ORAS OU Hazard Squad

[Chimeling]

Introduction:
Hello everyone, this is my first RMT and have decided to go with my first Hazard Stacking Team. My overall goal for this team was to get as much hazard and chip damage as possible so that my sweeper could roll through teams when it comes in.



The Hazard Squad:

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

As per everyone's suggestions I switched out Garchomp for Hippowdon. It was an amazing switch. It does everything I wanted out of Garchomp and does it even better. The EV spread is to maximize defences so I can take hits from LO Sand Rush Excadrill which previously ran through my team. I played around with Roar/Stone Edge but settled on Stone Edge as it can handle Talonflame/Thundurus (w/o grass knot) pretty well. Hippowdon is my Stealth Rocker for the team bringing along Slack Off for Recovery and Earthquake as its STAB attacking move.

Previous

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Tail


Tank Chomp was the 'mon I went to for Stealth Rocks. It can take some hits and return damage back to physical damage dealers with its combo of Rocky Helmet and Rough Skin. Dragon Tail is a necessity to phase out certain set-up sweepers and other pokemon, and to stack up that ever so precious hazard damage. Fire Blast is to at least get some damage on Ferrothorn/Scizor, and Earthquake is a hard hitting STAB.

Tornadus-Therian (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 132 HP / 160 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Knock Off
- U-turn

As per Alkov's and DracoNinja's suggestions I tried changing around my Tentacruel set, and also switching it out for Tornadus-T. After testing, Tornadus-T was decided to be the permanent addition to the team. It covered many Pokemon that my team had problems with, and is an excellent pivot for the team, while Tentacruel, being fun to play with, struggled a bit and slowed my team down a lot. The standard Assault Vest EV spread is used with Hurricane, Heat Wave, Knock Off, and U-turn. Heat Wave is used over Focus Blast as Heatran can be dealt with by other members of my team, and KOing Steel types or getting damage on them helps out my Charizard Sweep.

Previous

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 224 HP / 252 Def / 32 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Sludge Bomb


I went to Tentacruel as my second pokemon for hazard stacking mainly because of its ability to lay down Toxic Spikes and Rapid spin away opposing hazards (mainly Stealth Rocks). Scald is there to get possible burn damage, and Sludge Bomb is there to hit fairies and a secondary STAB. The EV spread maximizes defensive bulk and allows for Tentacruel to outspeed Adamant Bisharp.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball


To complete the hazard core spikes were needed, this is where Ferrothorn comes in. Going along with the idea that the team wants chip damage and hazards, Ferrothorn was the natural choice for a spiker. This set runs a more specially defensive mixed tank EV spread to allow it to absorb neutral damage from special attackers better and to take its normal defensive role. Both STABS are run on this set; during experimentation I found that I appreciated having both a powerful Steel and Grass move. Leech Seed is there for chip damage and extra regeneration which Ferrothorn appreciates greatly.

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Calm Mind
- Thunder Wave / Flamethrower / Aromatherapy
- Moonblast

Seeing as the hazard core was finished I looked for a Specially Defensive Pokemon that could handle a few of the top tier threats. Clefable fit the role and after experimentation this is the set that is currently in use. Its ability Magic Guard allows for it to switch into predicted statuses which my core of Hazard Setters do not enjoy taking. Soft-Boiled is for recovery, Calm Mind to get the SpA/SpD boosts. The third move slot I have been experimenting with but currently settled on Thunder Wave as having some speed control assists with the sweep. Moonblast is STAB move.

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Psyshock

EDIT: Seeing as both the Tentacruel/Tornadus-T suggestions required me to go with Rapid Spin on Starmie I switched it from the previous set of Confuse Ray/ Recover/ Scald/ Ice Beam to what it is now currently. It still handles most of the threats that it has previously but now it deals with Keldeo as well. No Major changes other than it's now my spinner.

Previous

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Confuse Ray
- Recover
- Scald
- Ice Beam

Knowing that I wanted a Mega-Charizard-X as my final pokemon and set-up sweeper, I chose Starmie as my fifth pokemon. Starmie helps to get rid of some potential threats to Charizard such as defensive Lando-T, Garchomp, Lando-I, Heatran, and Hippowdon, to name a few, through Ice Beam and Scald spam. Originally I had an offensive set with 4 attack moves, however it didn't really fit along with the defensive nature of the team so I adapted to Bulk-mie with Confuse Ray. Confuse Ray is taken over Psyshock as I have found it to have a more overall impact than Psyshock has. Recovery is there for recovery, Scald is for burn fishing/ accurate STAB, and Ice Beam is to take down the ever so dangerous Lando-I/defensive Lando-T. ( I honestly think this is the weakest pokemon on my team but I haven't really played around too much with switching it out.)

Charizard (M) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw

Previous

Charizard (M) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 144 HP / 252 Atk / 112 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw

EDIT: As suggested by Alkov originally and again suggested by DracoNinja I switched my Charizard's Set-up to the Jolly version. This set allows me to outspeed a few threats, one being Scarfed Landorus-T, with ONE Dragon Dance instead of two which really boosted the sweeping power of my Charizard while still retaining some bulk.

