With the last ORAS game of SPL XII having been played now, and with me really not wanting to wait until someone else posts a similar thread, I figured I'd post all the more or less cool stuff I used this season in here. First off, I want to thank all my opponents for some legitimately enjoyable games of Pokémon, I know this tier is getting a lot of flak recently but I really do think that ORAS is in its best state in ages. Tons of viable options, seemingly more viable Megas and regular Pokémon gaining niches than ever, and really no dull games (unless you count me bringing Stall vs BK but that's on me of course).
Without further ado, here are some of the sets I used, and unlike certain people scared (?) (lol) of showing their complete spreads you'll actually get the real deal here. Enjoy! ^_^ Hoping for others to share their cool stuff as well, I've seen so many Pokémon I want to read more about in this tournament!
Sweepers
SEVERED FATE (Tyranitar-Mega) @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 180 HP / 76 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Earthquake
Pretty standard as far as Sweepers behind Screens go these days. One of Mega Tyranitar's biggest issues has always been not being able to OHKO bulky Pokémon and getting statused in return (Think Clefable, Rotom-Wash, Gastrodon with Toxic/Clear Smog/Counter, etc..), but Substitute turns all of those into setup fodder, especially if they don't expect it. Dragon Dance as they come in, Substitute on the TWave/Wisp, Dragon Dance as they fail to break your Sub behind screens, and suddenly they are staring down a +2 +2 75% Tyranitar behind a Sub and Screens. Gg. Jolly is probably better now just so you don't get revenge killed at +1 by rogue Brick Break Weavile/Tornadus-T.
DRAGON BLADE (Charizard) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 184 HP / 148 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Flame Charge
Pretty much the same concept as Mega Tyranitar (or Sub DD Altaria/Gyarados, which I didn't get to use but did make teams with). A lot harder to time since you kinda need to get both a Swords Dance and at least one Flame Charge, have less bulk, and are initially 4x weak to Rocks, but if you do it's pretty much over. One cool thing this does (and did in Tests a lot) is setting up as regular Charizard, especially if you know something can't touch you at all. Something like Ice Fang Gliscor, EP Heatran or LO Clefable turns from an annoyance into complete setup bait if you are patient with your Mega Evolution.
barbaracle team (Barbaracle) @ Life Orb
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Razor Shell
- Superpower
- X-Scissor
Ok, so, this thing looks like insane dick, but I swear it's pretty decent! Probably better when the metagame revolved around Torn-T + Excadrill more so than now, but it still finds some setup opportunities and absolutely smashes most things that look like they'd be good against it (unless you know the set). The cool thing is that most of the Pokémon that actually do live a hit from this end up being pretty good MMeta checks, so it's easy to pave a way for him.
Some things you obliterate at +2: Mega Metagross (Razor Shell - 91% min, Superpower - 97% min), Physdef Rotom-W (Superpower 94% min), Physdef Tangrowth (X-Scissor 85% min), regular Slowbro (dies because it sucks), Keldeo (+1 Superpower still always kills, if they get the wise idea to lure the first SP)
Some things you don't quite kill but put into MMeta range: Physdef Garchomp, Physdef Skarmory, Physdef Mega Scizor, Mega Slowbro. All of these are taking upwards of 70% while heavily invested, easily putting them into range for Mega Metagross.
Unlike the other two Sweepers, Barbaracle doesn't really need or want screens. Its typing, vulnerability to Status, and suicidial tendencies via Life Orb mean that it's a lot more important to pick wisely what to set up on. Tornadus-Therian used to be my go-to, and I've swept entire teams by setting up on Vest Tornadus leads, but these kind of teams aren't super common right now. Maybe they'll be back in the future. One thing to note is that Barbaracle is also decently fast, easily outspeeding slower Scarfers such as Rotom formes, Excadrill, and Landorus-Therian, even while Adamant. Jolly just barely misses out on Keldeo and Latis, so even if you didn't need the Extra Power it's probably not worth it. Also, don't get catfished by Cross Chop, Superpower with its perfect accuracy and 20 more BP is far superior for something like this.
