Resource ORAS OU Simple Questions, Simple Answers MKII (Read the OP First!) (Now with 100% more Rules!!!)

So I am participating in a league named the SBL, and I was wondering if you guys could help me decide as to what pokémon to pick up. This is my first time participating in a league, which is the main reason I am seeking help.

I have already drafted 3 OU mons, but I need help deciding what to pick for UU, RU & NU.
My OU mons are:
- Manaphy;
- Mega Pinsir;
- Hippowdon

I realize I need a spinner or a defogger, since Mega Pinsir really doesn't appreciate SR. Tentacruel is unfortunately not an option, since I know my friend is gonna pick that, and he gets the draft before me. We are using the same snake-style drafting throughout the whole draft, and since I got 1st pick in OU, it means I get last pick in UU, 1st in RU and last in NU. BL2 is included into UU, BL3 in RU and the rest in UU.

Thank you so much for helping me :)
 
Any sugges
Ill just answer what i can answer before i pass out. Yes the opponent can see the Air Balloon, and yes Shuca Berry is a viable option over it for two reasons. It wont pop after a random u-turn, and the opponent doesnt see it coming.

And yes, magnet rise klefki is ass, shuca or balloon is better choices even though it cuts your longevity by a ton. Tbf i think you should get a ground resist/immunity which is reliable (gengar is not) onto your squad and just use klefki with lefties and no magnet rise. Ye lando will abuse you hard, but who cares. Toxic him on the switch or somethin. Its overused to hell and back but get your hands on a lando-t at the very least. Makes it so that any variation of excadrill doesnt 6-0 you (azu can revenge only as it can ko but will struggle with switch-ins)

Also hexgar prefers lefties, as statusboosted hexes hits as hard as life orb shadowball (roundabout)but with lefties it can do a better job at stallbreaking with subs will o and taunt more relia ly i guess.

And ye, leads are something for hyper offense only (or 4th gen squads), instead youll pick your lead based on the opposing squad.
Thanks for the advice! I guess Klefki doesn't play a specific role on my team like all the others. Conveniently, it's also the one pokemon I haven't bred yet. I think my team works alright with Landorus T instead of klefki. Revenge killer sound like the right role for it? I will probably just run gengar without the hex since I mostly want it to handle slowbro and clefable.
 
Which set is best for Manaphy (in terms of having the most success when laddering, where you need to worry about fighting both the Stall and hostile non-Stalls), Tail Glow + 3 Attacks, or Tail Glow + Rain Dance?
 

HailFall

my cancer is sun and my leo is moon
Which set is best for Manaphy (in terms of having the most success when laddering, where you need to worry about fighting both the Stall and hostile non-Stalls), Tail Glow + 3 Attacks, or Tail Glow + Rain Dance?
imo tail glow 3 attacks is the best set. it already pressures the hell out of stall even without rain dance and the extra coverage is very useful. i would defintely pair it with a pursuit trapper if i was going that route though to soften chansey up
 

Martin

A monoid in the category of endofunctors
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Which set is best for Manaphy (in terms of having the most success when laddering, where you need to worry about fighting both the Stall and hostile non-Stalls), Tail Glow + 3 Attacks, or Tail Glow + Rain Dance?
I don't really think one is better than the other, but TG+RD feels more consistent at stallbreaking considering Chansey doesn't win 1v1+it's status immune courtesy of Hydration whereas 3 attacks has an easier time breaking balance due to the coverage and general lack of Chansey. Basically, as un-useful as this type of answer is, the set really depends on what Manaphy's key purpose on the team is.
 
What does Roost + 3 Attacks look like on Zapdos that I keep hearing about? It does not look that hard to envision, but I can only imagine that it is not as simple as max SpA + max Speed.
 
Hello everyone!
I'm here again with a bunch of other questions.
In this case regarding expecially Hyper Offense teambuilding and play.
I wasn't sure if i had to post here or open another thread but just to be safe i decided to use this "space" even if these questions could be a starting point for a discussion.
Anyway, let's get going.

