Welcome to my first ever RMT.
I wanted to share this team with everyone this time around. Normally, I dont do a rate my team because I am aware that I am not the best player on Showdown or Smogon, I have only been playing competitive since April. However, since then I have learned many different sets for OU, RU and PU in particular, which help me make up good teams to take out the deadliest or most used threats in those tiers.
Long story short, I have an obsession with hyper-offensive teams and type synergy, and I finally feel like this team is a perfect mix in every way. It takes pokes from ORAS and XY, using the pretty well known core of Bisharp, Gallade, and Sylveon. Let's take a look at what I have for sets on each Pokemon:
Gallade @ Galladite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Psycho Cut / Zen Headbutt
- Close Combat
- Knock Off / Ice Punch
Gallade, much like Lopunny, is a great offensive mon with high atk and speed with a rare typing of fighting and psychic, which has great synergy with the rest of the core (dark, steel, fairy). Great for taking out many annoying fighting types that are just too fast for my other pokemon to face, as well as taking out some walls such as Porygon-2 and Blissey, in which my team slightly suffers due to lack of fighting type moves on any other mon. It is an excellent sweeper with some good spdef, interestingly enough.
Swords Dance is useful for predicting when the opponent will switch to a defensive mon, so then I may go ahead and tear them down, and possibly even sweep.
Psycho Cut is great as it has a high crit ratio, but it also has 100% accuracy which I particularly like (being the worst person for hax, but then again I'm sure everyone says that). Zen Headbutt could be a good replacement for Psycho Cut if you really want that extra power, which I found unnecessary for Gallade, but your mileage may vary.
Close Combat is excellent for destroying any walls on the field, especially Chansey, Blissey, and Porygon-2 in particular, who would normally take my team to town unless I somehow got a hax streak with Iron Head Bisharp. It also can help clean up the field to finish up a game if Gallade is faster than the mons on my opponents side.
Knock Off or Ice Punch can work here, but I personally prefer Knock Off, because nothing feels greater than predicting a switch and hitting a knock off on a psychic type, or really ANY type entering the field, and making them lose their item rendering them vulnerable. I have used Ice Punch before, but I found it to be sort of useless, since there are TONS of scarfed Lando-T's running around, which you could predict to come in and punch them out of there, but it doesnt even ohko lefties lando because of intimidate.
-1 252 Atk Gallade Ice Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-T: 204-240 (53.4 - 62.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
So generally speaking, knock off hits more mons for a higher advantage overall.
Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Knock Off
The typing synergy about Bisharp and Gallade is amazing, it is truly a perfect mix to protect each other from death in every which way, as Bisharp is also a powerhouse to fear. Bisharp is awesome for Ghost types, Psychic types, Ice types, Rock types, and the best of all: revenge killing. If Gallade and Bisharp were Mario and Luigi, Bisharp would be Luigi; The second banana that backs his brother Gallade out and avenges the death of fallen teammates.
Swords Dance is here for the exact same reason as Gallade. The only difference is the advantage that Bisharp can take more than one hit from a few opponents that are silly enough to stay in, not to mention..
You have priority sucker punch to destroy anything in your path. It is a true guessing game for the opponent; Will he sucker punch, or will he do something different to predict my switch or status usage? As long as sucker punch activates, your opponent will be shred to pieces, especially now that steel no longer resists dark (making Mega Metagross run like a scared little kid!). This moves defines the reason why he is a great revenge killer. These 3 examples are good for revenge kills:
252+ Atk Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Charizard Y: 171-202 (57.5 - 68%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Talonflame: 184-217 (61.9 - 73%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Metagross: 198-234 (54.3 - 64.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Although these calculations may not seem reasonable, these Pokemon are vulnerable to either scarf users, recoil damage or even just my checks until the damage range is perfect to go in with Bisharp for the kill.
Iron Head is just awesome for taking out the obnoxious rock types that are slow, as well as some of the slower powerhouses in the ice types. Plus, 30% flinch chance is outstanding, even without serene grace, to really turn the game around.
