Loaded Dice Torterra HO
1.0 Introduction + Team Idea
2.0 Teambuilding process
3.0 Individual breakdown of each member
4.0 Threats
5.0 Replays
6.0 Conclusion & further improvements
Poképaste Link (click below)
1.0 Introduction
Hello everyone, I'm ScorpioN! This is only my second RMT of the generation, so please go easy on me. I tried my best to make it look as aesthetically pleasing as possible. I have been playing Scarlet / Violet pretty much since release and been playing competitive Pokémon for quite some time. While I would say I am rather experienced in Pokémon Battling, most of my experience comes from playing Wi-Fi Battles, in which there is, of course, no "skill-based" matchmaking. I don't really enjoy playing on Pokémon Showdown! too much, only really doing it to try some fun teams every now and then. I value this particular section of the Smogon Forums though, as I have really enjoyed trying the teams of other quality RMT writers! 1.0 Introduction
Because The Teal Mask has finally reintroduced Torterra back in Gen 9, I really wanted to give it another go to build another successful team myself, however. As you may be able to guess from my profile picture, Torterra is my favourite Pokémon of all time, and with it actually being blessed with Shell Smash this generation, I was determined to make it work on a Hyper Offensive Team in SV OU. I have a very good amount of experience building and playing with this playstyle, but no one is perfect, hence this RMT. To improve my team further and make it the best it can be, I really hope you all can help me out with this one. Much thanks in advance!
So far this team peaked for me at 1500 ELO on the OU ladder.
I have never really laddered up very high, but I got here rather smoothly,
now wishing to look for ways to truly optimise the team.
Alt Account used for testing + Current ELO
2.0 Teambuilding process
I have never really laddered up very high, but I got here rather smoothly,
now wishing to look for ways to truly optimise the team.
Alt Account used for testing + Current ELO
2.0 Teambuilding process
Obviously, good luck making a Torterra Team without the funny tortoise itself. With the addition of Shell Smash this generation, I decided to try to build the team around an endgame sweep with Torterra, building the rest of the team around trying to break down opposing structures to break the way for a Shell Smash sweep.
- All Hyper Offense Teams need a hazard lead. Glimmora fills this role. Like all HO teams, its job is very simple. Get up Stealth Rock, potentially Toxic Spikes, do some chip damage, and faint.
- - Dragonite was the first addition to the team. I needed a Pokémon that is very threatening on the physical side to soften up the opposing team for Torterra. Dragonite often forces opponents to react to it quickly, letting it do its job nicely.
- - - Next up, I needed a special breaker/sweeper. For this, Iron Moth is the Pokémon of choice with its great coverage. It also forms a nice Fire/Water/Grass-core with the 6th member of the team.
- - - - Let's be honest, who makes a Hyper Offense Team without Kingambit? Excellent priority, good defensive backbone, brings games back, softens physical walls, this mon does everything.
- - - - - Rounding off the team is Walking Wake to form the aforementioned type core. It's another great breaker/sweeper that can sometimes steal whole games by itself.
3.0 Individual breakdown of each member
3.1 - Torterra
Torterra @ Loaded Dice
Ability: Overgrow
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Blast
- Headlong Rush
Starting off, we obviously have Torterra, of which we are aiming to make it the star of the team. With the addition of Shell Smash, this Torterra set has gained massive popularity, as it arguably makes the best use of Torterra's talents. By Terastallizing into a Rock-type, it gets STAB on Rock Blast, which, amped up further by Loaded Dice, does big damage to pretty much anything that walls the Grass/Ground STAB combination. Adamant Nature is preferred to maximise power while still outspeeding the entire unboosted OU metagame, being exactly 1 point faster than 252 Spe Timid
.
The rest of the moveset I think should be pretty self-explanatory.
3.2 - Glimmora
Glimmora @ Focus Sash
Ability: Toxic Debris
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Mortal Spin
- Earth Power
- Energy Ball
Next up is our dedicated hazard setter. In about 95% of games we lead with Glimmora to get the designated hazards up. Pretty much the only true bad match-up for is 
as it can take an Earth Power, outspeed, OHKO with Earthquake, and then spin all the hazards away. I originally had Power Gem on this set for decreased passivity, but 
games were proving to be a tough match-up, so I settled for Mortal Spin instead. I really don't like sets without Energy Ball, as we otherwise lose the trade horribly to 
, and Tera Grass lets us remove a big threat in Battle Bond 
from the game Turn 1 if it tries to go for a greedy OHKO with Water Shuriken.
