ORAS OU "Mega Sableye is Balanced"

[Shadowball]

Alright, I've been wanting to build a team around this guy for ages, and I think I've found a good team to build around it, or rather, built a team and let M-Sableye do what it does.

Teambuilding process/quick glance at the team:

I started off with this guy, since I wanted to build a team around it's amazing ability to shut down every lead in the game; it's incredibly satisfying and puts you on the offensive from round 1, stealing momentum straight off. I then looked for partners for Sable: Bisharp is a great partner since they both switch into each other's weaknesses with impunity (except for Mega Lopunny). Since M-Lop is a huge threat to these two, I needed a good switch in and a spot of utility never hurt anyone: Enter Latias. Providing a check to lopunny, hazard removal (though with M-Sable there should never be hazards around) and a great check to Keldeo too since it has slightly better bulk than it's twin means it earns a place in my squad. Next, since Weavile and Bish are popular in their pursuit trapping roles, and I also needed a check for ferrothorn/skarmory stalls, an offensive Heatran provides great fire pressure while it's natural bulk is great for shutting down the annoying fire birds. Since my team is now x4 weak to fighting and ground, I needed a good counter for both: Rotom-W gives me ground immunity along with Latias, a good counter to ground types in general with a strong hydro pump and good momentum with Volt Switch. Azumarill rounds off the team, giving me another good fighting counter and a final great check to ground types, with a much harder hitting waterfall/aqua jet combo.

In Depth analysis:

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Sableye
Item: Sablenite
Ability: Prankster -> Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 100 Def / 160 SpD
Calm Nature
- Taunt
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
- Knock Off

Sableye is the main man of this team. It's immensely satisfying to be able to run such an effective anti-lead. I used to get annoyed at Sableye, but I guess if you can't beat them, join them, right? He's actually really fun to use, having to balance priority recovery to Mega utility. I'm running Taunt on this set, but I'm open for another option; my reasoning was that I could run it alongside magic bounce to keep the mega in my back pocket for when I need it; priority WoW is great for shutting down physical sweepers, but I'm open to suggestions. Standard moveset after that - recover for, well, recovery, WoW for burn hax and to stop physical sweepers from doing their thing, and knock off for some damage and even more utility. EVs are there to maximse bulk really - I opted for a mixed spread since I'll likely be switching into an array of attacks.

Bisharp
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Pursuit
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch

Bisharp is such a great parner for Sableye, as it can switch into everything that Sableye is weak to, and Sableye can switch into predicted fighting attacks and can tank special fire attacks, especially with priority recovery after it. He also serves as my physical sweeper and a win-con with swords dance - a life orb swords dance boosted sucker punch hits like a complete train, while pursuit is used for the chance to trap mons, since my Sable carries knock off on his set. Pursuit easily ohkos Lati@s and any frail psychic on the switch, while also denting Reuniclus. Iron head goes through everything weak to steel, giving me an ohko to mega gardevoir, a 2hko to Clefable, an ohko to mega Aerodactyl and goes right through Sylveon and Mega Diancie, though I need to be careful with Diancie since it can ohko me with earth power; I'm considering an assault vest build for this reason; with the ability to boost with SD I don't need the attack right from the off, and I'll be able to survive way more hits. With enough boosts, it'll go right through everything, but the prominent targets it can take out are frial psychics like Mega Alakazam and every fairy in the game, which is huge pressure, and is a great weight off Sableye's mind.

Latias
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 80 HP / 176 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Roost
- Defog

Latias is up next as my prime Mega Lopunny counter, since it's the only mon to go right through both of my first mons and will pretty much ohko them with no trouble; although, with enough SD boosts, Bish will go through it, but I need a decent check to it. Latias also gives me a perfect Keldeo switch in as well as tricky mons like Conkeldurr and Breloom. EV spread is for max speed, hitting the contested 350 tier while having enough damage to ohko the aforementioned threats as well as killing everything weak to psychic and ohking Fat Chomp, though it has to hit Draco Meteor to achieve this. Defog is incase my Sableye pressure falls off to keep my mons healthy, and roost is there for some longevity.

Heatran
Item: Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Flamethrower
- Ancient Power
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power

I needed to be able to keep talonflame off my team since it can wreck me with Brave Bird/Flare blitz, killing Bish outright, and 2hkoing Latias. Heatran also gives me great steel type pressure, smashing through Ferro/Skarmory stalls, and providing me with a safe way of combating rocky helmet mons. I opted for an offensive spread since I wanted really good fire control; this also lets me ohko Scizor (immo, every team should have a counter to Scizor, he's just too good). I ran with an air balloon to try and sponge a first turn ground attack, since I shouldn't ever have hazards to break the balloon, but I can go lefties/life orb instead. Heatran also becomes my prime Lati@s counter, since the only variants that can beat it carry surf/EQ, and it'll look obvious if they switch into it. Standard offensive moveset; Flamethrower, ancient power and earth power for reliable damage and coverage, and stealth rocks incase I get the chance to set them up.

