3...2...1...GO!!!
~Super Smash Bros. Announcer
~Super Smash Bros. Announcer
In June, with the Smogon World Cup approaching and Fabbles' BIG Tournament already begun, I realized I needed a new OU team. But not just any team: I decided that I was going to make my best OU team yet, a jewel of the 4th-gen metagame. (pun intended) Even though I only got to use it for a few short weeks of testing on the ladder and three tournament battles, I can safely say that it is my greatest achievement in standard play. As you may know, I detest stall teams, and I always try to create the best matchup possible against them when crafting each of my own teams. But when I set out to build The Subspace Emissary, I had a loftier goal in mind: I wanted to have as close to a guaranteed win as I could get against ALL defensive-based teams, in other words, everything except for offense. My reasoning was that, if my Pokémon have excellent offensive synergy as well as harmonious typing, I should be able to deal handily with almost all offensive threats, and I was willing to accept that I might have large weaknesses to a few specific sets if I had an excellent team overall. And did I? Well, I won't bring luck into the discussion except to say "pkmn," but I did go undefeated in tournament play against Krack, Earthworm, and Scofield, which has to count for something, y'know? Sadly, I am forced to retire The Subspace Emissary much earlier than I would have liked due to the recent banning of Salamence by the Smogon Council, whose decision I will not comment on because everything has been said already and I can't do anything about it now (as much as I would like to)! Well, that's enough rambling from me, so I'll move on to the reason you're reading this RMT in just a moment, but first I have one last thing to say to prospective raters: keep in mind that EVERY cog in the wheel, so to speak, is designed to create a Salamence sweep. If it's not going to make it easier for me to break down a defensive core, I don't want to hear about it! I lied, there's one more thing: you'll understand why I named my Pokémon after Super Smash Bros. Brawl characters once you get to Salamence. Yeah, it reminds me of -
THE SUBSPACE EMISSARY
Smeargle@Focus Sash|Own Tempo **Wolf O'Donnell
Jolly|252 Def, 252 Spe, 6 HP
1. Spikes
2. Spore
3. Taunt
4. U-turn
Description: I have no idea why so few people use Smeargle as a lead, because it is the best offensive spiker in OU. Period. One of the first things that popped into my head when I was brainstorming how to support everyone's favorite salamander was that Spikes damage would really, really help a boosted Outrage KO bulky waters/grounds/steels (I decided on a DDMence right from the start). If I play it well, Smeargle is virtually guaranteed at least one layer of Spikes, and most of the time it can incapacitate an enemy 'mon as well, so what's not to like? Spikes and Spore are obvious, and in the last two move slots, I went with U-turn so I can break the Sashes of faster Taunters like Azelf and Aerodactyl while I switch to a better matchup and Taunt to prevent Sleep Talk, Substitute, stat-up moves, etc. In both cases, I favored overall momentum-building over immediate gain, which is why you don't see me using Stealth Rock (Spikes are too important and everything learns SR), Destiny Bond, or any other move you can think of that might work on Lead Smeargle. There's nothing else to say - it does what it does extremely well.
Other Info: 252 Spe with Jolly is a must, and I dumped the rest of the EVs into Smeargle's pathetic Def and its HP, because all the special hits it'll take will KO it anyway, whereas there are plenty of weak physical moves flying around in OU (think priority). Here's how I decided upon the nickname: Smeargle -> beagle -> dog -> wolf -> Wolf O'Donnell from Star Fox. Also, as a general rule, I only wanted to nickname my Pokémon after Brawl characters I like a lot, and who wouldn't like something that goes AWOOOO?
Gyarados@Leftovers|Intimidate **Yoshi
Adamant|190 Spe, 160 HP, 160 Atk
1. Dragon Dance
2. Stone Edge
3. Taunt
4. Waterfall
Description: Ah, the old staple of the metagame, BulkyGyara. What can I say about it that someone else hasn't already said? It's a monster, and usually I don't need a reason to put it on my teams, but this time, I really do have two important reasons: (1) it does very well against stall, especially if Rotom-A is weakened or KOd, and (2) it can switch in to several leads that Smeargle has problems with, such as Machamp, Metagross, Azelf, Gliscor, Jirachi, Infernape...did I forget any? Anyway, if you've been around Smogon for a while, no further explanation should be necessary here. I will add, though, that DD Gyarados pairs quite well with DD Salamence on this team because it softens up bulky waters like Suicune in the early-to-mid part of the battle so that Salamence can tear through them in the endgame. Plus Double Intimidate is always fun.
Other Info: The moveset is standard, as are the EVs...for the most part. Basically, I tweaked the standard BulkyGyara spread by adding a couple Hit Points to hit 371, which minimizes SR damage; bumped up its Speed to 245 so that I can outspeed defensive Celebi, Zapdos, Togekiss, et al.; and dumped the rest in Atk because I've never needed any investment in Defense and I like having MOAR POUWER. Yoshi is Gyarados' nickname because they are both dragons...but not quite. It's OK, I still love you guys, even if you don't get STAB Outrage!
