately picking 
as a partner mon due to shared checks and its ability to run a variety of sets capable of luring and either eliminating or setting up on roadblocks for . These mons naturally lead to the inclusion of a hazard setter, and 
fits the bill perfectly; Incredible bulk and access to whirlwind allows it to set up max hazards easily without being as passive as other setters, while offering role compression to allow for 
to forego Stealth Rock and instead run an offensive Bulk Up set. All of these mons struggle vs 
and will often invite it in as a revenge killer, while 
can be a huge issue with 
or potential Sucker Punch to outrun my team and threaten with huge damage, so 
is a logical choice to patch up that matchup and bounce out threatening setup sweepers like , 
and 
with 
. Speaking of which, is a huge threat that can tear through teams with a single DD/SD, and 
is not an option on a team so weak to 
. 
takes its place on the , a niche set that loses longevity for the ability to briefly cacaw like a 
. Another epic KyleJD special that folds to 
+ , you really need to just get up rocks, Knock Like The Rent Is Due and never, ever let them spin. EVER.Link to Team
A game with Jamvad, playing vs CTC's
/
Sun in the top 100.2. The Team
No Advance (Dragapult) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
- U-turn
The star of the show, it's been said more than enough times that
is the strongest mon ever to have 100 Sp.Atk and with Tera Ghost you cleave through your limited number of switch-ins, Terastallization allowing you to 2HKO Sp.Def-invested 
, 
and even 
after rocks and a spike. Flamethrower catches on the switch for massive damage, and Draco Meteor picks up a kill every time this mon comes out positioned correctly vs frailer offence teams. Timid is required for 
who can otherwise pose problems for the team with Banded or 4 attack sets. In my opinion, is a mon with a high skill cap that benefits greatly from good positioning and a long-term game plan, despite also being a mindless Shadow Ball button mash once it comes in. U-Turn is preferable over any other move, allowing you to pivot out on more consistent switch-ins like and to bring in teammates that can force them out before they get the chance to recover off any hazard chip.Bank Account (Gholdengo) @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Good as Gold
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 248 HP / 196 Def / 64 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
- Nasty Plot
- Recover
pairs excellently with , weakening checks for each other while also being able to cover each other's weaknesses. 
completely flips the matchup into , with Curse variants needing +4 to even 2HKO Tera Fairy with EQ and Iron Defense sets completely walled. The given spread has incredible longevity while outspeeding all variants, an additional point invested to outrun the and AV 
sample sets that can often cause issues for this mon. I was initially testing Tera Flying with Hex-Thunder Wave and Make it Rain-Shadow Ball, but after running into Tera Fairy Gleam on the ladder I tried that moveset out and it's phenomenal for a great defensive profile and completely unresisted coverage. Hitting neutrally is much appreciated, while a super effective move into but particularly and feels almost necessary for a in SVOU. Shoutout to Emvee for the moveset as I think it was his creation, although I'm running my own spread with less speed and more bulk. Truly epic 
LARP.Ball W/O Lu (Ting-Lu) @ Leftovers
Ability: Vessel of Ruin
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 200 HP / 92 Def / 216 SpD
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
Now I gotta Ball Without Lu, Now I gotta Ball........ What more can be said about
? No mon sets dual hazards as effectively in OU right now and perhaps ever, and very few mons can even come close to OHKOing this mon. This EV spread guaranteed lives up to and including 
Close Combat from with its incredible natural bulk, while the Sp.Def in combination with its ability allows for it to not be 2HKOd by 
Moonblast. Earthquake over Ruination was picked as a good clickable move into most mons although you lack the ability to hit Flying types, so Ruination is definitely a viable alternative. Whirlwind is necessary and makes a whole lot less passive in front of setup sweepers like Calm Mind , while also allowing you to burn 
on threats like 
and . Tera Ghost acts as a panic spinblocker in case you cannot risk your or , and gives good neutral matchups vs a lot of pokemon. However, you should not be Tera'ing your in most games, and if you find that you are then Water is a good option for the Rain and matchups. 