3.3 - Dragonite
Dragonite @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Multiscale
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Punch
- Dragon Claw
As stated previously, Dragonite serves as our primary breaker to weaken common physical walls. With Dragon Claw it has a reliable way to do great STAB damage to
, 
and even 
after an Intimidate. Fire Punch with Tera Fire is a great mix-up to lure and greatly weaken 
and turn Pokémon like 
and 
into setup fodder. I chose Heavy-Duty Boots as the item because it's not unlikely hazards will go up against this team, and keeping Multiscale intact allows us to keep it as a defensive backbone against threats like 
, or opposing .
3.4 - Iron Moth
Iron Moth @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Wave
- Psychic
The first breaker on the special side offers us great coverage to deal serious damage to various teams. This Pokémon often works together with to overwhelm special walls like 
and 
, the latter of which it can easily 1v1 with Tera Psychic, and is also very useful in answering 
. This also allows either of the two to act as a wincon if they can do it better than . I opted for an Agility sweeping set with Booster Energy boosting in SpA to be threatening to both offence and defence. I prefer Modest Nature over Timid to guarantee good damage output, while speed can be fixed with Agility if necessary,
This set has been working rather well, but mainly in terms of Tera Type and fourth move, I could see other options being viable. I don't find myself clicking Tera Psychic all too often.
3.5 - Kingambit
Kingambit @ Lum Berry
Ability: Supreme Overlord
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Kowtow Cleave
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
Another potential cleaner if struggles to finish the job, or alternatively, punch holes for to come through later. The set is pretty standard. I value the speed to be able to outspeed certain other slow breakers like 
, 
and opposing , but Adamant Nature to still pack a punch with powerful priority.
A lot of item choices work for. I have tried 
, 
and 
, but so far, has been the most clutch for me.
3.6 - Walking Wake
Walking Wake @ Booster Energy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Dragon Pulse
- Substitute
- Agility
Yet another offensive threat to help overwhelm the opponent. Similar to I prefer the Modest Nature with Agility to both hit hard against defensive structures and outrun offensive ones after a boost. Surf and Dragon Pulse are all I need for consistent and good damage output, so Substitute takes the last slot to dodge status, ease prediction, and play around opposing Sucker Punch.
I originally had Tera Water on this, but Fairy has proven to be more consistent against big threats like, 
and 
, as well as being very clutch against Scarf 
sets, since this team lacks a natural Fairy-type.
4.0 Threats
3.1 - Torterra
Torterra @ Loaded Dice
Ability: Overgrow
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Blast
- Headlong Rush
Starting off, we obviously have Torterra, of which we are aiming to make it the star of the team. With the addition of Shell Smash, this Torterra set has gained massive popularity, as it arguably makes the best use of Torterra's talents. By Terastallizing into a Rock-type, it gets STAB on Rock Blast, which, amped up further by Loaded Dice, does big damage to pretty much anything that walls the Grass/Ground STAB combination. Adamant Nature is preferred to maximise power while still outspeeding the entire unboosted OU metagame, being exactly 1 point faster than 252 Spe Timid
.The rest of the moveset I think should be pretty self-explanatory.
