ORAS OU Rate my Mega Lopunny Team

[Kcaj]

I've been tinkering with this team for a while and I would like to know what the community thinks.

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 8 SpD / 8 S pe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Stone Edge

Landorus serves as my SR setter and a strong attacker. U-turn allows Landorus-T to switch out after SR if needed, and Earthquake is Landorus' main STAB attack. Stone edge hits anything Earthquake can't.

Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
- Will-O-Wisp

(Suggested by comments)

Starmie @ Focus Sash
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Psyshock

Starmie is my teams RS user(seeing as how my team has three flying types). Scald and Psyshock serve as STAB attacks.

Dragonite @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake

Dragonite is one of my first sweeper. Multiscale allows him to switch into attacks, and Choice Scarf makes him faster than most Pokemon in OU. Outrage is STAB, Extreme Speed is priority, Earthquake kills steel types that resist Outrage, and Fire Punch to counter 4x weak Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Scizor, etc.


Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Return
- Fake Out
- Ice Punch

Lopunny is the team's main sweeper. Fake Out is free damage while High Jump Kick and Return are its main stab attacks. Ice Punch is there to counter 4x weak Pokemon.

Please tell me anything I could improve on in this team in the comments below. Thanks!

 

[Corey Hall]

Swagger is banned in OU

 

[Wob]

Swagger is banned in OU

This.

Also, at first glance, your team looks really weak to Weavile, which is a big problem considering it's prominence in the OU metagame. It can hit your Thundurus, Landorus and your Dragonite super effectively with Icicle crash/Ice shard, your Mega Lopunny with Low Kick, and your Starmie with Knock Off. Clefable is the only one it can't hit super effectively, but since it's specially defensive, I doubt it would last long anyway. I would recommend sacking something and perhaps adding a Talonflame in there somewhere so that you can deal with Weavile.

 

[Kcaj]

This.

Also, at first glance, your team looks really weak to Weavile, which is a big problem considering it's prominence in the OU metagame. It can hit your Thundurus, Landorus and your Dragonite super effectively with Icicle crash/Ice shard, your Mega Lopunny with Low Kick, and your Starmie with Knock Off. Clefable is the only one it can't hit super effectively, but since it's specially defensive, I doubt it would last long anyway. I would recommend sacking something and perhaps adding a Talonflame in there somewhere so that you can deal with Weavile.

How is this revision?

 

[tigers jaw]

Hi Kcaj

As an avid user of Mega Lopunny myself, I thought I'd drop my two cents on this team for you. There are various issues with this team ranging from poor matchup with common Pokemon (more on this later), to straight up unviable/sub-optimal sets, and most of all a lack of a fifth member as it stands (which breaks to RMT forum rules, along with the extremely superficial role descriptions for the members you currently have). For this rate, I'll take it as the team stands+standard Life Orb three attacks TWave Thundurus-I. As far as poor matchups go, you have 0 switchins to common and extremely threatening Pokemon such as Latios, Mega Diancie, Mega Gardevoir, and still as it stands, Weavile. A Steel-type is desperately needed for this, and basically any team to function effectively in the current metagame.

+

+

Firstly, I'll address the issues with your wacky sets.

Life Orb Talonflame, though the added power may be tempting, is not viable. The issue with Life Orb Talonflame is how prone to being worn down by the combination of Brave Bird/Flare Blitz recoil and Life Orb recoil it is. Instead of Life Orb Talonflame in this slot, I'd revert back to Physically-Defensive Clefable with a spread of 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD with a Bold nature. What this does is offer a great switchin to threatening Pokemon, such as opposing Mega Lopunny, Mega Medicham, and most importantly, non-Poison Jab Weavile. I'd also give it a set of Stealth Rock / Moonblast / Flamethrower / Soft-Boiled. Stealth Rock Clefable has picked up a lot of traction as of late for its ability to set up Rocks against Mega Sableye, after forcing it out with the threat of Moonblast, which greatly improves this team's strenuous stall matchup. This also frees up a slot on Landorus-T to help the team achieve its overall goal in weakening the opposing team to the point where Mega Lopunny or Dragonite can clean. Moonblast is near-mandatory STAB, and all Stealth Rock Clefable carry it as a means to not only threaten Mega Sableye, but to also Mega Medicham and Mega Lopunny. Flamethrower acts as a means to catch any Ferrothorn or Scizor on the switch, as well as Skarmory, a somewhat troublesome Pokemon for Mega Lopunny and Dragonite alike. Soft-Boiled provides a mandatory means of recovery for Clefable.

Now, to take a look at your Starmie set. Defensive Starmie is a great reliable spinner in the current metagame, so I intend to keep this set with all the exact moves and EVs you have. The thing that puzzles me, though, is your choice of item on this Pokemon. Defensive Starmie is your primary Keldeo answer on this team, and it isn't a bad one, but it will be taking hits throughout the game, the majority of which will not OHKO, making Focus Sash worthless. I propose an item switch from the frankly unviable Focus Sash to Leftovers. Passive recovery from Leftovers benefits defensive Starmie greatly, accruing a great deal of passive recovery over the course of a battle, and allowing it to stay around longer, doing its job in removing hazards and the like.

