Team Choice-Turn-Trap...U (OU RMT)

[familyguyman]

Hey all, while playtesting for a while over on CaP, I created a U-Turn team that was quite fun and quite effective. I figured that it would be as viable in OU with some tweaks and it is! So after some playing around, smoothing out members and learning which items go where and how to use a team like this well (by not relying on U-Turn), I think it's ready for a rate. Enjoy!


Team at a glance:

Team In Depth:

@ Choice Scarf
Flash Fire
Naive
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Spe/ 252 SpA
IVed for HP Ice (legality)

Move Set:
Fire Blast
Earth Power
Explosion
Stealth Rock

Comment:
My pseudo-suicide (pseuicide?) anti-lead. Heatran is awesome as a lead and with a scarf, so why not both? This lead is very, very effective at getting Rocks up since it out speeds any non-scarf lead and the common scarf leads, like Jirachi, can't do anything (Breloom and Metagross get nuked by Fire Blast). I try to keep Heatran alive, though, so if it's in against something I can't kill, has EQ and a possibly a sash, I will switch out but only Mamoswine and Aerodactyl worry me; Mamo can lose if he goes for Rocks first, assuming I am a Shuca lead but I wouldn't risk it, personally. Basically, most of the time, Heatran gets the job done and lets me bring him back to lay some pain later in a match.

@ Choice Scarf
Magnet Pull
Naive
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Spe/ 252 SpA
IVed for HP Fire

Move Set:
Thunderbolt
HP Fire
Flash Cannon
Explosion

Comment:
Part of my trapping core, Magnezone is a great asset to what I am trying to do with my team. He crushes Scizor who come out in droves to face Celebi and he kills other steels who resist U-Turn and can stop Scizor from Bullet Punching to victory. He also helps with enemy water types as no U-Turners resist water besides Celebi so having powerful electric attacks are a must. I don't feel he needs to switch attacks as his goal is to kill Scizor who can use a strong fighting move if I am too slow. His only true fear is an enemy Dugtrio but I have more than enough ways of dealing with that threat.

@ Choice Scarf
Arena Trap
Adamant
EVs: 40 HP/ 252 Atk/ 216 Spe

Move Set:
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Night Slash
Aerial Ace

Comment: No one expects a scarf on Dugtrio, and for pretty good reason. However, Dugrio is the best at fire killing (another steel resist) as Infernape and Heatran are easily killed by Earthquake, only fearing a priority attack from Infernape which is pretty rare. He can also murder electrics too, unfortunately Zapdos and Rotom-A are trap-proof but Electivire (even with a speed boost), Magnezone and Jolteon (no scarf) are all trapped and killed. He's also pretty good at killing weakened foes (which is why Stealth Rocks are on my team); including Tyranitar but also the likes of offensive Zapdos, Salamence and Gyarados thanks to Stone Edge (assuming they don't switch). He can even take on Rain Dance and Sunny Day teams well, as well as Agility Metagross thanks to his insane speed. With the abundance of U-Turn on my team, it's even easier to catch a foe, and if all he does is kill Heatran or Infernape (or both), he's done his job.

@ Choice Specs
Pressure
Modest
EVs: 4 Atk/ 252 Spe/ 252 SpA
IVed for HP Grass

Move Set:
Thunderbolt
HP Grass
Heatwave
U-Turn

Comment:
The missing piece of the puzzle who makes this team work. Once I found out he had U-Turn, he was perfect. The sheer power of his attacks is frightening as he can even 2HKO CB Tyranitar with Thunderbolt with Rocks. Even Curse Tar is 3HKOed without Rocks. Salamence is OHKOed by Thunderbolt, with Rocks it's a guarantee. Rotom-A is OHKOed with Heatwave and Specially bulky Zapdos is 2HKOed with Thunderbolt. Most importantly is the fact that he counters any water type. Suicune can be OHKOed with Thunderbolt with Rocks (remotely possible with 1 CM boost). Zapdos is the power pack of my team who is also my go-to switch in. Unfortunately he is weak to Stealth Rocks but even with limited switches, he's more than likely going to take my opponent down with him. Truly marvelous.

