ORAS OU Night Sky

[HailFall]

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✧Introduction✧
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Hi everyone, I'm HailFall. Some of you probably know me already, but I'm an OU player who dabbles in a few other tiers and posts a good amount on the OU forums. On PS I usually spend my time in the OU room discussing the metagame with other people, chilling in other rooms, or tilting on the ladder. I started playing OU around October 2015 and I'm still learning it to an extent but I definitely really enjoy the tier and the community. This team is one I'm very happy with so I'm posting it here!

The main idea behind this team is to, in each game, use Mega Metagross' ability to pressure bulky Ground-types and Pursuit trap to make it easier for Terrakion or Manaphy to clean late game. Choice Scarf Terrakion is a really slept on threat honestly and it puts in all kinds of work against common offensive teams with a little prediction. The decline in Hippowdon usage especially helps it to clean with ease after the opponent's Ground-type has been weakened enough by repeatedly switching into Metagross' and Terrakion's STAB moves. Manaphy is without a doubt one of if not the best win condition against defensively inclined teams, making it a great pick to take advantage of the builds Terrakion cannot. Unfortunately, many of these kinds of teams carry something along the lines of Latios to revenge kill Manaphy and prevent it from getting out of hand. That's where Metagross comes in, tanking a Draco Meteor and then Pursuit trapping the Latios to prevent it from coming in again to halt a Manaphy sweep. The remainder of the team is focused on checking and countering the Pokemon that pose a threat to this strategy being carried out successfully and to provide valuable support such as Stealth Rock.

✧Teambuilding✧

Not a ton to say other than I wanted to build around Mega Metagross because its a pretty solid mon overall, so thats what I did.

Most people run Latios as a revenge killer for Manaphy, so I figured pursuit Mega Metagross would make a pretty sick partner. Metagross also has a decent offense matchup while Manaphy has a good matchup against defensive teams, so that was another thing that drew me to this core.

Team was looking kind of weak to Bisharp and Weavile so I felt Terrakion would be a good addition. I could have gone Keldeo here but i liked the dynamic of pressuring grounds for each other that it has with Metagross.

Everything was looking a bit weak to Mega Scizor, and I wanted a more reliable switch-in to stuff steels usually switch into than Metagross is, so I thought Heatran would be a nice addition. Its also just a super versatile and great mon to run in general; pretty hard to go wrong with.

Latios was nice here to give me a check to some pretty threatening mons like Keldeo and fast Electric-types. It was also a decent water resist and something to stop Rotom-W from dancing around on this team without anything to heavily pressure it.

Lando-T was needed as my last to provide a check to a billion things like Mega Lopunny and sand and its also a rocker to free up a slot on Heatran's moveset. It was also needed for the sake of protecting against other grounds like opposing Landorus-T which were just a massive headache for this team to handle.

✧Team✧

C O M E T

Mega Metagross
Item: Metagrossite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 244 Atk / 12 Def / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
[Meteor Mash] [Hammer Arm] [Thunder Punch] [Pursuit]
​

Metagross is the mega I built around, and its a very solid mon, so much so that it was at one point suspect tested. It has everything; power, speed, bulk, and coverage (and unfortunately a bad case of 4mss too). While the current metagame may not be as kind to it as it once was, it's still a great offensive tank and its job on this team is to both smash walls and Pursuit trap. Its also an offensive check to Clefable, Mega Pinsir, Kyurem-B, and Mega Gardevoir and a soft check to Mega Diancie.

Meteor Mash is the only STAB move my Metagross is running, and it does a fantastic job of doing a large chunk of damage to nearly anything that doesn't resist it. Hammer Arm is almost compulsory providing great coverage alongside Meteor Mash as it gives a way to hit Heatran, Jirachi, Ferrothorn, and Magnezone for good damage. I'd been debating between Thunder Punch and Ice Punch in this slot but given the team's weaknesses I decided Thunder Punch was best. It gives Metagross solid coverage for pokemon like Keldeo, Manaphy, Suicune, Slowking, specially defensive Skarmory, and Slowbro while also applying pressure to physically defensive Skarmory as with a bit of prior damage + Stealth Rock damage Thunder Punch is a 2HKO. Pursuit is a great move for dealing large sums of damage to retreating pokemon like Latios, Jirachi, and non-Heat Wave Tornadus-T which supports Manaphy in ways previously stated. 12 Defense EVs are a minor detail but they allow Mega Metagross to live Adamant Life Orb Bisharp's Sucker Punch from full HP should the need arise. Aside from that the EVs are standard.

