Wintry Mix
Hi Smogon! This is my second RMT. Unfortunately hail was banned from RU a while back, making this my only usable RMT – I figured I should have at least one. I love using hail about as much as I love using unexpected/weird stuff in any tier, so I decided to build a team around Articuno and Tailwind support in OU.
My laddering rank isn’t all that impressive, but it shows that the team works just fine against the standard threats of OU. Playing this team with multiple accounts, I am usually able to maintain around a 3:1 win-loss ratio, which I consider decent in the OU ladder.
The Team Building Process
The team is a dual weather (Rain/Hail) Tailwind team consisting of mostly offensive support Pokemon. Even after achieving decent results I would not recommend using Articuno in OU unless basing the team around it. That being said, an Articuno with proper support can perform surprisingly well, and the combination of Rain and Hail is also quite viable in OU. This team displays one of Articuno’s only possible OU niches – an offensive weather-based late game Tailwind sweeper with a unique dual STAB. And it works!
The team building process was rather simple. I wanted to originally design a team meant to spam Hurricane in the rain, so I looked up the list of Pokemon with access to STAB Hurricane. I chose Tornadus with Politoed for rain.
I wanted a second STAB Hurricane user that could benefit from Tornadus's Tailwind, and the options I had to choose from were Swanna, Pelipper, Articuno, Moltres and Dragonite. Swanna is too frail, Moltres cannot make good use of its STAB Fireblast in the rain, Pelipper is too slow even at +2, and Dragonite at +2 cannot out-speed scarf base 110s with a Modest nature. Articuno it is!
Considering Articuno's offensive stats are somewhat low for OU standards, I decided to go all out and give Articuno a Life Orb and Blizzard. Blizzard spamming is always fun and powerful under the effects of hail, so I decided to try something strange and throw on Abomasnow for two reasons: the first being hail support for Articuno, and secondly to provide a much-needed set of resistances for the team (electric, grass, water).
The team now has a huge SR weakness and a lack of anything that can take a physical hit well. Forretress met my team's defensive and utility needs perfectly. Forretress also has Overcoat which makes it a perfect candidate for a Rapid Spinner in hail.
At this point, my team had a glaring weakness to (bulky) steel types, and I would be unable to sweep with Articuno or Tornadus unless I had a Pokemon to remove steel types. I went with the obvious answer, Magnezone, who could forcibly remove most steels with the help of Tornadus's U-Turn and Forretress's Volt Switch to ease prediction. Magnezone was an especially appealing option alongside Politoed for a 100% accurate STAB Thunder.
The team has gone through many internal changes, but the individual Pokemon became almost impossible to replace without creating holes in the team. Each team member fulfills a role that is essential to the team's success and cannot be replaced by Pokemon capable of similar tasks. Politoed, Abomasnow and Magnezone have unique abilities that define their roles on this team, Tornadus has priority Tailwind, Articuno has advantages over its fellow Hurricane users, and Forretress is the only OU Rapid Spinner with Volt Switch/U-turn. I am aware that there may be better options for the team that I may have overlooked. I'm always willing to try out different Pokemon if you make good suggestions!
As of now, here's the current team in its non-standard glory.
The Team
Politoed @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 SAtk / 244 Spd / 12 HP*
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Encore
Scarf Politoed is nothing extraordinary. His purpose on the team is obvious, and this set allows him to hold his own and support the team adequately. The speed EVs are for outspeeding Alakazam and Scarf Scizor (who is slightly faster than Alakazam). Considering there are no significant speed tiers between 120 and 130 base speed and Politoed can never outspeed a timid Jolteon, I figured it would be best to put as many EVs into bulk as possible without compromising his offensive capabilities. Scarf Toed is fairly powerful. Powerful enough to outspeed and 2HKO offensive Starmie with Hydro Pump. Politoed also provides excellent defensive synergy with the team by being able to sponge fire attacks.
In times of despiration against a sweeper that has accumulated multiple boosts, Tailwind support gives Scarf Politoed 756 speed, which is enough to beat the entire metagame at +2.
*Changes: Adjusted EVs to outspeed +1 Adamant Dragonite, while always being slower than max speed scarf Politoed for scouting purposes.
