SM OU The Malicious and the Mushroom

[Mike81401]

The Malicious And The Mushroom

Introduction

Why, hello there! This is a Gen7OU Team built around one of my favorite pokemon OF ALL TIME, Mega Houndoom. So, let's get started, shall we?

Teambuilding Process

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It's my second favorite Pokemon, like I said, and tbh I really want to see it used more. or drop to UU

Amoonguss actually forms an EXCELLENT typesync core with Mega Houndoom,
which allows it to abuse its stupidly good ability in Regenerator. I chose this over Tangrowth because it and Houndoom sync better together.

Tapu Koko is broken and everyone should use one Tapu Koko is probably THE best momentum generator in the entire game, and it's also fairly versatile, being able to run a myriad of different sets effectively.

It's Toxapex. OK, fine, I'll explain! See, Toxapex actually completes the FWG core with Amoonguss and Mega Houndoom, and Toxic Spikes can be used to wear down foes for my sweepers. It also forms a nice switchspam core with Amoonguss, if you really wanna be that guy.

Mew is here to do one thing and one thing only: remove hazards.

It's Hawlucha and it's with Tapu Koko and it is a sweeper. Need I explain more?

The Team

Cerberus (Houndoom-Mega) (M) @ Houndoominite
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Bomb

Mega Houndoom is the obligatory wincon and mega for this team,
being able to OHKO/2HKO the ENTIRE meta at +2 save Chansey and TTar in sand, and also checking Toxapex nicely assuming it's already set up, doing around 60-70% with Dark Pulse, forcing Toxapex to Haze, allowing you a setup opportunity as it Recovers.

James (Amoonguss) (M) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Def / 216 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Stun Spore

Regenspam core member 1, Amoonguss forms a nice core with Mega Houndoom, giving the latter opportunities to switch in via things like Choice-locked Latios, and then set up as Latios switches out. Spore is to incapacitate foes and make them further set up fodder for MegaDoom, Giga Drain is so you don't auto-die to Taunt, HP Fire is for Ferro, and Stun Spore is because Sleep Clause.

Melemele (Tapu Koko) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Dazzling Gleam

Tapu Koko is here to make Hawlucha evil, as well as punching holes in enemy teams itself, and Specs attacks HURT coming from this thing. Switch and TBolt are mandatory on any good Koko, HP Ice is to function as a nice Lando check, and Dazzling Gleam is for further exploiting choice-locked Latios Moonblast when and just making Dragons' lives hell.

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 17 Atk
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic Spikes

Regenspam core member 2, meet Thapex (if you haven't already). This guy's job is generally to lay Toxic Spikes, neutralize set-up sweepers, and just generally be Thapex. Also switchspamming with Amoonguss is a thing.

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Def / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Defog

Like I said, Mew is here solely for hazard removal. Ice beam is here to make another emergency Lando check (although +2 Mega Houndoom and Tapu Koko beat non-Rock Polish variants just fine), Roost is for recovery, Sr is SR (although I rarely use it), and Defog is so Mew can remove hazards. This WILL get replaced with Lando/Gliscor when USUM come out.

El Luchador (Hawlucha) (M) @ Electric Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- Stone Edge
- Drain Punch

How to use Hawlucha: Step 1: Switch this thing in with Electric Terrain. Step 2: set up Swords Dance. Step 3: Win. OK, seriously, Hawlucha is a monster under Electric Terrain, holding perfect neutral coverage outside of the banned Aegislash and the useless Doublade and Honedge. Adamant is because Unburden takes care of your Speed problems for you, giving you no reason ever to use Jolly.

Conclusion

And, that's it! Just as a footnote, here's the tool I made this RMT with. https://clean-rmt.herokuapp.com/# Credits to Nineage for the tool.

steal team here

Cerberus (Houndoom-Mega) (M) @ Houndoominite
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Bomb

James (Amoonguss) (M) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Def / 216 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Stun Spore

Melemele (Tapu Koko) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Dazzling Gleam

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 17 Atk
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic Spikes

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Def / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Defog

El Luchador (Hawlucha) (M) @ Electric Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- Stone Edge
- Drain Punch

 

[Jordy]

Hey Mike81401 i think this is one of the coolest teams i've seen recently, Mega Houndoom is one of the most slept on Pokemon out there and i think ur team can truly make it shine.

