Hello! I’m somewhat of an intermediate player, I’ve never quite hit top 500, but I’m always looking to improve- and part of that starts with teambuilding! I’ve been in a bit of a rut recently when it comes to teambuilding, so I decided to revisit this team that I made about a month ago that gave me some moderate success. I’ll go into the details of all the different pokemon on the team as I get , but I’d like to start with this- I really don’t want to change the Garchomp set aside from a move or two, and I’d really like to keep the Armarouge set about the same as it is, save for EV tweaks or moveset tweaks. These two pokemon are the central point of the team, and I’d rather change the 4 pokemon around them than change them. With that in mind, here’s the team:
https://pokepast.es/5fbd1e6f60ff0791
Goobus (Garchomp) @ Choice Band
Ability: Rough Skin
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Iron Head
Here’s the chomp! Banded for big damage, this mon functions as a high power cleaner. I chose tera steel for a couple reasons here, but the main is the defensive benefit. Moonblast/spirit break from Iron Valiant, Play rough from Meowscarada, Ice Spinner from Tusk/Treads, E-Speed and Ice Spinner from Dragonite, the list goes on and on and can absolutely help clutch up during the late game. Here’s a few calcs:
252 Atk Choice Band Garchomp Outrage vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Wash: 277-327 (91.1 - 107.5%) -- 43.8% chance to OHK
252 Atk Choice Band Garchomp Outrage vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Great Tusk: 232-274 (62.5 - 73.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Obviously doesn’t do as much to more bulky/defensive variants, but absolutely chunks a lot- especially considering how often I’ve seen scarf variants recently)
252 Atk Choice Band Garchomp Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Amoonguss: 264-312 (61.1 - 72.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO(If something is already spored it’s a very good matchup, with EQ also 2HKO’ing)
252 Atk Choice Band Garchomp Fire Fang vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 148-176 (37 - 44.1%) -- 99.9% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery(A big issue with the chomp set is it’s poor matchup with Corviknight. That being said, It’s easy to play into this. The relatively low power of corv allows for a really easy switch into armarouge, which allows weak armor to proc and for a potential sweep to begin.)
(image credit Bokurei)
Not a Bat (Armarouge) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Weak Armor
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 140 HP / 104 Def / 152 SpA / 112 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Iron Defense
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Flamethrower
I love this set, it’s so fun! Dies against Hydreigon and Roaring Moon so I need to get rid of those before I try to sweep but otherwise has amazing coverage against most of OU right now. Tera Bug functions extraordinarily well against Great Tusk and a plethora of other pokemon, but I’d be happy to change it to Tera Grass or whatever else will help the team move forward! I spec’d just enough to outspeed Dragapult at +2, so it can outspeed the entire metagame spare a few scarfers and the extra defense helps a lot with taking that initial hit that gets the sweep going!
Apple Jacks 1/2 (Gholdengo) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Good as Gold
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Serious Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Make It Rain
- Focus Blast
Pretty classic set, this pokemon functions really well to prevent status among my pokemon and functions as a great switch-in on choice’d great tusk. Gets wiped by physical valiant, but does a great job for revenge on special variants. Not sure what exactly I should change here, but a few things come to mind: I could replace nasty plot with psyshock for clodsire, I could switch the item to a choice item and run trick, there are plenty of options but I’d like guidance on whether or not I should and what I should change it to if so.
orang (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Gotta love Rotom-Wash, always a classic. Not much to say about the set, it’s one of the only two sets I see going around currently aside from choice, and it’s just so fun to use. Great for momentum, takes lots of hits well, I’m curious if there’s a further optimization for this pokemon on my team however. Changing the tera type for different coverage? Investing a little bit in defense? Definitely let me know!
(Cred. unknown)
The Don (Dondozo) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Atk / 100 Def / 100 SpD
Careful Nature
- Wave Crash
- Avalanche
- Body Press
- Rest
Dondozo :) Such a goofy little guy, this pokemon is very fun to use when it works but it definitely doesn’t always work. In fact, I’d say this pokemon is the weakest link on my team. I can not for the life of me remember why I spec’d it’s stats like that, I’m sure I wanted to give it equal investment in defenses, but it definitely struggles with what the metagame is doing right now. Tera Dragon for grass and electric coverage mainly, but helps in a couple other nice situations.
Landorus-Phanian (Great Tusk) @ Leftovers
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off
- Ice Spinner
Gotta have a great tusk in gen 9 OU, am I right? Sets hazards, clears them, knocks off pesky items, and ice spinner to whack dragonites that get cocky. It’s a decent set I think! The Tera Dark helps with shadow ball from specs Dragapult so that Knock off can do it’s thing, but due to the uptick in WoW Sub Dragapult I’m considering changing it around a bit.
