ORAS OU SD Tailwind Zard-X Offence | 1650+

[fuccboi juju]

Yo what up guys, today I've got a little team I like to call...

(lol no) ​

INTRO:​

Sup homies, it's ya boy juju here presenting his first ever RMT. Pretty standard offensive-oriented team, however I was looking through sets from old metas and noticed a really interesting (albeit much harder to pull off) Zard-X set. Tailwind + SD. I then built this team around it, and have been pretty successful so far and only having just made my current new alt, iv already climbed it to the 1600's with a win-ratio of 35 and 5 only using this team, not that high at all but was more or less surprised of how well I managed to utilise TW SD. (proof below) Anyway, more about the building.

​

The thought process behind building

Hoopa-Unbound @ Life Orb
Ability: Magician
EVs: 72 Atk / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Grass Knot
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Punch/Drain Punch ​

I began building with the idea of a TW SD Char-X team being particularly effective at dealing with stall and more bulkier playstyles, with that in minded Hoopa-U was added, aka my balance breaker. Zard X,( although the SD set doesn't have a lot of trouble breaking things) naturally doesn't favour bulky ground types. So, for this reason HP ice was added, as max special attack OHKO's all lando and chomp variants A mon that can prevent Char from doing its thing. Despite hurting bulky grounds, HP ice misses out on Hippo, a very crucial ground type to cover in this meta. For this reason grass knot was added, as it has a very high chance (I believe a min roll does 97%) to OHKO hippo, and a 100% chance after rocks. It then occurred to me that that Hoopas stab helps with alot of threats that Zard-X also doesnt appreciate, such as Slowbro, Latis (although this is a very unlikely scenario), and does neutral damage to pretty much everything zards typing resists. The last slot was initially fire punch to help punch holes in ferro and scizor as hoopa serves as primarily a balance breaker, plus my team did have a bit of a Scizor weakness, however as I tend to switch my Hoopa in on rotoms and end up getting burned commonly I've been leaning towards either focus blast or drain punch lately, more so towards the latter as the team is a little weak to offensive Tran variants. But anyway, just looking at this Hoopa set you get the gist of what it does for the team. Ev's allow an OHKO on bulky scizor variants and with some prior damage, on ferrothorn aswell. the speed makes it hit a number of "266" which is enough to speed creep on base 70's, as well as mons that try to speed-creep them, with a point extra to be safe.

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Zen Headbutt
- Iron Head
- Healing Wish ​

So now my thought process was, Hoopa brings a whopping total of 0 resistances, along with a nasty Bug & Fairy weakness.So, I do have zards for bugs so maybe I could add a steel type for a fairy resists I thought. I also then realised that the pair of Hoopa and bulkier, SD zard struggle a lot with offence as a playstyle, especially considering Zards set lacks recovery. So, immediantly i decided scarfed Jirachi. It provides healing wish for Zard to somewhat mitigate the lack of roost, it can also switch in too clefs (although scout for twave), any gard variant, and hell even specs sylveon if thats your thing, and then proceed to hax KO them with iron head. It mitigates the offence matchup by having some form of speed control, aswell as a pivot which is pretty essential for any team running Hoopa-U (in my opinion at least). EV's are pretty straightfoward, just max max.

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- U-turn ​

Stealth Rocks are arguably an essential asset to any team, aswell as this I noticed two of my mons are weak to ground so in order to avoid compounding this, I added landerus-therian. Lando is many things, a good birdcheck, a soft check to electric mons such as raikou/mmnane/thundy, aswell as being a nice ground resist which can deal with sand archetypes reasonably well. All these assets were pretty vital to the team at this point, as I had no talon check, (unless you'd consider rachi one cause alot are mono BB nowadays), nothing that couldnt stop LO drill from wrecking me, aswell as not having an immunity to electric moves which I do like to have on most teams so offence cant spam volt switch. Originally I was running bulkchomp, because helmet is so damn good with Hoopa, but ultimately I had to let go of that and realise how much better Lando's typing was for my team, hell even intimidate has come in clutch as it's allowed me to use lando as sackfodder to an intimidate to ensure Zard gets to soak up a hit and set up. Ev's are straightforward, but allow me to survive a HP ice from all electric types from full.

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Defog ​

So it became obvious that my team was lacking a water resist, and that mons such as Keldeo have no issues tearing through mine. Latios became the preferred option over its eon bretherin, as the main niche asides from bulk that Lati@s provided was healing wish support, which was kindof redundant having a scarfrachi rolling in the back. Latios also provied the extra offence pressure that was necessary in ensuring ko's on mons such as Rotom after rocks. Due to the glaring water weakness, I added Tbolt as a way of consistently dealing damage to Manaphy aswell as wearing down azu cause my team ended up being quite weak to these two, and even if lati doesnt manage to ohko It can weaken them to the point where i can revenge with a safer move, such as Rachi's U-turn or iron head. Defog was necessary as zard before mega is 4x weak to rocks, and without roost his longitivtiy is limited. Lati also provided another ground switch in, as mold breaker users such as gyra and exca are dealt with by their respective counters(take this word with a grain of salt) on my team (azu and lando). Dual stab is there as it helps deal with certain water types better than Tbolt would, such as keldeo. Pretty straight forward mon really, just there for typing synergy aswell as defog support. Dropping draco's is to EZ aswell. Ev's are pretty straight foward.

