G-Luke Well you've convinced me that Genesect is worse than I thought. I don't think I faced Specs in my 100 or so matches so far but yes the Specs set itself is a nuke because even with Flash Fire it still does a lot to Heatran with Thunderbolt. The bit about Naganadel doing over half at +2 doesn't convince me that Flame Body is bad. Unless you´ve already confirmed that Heatran is not Flash Fire because it already burned one of your mons you're risking it being Flash Fire by going for Fire Blast and you're going to lose to Heatran anyway because of Earth Power and you still do like half with +2 Draco Meteor anyway no need for Fire Blast. Until Genesect is banned I still like Flame Body.
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Metagame SS OU Metagame Discussion Thread v7 (Usage Stats in post #3539)
- Thread starter TPP
- Start date
After playing a bit of OU, I wanted to talk about 2 specific pokemon I found interesting, those being Regieleki and Spectrier (grouping them since they function pretty similarly and have similar problems).
Now when I first saw these pokemon and their movepools, I thought they were gonna be absolute garbage like a lot of other people, but after using them and facing them in many games, I think that they're pretty underrated. These guys are basically Dracovish 2.0 and they pretty much force you to have immunities/resists on your team. However, I don't think they're dracovish levels of broken as they don't really have any sort of coverage moves and lack the same breaking power.
Regieleki
This guy is so stupid. 200 base speed lets him outspeed basically anything, including things like scarf lati, which only hits 525 speed to Regieleki's 548 speed. The only common scarfer that outspeeds it is scarf pult (modest scarf still outspeeds!), which is actually pretty good for revenge-killing and offensively checking the new pokemon from this DLC. Regieleki practically 6-0s any team without a ground type; luckily though, it is much easier to fit a ground type onto a team then it is to fit a water absorb mon onto every team.
I've seen a lot of choice specs, which might be the best set because it doesn't take recoil, but choice band is nice to destroy Blissey. I'd also recommend max speed on this thing as it needs it for scarfers and also lets it smack weather abusers like Kingdra and Venusaur if they're modest. This thing destroys offense and it's gonna be interesting to see how people deal with it.
Spectrier
Scarf, specs, and maybe sub/nasty plot(?), are probably the most common sets being used right now, and even though you know it's going to click shadow ball, it's still a threat. It's ability lets it snowball extremely hard against offense because not a lot of pokemon can switch into this thing's shadow ball off of 145 base special attack. This lets it function as an amazing late game cleaner after it's checks are removed/chipped.
Offensively, it can be checked by scarf pult no matter the set thanks to infiltrator, and other scarfers if if happens to be running specs. Defensively, it can be completely walled by Blissey, Tyranitar, and Mandibuzz, 2 of which have been falling out of favor recently. Specially defensive Heatran and Corviknight can also function as decent checks, but they get hit pretty hard by specs shadow ball despite it being a neutral hit.
Final Thoughts
Overall, these guys are menaces and they're definitely something to think about while teambuilding. I don't think they're quickban worthy at all, of course, but I can definitely see how some people would think they would warrant a suspect test down the line. I'd keep an eye on them as bans come out and the meta settles; don't sleep on these guys!
Now when I first saw these pokemon and their movepools, I thought they were gonna be absolute garbage like a lot of other people, but after using them and facing them in many games, I think that they're pretty underrated. These guys are basically Dracovish 2.0 and they pretty much force you to have immunities/resists on your team. However, I don't think they're dracovish levels of broken as they don't really have any sort of coverage moves and lack the same breaking power.
Regieleki
This guy is so stupid. 200 base speed lets him outspeed basically anything, including things like scarf lati, which only hits 525 speed to Regieleki's 548 speed. The only common scarfer that outspeeds it is scarf pult (modest scarf still outspeeds!), which is actually pretty good for revenge-killing and offensively checking the new pokemon from this DLC. Regieleki practically 6-0s any team without a ground type; luckily though, it is much easier to fit a ground type onto a team then it is to fit a water absorb mon onto every team.
I've seen a lot of choice specs, which might be the best set because it doesn't take recoil, but choice band is nice to destroy Blissey. I'd also recommend max speed on this thing as it needs it for scarfers and also lets it smack weather abusers like Kingdra and Venusaur if they're modest. This thing destroys offense and it's gonna be interesting to see how people deal with it.
Spectrier
Scarf, specs, and maybe sub/nasty plot(?), are probably the most common sets being used right now, and even though you know it's going to click shadow ball, it's still a threat. It's ability lets it snowball extremely hard against offense because not a lot of pokemon can switch into this thing's shadow ball off of 145 base special attack. This lets it function as an amazing late game cleaner after it's checks are removed/chipped.
Offensively, it can be checked by scarf pult no matter the set thanks to infiltrator, and other scarfers if if happens to be running specs. Defensively, it can be completely walled by Blissey, Tyranitar, and Mandibuzz, 2 of which have been falling out of favor recently. Specially defensive Heatran and Corviknight can also function as decent checks, but they get hit pretty hard by specs shadow ball despite it being a neutral hit.
252 SpA Choice Specs Spectrier Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 228+ SpD Corviknight: 174-205 (43.5 - 51.2%) -- 61.3% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Spectrier Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 176+ SpD Heatran: 157-186 (40.6 - 48.1%) -- 5.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
(watch out for mud shot!)
252 SpA Choice Specs Spectrier Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 176+ SpD Heatran: 157-186 (40.6 - 48.1%) -- 5.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
(watch out for mud shot!)
Final Thoughts
Overall, these guys are menaces and they're definitely something to think about while teambuilding. I don't think they're quickban worthy at all, of course, but I can definitely see how some people would think they would warrant a suspect test down the line. I'd keep an eye on them as bans come out and the meta settles; don't sleep on these guys!
So far honestly metagame is more fun than I expected to be fair. I feel nothing truly makes me want to rip my hair off, but as mentioned before there is so many options to deal with that it's impossible to deal with all options really. Today most of the day I spended on playing it, and maybe some of you played against me.
Zeraora @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Volt Switch
- Close Combat
- Blaze Kick
Nidoqueen (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Sludge Bomb
- Fire Blast
Genesect @ Choice Band
Ability: Download
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Blaze Kick
Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Big Pecks
EVs: 248 HP / 160 Def / 44 SpD / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Roost
- Defog
- Brave Bird
Clefable @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Teleport
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect
Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Draco Meteor
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
This is the team I used. It's not amazing by any stretch, and it does have weaknesses (Melmetal, Volcarona, I need to be wary of Nagadanel), but I had fun with it. And yes, Magearna is a pain as well, but thankfully it's rare. But it's pretty much about luring in Ground types, and cleaning up with Zeraora or Genesect.
Mostly testing some random Pokemon, and so far those are the results I like:
1. Nidoqueen.
Surprisingly viable. It can switch and survive so much. The build I mostly use right now is Physically Defensive with 20 EVs for some little oomph in it. But Specially Defensive would do the trick as well, as it can handle things like Tapu Koko, Pheromosa, Gengar, etc. with pretty solid comfort.
The amount of Landorus-T switching on me, to only get KOed by Ice Beam was mindboggling. Standard Stealth Rock set can't KO you, with dealing at max around 65% with Earthquake, while you KO back. I personally prefer to have all options in Fire Blast / Ice Beam / Sludge Bomb (poison chance) and Earth Power. Only issue here is that defensive set does miss 2HKO on Toxapex and Defensive Clefable, which yes, is bad.
But offensive one works just as fine, but if you still want Nidoqueen as a Ground types lure, put in Shuca Berry instead.
2. Zeraora.
I know some people say it lost it's value in this metagame, and it's both true and not? I still use it just fine. Also it checking Regieleki helps, so it provides something to handle Regieleki and may allow you to not get as heavy focus on Ground types as it's normally needed.
And while advantages of Regieleki are obvious here, having tools to deal with ground types, or at least crippling them, while also being able to deal with some special walls via Close Combat helps. It's just different enough for me to pick it up for some teams over Regieleki.
So yeah, for me it still works just fine.
3. Garchomp.
And yes, it's good to see you back. Also MixChomp works like a charm in this meta. Almost no one expects it, which is exactly what you need in a metagame with so many ground types around. Hippo, Landorus, Landorus-T, etc. don't like tanking Draco Meteor, and also catching off-guard those Corviknights and Skarmory helps alot as well.
It's always a good Pokemon, and this metagame shows it. I tried few more, but I still like MixChomp right now the most. Yeah, it doesn't have raw power of Swords Dance and it can't revenge kill like Scarf, but yes, I love this set. It's so fun in this meta.