Knock Off is also awesome for the same reasons that Gallade has to use it, predictions to make the Pokemon vulnerable. Alternatively, Bisharp could use it to kill if he is fast enough or doesn't believe the opponent will attack instead (in which case you would use sucker punch instead). It also does more damage than Sucker Punch if the opponent has yet to lose their item.
Sylveon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 244 HP / 252 SpA / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
Ah yes, Sylveon. An extremely powerful Pokemon that also works very well with the type synergy of Bisharp and Gallade, as well as taking out two mons that both Bisharp and Gallade trouble with: Mega Sableye and Mega Slowbro. So in general, Sylveon is used as a wallbreaker.
Hyper Voice should be fairly obvious as the best move on offer. With Choice Specs, this dog will kill just about anything that switches in, or anything that cant outspeed which is terrifying for many checks to Bisharp in particular. Oh, and of course, Substitutes dont matter since sound moves go right through them!
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. +1 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Sableye: 330-390 (108.5 - 128.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Assuming M Sableye set up 1 Calm Mind prior to)
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Slowbro: 334-394 (84.7 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Tangrowth: 477-562 (118.3 - 139.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 88 HP / 0 SpD Gyarados: 280-330 (79.3 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
The latter is very nice for Bulky DD Gyarados with Substitute, or even Mega Gyarados.
Psyshock is another great move for Sylveon. When special walls come out, Psyshock is staple if Sylveon is the only viable Pokemon left to save the day. Psyshock can help bring down many defensive Pokemon, including the annoying and very fat Mega Venusaur.
Hidden Power Fire is only decent, unless you have a look at one other defensive mon that has been walling the OU nation:
252+ SpA Choice Specs Sylveon Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 292-348 (82.9 - 98.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Now, you could argue many other Pokemon can do the job better, however, none of them are as interesting as Sylveon. Most of the Ferro killers are fairly obvious choices; Char Y, Char X, Tflame, Garchomp with fire blast or fire fang, and quite a few other flamethrower users. However, Sylveon is especially important because Gyro Ball is weaker than Power Whip, and Power Whip can only do 52% at BEST to Sylveon... Unless the Ferrothorn has some atk EVs, which will most likely never happen in OU Singles anytime soon.
Finally, for the sake of extra coverage, we place Shadow Ball as our last move. There were many choice I had to make with what I wanted as my final move, but Shadow Ball seemed the most reasonable considering I might want to hurt a Metagross switching in, as its probably the only steel type other than Ferro I would ever predict coming in, instead of double switching out into something else. Not only that, but Gengar could expect a Hyper Voice but take a Shadow Ball instead upon switching in. These are only a few examples of the usage possibilities of Shadow Ball, that I have encountered so far with this Sylveon set.
Time for the only defensive mon on the team.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
For as painfully beaten this horse has been, it certainly isn't dead. Rotom is absolutely perfect for protecting my Gallade and Bisharp from Talonflame and Lando-T, who are especially notable at this time in the meta game for being good revenge killers or threats to many mons across OU. Rotom does not care about Lando's StoneQuake or Tflame's BB/Flare Blitz. This set can work in more than one way, the other way being Resto-Chesto, but I particularly prefer Pain Split for a few reasons that we will go over. It should also be noted an electric type was well-deserved for this team, especially with all these flying types around such as Tflame once again, Starptor, and Gyarados.
Hydro Pump is easily the best move Rotom-Wash can dish out to damage anyone that provokes him. Very few Pokemon have no fear of water type moves, but placed along with Volt Switch to run away from grass threats, Rotom is a force to be reckoned with. Since it is the only true attacking option, it isn't the perfect move, however, Rotom has 3 other moves at his disposal to make him do anything you want him to do.
Volt Switch is one of those awesome moves. You can run away from the opponent while forcing them to take a pretty good chunk of damage considering it has such an important secondary effect. This move is debatable for being the most vital attack Rotom can dish out, since it also means he gets to live for another day.
Will-O-Wisp is Rotom-Wash's most useful status move. Lando-T, Gyarados, other mega Gallades and Bisharps, and even some physical Grass type switch-ins will become instantly useless without relentless boosts to cover them.