Next up is Dragonite. Choice Scarf Dragonite is quite frankly horrendous. It's low speed coupled with the fact that it already has Extreme Speed to damage faster foes makes it so. I'd propose a switch from Choice Scarf to Choice Band. Both Mega Lopunny and CB Dragonite share many common checks/counters, such as Physically-defensive Tangrowth, Defensive Landorus, Slowbro, and Hippowdon. What CB Dragonite will allow for in tandem with Mega Lopunny is to weaken these shared counters to the point of no return, or, to the point of them falling to Return. This is what's a known as an "overwhelm core", a very common strategic method of breaking down opposing teams and then cleaning up.

Next up, as the necessity of Stealth Rock has been covered with Stealth Rock Clefable, I think a change in Landorus-T set is in order. The set I'm proposing is probably not one you've previously encountered before, though it may be, and it is a little odd, but I think it fits the team. I'd suggest a set of Swords Dance / Earthquake / Hidden Power Ice / Smack Down with and Earth Plate. Swords Dance is to boost Landorus-T's already impressive base 145 Attack, allowing it to break down defensive cores. Earthquake is a mandatory, powerful STAB move, especially when backed by Earth Plate. Hidden Power Ice acts as a lure for Pokemon such as opposing Landorus-T, defensive Garchomp, and Gliscor. Finally, Smack Down provides vital Rock coverage as Landorus-T will end up being this team's bird check; furthermore, it allows you to ground certain common switchins to Landorus-T such as Rotom-W, Skarmory, and Zapdos, either nabbing the kill the next turn with Earthquake, or forcing them out. The spread I'll propose to you aims to amalgamate the roles of offensive breaker and defensive answer to Pokemon such as Zard-X and Sand Rush Excadrill. This spread is 28 HP / 148 Atk / 152 Def / 180 Spe with an Naughty nature. It's basically optimised physical bulk when taking into consideration Intimidate, with enough Speed to outpace positive-natured base 70 Speed Pokemon such as Breloom, Bisharp, and Volcanion. The remaining EVs were dumped into Attack to make Landorus-T's Earthquake as strong as possible. What this set aims to achieve is essentially the same as CB Dragonite does, weakening Mega Lopunny's common checks and counters to the point where Mega Lopunny can clean up.

->

After all is said and done, the team is still incredibly weak to Dragon- and Fairy-types. As a remedy to this I'd suggest changing Thundurus-I to Choice Scarf Jirachi. This offers a reliable switchin to the aforementioned Pokemon, as well as a means of Speed control. The set I'd recommend is the standard Iron Head / Heart Stamp / U-turn / Healing Wish. Iron Head and Heart Stamp are great STAB moves with a nice 60% chance to flinch when factoring in Serene Grace. They offer a means to deal with prominent Fairy- and Fighting-types within the meta, respectively. U-turn is a great move for grabbing momentum on the likes of Heatran, Landorus-T and Skarmory, and offers all-around great utility. Healing Wish is a massive asset to teams such as this one with Pokemon that are prone to being worn down by residual damage from Rocky Helmet and prone to Status such as Thunder Wave. It allows you to pick your win-condition lategame, and should it be weakened or inflicted with status, allow you to heal it back up to full HP and remove said status, giving it a second wind, if you will.

Importable

Lopunny-Mega @ Lopunnite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Return
- Quick Attack / Power-Up Punch / Ice Punch

Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Superpower
- Thunder Punch

Landorus-Therian @ Earth Plate
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 28 HP / 148 Atk / 152 Def / 180 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Smack Down

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 12 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower
- Soft-Boiled

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 240 HP / 16 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Rapid Spin
- Recover

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Heart Stamp
- U-turn
- Healing Wish

I've added Quick Attack as the first option to Mega Lopunny as the core of CB Dragonite+HP Ice Landorus-T already does a great job of breaking down defensive Garchomp and defensive Landorus-T, and Power-Up Punch as it greatly increases Lopunny's breaking ability and aids CB Dragonite greatly. Quick Attack should be used if you find the reduction in bulk on Landorus-T too much to handle when it comes to checking Talonflame, Mega Pinsir, and Zard-X. It basically gives you a way out against them in conjunction with Banded Extreme Speed from Dragonite. Thunder Punch on Dragonite is to stop Belly Drum Azumarill from basically 6-0ing the team should it get the chance to set up, but you can change it if you'd like I guess. Also, one threat to this team as it stands is Mega Manectric. Though it is decreasing in popularity, it has a lot of fun against this team. Careful play and priority spam should be able to previal, though.

Hope I was of assistance, but shoot me a PM if you've any questions at all.
Enjoy and good luck!