ORAS OU ManaVile Offense (Stuck at 1650)

[Scandal]

Introduction

So this is one of my more solid teams I like to play on the ladder with. However I'm stuck at 1650, partly because losing to hax loses you 30 points, but who am I to complain? This team is build around the core of Manaphy, Pursuit Weavile and Magnezone, which works really good against both offensive and fat teams. Since those 3 Mons have trouble with strong ground and fighting moves I thought defensive Lando-T would fit in. After that I needed something that can get rid of hazards, check ZardY and Keldeo and preferably check electrics, so Lati was the only thing that fit. While Lati isn't a great electric-check it's at least good enough for M-Manectric and non-specs Raikou. I don't like teams that get 6-0d by every Bisharp-Set in existence so I added bulky M-Scizor, which forms a nice VoltTurn-core with Lando-T and Zone. Now I know that the only reason I'm stuck at 1650 isn't hax. This team has some problems that I'll describe in the threatlist later.

The Team

Manaphy @ Wacan Berry
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 96 HP / 252 SpA / 160 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tail Glow
- Scald
- Energy Ball
- Psychic

Manaphy is so good atm. Tail Glow is amazing since it gives a +3 boost, so you can get to max spatk in 2 rounds if you want to. However that's not even necessary in most cases since Manaphy already does massive damage after just one Tail Glow. Scald however is the most cancerous move after Swagger but I like to abuse it because I'm bad, so yeah. Energy Ball is needed on Manaphy because I get destroyed by Slowbro and other watermons otherwise. I had Ice Beam earlier, but replaced it with Psychic because this team is pretty weak against M-Venu and can handle dragons anyways. I have Wacan Berry cause it's needed for dealing with Thudurus, which is a huge problem for this team. The speed EVs are for outspeeding Jolly Excadrill and the rest got put into HP. That actually allows Manaphy to take one Solar Beam from CharY, which is nice since Lati gets fucked by the pursuit-trapper that every ZardY team has.

Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Pursuit
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard

Just like Manaphy, Weavile is really good atm. 120 Attack + 125 Speed and STAB Knock Off is nothing to laugh at. Ice and darkmoves are really good against offense, so naturally Weavile is the MVP against most offense. Since I don't have Ice Beam on Manaphy anymore and the team doesn't have any reliable Latios switch-ins, Pursuit is pretty much a must. Pursuit is also really nice for damaging stuff that could get troublesome like Raikou or Tornadus-T. Knock Off is one of the best moves this gen, so there's no question about what Weavile's dark-STAB should be. It's also nice for knocking Azu's choice band off so that M-Scizor won't have a problem dealing with it. Icicle Crash is the best Ice STAB Weavile can get so there's no question about it's placement either. Priority is always nice especially against offense, so I put Ice Shard on the last slot. Oh and I have 29 HP IVs so that Weavile takes less from Life Orb.

Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon

Magnezone is much needed for Ferrothorn and Skarmory, since they are troublesome to Manaphy and Weavile. I decided to go for Scarf cause it's nice for outspeeding Keld and Thundurus and I don't really need the damage from specs anyways. Volt Switch can be both good and bad for momentum. It's good when my opponent has no ground-types, but sucks when he has. Tbolt is a more powerful STAB and needed for killing Thundurs after rocks. And it's good for Manaphy and Keldeo too. HP Fire is obvious because I'd get walled by Ferro without it. Flash Cannon is a useful STAB for fairies, Kyu-B and ground-types that predict Volt Switch.

