XY OU Hello. They call me zero switchins. (Peak 1772 iirc)

Hey! I've never done an RMT before, but I've also never broken 1800 on the ladder before and I'd like to rectify both with this. I thought I was doing really well but then I started tilting hard and dropped to ~1600 so I thought "y'know what'd help? Getting your team rated!" So here I am. This is a super hyper offense team built around preventing the opponent from building momentum by applying offensive pressure (either ridic strong attacks or the threat of setup) at all times. Check it out.

The general idea was "birdspam" to start with, so ironically the last member of the team was the first to be on it. Choice Band Talon is a great lategame cleaner and packs both U-turn and strong priority, so it was a nobrainer for a team that was supposed to focus on offensive pressure.
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And of course birdspam requires birds, plural, and Staraptor was a no-brainer. I decided to use the Final Gambit Scarf set because 100 base speed is a little on the slow side and FG allows me to break walls like Skarmory and is very much in keeping with the "0 switchins" theme.
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Since FG Staraptor lacks Close Combat, I wanted something that could beat Sand Offense (TTar and Exca) so I went for a Rock Polish Lando-I to KO 'Tar with FBlast that can also outpace Exca at +2 and KO with Earth Power.
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At this point I'm pretty Ice weak, so I wanted something to take on Mamoswine, Weavile, Greninja, etc. I chose MHeracross despite the fact that it doesn't actually resist Ice because it is bulky enough to take even Greninja's HP Fire and retaliate with a ridiculously strong CC or Pin Missile.
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I then wanted something to resist opposing birdspam, and I also sort of wanted Rocks, so I added a Heatproof Bronzong with SR, Screens, and Explosion and bumped the Spe EVs on my Tflame to speed creep SD Sharp Beak TFlame.
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I then wanted a cleaner to tie the team together so I added DD Lum Dragonite.
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I quickly realzed that Bronzong was essentially a waste of a teamslot as he allowed opposing leads to get up Rocks way too easily and my team is really Rocks-weak so I dropped him for SashSD Diggersby, then bumped Talon back down to 208 Spe and switched DNite to Banded and gave him the responsibility of dealing with opposing birds, leading to the final product:

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Hello. (Diggersby) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Huge Power
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Quick Attack
- Frustration
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

SashSD Diggersby is my usual lead when the opponent lacks Gengar and Skarmory. He can set up on defensive Landorus-T or Clefable (the usual leads you see these days) as they set Rocks and then again as they attack, and bust through them at +3/+4 with Frustration. He then goes out with a bang with Quick Attack. Against Gar or Skarm teams, he is instead a mid-game wallbreaker or backup cleaner with Quick Attack, and he can also act as a panic button to handle a boosted sweeper (assuming his Sash is intact) with a STAB move - Quick Attack 1-2 punch.
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They (Staraptor) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 248 HP / 96 Atk / 164 Spe 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Double-Edge
- Final Gambit -Close Combat
- U-turn

Staraptor is my initial reaction to Skarmory and Balloon Heatran as he can just get rid of them in a single turn (OK not through Sturdy but still he makes it so every other team member can beat Skarm) and his Scarf allows him to nail Gengar with Brave Bird. U-Turn is great to pick up early-game momentum as it doesn't force me to sac him (FG) or reduce the power of FG with recoil (BB, DE). If there isn't anything that calls for a FG, he can play the normal Staraptor role of wallbreaking, but I already have strong Normal and Flying STABs on my team (Diggersby + Talon) so he usually just kamikazes when I feel an opportune moment arises.

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Call (Landorus) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 8 Atk / 252 SpA / 248 Spe
Rash Nature
- Rock Polish
- Earth Power
- Focus Blast
- Knock Off