4. Mandibuzz.
Not a lot to say - still a good glue, and with ghost and dark types being around, like Spectries or Blacephalon, it still works just fine. Tapu Koko does make its life harder, but honestly it's still a damn good glue Pokemon, and I'm surprised it's not more common.
5. Genesect.
I will feel sad once this will end up banned, because it will. I love this guy, it's so damn good at saving you in a pinch, and with proper Download Iron Heads and U-Turns coming from this hurt like hell. Not a lot to say here - we all know how this works. I guess Scizor may work, but it won't be the same x_X.
Also some random tested options.
Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 SpD / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Roost / Hurricane
- Hydro Pump / Hurricane
- Fire Blast
Tested it in several games. People don't expect this as well at all. Some Fairies does bring it trouble, but Hurrican hits HARD (if it hits that is), but it also works like a really good lure for incoming Ground types. And Corviknight/Skarmory also like to switch into this. It's an old standard from Gen 4 (man, old times) and so far I like it. It does struggle against more stallish teams, but with right prediction it may still catch something offguard. But with more balanced teams? Yep, it can nab a KO or two, to open up that Regieleki or Zeraora to get a sweep later on.
Only problem I have with this that Garchomp outspeeds it, which makes this annoying x_X.
Hydro Pump is an option if you don't want to Draco Meteor, but instead Hydro Pump ground types. It worked fine for me as well. And well, otherwise Heatran walls you, which is also a problem.
Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Telepathy
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Def / 12 SpA / 40 SpD / 192 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Scald
- Moonblast
- Toxic
Yes, I know. Why the hell no Misty Terrain. It's ironic how it catches so many Pokemon offguard with Toxic. EVs outspeed Neutral Heatran and Timid Magearna. Not much to say here really - it's a glue that does it's job. Typing is good, and bulk is solid as well.
Slurpuff @ Leftovers
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Dazzling Gleam
- Wish
- Protect
Also solid. Sticky Web setter with a good fairy typing, and just enough physical bulk to make use of it. Also nothing truly original, but as a Sticky Wen user - my favourite.
Zeraora @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Volt Switch
- Close Combat
- Blaze Kick
Nidoqueen (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Sludge Bomb
- Fire Blast
Genesect @ Choice Band
Ability: Download
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Blaze Kick
Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Big Pecks
EVs: 248 HP / 160 Def / 44 SpD / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Roost
- Defog
- Brave Bird
Clefable @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Teleport
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect
Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Draco Meteor
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
This is the team I used. It's not amazing by any stretch, and it does have weaknesses (Melmetal, Volcarona, I need to be wary of Nagadanel), but I had fun with it. And yes, Magearna is a pain as well, but thankfully it's rare. But it's pretty much about luring in Ground types, and cleaning up with Zeraora or Genesect.
Mostly testing some random Pokemon, and so far those are the results I like:
1. Nidoqueen.
Surprisingly viable. It can switch and survive so much. The build I mostly use right now is Physically Defensive with 20 EVs for some little oomph in it. But Specially Defensive would do the trick as well, as it can handle things like Tapu Koko, Pheromosa, Gengar, etc. with pretty solid comfort.
The amount of Landorus-T switching on me, to only get KOed by Ice Beam was mindboggling. Standard Stealth Rock set can't KO you, with dealing at max around 65% with Earthquake, while you KO back. I personally prefer to have all options in Fire Blast / Ice Beam / Sludge Bomb (poison chance) and Earth Power. Only issue here is that defensive set does miss 2HKO on Toxapex and Defensive Clefable, which yes, is bad.
But offensive one works just as fine, but if you still want Nidoqueen as a Ground types lure, put in Shuca Berry instead.
2. Zeraora.
I know some people say it lost it's value in this metagame, and it's both true and not? I still use it just fine. Also it checking Regieleki helps, so it provides something to handle Regieleki and may allow you to not get as heavy focus on Ground types as it's normally needed.
And while advantages of Regieleki are obvious here, having tools to deal with ground types, or at least crippling them, while also being able to deal with some special walls via Close Combat helps. It's just different enough for me to pick it up for some teams over Regieleki.
So yeah, for me it still works just fine.
3. Garchomp.
And yes, it's good to see you back. Also MixChomp works like a charm in this meta. Almost no one expects it, which is exactly what you need in a metagame with so many ground types around. Hippo, Landorus, Landorus-T, etc. don't like tanking Draco Meteor, and also catching off-guard those Corviknights and Skarmory helps alot as well.
It's always a good Pokemon, and this metagame shows it. I tried few more, but I still like MixChomp right now the most. Yeah, it doesn't have raw power of Swords Dance and it can't revenge kill like Scarf, but yes, I love this set. It's so fun in this meta.
4. Mandibuzz.
Not a lot to say - still a good glue, and with ghost and dark types being around, like Spectries or Blacephalon, it still works just fine. Tapu Koko does make its life harder, but honestly it's still a damn good glue Pokemon, and I'm surprised it's not more common.
5. Genesect.
I will feel sad once this will end up banned, because it will. I love this guy, it's so damn good at saving you in a pinch, and with proper Download Iron Heads and U-Turns coming from this hurt like hell. Not a lot to say here - we all know how this works. I guess Scizor may work, but it won't be the same x_X.
Also some random tested options.
Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 SpD / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Roost / Hurricane
- Hydro Pump / Hurricane
- Fire Blast
Tested it in several games. People don't expect this as well at all. Some Fairies does bring it trouble, but Hurrican hits HARD (if it hits that is), but it also works like a really good lure for incoming Ground types. And Corviknight/Skarmory also like to switch into this. It's an old standard from Gen 4 (man, old times) and so far I like it. It does struggle against more stallish teams, but with right prediction it may still catch something offguard. But with more balanced teams? Yep, it can nab a KO or two, to open up that Regieleki or Zeraora to get a sweep later on.
Only problem I have with this that Garchomp outspeeds it, which makes this annoying x_X.
Hydro Pump is an option if you don't want to Draco Meteor, but instead Hydro Pump ground types. It worked fine for me as well. And well, otherwise Heatran walls you, which is also a problem.
Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Telepathy
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Def / 12 SpA / 40 SpD / 192 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Scald
- Moonblast
- Toxic
Yes, I know. Why the hell no Misty Terrain. It's ironic how it catches so many Pokemon offguard with Toxic. EVs outspeed Neutral Heatran and Timid Magearna. Not much to say here really - it's a glue that does it's job. Typing is good, and bulk is solid as well.
Slurpuff @ Leftovers
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Dazzling Gleam
- Wish
- Protect
Also solid. Sticky Web setter with a good fairy typing, and just enough physical bulk to make use of it. Also nothing truly original, but as a Sticky Wen user - my favourite.
Last edited:
Posting mainly to back up Ruft's post. This thing is extremely anti-meta right now and puts in so much work with Wish support it's insane.
Marowak-Alola @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Atk / 248 SpD
Careful Nature
- Fire Punch
- Toxic / Will-O-Wisp
- Stealth Rock / Pain Split
- Earthquake / Focus Punch / Pain Split
Another mon I suggest y'all look at if you're bored is Nidoking.
Nidoking (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Ice Beam
- Substitute
Another anti-meta mon I've enjoyed using, which is why I asked for the Nidoking thread :v Capitalizes tremendously on all the Regieleki, Tapu Koko, and Clefable running around. Set up a Sub on the switch and start punching holes. You could run Thunderbolt or Flamethrower in the last slot for Corviknight, Celesteela, and Ferrothorn, but I prefer Sub for some extra safety because you are easily revenge killed.
If you'd like to try these mons for yourself, here's the team I've been using:
Nidoking (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Ice Beam
- Substitute
Urshifu @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Wicked Blow
- Sucker Punch
- Close Combat
Marowak-Alola @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Atk / 248 SpD
Careful Nature
- Fire Punch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Stealth Rock
- Bonemerang
Rillaboom @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- U-turn
- Grassy Glide
- Knock Off
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Teleport
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect
Zapdos @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 188 Def / 72 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Defog
- Roost
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Ice Beam
- Substitute
Urshifu @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Wicked Blow
- Sucker Punch
- Close Combat
Marowak-Alola @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Atk / 248 SpD
Careful Nature
- Fire Punch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Stealth Rock
- Bonemerang
Rillaboom @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- U-turn
- Grassy Glide
- Knock Off
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Teleport
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect
Zapdos @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 188 Def / 72 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Defog
- Roost
A word of warning: Landorus-I is a big problem for this squad, so proceed with caution. Hopefully the damn thing gets the boot.
