ORAS OU Hero of Heroes, King of Knights, Mega Gallade (GXE 69% and ELO 1548)

[Anime_Fan]

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Hello Everyone,

Ever since it's release, I've always been a huge fan of Mega Gallade. Everything about just seemed so right, from it's white cape, down to it's bladed arms. So anyway, I've been working on a team that features Mega Gallade for quite a while now. And I believe I may have just the right team. Looking at Mega Gallade's stats, you can tell it should primarily work well on Hyper Offensive teams. It's defences are fragile but that's easily remedied by a Bulk Up Set.

Now that I had decided which set to run, it was only a matter of building a team around it i.e. an HYPER offensive team! All of the pokemon listed down below each tackle Gallade's walls and counters, so it's only a matter of playing your cards right, and you're bound to have victory at your finger tips. That said, bare in mind that no team is unbeatable. An ideal Pokemon team is a team that lose badly (lol). And that's where this team comes in.

OU Scores:
Elo - 1400+ > 1548
GXE - 58% > 69.1%

Note: The stamp bar [Approve] indicates which Pokemon are the most responsible for this teams success.

The Team

Deathworm (Scolipede) @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Megahorn
- Aqua Tail
- Poison Jab
- Swords Dance / Protect

Scolipede is a great counter to fairies and it makes a great mid to late game Sweeper. With access to Swords Dance and the following coverage moves, Scolipede has everything it needs to sweep teams. Mega Horn nails everything that does not resist it. Aqua Tail KO's landorus-T an infamous switch in. And poison Jab is a reliable STAB move of choice if you cannot risk the potential chance to miss the other moves [unfortunately] provide. Protect is an option for what you think your team needs i.e. a powerful sweeper or a revenge killer (free speed boosts).

Thugs Bunny (Diggersby) @ Life Orb
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack
- Swords Dance

Diggersby functions as a great wall breaker. Since this team makes use of Sticky Web, it's speed is no longer an hinderance. At +2 Return KO's everything that doesn't resist it, it 2HKO's Pokemon that do resist it. Quick attack offers a strong form of priority. Diggersby forms a great core with Gallade.

Zeus (Thundurus) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Grass Knot / Focus Blast

Thundurus is our emergency stop for opposing Sweepers. With access to priority Thunder Wave, it can and will cripple any fast threats. Thunderbolt is a great STAB move that hits very hard and the combination of HP Ice and Focus blast nails Landorus- T, Garchomp, Heatran and Tyranitar.

Superhero (Gallade) @ Galladite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch / Knock Off
- Zen Headbutt

I believe this is how you effectively make good use of Mega Gallade i.e. via Bulk Up. Due how threating Mega Gallade is, you will find plenty of opportunities to use Bulk Up. This amplifies Gallade's defenses allowing it to take many hits that would have previously KO'd it. The combination of Bulk Up and Drain Punch means Gallade will be recovering a lot of valuable HP. Bulk Up also stops Landorus-T from becoming a wall thanks to the additional attack and defence it provides. The choice between Ice Punch and Knock Off depends on what your team needs. In my team's case, we already had Bisharp, so Slowbro was harder a threat. A defensive Garchomp with the item Rocky Helmet would have been a problem. So Ice Punch was the move of choice for us (in order to get rid of it ASAP). Zen Headbutt is a great coverage for bulky Poison types.

Artista (Smeargle) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Stealth Rock
- Sticky Web
- Nuzzle

I'm aware that there are "better" hazard setters out there, but Smeargle's perk of being unpredictable was its main selling point for my team. So thanks to that, Nuzzle became essential for it in order to stop threats such as Mega Diancie (her infamous Magic Bounce ability). Nuzzle cripples her speed to near 0, so at this point, she quickly becomes dead weight. Sticky Web is very important for my team as it is decreases the speed of all grounded Pokemon. So all the slow members of my team e.g. Bisharp and Diggersby quickly become threats capable of fighting back their counters e.g. Diggersby would now out speed Starmie and KO it back with a Huge Power, Adamant nature, STAB, Life Orb boosted Return. What is there not to like (lol)?

Checkmate (Bisharp) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch

Bisharp completes this team by forming a nice core with Gallade. With access to Knock off (a move my Gallade lacks) we don't have to worry about Slowbro. Lum Berry was out item of choice to stop and defeat Pokemon that attempt to cripple it with a burn e.g. Rotom Wash and Sableye. Thanks to Sticky Web Bisharp has been able to go up against Keldeo with a +2 Iron Head (and the helpful Flinch ofc).

Import Team.

Hide

Zeus (Thundurus) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast

Deathworm (Scolipede) @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Megahorn
- Aqua Tail
- Poison Jab
- Swords Dance

Thugs Bunny (Diggersby) @ Life Orb
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack
- Swords Dance

Superhero (Gallade) @ Galladite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Zen Headbutt

Artista (Smeargle) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Stealth Rock
- Sticky Web
- Nuzzle

Checkmate (Bisharp) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch

Conclusion:
I believe this team is great for what it is i.e. it makes great use of Mega Gallade and it has been able to score multiple wins against high ranked and skilful players. Also please are in mind that I play by GameFreaks rules, so Defog on the Lati-twins [for example] is a big no-no for me (lol). The following memebers were chosen for what they brought to my team and how underused they are, hence I wanted to make use of Smeargle, Diggersby and Scolipede.

Sometimes the constant use of repetitive such as Landorus and Garchomp really dulls the fun out of most Pokemon battles. Time to spice things up a little! ^^

Threats:
1. Talonflame
2. Ditto.
3. Substitute users.

The Team In Action (please watch before judging, thanks):

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-341291935
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-341796012
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-342729462
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-342683407
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-342726051
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-341799964
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-340595769
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-340655951
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-340649111
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-340597828
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-340600938

Nickname Source:
http://pokemonname-rater.tumblr.com/

 

[akashsky]

I don't like how this team has no ways to get rid of hazards from the enemy. No Pokemon even capable of running rapid spin/Defog makes it painfully obvious that you will be leading smeargle. I know that smeargle is unpredictable , but there are Pokemon that shut down 90% of its sets ,( anything with a taunt faster than smeargle).

To fix this we need to make your smeargle SUPER CRAZY, so that their prediction ends up backfiring.

I suggest a small item change on smeargle. Replace focus sash with choice scarf. This gaurentees a sticky web against any lead without priority taunt or magic bounce. Secondly , it preserves smeargles usefulness throughout the game even with hazards on the field , so if the opponent has a hard counter like mega lopunny, you don't need to lead smeargle.

In addition you can choose to replace stealth rocks with trick if you want an answer to bullshit stall teams.

Also please explain why game freak rules make it so no Defog on the lati twins

 

[Anime_Fan]

Glad you all enjoyed the team.
PS: Smart players use Bulk Up on Gallade, as it has everything to abuse it.
Swords Dance Gallade dies far too quickly i.e. with it's terrible HP, defence and decent speed stats, Gallade will be out sped and KO'd.

Gallade is often killed by physical attacks. It can and will tank special hits.
Bulk Up is the smart option. Smogons sets are not always top notch.