Hello Smogon, long-time lurker (since NetBattle for those that remember Gen 3), but I think this is my first time ever posting on here. Anyway, the other day, I got into Pokemon Showdown after having been out of the competitive battling scene (and Pokemon in general) since Gen... 4? Maybe 5? OU still seems relatively the same (you got stall teams, you got offense, you got bulk, but thank god they got rid of Baton Pass teams), but I digress.
I was looking around at all the Mega pokemon that had come out and decided I wanted to build a team around Mega Lopunny, so without further ado, here is the team:
Lead and Star of the Stage:
Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Frustration
- High Jump Kick
- Fake Out
- Power-Up Punch
This is both the lead and the star of the team. Fake Out is almost an automatic first attack, unless I'm confident the other pokemon has a rocky helmet (ie: Skarmory got switched in) or Iron Barbs (yes, I'm looking at you, Ferrothorn). The EV spread is fairly straightforward: hit things hard and hit them fast. The Jolly nature is on the occasion someone else is running Mega Lopunny and leads with it. Getting that first Fake Out in can shape the direction of the battle and can do roughly 20%-25% in damage to the opposing lead Lopunny. The idea is to get in, do whatever damage needs to be done, and if they switch to a counter or have a Pokemon knocked out and send in a counter next, fire off a hit or two (unless I'm positive it'll be an OHKO). From there, every time one of my Pokemon is knocked out, Lopunny comes back in to start with a Fake Out to get essentially free damage on whoever the opponent is using.
Return and High Jump Kick are STAB moves andIce Punch is used because I still have an innate fear of Garchomp (for those of you around during Gen 4 OU... those were dark times) Power-Up Punch is used to try to make Lopunny even more intimidating. Frustration with 0 happiness is there in the off chance a Ditto comes in and transforms.
The Bandit:
Weavile @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Pursuit
Weavile's existence on this team serves two purposes. It functions as a fast, powerful pokemon that can deliver powerful blows at high speed, oftentimes outspeeding the Pokemon it faces, and fires off STAB attacks. For those that out-speed it, Ice Shard exists. Pursuit is on the set to hit any Pokemon that tries to run away. Mainly, Weavile's role is to take on any pokemon that try to take advantage of Lopunny's weaknesses (Psychic, Bug, etc.).
The second purpose of Weavile is to use Knock Off on any pokemon that attempts to stall and wall with Leftovers, taking away a source of recovery for any pokemon who benefits from stalling and getting that precious recovery. As with Lopunny, the EV spread and nature is pretty straightforward. Fast physical sweeper and so on and so forth.
The Janitor:
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Roost
- Heat Wave
- Defog
This set essentially was the one on Smogon's Zapdos page, putting my trust in those that made this set. The role of Zapdos is mostly straightforward. Deal with Celesteela and Toxapex (both of which were a major issue against the team prior to subbing out Gliscor for Zapdos).
Also, Defog helps remove entry hazards on the field, which is a nice secondary bonus to also using a slot to take care of those two issues named above. Roost just exists for survivability, especially if switched in against something already hit by Toxic.
The Equalizer:
Milotic @ Leftovers
Ability: Marvel Scale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Recover
- Haze
- Toxic
Milotic serves a few purposes on this team. First, the Toxic/Recover allows the team to get some residual damage on more bulky Pokemon that could potentially wall Lopunny. Scald is there to do damage, as well as try to inflict a status ailment on Steel and Poison types. Haze is there to reset the stats on any Pokemon that tried to set up. The EV spread is there to ensure that Milotic cannot easily be OHKO'd, which allows time to fire off a Haze (defensive investment ensures that, coupled with its natural Sp. Def bulk, it can still survive physical-based setups). Marvel Scale exists in case an opponent tries to Toxic their way out of the stall.
The Second Chance:
Cresselia @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Moonlight
- Lunar Dance
- Toxic
Cresselia's role, like Milotic, is basically what I refer to as a "resting point". A pokemon that can come in, attempt to slow down whatever offensive momentum an opponent has, and utilize one of its many uses and roles on the team to help swing the momentum back to my favor. Levitate is a default ability, but I tend to abuse it when I sense someone is trying to use an Earthquake. Also helps avoid the Toxic Spikes that sometimes pop up.