FIRE OF SINAI (Zygarde) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 88 HP / 236 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Substitute
Another Pokémon that probably looks quite terrible, given its subpar offensive movepool in Gen 6. Anything not on the Ground forces an Outrage, which is easily abusable by fairies, not to mention that 100 Attack doesn't exactly leave much of a mark on many things. That said, I had been working on HO with Mega Gyarados and Manaphy for a few weeks by the time I started preparing for Semifinals. The main issue I had found was the overbearing electric weakness something like Manaphy + Gyarados gives you, especially against Scarf Magnezone. It doesn't help that most Ground types on HO are leading (Landorus, Excadrill), meaning you'll probably not have much in the way of immunities left. Thundurus-T works, but it felt pretty clunky, not to mention that you now have two Pokémon sharing a SR weakness. I thought that Mega Gyarados in general was quite good against the teams Neider was bringing for most of the Tour, so I set out looking for something that could potentially solve the issue at hand.
After some searching in the PS teambuilder, Zygarde is what I came up with. While it's definitely not amazing offensively, it had everything I needed: an electric immunity, a threatening offensive presence if left alone, quite a few shared checks with Gyarados (Tangrowth, Clefable, even Slowbro with the Gyarados Set I had), as well as immense bulk to check stuff such as Bisharp. It ended up working way better than I had ever imagined in practice, but it's most definitely a pretty niche mon. I've also tested Weakness Policy over Lum, and it's super easy to activate given that stuff like Clefable Moonblast and Slowbro Ice Beam doesn't come close to killing you, but Outrage unfortunately makes Lum Berry pretty much a necessity. Also helps dealing with certain Status users such as Rotom, as few people seem to expect Substitute and Lum on the same Set. Like Barbaracle, it only fits on very specific builds, but I actually think it's pretty legitimate, even more so than Barbaracle. Really, if it had better STAB moves to use (even just Dragon Rush), it'd probably be well above average as far as Sweepers go. This thing is obviously pretty much completely unkillable behind screens, of course, but like Barbaracle it doesn't really need them, either.
KONGO ZAOU (Bisharp) @ Leftovers
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Atk / 64 SpD / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
Obviously nothing special about the moveset itself, but I figured I'd dedicate at least one part of this post to Bulky SD Bisharp, seeing how much I've been using it and how dangerous it is. I have never been a fan of Bisharp on Screens, mostly because Screens do very little for Bisharp. Most of the things that check you do so offensively, by straight up just killing you, and many of them will OHKO you even while screens are up. Keldeo, Lopunny, and Scarftar have absolutely no problem disposing of Bisharp with screens up, and the ubiquity of Brick Break does Bisharp no favors either, since damage is dealt after removing screens. Screens definitely aren't completely useless, easily allowing Bisharp to stay in on Pokémon such as Diancie and Gliscor with little risk (you're usually fine vs Gliscor anyway, but it sucks if they're faster than you), but I've always felt like they were... suboptimal as a way to Support Bisharp. Webs are definitely a lot more useful, in my opinion.
However, enter bulky SD Bisharp. Everyone knows the set similar to this one from that stupid Wish Killer team, and it's actually pretty good. The extra bulk allows Bisharp to live a LOT of hits, making it both easier to set up and easier to sweep, not to mention the luxury of having such a sick defensive typing on an offensive team, and on a Pokémon that's actually quite bulky to boot. Offensively checking Clef and actually switching into Weaviles STAB moves is something not many Pokémon do. Outplaying Sucker Punch becomes a nightmare when you recover 6% of your health every turn, too. My spread in particular lives Mega Diancie Earth Power, but I'm sure there's lots of different things you can do with your EV spread. I think going bulky is definitely the play, also as a better check to Latis (in Addition to the aforementioned Clefable and Weavile) , all of which can be quite annoying for HO teams. While I did say Bisharp doesn't need screens, this thing is an absolutely unkillable monster behind screens as well. Lum is an option, especially since you'll definitely be slower than Rotom, but Leftovers are seriously broken on this thing. In short, I think this Set is (currently) a lot better than the old 252 Speed Adamant Blackglasses Set, mostly because the extra bulk gives it more opportunities to actually sweep and be useful in Situations where it can't sweep. If you do want a faster Bisharp, I say go Jolly Life Orb, both for the stronger Iron Head and to actually reliably outspeed stuff such as Gliscor.
