XY OU 'The Best Offence Is A Good Defense"

[Love Handles]

I've been playing on Showdown casually for a good two years or so; figured I'd finally join the forums and seek some advice from you guys.

Sableye-Mega @ Sablenite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Foul Play

Currently my favorite Mega, as I regularly used Prankster Sableye before ORAS. I generally use him as my lead especially against teams with obvious entry hazard starts, Mega evolving ASAP for access to Magic Bounce. I've been considering relocating the EV spread because although he's durable, I feel forced into Recover after taking any attack 40%+. Useful stall overall and is generally able to wipe most physical sweepers if they try to brute force through him. Only complaint is that I probably leave him out too long and he's the first on my team to go after like a suicide lead.

Gengar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Giga Drain

Originally purposed as a sort of revenge killer and a defensive answer to part of this teams weakness to fighting type moves. I love Gengar but he's one of the Pokemon I've been considering switching out for something like Latios/Latias. Giga Drain gives some nice coverage against Rotom-W who I've always struggled against especially with this team, and Sludge Wave is generally my answer to Sableye's single weakness. Overall strong special sweeper with access to an ever important but slightly unreliable Focus Blast. Maybe Togekiss could also fill this spot decently? Can switch in on Earthquakes safely to preserve my walls also.

Talonflame
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Flare Blitz

Talonflame strikes fear into the abundance of steel types that I've been seeing lately. I know most take Brave Bird over Acrobatics, but forcing a switch through Talonflames sheer damage potential and swords dancing is enough to win games it seems; I don't think the recoil damage is worth it, but maybe I'm wrong and the usage of an item like Choice Band is. Talonflame easily cleans up the leftovers towards the end of a game, and rarely comes out till late due to how fragile he is. Stealth Rocks destroy him though especially with my lack of entry hazard clear (I try to use Sableye to bounce hazards back). Also can switch in on Earthquakes

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 220 SpD / 40 Spe
Calm Nature
- Lava Plume
- Will-O-Wisp
- Stealth Rock
- Flash Cannon

Heatran is incredibly bulky to my surprise, and even still can dish out significant damage to make him a worry towards the enemy team. Flash Fire allows for an easy boost if I can predict a fire attack against my Ferrothorn, and Flash Cannon is another answer towards Sableyes weakness as well as a significant threat against any Dual Flying types that switch in on him. I like having access to Steal Rocks as it makes my switches more flexible if I'm attempting to set up earlier in the game. Not much of a solid answer to Earthquake however

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Thunder Wave

Standard wall + hazard set up. Grass/Steel typing is nearly invaluable due to his synergy with Heatran and Slowbro. Generally safe to switch in with when another member of the team is threatened and set up Leech Seed to force their switch. Power Whip is another vital Grass move along with Gengars Giga Drain to answer most Ground types if they attempt to switch in as well. Quite highly survivable and frustrating to deal with

Slowbro @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Bold Nature
- Slack Off
- Scald
- Thunder Wave
- Psyshock

Derp lord 5000 and a pain in the ass to kill. I think Slowbros typing makes him an incredibly important coverage option to the team. Scald not only scares off Ground types, but it's burn chance in general is incredibly important against physical sweepers. Regenerator is a godsend especially dealing with the long term chip damage walls tend to take as the match progresses. Slowbro wasn't an instant addition to the team but more of a niche pick in an attempt to give myself more options and coverage as well as another good defense to lay into.



From my own analysis I'd say my team gets a ton of mileage out of free damage from stealth rocks, burns, leech seeds, and iron barbs, with two sweepers to clean up most leftovers. I have an obvious lack luster answer to Earthquake personally, but for the most part I'm happy with where this is going aside from the few tweaks I need to find and make. Offensive Semi-Stall Team?​

 

[temp]

Hello, Love Handles ! I don't have much to say about this team, as almost everything seems standard. Onto the rate:

I think Gengar would much more appreciate the Life Orb moveset. The option to switch to different attacks while still being powerful is great, and I would highly recommend it over your Choice Specs.

Gengar LO Set

Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Taunt / Substitute / Icy Wind

Life Orb is the item of choice for this set, as it maximizes Gengar's damage output while maintaining the ability to switch moves. The given EV spread with a Timid nature makes Gengar's attacks deal as much damage as possible, while using its great Speed stat to its full extent. To take minimal recoil from Life Orb, running 29 HP IVs is required.