M O O N

Manaphy
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
IVs: 0 Atk
[Scald] [Ice Beam] [Energy Ball] [Tail Glow]
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Manaphy is a really nice mon overall that many defensive teams simply don't have reliable counterplay to. It runs through stall with ease even when not using Rain Dance and makes quite a few teams just click X. Like Mega Metagross, Manaphy may be past its prime, but it still cannot be understated how threatening of a win condition Manaphy is. Manaphy doesn't exactly check much of anything in particular for this team, but its fantastic coverage lets it do a reasonably good job of revenge killing Pokemon like Belly Drum Azumarill, Slowbro, Mega Scizor, and Choice Band Tyranitar if their check on this team is unable to do so.

The set is standard, with Scald as Manaphy's STAB move it can use to fish for burns and is its main way of dealing damage to everything that doesnt resist it. Ice Beam allows Manaphy to hit Grass- and Dragon-types like Amoonguss and Latios for super effective damage. Energy Ball lets Manaphy hit Rotom-W, Slowbro, and other Water-types super effectively and eliminate them with ease. Tail Glow is what makes Manaphy such a potent offensive threat, getting it to +3 in a single turn and letting it wreak havoc on anything slower than it not named Chansey or Unaware Clefable.

A S T E R O I D

Terrakion
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
[Close Combat] [Stone Edge] [Rock Slide] [Toxic]
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Terrakion is my next mon and it's here as a secondary path to victory better suited to clean up offensive teams than Manaphy. Metagross denting the tier's fat Ground-types lets Terrakion go to town late game and obliterate offense with relative ease. Scarf is a really great Terrakion set even if Choice Band is overall better in this meta. On this team Scarf is definitely needed though, as it aids Terrakion in revenge killing threats such as Volcarona, Mega Charizard X, Mega and non-Mega Alakazam, Weavile, and Tornadus-T to name a few. Scarf also has a bit of surprise factor which can let it more easily carry out its job. Terrakion is also my check to Bisharp and Tyranitar which can conveniently take advantage of choiced Pursuit trappers with Justified, dissuading things like Tyranitar from trying to pursuit trap my Latios.

Close Combat is very powerful STAB even without a boosting item which is very spammable and great for revenge killing. Stone Edge is secondary STAB that works well in tandem with Close Combat and deals solid damage to most Flying-types that would try to come into it. Defensive Landorus-T variants don't take a significant amount from it but the increasingly popular scarfed variants do, and lefties Lando is continuing to decline in usage meaning very few will have the longevity to consistenly tank hits from both this and Mega Metagross. Rock Slide is another disgustingly spammable move because of Rock being a great offensive typing, better accuracy than stone edge, and Rock Slide's nifty flinch chance which has gotten me out of a few sticky situations in the past. Its used for when the increased accuracy is more important than the extra power. Toxic may seem odd on a scarf user, but its here as a lure for Hippowdon and Slowbro which are frustrating for this team to handle otherwise.

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G A L A X Y

Heatran
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
IVs: 0 Atk
[Magma Storm] [Lava Plume] [Earth Power] [Toxic] [Taunt]
​

Heatran is an insanely splashable mon in the current metagame, and it is here as it provides invaluable offensive and defensive utility to this team with its great typing. First and foremost, it serves as a Mega Scizor check. Mega Scizor could run right through this team provided that Manaphy can't scald burn it, and it comes in for free on two members of the current team. It's a more reliable switch-in to Latios and Latias than Mega Metagross, and it also serves as a secondary check to Clefable. Furthermore, heatran is important in the stall matchup as it can trap and remove or weaken Chansey (depending on how lucky you get) with Magma Storm for Manaphy to more easily sweep. In addition to this, its another effective lure for Slowbro with Toxic and it just does a great job of wearing down bulky waters which can be a pain for this team.

This moveset is standard for the stallbreaker set. Magma Storm is a STAB move that stings even without any investment and is great for chipping away at things in general and breaking stall by isolating their mons. Earth Power lets my Heatran hit other Heatran and is a more accurate way of dealing damage to the opponent. Toxic is great for chipping away at the fat water types that love switching into Heatran like Rotom-W and Slowbro, both of which are somewhat irritating for this team. Finally taunt is used to let Heatran more effectively break down bulky mons like Chansey and Clefable by halting their recovery.

S H O O T I N G S T A R

Latios
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
[Draco Meteor] [Surf] [Hidden Power Fire] [Roost]
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Latios is a very important member of this team that keeps a whole slew of threats in check with its great typing. It prevents Keldeo, Volcanion, Mega Manectric, and Mega Charizard Y from becoming too threatening, which the team appreciates greatly. It also does a great job of baiting in Mega Scizor and then slamming it with Hidden Power Fire, making it much easier for Mega Metagross to carry out its job.

