Other Metagames King DedeNite (LG OU, Peaked #13)

[Eve]

Proof of peak

Would have probably been higher if I didn't decide to use a bad Mega Pidgeot team I went 1-4 with lol

King DedeNite​

Hey, esteemed LG council member Eza here. Not only is this my first RMT but it's also the second Let's Go RMT which is cool. LG OU has proven to be a very interesting format so far, with trends already developing and falling out of favour with each passing week. One trend I think is on the rise is that of offense + a powerful cleaner, which is what this team was built to be, so I felt like sharing it so everyone can give it a try. This is for sure the best team I've made, and probably the best I've used at all.

Teambuilding Process​

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Dragonite is the focus of the team. This mon has its 600 BST in all the right places given its movepool. AgiliNite is extremely potent, outspeeding the entire metagame after a boost and having enough bulk and power to clean extremely reliably. That's not even mentioning its bulk and access to Roost, which lets it set up even on some Rock types.

There are two things Dragonite really appreciates for cleaning- Rocks up, and Melmetals weakened. Clefable has the potential to achieve both among other things. While it lacks recovery outside of Rest in this format, it still has access to a great offensive movepool including Fire Blast. One Blast is enough to prepare Melmetal to succumb to an Earthquake from Dragonite, and on the lower ladder people will often switch in Melmetal directly; abuse this for easy points.

Speaking of the big boy, here he is! The team's goal is to wear stuff down and cripple it for Dragonite, which is a thing Melmetal exceeds at. It also provides us with a check to things like Mega Beedrill and Mega Alakazam.

Having multiple wincons / threats is always smart, so Nasty Plot BoltBeam Mew seemed like a good fit for the team. Appreciates the rest of the team having a good matchup versus Alolan Muk as well.

Mega Gyarados is another Poké that excels at wearing down and crippling the opponent. There aren't many safe switchins to this beast, so it's very good at pressuring the opponent to let you weaken the mon in front of you.

The team was quite vulnerable to Toxic Zapdos at this point. Alolan Dugtrio covers that while also improving the team's overall Speed and providing priority for foes such as Mega Gengar, Alakazam and Beedrill.

The Team​

Dragonite
Adamant Nature
- Agility
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Roost
​

The star of the show. Dragonite is, in my opinion, the premier physical cleaner in Lets Go OU. As mentioned before, Agility enables Dragonite to outpace the entire metagame and put its amazing damage output to use. Outrage + Earthquake is absolute perfect coverage off two high powered moves, which is great. Roost allows you to top off your health versus foes like Zapdos and then proceed to take a hit from a preserved Dragonite check, which has proved very useful. Another option is Fire Blast to hit Melmetal harder but that's both less reliable and less often actually useful, so I wouldn't recommend it over Roost. It can also be used to break through foes like Snorlax or Muk earlier in the game, which frees up Mew quite well. This mon clutches out so many games and I only have good things to say about it (other than the vulnerability to status, but it can work through all except Burn).

Clefable
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Fire Blast
- Calm Mind
- Stealth Rock
​

Clefable is the team's rocker and provides a very useful typing in Fairy, which allows it to have positive matchups versus threats like Mega Gyarados and Poliwrath compared to other Rocks setters. The moveset aims to get the most use out of Clefable in the current meta. Fairy + Fire coverage is close to perfect coverage, with the only common resist being Arcanine or unevolved Charizards. Calm Mind is used to patch up Clefable's slightly lacking offensive presence and notably gives you a chance to OHKO Melmetal in combination with the Modest nature, especially after setting up Rocks. There are some teams that struggle to wall a Calm Mind Clefable, in which case it may be more worthwhile to set up before getting your Rocks up. Also a large number of Alolan Muks aren't running Poison Jab (at least right now, I can't predict the future) so don't be afraid to hit them with the moon a few times if you want.

Melmetal
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Earthquake / Hammer Arm
- Ice Punch
- Thunder Wave / Self-Destruct
​

If there's one thing you can call Melmetal, it's a tank. It takes hits and then dishes out its own stronger ones, which is greatly appreciated by Dragonite. Earthquake and Ice Punch are the preferred coverage options on most Melmetal for taking on common foes such as Nidoqueen and Zapdos and for good neutral coverage in general. Hammer Arm is an alternate option here that I haven't tried too much but allows for higher outright damage versus Mega Gyarados and the rare Alolan Persian at the cost of better general coverage and a Speed drop. Thunder Wave allows you to cripple bulkier opponents for Mew or Gyara, as well as providing the opportunity to para-flinch many mons with Double Iron Bash. Self-Destruct is another option for a strong neutral "Melm's use is done" button, but it's worth remembering that the move has barely more raw power than DIB.

