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So two days ago (now three and a half after writing up, lol), I was bored as fuck with ladder, and I thought I'd give myself a challenge in taking cores that caught my eye from here and building around them. The results of which I'll be posting here. In the importable hide tags you'll find a link to the original posts for each of the cores, should you want to give this a go to.
rock waifu (Diancie) @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Diamond Storm
- Heal Bell / HP Fire / HP Ice
- Moonblast
- Protect
Looking at the original core of Diancie+Manaphy, I'd already decided that Talonflame was not going to be much of an issue, so I decided to add bulky Volcarona as a third member, partly because I really like the 'Mon, partly because of the great offensive presence that it+Manaphy+Diancie have together; they're like chalk and cheese and a little more cheese. It also added a great Serperior answer, which the core (along with myself), loathes entirely. From there on out, I added Latios as a solid Keldeo, Volcanion, Manaphy (which the core itself is kinda weak to), Rotom-W and Zard Y check; Surf is my move of choice the majority of the time on Latios, as it draws in Heatran and weakens it for both Diancie and Volcarona, Roost can be used as a means of adding longevity, which I like on this team, as it's more of a balance/bulky offense build. Yache Lando-T was added next as a necessary rocker for the team and a physical sponge, beating things which the previous 4 members crumble to, such as Zard X (no, M-Diancie is not a reliable answer to that) and Sand; it also acts as a momentum grabber to bring Volcarona and Manaphy in on stuff like SpD Skarmory, which stops Diancie in its tracks. Excellent blanket check for a hell of a lot of the meta, with very little reason, if any at all, to not use on a team such as this; the 20 Attack EVs are to ensure the kill on Thundurus-Broken after one round of Life Orb damage, the Speed is to hit 230, outpacing Crawdaunt and getting off a hell of a lot with U-turn, as it's quite the threat to this team. At this point, the team had a crippling weakness to Lati@s and Fairies in general, so SpD Jirachi was added, which is, in my opinion the best Fairy counter in the meta right now; Thunder Wave is used for the juicy ParaFlinch, and to increase the odds greatly of beating Thunder Wave Clefable.
Not many threats come to mind or have been encountered, really, other than maybe Life Orb Tornadus-Busted, as both Jirachi and Mega Diancie are prone to being worn down by it. Faster Mons could also be quite and issue, but the team checks them more defensively with the likes of Jirachi and Lando.
1 this is more of a joke replay, only added it to show that Jirachi is a god tbh. 2 more of a serious game here with an actual competent opponent, very good game to play, was incredibly fun. This game was the first one I played after having a real hard time against stall and deciding to change Manaphy set from TG+3 attacks to RestDance, which came through clutch here, breaking through Chansey, giving me an actual chance of winning. Diancie, Manaphy and bulky Volc are not only great offensively, but also defensively, which is shown in this game perfectly.
wow (Manectric) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Mega Manectric+Life Orb Hydreigon was the original core, but I changed Hydreigon to Specs because such power on Hydreigon is hard to resist these days, 2HKOing max HP Heatran is just too juicy to give up on. I added Banded Tyranitar, and this, along with forming an extremely potent Darkspam core with Hydreigon, destroying the majority of defensive teams out there, it acts as a trapper for Lati@s, which love to come in on Manectric and are some of the best offensive ways to deal with Hydreigon, it also comes in on Chansey after Manectric Volt-Switches out of it, which gives it free reign to fire off Banded attacks against fat teams, which is where Banded Tyranitar is in its element, Pursuiting/weakening Chansey allows Hydreigon to pull through most of the time against fat afterwards. After this, once again, Yache Lando-T was added, with the same spread for the exact same reasons as before, generating momentum to bring in either one of the Dark breakers or Manectric. Considering I had means to weaken teams beyond salvation with the afformentioned Pokemon, next up I wanted to add a reliable cleaner which can also support Manectric, so I went with the niche set of Natural Gift Salac, this allows Talonflame to break past both Tyranitar and Heatran, two of the biggest roadblocks for Mega Manectric. Talonflame is supported greatly by Specs Hydregon, as nobody really expects it to hit as hard as it does against both Lando-T and Rotom-W, weakening them drastically. Having Talonflame, a means of removal was needed, as well as a Keldeo, Volcanion, and Rotom answer, so I went with Colbur Berry Latias. Colbur is used as to evade pursuit considering how vital it is for removal to be available for as long as possible throughout the game, healing wish is also great for Talonflame and Manectric.
Fairies are a problem for this team, but the can be played around if you keep up offensive pressure. When facing Mega Diancie, get off Manectrics Mega as soon as possible, as it will find itself being forced to come into Latias and Hydreigon a lot, whittling it down to Thunderbolt range. Clefable is the other prominent threat with which this team struggles somewhat, though Volt-Switch+Banded Stone Edge kills it, and Talonflame is a good check
1 Specs Hydreigon broke down the team to the point that either it won, or Talonflame did. It shows the real strength of Specs Hydra and why you should all be using it. Tyranitar did its job in trapping Latios so the opponent had no real answers to Hydreigon that didn't necessitate sacking a 'Mon each time it came in. 2 Once again, after Latios was trapped, Hydreigon was free to break for Talonflame to sweep thanks to the opponents lack of solid Dark resists. Dropping Lando-T was huge for Talonflame.
With the core of Lopunny of Manaphy, I wanted to go with a team that would appreciate their offensive presence and not give up on maintaining pressure, so this is about as offensive as my teams usually get. Life Orb Tornadus-T was added for it's insane coverage and breaking abilities, in conjunction with Manaphy and Lopunny it makes bulky offence builds that follow the standard Lando+Lati+Heatran+Keldeo+Filler or bulky offence such as Blunder's Mega Medicham team a foolproof matchup. Next up are the obligatory Colbur Latias and Yache Landorus, both of which doing the exact same things as in the previous teams. Finally I wanted to go with Scarf Tyranitar as I felt the power from Band wasn't really necessary with Lopunny spamming HJK anyway, and the Speed is greatly appreciated, it a crucial switchin to Lati@s, and traps them to support Manaphy. Iron Head is used in an attempt to mitigate the horrible matchup against mega Diancie this team has.
Once again, Fairies are a thorn in the side of this team, but Manaphy can break through Clefable and Mega Gardevoir is checked by Lopunny with Fake Out+Return. Other than that, the team is pretty solid. Potential fix could be running bulky RestDance CM Manaphy if you want, certainly a viable change.
Could only be bothered getting one replay with this team as ladder was annoying me so so much whilst playing with this (losing to random jank is and hax is not fun), be that as it may, the replay is ok. Here it is, showing Manaphy breaking through Clefable after I realised that it was completely necessary to Healing Wish Manaphy back up if I had any real chance of winning. This is what, in the end, allowed Lopunny to clean up.
Considering the pressure that Mega Gardevoir and Diggersby place upon common defensive backbones, I wanted to add a 'Mon that would appreciate this and the dismantling it brings. Offensive SD Talonflame came to mind, as Diggersby is incredibly effective when it comes to wearing down defensive Lando-T and, you'd never guess, Heatran. Talonflame also gives a necessary counter to Serperior, which steamrolls the whole team otherwise. From here on, the team just built itself, with fast Rotom-W stopping the team from being 6-0d by bisharp, and acting as a Flying counter (most importantly Tornadus-T), Lando-T beating all things it beats, most notably on this team, Sand and Scarf drill, whilst setting rocks. Latios brings all of the defensive utility it usually does, which was desperately needed on this team, it also brings necessary hazard removal to support Talonflame. Thunderbolt is used to lure in Skarmory for both Diggersby and Gardevoir. All-in-all, the last 3 members are just extremely reliable blanket checks.
