Other [Monotype] Hyper Offensive Steel

[scpinion]

Hey guys, scpinion here. The Monotype room is starting up a project where our users create RMTs to showcase, and get feedback on, their teams. The team I'm sharing today was previously in the Monotype Sample Teams section, but is meant to serve as an example for the new project.

The Steel Monotype team you see above is pure Hyper Offense, which is rare in the Monotype metagame. If you just look at the team composition you would think it is a complete joke. It consists of an Offensive/Lead Skarmory, 4 Pokemon with Swords Dance, and an Offensive Heatran--certainly not your typical Steel team!

The goal of the team is to set hazards and overwhelm the opponent with a barrage of Physical set-up sweepers. Between the 4 Pokemon that know Swords Dance on this team, you will always have a win condition. Lure/remove the major threats to your sweeper of choice, generate a setup opportunity, and sweep. It is simple, but it works.

Skarmory @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Tailwind

Skarmory is there to set hazards and die in 90% of your battles. You'll be using the other team members to make sure the hazards Skarmory sets will remain on the field to punish your opponents. Sturdy + Custap Berry guarantees you'll get up at least 2 hazards. However the Custap Berry is often well spent on Brave Bird or Tailwind, depending on the match-up. Skarmory has an offensive EV spread to let it: (1) outpace many Pokemon with Taunt, (2) deal significant damage with Brave Bird, and (3) make it easier to get in range of the Custap Berry. A usage note on Skarmory, if you see Infernape or Keldeo, make sure it gets a chance to Brave Bird them if at all possible.

Bisharp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Psycho Cut
- Swords Dance

Skarmory is used to set hazards and Bisharp is used to punish an opponent that chooses to Defog them away. This is a rather unorthodox Bisharp set, but it fits nicely on this team. The team is incredibly weak to Keldeo and Infernape (like most Steel teams). I run Focus Sash + Psycho Cut to deal significant damage to either of these threats so my other priority users will be able to take them out. There is no need for Iron Head with Mega-Scizor on the team. Sash + SD + Sucker Punch is a great late game cleaner in match-ups where Bisharp's sash doesn't get broken. Play Bisharp very aggressively against a predicted Defog. Losing your hazards w/o punishing the opponent is often worse than losing your Bisharp.

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance
- Gyro Ball
- Sacred Sword

Doublade completes the hazard stacking core this team was built around with its ability to spin block. It also provides a nice immunity to Fighting type attacks, which comes in handy quite often as opponents will be forced to try and revenge kill the other members of this team. Like Bisharp, play Doublade aggressively against a predicted Rapid Spin to ensure your hazards stay on the field. Doublade sets up on many spinners in the metagame. The set is completely generic. Keep Gyro Ball there for Mega-Altaria, Lopunny and other speed boosters. Sacred Sword gives Doublade unresisted attacking coverage.​

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Roost

Mega-Scizor is really the star of the show. In most of your battles it will be the sweeper of choice. Use the other 5 Pokemon to pressure the opponent's Pokemon that can stop Scizor, then watch the their team crumble to this monster. Outside of a Fire attack, nothing is OHKO'ing this. It sets up on a huge chunk of the metagame and can sweep many teams at only +2. SD, Roost and Bullet Punch are self explanatory. Bug Bite is there b/c it is stupidly powerful STAB that can deal with some things Knock Off can't. The goal of the team is to hit as hard and as fast as possible, so Knocking Off an item doesn't really benefit this team as much as others.

