SV OU My first SV OU Team! Guidance appreciated!

[lifeinthezone]

Hi there!

Made my first team for SV now that the DLC pokemon are available- last time I got into making OU teams was back when USM came out lol, so I'm definitely pretty out of practice.

My team is a bulky offensive team built around some of my favorite new gen 9 pokemon (Clodsire & Gholdengo especially lol)! Highest I've reached with it is only around 1400 though- since there are a handful of pokemon my team just doesn't have answers for (basculegion, serperior, garganacl, defensive Great Tusk etc.)

Anyway- Here's the team! Advice SUPER appreciated. Like I said, I'm new to the format so I've got a lot of work to do haha

Clodsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Recover
- Toxic

My beautiful special wall... probably my favorite gen 9 pokemon, so I was pretty happy to see it was in the tier. Mainly serves as a tank - setting up toxic & rocks against common special attacking threats (Raging bolt, Walking Wake, etc.) Covers the territory that Dondozo can't. Water absorb lets it switch in reliably against threats like primarina and empoleon, and tera flying helps avoid lethal damage from Great Tusk EQ. Gets countered extremely hard by corviknight though w/o any options to hit (outside of getting an EQ off if they use roost)

Dondozo @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Sleep Talk
- Liquidation
- Body Press
- Rest

My less beautiful physical wall... switched from a curse set to rest, since I was finding it difficult to keep it at reliably high HP throughout the game. Previously ran avalanche, which was massively useful against dragon types like dragonite and raging bolt- but again, its use was pretty limited so I opted for the more defensive rest set. Can pretty reliably wall anything besides grass + lightning, which tera dragon helps to take care of (at the cost of weakness against the dragon types it would otherwise be strong against.)

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Def / 12 SpD
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Knock Off
- Spikes
- Earthquake

Honestly kind of the team GOAT, doesn't do much damage but absolutely excellent for scouting & pivoting. Almost always my opener, since I can get a free turn w/ protect to set up toxic orb, and see what my opponent is up to. Really only struggles against special setup openers (since I'm not running unaware on clodsire special set up is pretty dangerous for me...). Knock off is great utility, and makes a reliable 2hko against deoxys speed. Spikes are great if I'm able to lay them down at the start, but otherwise I'm usually able to get them down part way through the game due to how bulky gliscor is and how reliable poison heal is.

Gholdengo @ Leftovers
Ability: Good as Gold
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Make It Rain
- Hex
- Recover
- Thunder Wave

Another physical tank! And helpful for keeping my hazards up (with the notable exception of great tusk who completely bodies gholdengo). Don't usually end up in a position to use tera w/ Gholdengo, but flying helps eliminate those ground threats. Thunder wave excellent to get off on any fast threat, and hex does major damage despite the low investment in SPA. Make it Rain is useful if I don't have the opportunity or ability to get thunder wave off, and recover helps shrug off any damage that i might take on switch in or setting up thunder wave.

Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Fiery Dance
- Giga Drain

My late game win condition- getting one quiver dance up in the right situation is usuall a win. Tera grass helps to survive aqua jets, and w/ giga drain can really help volcarona stay on the field. When not set up can still be a threat against slower pokemon w/ high super effective damage from bug buzz or fiery dance. Really struggles against opponents who resist the attacks though, and is pretty hard walled by skeledirge, heatran, and dragonite (among others...). Even with quiver dance going, some of these mons are really just a death sentence for it.

Great Tusk @ Booster Energy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Headlong Rush
- Bulk Up
- Close Combat

My hazard remover and occasional late game sweeper. Protosynthesis gives a speed boost which helps it switch in and revenge kill. In late game if there's fewer specially offensive threats on the table it makes for an excellent trump card- getting a bulk up off will makes it pretty difficult to kill (especially when paired with tera steel), and headlong rush & close combat let me maximize my damage at the expense of my defenses (which tend to be less important considering just how fast this thing is and how hard it can hit.

 

[j0nathan]

Cool Team!
One problem is that your Tusk has no way to hit Gholdengo with Air Balloon. I do think that Bulk Up is not the best Move on Tusk. You mainly want to use Tusk as a Revenge Killer and to remove Hazard. Ice Spinner would be a solid Option. Knock Off would also be an Option.
Spinner also helps against Serp or Dragonite you mentioned those two are threats.
Another Thing I just noticed is that you can add 4 more EV's on Dondozo. Maybe that's just a Mistake in your Description

You also are quite weak to Freeze Dry Kyurem so you really need to keep Gholdengo and Volcarona alive. Kyurem also gets Earth Power so be aware of that.

 

[lifeinthezone]

Cool Team!
One problem is that your Tusk has no way to hit Gholdengo with Air Balloon. I do think that Bulk Up is not the best Move on Tusk. You mainly want to use Tusk as a Revenge Killer and to remove Hazard. Ice Spinner would be a solid Option. Knock Off would also be an Option.
Spinner also helps against Serp or Dragonite you mentioned those two are threats.
Another Thing I just noticed is that you can add 4 more EV's on Dondozo. Maybe that's just a Mistake in your Description

You also are quite weak to Freeze Dry Kyurem so you really need to keep Gholdengo and Volcarona alive. Kyurem also gets Earth Power so be aware of that.