@ Choice Scarf
Natural Cure
Timid
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Spe/ 252 SpA
IVed for HP Fire

Move Set:
Leaf Storm
HP Fire
Earth Power
U-Turn

Comment:
A real demon with a scarf and the only U-Turner with a resistance to water. Leaf Storm is my back up water slayer and it hurts Gyarados a lot too. I am thinking of using HP Ice over Fire to revenge kill Dragons but so far, I am on the fence about it. Earth Power gives me a back up Heatran killer and U-Turn is great to scout as Celebi's counters are easily trapped and killed by my trappers. Also of importance is the ability to counter Agility, Rain Dance and Sunny Day teams since things like Metagross, Ludicolo, Mixed Kingdra and Kabutops rarely go all speed, letting Leaf Storm/HP Fire put a major damper on their sweep. Overall, a real asset and with Zapdos, the other missing piece of U-Turn teams.

@ Choice Band
Technician
Adamant
EVs: 248 HP/ 252 Atk/ 8 Spe

Move Set:
Bullet Punch
Pursuit
U-Turn
Super Power

Comment:
The perfect example of typing, stats, move pool and ability all coming to form a deadly threat. No U-Turn team would be complete without this guy thanks to ability to trap with Pursuit, use U-Turn and sweep all in one. He's also just bulky enough to take a decent amount of abuse and hit back with the right move. He's great at forcing switches too and with his powerful U-Turns, I can soften up the switch in and possibly trap them all in one move. Add in the mind games he can cause and it's no surprise Scizor is the most OU pokemon in OU and this team really appreciates his power.


Overall comments:
It may surprise you to see no Flygon here but let me tell you, he used to be and he was great too but the need to stop bulky waters forced me to bring in Zapdos and Celebi. After that, Scizor is a lock and so are the trappers and only Heatran can be a feasible lead for my team so Flygon was forced out in a case of too many choices, not enough room. Otherwise, you can see how hard it is to counter my team as you never know if U-Turn is coming and it can easily spell doom for a pokemon who is caught by my trap. This team is very good at mind games and thanks to U-Turn, the need to predict perfectly is reduced since I can always swap if I am unsure of what is coming. The key is to not get overly reliant on U-Turn as when I see something I need to kill, I go for it. With all the Choice items on my team, the unexpectedness can let me get an extra kill or two and combined with my trappers, I can reduce my opponents team by half with no harm to my own. The drawbacks are getting too reliant on U-Turn as it us a weak move, especially without STAB and the fact that I am constantly locked into an attack can lead to some sticky situations but with my overall team speed, even enemies who set up are not safe.


I hope you like this team as I do and I look forward to comments and criticism.

 

[Mentlegen]

How does your Heatran work? Assuming you use SR your first turn, then you are locked into it until you switch out. It's a good idea, maybe I'm missing something, but with all of the Choice items, you can't use a move and then use U-Turn next turn. Also, how does this team do against stall teams that utilize entry hazards?

 

[BurtonEarny]

Heatran-
This thing isn't doing much for you in terms of covering threats. I would consider Smeargle in the lead spot... something like this:
Smeargle @ Choice Scarf
jolly; 252 Hp/ 252 Sp./4 Atk.
Spore/ Switcheroo (or trick)/ Stealth Rock/ U- Turn (or random filler move like spikes)
-This lets you have an extra tool against stall teams often crippling one poke and getting their steel type killed in the process. The Hp lets you survive an Infernape Fake Out, though I'm not sure that its necessary you survive with enough Hp to function with the hp ev's in which case you could put it into atk., either way u- turn wont do much more than baton pass tbh. Has the added perk of ALWAYS drawing iron head from Jirachi which means they dont get rocks AND they lose a poke very early with nary a scratch.

