Greetings, folks! Off-time lurker, first-time poster.
Upon the announcement of Gen VIII for the Switch, I felt it keen to come back to Pokemon after a hiatus since Gen V. So much changed, and there was so much more to learn (the fairy-type notwithstanding). I also thought I'd start taking the game seriously and assemble a competitively competent collection of pocket monsters. This was my first go of it, so I started at OU, read around the site, and immediately realized how crucial legendaries were. Of course, my main goal was to make something I could play within the Ultra Sun game proper, and hunting legendaries with perfect IV's seemed a bit too involved for me (at the time). So, I did the next best thing: use only non-legendary pokemon, breeding them to insure maximum stats! I called it "Team No-Cool-Kids". The first version of this team was exactly so, but after some serious scrutiny, I found a few holes against competitors more than willing to use the best the game had to offer. So, I made a single swap, and I think I have something workable here. Of course, this is my first competitive team, so that's up for debate. Rambling aside, let's get to the breakdown.
THE TEAM
"Dracula"
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 52 Def / 100 SpD / 112 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- U-Turn
Gliscor is the Stealth Rock-setter of this team, and almost always opens the match to immediately start applying said entry hazards. The set is fairly standard. 112 Speed EVs out-speeds most Heatran builds and checks them with STAB Earthquake. Toxapex is also threatened by the move, but perhaps to a lesser extent, as this is not the SD variant of Gliscor. Toxic is present to put certain threats on a timer, like an opposing Landorus-T or Tornadus-T. Being immune to poison itself, Gliscor's Poison Heal, in conjunction with Toxic Orb, allows for reliable regeneration and quasi-immunity to other statuses (most notably burns from Scald). The last move, U-Turn, might seem odd, as it turns Gliscor into this 'neither-fish-nor-fowl' Stealth-Rocker, not sweeping with Swords Dance or stalling with Roost. However, the element of surprise is a powerful tool. U-Turn is appreciated by the heavy hitters of the team to bring them in safely, as well as creating a pseudo-VoltTurn core with Rotom-Wash and its Volt Switch. I wanted to make sure I could apply pressure with this team no matter what, and as a Stealth-Rocker into Pivot, Gliscor does the job to keep the team flexible.
"Urbosa"
Mawile-Mega @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Fire Fang
Mega-Mawile is the designated Wallbreaker, and was the initial build-around when I first made this team. She appreciates the entry hazards and U-Turn of Gliscor, the Volt Switch of Rotom-Wash, and the paralysis from Serperior's Glare. Out-speeding an already chipped-at opponent is right in Mega-Mawile's wheelhouse. 164 Speed EV's outpaces Sassy Mega-Venusaur and below, but don't bank on the speed alone. Sucker Punch gives priority, and will be the main move against naturally faster foes, like Kartana and Mega-Alakazam. Be aware, though, that Tapu Lele's Psychic Terrain disables priority moves, so deployment order is crucial. Swords Dance allows for sweep potential, or an added boost when faced with a pokemon Mega-Mawile can setup on. Fire Fang is mainly for coverage against the likes of Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor, as well as certain bulky Grass-types. Most sets would run Thunder Punch, but the main pull for that move, Toxapex, can be handled readily by Tapu Lele. I felt that the team was lacking answers for Tangrowth, as well as Steel types like Celesteela and Skarmory.
"Superfly"
Rotom-Wash @ Wiki Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Defog
Rotom-Wash is the Pivot of the team, allowing for defensive moves to give the rest of the team breathing room. 200 Def gives Rotom-Wash the physical bulk it needs to switch into Flying-Type threats like Gyarados, Mega-Pinsir, and Tornadus-T, whilst subsequently punishing them with Will-O-Wisp burns, cutting their physical attack effectiveness further. If they switch out due to the threat of Volt Switch, namely into Grass-types, the move still allows for a quick pivot into Fire Fang from Mega Mawile or Hidden Power Fire from Serperior. Defog is the mandatory hazard clearing move, and Rotom-Wash's typing allows it to match well against entry hazard-setters like Landorus-T and Heatran. Of course, this sacrifices Pain Split, making Rotom-Wash low on recovery, so a Wiki Berry is used to absorb a particularly damaging move once upon a switch in, then let Rotom-Wash get to work. The original version of this team had a Clefable with Wish support, which paired well with Rotom-Wash. However, I found that such cleric support was just too slow, and somewhat exploitable if the opponent knew which pokemon needed the heals the most. More on Clefable later, though.