Rotom-Wash
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
- Shadow Ball/WoW

Scrotom-Wash is next up as my second counter to flying types, namely T-flame, Char-X and M-Pinsir, being able to take every hit off all of them and either hit back or sponge for teammates. Since my team is x4 weak to ground, he also serves to counter them with his ability, and can hit back with hydro pump. I went with full defensive EVs and HP to better sponge those attacks off the flying types that rampage OU. Standard moveset for Rotom except the Shadow Ball. I just wanted something other than WoW since I'm running it on Sableye, but to be honest I might run it on this too; that way it can really shut down these physical attackers. Rotom just rounds off the defensive backbone of the team.

Azumarill
Item: Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power/ Assault Vest
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Ice Punch

Finally, my boy Azumarill. I wanted to pick something that could switch into ground types, keeping them off my Bish and Heatran, and I settled on Azumarill as it also has the god send typing to deal with Garchomp as well as every fighting mon, keeping them off my team's back, while also serving to destory fire/fyling. I'm undecided about the item, though: Choice band gives me massive damage, but it leaves me weaker to Char-Y, while assault vest drops it's solarbeam damage down to 63%, while I hit 64 / 32% on waterfall / aqua jet, pulling off either an ohko/2hko after rocks/on the switch, or at least letting my team revenge kill really easily, and assault vest lets me kill unboosted Thundurus and also lets me change my attack accordingly, rather than having to pick aqua jet in the hope I can get a second attack off if I need it with the choice band set. Regardless, Azumarill rounds off the team nicely, filling in the blanks and giving me a devastating wall breaker.

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Conclusion:

So that's the team! I'm leaving the import code below, feel free to use the team and trial it out if you like. I'm gonna welcome all suggestions, but if you do suggest anything try and make sure it's relative to the mon's role; i.e. a replacement for Bisharp would help me greatly if it's physical too. Have a look through and give me your 2 cent's worth.

Importable

Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 100 Def / 160 SpD
Calm Nature
- Taunt
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
- Knock Off

Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Pursuit
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch

Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 80 HP / 176 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Roost
- Defog

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Flamethrower
- Ancient Power
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
- Shadow Ball

Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Ice Punch

 

[bludz]

Yo, cool team I like that you went with a more balance / bulky offense approach with mega Sableye.

The first thing I noticed is that Mega Diancie and Mega Gardevoir are serious threats to your team. Neither of your steel types can handle them reliably and they do massive damage to every member of the team even Azu if its holding AV because of their mixed attacking capability (Diamond Storm and Psyshock).

You are also quite weak to Manaphy; Latias cannot ohko it and after a Tail Glow boost it can threaten to OHKO most of the team.

My first recommendation would be to swap Bisharp for AV Metagross. This gives you a solid Fairy switchin that can still pursuit trap and provide some priority. It isn't as strong as LO Bisharp and doesn't prevent Defogs, but you are not spike stacking so I don't think you will miss it all that much.

Next I'd change your Sableye a bit. 248 HP is not necessary since sab isn't supposed to switch into hazards; 252 is fine. 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD with a Careful Nature lets you take on offensive Heatrans. I would also run Protect > Taunt. This lets you get the mega evolution off safely and lets you scout choice users. It also helps you surprise Mega Lopunny which BTW is a threat to your team.

Your team is fairly slow so I would recommend Thunder Wave > Shadow Ball on Rotom-Wash. This lets you cripple cheeky Zard Xs that Dragon Dance against you and provides general speed control.

I don't know if you noticed but water types in general can be very annoying to this team, especially water/ground types. I don't think you need Azu; you have Zard X and Sand checks already while Sableye can sorta take on Weavile which is also pressured by Rocks / Metas BP. I would replace Azu with Sash Breloom. This takes advantage of Sableye keeping hazards off to leave your sash intact giving you an emergency check to a ton of things (Lop, Weav, etc) with Spore and Mach Punch. It also lets you pressure / break down the bulky waters and grounds that could otherwise be annoying.

Final note I'd give your Latias 72 HP instead of its current spread since that gives it a Life Orb number. Also remember to give all your special attackers 0 Atk IVs to reduce Foul Play and confusion damage.

Summary:
Protect > Taunt and EV change on Sableye
AV Metagross > Bisharp
Thunder Wave > Shadow Ball on Rotom
EV change on Latias
Sash Breloom > Azumarill

sets

Metagross @ Assault Vest
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 232 HP / 168 Atk / 12 SpD / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pursuit
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Earthquake

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

Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
- Knock Off
- Recover

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
- Thunder Wave

Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch
- Swords Dance

Heatran the same but 0 Atk IVs!

On a final note you might consider Flash Cannon or Taunt instead of Ancient Power on Heatran since Rotom hard counters Talonflame

 

[Shadowball]

Yo!

I like your suggestion for Metagross, but I lose a lot of damage switching out Bish, and since Heatran is running earth power, I don't need EQ that much. How about a bulky swords dance LO scizor? Dat technician bullet punch though. It'll ko Gardy and diancie, while removing the double psychic type you proposed; I don't want Gengar to rampage this team. I wasn't too bothered about pursuit trapping really, and scizor can still take care of Lati@s when I run knock off. This also makes flame body Heatran a way more justified pick, absorbing nasty fire damage that Scizor ain't got no time for.

I do, however, like your suggestions about pretty much everything else. I'll change T-wave and tidy up the EV spreads on my mons, thanks for the heads up on those.

Breloom is interesting. What exactly would it do for the team that Azu couldn't? It's piss slow and really frail, while Azu has more bulk. Can it learn drain punch? The thing is, especially with mach punch, if this counters Lop and Keldeo for me, I don't really need Latias on the team, and since I shouldn't need a defogger at all, perhaps I could run something really fast and cleany-upy instead? It just seems to be that Breloom can counter everything that I needed Latias to counter.

So, If you could quantify exactly what breloom would bring to the team, see if Scizor > Metagross (BP hits harder and gives me swords dance options too) and if Breloom is the better choice, would Latias still work on the team, or should I get a new mon.

Thanks!

 

[bludz]

Breloom gives you an answer to water types. Your best answer to them now is Rotom which can't touch things like gastro/Seismitoad at all and isn't doing much to calm minders like bro and suicune. Mach Punch also helps with Lopunny (which Latias is not really a check to BTW).

Spore gives you free turns as well and with the sash intact gives you an emergency check to whatever you couldn't appropriately deal with.

Azu is even slower lol and its bulk isn't doing a ton for you when you have problems breaking CM suicune and Mega slowbro. It also doesn't check Lopunny as well.

As for Scizor yeah I think that could work over meta as well (tho Sableye can check Gengar as long as Shadow Ball doesn't get spdef drops), but I think a bulky Leftovers set would work better than life Orb since it needs to check stuff and getting worn down sucks. Problem with this is HP fire Diancie can still rampage the team if they predict your Scizor switchin. If you go with Scizor I have a set for you:

Scizor @ Leftovers
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 164 Def / 96 SpD
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Roost
- Swords Dance
- U-turn / Knock Off

Spread checks Weavile, mega Metagross with Rocks up. Does a good job of checking mega fairies as well. Would recommend U-turn to complete the Volt turn core, but Knock Off is OK too.

If the opponent has Diancie you can lead Scizor and click uturn as they protect, then Bullet Punch as they stay in expecting a banded variant (gotten a lot of kos this way lol).

Also keep Latias you need it for specs keld and Zard y as well as speed. Breloom checks keld but can't switch in and Rotom is 2hkod by specs secret sword

 

[Shadowball]

Yeah man, for sure on that Scizor set. Even with 0 attack investments it ko's M-diancie, so it can't touch my scizor even if it protects, and even if it lands the HP fire on the switch, it does 96% with HP fire while I do 134% with BP, crit hax aside. Why go that bulky though? apart from M-Diance (because of the double weakness) it HAS to use SD to set up, but I guess it would be nice to have a really bulky, attacky, healy mon that's like lol +6 BP in the face. So that's cool.

With Breloom and Scizor I have a x6 fire weakness, but this isn't really a problem with heatran, rotom-w and latias as an emergency fire check. You're definitely sticking with breloom over say Serperior for that Lop check? The thing is, if it uses fake out and goes through my sash, I can only deal a max 98% damage to Lop. Although, I suppose, this would be easy to pick it off with rocks/Scizor's BP, so, yeah, I think Breloom is doing it for me! I think the only thing putting me off is the x6 fire and x4 ice weakness now, as well as a dark weakness from Latias, meaning Weavile can go to town - but with a Focus sash Mach punch, that's ok! Would you just literally take the hit and mach punch or spore and mach punch after?

Thanks for the suggestions :)

 

[bludz]

The bulk on Scizor so you can effectively counter Weavile with Rocks up (yep switch in and roost up as much as you want, its even setup fodder for sd once you Roost up). As for Breloom just Mach Punch against Weavile.

PS: glad to help

 

[Winter2988]

You better watch out for offensive Arcanine Close combat crunch heat wave or flare blitz can really screw you over Close combat and crunch alone can take down sabeleye bisharp latias and hetran luckily you wont see those to much make sure you keep your azumirill healthy he is the only one who can check an Arcanine well.