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 88 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
​

Everybody should know by this point in ORAS that having Latios as your only water resist will still leave you weak to a plethora of straight up threats. Water typing being so splashable (aswell as the distribution of good water pokemon) makes it pretty necessary to have at least 2 water resists on a team. I chose azu, as it forms a S/D/F core with Rachi, and Zard respectively aswell as providing a good fighting resists that doesn't lose to Conk (although he is much less relevant nowadays opposed to something like Lop, + I guess PJ exists). Azu's great offensive and defensive typing provides so much to the team, it gives me a dark, water, fighting and necessary dragon immunity. Azu gives me a secondary back up to mons like Keldeo if lati gets weakened, checks the water mons that lati cant, such as mega gyra, Gatr etc, whereas lati removes of the water types that Azu doesnt like (most notably rotom). Another aspect that a offence oriented team should employ is priority, this gives me revenge killing capabilities as-well as with the combination of lando a solid answer to sand. It gives me a soft check to mons like mega-lop, which also slightly mitigates the offence weakness this team has. Pretty much all you guys know what this little dude does at this point, and its not new that is pairs wonders with Zard-X. By the way I'm running the CB set as I had a big weakness to offensive tran variants, and the BD set didnt hit hard enough, however it has amazing sweeping potential aswell as removing its own checks and counters which supports the team alot, because it shares some mutual checks with its team members. EV's allow it to outspeed Clef, aswell as a point extra to outspeed other Azu's. Superpower is there because ferro can be tough to deal with.

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 56 HP / 252 Atk / 200 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Tailwind
- Swords Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Outrage/Dragon Claw​

And here we have the star of the team, Char-X. Char-X is really fucking good, and i mean really good in this meta. This is no suprise as he has great defensive typing, allowing it to set up on a plethora of threats, aswell as being one of the few (possibly even the only) fire types to be neutral to scald, granting it an immunity to burn yet not hit super effectively. It's dragon typing also grants in many resistances in electric, grass, and fire which allows Zard to act as a glue giving a solid electric check to the team alongside Lando-T. Granted the terrifying ability that is tough claws, a 130 base attack and defence, Zard has the offences to apply pressure yet has the bulk to soak up hits. What I actually personally enjoy so much about the Tailwind + SD set is that it isnt necessary to set up both in one match. For example, in a match where I'm versing balance I do't need to set up Tailwind with Zard where the opponents walls or mons are going to be slower anyway, whereas vice versa against offence I dont the SD's boosts as Zards sheer power is enough to put a lot of pressure against offences's more frailer mons. And to mitigate the lack of recovery, the healing wish support comes so clutch as it allows me play more reckless and defeat Zards own checks and 'counters', with Zard itself. I know many of you guys will just be thinking 'why doesnt he just run Ddance' and although that is undoubtedly a great set, I really enjoy this zard set and I have personally made it work by adapting too it (as i usually have run Ddance in the past) and personally find it equally as good. The EV's are pretty much there to allow it to outspeed base 80 mon's, as against offence I will generally be TW'n but this allows me to out speed threats that I don't want to take this from such as Hoopa-U and Altaria without compromising much bulk.

Threats & Counters

Manaphy: This thing is a straight up threat, having only two shaky water resists in Lati & Azu my best method of breaking this is tbolt on Lati. Basically if i see one in team preview I dont get any damage on Lati so that anytime manaphy comes in I hardswitch to Lati to try get off a tbolt, knowing i have the option of healing wish'n it back up

Offensive Tran variants: Basically for defensive variants Lando-doge is my check, being able to soak up a toxic/lava plume on the switch and still being able to consistently check it after. However scarf, specs, offensive stall breaker, all those sets are troublesome and Lando wont be able to switch into a fire blast/magma storm, leaving azu as the backup check for these threats however despite this a lot run solar-beam in which cause i just click x.

Mega venu + Giscor + Tran + speed control cores: Basically, this team has had success with a lot of balance archetypes however despite that this core is very troublesome. Discluding Hoopa-U and Lati, a team like this focuses on appropriate switch-ins which leaves a lot of mons lacking coverage (I.E, no EQ on Zard, Rachi' dual stab, no coverage on lando), so when I face a team like this a lot of switching and predicting is going to be have to take place if I want a shot, and even then the opponent has such consistent answers to all my switchins (venu has no problem with azu, whereas gliscor can switch into Lando easy, and tran if it doesnt allow me to set up doesnt have issues with Zard). I could be a little wrong here as both times I've had this exact same matchup my opponent has consistent answers to my Hoopa which caused it to die so early, but without Hoopa theres no salvaging this matchup.

