SS OU PSYCHIC TERRAIN HAWLUCHA— Peaked 1636

1 - INTRODUCTION

Hey everyone! My name is trickport and I've been into competitive Pokemon for close to 7 years. Dropped it when I went to college but in the pandemic I've been rediscovering it and having tons of fun on Pokemon Showdown. I was pretty active on Smogon back in the day but I cringe when I look at old posts from my 14-year-old self, and I wasn't a very notable figure in the community despite having a ton of posts so I started this new account a little while back.

I built this team honestly because I was really frustrated with Toxapex on the ladder and wanted to build something that would just destroy it lmao. Also because I think Expanding Force is a really cool move and I like using Terrain.

Looking for some advice and also just wanted to share a cool team that got me some decent success (ended a few OLT runs lol). Also posting on the recommendation on some guy I battled who said I should consider doing RMTs so why not.

2 - TEAM + DESCRIPTION

:sm/indeedee:
Indeedee (M) @ Terrain Extender
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Expanding Force
- Dazzling Gleam
- Encore

- Mystical Fire
Indeedee is currently the only pokemon with access to Psychic Surge. Male over female because it's not really taking hits from OU's best anyway and this maximizes breaking power. Encore is actually really helpful against SR leads, Dazzling Gleam for Urshifu, Mystical Fire for Ferrothorn and Drill. Quite honestly this mon doesn't do a whole lot besides setting the terrain, and it's not that good. I guess that's why nobody uses Psychic Terrain lmao. What's way more interesting is the rest of the team.

:sm/hawlucha:
Hawlucha @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- Close Combat

- Substitute / Tailwind

What's funny is that I built this whole team around the misconception that Psychic Terrain would stop priority from revenge killing Hawlucha (it does not, as non grounded pokemon can still be hit as of gen 7) but it's still worked out pretty ok.

Hawlucha set is pretty standard, yall know the calcs and how strong it is etc. I haven't really used Substitute much except predicting a switch so it doesn't make a huge difference to me what the fourth move is. I could see Tailwind being useful if the opponent has something to eat the hit as well as a Dragapult or Zeraora in the back (ensuring a Zam endgame).


What's really cool about Psychic Seed Hawlucha is that it actually beats defensive Clefable (and bulky Togekiss) after an SD.

0 SpA Togekiss Air Slash vs. +1 0 HP / 4 SpD Hawlucha: 186-218 (62.6 - 73.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. +1 0 HP / 4 SpD Hawlucha: 188-224 (63.2 - 75.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

And Acro of course takes care of offensive variants. It also means Pex can't break Substitutes with Scald.
0 SpA Toxapex Scald vs. +1 0 HP / 4 SpD Hawlucha: 51-61 (17.1 - 20.5%) -- possible 5HKO

It beats specially offensive Aegislash 1v1 after an SD:
252+ SpA Life Orb Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. +1 0 HP / 4 SpD Hawlucha: 191-226 (64.3 - 76%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252+ Atk Hawlucha Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Blade: 270-318 (103.4 - 121.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Finally, it eats any hit from unboosted Venusaur even in sun, can freely set up an SD, and attempt to reverse sweep:
252+ SpA Life Orb Venusaur Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. +1 0 HP / 4 SpD Hawlucha in Sun: 190-224 (63.9 - 75.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

It does lose to Hatterene even after an SD if Psychic Terrain is still up but it does put her in range of a Zam Expanding Force.

:sm/alakazam:
Alakazam @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Psyshock
- Expanding Force

- Focus Blast

Zam is my other main breaker and Expanding Force and Psyshock are just ridiculously powerful, 2HKOing even resists and Blissey.
252 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Expanding Force (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable in Psychic Terrain: 370-437 (93.9 - 110.9%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Expanding Force (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Slowbro in Psychic Terrain: 203-240 (51.5 - 60.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Expanding Force (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Excadrill in Psychic Terrain: 242-285 (57 - 67.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey in Psychic Terrain: 411-485 (57.5 - 67.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Expanding Force (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Magnezone in Psychic Terrain: 186-218 (66.1 - 77.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Expanding Force (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Hatterene in Psychic Terrain: 165-195 (51.8 - 61.3%) -- 97.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Expanding Force (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Necrozma in Psychic Terrain: 187-221 (55.8 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

You get the idea.