You know, probably a good call! Bulk up only sees occasional use and mostly in situations where it's not super necessary. And yeah, freeze dry kyurem is a rough match up that i don't have much choice but to tank and pray lol.

 

[j0nathan]

You know, probably a good call! Bulk up only sees occasional use and mostly in situations where it's not super necessary. And yeah, freeze dry kyurem is a rough match up that i don't have much choice but to tank and pray lol.

Maybe you should swap out Dondozo for Zamazenta. A strong Body Press User, still bulky and he can really deal with Kyurem.

 

[lifeinthezone]

Maybe you should swap out Dondozo for Zamazenta. A strong Body Press User, still bulky and he can really deal with Kyurem.

Hmm- good idea but I feel like having an unaware pokemon is SUPER useful for my team- I could switch clodsire to unaware, but then i'd be losing out on having a good switch in for water threats. I guess Gholdengo could fill that niche, though.

 

[Roller K]

Welcome back to Pokemon! It's been quite a while since you made a team, so this is quite impressive for your first go at SV OU. There are some weaknesses I wanted to address with the team, considering the current meta, so I made some modifications and would like to suggest changes you can make to the team. The Pokepaste to my version of the team is right below.

My version:

Changes

1. > : I like as a win condition for some teams, but it felt a bit out of place for your team. You lack any form of speed control, especially after I changed the set to fit the team's purpose better. 300 Speed as your top speed is not an option as common breakers will shred through the team (e.g. //). You also lack a Ghost resist, which can be problematic for mixed or Choice Specs as well as . To combat this a bit, I debated between and . They both have great speed control, are Dark type to resist Ghost, and remove items with Knock Off so hazards can be more potent. felt like a better pick for the team. It resists Ground which can be annoying for your team, and it provides better coverage in Flower Trick. 4 attacks feel most optimal; Low Kick punishes /, Triple Axel punishes //Dragon/Grass, and Flower Trick is spammable since it always crits and goes through stat changes. Tera Ice gives you more power on Triple Axel, but you can make it Tera Electric to be immune to paralysis. U-turn felt unnecessary since your team is tanky and meant to handle hard switches.

2. : With no special attack investment and no Nasty Plot, Make it Rain will not be dealing enough damage, especially for a move that only has 8 PP. I believe Nasty Plot > Make it Rain will be more valuable for this set. While there are a handful of Ghost resists in the meta, none appreciate Thunder Wave outside of who beats you anyway. You can wear down these Ghost resists over time by baiting them in with , using Thunder Wave, and chipping them down with hazards each time they come in on . Using Hex as your only attacking move is okay, as there are no Normal-types in OU and no Pokemon in OU that terastallize into Normal. Tera Ghost > Flying makes you a really potent spin blocker, meaning your hazards will stay up for far longer.

3. : Initially, I had a hard time identifying how would best serve the team. It felt necessary since Knock Off + hazard stack hurts your team if can't absorb Knock Off for the team. I took this team down the path of Bulky Balance, and you already have a sturdy defensive core in ///, so I made the set-up win condition for the team instead of . trainer_j0nathan made some good suggestions for better coverage on the set. Usually, I would opt for Headlong Rush and Ice Spinner, but your team already handles opposing well enough to not warrant the Ice coverage; not to mention, has the team covered on that end. It is still a viable option if you prefer using it on the set, but I believe Knock Off > Close Combat is the best option for the team. This gives you three Knock Off users, which means you apply a lot more pressure with hazards and take advantage of 's great removal-blocking ability. You also hit opposing hard, which can be a great benefit for your team since is Water Absorb and nothing on the team takes it on well. Tera Fire > Steel prevents from being burned, but you can change this. I mainly changed it because I adjusted other teras and did not want three Steel teras.

4. : While this is not a hard-set rule, the general rule of thumb is should only be specially defensive if it is a Curse set. Otherwise, physical defense is most optimal. In this meta, you value max physical defense to better take on //////etc. Tera Dragon was better before the DLC due to 's massive presence, but I like Tera Steel a lot more on this team. It resists Wood Hammer , Acrobatics , Outrage in a pinch, and other common threats that could get out of hand and easily break your team. Heavy-Duty Boots > Leftovers is necessary to not get worn down by hazards.

5. : Tera Steel > Flying. Flying is great for physically defensive/offensive Pokemon, as most Ground moves are physical and from physically defensive Pokemon. is a special wall, so its tera type should suit its role. Tera Fairy used to be the common option to wall , but with the new threats in the metagame, I opted for Tera Steel. You resist Ice Beam , Psyshock /, Future Sight , and you retain your Dragon resistance that Tera Fairy would provide. I acknowledge that this means Tera Ground + Tera Blast wins as soon as is chipped down or fainted, but you are bound to have some rough matchups. Tera Steel provides more benefits than Tera Fairy in my opinion, and I suggest it. Heavy-Duty Boots > Leftovers is necessary to not get worn down by hazards.