Please feel free to tweak this to your heart's content, and have fun out there!
I love Nidoking, and I tried to use it, but I couldn't make it work. I missed the bulk I had from Nidoqueen, and it was also too slow for my tastes. But it's also true that I never tried to use Substitute in one slots, which I suspect makes it easier. As yes, it's easy to revenge kill it, and while it has good resistances, switching with it is something I didn't enjoy.
Also need to check Choice Scarf.
I've thrown together this team quickly to have some fun. The focus of the team is to stack status and chup away so sub/wisp/hex spectrier can sweep. The team could use a lot of improvement, but it is a decent amount of fun and I don't want to put too much time into it before the inevitable quickbans occur. The main idea is to chip away and spread status to endgame with spectrier.
Spectrier @ Leftovers
Ability: Grim Neigh
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hex
- Dark Pulse
Pretty straightforward set. Best saved for the endgame, dark pulse is primarily there so it doesn't get completely walled by p2/blissey. Its best to get mandibuzz/heatran pretty chipped before attempting a sweep.
Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- Iron Head
Genesect doing genesect things. Pivots, does way more damage than it should, tanks some hits due to its typing.
Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Knock Off
Standard broken breaker. Not sure if i should change the last slot up. Knock is nice for opposing lando and some switches.
Toxapex @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Haze
- Recover
- Knock Off
- Toxic Spikes
Sets up a t spike for the ghost horse, knocks items and hazes zygarde/KB/blaze ect. Otherwise sits on its butt and lets others take helmet chip.
Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
Some decent speed control, I figure I can definitely optimize the evs a bit. It can spin away hazards if needed, but frankly that doesn't happen often. Rock slide might be better to hit zap/corv/moltres
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Rock Blast
- Flamethrower
Special tank. It does what it does. Thinking ice beam would be more useful than flamethrower, same with EQ. I'll have to fiddle around with it. Paralysis is really nice for the steels that can't get burnt and some of the flying types
Spectrier @ Leftovers
Ability: Grim Neigh
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hex
- Dark Pulse
Pretty straightforward set. Best saved for the endgame, dark pulse is primarily there so it doesn't get completely walled by p2/blissey. Its best to get mandibuzz/heatran pretty chipped before attempting a sweep.
Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- Iron Head
Genesect doing genesect things. Pivots, does way more damage than it should, tanks some hits due to its typing.
Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Knock Off
Standard broken breaker. Not sure if i should change the last slot up. Knock is nice for opposing lando and some switches.
Toxapex @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Haze
- Recover
- Knock Off
- Toxic Spikes
Sets up a t spike for the ghost horse, knocks items and hazes zygarde/KB/blaze ect. Otherwise sits on its butt and lets others take helmet chip.
Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
Some decent speed control, I figure I can definitely optimize the evs a bit. It can spin away hazards if needed, but frankly that doesn't happen often. Rock slide might be better to hit zap/corv/moltres
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Rock Blast
- Flamethrower
Special tank. It does what it does. Thinking ice beam would be more useful than flamethrower, same with EQ. I'll have to fiddle around with it. Paralysis is really nice for the steels that can't get burnt and some of the flying types
Can you beat Blissey with Spectrier if you are running the sub + nasty plot set and put Dark Pulse as the 4th move? I think Dark Pulse still only does like 45ish percent at +6, but with the 20% flinch chance and having more PP than soft boiled it would still win out if they tried to stay in with Blissey. Dark Pulse would serve no other purpose other than Blissey, but the 4th move slot isn't doing much for you regardless and being able to 1v1 Blissey while setting up would be huge in certain matchups.
Salac Berry is also a kind of interesting item on the sub/plot set. It leaves you even more vulnerable to priority if you go for the speed boost, but reduces the number of speed controllers/scarfers that can revenge kill it. Spell Tag and Leftovers might just be better, but its a though.
Salac Berry is also a kind of interesting item on the sub/plot set. It leaves you even more vulnerable to priority if you go for the speed boost, but reduces the number of speed controllers/scarfers that can revenge kill it. Spell Tag and Leftovers might just be better, but its a though.
I think you still get walled against Blissey/P2 with Dark Pulse on this set. Unboosted Dark Pulse only does 12% max to Def Blissey and 15% to SpD P2. I think youd run out of Dark Pulse PP before they run out of Recover/Softboil PP even with burn damage and some flinches. You might be better running Shadow Ball for when you need to hit something hard when you don't have them status'ed, or taunt for some utility.
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You can beat Blissey by running Taunt and waiting for the burn to kill her.
Thats interesting for the hex/sub/wisp set, but youre not going to be running wisp on the sub/plot set. I still think dark pulse would get the job done against Blissey for the sub/plot set.
Taunt might be better than dark pulse. Not sure if I've ever even clicked it tbh. Just threw in dark pulse as I wasn't sure what else to put for the last slot. TBH, every time i've faced a blissey i've knocked off its boots w/ pex and there is a t spike on the ground. I'll probably switch it to taunt or shadow ball and see how badly that affects the TR matchup. Pulse doesn't do a ton v P2, but someone has made a pretty popular TR team and it is pretty easy to knock off its eviolite
Regieleki OHKOing Excadrill is the best thing I've seen since the DLC dropped.
Band Eleki seems like the way to go, honestly. Sure you miss out on the insane power of Specs boosted Rising Voltage that destroys everything under Electric Terrain, but being able to actually hit grounds gives it a huge advantage.
Regieleki @ Choice Band
Ability: Transistor
EVs: 252 Atk / 40 SpA / 216 Spe
Naughty Nature
-Assurance
-Volt Switch
-Wild Charge
-Explosion / Extreme Speed
216 EVs outspeeds +1 Genesect, but that benchmark won't be as useful when it gets banned. 252 Speed ties +1 Chomp, but it can't 2HKO like it can with Excadrill, which takes 75% minimum from Assurance on the switch. Note that rocks or spikes are mandatory for this to work though, due to how the double damage on Assurance works. 228 seems like the best option, outspeeding +1 base 100s like Volcarona, Salamance, and Zapdos, all of whom I expect to be more common once the brokens get banned. Volt Switch is for momentum, and hits surprisingly hard uninvested due to Transistor. Wild Charge is your main STAB which somewhat resembles Scarf Darm-G (hits 134% harder actually) but should only be used when grounds are removed, as they almost always switch in because Eleki's love of electric spam. Last move is mostly filler with a choice between Explosion and ESpeed. Explosion outdamages Wild Charge while being able to hit grounds, but ESpeed can also be used if your team lacks priority. You can also run Rapid Spin if you really need a Spinner, but it's such a momentum drain in conjunction with Band that I wouldn't bother with it. I used Naughty nature instead of Lonely to give it a chance of not getting OHKO by Banded Genesect's ESpeed.
Not all grounds are 2HKOed by Assurance + Rocks, so chip damage is greatly appreciated to deal with the bulkier grounds. Exca, Lando-I and the Nidos are all 2HKOed by the combo as long as they are uninvested. Everything bulkier than that requires some form of chip so U-Turners and spikes may allow it to score more KOs. I've been using Rocky Helmet Lando-T as a partner for this reason due to its strong U-Turns to wear down the opposing grounds alongside the chip from being hit by contact moves, as well as covering Eleki's only weakness.
Band Eleki seems like the way to go, honestly. Sure you miss out on the insane power of Specs boosted Rising Voltage that destroys everything under Electric Terrain, but being able to actually hit grounds gives it a huge advantage.
Regieleki @ Choice Band
Ability: Transistor
EVs: 252 Atk / 40 SpA / 216 Spe
Naughty Nature
-Assurance
-Volt Switch
-Wild Charge
-Explosion / Extreme Speed
216 EVs outspeeds +1 Genesect, but that benchmark won't be as useful when it gets banned. 252 Speed ties +1 Chomp, but it can't 2HKO like it can with Excadrill, which takes 75% minimum from Assurance on the switch. Note that rocks or spikes are mandatory for this to work though, due to how the double damage on Assurance works. 228 seems like the best option, outspeeding +1 base 100s like Volcarona, Salamance, and Zapdos, all of whom I expect to be more common once the brokens get banned. Volt Switch is for momentum, and hits surprisingly hard uninvested due to Transistor. Wild Charge is your main STAB which somewhat resembles Scarf Darm-G (hits 134% harder actually) but should only be used when grounds are removed, as they almost always switch in because Eleki's love of electric spam. Last move is mostly filler with a choice between Explosion and ESpeed. Explosion outdamages Wild Charge while being able to hit grounds, but ESpeed can also be used if your team lacks priority. You can also run Rapid Spin if you really need a Spinner, but it's such a momentum drain in conjunction with Band that I wouldn't bother with it. I used Naughty nature instead of Lonely to give it a chance of not getting OHKO by Banded Genesect's ESpeed.