Entry Hazards
FALLEN GRIGORI (Chesnaught) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Wood Hammer
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
This thing probably isn't very good anymore right now, but it served its purpose on my Week 1 team. The idea is that I wanted to use Medicham + Rotom-W, but this usually leads to pretty similar builds weak to pretty similar stuff. Excadrill is a given, seeing how Spikes in particular absolutely wreck Medicham (not to mention that it's a solid Clefable check), and there's very little reason not to use Tornadus-Therian when you already have Medi/Rotom/Excadrill going. Everyone knows how well Excadrill + Tornadus synergize together, and Voltturning around is obviously amazing with Medicham in the back. I ended up using Keldeo as my fifth member, for the dark resist and Weavile/Bisharp check, but was originally stumped about how to proceed. Historically, I've been pretty weak to Rotom-W, and this Team was definitely no exception at this point. After trying Breloom and being disappointed with it for the 16th time because it's absolutely terrible, my teammate marcop suggested Chesnaught for some cracked up reason.
I... actually really liked the idea after going through Chesnaughts assets. I had found Mega Lopunny to be quite annoying as well, and while this Set certainly doesn't counter Lopunny, Helmet chip means both Medicham and Rotom have a much easier time dealing with it. It also allows me to get Chip damage on stuff such as Metagross, and obviously have something to pivot into against Rotom. While getting burned sucks, that was always Chesnaught's purpose, so it's fine. Also turns out that Spikes are pretty good with Medicham!
I decided on a Super offensive spread and Set for multiple reasons. Firstly, like I said, Rotom-W was one of my Main targets for this. Outspeeding and doing enormous damage to Rotom is HUGE for this team. The speed also lets you outspeed Adamant Bisharp and Mega Scizor, making it actually pretty solid against both if Webs are not up. Helmet + Superpower easily puts Scizor into range for my Rotom. Secondly, Stone Edge is just awesome, especially with no one expecting it. My Turn 1 play usually was looking to lead Rotom-W into Tornadus-T and immediately crippling it with Scarf Thunder Wave to open up Medicham and Keldeo from the get-go. Chesnaught has good odds to OHKO Tornadus after SR, which is crucial, as I'd otherwise give them an opportunity to slow U-turn out, losing huge amounts of momentum. Also, I've sniped Volcarona and Pinsir trying to set up, which just feels amazing every time. I think this Set is the best it gets on that particular team (and probably for Chesnaught in general), and way superior to anything defensive.
HAND OF GLORY (Garchomp) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 240 HP / 12 Atk / 100 Def / 148 SpD / 8 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb
- Flamethrower
I think I posted a pretty similar Set last time, but with Toxic over Rock Tomb (which is still valid! I think we can all agree on the importance of a Rock move in this metagame, though). There's really not much to say: The EVs live Mega Diancie Moonblast, letting you lead into and kill it. Not always worth it, but definitely valuable in some matchups, especially if they're scared of random Scarf Chomp or something and just Switch. Also easily lives +2 Modest Lum or +1 Modest Orb Bug Buzz from Volcarona and OHKOs back. Rock Tomb also Hits Tornadus for pretty decent damage, especially since most of them can't really touch you (Hurricane does like a 30%). With Toxic, this thing usually ends up trading favorably with Rotom as well, which can be valuable for some teams. Obviously don't use this like Physically Defensive Garchomp, it still outspeeds Bisharp and I think lives any Sucker Punch it can throw at you except for maybe Adamant Life Orb, but you're definitely not going to be taking Ice Punch from Mega Metagross or anything like that.
GARDEN OF EDEN (Uxie) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Imprison
- Memento
- Thunder Wave
One of many HO leads, specifically designed to screw with other HO leads. Imprison shuts down Landorus, Mental Herb Twave -> Imprison shuts down Azelf unless Lum. Not much counterplay vs Diancie or Excadrill (although you either get SR or a free Switch against Drill while blocking theirs), but there's always going to be some give and take. I was fine making those sacrifices. You can use moves such as Yawn or U-turn, but I found Memento giving you immediate setup as well as blocking Rapid Spin to be the most useful for my Team. U-turn lets you do something against Serperior which is pretty nice, because you really do not want to Memento into Serperior. Really.
