Sneak preview
Hello everybody! This is my second Gen 6 team. Not too long after the vicious Sand Stall "Geysers of Rage" had a wild success rampage in Pokebank OU, PS decided to bring us UU (beta). It released a barrage of monsters that I thought would never see the light of UU, such as Latias, Hydreigon, and Kyurem-B, as well as more predictable drop downs such as Reuniclus and Metagross. There were so many powerful threats in UU that it was hard to build a good team, because I couldn't cover everything without knowing all the contents of the tier. So I had to play around with some teams to get a feel for the tier. Then, to my disappointment, Kyurem-B and Drizzle were banned. My days of Zapdos Agility-passing to Kyurem-B in UU were over. I picked up some ideas from old Gen V RMTs and put my own twists on them.
As the name of the team suggests, this team was based on the sumo wrestler Pokemon, Hariyama, one of my favorite Pokemon to exist that had always been outclassed by Machamp and Conkeldurr. With GameFreak deciding NOT to give Hariyama a mega-evolution, I had to be a bit more creative to make Hariyama appear viable. The team was based around Hariyama, letting it be an effective tank and offensive core member. However, it ended up being the team’s defensive capabilities that made it shine.
Hariyama (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Thick Fat (originally Sheer Force)
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk/136 Def/120 SpD (originally 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef)
Careful Nature (originally Adamant)
- Cross Chop
- Knock Off (originally Ice Punch)
- Stone Edge (originally Rock Slide)
- Bullet Punch
On some old Gen 5 RMT, I saw a Sheer Force Hariyama set with a Life Orb: Close Combat, Thunderpunch, Rock Slide, and Bullet Punch. Inspired by the Assault Vest Conkeldurrs running around everywhere in OU, I decided to utilize one of Hariyama's few advantages over Machamp--Sheer Force--and create a Sheer Force Assault Vest set that gives Hariyama solid firepower and special bulk.
This set was originally based on a Sheer Force LO Hariyama set I saw on a Gen 5 RMT, but significant adjustments have been made from the original set.
However, I made some adjustments. First of all, I hate running Close Combat on Hariyama because it becomes easy to revenge-kill after the defense drops, so I use Cross Chop as the STAB despite its lower accuracy. Knock Off removes items and can dent a lot of frail Pokemon on top of that, namely Chandelure and Deoxys-S. Ice Punch is fantastic coverage for Hariyama, especially with Dragon-types running rampant in the tier. Rock Slide is chosen over Stone Edge to abuse Sheer Force, Stone Edge hits Fire and Bug-types very hard and has a high base power. Lastly, Bullet Punch is a form of priority that makes up for Hariyama's low speed, picking off weakened opponents.
The EVs are pretty straightforward: they emphasize Hariyama's best stats: HP and Attack, while putting the extra EVs in Special Defense so Download users (a.k.a. Porygon 2 and Porygon-Z) gain an Attack boost. However it might be worth speed-creeping… The EVs were suggested by DTC to live Knock Off + Iron Head from Bisharp, then make the Assault Vest more useful by moving the other EVs from HP to SpD.
Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Focus Blast
- Volt Switch
- Grass Knot
- Toxic
This is the other set that was "borrowed" from a Gen V RMT. It offers great power, coverage, speed, and surprise factor, while also netting momentum--Hariyama and Aerodactyl often struggle to find good switch-in opportunities.
The original set contain the three above attacking moves plus Knock Off. I liked the idea of running Knock Off but I hardly used it, so I replaced it with Thundurus-T's other hardly-used wrench: Toxic. Thundurus-T can break down special walls, namely Latias, with this move, and then just destroy everything else. Unfortunately there isn't room for HP Ice, but Turn 1 OHKOs against Swampert and Rhyperior leads are phenomenal.
The original EVs were 4 Atk/252 SpA/252 Spe with a Naive nature, but since I no longer have a physical attacking move, I changed the nature to Timid.
I got word that Thundurus-T just got banned, so I need a replacement. Please give suggestions here.
Rotom-Heat @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 40 HP/48 SpA/252 SpD/168 Spe (originally 252 SDef / 240 HP / 16 SAtk)
Timid Nature (originally Calm)
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Ice]
This is another weird set. Originally, this slot belonged to Spike-stacking LO Scolipede, but I found it too hard to set up Spikes, so I looked for other options. I looked for a good Fire-type to add in its place, particularly one that attacked from the Special side. Arcanine and Entei are physical attackers, while Houndoom was a bit too frail for my liking here (it's getting major success on my other main UU team right now). Rotom-H stood out with its useful secondary STAB.
Rotom's moveset is basically a combination of the standard offensive and defensive move sets: Overheat is the nuke, Volt Switch gives me good power and momentum, HP Ice gives coverage against Dragon and Ground-types, and Will-o-Wisp surprises physical attackers that may switch in, many of which are Ground or Dragon-types.
The EVs are unusual, but I went with what PS suggested for the move set, tweaking the EVs to get a Life Orb number. However, I think an offensive EV spread might be better.
I found a speed benchmark to use: 168 Speed EVs with a Timid Nature outspeed 252+ Spe Jolly Mega Heracross. I then max out Special Defense for bulkiness, put EVs in HP so that Rotom-H has both a Stealth Rock number and a Life Orb number, then put the rest in Special Attack.
Hippowdon (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
This is the first part of the defensive core, and one of the best physical walls out there. It also resists Rock-type moves, which is very important given the numerous Rock-type weaknesses on my team. Although it has Sand Stream, this is not a Sandstorm team. The residual damage is helpful though, so I keep it. As a bonus, the sand gives Aerodactyl a buff to its Special Defense.
The move set is pretty standard. With Hippowodon's sturdiness, it was natural to give it the role of setting up Stealth Rock and phasing set-up sweepers. Slack Off gives Hippowodon reliable recovery so it can do its job repeatedly. Finally, Earthquake is a very reliable STAB move coming off a high base attack.
The EVs, once again, are pretty simple. They buff Hippowodon's best stats to maximize its effectiveness as a wall. The 4 Speed EVs let Hippowodon outspeed other Hippowodon who invest those extra EVs in Attack or Special Defense.
Deoxys-Defense @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Atk (previously 252 SDef/252 HP/4 Def)
Careful Nature (previously a Calm nature)
- Magic Coat
- Knock Off
- Recover
- Superpower (previously Icy Wind)
Deoxys-D is my utility Pokemon, and often my lead. It offers a wide variety of options to support its team and itself, and it has excellent mixed defenses despite being my dedicated special wall, so it can switch into some physical attacks if need be.
With Deoxys-D having 4MSS, I had to choose moveslots carefully. Magic Coat is great for a lead, since it can return opposing hazards and make the job of my offensive core a little easier. Deoxys-D also tends to attract Toxic, so this move can return the poison back as well. Knock Off removes items to make almost any Pokemon easier to handle and wear down. As a bonus, it scouts for Mega Pokemon since Knock Off doesn't get rid of Mega Stones. Recover, like Slack Off on Hippowodon, makes Deoxys-D more sturdy and lets it stall out opponents. Superpower, as suggested by DTC, hits the extremely dangerous Bisharp hard on the switch-in.
Deoxys-D uses the same EV standard as Hippowodon: maximize the stats that emphasize its job. In that case, it is HP and Special Defense, so I max out investment in those two stats.
Aerodactyl (M) @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Rock Head--->Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Hone Claws
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
Aerodactyl provides my team with much-needed speed while also serving as my late-game cleaner. With an unbelievable base speed of 150 in the mega form, I don't even need a Jolly nature to outspeed what is needed.
Without Swords Dance or Dragon Dance at its disposal, Hone Claws becomes the best boosting move, letting Stone Edge and Aqua Tail be used more reliably at a juiced-up power. Earthquake hits Steel and Electric-types hard, especially if boosted.Aqua Tail was used over Fire Fang/Ice Fang for the higher base power, but Ice Fang would be a good alternative for Dragon-types and Torterra (LOL). Ice Fang was used over Aqua Tail to hit Dragon and Grass-types hard, compensating for the removal of Ice Punch on Hariyama's move set.
There is no real purpose of investing in bulk here, so I just max out the sweeping stats and destroy whatever may remain at the end of the match.
Threatlist
Bisharp
These things are everywhere now. It becomes much more dangerous with its access to Sucker Punch. If Hariyama can switch in on an unboosted Sucker Punch, Hariyama decimates Bisharp. Otherwise, Hippowodon is the only Pokemon with a decent chance of handling it comfortably, but it will often lose its Leftovers in combat. Finally, Deoxys-D can hit it with Superpower on the switch-in.
Stealth Rock
I need a Defogger or something pretty urgently since half my team is weak to Stealth Rock. Thundurus-T and Deoxys-D can shut down some Stealth Rock setters immediately, but otherwise I'm stuck with them for the match, and they make Volt-turning much harder to perform safely. Feel free to suggest a Rapid Spinner or Defogger for the team, particularly something that could replace Rotom-H.