Abomasnow @ Focus Sash* (Alternativesets moves being tested)
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 176 SAtk / 80 Spd / 252 Atk
Mild Nature
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
Abomasnow has excellent defensive synergy with Politoed in terms of typing and ability. When using this team, I will often lead with Abomasnow to deal as much immediate damage to the opponent’s team as possible, often scoring at least one KO if I predict correctly. Like Politoed, Abomasnow is a sub-par standalone Pokemon in OU. Focus Sash allows it to pull its own weight offensively while providing additional weather support.
Prediction is crucial when leading with Abomasnow. Common leads such as Landorus-T and Rotom-W are notorious for Volt-turning out, thus breaking Abomasnow’s sash in the process and switching to a Pokemon that resists his dual STABs. Earthquake is an excellent coverage move that destroys or deals heavy damage to steel types such as Jirachi and Heatran that expect to switch in on a resisted attack. The EVs sacrifice a bit of SAtk to invest in enough speed to out-speed Timid Latios when given Tailwind support. Earthquake can only OHKO defensive variants of Heatran if given max Atk EVs, and Heatran is a notable threat that must be removed as soon as possible. I opted for using Giga Drain instead of Wood Hammer, because the HP gain increases Abomasnow’s survivability against certain Pokemon (ie Rotom-W) that cannot effectively damage Abomasnow. Wood Hammer would somewhat defeat the purpose of the Sash/Ice Shard combo because of the heavy recoil damage.
*Focus Sash allows Abomasnow to counter a ton of threats that would otherwise run through my team. Other items and sets have been too situational and generally less effective in practice.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Trait: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Gyro Ball
- Volt Switch
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
This is a fairly standard Forretress with one notable difference – Overcoat. Considering that Forretress’s primary roles are Rapid Spin support and physical walling, Sturdy would be a poor choice on a semi-hail team, because it would be nullified by the very hazards that Forretress is supposed to spin away. Volt Switch is preferred over Spikes, because Forretress’s ability to wall a physical attacker and gain momentum with Volt Turn is invaluable on a mostly-offensive team.
Magnezone @ Rocky Helmet* (Alternative items still being tested)
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Thunder
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
Magnezone provides excellent team support and offensive potential with an Expert Belt and a strong base 120 STAB. Expert belt allows Magnezone to usually OHKO Ferrothorn (usual 2HKO in the rain), and serve its purpose as a steel trapper without sacrificing the team’s momentum by locking itself into HP Fire. Furthermore, Expert Belt gives Magnezone the ability to bluff choice, which can be especially punishing against Pokemon who expect to use Magnezone as setup bait. The EVs allow Magnezone to reliably out-speed many slow threats in OU while beating the entire unboosted metagame with Tailwind support.
*Changes: Expert belt seems generally ineffective outside of KOing Ferrothorn. Rocky Helmet is for reducing Jirachi's longevity. I still think choice-locking Magnezone is a very bad idea.
Tornadus @ Flying Gem
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Tailwind
More often than not, a Tornadus on the same team as a Politoed will be prepared to spam a 100% accurate Hurricane to no end. There are a bunch of reasons why I decided to use the full-physical set instead, after originally using Hurricane on an Expert Belt set:
-Acrobatics is not weather-dependent
-Acrobatics is initially stronger than Hurricane
-Acrobatics is unexpected
-A full special set still needs a fighting coverage move
-----Focus Blast sucks
-----No U-turn (or a very weak U-turn)
-A mixed set is significantly weaker physically
-----Mixed set requires a –def or –spdef nature
-----0 Atk Expert Belt Superpower is always significantly weaker than 252 Atk Superpower
-The team lacks a decent physical attacker
-Without a Flying Gem, Acrobatics is still almost as powerful as Hurricane
Tornadus is an excellent physical attacker that beats both Tyranitar and Ninetales if having two weathers isn’t enough already. Perhaps the most important move on this set is priority Tailwind, which is an excellent pseudo-suicide move that allows a teammate to plow through an opponent’s team in 3 turns.