is necessary for longevity, as lacks any other method of recovery.Treacherous Spins (Great Tusk) @ Leftovers
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 120 HP / 128 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
- Bulk Up
is and that's all you need. Max hazards are often up on both sides of the field with hazard stack teams, and a rapid spinner can often be the difference between your dominating a matchup and only being able to come in twice before it's dead. 120 HP EVs and 4 Def lets Tusk take even a +2 CC from , while 252 Spe Jolly is a good speed tier to meet for and opposing . The rest is put into Attack, although some Sp.Def investment is not a bad idea to help it tank hits especially after Tera Water, which is usually necessary for the matchup into rain. Ice Spinner and particularly Head Smash are good coverage moves to consider over Knock Off as the team can struggle into 
and and these will put a hard stop to a sweep, but Knock Off will permanently hinder their ability to switch in and is definitely a necessity when facing stall as you need to prevent them from regen switching with 
/
, who will often come in on a Knock Off, with particularly liking to stay in on to eat a hit and Toxic. Think of Bulk Up as more of an option for Tusk to consistent beat non-Tera Blast Fairy and other physical threats, rather than being a dedicated sweeper for the team, and be open to risking those Static/Flame Body procs in exchange for enabling your other mons. Again, are 's only method of recovery and are therefore needed for it to fill this role on the team.Drain In Spore Out (Amoonguss) @ Red Card
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Spore
- Foul Play
With maximum Phys.Def investment,
is a near guaranteed answer to , as they cannot kill you with Knock Off while any other move will bounce them out and burn their . Ironically, max Phys.Def is also best into special as their strongest move to hit you with is still Psyshock. This also serves as a good panic button into , 
, and , although the latter two require for the wrong move to be baited on the switch. Clear Smog is a good option over Foul Play but you then lose to 1v1 if your was earlier burned, while Tera Steel is only dealt with by Foul Play. This is also your non-Tera reliant 
answer, although Tera Water Liquidation is a roll and so if they have Tera it is often wise to save Tera Water for or preserve HP on as it will always live a Jet from full. Tera Water is useful to function better as a panic answer to and , but keep in mind that this set has no significant Sp.Def investment and so will still take a lot of damage. 
is another option, making this a better defensive mon in general especially with how a hazard stack game will typically play, but gets so much value vs offence that this team really appreciates.Central Cleave (Kingambit) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Supreme Overlord
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Atk / 152 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Kowtow Cleave
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance
Like a wise man once said. Let the Birds Fly. Setup
absolutely smashes mons 1-5 of this team and would mean this whole team is swept by , so I opened my mind to the heavens and channeled secret Agency technology to build this Flying Fairy set. Of course, the Smogon sample set includes as an option on but it's generally just not great on most teams, plus the given 0 bulk is a pretty bad set imo unless you really need to kill opposing with max speed. However, it fits really well onto this build in particular, as it acts as a check to and gives you a much needed ground immunity to prevent from clicking EP 6 times. is particularly good on hazard stack as I feel like the additional longevity of is missed less in games where max spikes are often up and prevents 25% chip every switch-in. Tera Fairy is just a good defensive Tera in general, and Tera Blast Fairy over Iron Head is of course as legitimate as ever, as is Low Kick. However, you have Bulk Up for opposing Gambit and is often a very Tera-hungry mon so a dead moveslot would not be preferable. is more than necessary to break stall in combination with sleep disruption from and Knock support from , and provides a valuable answer to opposing and if gets low although the lack of makes it a poor Shadow Ball switch in. The given spread maximises attack while speed creeping that seek to creep 
, while the bulk is enough to live a Body Press from even after taking Stealth Rock.3. Team Use
Dragapult is a great general lead and I've got into a bad habit of always staying in on the tie with opposing Pult at lead cus I'm like that. Ting Lu is a pretty consistent lead though into many teams where they won't immediately pressure you out and can often get up multiple layers of hazards in the first couple turns. Great Tusk can be a good lead into Glimmora or Samurott-H, 2HKOing the latter with EQ and preventing Ceaseless Edge, although Amoonguss is a pretty good counter lead to Samu if you're certain you won't need your Red Card later which is usually not the case. Dragapult needs to be positioned correctly to where it can safely click buttons and its HP is an important resource as Pult can often come in on neutral hits from full to force a mon out, while Gholdengo can sweep teams singlehandedly with Tera Fairy so this is a good resource to use, although saving it for Pult can be very nice for breaking power. Kingambit usually gets preserved as a late game cleaner that is especially potent if you keep Tera intact, while some of the Tusk-weak teams you see on the ladder can fold instantly to an unexpected Bulk Up. Just remember this is hazard stack and they should be kept up with maximum priority.
This is my second RMT where an entire section is needed for this, and it definitely won't be the last. Enamorus can be an issue offensively, and keeping rocks up for it is essential to wearing it down over time. Zapdos and Moltres however will often need Tusk to risk Static/Flame Body to knock their boots off and handle them long-term so that Dragapult can Shadow Ball through them later, although Tera Ghost Shadow Ball cleanly 2HKOs even Sp.Def Zapdos. Landorus-T is also a threat with Grass Knot for Tusk and no Ice Spinner, but knocking it off will wear it down greatly every time it switches in on a hit that Lando would normally eat and chip heal off.
