ORAS OU Mega scizor balance (#peak 1k5)

[RoyalGrant]

Hello to all fellow Smogon players.
So I have played this game for a while, and today I decide to write a rmt post on my current team. My team is a balance team with Mega Scizor and Volcanion as the core, as Volcanion is a reliable w-o-w and scald check for Mega Scizor. Also it can be used to eliminate hard Scizor counters such as Skarmory, Ferrothorn and Rotom-W. Then I put an Assault Vest Tornadus-T as a ground check for Volcanion and a pivot. Mega Manectric can effectively 2HKO my 3 first pokemons so I choose the combo Hippowdon + Excadrill because I also need a hazard setter and remover. The last slot is for Clefable because, well, the fairy-type is simply perfect for the fill.
So let get this started!

Buggy (Scizor-Mega) (M) @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 200 Def / 16 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost
I simply love this set. The combination of SD and Roost is acceptably bulky, effective and can also be used as a pivot. Bullet Punch for potential sweeping and fairy killer, while Scizor can U-turn away from Magnet Pullers especially Magnezone with HP Fire.

Vollcaaaaa (Volcanion) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Steam Eruption
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Steam Eruption is an upgraded version of the overused Scald, with the high base power and 30% of burnhax, this move is a must. Flamethrower is this guy's second STAB. Sludge Wave can potentially ohko or 2hko many common fairy-types such as Clefable. HP Grass is for coverage and 192 speed invested can outspeed Defensive Lando-T.

Valker (Tornadus-Therian) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Knock Off
A perfect pivot. 252 HP invested is for the bulkiest Torna-T as possible, as he can survive a 0ev attack Lando-T's Stone Edge.

Shahara (Hippowdon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
The team's hazard setter. Earthquake is a common STAB move. Whirlwind is used as a phaze, blocks set ups such as CharX DD or Mega Scizor SD.

Sahara fren (Excadrill) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
This guy is the team's main sweeper and a spinner when necessary. That's why he's running LO instead of the common spinner set with Air Balloon.

Moon (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Thunder Wave
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
Calm Mind Clefable breaks stall quite well. Twave blocks numerous high-speed sweepers such as Char X and Lopunny from sweeping.
Import
Buggy (Scizor-Mega) (M) @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 200 Def / 16 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost

Valker (Tornadus-Therian) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Knock Off

Vollcaaaaa (Volcanion) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Steam Eruption
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Moon (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Thunder Wave
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled

Shahara (Hippowdon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind

Sahara fren (Excadrill) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head​

 

[playerW17]

Hi Royal Grant,
Volcanion sand is quite an interesting archetype (dealing with Azumarill is very nice for sand teams), but I feel this team has a few issues that could be fixed up.

Your EV spreads are a bit suboptimal in my opinion, and quite a few ev's are wasted. Stall carrying Amoonguss (the infamous ABR stall) almost autowins against your team as well, which is also an issue. With your spreads, certain breakers such as Latios/Diancie/Volcanion are also issues for you, as they pick up kills every time they come in with good predictions, and have very easy switchin opportunities: in Latios's case it comes in freely on Hippowdon, while Diancie and Volcanion come freely in on Tornadus-T and Scizor, respectively. Talonflame also looks annoying for you to deal with, without a way of hitting it with your main physical wall, and the ability to cripple/set up on most of your team.

I'd start off by changing Scizor's spread to 248 HP / 16 Atk / 44 Def / 200 SpD with an Impish Nature: this spread hits many defensive benchmarks such as against Mega Lopunny HJK (admittedly without rocks, but this is still worthwhile because the extra attack doesnt do anything) while the Special Defense is important for threats such as Gardevoir, Latios and Mega Diancie.