6. : Since I made a physical wall, if you kept EVs the same, you would have 3 physical walls and only 1 special wall. You cannot rely on just for special bulk. Max special defense on does not make it a special tank by any means, but it will live a surprising amount of special hits and heal it off slowly with Poison Heal + Protect. You still keep a strong defense stat as well, so you become more of a well-rounded tank for the team.

There are many ways you can adjust the team to your liking, but I think these suggestions will help optimize the squad and improve your success on ladder. I hope these suggestions help!

 

[lifeinthezone]

Welcome back to Pokemon! It's been quite a while since you made a team, so this is quite impressive for your first go at SV OU. There are some weaknesses I wanted to address with the team, considering the current meta, so I made some modifications and would like to suggest changes you can make to the team. The Pokepaste to my version of the team is right below.

My version:

Changes

1. > : I like as a win condition for some teams, but it felt a bit out of place for your team. You lack any form of speed control, especially after I changed the set to fit the team's purpose better. 300 Speed as your top speed is not an option as common breakers will shred through the team (e.g. //). You also lack a Ghost resist, which can be problematic for mixed or Choice Specs as well as . To combat this a bit, I debated between and . They both have great speed control, are Dark type to resist Ghost, and remove items with Knock Off so hazards can be more potent. felt like a better pick for the team. It resists Ground which can be annoying for your team, and it provides better coverage in Flower Trick. 4 attacks feel most optimal; Low Kick punishes /, Triple Axel punishes //Dragon/Grass, and Flower Trick is spammable since it always crits and goes through stat changes. Tera Ice gives you more power on Triple Axel, but you can make it Tera Electric to be immune to paralysis. U-turn felt unnecessary since your team is tanky and meant to handle hard switches.

2. : With no special attack investment and no Nasty Plot, Make it Rain will not be dealing enough damage, especially for a move that only has 8 PP. I believe Nasty Plot > Make it Rain will be more valuable for this set. While there are a handful of Ghost resists in the meta, none appreciate Thunder Wave outside of who beats you anyway. You can wear down these Ghost resists over time by baiting them in with , using Thunder Wave, and chipping them down with hazards each time they come in on . Using Hex as your only attacking move is okay, as there are no Normal-types in OU and no Pokemon in OU that terastallize into Normal. Tera Ghost > Flying makes you a really potent spin blocker, meaning your hazards will stay up for far longer.

3. : Initially, I had a hard time identifying how would best serve the team. It felt necessary since Knock Off + hazard stack hurts your team if can't absorb Knock Off for the team. I took this team down the path of Bulky Balance, and you already have a sturdy defensive core in ///, so I made the set-up win condition for the team instead of . trainer_j0nathan made some good suggestions for better coverage on the set. Usually, I would opt for Headlong Rush and Ice Spinner, but your team already handles opposing well enough to not warrant the Ice coverage; not to mention, has the team covered on that end. It is still a viable option if you prefer using it on the set, but I believe Knock Off > Close Combat is the best option for the team. This gives you three Knock Off users, which means you apply a lot more pressure with hazards and take advantage of 's great removal-blocking ability. You also hit opposing hard, which can be a great benefit for your team since is Water Absorb and nothing on the team takes it on well. Tera Fire > Steel prevents from being burned, but you can change this. I mainly changed it because I adjusted other teras and did not want three Steel teras.

4. : While this is not a hard-set rule, the general rule of thumb is should only be specially defensive if it is a Curse set. Otherwise, physical defense is most optimal. In this meta, you value max physical defense to better take on //////etc. Tera Dragon was better before the DLC due to 's massive presence, but I like Tera Steel a lot more on this team. It resists Wood Hammer , Acrobatics , Outrage in a pinch, and other common threats that could get out of hand and easily break your team. Heavy-Duty Boots > Leftovers is necessary to not get worn down by hazards.

5. : Tera Steel > Flying. Flying is great for physically defensive/offensive Pokemon, as most Ground moves are physical and from physically defensive Pokemon. is a special wall, so its tera type should suit its role. Tera Fairy used to be the common option to wall , but with the new threats in the metagame, I opted for Tera Steel. You resist Ice Beam , Psyshock /, Future Sight , and you retain your Dragon resistance that Tera Fairy would provide. I acknowledge that this means Tera Ground + Tera Blast wins as soon as is chipped down or fainted, but you are bound to have some rough matchups. Tera Steel provides more benefits than Tera Fairy in my opinion, and I suggest it. Heavy-Duty Boots > Leftovers is necessary to not get worn down by hazards.

6. : Since I made a physical wall, if you kept EVs the same, you would have 3 physical walls and only 1 special wall. You cannot rely on just for special bulk. Max special defense on does not make it a special tank by any means, but it will live a surprising amount of special hits and heal it off slowly with Poison Heal + Protect. You still keep a strong defense stat as well, so you become more of a well-rounded tank for the team.

There are many ways you can adjust the team to your liking, but I think these suggestions will help optimize the squad and improve your success on ladder. I hope these suggestions help!

WOW!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE IN DEPTH SUGGESTIONS! I'm gonna try this out and see where it gets me!