"The Duke"
Serperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 56 HP / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power Fire
- Substitute
- Glare
Serperior is the Special Sweeper of the team, moving fast to paralyze opponents and setup behind a Substitute. Leaf Storm in conjunction with Contrary is a fantastic combination, letting Serperior break past some resilient walls like Clefable and Toxapex. Hidden Power Fire is present for coverage, easily taking care of non-Choice Scarf Kartana. Once the move is boosted from Contrary Leaf Storms, it can even handle Grass and Steel-types that would seem too bulky for Serperior starting out, as its base Special Attack is not too impressive. Substitute is a necessity due to Serperior's rather lackluster bulk, giving it a chance to avoid statuses like poison or paralysis that would otherwise cripple it, with Leftovers covering the HP cost. 56 HP EV's are enough to hold the Substitute against opposing Rotom-Wash's Hydro Pump and Toxapex's Scald. Both are excellent targets to setup on with Leaf Storms.
"Flutterby"
Tapu Lele @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Taunt
- Focus Blast
Tapu Lele is the Stallbreaker of the team, and is the change from the original team's Clefable. I find Tapu Lele better on this team than Clefable for a few reasons. My original Clefable was specialized for Special Defense, and would act as a wall whilst healing with Moonlight and Wish support. However, most teams I've seen don't give the chance to pull off Wish on the necessary pokemon during a match (most teams I've seen aren't stall). I needed to change from balance to a more offense-oriented line-up. Tapu Lele retains Clefable's Moonblast, and hits harder with it to boot. It also gives better offensive coverage with Psychic, boosted by Psychic Terrain, and Focus Blast, boosted to All-Out Pummeling with Fightinium Z. Of course, the main crux of Tapu Lele for this team is Taunt, letting it stop stalling tactics against the likes of Toxapex and Chansey, though the latter handles this set's moves well with its excellent Special Defense. I still favor Psychic over Psyshock due to the former being more powerful against neutral opponents, as well as the rest of my team's physical attack being fairly strong already. As with every sweeper, switch-in support and entry hazards are appreciated, so Gliscor and Rotom-Wash can bring in Tapu Lele advantageously, with better odds to OHKO opponents if they took Stealth Rock damage.
"Monty"
Weavile @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Pursuit
Last, but certainly not least, is Weavile, the Revenge Killer. Weavile is scary fast, and it allows for heavy hits that out-speed the likes of Mega-Latios/Latias with Pursuit trapping, and Icicle Crash against Landorus-T and Garchomp for a OHKO more often than not. Weavile's typing also gives it STAB Knock Off, one of the strongest in the tier, which is excellent for removing Black Sludge, Leftovers, and Assault Vests, making sweeping by its teammates all the easier. This is the main reason I have Pressure as its ability over Pickpocket, as there is usually no item to steal afterwards anyhow. Ice Shard, being a priority move, allows Weavile to counteract Choice Scarf variants of Landorus-T. However, like Mega Mawile's Sucker Punch, it too is disabled by Tapu Lele's Psychic Terrain. Of course, depending on the match-up and deployment order, this could be negligible. With Weavile being so frail, however, entry hazards are a big threat, namely Stealth Rock. Rotom-Wash's Defog helps with that, and can bring in Weavile with a slow Volt Switch to better its odds of making picks.
CONCLUSION
And so, this is my first attempt at a truly competitive team. It has an entry hazard, negative status application, VoltTurn, good offensive coverage, and is more or less tooled for answering some of the top dogs of the OU metagame in an aggressive manner. Of course, it's not perfect. I have the sneaking suspicion that swapping out Gliscor for a suicide lead like Excadrill and turning the whole team Hyper Offense would fit my preferred play-style of constant pressure. Also, switching out my Clefable lost me a wall and subsequent staying power, making stalling teams a bit scarier if one of my breakers falters, or even bulky offense teams if the match draws out a bit too long. Of course, the whole "Team No-Cool-Kids" ideal, not utilizing any legendaries to begin with, may just have been a bad idea from the start, but working within stipulation has made me become more stringent with my selections in team-building (still have plently to learn, of course). This team is mainly for USUM festival plaza battles, and I have yet to run into the likes of Ash-Greninja (thank Arceus), but pokemon like that, Magearna, Mega-Medicham and certain other fighting types, and Zapdos to a lesser extent, would most likely give me trouble. If you happen to have any improvements or suggestions, please feel free to add them below. I thank you for your time, and let's all hope we can transfer our pokemon to Sword and Shield through the Bank when the games release later this year.
