SS OU (Scizor + Garchomp + Rotom-W) Core Team

[Vørtex]

Alrighty, my second post on this website! I've gotten significantly better at team-building albeit not amazing still. But here is my second team that i consider to be good enough for a thread! Currently sitting at 1500+ elo and looking to gain more. Improvements will be taken into consideration although I despise landorus-therian, I'd prefer not to use it.

Okay so i don't know how to add gifs, so this might be alittle messy. It'll have to be pictures unfortunately..

Team Building Process:
I started with Scizor as my base, overall very powerful but could use alittle help on the fire side. I decided to add Garchomp to help with that and it did! Quite a lot infact. But it needed more..what if a dragonite with fire punch and ice punch came in? Then I am screwed! So I decided that Rotom-Wash is a good addition along with ground immunity as a sweet bonus! 3 members so far. I decided to add Flash Fire Chandelure as my last fire assistant to Scizor, i know i have 3 but I was pretty scared of them when using Scizor. So my next thought was to add a Weavile mainly to take down dragon types as alot of them have fire coverage moves, Garchomp Fire Fang for example. Now the next step! Adding Kartana to the mix, yes it is a 2nd fire weakness by 4×. But it can really assist the team and be a potential sweeper incase Scizor falls to the fire types. Now are you ready for the sets?

First off is Scizor!

The Set
Scizor @ Shell Bell
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 128 Def / 100 SpD / 28 Spe
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- Brick Break

Swords dance for obvious reasons, Roost for reliable healing, Bullet Punch for STAB and more obvious reasons,
Brick Break is actually really great for coverage against magnezone. Most of them won't run too much speed so this could potentially kill them. Unfortunately it only 3 hit KOS so it's still best to predict when they will switch it in.

252 Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Clefable: 188-224 (47.7 - 56.8%) -- 38.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Scizor Brick Break vs. 252 HP / 128 Def Bisharp: 316-376 (94.6 - 112.5%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO

Next up is Garchomp!

The Set
Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Scale Shot
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Rock Slide

Choice Scarf Garchomp is a beast, able to outspeed even Zeraora. Scale Shot is STAB and to take down opposing ones, Earthquake is good for fire types and covering Scizor, Fire Fang is simply just coverage for steel, ice and fairy. You MUST have a fire move on Garchomp. Rock slide is also really good for Charizard and Talonflame.

Here are some information on his dmg before we go!

252+ Atk Garchomp Scale Shot (3 hits) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 348-414 (109.4 - 130.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Garchomp Dragon Claw vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Multiscale Dragonite: 151-178 (46.6 - 54.9%) -- 64.8% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Garchomp Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Charizard: 336-396 (93.3 - 110%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
and nobody runs full physical defense and hp charizard, this thing is a beast!

Next up is Rotom-W!

The Set
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt/Thunder
- Volt Switch
- Defog
- Hydro Pump

Bulky Special Attacker, Defog to remove the hazards that enemies put. Volt Switch and Thunderbolt/Thunder for STAB and Hydro Pump helps with ground types that are immune to thunderbolt. I would personally like more accuracy but it depends.

252+ SpA Rotom-Wash Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 136+ SpD Heatran: 260-308 (67.3 - 79.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Rotom-Wash Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 164 SpD Landorus-Therian: 338-402 (88.4 - 105.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

Next up is Chandelure!

The Set
Chandelure @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Heat Wave
- Energy Ball
- Psychic

This thing is amazing, Shadow Ball and Heat Wave for STAB, Energy Ball to get rid of water types and Psychic is fighting types. Overall a relatively good set. Choice Scarf helps a lot with Chandelure!

252 SpA Chandelure Overheat vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Magnezone: 390-462 (113.3 - 134.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Chandelure Overheat vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Clefable: 178-210 (45.1 - 53.2%) -- 32.8% chance to 2HKO

Next up is Weavile!