If Will-O-Wisp, Hydro Pump, or Volt Switch wasn't enough and you need to prolong your Rotom for longer use, you could use Rest.. but that only really works once. So, why have a one time use when you can use leftovers and Pain Split? Pain Split is a little difficult to use due to Rotom not out-speeding a lot in OU, but when it does work, it ultimately makes Rotom more effective for a longer period of time. This is especially useful on Pokemon who are walls with offensive moves to slowly take down Rotoms health (as if it would've worked out for them in the first place), or even Talonflame, because at some point, you are going to want to take its health down a few notches so your other Pokemon can go in for a kill, whether it would be Bisharp or Latios.
Latios (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt
- Defog
I have to confess that I HATED Latios for a very long time. I didn't understand why people used it other than to abuse Draco Meteor (which is still what I think half the time to be honest), or maybe get a defog off. Then I finally started using it and realized... it is an excellent backup strategy along with Rotom-Wash. Not only can it revenge kill, but it can also take a hit or two from some of the scariest Pokemon out there, including Talonflame and Landorus-T. I chose Life Orb instead of Choice Scarf because the ability to be able to predict switches or not having to switch yourself is nice (unless you used a draco or see scarfed Lando-T with U Turn), especially since I personally believe no team should have more than one Pokemon with a scarf.
So why not Roost? Well, upon using it for a long time, I never took full advantage of the move simply because Latios doesn't have enough defensive bulk to take a little bit of damage then roost up for more chaos. It is VERY useful for life orb, but I felt the need for coverage was much more necessary. When you really think about it, Latios is more of a revenge killer than a sponge. Latios can take one or two hits and kill 2 or more Pokemon then run away, which is fine because that is still a ton of damage done by one Pokemon. Thunderbolt also felt needed because Rotom only has Volt Switch, which means he can only use an electric type move once before having to leave, and sometimes you just need more than that. As I mentioned earlier, Latios is sort of a buddy to Rotom, but both are guardians of the sweepers.
Draco Meteor is simply horrifying to deal with for the opponent. Unless your opponent has a Sylveon, one of their Pokemon will most likely not see another attack ever again.
Psyshock is a lot better than Psychic because it gives Venusaur a second reason to hide in the trainers pocket, as well as hurting Sylveon, whether it is Cleric or Specs.
252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon: 165-196 (41.8 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery (Cleric)
252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Sylveon: 242-286 (61.7 - 72.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Specs)
It is always nice to hurt something that will try to Wish itself back to full health. It gives you the time to switch or even attack once more to finish it off.
Thunderbolt was chosen instead of Roost for a few reasons. Azumarill came to mind when I was thinking about Latios checks, and with the silly continuous use of Belly Drum Azu, it simply does not want to take a thunderbolt. You could argue Psyshock would be just as useful, however there is still one more Pokemon that is useful for having Tbolt: Talonflame. Tflame cannot one shot Latios with BB unless it is banded. Tbolt will roast Tflame like nothing, and that is just what I need to help keep my duo sweepers alive. At the same time, you might argue that Latios should be given some defense to compensate for the reason why I have Tbolt on here, but I personally dont see much of Banded flame anymore because people find U Turn just that much useful. So at the end of the day, Latios will do a good chunk of damage, and if not, I always have Rotom to hold down a Tflame even if it is banded.
Defog is simply if I have the time to get rid of rocks or spikes. It isn't a huge deal for my team, however little bits of damage can always matter in a match, especially when you're in a somewhat switch-heavy team like mine. The only deal of fear I would have is for my poor Chandelure, who would love to not have hazards on the field no matter what they are. So in general, Defog is a "nice-to-have" move that finds use when the time comes.
Chandelure @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Overheat
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Shadow Ball
Here is when things get interesting. When I asked anyone about what they thought about Scarf Chandelure, people said Fire Blast and Energy Ball were good options. While they are great, I only kept energy ball because Rotom-Wash is a problem, but also added Overheat to really destroy anything that may harm my own Rotom, but we'll get to that. Simply put, this is my TRUE revenge killer, putting any threats aside so I could create a late-game sweep with my duo of destruction.