4. Threats
The Moltres + Ting Lu defensive core can be hard to break for this team, and Knock Off is a major part of how you'll deal with them over a game. Be prepared to click U-Turn a lot with Dragapult too, as Garg, Lu and AV Samurott-H will often come in on it to try and take advantage of eating a hit; this means making the difficult call on whether to stay in on the threat and attack or to U-Turn out and potentially lose a mon due to mispredicting. Stall is another tough matchup, since you need to knock as much as possible and disrupt with Amoonguss. This can be achieved by going Tusk on the Pex, knocking their boots off as they stay in to Toxic and threatening them out so you can also Knock Off the Alo. This prevents them from infinitely Regen switching to stall out moves, and Amoonguss is very useful as disruption since they will typically need all their mons awake and capable to handle all of your threats while Blissey coming in to soak sleep is exploitable with double switches. However, this is still a tough matchup and will require getting a lot of turns right.
This team has no consistent switch ins to Walking Wake, Enamorus and Iron Moth, with the former often being bounced out by Amoonguss to stall sun turns. Picking your sacs is important and the matchup is definitely doable but the Vert Sun team with both Moth and Wake requires near perfect play and Lu must remain healthy for the Moth at all times. Sure you can eat a hit from Wake, but Lu is your only Moth answer aside from Pult who will die to Gleam if they get a single Sp.Atk raise, although Tera Ghost Pult will live even a Sun-boosted Fiery Dance and can kill after rocks with Draco. Limit these mons' switch ins with hazards and make the right calls with switches, don't let these mons get a free turn at all costs. Opposing Garganacl can also sweep if you let Gholdengo go down or lose its Covert Cloak to Knock Off, so playing around Tusk spinning must be done carefully. If they have a Bax, remember to keep your balloon intact on Kingambit too as this will always answer them unless they flinch with Crash, though you also have Sucker Punch for reducing the risk of this. Sp.Def Heatran can be hard to break, and if they have hazards up Lu is not a great switch in as it loses a ton of HP each time although it can use this as an opportunity to set hazards itself. Remember though that Tera Ghost Pult melts through this mon like butter if you have hazards up.
This team has no consistent switch ins to Walking Wake, Enamorus and Iron Moth, with the former often being bounced out by Amoonguss to stall sun turns. Picking your sacs is important and the matchup is definitely doable but the Vert Sun team with both Moth and Wake requires near perfect play and Lu must remain healthy for the Moth at all times. Sure you can eat a hit from Wake, but Lu is your only Moth answer aside from Pult who will die to Gleam if they get a single Sp.Atk raise, although Tera Ghost Pult will live even a Sun-boosted Fiery Dance and can kill after rocks with Draco. Limit these mons' switch ins with hazards and make the right calls with switches, don't let these mons get a free turn at all costs. Opposing Garganacl can also sweep if you let Gholdengo go down or lose its Covert Cloak to Knock Off, so playing around Tusk spinning must be done carefully. If they have a Bax, remember to keep your balloon intact on Kingambit too as this will always answer them unless they flinch with Crash, though you also have Sucker Punch for reducing the risk of this. Sp.Def Heatran can be hard to break, and if they have hazards up Lu is not a great switch in as it loses a ton of HP each time although it can use this as an opportunity to set hazards itself. Remember though that Tera Ghost Pult melts through this mon like butter if you have hazards up.
5. Final Note
Decided to write this team up and post it here before DLC1 rolls around, I was languishing in the 1600s after an atrocious run with
(lmao) and climbed quickly to top 50 upon using this which is the highest I've been since pre-
ban. There are definitely some clear threats to this team like and (i.e. Vert Sun) that I've lost to in testing vs a friend before, but it's been an incredible ladder farm and even after dropping some points upon switching teams this let me easily climb back up to top 100 without much effort. Some changes could definitely be made though, 
deals with both of these major threats and could replace with 
to check but the utility of Spore and consistent matchup into makes feel hard to replace. 
is also an option over for the hazard stacker, but lacking rocks feels like a huge weakness particularly into and and losing as a win-con/semi-consistent answer with Stealth Rock over Bulk Up feels objectively worse.Built this solo as usual and again pretty happy w/ the nicks, was stuck on a Gambit one for a while but I was listening to Split Decision, came to me in a vision for real...
Your Great Tusk Ran From The Kowtow Cleave Cus It Weren't Legitimate.
Shoutout me for making this joint, as well as the Agency cord and A1Gallade's cord for testing, talking mons and being cool places in general, open to any questions, comments or anything both here and on Discord as KyleJD.
Last edited:
