Hello there! Welcome to my very first post on Smogon, and it's going to also be my first ever RMT. With the new additions in the Isle of Armor DLC, I figured that I needed to make new teams to keep track of the ever-changing metagame. I tried using many teams during the first few days of the DLC, only to be discouraged and confused about everything new going on. That is, until the meta slowly began to settle down and pave the way for me to get back into OU. Being an all-out attacking player who isn't a fan of stalling and always exactly making calculated plays, I figured that my favorite archetype is Hyper Offense, and that is what we're going to talk about for this post. This team went through a few changes, Rillaboom who used to be Life Orb over Leftovers, and Dragapult having a different set than it has here. Let's hop right into it!
Rillaboom (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Grassy Glide
- U-Turn
- Knock Off
The first thing that came into my mind when I was thinking what core to use, was Rillaboom + Hawlucha. Looking back at the previous generation, the Tapulucha core was an absolute menace to most teams that didn't run Tapu Koko or Zapdos. Rillaboom's Hidden Ability in Grassy Surge helps boost its already good Grass STAB moves - in this case it being Grassy Glide for the sake of priority. High Horsepower is used over Earthquake as its base power isn't diminished by the terrain unlike Earthquake. Knock Off is used to punish predicted switchins and pressure the opposing team. Swords Dance is obviously there to help break opposing threats.
Edit: I went U-Turn over High Horsepower since most of my team can deal with Steel types already anyways. U-Turn helps me gain more momentum. Life Orb over Leftovers and Adamant over Jolly nature as well to increase damage output.
Hawlucha (M) @ Grassy Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 44 HP / 224 Atk / 116 SpD / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
Quite possibly Rillaboom's best partner in Hyper Offense, we have the infamous Unburden Hawlucha. When exposed to specifically Grassy Terrain, Grassy Seed not only gives Hawlucha a +1 boost in its physical defense stat, but also consumes itself activates the ability Unburden, which doubles the user's speed upon losing its held item. Since Hawlucha is left with no more item after the consumption of the Grassy Seed, the base power of the move Acrobatics will increase from a measly 55 to a whopping 110 with no real drawbacks. Unfortunately, all these boosts (except for Acrobatics) will disappear once you switch out. This makes Hawlucha vulnerable to moveslike Whirlwind and Roar, and to the item Red Card, as the three force switch Hawlucha in or out. This is luck-dependent. Hawlucha is best used late-game, where its threats are gone and there is no need for it to switch.
Edit: I changed the spread to what Finch suggested below to setup Substitute in front of Toxapex without losing it to Scald.
Excadrill (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Steel Beam
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
In every Hyper Offense team, there's always that one spot for a screens user, a suicide hazard lead, or both. In this case, I am using a hazard suicide lead in the form of Excadrill. Mold Breaker as an ability is very helpful in some cases, as it ignores all the abilities of opposing Pokemon on the field. This means that even if it's against something like Hatterene with the ability Magic Bounce, it can still setup Stealth Rocks with nothing else to worry about. People may question the choice of Steel Beam over Iron Head on this Excadrill set. Borrowing this idea from Finchinator himself, I realized that it's meant to take the user down with it to foil attempts of Defog or Rapid Spin on the same turn to get in a sweeper and use the free turn to setup.
Bisharp (M) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
A staple in Hyper Offense teams, Bisharp definitely fits in a spot here. Sporting a base 125 base Attack stat, a setup move in Swords Dance, priority STAB in Sucker Punch, access to STAB Knock Off, and an ability in Defiant, this thing is a monster when used correctly. Although still really good in most Hyper Offense teams, Bisharp is very weak to both Urshifu forms, as it can't really cripple both in any way unless one predicts by clicking Iron Head against an Urshifu-Single-Strike switch. Bisharp is a very good breaker, able to take down stall teams and walls like Chansey, Clefable, and Slowbro, who are threats to the team. Now you may tell me that there's too much physical attackers in this team, and that I have 3 Swords Dance users. That's where the next member of our team fits in.