Overview

• I think u should change Amoonguss to an Assault Vest Tangrowth because of its ability to comfortably wall Zygarde (Mew struggles with this since its a fast Mew) while still checking the same stuff that Amoonguss does while also keeping ur regenerator core, unfortunately its affected by Toxic Spikes so that sort of sucks i guess.

• I'd suggest changing Mew to Clefable, ur team lacks a good Fairy-type, Clefable can still set up Stealth Rock and provides u with a good status absorber. Clefable is also a good secondary wall to Zygarde, it can also act as an emergency check to Lando-T since it can take a +2 Earthquake, it also provides good utility for ur team with Knock Off.

• I feel like Hawlucha is very redundant on this team because it does exactly the same for Koko that Mega Houndoom does, thus i'd suggest changing it to Choice Scarf Latios since i got rid of ur hazard removal, I believe Thunder Wave should be ran over Trick to permantently cripple offensive Magearna sets and Ash-Greninja, it also provides u with a way more reliable way to revenge kill Choice Scarf Kartana without potentially losing ur ability to sweep with Hawlucha.

Overview
<<Import

Summary of changes
I changed Amoonguss to Tangrowth to improve ur match up against Zygarde and certain Landorus-T sets, it also keeps ur Regenerator core intact. Mew was changed to Clefable since u were lacking a Fairy-type, this still keeps ur ability to use Stealth Rock and provides good utility with Knock Off for ur team too. Lastly i changed Hawlucha to Latios as Hawlucha is sort of redundant on this team, Mega Houndoom does exactly the same for Tapu Koko that Hawlucha does, Latios gives u back the ability to Defog away hazards as well as act as a check to offensive Magearna sets and Ash-Greninja because of Thunder Wave, it also gives u a better way to kill Choice Scarf Kartana without having to give up Hawlucha's ability to sweep.

 

[Mike81401]

Thanks, but one thing. You mention in Hawlucha's replacement that it "also provides u with a way more reliable way to revenge kill Choice Scarf Kartana without potentially losing ur ability to sweep with Hawlucha". However, this is the thing that will be REPLACING Hawlucha. Just a small little thing.

 

[Jordy]

Thanks, but one thing. You mention in Hawlucha's replacement that it "also provides u with a way more reliable way to revenge kill Choice Scarf Kartana without potentially losing ur ability to sweep with Hawlucha". However, this is the thing that will be REPLACING Hawlucha. Just a small little thing.

what i meant was, the only way to revenge kill scarftana on the team b4 i rated it was via hawlucha popping its unburden, say this is early game and lucha cant sweep yet. that takes away lucha's sweeping capability, its also just a 1 time check bc u might get forced to switch out if its early/mid game.

 

[Mike81401]

o ok

 

[Indigo Plateau]

Hey Mike81401! This is a really unique team around Mega Houndoom, which is a really cool mon. I ended up asking for a team around it in the OU Workshop, so I'd be more than happy to help you out in improving your team.

Overview

When building around a mon like Mega Houndoom, it is imperative that you have the perfect support for it to function properly - if not, it'll fail, especially in a metagame that doesn't favor it. Mega Houndoom suffers from very common types: Water, Ground, Rock, and Fighting, as well as trash defensive typing that lets other common types like Fairy hit it hard. To add to that, Mega Houndoom is susceptible to every form of hazard, meaning that you need to constantly clear hazards off the field, or else Houndoom will be going down pretty quickly. Considering Houndoom's relatively bad bulk, you also need to be pulling a lot of doubles or VoltTurn support to bring it into things it wants to come in against like Ferro/Celesteela.