Landorus is my resident Special Attacker. I've found that while physical attackers have ways around Skarm or Alomomola or whatever, it is very hard for special attackers to live up to the "0 switchins" theme as Chansey is a thing that exists. So my options for Special Attackers were pretty much MAlakazam/Gardevoir (Taunt + Psyshock), KyuB or some other mixed attacker, and this guy. I didn't want one of the Megas because I knew I wanted Heracross, and KyuB has way too much overlap with Dragonite (especially the Rock weakness on a team that lacks hazard control). So Lando-I with Knock Off and FBlast was chosen, and the Rock Polish set was selected to fulfill the original mission of checking Sand Offense as well as hitting Lati@s pretty hard without having to come in after a Draco had already dropped their SpA.
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Me (Dragonite) @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Iron Tail
- Earthquake
Dragonite spams ESpeed most of the time, as my anti-priority (esp Talon) 'mon. However, Banded Outrage is way strong, and Iron Tail is basically a huge middle finger to Clefable (because 0 switchins, dammit, plus it supports Heracross). DNite comes in on Talonflame, Mamoswine, Azumarill, MPinsir, or what have you after it's been weakened and picks it off with Banded ESpeed or goes for Outrage on a forced switch then tanks a hit with Multiscale so it can get off the second Outrage and switch (after which it is good death fodder or can be saved to use Espeed again).
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Zero (Heracross) @ Heracronite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast

I like legit could not build a "0 switchins" team without MHeracross - I got the catchphrase from a video featuring a MHeracross, for goodness sakes! (I believe it was a pokéaim but it might've been shofu or chimpact). SD Hera is infamously an anal annihilator of stall and also a second Sand Offense check. The standard Pin/Rock/CC misses out only on Doublade as Rock Blast can 2HKO Clefable depending on the set.

252 Atk Mega Heracross Rock Blast (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 160 Def Clefable: 195-230 (49.4 - 58.3%) -- approx. 61.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
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Switchins. (Talonflame) @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Tailwind
- U-Turn Swords Dance

And finally Banded Talon, the cleaner. Typically he just spams Brave Bird at the end of the match, but sometimes he'll come in early/midgame to U-Turn around a bit. If the opponent's last Pokémon isn't something that can be solved by Brave Birds, he'll usually sac himself with that powerful Banded Tailwind so something else (usually Heracross) can come in and finish the job.

Switched to SDBeak so it can more effectively utilize Tailwind.

Hello. (Diggersby) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Huge Power
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Quick Attack
- Frustration
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

They (Staraptor) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 248 HP / 96 Atk / 164 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Double-Edge
- Final Gambit
- U-turn

Call (Landorus) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 8 Atk / 252 SpA / 248 Spe
Rash Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rock Polish
- Earth Power
- Psychic
- Knock Off

Me (Dragonite) @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Iron Tail
- Earthquake

Zero (Heracross) @ Heracronite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast

Switchins. (Talonflame) @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 48 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Me First
- U-turn

-Teams with multiple priority users
-Mega Aerodactyl
-Phazing + Rocks
-Ice Shard/Scarfed Ice moves

Thanks for your time!
 
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Hey bro, nice team. Here are my suggestions:

Running Knock Off on Lando is viable, but then you can't run 0 Atk IVs as Knock Off will do very little damage. Run Psychic or Sludge Wave over Knock Off an invest fully in Speed if you want to go full out SpAtk. If not, change your Atk IVs to 31.

EQ over SD on MegaCross is an option and truly allows for no switch-ins. But it's just food for thought. (I won't really advocate this as it would make me a hypocrite)

Your current Staraptor should run CC over Final Gambit as if Rocks are up, CC does more damage to Heatran and co.

Lastly, you need to run hazard control. Two Flying types (including a multiscale mon) and a Talonflame without Hazard Control makes Rocks are huge weakness to your team. I suggest running Excadrill over Diggersby (tho). While it is not as strong, it still has decent attack and better bulk. It also helps with you Mega-Aero weakness and Ice type weakness (to an extent). Here's the set:

Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide

Hope it helps!
-PK
 
Thanks man! I didn't even realize I had 0 Atk IVs, I've got 8 EVs and Naive and everything xD

If I do use CC, I should switch to 252 Atk over 248 HP/96 Atk, right?

I'll try out Exca, thanks!
 
Addressing your Staraptor problem, you could try this Scarf Set on Staraptor:

Staraptor @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Double-Edge
- Close Combat
- U-Turn
 
I really like your team man !

