Hello everyone,
Recently I've been trying to find a fun and exciting Pokemon that is somewhat viable in OU, and I've been trying to sneak a few onto teams. One of these Pokemon that shone for me was Porygon-Z. It's quite under the radar and I personally love using it, so I've been trying to figure out a way to put it onto a team and make it viable. I eventually came up with a team and was quite satisfied with it, but the 10 matches that I played with it proved otherwise. I won 6 out of the 10, but I know I can do better. What I did notice though was that there are certain weaknesses in the team that I need to patch up, but I'm struggling to fit all the counters and checks on the team.
Teambuilding Process
Obviously, the team is built around Porygon-Z. I used the standard Z-Conversion set, and put Thunderbolt as the move in the first slot, as Tapu Koko's terrain gives it a massive boost in power, along with Adaptability.
Tapu Koko is Porygon-Z's sidekick and partner-in-crime, setting up Electric Terrain which gives Z's Thunderbolt a boost in power. I chose Screens Koko as it gives a window for Z to come in and setup, as well as ease offensive pressure coming in from the enemy team. But apart from that I don't see much other uses for it, but it's there for now.
Next, I chose Mega-Lopunny as she excels in cleaning up weakened mons and revenge-killing. She's been a very consistent mon for me [apart from the several fatal HJK misses (actually they weren't misses I just got outplayed by Protect) ], and one of my favourite megas in the entire game. A force to be reckoned with.
I needed a well-rounded defensive mon that could take a couple hits for the team, set up rocks, and was a Ground immunity, and Gliscor was the perfect match for me. It's easy to realise why he was moved to OU up from UU. He can consistently set up rocks and is a reliable pivot.
I figured that hazard-stacking and chip damage would make Lopunny and Z's life much easier, so I found myself looking upon Ferrothorn as the next mon in the team. Decent Spikes support, and is a very annoying mon with the combination of Leech Seed + Protect + Iron Barbs. He can easily chip away at enemy Pokemon and can be very annoying to deal with.
For the last member of the team, I chose Toxapex. Not much reasoning, but he was just a really busted defensive mon.
As expected, Toxapex didn't bring much to the team, and I realised that I lacked fire coverage, so I settled with Heatran instead. He provides good utility for the team and is a solid check to Fairy types.
Now, onto the team.
duck.exe (Porygon-Z) @ Normalium Z
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Conversion
The star of the team. Usually the game plan is to weaken and chip at the opponent's Pokemon so this monster can come in and sweep. It's important to make sure all counters to this mon have been ridded of. Thunderbolt is the best option for STAB, as it gets boosted by Electric Terrain. I was playing around with Shadow Ball over recover but I ultimately decided to keep Recover as it is essential against more fat mons that Porygon doesn't OHKO or 2HKO. Max Special Attack and Speed with a Timid Nature for maximum damage output and speed.
Grace (Lopunny-Mega) @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Return
- Ice Punch
A reliable, hard-hitting revenge-killer. Ice Punch works best for me over other coverage moves, and has excellent coverage. Return and HJK for stab, Fake Out for the chip damage. Max speed and attack with a Jolly nature for maximum damage and speed output. Scrappy is an excellent ability as it gives Lopunny the ability to hit Ghost-types such as Mimikyu, Gengar etc. with its HJK and Return, so HJK is less risky.
Quintessa (Tapu Koko) @ Light Clay
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 104 HP / 12 Def / 176 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Taunt
- Volt Switch
The magic maker of the team. Screens Koko is just so strong for me right now and I use it in a lot of my teams. More times than most I lead off with this thing, which is why I have Taunt on it. I'm debating over Volt Switch or U-Turn but kept it as Volt Switch for now. U-Turn is probably more effective as it eases prediction against Ground types. As for the EV spread, well, I copied it from the strategy dex but it seems pretty effective to me.
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 152 Def / 112 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Roost
For once I was sensible and ran a standard SR set instead of SD. But Gliscor is a pretty impressive mon and it's versatility is incredible. U-Turn for the slow pivot which is essential for this team. Roost, along with Poison Heal gives him brilliant longevity, EQ for STAB and Stealth Rock, for, well, Stealth Rock. 112 Speed and Jolly nature to outspeed Heatran, if I remember correctly. Be careful when swapping into things like Rotom-W as a Will-o-Wisp may be headed your way, not enabling you to use your Toxic Orb.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 164 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Protect
I don't actually like to use this mon but I think it works relatively well on this team, acting as a solid counter to many offensive threats in OU, and just a brilliant defensive mon in general. It can just drain the enemy's HP in the space of a few turns and as I mentioned before, is extremely annoying to break. Spikes for hazard stacking, Leech Seed and Power Whip are standard, and Protect to get that extra recovery and slightly ease predictions. Again, the EVs are from Smogon, but the spread makes sense.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Taunt
- Toxic
Heatran is a very peculiar mon. I use it because I needed a solid fairy check and fire coverage for the team. The set is pretty standard, not much else to say really. Taunt + Toxic provides good utility for the team, Toxic weakening mons for Z to come in. Magma Storm is helpful against Celesteela and the likes. Earth Power for coverage against opposing Heatran, Mawile-Mega and others.
So that's it! Leave your suggestions in a reply to this thread. I'm open to all feedback, including harsh criticism. I feel like this team has a lot of potential to help me break through the 1300-1400ELO area that I've been stuck on for ages. I really appreciate the fact that you've taken the time out of your day to read this. Until then, bye!