Contrary Serperior is something that Rotom-Wash wishes it never sees. Thanks to Overheat, I can not only ohko Serperior with ease, but also disintegrate almost anything of steel typing, ice typing or grass typing that wants to come my way.
252 SpA Chandelure Overheat vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mega Metagross: 422-500 (140.1 - 166.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Chandelure Overheat vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Thick Fat Mega Venusaur: 198-234 (54.3 - 64.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Defensive)
252 SpA Chandelure Overheat vs. 252 HP / 240 SpD Filter Mega Aggron: 316-375 (91.8 - 109%) -- 50% chance to OHKO (OU Tank)
Energy Ball is another useful move that will injure one more Pokemon that could affect my sweeping duo: Rotom Wash. Not only that, but it is also great for Swampert leads, Quagsires, and hurting LOADS of Ground, Rock and Water types to once again give me more coverage.
The one move in question is Hidden Power Ice. Why would someone want that on their Chandelure? I have a few options for who I could take out in this instance. Non-Scarf Garchomp will tremble with fear, but more importantly, we have yet another way to scare Landorus-T away. It is efficient, and more likely to be a surprise than using Trick, which is useful, but not necessary considering that Chandelure appreciates the speed a LOT, especially as a revenge-killer.
Finally, Shadow Ball makes Ghost and Psychic types hurt pretty hard. Watch out Hoopa, cause Chandelure is coming to make you dead on arrival!
..No but in all seriousness, Shadow Ball can do a lot of damage to quite a lot of opponents, including Latios and Latias that arent scarfed, Slowbro, and the occasional Cofagrigus.
In conclusion, that means I deal super effective damage to steel, ice, grass, ground, water, rock, flying, dragon, psychic, and ghost, if I'm not missing any. That is a pretty big list of coverage for a revenge killer, and a good one at that.
Thank you for reading my first ever Rate My Team post. I took a LOT of effort into making this as nicely explained as possible, and I really hope for some positive ratings but I am not afraid to hear some professional and constructive feedback on what could have made my team look better to you. Hope to see you all on the battlefield!
I wanted to share this team with everyone this time around. Normally, I dont do a rate my team because I am aware that I am not the best player on Showdown or Smogon, I have only been playing competitive since April. However, since then I have learned many different sets for OU, RU and PU in particular, which help me make up good teams to take out the deadliest or most used threats in those tiers.
Long story short, I have an obsession with hyper-offensive teams and type synergy, and I finally feel like this team is a perfect mix in every way. It takes pokes from ORAS and XY, using the pretty well known core of Bisharp, Gallade, and Sylveon. Let's take a look at what I have for sets on each Pokemon:
Gallade @ Galladite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Psycho Cut / Zen Headbutt
- Close Combat
- Knock Off / Ice Punch
Gallade, much like Lopunny, is a great offensive mon with high atk and speed with a rare typing of fighting and psychic, which has great synergy with the rest of the core (dark, steel, fairy). Great for taking out many annoying fighting types that are just too fast for my other pokemon to face, as well as taking out some walls such as Porygon-2 and Blissey, in which my team slightly suffers due to lack of fighting type moves on any other mon. It is an excellent sweeper with some good spdef, interestingly enough.
Swords Dance is useful for predicting when the opponent will switch to a defensive mon, so then I may go ahead and tear them down, and possibly even sweep.
Psycho Cut is great as it has a high crit ratio, but it also has 100% accuracy which I particularly like (being the worst person for hax, but then again I'm sure everyone says that). Zen Headbutt could be a good replacement for Psycho Cut if you really want that extra power, which I found unnecessary for Gallade, but your mileage may vary.
Close Combat is excellent for destroying any walls on the field, especially Chansey, Blissey, and Porygon-2 in particular, who would normally take my team to town unless I somehow got a hax streak with Iron Head Bisharp. It also can help clean up the field to finish up a game if Gallade is faster than the mons on my opponents side.