So…given the unusual support of two weather-summoners, a priority Tailwind supporter, a steel-type-remover and a hazard-setter with Rapid Spin, I have determined that the most suitable sweeper to be the recipient of all of this support is none other than…
Articuno @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 232 Spd / 24 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Hurricane
- Roost
- Tailwind
Articuno has two base 120 stabs (Hurricane and Blizzard) with perfect accuracy in their respective weathers, and it functions as a hard-hitter/late game Tailwind sweeper. 232 speed EVs and Modest nature allow it out-speed Timid Scarf Latios with Tailwind support from either itself or Tornadus. There are few other Pokemon that offer the same powerful STAB coverage as Articuno. The two that come to mind are Dragonite with access to Blizzard, Draco Meteor and a slightly stronger STAB Hurricane, and Kyurem with a stronger STAB Blizzard and Draco Meteor and access to Earth Power.
Articuno is arguably better for this role than Dragonite and Kyurem for a few reasons:
-Greater speed than Dragonite allowing it to run modest nature more safely. Dragonite needs a Timid nature to outspeed Scarf Latios
-STAB on Blizzard
-Greater natural bulk (somewhat offset by typing) than Dragonite
-Hail immunity and no ice weakness
-----Ice resistance with Roost
-Powerful STABs without stat reduction (ie Draco Meteor) for additional sweeping potential
-Neutral STAB coverage on almost everything non-steel in OU
-Kyurem does not have access to Tailwind
-Articuno can take hits from power Dragon types
-----252 SpA Choice Specs Latios Draco Meteor: 283-334 (86.54 - 102.14%) -- 18.75% chance to OHKO
-----252+ Atk Kyurem-B Outrage: 262-310 (80.12 - 94.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-----252+ Atk Kyurem-B Fusion Bolt: 294-346 (89.9 - 105.81%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
Obviously Articuno has its fair share of weaknesses. I would even go so far as to say it still sucks in any tier outside of NU, because it needs so much support. Furthermore, a late game sweep sometimes requires Articuno to land at least one 70%-accuracy attack, which has been the cause of quite a few losses. Regardless of its shortcomings, Articuno is really fun to use for the powerful surprise factor and nostalgia from the good days of Generation 1 when Articuno was actually a notable offensive threat. I can say with confidence and experience that Articuno can perform amazingly in OU, provided it gets the ridiculous amount of support it needs.
____________________________
Notable Threats/Weaknesses
Red = Major threat
@
SpDef Jirachi
What team isn't at least somewhat vulnerable to Jirachi?
No team. No team at all.
It's pretty sad that my team is so vulnerable to Jirachi even with Forretress to resist the infamous Body Slam/Iron Head combo, Magnezone for resistances and steel trapping and Abomasnow to cancel out Leftovers recovery. It really seems like I can't do much more to prepare for Jirachi.
Jellotran
Jellicent and Heatran have a defensive synergy that straight up counters my team. Jellicent can freely switch into Politoed which checks Heatran. Heatran usually out-speeds both Abomasnow and Magnezone and can OHKO both. While Articuno's Hurricane cleanly 2HKOs Jellicent, Heatran can easily take both STABs. Tornadus's Superpower isn't enough to KO Heatran, and both Jellicent and Heatran can burn Tornadus to make it an offensive dead weight. It takes multiple risky predictions to make it past Jellicent and Heatran when they are paired together. Separately they are still threatening to my team, but they are usually manageable.
@
Def Jellicent
See above.
@
SDef Heatran
See above.
@
Roost Kyurem-B
Kyurem-B has the coverage necessary to threaten to KO (or OHKO) everything on my team, and it's relatively fast. It walls Politoed easily, survives Tornadus's Superpower, takes disappointing damage from Abomasnow and ensures a KO on Articuno after life orb damage (assuming Fusion Bolt). The only way to deal with Kyurem-B is to wear it down with offensive pressure and a couple sacrifices if needed. Sub Roost Kyurem-B lacks the coverage necessary destroy everything on my team, and more offensive sets (without leftovers) are much easier to take down.
@
Sub Roost Kyurem
Sub Roost Kyurem is less offensively threatening than Kyurem-B, but it can easily pressure stall Abomasnow, Forretress and Politoed. Articuno can put up a fight and actually pressure stall Kyurem's Ice Beams, but every time I've tried to do this I got OHKO'd by a critical hit on a turn I didn't use Roost. Either way, Sub Roost Kyurem forces me to play defensively and is a huge threat to my team.