Landorus-Therian @ Yache Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 12 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn

According to pokemon god verlisify, Lando is broken, so I have no shame in using it. Stealth Rocks are obviously needed on every team, because chip-damage is always useful. Especially on this team since they help a lot against Thundurus and TFlame. I often find myself going for U-Turn instead of rocks tho, cause it gives more momentum in that short time. But that probably has something to do with me being bad too. Earthquake is a reliable and strong STAB so there's no reason to not use it. Stone Edge is a must cause I'd lose to TFlame otherwise. The EV-spread allows Lando-T to live a HP Ice after rocks, outspeed Rotom-W and take less from rocks. Yache Berry is a cool item that helps a lot against Thundurus and Medicham thanks Aurious for that :]

Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Roost
- Defog

I have Latias on the Team because I don't like losing to Keldeo and ZardY. Draco Meteor is pretty powerful and does decent damage to steel-types like Metagross or Scizor. Psyshock is so I don't have to go for Draco against Keldeo. I need Roost to switch Latias in multiple times against threats like ZardY, M-Manectric or Keldeo. Defog is for removing hazards, cause they're annoying for this team. The HP-invesment allows Lati to take 2 HP Ices from LO Thundurus without rocks.

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn

Without M-Scizor I would lose against Bisharp and M-Lopunny, so it's pretty important for the team. It also forms a really nice VoltTurn-core with Zone and Lando-T. I had Defog > SD for a time because I liked Healing Wish on Latias and thought that I don't need SD on Scizor anyways. However I didn't find myself using Healing Wish too often and I also missed SD in a lot of situations, so i went back to it. Roost is a must since Scizor is a really important Pivot for this team and I need to switch it in multiple times. Bullet Punch is priority so it's good against offense especially after one or two SDs. U-Turn might seem a bit weird on SD Scizor but I need it for momentum and also it's nice to lure Skarm and Ferro out. The EV-spread allows Scizor to live 2 Focus Blasts from M-Garde, Draco+HP Fire from Latios and 2 HJKs from M-Lopunny without rocks. I didn't really need the atk EVs so I decided to move them to defense so that Scizor always lives 2 HJKs from M-Lopunny without rocks.
​

Threats

Thundurus is one of the biggest problems, since most run Knock Off nowadays, so I have to lure it with Wacan Berry Manaphy or ScarfZone which both are obvious af. Thankfully tho, the ladder is shit and most people fall for it. Another way of killing it is by killing it with Pursuit on the predicted switch. However most people stay in and T-Wave and most of the time I can't afford to let Weavile get paralyzed

Talonflame can be a huge problem in the hands of a good player. Thankfully the ladder is shit, so I never got swept by TFlame.

Without Manaphy CM Clef becomes a huge problem. I need to damage it with something so that I can kill with Scizor or Weavile later. Even without CM Clef is still a problem because I don't like switching Scizor into Flamethrowers. Thankfully tho, the ladder is shit and most people run T-Wave > Flamethrower on both CM and non-CM Clef.

SpDef Heatran is actually more annoying than it's threatining. Manaphy and rocks deal with it, however Manaphy can't always switch in, especially when it's burned and Tran can actually be a problem if I get Manaphy killed and Lando burned by Lava Plume. Thankfully tho, the ladder is shit and most people stay in on Manaphy to bring their Heatran into KnockOff-range from Weavile.

Scizor can take 2 Shadow Balls, however that's only without rocks and if Gengar has wow Scizor doesn't want to switch in at all. Thankfully I can handle it by saccing something and then killing it with Pursuit.

Both mega and non-mega Gyarados can be a huge problem to the team. Scizor could wall it before it get's too many boosts but Scizor is nothing but set-up-bait for non-mega Gyara. My way of dealing with non-mega Gyara is by baiting the Bounce with Manaphy and set up or switch into Zone to kill it. I don't really have reliable a way of dealing with MegaDos however. Thankfully tho, Scald is the best move in the game.

Medicham is a huge threat that has been rising in usage lately. I don't have a safe switch-in since Lando-T gets fucked by Ice Punch and Scizor by HJK. My way of dealing with it is, by either damaging it with ScarfZone so that BP and Ice Shard kill or killing it with Pursuit. Unfortunately tho, the ladder is shit and most people run Medicham with Ice and Bullet Punch, so that I can't pursuit-trap it with Weavile.

Rain is annoying. Manaphy and Zone kinda deal with it, but not too much so I lose most of the time.

I always forfeit against Goth M-Sableye stall because I hate playing against it.