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 52 SpD / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
- Stone Edge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power

Surprisingly, Heatran doesn't really see that much action on this team, but it is the glue that holds the team together. Like Doublade, it provides a nice immunity to fall back into when the opponent is attempting to revenge kill the other Pokemon on this team. Modest Fire Blast hurts, especially if it gets boosted by Flash Fire. Earth Power to help against opposing Heatran. Heatran destroys opposing Steel teams under Tailwind. An Air Balloon + HP Ice is there to deal with (Mega-)Garchomp. If you don't preserve the Air Balloon then you will get 6-0'd by it. Stone Edge OHKO's almost every variant of Volcarona and bops CharY. Don't use Ancient Power b/c it can't touch Volcarona (thank you Anttya). The EVs let Heatran outspeed Pokemon that are creeping base 70 Adamant, while only having a 6.3% chance to be OHKO'd by Timid CharY's Focus Blast. You can run 252 Speed to tie w/ other Modest Heatran, but Lucario takes care of them w/o trouble.

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ice Punch
- Extreme Speed
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance

Lucario is the last member of the team and it is kinda just...there. You could probably replace it with a Scarf Jirachi and the team would function just fine. It is there to provide an additional source of strong priority, which is great for stuff like Keldeo and Infernape. Close Combat sweeps Normal once you set hazards and Tailwind (Lop can't flinch w/ Fake Out). The same is true for Dragon teams--they don't have much for this thing under Tailwind if hazards are on the field. I don't think I've ever clicked SD, so it may be worth experimenting with that final move slot. Thunder Punch could help with Water teams. This is one of those cases where I needed a 6th Pokemon and I thought "having Extreme Speed couldn't hurt".

​

Threats
This team has a good matchup with a large chunk of the metagame. However, there are specific Pokemon that give it trouble:

Infernape: It outspeeds the entire team and can hit it for SE damage. It Taunts Skarmory or KO's it w/ Mach Punch if Sturdy activates. If you see an Infernape, lead Skarmory and click Brave Bird on it. You have a better shot of winning if it is 5v5 w/o Infernape on the opponent's team.

Keldeo: This is kinda like Infernape: Scald/Hydro Pump + Secret Sword can hit the entire team hard. Sash Bisharp does nicely vs. this if you can preserve the Sash since it gets it in range of Priority attacks. Spikes + Extreme Speed + two Bullet Punches will KO if things go awry. People like to lead this thing vs. Skarmory, so forego your 2nd hazard and bop it if w/ Custap Brave Bird you get the opportunity.

Mega-Sableye: This team has nothing for it... If you see Sab, lead Scizor and SD. That forces it to m-evo and you will deal some significant damage before your opponent stalls you out. Many players will actually not WoW on the first turn b/c they predict your switch to Heatran. So, they end up facing down a +2 Scizor that is up against their answer to Heatran. In most cases, that is all the momentum this team needs to win.

Ditto: A team that is made up of setup sweepers is obviously Ditto bait. However, smart play keeps it from being a threat. Only setup to +2 with Scizor b/c you can Roost Stall the Ditto out of PP then bop something. Don't setup with Bisharp, this team can't handle Knock Off's from a +2 Scarf Bisharp.

Garchomp: It outspeeds and OHKO's the whole team with Fire Blast + EQ. Air Balloon Heatran w/ HP Ice is your only answer. If you see a Garchomp, do not let something else pop Heatran's Balloon. With the Garchomp gone, Mega-Scizor becomes a HUGE threat to Ground/Dragon teams.

Replays
vs Fire: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-248962057
vs Bug: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-249369495
vs Water: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-249643505
vs Normal: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-249389620

importable

Skarmory @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Tailwind

Bisharp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Psycho Cut
- Swords Dance

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance
- Gyro Ball
- Sacred Sword

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Roost

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 52 SpD / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
- Stone Edge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ice Punch
- Extreme Speed
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance

 

[Twix]

Hey scpinion, cool take on Steel, making it something unheard of: Hyper Offense

I feel the team would overall be better if you substituted Doublade for Choice Scarf Jirachi as it can help take on 4 of the 5 threats you listed to the team. Jirachi can provide Healing Wish support to a sweeper, U-turn support, Zen Headbutt for Keldeo and Infernape, Ice Punch for Garchomp, and even helping you out with Ditto as Heatran can easily wall it if it transforms into Jirachi (Air Balloon only really helps against Diggersby on Normal). While Doublade does add an immunity to Fighting-types and has priority, Jirachi fits better with the team in a Hyper Offensive format.