Not all grounds are 2HKOed by Assurance + Rocks, so chip damage is greatly appreciated to deal with the bulkier grounds. Exca, Lando-I and the Nidos are all 2HKOed by the combo as long as they are uninvested. Everything bulkier than that requires some form of chip so U-Turners and spikes may allow it to score more KOs. I've been using Rocky Helmet Lando-T as a partner for this reason due to its strong U-Turns to wear down the opposing grounds alongside the chip from being hit by contact moves, as well as covering Eleki's only weakness.
Special Genesect single handedly proceeding to tear apart my team
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1209602499-13rjdrl0j4zzru7w549b0a7eoh1i602pw
Really though, Genesect on Rain sounds very great.
Misc thoughts on mons
tldr ban 
, everything else is fine until then imo
This I feel is the thing that needs to go the most right now. Yes it's walled by 
but not every team can afford to run those, and for teams without them Naganadel frequently creates situations where you have to predict around Sludge Wave/Draco/Fire Blast/NP to have a chance of not getting swept. The fact that it boosts speed is the biggest issue though, it means you can't just sac & bring in a scarfer (outside of 
) to revenge kill, forcing you to rely on either priority or baiting Draco SpA drops to beat it. I'd be extremely happy to see this go.
but not every team can afford to run those, and for teams without them Naganadel frequently creates situations where you have to predict around Sludge Wave/Draco/Fire Blast/NP to have a chance of not getting swept. The fact that it boosts speed is the biggest issue though, it means you can't just sac & bring in a scarfer (outside of ) to revenge kill, forcing you to rely on either priority or baiting Draco SpA drops to beat it. I'd be extremely happy to see this go.
This is the #2 thing that needs to go, imo. Its bulk makes it fairly easy for it to set up, and after a DD it's very hard to stop the combination of Icicle Spear / Fusion Bolt from just sweeping outright. Similarly to Nagandel, it has its checks (
) but you don't want every balance team to be pressured into running those checks just to avoid auto-losing to Kyurem-B. As is, I've been pretty happy with scarf as a way to offensively check this- you can easily switch in on the DD turn and Flash Cannon ohkos at +1.
) but you don't want every balance team to be pressured into running those checks just to avoid auto-losing to Kyurem-B. As is, I've been pretty happy with scarf as a way to offensively check this- you can easily switch in on the DD turn and Flash Cannon ohkos at +1.
I love this thing but there's no way its healthy for the metagame in the long-term. With just how customizable it is and how much momentum it can maintain with (an often boosted) U-Turn it's really difficult to build around defensively. Flame Body is interesting tech to punish U-Turn but definitely isn't going to stop Genesect from being broken, since the opportunity cost to having the right coverage to hit 70% of the field with any given set is just so low. Genesect doesn't lose a ton by running Douse Drive to hit 
, or Thunderbolt for 
, or Ice Beam for 
, or Flamethrower for 
, or Energy Ball for 
- and then letting its teammates cover the rest. While Genesect is basically my favorite pokemon to play with, there's no way this thing should stay legal. With that said, scarf Genesect + CB Zygarde has been a great core, scarf Genesect w/ Flamethrower + Ice Beam is great anti-meta to deal with 
while Banded Thousand Arrows hits 
.
is interesting tech to punish U-Turn but definitely isn't going to stop Genesect from being broken, since the opportunity cost to having the right coverage to hit 70% of the field with any given set is just so low. Genesect doesn't lose a ton by running Douse Drive to hit , or Thunderbolt for , or Ice Beam for , or Flamethrower for , or Energy Ball for - and then letting its teammates cover the rest. While Genesect is basically my favorite pokemon to play with, there's no way this thing should stay legal. With that said, scarf Genesect + CB Zygarde has been a great core, scarf Genesect w/ Flamethrower + Ice Beam is great anti-meta to deal with while Banded Thousand Arrows hits .
I'm not as sold on this being QB-worthy just yet, but at the same time I'll be surprised if it lasts longer than a month. It basically does a similar thing to 
and NP 
in that it breaks through balance extremely easily, only its better typing makes it easier to bring in, and its immediate power with LO Sheer Force means your opponent doesn't get the opportunity to punish a necessary setup turn or choice lock. The thing that makes me hesitate on quickbanning it is that its not the hardest thing in the world to check offensively? Pex/Clef/Corv/etc teams get pretty smashed by it but offense teams usually force Lando to take at least some chip when it comes in, which can put it into range of being outsped and ohkod by 
. While this doesn't mean its not banworthy, since forcing the metagame to shift towards offense to deal with Landorus obviously isn't ideal, it's worth noting when talking about Landorus.
and NP in that it breaks through balance extremely easily, only its better typing makes it easier to bring in, and its immediate power with LO Sheer Force means your opponent doesn't get the opportunity to punish a necessary setup turn or choice lock. The thing that makes me hesitate on quickbanning it is that its not the hardest thing in the world to check offensively? Pex/Clef/Corv/etc teams get pretty smashed by it but offense teams usually force Lando to take at least some chip when it comes in, which can put it into range of being outsped and ohkod by . While this doesn't mean its not banworthy, since forcing the metagame to shift towards offense to deal with Landorus obviously isn't ideal, it's worth noting when talking about Landorus.
This definitely isn't broken, and I definitely don't feel like any action should be taken on it, but it's really, really annoying right now when it's half the ladder. My guess is that as the meta stabilizes it'll wind up serving a similar role to or 
last gen, as an extremely powerful wincon that requires a lot of team support to overcome its huge weaknesses. Screens and Band feel like its best sets right now though, they both give you ways to not just be a free 
switch-in for your opponent, while still maintaining the possibility of a late game sweep.
or last gen, as an extremely powerful wincon that requires a lot of team support to overcome its huge weaknesses. Screens and Band feel like its best sets right now though, they both give you ways to not just be a free switch-in for your opponent, while still maintaining the possibility of a late game sweep.
I'm on the fence about Blaziken. It's definitely weaker than the current top tier of stuff right now but it also definitely has the potential to take over the meta down the road once the stupidest stuff gets banned. 
all do a decent job of checking it, but the high damage of +2 Blitz/CC/EQ means Blaziken is generally trading for at least 1 pokemon. Not being able to run all of Protect/Blitz/CC/EQ/SD is a real downside though, as foregoing a coverage option makes it easier for Blaziken to get walled, while losing Protect means you don't get a free speed boost against offense as frequently. I can definitely see the argument for it being problematic as it does threaten to end the game basically as soon as your check to it takes slightly too much chip, which can limit counterplay to it within a given game, but I wouldn't push to quickban it until the metagame's been able to develop a bit more.
all do a decent job of checking it, but the high damage of +2 Blitz/CC/EQ means Blaziken is generally trading for at least 1 pokemon. Not being able to run all of Protect/Blitz/CC/EQ/SD is a real downside though, as foregoing a coverage option makes it easier for Blaziken to get walled, while losing Protect means you don't get a free speed boost against offense as frequently. I can definitely see the argument for it being problematic as it does threaten to end the game basically as soon as your check to it takes slightly too much chip, which can limit counterplay to it within a given game, but I wouldn't push to quickban it until the metagame's been able to develop a bit more.
Zygarde is fine right now. The heavy saturation of offense on ladder right now makes setup sets difficult to pull off, but I've been pretty happy with Band what with how good ground stab is in the current meta. I'm sure that once the meta settles down, we'll start seeing the right Zygarde sets emerge to exploit the meta, bur right now it feels manageable (and honestly, a positive addition rn for its ability to tank hits from some offense threats and help brute force through balance teams in one slot).
I don't think this is broken right now but once we're past bans and the meta settles this looks well-poised to be one of the premier threats for offense. Specs is obviously great, but SubHex, Sub NP and Scarf are all sets that I've been surprised by. Wisp deserves special note for punishing , which are currently the best switch-ins to this thing. Spectrier's also pretty nice with all the CB E Speed running around right now, as being immune to the move lets it come in for free after you've lost a mon and threaten significant damage in return.
, which are currently the best switch-ins to this thing. Spectrier's also pretty nice with all the CB E Speed running around right now, as being immune to the move lets it come in for free after you've lost a mon and threaten significant damage in return.