The Set
Weavile @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brick Break
- Throat Chop
- Triple Axel
- Swords Dance

Brick Break for dealing with Steel, Rock and Dark Types. Throat Chop for STAB, Triple Axel STAB and Swords Dance for boosting.

252+ Atk Weavile Triple Axel (40 BP) (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-Therian: 624-756 (163.3 - 197.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Weavile Triple Axel (40 BP) (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Zapdos-Galar: 348-414 (90.6 - 107.8%) -- approx. 31.3% chance to OHKO if they even run 252 defense and hp on a Galar Zapdos

Last is Kartana!

The Set
Kartana @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sacred Sword
- Smart Strike
- Leaf Blade
(19 attack ivs)

This set seems a bit weird right? Why would u decrease the attack of a Kartana..My answer to that is the Beast Boost Ability! It boosts your highest stat! Kartana is fast but still not much in the grand scheme of things. You can always Swords dance to boost attack, Life Orb also patches it up. Leaf Blade and Smart Strike for STAB and Sacred Sword for Dark Types and Steel Types.

0- Atk Life Orb Kartana Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Ferrothorn: 195-231 (55.3 - 65.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0- Atk Life Orb Kartana Smart Strike vs. 252 HP / 200 Def Clefable: 291-346 (73.8 - 87.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Overall this team works pretty well but since i am quite new to team-building overall, I'd like opinions from more experienced players. Critiscm is an important part on improving and i wish for honest opinions, thanks for reading.

 

[UmarPro]

Nice Team!

 

[Vørtex]

Nice Team!

Thanks man!

 

[UmarPro]

Thanks man!

how do you get the images?

 

[Vørtex]

how do you get the images?

Screenshot an image and tap attach files. Go to files and tap your screenshot.

 

[UmarPro]

Screenshot an image and tap attach files. Go to files and tap your screenshot.

OwO Pro

 

[Red Raven]

Not gonna lie, this team needs some serious work. I'll try to give my advice as best I can

I'll start with the major changes

>

There is absolutely no reason to use Chandelure over Blacephalon in ou. The only real advantage Chandelure has is a coverage move to deal with Tyranitar, a pokemon that isn't that common in the tier. Furthermore, with pursuit no longer in the game, you are no longer hard pressed for that coverage move. Blacephalon's significantly higher speed and special attack is far more useful that Chandelure's coverage moves. And please use shiny Blacephalon

>

Your team still needs a hazard setter. Ferrothorn is the best choice for that as it is very annoying. It also provides the necessary Tapu Lele check and is a general pain in the ass

>

Lastly, your team still needs a hazard removal. If you don't have one, then spikes from Ferrothorn will tear you apart. You do have Rotom but it's not that great of a defogger seeing as you will sacrifice a valuable moveslot for either pain split or will o wisp. Tornadus fills this role beautiflly and still checks the like of Kartana and Rillaboom. I choose this over Corviknight otherwise your team will be very vulnerable to the cancerous Magnezone

For the minor changes

On , go with jolly nature. The only reason you would ever use scarf Chomp is to outrun scarf Lele. If you don't outrun Lele, then there is no point in using scarf Chomp at all. Having said that, scarf Chomp is very niche in of itself and it's usually better to just use scale shot set since it would also benefit Weavile. However, if you insist on using scarf Chomp, then you need to replace fire fang with dragon claw or dual chop, scale shot with outrage and rock slide with stone edge

For , use boots as its item. Focus sash Weavile sucks because you are unlikely to prevent hazards at all and two of the moves are just straight up bad. You should replace throat chop with knock off as that is one of Weavile's biggest uses and brick break with ice shard. You do not need to use brick break ever and ice shard would prevent you from losing to opposing Garchomp's that moment it boosts its speed. I'm not too comfortable with adamant however, it is a viable nature on it so I'm gonna keep it

