Everything starts somewhere. I wanted to do something with an offensive Slowbro set. "Hahaha," I said to nobody, "what if I put Expanding Force on it?"
... but what if I did, though? And then, it has Regenerator anyway, so what if I put a Life Orb on it? That would be funny, right? It'd be pretty funny if I filled out the rest of my team, started playing with it, and it, like, genuinely held up. I think I really and truly said "whoa" when Slowbro consistently put in work across the battles. I knew it'd be worth ironing out from there, so I ran some calcs, played more games, kept tweaking my sets, and I've been having a lot of fun with this team.
The process:
Everything would be built from the Tapu Lele + Expanding Force Slowbro core. I came up with Slowbro's moveset right away, but decided to wait until I had some teammates in mind to see what Lele could use. It would be a nice wallbreaker with Specs or Calm Mind to shrug off special attacks too, but Lele also benefits from Scarf a lot.
I decided Slowbro could easily be part of your classic Fire/Water/Grass trio, and Ferrothorn's Steel typing complements Tapu Lele incredibly nicely. With that, I already had a solid basis for bulky offence. Because of its ability to take both Electric and Fire attacks for its teammates, Rotom immediately clicked as the perfect fit, and it could be my Ground immunity at the same time! For some reason, I didn't actually run Defog right away and slapped a funny little Scarf Trick set on this guy. It was fun and everything, but it became very obvious very quickly how badly I needed hazard control.
Speaking of hazards, I wanted something to set them, and for that something to not be Ferrothorn, because that's gonna run an offensive set too. Honestly, Lando would probably be fine, but... man, it just doesn't click with me. I'm tired of looking at Ferrothorn and Landorus by now, do I really have to put both of them here? Besides, Rotom's doing a fine enough job of floating and being weak to Water already. I do think there's a better option.
That's more like it. I'm a sucker for Fairy/Steel/Dragon, and it's a Ground-type without the Water weakness! I like the Iron Barbs/Rough Skin combination a lot, and I liked the idea of having Dragon-type STAB to pull out late game.
What else do we need? Speed, first and foremost. Ice-type offence and a useful Ghost resistance made Weavile stand out. Oops, I accidentally made a gen 7 OU team??? But you know what, that's okay, Slowbro is always right on time.
The team:
Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast
- Energy Ball
Lele is here to set the stage! Energy Ball was chosen as a coverage move because the Water/Ground types on rain teams were surprisingly annoying for this team to deal with, and Specs would guarantee an OHKO on them and possibly opposing Slowbro. Ferrothorn doesn't appreciate Scald burns and Power Whip is like 2% accurate, so why not let Lele take care of em? In the end, though, I settled on Scarf over Specs, because the team was a bit too easily outpaced, and the Speed proved especially valuable. For example, it's able to outspeed Dragonite after one Dragon Dance.
Slowbro @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Expanding Force
- Fire Blast
- Teleport
THIS is the star of the show. I love him, and he loves to punish switch-ins. Seriously, Fire Blast OHKOs Rillaboom, Weavile, Ferrothorn, vestless Magnezone, basically all but the most bulky of Steel-types in the tier-- and even the mighty might melt after chip damage. The inevitable miss always sucks, but it's still an element of pressure when the surprise is gone. He does actually need the Life Orb to pull this off, which makes him extra vulnerable to chip from entry hazards, status, Knock Off, and U-Turn, but hey, this isn't your usual defensive pivot.
Which also means Future Sight is out, because the future arrives when Psychic Terrain goes up. On a set that might have otherwise preferred Psychic, the payoff of a terrain-boosted Expanding Force in the right circumstance is huge when the only compromise is a perfectly fine 80 base power STAB move outside of terrain. It's a great way to nab opponents that think they have a free turn to set up, and his Scald hits hard too. Investing those spare EV crumbs into Speed gives him just enough to outspeed Amoonguss!
Even without HP investment, Slowbro is still Slowbro and remains happy to take a physical hit and Teleport away to a teammate. It's also a tool to avoid revealing the set early. Overall, Slowhoa truly excels at luring in would-be threats and maintaining momentum by trading impressive blows.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Knock Off
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
Offensive Ferrothorn's type coverage and bulk give it nice longevity. I was running full Attack and Defence with Rocky Helmet and Body Press, but I found myself thinking "wow I really wish I had Knock Off right now" far more often than I actually wanted to use Body Press, and even with Leech Seed it gets worn down easily enough to miss Leftovers. I also decided to invest in HP to take advantage of Ferrothorn's general bulk, because my team overall had a harder time taking special attacks. It can often stay in for a few turns, not to mention KO an unsuspecting opponent like Tapu Fini that stays in to Taunt. It's also the slowest it can be to make the most of Gyro Ball and function in opposing Trick Room.
