ORAS OU Volt-Turn Team

This is a team I have been using and modifying for over 2 years now. The synergy is great and thanks to all the support from past rates on this site, I have been able to fix almost all of its weaknesses. I am hoping to yet again get that kind of support in continuing to improve this team. This is a Volt-Turn team after all so the goal here is offensive pressure. For defense this team relies heavily on resisted or immune switch-ins.
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Infernape (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Overheat
- Close Combat
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
Infernape is my lead pkmn. infernape performs well as a lead due to having access to stealth rock, U-Turn, and being able to operate as a switch hitter. Focus sash is used to get a guaranteed stealth rock laid down and allows reliable access to the 33% boost that its ability Blaze gives it. Blaze allows me to use overheat as a nuke when combined with STAB and the focus sash means that that I'm not really bothered by the stat reduction of close combat. Infernape is also my only answer to chancy and U-Turn allows me to save infernape for it. Over all I end up with a pkmn that can lay down rocks and can get neutral coverage over most opposing leads.
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Azelf @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Flamethrower
- Energy Ball
- U-turn
Azelf is my first sweeper. Azelf is a great sweeper due to its unpredictability and great coverage. Expert belt is ran because of the consistent coverage of the set. Psychic hits hard with STAB and neutral coverage backed by a 125 spatk. Flamethrower and Energy Ball are great for getting a surprise super effective on an unsuspecting Ferrowthorn or Mega-Swampert. U-Turn is there for predicted switch ins and allows for continued momentum. levitate is also nice for switching into earthquake.
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Raikou @ Assault Vest
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch
Raikou is my second sweeper. Thunderbolt is there for STAB, while Shadow Ball is great for taking out anything that resists electric. HP-Ice is there for all the x4 weaknesses that are present in OU such as Garachomp, Dragonite, Salamence, etc. Its amazing how so many pkmn like garachomp, Landorus, and gliscore think that they can finish Raikou off with an earthquake only to be OHKO'ed by HP-ice. Volt switch is there for predicted switch ins and STAB and again meshes with the teams theme.
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Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
The ultimate pivot. Rotom-W fits well into pretty much any team, but fits especially well into a volt-turn team. Hydro Pump is the STAB of choice due to its power and Volt-Switch is there for STAB and momentum. Whats nice is that even if Volt switch is not enough to KO a bulky water type I can rotate between Rotom and Raikou for STAB. Will-O-Wisp is a life saver for knocking the teeth out physical offensive threats like tyranatar or wearing down bulky tanks and walls. Pain split is just there to make sure Rotom sticks around and is boosted by the leftovers. Not much else to say here because everyone by now knows this set well.
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Scizor (M) @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn
Pivot/Revenge. Scizor is Rotom-W's best friend and make up a great core on there own. What one is weak to the other seems to always have the upper hand against. Bullet punch allows easy revenge killing and a way to handle fairies. Defog was my only way of providing hazard support and serves its purpose well enough. Roost allows me to keep the option of defogging around and allows me to continue to threaten fairies and switch in to resist dragons. U-Turn fits naturally on scizor because of STAB and due to scizor being slow, allows it to take the hit for others to switch in. Its steel typing also allows me to get free switch ins on poison types
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Hydreigon (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast
- Dark Pulse
- U-turn
Wall Breaker. Hydregon acts as somewhat of a panic button for when there is something I cant deal with. it works well in a hit-and-run play style and that's pretty much what im going for here. Draco Meteor is the nuke that deals heavy damage to anything that dose not resist it and the Choice Scarf allows me to ensure I can get it in. The trick is to remove all steel and fairy types from the opposing team thus allowing Hydra to just sweep up the rest with its monster STAB. Earth power is ran to deal with Heatran that often switches in to resist the predicted Draco Meteor. Dark Pulse is used for neutral coverage and allows me to continue attacking without fear of anything levitating or my special attack dropping. U-Turn is more of a proverbial "nener-nener" to my opponents, but can also lure out fairies and steel types that want to hit with azelf or scizor. Its typing is convientent because it gets free switch ins on psychic types and has levitate for ground making this my 3rd levitating pkmn.

I know there are a few weaknesses with this team but with every rate I get I make changes and seem to do better on the ladder. What I would really like is to have my strengths and weaknesses pointed out respectively and ways I can alleviate the latter. I appreciate every rate, and would like to know if you think that this team could reach upper ladder status under the right user. I would also like to know your opinion on the overall viability of Volt-Turn in the OU meta-game.
 
Too tired to do a detailed rate...

You have no FWG synergy OR SDF synergy.

Additionally, by making mega scizor your defog/spinner, you lose out on SD, a potential wincon for you.

I would consider choosing a wincondition, and building a voltturn team around it, since you seem to be wearing your opponents down, and currently rely purely on that.
Also, Flare Blitz > Overhear on Infernape potentially, but it depends what you need hit.
Mew > Azelf in the role you are using it.... it gets lots of coverage, and mew is known for its versaility.