Fireblast Tyranitar
Everybody plays Tyranitar differently, and there seems to be a rise in usage of Tyranitars with Fireblast. Abomasnow unfortunately loses to any Tyranitar as long as sand is up, and the Tyranitar is free to use Fireblast which hits everything on my team hard except for Tornadus and Politoed. But it would be stupid to switch to Tornadus or Politoed because of the risk of switching into a Stone Edge. Double switching from Forretress to Politoed is necessary for scouting for Fireblast.
@
Specs Jolteon
Specs Jolteon is too powerful and too fast for my team. It out-speeds and OHKOs Tornadus, Articuno and Scarf Politoed, and can easily Volt Switch on Magnezone and Abomasnow for decent damage. Getting stealth rocks up is necessary for wearing it down. Jolteon's faces competition in OU from Thundurus-T, but the latter is easily taken down by rocks and Ice Shard.
@
Chansey
I can't take down Chansey. It's too fat.
@
Toxic Orb Breloom
Substitute/Spore/Focus Punch always does serious damage to my team unless I predict the sub and switch to Politoed for Encore. Other Brelooms can be worn down by hail or OHKO'd by half of my team.
@
Gastrodon
Gastrodon can be extremely difficult to take down. It can freely switch into Politoed and is near impossible to wear down if played conservatively. The only way I can deal with Gastrodon is to hit it hard with Articuno or scare it out with Abomasnow.
@
CM Reuniclus
After a few boosts, Reuniclus walls and OHKOs my entire team. Its immunity to Hail makes it harder to KO while it sets up.
@
SD Lucario
AKA every Lucario. The protocol vs Lucario is to keep Abomasnow's Sash intact at all costs. Wearing down Lucario with Forretress and Rocky Helmet Magnezone a semi-reliable option, and Politoed can usually survive a +2 Extremespeed at 100%
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Lucario ExtremeSpeed vs. 12 HP / 0 Def Politoed: 279-330 (86.11 - 101.85%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
@
SpDef Rotom-W
@
LO Taxicrak
Notable threats besides those listed above include generally threatening Pokemon such as Volcarona, LO Starmie, Keldeo, Landorus-T and a few others. These threats aren't particularly devastating to the team because they are often easy to revenge kill and usually cannot wall or sweep my team. Something noteworthy is that many of the threats listed above are relatively uncommon in OU.
____________________________
Comments, rates and criticism are all appreciated! This team is by no means perfected and it relies on good prediction to perform well, but that's part of what makes it so fun to use. Thanks for reading, and have fun if you decide to give this team a shot!
Here are a few replays for you all to see how this team functions against the standard (and non-standard) threats of OU.
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/ou-50193197
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/ou-50045015
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/ou-51808971
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/oususpecttest-4759142
Importable:
Hi Smogon! This is my second RMT. Unfortunately hail was banned from RU a while back, making this my only usable RMT – I figured I should have at least one. I love using hail about as much as I love using unexpected/weird stuff in any tier, so I decided to build a team around Articuno and Tailwind support in OU.
My laddering rank isn’t all that impressive, but it shows that the team works just fine against the standard threats of OU. Playing this team with multiple accounts, I am usually able to maintain around a 3:1 win-loss ratio, which I consider decent in the OU ladder.
The Team Building Process
The team is a dual weather (Rain/Hail) Tailwind team consisting of mostly offensive support Pokemon. Even after achieving decent results I would not recommend using Articuno in OU unless basing the team around it. That being said, an Articuno with proper support can perform surprisingly well, and the combination of Rain and Hail is also quite viable in OU. This team displays one of Articuno’s only possible OU niches – an offensive weather-based late game Tailwind sweeper with a unique dual STAB. And it works!
The team building process was rather simple. I wanted to originally design a team meant to spam Hurricane in the rain, so I looked up the list of Pokemon with access to STAB Hurricane. I chose Tornadus with Politoed for rain.
I wanted a second STAB Hurricane user that could benefit from Tornadus's Tailwind, and the options I had to choose from were Swanna, Pelipper, Articuno, Moltres and Dragonite. Swanna is too frail, Moltres cannot make good use of its STAB Fireblast in the rain, Pelipper is too slow even at +2, and Dragonite at +2 cannot out-speed scarf base 110s with a Modest nature. Articuno it is!