Lopunny: Like I stated earlier, this team struggles both with offence archetypes and one big reason is my lack of consistent switchins in to this monster. Lando gets worn down quickly without recovery, and scarf rachi being my only speed control is my only method of hitting it before it hits us. This one isnt a huge issue as I can usually play around but it when the opponent has straight threats like Loppuny + bisharp + azu etc shit gets hectic.

Serperior: Basically this thing on paper looks like it can dismantle this team, which it can if not properally played around, but ironically I havn't had much issues with it despite the weakness the team appears to have. Usually, an unboosted Dpulse does nothing to zard so if it hasnt boosted, I can either scare it out or KO it with FB, otherwise most scenarios i try to get lando safely in, and as it survive a leaf storm I u-turn out safely bringing Rachi to flinch revenge kill it. But yeah, worst case scenarios I've had to sack a mon to revenge it w/ rachi but despite that I do have a weakness to this thing and its dumb ass ability.


Well, considering I havn't had a HUGE amount of experience with this team yet, there aren't really any particular threats (that arent gimmicky) that I haven't noticed yet other than these, However this team does struggle with a lot of combination of offence mons and I will keep updating this and posting more in the list as I have more experience with the team.

Final Verdict​

Well, this write up was longer than i expected cause i got a bit carried away. Also this is my first ever smogon post as i'm usually just a lurker so pardon me if I made any mistakes. This team has had some decent success and even though there will be a bunch of you thinking "my man, just use DD zard" I wanted to make the TW SD variant work in the current meta, and I feel I've done a decent job doing so by simply learning to adapt to use. Basically if any of you want to try my team, the best way to use charizard is to utilise its tailwind verse offences, as you don't need the SD power to crush offences threats, and rather use SD to break more defensive teams cause a lot don't have much for a +2 zard (especially if you get rid of quag on stall with hoopa). Likewise, with Hoopa if you're versing offence since it won't be doing much I suggest almost always lead with as for some reason nobody switches out their chomp, even on a Hoopa. This grants a massive opening for a Char sweep and a lot of players tend to see hoopa as free rocks, and not always predict the HP ice. But yeah, I don't mind the team it's incredibly standard and theres probably a tonne of teams out there that resemble this, but its pretty fun and is effective. Thats about it guys hope y'all like it and thanks for any criticism broski's.

Peak:

(not so much my peak, just where I'm at on the ladder atm. Probably will climb higher with it. Can update)

 

[471kingofgames]

paste bin please
pastebin.com

 

[Nedor]

Sup, I'd like to start off by saying your build is an exemplary representation of Hyper Offense in the current ORAS metagame; By including threatening Wallbreakers, pivots, set-up win conditions that pressure multiple playstyles, and revenge killers / late-game cleaners, and understanding what needs and doesn't need to be checked. Even though the current metagame has many potent Offense breakers, you do have counterplay against teamstyles featuring Mega Lopunny, Thundurus, Sand Offense, and other threats while performing well in theory against most match-ups. Lastly, while it was hard to find changes to enhance the goal and foundation of the build, there are threats that you have overlooked and alterations that would be optimal.

Even though opting for Landorus-T over TankChomp would benefit the build by having a consistent Ground check, you didn't take into account for the weakness that would arise, which is Bisharp. It finds set-up opportunities against ScarfRachi and -2 Latios, and at that point it just sweeps your team with some prior damage on Charizard X as well as Landorus-T. Next, the team is vulnerable to priority, some of which are from the likes of Band Azumarill and Scizor (especially as Zard X doesn't have Roost, allowing itself to get worn down quickly). This change is extremely match-up dependent, but I'd give TankChomp > Defensive Landorus-T a shot; TankChomp provides a check to set-up sweepers like Bisharp and Mega Scizor alongside the ability to punish Priority abusers. Unfortunately, with this change you'd lose out on a pivot which offers momentum to your Wallbreakers, Intimidate to give ZardX as well as a Ground immune.