Rotom-Heat @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Defog
- Thunder Wave
This brave little toaster's typing plays nicely with the rest of the squad, and it's proven essential for much-needed Defog support. Thunder Wave is very appreciated by the team for speed control, especially since Lele and Weavile can't outspeed fast scarfed foes. It also makes Clefable a bit easier to deal with. After trying both, Thunderbolt is preferred over Volt Switch because it often wants to stay in and deal damage without recoil, especially to Corviknight. It's still a nice pivot, and it's not uncommon for an opponent to expect a Volt Switch and switch themselves, providing an opportunity to Defog.
Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Def / 120 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Garchomp's versatility made it an appealing Stealth Rock setter. This Chomp is also good at cleaning up, with Outrage as a strong late game option that's easy to click when there's nothing left to stop it. Although I'd wanted to run a coverage move and Attack investment to back up my team's physical power, Toxic and Garchomp's true tankiness come in handy more often. It backs up its defensive support with dual STAB and chip damage to help maintain momentum. When the helmet's still on and the foe's been weakened, it can sometimes be a noble sacrifice to switch Garchomp in to punish physical Life Orb users that would have otherwise threatened the rest of the team.
Weavile @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Triple Axel
- Ice Shard
- Taunt
Weavile rounds out the squad by keeping threats like Lando in check, cleaning up alongside Garchomp, and revenge killing. I've found that my Weavile doesn't get many opportunities to get in safely enough to do more than force a switch and guarantee a Knock Off, so Taunt actually comes in quite handy over something like Swords Dance, and I can use Weavile as a stallbreaker or an anti-lead in a favourable matchup.
Weak points:
The team lacks recovery outside of Slowbro's Regenerator and Ferrothorn's tiny snacks. Rotom especially misses Pain Split, but it's difficult to give up Thunder Wave here. Knock Off and status are a pretty big annoyance (hey, why doesn't Overheat thaw?!??!!!) but it's nice to have at least one immunity to every major status condition barring the occasional Hypnosis.
There are certain threats the team can answer to, but are vulnerable to at the same time, and there are a few shared weaknesses on the team. Fast Ghost-types like Dragapult and Blacephalon can be tricky to manoeuvre around. Volcarona can become a problem after setting up, particularly if Garchomp gets an unlucky burn or SpDef drop. Clefable can also be a nuisance because its moveset can be hard to predict, although its teammates can offer context clues.
My team doesn't have a great way to scout, making cases like this a bit tricky. It also sometimes misses the ability to stall out turns when facing rain and and Trick Room teams. I didn't really want to run Protect on Garchomp, but I have to wonder if it wouldn't be more useful than Outrage after all?
Fast Substitute users can sometimes pose a problem. You know who's annoying? Salazzle. It may not be common in OU, but its ability to spread poison freely gives it a uniquely annoying niche on stall teams. Scarf Lele outspeeds but is threatened by Sludge Wave, especially while poisoned. Salazzle still isn't really an adversary to stress about, Lele kills it twice over in one hit, and Weavile has Taunt for a reason, but it's worth noting, I suppose.
And speaking of uncommon annoyances... yeah, we have no way to stop Final Gambit. I once ventured to an account I'd mostly used for ranked randbats to start laddering in OU, switched to this team at some point, and whoa, why so many Final Gambit leads in a row? Why did one guy give up two slots for that?! To be fair, I don't think this style of team is at its best on low ladder anyway, but Final Gambit occasionally pops up here and there. It's not exactly rampant and it's not the end of the world or anything, but even when you see it coming you can't do much more than sigh and pick a sacrifice.
Final thoughts:
There you have it! A bulky offence team meant to take advantage of the versatility of the Pokemon in play. With a lovely spread of immunities and resistances, no mon is fully passive, each able to support each other while maintaining active pressure on the opponent. Even without setup sweepers of its own, it's effective at discouraging and punishing the opponent's attempts to set up. My funny little anti-meta Slowhoa is no joke, nor empty threat, and keeps opponents on their toes well beyond the initial surprise. When I lose with this team, I can almost always identify the misplays that lost me the upper hand, which I appreciate. It's fun and consistent, but nobody's perfect.
I feel like I'm probably forgetting something, but I guess that's why I'm here! And I guess my first post is an RMT, huh? For some reason, even though gen 8 is drawing to a close, my interest in competitive Pokemon has really picked back up over the past few months, and I've been finding more enjoyment and satisfaction in teambuilding more than I ever have. I'd love to continue to improve, and maybe I'll be ready to take on gen 9 from the start! I've been lurking longer than I've had this account, but I've become interested in actually participating in the community more and more recently. Thanks so much for taking the time to read, I really hope to stick around and have fun with everyone!