My only flying-resist is Magnezone, which is also weak against both Focus Blast and Heat Wave. Thankfully tho, both of those moves can miss and I can kill it with T-Bolt after that. Another way of dealing with it is by pursuiting it into sr-range.

Lati is easy to pursuit-trap so this thing can become a huge problem. My way of dealing it is by pressuring it with Weavile and keeping rocks up.

I have to keep Lando-T healthy, otherwise this sweeps me.

I'm pretty sure there are other threats that I don't remember right now, but I don't think they're to important to write down anyways.

Importable

Manaphy @ Wacan Berry
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 96 HP / 252 SpA / 160 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tail Glow
- Scald
- Energy Ball
- Psychic

Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash
- Knock Off
- Pursuit

Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 12 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn

Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Roost
- Defog

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn

 

[skies]

hey there Scandal, cool team!

firstly, i really like the core of manaphy + weavile – i think that they cover each other pretty well, and the addition of magnezone to the team really aids in eliminating the threat of ferrothorn. however, as you noted in your threatlist, thundurus can be a pain for your team. this is really understandable, and if it's running hidden power ice, then you're going to have a bit of rough time. to remedy this, i would suggest changing magnezone to mega manectric. mega manectric is chosen over raikou and magnezone because, alongside landorus-t, it forms a secondary core that can wreak havoc. it also doesn't struggle too badly against bisharp, as you mention in why you would want to keep mega scizor which is totally understandable, and mega manectric is also pretty good versus mega lopunny. speaking of mega lopunny, you have a problem against it overall which can be aided with the removal of magnezone. mega manectric eases your talonflame weakness, gyarados weakness, and it can take on tornadus-t. in return, you lose a guaranteed steel-type removal, but mega manectric handles all of them anyways.

this change does mean you have to change your mega pokemon, however, so i'd like to suggest you change it to sylveon. now you may be thinking: sylveon? what the hell? what is this guy on? well, the reason i recommend sylveon is because your team is currently lacking a fairy-type, which i find crucial to many teams success. i chose sylveon over clefable because it performs better versus kingdra, and can actually OHKO it, thus alleviating a bit of pressure from rain. just got to be careful switching it in. steel-types are not an issue still, as you have two very solid checks to it and a great way of removing them. sylveon appreciates the rest of the team support because pursuit trapping to take out bulkier psychic-types, and the removal of eviolite from chansey make sylveon a much better offensive presence. sylveon fits this team imo, and it also can lure in ferrothorn. checks mega sableye, which you have a noticeable weakness to as well, which is very important. checks latios, tornadus-t, tankchomp, etc. also, by having psychic manaphy, mega venusaur becomes a non-issue for sylveon.

however, the only noticeable weakness still left glaring out there is that bisharp can prey on the intimidate being spread around, and it outspeed sylveon otherwise. for this reason, i'd recommend running low kick > ice shard on weavile. while the priority is nice, i don't see it being more useful than low kick in this situation. weavile easily lives a sucker punch, and will even live it after stealth rock if you really need it to. even at +1, it still won't ko. in order for sucker punch to ohko weavile, it's gotta get to +3, but if you've allowed it to get to that point then i'm kind of concerned for your ability to play! low kick, once again, gives another ferrothorn stop, and also aids versus kyurem-b which can be quite annoying. sylveon can be lured by iron head, so it's nice to have a back up!

to summarize,

sets:

sylveon @ choice specs | pixilate
modest | 240 hp / 252 spa / 16 spe
hyper voice / baton pass / psyshock / hidden power fire

manectric @ manectite | lightningrod
timid | 252 spa / 4 spd / 252 spe
thunderbolt / volt switch / overheat / hidden power ice

weavile @ life orb | pressure
jolly | 252 atk / 4 spd / 252 spe
pursuit / knock off / icicle crash / low kick

hope my changes have helped -- good luck with your team!