In an Hyper Offense team:
  • Is defensive synergy important?
  • Which are the archetypes? (For example: 1 SR Suicide Lead and then 5 Sweepers or 1 SR Suicide Lead + 1 or 2 Wallbreakers + 2 Sweepers + 1 revenge Killer?)
  • As aforementioned, is it better to include Wallbreakers into the team or it's better to go all-out Sweepers?
  • In what consist offensive synergy? (In two pokes who support each other very well or in a bunch of pokes that are of the same type and as such have similar counters? And when these counters worn down, my core can freely sweep?)
  • Then... how can i reliably worn down the counters? With lures? Or with sheer power?
  • Lastly... i noticed that many times my Wallbreakers aren't bulky at all and as such when an opponent's poke outspeed them i can't sustain any hit... how can i fix this problem without sacrificing their raw power?
As you can notice some of my gaps derive by my limited knowledge of the game strategies other then the teambuilding process.
So if you can enlighten me about these questions and maybe also show me some useful resources to learn the strategies I would be very grateful.
Thanks in advance. :)
 
Hello everyone!
I'm here again with a bunch of other questions.
In this case regarding expecially Hyper Offense teambuilding and play.
I wasn't sure if i had to post here or open another thread but just to be safe i decided to use this "space" even if these questions could be a starting point for a discussion.
Anyway, let's get going.

In an Hyper Offense team:
  • Is defensive synergy important?
  • Which are the archetypes? (For example: 1 SR Suicide Lead and then 5 Sweepers or 1 SR Suicide Lead + 1 or 2 Wallbreakers + 2 Sweepers + 1 revenge Killer?)
  • As aforementioned, is it better to include Wallbreakers into the team or it's better to go all-out Sweepers?
  • In what consist offensive synergy? (In two pokes who support each other very well or in a bunch of pokes that are of the same type and as such have similar counters? And when these counters worn down, my core can freely sweep?)
  • Then... how can i reliably worn down the counters? With lures? Or with sheer power?
  • Lastly... i noticed that many times my Wallbreakers aren't bulky at all and as such when an opponent's poke outspeed them i can't sustain any hit... how can i fix this problem without sacrificing their raw power?
As you can notice some of my gaps derive by my limited knowledge of the game strategies other then the teambuilding process.
So if you can enlighten me about these questions and maybe also show me some useful resources to learn the strategies I would be very grateful.
Thanks in advance. :)
*No
*I will let somebody else answer that, lacking time
*1 + 2 wallbreakers are going to be needed on a HO team
*Offensive synergy either stems from typing synergy or wearing down similar checks
*Lures or bombarding these checks with attacks if they lack reliable recovery
*What wallbreakers are you using? Most wallbreakers sacrifice speed in order to wallbreak. Just keep them away from Pokemon that check them on offense and make use of them more against bulky offense / balance / stall
 