Guess what this team has a less-than-ideal matchup against? Yeah, you got it, Mega Diancie, basically don't let Rotom or Lando get too weakened or you lose. Suicune is another issue I encountered, though this can be remedied with Calm Mind on Gardevoir. Lati@s are an issue, basically getting a kill each time they come in once Gardevoir is weak, but after that they should be in range of Brave Bird anyway.
1 The Hydro Pump miss made me almost throw my laptop out of the window considering Talonflame had such and incredible matchup after Lando dropped. CB Diggersby and Yache Lando really came through in this game. 2 ok so this is more of a joke replay, but it was the funniest game I've played against Rain in a hell of a long time. 3 Very good game, shows perfectly Banded Diggersby's ability to wear down Talonflame's counters such as Lando-T, which inevitably lead to a Talonflame sweep.
Mega Gardevoir paired with Bisharp puts serious holes in fat teams, and pair really nicely considering a double from Gardevoir to Bisharp on Skarmory or Jirachi really really works well, giving free Knock Offs, and allowing Gardevoir to muscle past itemless SpD burnt Skarmory. I wanted a 'Mon that could take advantage of the Pokemon that Gardevoir and Bisharp both beat/severely weaken on bulky builds such as fat Grasses like Amoonguss and Tangrowth, and bulky Waters, most notably both Slow evolutions and Rotom-W (+2 Adamant Glasses Knock Off always kills after rocks lol). Keldeo also supports Gardevoir and Bisharp by taking on issues such as fast Heatran, Mega Scizor, Ferro, and Weavile, all of which Gardevoir and Bisharp have a hard time with. The next two members, once again, are pretty self explanatory, Latias and Lando-T, once again, blanket checks for some of the most prominent threats in the meta. One thing to note is that Pursuit-weak 'Mon paired with something to take advantage of Pursuit-locked Tyranitar is really, really potent, see: Sub CM Keldeo. After all of this, the team was looking incredibly Fairy-weak, Serperior-weak, Lati@s weak, it lacked Fire STAB, which I really hate, and it was looking really weak to Mega Pinsir, and to remedy this I added a set that I think is usually pretty dong, but fits very well here: Scarf Heatran. This remedies the aforementioned problems.
Really this team is solid overall, but there are a few notable threats, the first of which being Mega Lopunny; not letting Latias or Keldeo get weakened or revealing ScarfTran too early is crucial when facing this. Another threat would be a well-played max Attack Mega Diancie, as Tran is clean 2HKOed by Diamond Storm, and they can Protect to scout for the Scarf, though most of the time it isn't a set that pops up in people's minds too often.
1 Against a pretty cool Dugtrio+Serp+Mega Pidgeot team. I knew not letting Heatran get trapped this game would be crucial, so forcing as many Spins from Starmie to get free turns was pivotal. Really, it was Tran being Scarf and my opponent knowing this that made this winnable in the end, as the constant Spinning from Starmie and Starmie having to be brought in so many times gave Keldeo the opportunity it needed to wrap things up. Note that Defensive Starmie without Psychic coverage is NOT a Keldeo answer lol. 2 Keldeo pulled through on this team once it'd been battered down by Gardevoir.
we (Breloom) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Swords Dance
could (Tyranitar) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Ice Punch
set (Manectric) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
Immediately, looking at a core of Specs Volcanion+SD Breloom, pursuit trapping came to mind, so the first member I added was the obligatory Tyranitar. I went with Scarf over Band because the power from Band wasn't really needed and the Scarf has the better chance against the ubiquitous Surf Latios, especially if rocks are up. After this, I added Mega Manectric as it also appreciates breakers+Pursuit greatly (it's honestly the only way to make Mega Manectric effective right now), it's also fast as hell, and a solid bird and Mega Scizor check. Next up is, once again, Lando-T, having a solid sand answer is so important for Mega Manectric and Volcanion, and it forms a nice Volt-Turn core with Mega Manectric+breakers. After this, Latios was added as the real Keldeo check (Volcanion isn't one of those please I see so many bad teams on ladder relying on 50/50s to straight up not lose to Keldeo), it also does all the other things you'd expect from Latios, removing hazards, etc.
Ha ha... guess what it's weak to again, Mega Diancie. Mega evolve Manectric asap to get off a Thunderbolt on this threat and put it into range of Breloom's Mach Punch, or hit it with an Edge from Tyranitar. Band Tyranitar is funnily enough a threat too, but it can be played around.
1 only really added this one to show the stunt or die flex on turn 18 tbh. Moving on... 2 this replays is a great example of the team doing what it's designed to: weakening/eliminating checks and counters to Breloom to facilitate its eventual sweep.
NO (Lucario) @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Iron Tail
Ok so basically, Lucario, as with most cleaners, absolutely loves Spikes support, and the core of Lucario+Latios is incredibly Fairy-weak, considering these two fator, I added SpD Skarmory. The given spread on Skarmory allows it to be Knocked Off by CB Weavile and still survive two Icicle Crashes later on, whilst still taking on Fairies other than Thunderbolt Mega Gardevoir and CM Thrower/Thunderbolt Clefable. Next I added Life Orb Tornadus-T, to aid Lucario in breaking down fatter teams, because it can't do it on its own unless you're playing against a rock, along with this, it adds something to double out into on Magnezone and Tyranitar, which is the initial reason I picked it. Tornadus-T also adds a vital Serperior check, and nice Speed. Sigh Lando-T is next. You know the drill (currently resisting the urge to make a really bad Sand-related pun), but seriously, Lando-T does its job incredibly well, acts as a great bulky pivot, stops Zard X from 6-0ing, forms a nice Volt-Turn core with the final member. Fabio was a great addition to the team, acting as a backup answer to Keldeo, countering Tornadus-T, checking Volcanion more reliably that Latios, acting as a status absorber, and a secondary bird counter, as Skarmory falls to Talonflame and is prone to being far too pressured by Mega Pinsir.
This team is actually really solid, thanks to the addition of Fabio, but Band Tyranitar is a serious menace. Ferrothorn is troublesome should you lose Lucario or your opponent not be a rock and leave it in against Tornadus. Weavile is an issue, too, hence the Skarmory spread and Yache Lando-T
1 playing against Zamrock using birdspam. 2 incredibly intense game against Hachimaki which I managed to choke away by not doubling on the Heatran sack to get off a rest.
These teams aren't perfect, but honestly, I'm not really looking for suggestions or fixes. They all cover most of the major threats in the meta effectively, and they're all really fun to play with. I'd seriously recommend doing what I did and picking out cores and forcing yourself to build because I certainly feel like I'm a better builder now, and it was actually really fun.
I might do this again in the future, with less Lati@s and Lando-T, and maybe even some fatter teams, but god it's been a grind to do this all. All in all, from building, to testing, to writing this up, I've put nearly 20 hours into it. If I do end up doing another one, it might not be for a while, for that exact reason. It's been worth it, though.
If anyone ever wants to CT me, here's a tip: use Diancie.
Enjoy and shouts to the Good Cores thread and its contributors. Also shouts to the OU room.
