SS OU The Story of a Barefoot Team - CB Dragonite Balance (Peak 1919, #15)

Tio Chico

Tio Chico

is a Top Tiering Contributor
The Story of a Barefoot Team - CB Dragonite Balance (Peak 1919, #15)
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Preface

The team was born in the teambuild competition, when Dragonite was chosen as Pokémon of the week. To be honest I'm not a fan of the current metagame, but Dragonite is my favorite Pokémon and I finally found some fun again. During the week I polished the team and as I found it very consistent I come to share the results.

Proof
top 15 ps.png

Teambuilding process

:Dragonite:
Mavis (Dragonite) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dual Wingbeat
- Ice Punch
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake

I opted for something that was different from boots + DD, but still had offensive power. Choice Band Inner Focus is still unexplored imo and is never a waste, considering the existence of Landorus-Therian. Extremed Speed for priority, Dual Wing Beat for STAB and Earthquake with Ice Punch for needed coverage after Magnezone clears steel types like Ferrothorn and armored birds. Adamant Nature and EVs are standard. The wallbreaker, keep Choice Band safe but if needed, don't be afraid of trade the item for a KO, and feel free to risk some overpredict, the pressure of having the Steel trapped is on the opponent and sometimes they don't switch.

Multiscale x Inner Focus - Initially I thought it was not so necessary to address this, but the comments below have enough discussion for clarification. An extra point is the fact that Inner Focus has immunity to Flinch. Nobody wants to lose to a random Scarf Togekiss or Jirachi.

:Magnezone:
Freed (Magnezone) @ Chople Berry
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 Def / 108 SpA / 148 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Iron Defense
- Body Press
- Thunderbolt
- Toxic

Magnezone provides vital support for more fluid Dragonite performance. Max Def to maximize damage against Ferrothorn which is too sick to deal with. Chople or Shuca Berry, flip a coin or try to guess Arctozolt's coverage, btw, I prefer Chople as the weakness for Fight is only 2x the chance of surviving is higher. Toxic is for accelerating progress against Landorus-T and others bulky grounds. Speed is 8 points higher than what's on the showdown calculator, to be faster than something that tries to be faster than Magnezone, those additional 8 EVs in Speed were very important to beating others Magnezone in mirror matches.

:Landorus-Therian:
Happy (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 240 SpD / 20 Spe
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Defog

Landorus-T with Knock Off to remove possible Shed Shell and U-Turn for momentum to help Magnezone eliminate Skarmory, Corviknight and Ferrothorn. With physical Pokémon like Urshifu and Weavile dominating the tier I've put it all for SpDef to be a more durable response against Tapu Koko and Heatran. The speed is to pass 128 speed Heatran and addition to CB Ttar. Avoid taking unnecessary Toxic and Knock Off in favor of a progress that is possible to obtain free of charge a few turns later.

:Toxapex:
Mira-chan (Toxapex) (F) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe (or EVs: 248 HP / 180 Def / 72 SpD / 8 Spe)
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Light Screen
- Recover
- Haze

Toxapex is the mixed wall, EVs in physical side, to absorb more damage from Melmetal, Weavile and Urshifu, punishing them with Rocky Helmet. Light Screen is a vital choice for limiting the progress of Future Sight + abusers as well as lessening the pressure suffered by Kyurem and Tapu Lele. Hard switch on Slowtwins to setup Light Screen. Toxapex is an abomination.
One point I missed initially is the importance of these 8 EVs in Speed, as they allow outspeed Melmetal using the same 8 EVs, allowing for a Recover or simply avoiding the chance of DIB Flinch.

Taking into account the weaknesses and comments, Toxapex undergoes a small change, keeping physical bulk to switch in Jolly Weavile 2+ after Stealth Rock, Knock Off, Haze and receive another Knock Off unboosted and recover, Toxapex can still do the same against Adamant Weavile without Stealth Rock and it wouldn't change as much with a physical defense max spread.72 EVs going to SpDef increasing the chance of surviving Nidoking, Kyurem and Zapdos moves.

+2 252 Atk Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 180+ Def Toxapex: 168-198 (55.4 - 65.3%)
252 Atk Weavile Knock Off vs. 248 HP / 180+ Def Toxapex: 57-67 (18.8 - 22.1%)
Stealth Rock 12,5%. 65,3+22,1+12,5 = 99,9.

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoking Earth Power vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Toxapex: 276-328 (91 - 108.2%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoking Earth Power vs. 248 HP / 72 SpD Toxapex: 265-312 (87.4 - 102.9%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoking Earth Power vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Toxapex: 304-359 (100.3 - 118.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoking Earth Power vs. 248 HP / 72 SpD Toxapex: 283-338 (93.3 - 111.5%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Kyurem Freeze-Dry vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Toxapex: 278-330 (91.7 - 108.9%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Kyurem Freeze-Dry vs. 248 HP / 72 SpD Toxapex: 264-312 (87.1 - 102.9%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Zapdos Thunder vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Toxapex: 258-306 (85.1 - 100.9%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Zapdos Thunder vs. 248 HP / 12 SpD Toxapex: 254-302 (83.8 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

So, even if you don't want to sacrifice physical bulk, the minimum I recommend is 12 SpDef EVs for Toxapex to withstand Thunder Zapdos Timid and use Light Screen.


