Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
Since the older generation Sand teams were very popular in OU and I decided to build a team based around 2 weather condicion Sun and Sand, that I always found really synergic, so I chose the best weather inducers: Tyranitar and Charizard. The name of the team is a tribute to my favourite YouTuber Sabaku no Maiku.
Building with Zard-TTar core
Slot 1 | Mega Charizard-Y: Wallbreaker
Blessed with being the only Pokemon in OU with two Mega Evolutions, Charizard has found both to be top-tier threats. Mega Charizard Y is the most powerful wallbreaker in OU due to the combination of base 159 Special Attack, Fire Blast and Drought allowing it to OHKO or severely dent a significant portion of the tier.
The other member of the weather core. Tyranitar's combination of bulk, typing, and power allows it to check prominent threats such as Latios, Mega Charizard Y, Gengar, and Talonflame. In addition to this, its access to Sand Stream and Stealth Rock make it a great support threat.
Slot 2 | Defog/Rapid Spin:
One of Zard's main problems is its x4 weakness to Stealth Rocks. Removing them is crucial, which makes a sturdy Defogger/Spinner fundamental to any Zard-Y team, so Excadrill came throw. Excadrill forms a neat mini-core with Zard-Y, since Zard resists Fighting, Ground, and Fire, while Excadrill resists Rock, is immune to Electric, and can take advantage of Sun to neutralize its Water weakness. Furthermore in sand it is pretty much impossible to revenge kill Excadrill, causing offensive teams major problems.
Slot 4 | Fighting/Dark type that resists Steel/Ghost:
Since all Zard-Y teams rely on Defog/Rapid Spin to clear entry hazards, it's a good idea to have a Pokemon that can switch into Bisharp/Geangar, which often come in when you Defog/Spin. Your Fighting type is also your primary way of removing Chansey and Blissey for your Zard, inasmuch as TTar was already able to counter Gengar I chose Keldeo to counter those defensive threats.
Slot 5 | Flying spam check:
Every ORAS OU team should have multiple checks to Talonflame and Pinsir, since they are often paired together to wear down each others counters. So even though I had already TTar to counter those stupi birds I paired him with Thundurus. He is rank A+ in usage for good reason. Its base 115 Atk, 125 SpAtk, 111 Speed, deep movepool and stellar abilities give it more than enough to shred through unprepared teams. It has access to Prankster Thunder Wave and Taunt, which often act as an emergency outs to Pokemon like DD Zard X and DD Mega Tar, or pass strategies like Scoliopede, SmashPass, and full Baton Pass.
Slot 6 | Additional Roles:
To fulfill every role that this team needs, it is virtually impossible (and unwise) to have one Pokemon to fulfill only one role. I decided to add Clafable as bulky setup sweeper forminig an offensive core with Keldeo and Charizard out of the Sand. Furthermore Magic Guard is howsome with Sand and i can boos her Flamethrower power in Sun.
In-Depth
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe Nature: Jolly
Earthquake | Iron Head | Rock Slide | Rapid Spin
Excadirill's primary function is to remove hazards from the field, giving Charizard and Thundurus room to breathe. During Sandstorm is the fastest Spinner user in the tier, which means it performs its job excellently. Earthquake and Iron Head are Excadrill's STAB moves, sporting high power and fantastic coverage. Life Orb-boosted Earthquake is extremely powerful, 2HKOing standard Ferrothorn and generally pummeling pretty much any Pokemon that does not resist it. Iron Head has a useful chance to flinch and hits most non-grounded foes, such as Latios, Landorus-T, and Gengar, for a high amount of damage. Rock Slide is Excadrill's best coverage move, hitting Flying-types such as Thundurus, Talonflame, and Mega Pinsir super effectively. It is also Excadrill's best option against Rotom-W and Skarmory.
Ever since its reintroduction to the OU tier, Thundurus-I has been one of the most used Pokemon at the top level of play. Its superb offensive stats, deep movepool, typing, and relevant abilities make it one of the easiest mons to fit onto offensive teams. Nasty Plot serves as a powerful boosting move that helps Thundurus break past defensive Pokemon such as Celebi and Jirachi. Thunderbolt is Thundurus's best STAB move, hitting anything that doesn't resist it for good damage. Hidden Power Ice gives Thundurus excellent coverage alongside Thunderbolt, hitting Gliscor, Landorus-T, and Garchomp for 4x super effective damage. Lacking a scarfer and only relying on Sand Rush Exca for speed can be very risky, hence TWave supports rounds up the synergy for the entire team.