I wasn't sure if i had to post here or open another thread but just to be safe i decided to use this "space" even if these questions could be a starting point for a discussion.
You need to be checking with the OU moderators before making a thread. In any case, this is the right place to post something like this.
  • Is defensive synergy important?
To an extent. Mostly this will be limited to faster threats that outrun several of your teammates. Things like Mega Lopunny, Talonflame, and varying Scarfers can be a huge issue if you have nothing to deal with them. However, with HO you're looking to be playing aggressively and putting your opponent on the defensive, so you can play around many threats by making double switches, sacrificing your own mon in order to gain an advantage, and generally trying to keep your opponent playing defensively.
  • Which are the archetypes? (For example: 1 SR Suicide Lead and then 5 Sweepers or 1 SR Suicide Lead + 1 or 2 Wallbreakers + 2 Sweepers + 1 revenge Killer?)
  • As aforementioned, is it better to include Wallbreakers into the team or it's better to go all-out Sweepers?
1 Lead + 2-4 Sweepers + 1-3 Wallbreakers is a general idea of what you should be aiming for. It's very flexible and depends entirely on which mons you pick. Some breakers have good matchups against offense, some sweepers do fine against defensive cores. Even having a dedicated lead isn't mandatory, so long as you can find time to get up Rocks.
  • In what consist offensive synergy? (In two pokes who support each other very well or in a bunch of pokes that are of the same type and as such have similar counters? And when these counters worn down, my core can freely sweep?)
  • Then... how can i reliably worn down the counters? With lures? Or with sheer power?
Yes to all of the above. Two Pokemon being able to cover each others checks provides a good opportunity for double switches and to maintain pressure on your opponent's defenses. On the other hand, having two Pokemon with overlapping checks may be able to overload them and push through. Lures are another way of going about doing this, if that's your style.
  • Lastly... i noticed that many times my Wallbreakers aren't bulky at all and as such when an opponent's poke outspeed them i can't sustain any hit... how can i fix this problem without sacrificing their raw power?
Against offense, your wallbreakers are pretty expendable. If you want to make use of them, having them come in on double switches, free turns, or resists are the best ways to go. As with anything on HO, if it isn't able to get anything done, toss it in front of something that kills it in order to regain a favorable position.
 

AM

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I really don't like defining teambuilding by arbitrary roles such as wall-breaker, cleaners, etc. It's better to take into account specific threats and scenarios than mapping out an illusion of an archetype when the structure of a team is more about threat management in perspective of how a team functions. Two cents.
 

MANNAT

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ErJimmy5

Going off of what AM said, HO (at least imo) is more of a fluid build, and having a common "skeleton" of suicide lead+2 breakers+2 sweepers or w/e isn't a good way to approach it imo.

- You want to start with a central idea or core, whether it be core be Mega Pinsir+Talonflame to overwhelm Lando-T/Rotom-W or Zardx+Serperior because Serp breaks down mons that wall DD Zardx like Hippo, Quag, etc. When selecting your initial core, try to have 2 Pokemon that have good offensive synergy while not stacking too many weaknesses.

- After that, you want to add on mons that provide necessary team support. In this case, both teams need some sort of hazard removal and appreciate a SR user.
*While these two cores in particular mandate hazard control, keep in mind that HO puts a ton of pressure on the opposing team and cores like MMedi+Keldeo don't always require you to run a defogger or spinner.* I personally like building HO with offensive rockers that don't have to die in the first 5 turns, but suicide leads are acceptable on some builds that want to take every precaution that stops rocks from getting up that they can, like birdspam for example.

- After this point, the build is all about packing some kind of offensive check to the threats that you are weak to while ensuring that the team doesn't have an "unwinnable" match-up vs any playstyle. HO always needs some sort of breaker for the three main playstyles, and common stall and wallbreakers to beat bulkier teams can be found here if needed on a build. "Offense breakers" are generally fast Pokemon, Pokemon with strong priority, or Choice Scarf users that can clean up weakened offensive teams. There really isn't a set number of "stall" or "wall" breakers that you need for a team, just make sure that you don't have a team of 6 mons that are walled by like Chansey+Sableye+Skarmory lol.

This is my philosophy on teambuilding with HO and you obviously don't have to follow this step by step, but I hope that I helped.
 
Just to resume the Hyper Offense discussion i started before now i ask:

Are all the sweepers, only set-up sweepers?
Or to put it in another way: can there be non-boosted sweepers? Or are they substantially Cleaners?

For example... Mega-Lopunny in which of the two roles can be classified as?
 
Is it so bad to have Tyranitar and Excadrill without Sand Rush on your team? Some friend passed me this team http://pastebin.com/raw/QbUUTmHx and i used like 4 matches then Team Pokepals challenged me to test a team and only there i realized the team had Scarf Excadrill with Tyranitar on it. I asked Pokepals and some other players and they said that it's alright because it has increased speed more reliably and hits Rotom-W and people may think that it's not scarfed even though the Mold Breaker message activates so they aren't going to fall for that trick if they pay attention but Sand Rush doesn't choice lock you, lets you use another item and gives more speed than Scarf so. I don't know who built the team and don't know if putting Scarf Exca + Ttar was intentional or not but some people tell it's a good idea even though i'm not so sure, what do you think, should i leave that instead of simply changing the ability to Sand Rush and the item to Air Balloon/Life Orb?
 

