<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>- I Looked Away -<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>
Good afternoon, day, evening, night, or whatever suites your fancy! My name is Sickist, and I'm here to RMT a SS OU team that I've been enjoying maybe a little too much. While I am new to the current generation of OU, I've been on smogon since 2018, and have been a (somewhat) active contributor of the UU community since the beginning of SM UU. I enjoy most of my time on smogon trying to slave over to forums, including posting in like, every UU subforum, rating teams, attempting to and failing bitterly to write analysis, as well as just hang out with the rest of ya'll as time passes me by. Anyways, for some context as to why a long time UU player is writing an OU RMT, here's why: I was bored. Crappy excuse, right? No, but really, the RMT subforum needs more raters, so I figured I'd learn OU and then help provide rates to the excessive amount of OU teams that need help here. I also needed some variety in my life, because staring at the same Noivern/Slowbro-Galar/Cobalion/Galarian-Weezing all the time gets old after a bit.
As far as the song choice, it comes from one of my favorite LP's of all time: Derek and the Dominoes "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs", which is a blues/rock album produced in the late 1960s. It features iconic guitarist Eric Clapton alongside another great guitarist, Duane Allman. Also playing with them are the amazing Bobby Whitlock, who co-penned most of the songs (that were original) with Eric Clapton, as well as Jim Gordon on drums and Carl Radle as the bassist. Together, they put together one of the most iconic, and in my opinion, best albums of all time. While everyone generally talks about the title track, Layla, as well as the second-best hit, Bell Bottom Blues, Most of the songs on the album are worth the same amount of fame. There are quite a few non-original songs, mainly covers of Blues and Rock tracks, such as Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing or Billy Myles' Have You Ever Loved a Woman. However, Clapton's and Whitlock's take on these memorable songs make the album go much farther then your Weezer standard.
The title track, Layla, is based off a Persian poem, Layla and Majnun, which is essentially a Persian version of Romeo and Juliet. The reason this title was chosen was because of Eric Claptons growing affection to Pattie Boyd. Doesn't seem like it works until you remember that Pattie Boyd at that point was Pattie Harrison, married to the infamous George Harrison of the Beatles. Clapton and Harrison were friends, and still remained friends after Boyd left Harrison and got married to Clapton in March of 1979. Despite them ending up divorcing around 10 years later, Layla remains of the greatest love songs to ever be produced.
Now back to Pokemon. I built this team after looking at the builder, trying to figure out what I was doing and how to play this tier. After a brief discussion with TPP, I finally got over the fact that Hydreigon really only runs Nasty Plot, and isnt cool like it was back in SM UU. Alas, how the mighty have fallen.
<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>- Teambuilding Process -<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>
I started with a core of Nasty Plot + 3 attacks Hydreigon alongside standard Toxapex. Hydreigon's breaking potential is insane alongside Nasty Plot and it's amazing coverage. I wanted to pair it with Toxapex because Toxapex abuses most of everything Hydreigon doesn't like setting up on or breaking through. Toxapex can Toxic Blissey and Pyukumuku, as well as prevent settup attempts by Volcarona, Bulk Up Corviknight, or Calm Mind Clefable (although I'm not quite sure of they run T-bolt, so make sure to scout for that. As far as Toxapex is concerned, you also have to watch out for Trick+Choice Scarf sets and Sticky Barb sets, as these will greatly hinder Toxapex's preformance in a game. I opted for 3 attacks on Hydreigon, because I felt like Roost wasn't really necessary with what I wanted to acheive with Hydreigon: blowing as much stuff up in the quickest amount of time possible.
Looking at what I had, I looked for what I needed next. Having no prior knowledge of the tier, I looked back at the previous generation's OU to see if anything was similar that would be of use. There was one that caught my eye: Clefable. Clefable provides a lot of things on this team, to no one's surprise. Being that I'm utilizing TrickScarf, which allows me to trick a defensive pokemon like Corviknight or Chansey a Choice Scarf, making Hydreigon's job a lot easier. Clefable is also the team's Stealth Rocker, and forms a defensive core with Toxapex to check the ever-threatening Urshifu-Single Strike. Clef is also a nice pivot into Zeraora, which this team doesn't quite like at all. While I don't get to abuse broken Wish+Teleport on this build, Clefable is in no way dead weight to this team. As the replays later on in the RMT show, Clefable is always doing something important in a game.