Life Orb is really important as it gets a lot of these 2HKOs that would otherwise not be possible. I prefer it strongly over Nasty Plot because generally when Zam comes in you just want him to do as much damage as he can until he dies or terrain ends.

Focus Blast is to OHKO Tyranitar, Drill, and with a bit of luck, Ferrothorn (who can't switch in to Expanding Force + Focus Blast). Dazzling Gleam is to OHKO Urshifu and potentially 2HKO Mandibuzz if you get the right read.

Zam loses to Chansey (she still can't really switch in though), Mandibuzz, and Corviknight offensively, and obviously can't outspeed Dragapult, Zeraora, or Weavile.

:sm/corviknight:
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 28 Def / 228 SpD
Careful Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn

- Brave Bird
Corviknight is extremely important for this team as a defogger and answer to Rillaboom. Hazards aren't actually a huge deal to this team, given Magic Guard, HDB, and the fact that Lucha and Indeedee generally don't take a hit that well anyway. But it's still nice to keep Toxtricity and Corviknight himself healthy. Brave Bird OHKOs offensive Volcarona and U-turn is for momentum, while Roost is to keep Corv healthy for Rillaboom. I thought about using Skarm instead, but I opted for Corv's superior special defense and stronger Brave Birds allowing it to OHKO things like offensive Volcarona and weakened Rillaboom.

:sm/volcarona:
Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Flamethrower
- Psychic

- Bug Buzz
Volc is a soft check on Rillaboom, if it gets in safely it can either set up in its face or just kill it outright with Flamethrower. Unlike Hawlucha, Psychic Terrain actually does stop this mon from getting hit with priority so it really loves to be able to set up on things and just win, especially with boosted Psychics. It doesn't deal with blobs very well, but both Zam and Lucha destroy those so it's not really a problem. It also beats Slowbro 1v1, which could otherwise wall Zam and Lucha.

:sm/toxtricity:
Toxtricity @ Assault Vest
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 60 HP / 248 SpA / 104 SpD / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Boomburst
- Sludge Bomb

- Overdrive / Nuzzle

Soft check to Hawlucha, Togekiss, Volcarona, special Dragapult, and to a lesser extent Zeraora. Tbh I don't remember what the HP and SpD EVs are for but 96 speed is to beat Adamant Crawdaunt under Terrain and OHKO with Volt Switch. I know it's an unconventional set but it's been a really fantastic bulky pivot that lets me get in my three sweepers, get paralysis on opponents, and do huge damage to walls like Hippo and Clef. It also eats hits from Rotom-Heat and Aegislash while being slower than offensive variants, allowing Zam and Volc to pivot in, respectively.

Offensively, this is my best answer to Mandibuzz as nobody else can break it reliably. It also deals with Skarm and Corv— Volc can deal with them too but if I want to save him for late game then this isn't a bad secondary answer.

Finally, it can eat a Grassy Glide from +2 Adamant Rillaboom and OHKOs with Sludge Bomb (or can do massive damage to something with Boomburst on the switch). This is most important, as the team relies heavily on Psychic Terrain to be effective. It's also important to hit Zeraora for damage (Plasma Fists makes Boomburst irrelevant) as my team is quite weak to it otherwise.

Overdrive vs Nuzzle is a matter of personal preference. Overdrive hits the birds without forcing you to switch out, while Nuzzle can nail Dragapult on the switch.​

3 - THREAT LIST / AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
Biggest threats:
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+
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Pelipper + Barraskewda
Choice Band Barraskewda in the rain pretty much clicks Liquidation or Flip Turn and just wins the game. Nothing can live a single hit except for Corviknight which dies to Brave Bird recoil after one Liquidation. My solution so far has just been to refuse to let it in with a combination of Toxtricity volt switching around and clicking Expanding Force with Zam and Indeedee, but that's not really a winning strategy and I have to really outplay the opponent if I'm going to beat this stupid fish. If the opponent just leads Damp Rock Pelipper and clicks slow U-turn then I pretty much just lose.

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Rhyperior
Rhyperior can come in on Toxtricity or Volcarona and is immune to Volt Switch. If it gets in for free it's pretty much guaranteed to get a kill and I have to sack something to deal with it. Smack Down / Earthquake kills Corviknight too which sucks.