Finally, just use max hp max spdef on . Using offensive Rotom on a non hyper offense team is not a good idea as you miss out on its valuable defensive utility. Even on ho teams, Rotom is not a good pick at all. Instead, just replace defog > pain split, since as mentioned earlier you are strapped for moves, and thunderbolt > will o wisp so you can even be a bigger pain to deal with. Pain split gives you pseudo recovery so that you won't be that pressured

Here is the team

Hide

Tornadus-Therian @ Heavy Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Def / 168 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- U turn
- Knock Off
- Hurricane / Heat Wave

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD
Impish Nature
- Knock Off
- Body Press
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Pain Split
- Volt Switch
- Will o Wisp
- Hydro Pump

Blacephalon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Trick
- Overheat
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower

Weavile @ Heavy Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Ice Shard
- Knock Off
- Triple Axel
- Swords Dance


For Garchomp, just choose whichever of these two sets

Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw / Dual Chop

Garchomp @ Roseli Berry
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fire Fang
- Scale Shot
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

Roseli berry is the item of choice so that scale shot Garchomp can support Weavile. A lot of fairies, including Tapu Lele, often block scale shot because Garchomp is a massive danger if it boosts its speed. Roseli berry would allow Chomp to stand its ground and get rid of Lele or any other fast fairy for Weavile, providing valuable support

Finally, this is just a sample team. I just patched up the major holes but you'll have to explore on your own if the team works for you

 

[Vørtex]

Not gonna lie, this team needs some serious work. I'll try to give my advice as best I can

I'll start with the major changes

>

There is absolutely no reason to use Chandelure over Blacephalon in ou. The only real advantage Chandelure has is a coverage move to deal with Tyranitar, a pokemon that isn't that common in the tier. Furthermore, with pursuit no longer in the game, you are no longer hard pressed for that coverage move. Blacephalon's significantly higher speed and special attack is far more useful that Chandelure's coverage moves. And please use shiny Blacephalon

>

Your team still needs a hazard setter. Ferrothorn is the best choice for that as it is very annoying. It also provides the necessary Tapu Lele check and is a general pain in the ass

>

Lastly, your team still needs a hazard removal. If you don't have one, then spikes from Ferrothorn will tear you apart. You do have Rotom but it's not that great of a defogger seeing as you will sacrifice a valuable moveslot for either pain split or will o wisp. Tornadus fills this role beautiflly and still checks the like of Kartana and Rillaboom. I choose this over Corviknight otherwise your team will be very vulnerable to the cancerous Magnezone

For the minor changes

On , go with jolly nature. The only reason you would ever use scarf Chomp is to outrun scarf Lele. If you don't outrun Lele, then there is no point in using scarf Chomp at all. Having said that, scarf Chomp is very niche in of itself and it's usually better to just use scale shot set since it would also benefit Weavile. However, if you insist on using scarf Chomp, then you need to replace fire fang with dragon claw or dual chop, scale shot with outrage and rock slide with stone edge

For , use boots as its item. Focus sash Weavile sucks because you are unlikely to prevent hazards at all and two of the moves are just straight up bad. You should replace throat chop with knock off as that is one of Weavile's biggest uses and brick break with ice shard. You do not need to use brick break ever and ice shard would prevent you from losing to opposing Garchomp's that moment it boosts its speed. I'm not too comfortable with adamant however, it is a viable nature on it so I'm gonna keep it

Finally, just use max hp max spdef on . Using offensive Rotom on a non hyper offense team is not a good idea as you miss out on its valuable defensive utility. Even on ho teams, Rotom is not a good pick at all. Instead, just replace defog > pain split, since as mentioned earlier you are strapped for moves, and thunderbolt > will o wisp so you can even be a bigger pain to deal with. Pain split gives you pseudo recovery so that you won't be that pressured

Here is the team

Hide

Tornadus-Therian @ Heavy Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Def / 168 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- U turn
- Knock Off
- Hurricane / Heat Wave

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD
Impish Nature
- Knock Off
- Body Press
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Pain Split
- Volt Switch
- Will o Wisp
- Hydro Pump

