XY OU Team : We Hate Salamence

Will Mega Heracross be more viable after Mega Salamence is banned?

  • Total voters
    30
arontoad99

arontoad99

This was my first attempt at creating an X/Y OU team, as I normally play lower tiers like RU or PU. I knew I couldn't make a team that could counter everything in the Meta, so I picked a few Pokes who I felt synergized well together. This team was built around Mega Heracross, who I have never used competitively before, and wanted to try out.

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Heracross @ Heracronite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Pin Missile
- Rock Blast

Here is the Pokemon I decided to build my team around. I'm using Moxie for quick kills before I mega-evolve, allowing me to obtain a nice attack boost. WSD is mostly used on predicted switches, allowing Heracross to destroy the Pokemon that switches in. CC is the standard move on this set, dealing immense damage to those who don't resist it, and getting an OHKO on Blissey/Chansey. Pin Missile is the secondary STAB attack, and hits Pokemon like Slowbro or Latios/Latias. Rock Blast takes advantage of Skill Link to hit 5 times, and gives Heracross a last resort for Flying types. I'm running 52 EVs to outspeed neutral Base 80's, while the rest go into bulk and attack.

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Scizor @ Shed Shell
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 116 Def / 100 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn

Scizor is a Pokemon I added to the team to A) create a VoltTurn core, and B) to have a bulky defogger with access to priority. Scizor works great for getting rid of those nasty hazards, and uses it's Technician-boosted Bullet Punch to deal loads of damage to Pokemon like Gardevoir and Sylveon. Roost is there for recovery, adding to Scizor's longevity. This Pokemon was originally banded, but I changed it to a bulky defogger as my team had no way of getting rid of hazards, and Heracross was a better Pokemon for pure attacking anyway. The EV Spread is for standard for a Bulky SD variant, however it helps with the hazard clearer set I am running.

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Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Roar

Heatran is the hazard setter of the team, and burns with opponents with Lava Plume and Roars out setup sweepers who Heatran can take a hit from. Earth Power is there so I don't get walled by other Heatran and Gardevoir who Trace my Flash Fire. This is the special half of my defensive core, and also switches in on Pokemon who try to hit Scizor with a fire move. Once the Air Balloon is broken, Heatran relies on switches into the other half of the defensive core...

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Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

Ah, Rotom Wash. One of my favourite Pokemon to use in OU. This Rotom is my main check to the physical attacks in OU, like Talonflame, and cripple them with Will O' Wisp, if the RNGods aren't being mean to me (missed 4/5 of my last Will O' Wisps). Volt Switch is for my VoltTurn combo, and is used to keep momentum on predicted switches. Pain Split is just for recovery, and stealing health from Chansey whenever I get the chance. 0 Atk IVs are used just to minimize damage taken from Foul Play, no matter how rare that attack is in OU. Rotom-W pairs up really well with Heatran, and the two make for a great defensive combo. 44 Spe EVs are used to outspeed Azumarril, and dish out damage or burn it.

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Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Wish
- Toxic
- Heal Bell

Sylveon is my support Pokemon, healing statues from my other Pokemon and healing them with wish. Sylveon also works great to take out some of the Dragon types in OU, other than Defensive Latias. Toxic is for putting Pokemon on a timer, and is a good move altogether. I am considering removing Toxic for Protect, however, as Protect would help gain extra Lefties recovery and help stall burn/poisoned Pokemon.

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Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Gunk Shot

Oh, Gamefreak. "Let's make a Pokemon with near perfect coverage and the ability to change type!" Greninja is insanely good now with Gunk Shot (via ORAS Tutor), and a diverse moveset like this helps Greninja score many powerful hits on many Pokemon. I had Dark Pulse over HP Grass before, but my lack of a Grass move on this team encouraged me to change it. I'm running Surf for a mix between power and accuracy, as I find Scald too weak, and Hydro Pump inaccurate. Gunk Shot also OHKOs many of Greninja's checks from X/Y, such as Clefable. Greninja usually comes in from a U-Turn/Volt Switch kill to reduce the damage it takes.


I've had many fun battles with this team so far, and it honestly works very well as long as I play well and make good predictions. I'll accept any criticism, and am open to make any changes to this team to make it even better. As long as you provide good reasons, I'll even consider replacing certain Pokemon or the roles each Pokemon plays for the team. Thank you for reading, and remember, Salamence is a piece of shit!