Recently I've been trying to find a fun and exciting Pokemon that is somewhat viable in OU, and I've been trying to sneak a few onto teams. One of these Pokemon that shone for me was Porygon-Z. It's quite under the radar and I personally love using it, so I've been trying to figure out a way to put it onto a team and make it viable. I eventually came up with a team and was quite satisfied with it, but the 10 matches that I played with it proved otherwise. I won 6 out of the 10, but I know I can do better. What I did notice though was that there are certain weaknesses in the team that I need to patch up, but I'm struggling to fit all the counters and checks on the team.
Teambuilding Process
Obviously, the team is built around Porygon-Z. I used the standard Z-Conversion set, and put Thunderbolt as the move in the first slot, as Tapu Koko's terrain gives it a massive boost in power, along with Adaptability.
Tapu Koko is Porygon-Z's sidekick and partner-in-crime, setting up Electric Terrain which gives Z's Thunderbolt a boost in power. I chose Screens Koko as it gives a window for Z to come in and setup, as well as ease offensive pressure coming in from the enemy team. But apart from that I don't see much other uses for it, but it's there for now.
Next, I chose Mega-Lopunny as she excels in cleaning up weakened mons and revenge-killing. She's been a very consistent mon for me [apart from the several fatal HJK misses (actually they weren't misses I just got outplayed by Protect) ], and one of my favourite megas in the entire game. A force to be reckoned with.
I needed a well-rounded defensive mon that could take a couple hits for the team, set up rocks, and was a Ground immunity, and Gliscor was the perfect match for me. It's easy to realise why he was moved to OU up from UU. He can consistently set up rocks and is a reliable pivot.
I figured that hazard-stacking and chip damage would make Lopunny and Z's life much easier, so I found myself looking upon Ferrothorn as the next mon in the team. Decent Spikes support, and is a very annoying mon with the combination of Leech Seed + Protect + Iron Barbs. He can easily chip away at enemy Pokemon and can be very annoying to deal with.
For the last member of the team, I chose Toxapex. Not much reasoning, but he was just a really busted defensive mon.
As expected, Toxapex didn't bring much to the team, and I realised that I lacked fire coverage, so I settled with Heatran instead. He provides good utility for the team and is a solid check to Fairy types.
Now, onto the team.
duck.exe (Porygon-Z) @ Normalium Z
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Conversion
The star of the team. Usually the game plan is to weaken and chip at the opponent's Pokemon so this monster can come in and sweep. It's important to make sure all counters to this mon have been ridded of. Thunderbolt is the best option for STAB, as it gets boosted by Electric Terrain. I was playing around with Shadow Ball over recover but I ultimately decided to keep Recover as it is essential against more fat mons that Porygon doesn't OHKO or 2HKO. Max Special Attack and Speed with a Timid Nature for maximum damage output and speed.
Grace (Lopunny-Mega) @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Return
- Ice Punch
A reliable, hard-hitting revenge-killer. Ice Punch works best for me over other coverage moves, and has excellent coverage. Return and HJK for stab, Fake Out for the chip damage. Max speed and attack with a Jolly nature for maximum damage and speed output. Scrappy is an excellent ability as it gives Lopunny the ability to hit Ghost-types such as Mimikyu, Gengar etc. with its HJK and Return, so HJK is less risky.
Quintessa (Tapu Koko) @ Light Clay
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 104 HP / 12 Def / 176 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Taunt
- Volt Switch
The magic maker of the team. Screens Koko is just so strong for me right now and I use it in a lot of my teams. More times than most I lead off with this thing, which is why I have Taunt on it. I'm debating over Volt Switch or U-Turn but kept it as Volt Switch for now. U-Turn is probably more effective as it eases prediction against Ground types. As for the EV spread, well, I copied it from the strategy dex but it seems pretty effective to me.
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 152 Def / 112 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Roost
For once I was sensible and ran a standard SR set instead of SD. But Gliscor is a pretty impressive mon and it's versatility is incredible. U-Turn for the slow pivot which is essential for this team. Roost, along with Poison Heal gives him brilliant longevity, EQ for STAB and Stealth Rock, for, well, Stealth Rock. 112 Speed and Jolly nature to outspeed Heatran, if I remember correctly. Be careful when swapping into things like Rotom-W as a Will-o-Wisp may be headed your way, not enabling you to use your Toxic Orb.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 164 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Protect
I don't actually like to use this mon but I think it works relatively well on this team, acting as a solid counter to many offensive threats in OU, and just a brilliant defensive mon in general. It can just drain the enemy's HP in the space of a few turns and as I mentioned before, is extremely annoying to break. Spikes for hazard stacking, Leech Seed and Power Whip are standard, and Protect to get that extra recovery and slightly ease predictions. Again, the EVs are from Smogon, but the spread makes sense.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Taunt
- Toxic
Heatran is a very peculiar mon. I use it because I needed a solid fairy check and fire coverage for the team. The set is pretty standard, not much else to say really. Taunt + Toxic provides good utility for the team, Toxic weakening mons for Z to come in. Magma Storm is helpful against Celesteela and the likes. Earth Power for coverage against opposing Heatran, Mawile-Mega and others.
So that's it! Leave your suggestions in a reply to this thread. I'm open to all feedback, including harsh criticism. I feel like this team has a lot of potential to help me break through the 1300-1400ELO area that I've been stuck on for ages. I really appreciate the fact that you've taken the time out of your day to read this. Until then, bye!
