Not Safe For Life by Slowest Poke (2000+)

[Slowestpoke]

Not Safe for Life by Slowestpoke

Hi this is my first post in rmt. I've made lots of teams for my own use but wanted feedback on this team. I based it around Heracross and it isn't perfect but I have a lot of fun playing with these pokemon. I made it to the 2000 range but have trouble getting higher. Good feedback should help me get a better rank!

Heracross (M) @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Rock Blast
- Substitute

This is the pokemon I built this team around. Heracross has always been my favorite pokemon since Generation 2 and I believe he is one of the most underrated Mega pokemon. When a sub is up it can easily take out a poke or two. The designers fused Big Bad Beetleborgs with Popeye to form a humiliatingly badass ball of destruction.

His movepool is quite good but Rock Blast is the only ability to utilize Skill Link, the other two, although devastating, are for coverage. Aegislash gets obliterated by EQ and Rotom-W does not enjoy taking a Close Combat. Rock Blast occasionally misses and is resisted by ground types but is the cornerstone to this set. Even defensive Gliscor is annoyed by the power of Rock Blast. Jolly nature helps Heracross outspeed stuff and things.


Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge

I love Terrakion. He is a no bullshit lead that puts every team in their place. His purpose is to set up rocks and die… Everything more than that is simply icing on the cake. Mirror Coat is the ultimate annoyance but very rare. Counters pretty much every lame lead including but not limited to Smeargle, Deoxys-D and Mega Charizard.


Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Protect
- Roar
- Toxic

Heatran hasn’t changed very much. His ugly face is never a welcome sight for the opposition. I chose the specially defensive variant because of his ability to take special hits and phase out threats. His fear of fighting moves is compensated by Togekiss’s resistance to them. Lava Plume spreads burn which can be very convenient. I tried putting a balloon on him but he is too reliant on leftovers. An offensive spread kills his synergy with Togekiss.


Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 216 SDef / 44 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave

Togekiss and heatran together sport a dizzy duo of resistances. The core brings balance to a team of attackers. Togekiss’s thunder wave is a dream come true for poor Heracross who is awkwardly slow. Air Slash has above average coverage. Heal Bell is appreciated for its ability to heal Heracross and Aegislash, who are terrorized by WoW. Heal Bell also removes Toxic, a common response to Togekiss. Stealth Rock reduces survivability a great deal, there is definitely a case to get a spinner onto the team because Togekiss is a star player.


Aegislash @ Choice Band
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Shadow Claw
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Sneak

Aegislash is a simple attacker. I gave him a choice band to avoid Swords Dance. The Choice Band tends to catch people off guard too, most expect a Kings Shield or switch but get a healthy chunk of their life off from Shadow Claw. Sacred Sword is perfect for punishing switches. Aegislash is more of a throwaway poke like Terrakion. I just use him for his amazing neutral coverage and rapid spin prevention.


Greninja @ Life Orb or Choice Specs
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Dark Pulse
- U-turn

Everyone who has used Greninja knows how powerful of a poke he is. Most of the time I use him to force switches and maintain pressure in combination with rocks. The only thing he truly fears is a mach punch or vacuum wave which Aegislash has the capacity to negate. I make good use of his STAB Ice Beam. Dark Pulse is also hilariously good for coverage, often times able to 2 HKO a Rotom-W bold enough to try and tank it. I Initially ran Life Orb, now I prefer Specs for the damage boost and lack of recoil. Might even switch to scarf to defeat scarf Excadrill & Garchomp but the damage boost would be sorely missed.​

 

[Slowestpoke]

Threats:

M-Lucario: Lucario is the top offensive threat in OU. More of a threat than even Charizard Y or Talonflame. Thanks to Adaptability and the ability to be physical or special his presence is a constant fear. Scouting is the best way to counter… The physical variant is more feared than the special. Unfortunately can OHKO M-Heracross who is normally robust enough to take hits.

Rotom-W: Although M-Heracross can outspeed and sub, the electric/water offensive combination are not easy to control. Momentum can slip out of your hands if you switch Togekiss to tank a volt turn (the damage is handled with relative ease). Hitting this bastard can be difficult but Close Combat from Hera or Dark Pulse from Greninja can get the job done depending upon the defensive investment.

Genesect: Heatran. Togekiss can neuter with Thunder Wave if they don’t run Iron Head.

Landorus-T: Annoying but doable. Greninja handles him best. M-Hera can Rock Blast his face off (But usually requires 3 turns of attacking). Togekiss turns any Landorus that lacks Stone Miss into a comedy routine but this is becoming increasingly rare. Have to be careful with U-Turn regaining momentum.

Talonflame: Heatran is the most direct counter on the team. If Hera can get behind a sub Talonflame disintegrates from a single hit of Rock Blast. Usually though I send in Heatran and Toxic, Roar if I expect a switch.

Garchomp: Greninja annihilates the poor land shark. M-Hera can sometimes overcome him with brute force. Every other member of this team fears him though.

Excadrill: Obliterated by M-Heracross or Terrakion if he is still alive. Greninja despises the Choice Scarf variants but can handle the normal sets.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Zed Blizzard]

I like that you picked a Mega who is rarely used but deals terrible things to most of the high tier threats. Charizard X might be a potential threat to consider, he can eq your heatran and with a dragon dance up might outspeed greninja and terrakion. He's a lesser threat though and not likely to survive long enough to set up if terrakion does his job at the start. Terrakion doesn't like to lead against Rotom-W or Scizor, though, so an enemy team with some combination of Rotom-W and Charizard-X might become havoc, as your threats to Charizard X are also the ones struggling with Rotom-W.

I feel your weakest member of your team right now is Aegislash. Choice Band Aegislash is great for the surprise factor and up-front damage and priority coverage. But he is slow and fragile for a throwaway member, and I feel a little more staying power could be handy, especially as you need scouting. Choice Band Scizor with knock off can take better hits, still has priority and decent coverage, and can function to support your team by removing surprise items like red cards and such that might ruin a perfectly set up Heracross. Choice Band Conkeldurr can serve as a priority hitter who can shrug off statuses to plow on. Ghost types like Cofagrigus or Jellicent might serve as better spinblockers for your team who also aren't bothered the most by status and can lay the groundwork for your team.