I suggest you run Leftovers over Choice Band in Dragonite. People just switch in and troll Dragonites if they use a Choice Band or Choice anything really.
Also use Puzzle King's Staraptor set & Exca Set. Sometimes Final Gambit is useless :p. (It does nothing to a bulky Dragonite)
This is just me being nit picky but use Bullet Seed over Swords Dance on M-Hera. It takes advantage of it's ability and takes care of Mamoswine and other Ground, Rock, Water types.

Hope this helps ! :)
 
Hey man, not a bad team at all, but I suggest you run sharp beak on talonflame instead of choice band. You can support Heracross with tailwind without locking yourself into it, so if you are not taken down that turn you didn't waste all of your tailwind turns. You can also fake the choice band as it still does a respectable amount of damage with the Sharp Beak (boost flying type attacks by 20%).
 
What's going on bud. I don't like the fact that you are running bird spam with nothing to help you clear rocks away for you when they set up. Mamoswine is a threat to your team, Lead Terrakion with Stealth Rock on Offensive teams beats you, Heracross isn't a Greninja check at all since they usually carry Extrasensory, you which is also a threat, Fairy types annoys you, and as you mentioned, opposing priority/bird spam beats you as well. Mega Aerodactyl is rare to see, however I'll still cook up things for you. Focus Sash Diggersby is nice and all, however it doesn't fit on this type of team, as opposing fast Stealth Rock sash-leads such as Garchomp, Terrakion, Smeargle, etc. can just set up rocks and basically cripple your whole team turn 1. A spinner is a must for this team, Stealth Rocks are a must on every team, and you will need something for fairies. I'd replace diggersby with, as Puzzle King suggested, Stealth Rock Excadrill. This set is from when XY OU was just coming out, however best fits the team with Hazard Support and Control with Stealth Rocks/Rapid Spin respectively, it has access Iron Head which would help you more vs Fairies, mainly Clefable, while having the Steel Typing makes it sponge Moonblasts on the switch-in.

Rock Polish Landorus-I is a nice little niche, however I'll tell you right now, that's not really a "sand check." It's frail to come in on switch-ins such as Life Orb STAB Iron Heads from opposing Sand Rush Excadrills, and also sometimes Tyranitars like to carry Ice Beam which flat out destroys Landorus switching in. Alomomola eats up Earth Powers, and smacks you back with either Mirror Coat, Scalding you, knocking off your Life Orb to make you weaker, or just Toxic and start spamming Wish/Protect until you die. I'd suggest a better check, such as Rotom-w over Landorus-I. This basically ensures a decent switch in to all the mons I've listed here. You can go a couple ways here. One is standard Volt Switch set, making a nice little VoltTurn core w/ Staraptor, OR Thunderbolt just to deal extra damage on Alomomola. You can also run Rest with Chesto Berry so Toxic Alomomola and non-taunting Gliscors can't beat you. This also checks Mega Aerodactyl. I'm also gonna slash Toxic on Will-O-Wisp so you can surprise the pink fish, opposing stall, and Sub Kyruem-Bs with a nice treat. :]

Last but not least, "DNite comes in on Talonflame, Mamoswine, Azumarill, MPinsir." No it does not my friend, lol. For Dragonite, you suppose to just let it come in for free, rather than risking its Multiscale on the switch. Also, Rotom-w now checks ALL of those mons AND it's a proper switch-in to them as well. Dragonite isn't needed in my opinion, as it just gives you more Ice weaknesses and can't really fix holes on your team. You still need a strong physical attacking mon w/ priority while also having something for Greninja. This is where I suggest Assault Vest Azumarill over Dragonite. This literally gives you a more reiable switch-in from Greninja rather than having Heracross take uncessary damage and using it as a "check."

252 SpA Life Orb Protean Greninja Hidden Power Grass vs. 16 HP / 240 SpD Assault Vest Azumarill: 135-164 (39.1 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Protean Greninja Grass Knot (60 BP) vs. 16 HP / 240 SpD Assault Vest Azumarill: 135-164 (39.1 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Protean Greninja Extrasensory vs. 16 HP / 240 SpD Assault Vest Azumarill: 90-107 (26 - 31%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

This would help you sponge hits better, another stall check w/ Knock Off, Play Rough best STAB move and hits hard, Aqua Jet for priority, Waterfall/Superpower for fillers, Waterfall for extra STAB attacks and Superpower for Ferrothorn. Again, another check for Aerodactyl and handles Lead Terrakion. And if you Tailwind from Talonflame while sacking it to a mon, Azumaril can just come in and have a field day for 4 turns smashing things left and right. Nothing wrong about that.

