SM OU Rock, Paper and Ninja! Peaked 1903 (top 100), room for improvement! :D

[Patolegend!]

Introduction

Hey all, it's been a long time since I've posted in RMT, but I've finally built a relatively unique and creative OU team with a reasonable peak, meaning that competent players will be able to use it much better than me!

I've loved Stakataka ever since it came out, with its pretty unique blend of horrible typing and speed, but useful movepool, attack, and ability. It's ability to snowball through teams is similar to Kartana's, but in different conditions, and without folding over to any (non 4x weak) attack. I wanted to build around it and make the most of it's pluses, and reduce its disadvantages as much as possible.

The Team and Building process

Stacklord (Stakataka) @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Lonely Nature
IVs: 15 Def / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Gyro Ball
- Superpower
- Stone Edge

As one of the slowest 'mons in the tier, Staka is the slowest lord of the dance, and one of the most interesting ultra beasts in my opinion. With a stupendously slothlike 31 speed stat, anything with 186 speed or faster (uninvested Mega Scizor and above) is getting hit with a 150BP LO gyro ball. I chose Life Orb for the extra power on gyro ball and superpower, permitting things like the following:

Calcs

-1 252+ Atk Life Orb Stakataka Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Landorus-Therian: 175-208 (45.8 - 54.4%) -- 98% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
-1 252+ Atk Stakataka Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Landorus-Therian: 135-160 (35.3 - 41.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Life Orb Stakataka Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 235-277 (82.4 - 97.1%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Life Orb Stakataka Superpower vs. 252 HP / 48 Def Ferrothorn: 278-328 (78.9 - 93.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Life Orb Stakataka Superpower vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Kartana: 289-341 (111.1 - 131.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

"But it's 4x weak to earthquake and fighting moves!" I hear you say.... well, yes, but... that's what it's pals are for:

I get by with a lil help from my friends

0 Atk Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0- Def Stakataka in Grassy Terrain: 172-208 (53.4 - 64.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252 Atk Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0- Def Stakataka in Grassy Terrain: 204-240 (63.3 - 74.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
-1 60+ Atk Tapu Bulu Superpower vs. 252 HP / 0- Def Stakataka: 204-240 (63.3 - 74.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery

Grasslord (Tapu Bulu) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Atk / 56 SpD / 144 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Nature's Madness
- Superpower
- Wood Hammer

Grasslord sets up the terrain for Staka, while also resisting its weaknesses to ground, fighting and water - the defensive synergy they share is perfect typewise, apart from Grasslord's fire and steel weaknesses. Grasslord takes care of specs Greninja, Tapu Koko, and most Tapu Lele sets, and brings in 'mons like Zapdos and AV Mag (if no focus blast) that Staka can set up on. Finally, it's also slow enough to tear apart offensive teams under TR, and helps with the team's rain matchup. Nature's madness is preferred to stone edge, as Lando-T can normally take care of Pinsir and Volcarona. It takes care of Hippo, Swampert, Gastrodon and over slow grounds that take nothing from Staka's stab moves.

PaperLord (Kartana) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Knock Off
- Sacred Sword
- Smart Strike

Kartana is one of the most fearsome cleaners in the tier under grassy terrain, which pushes its leaf blade into stratospheric levels. One of the most straightforward sets in OU, the only explanation needed is Smart Strike for Clef when grassy terrain isn't up; I had defog before but I didn't like giving a free setup opportunity to the opponent.

Landorus-Therian @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Def / 28 SpD / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Fly

This used to be leftovers defensive Lando before, but I kept getting destroyed by Hawlucha hazard stacking teams, against which I had to switch Grasslord into Koko every single time to not let Lucha set up. The change also helps remove Tang, Venusaur, and Amoongus for Staka/Kartana, and makes Lando a threat even in the grassy terrain.

Aquaman the Lord (Araquanid) @ Metronome
Ability: Water Bubble
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Liquidation
- Toxic
- Spider Web

Looking at the team, I had no real switch in to the ever-present heatran. Without HP Ice, I also had nothing to take care of Landorus, and with Grassy Terrain up I would have to risk Bulu getting burned to beat Toxapex. Enter the LORD Aquaman, which subs up on Toxapex, traps it, and beats it down. Toxic helps against the Tang matchup, while Sticky Web would actively hinder Staka, making Spider Web a great choice; it also helps against Tox-Tang stall, which can switch constantly inbetween Tox and Tang until you run out of pp - if you Spider Web Tox on the switch, you can set up on it. With the stated EVs, Aquaman hits 180 speed, outspeeding Clefable, Mantine, Skarmory, and Alomomola, while still only giving Tox a 10% chance to 3HKO its sub. What this usually means is that Toxapex will be removed, Aquaman will be behind a sub, and will be able to unleash a 170BP liquidation on whatever tries to break it.

+2 252+ Atk Water Bubble Araquanid Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tangrowth: 168-198 (41.5 - 49%) -- 78.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock (+2 to simulate metronome 6th hit)

Lord Gaiden (Greninja) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Water Shuriken
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse

So on the list of mons that really appreciate the removal of Toxapex, Ash Gren is probably at the top. U-turn over spikes to u-turn on the incoming Toxapex into Aquaman to facilitate its removal. Not much else to say! Gaiden also reaaally appreciates Lando's help in removing fat grasses.

