When looking over the OU metagame, one thing stood out to me, how little creative liberty many people take when creating teams. It gets very boring to face perfectly balanced teams stuffed to the brim with all the most imposing threats. So I tried to make a team using some uncommon Pokemon that fill unique rolls and have untapped potential, this is the result. Thanks for rating and I hope you enjoy!
Medicham-Mega @ Medichamite
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Zen Headbutt
- Ice Punch
Mega Medicham is one of my all time favorite Pokemon, and has incredible offensive power. Next to nothing can survive more than two neutral hits coming off Medicham's sky high attack and with fake out for some prior damage almost nothing can stand in Medicham's way. I chose Drain Punch over High Jump Kick for the reliable recovery it lends to the otherwise frail Medicham, and the removal of the trade offs High Jump Kick comes with. Zen Headbutt is the secondary stab move, and provides greater neutral coverage as well as providing a nice flinch chance. Ice punch rounds out the set and allows Medicham to break down several otherwise irritating walls, such as Gliscor and bulky Landours-T. However Medicham has several hard checks that take it down with little effort, which is where the next team member comes in.
Rhyperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Fire Punch
- Rock Blast
- Earthquake
- Avalanche
Although Rhyperior may seem like a strange and nonviable choice for an OU team it actually fills a key role and hard checks a shocking number of threats. If everyone's favorite Brave Bird spammer comes in, for example, Rhyperior can come in and easily take it out with Rock Blast. In fact Rhyperior can take down almost any physical attacker one on one. The list of Pokemon it can take down one on one includes key threats such as: Tyranitar, Garchomp, Landours-T, Scizor, Bisharp, etc. Move wise, Rock Blast is an effective stab move, taking down almost anything it hits for super effective damage while breaking mulitscale and focus sashes. Earthquake is the secondary stab move and hits like a truck, doing massive damage even on neutral hits. Fire punch is a great coverage move and can catch Scizor and Ferratorn by surprise, taking them down in one hit. Avalanche is another coverage move, and it takes advantage of Rhyperior's speed, hitting with a base power of 120 if Rhyperior has taken damage that turn, which is often.
Infernape @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Vacuum Wave
- Fire Blast
- Gunk Shot
- Grass Knot
When one thinks of fire types in OU, Pokemon like Charizard and Heatran come to mind, however when building this team I wanted to try something a little different. Infernape fills the role of an quick offensive fire, but it has some useful perks others don't get. I chose a specially based variant for the greater coverage and versatility it provided. Fire blast is the stab move, and hits surprisingly hard, often doing half damage to supposed checks and grass knot hits bulky water types very hard. Now here's where Infernape carves a niche out for its self, it has two important moves that set it apart from other fire types, Vacuum Wave and Gunk Shot. Vacuum wave offers priority, allowing Infernape to revenge kill effectively, and provides some guaranteed damage on quicker sweepers. Secondly Gunk Shot is the strongest Poison type move, and has no problem obliterating all Fairy types not named Klefki, which is a non factor for obvious reasons. Therefor Infernape serves as an effective Fairy check, one shooting almost every fairy type.
Dusclops @ Eviolite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpD
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Seismic Toss
- Memento
One problem this team has is set up sweepers, particularly Manaphy, to counter this I chose Dusclops, one of the best walls available. Dusclop's Eviolite boosted bulk allows it to shrug of even the hardest hits, and the mixed defenses provide the best possible defensive coverage. You might ask; if you're looking for a wall, why not use Chansey? Well Dusclops has several unique advantages over the infamous pink blob. Its mixed bulk allows it to take special and physical hits equally, as opposed to Chansey's extreme bias towards Special defense. Secondly Dusclops has a wide variety of useful support moves that allow it to cripple most attackers. Will-O-Wisp is perfect for countering other stallers, as well as crippling most physical attackers. Pain Split provides as semi reliable form of recovery and threatens potential switch ins. Seismic toss is to avoid being shut down completely by taunt and to hasten wearing down certain walls. Finally Memento allows Dusclops to completely shut down any sweeper threatening my team, something Chansey can't do.
Cacturne @ Life Orb
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 8 SpD / 248 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Seed Bomb
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
Cacturne may be perhaps the strangest member of my team, however he carves out an excellent niche in OU. Firstly his ability, Water Absorb, makes him the perfect check to water types, in addition to threatening them with super effective damage he can avoid the burn chance associated with scald. After threatening out a water type, Cacturne can set up a Substitute and sword dance to terrifying levels of power. Sucker Punch gives priority and threatens out many frail sweepers, particularly if Cacturne is behind a Substitute. Seed Bomb rounds out the set and serves as the obligatory grass stab move. This set is especially effective at countering Rotom-W, as Cacturne can absorb a scald or Hydro Pump and use a Substitute to avoid a burn.
Nidoking (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
One of my favorite Pokemon since the beginning, Nidoking is still and effective threat. Though it has not specific role, Nidoking has some of the best coverage available, and it can one or two shot a large portion of the OU metagame. Earth power is Kindoking's strongest stab move, and it can hit extremely hard, particularly with the nice boost it gets from sheer force. Sludge wave is the secondary stab move, and it serves to provide a secondary check to fairies should Infernape go down. Flamethrower is useful for taking down Ferrathron and Forretress, as well as irritating threats such as Klefki and Scizor. Finally, Ice Beam hits dragons and the legendary genies very hard, rounding out this set's excellent coverage.