Knock Off or Ice Punch can work here, but I personally prefer Knock Off, because nothing feels greater than predicting a switch and hitting a knock off on a psychic type, or really ANY type entering the field, and making them lose their item rendering them vulnerable. I have used Ice Punch before, but I found it to be sort of useless, since there are TONS of scarfed Lando-T's running around, which you could predict to come in and punch them out of there, but it doesnt even ohko lefties lando because of intimidate.
-1 252 Atk Gallade Ice Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-T: 204-240 (53.4 - 62.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
So generally speaking, knock off hits more mons for a higher advantage overall.
Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Knock Off
The typing synergy about Bisharp and Gallade is amazing, it is truly a perfect mix to protect each other from death in every which way, as Bisharp is also a powerhouse to fear. Bisharp is awesome for Ghost types, Psychic types, Ice types, Rock types, and the best of all: revenge killing. If Gallade and Bisharp were Mario and Luigi, Bisharp would be Luigi; The second banana that backs his brother Gallade out and avenges the death of fallen teammates.
Swords Dance is here for the exact same reason as Gallade. The only difference is the advantage that Bisharp can take more than one hit from a few opponents that are silly enough to stay in, not to mention..
You have priority sucker punch to destroy anything in your path. It is a true guessing game for the opponent; Will he sucker punch, or will he do something different to predict my switch or status usage? As long as sucker punch activates, your opponent will be shred to pieces, especially now that steel no longer resists dark (making Mega Metagross run like a scared little kid!). This moves defines the reason why he is a great revenge killer. These 3 examples are good for revenge kills:
252+ Atk Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Charizard Y: 171-202 (57.5 - 68%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Talonflame: 184-217 (61.9 - 73%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Metagross: 198-234 (54.3 - 64.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Although these calculations may not seem reasonable, these Pokemon are vulnerable to either scarf users, recoil damage or even just my checks until the damage range is perfect to go in with Bisharp for the kill.
Iron Head is just awesome for taking out the obnoxious rock types that are slow, as well as some of the slower powerhouses in the ice types. Plus, 30% flinch chance is outstanding, even without serene grace, to really turn the game around.
Knock Off is also awesome for the same reasons that Gallade has to use it, predictions to make the Pokemon vulnerable. Alternatively, Bisharp could use it to kill if he is fast enough or doesn't believe the opponent will attack instead (in which case you would use sucker punch instead). It also does more damage than Sucker Punch if the opponent has yet to lose their item.
Sylveon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 244 HP / 252 SpA / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
Ah yes, Sylveon. An extremely powerful Pokemon that also works very well with the type synergy of Bisharp and Gallade, as well as taking out two mons that both Bisharp and Gallade trouble with: Mega Sableye and Mega Slowbro. So in general, Sylveon is used as a wallbreaker.
Hyper Voice should be fairly obvious as the best move on offer. With Choice Specs, this dog will kill just about anything that switches in, or anything that cant outspeed which is terrifying for many checks to Bisharp in particular. Oh, and of course, Substitutes dont matter since sound moves go right through them!
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. +1 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Sableye: 330-390 (108.5 - 128.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Assuming M Sableye set up 1 Calm Mind prior to)
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Slowbro: 334-394 (84.7 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Tangrowth: 477-562 (118.3 - 139.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 88 HP / 0 SpD Gyarados: 280-330 (79.3 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
The latter is very nice for Bulky DD Gyarados with Substitute, or even Mega Gyarados.
Psyshock is another great move for Sylveon. When special walls come out, Psyshock is staple if Sylveon is the only viable Pokemon left to save the day. Psyshock can help bring down many defensive Pokemon, including the annoying and very fat Mega Venusaur.
Hidden Power Fire is only decent, unless you have a look at one other defensive mon that has been walling the OU nation:
252+ SpA Choice Specs Sylveon Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 292-348 (82.9 - 98.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Now, you could argue many other Pokemon can do the job better, however, none of them are as interesting as Sylveon. Most of the Ferro killers are fairly obvious choices; Char Y, Char X, Tflame, Garchomp with fire blast or fire fang, and quite a few other flamethrower users. However, Sylveon is especially important because Gyro Ball is weaker than Power Whip, and Power Whip can only do 52% at BEST to Sylveon... Unless the Ferrothorn has some atk EVs, which will most likely never happen in OU Singles anytime soon.