Gengar@Life Orb|Levitate **Ganondorf
Timid|252 SpAtk, 252 Spe, 6 Def
1. Focus Blast
2. Pain Split
3. Shadow Ball
4. Substitute
Description: I knew I needed a spinblocker if I were going to use Offensive SpikeStacking, and Rotom-A wasn't, well, offensive enough for my tastes, so I went with Substitute + Pain Split Gengar, and what a great set it is. First of all, it's a deadly sweeper in its own right, so defensive teams will have to scramble to play around it and eventually take it out while I concoct my master plan of how to break through their core with Salamence at the end of the match. It also draws out offensive checks to Salamence like Jirachi, Suicune, SCIZOR...is there anything this Pokémon can't do? Well, it can't reliably spinblock, for one, but that's not really a problem because if I'm playing well, my opponent shouldn't get many chances to use Forretress or Starmie for spinning purposes anyway. IIRC Gengar can survive anything but a Life Orb Hydro Pump from Starmie, and Forretress can be taken out easily by the next member of my team, Magnezone, while hopefully Smeargle is still around to cause more mischief later. Gengar is also the fastest Pokémon in The Subspace Emissary, so I often call upon it for revenge-killing duties against Infernape, Salamence, and other random stuff it outspeeds and can OHKO.
Other Info: Just your run-of-the-mill Sub+PS Gengar, nothing new here. As for the nickname, it was really easy to choose this one because Gengar is a boss, Ganondorf is a boss, and they both have those wonderful evil grins.
Magnezone@Leftovers|Magnet Pull **R.O.B.
Modest|224 HP, 176 SpAtk, 92 Spe, 12 Def, 6 SpDef
1. Charge Beam
2. Hidden Power Ice
3. Substitute
4. Thunderbolt
Description: It may come as a surprise to many of you, but this is actually my favorite Pokémon in The Subspace Emissary. Yes, you read me right, I like defensive Substitute + Charge Beam Magnezone more than Lead Smeargle, BulkyGyara, Life Orb Gengar, *set to remain unknown* Metagross, or *set to remain unknown* Salamence! I'm betting that most everyone reading this RMT hasn't used this set before, so here's how it works: (1) Come in on *insert Steel type here* that can't really harm you (think Choice-locked Scizor, Choice-locked Jirachi, Choice-locked Magnezone, Forretress, Skarmory, and so on). (2) Set up a Substitute and spam Charge Beam, using Substitute again when necessary. (3) KO the Steel-type and rest on your laurels, most likely at +2 or +3 with an intact Substitute. (4) KO whatever comes in next, which is pretty likely given that you have 130 base SpAtk, a boost or three, and near-perfect coverage between Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice. (5) PROFIT. It's that simple, and it works like a charm. Thanks to its amazing typing, Magnezone can set up unbreakable Substitutes against non-Steels as well, such as defensive Rotom-A (hopefully put to sleep by Smeargle or otherwise incapacitated because Will-o-wisp stinks), defensive Zapdos without Heat Wave, pretty much anything locked into a resisted move...it's awesome. And of course, it's the best possible offensive partner for Salamence, for obvious reasons. Try it, you won't regret it!
Other Info: The EV spread is somewhat complicated, but I made it myself for specific reasons. 224 HP hits a Leftovers number, and with minor investment in the defenses (12 Def and 4 SpDef), Magnezone becomes quite the tank. Against its Substitutes, Choice Band Scizor's Bullet Punch is always a 3HKO, Choice Scarf Jirachi's Iron Head is always a 4HKO, and countless other attacks fail to bring it down in one hit, giving Magnezone plenty of free turns. Also, non-Life Orb Gengar's Focus Blast will never OHKO if this beauty is at full health, and you never know when that might come in handy! 92 Spe EVs let me beat everything in the 176-178 range, and the rest went into SpAtk. R.O.B. is a robot, Magnezone is basically a robot, and they're both amazing in their respective competitive environments, so there you have it.
Metagross@Iron Ball|Clear Body **Meta Knight
Adamant|250 Atk, 240 HP, 20 Spe
1. Earthquake
2. Meteor Mash
3. Stealth Rock
4. Trick
Description: Iron Ball Metagross was actually the fourth team member that came into my head while I was brainstorming (it basically happened all at once, but the order went something like Salamence->Magnezone->Gengar->Metagross->Smeargle->Gyarados). Its role is threefold: (1) set up Stealth Rock, a necessity for any team; (2) Trick its Iron Ball onto something, hopefully crippling a key member of the opponent's team; and (3) act as a general tank for sponging attacks from most of the tier and dishing them out too, all of which it does admirably. If a Zapdos, Rotom-A, Skarmory, Bronzong, or any other Pokémon normally used against Metagross finds itself holding an Iron Ball, it is done for. Since my team is slower than average, it can be very helpful to have a fast sweeper end up slower than the likes of Magnezone and Gyarados, because then it can't do much real damage to me before being KOd. It is definitely a key component of my overall strategy.