Volcarona (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Quiver Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Psychic
Arguably the best fire type sweeper in the current metagame, Volcarona's stats although not the most monstrous, sports an amazing move in Quiver Dance, which raises its Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed stats by 1 stage. Besides things like Chansey and Mantine, nothing else can really safe switch into a Volcarona after a boost. Flame Body as an ability is obviously luck-based, but it helps in some situations if you're lucky enough to burn the enemy. Fire Blast is chosen over Flamethrower and Fiery Dance for the sole reason of doing more damage and breaking through teams much more easily. Unlike having to rely on the 50% boost from Fiery Dance, one can directly attack something unboosted and still deal a massive chunk with Fire Blast.
Dragapult (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Dragon Darts
- Steel Wing
- Dragon Dance
- Fire Blast
Serving as the speed control and as another setup sweeper for the team, Dragapult serves as a second Volcarona check with Hawlucha being the first after Unburden boost. Instead of an Adamant or Jolly nature, Lonely is chosen for this particular set to preserve its special attack. This set is meant to lure in steel types like Ferrothorn and Corviknight, only to take a Fire Blast to the face right after. Lonely is preferred over Naive to have a better chance of living a +1 boosted Psychic from Volcarona after Life Orb recoil damage. There's no need for any specific EV spreads, as a non-STAB Life Orb boosted Fire Blast with only 4 Special Attack EVs is already enough to OHKO a physically defensive Ferrothorn with 8 Special Defense EVs.
Threats:
Opposing Unburden Hawlucha can wreck this team quite easily barring the speed tie if the opponent isn't Jolly. The only counterplay for this is to get in Dragapult and chip it down with Dragon Darts. After that, get in Bisharp to bait the Close Combat and go to Volcarona hoping for a burn. Unfortunately, you have to completely outplay the opponent or win the speed tie with your Hawlucha to win the matchup.
Although beaten by Rillaboom, Dragapult, and Hawlucha, Urshifu-Rapid-Strike's signature move Surging Strikes prevents even a Focus Sash Excadrill from setting up hazards for the team. To counterplay the Excadrill lead prediction, lead with something else instead and setup hazards some other time during the battle.
Heavy-Duty Boots variants just take a dump on this team. Hazards can't wear it down, Sucker Punch variants just beat Dragapult, and it can force switch Hawlucha to threaten it and waste the Grassy Seed Unburden boost. This however, can be counterplayed according to the opponent's team. Banded Cinderace is easy to defeat compared to HDB variants.
Rillaboom (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Grassy Glide
- U-Turn
- Knock Off
The first thing that came into my mind when I was thinking what core to use, was Rillaboom + Hawlucha. Looking back at the previous generation, the Tapulucha core was an absolute menace to most teams that didn't run Tapu Koko or Zapdos. Rillaboom's Hidden Ability in Grassy Surge helps boost its already good Grass STAB moves - in this case it being Grassy Glide for the sake of priority. High Horsepower is used over Earthquake as its base power isn't diminished by the terrain unlike Earthquake. Knock Off is used to punish predicted switchins and pressure the opposing team. Swords Dance is obviously there to help break opposing threats.
Edit: I went U-Turn over High Horsepower since most of my team can deal with Steel types already anyways. U-Turn helps me gain more momentum. Life Orb over Leftovers and Adamant over Jolly nature as well to increase damage output.
Hawlucha (M) @ Grassy Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 44 HP / 224 Atk / 116 SpD / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
Quite possibly Rillaboom's best partner in Hyper Offense, we have the infamous Unburden Hawlucha. When exposed to specifically Grassy Terrain, Grassy Seed not only gives Hawlucha a +1 boost in its physical defense stat, but also consumes itself activates the ability Unburden, which doubles the user's speed upon losing its held item. Since Hawlucha is left with no more item after the consumption of the Grassy Seed, the base power of the move Acrobatics will increase from a measly 55 to a whopping 110 with no real drawbacks. Unfortunately, all these boosts (except for Acrobatics) will disappear once you switch out. This makes Hawlucha vulnerable to moveslike Whirlwind and Roar, and to the item Red Card, as the three force switch Hawlucha in or out. This is luck-dependent. Hawlucha is best used late-game, where its threats are gone and there is no need for it to switch.