Pivots/Misc. Pokémon
SWIFTNESS (Tornadus-Therian) (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane / Air Slash / Heat Wave
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Taunt
I had the idea to use this after Luigi dismantled me with his Taunt Tornadus on rain. Obviously, people use Sets similar to this one in Gen 7, but I've never seen someone try to use it in ORAS. I don't think I need to explain why Taunt on something this fast is absolutely amazing, and the rest of the set should be self explanatory as well. Don't think it's only good against HO, though, Taunt + Helmet + Knock + Hurricane + U-turn absolutely dismantles slow teams, especially with Rocks against no Rocks. Honestly, I'm kinda surprised no one else has been using this, it's soooo damn good. Obviously, like with Garchomp, don't use it like the other Set and just Switch it into Specs Keldeo or Mega Alakazam all the time.
LIGHT DEVOURER (Bisharp) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 248 HP / 152 Atk / 96 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
Another take on bulky Bisharp, this time as a Pursuit Trapper. It follows the same idea my SD one does: Having a Pokémon with Bisharps typing and a lot of bulk is invaluable while checking Pokémon such as Clefable, Latis, and Weavile. My entire Week 8/9 team also happened to revolve around killing other Dark types so Latias wins, meaning you'd see me Pursuit Weavile and Scarf Tyranitar with this quite a lot, too. Not to mention the kick you get every time you Pursuit trap a Mega Metagross trying to avoid Sucker Punch... The EVs live +3 Modest Manaphy Surf after SR, letting you cripple it with Knock Off + Sucker Punch so it becomes easy pickings. While you don't usually actually kill Manaphy, this gets around all the items that ruin lots of other Manaphy checks, mostly Sitrus Berry and Quick Claw. You get rid of both of them, probably actually making this one of more reliable Manaphy checks out there, seeing how you only really lose to a crit.
PESTILENCE (Rotom-Mow) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 120 HP / 136 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Leaf Storm
- Trick
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Hidden Power [Ice] / Thunder Wave / Will-O-Wisp
Then finally, we have this guy. If you've read my Chesnaught paragraph, then you probably know how paranoid I am about the washing machine, and how obsessed I am with finding offensive Rotom-W checks. This is one of them, easily coming into Volt Switch doing pitiful damage or Hydro Pump/Wisp to immediately threaten the OHKO with Leaf Storm. However, it does even more than that. Leaf Storm does a TON of damage to Manaphy, threatening to OHKO even Max HP variants after SR. This in turn means that you don't have to Volt Switch around like a fool for like 3 turns. Even behind Light Screen, Volt Switch + Leaf Storm puts Manaphy in range for pretty much everything ever. Leaf Storm also devastates Mega Gyarados, who is seeing a lot more usage currently. Another niche this has over Rotom-W is the fact that Gastrodon and Seismitoad can't block your Volt Switches. I mean, they can, but it's risky business, especially since Rotom tends to Trick rather early against those kind of teams. Amoonguss absorbing my Volt Switches was fine, seeing how I had Heatran and Alakazam to immediately punish it.
That said, you obviously lose some stuff as well. Having Leaf Storm means that the other Ground types - Gliscor, Excadrill, and Landorus - don't need to fear you nearly as much as they fear Rotom-W. It still does a LOT to offensive Excadrill and Landorus, but SpDef Drill and Gliscor shut you down pretty hard. Losing the Flying resist is probably the biggest thing. Rotom-C wants nothing to do with Tornadus, and you are not going to do well against Talonflame or Pinsir either compared to Rotom-W. You also gain a Bug weakness, meaning this thing is terrible at dealing with Landorus-T. Your resistance to Steel also goes from 4x to 2x which is more relevant than it probably sounds. Excadrill and Metagross do a LOT of damage to this thing. For those reasons, I'd only recommend this together with your own Landorus-T or something of that sort. Make sure to take into Account the ice resist turning into a weakness, as well, although this is definitely less significant considering how mediocre Rotom-W is at checking stuff like Weavile anyway. I think this thing has a pretty solid niche in the current metagame. The EVs live +2 Adamant Mega Pinsir after SR. Last move is up in the air, really. HP Fire 3 shots Ferrothorn which is one of your hardest counters just by typing, and pretty much OHKOs offensive Mega Scizor. HP Ice does a lot of damage to Gliscor, threatening to 2HKO most variants. Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp are pretty standard fillers. Honestly, I haven't had to click my 4th move with this yet, but I think HP Fire sounds the best on paper. It's all about the first 3 moves, though.