Mew
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Nasty Plot
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
​

Nasty Plot BoltBeam Mew is, well, Nasty. The coverage allows it to hit many mons that might try to check Mew hard, such as Mega Gyarados, Zapdos, Starmie and more, and is just good in general. Roost in combination with Mew's bulk allows it to set up several times versus the huge number of foes that can't 2HKO it outright, often picking up several KOs in the process. The main issues for it are Alolan Muk and Snorlax but those can be dealt with by the rest of the team. Alternately, you can just take it as an opportunity to wear those two down.

Gyarados-Mega @ Gyaradosite
Adamant/Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Thunder Wave
​

Mega Gyarados is another breaker for the team, boasting very few reliable switchins other than Poliwrath or itself. Adamant is good for maximising your damage output, while Jolly provides enough speed to outpace Starter Eevee. The attacks are standard but effective, allowing it to hit the entire metagame for at least neutral damage. Thunder Wave allows Mega Gyarados to outspeed any opponents vulnerable to the status, and even lets it gamble for its own less impressive but faster stunlock with Waterfall. Also works as a good secondary lead option to combat common Rocks leads, but beware of players who love to lead Zapdos expecting stuff like that.

Dugtrio-Alola
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Rock Slide
- Toxic
​

The main Zapdos answer and general speedy guy. It completely walls out any Zap, forcing a U-Turn in most scenarios. Its Earthquakes hit reasonably hard too, and in combination with Sucker Punch, Rock Slide and Toxic lets you spread damage quite effectively. Can be a check to faster weakened foes thanks to Sucker Punch if you win the mind games, but be careful as a lot of fast mons have Recovery and/or Substitute. The existence of this mon on the team is often enough to make opposing Zapdos U-Turn when Duggy isn't even on the field, to the point where you can often keep Gyarados on the field versus Zapdos and just click an attack.

Noteworthy Threats​

Alolan Persian - This mon is almost never used outside of low ladder because of bad matchups versus several common mons, but if Timid then the cat has an absolutely amazing matchup here. Be very careful should you run into one, and try to preserve Clefable.
Mega Beedrill - This mon is an extremely hard matchup for the team in many scenarios, especially if Melmetal gets too low on HP. If you keep up pressure and Rocks though you should be able to surpass this one without too many casualties. Keeping Gyarados unevolved can also be decent in this scenario as many Beedrills will go for U-Turn versus you, dealing minimal damage and letting you get a hit off on the switch-in.
Mega Venusaur - Very popular around the 1300s, especially in combination with Snorlax which prevents Nasty Plot Mew from having an extremely free matchup. Melmetal can usually break this core, as can Dragonite, but you'll probably have to let something take a nap.
Mega Gyarados - The whole "lack of Gyarados switchins" thing goes both ways. Gyara is a very scary mon to face with this team, so be careful with your Clefable and/or try to status the fish. You probably won't ever get ran entirely through by it but it can very easily tear a hole in the team.
Mega Gengar - The absolute most threatening common mon I've fought with this team. Some things on the team can take one hit if healthy and destroy it in return, so pay close attention to HP, especially on Melmetal and Gyarados. Dragonite can also take a hit if absolutely necessary, and if you're really in a bad way then you can try and win some 50/50s with Dugtrio.
Cloyster - Mega Gyarados is a great answer... Unless it gets frozen, in which case your Mew better be really healthy. If not, it's curtains. The only other hope is to hit it hard/paralyze it while it sets up.

Conclusion​

Overall, the team functions very well and has mostly positive matchups against the current meta. The majority of my losses I faced with this team were due to luck elements beyond my control, with a small few actually being the result of being outplayed or a bad matchup. Interested to see what changes the community can come up with but please make sure your suggestions are up to date with the meta and not "every team should be running Starter Eevee and 5 Rest mons" 'cos that's plain wrong. Thanks for reading and enjoy the team!

Replays

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7letsgoou-839537173 | This replay showcases the team very well versus another extremely skilled player.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7letsgoou-839540370 | Footage of Dragonite setting up on a Mega Aerodactyl (I should have just attacked but kinda blanked on how much HP Aero had left)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7letsgoou-836098543 | Defense Curl Amnesia Lax new meta????????

Importable

Dragonite
Level: 50
Adamant Nature
- Agility
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Roost

Clefable
Level: 50
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Fire Blast
- Calm Mind
- Stealth Rock

Melmetal
Level: 50
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Thunder Wave

Mew
Level: 50
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Nasty Plot
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt

Gyarados-Mega @ Gyaradosite
Level: 50
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Thunder Wave

Dugtrio-Alola
Level: 50
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Rock Slide
- Toxic

Also MERRY CHRISTMAS to those who celebrate it