Medicham-Mega @ Medichamite
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Zen Headbutt
- Ice Punch
Mega Medicham is one of my all time favorite Pokemon, and has incredible offensive power. Next to nothing can survive more than two neutral hits coming off Medicham's sky high attack and with fake out for some prior damage almost nothing can stand in Medicham's way. I chose Drain Punch over High Jump Kick for the reliable recovery it lends to the otherwise frail Medicham, and the removal of the trade offs High Jump Kick comes with. Zen Headbutt is the secondary stab move, and provides greater neutral coverage as well as providing a nice flinch chance. Ice punch rounds out the set and allows Medicham to break down several otherwise irritating walls, such as Gliscor and bulky Landours-T. However Medicham has several hard checks that take it down with little effort, which is where the next team member comes in.
Rhyperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Fire Punch
- Rock Blast
- Earthquake
- Avalanche
Although Rhyperior may seem like a strange and nonviable choice for an OU team it actually fills a key role and hard checks a shocking number of threats. If everyone's favorite Brave Bird spammer comes in, for example, Rhyperior can come in and easily take it out with Rock Blast. In fact Rhyperior can take down almost any physical attacker one on one. The list of Pokemon it can take down one on one includes key threats such as: Tyranitar, Garchomp, Landours-T, Scizor, Bisharp, etc. Move wise, Rock Blast is an effective stab move, taking down almost anything it hits for super effective damage while breaking mulitscale and focus sashes. Earthquake is the secondary stab move and hits like a truck, doing massive damage even on neutral hits. Fire punch is a great coverage move and can catch Scizor and Ferratorn by surprise, taking them down in one hit. Avalanche is another coverage move, and it takes advantage of Rhyperior's speed, hitting with a base power of 120 if Rhyperior has taken damage that turn, which is often.
Infernape @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Vacuum Wave
- Fire Blast
- Gunk Shot
- Grass Knot
When one thinks of fire types in OU, Pokemon like Charizard and Heatran come to mind, however when building this team I wanted to try something a little different. Infernape fills the role of an quick offensive fire, but it has some useful perks others don't get. I chose a specially based variant for the greater coverage and versatility it provided. Fire blast is the stab move, and hits surprisingly hard, often doing half damage to supposed checks and grass knot hits bulky water types very hard. Now here's where Infernape carves a niche out for its self, it has two important moves that set it apart from other fire types, Vacuum Wave and Gunk Shot. Vacuum wave offers priority, allowing Infernape to revenge kill effectively, and provides some guaranteed damage on quicker sweepers. Secondly Gunk Shot is the strongest Poison type move, and has no problem obliterating all Fairy types not named Klefki, which is a non factor for obvious reasons. Therefor Infernape serves as an effective Fairy check, one shooting almost every fairy type.
Dusclops @ Eviolite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpD
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Seismic Toss
- Memento
One problem this team has is set up sweepers, particularly Manaphy, to counter this I chose Dusclops, one of the best walls available. Dusclop's Eviolite boosted bulk allows it to shrug of even the hardest hits, and the mixed defenses provide the best possible defensive coverage. You might ask; if you're looking for a wall, why not use Chansey? Well Dusclops has several unique advantages over the infamous pink blob. Its mixed bulk allows it to take special and physical hits equally, as opposed to Chansey's extreme bias towards Special defense. Secondly Dusclops has a wide variety of useful support moves that allow it to cripple most attackers. Will-O-Wisp is perfect for countering other stallers, as well as crippling most physical attackers. Pain Split provides as semi reliable form of recovery and threatens potential switch ins. Seismic toss is to avoid being shut down completely by taunt and to hasten wearing down certain walls. Finally Memento allows Dusclops to completely shut down any sweeper threatening my team, something Chansey can't do.
Cacturne @ Life Orb
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 8 SpD / 248 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Seed Bomb
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
Cacturne may be perhaps the strangest member of my team, however he carves out an excellent niche in OU. Firstly his ability, Water Absorb, makes him the perfect check to water types, in addition to threatening them with super effective damage he can avoid the burn chance associated with scald. After threatening out a water type, Cacturne can set up a Substitute and sword dance to terrifying levels of power. Sucker Punch gives priority and threatens out many frail sweepers, particularly if Cacturne is behind a Substitute. Seed Bomb rounds out the set and serves as the obligatory grass stab move. This set is especially effective at countering Rotom-W, as Cacturne can absorb a scald or Hydro Pump and use a Substitute to avoid a burn.
Nidoking (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
One of my favorite Pokemon since the beginning, Nidoking is still and effective threat. Though it has not specific role, Nidoking has some of the best coverage available, and it can one or two shot a large portion of the OU metagame. Earth power is Kindoking's strongest stab move, and it can hit extremely hard, particularly with the nice boost it gets from sheer force. Sludge wave is the secondary stab move, and it serves to provide a secondary check to fairies should Infernape go down. Flamethrower is useful for taking down Ferrathron and Forretress, as well as irritating threats such as Klefki and Scizor. Finally, Ice Beam hits dragons and the legendary genies very hard, rounding out this set's excellent coverage.