Draco Meteor is Latios' ridiculously powerful STAB move which in most situations is enough to force the opponent to switch into a Steel- or Fairy-type in order to eat it. Surf is used to hit Heatran, one of the most common Latios checks as well as to prevent it from being total Tyranitar bait. Hidden Power Fire works very well alongside these two other moves as it smacks Ferrothorn and, most importantly, Mega Scizor that think they're safe after Surf has been revealed, assuming Latios is running Psyshock and Defog or Roost in the remaining two slots. This set is very effective at breaking down the common Heatran + Mega Scizor archetypes that can give Mega Metagross problems, and nearly any team lacking a Clefable or Chansey really. Roost is used in the final slot to give Latios the necessary longevity to take on threats like Keldeo consistently.

P L A N E T

Therian Forme Landorus
Item: Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 172 Def / 88 Spe 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Nature: Lax Impish
[Earthquake] [Hidden Power Ice] [Stealth Rock] [U-turn]
​

Landorus-T is a key support Pokemon for this team that checks Mega Lopunny, Excadrill, Garchomp, and opposing Mega Metagross with its great bulk after Intimidate and typing. It also helps to wear down the opposing team with its Rocky Helmet while also providing support to Mega Metagross and Terrakion with Stealth Rock. Furthermore it provides U-turn support to generate momentum for the rest of my team, making it a great fit.

This is a slight alteration of the standard moveset better suited to this team. Earthquake is Lando-T's STAB that hits quite hard even without any attack investment and kills most of the things it checks. Hidden Power Ice is very important on this Lando as my team has very limited counterplay to certain threats like SD + Salac Garchomp and dual dance Landorus-T, meaing Lando cannot afford to be passive against them. Stealth Rock is an incredibly important support move to have on a team, and Lando-T makes a great setter. U-turn is great for grabbing momentum on things like Skarmory or Tangrowth coming in and avoid the tempo of the match being shifted out of my favor. 88 Speed is enough to outspeed and potentially KO Modest Volcanion that try to revenge kill Lando, as Latios isnt the most solid answer in the world. It also helps a bit against Breloom, possibly stopping it from getting off a free spore.

✧Threatlist✧
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Gengar can be frustrating to deal with when using this team. Its not like its unbeatable because scarf Terrakion can pretty comfortably revenge kill it and Heatran lives a hit and retaliates hard (not like focus blast is actually hitting anyways lmao). It doesnt come in on much either but make sure to play carefully when its on the opponent's team.

Mega Diancie with Earth Power is a bit threatening, as it does a big chunk to Metagross and OHKOes Heatran. Again Manaphy can live a hit and retaliate, while Terrakion can revenge kill after a bit of prior damage so the matchup isn't too bad its just another mon to watch out for.

Twave Slowbro finds ample opportunities to come in and spread paralysis on this team. CM Variants aren't that hard to stop as I have Manaphy but twave ones can be frustrating. This isn't exactly a big threat as much as it is annoying, but Latios can revenge kill it and Toxic Heatran and Terrakion lure it pretty well.

✧Importable✧
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Importable

Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 244 Atk / 12 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Hammer Arm
- Thunder Punch
- Pursuit

Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Energy Ball
- Tail Glow

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Rock Slide
- Toxic

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Toxic
- Taunt

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Roost

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn

 

[bludz]

Hey man I think I told you I think this is kind of a weird team lol. But I like it, it's pretty original and the concept is slick.

Outside of your current threatlist I notice that SubSeed Serperior is extremely annoying to your team. I also think its a bit weak to Excadrill outside of Landorus-T which is manageable but something to note.

I don't have a lot of suggestions but just a couple small changes I think might be an improvement.

First off I really think Magma Storm on Heatran is kind of unnecessary. Sure, it traps and helps wear things down, but it's also extremely unreliable and can cost you against mons like SubSeed Serp or Mega Scizor which it might otherwise be one of your primary checks to. I would honestly just run Lava Plume in this slot and I think you'll end up accomplishing the same thing in large part. Be careful about burning Slowbro instead of Toxic-ing it (although this still makes it a shaky switchin to Metagross) I guess but otherwise should just be a more reliable way to dish out damage and I think is better against Sableye which is kind of annoying for your team. With Manaphy in the back you already have a pretty solid matchup with bulky teams and you can wear down Chansey with Heatran regardless.