So two days ago (now three and a half after writing up, lol), I was bored as fuck with ladder, and I thought I'd give myself a challenge in taking cores that caught my eye from here and building around them. The results of which I'll be posting here. In the importable hide tags you'll find a link to the original posts for each of the cores, should you want to give this a go to.
rock waifu (Diancie) @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Diamond Storm
- Heal Bell / HP Fire / HP Ice
- Moonblast
- Protect
Looking at the original core of Diancie+Manaphy, I'd already decided that Talonflame was not going to be much of an issue, so I decided to add bulky Volcarona as a third member, partly because I really like the 'Mon, partly because of the great offensive presence that it+Manaphy+Diancie have together; they're like chalk and cheese and a little more cheese. It also added a great Serperior answer, which the core (along with myself), loathes entirely. From there on out, I added Latios as a solid Keldeo, Volcanion, Manaphy (which the core itself is kinda weak to), Rotom-W and Zard Y check; Surf is my move of choice the majority of the time on Latios, as it draws in Heatran and weakens it for both Diancie and Volcarona, Roost can be used as a means of adding longevity, which I like on this team, as it's more of a balance/bulky offense build. Yache Lando-T was added next as a necessary rocker for the team and a physical sponge, beating things which the previous 4 members crumble to, such as Zard X (no, M-Diancie is not a reliable answer to that) and Sand; it also acts as a momentum grabber to bring Volcarona and Manaphy in on stuff like SpD Skarmory, which stops Diancie in its tracks. Excellent blanket check for a hell of a lot of the meta, with very little reason, if any at all, to not use on a team such as this; the 20 Attack EVs are to ensure the kill on Thundurus-Broken after one round of Life Orb damage, the Speed is to hit 230, outpacing Crawdaunt and getting off a hell of a lot with U-turn, as it's quite the threat to this team. At this point, the team had a crippling weakness to Lati@s and Fairies in general, so SpD Jirachi was added, which is, in my opinion the best Fairy counter in the meta right now; Thunder Wave is used for the juicy ParaFlinch, and to increase the odds greatly of beating Thunder Wave Clefable.
Not many threats come to mind or have been encountered, really, other than maybe Life Orb Tornadus-Busted, as both Jirachi and Mega Diancie are prone to being worn down by it. Faster Mons could also be quite and issue, but the team checks them more defensively with the likes of Jirachi and Lando.
1 this is more of a joke replay, only added it to show that Jirachi is a god tbh. 2 more of a serious game here with an actual competent opponent, very good game to play, was incredibly fun. This game was the first one I played after having a real hard time against stall and deciding to change Manaphy set from TG+3 attacks to RestDance, which came through clutch here, breaking through Chansey, giving me an actual chance of winning. Diancie, Manaphy and bulky Volc are not only great offensively, but also defensively, which is shown in this game perfectly.
wow (Manectric) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Mega Manectric+Life Orb Hydreigon was the original core, but I changed Hydreigon to Specs because such power on Hydreigon is hard to resist these days, 2HKOing max HP Heatran is just too juicy to give up on. I added Banded Tyranitar, and this, along with forming an extremely potent Darkspam core with Hydreigon, destroying the majority of defensive teams out there, it acts as a trapper for Lati@s, which love to come in on Manectric and are some of the best offensive ways to deal with Hydreigon, it also comes in on Chansey after Manectric Volt-Switches out of it, which gives it free reign to fire off Banded attacks against fat teams, which is where Banded Tyranitar is in its element, Pursuiting/weakening Chansey allows Hydreigon to pull through most of the time against fat afterwards. After this, once again, Yache Lando-T was added, with the same spread for the exact same reasons as before, generating momentum to bring in either one of the Dark breakers or Manectric. Considering I had means to weaken teams beyond salvation with the afformentioned Pokemon, next up I wanted to add a reliable cleaner which can also support Manectric, so I went with the niche set of Natural Gift Salac, this allows Talonflame to break past both Tyranitar and Heatran, two of the biggest roadblocks for Mega Manectric. Talonflame is supported greatly by Specs Hydregon, as nobody really expects it to hit as hard as it does against both Lando-T and Rotom-W, weakening them drastically. Having Talonflame, a means of removal was needed, as well as a Keldeo, Volcanion, and Rotom answer, so I went with Colbur Berry Latias. Colbur is used as to evade pursuit considering how vital it is for removal to be available for as long as possible throughout the game, healing wish is also great for Talonflame and Manectric.
Fairies are a problem for this team, but the can be played around if you keep up offensive pressure. When facing Mega Diancie, get off Manectrics Mega as soon as possible, as it will find itself being forced to come into Latias and Hydreigon a lot, whittling it down to Thunderbolt range. Clefable is the other prominent threat with which this team struggles somewhat, though Volt-Switch+Banded Stone Edge kills it, and Talonflame is a good check
1 Specs Hydreigon broke down the team to the point that either it won, or Talonflame did. It shows the real strength of Specs Hydra and why you should all be using it. Tyranitar did its job in trapping Latios so the opponent had no real answers to Hydreigon that didn't necessitate sacking a 'Mon each time it came in. 2 Once again, after Latios was trapped, Hydreigon was free to break for Talonflame to sweep thanks to the opponents lack of solid Dark resists. Dropping Lando-T was huge for Talonflame.
With the core of Lopunny of Manaphy, I wanted to go with a team that would appreciate their offensive presence and not give up on maintaining pressure, so this is about as offensive as my teams usually get. Life Orb Tornadus-T was added for it's insane coverage and breaking abilities, in conjunction with Manaphy and Lopunny it makes bulky offence builds that follow the standard Lando+Lati+Heatran+Keldeo+Filler or bulky offence such as Blunder's Mega Medicham team a foolproof matchup. Next up are the obligatory Colbur Latias and Yache Landorus, both of which doing the exact same things as in the previous teams. Finally I wanted to go with Scarf Tyranitar as I felt the power from Band wasn't really necessary with Lopunny spamming HJK anyway, and the Speed is greatly appreciated, it a crucial switchin to Lati@s, and traps them to support Manaphy. Iron Head is used in an attempt to mitigate the horrible matchup against mega Diancie this team has.
Once again, Fairies are a thorn in the side of this team, but Manaphy can break through Clefable and Mega Gardevoir is checked by Lopunny with Fake Out+Return. Other than that, the team is pretty solid. Potential fix could be running bulky RestDance CM Manaphy if you want, certainly a viable change.
Could only be bothered getting one replay with this team as ladder was annoying me so so much whilst playing with this (losing to random jank is and hax is not fun), be that as it may, the replay is ok. Here it is, showing Manaphy breaking through Clefable after I realised that it was completely necessary to Healing Wish Manaphy back up if I had any real chance of winning. This is what, in the end, allowed Lopunny to clean up.
Considering the pressure that Mega Gardevoir and Diggersby place upon common defensive backbones, I wanted to add a 'Mon that would appreciate this and the dismantling it brings. Offensive SD Talonflame came to mind, as Diggersby is incredibly effective when it comes to wearing down defensive Lando-T and, you'd never guess, Heatran. Talonflame also gives a necessary counter to Serperior, which steamrolls the whole team otherwise. From here on, the team just built itself, with fast Rotom-W stopping the team from being 6-0d by bisharp, and acting as a Flying counter (most importantly Tornadus-T), Lando-T beating all things it beats, most notably on this team, Sand and Scarf drill, whilst setting rocks. Latios brings all of the defensive utility it usually does, which was desperately needed on this team, it also brings necessary hazard removal to support Talonflame. Thunderbolt is used to lure in Skarmory for both Diggersby and Gardevoir. All-in-all, the last 3 members are just extremely reliable blanket checks.
Guess what this team has a less-than-ideal matchup against? Yeah, you got it, Mega Diancie, basically don't let Rotom or Lando get too weakened or you lose. Suicune is another issue I encountered, though this can be remedied with Calm Mind on Gardevoir. Lati@s are an issue, basically getting a kill each time they come in once Gardevoir is weak, but after that they should be in range of Brave Bird anyway.
1 The Hydro Pump miss made me almost throw my laptop out of the window considering Talonflame had such and incredible matchup after Lando dropped. CB Diggersby and Yache Lando really came through in this game. 2 ok so this is more of a joke replay, but it was the funniest game I've played against Rain in a hell of a long time. 3 Very good game, shows perfectly Banded Diggersby's ability to wear down Talonflame's counters such as Lando-T, which inevitably lead to a Talonflame sweep.