EDIT: Megahorn was changed to Pin Missile, as it has better accuracy. Scizor's EV Spread was changed to a bulky SD set, and Leftys was changed to Shed Shell as well, giving me a free switch into Heatran to counter Magnezone. Rotom-W was given 44 Spe EVs to outspeed Azumarril, as a Burn or damage on it would be very nice. Sylveon was also given more defense EVs in order to make its defenses mixed.
 
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Good looking team, i've just got some minor nitpicks.

1) On Heatran, Scizor, Rotom-W, and Sylveon run 248 HP EVs as this decreases the damage from Stealth Rock and hazards (that little bit of damage adds up in the end).
2) For Scizor, most Magnezone run enough speed to outspeed skarmory (or are scarfed), so you may be better off with a Shed Shell if getting trapped worries you.
3)On Heracross, try Pin Missile instead Megahorn as it does more damage and doesn't activate Iron barbs and Spiky Shield (i think). Also, maybe consider Sub over SD to destroy any bird that tries to switch in, but you would be missing a wallbreaker in that case. Food for thought moreso than anything.
4) EVs look kinda all over the place for sylveon and heracross but I'm guessing you know what you're doing
 
Ah I forgot about the HP number for minimum Stealth Rock damage. I also didn't know about Pin Missile being more powerful (I always thought it was 20 power). Thanks for the feedback!
 
arontoad99 said:
Ah I forgot about the HP number for minimum Stealth Rock damage. I also didn't know about Pin Missile being more powerful (I always thought it was 20 power). Thanks for the feedback!
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It generally isn't, but mega heracross has skill link to make it always hit 5 times (virtualy guarantees the 2HKO on ferrothorn too). Also its more accurate.
252+ Atk Mega Heracross Pin Missile (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 180-215 (51.1 - 61%) -- approx. 98.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Mega Heracross Megahorn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 168-198 (47.7 - 56.2%) -- 25.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery​
 
Yeah, I knew about Skill Link, I just wasn't aware of each hit being 25 Base power. Thanks for the calcs, however. May I ask where you got them from since Smogon's calc is down?
 
Nice team, man. One thing to add though, on your Rotom-W, run EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe, this allows you to outspeed max speed Azumarill and wear it down a little better, AV is the more common variant but you can never be to careful with those buggers. Rest-O Chesto might be a good varient to run as well instead of Pain Split Lefties since it's such a good status sponge. Also, this might sound weird, but when I was running Defog Scizor I ran him with a bulky SD EV spread but the same moveset you have, it gave him better defensive potential which he needed as a hazard remover but still gave him a decent offensive presence as well. Someone who'd better at playing can skewer on why that was a bad idea, but it might be something to consider. Not a bad bunch, man.
 
It's an excellent team. But as twist says defog scizor should be the bulky SD variety to take hits and also dish them out. Otherwise your team is flawless imo
 
To be honest with a nice sticky web set up by a shuckle or a galvantula mega heracross sweeps teams with ease with sub punch and no they are not safe behind a sub either because Pin Missle and Rockblast break through subs also do not worry about Talonflame if you are behind a sub Rock Blast destroys it.
Heracross @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 52 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Pin Missle
- Focus Punch
- Rock Blast
 
MarchesVeryOwn said:
To be honest with a nice sticky web set up by a shuckle or a galvantula mega heracross sweeps teams with ease with sub punch and no they are not safe behind a sub either because Pin Missle and Rockblast break through subs also do not worry about Talonflame if you are behind a sub Rock Blast destroys it.
Heracross @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 52 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Pin Missle
- Focus Punch
- Rock Blast
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Why would you run Focus Punch instead of Close Combat? Unless you're running Sub, you shouldn't use it.
His set is perfectly fine.
 
Der Twist said:
Possibly Arm Thrust over CC. Either option is good, but one of Mega Heracross's redeeming qualities is his big bulk, a quality that you lose with CC. It just leaves him revenge bait imo but that's your choice if you want power or lasting bulk.
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I'm thinking of keeping CC over Arm Thrust for more power, and also because Heracross is usually scared out by Talonflame or any other Flying type. I tend to use Heracross once those Pokemon are dead anyway, and Rock Blast is there on predicted switch-ins.
 
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