Overall, I’d say the team definitely needs work. I’m unsure about where to go with it, but I’m sure I’ve got something good here- or the foundation of such. I’d love some more pivot for the team to get in Chomp and Armarouge easier, and maybe another hard hitter for the increasingly defensive meta I’ve found myself encountering. Maybe a taunt mon? Regardless, I’d love to know what y’all think of what I have currently and how I can best improve the team to maximize its effectiveness in the metagame moving forwards!
https://pokepast.es/5fbd1e6f60ff0791
Goobus (Garchomp) @ Choice Band
Ability: Rough Skin
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Iron Head
Here’s the chomp! Banded for big damage, this mon functions as a high power cleaner. I chose tera steel for a couple reasons here, but the main is the defensive benefit. Moonblast/spirit break from Iron Valiant, Play rough from Meowscarada, Ice Spinner from Tusk/Treads, E-Speed and Ice Spinner from Dragonite, the list goes on and on and can absolutely help clutch up during the late game. Here’s a few calcs:
252 Atk Choice Band Garchomp Outrage vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Wash: 277-327 (91.1 - 107.5%) -- 43.8% chance to OHK
252 Atk Choice Band Garchomp Outrage vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Great Tusk: 232-274 (62.5 - 73.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Obviously doesn’t do as much to more bulky/defensive variants, but absolutely chunks a lot- especially considering how often I’ve seen scarf variants recently)
252 Atk Choice Band Garchomp Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Amoonguss: 264-312 (61.1 - 72.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO(If something is already spored it’s a very good matchup, with EQ also 2HKO’ing)
252 Atk Choice Band Garchomp Fire Fang vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 148-176 (37 - 44.1%) -- 99.9% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery(A big issue with the chomp set is it’s poor matchup with Corviknight. That being said, It’s easy to play into this. The relatively low power of corv allows for a really easy switch into armarouge, which allows weak armor to proc and for a potential sweep to begin.)
Not a Bat (Armarouge) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Weak Armor
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 140 HP / 104 Def / 152 SpA / 112 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Iron Defense
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Flamethrower
I love this set, it’s so fun! Dies against Hydreigon and Roaring Moon so I need to get rid of those before I try to sweep but otherwise has amazing coverage against most of OU right now. Tera Bug functions extraordinarily well against Great Tusk and a plethora of other pokemon, but I’d be happy to change it to Tera Grass or whatever else will help the team move forward! I spec’d just enough to outspeed Dragapult at +2, so it can outspeed the entire metagame spare a few scarfers and the extra defense helps a lot with taking that initial hit that gets the sweep going!
Apple Jacks 1/2 (Gholdengo) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Good as Gold
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Serious Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Make It Rain
- Focus Blast
Pretty classic set, this pokemon functions really well to prevent status among my pokemon and functions as a great switch-in on choice’d great tusk. Gets wiped by physical valiant, but does a great job for revenge on special variants. Not sure what exactly I should change here, but a few things come to mind: I could replace nasty plot with psyshock for clodsire, I could switch the item to a choice item and run trick, there are plenty of options but I’d like guidance on whether or not I should and what I should change it to if so.
orang (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Gotta love Rotom-Wash, always a classic. Not much to say about the set, it’s one of the only two sets I see going around currently aside from choice, and it’s just so fun to use. Great for momentum, takes lots of hits well, I’m curious if there’s a further optimization for this pokemon on my team however. Changing the tera type for different coverage? Investing a little bit in defense? Definitely let me know!
The Don (Dondozo) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Atk / 100 Def / 100 SpD
Careful Nature
- Wave Crash
- Avalanche
- Body Press
- Rest
Dondozo :) Such a goofy little guy, this pokemon is very fun to use when it works but it definitely doesn’t always work. In fact, I’d say this pokemon is the weakest link on my team. I can not for the life of me remember why I spec’d it’s stats like that, I’m sure I wanted to give it equal investment in defenses, but it definitely struggles with what the metagame is doing right now. Tera Dragon for grass and electric coverage mainly, but helps in a couple other nice situations.
Landorus-Phanian (Great Tusk) @ Leftovers
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off
- Ice Spinner
Gotta have a great tusk in gen 9 OU, am I right? Sets hazards, clears them, knocks off pesky items, and ice spinner to whack dragonites that get cocky. It’s a decent set I think! The Tera Dark helps with shadow ball from specs Dragapult so that Knock off can do it’s thing, but due to the uptick in WoW Sub Dragapult I’m considering changing it around a bit.
Overall, I’d say the team definitely needs work. I’m unsure about where to go with it, but I’m sure I’ve got something good here- or the foundation of such. I’d love some more pivot for the team to get in Chomp and Armarouge easier, and maybe another hard hitter for the increasingly defensive meta I’ve found myself encountering. Maybe a taunt mon? Regardless, I’d love to know what y’all think of what I have currently and how I can best improve the team to maximize its effectiveness in the metagame moving forwards!