Mega Gardevoir paired with Bisharp puts serious holes in fat teams, and pair really nicely considering a double from Gardevoir to Bisharp on Skarmory or Jirachi really really works well, giving free Knock Offs, and allowing Gardevoir to muscle past itemless SpD burnt Skarmory. I wanted a 'Mon that could take advantage of the Pokemon that Gardevoir and Bisharp both beat/severely weaken on bulky builds such as fat Grasses like Amoonguss and Tangrowth, and bulky Waters, most notably both Slow evolutions and Rotom-W (+2 Adamant Glasses Knock Off always kills after rocks lol). Keldeo also supports Gardevoir and Bisharp by taking on issues such as fast Heatran, Mega Scizor, Ferro, and Weavile, all of which Gardevoir and Bisharp have a hard time with. The next two members, once again, are pretty self explanatory, Latias and Lando-T, once again, blanket checks for some of the most prominent threats in the meta. One thing to note is that Pursuit-weak 'Mon paired with something to take advantage of Pursuit-locked Tyranitar is really, really potent, see: Sub CM Keldeo. After all of this, the team was looking incredibly Fairy-weak, Serperior-weak, Lati@s weak, it lacked Fire STAB, which I really hate, and it was looking really weak to Mega Pinsir, and to remedy this I added a set that I think is usually pretty dong, but fits very well here: Scarf Heatran. This remedies the aforementioned problems.
Really this team is solid overall, but there are a few notable threats, the first of which being Mega Lopunny; not letting Latias or Keldeo get weakened or revealing ScarfTran too early is crucial when facing this. Another threat would be a well-played max Attack Mega Diancie, as Tran is clean 2HKOed by Diamond Storm, and they can Protect to scout for the Scarf, though most of the time it isn't a set that pops up in people's minds too often.
1 Against a pretty cool Dugtrio+Serp+Mega Pidgeot team. I knew not letting Heatran get trapped this game would be crucial, so forcing as many Spins from Starmie to get free turns was pivotal. Really, it was Tran being Scarf and my opponent knowing this that made this winnable in the end, as the constant Spinning from Starmie and Starmie having to be brought in so many times gave Keldeo the opportunity it needed to wrap things up. Note that Defensive Starmie without Psychic coverage is NOT a Keldeo answer lol. 2 Keldeo pulled through on this team once it'd been battered down by Gardevoir.
we (Breloom) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Swords Dance
could (Tyranitar) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Ice Punch
set (Manectric) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
Immediately, looking at a core of Specs Volcanion+SD Breloom, pursuit trapping came to mind, so the first member I added was the obligatory Tyranitar. I went with Scarf over Band because the power from Band wasn't really needed and the Scarf has the better chance against the ubiquitous Surf Latios, especially if rocks are up. After this, I added Mega Manectric as it also appreciates breakers+Pursuit greatly (it's honestly the only way to make Mega Manectric effective right now), it's also fast as hell, and a solid bird and Mega Scizor check. Next up is, once again, Lando-T, having a solid sand answer is so important for Mega Manectric and Volcanion, and it forms a nice Volt-Turn core with Mega Manectric+breakers. After this, Latios was added as the real Keldeo check (Volcanion isn't one of those please I see so many bad teams on ladder relying on 50/50s to straight up not lose to Keldeo), it also does all the other things you'd expect from Latios, removing hazards, etc.
Ha ha... guess what it's weak to again, Mega Diancie. Mega evolve Manectric asap to get off a Thunderbolt on this threat and put it into range of Breloom's Mach Punch, or hit it with an Edge from Tyranitar. Band Tyranitar is funnily enough a threat too, but it can be played around.
1 only really added this one to show the stunt or die flex on turn 18 tbh. Moving on... 2 this replays is a great example of the team doing what it's designed to: weakening/eliminating checks and counters to Breloom to facilitate its eventual sweep.
NO (Lucario) @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Iron Tail
Ok so basically, Lucario, as with most cleaners, absolutely loves Spikes support, and the core of Lucario+Latios is incredibly Fairy-weak, considering these two fator, I added SpD Skarmory. The given spread on Skarmory allows it to be Knocked Off by CB Weavile and still survive two Icicle Crashes later on, whilst still taking on Fairies other than Thunderbolt Mega Gardevoir and CM Thrower/Thunderbolt Clefable. Next I added Life Orb Tornadus-T, to aid Lucario in breaking down fatter teams, because it can't do it on its own unless you're playing against a rock, along with this, it adds something to double out into on Magnezone and Tyranitar, which is the initial reason I picked it. Tornadus-T also adds a vital Serperior check, and nice Speed. Sigh Lando-T is next. You know the drill (currently resisting the urge to make a really bad Sand-related pun), but seriously, Lando-T does its job incredibly well, acts as a great bulky pivot, stops Zard X from 6-0ing, forms a nice Volt-Turn core with the final member. Fabio was a great addition to the team, acting as a backup answer to Keldeo, countering Tornadus-T, checking Volcanion more reliably that Latios, acting as a status absorber, and a secondary bird counter, as Skarmory falls to Talonflame and is prone to being far too pressured by Mega Pinsir.
This team is actually really solid, thanks to the addition of Fabio, but Band Tyranitar is a serious menace. Ferrothorn is troublesome should you lose Lucario or your opponent not be a rock and leave it in against Tornadus. Weavile is an issue, too, hence the Skarmory spread and Yache Lando-T
1 playing against Zamrock using birdspam. 2 incredibly intense game against Hachimaki which I managed to choke away by not doubling on the Heatran sack to get off a rest.
These teams aren't perfect, but honestly, I'm not really looking for suggestions or fixes. They all cover most of the major threats in the meta effectively, and they're all really fun to play with. I'd seriously recommend doing what I did and picking out cores and forcing yourself to build because I certainly feel like I'm a better builder now, and it was actually really fun.
I might do this again in the future, with less Lati@s and Lando-T, and maybe even some fatter teams, but god it's been a grind to do this all. All in all, from building, to testing, to writing this up, I've put nearly 20 hours into it. If I do end up doing another one, it might not be for a while, for that exact reason. It's been worth it, though.
If anyone ever wants to CT me, here's a tip: use Diancie.
Enjoy and shouts to the Good Cores thread and its contributors. Also shouts to the OU room.
Heatran @ Power Herb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Solar Beam
- Earth Power
- Taunt
Cool Squad that I built with Panther5001. This team is meant to use the core of MGyara+Banded Daunt to overload their shared counters and uses Latias>Latios to give Gyara a second chance at a sweep. Klefki set is a cool one I saw around forums somewhere a while ago that lets Klefki set up spikes on Sab and MDiancie since it has dual STABs and can 2HKO Sab with Gleam. Tran set is just PH MagmaTrap to lure waters for the main core. The rest of the team is standard sets so moving on.
Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Return
- Ice Punch
Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume
- Taunt
- Earth Power
This is a pretty bog standard Mega Lop+Sand team that I built a while back just so that I would have one of these in my builder if I wanted to use it. Balloon SD Excadrill is a fucking threat and it really is slept on. With Scarf Lando-T gaining popularity and CTC's birdspam team making Scarf Drill's usage skyrocket, there's a ton of Choice Locked mons spamming eq rn, and this team doesn't have an immunity to Mold Breaker EQ, so you can get a ton of setup opportunities and just rip apart teams with a +2 Excadrill. Scarftar is there as a lati check+sand setter primarily, but it can also function as a semi-birdspam check with a Scarf because it outspeeds MPinsir and only fears U-turn from Talonflame. Tang has EQ because it means I don't have to use lop as a Bisharp check, which is rly nice. I'm running CM Latios on this build because the team struggles vs Fatter Builds in general and most of the other members of the team smash Tran/TTar anyways while Steels are also covered v well by the team. I slashed TBolt here because BD Azu is a threat and a half on the team if it can get a BD off on a forced switch and because Taunt Heatran+SD Drill makes it so that this isn't an autoloss vs bulkier teams. Tran is a bog standard rocks set with epower bc this is my main Zardx check and it can come in clutch late-game vs other trans if need be. Also, if you face DD EQ Zardx, be prepared to click that X if sand isn't up lol. You can also run Specs Lati with TBolt if ur a don, but I dont really like losing to Keld.