Keldeo is the tier's best, if not only, Choice Specs user. Its exclusive Water/Fighting STABs, only shared with Poliwrath, requires your opponent to have a specific Pokemon to counter you (namely Jellicent, Mega Venusaur, Amoonguss, Celebi, Azumarill, Gyarados, Tentacruel, Dragonite or Lati@s). If your opponent doesn't have one of these Pokemon, they will essentially be dropping a member of their team every time Keldeo comes in. The most common Keldeo counter, the Lati twins, are removed from the game by Tyranitar Pursuit. Gyarados and Azumarill risk an unnerving 30% burn chance if they switch directly in. The remaining counters are handed beautifully by Charizard, Thundurus, Tyranitar and Excadrill. While teammates help Keldeo wear down its counters, Keldeo pressures Heatran, Chansey, and Blissey, Zard-Ys only remaining switch-ins. Scald is Keldeo's main STAB move. It is very spammable, has high PP, hits quite hard after the Choice Specs boost, and wears down usual switch-ins such as Latios, Mega Venusaur, and Slowbro. Secret Sword is Keldeo's best Fighting STAB move and lets it break through Chansey very easily and reliably. Hydro Pump is very powerful and is needed to break past bulky Pokemon such as Clefable, Jirachi, and Mew. Last but not least Hidden Power Electric is Keldeo's best option against bulky Water-types such as Gyarados, Slowbro, Suicune, Starmie, and Alomomola.
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD Nature: Relaxed
Stealth Rock | Stone Edge | Pursuit | Ice Beam
Tyranitar is the joker of the team, on his shoulders weigh many roles essential to the welfare of teammate: Sand inducer boosting Exca speed, Stealth Rock setter, Bird-spam check, Pursuit Trapper.
This set focuses on supporting its team even further with the utility of Stealth Rock. Tyranitar makes for a great user of the move due to its ability to threaten Defog users. Pursuit traps Latios and Latias, which allows Stealth Rock to stay on their side of the field for the remainder of the match. Stone Edge is a secondary STAB move that lets Tyranitar KO Zapdos, Mandibuzz, Kyurem-B, and Talonflame. Ice Beam KOes Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Gliscor.
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Nature: Timid
Fire Blast | Solar Beam | Focus Blast | Roost
The team supports Zard very well, keeping hazards off the field, and weakening its counters, which helps Zard apply offensive pressure and score a plethora of KOs. Its unresisted coverage gives it very few switch-ins, and even Dragons can be hit hard if you bother to run Dragon Pulse or Air Slash. The physical set, Flare Blitz | Earthquake | Solarbeam helps you break Chansey and friends easier, but the Special set is much more consistent. Specs Keldeo already puts a lot of pressure on stall, and once you wear down Venu the game is pretty much over. In the sun provided by Mega Charizard Y's Drought, Fire Blast OHKOes or 2HKOes nearly all Pokemon that don't resist it as well heavily denting those that do. Solar Beam doesn't require an extra turn to charge thanks to the sun, and it hits Water-types such as Azumarill, Suicune, Slowking, Slowbro, and Manaphy for great damage. Focus Blast rounds off Mega Charizard's coverage, targeting Tyranitar and Heatran. Roost keeps Mega Charizard Y healthy and somewhat mitigates Stealth Rock damage.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD Nature: Bold IVs: 0 Atk
Calm Mind | Thunder Wave | Moonblast | Soft-Boiled
Clefable is basically the missing puzzle piece, it helps the team better handle Conkeldurr, Dragonite, Kyurem-Black, Mega Gyarados, Mega Medicham, Thundurus, all of which I had problems facing before. On top of that, Clefable synergizes perfectly with my offensive core (Keldeo + Mega Zard). Mega Charizard Y takes care of threats like Mega Venusaur, whereas Keldeo checks stuff like Scizor, Excadrill, Mega Mawile (note that a check isn't a counter) and Bisharp, all of which are Clefable's best answers. With all these threats taken care of by my offensive core, CM Clefable usually finds itself sweeping through a weakened team. Clefable is also my status sponge for the team as with its ability Magic Guard, it is mostly unaffected by status and Sand. Lastly, Clefable is there to prevent Outrage-Spam, and is a really reliable dragon check. Calm Mind boosts Clefable’s Special Attack and Special Defense stat, making it both powerful and bulky. Moonblast is Clefable's obligatory STAB move and hits extremely hard after just a few Calm Mind boosts. Soft-Boiled gives Clefable much-needed longevity on the field, enabling it to check threats with much more ease. Lastly, Flamethrower (possibly boosted by the Sun) deals with the Steel-types that resist Moonblast, such as Scizor and Excadrill.
Threats List:
:TTar take a hit and kill, Thundurus can T-wave for Keldeo
:Thundurus can T-wave, Drill in Sand kill on switch or Charizard take 1/2 hit, clefable wall
:exca, tyranitar (keep attention on Earthquake), thundurus, clefable
: clefable, excadrill
:Tyranitar, thund para
:Charizard take Aqua Jet, thundurus
:thund para, tyranitar and exca
:keldeo
:is not an issue
:Zard and clef
:clef and keldeo (keep attentiom to not let him boost so easily, although is gg)
:I can easily break his drought or even take advantage of that
:2HKO by Zard, clef can take 1 Poison Jab
:Zard and clef can take 1 not boosted hit, thund para, kedle revenge
:not an issue after beeing paralysed.