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Dragapult
I'm reliant on a bit of prediction to deal with Dragapult. Specs variants can OHKO everything except Corviknight if they click the right move. Dragon Dance is a really good late game cleaner and can OHKO 3 of my mons outright assuming it's Life Orb; I'm reliant on Hawlucha to beat it but even then I don't OHKO. That said, I'm not sure if that's a problem with my specific team or if it's just Dragapult being an amazing pokemon. My strategy is generally to not let it set up and just see what it is and move from there (especially if Toxtricity has Nuzzle) but it's still a problem.

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Zeraora
If this thing gets a free switch in (which is usally not hard) then it becomes incredibly difficult to deal with. Toxtricity resists its STAB and CC and Volc can potentially burn with Flame Body or set up if it gets a free switch, while Hawlucha can kill it after some prior chip. With the right team support, however, this mon is a huge problem.

Other things like Hatterene, Rillaboom + Lucha, and TTar + Excadrill are also hard to deal with given the right support, but I at least have some solid answer to all of those.

I would say the things I am most looking to change are the sets for Corviknight and Volcarona, and maybe the sixth team slot (currently Toxtricity). I really like the momentum that he brings as a bulky pivot so I would really like to keep that so I can bring in zam volc and lucha on mismatches, so if there's a mon that deals with the threats I mentioned as well as or better than Toxtricity does while also having U-Turn/Volt Switch/Teleport I would love that.

I could totally see someone advocating to change Zam to sash so it can take a hit and then change Volc to a bulky Safeguard set to better deal with blobs. I haven't experimented with it and I do feel like LO brings the maximum breaking power that is necessary to destroy bulkier mons, but I could be convinced otherwise.

4 - USAGE
This functions kind of like a mix between balance and HO. The strategy is to set up terrain and repeatedly blow holes in the opposing team with Volc, Zam, and Lucha while switching into Tox and Corv as necessary. Setup sweepers like Hawlucha and DD Dragapult can pose a big problem if you let them do their thing, so just don't— attack them before letting them set up.

5 - IMPORTABLE
Indeedee (M) @ Terrain Extender
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Expanding Force
- Dazzling Gleam
- Encore
- Mystical Fire

Hawlucha @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- Close Combat
- Substitute

Alakazam @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Psyshock
- Expanding Force
- Focus Blast

Toxtricity @ Assault Vest
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 64 HP / 244 SpA / 104 SpD / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Boomburst
- Sludge Bomb
- Overdrive

Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 28 Def / 228 SpD
Careful Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn
- Brave Bird

Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Flamethrower
- Psychic
- Bug Buzz
 
Hey, here to rate your team. Firstly I'd just like to say nice RMT. I really like certain elements, and you explained yourself really well in this RMT, which makes it easier to make suggestions.

Onto the rate, this looks like a fun offensive that utilities Psychic Terrain to full effect. Indeedee is mandatory, Alakazam + Hawlucha make perfect sense, and I really like Volcarona also. I do have some issues with the team however, namely Corviknight and maybe Toxtricity. I think Corviknight slows down your team, and reading your description I think you make somewhat redundant points (you mention Defog isn't too useful, and you have plenty of checks to Rillaboom in the form of Hawlucha, Volc, and Toxtricity). Seems you're using Toxtricity as a pivot, so I have to wonder why you're not using Zeraora, who is arguably a much better pivot and provides a check to Dragapult. You could also potentially change this to a ShiftGear set, but I digress. There's also no Stealth Rock on this team, something I feel is still necessary on 99% of teams, so the changes I suggest will reflect my concerns.

My first change would be to replace Corviknight with Kommo-o. Looking at your threat list, Kommo-o patches up a lot of problems for you, acting as a check to Zeraora, Barraskewda, and Rhyperior. Kommo-o also provides Stealth Rock, while also still acting as a decent check to Rillaboom, while not slowing down your team as much. My next suggestion is to replace Toxtricity with LO Zeraora. Zeraora I think gives you a better match up against rain, and can OHKO Rhyperior and Dragapult while also providing momentum.

That's all I have for today. I hope these comments were helpful, and best of luck with the team. Any questions you have please ask :toast:
Kommo-o @ Leftovers
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Def / 40 SpD / 68 Spe
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic

Zeraora @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Volt Switch
- Plasma Fists
- Knock Off
- Grass Knot
 
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