Alright, so I decided to try and ladder again with a team I actually made myself, before being brought to the sad conclusion that I suck at teambuilding. My core idea was to do Zard X + Healing Wish to be able to play more reckless and beat down walls and then refresh him for a late game sweep, and the rest of the team is built around it, but it isn't working out for me right now. Any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Alright, so I decided to try and ladder again with a team I actually made myself, before being brought to the sad conclusion that I suck at teambuilding. My core idea was to do Zard X + Healing Wish to be able to play more reckless and beat down walls and then refresh him for a late game sweep, and the rest of the team is built around it, but it isn't working out for me right now. Any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Heatran comes in on half your members and either threatens them immensely or doesn't give a shit in the case of Rachi. This leaves every single member susceptible to Burn you're only decentish switch in to Heatran is Latios who is running a set that'll just get it Toxic stalled and Zard-X, which again, is toxic stalled. If you're gonna go the really offensive route with a team like this you're better off just using EQ > Roost on Zard-X so you can put the hurt on stuff like Heatran, and TTAr. I'm not a big fan of the Loom set in this metagame. There's too many amoonguss and tangrowth and you'll probably be better off either using SD / 3 attacks with Adamant nature and natural gift, bullet seed, mach, SD Lansat Berry (gives you flying natural gift) to break these grasses to open up holes for Azumarill. I guess the Lando-T set is more a necessary evil considering Sand and such so I guess that's w/e. The increase in Bold Clefs would make me lean towards Psychic over Psyshock on a teambuild like this but this isn't necessarily a Clef means granted you have to play very offensive with this team / archetype to make it work. Kind of hate Band Azumarill to, wicked overrated wall-breaker and you have tons of physically inclined mons that makes your matchup against defensive mons like rotom-W a bit difficult. Maybe Specs Keld on this slot with Secret Sword, Hydro, Scald, Focus Blast. You can take or leave whatever suggestions cause it's your team though but yeah.
Another option is to make Rachi the Rocker and Lando-T the scarfer, your matchup against Torn-T is kind of straight ass although if you go this route you need to keep Zard-X in check a bit better.
TBH if I'm forgoing Spore I'd rather just drop Breloom entirely, it's kind of his big deal. I guess I was trying to put in some role compression since I needed some priority (doubly so if I'm switching off Azumarill), but loom has zero defensive synergy with anything so that's kinda moot. Maybe Tangrowth for pivoting? I would need to fit some speed control or priority somewhere else, though.
TBH if I'm forgoing Spore I'd rather just drop Breloom entirely, it's kind of his big deal. I guess I was trying to put in some role compression since I needed some priority (doubly so if I'm switching off Azumarill), but loom has zero defensive synergy with anything so that's kinda moot. Maybe Tangrowth for pivoting? I would need to fit some speed control or priority somewhere else, though.
Either you're going all offensive or just using bulky offense, granted it doesn't matter here but your team was built with offense in mind. Going Tang > Loom can make the matchup against Bisharp more difficult and you need ways to open up holes on the team for other members to do work. Standard sets are standard for a reason but the idea is that the loom set would allow Azumarill to soften stuff more easily without being pivoted on by these grasses. You should first establish what you really want out of the team (ex. Zard-X sweep) and build off of that. The basic necessities aren't too hard to take into account when you have a lot of role compression from Lati / Lando-T already. Building on a concept should be the first thing to focus on.
Right, okay. So if I'm really doubling down on the Zard X sweep with Healing Wish for support, should the rest of the team be more oriented to bulky or hyper offense? Or just stop thinking about it in those terms and go with those suggested changes of specs keldeo > band azumarill, sd natural gift loom > spore, and eq > roost on zard?
Right, okay. So if I'm really doubling down on the Zard X sweep with Healing Wish for support, should the rest of the team be more oriented to bulky or hyper offense? Or just stop thinking about it in those terms and go with those suggested changes of specs keldeo > band azumarill, sd natural gift loom > spore, and eq > roost on zard?
been lurking and the answer to this is something on a fundamental level that can be overlooked. the point isn't whether or not a hyper offense or bulky offense route would be better here, it comes down to what you're trying to get out of the team in terms of the goal. you mentioned in the original post that you wanted to focus on healing wish + dd charizardx sweeping so you can afford to play recklessly alongside some wallbreakers to soften up checks. on this type of team style that focuses on offensive pressure (this derives from the initial idea of the team), breloom contributes more than something like tangrowth for example as it provides a source of priority which is always good for offense to have in the back, an option (with AM's cool suggestion of sd ng lansat) of helping your main secondary wallbreaker in azumarill pick stuff off late game by removing nuisances like tangrowth / amoonguss, and another alternative late game that you can play agressively due to healing wish.
keep in mind i'm making this post to remind you of a basic concept of always focusing on what the team is supposed to accomplish, not updated sets / pokemon that AM recommended (which i agree with 100% and would definitely test). if you have any other questions, feel free to pm or ask here.
A few teams that i built by myself or with the help of other players, feel free to use them or suggest changes if you find glaring flaws on teams or just know how to improve them.
Mega Aerodactyl + Serperior
Built this team a while ago with the core of Mega Aerodactyl + Serperior, Mega Aerodactyl deals with alot of Serperior's checks such as Talonflame and Tornadus-T and Serperior fires off Leaf Storms against some of Aero's checks or counters like Slowbro. Landorus-T provides me Stealth Rock, defensive utility and u-turn, having Toxic because it wears down other Landorus, Slowbro for example, something that Aerodactyl, who has Rock STAB for the likes of Talonflame appreciates. Latios is straightforward, a special attacker who checks Keldeo/Volcanion/Zard Y and has hazard removal. Keldeo as a choiced wallbreaker and check to Weavile and Bisharp and lastly, Scarf Jirachi because it helps with dragons, revenge kills Weavile, has a fast U-turn and Healing Wish if i need to use it.
Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aerial Ace
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail
- Pursuit
Some user from the portuguese room (Kirito) decided to build a team with this core and since i like Mega Meta and Hydreigon, i wanted to help him. BoltBeam coverage to beat ground and water types and Pursuit to trap Lati@s, Hydreigon is a special wallbreaker and both form a strong offensive core that's hard to counter and then i put another wallbreaker: Specs Keldeo because Keldeo is very good and offensive teams can't go wrong with it, especially if they have Pursuit support as Lati@s check Keldeo pretty well. Now i needed more bulk on the team and a stealth rock setter, thought about Landorus-T but i realized that i could use utility Heatran to check fairies, grass types and Mega Scizor and that lets me use Landorus-T as a choice scarf user to give more speed to the team. Lastly, i didn't know what to put as the last member so i chose Latios to form the double dragon core that MandyRoh posted here (i actually gave her the idea).
I made this team in like 10 minutes, i wanted to use Mega Manectric, who is a big threat to many teams but has its problems in this metagame so i decided to pair it with Manaphy, who sets up on Manectric's checks/counters or just beats it after a Tail Glow boost for example, Manectric is walled by Hippowdon and Manaphy gets Tail Glow boosts against it. Decided to use Tail Glow + Rain Dance to defeat stall more reliably and it avoids status moves from other pokemon, Thunder Wave from Klefki or Clefable for example plus it has Psychic to get rid of Mega Venusaur. Landorus-T for Stealth Rock, physical bulk and to form an intimidate voltturn core with Mega Manectric, Weavile to Pursuit Lati@s and to form a core with Mega Manectric since both overwhelm the opposing team pretty well.Finally, i wasn't sure on what to put and i went with Scarf Jirachi to help with Lati@s and to revenge kill Weavile.