3.2 - Glimmora
Glimmora @ Focus Sash
Ability: Toxic Debris
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Mortal Spin
- Earth Power
- Energy Ball
Next up is our dedicated hazard setter. In about 95% of games we lead with Glimmora to get the designated hazards up. Pretty much the only true bad match-up for
is as it can take an Earth Power, outspeed, OHKO with Earthquake, and then spin all the hazards away. I originally had Power Gem on this set for decreased passivity, but games were proving to be a tough match-up, so I settled for Mortal Spin instead. I really don't like sets without Energy Ball, as we otherwise lose the trade horribly to , and Tera Grass lets us remove a big threat in Battle Bond from the game Turn 1 if it tries to go for a greedy OHKO with Water Shuriken.3.3 - Dragonite
Dragonite @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Multiscale
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Punch
- Dragon Claw
As stated previously, Dragonite serves as our primary breaker to weaken common physical walls. With Dragon Claw it has a reliable way to do great STAB damage to
, and even after an Intimidate. Fire Punch with Tera Fire is a great mix-up to lure and greatly weaken and turn Pokémon like and into setup fodder. I chose Heavy-Duty Boots as the item because it's not unlikely hazards will go up against this team, and keeping Multiscale intact allows us to keep it as a defensive backbone against threats like , or opposing .3.4 - Iron Moth
Iron Moth @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Wave
- Psychic
The first breaker on the special side offers us great coverage to deal serious damage to various teams. This Pokémon often works together with
to overwhelm special walls like and , the latter of which it can easily 1v1 with Tera Psychic, and is also very useful in answering . This also allows either of the two to act as a wincon if they can do it better than . I opted for an Agility sweeping set with Booster Energy boosting in SpA to be threatening to both offence and defence. I prefer Modest Nature over Timid to guarantee good damage output, while speed can be fixed with Agility if necessary,This set has been working rather well, but mainly in terms of Tera Type and fourth move, I could see other options being viable. I don't find myself clicking Tera Psychic all too often.
3.5 - Kingambit
Kingambit @ Lum Berry
Ability: Supreme Overlord
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Kowtow Cleave
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
Another potential cleaner if
struggles to finish the job, or alternatively, punch holes for to come through later. The set is pretty standard. I value the speed to be able to outspeed certain other slow breakers like , and opposing , but Adamant Nature to still pack a punch with powerful priority. A lot of item choices work for
. I have tried , and , but so far, has been the most clutch for me.3.6 - Walking Wake
Walking Wake @ Booster Energy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Dragon Pulse
- Substitute
- Agility
Yet another offensive threat to help overwhelm the opponent. Similar to
I prefer the Modest Nature with Agility to both hit hard against defensive structures and outrun offensive ones after a boost. Surf and Dragon Pulse are all I need for consistent and good damage output, so Substitute takes the last slot to dodge status, ease prediction, and play around opposing Sucker Punch. I originally had Tera Water on this, but Fairy has proven to be more consistent against big threats like
, and , as well as being very clutch against Scarf sets, since this team lacks a natural Fairy-type.4.0 Threats
I mean, it's Dragonite. Given the fact
is our only Normal-resist, the standard Dragon Dance-set goes kinda crazy. When facing it, save your Tera on to get a free Kowtow Cleave off on a potential Earthquake. If Multiscale is still intact, you can attempt to revenge it with your own as we have Dragon Claw to hurt it back. This becomes increasingly difficult if they Tera, however.
It outspeeds our whole team, and pretty much instantly wins if
and are weakened or if it gets too many Iron Defenses up. Our Tera Types can save us, and most of the members can chip it down easily, but be mindful to not let it set up on or .
Choiced sets are very manageable, but the by far more common Booster Energy set is very scary.
doesn't outrun it even at +2, which means it has to be forced out. Tera Fire on can give it a free turn against it, but be mindful of Encore variants. can also attempt to revenge it if it lacks Fighting STAB. The Lum Berry protects you against Hypnosis variants.5.0 Replays
I did not save not many replays unfortunaly, but I managed to save a couple that showcase how the team works pretty well.
sweep vs. 
Balancehttps://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1950674778
steals a game after a rough starthttps://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1952276697
Vs Rain
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1952300652
6.0 - Conclusion & further improvements
And that's it! I hope this RMT was enjoyable to read, I did my best to make it look good. As much as I really like the team in its current state, and it has been doing well for me, I am not very experienced with laddering high up in SV, so some high-level insights from other people would be amazing, and greatly appreciated! I will also be trying my best to climb and make potential improvements myself, as I really just want to push my beloved
to be all be all he can be.I am open to change literally anything, to please feel free to go wild with suggestions.
For now, I want to give everyone who took the time to read this essay a big thank you, and looking forward to hearing soon!
Peace! <3
Peace! <3