I would change this to Skarmory. You don't seem to have any form of hazard removal for Talonflame. Skarmory packs Defog and can be a possible phaser with Whirlwind.

Skarmory Set

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind / Taunt

The Special Defense and HP EVs along with a Careful nature maximize Skarmory's special bulk. 248 HP EVs let Skarmory take one less point of Stealth Rock and residual damage, such as from burns. Sturdy ensures that Skarmory can never be OHKOed when at full health. Leftovers gives Skarmory passive recovery. Alternatively, Rocky Helmet punishes physical attackers, while a Shed Shell can be used to prevent Skarmory from being trapped by Magnezone or Gothitelle.

Potential Threats and Possible Additions | Additions are Green and Threats are Red

Hello, this section of my RMT is here because I do not want to make too many changes / just options for you to consider. here are some options you may want to consider. Of course, I have some threats to your team as well. These are threats I noticed right off the bat, and I have provided some tips you may find helpful when dealing with these threats. The potential additions have an explanation of what Pokemon it should be used over, why and a moveset(s). Feel free to consider these ideas if you feel the need to at some point!

Thundurus can be placed over Gengar. It provides a nice check to bulky waters, which I think the team struggles against slightly. It also gives speed control with Thunder Wave, which can be useful.

Thundurus @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
- Focus Blast / Psychic

This makes for a pretty good pivot and is a pretty great check to Latios/as, it also packs momentum with U-Turn. The set I have is the Assault Vest set, which makes it that "check to Latios/as."

Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 132 HP / 160 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- Knock Off
- U-turn
The choice of a Timid nature over Hasty might seem odd, as this set has two physical moves; the reasoning is that neither is used for its power or coverage, but for pure utility, meaning the decrease in physical bulk is not worth a slightly increased damage output.

This is a fairly big threat to the team. It carries coverage to hit your team either super effectively or for neutral damage. Your best way of defeating this is to wither it down with Heatran.

That's all I have! Good team and good luck. :]

 

[Dumbidoom]

Hey,I`m also new here to the forums,and this is my first rate.Here we go :D

M-Sableye - Looks pretty good.Pretty safe set.
Gengar - Like Exodus Latios said,I think LO Gengar would be pretty good,but Specs seems really powerfull aswell.
I love Ferrothorn,one of the top 3 hazarder in OU.
Heatran and Slowbro are good,and so is Talonflame.Good luck and have fun.

 

[Perennial]

there are two issues I see with the team. one of them is trouble handling electrics because you have two weaknesses and no immunity, making pokémon like Mega Manectric and Thundurus-I dangerous. one small change you can make to help is changing Talonflame's nature to Jolly with an EV spread of 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 Spe. this makes you faster than Thundurus-I and Raikou, allowing you to kill them with Flare Blitz at +2.

modifying Talonflame's EV spread won't solve the problem alone. to address the issue further, I recommend using Hippowdon over Heatran. between Talonflame and Slowbro, you're already covering many of the things Heatran keeps in check, like Scizor and Charizard-X, making her redundant. Hippowdon gives you a great answer to electric types, provides your team with a better check to things like Bisharp while faring well against the common users of Earthquake you mention as troublesome.

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Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind

Stone Edge can be used over Whirlwind if you prefer something to hit Thundurus-I and other Earthquake immune pokémon.

with SR on Hippowdon there is no need to have them on Ferrothorn. I'd use Gyro Ball over rocks on her. your team has a pretty hard time switching-in on Kyurem-B and Gyro Ball gives you a way to check her. make sure to lower your speed IVs to 0 with this modification. additionally, with you already having paralysis on Slowbro I'd consider Protect over Thunder Wave. the extra Leech Seed recovery Protect helps you reel in makes Ferrothorn even more annoying and increases her longevity significantly.

the other problem I notice with the team is SR pressure. you are relying too much on Sableye to bounce away rocks. Sableye isn't always able to do this successfully and if she fails at the job, you're put at a disadvantage because you rely on Talonflame to handle many important threats like Mega Scizor. in my opinion, Gengar isn't accomplishing much on this team and her slot would be better occupied by a Latios. from your description, you seem to hold a similar opinion and have already considered using Latios over Gengar and I agree with the change. Latios gives you a Defog user and takes away stress from Talonflame and Slowbro by providing hazard control and an additional check to Charizard-Y/Keldeo.

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Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Roost
- Defog

be wary of using Defog against teams with Bisharp because she can be problematic to handle at +2, even with the change to Hippowdon.