Like Zygarde, this feels fine right now, largely due to how much offense there is running around. Nasty Plot is powerful for tearing through balance cores, but between 
& other misc scarfers I'm forgetting, pretty much every team has something faster than 375 right now, meaning that it's really easy for Torn to be revenge killed. If the metagame shifts more towards balance down the line I could see this being more of a problem, as HDB and NP do make it really powerful in that matchup- boots prevents it from being effectively chipped down, and NP is pretty unstoppable in the late game once you've gotten rid of their speed control.
& other misc scarfers I'm forgetting, pretty much every team has something faster than 375 right now, meaning that it's really easy for Torn to be revenge killed. If the metagame shifts more towards balance down the line I could see this being more of a problem, as HDB and NP do make it really powerful in that matchup- boots prevents it from being effectively chipped down, and NP is pretty unstoppable in the late game once you've gotten rid of their speed control.
I haven't really played against or with these much, but in the few games where I've seen them they've felt fairly manageable. Part of that might just be because they're being overshadowed by the top rank of broken stuff, but unless something changes in the next few days I wouldn't jump to quick-ban any of them.
I've been surprisingly happy with Fini so far. While I'm not yet sure what the best set for it is, its typing is really nice both offensively and defensively. Scald hits 
while Moonblast hits . This means that Fini can come in on resisted Fire/Dragon/Ice/Dark/Fighting attacks and force something out, giving it room to Defog, Taunt, or just force through damage. It is prone to getting chipped down which means its rarely a hard counter to any one thing, but I've appreciated how it forces your opponent to prioritize chipping and removing Fini before certain wincons can start to put in work. In a way it reminds me of 
last gen.
while Moonblast hits . This means that Fini can come in on resisted Fire/Dragon/Ice/Dark/Fighting attacks and force something out, giving it room to Defog, Taunt, or just force through damage. It is prone to getting chipped down which means its rarely a hard counter to any one thing, but I've appreciated how it forces your opponent to prioritize chipping and removing Fini before certain wincons can start to put in work. In a way it reminds me of last gen.
Not getting Rising Voltage and losing HP Ice & Z moves both suck but honestly I'm still in love with this guy. Specs has been really impressive for me, as specs Dazzling Gleam still does a good job of punishing a lot of ground types that try to switch into Koko. Teams that rely on as their ground type really struggle to stop Koko from wreaking havoc. 
is still a great wincon alongside it also, as is (obviously, since half the ladder is running it) . If scarf picks up a bit I can see this getting worse, but I've seen so little of that on the ladder right now that I don't feel like its an issue.
as their ground type really struggle to stop Koko from wreaking havoc. is still a great wincon alongside it also, as is (obviously, since half the ladder is running it) . If scarf picks up a bit I can see this getting worse, but I've seen so little of that on the ladder right now that I don't feel like its an issue.
It feels a little like Urshifu-S got lost in the shuffle with all the new broken offensive threats, but it's been one of the most consistent pokemon I've played with. Not much can repeatedly switch into CB Wicked Blow or CC, and while 322 speed is a bit slower than what's ideal, it's still fast enough to make it difficult for balance teams to not be forced into sac'ing a pokemon to 2 Wicked Blows whenever Urshifu comes in.
, everything else is fine until then imo
Completely imo rankings
S+
Absolutely no business in OU. Completely dominate the meta with multiple sets. Absolutely no consistent counterplay.
Geno is wild strong on both sides, ridiculous coverage, good speed tier for scarf, helps teammates with the games most powerful momentum move. Kyu is even stronger, with better coverage and bulk. Low speed can be fixed with new dragon dance+scale shot. Gene has no checks for all its sets, Kuyb just needs one set. Both crazy.
S
Losing Zmoves sucks. Getting triple axel and a buff on rapid spin is better. Very few things switch into even unboosted CC+TripA+Uturn. It's impossible to outspeed-revenge if you opt for speed beast boost. Can beat checks if you opt for atk beast boost. Uturn and boots makes it very easy to outlast counters and sweep late game.
ZyGod
The best ground type. Bulky, perfect coverage, offers team support with glare or can remedy speed with scale shot. HP ice being gone is all this needed to be the fourth best mon.
A+
Blazikin
Pick your counter coverage makes this impossible to consistently check. Protect+ 3 attacks is the best set right now because everything is stupid fast and opportunities to set up SD are low. Very threatening to offensive teams without priority.
Lando-i
Same as last gen but likes no hp ice. Rock polish is the best set at the moment.
Spectrier
It does shadow ball very well. Choiced are the best sets; very hard to stop from snowballing. Specs is a wallbreaker for balance with speed and power rarely seen in ou. Scarf gives offense "problems". There are counters, none of them are very good in the meta. Sub sets can beat normals but make it less effective at what it is good at.
Naganadel
Similar to Spectrier but with better coverage but less spamable stab. Some scarfers do outspeed at +1. Lacks immediate power. Has a good amount of unpredictability about how it makes progress with Draco, NP or Spikes. Harder to counter than spectier but also harder to use.
S+
Absolutely no business in OU. Completely dominate the meta with multiple sets. Absolutely no consistent counterplay.
Geno is wild strong on both sides, ridiculous coverage, good speed tier for scarf, helps teammates with the games most powerful momentum move. Kyu is even stronger, with better coverage and bulk. Low speed can be fixed with new dragon dance+scale shot. Gene has no checks for all its sets, Kuyb just needs one set. Both crazy.
S
Losing Zmoves sucks. Getting triple axel and a buff on rapid spin is better. Very few things switch into even unboosted CC+TripA+Uturn. It's impossible to outspeed-revenge if you opt for speed beast boost. Can beat checks if you opt for atk beast boost. Uturn and boots makes it very easy to outlast counters and sweep late game.
ZyGod
The best ground type. Bulky, perfect coverage, offers team support with glare or can remedy speed with scale shot. HP ice being gone is all this needed to be the fourth best mon.
A+
Pick your counter coverage makes this impossible to consistently check. Protect+ 3 attacks is the best set right now because everything is stupid fast and opportunities to set up SD are low. Very threatening to offensive teams without priority.
Same as last gen but likes no hp ice. Rock polish is the best set at the moment.
It does shadow ball very well. Choiced are the best sets; very hard to stop from snowballing. Specs is a wallbreaker for balance with speed and power rarely seen in ou. Scarf gives offense "problems". There are counters, none of them are very good in the meta. Sub sets can beat normals but make it less effective at what it is good at.
Similar to Spectrier but with better coverage but less spamable stab. Some scarfers do outspeed at +1. Lacks immediate power. Has a good amount of unpredictability about how it makes progress with Draco, NP or Spikes. Harder to counter than spectier but also harder to use.
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Been playing around with a very different Lele set recently and I am utterly in love with it:
Tapu Lele @ Assault Vest
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Future Sight
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Focus Blast
If you've ever used the Slowtwins before, you know just how incredible Future Sight is in this generation. While Lele doesn't have quite the same bulk as the twins do, the tradeoff is well worth it: its Future Sight utterly shatters anything that isn't a bulky resist or outright immune to it and boasts some pretty respectable bulk on its own thanks to an AV; in a pinch it can take an unboosted/un-Specs Spectrier's Shadow Ball from full and get a Future Sight set up or a pinch Psychic off. It also only has a 37.5% chance of dying to Specs Spectrier's Shadow Ball from full, so while it's a shaky check at the absolute best of times it can suffice.
The real merit offered by this set is that it is an excellent catch-all offensive teammate for the tier's many excellent Fighting-types, like Galarian Zapdos, Urshifu, Pheromosa, and Blaziken. It forces so many horrifying checkmates that these threats all greatly appreciate since they pressure Future Sight switchins extremely well with their powerful Close Combats.
Speaking of Spectrier, it ALSO appreciates this as a teammate and rounds out the Future Sight+Fighting type core that pressures its few safe switchins incredibly well. I run a Double Dance set that cleans up fat or weakened offense like nobody's business after this thing and its Fighting-type partner in crime leave your opponent's defensive backbone in shambles.
I implore folks to give AV Lele a try. It isn't as good a pivot as the Slowtwins, but it sure as hell melts some faces the Slowtwins couldn't even hope to dent nearly as hard.
Tapu Lele @ Assault Vest
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Future Sight
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Focus Blast
If you've ever used the Slowtwins before, you know just how incredible Future Sight is in this generation. While Lele doesn't have quite the same bulk as the twins do, the tradeoff is well worth it: its Future Sight utterly shatters anything that isn't a bulky resist or outright immune to it and boasts some pretty respectable bulk on its own thanks to an AV; in a pinch it can take an unboosted/un-Specs Spectrier's Shadow Ball from full and get a Future Sight set up or a pinch Psychic off. It also only has a 37.5% chance of dying to Specs Spectrier's Shadow Ball from full, so while it's a shaky check at the absolute best of times it can suffice.
