Yes I know it's Sonic, I just couldn't think of another title.
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So hey Smogon, I'm back - that said, I never really left. Anyway, this introduction is probably going to be extremely boring, so feel free to skip ahead.
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So hey Smogon, I'm back - that said, I never really left. Anyway, this introduction is probably going to be extremely boring, so feel free to skip ahead.
So it started with the Genesect ban. During his short life in the chaos of OU, Genesect, our little multi-tasking cannon-carrying bug (which reminds me of the starship Enterprise), fixed a surprising amount of stuff, such as massively reducing the popularity of Tornadus-T and rain teams in general. It didn't leave them out of the question, it's just that since he came along, it isn't the case that 99% of all OU teams are based around rain. For which I am thankful.
However, Genesect did produce another problem while it was around - itself. So for a while, I've been sitting out of OU play since I couldn't use Genesect, and it kept destroying me. OK, I did a bit of trolling with Kyurem-B and a very annoying level 1 Donphan, but nothing serious.
So why have I started playing again? Well, reason 1 is, obviously, the banning of Genesect, with the many horrible generic rain teams still out of action as well, leaving room for a much more enjoyable metagame. And the other reason is (was) the Smogon World Cup, particularly because I would've killed for one of those Smogon shirts. Annoyingly I was disqualified from said tournament for inactivity (inactivity my a**), so now seems like a good time to post this team after much honing and refining, and it's probably not going to change, but I might pull it out of retirement if I can find that extra ingredient to make it more fun.
So this is the team I used for the Smogon World Tournament (not that it matters). It does fairly well (I haven't bothered to pull up a win:lose ratio or ranking or anything like that), and it is the most successful team I've built. So here, in this world (His World), I present to you His Team.
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However, Genesect did produce another problem while it was around - itself. So for a while, I've been sitting out of OU play since I couldn't use Genesect, and it kept destroying me. OK, I did a bit of trolling with Kyurem-B and a very annoying level 1 Donphan, but nothing serious.
So why have I started playing again? Well, reason 1 is, obviously, the banning of Genesect, with the many horrible generic rain teams still out of action as well, leaving room for a much more enjoyable metagame. And the other reason is (was) the Smogon World Cup, particularly because I would've killed for one of those Smogon shirts. Annoyingly I was disqualified from said tournament for inactivity (inactivity my a**), so now seems like a good time to post this team after much honing and refining, and it's probably not going to change, but I might pull it out of retirement if I can find that extra ingredient to make it more fun.
So this is the team I used for the Smogon World Tournament (not that it matters). It does fairly well (I haven't bothered to pull up a win:lose ratio or ranking or anything like that), and it is the most successful team I've built. So here, in this world (His World), I present to you His Team.
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It all really started with Landorus - the team's origin was around the time RP special Sheer Force Landorus was so popular. It was seriously deadly, and I remember the origins of BW when Landorus was revered as a very powerful sand sweeper. Eager to see if the classics were better then this new-fangled stuff, I wanted to try him out.
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Obviously I would need something a bit... mainstream - sand support. There were three choices, and I certainly wasn't going to use Hippopotas. So, Tyranitar or Hippowdon? True, Tyranitar could check Lati@s, but Hippowdon's defensive prowess and instant recovery made him a strong member of the team.


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Rain weaknesses are not fun, even if there is little rain around - you never want to be caught without a rain counter. So Celebi went on the team, since it is the only pokemon in existence that can take on Keldeo in rain without much trouble.
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OK, it's looking alright, but a spinner is very important since I have every intention of winning the weather war and keeping Celebi alive from the horrors of Toxic Spikes. Spikes of my own are also helpful, so I guess, why not use Forretress?
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Tornadus alert! I really badly need something that won't mind switching into repeated attacks from the giant pigeon. I also wouldn't mind something to spread status and take special attacks in general. Pulling from the pool of the usual, let's have Blissey.
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Finally, I need something that can create offensive pressure when I need it. Something with strong priority, that can lure in and break up walls... another old favorite - Scizor!
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And so that's what the team looks like.



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OK, it's looking alright, but a spinner is very important since I have every intention of winning the weather war and keeping Celebi alive from the horrors of Toxic Spikes. Spikes of my own are also helpful, so I guess, why not use Forretress?




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Tornadus alert! I really badly need something that won't mind switching into repeated attacks from the giant pigeon. I also wouldn't mind something to spread status and take special attacks in general. Pulling from the pool of the usual, let's have Blissey.





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Finally, I need something that can create offensive pressure when I need it. Something with strong priority, that can lure in and break up walls... another old favorite - Scizor!






