God Steve (Clefable) (M) @ Babiri Berry
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Stored Power
- Flamethrower
- Cosmic Power
- Soft-Boiled
This set is why I created the team in the first place. I really like the idea behind Cosmic Power + Stored Power, and the rest of the team is essentially built around sweeping with just that. The goal is to Quiver Dance pass with Venomoth to Clefable, and building up +1 Sp. Attack, +6 Defense, +6 Sp. Defense, +1 Speed, and sweeping with a 280 base power move. Now, the main problems with sweeping with this set are the following:
- Steel Types: Steel Types are the bane of this set, sure Poison Type pokemon could be annoying, but we thankfully don't have to worry about any major threats with Poison Type STAB in OU these days, so primarily our fear is Steel Type. Notably Scizor's Bullet Punches and Excadrill's Iron Heads. Yes there are other Steel moves used in OU, but I definitely found those three to be the most common things to threaten my poor sweet Clefable when trying to set up our first few Cosmic Powers. Essentially however, the problem isn't taking multiple hits at increased defenses, it's our opponent seeing our Venomoth lead which I'll get to next, and switching into their steel type early to hit our Clefable as soon as it's sent out. This is prevented with two things: Babiri Berry and Flamethrower. Babiri Berry allows us to eat up the first Steel hit and OHKO Offensive Scizor and gives us a 91% chance of 2HKOing Sand Rush Excadrill, (100% after SR). This all might be leading you somewhere: 'Both of these seem like wishful thinking, as long as the opponent predicts the Clefable pass target, the Clefable can be weakened enough by Excadrill to be killed by something fairly fast.' Well, I'll cover that later. He doesn't have to carry the entire team on his shoulders, but it's definitely a plus that Excadrill is the only Pokemon that can break this set if you baton pass into an Iron Head first, and only if.
- Trick: The only Trick users I've encountered are Gengar and Rotom-W. These can be a pain when trying to set up Cosmic Powers, and should be noted on Team Preview and you should attempt to take care of them as early as possible. Worst comes to worst after getting +1 Sp. Attack, +1 Defense, +2 Sp. Defense, +1 Speed, you sweep with Choice Scarf Stored Power at 100 base power and Choice Scarf +1 Speed with insane bulk on top of that. This should still be avoided if possible, but it's not the end of the world.
- Phasers: Roar, Whirlwind, Haze, and Clear Smog all make this set, as with most other sweepers, frown. Clefable can't fit anything onto her set to deal with these, so you have to attempt to clear them off the opposing team before making your Clefable sweep.
Olympic Steve (Venomoth) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Wonder Skin
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Baton Pass
- Bug Buzz
- Sleep Powder / Agility
Venomoth is the primary reason why Clefable can actually sweep with the Cosmic/Stored combo. Giving her just enough Special Attack and Speed to make Stored Power strong. Venomoth is unique in the combination of Quiver Dance and Baton Pass, other than Smeargle admittedly, but Venomoth outspeeds Smeargle, has a usable Special Attack stat, allowing it to KO some Pokemon with STAB Bug Buzz if worst comes to worst, and honestly Focus Sash + Quiver Dance is a lot more reliable than that Power Herb + Geomancy crap that I've seen on some Smeargle Baton Passers. Venomoth for the most part should be Baton Passing to Clefable as that is the main Win Condition on this team, but I've had 1 or 2 games where the opposing team was so whittled down and either bug-neutral or bug-weak that Venomoth just ended up winning without passing to Clefable.
I've experimented somewhat with running Agility rather than Sleep Powder, for instances where I already have up 1 Quiver Dance, and would rather have Clefable gain a more noticable Speed stat than more power, but ultimately I've discarded it in favor of Sleep Powder, which allows me to set up Quiver Dances more reliably. (Grass Pokemon switching in is rarely a problem that a STAB +1 Bug Buzz or two can't handle.)
Black Steve (Kyurem-Black) @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 Atk / 56 SpA / 200 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Fusion Bolt
- Ice Beam
- Iron Head
Every Pokemon that isn't Clefable has a role on the team, whether it's passing Quiver Dances, acting as the team Cleric, or setting up and removing hazards. Kyurem-B's job is to rip holes in the enemy team. It's rare he can't take out at least 1 mon on the enemy's team, and paired with Mega Medicham, the holes torn in the enemy team are rarely small by the time Venomoth and Clefable actually make their appearance.
Yoga Steve (Medicham) (M) @ Medichamite
Ability: Pure Power
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Zen Headbutt
- Ice Punch
- Substitute
Just like Kyurem-B, Mega Medicham is designed purely to nuke things, and Medicham nukes things like no other. I experimented with Mega Gardevoir and Mega Heracross, but Medicham has performed the most consistently for me. A lot of people these days expect the Fake Out on the switch in, and setting up a Substitute often allows Medicham to defeat whatever they switch in to absorb it, or leave a giant hole in the HP bar of whatever they want to switch into after realizing their mistake.
Just Steve (Skarmory) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Defog
- Stealth Rock
- Counter
Skarmory and Chansey form a defensive core that I particularly like, and while my beloved Stall has really fallen in viability with Medicham, Gardevoir, and Heracross running around all the more these days, a small piece of some of my stall teams can remain with me in the form of Skarmory and Chansey. These two function as a fairly simple defensive core to absorb physical and special attacks respectively, and fulfill the roles of setting up/taking down hazards and using wish/heal bell to keep the team healthy.
Dr. Steve (Chansey) (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
- Wish
- Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave
- Seismic Toss
I realize that Skarm/Chansey isn't the most innovative of cores, but the two of them fulfill the two roles that I desperately wanted to use for the sake of allowing multiple uses of Kyurem-B, (and sometimes Medicham), and preventing hazard spam from stall while setting up rocks on HO, (notably Bird Spam).
I know it's kind of an odd team but I've played it more than any other team at this point and I'm a huge fan of it. Have I missed an obvious swap out for a better mon? Are my EVs horrifyingly bad? Have I formatted something incorrectly? What can I fix? :) I look forward to feed back and/or discussion!
