Hello again Smogon! It's been a couple of months now since my last RMT thread and I have learned so much about competitive battling. I have now been able to consistently ladder into the 1700s on the current OU metagame and I feel like with a few more adjustments I could have a real winning team here. I would like to thank any and all suggestions in advance
The Team:
Medicham @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Pure Power
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Hi Jump Kick
- Ice Punch
- Zen Headbutt
- Return
Trait: Pure Power
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Hi Jump Kick
- Ice Punch
- Zen Headbutt
- Return
Medicham is insanely underrated right now and there is no reason why it should stay in RU. With a Choice Scarf it can outspeed a vast majority of the unboosted metagame and can OHKO most of the OU tier that doesn't resist it not named Blissey, Skarmory, or Hippodown. Originally I had Fire Punch instead of Return on this set but having both Fire and Ice punch seemed a bit too redundant, as they both have virtually the same coverage. I know that Return isn't that useful outside of STAB users but its hard for me to pass up the high base power. I have found that this set is very "high risk/high reward", because once Hi-Jump Kick misses Medicham pretty much becomes death fodder.
Golurk @ Choice Scarf
Trait: No Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- DynamicPunch
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Heavy Slam
Trait: No Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- DynamicPunch
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Heavy Slam
The main purpose of this set is to try to force out any boosting sweepers with the confusion from DynamicPunch, use the free switch to get in either Gyarados or Medicham and sweep. The Choice Scarf is great because it almost guarantees that he will get at least one DynamicPunch in, but I feel like it limits the set's versatility too much, especially because I already have a scarfed sweeper on my team.
Meloetta @ Life Orb
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 56 Atk / 252 SAtk / 200 Spd
Naive Nature
- Close Combat
- Relic Song
- Thunder
- Psychic
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 56 Atk / 252 SAtk / 200 Spd
Naive Nature
- Close Combat
- Relic Song
- Thunder
- Psychic
Meloetta has definitely been an interesting Pokémon to play with. The ability to completely change its typing at will makes it very unpredictable. Both of the forms also has good synergy with Medicham and Golurk. I know that this is pretty much the same moveset that is currently on Smogon's OU analysis but Meloetta doesn't really have many offensive options. I guess I could switch Relic Song for Hyper Voice and Close Combat for either Focus Blast or Shadow Ball, but Relic Song is really the only selling point that Meloetta has.
Gyarados @ Lum Berry
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Tail
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Tail
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
Gyarados is my main mid-game sweeper. After one or two boosts it can outspeed most, if not all, of its main counters. I originally had Bounce over Dragon Tail but I just found that the "charging" turn made it too unreliable, as many defensive Pokémon use Protect. I know that Lum Berries are generally reserved for Outrage sweepers, but both Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp completely cripple Gyarados, and most Pokémon are 2HKO, if not OHKO by Waterfall.
Heatran @ Life Orb
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 16 HP / 120 Def / 120 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Sunny Day
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Dark Pulse
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 16 HP / 120 Def / 120 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Sunny Day
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Dark Pulse
I'm not a huge fan of Heatran, but I really needed a counter against Celebi and Scizor, and anything offensive that could set Stealth Rocks. The weather-neutralizing Sunny Day has also been a huge help against Rain and Sand teams, but for some reason something just seems to be missing. If there was any slot on this team that I wasn't really sure of, it would be this one.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 142 Def / 112 SDef
Careful Nature
- Power Whip
- Protect
- Toxic
- Leech Seed
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 142 Def / 112 SDef
Careful Nature
- Power Whip
- Protect
- Toxic
- Leech Seed
Ferrothorn has quickly become one of my favorite all-around Pokémon of all time. With both its Steel typing and Protect, any kind of gimmick, including CopyRoar Riolu and all Lvl. 1 Endeavor sets, are stopped cold. It can cripple any Outrage-locked dragon, as well as other problem Pokémon like Cresselia and Reuniclus with Leech Seed and Toxic while taking minimum damage. I originally had this as a Special Attacking set with Giga Drain instead of Power Whip but I switched after several people suggested it on my last RMT. Ferrothorn does do a lot more damage with Power Whip, but I absolutely HATE its low accuracy and I am seriously considering going back to Giga Drain.
The main problems that I have encountered with this team is Volcarona and any form of Priority, especially Sucker Punch. If anybody can help me fix this problems I would really appreciate it. Thank you for your time!