Fake out stops your opponent from taking advantage of you turn one and setting up. I do agree that protect is a very underrated option though, especially on full stall teams with unaware mons.
-
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
-
Congrats to the winners of the 2024 Smog Awards!
Resource ORAS OU Simple Questions, Simple Answers MKII (Read the OP First!) (Now with 100% more Rules!!!)
- Thread starter ginganinja
- Start date
Nah Sableye doesn't really have space for Protect. Fake Out is pretty iffy at best anyway, mainly being held back by the fact that Sableye has literally no slots to give up in the first place, and given that Protect doesn't really achieve much in the first place it's a pretty bad option on it. Fake Out should only ever be used on teams which desparately need to ensure a safe mega with Sableye e.g. Wonder Trio, and using Protect over it defeats the entire purpose it's being run in the first place and just completely wastes a slot that could be used more productively on Taunt or KOff/Foul Play.
Protect gets the safe mega just like fakeout, which is the main point of running either move but I kinda agree with Hailfall's point about setup sweepers.
MegaGarde going for CM on the protect, and again on the switch will put the stall team on a big hole, unless it's running Unaware spdef clef. Quag gets murdered anyway and chansey won't like the psyshocks.
Ya I agree with HailFall's point (I thought I had worded it saying that Tect serves the same purpose but now that I reread it I obvi didn't rip), I was just saying that Tect doesn't achieve anything that Fake doesn't do better considering that it achieves the same purpose except worse.
Specs kyurem-b doesnt hit as hard but can nail rotom-w with earth power because of teravolt rather than relying on draco. It can also 2hko mega venu by bypassing thick fat (normal kyu has a good chance to do this after rocks too tho). Normal kyu is better with specs imo as it has better special attack, the suprise value has worn off a lot with kyu-b, and it doesnt need to run modest to 2hko clef meaning it can tie with +spe kyu-b.
See Gary2346's post about Specs Kyurem-B vs Specs Kyurem. Inspired by CBB
http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/oras-ou-metagame-discussion.3546114/page-32#post-6834006
http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/oras-ou-metagame-discussion.3546114/page-32#post-6834006
For defensive Zapdos - is pressure still opted for over static? I noticed on the smogon user stats -> moveset -> 1825 OU that 75% of people are still using pressure.
Zapdos niche is in Defog but it isn't compatible with Static which is why people use presure
pressure is better for pp stalling people out of low pp moves like magma storm on subtoxic sets and defog is illegal with static lol
zapdos is more of a defensive tank and teams that use it as a defogger are usually super pressured by rocks and subpar versions of what they could be with a more reliable defogger
Why does sableye need to "safely mega"? It doesn't need to get a speed increase like with mega lopunny, it doesn't deal lots of chip damage like it would with lopunny or medicham, you waste a turn getting rid of the wonderful prankster, and magic guard doesn't need a turn to activate.
Say if your opponent leads clefable and they have ferro the back. You need to safely mega before to reliably switch into ferro and deflect hazards
It's just an interesting option to use against lead mega diancie and other mons that threaten msab so that lando cant get rocks up early game. vs u
Last edited:
On specific teams, being able to gain Magic Bounce without taking damage can be important to ensure you are as healthy as possible. Due to it's low speed it can have trouble getting off a Recover if it's weakened too much, so being able to stay healthy is good for teams where Magic Bounce is desparately needed.
I want to get into OU, but I have little practical knowledge of the tier outside of watching a bunch of youtubers playing it. However, I dont care much for sample teams as one of the integral joys of pokemon is the team building aspect. How hard is it to build a halfway decent team in OU without much personal experience? I know my first try is not going to be amazing (I think I am going to build around Mega Diancie and HP Fire Kyurem Black), but I am somewhat intimidated by the sheer number of options available in OU and just want to know beforehand if I get into a hopeless endeavor.
I do have a general idea how team building works in other tiers and how pokemon in general is played, if that helps.
I do have a general idea how team building works in other tiers and how pokemon in general is played, if that helps.
I'll link you a few good resources for getting started with teambuilding in OU. Because you have the basics down, you should be able to put these to good use.
http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...anking-thread-v5-see-page-7-post-169.3571990/
http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/oras-good-cores.3570645/
http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/oras-ou-role-compendium-v2.3541745/
http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/oras-ou-sets-viability-rankings-v5.3572209/
http://hidden50.github.io/brmt/
At the end of the day, building is very much a matter of trial and error. Additionally, some theoretical checks/counters often lose in a practical scenario (e.g. Tauntless Tran/Talon v.s. CM+T-wave Clef) and as such it is made a little bit more daunting. The best advice I can give you for a metagame like OU is to just bite the bullet and you will eventually get used to it.
It's not too hard to make anything decent, it's just the choice of Pokemon that you have to watch out for.
For example, Mega Diancie + Kyurem-B is a kinda hard core to build around considering the support that Kyurem-B needs to be used to its full potential and the amount of threats the core is weak to. It's a more advanced type of core you build around after you're comfortable with your building skills.
You should definetely check out the good cores thread and pick a few cores that you like and try to build around them. The best way to determine if a team is good is by testing it out and making appropriate changes. Just known that its pretty impossible to account for every single threat in the metagame, so don't let that determine if your teams are good or not. Be sure to actually take account of the more common threats though like Mega Diancie, Mega Scizor, Keldeo, Weavile, etc.
Thanks a lot for the responses, guys. I guess I will just go ahead and try my best. Wont build around MDancie and Kyurem any more, either. I think I would like to build a VoltTurn team, it is generally my preferred archetype, especially when learning a new tier. Can you recommend me a good VoltTurn core? I have only found a single one skimming through the good cores thread, and I am not a big fan of Breloom so I would rather use something else :)
Edit: Nevermind, I am an idiot and apparently have no idea which mons learn VoltTurn in OU. Found more cores.
Edit: Nevermind, I am an idiot and apparently have no idea which mons learn VoltTurn in OU. Found more cores.
PhysDef Lando-T+defensive Rotom-W is pretty much the bread-and-butter core for BO and balance, and it happens to be a VoltTurn core. Pair it with powerful wallbreakers such as Nidoking etc. and something with a good matchup v.s. offense e.g. Tect+3 attacks MDiancie, MMan, Scarf Keld etc. and you should get on fine. Pursuit is also rlly good in OU and good trappers such as TTar pair well with splashable mons like Keld and Lando anyway whereas something like Dugtrio appreciates Lando+WashTom's slow VoltTurn support.
electric + tornadus-therian is a really reliable one to start (the electric would generally be rotom-wash), raikou or mega manectric + landorus-therian (or rotom-wash again, it fits on everything), and you are willing to go even further, mega beedrill is at your disposal!
Rotom-wash is generally a constant on volt turn, extremely reliable pivot and excellent mon in general.
Rotom-wash is generally a constant on volt turn, extremely reliable pivot and excellent mon in general.
The thing with OU, at least what I believe is that you have to always try out what you think will work. I've had times where I thought something will be awesome on paper but when I try it out it isn't great, or it surpasses my expectations. Don't be too intimidated by the options, you'll eventually get a grasp at what is popular and what the general threats are
Hoopa U got banned to Ubers, tier shifts (Zapdos, Amoongus, Quagsire, normal Alakazam moved up to OU, Sylveon, Conkeldurr, Celebi, Mega Zam, Mega Altaria moved down to UU). Probably more things that others can add that I just can't remember.
Why is Blaziken so OP, even though it has so many counters?