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Basically simple but very effective hyper offense core where Slurpuff takes advantage of Mega Swampert's traits very well. Mega Swampert being Adamant means he's outsped by most Choice Scarf users like Mienshao and Hydreigon in rain, most of which are easy setup fodder for Slurpuff but Mega Swampert also provides a resistance to Steel- and Poison- -Slurpuff's weaknesses-, as well as being able to break down walls that Slurpuff needs to have weakened, such as Suicune and Mega Aggron.
Heracross @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
Mega Swampert is a tank, slowly moving and rolling enemies uncontrollably killing everyone, that is, until we get a little rain into play, then this thing slips and slides down muddy hills firing missiles like Fox players spam lasers in Melee. With an amazing typing in Water/Ground and boosts to both Defense and Special Defense after the Mega Evolution, Swampert is damaged normally by nearly every prominent type in the metagame. Offensively, Swampert holds a few key niches among a tier infested with terrifying Water Types. Unlike any other Water Sweeper, Swampert also plays a STAB EQ, OHKOing Toxicroak, the resident Drain Plug in the UU tier, as well as threatening Steel types that can wall its competitors like Gatr and Sharpedo. But in order to Sweep, Swampert needs rain at nearly all times, which since Gen 5 (RIP Politoed) is no longer permanent. Without rain, Swampert's mediocre speed is outpaced by a majority of the metagame, including Shaymin and Roserade, its strongest and most reliable counters.
Having Heracross of the Team then allows Swampert to take on a different role. With Scarf Cross, holding STAB Megahorn and CC along with the godly sweeping ability in Moxie, Swampert can come out earlier to threaten walls instead of needing to stay healthy until the very end, which puts in on a paper-thin strategy of needing to deploy rain first, and getting only 5 turns at most.
Heracross itself is underrepresented, as its typing seems mediocre, though it survives a good majority of attacks it isn't directly weak to. It happily takes on Roserade and Shaymin, while CC can also take on Snorlax, who can sponge a move or two from Swampert. Knock Off is a phenomenal utility move, and gives Cross more strength early game, surprising opponents who rely on their item from the get go.
Another great side effect of the duo is what Rain does for Cross. As Heracross has nothing for the likes of Darmanitan or Entei, and both can cause serious damage to Swampert as well, you can switch in Cross in rain to stifle the strength of fire types. This is especially prevalent on Zapdos' Heat Wave, or on HP Fire, though the damage reduction helps against the previously mentioned mons as well.
I also want to give the idea that Cross CAN be Guts. This punishes teams that Toxic-stall or try to burn Swampert, or even the ones who try and paralyze Cross for being Scarf. The only reason I suggest Moxie over it is the way I play the mon and also because Reuniclus usually makes it on my teams though this still synergizes in a more direct way.
RD Pert + Toxic Spikes Dragalge form a sexy offensive core. The obvious defensive synergy is very nice, as Dragalge resists Grass moves 4x which plague Swampert. Dragalge lays down Toxic Spikes to make it easier for Mega Swampert to sweep since the majority of RD Pert's check's are grounded (Tangrowth, Chesnaught, Porygon2). Dragalge counters the aforementioned fat Grasses and proceeds to nuke the switch with a Draco.
Zippity-Zappity-Zapdos as a partner.
Zapdos @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder
- Hidden Power Grass
- Air Cutter
- Roost
Zapdos forms a pretty nice core with Swampert as it can take advantage of the team to fire off powerful 100% accuracy THUNDERS and really hurt stuff. It also walls Grass types that can hurt Swampert and hit them hard with Air Cutter. HP Grass is for other Swamperts.
Roserade is yet another mon that holds a 4x resistance against grass, which is perfect for Swampert. Roserade easily switches into the water and grass types that trouble Swampert and punishes them, or forces them out. Sleep Powder (or Sludge Bomb's poison) could be used to potentially beat things like P2. It is also able to provide utility in Spikes or Toxic Spikes if you feel that you don't need Sleep Powder or one of the grass stabs.
Azelf @ Damp Rock
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Jolly Nature
- Rain Dance
- Explosion
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
So I thought about the partner I should put in with MegaPert and thought about Azelf with a Damp Rock. Azelf is there to quickly set up the rain as it is one of the fastest mons in the tier and if possible set up rocks so MegaPert has an easier job cleaning up and sweeping the opposition with relative ease. Explosion is there just so it can deal a lot of damage to anything that wants to attempt to switchin (apart from ghost types) and it just makes the job of the rest of your team a lot easier also Knock Off is guaranteed to eliminate an item which can be helpful for knocking off a choice scarf or a life orb.
And with a grueling tie at the end, I had to toss in my vote so I voted for Do A Bibarel and his Dragalge. Congrats to Do A Bibarel on his first Matchmaking win! :)
This week, I decided to do the most metagame defining we got with the separating Megas separately shift and that would be...