The real merit offered by this set is that it is an excellent catch-all offensive teammate for the tier's many excellent Fighting-types, like Galarian Zapdos, Urshifu, Pheromosa, and Blaziken. It forces so many horrifying checkmates that these threats all greatly appreciate since they pressure Future Sight switchins extremely well with their powerful Close Combats.
Speaking of Spectrier, it ALSO appreciates this as a teammate and rounds out the Future Sight+Fighting type core that pressures its few safe switchins incredibly well. I run a Double Dance set that cleans up fat or weakened offense like nobody's business after this thing and its Fighting-type partner in crime leave your opponent's defensive backbone in shambles.
I implore folks to give AV Lele a try. It isn't as good a pivot as the Slowtwins, but it sure as hell melts some faces the Slowtwins couldn't even hope to dent nearly as hard.
Meet CB Pert
Swampert@Choice Band
Ability: Torrent/Damp
252 Atk/4 SpD/252 Spe, you can totally change up the EVs
Adamant Nature
Move 1: Flip Turn
Move 2: Liquidation
Move 3: Earthquake
Move 4: Ice Punch/Toxic/Stealth Rock/Stone Edge
The focus of this set is to feign being physdef rocks to draw in checks and make progress with Flip Turn, coverage, or Toxic. It can still set rocks if necessary and I like how good it is at catching people off guard. Similar in purpose to CB Rhyperior.
Swampert@Choice Band
Ability: Torrent/Damp
252 Atk/4 SpD/252 Spe, you can totally change up the EVs
Adamant Nature
Move 1: Flip Turn
Move 2: Liquidation
Move 3: Earthquake
Move 4: Ice Punch/Toxic/Stealth Rock/Stone Edge
The focus of this set is to feign being physdef rocks to draw in checks and make progress with Flip Turn, coverage, or Toxic. It can still set rocks if necessary and I like how good it is at catching people off guard. Similar in purpose to CB Rhyperior.
I'm going to suggest to have enough speed to outspeed AT least Corv
I will have to disagree on protect being the best moveset on Blaziken.Completely imo rankings
S+
Absolutely no business in OU. Completely dominate the meta with multiple sets. Absolutely no consistent counterplay.
Geno is wild strong on both sides, ridiculous coverage, good speed tier for scarf, helps teammates with the games most powerful momentum move. Kyu is even stronger, with better coverage and bulk. Low speed can be fixed with new dragon dance+scale shot. Gene has no checks for all its sets, Kuyb just needs one set. Both crazy.
S
Losing Zmoves sucks. Getting triple axel and a buff on rapid spin is better. Very few things switch into even unboosted CC+TripA+Uturn. It's impossible to outspeed-revenge if you opt for speed beast boost. Can beat checks if you opt for atk beast boost. Uturn and boots makes it very easy to outlast counters and sweep late game.
ZyGod
The best ground type. Bulky, perfect coverage, offers team support with glare or can remedy speed with scale shot. HP ice being gone is all this needed to be the fourth best mon.
A+
Blazikin
Pick your counter coverage makes this impossible to consistently check. Protect+ 3 attacks is the best set right now because everything is stupid fast and opportunities to set up SD are low. Very threatening to offensive teams without priority.
Lando-i
Same as last gen but likes no hp ice. Rock polish is the best set at the moment.
Spectrier
It does shadow ball very well. Choiced are the best sets; very hard to stop from snowballing. Specs is a wallbreaker for balance with speed and power rarely seen in ou. Scarf gives offense "problems". There are counters, none of them are very good in the meta. Sub sets can beat normals but make it less effective at what it is good at.
Naganadel
Similar to Spectrier but with better coverage but less spamable stab. Some scarfers do outspeed at +1. Lacks immediate power. Has a good amount of unpredictability about how it makes progress with Draco, NP or Spikes. Harder to counter than spectier but also harder to use.
SD + 3 attacks is by far the best set because it gives Blaziken the offensive capability to wreck teams from the getgo with LO. After one of its teammates gets killed, you get massive momentum with an SD setup and the speed boost after if the matchup is correct, which puts it over the edge because opposing players get punished for allowing a monster get +2 and +1 after an SD and SB. While protect gets you that +1 in speed, you lose out on what blaziken needs to punch holes through bulky offensive and balanced teams.
Coming from my experiences so far in this chaotic metagame, I have yet to see protect on blaziken but to each its own.
Do you guys prefer Adamant or Jolly Blaziken?
EDIT: I initially ran protect as well because I assumed that a reliable speed boost was better, but after playing with it Blaziken, it really does kinda want SD and that third coverage move to be incredibly effective. I was running Adamant since I figured with protect it’d be easy to get many speed boosts, but without protect is Jolly preferred?
EDIT again: Upon further reflection, I also feel like there’s a case to be made for Protect. It makes it really hard to revenge kill you without priority and would allow you to set up SD as Scar Pult or Scarf LandoT switches in
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With all the new mons getting so understandably hyped, one that isn't getting talked about at all is the ice horse. It makes sense, considering he's a slow ice type which just sounds disastrous, but I think that he is a legitimate threat in the meta (not just on trick room) and people will start to see it soon. Here's the set I've been using:
Glastrier @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Chilling Neigh
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spe
Adamant Nature
- High Horsepower
- Icicle Crash
- Taunt
- Close Combat
Glastrier kinda shreds through some balance cores that people may not realize. Because of his insane bulk and the amazing heavy duty boots, he can switch in a bunch of times and take any hit and hit back harder. To show how bulky Glastrier is, look at this calc: 252 Atk Choice Band Genesect Iron Head vs. 200 HP / 0 Def Glastrier: 296-350 (75.7 - 89.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
This guy easily takes a choice banded iron head from the best mon in the meta right now, just to show you how bulky he is. He also is extremely strong, even without a boosting item, so he can shred through guys like tangrowth, lando, zygarde, and has coverage to hit guys like heatran, melmetal, and other steels who would otherwise feel they could switch into the horse. Taunt also helps to stop guys like mandibuzz or clef from recovering so ice horse can shred through those too, and once he gets a kill he becomes obscenely strong and can potentially snowball. He works really well with wish support too though I don't usually use that.
A mon that I think ice horse pairs really nicely with is
a new threat which is being overlooked is galarian zapdos it is a great revenge killer w/choice scarf and has a legit sweeping potential in hazard stack teams
I've been playing a lot of OU over the past couple of days. It's pretty fun, but the tier is absolutely broken and madness.
I would like to start off by sharing an offense team that I've been having a lot of fun with!
(click here)
This is a pretty typical offensive team built around Kyurem-B, which is a very potent wincondition right now, though I am not convinced it deserves to be quickbanned in the first wave. It has a number of flaws that I will get to later in this post. Choice Band Genesect is honestly one of the strongest Pokemon around right now; it holds some great natural defensive utility thanks to its Steel-typing, being a fine pivot into Pokemon like Tapu Lele. Beyond that, it also offers one of the best forms of Speed control in Extreme Speed. Priority in general is really key to this metagame, as it is ridiculously hard to not fall behind Pokemon like Naganadel, Pheromosa, Blaziken, and Kyurem-B without it. Tapu Koko is really useful because of its defensive typing and the Speed control that it provides. Tornadus-T is absolutely one of the biggest threats to offensive teams like this and having Tapu Koko to stop it from easily breaking the team down is really useful. Beyond just that, not a lot of Urshifu-S have been running Poison Jab due to the absence of Clefable from the meta, so Tapu Koko is a viable pivot into it, though keeping up momentum to limit Urshifu-S's opportunity as much as possible is definitely more desirable.
With the addition of Tapu Koko, Regieleki, and Volt Switch users in general being as prominent as always, I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a Ground-type. Landorus is pretty ideal for this slot; it is a Ground-type, one of the best wallbreakers in the metagame, and it can set Stealth Rock, which it is very good at thanks to its ability to pressure Defoggers. I've been opting to use Sludge Wave in order to pressure Latios, Latias, and Moltres, but Psychic is a very viable option to hit opposing Landorus. In general, I don't think Latias is great, but it works wonders for teams like this. I was originally set on using something like Focus Sash Alakazam here, but Latias is one of the few viable stopgaps to Landorus and Blaziken, and it can also pivot into some sweepers like Zygarde directly. Beyond that, it's one of the best Pokemon to compress Defog onto, and Healing Wish is really good on this team, being able to provide Kyurem-B, Genesect, Landorus, and Urshifu all with a second chance, so you can be a little lax with HP management.