Considering Articuno's offensive stats are somewhat low for OU standards, I decided to go all out and give Articuno a Life Orb and Blizzard. Blizzard spamming is always fun and powerful under the effects of hail, so I decided to try something strange and throw on Abomasnow for two reasons: the first being hail support for Articuno, and secondly to provide a much-needed set of resistances for the team (electric, grass, water).
The team now has a huge SR weakness and a lack of anything that can take a physical hit well. Forretress met my team's defensive and utility needs perfectly. Forretress also has Overcoat which makes it a perfect candidate for a Rapid Spinner in hail.
At this point, my team had a glaring weakness to (bulky) steel types, and I would be unable to sweep with Articuno or Tornadus unless I had a Pokemon to remove steel types. I went with the obvious answer, Magnezone, who could forcibly remove most steels with the help of Tornadus's U-Turn and Forretress's Volt Switch to ease prediction. Magnezone was an especially appealing option alongside Politoed for a 100% accurate STAB Thunder.
The team has gone through many internal changes, but the individual Pokemon became almost impossible to replace without creating holes in the team. Each team member fulfills a role that is essential to the team's success and cannot be replaced by Pokemon capable of similar tasks. Politoed, Abomasnow and Magnezone have unique abilities that define their roles on this team, Tornadus has priority Tailwind, Articuno has advantages over its fellow Hurricane users, and Forretress is the only OU Rapid Spinner with Volt Switch/U-turn. I am aware that there may be better options for the team that I may have overlooked. I'm always willing to try out different Pokemon if you make good suggestions!
As of now, here's the current team in its non-standard glory.
The Team
Politoed @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 SAtk / 244 Spd / 12 HP*
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Encore
Scarf Politoed is nothing extraordinary. His purpose on the team is obvious, and this set allows him to hold his own and support the team adequately. The speed EVs are for outspeeding Alakazam and Scarf Scizor (who is slightly faster than Alakazam). Considering there are no significant speed tiers between 120 and 130 base speed and Politoed can never outspeed a timid Jolteon, I figured it would be best to put as many EVs into bulk as possible without compromising his offensive capabilities. Scarf Toed is fairly powerful. Powerful enough to outspeed and 2HKO offensive Starmie with Hydro Pump. Politoed also provides excellent defensive synergy with the team by being able to sponge fire attacks.
In times of despiration against a sweeper that has accumulated multiple boosts, Tailwind support gives Scarf Politoed 756 speed, which is enough to beat the entire metagame at +2.
*Changes: Adjusted EVs to outspeed +1 Adamant Dragonite, while always being slower than max speed scarf Politoed for scouting purposes.
Abomasnow @ Focus Sash* (Alternative
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 176 SAtk / 80 Spd / 252 Atk
Mild Nature
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
Abomasnow has excellent defensive synergy with Politoed in terms of typing and ability. When using this team, I will often lead with Abomasnow to deal as much immediate damage to the opponent’s team as possible, often scoring at least one KO if I predict correctly. Like Politoed, Abomasnow is a sub-par standalone Pokemon in OU. Focus Sash allows it to pull its own weight offensively while providing additional weather support.
Prediction is crucial when leading with Abomasnow. Common leads such as Landorus-T and Rotom-W are notorious for Volt-turning out, thus breaking Abomasnow’s sash in the process and switching to a Pokemon that resists his dual STABs. Earthquake is an excellent coverage move that destroys or deals heavy damage to steel types such as Jirachi and Heatran that expect to switch in on a resisted attack. The EVs sacrifice a bit of SAtk to invest in enough speed to out-speed Timid Latios when given Tailwind support. Earthquake can only OHKO defensive variants of Heatran if given max Atk EVs, and Heatran is a notable threat that must be removed as soon as possible. I opted for using Giga Drain instead of Wood Hammer, because the HP gain increases Abomasnow’s survivability against certain Pokemon (ie Rotom-W) that cannot effectively damage Abomasnow. Wood Hammer would somewhat defeat the purpose of the Sash/Ice Shard combo because of the heavy recoil damage.
