SM OU LeleGross, 1500 ELO

[Jahordon]

Introduction​

It may be a little generic, but I wanted to build a team around the Psychic spam of LeleGross. These two Pokemon are defining the metagame right now, and if you want a strong team, these two will be considered by any team builder. It has been a few years since I have posted a RMT, so I'm considering this a warm-up before I start building more creative teams. I've gotten to 1500 ELO (and climbing) with this, which I'm very happy with, considering I'm a relatively inexperienced player.

Teambuilding Process​

I started with the simple duo of Tapu Lele and Metagross. Meta does a great job wearing down Lele's checks to make room for a sweep with the fast Scarf Lele.

The main win condition of this team is Psychic spam from Lele. In order for her to do that, I need to remove Steel and Dark types. Magnezone is an obvious pick, since he can trap Steel types and kill them off. He also makes a decent check to some special attackers like Tapu Koko and Thundurus (unless you get Focus Blasted)

At this point, my team is pretty weak to Ground spam. Landorus-T makes a great addition to my team by shoring up the Ground weakness and providing my team with a Stealth Rock user. With the Rockium-Z set I'm running, he also helps lure and kill Skarmory and Celesteela, which is much appreciated by Lele.

I needed some defensive glue, and Tapu Fini works so well with Landorus-T. She checks a lot of threats in the meta and can really wear down bulky teams with Nature's Madness and Taunt. She also provides some Water coverage that my team is lacking.

Because I made Landorus-T offensive rather than defensive, I felt that I needed a little more defense against physical attackers like Metagross. This was recommended to me by Mega Flexagross, and it has done a surprising amount of work. He takes a lot of pressure off LandoT and Fini, and provides solid utility in Sleep Powder and Knock off.
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The Team​

Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
​

Tapu Lele has an amazing stat spread and typing. I opted for the Choice Scarf build, because I think being limited by speed is a much bigger problem than being limited by power. Once Psychic resists are out of the way, she does enough damage. Scarf prevents her from being revenge killed except by faster Scarf users. I opted for Shadow Ball over Focus Blast to hit Metagross on the switch, and Hidden Power Fire for Steel types. Psychic and Moonblast for obvious STAB coverage.

Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
​

Mega Metagross is likely the strongest Mega in the Meta right now. He is incredibly bulky, very fast, and hits like a truck. He shares many of Lele's checks, which he can weaken enough for Lele to clean up later. Psychich Terrain-boosted Zen Headbutt is nothing to laugh at, either. I opted for Earthquake over Hammer Arm, because I don't particularly have problems with Ferro and Kartana, etc. Ice Punch over Thunder Punch because Magnezone deals with what Thunder Punch covers, and people are constantly switching in LandoT and Garchomp into Metagross.

Magnezone @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 128 HP / 252 SpA / 128 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
​

Magnezone was picked primarily because he traps most Steels that wall Lele. TBolt and Flash Cannon for STAB coverage, Volt Switch for momentum, and HP Fire for killing Scizor, Ferro, and Kartana. I opted for AV over Specs, because he was having no trouble killing what I need him to, and AV lets him check special attackers like Tapu Koko better. 128 Speed is to outrun no-speed Scizor.

Landorus-Therian @ Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
​

I needed a Stealth Rock setter, Ground immunity, and a way of breaking through stall. Swords Dance with Rockum-Z lets him lure in and kill normal threats such as Skarmory, Rotom-W, Celesteela, and Sableye. It might seem a bit redundant with Magnezone, but Zone can't always remove Steels alone (especially if they're carrying Shed Shell). The biggest problem I have with this LandoT set is that most times I have an opportunity to use Stealth Rock, it's better to use Swords Dance to kill the aforementioned walls. Leading with him doesn't guarantee a Rocks setup either, because he frequently runs into Greninja, Pheromosa, and Mamoswine leads who can all OHKO him with coverage. All in all, I set rocks infrequently enough with him that I'm considering running the double dance set instead. However, I'm not sure who I would add as my rock setter in his stead (or if it's even necessary).

Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 192 Def / 68 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Moonblast
- Taunt
​

Fini covers a lot of weaknesses my team has, such as fast water types, Ash Greninja, and the Dark types that Lele wants removed. I have both Scald and Moonblast, because my team lacks water coverage and Moonblast is to beat the Dark types Fini is commonly sent in on. Taunt and Nature's Madness help a lot with bulky Pokemon and stall, which my team struggles with. I considered Defog, but my team wasn't having too much trouble with hazards (lots of Rock resist, Zone can trap and kill Spike setters). 68 speed is to outspeed defensive LandoT.

Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
- Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power [Fire]
​

Because LandoT isn't defensive and Fini is always working overtime, I needed another defensive Pokemon to deal with strong physical attackers like Garchomp, Metagross, and LandoT. Even Ice Punch on Meta only deals 40% to Tangrowth, so I can threaten him back with Sleep Powder or force him to lose a lot of health from Rocky Helmet. He usually forces a switch, during which I can throw out a Sleep Powder or Knock off for great utility. Giga Drain is for STAB recovery to keep Tangrowth healthy, and Hidden Power Fire does decent damage to Steel types and Bug types that might switch in.