Speaking of Zeraora, it's the next member of the team. I was looking for Speed Control, a way to check electric types from Volting all over my team, as well as providing crucial Knock-Off support that would aid the rest of my team, specifically Hydreigon. Zeraora offers all of these, as well as a Volt Switch of it's own. Volt Switch is very beneficial to this team, as a lot of what this team pressures offensively beats it defensively, so having something to punish a switch out (into not a ground type or opposing Zera) with is always great. Zeraora functions as a pivot/wallbreaker on this build, being able to weaken things like Clefable, Hippowdon (although I'm physical so I'm not breaking Hippo, just chipping it into range of Hydreigon), as well as stuff like Mandibuzz. Being the fastest mon in the tier is also great, as I needed a Dragapult answer as well (it's an offensive check, please do not hard switch your Zeraora into a Dragapult, thank you.), so speed control outside of Zera is generally not needed.
Man, I'm really enjoying these new sprites. They look less in pain, and more like mini versions of themselves. After filling in the four teammates I had, I looked at what the OU tier had to threaten me with. That's when I remembered Jungle Harambe existed. I've hated Rillabloom ever since it got Grassy Surge and started terrorizing UU. When it moved to OU, I was overjoyed, but none the less, here we are again. Rillaboom beats all 4 of these with either Grassy Glide or Wood Hammer, so I added Skarmory to help with that issue. Skarmory was chosen over Corviknight for one reason: Spikes. Spikes are a godsend to this team, as they make setting up for the endgame Hydreigon or Zeraora a lot faster of a process. Skarmory does Skarmory things, eats physical hits from the likes of Urshifu (both), sometimes Crawdaunt, sometimes Azumarill, Scizor, and most importantly: Rillaboom. I'm running Shed Shell because I have an unhealthy fear of Magnets.
Finally, I got to the last slot. Clefable still looked really annoying to face, particularly Tbolt vairants. I also wanted backup insurance vs setup sweepers, particularly Volcarona. I also needed Hazard Control, as only one pokemon on this build is utilizing Heavy Duty Boots. So I opted for the unorthodox option of Choice Scarf Excadrill. According to TPP, OU Players don't really use Scarf pokemon anymore, but I'm doing it anyways because it works out. Excadrill provides a backup answer to Clefable, Dragapult, Zeraora, Volcarona, Aegislash, and Alakazam, as well as provides essential Hazard Removal for the team. While I did debate on using Sand Rush over Mold Breaker, I figured Mold Breaker would be more appropriate for wearing down or outright removing annoying pokemon like Rotom-Heat. Overall, despite being probably bad, Scarf Excadrill is a nice end to the teambuilding process.
<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>- In-Depth Analysis -<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>
Retribution (Hydreigon) @ Life Orb | Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spa / 4 SpD / 252 Spe | Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor | - Flash Cannon |- Flamethrower |- Nasty Plot
Hydreigon functions as both a wallbreaker and a wincon, depending on the situation you're in. If you can manage to get rid of faster threats, like Zeraora or Dragapult, Hydreigon becomes increasingly painful to revenge kill, and most likely able to win you the game with correct plays. However, if you cannot remove said speed control, you can still abuse Hydreigon's absurd power and coverage to break down walls, such as Hippowdon, Toxapex, Clefable, Mandibuzz, and so on. The EVs, alongside a Timid Nature, allow Hydreigon to hit as fast and as hard as possible, outrunning notable threats such as Urshifu and Excadrill. A Life Orb boosts Hydreigon's power to a very good level, at the cost of a little of it's HP every time it attacks. Draco Meteor function's as Hydreigon's STAB, blowing apart frail and even chunking fatter pokemon in the tier for good to amazing damage. Flash Cannon punishes Fairy types for trying to come in, notably hitting Clefable and giving you the neutral hit on Primarina. Flamethrower acts as a catch-all to everything Draco Meteor and Flash Cannon don't hit, namely Steels. Scizor, Corviknight, and Excadrill can all come in and eat a hit, allowing them to revenge Hydreigon. However, Flamethrower allows Hydreigon to either KO, or at least severely damage these pokemon, abusing their poor defensive stats vs it. Hydreigon's ability, Levitate, grants it an immunity to Ground type attacks.
Lazy Days (Toxapex) @ Black Sludge | Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD | Bold Nature
- Scald | - Toxic | - Recover | - Haze
Toxapex pairs quite nicely with Hydreigon. Typing and Abilities allow Hydreigon and Toxapex to naturally check each other's answers. However, instead of functioning like an offensive core, Pex+Hydrei functions as a balance core. Hydreigon can break down most of Pex's answers, and Pex sits on the majority of Hydreigon's answers. Unlike last generation, Toxapex opts for a physically defensive set, allowing it to check the likes of SD Scizor, SD Aegislash, Both Urshifu's (Rapid Strike is walled, but Single Strike can be problematic, hence why Clef is here). While having no SpDef means defensively checking Clefable a bit more tedious, Hydreigon can blow past clef at +2 anyways, as long as Clef doesn't have a Calm Mind up. A Bold nature further boasts Toxapex's defenses. Scald is quite spammable, as dishing out free burns on pokemon that think they have free turns is always a bonus. Scald also prevents Toxapex from being shut down completely by Taunt. Toxic alows Toxapex to pressure things Scald wouldn't, namely setup sweepers and walls with recovery. Recover allows Toxapex to remain healthy consistently during a match, and Haze prevents pokemon from setting up on Toxapex. Black Sludge functions just like Leftovers, providing a bit of recovery at the end of every turn, but with the bonus of hurting trick users instead of healing them, if they chose to Trick Toxapex. Rgenerator is the ability on Toxapex, as it allows Toxapex to regain 33% of it's HP upon switching out, allowing it to come back with more health if it gets worn down.