This little bugger was an absolute pain in XY and some were happy it got a Mega that pushed it into OU, but now it is back thanks to tiering Megas and their non-Mega formes separately so have fun picking a match for this guy!
P.S. King UU will be taking over this project as I am going on hiatus for at least a week maybe two (although hiatus doesn't start for a couple more days), so as such Kink will make sure to update the archive and put this to a vote and all that jazz because he has those sexy mod powers :3
Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Recover
- Foul Play
Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 144 HP / 188 Def / 176 SpD
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Body Slam
- Crunch
- Rest
Sableye and Snorlax work together very well as Snorlax struggles with fast, hard hitting fighting-types like Mienshao, which Sableye handles decently well, as opponents are less likely to go for HJK when there's a Ghost-type on the opposing team
Snorlax handles things like Entei very well as Sacred Fire does literally 0 because of thick fat etc
Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Recover
- Knock Off
Froslass @ Focus Sash
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
-Spikes
-Taunt
-Destiny Bond
-Icy Wind
Okay, so this is a classic and very effective hazard stacking core. Honestly, the best spike stacker in the tier and the best hazard control in the tier, with a sin blocker and a prankster taunt to shut down defoggers. This core is great on hazard stacking teams, and can really support a sweep from powerful mons such as Mega-Sceptile, Mega-Sharpedo, Infernape, etc.
I think the core is pretty self explanatory so I will end it there! =)
A duo right out of my RMT. Basically a taking-advantage-of-hazards core, with hazards up, Suicune works as a phazer and Sableye works as a spinblocker / Defog preventer. Because I didn't opt for Crocune, Sableye crushes stall underneath its tiny purple foot, while Roarcune can stop setup sweepers that could be dangerous until Sableye can cripple them. Suicune also comes in on Fire-types and more specifically phazing CM Florges that seek free turns against Sableye.
Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 240 SpD / 20 Spe
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt
Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Recover
- Foul Play
Aggron-Mega @ Aggronite
Ability: Filter
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Def / 240 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Roar / Toxic
You know what Sableye hates? Fairy types! They are the only type Sableye is weak to, and Sableye cannot do ANYTHING to them! Therefore Mega Aggron is a good partner as it can defeat all the Fairy types in the tier while also adding Rocks, while Sableye can wall most of the Fighting types in the tier. Good partners are bulky Waters, as Fire types, especially Infernape, kill the core. Florges also is a nice partner to wall Heracross and synergizes well with Maggron.
Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
-Will-O-Wisp
-Taunt
-Foul Play
-Recover
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability : Liquid Ooze
Evs: 240 HP / 244 Def / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
-Rapid Spin
-Scald
-Sludge Bomb/Knock Off
-Toxic Spikes
Toxic Spikes can hinder Sableye from stalling out some threats effectively, Tentacruel is the best choice to absorb them, as it also takes on Water- and Fire-types for Sableye, lays its own Toxic Spikes, spins hazards and just sponges special attacks. On top of that Sableye takes on Psychic-types while Tentacruel resists fairy. It also works as a backup-check to the strong physical attackers Sableye cant take on. Combine these two with a ground immunity, a stealth rocker and an answer to Gardevoir (for example Bronzong) and you have a really solid and also quite unique core.
Absol @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty/Naughty Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Fire Blast
But this one is too good to be passed up
Sableye and Absol-mega, despite both being Dark types, cover entirely different roles. Sableye, now one of the most defensive and downright annoying pokemon, can easily take on a lot of Hyper Offensive teams by shutting them down with Will-O and Foul Play. Taunt takes on set-up sweepers who Sableye can't quite touch, and he has a myriad of moves that can cover what your team quite can't, my favorite of which is Low Kick, which punishes Snorlax, Mamoswine and Mega Steelix/Aggron, or a ton of other mons you wouldn't think of like Mega Camerupt, Scolipede, or Cobalion (http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/List_of_Pokémon_by_weight#440.9_lbs._to_451.4_lbs._.28200.0_kg_to_204.7_kg.29)
Shadow Claw is also nice for STAB, and Sableye also has the range of Elemental Punches. Of course, standard sets may need Foul Play, but after the burn, it isn't quite as strong, and burning is far more important to stall out the opponent.
Mega Absol, on the other hand, happily bounces back status, hazards and incredibly fast pokemon with priority and utility, all of which Sableye suffers to. Fairy coverage is nice vs things like Hydreigon or Salamence, who otherwise sponges attacks from both, and Fire Blast is a really good move that hits mons like Whimsicott and Aggron for surprise damage with Absol's decent Special Attack. Hasty or Naughty is personal preference depending on the team, but for the duo, Naughty is better because the SpDef is covered by Sableye, and not lowering Absol's already low defense, allowing Will O' to actually do something.
Pair up with Scarf Cross or Gatr to finish off foes weakened by the duo, or something like Defog Mence in case Rocks do get on the field.