232 SpA Mega Gardevoir Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 200 SpD Mega Scizor: 128-151 (37.3 - 44%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

224 SpA Mega Diancie Hidden Power Fire vs. 248 HP / 200 SpD Mega Scizor: 248-296 (72.3 - 86.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Draco Meteor vs. 248 HP / 200 SpD Mega Scizor: 114-135 (33.2 - 39.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
-2 252 SpA Life Orb Latios Hidden Power Fire vs. 248 HP / 200 SpD Mega Scizor: 146-172 (42.5 - 50.1%) -- 89.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

(latios doesnt kill with Draco Meteor + HP Fire).


Volcanion can afford to just run max speed with a spread of 4 Hp/ 252 Spa / 252 Spe with a Timid Nature: I think this team benefits from outspeeding Breloom and speedcrept Landorus T, amongst other things, while the bulk is not as important.
I'd also consider using Earth Power > HP Grass on this team, as opposing Volcanion is an enormous threat to your team. However, this does open you up to Curse Gastrodon doing well against your team, so I suppose this is a choice of what matchup you prioritise (personally I think Volcanion is a more common threat).

Tornadus-Therian definitely needs to be running 160 Special Attack EV's (I'd use a spread of 96 HP/160 Spa / 252 Spe with a Hasty nature) as this actually OHKO's Keldeo. This is very important for your team, as Torn-T is your main Keldeo switchin, and it definitely needs to be able to force it out with the threat of an Hurricane.
The Hasty nature helps you vs Latios mainly, (your Knock off and U-Turn does a bit more damage) but this is more my personal preference, so feel free to keep it timid.
0- Atk Tornadus-T Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Latios: 150-178 (50.1 - 59.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Tornadus-T Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Latios: 168-198 (56.1 - 66.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Hippowdon realistically doesnt need Whirlwind on this team, as Scizor is countered adequately by Volcanion, so I think using Stone Edge gives you a better matchup vs the birdspam very commonly used on the ladder right now (hitting Talonflame, Mega Pinsir, etc).

Clefable should be running the standard spread of 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD with a Calm Nature, or 252 hp / 216 Def / 44 SpD with a Bold Nature: max Defense is only worth it on the Unaware set to counteract boosting. The first spread gives you a superior matchup against Grass Knot Thundurus, and Hidden Power Fire Kyurem-Black which could be potential issues, while the second spread caters towards Adamant Mega Medicham's High Jump Kick. Again, it depends on which matchup you prefer more (I think the first one is probably better though). I'd also consider the unique tech Psyshock on this Clefable, as this stops Amoonguss from reliably hard countering you, as well as breaking past Chansey, to cater towards your stall matchup (although spedef invested Quagsire will still ruin your day). If you aren't feeling up to innovation, you can keep Thunder Wave, but I feel that makes your stall matchup almost impossible to play around.

Have fun with your new team, and I hope I have helped.

My version of your team

Buggy (Scizor-Mega) (M) @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Atk / 44 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost

Valker (Tornadus-Therian) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 96 HP / 160 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Knock Off

Vollcaaaaa (Volcanion) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Steam Eruption
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power / Hidden Power [Grass]

Moon (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock / Thunder Wave
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled

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

Sahara fren (Excadrill) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head

 

[RoyalGrant]

Hi Royal Grant,
Volcanion sand is quite an interesting archetype (dealing with Azumarill is very nice for sand teams), but I feel this team has a few issues that could be fixed up.

Your EV spreads are a bit suboptimal in my opinion, and quite a few ev's are wasted. Stall carrying Amoonguss (the infamous ABR stall) almost autowins against your team as well, which is also an issue. With your spreads, certain breakers such as Latios/Diancie/Volcanion are also issues for you, as they pick up kills every time they come in with good predictions, and have very easy switchin opportunities: in Latios's case it comes in freely on Hippowdon, while Diancie and Volcanion come freely in on Tornadus-T and Scizor, respectively. Talonflame also looks annoying for you to deal with, without a way of hitting it with your main physical wall, and the ability to cripple/set up on most of your team.