Tagging everyone who played at least one game of ORAS this SPL (according to the sheet). LET'S SEE THE HEAT Sjneider Luigi London Beats xray Dragon Claw Santu Gondra jonfilch BK Relous Corckscrew Eternal Spirit Isza z0mOG baddummy ElectricityCat Bushtush Frania steelskitty Chaitanya Vulpix03
Without further ado, here are some of the sets I used, and unlike certain people scared (?) (lol) of showing their complete spreads you'll actually get the real deal here. Enjoy! ^_^ Hoping for others to share their cool stuff as well, I've seen so many Pokémon I want to read more about in this tournament!
Sweepers
SEVERED FATE (Tyranitar-Mega) @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 180 HP / 76 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Earthquake
Pretty standard as far as Sweepers behind Screens go these days. One of Mega Tyranitar's biggest issues has always been not being able to OHKO bulky Pokémon and getting statused in return (Think Clefable, Rotom-Wash, Gastrodon with Toxic/Clear Smog/Counter, etc..), but Substitute turns all of those into setup fodder, especially if they don't expect it. Dragon Dance as they come in, Substitute on the TWave/Wisp, Dragon Dance as they fail to break your Sub behind screens, and suddenly they are staring down a +2 +2 75% Tyranitar behind a Sub and Screens. Gg. Jolly is probably better now just so you don't get revenge killed at +1 by rogue Brick Break Weavile/Tornadus-T.
DRAGON BLADE (Charizard) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 184 HP / 148 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Flame Charge
Pretty much the same concept as Mega Tyranitar (or Sub DD Altaria/Gyarados, which I didn't get to use but did make teams with). A lot harder to time since you kinda need to get both a Swords Dance and at least one Flame Charge, have less bulk, and are initially 4x weak to Rocks, but if you do it's pretty much over. One cool thing this does (and did in Tests a lot) is setting up as regular Charizard, especially if you know something can't touch you at all. Something like Ice Fang Gliscor, EP Heatran or LO Clefable turns from an annoyance into complete setup bait if you are patient with your Mega Evolution.
barbaracle team (Barbaracle) @ Life Orb
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Razor Shell
- Superpower
- X-Scissor
Ok, so, this thing looks like insane dick, but I swear it's pretty decent! Probably better when the metagame revolved around Torn-T + Excadrill more so than now, but it still finds some setup opportunities and absolutely smashes most things that look like they'd be good against it (unless you know the set). The cool thing is that most of the Pokémon that actually do live a hit from this end up being pretty good MMeta checks, so it's easy to pave a way for him.
Some things you obliterate at +2: Mega Metagross (Razor Shell - 91% min, Superpower - 97% min), Physdef Rotom-W (Superpower 94% min), Physdef Tangrowth (X-Scissor 85% min), regular Slowbro (dies because it sucks), Keldeo (+1 Superpower still always kills, if they get the wise idea to lure the first SP)
Some things you don't quite kill but put into MMeta range: Physdef Garchomp, Physdef Skarmory, Physdef Mega Scizor, Mega Slowbro. All of these are taking upwards of 70% while heavily invested, easily putting them into range for Mega Metagross.
Unlike the other two Sweepers, Barbaracle doesn't really need or want screens. Its typing, vulnerability to Status, and suicidial tendencies via Life Orb mean that it's a lot more important to pick wisely what to set up on. Tornadus-Therian used to be my go-to, and I've swept entire teams by setting up on Vest Tornadus leads, but these kind of teams aren't super common right now. Maybe they'll be back in the future. One thing to note is that Barbaracle is also decently fast, easily outspeeding slower Scarfers such as Rotom formes, Excadrill, and Landorus-Therian, even while Adamant. Jolly just barely misses out on Keldeo and Latis, so even if you didn't need the Extra Power it's probably not worth it. Also, don't get catfished by Cross Chop, Superpower with its perfect accuracy and 20 more BP is far superior for something like this.
FIRE OF SINAI (Zygarde) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 88 HP / 236 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Substitute
Another Pokémon that probably looks quite terrible, given its subpar offensive movepool in Gen 6. Anything not on the Ground forces an Outrage, which is easily abusable by fairies, not to mention that 100 Attack doesn't exactly leave much of a mark on many things. That said, I had been working on HO with Mega Gyarados and Manaphy for a few weeks by the time I started preparing for Semifinals. The main issue I had found was the overbearing electric weakness something like Manaphy + Gyarados gives you, especially against Scarf Magnezone. It doesn't help that most Ground types on HO are leading (Landorus, Excadrill), meaning you'll probably not have much in the way of immunities left. Thundurus-T works, but it felt pretty clunky, not to mention that you now have two Pokémon sharing a SR weakness. I thought that Mega Gyarados in general was quite good against the teams Neider was bringing for most of the Tour, so I set out looking for something that could potentially solve the issue at hand.