Fly Me To The Moon ( Clefable) @ Choice Scarf | Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD | Bold Nature
- Moonblast | - Stealth Rock | - Soft Boiled | - Trick
Clefable functions as the team's Rocker, a defensive pivot, and as an out against stall teams. Magic Guard allows Clefable to ignore Status (except for speed drop of Paralysis), entry hazards, residual damage from stuff like Leech Seed, as well as Life Orb recoil. Max HP and Defense alongside a Bold nature allow Clefable to defensively check the likes of Urshifu-Single Strike, Zeraora, Hawlucha, and other dangerous threats. Moonblast is Clefable's STAB attack, preventing pokemon like Hydreigon and Kommo-o from setting up for free. Stealth Rock, while not as good as last generation due to the introduction of Heavy Duty Boots, is still appreciated for chip, especially if you can manage to knock off or trick away something's boots. Soft-Boiled is Clefable's recovery, allowing it to keep coming in on threats such as Zeraora or Urshifu-Single Strike. Finally, Trick, alongside a Choice Scarf, allows Clefable to cripple a defensive pokemon by forcing it to lock into a move, which doesn't allow the wall to function correctly. After testing this, I've also found that it's not a terrible way to annoy setup sweepers like Volcarona as well, as being locked into Quiver Dance is a great way to shut it down. That being said, a Choice Scarf has to be Clefable's starting item, otherwise this wouldn't work.
Nowhere Man (Zeraora) @ Heavy-Duty Boots | Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe | Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists | - Close Combat | - Knock Off | - Volt Switch
Zeraora is the team's main Wallbreaker and form of Speed Control. Heavy-Duty Boots are a lot of what make Zeraora so good this generation, as Zeraora's big issue last generation (besides being kinda weak compared to the things around it), was that it was really easier to wear down, and that lack of longevity is what made it not so great. However, this generation, with the drop in power level, as well as the introduction of boots, enable Zeraora to be a top dog in not even the UU metagame, but the OU metagame. Volt Absorb is Zeraora's only available ability, but it allows it to block Volt Switch from the likes of Rotom-Heat, Opposing Zeraora, and Magenzone. Max attack and speed, coupled with a Jolly Nature, allow Zeraora to hit as fast and as hard as possible, notably outrunning Dragapult. Plasma Fists is Zeraora's main STAB attack, hitting anything not resistant or immune to it for pretty good damage. Close Combat is quite beneficial to Zeraora, as it provides a way to hit Ferrothorn, Excadrill, as well as Hydreigon, who would be tempted to come in on a resisted Plasma Fists or Volt Switch. Knock Off offers great utility, punishing the likes of Rotom-Heat, Ferrothorn, Hippowdon, Excadrill, and other item-dependent pokemon by removing their precious item. Finally, Volt Switch allows Zeraora to pivot out in an unfavorable matchup, barring Ground types that are immune.
B-17 (Skarmory) @ Shed Shell | Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD | Impish Nature
- Iron Head | - Spikes | - Body Press | - Roost
Skarmory acts as the main defensive counterplay to physical attackers, such as Rillaboom, Scizor, and Dragon Dance Dragapult lacking Flamethrower. A Shed Shell allows Skarmory to switch out vs Magnezone, which would trap and eliminate it with it's electric STAB. Sturdy acts as an emergency check to setup sweepers, allowing Skarmory to potentially end their sweep. Iron Head allows Skarmory to punish Clefable, Gengar, Hatterene, as well as Togekiss, who would assume that Skarmory is only running Body Press. Spikes, when paired with Knock Off and Trick from Zeraora and Clefable, respectively, pressure the opponent's pokemon with chip damage on grounded targets every time they switch into the field. Body Press allows Skarmory to not be completely passive vs Steel and Dark types, such as Tyranitar, Hydreigon, or Excadrill. Roost allows Skarmory to maintain it's healthy during a match, and can also be useful playing around Clefable carrying Thunderbolt as opposed to Fire Blast, as it removes the Flying typing after the usage of Roost. Finally, the EV spread allows Skarmory to be as physically bulky as possible, allowing Skarmory to better check physical attackers, such as Dragon Dance Dragapult, Swords Dance and Choice Band Rillaboom, as well as Belly Drum Azumarill.