I'd start off by changing Scizor's spread to 248 HP / 16 Atk / 44 Def / 200 SpD with an Impish Nature: this spread hits many defensive benchmarks such as against Mega Lopunny HJK (admittedly without rocks, but this is still worthwhile because the extra attack doesnt do anything) while the Special Defense is important for threats such as Gardevoir, Latios and Mega Diancie.

232 SpA Mega Gardevoir Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 200 SpD Mega Scizor: 128-151 (37.3 - 44%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

224 SpA Mega Diancie Hidden Power Fire vs. 248 HP / 200 SpD Mega Scizor: 248-296 (72.3 - 86.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Draco Meteor vs. 248 HP / 200 SpD Mega Scizor: 114-135 (33.2 - 39.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
-2 252 SpA Life Orb Latios Hidden Power Fire vs. 248 HP / 200 SpD Mega Scizor: 146-172 (42.5 - 50.1%) -- 89.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

(latios doesnt kill with Draco Meteor + HP Fire).


Volcanion can afford to just run max speed with a spread of 4 Hp/ 252 Spa / 252 Spe with a Timid Nature: I think this team benefits from outspeeding Breloom and speedcrept Landorus T, amongst other things, while the bulk is not as important.
I'd also consider using Earth Power > HP Grass on this team, as opposing Volcanion is an enormous threat to your team. However, this does open you up to Curse Gastrodon doing well against your team, so I suppose this is a choice of what matchup you prioritise (personally I think Volcanion is a more common threat).

Tornadus-Therian definitely needs to be running 160 Special Attack EV's (I'd use a spread of 96 HP/160 Spa / 252 Spe with a Hasty nature) as this actually OHKO's Keldeo. This is very important for your team, as Torn-T is your main Keldeo switchin, and it definitely needs to be able to force it out with the threat of an Hurricane.
The Hasty nature helps you vs Latios mainly, (your Knock off and U-Turn does a bit more damage) but this is more my personal preference, so feel free to keep it timid.
0- Atk Tornadus-T Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Latios: 150-178 (50.1 - 59.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Tornadus-T Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Latios: 168-198 (56.1 - 66.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Hippowdon realistically doesnt need Whirlwind on this team, as Scizor is countered adequately by Volcanion, so I think using Stone Edge gives you a better matchup vs the birdspam very commonly used on the ladder right now (hitting Talonflame, Mega Pinsir, etc).

Clefable should be running the standard spread of 252 HP / 172 Def / 85 SpD with a Calm Nature, or 252 hp / 216 Def / 44 SpD with a Bold Nature: max Defense is only worth it on the Unaware set to counteract boosting. The first spread gives you a superior matchup against Grass Knot Thundurus, and Hidden Power Fire Kyurem-Black which could be potential issues, while the second spread caters towards Adamant Mega Medicham's High Jump Kick. Again, it depends on which matchup you prefer more (I think the first one is probably better though). I'd also consider the unique tech Psyshock on this Clefable, as this stops Amoonguss from reliably hard countering you, as well as breaking past Chansey, to cater towards your stall matchup (although spedef invested Quagsire will still ruin your day). If you aren't feeling up to innovation, you can keep Thunder Wave, but I feel that makes your stall matchup almost impossible to play around.

Have fun with your new team, and I hope I have helped.

My version of your team

Buggy (Scizor-Mega) (M) @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Atk / 44 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost

Valker (Tornadus-Therian) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 96 HP / 160 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Knock Off

Vollcaaaaa (Volcanion) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Steam Eruption
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power / Hidden Power [Grass]

Moon (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock / Thunder Wave
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled

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

Sahara fren (Excadrill) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head

Thanks for your advice bro :)

 

[playerW17]

Thanks for your advice bro :)

No problem. After thinking a bit more, you could also consider Stored Power instead of Psyshock to break past Quagsire and maintaining anti Chansey and Amoonguss coverage, although this has less initial power.