Lastly, I have found Urshifu-S to be a really potent wallbreaker right now with the lack of Clefable to check it, allowing it to run U-turn + Sucker Punch. Not just that, but Urshifu-S also brings some notable utility to the table as a Ghost resist. With the addition of Spectrier and Dragapult still being as good as ever, having a Ghost-resistant Pokemon available that can pivot in atleast once is really important. Unfortunately it does struggle switching into Will-O-Wisp, but I have not found this to be too big of an issue thanks to Healing Wish. Sucker Punch in general is really great to bail you out against some Pokemon like Naganadel, Pheromosa, and Kartana as it often happens that Genesect is not quite enough for these Pokemon. Having Urshifu-S as the dedicated Ghost resist is obviously not ideal, but considering how well this team forces progress, it has been working out quite well for me.
I know the above is a lot to read about for just one team, but I wanted to fully cover my thought process behind it. I'd be interested to see how other people are going about teambuilding right now too!
I'd also like to share my thoughts on some of the new Pokemon.
Genesect is, in my opinion, very clearly the most broken Pokemon right now. It is ridiculously versatile, with sets like Choice Band, Douse Drive, Shift Gear, and mixed all being very strong in their own right. You don't really know what to expect from Genesect at any point thanks to its versatile movepool and good stats to back said movepool up. In general it's pretty hard to use Genesect checks like Heatran and Toxapex due to the pacing of the metagame really limiting what they can do, but counterplay does ofcourse exist. Every set has its own set of problems, but together they make for a ridiculously difficult Pokemon to keep in check.
Landorus has its share of offensive counterplay; its Speed tier is pretty mediocre and its bulk, while still respectable, does not allow it to survive hits from a lot of faster Pokemon. Pheromosa, Latios, Dragapult, and Tornadus-T are pretty good offensive checks that thrive right now. What I do take issue with, is how ridiculously difficult it is to switch into Landorus defensively. The only Pokemon somewhat capable of checking Landorus defensively are Cresselia, Latias, Chansey, and Moltres. However, it has pretty solid ways to get past these bar Cresselia; Latias takes a lot from Sludge Wave, Chansey's Eviolite can be removed with Knock Off, after which it is 2HKOed by Focus Blast, and Moltres folds pretty easily to Sludge Wave, Psychic, and Rock Slide.
As I noted earlier, I am not convinced Kyurem-B is broken as of right now. It is obviously very potent, but I think it struggles a fair bit because of the pacing of the metagame. Oftentimes, setting up a Dragon Dance is really hard, such as against the team I shared above, where it'll practically never manage to set up a Dragon Dance, and even if it does, it can be taken care of by strong priority users and a Choice Scarf like Latias. It isn't just that though; even when Kyurem-B manages to set up, it can still really struggle to get past Melmetal and Magearna. Earth Power is an option to weaken those Pokemon for a sweep later down the line, but I've generally found Earth Power to be pretty hard to afford, as Substitute is very important in order to set up on Chansey and Blissey, as well as to limit the effect that priority users have on Kyurem-B's chances to sweep.
I would like to start off by sharing an offense team that I've been having a lot of fun with!
(click here)
This is a pretty typical offensive team built around Kyurem-B, which is a very potent wincondition right now, though I am not convinced it deserves to be quickbanned in the first wave. It has a number of flaws that I will get to later in this post. Choice Band Genesect is honestly one of the strongest Pokemon around right now; it holds some great natural defensive utility thanks to its Steel-typing, being a fine pivot into Pokemon like Tapu Lele. Beyond that, it also offers one of the best forms of Speed control in Extreme Speed. Priority in general is really key to this metagame, as it is ridiculously hard to not fall behind Pokemon like Naganadel, Pheromosa, Blaziken, and Kyurem-B without it. Tapu Koko is really useful because of its defensive typing and the Speed control that it provides. Tornadus-T is absolutely one of the biggest threats to offensive teams like this and having Tapu Koko to stop it from easily breaking the team down is really useful. Beyond just that, not a lot of Urshifu-S have been running Poison Jab due to the absence of Clefable from the meta, so Tapu Koko is a viable pivot into it, though keeping up momentum to limit Urshifu-S's opportunity as much as possible is definitely more desirable.
With the addition of Tapu Koko, Regieleki, and Volt Switch users in general being as prominent as always, I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a Ground-type. Landorus is pretty ideal for this slot; it is a Ground-type, one of the best wallbreakers in the metagame, and it can set Stealth Rock, which it is very good at thanks to its ability to pressure Defoggers. I've been opting to use Sludge Wave in order to pressure Latios, Latias, and Moltres, but Psychic is a very viable option to hit opposing Landorus. In general, I don't think Latias is great, but it works wonders for teams like this. I was originally set on using something like Focus Sash Alakazam here, but Latias is one of the few viable stopgaps to Landorus and Blaziken, and it can also pivot into some sweepers like Zygarde directly. Beyond that, it's one of the best Pokemon to compress Defog onto, and Healing Wish is really good on this team, being able to provide Kyurem-B, Genesect, Landorus, and Urshifu all with a second chance, so you can be a little lax with HP management.
Lastly, I have found Urshifu-S to be a really potent wallbreaker right now with the lack of Clefable to check it, allowing it to run U-turn + Sucker Punch. Not just that, but Urshifu-S also brings some notable utility to the table as a Ghost resist. With the addition of Spectrier and Dragapult still being as good as ever, having a Ghost-resistant Pokemon available that can pivot in atleast once is really important. Unfortunately it does struggle switching into Will-O-Wisp, but I have not found this to be too big of an issue thanks to Healing Wish. Sucker Punch in general is really great to bail you out against some Pokemon like Naganadel, Pheromosa, and Kartana as it often happens that Genesect is not quite enough for these Pokemon. Having Urshifu-S as the dedicated Ghost resist is obviously not ideal, but considering how well this team forces progress, it has been working out quite well for me.
I know the above is a lot to read about for just one team, but I wanted to fully cover my thought process behind it. I'd be interested to see how other people are going about teambuilding right now too!
I'd also like to share my thoughts on some of the new Pokemon.
Genesect is, in my opinion, very clearly the most broken Pokemon right now. It is ridiculously versatile, with sets like Choice Band, Douse Drive, Shift Gear, and mixed all being very strong in their own right. You don't really know what to expect from Genesect at any point thanks to its versatile movepool and good stats to back said movepool up. In general it's pretty hard to use Genesect checks like Heatran and Toxapex due to the pacing of the metagame really limiting what they can do, but counterplay does ofcourse exist. Every set has its own set of problems, but together they make for a ridiculously difficult Pokemon to keep in check.
Landorus has its share of offensive counterplay; its Speed tier is pretty mediocre and its bulk, while still respectable, does not allow it to survive hits from a lot of faster Pokemon. Pheromosa, Latios, Dragapult, and Tornadus-T are pretty good offensive checks that thrive right now. What I do take issue with, is how ridiculously difficult it is to switch into Landorus defensively. The only Pokemon somewhat capable of checking Landorus defensively are Cresselia, Latias, Chansey, and Moltres. However, it has pretty solid ways to get past these bar Cresselia; Latias takes a lot from Sludge Wave, Chansey's Eviolite can be removed with Knock Off, after which it is 2HKOed by Focus Blast, and Moltres folds pretty easily to Sludge Wave, Psychic, and Rock Slide.
As I noted earlier, I am not convinced Kyurem-B is broken as of right now. It is obviously very potent, but I think it struggles a fair bit because of the pacing of the metagame. Oftentimes, setting up a Dragon Dance is really hard, such as against the team I shared above, where it'll practically never manage to set up a Dragon Dance, and even if it does, it can be taken care of by strong priority users and a Choice Scarf like Latias. It isn't just that though; even when Kyurem-B manages to set up, it can still really struggle to get past Melmetal and Magearna. Earth Power is an option to weaken those Pokemon for a sweep later down the line, but I've generally found Earth Power to be pretty hard to afford, as Substitute is very important in order to set up on Chansey and Blissey, as well as to limit the effect that priority users have on Kyurem-B's chances to sweep.
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Ok, now that we have a good grip of the metagame, I want to talk about sand, and specifically, Dracozolt.