Taxman (Excadrill) @ Choice Scarf | Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe | Jolly Nature
- Iron Head | - Earthquake | - Rapid Spin | - Rock Slide
Rounding off the team is Excadrill. Excadrill gives me additional counterplay to Clefable, more speed control, hazard removal, as well as a check to Zeraora. A Choice Scarf, while locking you into a move, allows Excadrill to outrun and either get off a Rapid Spin, or revenge kill a threat like Volcarona. Mold Breaker is the superior ability for this set, as it invalidates Levitate users such as Hydreigon. Max attack and speed, alongside a Jolly Nature, allow Excadrill to be as fast and hit as hard as possible. Iron Head is one of Excadrill's STAB attacks, threatening Fairy, Rock, and Ice types, such as Kyurem, Clefable, or Togekiss. Earthquake complements Iron Head quite well, as it hits most of everything (barring metal birds) that Iron Head doesn't, such as Volcarona, Primarina, Zeraora, and so on. Rapid Spin removes hazards from your side of the field, but can be blocked by Ghost types. This is why it's important to play aggresively with Excadrill, as one bad spin can lead to Gengar/Sub Dragapult issues. Rock Slide rounds off the moves, notably hitting the likes of Volcarona for four times super effective damage, which will kill it reguardless of EV spread or HP. Rock Slide can also hit Charizard on the occasional niche Sun Teams that it's found on, as well as Pelipper and Mandibuzz.
<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>- Replays, Threat list, and Conclusion -<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>--<o>
Despite me being quite new to SS OU, I feel like these seven or so replays somewhat accurately display how the team functions and how it should be used. However, a lot of these teams are straight up meh and you generally won't see these specific builds. However, it gives you the general idea. Click the sprites to access the replays.
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There are a few notable threats to this team. Most of these kinks i've tried to work out have ended up with a worse matchup for an even worse threat, so just make sure you're pressuring the absolute hell out of these pokemon. All of these are winnable matchups, except for maybe the first one.
This is the closest thing to an unwinnable matchup. It can come in on and setup in front of half the team, if Clefable's choice scarf is already tricked away. It kinda just runs a train on you, so you really have to play around your opponent with the goal of NOT letting this in for free. The best way I've found to deal with it if I do let it in is to trick away it's throat spray with clef or keep hazing with pex until it kills you and then revenge it with Excadrill. If it comes in on Skarm for free, well you might be screwed if Excadrill is not healthy. Overall, you just have to be VERY careful when playing vs this thing because it's a threat if you manage to run into it.
Sub dragons are kinda annoying for this team, especially Kyurem. While Skarmory can kinda 1v1 both of these, Kyurem can easily pressure stall you if you're not careful, and non sub Dragapult can sometimes carry Flamethrower. Overall, between Clefable, Toxapex, and Skarmory, you should be okay vs Dragapult more then Kyurem, but both are still winnable matchups if played correctly.
You can't check this defensively, but you can always revenge kill it or just kill it while it attempts to set up. You can revenge it with Excadrill and Zeraora, or come in on a Draco with Clef and force it out/kill it with Moonblast because you always eat a Flash Cannon from 75%.
In conclusion, I'm looking forward to learning more SS OU. It seems like the actual first fun and fair iteration of OU that I've been apart of, so I'm excited to see how the metagame develops, especially with DLC 2 around the corner. No shoutouts this time, but I appreciate you regardless if you know me or not. Click the sprites below for the importable, and have a good rest of the day/night/evening/whatever!
(importable is also here if you don't like pokepaste for some reason)
Retribution (Hydreigon) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Flash Cannon
- Nasty Plot
Lazy Days (Toxapex) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic
Fly Me To The Moon (Clefable) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Trick
Nowhere Man (Zeraora) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Volt Switch
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
B-17 (Skarmory) @ Shed Shell
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Iron Head
- Spikes
- Roost
- Body Press
Taxman (Excadrill) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Rock Slide
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Flash Cannon
- Nasty Plot
Lazy Days (Toxapex) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic
Fly Me To The Moon (Clefable) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Trick
Nowhere Man (Zeraora) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Volt Switch
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
B-17 (Skarmory) @ Shed Shell
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Iron Head
- Spikes
- Roost
- Body Press
Taxman (Excadrill) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Rock Slide
to recover a little bit every turn, can check Zeraora, Specs Aegi and Dragapult. I prefer Toxic for last move to poison Mandibuzz, Rotom-H and Tangrowth.
to avoid the Magnezone trap. I advise this change becouse Hippowdown suffers the hazards and u need a Defogger specially in this case.
+ Trick set to better switch in against Urshifu, also Flamethrower is a valid option to hit with a good damage vs Steel types like Aegislash, Magnezone, Excadrill and Ferrothorn.
