ORAS OU Volcanion Fresh Out the Box

Volcanion adds a whole new wrinkle to the OU metagame, not unlike its mystical siblings Diancie and Hoopa. It packs impressive bulk, a killer base Special Attack, a respectable base Attack, unique offensive typing, a solid movepool, and a handy dandy ability in Water Absorb. Now that Volcanion's been out for a while, and I've had time to grind this team on the ladder, I want to show you what I've been cooking for a little over a week for my first RMT (whew): Volcanion Fresh Out the Box



Volcanion @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Steam Eruption
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power

We can start with the 'Mon of the Hour: Specs Volcanion. This set seeks to take advantage of Volcanion's massive Special Attack and stellar bulk, hence the HP and SpAtk investment (with the 4 Speed IVs to thump other uninvested Volcanion). Steam Eruption, its signature move, is a must-have. The chance to burn on top of the base power is just too good to pass up, especially with Specs. Biggest downsides are accuracy and relatively low amount of PP, but when Steam Eruption connects, any Pokémon outside of opposing Volcanion or Special Walls is gonna get dropped on their necks. Up next is Flamethrower. What it lacks in base power it makes up for in all around reliability. It's a solid spammable Specs STAB that can deliver good damage on a good number of non-resists and even some resists. For the non-Klefki Fairy type, we have Sludge Wave. Switch in on the Azumarill and let it rip. Pretty straightforward, just maybe don't switch in on a Fairy type that's not Azu. The last slot is honestly just personal preference. For me, Earth Power is the go-to by virtue of being a way to handle Zard X or opposing Volcanion. You could also try Hidden Power Grass or Hidden Power Ice if you're looking to take on Keldeos or Dragons not named Mega Charizard X.


Diancie @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 32 Atk / 224 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Earth Power
- Protect

Up next on the roster is your token Mega Diancie. Mega Diancie is your resident revenge killer against opposing Dragons and Flying types. Protect is mandatory, as it ensures a safe mega evolution and allows you to scout for Bullet Punch. Moonblast and Diamond Storm are your friendly neighborhood STABs to bring the ruckus. Earth Power allows you to cover opposing slower Steel types, although that's not recommended unless the situation REALLY requires it. It's also good damage vs opposing Zard X, which is always nice.


Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Pursuit

Volcanion is threatened by Pokémon like Latios, Latias, Garchomp, and Landorus-T, which requires a strong physical attacker that can neutralize those threats. Enter Life Orb Weavile. The plan with this set is simple: Trap the Psychic types, KO the Ground types, get rid of Eviolites. Weavile will TEAR APART any team not prepared for it, but even then checks are threatened by Knock Off and Icicle Crash. Weavile can also do a nice job revenge killing with Ice Shard. On top of that, you can use Pursuit if you REALLY wanna mess with your opponent's head and catch em on the switch. Upon further review, Volcanion actually complements Weavile quite nicely. Volcanion can come in on Fire, Fairy, Steel, or physical Fighting types that threaten Weavile, and in turn Weavile dunks on Flying, Ground, and Dragon types that threaten Volcanion.

Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Healing Wish
- Defog

Latias does the deed of keeping the offensive threats healthy. That means it's gotta be ready to get rid of hazards with Defog and sacrifice itself with Healing Wish. Psyshock and Draco Meteor are your standard STABs to dig into Pokémon like Garchomp and SpDef invested Walls and make sure Latias isn't totally helpless out on the field. The spread is fairly straightforward, as it gives Latias some bite to go with its bulk. Pro tip: Switch in on ground type attacks that don't come from Choice Scarf Mold Breaker Excadrill.

Landorus-Therian @ Earth Plate
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

Everyone's favorite Ground-resist fits in pretty darn well with Volcanion. Landorus-T makes a great pivot to move you into a more favorable position, thanks to U-Turn. Stealth Rock is useful for applying pressure in the early/mid-game, which could be used to draw out Spinners or Defoggers. Plus, it's free damage and a broken sash on the switch-in, and you can't go wrong with that. Stone Edge is the mandatory coverage move to combat Talonflame or Thundurus (another Pokémon that Volcorona doesn't care much for at all), as Talonflame, for all intents and purposes, walls Landorus without Edge and forces out Volcanion. Earthquake is your go-to spammable STAB, once the resists are out of the way. The Adamant nature + the Earth Plate boost makes Earthquake freakishly strong, putting the hurt on almost any Pokémon. The spread allows it to outspeed Defensive Landorus-T, while piling on enough bulk to uncomfortably eat an Ice Shard from Weavile (granted Intimidate has kicked in and you haven't taken Rocks).


Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch

Meet the other half of your VoltTurn core. Calm Mind Raikou is a fierce threat to be reckoned with, as one boost can turn it into a powerful sweeper. Leftovers increases Raikou's longevity on the field, but you're encouraged to keep this thing healthy. Thunderbolt and Volt Switch are your bread-and-butter with this set. TBolt brings the pain, even if it's not a super effective hit. Volt Switch allows you to safely exit the battlefield if you're fearing the stray Earthquake from Latios or the Ground type coverage move on a faster Pokémon. Hidden Power Ice neutralizes Landorus-T if its Scarf is knocked off or if it's defensive. Same goes for stray Gliscors or opposing Thundurus.


So, that's Volcanion Fresh out the Box! It was fun to build and test, and I hope it gives you guys some ideas of your own if you wanna build your own Volcanion team. If you have any questions/comments/concerns, let me know and I'll try to get to as many as I can. Thanks for reading!
 
Hey HalfHumanHobo and welcome to Smogon.

It's nice to see that you are using Volcanion, as have I in my main team. However, this team isn't perfect, but it is definitely viable. I will attempt to correct these flaws today.

The first thing that stands out to me when taking a glance at this team is that how weak this team is to Bisharp. Due to Defiant, it gets a nifty boost in attack when Bisharp comes in on Landorus-Therian, making it a very tough opponent to face. Diancie-Mega can use Earth Power to deal massive damage, but in no way can it switch into Bisharp. Volcanion is hurt very badly by a Bisharp after it has used a Swords Dance. Raikou doesn't particularly mind Iron Head, but Knock Off will do a hefty chunk of damage, and it will also remove Raikou's form of recovery. Because of Bisharp's typing, it resists Draco Meteor and is immune to Psyshock, and if Latias uses Defog, Bisharp's attack will double! Finally, Weavile's moveset leaves it unable to deal any form of super-effective damage to Bisharp, who can use it as setup fodder and use Iron Head to OHKO it.

bisharp.png
volcanion.png

+2 252 Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Volcanion: 343-406 (94.2 - 111.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Volcanion: 282-333 (77.4 - 91.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
bisharp.png
landorus-therian.png

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 72 HP / 0 Def Landorus-T: 329-387 (97.6 - 114.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252 Atk Life Orb Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 72 HP / 0 Def Landorus-T: 270-320 (80.1 - 94.9%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
bisharp.png
719-m.png

252 Atk Life Orb Bisharp Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Diancie: 614-723 (254.7 - 300%) -- guaranteed OHKO
bisharp.png
raikou.png

252 Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Raikou: 253-300 (78.8 - 93.4%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Life Orb Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Raikou: 208-247 (64.7 - 76.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
bisharp.png
latias.png

252 Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 72 HP / 0 Def Latias: 439-517 (137.6 - 162%) -- guaranteed OHKO
bisharp.png
weavile.png

252 Atk Life Orb Bisharp Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Weavile: 468-554 (166.5 - 197.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
garchomp.gif

In an attempt to stop Bisharp from completely ravaging your team, I strongly, strongly recommend that you replace Landorus-Therian with Garchomp. You explicitly state that one of the reasons that you use Landorus-Therian is to resist Ground-attacks, but on the other hand, you have Weavile, Latias, and Volcanion to do the job that Landorus-Therian is supposed to do. Having an Offensive Landorus-Therian outspeed a Defensive Landorus-Therian is virtually useless, as essentially both will use Stealth Rock, and you'll U-Turn first, just to rack up Rocky Helmet damage. On the other hand, Defensive Garchomp, or more commonly known as TankChomp, is a great hazard setter that can check Bisharp, as a +2 Iron Head or a +2 Sucker Punch will never one-shot Defensive Garchomp. Plus, Garchomp makes the opponent lose 33% of their health whenever they touch it physically, so this means that you can also check opposing VoltTurn cores as you are immune to Volt Switch, and many Pokemon don't want to use U-Turn on Garchomp.
ferrothorn.gif

Your team also has a moderate inability to successfully take down Ferrothorn variants, especially if Volcanion has been Knocked Out prior. Now, as this team is obviously built around Volcanion, as long as you keep Volcanion alive, Ferrothorn should not be much of a problem. However, if Volcanion has lost earlier, you will unfortunately find that your entire team is unable to deal any significant damage to Ferrothorn. Due to Ferrothorn's typing, Raikou cannot do any real damage to it, even if it has gained some Calm Mind boosts. Ferrothorn is 5HKO'd at best by Mega Diancie's Earth Power, and retaliates with Gyro Ball to score a clean KO. Weavile can do nothing to it, but using Icicle Crash will make it lose a lot of HP with Iron Barbs, Rocky Helmet, and Life Orb in mind, and then it can lose to a Gyro Ball! Like Bisharp, Ferrothorn resists both of Latias's attacking moves and can easily use it as setup fodder. Landorus-Therian cannot reliably defeat Ferrothorn, even with an Earth Plate-boosted Earthquake.