That's what I got for you bud, hopefully I helped out.

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Excadrill (F) @ Air Balloon / Choice Scarf
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
- Earthquake

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Rotom (Rotom-W) @ Chesto Berry / Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Volt Switch / Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp / Toxic
- Rest / Pain Split

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Azumarill (F) @ Assault Vest
Trait: Huge Power
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Aqua Jet
- Superpower / Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
 
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What's going on bud. I don't like the fact that you are running bird spam with nothing to help you clear rocks away for you when they set up. Mamoswine is a threat to your team, Lead Terrakion with Stealth Rock on Offensive teams beats you, Heracross isn't a Greninja check at all since they usually carry Extrasensory, you which is also a threat, Fairy types annoys you, and as you mentioned, opposing priority/bird spam beats you as well. Mega Aerodactyl is rare to see, however I'll still cook up things for you. Focus Sash Diggersby is nice and all, however it doesn't fit on this type of team, as opposing fast Stealth Rock sash-leads such as Garchomp, Terrakion, Smeargle, etc. can just set up rocks and basically cripple your whole team turn 1. A spinner is a must for this team, Stealth Rocks are a must on every team, and you will need something for fairies. I'd replace diggersby with, as Puzzle King suggested, Stealth Rock Excadrill. This set is from when XY OU was just coming out, however best fits the team with Hazard Support and Control with Stealth Rocks/Rapid Spin respectively, it has access Iron Head which would help you more vs Fairies, mainly Clefable, while having the Steel Typing makes it sponge Moonblasts on the switch-in.

Rock Polish Landorus-I is a nice little niche, however I'll tell you right now, that's not really a "sand check." It's frail to come in on switch-ins such as Life Orb STAB Iron Heads from opposing Sand Rush Excadrills, and also sometimes Tyranitars like to carry Ice Beam which flat out destroys Landorus switching in. Alomomola eats up Earth Powers, and smacks you back with either Mirror Coat, Scalding you, knocking off your Life Orb to make you weaker, or just Toxic and start spamming Wish/Protect until you die. I'd suggest a better check, such as Rotom-w over Landorus-I. This basically ensures a decent switch in to all the mons I've listed here. You can go a couple ways here. One is standard Volt Switch set, making a nice little VoltTurn core w/ Staraptor, OR Thunderbolt just to deal extra damage on Alomomola. You can also run Rest with Chesto Berry so Toxic Alomomola and non-taunting Gliscors can't beat you. This also checks Mega Aerodactyl. I'm also gonna slash Toxic on Will-O-Wisp so you can surprise the pink fish, opposing stall, and Sub Kyruem-Bs with a nice treat. :]

Last but not least, "DNite comes in on Talonflame, Mamoswine, Azumarill, MPinsir." No it does not my friend, lol. For Dragonite, you suppose to just let it come in for free, rather than risking its Multiscale on the switch. Also, Rotom-w now checks ALL of those mons AND it's a proper switch-in to them as well. Dragonite isn't needed in my opinion, as it just gives you more Ice weaknesses and can't really fix holes on your team. You still need a strong physical attacking mon w/ priority while also having something for Greninja. This is where I suggest Assault Vest Azumarill over Dragonite. This literally gives you a more reiable switch-in from Greninja rather than having Heracross take uncessary damage and using it as a "check."

252 SpA Life Orb Protean Greninja Hidden Power Grass vs. 16 HP / 240 SpD Assault Vest Azumarill: 135-164 (39.1 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Protean Greninja Grass Knot (60 BP) vs. 16 HP / 240 SpD Assault Vest Azumarill: 135-164 (39.1 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Protean Greninja Extrasensory vs. 16 HP / 240 SpD Assault Vest Azumarill: 90-107 (26 - 31%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

This would help you sponge hits better, another stall check w/ Knock Off, Play Rough best STAB move and hits hard, Aqua Jet for priority, Waterfall/Superpower for fillers, Waterfall for extra STAB attacks and Superpower for Ferrothorn. Again, another check for Aerodactyl and handles Lead Terrakion. And if you Tailwind from Talonflame while sacking it to a mon, Azumaril can just come in and have a field day for 4 turns smashing things left and right. Nothing wrong about that.