*Focus Sash allows Abomasnow to counter a ton of threats that would otherwise run through my team. Other items and sets have been too situational and generally less effective in practice.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Trait: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Gyro Ball
- Volt Switch
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
This is a fairly standard Forretress with one notable difference – Overcoat. Considering that Forretress’s primary roles are Rapid Spin support and physical walling, Sturdy would be a poor choice on a semi-hail team, because it would be nullified by the very hazards that Forretress is supposed to spin away. Volt Switch is preferred over Spikes, because Forretress’s ability to wall a physical attacker and gain momentum with Volt Turn is invaluable on a mostly-offensive team.
Magnezone @ Rocky Helmet* (Alternative items still being tested)
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Thunder
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
Magnezone provides excellent team support and offensive potential with an Expert Belt and a strong base 120 STAB. Expert belt allows Magnezone to usually OHKO Ferrothorn (usual 2HKO in the rain), and serve its purpose as a steel trapper without sacrificing the team’s momentum by locking itself into HP Fire. Furthermore, Expert Belt gives Magnezone the ability to bluff choice, which can be especially punishing against Pokemon who expect to use Magnezone as setup bait. The EVs allow Magnezone to reliably out-speed many slow threats in OU while beating the entire unboosted metagame with Tailwind support.
*Changes: Expert belt seems generally ineffective outside of KOing Ferrothorn. Rocky Helmet is for reducing Jirachi's longevity. I still think choice-locking Magnezone is a very bad idea.
Tornadus @ Flying Gem
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Tailwind
More often than not, a Tornadus on the same team as a Politoed will be prepared to spam a 100% accurate Hurricane to no end. There are a bunch of reasons why I decided to use the full-physical set instead, after originally using Hurricane on an Expert Belt set:
-Acrobatics is not weather-dependent
-Acrobatics is initially stronger than Hurricane
-Acrobatics is unexpected
-A full special set still needs a fighting coverage move
-----Focus Blast sucks
-----No U-turn (or a very weak U-turn)
-A mixed set is significantly weaker physically
-----Mixed set requires a –def or –spdef nature
-----0 Atk Expert Belt Superpower is always significantly weaker than 252 Atk Superpower
-The team lacks a decent physical attacker
-Without a Flying Gem, Acrobatics is still almost as powerful as Hurricane
Tornadus is an excellent physical attacker that beats both Tyranitar and Ninetales if having two weathers isn’t enough already. Perhaps the most important move on this set is priority Tailwind, which is an excellent pseudo-suicide move that allows a teammate to plow through an opponent’s team in 3 turns.
So…given the unusual support of two weather-summoners, a priority Tailwind supporter, a steel-type-remover and a hazard-setter with Rapid Spin, I have determined that the most suitable sweeper to be the recipient of all of this support is none other than…
Articuno @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 232 Spd / 24 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Hurricane
- Roost
- Tailwind
Articuno has two base 120 stabs (Hurricane and Blizzard) with perfect accuracy in their respective weathers, and it functions as a hard-hitter/late game Tailwind sweeper. 232 speed EVs and Modest nature allow it out-speed Timid Scarf Latios with Tailwind support from either itself or Tornadus. There are few other Pokemon that offer the same powerful STAB coverage as Articuno. The two that come to mind are Dragonite with access to Blizzard, Draco Meteor and a slightly stronger STAB Hurricane, and Kyurem with a stronger STAB Blizzard and Draco Meteor and access to Earth Power.
Articuno is arguably better for this role than Dragonite and Kyurem for a few reasons:
-Greater speed than Dragonite allowing it to run modest nature more safely. Dragonite needs a Timid nature to outspeed Scarf Latios
-STAB on Blizzard
-Greater natural bulk (somewhat offset by typing) than Dragonite
-Hail immunity and no ice weakness
-----Ice resistance with Roost
-Powerful STABs without stat reduction (ie Draco Meteor) for additional sweeping potential
-Neutral STAB coverage on almost everything non-steel in OU
-Kyurem does not have access to Tailwind
-Articuno can take hits from power Dragon types
-----252 SpA Choice Specs Latios Draco Meteor: 283-334 (86.54 - 102.14%) -- 18.75% chance to OHKO
-----252+ Atk Kyurem-B Outrage: 262-310 (80.12 - 94.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-----252+ Atk Kyurem-B Fusion Bolt: 294-346 (89.9 - 105.81%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
Obviously Articuno has its fair share of weaknesses. I would even go so far as to say it still sucks in any tier outside of NU, because it needs so much support. Furthermore, a late game sweep sometimes requires Articuno to land at least one 70%-accuracy attack, which has been the cause of quite a few losses. Regardless of its shortcomings, Articuno is really fun to use for the powerful surprise factor and nostalgia from the good days of Generation 1 when Articuno was actually a notable offensive threat. I can say with confidence and experience that Articuno can perform amazingly in OU, provided it gets the ridiculous amount of support it needs.