ferrothorn.png
landorus-therian.png

252+ Atk Soft Sand Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 88+ Def Ferrothorn: 157-186 (44.6 - 52.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
ferrothorn.png
719-m.png

224 SpA Mega Diancie Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 86-102 (24.4 - 28.9%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
ferrothorn.png
weavile.png

252 Atk Life Orb Weavile Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 88+ Def Ferrothorn: 114-136 (32.3 - 38.6%) -- 3.4% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
ferrothorn.png
raikou.png

252 SpA Raikou Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 51-61 (14.4 - 17.3%) -- possible 9HKO after Leftovers recovery
However, using TankChomp can rid your problems of Ferrothorn. Since Ferrothorn is generally used as a lead to set up hazards, Garchomp finds itself facing it all too often. To stop it, Garchomp can use Fire Blast to deal major damage to it, without even physically touching it!

There are more ways you can go about to stopping Ferrothorn, such as giving Latias Hidden Power [Fire], giving Weavile Low Kick over Pursuit, or just strategically preserving Volcanion, but since Ferrothorn is generally used as a lead, Volcanion is best not to come in that early or it risks getting paralyzed. Over all of these, Garchomp is the best one, as it reliably checks both weaknesses, Bisharp and Ferrothorn.

This team in general has a grave weakness to Steel types, especially those who are immune or neutral to Earthquake. TankChomp can do a decent job at somewhat easing this.
togekiss.gif

The next thing I would like to say is that you should reconsider whether Latias is the optimal user of Defog for your team. Latias already is currently subject to harsh criticism due to it being almost entirely outclassed by its brother, Latios. Above this, you also joked that Latias is best to be switched into Ground-attacks that isn't from a Mold Breaker Excadrill. That is why I suggest Togekiss. Now, it is true that Togekiss is weak to Iron Head from both Bisharp and Excadrill, and it can generally not hurt Ferrothorn if it is taking a defensive approach. However, Togekiss is very good beyond this, as it makes a good check to many common hazard setters, such as Landorus-Therian, Garchomp, and Hippowdon. And with Garchomp helping take care of the Steel Types, Togekiss in turn can help be a good switch-in to Ground attacks. Togekiss has a good offensive movepool, so if you ever feel that you need coverage, with Togekiss, it is definitely possible.

Other Options
thundurus-incarnate.gif

There is nothing keeping you from using Thundurus over Raikou, as it is more powerful, has Focus Blast for Excadrill, Bisharp, and Ferrothorn, and can spread paralysis quickly and efficiently in Thunder Wave. It also can run Volt Switch if you want to keep up the VoltTurn Core. However, keep in mind that it functions differently from Raikou as it cannot be a sudden win condition unlike Calm Mind Raikou, and is weak to Stealth Rock.
latios.gif

Latios is almost always used over Latias as a defogger because it is more powerful, thus applying greater pressure on the opposing team. However, for the reasons stated above, Togekiss is recommended in my opinion. Latios doesn't counter many Stealth-Rock setters either, unlike Togekiss.
gardevoir-mega.png

Mega Gardevoir is another Fairy-type Mega with wallbreaking capabilities. However, it can do more than that in burning opponents with Will'O'Wisp, and being a win condition with Calm Mind, should you choose to replace Raikou with Thundurus. Mega Diancie seems to fit your team well, though, so this is just a suggestion.

In Short, the changes are:

landorus-therian.png
->
garchomp.png

latias.png
->
togekiss.png


Optional:
latias.png
->
latios.png

raikou.png
->
thundurus.png

719-m.png
->
gardevoir-mega.png


garchomp.gif

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 240 HP / 176 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Fire Blast
togekiss.gif

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Defog
- Air Slash
- Heal Bell
- Roost
thundurus.gif

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
- Focus Blast
latios.gif

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power Fire
- Defog
gardevoir-mega.gif

Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 16 HP / 8 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Will-O-Wisp

garchomp.png
togekiss.png
weavile.png
raikou.png
volcanion.png
719-m.png

_____________________________
Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 240 HP / 176 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Fire Blast

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Defog
- Air Slash
- Heal Bell
- Roost

Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Pursuit

Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
- Volt Switch

Diancie @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 32 Atk / 224 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Earth Power
- Protect

Volcanion @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Steam Eruption
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power

Welcome to Smogon; If you ever need help with anything, feel free to PM me or comment on my wall, if you have questions, or if you just want to talk. I hope you have a great day.
 
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