After some searching in the PS teambuilder, Zygarde is what I came up with. While it's definitely not amazing offensively, it had everything I needed: an electric immunity, a threatening offensive presence if left alone, quite a few shared checks with Gyarados (Tangrowth, Clefable, even Slowbro with the Gyarados Set I had), as well as immense bulk to check stuff such as Bisharp. It ended up working way better than I had ever imagined in practice, but it's most definitely a pretty niche mon. I've also tested Weakness Policy over Lum, and it's super easy to activate given that stuff like Clefable Moonblast and Slowbro Ice Beam doesn't come close to killing you, but Outrage unfortunately makes Lum Berry pretty much a necessity. Also helps dealing with certain Status users such as Rotom, as few people seem to expect Substitute and Lum on the same Set. Like Barbaracle, it only fits on very specific builds, but I actually think it's pretty legitimate, even more so than Barbaracle. Really, if it had better STAB moves to use (even just Dragon Rush), it'd probably be well above average as far as Sweepers go. This thing is obviously pretty much completely unkillable behind screens, of course, but like Barbaracle it doesn't really need them, either.
KONGO ZAOU (Bisharp) @ Leftovers
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Atk / 64 SpD / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
Obviously nothing special about the moveset itself, but I figured I'd dedicate at least one part of this post to Bulky SD Bisharp, seeing how much I've been using it and how dangerous it is. I have never been a fan of Bisharp on Screens, mostly because Screens do very little for Bisharp. Most of the things that check you do so offensively, by straight up just killing you, and many of them will OHKO you even while screens are up. Keldeo, Lopunny, and Scarftar have absolutely no problem disposing of Bisharp with screens up, and the ubiquity of Brick Break does Bisharp no favors either, since damage is dealt after removing screens. Screens definitely aren't completely useless, easily allowing Bisharp to stay in on Pokémon such as Diancie and Gliscor with little risk (you're usually fine vs Gliscor anyway, but it sucks if they're faster than you), but I've always felt like they were... suboptimal as a way to Support Bisharp. Webs are definitely a lot more useful, in my opinion.
However, enter bulky SD Bisharp. Everyone knows the set similar to this one from that stupid Wish Killer team, and it's actually pretty good. The extra bulk allows Bisharp to live a LOT of hits, making it both easier to set up and easier to sweep, not to mention the luxury of having such a sick defensive typing on an offensive team, and on a Pokémon that's actually quite bulky to boot. Offensively checking Clef and actually switching into Weaviles STAB moves is something not many Pokémon do. Outplaying Sucker Punch becomes a nightmare when you recover 6% of your health every turn, too. My spread in particular lives Mega Diancie Earth Power, but I'm sure there's lots of different things you can do with your EV spread. I think going bulky is definitely the play, also as a better check to Latis (in Addition to the aforementioned Clefable and Weavile) , all of which can be quite annoying for HO teams. While I did say Bisharp doesn't need screens, this thing is an absolutely unkillable monster behind screens as well. Lum is an option, especially since you'll definitely be slower than Rotom, but Leftovers are seriously broken on this thing. In short, I think this Set is (currently) a lot better than the old 252 Speed Adamant Blackglasses Set, mostly because the extra bulk gives it more opportunities to actually sweep and be useful in Situations where it can't sweep. If you do want a faster Bisharp, I say go Jolly Life Orb, both for the stronger Iron Head and to actually reliably outspeed stuff such as Gliscor.
Entry Hazards
FALLEN GRIGORI (Chesnaught) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Wood Hammer
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
This thing probably isn't very good anymore right now, but it served its purpose on my Week 1 team. The idea is that I wanted to use Medicham + Rotom-W, but this usually leads to pretty similar builds weak to pretty similar stuff. Excadrill is a given, seeing how Spikes in particular absolutely wreck Medicham (not to mention that it's a solid Clefable check), and there's very little reason not to use Tornadus-Therian when you already have Medi/Rotom/Excadrill going. Everyone knows how well Excadrill + Tornadus synergize together, and Voltturning around is obviously amazing with Medicham in the back. I ended up using Keldeo as my fifth member, for the dark resist and Weavile/Bisharp check, but was originally stumped about how to proceed. Historically, I've been pretty weak to Rotom-W, and this Team was definitely no exception at this point. After trying Breloom and being disappointed with it for the 16th time because it's absolutely terrible, my teammate marcop suggested Chesnaught for some cracked up reason.