:Clefable:
Virgo (Clefable) (F) @ Sticky Barb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Stealth Rock
- Soft-Boiled
- Moonblast

Clefable is the immunity to Dragon, Rocks user and helps Dragonite and Kartana by giving Sticky Barb to some opponent's wall. 28 EVs SpDef to avoid KO from Modest Tapu Lele Specs and reduce 2HKO chances from Shadow Ball Dragapult Specs. The core with Toxapex is the same obnoxious as always, great for limiting progress. Preserving Sticky Barb is obviously important and blocking Leech Seed passive recovery as well.
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 28 SpD Clefable in Psychic Terrain: 333-393 (84.5 - 99.7%)
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 178-210 (45.1 - 53.2%) -- 32.8% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 28 SpD Clefable: 174-205 (44.1 - 52%) -- 14.8% chance to 2HKO

:Kartana:
Erza (Kartana) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Knock Off
- Sacred Sword
- Aerial Ace

Finally, who really ended up standing out was the last addition. With a very consistent but slow team, Kartana offers offensive pressure and needs to be the lead against teams that have Tapu Lele and Kyurem (banned now!). Late game Beast Boost is insane and Kartana's speed allows it to be faster than Arctozolt in hail. I have been using Aerial Ace and it has proven useful against Volcarona and Buzzwole, but feel free to substitute Smart Strike. Because some opponents don't accept the bluff and stay, but even so sacrificing Kartana on turn 1 to remove choice Specs from Kyurem and Tapu Lele turns out to be a necessary price to pay for victory.

TL;DR: Play offensively with Kartana and Dragonite if the matchup is unfavorable, otherwise gradually weaken the opponent's team with the defensive core, open some gaps with Dragonite and finish with Kartana.

Threats
:Volcarona: If you assume it's defensive, try giving Sticky Barb and switch to Toxapex to abuse Light Screen, Recover and Haze.
:Tornadus-Therian: More annoying than menacing, remove boots as soon as possible, wrap some Toxapex and try to field Dragonite with your Choice Band intact.
:Dragapult: Without Ghost Resistance it's a little scary, but what's really scary is the 20% drop.
:Kyurem: (banned!) and :Tapu Lele: As stated above, start with Kartana and press, and use Light Screen whenever possible.
Stall: Shuffle all possible items with Clefable, try some burn with Toxapex, remove the Steel type and be careful with Dragonite.
:Nidoking: Nidoking can destroy everything, or nothing. It all depends on your game reading skills and to be quite honest, guesswork.
Try to keep Light Screen whenever possible. Multiscale Dragonite has its merits here (252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoking Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Multiscale Dragonite: 273-322 (84.5 - 99.6%), but luckily Nidoking is unusual at this point in the metagame.
:Zapdos: Zapdos in offensive rain is the Achilles' heel. Toxapex can use Light Screen one time and then later Clefable resists a few turns, but a Zapdos used without haste is a nightmare. Dragonite has 1 chance even without Multiscale, resisting any move and 97.8 - 115.2% with Ice Punch or 2HKO with Extreme Speed. Fortunately this team was built during the Hail hype so rain is more unusual.

Replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1395502687-xq666lnpujevcg3s04o8g227280mfk0pw - Dragonite breaking, Kartana Aerial Ace working and cleaning.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1398557198-ot2pdm955akwankrzool733kwl853p8pw - Being patient and bringing Dragonite on time.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1399260885-i9yw50wvxfev5ah4kejo1zas831nov7pw - Toxapex doing Toxapex things.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1399322127-xr9bq27nycwt1sull42onacbvgfqkfbpw - Vs Sun, peak and using nicknames.

Importable
Mavis (Dragonite) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dual Wingbeat
- Ice Punch
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake

Freed (Magnezone) @ Chople Berry
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 Def / 108 SpA / 148 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Iron Defense
- Body Press
- Thunderbolt
- Toxic

Happy (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 240 SpD / 20 Spe
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Defog

Mira-chan (Toxapex) (F) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Light Screen
- Recover
- Haze

Virgo (Clefable) (F) @ Sticky Barb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Stealth Rock
- Soft-Boiled
- Moonblast

Erza (Kartana) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Knock Off
- Sacred Sword
- Aerial Ace

Version mixed Pex without nicknames click here.
After Kyurem ban version click here.

Conclusion

After a long time I found some fun and consistency in the same team despite some flaws that every team has. Maybe it's not the style of those who prefer to play more aggressively, but I hope you all enjoy it and have a great day!
 
Last edited:
Just for a quick note in case you forgot or didn't notice, in Generation VIII Inner Focus prevents Intimidate attack reduction.

Inner Focus isn't that mandatory but it's my preference. Although Landorus-T is the only common Intimidate in OU, it has a high usage and Inner Focus allows you to not need to focus on Ice Punch to defeat it, as Dual Wing Beat has a wider/neutral coverage after Magnezone removes Steel- types.
And since he doesn't have boots, keeping Multiscale intact requires too much preserving the Dragonite that is used here as a wallbreaker, as well as overloading the Defog user on the team.