Threat list

The team can get through most matchups, but the following are really annoying:

-A well-played Scizor's really annoying for the team. At +1, Staka muscles through it, and I rely on hazards and water moves to wear it down.

-Rain is a difficult matchup if Pelliper has hurricane, as I rely pretty heavily on Grasslord to deal with rain, and Swampert walls Staka.​

Replays
​

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-709434690 Star-Lord weakens Ferro, Aquaman wreaks havoc
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-706790870 Star-Lord removes Ferro, Staka weakens team for a PaperLord sweep
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-705646742 Defensive Z-Fly Lando does what it does against Hawlucha
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-705629817 Aqualord removes Toxapex and, with a sub up, removes Skarm
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-702355213 Staka wrecks in grassy terrain and defensive Z-Fly Lando does what it does against Hawlucha
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-708548684 Aqualord wreaks havoc against a stall team
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-703334610 Aqualord breaks Zapdos for Paperlord to clean

Importable
This team is one of the funnest I've made, and it's a joy to use!**Staka to OU**
https://pokepast.es/833f66c6c379572d


Any suggestions to better the team/optimize spreads would be much appreciated!
​

 

[Snowy]

Hi Patolegend!,

You have a very intriguing team uterlising a lot of under used and appreciated Pokémon in conjunction with one another, I like it a lot! In saying that, I believe there are some optimisations you could make to improve the teams preformance drastically. Here are some of main issues I'd like to point out and then resolve;

1. Due to the teams lack of hazard control, you are left completely open to being worn down by spikes, stealth rock and toxic spikes. This problem shines bright in the stall match up, where your Araquanid, which would usually dismantle any stall team, can now be easily put on a timer by t-spikes or being whirlwinded around till death.

2. Your counter play to sub coil Zygarde
could be improved upon, seeing as it can set up on a fair amount of your team and the Pokémon that can tank a hit like Bulu and Araq become set up fodder for it.

3. Ferro puts an unhealthy amount of strain on this teams ability to preform, as there is no Pokémon with any capability of taking it out in one hit and it can sit there, throw up hazards, suck its health back with leech seed, remove items, cripple your team with status and so on.

4. Zapdos much like Ferro can just sit on your team and watch it perish slowly under your teams inability to deal with it outside of Staka, which you'll probably find gets worn down very quickly when it's taking attacks, coming in on hazards and then taking life orb damage on top.

5. Kartana counterplay is severely lacking, as SD nabs a kill every time it comes in and then you have to go gren to rk it; while scarf will whittle down your Landorus and then eventually sweep through youre entire team.

6. Flying types, primarily pinsir, poses a great threat to the team, as you have no flying resist outside of Staka, which can be mailed by cc or eq.

7. Scizor as you mentioned is a big threat, especially since your main way of checking it in Araquanid can easily be worn down and put in range of +2 BP and can't threaten to OHKO in return.

Now that I have got into the bulk of the major issues I see with the team, I would now like to go in-depth about how you can alter your team to fix them:

Major Changes:

>

Zapdos Set

Zapdos @ Electrium Z
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 56 Def / 184 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Heat Wave
- Roost
- Defog

Zapdos does an excellent job at patching up a majority of the issues I mentioned, as it's a great Kartana check, Scizor Check, Flying check, Ferro counter and defogger. I decided to put it over Greninja, as it was by far the most expendable member of the team and didn't serve such a needed roll that it would be missed. The set I provided features volt switch and the use of SpD investment to allow you to safely pivot on opposing Zapdos as to avoid taking unnecessary damage with Staka; however it is also nice for pivoting out on heatran, tyranitar, mew, clef and so on to allow you to gain intuitive. I went with an interesting choice in item, uterlising electrium-Z to allow you nail Pinsir and Lucha for Ohkos, since volt doesn't have the power to do so on its own; while also allowing Zapdos to act as a Knock Off sponge and take reduced damage, particular from +2 Kartana which would otherwise prevent the use of a SpD Variant. The EV's are fairly straightforward, with the defence allowing you tank +2 Pinsir Return, the speed making you faster then jolly zone and adament/modest base 70s and the rest was dumped into SpD to eat special hits as best as possible. I will mention, if you find you are being under sped by other Zapdos, then you might just want to drop the speed EV's entirely, that way you don't have to worry about staka taking any chip.

Minor Changes:

Hidden Power Ice > Fly
Leftovers > Flyium-Z

This change helps you deal with Sub variants of Zygardes much more effectively, since passive recovery allows you to reduce the pace at which you are whittled and Hp Ice hits Zygarde for x4 super effective damage. Fly is no longer needed with the inclusion of Zapdos, as you now have one, if not the best flying checks in the game.

That's all I have to add for now, I really like the look of the team and I hope my changes are able to improve upon it. I'd also just like to officially hand an L to user IronBullet; I have won my friend n_n

 

[Anish]

in addition to snowy’s changes

i think you can run rockium z > life orb on stakataka. rockium z can be run after freeing up the z slot, which can help with toxapex and mega scizor . furthermore, not being worn down by lo recoil is super cool since stakataka can tank many strong physical hits and lo recoil really sucks for it, and can hurt vs prio users too.