Edit: I changed the spread to what Finch suggested below to setup Substitute in front of Toxapex without losing it to Scald.
Excadrill (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Steel Beam
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
In every Hyper Offense team, there's always that one spot for a screens user, a suicide hazard lead, or both. In this case, I am using a hazard suicide lead in the form of Excadrill. Mold Breaker as an ability is very helpful in some cases, as it ignores all the abilities of opposing Pokemon on the field. This means that even if it's against something like Hatterene with the ability Magic Bounce, it can still setup Stealth Rocks with nothing else to worry about. People may question the choice of Steel Beam over Iron Head on this Excadrill set. Borrowing this idea from Finchinator himself, I realized that it's meant to take the user down with it to foil attempts of Defog or Rapid Spin on the same turn to get in a sweeper and use the free turn to setup.
Bisharp (M) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
A staple in Hyper Offense teams, Bisharp definitely fits in a spot here. Sporting a base 125 base Attack stat, a setup move in Swords Dance, priority STAB in Sucker Punch, access to STAB Knock Off, and an ability in Defiant, this thing is a monster when used correctly. Although still really good in most Hyper Offense teams, Bisharp is very weak to both Urshifu forms, as it can't really cripple both in any way unless one predicts by clicking Iron Head against an Urshifu-Single-Strike switch. Bisharp is a very good breaker, able to take down stall teams and walls like Chansey, Clefable, and Slowbro, who are threats to the team. Now you may tell me that there's too much physical attackers in this team, and that I have 3 Swords Dance users. That's where the next member of our team fits in.
Volcarona (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Quiver Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Psychic
Arguably the best fire type sweeper in the current metagame, Volcarona's stats although not the most monstrous, sports an amazing move in Quiver Dance, which raises its Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed stats by 1 stage. Besides things like Chansey and Mantine, nothing else can really safe switch into a Volcarona after a boost. Flame Body as an ability is obviously luck-based, but it helps in some situations if you're lucky enough to burn the enemy. Fire Blast is chosen over Flamethrower and Fiery Dance for the sole reason of doing more damage and breaking through teams much more easily. Unlike having to rely on the 50% boost from Fiery Dance, one can directly attack something unboosted and still deal a massive chunk with Fire Blast.
Dragapult (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Dragon Darts
- Steel Wing
- Dragon Dance
- Fire Blast
Serving as the speed control and as another setup sweeper for the team, Dragapult serves as a second Volcarona check with Hawlucha being the first after Unburden boost. Instead of an Adamant or Jolly nature, Lonely is chosen for this particular set to preserve its special attack. This set is meant to lure in steel types like Ferrothorn and Corviknight, only to take a Fire Blast to the face right after. Lonely is preferred over Naive to have a better chance of living a +1 boosted Psychic from Volcarona after Life Orb recoil damage. There's no need for any specific EV spreads, as a non-STAB Life Orb boosted Fire Blast with only 4 Special Attack EVs is already enough to OHKO a physically defensive Ferrothorn with 8 Special Defense EVs.
Threats:
Opposing Unburden Hawlucha can wreck this team quite easily barring the speed tie if the opponent isn't Jolly. The only counterplay for this is to get in Dragapult and chip it down with Dragon Darts. After that, get in Bisharp to bait the Close Combat and go to Volcarona hoping for a burn. Unfortunately, you have to completely outplay the opponent or win the speed tie with your Hawlucha to win the matchup.
Although beaten by Rillaboom, Dragapult, and Hawlucha, Urshifu-Rapid-Strike's signature move Surging Strikes prevents even a Focus Sash Excadrill from setting up hazards for the team. To counterplay the Excadrill lead prediction, lead with something else instead and setup hazards some other time during the battle.
Heavy-Duty Boots variants just take a dump on this team. Hazards can't wear it down, Sucker Punch variants just beat Dragapult, and it can force switch Hawlucha to threaten it and waste the Grassy Seed Unburden boost. This however, can be counterplayed according to the opponent's team. Banded Cinderace is easy to defeat compared to HDB variants.
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