Mega Medicham is great and i wanted to use it so i decided to build a voltturn offense with it, added Nidoking because it also appreciates voltturn support and physical wallbreaker + special wallbreaker is good to threaten a good number of teams, Belly Drum Azumarill as a set up sweeper who pairs well with the other members and after that, the voltturn users. Rotom-W has Volt Switch and checks many threats, Landorus-T is also straightforward and finally AV Tornadus-T to deal with special attackers and also has U-Turn. I'd like advice with this team in particular, i am not so sure about some of my team choices or sets and i am sure that this kind of team has potential.
Medicham-Mega (M) @ Medichamite
Ability: Pure Power
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Bullet Punch
- High Jump Kick
- Ice Punch
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
Nidoking @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Sludge Wave
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- U-turn
- Knock Off
Naturia (Tangrowth) (F) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 244 HP / 216 Def / 48 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Rock Slide
Hi, I suck OU teambuilding so I'm posting this here for suggestions. I was looking at cool Pokemon and saw Cobalion so I thought I would look at its analysis, and then I saw that the only set listed was Pivot. I found it interesting that SD wasn't there so I started to build a team off that. I added Alakazam to screw with Fighting-types, particularly Lopunny, and liked how Cobalion could pressure Bisharp and Weavile. I added Azu cuz i felt like i needed a wallbreaker at this point and zam's good at removing Amplitude and Mega Venusaur which could ruin its day. Landorus is here to check Lopunny and a few other things while giving my team Stealth Rocks and U-turn support. Room to give me a good defensive water, volt switch, and bird check. Since I'm bad I pretty much always use Land with Room and vice versa when I put one in the team but that's just because they have amazing synergy. Finally I added Tangrowth to pressure Water-types and add a Ground resist. I still felt weak to Talonflame and Char-Y so I added Rock Slide to get a lot of chip damage.
What I feel about the team is that it could be good with some changes but lacks a few things that ultimately puts in behind versus other well built teams. Some examples of things I want to have but don't: no stallbreaker, only one win con, no hazard control, no grounded Poison-type (TSpikes is really annoying.) Thx for any help, bye
i decided to build a balance team around Reuniclus. This is because it is one of my favorite pokemon, and I feel it has a lot of potential. As such, i used the standard calm mind spread which can be extremely dangerous. A plus side about reuniclus is that it handles stall very well, except for M-Sableye. As such, I didnt really need a dedicated wallbreaker. I chose clefable in the next spot, as it offers a valuable dark resist to check weavile and ttar, which is super useful for reuniclus. It can also take on mega sableye very well, as well as defoggers like lati@s. As such, i used a stealth rock set with magic guard. It also lures in steels like scizor, and can eliminate them or severely damage them with fire blast. I chose m-lop next because my team didn't really have a lot of speed or offensive presence. It is also a really nice offensive check to tyranitar and other dark types. It can weaken teams very well. I chose quagsire for my next slot because i needed a reliable way to check and/or counter set up sweepers. A steel resist and electric immunity is also very useful. Ferrothorn is there to spread paralysis and spikes, and provides a fairy resist for the team. it's also useful to switch into earthquakes and dracos well. Finally, i chose zapdos, as a way to deal with birdspam and scizor/steels. Dealing with fighting types is also very nice. However, my team really struggles with powerful wallbreakers like terrakion and charizard y. Im not sure what to change, so some help would be appreciated! thanks!!
I built this team around Crawdaunt. It was originally for the Teambuilders Workshop but I was trying a ton of Crawdaunt builds that I didn't like and then started to drift away, so I'm pretty sure someone else completed that request. Anyway this ended up being finished way later anyway but I wanna share it cuz I think it's cool.
I decided to use SD Crawdaunt, since I wanted it to have some utility against offense being able to switch up moves and potentially sweep late game with an SD. I figured Crawdaunt invites in Keldeo primarily so for a partner I went with Latios. Thunderbolt hits bulky waters, and Surf hits Heatran / Diancie etc. Mag was added because mons like Skarm, Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn were really annoying and it can pretty much take care of them outside of offensive Zor. Specs smacks stuff and provides a slow Volt Switch, while also battering Clefable which the team was weak to so far. At this point I wanted some more speed and went with Scarf Lando-T since it completes the Volt-Turn and makes for a strong revenge killer and provides a ground immunity. Superpower is on the last slot primarily for Air Balloon Excadrill since it's a pretty big threat. Needed Stealth Rock and a real Scizor check so standard Heatran was added. At this point in the build I added Mega Sceptile which is a pretty uncommon 'mon but provides a few things for this team. It balances out the speed of the team which helps with mons like Mega Lopunny and Thundurus, as well as Latios and some other fast mons like Keldeo. Pursuit is used to hit Starmie so that Heatran can keep Rocks up later on. Nowadays it helps with Latios too since they run Surf pretty commonly. 40 Atk investment makes Earthquake a 50% chance to KO Heatran after Stealth Rock and helps Pursuit deal more damage to switch-outs.
In retrospect Band Craw might still work here so I'll probably test that out too. May try Psyshock over Tbolt on Lati as well given the Sceptile and Magnezone already
these are some teams I built a while ago by picking out some unclaimed cores in the teambuilding workshop as well as some fun cores I devised myself. feel free to use them or critique them c:
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 228 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
- Stealth Rock
a for fun offense made around the core of mega lopunny + bisharp + talonflame. really potent core that breaks down each others shared checks so bisharp or talonflame can win. it does well against all archetypes, but quagsire was pretty annoying so mega lopunny learns grass knot and it can 2HKO quag with it most of the time. obviously, you can decide against that and just run ice punch lol. bulky sd talonflame is the best talonflame imo and this one is running taunt for a better balance and stall matchup with enough speed to outrun neutral base 100's. lum bisharp is the second wincon and in general does what it does best. defog latios so talonflame can be used freely with thunderbolt to lure in skarmory and bulky waters. grasses aren't too annoying since the main offensive core wears them down very fast. finally, i kinda threw on a defensive core of rotom-w and spd jirachi since they check a vast amount of threats and form a nice volt-turn core.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 184 HP / 72 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 244 HP / 216 Def / 48 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Sleep Powder
- Stun Spore
a nice bo around band tyranitar and specs keldeo. its a standard core, ttar traps keld's checks so it can click scald without remorse. mega latias is a nice all around sponge for a lot of things and is a cm user and only wincon. thunderbolt lures skarmory and weakens waters early on while surf is better coverage and hits tran, both a nice options. scarf lando is proabably the best scarfer in the tier. it helps with a ton of faster threats such as mega zam, zard x, etc. heatran and tangrowth is a tried and true defensive core used to cover a wide range of threats while providing significant utility.
an ho made around sd + 3 attacks garchomp and cm latios. premise was fire fang garchomp beating all relevant steels so it can sweep itself and for latios to break past defensive builds. mega diancie was added as a countermeasure to other dragons while also functions as an insane offensive threat, can't really remember the other reasons. heatran was added as a multipurpose check to a ton of things and it softens up stall for latios. air balloon since spikes make life difficult for this team. thundy beats waters, lures in quag for garchomp while also applying pressure to gastrodon, speed control, just normal thundy things that make it such a threat. sludge wave is a legit option that lures in clefable and beats it before it has the chance to boost. loom is a sand check, ground check, dark check, etc.
an offense made around mega pinsir. latios is latios; multipurpose mon that checks a ton of things while also providing defog support. thunderbolt lures skarmory since i think magnezone is a waste of the steel slot. psyshock is kinda missed, but i think the team handles amoonguss just fine. azumarill softens up grounds and functions as another wincon with its belly drum set, which is honestly one of the most threatening wincons in the tier. knock off KO's amoonguss after a Drum which is $$$. scarf lando provides speed control and revenge kills annoying threats like mega zam (recurring theme here). heatran + rotom-w is pretty much the best defensive backbone right now due to the wide variety of things they check together and i've explained more than enough about what they do lol.