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And so that's what the team looks like.
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Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 104 Def / 252 HP / 152 Atk
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
Well, this is Hippowdon, as I'm sure you know. He provides key roles for my team, such as providing sand, Stealth Rocks, and, of course, being a solid physical wall. I almost always lead with him to get up sand and rocks hopefully turn 1, then see how my opponent plays from there. Access to Whirlwind makes him my only phaser, but this isn't a problem because of his great bulk. His bulk even allows him to take on Terrakion well enough and Slack Off the damage. It should be fairly easy to see why I elected to have Hippowdon over Tyranitar.
You may have noticed the large amount of attack EVs in the spread. This is because Hippowdon is my main check to Baton Pass teams, and the main trouble with Baton Pass teams is Espeon. The attack allows me to 2HKO 252/4 Espeon with Earthquake (which is a possible set on Baton Pass teams - I think). In terms of moves, Earthquake provides me with good STAB, particularly against pokes likes Terrakion and Espeon, the main ones I would attack. Stealth Rock and Whirlwind are great support moves for my team, and Slack Off is strong recovery. Nothing to it.
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Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 8 SAtk / 252 HP / 48 Spd / 200 SDef
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Recover
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Celebi. Exists to annoy rain teams, destroy Volt-Turn, and generally look cute. Celebi is an important member of my team for a good reason - he does so much against rain teams, particularly Keldeo, who would otherwise require a lot of prediction. He also provides me with a key fighting resist, which isn't actually that important in today's metagame, but is nonetheless helpful. Celebi also exists to lure certain annoying bugs like Forretress and Scizor and destroy them with Hidden Power, as well as spiky UFOs that like to Leech Seed. He is an important cornerstone of both my offensive and defensive game.
The EVs allow it to survive... something to do with Life Orb Keldeo in rain or something. Then there's my 3 extra speed more than most. And the rest in special attack. Giga Drain is my main weapon against rain, and provides a nifty bit of extra healing as well. Psychic hurts fighting and poison types, allowing me to threaten Toxicroak and Tentacruel. Hidden Power allows me to destroy Scizor, Forretress and Ferrothorn after luring them in like an evil person. And finally, Recover allows me to sponge many, many attacks - even rain-boosted ones.
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Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 108 SAtk / 148 Spd
Bold Nature
- Toxic
- Thunder Wave
- Softboiled
- Thunderbolt
Blissey forms the second of two parts of my unbreakable special defense, alongside Celebi. Between these two, rain has huge problems, as their two biggest attackers, Keldeo and Tornadus-T, are stopped stone cold. Blissey takes on Tornadus-T, taking whatever it can throw, paralyzing it, and then Softboiled the damage. I added Toxic to beat out on annoying special walls such as enemy Blissey, Dusclops, Celebi, stuff like that, if it should come down to that, and of course to eat away at stuff I don't like. Blissey is pretty much unbreakable on the special side as long as I can keep the weather on my side.
The EVs are standard – max buff to defences. The combination of Thunder Wave and Toxic is purely down to adaptability, so I can Thunder Wave fast sweepers that cause trouble, which makes them much easier to handle, or Toxic the more sturdy walls of my opponent. Softboiled is solid recovery, and I chose it over Wish since most of my team has good recovery anyway. Seismic Toss is to deal some damage reliably, and take out special sweepers that are stupid enough to try to muscle past Blissey.
After some testing, I have decided to follow Neliel Tu Oderschvank's suggestion (sort of) and put Thunderbolt over Seismic Toss to deal with Skarmory. The reason why I didn't use Flamethrower was to be able to beat Skarmory in rain as well.
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Forretress @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Volt Switch
- Gyro Ball
Ahhh, Forretress. Not OU’s premier spinner, but nevertheless a strong asset to the team. He provides three important things – a spinner, a spiker, and another physical wall. He even works as a solid defensive pivot, thanks to Volt Switch. I elected to not use that special Forretress with HP Ice since I don’t have too much trouble with dragons. Forretress is a pokemon that requires not too much detail, since everyone knows how it works.
The EV spread is simply to tank physical hits as best as possible – Forretress’s lack of a solid recovery move means I need as much survivability as possible. Spikes and Rapid Spin is the main reason for choosing Forretress, so those are given, and are extremely helpful. Volt Switch is great from a slow pokemon, allowing me to bring in another pokemon without damage. Finally, Gyro Ball is important to take out Gengar, OU’s most popular spinblocker, since my team struggles with Gengar otherwise.
