Hi all, I'm new to OU in this generation and after a bit of research and teambuilding I reached this team. I have climbed to about 1350, but have recently started coming off the hot-streak I was on and I am hoping that some of y'all may know some fixes for this team.
The Idea Behind the Team
This team was initially built to hate on the new rain teams that have been cropping up built around Regieleki but quickly morphed into a more generalist team. It aims to use a combination of the Cradily wall, Articuno's nice combination of health and power, and speedy mons to try and win the game.
The Team
Cradily @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Sludge Wave
- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed
What it does in the team:
Cradily is a bit of an odd addition but it has worked well as a wall against special attackers and water types. It absolutely owns Swampert and many of the mons in rain teams. It struggles against some physical attackers such as Pherosma, but generally walls out Special Attackers with its health regeneration options and can catch Bulu and other mons off-guard with Sludge wave.
Articuno-Galar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Freezing Glare
- Hurricane
- Calm Mind
- Recover
What it does in the team:
The team MVP, Articuno can quickly take over matchups with just a little luck. It is a great generalist mon that has a combination of good defenses, good health, solid speed, and a surprisingly good niche. Articuno-Galar can tank attacks from a variety of top offensive mons, often being able to take hits from top offensive mons such as Genesect or Pherosma. It can beat Blaziken, which is a great tool as well. This all combines to make it a good revenge-killing option. But that isn't where its usefulness ends. Calm Mind and Freezing Glare / Hurricane allow it to break through walls pretty easily. Recover aids in delaying toxic if needed, while also setting up for the next mon before knocking out the wall. The final nice little benefit is Competitive. This makes it a great pivot option when you are expecting a defog, often setting you up to kill the defogger if they stay in. All things considered, I think G-Articuno is being slept on in the early CT meta.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Rock Slide
What it does in the team:
Not going to bore you with too much info on Lando-T. It does good damage, are a great suicide lead or a remarkable pivot against ground and electric types. It is the lead in most games and I use it as a suicide lead unless I see a Tapu Koko, Regieleki, Hippowdon, etc. Really simple, really effective
Pheromosa @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Throat Chop
- Triple Axel
What it does in the team:
Again, simple yet effective mon. Pherosma can overwhelm even the most defensive pokemon due to its lightning-quick speed, remarkably good move pool, beast boost, and powerful attacking options that are helped by the life orb. Triple Axel isn't the most common choice, but it does a great job of breaking Sash Lando-T, Multiscale Dragonite, and some other mons that would normally tank the hit and wipe out Pherosma with one attack. Against Regieleki teams with one round of beast boost, it outspeeds the monster and most commonly scarfed pokemon. This leads me to often use it to finish a kill, and then immediately attempt to sweep. The Ultra Beast is, once again, a monster of a glass cannon.
Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- Court Change
- Sucker Punch
- U-turn
What it does in the team:
The glue, Cinderace has the only priority move on the team. This often leads to it being used to finish off kills on mons that outclass the rest of my team speed-wise. Pyro Ball is often the best way to kill a Genesect and a variety of other powerful pokemon. U-Turn and Heavy-Duty Boots makes it a great pivot to bait out attacks that otherwise wouldn't work. It also is one of my ways to kill Spectrier, which is one of the hardest counters to Articuno. Court Change does a lot of heavy lifting for this team, as it does not have defog. Provides a lot of ability to control my weaknesses, and is probably the second-best mon on this team.
Tapu Koko @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Volt Switch
- Grass Knot
What it does in the team:
Koko is a very simple mon, it provides coverage and can deal immense damage to problematic mons on the other team. Honestly, I have very little to say about why it works on this team, just that it does.
Conclusion: Thanks for reading, any help or opinions are appreciated.
The Idea Behind the Team
This team was initially built to hate on the new rain teams that have been cropping up built around Regieleki but quickly morphed into a more generalist team. It aims to use a combination of the Cradily wall, Articuno's nice combination of health and power, and speedy mons to try and win the game.
The Team
Cradily @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Sludge Wave
- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed
What it does in the team:
Cradily is a bit of an odd addition but it has worked well as a wall against special attackers and water types. It absolutely owns Swampert and many of the mons in rain teams. It struggles against some physical attackers such as Pherosma, but generally walls out Special Attackers with its health regeneration options and can catch Bulu and other mons off-guard with Sludge wave.
Articuno-Galar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Freezing Glare
- Hurricane
- Calm Mind
- Recover
What it does in the team:
The team MVP, Articuno can quickly take over matchups with just a little luck. It is a great generalist mon that has a combination of good defenses, good health, solid speed, and a surprisingly good niche. Articuno-Galar can tank attacks from a variety of top offensive mons, often being able to take hits from top offensive mons such as Genesect or Pherosma. It can beat Blaziken, which is a great tool as well. This all combines to make it a good revenge-killing option. But that isn't where its usefulness ends. Calm Mind and Freezing Glare / Hurricane allow it to break through walls pretty easily. Recover aids in delaying toxic if needed, while also setting up for the next mon before knocking out the wall. The final nice little benefit is Competitive. This makes it a great pivot option when you are expecting a defog, often setting you up to kill the defogger if they stay in. All things considered, I think G-Articuno is being slept on in the early CT meta.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Rock Slide
What it does in the team:
Not going to bore you with too much info on Lando-T. It does good damage, are a great suicide lead or a remarkable pivot against ground and electric types. It is the lead in most games and I use it as a suicide lead unless I see a Tapu Koko, Regieleki, Hippowdon, etc. Really simple, really effective
Pheromosa @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Throat Chop
- Triple Axel
What it does in the team:
Again, simple yet effective mon. Pherosma can overwhelm even the most defensive pokemon due to its lightning-quick speed, remarkably good move pool, beast boost, and powerful attacking options that are helped by the life orb. Triple Axel isn't the most common choice, but it does a great job of breaking Sash Lando-T, Multiscale Dragonite, and some other mons that would normally tank the hit and wipe out Pherosma with one attack. Against Regieleki teams with one round of beast boost, it outspeeds the monster and most commonly scarfed pokemon. This leads me to often use it to finish a kill, and then immediately attempt to sweep. The Ultra Beast is, once again, a monster of a glass cannon.
Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- Court Change
- Sucker Punch
- U-turn
What it does in the team:
The glue, Cinderace has the only priority move on the team. This often leads to it being used to finish off kills on mons that outclass the rest of my team speed-wise. Pyro Ball is often the best way to kill a Genesect and a variety of other powerful pokemon. U-Turn and Heavy-Duty Boots makes it a great pivot to bait out attacks that otherwise wouldn't work. It also is one of my ways to kill Spectrier, which is one of the hardest counters to Articuno. Court Change does a lot of heavy lifting for this team, as it does not have defog. Provides a lot of ability to control my weaknesses, and is probably the second-best mon on this team.
Tapu Koko @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Volt Switch
- Grass Knot
What it does in the team:
Koko is a very simple mon, it provides coverage and can deal immense damage to problematic mons on the other team. Honestly, I have very little to say about why it works on this team, just that it does.
Conclusion: Thanks for reading, any help or opinions are appreciated.