I... actually really liked the idea after going through Chesnaughts assets. I had found Mega Lopunny to be quite annoying as well, and while this Set certainly doesn't counter Lopunny, Helmet chip means both Medicham and Rotom have a much easier time dealing with it. It also allows me to get Chip damage on stuff such as Metagross, and obviously have something to pivot into against Rotom. While getting burned sucks, that was always Chesnaught's purpose, so it's fine. Also turns out that Spikes are pretty good with Medicham!
I decided on a Super offensive spread and Set for multiple reasons. Firstly, like I said, Rotom-W was one of my Main targets for this. Outspeeding and doing enormous damage to Rotom is HUGE for this team. The speed also lets you outspeed Adamant Bisharp and Mega Scizor, making it actually pretty solid against both if Webs are not up. Helmet + Superpower easily puts Scizor into range for my Rotom. Secondly, Stone Edge is just awesome, especially with no one expecting it. My Turn 1 play usually was looking to lead Rotom-W into Tornadus-T and immediately crippling it with Scarf Thunder Wave to open up Medicham and Keldeo from the get-go. Chesnaught has good odds to OHKO Tornadus after SR, which is crucial, as I'd otherwise give them an opportunity to slow U-turn out, losing huge amounts of momentum. Also, I've sniped Volcarona and Pinsir trying to set up, which just feels amazing every time. I think this Set is the best it gets on that particular team (and probably for Chesnaught in general), and way superior to anything defensive.
HAND OF GLORY (Garchomp) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 240 HP / 12 Atk / 100 Def / 148 SpD / 8 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb
- Flamethrower
I think I posted a pretty similar Set last time, but with Toxic over Rock Tomb (which is still valid! I think we can all agree on the importance of a Rock move in this metagame, though). There's really not much to say: The EVs live Mega Diancie Moonblast, letting you lead into and kill it. Not always worth it, but definitely valuable in some matchups, especially if they're scared of random Scarf Chomp or something and just Switch. Also easily lives +2 Modest Lum or +1 Modest Orb Bug Buzz from Volcarona and OHKOs back. Rock Tomb also Hits Tornadus for pretty decent damage, especially since most of them can't really touch you (Hurricane does like a 30%). With Toxic, this thing usually ends up trading favorably with Rotom as well, which can be valuable for some teams. Obviously don't use this like Physically Defensive Garchomp, it still outspeeds Bisharp and I think lives any Sucker Punch it can throw at you except for maybe Adamant Life Orb, but you're definitely not going to be taking Ice Punch from Mega Metagross or anything like that.
GARDEN OF EDEN (Uxie) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Imprison
- Memento
- Thunder Wave
One of many HO leads, specifically designed to screw with other HO leads. Imprison shuts down Landorus, Mental Herb Twave -> Imprison shuts down Azelf unless Lum. Not much counterplay vs Diancie or Excadrill (although you either get SR or a free Switch against Drill while blocking theirs), but there's always going to be some give and take. I was fine making those sacrifices. You can use moves such as Yawn or U-turn, but I found Memento giving you immediate setup as well as blocking Rapid Spin to be the most useful for my Team. U-turn lets you do something against Serperior which is pretty nice, because you really do not want to Memento into Serperior. Really.
Pivots/Misc. Pokémon
SWIFTNESS (Tornadus-Therian) (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane / Air Slash / Heat Wave
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Taunt
I had the idea to use this after Luigi dismantled me with his Taunt Tornadus on rain. Obviously, people use Sets similar to this one in Gen 7, but I've never seen someone try to use it in ORAS. I don't think I need to explain why Taunt on something this fast is absolutely amazing, and the rest of the set should be self explanatory as well. Don't think it's only good against HO, though, Taunt + Helmet + Knock + Hurricane + U-turn absolutely dismantles slow teams, especially with Rocks against no Rocks. Honestly, I'm kinda surprised no one else has been using this, it's soooo damn good. Obviously, like with Garchomp, don't use it like the other Set and just Switch it into Specs Keldeo or Mega Alakazam all the time.