Second thing is regarding your Landorus-T. I'm really not a fan of these Lax Landorus-Ts which run speed. It just seems like a really inefficient use of EVs to me most of the time just to get a little extra damage in a few scenarios. I think I would just run a bulkier spread something like 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe Impish Nature. This allows you to check Excadrill (a big threat to your team) a bit better and helps with some of the other physical attackers you may come up against. HP Ice isn't going to OHKO Double Dance Landorus-T or SubSalac Garchomp anyway - it remains a 2HKO on these mons even if you are a -SpA nature. I guess it's not quite as good against Gliscor but still pressures it. The other thing is I don't think you need the speed for Volcanion - it's threatened big time by almost every other member on your team and you do have 2 pretty decent switch-ins to it already.

Other than that I like most of your choices a lot. I don't really think the 12 Def on Metagross is needed given that you have Terrakion as a strong Bisharp check and Heatran and Manaphy which take it on from full. I guess it helps when you don't have switch-ins but yeah.

Anyway, I like this team a lot. I hope even if you don't take my suggestions, that you understand where they are coming from.

 

[power]

Interesting team.

Bludz hit most of the points - I'd just modify the evs on Landorus-T to 248 HP/244 Def/8 SpD/8 Spe to eat hp ice from Mega Manectric in a pinch - its not exactly common, and you have a latios, but taking 8 EVs out of Defense doesn't exactly hurt.

Additionally, I'd run Ice Punch over Hammer arm on Metagross. Your team seems to handle most of the threats that Hammer Arm hits well anyway, such as Heatran and Ferro (Considering you have Surf + HP Fire Lati, a Terrak, a Manaphy, and a Heatran). You also have TPunch for Skarm. Makes Magnezone a bit annoying, but who's switching that into Gross anyway?

Ice Punch Lets you deal with Garchomp and Landorus-T much better, meaning if you need your own Landorus-T healthy for another threat, you're not forced to go to it, especially since nothing else on this team wants to take damage from an opposing Lando-T EQ/U-turn needlessly. (Manaphy likes being at full, and everything hates the loss of momentum when your opponent U-turns as you switch out.)

 

[Broken Promises;]

Hi HailFall, not bad the Team, but there are some problems.
First I noticed that your Dark Check is Terrakion, it isn't really good for this job, 'cause any Dark can hit and kill it: Bisharp has got Iron Head, Tyranitar Superpower and Weavile can Knock Out ur Scarf and next kill you with Low Kick... Terrakion yes, is a great Pokèmon, but can't take the pressure of some Dark Types. Calcs:

252 Atk Life Orb Bisharp Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Terrakion: 361-429 (111.7 - 132.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Terrakion: 105-125 (32.5 - 38.6%) -- 99.1% chance to 3HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Weavile Icicle Crash vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Terrakion: 187-222 (57.8 - 68.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Weavile Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Terrakion: 354-416 (109.5 - 128.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyranitar Superpower vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Terrakion: 480-566 (148.6 - 175.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
​

As you said, on the Switch every Pokèmon can hard hit it. So, you can run Scarf Keldeo>Terrakion. Keldeo and Pursuit Mega Metagross can do very nice jobs, Pursuit Metagross takes the Latwins, win the 1v1 vs Clefable and Celebi, Keldeo is a good revengekiller that counter all Dark Types, the first threat for Teams with Metagross.

>

So you can't lose the Revengekiller and your team can be more solid. Next, you must change Manaphy with a more synergic wincon, and like you saw this team has got problems against Slowbro and Gengar (too few problem vs RD Mana). So you can run Thundurus Nasty Plot>Manaphy: it's very speedy, very nice coverage and fuck all Manaphies and Slowbros, hits pretty well Gengar too.

>

Now, I don't agree about the lack of Defog on Latios: you also have Heatran to Shot enemy Steels, and you have 2 Pokèmon (now, before this rate 3) that are weak to Spikes. Imo putting a Hazard Control move is better than one move of Coverage. Second, in this team Magma Storm Tran can work better than the Lava Plume user so you can trap Talonflame, Mew and Chansey and kill them with the combination Toxic-Taunt. Also you can run an offensive Spread, that take one more Chansey's Seismic Toss: 64 HP / 192 SpA / 252 Spe Timid Nature
At the last, move that 8 EVs on Spe of LandoT to SpD and put 29 IVs for U-Turning EVERY TIMES after enemies Landorus-T.

fixed team

Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 244 Atk / 12 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Hammer Arm
- Thunder Punch
- Pursuit

Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpD
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Bug]

Thundurus @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 64 HP / 192 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Toxic
- Taunt

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Defog
- Roost

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def / 29 Spe
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn

Hope help you ^o^