Mega Medicham
Given that it commonly runs Ice Punch, its brute strength can often plow through my entire team. Deoxys-D is the only team member that isn't weak to any of its common moves, but it can hardly do anything back. My best bet is to status it, cautiously switch in Hippowodon, and finish it off with Earthquake.
Mega Heracross
This one hurts a lot. Aside from Hariyama, everything on my team is weak to one of its coverage moves, and Hariyama can't even switch in safely, as it is 2HKOd by Bullet Seed. I have one shot to kill it with Rotom-H's Overheat, but it dies to Rock Blast if it fails to KO. Hippowodon is 2HKOd by Bullet Seed as well.
Yes this beast is gone!
Conclusion
This was my attempt to let a favorite Pokemon shine in the shadows of its overpowering cousins. While Hariyama almost never sweeps itself, it became an effective member of a solid balanced team. That being said, it is far from perfect and I would appreciate any feedback to better combat the vast ocean of threats that reside in UU (beta).
*Note: images taken from Serebii. Not like that's not what everybody else does nowadays...
Hello everybody! This is my second Gen 6 team. Not too long after the vicious Sand Stall "Geysers of Rage" had a wild success rampage in Pokebank OU, PS decided to bring us UU (beta). It released a barrage of monsters that I thought would never see the light of UU, such as Latias, Hydreigon, and Kyurem-B, as well as more predictable drop downs such as Reuniclus and Metagross. There were so many powerful threats in UU that it was hard to build a good team, because I couldn't cover everything without knowing all the contents of the tier. So I had to play around with some teams to get a feel for the tier. Then, to my disappointment, Kyurem-B and Drizzle were banned. My days of Zapdos Agility-passing to Kyurem-B in UU were over. I picked up some ideas from old Gen V RMTs and put my own twists on them.
As the name of the team suggests, this team was based on the sumo wrestler Pokemon, Hariyama, one of my favorite Pokemon to exist that had always been outclassed by Machamp and Conkeldurr. With GameFreak deciding NOT to give Hariyama a mega-evolution, I had to be a bit more creative to make Hariyama appear viable. The team was based around Hariyama, letting it be an effective tank and offensive core member. However, it ended up being the team’s defensive capabilities that made it shine.
Hariyama (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Thick Fat (originally Sheer Force)
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk/136 Def/120 SpD (originally 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef)
Careful Nature (originally Adamant)
- Cross Chop
- Knock Off (originally Ice Punch)
- Stone Edge (originally Rock Slide)
- Bullet Punch
This set was originally based on a Sheer Force LO Hariyama set I saw on a Gen 5 RMT, but significant adjustments have been made from the original set.
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Focus Blast
- Volt Switch
- Grass Knot
- Toxic
This is the other set that was "borrowed" from a Gen V RMT. It offers great power, coverage, speed, and surprise factor, while also netting momentum--Hariyama and Aerodactyl often struggle to find good switch-in opportunities.
The original set contain the three above attacking moves plus Knock Off. I liked the idea of running Knock Off but I hardly used it, so I replaced it with Thundurus-T's other hardly-used wrench: Toxic. Thundurus-T can break down special walls, namely Latias, with this move, and then just destroy everything else. Unfortunately there isn't room for HP Ice, but Turn 1 OHKOs against Swampert and Rhyperior leads are phenomenal.
The original EVs were 4 Atk/252 SpA/252 Spe with a Naive nature, but since I no longer have a physical attacking move, I changed the nature to Timid.
I got word that Thundurus-T just got banned, so I need a replacement. Please give suggestions here.
Rotom-Heat @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 40 HP/48 SpA/252 SpD/168 Spe (originally 252 SDef / 240 HP / 16 SAtk)
Timid Nature (originally Calm)
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Ice]
This is another weird set. Originally, this slot belonged to Spike-stacking LO Scolipede, but I found it too hard to set up Spikes, so I looked for other options. I looked for a good Fire-type to add in its place, particularly one that attacked from the Special side. Arcanine and Entei are physical attackers, while Houndoom was a bit too frail for my liking here (it's getting major success on my other main UU team right now). Rotom-H stood out with its useful secondary STAB.
Rotom's moveset is basically a combination of the standard offensive and defensive move sets: Overheat is the nuke, Volt Switch gives me good power and momentum, HP Ice gives coverage against Dragon and Ground-types, and Will-o-Wisp surprises physical attackers that may switch in, many of which are Ground or Dragon-types.