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Scizor @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 248 HP / 8 SDef
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Pursuit
An old classic, Choice Band Scizor is a great revenge killer and scout. Its uses aren’t as limited to that alone, either – Superpower can enable me to lure and destroy Ferrothorn and Heatran, pokemon that usually give my team a bit of trouble. Pursuit occasionally helps in trapping psychics and ghosts, but isn’t so useful usually. It can revenge all sorts of stuff, such as Mamoswine, which it mainly needs to take out so it can’t slaughter my team. Indeed Mamoswine is a huge threat to this team, so having Scizor to swiftly OHKO the beast with Bullet Punch is incredibly helpful.
The EVs prioritise attack power, and then HP to take varied hits. U-Turn is a move for any choiced Scizor, and most Scizor is general due to its ability to scout and dent most switch-ins. Bullet Punch is even more essential, and a great move to sweep should Landorus fail. Superpower, as I said, allows me to lure and destroy annoying steel types like Ferrothorn and Heatran. Finally, Pursuit is more of a filler that can occasionally help with killing off weakened Lati@s.
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Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SAtk
Naughty Nature
- Rock Polish
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stone Edge
And now, the star of the show. Honestly, I have no idea why the special Sheer Force thing is more popular than this. This thing is so dangerous it can flatten most walls in a heartbeat. It breaks, it sweeps, and it can even wall to an extent (well, no). If I can get it in right, I can straight off put so much offensive pressure on my opponent, threatening to OHKO or 2HKO most of their pokes. Earthquake, when boosted by Sand Force, Life Orb, 125 base attack and STAB is a force to be reckoned with, and after Rock Polish, I can destroy a weakened team with ease. Nuff said.
Rock Polish is a great boosting move since after one I am outspeeding pretty much the entire metagame, even including most Chlorophyll pokemon. Earthquake and Stone Edge are very powerful moves that can allow me to dismantle most walls, and giving me great neutral coverage – which, with Sand Force and Life Orb, is enough to sweep without much trouble late-game. Hidden Power Ice is the other reason for using Landorus-I over Landorus-T, since it can OHKO the now extremely rare Gliscor with no investment.
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So that is the team. I hope it isn’t too atrocious or short, and I hope you enjoyed reading. I wasn’t aiming to accomplish anything with this team, only to make something decent to play for fun. So feel free to rate, hate, steal and otherwise!
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
Well, this is Hippowdon, as I'm sure you know. He provides key roles for my team, such as providing sand, Stealth Rocks, and, of course, being a solid physical wall. I almost always lead with him to get up sand and rocks hopefully turn 1, then see how my opponent plays from there. Access to Whirlwind makes him my only phaser, but this isn't a problem because of his great bulk. His bulk even allows him to take on Terrakion well enough and Slack Off the damage. It should be fairly easy to see why I elected to have Hippowdon over Tyranitar.
You may have noticed the large amount of attack EVs in the spread. This is because Hippowdon is my main check to Baton Pass teams, and the main trouble with Baton Pass teams is Espeon. The attack allows me to 2HKO 252/4 Espeon with Earthquake (which is a possible set on Baton Pass teams - I think). In terms of moves, Earthquake provides me with good STAB, particularly against pokes likes Terrakion and Espeon, the main ones I would attack. Stealth Rock and Whirlwind are great support moves for my team, and Slack Off is strong recovery. Nothing to it.
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Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 8 SAtk / 252 HP / 48 Spd / 200 SDef
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Recover
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Celebi. Exists to annoy rain teams, destroy Volt-Turn, and generally look cute. Celebi is an important member of my team for a good reason - he does so much against rain teams, particularly Keldeo, who would otherwise require a lot of prediction. He also provides me with a key fighting resist, which isn't actually that important in today's metagame, but is nonetheless helpful. Celebi also exists to lure certain annoying bugs like Forretress and Scizor and destroy them with Hidden Power, as well as spiky UFOs that like to Leech Seed. He is an important cornerstone of both my offensive and defensive game.
The EVs allow it to survive... something to do with Life Orb Keldeo in rain or something. Then there's my 3 extra speed more than most. And the rest in special attack. Giga Drain is my main weapon against rain, and provides a nifty bit of extra healing as well. Psychic hurts fighting and poison types, allowing me to threaten Toxicroak and Tentacruel. Hidden Power allows me to destroy Scizor, Forretress and Ferrothorn after luring them in like an evil person. And finally, Recover allows me to sponge many, many attacks - even rain-boosted ones.