Blacephalon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Trick
- Overheat
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower

Weavile @ Heavy Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Ice Shard
- Knock Off
- Triple Axel
- Swords Dance


For Garchomp, just choose whichever of these two sets

Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw / Dual Chop

Garchomp @ Roseli Berry
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fire Fang
- Scale Shot
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

Roseli berry is the item of choice so that scale shot Garchomp can support Weavile. A lot of fairies, including Tapu Lele, often block scale shot because Garchomp is a massive danger if it boosts its speed. Roseli berry would allow Chomp to stand its ground and get rid of Lele or any other fast fairy for Weavile, providing valuable support

Finally, this is just a sample team. I just patched up the major holes but you'll have to explore on your own if the team works for you

Honestly, thanks so much! I love making my own teams but it seems i just can't get them right.Someone helping to fix it really helps alot, would you be able to provide basic team building ideas and methods for future teams? My main game plan is to choose 1 sweeping pokemon and base my team around it.

 

[Hax Believer]

I really understand the building, but it doesn't make much sense to me and the team composition is something i don't really see working in higger ELO, still I'll briefly tell you how you can improve on it (sorry if my english is bad btw).

Dont like the set at all, best way to use it in this metagame is the Special Defensive rol, since it cant take Tapu Lele attacks.

Scarf chom pis almost useless since it can learn scale shot, i recommend you Scale Shot + Sword Dance + EQ + Fire Fang. You dont need rock slide because you not gonnna find a charizard or a talon flame in the OU metagame xD. Maybe Volcarona but at +2 EQ you can threat it well.

Although is not an OU pokemon, i really like it chances since there's no more kyurem in the metagame. I would change the set for a more support one, since is the rol you want for it. Something like this could work:

Rotom-Wash @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Defog
- Pain Split
- Thunder Wave

You can use leftovers and/or will o wisp if you want to.

There's a lot of reason not to use this thing, mainly: Heatran, blacephalon, gengar, dragapult.... Just to name a few.

That mon is god, but dont use is sash since theres a lot of hazzards in the metagame and he needs to enter constantly to do proper damage. You can run it HDB.

Another great mon, i love the spread but for the team compo i don't see it so useful since it can't kill Corviknight at +2 and you have no magnezone to trap it, so the bird would pivot on you freely. I woul use the standar set of Sword Dance + 3 atacks full atacker.


Notes:
- You dont currently posses hazzards (spikes, stealth rocks or something) thats a major mistake with a team that wants to break the opposing teams. Therefore i would change Chandelure for Heatran.
- You dont need to have 2 similar setup sweepers in Kartana an Weavile, so one of them with the choice band or scarf would help you a lot.

There's a lot more we could say but depending of the change you made, we could improve it more. Hope to have helped you.

 

[Red Raven]

Honestly, thanks so much! I love making my own teams but it seems i just can't get them right.Someone helping to fix it really helps alot, would you be able to provide basic team building ideas and methods for future teams? My main game plan is to choose 1 sweeping pokemon and base my team around it.

Well, this is something that works for me so I'm not sure it works for you. The way I make my teams is around a specific wall breaker like specs Lele or Blacephalon or band Tyranitar. I never build one around a sweeper because the only real options are the fast stuff like Dragapult and Garchomp. So, my team almost always consists of immediate firepower like the first three examples, a hazard setter with the priority being rocks over spikes, a hazard remover, speed control, a miscallaneous utlity mon who's main job is to support the immediate firepower like a Slowbro supporting Tyranitar and finally a miscallenous offensive threat. This last one for me is usually Garchomp since it doesn't fit in the slot of firepower nor speed control but can become a sweeper. Also, in the utility core of the hazard setter, remover and misc, one of them must be a steel type whether Corviknight or Ferrothorn

 

[RedDiamond1024]

I really understand the building, but it doesn't make much sense to me and the team composition is something i don't really see working in higger ELO, still I'll briefly tell you how you can improve on it (sorry if my english is bad btw).

