ORAS OU RMT: Darude Ex-Sandstorm

[Apple Of Legend]

Introduction:
I've been lurking around Smogon since last year when I first started competitive battling. I've never been that successful with my endeavours and I stopped around last December. I've decided to come back and make a new team.
This team originally centred around Mega Steelix and was a sandstorm team. I can't tell you the teambuilding process because I completely lost track-this was a five-minute team that was tweaked immensely. Anyway, the team gravitated away from sandstorm and just became semi-hyper offense. I had moderate success, reaching 1436 on the ladder. Here it is.

Darude (Steelix-Mega) (F) @ Steelixite
Ability: Sturdy
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 56 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake

My main lead, Darude was the mon I built the team around. He usually starts with Stealth Rock and annoys by phazing. Heavy Slam can actually put real dents in teams. The thing I like most about Mega Steelix is the fact that many people are unprepared. They underestimate its sheer bulk and I've stolen countless KOs because my opponent was just unprepared. The name comes from the days when this team was a sandstorm team. It stuck though and I liked it so there. I'm considering putting Explosion on him.

Tetrapod (Metagross) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Ice Punch
- Zen Headbutt
- Hammer Arm

I've only ever used this guy as a mega but his base form still performed much beyond expectations. Meteor Mash is the norm and most people don't expect their 8 percent HP Weavile to be suddenly destroyed by a priority Bullet Punch. Assault Vest can take Heat Waves and Flamethrowers quite well.

Magneto (Magnezone) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]

I've put 0 IVs in Attack to minimize confusion damage and foul play. Magneto traps and kills Scizor and Ferro which was actually the reason I put him in my team. Other than that he's mostly a late-game finisher who's kept at full health to take an attack and dish back twice the damage.

Jakiro (Dragonite) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Punch

Just like the Dota 2 Jakiro, Dragonite is the backbone of this team, the support that's also a nuker. Choice Band Dragonite is one of my old faves and can turn games around. Choice Band-boosted Outrage can usually nab one or two KO's before Jakiro goes down. Draggy has a bunch of resists and doesn't go down easy.

Eugene (Crawdaunt) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Crabhammer
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet

Crawdaunt replaced Scizor back when I needed a Fire counter and a Heatran check. Eugene does the job wonderfully. I'm considering switching his nature to Adamant because there's been so many times an enemy's been on 2 or 3 percent health after an Aqua Jet. When you predict an easy switch, Swords Dance your way to STAB glory.

Spoonfed (Alakazam) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Spoonfed the Alakazam is in my opinion the guy with the best KDA (KO's for you non-Dota 2-ers) in my team. I don't know why, but people don't seem to expect a HP Ice from Alakazam. Use that to your advantage. Not much else to say.

Threatlist:

Hazards really hurt my team. I can't seem to find a Rapid Spinner or Defogger that can do the role of someone on my team similarly and better. And please don't suggest Starmie because I just don't want to use that thing. It's...I just don't like it at all.
Mega Lopunny can rip my team apart. There's probably never been a game where I won while the enemy had a Mega Lopunny. In fact, I've probably never KO'd one. I'm debating replacing Darude with a Mega Lop of myself though.
Trick Room is annoying. Thankfully it's pretty uncommon.
And Stall teams I just hate. My team straight-out loses to them.

Replays:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-258724785

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-258738942

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-258740580

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-258741576

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-258744237

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-259022622


Thanks guys!

 

[PenguinGengar]

I like this team a lot! I especially love seeing Mega Steelix get some recognition. I was going to suggest putting Dragon Tail on it over Roar until I saw that annoying Volbeat...

As for your team problems, maybe try switching Alakazam for Togekiss? I'm having a hard time coming up with a moveset, but here's a start.

Togekiss @ Life Orb
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Air Slash
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Wish
- Defog / Thunder Wave

Air Slash should cover for Alakazam's ability to take down Mega Venusaur and Fighting-types, including Mega Lopunny.

Hidden Power Ice is for things like Landorus-T, plus you seemed pretty fond of having it on Alakazam, so I kept it in.