I think Mega Houndoom naturally fits better on offensive oriented teams, as those are the ones it has the most synergy with. You want to be able to wear Houndoom's checks down to a point where it can come in late game, get off a NP (or not) and clean. Let's start with the most important thing: hazards. You paired Houndoom with Mew, and I would usually recommend Latios due to their amazing offensive type synergy. Your Mew is also in a weird spot with both Rocks + Defog, as no WoW leaves you weak to physical attackers it's supposed to check. Something else that stands out is your lack of a steel type. This is going to leave you extremely weak to the likes of Tapu Lele, Latios, and Mega Alakazam, because their stabs and/or coverage moves are getting off neutral or super effective hits every time. Lastly, your team's offensive synergy is a bit awkward - your only way of bringing in Houndoom safely is either through doubles or Koko, which is problematic since you need to keep Koko healthy at all times to also support Hawlucha.

Threats

Psychic spam (or any mon with strong Psychic moves) is a huge threat for your team, since you carry two poison types and Mew is speedy PhysDef. Tapu Lele is the most problematic of these, seeing as any set will pose a huge threat for your team: Scarf outspeeds everything bar unburden Hawlucha, Specs is nabbing a kill every time unless you can play around Moonblast/Psychic, and a CM set annihilates your entire defensive backbone. Paired with Mega Alakazam, the two are bound for an easy win as long as they can get rid of Hawlucha - not hard to do outside of Electric Terrain. Latios is problematic as well, as it can outspeed everything bar unburden Hawlucha with Scarf, you have nothing to resist its dual stab, and it can also potentially Trick your Mew.

With the point of the team being allowing Mega Houndoom to shine, you need to have something for Tyranitar, which is bulky enough to deal with both of its stab. Because your Mew doesn't have WoW, Tyranitar gets a free switch vs it every time and proceeds to click Stone Edge and 2hko all of your team. Your only solid answer is Hawlucha and keeping Toxapex healthy enough to the point where you can fish for a Scald burn.

Heatran's incredible versatility means that it can easily annoy a lot of defensive backbones seen nowadays. This mon alone deals with Amoongus, Toxapex, and Mew, and none of your offensive mons are going to appreciate switching in vs a Magma Storm. This gets even worse if it carries Sub, as you can't even afford to tank one hit with Amoongus and set it to sleep, and who knows how many mons you're going to have to sack every time this thing comes in for free lol.

Seeing as how Mega Houndoom's typing is trash, it only makes sense that you should have more than one answer for rain. Every time your opponent clicks U-Turn with Pelipper or the potential Koko and brings Swampert in, it gets a free EQ vs whatever it wants. If you risk your Hawlucha on two Waterfalls, it's gg. On top of that, you have a potential Kingdra, Koko, and Hawlucha to deal with in the back. This one is a bit of a harder fix since you also don't want to pack your team with water resists and kill its synergy, but nonetheless, I wanted to point it out.

Not much to say here other than Stall is basically an auto-lose. You don't possess the mons necessary to break it, especially with a Quagsire on the other team which walls your Hawlucha. Thankfully not seen as much so you just have to hope you don't run into it.

You do have a fast Mew with Ice Beam to counter this, but a DD Zygarde can sweep given the right circumstances. It's hitting everything either neutrally or super effectively, and +1 DD is hitting your team for a lot of damage. Thankfully, it doesn't have a lot of room to setup, but make sure that you don't find your Koko locked in with an electric move vs this, as it can snowball quickly if your team is weakened.

Your only way of revenging and killing Volcarona outside of unburden Hawlucha is hoping your Toxapex is healthy enough to eat a Shattered Psyche. If this gets to +2, or +1 and your Hawlucha can't get the unburden boost, it sweeps your team with ease. It gets a free QD vs Mew, and SubSwarm sets Sub up on Amoongus/Mew, click QD twice, and win from there with prior chip on Toxapex.

Kyurem-B comes in vs any of your defensive backbone and exerts a ton of pressure on your team due to your lack of a steel type. With Ice Beam alone, it's hitting 4/6 mons neutrally, and Fusion Bolt deals with the others. It doesn't help that it forms a potent core with Koko, as it can come in even easier through U-Turn support and fire off terrain boosted Fusion Bolts.