Scizor: Dont like the set at all, best way to use it in this metagame is the Special Defensive rol, since it cant take Tapu Lele attacks.

Garchomp: Scarf chom pis almost useless since it can learn scale shot, i recommend you Scale Shot + Sword Dance + EQ + Fire Fang. You dont need rock slide because you not gonnna find a charizard or a talon flame in the OU metagame xD. Maybe Volcarona but at +2 EQ you can threat it well.

Rotom: Although is not an OU pokemon, i really like it chances since there's no more kyurem in the metagame. I would change the set for a more support one, since is the rol you want for it. Something like this could work:

Rotom-Wash @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Defog
- Pain Split
- Thunder Wave

You can use leftovers and/or will o wisp if you want to.

Chandelure: There's a lot of reason not to use this thing, mainly: Heatran, blacephalon, gengar, dragapult.... Just to name a few.

Weavile: That mon is god, but dont use is sash since theres a lot of hazzards in the metagame and he needs to enter constantly to do proper damage. You can run it HDB.

Kartana: Another great mon, i love the spread but for the team compo i don't see it so useful since it can't kill Corviknight at +2 and you have no magnezone to trap it, so the bird would pivot on you freely. I woul use the standar set of Sword Dance + 3 atacks full atacker.


Notes:
- You dont currently posses hazzards (spikes, stealth rocks or something) thats a major mistake with a team that wants to break the opposing teams. Therefore i would change Chandelure for Heatran.
- You dont need to have 2 similar setup sweepers in Kartana an Weavile, so one of them with the choice band or scarf would help you a lot.

There's a lot more we could say but depending of the change you made, we could improve it more. Hope to have helped you.

Some things I want go say about your post, while I do think scarfchomp isnt very good, I feel like stone edge is more of an option than many people think, being able to hit targets like zapdos, torn, and volc and volc super effectively, as well as walls lando and Corviknight neutrally. Also timid kart has a 91.8% chance to 2hko with sacred sword.

+2 0 Atk Life Orb Kartana Sacred Sword vs. 248 HP / 168+ Def Corviknight: 205-242 (51.3 - 60.6%) -- 91.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

 

[Vørtex]

I did not expect to get this much help, thank you guys so much! But i have decided to change my team and start with cores synergy instead of a single pokemon. I believe this will be a much needed improvement then relying on 1 specific pokemon, I will also get hazard setters, speed control and offensive power. Thanks alot.

Edit: new team with it might be posted soon, not sure.

 

[Smashburn]

Hey! Thanks for posting Vørtex. I had a couple things to mention:

1. Screenshots / Images can be clunky for RMT's when large, it makes all the other information you should be prioritizing disorganized or small and hard to read. For future reference, you can get sprites by using this:

:ss/insertnamehere: or :insertnamehere:

​

2. RMT's require that you write no less than 3 complete sentences of explanation for each Pokemon. Things like why you chose it, its EV spread, its moveset, etc. are best to mention and gives your reader some clue as to what your thought process was when building.

If you have questions about anything or don't understand something, you can always visit the main forum for SwSh OU here, or join the Smogon Discord.

 

[Vørtex]

Hey! Thanks for posting Vørtex. I had a couple things to mention:

1. Screenshots / Images can be clunky for RMT's when large, it makes all the other information you should be prioritizing disorganized or small and hard to read. For future reference, you can get sprites by using this:

:ss/insertnamehere: or :insertnamehere:

​

2. RMT's require that you write no less than 3 complete sentences of explanation for each Pokemon. Things like why you chose it, its EV spread, its moveset, etc. are best to mention and gives your reader some clue as to what your thought process was when building.

If you have questions about anything or don't understand something, you can always visit the main forum for SwSh OU here, or join the Smogon Discord.

Thanks so much, i will keep these in mind to improve my RMT.