 

[Patolegend!]

Hi Patolegend!,

You have a very intriguing team uterlising a lot of under used and appreciated Pokémon in conjunction with one another, I like it a lot! In saying that, I believe there are some optimisations you could make to improve the teams preformance drastically. Here are some of main issues I'd like to point out and then resolve;

1. Due to the teams lack of hazard control, you are left completely open to being worn down by spikes, stealth rock and toxic spikes. This problem shines bright in the stall match up, where your Araquanid, which would usually dismantle any stall team, can now be easily put on a timer by t-spikes or being whirlwinded around till death.

2. Your counter play to sub coil Zygarde
could be improved upon, seeing as it can set up on a fair amount of your team and the Pokémon that can tank a hit like Bulu and Araq become set up fodder for it.

3. Ferro puts an unhealthy amount of strain on this teams ability to preform, as there is no Pokémon with any capability of taking it out in one hit and it can sit there, throw up hazards, suck its health back with leech seed, remove items, cripple your team with status and so on.

4. Zapdos much like Ferro can just sit on your team and watch it perish slowly under your teams inability to deal with it outside of Staka, which you'll probably find gets worn down very quickly when it's taking attacks, coming in on hazards and then taking life orb damage on top.

5. Kartana counterplay is severely lacking, as SD nabs a kill every time it comes in and then you have to go gren to rk it; while scarf will whittle down your Landorus and then eventually sweep through youre entire team.

6. Flying types, primarily pinsir, poses a great threat to the team, as you have no flying resist outside of Staka, which can be mailed by cc or eq.

7. Scizor as you mentioned is a big threat, especially since your main way of checking it in Araquanid can easily be worn down and put in range of +2 BP and can't threaten to OHKO in return.

Now that I have got into the bulk of the major issues I see with the team, I would now like to go in-depth about how you can alter your team to fix them:

Major Changes:

>

Zapdos Set

Zapdos @ Electrium Z
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 56 Def / 184 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Heat Wave
- Roost
- Defog

Zapdos does an excellent job at patching up a majority of the issues I mentioned, as it's a great Kartana check, Scizor Check, Flying check, Ferro counter and defogger. I decided to put it over Greninja, as it was by far the most expendable member of the team and didn't serve such a needed roll that it would be missed. The set I provided features volt switch and the use of SpD investment to allow you to safely pivot on opposing Zapdos as to avoid taking unnecessary damage with Staka; however it is also nice for pivoting out on heatran, tyranitar, mew, clef and so on to allow you to gain intuitive. I went with an interesting choice in item, uterlising electrium-Z to allow you nail Pinsir and Lucha for Ohkos, since volt doesn't have the power to do so on its own; while also allowing Zapdos to act as a Knock Off sponge and take reduced damage, particular from +2 Kartana which would otherwise prevent the use of a SpD Variant. The EV's are fairly straightforward, with the defence allowing you tank +2 Pinsir Return, the speed making you faster then jolly zone and adament/modest base 70s and the rest was dumped into SpD to eat special hits as best as possible. I will mention, if you find you are being under sped by other Zapdos, then you might just want to drop the speed EV's entirely, that way you don't have to worry about staka taking any chip.

Minor Changes:

Hidden Power Ice > Fly
Leftovers > Flyium-Z

This change helps you deal with Sub variants of Zygardes much more effectively, since passive recovery allows you to reduce the pace at which you are whittled and Hp Ice hits Zygarde for x4 super effective damage. Fly is no longer needed with the inclusion of Zapdos, as you now have one, if not the best flying checks in the game.

That's all I have to add for now, I really like the look of the team and I hope my changes are able to improve upon it. I'd also just like to officially hand an L to user IronBullet; I have won my friend n_n

Thanks Snowy, I'll definitely try it out - the Ferro weakness is real, and Zapdos would definitely help with that. I'm just wondering why you suggest Pressure instead of static as an ability, as this change would definitely make the team err on the slow side, and paralysis support would help a lot?

I did have the Lando set on a previous iteration of the team, but was overwhelmed by flying mons.. I'm surprised you mentioned Zygarde to be honest, as between intimidate support, Araquanid resisting, and Tapu Bulu, I haven't had problems in practice with it. I'll definitely check it out, though I'm a bit worried that Volcarona could now become a serious problem; maybe switching smart strike to aerial ace?

in addition to snowy’s changes

i think you can run rockium z > life orb on stakataka. rockium z can be run after freeing up the z slot, which can help with toxapex and mega scizor . furthermore, not being worn down by lo recoil is super cool since stakataka can tank many strong physical hits and lo recoil really sucks for it, and can hurt vs prio users too.

Hey bud, although LO recoil does suck, the extra power on Gyro Ball is definitely necessary, getting numerous KO's that would be missed out on, especially at +1; it also means I don't need earthquake, as Gyro Ball now picks up SG Mag, and AV is set up bait without a fighting move. Also, with grassy terrain, the LO recoil is massively reduced.