this is one of the most fun teams i've built. it started around a core of mega diancie + volc + dugtrio. premise was diancie reflecting stealth rock with magic bounce and just pressuring teams from getgo. dugtrio traps tran (and other things like zard x) so volcarona can just setup and click bug buzz or fiery dance without having to worry. fiery dance is legit good since being able to boost your special attack through attacking is awesome. latios clears rocks away when mega diancie fails to and check to a swath of mons'. rotom-w + jirachi is such a good core. thunder wave works ok if you want some other counterplay to zard x bar duggy and diancie
Hello everyone my name is Execute, and I am here to share a team I made based around Mega - Alakazam. Its a mega i haven't tinkered with a lot but I find it really cool and interesting to use. I started the team off with Alakazam + Ferrothorn due to the fact that Alakazam while fast and strong, won't be cranking out as much damage as say another mega such as Metagross or Medicham, where it trades power for speed, so to compensate for that, I thought Ferrothorn providing spike support would be a good fit. Landorus + Rotom-Wash help provide VoltTurn support and help give Alakazam free switch-ins. Landorus helps check the likes of Excadrill, Zard X, Lopunny, etc. It holds a Yache Berry so that it can take a HP Ice from Thundurus, Mega Manetric, Raikou, after taking a bit of chip damage and proceed to kill them. Rotom-Wash acts as a bird check while checking Excadrill in Sand, Azu, Opposing Landorus-T, etc. Tornadus-T as added to help to get Zam in for free while checking Keldeo, Serperior, and other special attackers while outspeeding them and killing them. You can double it in onto an incoming Starmie to prevent a spin. Excadrill acts as the teams spinner, as this team is a volt-turn / hazard stacking team, I wanted a way to ensure our team can switch around for free. It can also revenge kill the likes of Mega Manetric, Raikou, Sand Rush Drill, Weakened Lati's, Etc.
I hope you guys like the team and have a nice day n_n
This team was built by the user Dark★Shionand i helped him with some sets and he told me that i could post his team here. This is an offense team with Belly Drum Azumarill + SD Mega Pinsir, two threatening set-up sweepers being capable of destroying teams on their own. Azumarill can lure Amoonguss expecting the CB set and that helps Keldeo, Latios is another special wallbreaker, checks some special attackers and uses Defog, which is mandatory with Mega Pinsir and Landorus-T to provide Stealth Rock support and check physical attackers. Magneton is there to get rid of Skarmory, which the team appreciates, mainly Pinsir. The original team by Dark Shion had Specs Magnezone + Scarf Keldeo, i thought about swapping their sets but tigers jaw had the idea of using Mangeton as the Scarf user because it has extra speed and that may help since Starmie and Tornadus-T are dangerous for this team. http://hastebin.com/raw/cuguqanoya
I'm burnt out (more or less since I was on council and a large factor why I left) enjoying the game less and less and plan on taking a break from ORAS indefinitely (still love ADV although not that great at it), in the hopes to stop playing this game but lol the last time I tried that failed but at least there's incentive now with the new gen coming in a few months. Here's all my shitty squads I've been using or have on me. If I bother making new squads I'll start out fresh, I normally go through and throw out a lot anyways. You can use them or build on ideas, use sets, w/e. A lot of it was experimental kind of the time period where I was leaving teambuilders shop, and if you talked with the guys like DennisEg, Regnite (although think he's rip) and jacob they'd let you know how out there I can be, most of my old stuff is in workshops and wherever teams can be normally found here anyways. The drive for this game has dwindled with life taking priority but it's nice to see a lot of my pals like bludz, nedor, celtic and many others improve or do something here. EVs are probably all over the place but dc lol. Any responses here I more than likely wont respond to fyi. Enjoy dorks.
Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Def / 40 SpA / 180 SpD / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Clear Smog
- Foul Play
- Spore
One of my favorite techs lately is wall-breaker + pivots + Bulky SubSD Chomp. Bulky SD chomp trades a bit of offensive prowess (albeit not much) to set up on the likes of amoonguss and Chansey for free. Once Skarmory and unaware mons is out of the picture defensive teams fall to this. Medicham is good at blasting back w/e.
This was the first I experimented with Vincune, since then sets have changed (like not using sand) but the premise of the team is there, the best part it has no steels so you use Clefable + M-Gard as your dragon resist like a true Professional Pokemon Player™. Bludz loves my M-Gard set cause its walled by Amoonguss.
Heracross-Mega @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 240 HP / 136 Atk / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast
- Substitute
Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 32 HP / 252 Atk / 188 SpD / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
Landorus-Therian @ Expert Belt
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 80 HP / 176 Atk / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Toxic
- Gravity
M-Hera is definitely in the top 10 or so of megas right now. It's such a fantastic wall-breaker and has the capabilities of dismantling certain archetypes / cores by itself. Another cool set I've been using is Rocky Helmet Amoonguss, which deters U-Turn spammers like Lando-T. Wear down M-Heras conventional checks and then do work.
Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Pursuit
Toxic Spikes is a pretty anti-meta tool although falls flat against hard stall most times. Some of the best set up sweepers in the tier are blocked by Tspike exploitable mons like Slowbro, Tangrowth, and Hippowdon. Sub Char-X is a bit unconventional but can provide some free set up opportunities for people who use Heatran + Lando-T as the Char-X. Moves are all interchangeable as always based on preference.
Jirachi @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
- Stealth Rock
Using the Watmel Azu set + Mag support to remove Scizor and steels for M-Diancie + Dragonite to do work. This was the time period I was playing around with HP Ice M-Diancie for Rocky Helm Lando-T, Dnites biggest issue most times. The Lando-T set courtesy of Kratosmana from the BW underrated set thread.
Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Def / 108 SpD / 136 Spe
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- U-turn
- Roost
Diggersby @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Frustration
- Fire Punch
- Quick Attack
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 88 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Power Whip
- Thunder Wave
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 80 HP / 176 Atk / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock
- Gravity
Back with the weirdness. After I played HSA in UU open and made his Whimsicott switch in go poof with Ice Beam on the switch I wanted to make a squad with it for OU. It's a bit ragged but kind of fun to use.
Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 176 HP / 80 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Heat Wave
Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
What's cool about Mew is you can kind of cater it to do w/e, granted some people really overrate its versatility. This ones functions more as a lead to deter common setters such as Lando-T, Chomp, and Heatran. Tpunch Zard-X lures mons like Azu in which people seem to like using these days.
M-Aero + Zap squad. Toxic M-Aero to catch its usual checks, Volt Switch Zapdos Club making a return to pivot into its checks for the offensive portions to take advantage of. Games are normally won with Keldeo or Metagross.
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Heart Stamp
- Healing Wish
If you played the first and second cycles of OLT you might've saw p2 spamming this team. Uses Gyarados to lure Diancie checks and Scizor. Lansat SD Loom lures the popular grasses and removes them after an SD, paving the way for Diancie to spam Moonblast.
Another unconventional one using fast roost Bug Bite M-Scizor, Offensive SR Shuca Empoleon. Kind of weak to Keldeo but Torn-T is low key busted so just use that.
Lopunny-Mega @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Frustration
- High Jump Kick
- Quick Attack
- Fake Out
Serperior @ Life Orb
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Knock Off
- Aqua Tail
- Swords Dance
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Thunder Wave
- Soft-Boiled
- Stealth Rock
I've been experimenting with Mental Herb Clefable to offset the use of Taunt Heatran and Taunt Torn-T as a counterplay to Clefable, providing it an opportunity to paralyze them and pave the way for Keld and M-Scizor a bit easier. Everything is kind of standard here with a more offensive M-Scizor for offensive pressure against fairies.