... but what if I did, though? And then, it has Regenerator anyway, so what if I put a Life Orb on it? That would be funny, right? It'd be pretty funny if I filled out the rest of my team, started playing with it, and it, like, genuinely held up. I think I really and truly said "whoa" when Slowbro consistently put in work across the battles. I knew it'd be worth ironing out from there, so I ran some calcs, played more games, kept tweaking my sets, and I've been having a lot of fun with this team.
The process:
Everything would be built from the Tapu Lele + Expanding Force Slowbro core. I came up with Slowbro's moveset right away, but decided to wait until I had some teammates in mind to see what Lele could use. It would be a nice wallbreaker with Specs or Calm Mind to shrug off special attacks too, but Lele also benefits from Scarf a lot.
I decided Slowbro could easily be part of your classic Fire/Water/Grass trio, and Ferrothorn's Steel typing complements Tapu Lele incredibly nicely. With that, I already had a solid basis for bulky offence. Because of its ability to take both Electric and Fire attacks for its teammates, Rotom immediately clicked as the perfect fit, and it could be my Ground immunity at the same time! For some reason, I didn't actually run Defog right away and slapped a funny little Scarf Trick set on this guy. It was fun and everything, but it became very obvious very quickly how badly I needed hazard control.
Speaking of hazards, I wanted something to set them, and for that something to not be Ferrothorn, because that's gonna run an offensive set too. Honestly, Lando would probably be fine, but... man, it just doesn't click with me. I'm tired of looking at Ferrothorn and Landorus by now, do I really have to put both of them here? Besides, Rotom's doing a fine enough job of floating and being weak to Water already. I do think there's a better option.
That's more like it. I'm a sucker for Fairy/Steel/Dragon, and it's a Ground-type without the Water weakness! I like the Iron Barbs/Rough Skin combination a lot, and I liked the idea of having Dragon-type STAB to pull out late game.
What else do we need? Speed, first and foremost. Ice-type offence and a useful Ghost resistance made Weavile stand out. Oops, I accidentally made a gen 7 OU team??? But you know what, that's okay, Slowbro is always right on time.
The team:
Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast
- Energy Ball
Lele is here to set the stage! Energy Ball was chosen as a coverage move because the Water/Ground types on rain teams were surprisingly annoying for this team to deal with, and Specs would guarantee an OHKO on them and possibly opposing Slowbro. Ferrothorn doesn't appreciate Scald burns and Power Whip is like 2% accurate, so why not let Lele take care of em? In the end, though, I settled on Scarf over Specs, because the team was a bit too easily outpaced, and the Speed proved especially valuable. For example, it's able to outspeed Dragonite after one Dragon Dance.
Slowbro @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Expanding Force
- Fire Blast
- Teleport
THIS is the star of the show. I love him, and he loves to punish switch-ins. Seriously, Fire Blast OHKOs Rillaboom, Weavile, Ferrothorn, vestless Magnezone, basically all but the most bulky of Steel-types in the tier-- and even the mighty might melt after chip damage. The inevitable miss always sucks, but it's still an element of pressure when the surprise is gone. He does actually need the Life Orb to pull this off, which makes him extra vulnerable to chip from entry hazards, status, Knock Off, and U-Turn, but hey, this isn't your usual defensive pivot.
Which also means Future Sight is out, because the future arrives when Psychic Terrain goes up. On a set that might have otherwise preferred Psychic, the payoff of a terrain-boosted Expanding Force in the right circumstance is huge when the only compromise is a perfectly fine 80 base power STAB move outside of terrain. It's a great way to nab opponents that think they have a free turn to set up, and his Scald hits hard too. Investing those spare EV crumbs into Speed gives him just enough to outspeed Amoonguss!
Even without HP investment, Slowbro is still Slowbro and remains happy to take a physical hit and Teleport away to a teammate. It's also a tool to avoid revealing the set early. Overall, Slowhoa truly excels at luring in would-be threats and maintaining momentum by trading impressive blows.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Knock Off
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
Offensive Ferrothorn's type coverage and bulk give it nice longevity. I was running full Attack and Defence with Rocky Helmet and Body Press, but I found myself thinking "wow I really wish I had Knock Off right now" far more often than I actually wanted to use Body Press, and even with Leech Seed it gets worn down easily enough to miss Leftovers. I also decided to invest in HP to take advantage of Ferrothorn's general bulk, because my team overall had a harder time taking special attacks. It can often stay in for a few turns, not to mention KO an unsuspecting opponent like Tapu Fini that stays in to Taunt. It's also the slowest it can be to make the most of Gyro Ball and function in opposing Trick Room.