Suggestions

A problem that I have with this team is that the regenerator backbone is not as defensively strong as I'd want it to be, largely in part to the shared secondary typing. This is going to leave you overwhelmed trying to find switch-ins in a lot of situations. Another problem is that it doesn't seem to support Mega Houndoom all that much, and it looks like the only way you'll be beating offensive teams is by weakening everything to a point where Hawlucha can clean - not exactly a bad strat, but if you misplay with it or your opponent has something to stop it, then you'll be in a really tough spot. Lastly, your Mew is trying to do too much by itself: get hazards up, keep hazards off, and check ground types which threaten your team a lot. There isn't a clear, easy way to fix this team without changing some pokemon, but I'll do my best.

>

My first suggestion is Amoonguss --> Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn gives you the steel type that your team needs and helps alleviate a ton of threats, namely: Psychic spam, Kyurem-B lacking HP Fire, Rain, and TTar locked into Stone Edge. You lose out on the utility that Spore provides, but you gain much better synergy, especially with the likes of Toxapex. It also gives you the option to run hazards on this and opens up a potential move slot for another mon. If you feel that HP Fire bothers you too much, then you're free to run Occa Berry here instead. I went with SR > Spikes because you're going to be clearing hazards most of the time for Houndoom anyway, so hazard stacking is hard when the opponent can hazard stack vs you too.

Ferrothorn

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers / Occa Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Knock Off / Gyro Ball

>

The second change is changing Mew --> Latios. Although Mew is, for the most part, a reliable hazard clearer, Latios provides better offensive synergy for the team. It resists almost all of Houndoom's weaknesses and provides an extra ground immunity for your team. Surf is here to bait and weaken opposing Tyranitar & Heatran, which usually switch in vs Latios and Mew was complete bait for.

Latios

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 29 HP
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Recover
- Defog

>

Landorus-T fits nicely here, since it 1) serves as an emergency Koko check in the case that Ferro gets too weak, 2) provides another ground immunity in the case that Latios gets trapped, and 3) provides the speed control that your team needs in the form of a scarfer. It's not the best scarfer, but it's not bad by any means, since the surprise factor might come in handy and let you clean later game. Scarf is also nice here because a lot of the aforementioned threats (Lele + Zam, Heatran, TTar, Kyu-B) are grounded and usually expect to outspeed you.

Lando-T

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Hidden Power Ice
- Explosion

Z Wild Charge
In order to improve your stall matchup (bar Quagsire), I think a better option here is Z Wild Charge > Specs Koko. This gives you more opportunities to U-Turn without the fear of being locked into a move, and it lets you hit the likes of Heatran, TTar, and Chansey harder, making it easier for Houndoom to put in work later. Taunt helps against fatter teams and in hazard prevention, which is always appreciated. You also don't have a Z move on your team and this fits quite nicely.

Tapu Koko

Tapu Koko @ Electrium Z
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Wild Charge
- Hidden Power Ice
- Taunt
- U-turn

Papaya > Black Sludge
Now that Hawlucha is gone, you need a new way of dealing with Volcarona, as it's game over if it comes in on Ferrothorn. Papaya Berry is a must here, as it lets you get off either a Haze or a Toxic off on Volcarona and neutralize it. I think that Toxic > TSpikes on your build is also better, because you're going to be Defogging quite frequently and Toxic helps you deal with threats easier, but it's up to you.

e: s/o Anish for the correction lol

Final Team:

Conclusion

There were a lot of changes necessary for the team, but I think that the final version supports it better than your initial one. Tapu Koko + Lando-T provides VoltTurn support in order to bring Houndoom in safely. Latios has good offensive synergy with Houndoom and provides the Defog support it drastically needs. Toxapex + Ferrothorn is a more reliable backbone than Toxapex + Amoongus due to their perfect type synergy. Watch out for Volcarona - under no circumstance should you let Toxapex go down with a Volcarona on the other team, as it can very easily sweep after that. SG + 3 atks Magearna becomes more of a threat now, but you can play around its Z Focus Blast and you still have Lando-T to revenge kill. Heatran is still a nuisance, but you can play aggressively around it because only Ferrothorn is going to really give it a free switch (don't give it one, nothing wants to eat a Magma Storm still). Lastly, don't let Toxapex/Ferro get too weak to the point that Ash-Greninja can spam Dark Pulse + Water Shuriken. Gl with the team, and if you have any questions or need help testing it, lmk!