I put Wish in instead of Roost because passing a Wish over to Steelix or Metagross can improve their longevity. This is important because you said your team is weak to stall, so having Steelix or Metagross alive should at least help you fight against Chansey, Blissey, and Sylveon. It's also helpful because it can help Dragonite rebuild its Multiscale.

The last slot is kind of tricky. Thunder Wave allows you to abuse Togekiss's para-flinch and is more standard, but you did say your team has a problem with hazards, so Defog may be a better option. The only problem with Defog is that without Paralysis, Mega Venusaur might come back at you with Sludge Bomb, but this would require some testing.

It also helps that it's part Flying considering half your team is weak to Ground (although with Steelix's bulk, it's not a huge problem).

 

[Apple Of Legend]

I like this team a lot! I especially love seeing Mega Steelix get some recognition. I was going to suggest putting Dragon Tail on it over Roar until I saw that annoying Volbeat...

As for your team problems, maybe try switching Alakazam for Togekiss? I'm having a hard time coming up with a moveset, but here's a start.

Togekiss @ Life Orb
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Air Slash
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Wish
- Defog / Thunder Wave

Air Slash should cover for Alakazam's ability to take down Mega Venusaur and Fighting-types, including Mega Lopunny.

Hidden Power Ice is for things like Landorus-T, plus you seemed pretty fond of having it on Alakazam, so I kept it in.

I put Wish in instead of Roost because passing a Wish over to Steelix or Metagross can improve their longevity. This is important because you said your team is weak to stall, so having Steelix or Metagross alive should at least help you fight against Chansey, Blissey, and Sylveon. It's also helpful because it can help Dragonite rebuild its Multiscale.

The last slot is kind of tricky. Thunder Wave allows you to abuse Togekiss's para-flinch and is more standard, but you did say your team has a problem with hazards, so Defog may be a better option. The only problem with Defog is that without Paralysis, Mega Venusaur might come back at you with Sludge Bomb, but this would require some testing.

It also helps that it's part Flying considering half your team is weak to Ground (although with Steelix's bulk, it's not a huge problem).

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll definitely try that out. Testing in progress!

Edit: I tried Togekiss out, but IMO Alakazam does the job better. Any other mega Lop counters? I'm looking into Wish Chansey to help increase the survival of my team.

 

[dsm77773]

Although Mega Steelix is cool, it's OU outclassed by the uglier Mega Aggron. It has a better typing, Filter, access to Thunder Wave, and the same 230 Defense Mega Steelix has. Also Mega Aggron hits harder with anything bar Heavy Slam (as it is lighter) or Ground-type moves. So go Mega Aggron > Mega Steelix.

Aggron @ Aggronite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Def / 240 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Heavy Slam
- Avalanche / Thunder Wave
- Roar
And...
252 Atk Mega Lopunny High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 16+ Def Filter Mega Aggron: 141-168 (40.9 - 48.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 Atk Mega Aggron Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Lopunny: 181-214 (66.7 - 78.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
...Mega Aggron checks Mega Lopunny well. It can beat it 1vs1, paralyze it (which Mega Loppuny absolutely hates), or even run Protect > Thunder Wave to force it to take crash damage.
Stall teams a problem? Enter Hoopa-U! I'd put it over Alakazam. This monster destroys everything. It 2HKOes almost the entire meta and its quite versatile:

Hoopa-Alt @ Life Orb
Ability: Magician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Focus Blast

Hoopa-Alt @ Life Orb
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Psychic
- Gunk Shot
- Focus Blast / Energy Ball

Probably the first set is better as a full special attacker.
I don't think AV Metagross is good. Maybe Scizor could work here?
Anyway, cool DragMag core you've got in there!
If Mega Loppuny is still giving you problems, try putting Protect somewhere (but in a mon that lures HJK) but I think you haven't got room for it.

Mega Steelix needs some more love but for now it is sadly outclassed everywhere...

Hope this helps! Good luck with your team!
PS. Add sprites and/or images to the RMT, it'll help raters and it'll look nicer!