Rotom-Heat @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Defog
- Thunder Wave
This brave little toaster's typing plays nicely with the rest of the squad, and it's proven essential for much-needed Defog support. Thunder Wave is very appreciated by the team for speed control, especially since Lele and Weavile can't outspeed fast scarfed foes. It also makes Clefable a bit easier to deal with. After trying both, Thunderbolt is preferred over Volt Switch because it often wants to stay in and deal damage without recoil, especially to Corviknight. It's still a nice pivot, and it's not uncommon for an opponent to expect a Volt Switch and switch themselves, providing an opportunity to Defog.
Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Def / 120 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Garchomp's versatility made it an appealing Stealth Rock setter. This Chomp is also good at cleaning up, with Outrage as a strong late game option that's easy to click when there's nothing left to stop it. Although I'd wanted to run a coverage move and Attack investment to back up my team's physical power, Toxic and Garchomp's true tankiness come in handy more often. It backs up its defensive support with dual STAB and chip damage to help maintain momentum. When the helmet's still on and the foe's been weakened, it can sometimes be a noble sacrifice to switch Garchomp in to punish physical Life Orb users that would have otherwise threatened the rest of the team.
Weavile @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Triple Axel
- Ice Shard
- Taunt
Weavile rounds out the squad by keeping threats like Lando in check, cleaning up alongside Garchomp, and revenge killing. I've found that my Weavile doesn't get many opportunities to get in safely enough to do more than force a switch and guarantee a Knock Off, so Taunt actually comes in quite handy over something like Swords Dance, and I can use Weavile as a stallbreaker or an anti-lead in a favourable matchup.
Weak points:
The team lacks recovery outside of Slowbro's Regenerator and Ferrothorn's tiny snacks. Rotom especially misses Pain Split, but it's difficult to give up Thunder Wave here. Knock Off and status are a pretty big annoyance (hey, why doesn't Overheat thaw?!??!!!) but it's nice to have at least one immunity to every major status condition barring the occasional Hypnosis.
There are certain threats the team can answer to, but are vulnerable to at the same time, and there are a few shared weaknesses on the team. Fast Ghost-types like Dragapult and Blacephalon can be tricky to manoeuvre around. Volcarona can become a problem after setting up, particularly if Garchomp gets an unlucky burn or SpDef drop. Clefable can also be a nuisance because its moveset can be hard to predict, although its teammates can offer context clues.
My team doesn't have a great way to scout, making cases like this a bit tricky. It also sometimes misses the ability to stall out turns when facing rain and and Trick Room teams. I didn't really want to run Protect on Garchomp, but I have to wonder if it wouldn't be more useful than Outrage after all?
Fast Substitute users can sometimes pose a problem. You know who's annoying? Salazzle. It may not be common in OU, but its ability to spread poison freely gives it a uniquely annoying niche on stall teams. Scarf Lele outspeeds but is threatened by Sludge Wave, especially while poisoned. Salazzle still isn't really an adversary to stress about, Lele kills it twice over in one hit, and Weavile has Taunt for a reason, but it's worth noting, I suppose.
And speaking of uncommon annoyances... yeah, we have no way to stop Final Gambit. I once ventured to an account I'd mostly used for ranked randbats to start laddering in OU, switched to this team at some point, and whoa, why so many Final Gambit leads in a row? Why did one guy give up two slots for that?! To be fair, I don't think this style of team is at its best on low ladder anyway, but Final Gambit occasionally pops up here and there. It's not exactly rampant and it's not the end of the world or anything, but even when you see it coming you can't do much more than sigh and pick a sacrifice.
Final thoughts:
There you have it! A bulky offence team meant to take advantage of the versatility of the Pokemon in play. With a lovely spread of immunities and resistances, no mon is fully passive, each able to support each other while maintaining active pressure on the opponent. Even without setup sweepers of its own, it's effective at discouraging and punishing the opponent's attempts to set up. My funny little anti-meta Slowhoa is no joke, nor empty threat, and keeps opponents on their toes well beyond the initial surprise. When I lose with this team, I can almost always identify the misplays that lost me the upper hand, which I appreciate. It's fun and consistent, but nobody's perfect.
I feel like I'm probably forgetting something, but I guess that's why I'm here! And I guess my first post is an RMT, huh? For some reason, even though gen 8 is drawing to a close, my interest in competitive Pokemon has really picked back up over the past few months, and I've been finding more enjoyment and satisfaction in teambuilding more than I ever have. I'd love to continue to improve, and maybe I'll be ready to take on gen 9 from the start! I've been lurking longer than I've had this account, but I've become interested in actually participating in the community more and more recently. Thanks so much for taking the time to read, I really hope to stick around and have fun with everyone!
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