I found a speed benchmark to use: 168 Speed EVs with a Timid Nature outspeed 252+ Spe Jolly Mega Heracross. I then max out Special Defense for bulkiness, put EVs in HP so that Rotom-H has both a Stealth Rock number and a Life Orb number, then put the rest in Special Attack.
Hippowdon (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
This is the first part of the defensive core, and one of the best physical walls out there. It also resists Rock-type moves, which is very important given the numerous Rock-type weaknesses on my team. Although it has Sand Stream, this is not a Sandstorm team. The residual damage is helpful though, so I keep it. As a bonus, the sand gives Aerodactyl a buff to its Special Defense.
The move set is pretty standard. With Hippowodon's sturdiness, it was natural to give it the role of setting up Stealth Rock and phasing set-up sweepers. Slack Off gives Hippowodon reliable recovery so it can do its job repeatedly. Finally, Earthquake is a very reliable STAB move coming off a high base attack.
The EVs, once again, are pretty simple. They buff Hippowodon's best stats to maximize its effectiveness as a wall. The 4 Speed EVs let Hippowodon outspeed other Hippowodon who invest those extra EVs in Attack or Special Defense.
Deoxys-Defense @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Atk (previously 252 SDef/252 HP/4 Def)
Careful Nature (previously a Calm nature)
- Magic Coat
- Knock Off
- Recover
- Superpower (previously Icy Wind)
Deoxys-D is my utility Pokemon, and often my lead. It offers a wide variety of options to support its team and itself, and it has excellent mixed defenses despite being my dedicated special wall, so it can switch into some physical attacks if need be.
With Deoxys-D having 4MSS, I had to choose moveslots carefully. Magic Coat is great for a lead, since it can return opposing hazards and make the job of my offensive core a little easier. Deoxys-D also tends to attract Toxic, so this move can return the poison back as well. Knock Off removes items to make almost any Pokemon easier to handle and wear down. As a bonus, it scouts for Mega Pokemon since Knock Off doesn't get rid of Mega Stones. Recover, like Slack Off on Hippowodon, makes Deoxys-D more sturdy and lets it stall out opponents. Superpower, as suggested by DTC, hits the extremely dangerous Bisharp hard on the switch-in.
Deoxys-D uses the same EV standard as Hippowodon: maximize the stats that emphasize its job. In that case, it is HP and Special Defense, so I max out investment in those two stats.
Aerodactyl (M) @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Rock Head--->Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Hone Claws
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
Aerodactyl provides my team with much-needed speed while also serving as my late-game cleaner. With an unbelievable base speed of 150 in the mega form, I don't even need a Jolly nature to outspeed what is needed.
Without Swords Dance or Dragon Dance at its disposal, Hone Claws becomes the best boosting move, letting Stone Edge and Aqua Tail be used more reliably at a juiced-up power. Earthquake hits Steel and Electric-types hard, especially if boosted.
There is no real purpose of investing in bulk here, so I just max out the sweeping stats and destroy whatever may remain at the end of the match.
Threatlist
Bisharp
These things are everywhere now. It becomes much more dangerous with its access to Sucker Punch. If Hariyama can switch in on an unboosted Sucker Punch, Hariyama decimates Bisharp. Otherwise, Hippowodon is the only Pokemon with a decent chance of handling it comfortably, but it will often lose its Leftovers in combat. Finally, Deoxys-D can hit it with Superpower on the switch-in.
Stealth Rock
I need a Defogger or something pretty urgently since half my team is weak to Stealth Rock. Thundurus-T and Deoxys-D can shut down some Stealth Rock setters immediately, but otherwise I'm stuck with them for the match, and they make Volt-turning much harder to perform safely. Feel free to suggest a Rapid Spinner or Defogger for the team, particularly something that could replace Rotom-H.
Mega Medicham
Given that it commonly runs Ice Punch, its brute strength can often plow through my entire team. Deoxys-D is the only team member that isn't weak to any of its common moves, but it can hardly do anything back. My best bet is to status it, cautiously switch in Hippowodon, and finish it off with Earthquake.
Mega Heracross
Yes this beast is gone!
Conclusion
This was my attempt to let a favorite Pokemon shine in the shadows of its overpowering cousins. While Hariyama almost never sweeps itself, it became an effective member of a solid balanced team. That being said, it is far from perfect and I would appreciate any feedback to better combat the vast ocean of threats that reside in UU (beta).
*Note: images taken from Serebii. Not like that's not what everybody else does nowadays...
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