SketchUp

Don't let your memes be dreams
No, just use Sand Rush. The only advantage is that you can hit Rotom-W but you already got Sceptile to stop it and Bandtar + Specs Volc + Thundurus overwhelm it too. Mega Swampert, Bisharp and SD Gliscor seem difficult to deal with btw.
 
Thought so, thanks. Another thing, is it true that Zapdos is better without Defog? I've always used Zapdos with that move but apparently Static with Roost, Tbolt, Heat Wave and Hidden Power Ice is better. Is that true? Most of the teams that i have with Zapdos also have another pokemon that learns Defog (Lati@s) and the most recent team with that is this one http://hastebin.com/raw/wulasudoro.

I don't usually put Zapdos on my own teams but i found this one somewhere with an incomplete Zapdos set, a really crazy Latias over that Latios and Slowbro with CM + Thunder Wave, which is bad but i liked the rest of the team so i decided to give it a try but who should be the defogger there, Latios or Zapdos? Don't have much experience with Zapdos, especially defog-less and i can see the prons and cons of defog on both, Zapdos is weak to SR but can deal with Ferrothorn. Latios isn't weak to SR but is easily pursuited and that set is useless against Ferrothorn, Surf seemed perfect there because Heatran is annoying for that team to face so i can't really fit Defog. If anyone could try to help with Zapdos in general, telling me how viable is Static Zapdos and what should i do if i have Lati + Zapdos, especially on that team because i never saw many niches for Zapdos in OU outside of Defog.
 

HailFall

my cancer is sun and my leo is moon
Does anyone know of the offensive spread being used by Zapdos as of late, notably 3 attack plus roost? Thank you in advance.
3 attacks roost zapdos is on the current smogon analysis here and runs a defensive spread. offensive zapdos is not a thing as it is pretty much 100% outclassed by other offensvie electric types like thundurus and mega manectric in that role
 

MANNAT

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Thought so, thanks. Another thing, is it true that Zapdos is better without Defog? I've always used Zapdos with that move but apparently Static with Roost, Tbolt, Heat Wave and Hidden Power Ice is better. Is that true? Most of the teams that i have with Zapdos also have another pokemon that learns Defog (Lati@s) and the most recent team with that is this one http://hastebin.com/raw/wulasudoro.

I don't usually put Zapdos on my own teams but i found this one somewhere with an incomplete Zapdos set, a really crazy Latias over that Latios and Slowbro with CM + Thunder Wave, which is bad but i liked the rest of the team so i decided to give it a try but who should be the defogger there, Latios or Zapdos? Don't have much experience with Zapdos, especially defog-less and i can see the prons and cons of defog on both, Zapdos is weak to SR but can deal with Ferrothorn. Latios isn't weak to SR but is easily pursuited and that set is useless against Ferrothorn, Surf seemed perfect there because Heatran is annoying for that team to face so i can't really fit Defog. If anyone could try to help with Zapdos in general, telling me how viable is Static Zapdos and what should i do if i have Lati + Zapdos, especially on that team because i never saw many niches for Zapdos in OU outside of Defog.
Lati should be the defogger on Lati+Zapdos teams 90% of the time, because Zapdos can live several key hits at full that it wouldn't be able to live coming in on rocks (no calcs on my mind atm, but there are quite a few). However, if you are really struggling with a threat like Heatran or Scizor and you can't fit a lure into another teamslot for either, then it is acceptable to run defog Zapdos, although it does lose out on static.
 
Hi! What could be useful teammates for this kind of M-Sceptile?

Sceptile @ Sceptilite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power Fire

Thanks!
 

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