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Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 108 SAtk / 148 Spd
Bold Nature
- Toxic
- Thunder Wave
- Softboiled
- Thunderbolt
Blissey forms the second of two parts of my unbreakable special defense, alongside Celebi. Between these two, rain has huge problems, as their two biggest attackers, Keldeo and Tornadus-T, are stopped stone cold. Blissey takes on Tornadus-T, taking whatever it can throw, paralyzing it, and then Softboiled the damage. I added Toxic to beat out on annoying special walls such as enemy Blissey, Dusclops, Celebi, stuff like that, if it should come down to that, and of course to eat away at stuff I don't like. Blissey is pretty much unbreakable on the special side as long as I can keep the weather on my side.
The EVs are standard – max buff to defences. The combination of Thunder Wave and Toxic is purely down to adaptability, so I can Thunder Wave fast sweepers that cause trouble, which makes them much easier to handle, or Toxic the more sturdy walls of my opponent. Softboiled is solid recovery, and I chose it over Wish since most of my team has good recovery anyway. Seismic Toss is to deal some damage reliably, and take out special sweepers that are stupid enough to try to muscle past Blissey.
After some testing, I have decided to follow Neliel Tu Oderschvank's suggestion (sort of) and put Thunderbolt over Seismic Toss to deal with Skarmory. The reason why I didn't use Flamethrower was to be able to beat Skarmory in rain as well.
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Forretress @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Volt Switch
- Gyro Ball
Ahhh, Forretress. Not OU’s premier spinner, but nevertheless a strong asset to the team. He provides three important things – a spinner, a spiker, and another physical wall. He even works as a solid defensive pivot, thanks to Volt Switch. I elected to not use that special Forretress with HP Ice since I don’t have too much trouble with dragons. Forretress is a pokemon that requires not too much detail, since everyone knows how it works.
The EV spread is simply to tank physical hits as best as possible – Forretress’s lack of a solid recovery move means I need as much survivability as possible. Spikes and Rapid Spin is the main reason for choosing Forretress, so those are given, and are extremely helpful. Volt Switch is great from a slow pokemon, allowing me to bring in another pokemon without damage. Finally, Gyro Ball is important to take out Gengar, OU’s most popular spinblocker, since my team struggles with Gengar otherwise.
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Scizor @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 248 HP / 8 SDef
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Pursuit
An old classic, Choice Band Scizor is a great revenge killer and scout. Its uses aren’t as limited to that alone, either – Superpower can enable me to lure and destroy Ferrothorn and Heatran, pokemon that usually give my team a bit of trouble. Pursuit occasionally helps in trapping psychics and ghosts, but isn’t so useful usually. It can revenge all sorts of stuff, such as Mamoswine, which it mainly needs to take out so it can’t slaughter my team. Indeed Mamoswine is a huge threat to this team, so having Scizor to swiftly OHKO the beast with Bullet Punch is incredibly helpful.
The EVs prioritise attack power, and then HP to take varied hits. U-Turn is a move for any choiced Scizor, and most Scizor is general due to its ability to scout and dent most switch-ins. Bullet Punch is even more essential, and a great move to sweep should Landorus fail. Superpower, as I said, allows me to lure and destroy annoying steel types like Ferrothorn and Heatran. Finally, Pursuit is more of a filler that can occasionally help with killing off weakened Lati@s.
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Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SAtk
Naughty Nature
- Rock Polish
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stone Edge
And now, the star of the show. Honestly, I have no idea why the special Sheer Force thing is more popular than this. This thing is so dangerous it can flatten most walls in a heartbeat. It breaks, it sweeps, and it can even wall to an extent (well, no). If I can get it in right, I can straight off put so much offensive pressure on my opponent, threatening to OHKO or 2HKO most of their pokes. Earthquake, when boosted by Sand Force, Life Orb, 125 base attack and STAB is a force to be reckoned with, and after Rock Polish, I can destroy a weakened team with ease. Nuff said.
Rock Polish is a great boosting move since after one I am outspeeding pretty much the entire metagame, even including most Chlorophyll pokemon. Earthquake and Stone Edge are very powerful moves that can allow me to dismantle most walls, and giving me great neutral coverage – which, with Sand Force and Life Orb, is enough to sweep without much trouble late-game. Hidden Power Ice is the other reason for using Landorus-I over Landorus-T, since it can OHKO the now extremely rare Gliscor with no investment.
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So that is the team. I hope it isn’t too atrocious or short, and I hope you enjoyed reading. I wasn’t aiming to accomplish anything with this team, only to make something decent to play for fun. So feel free to rate, hate, steal and otherwise!
















































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