Another experiment with the use of Agility Gross to lure in Lando-T and Chomp for pals. Char-Ys sun + Entei to pass burns around. Punching holes with the fire duo and Metagross, trapping w/e with Dugtrio, for Terrakion to clean. Latias is the epitome of an awful mon but it serves its purpose here pretty well, Colbur optional on it.
A take on M-Venu Hyper Offense, sporting strong offensive process and bulk, with Growth to serve as a win con against slower squads while threatening Heatran. Really goony, rip to Archphantom the originator of goons.
Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Toxic
- Rapid Spin
Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Def / 52 SpD
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sleep Powder
More normal looking squad. The use of fast Rocks tar cause the bulky set kind of sucks now that its prepped for with no effort and luring in Defensive Lando-T with Ice Beam and Roasting Skarm / Ferro is nice.
Another simple team, basic cores, with the use of Mamoswine as the more unconventional mon to serve wall-breaker role while luring rotom-W with freeze dry and its priority.
Slowbro @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 60 SpD / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Slack Off
- Calm Mind
Cobalion @ Chople Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 116 HP / 140 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Sacred Sword
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
Weird ass squad I was rocking around the 1800 range during cycle, dunking with Band Lando-T. I conceptualized the thought of how Tailwind Zard-Y would work in mitigating revenge killing from it + Weavile and Lando, but it's rarely used and an optional move will probably be more useful. On paper it loses to about everything. In practice it mostly does l0l.
Heracross-Mega @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 240 HP / 136 Atk / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast
- Knock Off
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 60 SpD / 196 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
- Stealth Rock
Bulky SubSalac Chomp makes a return on one of the few squads I enjoyed using recently, also one of Vertex's (aka ballislife smh) favorite squads. Knock Off M-Hera plays on peoples tendencies to dance around it to keep it at bay so removing items such as Clefables leftovers or Lando-Ts Rocky Helmets is always nice. Specs Gengar is a hit or miss a lot of times but I hate how Life Orb damage makes it easy to wear down. Thunder lures AV Torn-T which is KO'd after rocks, worst case scenario barring miss paralyzing it with its 30% paralysis chance. M-Hera + Chomp + Rachi is a pretty strong combo.
You probably saw me laddering with this where I hit mid 1900s facing a couple of guys like finch, wcar, the multitude of special needs childrens running Baton Pass to justify the validity of their relevance, and then made the fatal mistake of putting Crawdaunt over Cloyster for whatever stupid reason was going through my head and proceeding to go on an awful losing streak and slighty induced rage *deep breath*, sorry to my fans who thought I would make it lol I almost did though!!! robopoke put me on to Band Cloyster when he was talking about it in the OU room, it's not just for style points, i believe he posted the set in creative sets recently. The cool thing about it is that it can put the hurt on stalls the rely on Quagsire as their sole water, as Skarmory gets put into a checkmate from rolls and roosting off icicle spear damage. This team is a bit Rachi weak, like SpDef versions which are slightly annoying. I thought about running Shadow Ball on Latios to lure it in for slightly large damage but I'd rather play around that than be too Heatran weak, plus giving TTar a free turn is bad for a team with no rock resist :x. Bringing back the TBolt M-Gard but a more offensive presence, this version actually being able to break Amoonguss. If anything try out cloyster it's a cool as hell mon in the meta.
FYI this isnt a quit post. The concepts of those need to die honestly. Anyways enjoy the techs.
ah yes, AM with the squads. i've played all of them at one point (except chessboxers), either against AM himself or on the ladder.
the one everyone has to tryout is birds flying high. has amazing matchup against a lot of the spammable ladder teams right now like bird spam, baton pass, lopunny balance,...i always liked stored power > thunder wave over that clefable because it lets you beat tele,abr stall. also, i preferred helmet on that zapdos, but i understand why he has leftovers because rocks are hard to keep off the field so longevity is needed.
got to say, in order:
1. birds flying high
2. house of flying daggers
3. deadly darts
4. flowers
5. sunrays
6. the frog prince
i encourage everyone to give at least one of these a try
quite possibly THE jankiest HO man has ever seen. co-built w/ resident scarf gengar mastermind Hector Hard Mode. started with Ada QA Lop and Talon because they work ok together. added mie because it's the only decent decent form of hazard removal on ho. added yache SD lando because that's how we check elecs now. jolly bd azu and scarf rachi were the lasts because i wasn't trying to get destroyed by zard-x, latis, weav, sand, etc.
toxic talonflame is the new hottest tech you saw it here first folks
bonus importable that gets 6-0d by rotom-w slightly less click me
So people pretty much think im dead but anyways tigers jaw showed me this thread and i decided that id post one of my teams that ive been working with. While not perfect it is nonetheless a solid team.
SD Weavile Balance
Pretty much i wanted to build around SD weavile Due to how weavile forces so many switch ins and with the combination of ice/dark your pretty much able to threaten everything in sight with said coverage so that was the base for this team. Because of how weavile is shut down by things such as Mega scizor which is arguerably the most popular mega these days as well as things such as bold clefable also becoming more popular i needed somthing that could take care of them. For this reason i went with Mag storm heatran. This really annoys pokemon such as scizor and clefable which is exactly what weavile needed and the combination of Taunt+wisp allows tran to weaken or cripple pokemon which was a nice addition. Next up i wanted a sturdy pokemon that could handle fighting types such as keldeo while also having a way to check a ton of threats. Mega latias stood out because of how its bulk and typing allow it to take on several of the pokemon that have moves to hit tran/vile really hard. I went with a calm mind surf set because i feel like this mega latias set covers things like beating opposing heatran and beating keldeo while also taking on electric types nicely. For the next slot i wanted a lati switch in as well as a nice way of dealing with weavile so i went with bold cm clef which generally handles the lati and weavile quite nicely. To compensate for my mega scizor weakness clef has flamethrower to combat them. This also completes a rather nice backbone in tran/mLati/clef which is very useful overall. For the next slot i was in need of somthing that could take on things like Excadrill and landot so i went with rocky helmet Tangrowth which covers both offensive ground types really well. Sleep powder is also nice because it provides weavile with a free switch in. Tangrowth also takes on bisharp decently and can retalate with hp fire. Last i needed a stealth rocker so i went with your average glue rocky helmet landot to provide a decent cb tar and talonflame check while also providing a proper ground immunity which i felt to be invaluable. Overall i think this is a really nice team a few flaws aside such as CB tar still being a threat and weavile can also be a semi annoying mon if clef is weakened.
Concept is to use the core of terrak and garde to 2hko the meta, both are reasonably fast in the current meta and devastate 99% of these new heaty sets.
Zap and volcanion provide a backbone and check faster threats (burds, sand, etc).
Starmie for hazard control and a keld check/secondary lati killer. Lando for speed control and rocks setting, scarf rocks actually sets up on lots of things.
Main weaknesses are weav, diancie, and cm slowbro. Oh, and misses, hence rock slide over/alongside edge on everything. You can probably run more defensive evs on volcanion and toxic over boom to better check these (or just run heatran and be weaker to exca) but idk.
Camerupt has a small niche in OU, immunity to Electric, access to Rocks and Roar.
If you hate Pursuit too, maybe Colbur Berry Slowking could be better. Clefable RestTalk and Wish is a stupid attempt to have more durability against Manaphy, and it worked well lol.
Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Skill Swap
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
Slowbro @ Slowbronite
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Calm Mind
- Slack Off
Cobalion Specs to lure Lando and weaken Skarmory, then Excadrill becomes an even greater threat, Ttar help against stall, Clefa with rocks, Tornadus-T and Slowbro are sponges.