As you mentioned, Multiscale has its advantages so it's an exchange of advantages, in this case I opted for Inner Focus, but whoever chooses to play a little more defensively can still use Multiscale without major problems.
RaikouLover said:
I love the Band Dragonite, but why no Multi-Scale? There’s not much flinching in OU and at best you can cheese a free hit and claim a body if you defog the rocks.
Click to expand...
 
Hey, so a couple small changes.

Pex loses to scarf lele and specs after light screen, so make pex 96 sp def evs
252 SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 96 SpD Toxapex in Psychic Terrain through Light Screen: 132-156 (43.4 - 51.3%) -- 4.7% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Kyurem Freeze-Dry vs. 252 HP / 96 SpD Toxapex through Light Screen: 130-154 (42.7 - 50.6%) -- 2% chance to 2HKO

I don't really know how to fix it, but you have absolutely no status. I think adding toxic on landorus would be nice, and would allow you to win more match ups against stally teams. For, kartana, scarf hits like a noodle. Sure, it hits hail, but against hail i think you could double to zone and pressure with rocks on arctozolt, especially since your rocks are clef (easy to get off on alolatails). i think band would be a nice breaker here, since there's a zone for the corvs. You could also sub it in for something that breaks phys walls like kyu or is just a threat (idk anymore). Hope this helps :)
 
Agentkeval said:
Hey, so a couple small changes.

Pex loses to scarf lele and specs after light screen, so make pex 96 sp def evs
252 SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 96 SpD Toxapex in Psychic Terrain through Light Screen: 132-156 (43.4 - 51.3%) -- 4.7% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Kyurem Freeze-Dry vs. 252 HP / 96 SpD Toxapex through Light Screen: 130-154 (42.7 - 50.6%) -- 2% chance to 2HKO

I don't really know how to fix it, but you have absolutely no status. I think adding toxic on landorus would be nice, and would allow you to win more match ups against stally teams. For, kartana, scarf hits like a noodle. Sure, it hits hail, but against hail i think you could double to zone and pressure with rocks on arctozolt, especially since your rocks are clef (easy to get off on alolatails). i think band would be a nice breaker here, since there's a zone for the corvs. You could also sub it in for something that breaks phys walls like kyu or is just a threat (idk anymore). Hope this helps :)
Click to expand...

Hi, I appreciate your reply!

About Toxapex I found your point very interesting, but I need to keep in mind my vulnerability to Weavile.
+2 252 Atk Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 180+ Def Toxapex: 168-198 (55.4 - 65.3%)
252 Atk Weavile Knock Off vs. 248 HP / 180+ Def Toxapex: 57-67 (18.8 - 22.1%)
Stealth Rock Damage 12.5%
Assuming maximum roll, 65.3+22.1+12.5 = 99.9%.
So 180 EVs in Def is the minimum I need to keep to get into Stealth Rock (or a layer of Spikes), get Knock Off +2 and use Haze, then get an unboosted Knock Off and recover.

Then we came to EVs: 248 HP / 180 Def / 72 SpD / 8 Spe, very close to your proposal and would certainly help against Tapu Lele, Kyurem and handling Volcarona without Psychic.

Using Landorus-T with Toxic is another interesting point (playing with a double Toxic instead of a double Knock Off), has some tradeoffs depending on the matchup but that's part of the game.

I can only disagree about Kartana, it needs to remain Scarf precisely for Hail and other more offensive teams, in addition to revenge kill. Beast Boost snowball is a formidable wincon.
Maybe in the not so near future I'll try some other breaker to replace Dragonite, even though the team was created from it.

Thanks again for your reply, I hope I clarified the points of what can and cannot change in the best way.
 
I didn't really think about the fact that weavile was a thing, and those evs looks like they would work great, i might start using them too lol. Knock and toxic are very mu reliant yeah, and for kartana revenge killing was something I forgot too. Glad to help tho
 
GaijinEagle said:
But does it make that big of a difference, in the sense that the most common intimidate mon would be Lando, and it loses to Ice Punch anyway?
Click to expand...

After Intimidate Ice Punch does not grant 1HKO depending on how Landorus-T's EVs/Nature are, allowing a switch to a bulk water giving the opponent not only the Choice Band information, but a future Landorus-T sacrifice in subsequent turns.
Also, Dual Wing Beat with Inner Focus is 2HKO, allowing you to lock onto a move with STAB and higher neutral coverage, especially after Magnezone locks onto steel birds.

So that brings up again the point that Inner Focus is a superior choice when you prefer to play more aggressively, while Multiscale is still fine with playing a little more defensively.
 
Minor updates as the team became usable again after the Kyurem ban.

:Magnezone: Toxic > Magnet Rise
Makes Melmetal an easier prey.
:Kartana: Aerial Ace > Toxic
Buzzwole is less common and Toxic allows you to deal with more threats in the long run.
:Landorus-Therian: EVs: 248 HP / 240 SpD / 20 Spe > EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD IVs: 30 Spe
Losing Speed tie is the way.

Team
 
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