Also, Banded or utility Scizor > Mega Scizor, and MManectric > Raikou could be a good idea if you feel swords dance mega scizor is underwhelming.
 
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Too tired to do a detailed rate...

You have no FWG synergy OR SDF synergy.

Additionally, by making mega scizor your defog/spinner, you lose out on SD, a potential wincon for you.

I would consider choosing a wincondition, and building a voltturn team around it, since you seem to be wearing your opponents down, and currently rely purely on that.
Also, Flare Blitz > Overhear on Infernape potentially, but it depends what you need hit.
Mew > Azelf in the role you are using it.... it gets lots of coverage, and mew is known for its versaility.

Also, Banded or utility Scizor > Mega Scizor, and MManectric > Raikou could be a good idea if you feel swords dance mega scizor is underwhelming.

I have no clue what "FWG synergy" or "SDF synergy" is. I also don't know what a "wincondition" is either. Flare Blitz is a bad idea on this infernape as well because the recoil would destroy the focus sash or would make it kill itself. As for mew, its much weaker and slower than azelf, meaning I will get less one hit kills and be outspeed more often.

Thank you for the suggestion to look into MManectric and changing Mscizor back to regular. I guess i could give him leftovers and switch roost for SD. I appreciate your rate and am glad you took the time to give me your opinion. :)
 
Wtf is fwg energy?
Too tired to do a detailed rate...

You have no FWG synergy OR SDF synergy.

Additionally, by making mega scizor your defog/spinner, you lose out on SD, a potential wincon for you.

I would consider choosing a wincondition, and building a voltturn team around it, since you seem to be wearing your opponents down, and currently rely purely on that.
Also, Flare Blitz > Overhear on Infernape potentially, but it depends what you need hit.
Mew > Azelf in the role you are using it.... it gets lots of coverage, and mew is known for its versaility.

Also, Banded or utility Scizor > Mega Scizor, and MManectric > Raikou could be a good idea if you feel swords dance mega scizor is underwhelming.
 
I have no clue what "FWG synergy" or "SDF synergy" is. I also don't know what a "wincondition" is either. Flare Blitz is a bad idea on this infernape as well because the recoil would destroy the focus sash or would make it kill itself. As for mew, its much weaker and slower than azelf, meaning I will get less one hit kills and be outspeed more often.

Thank you for the suggestion to look into MManectric and changing Mscizor back to regular. I guess i could give him leftovers and switch roost for SD. I appreciate your rate and am glad you took the time to give me your opinion. :)
wincondition is just a pokemon u need to clean with when all ur other sweepers are dead, usually lategame
 
FWG = Fire/Water/Grass core. FDS = Fairy/Dragon/Steel core. I'd like to note to the first rater that neither of these two cores are requirements on every team, and dismissing a team on the basis that it does not operate on basic cores like those isn't how to go about things.
That being said, full Volt-Turn chains are something I've worked with and something I still hope to work towards in future as a momentum junkie, though in this meta they're really not that great. OU right now is riddled with powerhouse threats, solid walls, and many potential shit match-ups left and right, so sacrificing coverage on each of your mons for a switch initiative move is not all it's cracked up to be. A good Volt-Turn pair or maybe trio could work out as it helps you keep momentum without detracting the coverage of your team as a whole, after all, switch initiative doesn't mean much when it means limiting what you can do to certain threats.
That's really all I'm going to say at this point since a Volt-Turn chain is pretty much the root of this team, I don't want to go ahead and start picking things out. I would agree that you need a solid win-con though, something that can set up and clean late-game, and I wouldn't advise more than two U-Turn/Volt Switch abusers. I'd recommend selecting those mons who you'd like to have these roles and once your team's been restructured as such then it would be easier to know what to edit going forward. Overall, my point in this dribble of nonsense is that I believe the main problem with this team is its overall structure, and I'd advise you fix that aspect first so raters have a better idea what to tweak for the very final product.
Hope this helped a little. Sorry I can't assist more.
 
The team look pretty strong, however the suicide lead Infernape could be replaced by bulky Lando-T. Bulky Land0-T offers intimidate, bulk and ground coverage whilst still being able to use u-turn. The fire and fighting coverage from Infernape is not a major loss considering that most things that they covered are covered by the rest of the team. Lando T also alleviated your weakness to Talonflame, considering only Rotom can hope to force it out.

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
 
Great team! Kudos specially on that infernape !
i will edit later with the thinga i would change on the team but its looking great!
 
So the three changes that i recomend are:
Thundurus > raikou while not that bulky the secured thunder wave on some threats may prove helpful
Scizor > m-scizor same role but with life orb may not be as good but need that mega slot for the next recommendation
M-Ampharos > hydregion mega ampharos comes with double inmunitie what is what a good volt turn team needs and a good amount of bulk plus a really slow volt switch to allow frailer members to join the ring
Oh and btw i prefer victini over azef since v create opena huge holes

Ill edit with details later !
 
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