In case you didn't know, Zolt got Sand Rush from DLC2, which makes it a very welcome addition to sand teams. With Sand Rush, Dracozolt can freely run items like Life Orb or Choice Band (my favorite) without worrying about losing the speed offered by Choice Scarf. Though Bolt Beak is a lot less spammable than Vish's Rend due to Ground-types being basically mandatory on every team with Koko and Eleki running around, none of them (besides maybe Hippo) likes taking a Banded Dragon Claw/Outrage or one of its coverage moves. It's worth mentioning that although Excadrill gives Zolt some competition for that specific role, they actually work pretty well together, with Drill smashing fairies to oblivion while Zolt taking out water and flying types. They also have some unique things that make them work together too. Drill's main goal is eventually sweeping with Swords Dance, while Zolt can be content with just smashing things to bits. Drill also provides valuable Rapid Spin support, and it can take full advantage of that with the many switches it forces.
Note: I know Dracovish is better than Dracozolt because of less water immunitys, Strong Jaw, blah blah blah blah blah. WILL PEOPLE STOP BRINGING UP VISH EVERY TIME I TALK ABOUT DRACOZOLT?????????? I'm not an idiot. Jeez. Every time I say something about Zolt people come back and talk about Vish.
As for other sand Pokemon, Tyranitar is still extremely good despite losing Pursuit and the Latis gaining Aura Sphere, while Hippowdon is still one heck of a wall that can deal with threatening Pokemon like Eleki and Tapu Koko. Excadrill is as good as ever, as despite it dislikes prominant mons like Blaziken, Naganadel, and Pheromosa, let's get real, they're not gonna last. It dislikes Spectrier though. Kartana is back in all its glory (well, maybe the lack of Z-moves hampered it a bit) and is all ready to destroy everything with its almighty attack stat, and it has historically worked well in sand. I think Kartana will be another good partner for Zolt because Kartana threatens most ground-types that threaten Zolt while Zolt takes out flying-types. Kartana also comes with Knock Off, which can cripple walls like Chansey and Amoongus. Celesteela is back as well, although this time Corviknight mostly outclasses it. Speaking of Corviknight, I think that it will be a great Defogger for sand teams, as the sandstorm immunity combined with its good bulk makes it great support for sand offense. Almost every sand team needs a bulky grass-type, and two of the bulkiest, Tangrowth and Amoongus, are here and ready to tank. Finally, Garchomp is back, and though Sub Bright Powder Sand Veil is incredibly stupid, it should be funny to try out as long as it isn't banned under Evasion Clause.
Finally, here's a incomplete sand team by me. It might be sucky (and I am indecisive) but it gives a backbone of what a sand (balance) team should look like. Feel free to comment on it (or actually on anything I said).
In case you didn't know, Zolt got Sand Rush from DLC2, which makes it a very welcome addition to sand teams. With Sand Rush, Dracozolt can freely run items like Life Orb or Choice Band (my favorite) without worrying about losing the speed offered by Choice Scarf. Though Bolt Beak is a lot less spammable than Vish's Rend due to Ground-types being basically mandatory on every team with Koko and Eleki running around, none of them (besides maybe Hippo) likes taking a Banded Dragon Claw/Outrage or one of its coverage moves. It's worth mentioning that although Excadrill gives Zolt some competition for that specific role, they actually work pretty well together, with Drill smashing fairies to oblivion while Zolt taking out water and flying types. They also have some unique things that make them work together too. Drill's main goal is eventually sweeping with Swords Dance, while Zolt can be content with just smashing things to bits. Drill also provides valuable Rapid Spin support, and it can take full advantage of that with the many switches it forces.
Note: I know Dracovish is better than Dracozolt because of less water immunitys, Strong Jaw, blah blah blah blah blah. WILL PEOPLE STOP BRINGING UP VISH EVERY TIME I TALK ABOUT DRACOZOLT?????????? I'm not an idiot. Jeez. Every time I say something about Zolt people come back and talk about Vish.
As for other sand Pokemon, Tyranitar is still extremely good despite losing Pursuit and the Latis gaining Aura Sphere, while Hippowdon is still one heck of a wall that can deal with threatening Pokemon like Eleki and Tapu Koko. Excadrill is as good as ever, as despite it dislikes prominant mons like Blaziken, Naganadel, and Pheromosa, let's get real, they're not gonna last. It dislikes Spectrier though. Kartana is back in all its glory (well, maybe the lack of Z-moves hampered it a bit) and is all ready to destroy everything with its almighty attack stat, and it has historically worked well in sand. I think Kartana will be another good partner for Zolt because Kartana threatens most ground-types that threaten Zolt while Zolt takes out flying-types. Kartana also comes with Knock Off, which can cripple walls like Chansey and Amoongus. Celesteela is back as well, although this time Corviknight mostly outclasses it. Speaking of Corviknight, I think that it will be a great Defogger for sand teams, as the sandstorm immunity combined with its good bulk makes it great support for sand offense. Almost every sand team needs a bulky grass-type, and two of the bulkiest, Tangrowth and Amoongus, are here and ready to tank. Finally, Garchomp is back, and though Sub Bright Powder Sand Veil is incredibly stupid, it should be funny to try out as long as it isn't banned under Evasion Clause.
Finally, here's a incomplete sand team by me. It might be sucky (and I am indecisive) but it gives a backbone of what a sand (balance) team should look like. Feel free to comment on it (or actually on anything I said).
Hippowdon @ Rocky Helmet (I'm considering Tyranitar lol)
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 248 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Dracozolt @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bolt Beak
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
Corviknight @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet (idk)
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 28 Def / 228 SpD
Careful Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn
- Brave Bird
Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Focus Blast
- Sleep Powder
Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Well I have no idea whether to put Mystical Fire, Ice Beam, Surf, or Aura Sphere. Help. Going to use Mystical Fire atm though.
- Recover (why does everyone use roost? It makes you weak to ground types and the only gain I see is to get whatever terrain buffs. Maybe its incompatible with something idk thanks Jordy)
Last slot:
Kartana @ Choice Scarf (here's looking at Choice Band, Life Orb, and even Meadow/Iron Plate)
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Knock Off
- Smart Strike
OR
Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
So I really want to use Rush Zolt and started there. I feel like that as a defensive Pokemon Hippo is better than Ttar due to the latter having to use Rest for recovery. After that I went to Kartana as Zolt's offensive partner and speed control out of sand, and depending on the situation one of them can sweep while the other can break (though Scarf is not the best item for breaking which is why I'm probably changin it). Then, for a wall that can pair with Hippo, I picked Corviknight, as it can take out a lot of grass-types, pivot, and Defog while Hippo absorbs electric attacks. Then for a bulky grass-type I picked Tang over Amoongus because it have better offensive presence and a ground resist (Amoongus only have neutrality). Finally, I need a powerful special attacker, so I picked LO Latios which is looking very strong at the moment, but I don't know which coverage move to pick. At some point I thought Excadrill will also fit well on this team and I'm not too comfortable with Scarf Kartana. I know this team is weak to top threats like Genesect and Phero but they are going to get banned and I'm not pulling out this team until they do. I also need something to deal with Spectrier lol and I'm sure there are a buttload of threats that can shred this team.
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 248 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Dracozolt @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bolt Beak
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
Corviknight @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet (idk)
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 28 Def / 228 SpD
Careful Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn
- Brave Bird
Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Focus Blast
- Sleep Powder
Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Well I have no idea whether to put Mystical Fire, Ice Beam, Surf, or Aura Sphere. Help. Going to use Mystical Fire atm though.
- Recover (
Last slot:
Kartana @ Choice Scarf (here's looking at Choice Band, Life Orb, and even Meadow/Iron Plate)
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Knock Off
- Smart Strike
OR
Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
So I really want to use Rush Zolt and started there. I feel like that as a defensive Pokemon Hippo is better than Ttar due to the latter having to use Rest for recovery. After that I went to Kartana as Zolt's offensive partner and speed control out of sand, and depending on the situation one of them can sweep while the other can break (though Scarf is not the best item for breaking which is why I'm probably changin it). Then, for a wall that can pair with Hippo, I picked Corviknight, as it can take out a lot of grass-types, pivot, and Defog while Hippo absorbs electric attacks. Then for a bulky grass-type I picked Tang over Amoongus because it have better offensive presence and a ground resist (Amoongus only have neutrality). Finally, I need a powerful special attacker, so I picked LO Latios which is looking very strong at the moment, but I don't know which coverage move to pick. At some point I thought Excadrill will also fit well on this team and I'm not too comfortable with Scarf Kartana. I know this team is weak to top threats like Genesect and Phero but they are going to get banned and I'm not pulling out this team until they do. I also need something to deal with Spectrier lol and I'm sure there are a buttload of threats that can shred this team.
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Run TTar + Excadrill so you aren't swamped by Specs Spectrier once the sand is up.