 

[Apple Of Legend]

The Mega Aggron idea is great! Thanks dsm77773. Thunder Wave helps me out a ton.
In the end I replaced Scizor with an BD Azumarill because I needed a win condition or some kind of sweeper. It worked beautifully. I took a Talonflame as well to replace Crawdaunt after the Azu because the coverage was redundant. Plus, Talon is a Lop check. On the downside I'm now even weaker to hazards. I'm now inching towards Latios because I can replace Dragonite with it and it can remove hazards.
Hoopa-U is great. It hits like a truck and I don't regret the switch from Alakazam.
I got a replay of the new team, which is the first and only battle I've played with it fully 'perfected'.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-263025167

P.S Does anyone know places where I can get the 6th gen sprites? I'm an forum noob :P
Also, how do I post those little hide/show thingys? They save space and I can place my importable in there.

 

[dsm77773]

The Mega Aggron idea is great! Thanks dsm77773. Thunder Wave helps me out a ton.
In the end I replaced Scizor with an BD Azumarill because I needed a win condition or some kind of sweeper. It worked beautifully. I took a Talonflame as well to replace Crawdaunt after the Azu because the coverage was redundant. Plus, Talon is a Lop check. On the downside I'm now even weaker to hazards. I'm now inching towards Latios because I can replace Dragonite with it and it can remove hazards.
Hoopa-U is great. It hits like a truck and I don't regret the switch from Alakazam.
I got a replay of the new team, which is the first and only battle I've played with it fully 'perfected'.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-263025167

P.S Does anyone know places where I can get the 6th gen sprites? I'm an forum noob :P
Also, how do I post those little hide/show thingys? They save space and I can place my importable in there.

Sprites here:
6th gen: http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/xyani
Other gens, shiny and back sprites: http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/

For the spoilers you need to do this:
Write hide= and put it into this [ ]. Close it with /hide, again inside [ ]. It is shown like this:

(name)

Put here w/e you want

EDIT: As this was quite a bad explanation, this is how I see the spoiler in this post.

EDIT 2:
On the replay: when you force a switch with Hoopa-U set up a Nasty Plot. Nasty Plot is not Hoopa-U's most common set so the opponent likely sent in something that can't take on a +2 Hoopa, mind nothing can really do. The opponent would be basically forced to sack something to send in a mon that can hit Hoopa-U hard and fast, so you at least got a kill.
Talonflame should also go with Brave Bird instead of Flare Blitz when possible, due to priority.
On the team: when you run Dragonite or Talonflame you should ALWAYS have entry hazard removal. I support Latios > Dragonite but for a different reason, it's not replacing one Dragon-type for another (Dragonite and Latios fulfill different roles). The thing is that with Hoopa-U you already have a powerful wallbreaker, Dragonite's role overlaps with Hoopa-U's.

 

[Apple Of Legend]

Sprites here:
6th gen: http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/xyani
Other gens, shiny and back sprites: http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/

For the spoilers you need to do this:
Write hide= and put it into this [ ]. Close it with /hide, again inside [ ]. It is shown like this:

(name)

Put here w/e you want

EDIT: As this was quite a bad explanation, this is how I see the spoiler in this post.
View attachment 48453

EDIT 2:
On the replay: when you force a switch with Hoopa-U set up a Nasty Plot. Nasty Plot is not Hoopa-U's most common set so the opponent likely sent in something that can't take on a +2 Hoopa, mind nothing can really do. The opponent would be basically forced to sack something to send in a mon that can hit Hoopa-U hard and fast, so you at least got a kill.
Talonflame should also go with Brave Bird instead of Flare Blitz when possible, due to priority.
On the team: when you run Dragonite or Talonflame you should ALWAYS have entry hazard removal. I support Latios > Dragonite but for a different reason, it's not replacing one Dragon-type for another (Dragonite and Latios fulfill different roles). The thing is that with Hoopa-U you already have a powerful wallbreaker, Dragonite's role overlaps with Hoopa-U's.

Thanks for the help! I'm just gonna try it out right now :P

(name)

something

I use Flare Blitz when I know for sure the enemy doesn't have priority because of the added burn chance.