LIGHT DEVOURER (Bisharp) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 248 HP / 152 Atk / 96 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
Another take on bulky Bisharp, this time as a Pursuit Trapper. It follows the same idea my SD one does: Having a Pokémon with Bisharps typing and a lot of bulk is invaluable while checking Pokémon such as Clefable, Latis, and Weavile. My entire Week 8/9 team also happened to revolve around killing other Dark types so Latias wins, meaning you'd see me Pursuit Weavile and Scarf Tyranitar with this quite a lot, too. Not to mention the kick you get every time you Pursuit trap a Mega Metagross trying to avoid Sucker Punch... The EVs live +3 Modest Manaphy Surf after SR, letting you cripple it with Knock Off + Sucker Punch so it becomes easy pickings. While you don't usually actually kill Manaphy, this gets around all the items that ruin lots of other Manaphy checks, mostly Sitrus Berry and Quick Claw. You get rid of both of them, probably actually making this one of more reliable Manaphy checks out there, seeing how you only really lose to a crit.
PESTILENCE (Rotom-Mow) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 120 HP / 136 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Leaf Storm
- Trick
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Hidden Power [Ice] / Thunder Wave / Will-O-Wisp
Then finally, we have this guy. If you've read my Chesnaught paragraph, then you probably know how paranoid I am about the washing machine, and how obsessed I am with finding offensive Rotom-W checks. This is one of them, easily coming into Volt Switch doing pitiful damage or Hydro Pump/Wisp to immediately threaten the OHKO with Leaf Storm. However, it does even more than that. Leaf Storm does a TON of damage to Manaphy, threatening to OHKO even Max HP variants after SR. This in turn means that you don't have to Volt Switch around like a fool for like 3 turns. Even behind Light Screen, Volt Switch + Leaf Storm puts Manaphy in range for pretty much everything ever. Leaf Storm also devastates Mega Gyarados, who is seeing a lot more usage currently. Another niche this has over Rotom-W is the fact that Gastrodon and Seismitoad can't block your Volt Switches. I mean, they can, but it's risky business, especially since Rotom tends to Trick rather early against those kind of teams. Amoonguss absorbing my Volt Switches was fine, seeing how I had Heatran and Alakazam to immediately punish it.
That said, you obviously lose some stuff as well. Having Leaf Storm means that the other Ground types - Gliscor, Excadrill, and Landorus - don't need to fear you nearly as much as they fear Rotom-W. It still does a LOT to offensive Excadrill and Landorus, but SpDef Drill and Gliscor shut you down pretty hard. Losing the Flying resist is probably the biggest thing. Rotom-C wants nothing to do with Tornadus, and you are not going to do well against Talonflame or Pinsir either compared to Rotom-W. You also gain a Bug weakness, meaning this thing is terrible at dealing with Landorus-T. Your resistance to Steel also goes from 4x to 2x which is more relevant than it probably sounds. Excadrill and Metagross do a LOT of damage to this thing. For those reasons, I'd only recommend this together with your own Landorus-T or something of that sort. Make sure to take into Account the ice resist turning into a weakness, as well, although this is definitely less significant considering how mediocre Rotom-W is at checking stuff like Weavile anyway. I think this thing has a pretty solid niche in the current metagame. The EVs live +2 Adamant Mega Pinsir after SR. Last move is up in the air, really. HP Fire 3 shots Ferrothorn which is one of your hardest counters just by typing, and pretty much OHKOs offensive Mega Scizor. HP Ice does a lot of damage to Gliscor, threatening to 2HKO most variants. Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp are pretty standard fillers. Honestly, I haven't had to click my 4th move with this yet, but I think HP Fire sounds the best on paper. It's all about the first 3 moves, though.
Tagging everyone who played at least one game of ORAS this SPL (according to the sheet). LET'S SEE THE HEAT Sjneider Luigi London Beats xray Dragon Claw Santu Gondra jonfilch BK Relous Corckscrew Eternal Spirit Isza z0mOG baddummy ElectricityCat Bushtush Frania steelskitty Chaitanya Vulpix03
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. Next time ig, as i'm definitely gunna dump some more teams in the future.