This monster can wreck teams that are weakened by Hazards and if given the chance to set up 2x Dragon Dance it can outspeed most of Choice Scarfers in the tier with these speed EV's. I chose Bulky EV's so Charizard could take a hit from 'mons that might have slipped through the cracks in my hazards and be able to retaliate back after a boost or Roost off the damage. My Reasons for Charizard over other possible sweepers are its immunity to Will-o-Wisp, its Dragon STAB hitting neutrally on most of the tier, and it's ability to heal off damage.



I hope I've provided enough information about my team so that you can all rate it effectively! Many thanks in advance for rating my hazard squad!

Importable

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

Tornadus-Therian (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 132 HP / 160 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Calm Mind
- Thunder Wave
- Moonblast

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Psyshock

Charizard (M) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw

 

[NiiTro]

Excellent team! I love the idea of a hazard stacking team.

However, a TTar + Exca core runs through your team, as Excadrill pretty much outspeeds and KOs everything. (252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Clefable: 494-585 (125.3 - 148.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO)
(252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 88 Def Ferrothorn: 177-211 (50.2 - 59.9%) -- 81.3% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery) Your best option is Ferrothorn, but it has a huge chance to 2HKO. Though it doesn't matter too much, an Impish nature may work better on Ferro.
(252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 88+ Def Ferrothorn: 161-191 (45.7 - 54.2%) -- 5.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery)

Because your Starmie has Confusion, Thunder Wave is a pretty solid option. (Taking ParaFusion into your thoughts)

I'd honestly put that 8 EVs into Attack on Garchomp. (Unless there is some reason to it.)

But again, great team! Good luck in your future battles, dude!

 

[Alkov]

Hey there really cool team there with the idea of having hazard stacking and Mega Charizard X however I have a few suggestions to help further improve it n_n

• Firstly, as said by NiiTro, your team is way too weak to Excadrill with Life Orb in sandstorm and even with the suggested spread for Ferrothorn and a bulky Garchomp, it's not going to provide your team with a reliable way to prevent an Excadrill sweep. Instead, you might want to consider having something like Hippowdon over Garchomp as it is able to get up Stealth Rocks too while having a much greater bulk and means of recovery through Slack Off.
  
  
• Secondly, you may want to consider replacing Confuse Ray on Starmie for Rapid Spin as Starmie is a way better spinner compared to Tentacruel due to it's speed, typing and access to Recover. With that, you can maybe run Knock Off on Tentacruel to help catch certain things off-guard like Latios. Also, it might be more useful to have Acid Spray instead of Sludge Bomb as it allows you to win things like Calm Mind Clefable with ease by reducing it's SpDef constantly. Sludge Bomb isn't going to do much to a Clefable after it gets a +1 boost.
  
  
• Lastly, is just a small suggestion that you might want to consider. A Jolly Charizard X outspeeds things like Choice Scarfed Landorus-T and kills it off with a Flare Blitz at neutral (after intimidate). The spread would be:
  
  Set for Charizard

  Charizard (M) @ Charizardite X
  Ability: Blaze
  Shiny: Yes
  EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
  Jolly Nature
  - Dragon Dance
  - Dragon Claw
  - Flare Blitz
  - Roost
  
  Hope it helps n_n

 

[DracoNinja]

hey man this is a pretty cool team, hopefully these comments would help to optimise the team better.

firstly, i definitely agree changing garchomp to hippo because hippo is a lot more consistent check to a lot of threats such as excadrill (as the above user mentioned) as well as opposing zard x, mega metagross and mega manectric.

secondly, the team is weak to a lot of special attackers, most notably gengar, manaphy, alakazam, mega gardevoir and serperior. i feel that tentacruel's presence on the team is redundant because the only thing it does on the team is to set up tspikes, which is unnecessary as the team does not take advantage of it well enough to dedicate a team member slot for it. furthermore, starmie is also able to spin far more reliably compared to tentacruel due to its consistent recovery in recover. hence, i would change tentacruel to assault vest tornadus-therian. tornadus-therian gives your team the much needed speed and bulk to check the above mentioned threats and i feel that it would make an excellent fit on the team.

thirdly, as i said earlier, the role of rapid spin support should be given to starmie. hence starmie should be running a scald/psyshock/recover/rapid spin set. i think psyshock is still needed to give a consistent answer to all varients of keldeo as even av tornadus-therian takes a lot from specs hydro pump.

finally, as the above user mentioned, jolly zard x is really good and outrunning opposing scarf landorus-therian is definitely a relevant benchmark that zard x should aim to outrun.

hope these changes helped, nice team!

 

[Chimeling]

Thanks everyone! I will definitely be trying out all of your suggestions they really are much appreciated.


Edit: For the Hippowdon, I imagine it should be Sand Stream to help deal with Charizard Y more efficiently?

 

[NiiTro]

Sand Stream is the way to go. :]