Finally, for the sake of extra coverage, we place Shadow Ball as our last move. There were many choice I had to make with what I wanted as my final move, but Shadow Ball seemed the most reasonable considering I might want to hurt a Metagross switching in, as its probably the only steel type other than Ferro I would ever predict coming in, instead of double switching out into something else. Not only that, but Gengar could expect a Hyper Voice but take a Shadow Ball instead upon switching in. These are only a few examples of the usage possibilities of Shadow Ball, that I have encountered so far with this Sylveon set.
Time for the only defensive mon on the team.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
For as painfully beaten this horse has been, it certainly isn't dead. Rotom is absolutely perfect for protecting my Gallade and Bisharp from Talonflame and Lando-T, who are especially notable at this time in the meta game for being good revenge killers or threats to many mons across OU. Rotom does not care about Lando's StoneQuake or Tflame's BB/Flare Blitz. This set can work in more than one way, the other way being Resto-Chesto, but I particularly prefer Pain Split for a few reasons that we will go over. It should also be noted an electric type was well-deserved for this team, especially with all these flying types around such as Tflame once again, Starptor, and Gyarados.
Hydro Pump is easily the best move Rotom-Wash can dish out to damage anyone that provokes him. Very few Pokemon have no fear of water type moves, but placed along with Volt Switch to run away from grass threats, Rotom is a force to be reckoned with. Since it is the only true attacking option, it isn't the perfect move, however, Rotom has 3 other moves at his disposal to make him do anything you want him to do.
Volt Switch is one of those awesome moves. You can run away from the opponent while forcing them to take a pretty good chunk of damage considering it has such an important secondary effect. This move is debatable for being the most vital attack Rotom can dish out, since it also means he gets to live for another day.
Will-O-Wisp is Rotom-Wash's most useful status move. Lando-T, Gyarados, other mega Gallades and Bisharps, and even some physical Grass type switch-ins will become instantly useless without relentless boosts to cover them.
If Will-O-Wisp, Hydro Pump, or Volt Switch wasn't enough and you need to prolong your Rotom for longer use, you could use Rest.. but that only really works once. So, why have a one time use when you can use leftovers and Pain Split? Pain Split is a little difficult to use due to Rotom not out-speeding a lot in OU, but when it does work, it ultimately makes Rotom more effective for a longer period of time. This is especially useful on Pokemon who are walls with offensive moves to slowly take down Rotoms health (as if it would've worked out for them in the first place), or even Talonflame, because at some point, you are going to want to take its health down a few notches so your other Pokemon can go in for a kill, whether it would be Bisharp or Latios.
Latios (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt
- Defog
I have to confess that I HATED Latios for a very long time. I didn't understand why people used it other than to abuse Draco Meteor (which is still what I think half the time to be honest), or maybe get a defog off. Then I finally started using it and realized... it is an excellent backup strategy along with Rotom-Wash. Not only can it revenge kill, but it can also take a hit or two from some of the scariest Pokemon out there, including Talonflame and Landorus-T. I chose Life Orb instead of Choice Scarf because the ability to be able to predict switches or not having to switch yourself is nice (unless you used a draco or see scarfed Lando-T with U Turn), especially since I personally believe no team should have more than one Pokemon with a scarf.
So why not Roost? Well, upon using it for a long time, I never took full advantage of the move simply because Latios doesn't have enough defensive bulk to take a little bit of damage then roost up for more chaos. It is VERY useful for life orb, but I felt the need for coverage was much more necessary. When you really think about it, Latios is more of a revenge killer than a sponge. Latios can take one or two hits and kill 2 or more Pokemon then run away, which is fine because that is still a ton of damage done by one Pokemon. Thunderbolt also felt needed because Rotom only has Volt Switch, which means he can only use an electric type move once before having to leave, and sometimes you just need more than that. As I mentioned earlier, Latios is sort of a buddy to Rotom, but both are guardians of the sweepers.
Draco Meteor is simply horrifying to deal with for the opponent. Unless your opponent has a Sylveon, one of their Pokemon will most likely not see another attack ever again.