Other Info: No Explosion here because there wasn't room for it, but I don't really need it for what Metagross is designed to do. The Attack investment ensures a 2HKO on Specially Defensive Skarmory with Earthquake, assuming I can land Iron Ball on it (another pun
), and other physical walls and tanks fare even worse. Without the Iron Ball, Metagross sits at 181 Speed so that it can outspeed anything up to and including max Speed base 115s that have been Tricked (I'm looking at you, Starmie). As for the name, I had to have Meta Knight as one of my team members, and Metagross naturally fits the part, although not as well as Scizor does!
Salamence@Life Orb|Intimidate **Solid Snake
Jolly|252 Atk, 252 Spe, 6 Def
1. Dragon Dance
2. Earthquake
3. Outrage
4. Roost
Description: Here it is - the reason for the existence of The Subspace Emissary. Like I said earlier, I won't bother stating my argument on why Salamence shouldn't have been banned, so I'll just focus on what its role is within this team. Quite simply, that role is to secure victory in any way possible. Against defensive and balanced teams, that usually means sweeping at the end of the battle, sometimes in a "last poke" situation. Against offensive teams, it may not have the chance to use Dragon Dance, in which case my goal is simply to do as much damage as possible with it. You'll notice I don't use a Fire-type move, and that's because I already have so much insurance against Salamence ever having to face Skarmory or Bronzong, the only two Pokémon I'd really ever need, say, Fire Blast to KO. Contrary to what some people think, it's not the easiest thing in the world to set up Salamence for a sweep, which is why my entire gameplan revolves around creating that opportunity. Because once it does arise, there's no telling how many Pokémon it can take out, especially with Roost allowing it to beat EQ-only Hippowdon et al. in the aforementioned situation where it's all I have left. I don't usually like using Outrage without a Lum Berry, but that's where Magnezone, Smeargle, and the rest of the team come in, ensuring that Salamence can do whatever it wants without having to worry about confusion luck (most of the time). I'm bitter about not being able to use it anymore, but c'est la vie.
Other Info: I hate having to use defense-lowering natures, and I didn't have to here! Aside from it being Jolly and having Roost, this is the standard DD LO Salamence. And the nickname...well, if you know Brawl/Metal Gear, and you know Pokémon, you should have seen it coming. During a match, I like to envision Salamence coming onto the battlefield, destroying everything in sight, and then radioing back to me, "This is Snake. I'm done here!"
EDIT: Several people have suggested a DD Dragonite of some kind to replace Salamence. I will most likely test several different sets for it and maybe other team members too, so thanks to those who have tried to make this team work in a post-Mence metagame!
I don't really like traditional threat lists because they seem ridiculously obvious and boring (with the exception of certain ones *cough* JabbaTheGriffin *cough* that can be quite entertaining), so I'm just going to list the 8 Pokémon sets that I feel give my team the most trouble. Note that in most cases, having Metagross Trick its Iron Ball to one of these major threats is a good way to deal with it!
Agility Empoleon - It shouldn't get many chances to sub down and go for a sweep, but if it can pull that off, it OHKOs every Pokémon except for Gyarados, who can't do much back.
Agility Metagross - The standard AgiliGross is possibly the number one threat to this team. It can OHKO basically everything except for my own Metagross.
Dragon Dance Gyarados - Assuming it can set up, it can dish out major hurt. 3-attack variants of DDGyara are definitely much harder to beat than BulkyGyara.
Dragon Dance Tyranitar - Like Empoleon, it hopefully won't find time to get in a DD, but if it does, Metagross and Stone Edge misses are my only chance to survive.
Life Orb Aerodactyl - Not factoring in Atk drops, it OHKOs everything but Metagross, plus it can use Roost to heal itself. My best bet is to stack Intimidates and hope for a Stone Edge miss.
Life Orb Jolteon - Outspeeds and OHKOs everything but Magnezone and Metagross, and Magnezone can't OHKO it back. The seldom-used Life Orb Raikou is even more dangerous!
Life Orb Starmie - Outspeeds and OHKOs everything but Magnezone and Metagross, who are 2HKOd. Definitely a major headache, although Hydro Pump misses are nice.
Life Orb Zapdos - Once again, nothing can really take a hit from it. Gengar outspeeds, but Salamence has to win the speed tie in order to knock it out, which stinks.
EDIT: Life Orb Mamoswine is also a pain. It's rare, but deadly =(
And that's it! Rate, hate, and steal...never mind, you can't do the latter, so bring on the ratin' n' hatin'!