Ice Beam is basically what Scald's role was on Milotic. Inflict some form of chip damage, potentially inflict a status effect, and potentially even force a switch if the damage racks up too far. Toxic/Moonlight is basically Toxic/Recover from Milotic... same strategy. Lunar Dance is basically a second chance to whatever Pokemon receives it, usually Lopunny (unless it accidentally got KO'd earlier in the fight). The reason I switch in Lopunny to fire off so many Fake Out's is because I have the confidence I can restore it back to full after a Lunar Dance. Also the reason I don't initially fear if my Lopunny gets hit with a toxic or will-o-wisp. If I know a Pokemon is coming in to Lopunny to do a status, I keep it in to do damage (or even KO) the status inflicter with the hope that Lunar Dance can basically reset the sheet for Lopunny.
The Wild Card:
Kartana @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Psycho Cut
- Night Slash
- Tailwind
This Pokemon and set was actually one of the few that I made myself. I was intrigued at the Pokemon's stats and ability but wasn't really happy with the sets that were offered on any competitive site, so I dug in deep and tried to figure out how to best utilize this Pokemon. Unlike the rest of the team, Kartana basically exists like Hulk in the early Avengers movies. Not really a team player, but it can smash things and cause havoc. It could be used as a lategame sweeper, a mid-game bruiser, or an early-game Pokemon to get massive amounts of damage (and maybe a KO or two) out. The "wild card" nature of this set is because its role is less dependent on WHEN it comes in and more dependent on WHO it comes out against.
The strategy is relatively straightforward. Bring out Kartana on a Pokemon that you know doesn't have absurdly high defense (like Ferrothorn or Celesteela) or absurdly high Sp. Atk (like Greninja). First thing to be done is Z-Tailwind, which both gives a +2 crit chance AND doubles Kartana's decent speed. From there, you have a choice of one of three attacks that have a higher-than-normal Critical Hit ratio. This allows virtually every attack executed to be a critical hit.
The EV spread is pretty straightforward. Adamant is run over Jolly because speed will not matter in those turns that Tailwind is active. Your goal is to basically harass and smash as much as possible before it gets knocked out. Tailwind ensures it most likely will attack first, and Adamant adds extra juice to every hit executed, which when combined with the fact almost every attack is a critical hit, can mean a lot of a difference.
Example of the Kartana in action:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-941523282
-----------
Anyway, Smogon, any thoughts? I know I have trouble against certain pokemon, like Mega Swampert, and I get anti-stalled by Umbreon and Heal Bell (and Umbreon also has Synchronize, so if I'm not careful and I get read, Umbreon will come in to receive a Toxic, send it back, and then Heal Bell it away from their team)... but for the most part, the team has been holding its own pretty well in OU. Any suggetions, critique, or such is welcome!
~UHW
I was looking around at all the Mega pokemon that had come out and decided I wanted to build a team around Mega Lopunny, so without further ado, here is the team:
Lead and Star of the Stage:
Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Frustration
- High Jump Kick
- Fake Out
- Power-Up Punch
This is both the lead and the star of the team. Fake Out is almost an automatic first attack, unless I'm confident the other pokemon has a rocky helmet (ie: Skarmory got switched in) or Iron Barbs (yes, I'm looking at you, Ferrothorn). The EV spread is fairly straightforward: hit things hard and hit them fast. The Jolly nature is on the occasion someone else is running Mega Lopunny and leads with it. Getting that first Fake Out in can shape the direction of the battle and can do roughly 20%-25% in damage to the opposing lead Lopunny. The idea is to get in, do whatever damage needs to be done, and if they switch to a counter or have a Pokemon knocked out and send in a counter next, fire off a hit or two (unless I'm positive it'll be an OHKO). From there, every time one of my Pokemon is knocked out, Lopunny comes back in to start with a Fake Out to get essentially free damage on whoever the opponent is using.
Return and High Jump Kick are STAB moves and
The Bandit:
Weavile @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Pursuit
Weavile's existence on this team serves two purposes. It functions as a fast, powerful pokemon that can deliver powerful blows at high speed, oftentimes outspeeding the Pokemon it faces, and fires off STAB attacks. For those that out-speed it, Ice Shard exists. Pursuit is on the set to hit any Pokemon that tries to run away. Mainly, Weavile's role is to take on any pokemon that try to take advantage of Lopunny's weaknesses (Psychic, Bug, etc.).
The second purpose of Weavile is to use Knock Off on any pokemon that attempts to stall and wall with Leftovers, taking away a source of recovery for any pokemon who benefits from stalling and getting that precious recovery. As with Lopunny, the EV spread and nature is pretty straightforward. Fast physical sweeper and so on and so forth.