Although Sand weakness has increased, you can play around it with pressuring the build with Azumarill + TankChomp, alongside with getting a kill with Hoopa-U whenever you get a free switchin against Tyranitar. Additionally, Jirachi provides Healing Wish as an emergency answer to a certain scenario, making up for the loss of Landorus-T, Trick gives you an easier time sweeping with SD + Tailwind Charizard X; Ice Punch would be a great choice as well. Going onto the explanations, Trick heavily cripples Pokemon found on slower, bulkier builds, potentially locking them into a status move. Ice Punch would lure in bulky grounds, specifically Landorus-T and opposing TankChomp in order to develop one of your win conditions in ZardX. Furthermore, this would allow you to have an extra coverage move on Hoopa-U, so I'd recommend Gunk Shot as Jirachi is way too pressured to deal with every single Fairy type.
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sets

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet | Rough Skin
Impish Nature | 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
• Earthquake
• Dragon Tail
• Stealth Rock
• Fire Blast

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf | Serene Grace
Jolly Nature | 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
• Iron Head
• U-Turn
• Ice Punch / Trick
• Healing Wish

Congratulations on such a solid build! Although the changes I've made to your team work in theory, it may be different in practice, so testing is recommended. Hope you liked it and looking forward to your future RMT's!

 

[fuccboi juju]

Sup, I'd like to start off by saying your build is an exemplary representation of Hyper Offense in the current ORAS metagame; By including threatening Wallbreakers, pivots, set-up win conditions that pressure multiple playstyles, and revenge killers / late-game cleaners, and understanding what needs and doesn't need to be checked. Even though the current metagame has many potent Offense breakers, you do have counterplay against teamstyles featuring Mega Lopunny, Thundurus, Sand Offense, and other threats while performing well in theory against most match-ups. Lastly, while it was hard to find changes to enhance the goal and foundation of the build, there are threats that you have overlooked and alterations that would be optimal.

Even though opting for Landorus-T over TankChomp would benefit the build by having a consistent Ground check, you didn't take into account for the weakness that would arise, which is Bisharp. It finds set-up opportunities against ScarfRachi and -2 Latios, and at that point it just sweeps your team with some prior damage on Charizard X as well as Landorus-T. Next, the team is vulnerable to priority, some of which are from the likes of Band Azumarill and Scizor (especially as Zard X doesn't have Roost, allowing itself to get worn down quickly). This change is extremely match-up dependent, but I'd give TankChomp > Defensive Landorus-T a shot; TankChomp provides a check to set-up sweepers like Bisharp and Mega Scizor alongside the ability to punish Priority abusers. Unfortunately, with this change you'd lose out on a pivot which offers momentum to your Wallbreakers, Intimidate to give ZardX as well as a Ground immune.

Although Sand weakness has increased, you can play around it with pressuring the build with Azumarill + TankChomp, alongside with getting a kill with Hoopa-U whenever you get a free switchin against Tyranitar. Additionally, Jirachi provides Healing Wish as an emergency answer to a certain scenario, making up for the loss of Landorus-T, Trick gives you an easier time sweeping with SD + Tailwind Charizard X; Ice Punch would be a great choice as well. Going onto the explanations, Trick heavily cripples Pokemon found on slower, bulkier builds, potentially locking them into a status move. Ice Punch would lure in bulky grounds, specifically Landorus-T and opposing TankChomp in order to develop one of your win conditions in ZardX. Furthermore, this would allow you to have an extra coverage move on Hoopa-U, so I'd recommend Gunk Shot as Jirachi is way too pressured to deal with every single Fairy type.
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sets

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet | Rough Skin
Impish Nature | 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
• Earthquake
• Dragon Tail
• Stealth Rock
• Fire Blast

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf | Serene Grace
Jolly Nature | 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
• Iron Head
• U-Turn
• Ice Punch / Trick
• Healing Wish

Congratulations on such a solid build! Although the changes I've made to your team work in theory, it may be different in practice, so testing is recommended. Hope you liked it and looking forward to your future RMT's!

Thanks a lot for the criticism man, I appreciate it. Also thank you for liking the team :) I like to say that over the past few months, especially considering how unbalanced the current meta is, I like to put A LOT of effort into teambuilding to minimalise any bad-matchup/team advantage, and that in this current meta it is almost impossible to find a team that covers every threat. However despite this, Bisharp has been on the radar for this team as it was something I was considering including in the threat list, but usually I just keep my Zard healthy when my opponent has one however you are 100% there is a weakness to this, as another buddy of mine pointed out this aswell. But as for you suggestion of TankChomp, I will give it a go as to be fair I didnt use/have much experience with tank chomp in general and when paired with healing wish, it seems like it can a very consistent answer to a lot of threats. Furthermore, after having a bit more experience with the team I have been considering completely re-arranging the Hoopa set, and I have constantly been shifting between gunk shot, fire punch, drain punch, focus blast & psychic. But yeah basically, I appreciate the criticism and I'll definitely utilise it all especially if it helps with matchup, the lack of ground immunity is annoying obviously but i'll try to find my way around that. Lastly, I'd like to mention that although this is my first post I have a lot of experience with the metagame & I have a few other teams of various archetypes that I've polished off (or at least am polishing off) that I plan to share with community and get their opinions. Cheers man.