That's what I got for you bud, hopefully I helped out.

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Excadrill (F) @ Air Balloon / Choice Scarf
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
- Earthquake

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Rotom (Rotom-W) @ Chesto Berry / Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Volt Switch / Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp / Toxic
- Rest / Pain Split

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Azumarill (F) @ Assault Vest
Trait: Huge Power
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Aqua Jet
- Superpower / Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Knock Off

Thanks for the in-depth response! I can totally get behind Azumarill, and Excadrill I will definitely at least give a try, but I'm not sold on Rotom-W. Rotom does not apply nearly enough offensive pressure to fit this team in my opinion, and when he comes in that gives a perfect opportunity for Skarmory to Roost, or a Chansey to Wish, or something to throw out a Will-O-Wisp, or if I do use SR Exca something can Defog or Spin on it, or all sorts of annoying things I don't want to have to deal with. You mention that Lando-I isn't a strong Sand check, but while he was my initial go-to in the teambuilding process, I've found that MHeracross actually shits all over Sand and Azumarill if I use it gets in on that action too. So as far as I can see, it would be more beneficial to me to have a strong Special Attacker than a utility pivot in that slot, especilly as AV Azu is a pretty good pivot and Raptor already packs U-Turn.
 
Thanks for the in-depth response! I can totally get behind Azumarill, and Excadrill I will definitely at least give a try, but I'm not sold on Rotom-W. Rotom does not apply nearly enough offensive pressure to fit this team in my opinion, and when he comes in that gives a perfect opportunity for Skarmory to Roost, or a Chansey to Wish, or something to throw out a Will-O-Wisp, or if I do use SR Exca something can Defog or Spin on it, or all sorts of annoying things I don't want to have to deal with. You mention that Lando-I isn't a strong Sand check, but while he was my initial go-to in the teambuilding process, I've found that MHeracross actually shits all over Sand and Azumarill if I use it gets in on that action too. So as far as I can see, it would be more beneficial to me to have a strong Special Attacker than a utility pivot in that slot, especilly as AV Azu is a pretty good pivot and Raptor already packs U-Turn.

You are right about Heracross doing good vs sand, however why waste the extra damage from Life Orb Iron Head Excadrills when you can easily just sponge the hits with Rotom-W (13% Max)? And how is Rotom-w a perfect opportunity for Skarmory to Roost when it will take 63-74% from a Volt Switch or taking at least 80-90% from Thunderbolt (OHKOing it w/ more sp atk evds)? If the player switches in a Chansey on Rotom-W, take that as an opportunity to Volt Switch out and get a free switch into Heracross and set up on it. So I don't understand what you are trying to back up here. Rotom-w also beats off opposing Talonflames, Mega Pinsirs, Mamoswines, and having an Ice Resistance that the team appreciates. I know Rotom-w isn't the "coolest" mon in the world, but I say try it, since it can do you no harm than good.
 
You are right about Heracross doing good vs sand, however why waste the extra damage from Life Orb Iron Head Excadrills when you can easily just sponge the hits with Rotom-W (13% Max)? And how is Rotom-w a perfect opportunity for Skarmory to Roost when it will take 63-74% from a Volt Switch or taking at least 80-90% from Thunderbolt (OHKOing it w/ more sp atk evds)? If the player switches in a Chansey on Rotom-W, take that as an opportunity to Volt Switch out and get a free switch into Heracross and set up on it. So I don't understand what you are trying to back up here. Rotom-w also beats off opposing Talonflames, Mega Pinsirs, Mamoswines, and having an Ice Resistance that the team appreciates. I know Rotom-w isn't the "coolest" mon in the world, but I say try it, since it can do you no harm than good.

I'll give it a shot at least, then :)
 
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