:keldeo, zard
:
:clafable and thundurus
:keldeo, thund para and revenge with both zard and my exca
:clef and zard
:pursuit does really few damefe to mega latias so my only out is clefable
:clefable or predicting a switch in with thundurus with Hp Ice
:exca or keldeo/zard
:thund para, exca
:TTar, thund para
:demolished by thundurus
:thund and clefable
:lure by zard earthquake/focus blast
:zard demolished him, a bit difficult in trick room
easy outspeed and clafable can take hits
:thund para and keldeo sweep it away
:really unprobable that he can abuse of swim swift
:could be an issue but with celfable or predicting with zard I can rake care of him even if thundurus is gone
:checking by wheater control
:easy checked (keep attention on Scarf-Iron Head set)
Yo wassup :)
Your team is a basic Zardy Ttar team, but its one of the most effective teambuilds rn. ZardY destroys the balance teams that u fight and exca is one of the best mons against offense. This team is just as i said a "basic" one but its basic because its good right ?
Well then, this team is a really good on but ive found 2 weaknesses.
Specs keld and m zam.
M zam 2hkoes zard y and clef and the other 4 mons are getting one shotted ( thundi with rocks )
Nearly the same scenario with specs keldeo. So, id suggest u a spdef clefable or at least mixdef. Like this clef avoids being 2hkoet by m zam and it shud be able to win vs keldeo ( i mean, if Sun is up it wins anyways ). Yeah those are the Most threatening things i cud find, solid Team :]
Hey Lelouch, you've got a really solid team here and I don't have too many suggestions but I still believe that some improvements could be made. I see you built around a double weather core, weather is a really fun playstyle and I think your team synergies very well.
First I would go with a jolly nature over adamant, while the loss is power is somewhat noticeable the ability to outspeed other adamant drills and speed tie with jolly one is well worth it in my eyes. Next I would go with a spread of 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 Def and go with a timid nature. Thundurus doesn't really benefit at all from the HP and a naive nature isn't beneficial either to it. Next I would go with focus blast over earthquake, while you were correct about earthquake hitting Tyranitar and Heatran for super effective damage, focus blast does the same and it ohkos Tyranitar and 2hkos Heatran. Lastly I would go with a spread of 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD with a calm nature. This spread allows you to avoid a large amount of 2hko on Clefable for example Latios' Psyshock, Kyurem-B's ice beam, Lopunny's return and many others. I'd also suggest running thunder wave over flamethrower while the coverage is nice thunder wave allows you to cripple mons and CM up on them. That's all the advice I can offer, enjoy your team!
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
Under your description of Keldeo you mentioned the lati twins being taken care of by Aegislash pursuit, did you mean Tyranitar?
Also, have you considered changing Charizard-Y's EQ to Focus Blast?
Currently your Zard-Y's nature is Timid which is decreasing its attack stat. Why not play to Charizard's special attack strength?
VS
This is scarfed T-tar/without any defensive investment i.e. best case scenario for EQ on T-Tar.
0- Atk Mega Charizard Y Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Tyranitar: 124-146 (36.3 - 42.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
With Focus Blast it would 100% OHKO:
T-tar 252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 408-480 (119.6 - 140.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
You can't win 1 v 1 vs Tyranitar in any scenario with EQ. Which means to even use EQ on Tyranitar you will have to predict the Tyranitar switch-in, and then hard switch out so Charizard doesn't die. The Sparkybott data says, players with ELO of 1800+ use Choice Scarf 43% of the time. So taking the chance of outspeeding T-tar isn't worth the risk if you wanted to switch in on T-Tar and go for the Solar Beam.
VS
If you predict the Heatran switch-in on Charizard-Y at least Focus Blast has a chance to OHKO where as EQ is a 2 hit KO.
252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Focus Blast vs. 28 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 290-342 (87.8 - 103.6%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
0- Atk Mega Charizard Y Earthquake vs. 28 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 256-304 (77.5 - 92.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Heatran can technically kill Zard-Y, but the usage for Rock moves is pretty low. It is a good bet to just go for the second Focus Blast, even if the first doesn't kill or even misses. Here is the data for rock type attacking moves on Heatran: Ancient Power 7.520% | | Stone Edge 7.443%. Ps Choice Scarf Heatran is only at 7.247%. So you will almost always outspeed Heatran for the second attack.
I also used to have EQ on my Charizard-Y, but I found that it just didn't take care of Heatran or Tyranitar like I wanted it to.
Thank you so much guys for this advices, I will consider for sure this changes. The only thing I regret change is clafable's set becouse with this set I can take quite any Stell-Move (except Mega Metagross) and revenge kill with Flamethrower, but I understand your suggestions and the SDef investiment coulb be crucial for my team along with another T-wave support.