Conclusion​

My team has had solid success, but it definitely has some weaknesses. I really struggle against special attackers like Charizard Y (I have no good switchins) and Mega Alakazam (Lele is afraid of Shadow Ball, Zone is afraid of Focus Blast). Fini is my usual Greninja check, but if he is Protean with Gunk Shot, I'm in serious trouble (who isn't, though?). I'm open to the idea of putting something more specially defensive on the team, I'm just not sure where it would fit. There is probably a lot of physically defensive redundancy between LandoT, Fini, and Tangrowth, so perhaps something could change there.

If I had to name an underperformer on the team, it would be Magnezone. With my Landorus-T set, he often does the job of killing Skarm and Celes by himself. Magnezone isn't always a reliable Steel trapper: he loses to Heatran; Scizor and Magearna can turn out, and I've been seeing Shed Shell a lot on Skarm. He's most reliably trapping Ferro and Celes, and I'm just not sure if he's worth the slot to trap those 2 alone. He is my only Electric user, which is great for getting past bulky waters, but perhaps something else could do the job better.

I have some troubles with faster teams and momentum. Since Magnezone is my only voltturn user, and people often send in ground types vs him, Volt Switch isn't even that reliable. Metagross and Lele are my only pokemon with more than 100 speed, so I'm often having trouble with Speed boosters, Scarf users, or fast Pokemon like Protean Greninja, Pheromosa, and Mega Alakazam. It's for this reason, and the fact that I don't get rocks up enough with LandoT, that I've been considering just switching him to the double dance set. I think something could stand to change (either sets or the Pokemon) in Magnezone, Tangrowth, and LandoT to help with this problem.

Lastly, I have a bit of trouble vs stall. I can find a way to break through some walls like Sableye and Rotom-w by baiting them in with Swords Dance LandoT. I can also wear down some bulky Pokemon with taunt+NM Fini. As a whole, it just feels like I'm super dependent on predictions that don't often go my way (wasting Rockium-Z into a Celesteela Protect). I haven't played many stall teams on my climb to 1500, though, so it may just be inexperience. I could really use some advice from more experienced players in this domain.

As I mentioned in the intro, this team uses a lot of metagame staples and is not very creative. Since I'm new, I wanted to learn to walk before running and build a simple yet effective team. A lot of my perceived strengths and weaknesses could be incorrect due to my inexperience, so I felt like it was time to reach out to you guys for help. Magnezone and Tangrowth are probably the most flexible slots that I could definitely see changing, but I'm open to adjusting other slots as well! As long as Lele and Metagross stay.

Thank you in advance for any help you guys provide! Also, how do I get sprites for these missing Pokemon?

Importable

Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball

Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch

Magnezone @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 116 HP / 252 SpA / 140 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Landorus-Therian @ Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 176 Def / 16 SpD / 68 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Moonblast
- Nature's Madness
- Taunt

Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power [Fire]

 

[AwsomeBiz]

Charizard - Y is definitely something you're very weak to, maybe enough to 6-0 your team. To fix that, you can use scarf Garchomp as your offensive pressure against Charizard-Y to switch in, take a incoming Fire Blast, and threaten it with Stone Edge/Rock slide.
As you mentioned, Magnezone isn't as useful as you'd like, since it's another mon that Charizard-Y beats, especially when its too slow to threaten it out.
You can replace Magnezone with Assault Vest Magearna as a better pivot in general, or even run Shift Gear with it if you want to outspeed other mons.
If you want to handle stall better, Lele could run Shed Shell instead in order to prevent getting trapped by the likes of Dugtrio. A small change would be running Thunderpunch on Metagross to have coverage against Charizard-Y. Lastly a little bit of Sp Def on your Fini wouldn't hurt, like 16 EVs to cushion special attacks a bit better, which is taken from your def EVs, leaving you with 180 Def, also having 64 EVs in speed.

So in short, Change Tangrowth into Scarf Garchomp, Magnezone into Assault Vest Magearna, use Shed Shell for Tapu Lele, Thunderpunch over Ice Punch for Metagross, and Tapu Fini's EV Spread should be 248 HP/180 Def/16 SpD/64 Spe.


Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Rock Slide/Stone Edge
- Fire Fang

Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul Heart
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 SpA / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Fleur Cannon
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]

 

[Jahordon]

Thank you for the response! I've been trying out Garchomp, and I really, really like him here. He gives me something solid to lead with when I expect a Pheromosa or Greninja lead, and he secures a revenge kill on all of my threats. I'm still playing around with Magearna, but I think I prefer her over Magnezone for now. Almost everything I try to trap carries Shed Shell now, so I think Magearna would be better overall here. I'm still considering other Pokemon like Rotom-W.

I put 16 SpD back on Fini, but I'm keeping his speed 68 so he can outspeed defensive LandoT. If I am going ScarfChomp, should I consider going Specs/CM Lele and changing my wincon, or should I keep Scarf on both?

I also think I should be changing EQ to Hammer Arm on Metagross with the addition of Chomp.