 

[Scandal]

I'm sorry unfixable, but I don't think those changes are actually good for my team. With them my team would just have more problems than earlier. While Manectric helps against Thundurus and Talonflame, which is nice, replacing Magnezone would actually make my team really weak against Ferrothorn. Sure Manectric can OHKO it with Overheat, but Ferro can just switch out and Manectric has no form of recovery, so that'd mean that my opponent could just switch out a couple of times until the point where Manectric dies to an Power Whip. Most of the time Ferrothorn is on a fat team, so my opponent will most likely have a reliable Manectric switch-in. Low Kick doesn't actually help against Ferrothorn since it only does about 50-56%, which would mean that Ferro would win 1v1 at good health. I'm not too happy about Sylveon either. All it does is actually making my team more weak to threats than helping it. I don't see why I would need a fairy-type when that actually makes my team more weak to dragons than before. I already didn't have many switch-ins for Latios, only Scizor actually, but that too isn't a switch-in when the opponent can predict. But the point is, now I don't have anything that can take Latios' STABs at all. The biggest problem that I have with those changes are that they'd make me get 6-0'd by any team that has a Bisharp or Clefable. Manectric doesn't actually help with Bisharp, it just makes my team even more weak to it and Sylveon doesn't help either. Low Kick on Weavile doesn't help at all. Now I have to sac' something every time my opponent brings Bisharp in, just so that I can kill it with either Manaphy or Weavile (Manaphy only if Bisharp's weakened tho). And if Bisharp SD's I can just klick x since +2 Sucker Punch kills Weavile after rocks. Clefable is another thing that can just 6-0 my team now. Now that I don't have any fairy-resists Clefable is an even bigger threat since even variants without Flamethrower beat me now. Also having Manectric and Sylveon gives me even less options to stop Clefable when it sets up. Another huge problem now is Azumarill, since having no fairy-resists leaves me without a play rough switch-in. Oh and let's not forget about Lopunny which just 6-0s my team too. Manectric doesn't help against Lopunny at all because it takes like 60% from HJK and has to risk a speedtie. T-Bolt actually does less damage than HJK which means that I'd have to weaken Lopunny first. And the only way I can do that is by saccing something, since everything on my team get's 2HKO'd or OHKO'd and outsped by Lopunny.

Wow I actually wrote a lot more than I thought I would.
tl;dr: Instead of helping, Manectric and Sylveon make my team even more weak to threats. Earlier, I had a way to play around threats, but now I can just forfeit when I see them, since I have no way of outplaying them.

 

[Aurious]

Hey man very nice team you have there! Weavile is looking like a huge threat atm especially paired with Magnezone to trap 'mons like Mega-Scizor or Skarmory.

By looking over it I noticed a small weaknesses which I'd like to help you fixing: Mega-Manectric looks very threatening since it outspeeds any single pokemon on ur team and the only 'mon which can check it is Latias and that is easily trapped by Tyranitar or opposing Weaviles which are both paired very often together with Mega Manectric. Wacan Berry on Manaphy also doesn't really help since a smart player will just click Volt Switch when u switch in ur Manaphy. My suggestion would be trying out using Yache Berry as item on your Landorus-Therian over Leftovers. That would make it able to live an HP Ice easily and KO back with Earthquake. That also helps with some other smaller weaks such as Ice Punch Mega-Lopunny and other electric types which are usually running ice moves such as Raikou or Thundurus. However without Leftovers your Lando will be worn down very easy sometimes so you should still play very careful against these 'mons. I also wouldn't play speed on your Lando because you can't really hit opposing Rotom-Ws strong anyway and you want to have a slower U-Turn then opposing Landos to win momentum.

I agree with Unfixable on using Low Kick on Weavile since that helps you with important 'mons you'd really like to hit such as Heatran (which can be OHKOed after SR damage), Bisharp or Tyranitar but I would use it over Pursuit instead of Ice Shard because Pursuit doesn't look really needed since you're not very weak to stuff like Lati@s, Gengar or Alakazam and Ice Shard can be a very nice move to revenge some offensive threats such as Mega Lopunny, Mega Manectric, +1 Mega-Altaria, +1 Mega-Charizard-X or Mega-Aerodactyl.

So here are the sets I'd use:

Hide

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Yache Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock

Weavile (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pickpocket
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Low Kick
- Ice Shard