Psyshock is a lot better than Psychic because it gives Venusaur a second reason to hide in the trainers pocket, as well as hurting Sylveon, whether it is Cleric or Specs.
252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon: 165-196 (41.8 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery (Cleric)
252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Sylveon: 242-286 (61.7 - 72.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Specs)
It is always nice to hurt something that will try to Wish itself back to full health. It gives you the time to switch or even attack once more to finish it off.
Thunderbolt was chosen instead of Roost for a few reasons. Azumarill came to mind when I was thinking about Latios checks, and with the silly continuous use of Belly Drum Azu, it simply does not want to take a thunderbolt. You could argue Psyshock would be just as useful, however there is still one more Pokemon that is useful for having Tbolt: Talonflame. Tflame cannot one shot Latios with BB unless it is banded. Tbolt will roast Tflame like nothing, and that is just what I need to help keep my duo sweepers alive. At the same time, you might argue that Latios should be given some defense to compensate for the reason why I have Tbolt on here, but I personally dont see much of Banded flame anymore because people find U Turn just that much useful. So at the end of the day, Latios will do a good chunk of damage, and if not, I always have Rotom to hold down a Tflame even if it is banded.
Defog is simply if I have the time to get rid of rocks or spikes. It isn't a huge deal for my team, however little bits of damage can always matter in a match, especially when you're in a somewhat switch-heavy team like mine. The only deal of fear I would have is for my poor Chandelure, who would love to not have hazards on the field no matter what they are. So in general, Defog is a "nice-to-have" move that finds use when the time comes.
Chandelure @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Overheat
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Shadow Ball
Here is when things get interesting. When I asked anyone about what they thought about Scarf Chandelure, people said Fire Blast and Energy Ball were good options. While they are great, I only kept energy ball because Rotom-Wash is a problem, but also added Overheat to really destroy anything that may harm my own Rotom, but we'll get to that. Simply put, this is my TRUE revenge killer, putting any threats aside so I could create a late-game sweep with my duo of destruction.
Contrary Serperior is something that Rotom-Wash wishes it never sees. Thanks to Overheat, I can not only ohko Serperior with ease, but also disintegrate almost anything of steel typing, ice typing or grass typing that wants to come my way.
252 SpA Chandelure Overheat vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mega Metagross: 422-500 (140.1 - 166.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Chandelure Overheat vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Thick Fat Mega Venusaur: 198-234 (54.3 - 64.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Defensive)
252 SpA Chandelure Overheat vs. 252 HP / 240 SpD Filter Mega Aggron: 316-375 (91.8 - 109%) -- 50% chance to OHKO (OU Tank)
Energy Ball is another useful move that will injure one more Pokemon that could affect my sweeping duo: Rotom Wash. Not only that, but it is also great for Swampert leads, Quagsires, and hurting LOADS of Ground, Rock and Water types to once again give me more coverage.
The one move in question is Hidden Power Ice. Why would someone want that on their Chandelure? I have a few options for who I could take out in this instance. Non-Scarf Garchomp will tremble with fear, but more importantly, we have yet another way to scare Landorus-T away. It is efficient, and more likely to be a surprise than using Trick, which is useful, but not necessary considering that Chandelure appreciates the speed a LOT, especially as a revenge-killer.
Finally, Shadow Ball makes Ghost and Psychic types hurt pretty hard. Watch out Hoopa, cause Chandelure is coming to make you dead on arrival!
..No but in all seriousness, Shadow Ball can do a lot of damage to quite a lot of opponents, including Latios and Latias that arent scarfed, Slowbro, and the occasional Cofagrigus.
In conclusion, that means I deal super effective damage to steel, ice, grass, ground, water, rock, flying, dragon, psychic, and ghost, if I'm not missing any. That is a pretty big list of coverage for a revenge killer, and a good one at that.
Thank you for reading my first ever Rate My Team post. I took a LOT of effort into making this as nicely explained as possible, and I really hope for some positive ratings but I am not afraid to hear some professional and constructive feedback on what could have made my team look better to you. Hope to see you all on the battlefield!
