SV OU The Choice of Water

[andreharris]

Introduction
I recently drafted a team with some of my favorite mons, and I like to play the team on OU to get familiar with their synergies. Low and Behold, I've stumbled across a team that holds its own in the current meta game! I brought this team up to 1800, not the greatest vote of confidence but every match is very fun so you gotta pick your poison sometimes. If you're going anti-meta, then no half measures. Team takes some serious piloting as its speed tiers fall pitifully below the paradox threats but the double water has been able to overcome all odds.

The Team: https://pokepast.es/722ffd271a72ec80

The Closer Cinderace @ Focus Sash Ability: Blaze Tera Type: Fire EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Pyro Ball - Swords Dance - Sucker Punch - Reversal

The Closer comes first. I stole this SD sash Ace bc the set is just way too much fun. If you can keep hazards off it makes for some incredible end game wins, but the bunny still functions in the mid game as a breaker even without the sash. It's also always great to claim something like Tusk or Val to clear the way for the rest of the team with a cheeky sash proc early. Blaze boosted SD Pyros are taking 40% off even Ace's toughest matchups i.e Ancient Dogs or Moltres. This team lacks removal so you need to play the hazard game aggressively but I've found success with this set The Horse Keldeo @ Choice Specs Ability: Justified Tera Type: Fighting EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Timid Nature - Surf - Vacuum Wave - Secret Sword - Flip Turn You never see Keldeo on the ladder, and for good reason. At 346 it barely underspeeds all the Ogers and is in every sense of the word a One Trick Pony. But I'll be damned if this one trick hasn't been a pleasant surprise. Specs surf is a great stab hit into the whole tier, dealing around 40% to both Drag and Glowking . The calling card of this mon is the specs tera fight Vacuum Wave, which cleans so many matches up once the Gholdengo is dead. Once you force out the opponents tera, you know exactly what move to click when this thing hits the field, and it usually deals out way more damage than it takes. The Decoy Araquanid @ Choice Band Ability: Water Bubble Tera Type: Water EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD Brave Nature IVs: 8 Spe - Liquidation - Leech Life - Sticky Web - Poison Jab Araquanid is my favorite lead on this team, for the simple fact that every opponent plays for turn 1 webs. Counter lead drag? 45%. Lead Samu? Dead. The choice band is such a niche pick that seems to make no sense on this slow, rock weak mon, but the double choiced water has been able to overwhelm many an opponent on the ladder. My favorite interaction with Araq is soaking Great Tusk hits and then killing the switch in, before getting a second chance at life to do it all over again thanks to this next mon. The Glue Hatterene @ Rocky Helmet Ability: Magic Bounce Tera Type: Ghost EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 76 SpA / 4 SpD Quiet Nature IVs: 0 Atk - Trick Room - Psychic Noise - Dazzling Gleam - Healing Wish Nothing works on this team without the Hatty support. It serves as the lone Zama check so... keep it healthy in those matchups. The only hazard stopper on the team, you gotta play it smart, as the opponent knows this too and will usually attack first to scout your poor fairy, hence the Helmet to even the playing field. The psychic noise pick is also a crucial check to Dozo and Tera Water Gliscor, making Hat the main driver to letting the rest of the team shine. A late game trick room or healing wish can completely swing an endgame that is right in the opponents clutches, and you'll see the opening thread like goddamn Tanjiro when you reveal trick room before letting one of the waters clean up the opponent The Obligatory Booster Sandy Shocks @ Booster Energy Ability: Protosynthesis Tera Type: Ice EVs: 44 HP / 208 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Timid Nature IVs: 0 Atk - Stealth Rock - Tera Blast - Earth Power - Discharge Sandy Shocks has fallen off a cliff in usage, and I can't see why. Sure it gets popped by every Moon on the ladder, and SURE it doesn't have the raw power to ohko most anything, AND SURE Ting-Lu makes ur Shocks obsolete, but I'll be damned if this mon hasn't impressed me. The ground typing is really helpful into Bolt, which messes this team up, and tera ice is obligatory on any electric type these days. Serving as a mid to late game breaker, a well played Shocks will give you the paras or chip to finish the job with your win con, and a late game stealth rock never hurt nobody. The Meta Pick Down to Crown (Iron Crown) @ Assault Vest Ability: Quark Drive Tera Type: Ghost EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Timid Nature IVs: 20 Atk - Tachyon Cutter - Volt Switch - Future Sight - Focus Blast Sometimes it's nice to incorporate a meta pick into a team as stupid as this one. Crown serves as the check all defensively, catching anything from the power whips from Ogerpon to the Thunderbolts from Bolt. In most fights, Crown gives you the one time out from this teams biggest threats, threatening a TC or Future Sight that swings control back in your favor. On the rare occasion it can pick off some things it out speeds, but it just as often dies without getting a hit off. Sometimes you need the dedicated sack, and Crown will be that mon in your more favorable matchups. Threats Obviously not nice to be weak to one of the more common picks right now, but you will need to make tough switches into Hat or Shocks against this thing early. It is sometimes best to just do as much as you can with Ace and try to Tera Fight Keldeo to finish the job. Zam is also a disaster matchup, so you absolutely need to save Hat for this guy. If you can force out the shield boost, Keldeo is a pretty decent check to 1v1 it, and Tera Ghost Crown is an emergency button. More often than not, I try and para this thing w Shocks bc it is that damn threatening Luckily your Waters second stabs blow this thing up, but not being able to water move for free restricts your plays early in the game a lot. Ace is also pretty good into Oger I've had trouble into Dnite before, once it gets to +1. Keeping tera Hat around is really nice to save yourself from this guy late game.

 

[mixdebanana]

Eu nunca ri tanto https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2173683864

 

[TheDuckChris]

Neat team, after playing with it i can say getting it to 1800 is definitely a feat lol.
Couple ideas I had:

If you are really full in on specs surf and vacuum wave being the way, why not go Modest instead of timid? In terms of stuff you miss out on outspeeding the relevant threats are basically Kyurem (gets Wave'd and isnt staying in otherwise), and maybe treads, as well as Enamorus which hurts but you can handle it with Crown pretty easily.

Poison jab seems like it's never going to be clicked if we're honest, even against something like Primarina it barely does more than Liquidation and it probably thuds into everything else. Why not slap on Endeavor? Sure it's a last ditch option but it could be just the thing to get one of your opponents threats into range of vacuum wave or sucker punch. Probably useless but so is jab imo.

It's potentially worth swapping the Psychic Noise slot to Crown and using something else on Hatt like pure Psychic or just swap in future sight. FS + Healing wish could be a nasty combo and I feel like Crown is the one that's more likely to face a gliscor or a Dondozo switch in.

Other than that yeah idk wild squad but pretty fun to see health go from 100 to 0 with liquidation

 

[Eman2091]

hmmm 6.5/10