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Latias is a HUGE threat to this team as it is. Thanks to all of its resistances and useful immunity it can come in on several moves from pokes and begin to either set up or use specs/ scarf moves. All pokes on this team minus Scizor potentially offer it a chance to come in and threaten you. W/ a scarf it outspeeds any move on this team minus bullet punch. To add to the problem none of your pokes enjoy taking its specs assualts and it avoids trapping from your core. Blowing up on it is actually your best bet on taking her out.

 

[familyguyman]

How does your Heatran work? Assuming you use SR your first turn, then you are locked into it until you switch out. It's a good idea, maybe I'm missing something, but with all of the Choice items, you can't use a move and then use U-Turn next turn. Also, how does this team do against stall teams that utilize entry hazards?

Heatran-
This thing isn't doing much for you in terms of covering threats. I would consider Smeargle in the lead spot... something like this:
Smeargle @ Choice Scarf
jolly; 252 Hp/ 252 Sp./4 Atk.
Spore/ Switcheroo (or trick)/ Stealth Rock/ U- Turn (or random filler move like spikes)
-This lets you have an extra tool against stall teams often crippling one poke and getting their steel type killed in the process. The Hp lets you survive an Infernape Fake Out, though I'm not sure that its necessary you survive with enough Hp to function with the hp ev's in which case you could put it into atk., either way u- turn wont do much more than baton pass tbh. Has the added perk of ALWAYS drawing iron head from Jirachi which means they dont get rocks AND they lose a poke very early with nary a scratch.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Latias is a HUGE threat to this team as it is. Thanks to all of its resistances and useful immunity it can come in on several moves from pokes and begin to either set up or use specs/ scarf moves. All pokes on this team minus Scizor potentially offer it a chance to come in and threaten you. W/ a scarf it outspeeds any move on this team minus bullet punch. To add to the problem none of your pokes enjoy taking its specs assualts and it avoids trapping from your core. Blowing up on it is actually your best bet on taking her out.

Heatran works as the following:
Against Sash leads: SR Before they can do anything, the real job of a suicide lead meaning if he gets unexpectedly KOed, that's ok. I can then use a combo of U-Turn and a powerful attack to bring down anything with a Sash, such as Celebi to attract a Fire attack and then go to Heatran to absorb it and hit back.

Against Scarfers (Jirachi, Breloom, Smeargle, Metagross): Firstly, I am Trick immune so right away Jirachi, Smeargle and Metagross lose an option and are screwed if they try. Secondly, I outspeed all but Jirachi and can OHKO the lot of them since they have no Sash. Jirachi will basically have to U-Turn turn one, giving me a free set up for Rocks.


As for Stall, the abundance of U-Turn is death for things like Celebi and the ability to Trap means Skarmory will be in trouble without a Shed Shell (though I think most have that on Stall). Even Blissey can be brought down with a U-Turn from Scizor into a Trap with Dugtrio. Zapdos can also power his way through anything not named Blissey so Stall doesn't worry me too much. Remember, I am more than willing to sacrifice something to remove a threat to Scizor and this includes Exploding on Latias.

Speaking of Latias, if it's Scarfed, then that's fine by me. Celebi will out speed most scarfers since they don't go total max speed which lets me U-Turn to Scizor on the Dragon attack (which won't 2HKO), letting me nail it with Pursuit and if it's Spec'd then I can get a bit more creative and try to get it into Scizor BP range or Dugtrio Night Slash range (which does 44-53%) and pick it off. It might not be ideal but I have enough physical attack and Explosion in my back pocket to deal with Latias.

Perhaps HP Ice on Celebi is a good idea after all, but that won't do much to the Calm Minder.

 

[BurtonEarny]

I still think Smeargle would be a much better for this team, but float your boat I guess.

Hp ice isnt really enough either, but its about the best you are going to do without changing something major