The Janitor:
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Roost
- Heat Wave
- Defog
This set essentially was the one on Smogon's Zapdos page, putting my trust in those that made this set. The role of Zapdos is mostly straightforward. Deal with Celesteela and Toxapex (both of which were a major issue against the team prior to subbing out Gliscor for Zapdos).
Also, Defog helps remove entry hazards on the field, which is a nice secondary bonus to also using a slot to take care of those two issues named above. Roost just exists for survivability, especially if switched in against something already hit by Toxic.
The Equalizer:
Milotic @ Leftovers
Ability: Marvel Scale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Recover
- Haze
- Toxic
Milotic serves a few purposes on this team. First, the Toxic/Recover allows the team to get some residual damage on more bulky Pokemon that could potentially wall Lopunny. Scald is there to do damage, as well as try to inflict a status ailment on Steel and Poison types. Haze is there to reset the stats on any Pokemon that tried to set up. The EV spread is there to ensure that Milotic cannot easily be OHKO'd, which allows time to fire off a Haze (defensive investment ensures that, coupled with its natural Sp. Def bulk, it can still survive physical-based setups). Marvel Scale exists in case an opponent tries to Toxic their way out of the stall.
The Second Chance:
Cresselia @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Moonlight
- Lunar Dance
- Toxic
Cresselia's role, like Milotic, is basically what I refer to as a "resting point". A pokemon that can come in, attempt to slow down whatever offensive momentum an opponent has, and utilize one of its many uses and roles on the team to help swing the momentum back to my favor. Levitate is a default ability, but I tend to abuse it when I sense someone is trying to use an Earthquake. Also helps avoid the Toxic Spikes that sometimes pop up.
Ice Beam is basically what Scald's role was on Milotic. Inflict some form of chip damage, potentially inflict a status effect, and potentially even force a switch if the damage racks up too far. Toxic/Moonlight is basically Toxic/Recover from Milotic... same strategy. Lunar Dance is basically a second chance to whatever Pokemon receives it, usually Lopunny (unless it accidentally got KO'd earlier in the fight). The reason I switch in Lopunny to fire off so many Fake Out's is because I have the confidence I can restore it back to full after a Lunar Dance. Also the reason I don't initially fear if my Lopunny gets hit with a toxic or will-o-wisp. If I know a Pokemon is coming in to Lopunny to do a status, I keep it in to do damage (or even KO) the status inflicter with the hope that Lunar Dance can basically reset the sheet for Lopunny.
The Wild Card:
Kartana @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Psycho Cut
- Night Slash
- Tailwind
This Pokemon and set was actually one of the few that I made myself. I was intrigued at the Pokemon's stats and ability but wasn't really happy with the sets that were offered on any competitive site, so I dug in deep and tried to figure out how to best utilize this Pokemon. Unlike the rest of the team, Kartana basically exists like Hulk in the early Avengers movies. Not really a team player, but it can smash things and cause havoc. It could be used as a lategame sweeper, a mid-game bruiser, or an early-game Pokemon to get massive amounts of damage (and maybe a KO or two) out. The "wild card" nature of this set is because its role is less dependent on WHEN it comes in and more dependent on WHO it comes out against.
The strategy is relatively straightforward. Bring out Kartana on a Pokemon that you know doesn't have absurdly high defense (like Ferrothorn or Celesteela) or absurdly high Sp. Atk (like Greninja). First thing to be done is Z-Tailwind, which both gives a +2 crit chance AND doubles Kartana's decent speed. From there, you have a choice of one of three attacks that have a higher-than-normal Critical Hit ratio. This allows virtually every attack executed to be a critical hit.
The EV spread is pretty straightforward. Adamant is run over Jolly because speed will not matter in those turns that Tailwind is active. Your goal is to basically harass and smash as much as possible before it gets knocked out. Tailwind ensures it most likely will attack first, and Adamant adds extra juice to every hit executed, which when combined with the fact almost every attack is a critical hit, can mean a lot of a difference.
Example of the Kartana in action:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-941523282
-----------
Anyway, Smogon, any thoughts? I know I have trouble against certain pokemon, like Mega Swampert, and I get anti-stalled by Umbreon and Heal Bell (and Umbreon also has Synchronize, so if I'm not careful and I get read, Umbreon will come in to receive a Toxic, send it back, and then Heal Bell it away from their team)... but for the most part, the team has been holding its own pretty well in OU. Any suggetions, critique, or such is welcome!
~UHW
Last edited:
