ORAS OU Mega Sableye Semi-Stall by Honus

[RMT Staff]

Mega-Sableye Semi-Stall by Honus

Introduction
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Hello, welcome to the second ORAS OU team selected by the RMT Staff to be archived. Once again, we decided to focus on the Landorus metagame, that is to say, the post-Greninja metagame that was official when SPL and OST started.

Talking about SPL, this team saw its very first use during the SPL6 game between Honus and Kevin Garrett. At the time, the tier was fresh and new, and a lot of battlers were still toying around with the Mega Evolutions exclusive to ORAS. M-Sableye was the new tool that aroused by far the most the curiosity, and the anxiety of the builders. Imagine one of the most broken abilities, previously only held by terribly frail Pokémon such as Xatu, Espeon, and M-Absol, being granted to a Pokémon like Sableye, along with drastic defense boosts and a nearly flawless typing. Needless to say, every single player made sure to be prepared for what appeared to be at the time one of the most restrictive Pokémon in terms of building ever allowed in OU.

That's exactly what this team was trying to capitalize on. As most people would be prepared against the infamous Calm Mind set, the original idea behind this build was to focus on making the most of M-Sableye as a support Pokémon. Knock Off would lure Pokémon such as Heatran and Clefable, which were very popular to deal with M-Sableye. Most of the other classic answers to M-Sableye were either Pokémon unwilling to switch into Will-O-Wisp (M-Gardevoir, M-Lopunny, M-Altaria, Azumarill..) or very prone to being worn down by entry hazards (Charizard, Talonflame, Volcarona...). Building a team able to switch around most of these threats, while providing options to lay down as many hazards as possible, seemed like the most obvious, and the safest choice to make use of M-Sableye's fantastic traits. Obviously, as we would not use M-Sableye as a Calm Mind sweeper, but as a pseudo-utility lure with Knock Off, the team had to offer additional options to close out the game and exploit the removal of key items.

Keep in mind that some building choices are strictly adapted to the Landorus metagame, but we will try to explain and showcase the different options possible for every single Pokémon, as this team is very flexible about its sets.​

Team Members

Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 164 Def / 96 SpD
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Knock Off
- Foul Play
- Recover

Main Role:​

Sableye's role is to keep hazards and status off the player's side of the field through use of Magic Bounce. Sableye also functions as a bulky spin blocker, helping to preserve the hazards that Ferrothorn and Hippowdon set. It can spread chip damage through Will-O-Wisp and Knock Off, which when combined with hazards can add up quickly. Sableye checks a few otherwise difficult-to-handle threats for semi-stall teams, such as Mega Medicham and Gengar.

Specific Traits:​

The combination of Magic Bounce, great bulk, and its defensive typing allows Sableye to pivot into common hazard setters and status users repeatedly. This effectively stops many common hazard setters on balanced teams such as Hippowdon, defensive Heatran, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn, as well as protecting the team from most Taunt-based stallbreakers such as Mew and Gliscor. Mega Sableye is the only defensive Magic Bounce user in OU and cannot be replaced in any capacity.

Moves and EVs:​

Item removal from Knock Off can help wear down threats in general, especially targets such as Ferrothorn and Heatran that rely on Leftovers as their sole means of recovery. Foul Play deters setup sweepers that attempt to break though Sableye, such as Swords Dance Talonflame. A physically-based spread is better on this team as the common targets of specially defensive sets are covered by Talonflame and other teammates. The original team actually used Metal Sound as a filler move, in order to surprise KO things like Gengar or Landorus attempting to sweep. That is however a very unreliable option that relies heavily on prediction and the surprise factor.

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off

Main Role:​

Hippowdon is the team's Stealth Rock setter. It's meant to take strong physical hits for the team, from threats such as Mega Charizard X, Bisharp, and Mega Lopunny. It's also able to stop momentum-grabbing Electric-types such as Mega Manectric and Raikou dead in their tracks, protecting the team against that threat.

Specific Traits:​

Hippowdon's massive bulk and access to Slack Off differentiate it from other bulky Ground-types and make it important for this team. A Pokémon like Garchomp or Landorus-T wouldn't be able to stick around long enough for the team's needs. As Hippowdon also doesn't have a 4x Ice weakness, it's able to check Volt Switching Electric-types to an extent, justifying its use over another healing Ground-type such as Gliscor.

Moves and EVs:​

While this is a pretty standard moveset, this team benefits from Stone Edge the most over other possible filler options, such as Toxic and Whirlwind. Stone Edge hits Mega Pinsir and Talonflame among others, which are quite the threats.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Power Whip
- Thunder Wave

Main Role:​

Ferrothorn is the answer to most Fairies, such as Mega Altaria, Mega Diancie, Clefable (lacking Fire coverage), and Azumarill. As we already have a dedicated Stealth Rock setter in this team, Ferrothorn can focus on laying down Spikes, completing the hazard-stacking strategy to punish opposing switches as much as possible.

Specific Traits:​

The amount of Spikers available in the tier is rather low. Ferrothorn's typing allows it, unlike Skarmory, to switch into Water-type attacks without taking too much damage. Ferrothorn is one of the few Pokémon able to counter Gyarados (which would otherwise be a rather big threat to the team). It's also a pretty good insurance against Rain teams, as this match-up would be plain impossible to deal with without Ferrothorn's key resistances and bulk.

Moves and EVs:​

Thunder Wave can be useful because the team lacks Speed, and it is overall a good move to deter foes from switching in or setting up. Power Whip offers the power required to prevent Water-type Pokémon such as Suicune, Manaphy (without Hidden Power Fire), and Gyarados from setting up. The EV spread allows Ferrothorn to always live a HJK from Mega Lopunny at full and Thunder Wave it if it comes down to it. Gyro Ball is an option over Thunder Wave to hit Kyurem-B and Lati@s for a huge chunk.

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 20 Def / 240 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Recover
- Rapid Spin
- Scald

Main Role:​

Starmie offers crucial hazard removal in the form of Rapid Spin, especially valuable to a hazard-stacking team such as this one, as it preserves the hazards the player has set on the other side of the field. It'd be foolish to count solely on M-Sableye's ability to keep hazards off your side of the field, especially when a Pokémon such as Talonflame becomes pretty much useless as soon as Stealth Rock is up.

Specific Traits:​

Starmie's defensive typing allows it to reliably check Keldeo as well as be another Water resistance. The combination of resisting Scald and having Natural Cure enables Starmie to absorb Scald and Lava Plume without risking being crippled long-term by a burn, which is very important to stress, as the five other members of the team can't really switch into Heatran.

Moves and EVs:​

Psyshock allows Starmie to hit special walls hard as well as hitting SubCM Keldeo for good damage regardless of Calm Mind boosts. Toxic over Psyshock is an option to deal better with Talonflame and Calm Mind Slowbro lacking Rest, but then you really have to play around SubCM Keldeo carefully. 240 Speed EVs take advantage of Starmie high base 115 Speed, putting it one point ahead of max speed Serperior.

Talonflame @ Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 240 HP / 44 Atk / 192 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Roost
- Will-O-Wisp
- Brave Bird
- Swords Dance

Main Role:​

The team is pretty weak to the likes of M-Charizard Y and Fairy-types such as M-Gardevoir, Clefable, and M-Altaria. SpDef Talonflame is a really good answer to the these Pokémon, and spreading status in the form of Will-O-Wisp allows it to wear down opposing teams. Hazards in the form of Spikes and Stealth Rock, Sand Stream chip damage, and the presence of a spinblocker often allow CM Clefable or Talonflame to finish off a weakened team.

Specific Traits:​

Priority Brave Bird is quite the breath of fresh air for a team this slow and passive. In tandem with hazard stacking, Will-O-Wisp adds to the residual damage that the opposing team has to endure.

Moves and EVs:​

Swords Dance is the main move that differentiates this Talonflame from a more classic stallbreaking set. It provides the team with a win condition that can benefit from the weakening of Heatran by M-Sableye, in case Clefable fails to achieve its goal. This option is very flexible though, as Taunt and Bulk Up are both perfectly viable. Bulk Up has the added value of reliably beating other M-Sableye.

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Moonblast
- Ice Beam
- Calm Mind

Main Role:​

Clefable serves as one of the team's win conditions. With hazards weakening checks and counters such as Heatran, Jirachi, and Mega Venusaur, it can generally outlast those thanks to Magic Guard and try to go for a CM sweep later in the game. It also checks a few threats such as Life Orb Thundurus, Hidden Power Fire Latios, and Weavile, and serves as a general utility check to a wide variety of threats.

Specific Traits:​

Clefable's ability allows it to stick around for the whole game without getting worn down, while taking advantage of hazards that wear the opponent down. Its typing and special bulk set it apart from other Magic Guard users, such as Alakazam and Reuniclus, that can't handle as many threats as Clefable can, which is something this team likes.

Moves and EVs:​

A specially defensive spread was chosen for this team because the rest of it handles physical attackers better, meaning Clefable would have to handle things like Electric-types more often. Ice Beam is an uncommon last move, but it allows Clefable to beat one of its counters that isn't affected by hazards in Gliscor, and prevents Landorus from switching into Clefable too carelessly. Unaware is an alternative worth mentionning, as it offers a short-term answer to a couple of threats to the team. Be aware that it significantly decreases Clefable's ability to switch around.

Main threats
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is very problematic, as nothing really wants to switch into its moves, hence why the team is geared around limiting its switch-in options

Swords Dance can apply a ton of pressure onto the team, especially the Substitute Salac set if it manages to Intimidate Ferrothorn

Swords Dance was a pretty rare sight when this team was first made, but it can do a ton of damage if it carries Fire Fang for Ferrothorn

has to be played around with the utmost care, as mono-attacking sets can eventually outlast Ferrothorn and Clefable just like Rest

would, while the Tail Glow Hidden Power set is an instant threat

The Bulk Up version is pretty much impossible to deal with unless you opt for Toxic on Starmie

carrying Grass Knot or Nasty Plot can be tricky to deal with, so you can't allow it to set up

with Life Orb can exploit the lack of Flying resistances

if it carries Hidden Power Fire or Focus Blast to take down Ferrothorn can seriously hurt this team
And the usual powerhouses meant to break slow cores such as Choice Band

or Swords Dance

>>Pastebin<<


Credits

Created by: Honus
Written by: Analytic Celticpride DennisEG Jirachee Reymedy
Grammar checked by: Malley
Art by: boudouche ​