However, you did note that Lucario could be replaced with Jirachi, but that leaves your team extremely vulnerable to max Speed Heatran, which you don't really have much for. You could replace Swords Dance on Bisharp to Low Kick to help as well.



Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Zen Headbutt
- U-turn
- Ice Punch
- Healing Wish

252 Atk Jirachi Ice Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 288-340 (80.6 - 95.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Jirachi Zen Headbutt vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Infernape: 288-342 (98.2 - 116.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Jirachi Zen Headbutt vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Keldeo: 240-284 (74.3 - 87.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Heatran Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Jirachi: 356-422 (104.3 - 123.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO (if Ditto comes in on Jirachi)

 

[scpinion]

Thanks for the rate Twix!

I agree Scarf Jirachi would be a valuable addition to the team b/c it addresses the Keldeo/Infernape weaknesses and allows me to play a bit more aggresively w/ Scizor or Bisharp. However, I'm hesitant to remove Doublade b/c it is also a spin blocker, which is crucial against many teams (especially Bug).

I'll try out your 2nd suggestion of altering the Bisharp set to chip Heatran and remove Lucario.

 

[Whydon]

Cool team scp! I saw this team win a tournament today against a Fighting Team, and it was a 4-0 and was able to put in a lot of work. One question though, what exactly does 252 Speed + Jolly allow Skarmory to outspeed? Anything crucial?

I'll test it out and tell you what I think of it. Good job though!

 

[scpinion]

Thanks. :)

Nothing crucial; adamant would be fine too. Just don't invest in defenses because the goal is to set hazards and get into custap range.

 

[all falls down]

Hello, I made a team just like this after Metagross was banned, and it did quite well on the ladder (I believe Calspid peaked with it).

The only change I had was to add Choice Scarf Magnezone over Lucario. Since this is HO Steel without Ferrothorn, it struggles quite a bit against Water teams, and has no reliable way to revenge kill Keldeo. Magnezone is the perfect fit for this team as it can do just that, and adds a lot of momentum, along with having something relatively fast to revenge kill other Pokemon like Landorus (with Hidden Power Ice). It also supports Pokemon you have that are walled by Skarmory (Scizor and Doublade), as it can trap and remove it.

After this, I think you can change the Bisharp set to Life Orb or Lum Berry, as you now have a good way to kill Keldeo, and those two items makes Bisharp a lot more useful, for example with Lum it can get past Mega Sableye.Other than that, I had Taunt over Hidden Power Ice on Heatran to help keep hazards up after Skarmory has done its job. I also had offensive 3 attacks Scizor over defensive, but I think both sets have their merits.

sets

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

Bisharp @ Lum Berry
Ability: Defiant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance

Edit: I would also consider Taunt over Tailwind on Skarmory (especially important since Zapdos is back), as you can Taunt defoggers to keep hazards up, and also prevent things from setting up.

 

[perish song me]

Fun and creative team :)

I've switched tailwind on skarm to whirlwind since I never found myself using tailwind and people who know what this skarm does like to set up on it.

More importantly though, I think scarf empoleon is pretty good as the last mon. It can suprise and kill some very important pokemon like garchomp, opposing heatran, and landorus. It helps tremendously vs fire and ground. It's surprisingly good imo. Consider trying it over lucario:

Empoleon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Flash Cannon
- Ice Beam
- Grass Knot

 

[Physical Tyranitar]

Offensive Skarmory FTW?

What I would suggest is Empoleon, as Perish Song Me has mentioned, to help ease your weakness to Fire, and make Lucario a special attacker or fear getting walled by Mega Sableye, but you're the admin of Monotype(right?), so, yeah....