____________________________
Notable Threats/Weaknesses
Red = Major threat
What team isn't at least somewhat vulnerable to Jirachi?
No team. No team at all.
It's pretty sad that my team is so vulnerable to Jirachi even with Forretress to resist the infamous Body Slam/Iron Head combo, Magnezone for resistances and steel trapping and Abomasnow to cancel out Leftovers recovery. It really seems like I can't do much more to prepare for Jirachi.
Jellicent and Heatran have a defensive synergy that straight up counters my team. Jellicent can freely switch into Politoed which checks Heatran. Heatran usually out-speeds both Abomasnow and Magnezone and can OHKO both. While Articuno's Hurricane cleanly 2HKOs Jellicent, Heatran can easily take both STABs. Tornadus's Superpower isn't enough to KO Heatran, and both Jellicent and Heatran can burn Tornadus to make it an offensive dead weight. It takes multiple risky predictions to make it past Jellicent and Heatran when they are paired together. Separately they are still threatening to my team, but they are usually manageable.
See above.
See above.
Kyurem-B has the coverage necessary to threaten to KO (or OHKO) everything on my team, and it's relatively fast. It walls Politoed easily, survives Tornadus's Superpower, takes disappointing damage from Abomasnow and ensures a KO on Articuno after life orb damage (assuming Fusion Bolt). The only way to deal with Kyurem-B is to wear it down with offensive pressure and a couple sacrifices if needed. Sub Roost Kyurem-B lacks the coverage necessary destroy everything on my team, and more offensive sets (without leftovers) are much easier to take down.
Sub Roost Kyurem is less offensively threatening than Kyurem-B, but it can easily pressure stall Abomasnow, Forretress and Politoed. Articuno can put up a fight and actually pressure stall Kyurem's Ice Beams, but every time I've tried to do this I got OHKO'd by a critical hit on a turn I didn't use Roost. Either way, Sub Roost Kyurem forces me to play defensively and is a huge threat to my team.
Everybody plays Tyranitar differently, and there seems to be a rise in usage of Tyranitars with Fireblast. Abomasnow unfortunately loses to any Tyranitar as long as sand is up, and the Tyranitar is free to use Fireblast which hits everything on my team hard except for Tornadus and Politoed. But it would be stupid to switch to Tornadus or Politoed because of the risk of switching into a Stone Edge. Double switching from Forretress to Politoed is necessary for scouting for Fireblast.
Specs Jolteon is too powerful and too fast for my team. It out-speeds and OHKOs Tornadus, Articuno and Scarf Politoed, and can easily Volt Switch on Magnezone and Abomasnow for decent damage. Getting stealth rocks up is necessary for wearing it down. Jolteon's faces competition in OU from Thundurus-T, but the latter is easily taken down by rocks and Ice Shard.
I can't take down Chansey. It's too fat.
Substitute/Spore/Focus Punch always does serious damage to my team unless I predict the sub and switch to Politoed for Encore. Other Brelooms can be worn down by hail or OHKO'd by half of my team.
Gastrodon can be extremely difficult to take down. It can freely switch into Politoed and is near impossible to wear down if played conservatively. The only way I can deal with Gastrodon is to hit it hard with Articuno or scare it out with Abomasnow.
After a few boosts, Reuniclus walls and OHKOs my entire team. Its immunity to Hail makes it harder to KO while it sets up.
AKA every Lucario. The protocol vs Lucario is to keep Abomasnow's Sash intact at all costs. Wearing down Lucario with Forretress and Rocky Helmet Magnezone a semi-reliable option, and Politoed can usually survive a +2 Extremespeed at 100%
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Lucario ExtremeSpeed vs. 12 HP / 0 Def Politoed: 279-330 (86.11 - 101.85%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
Notable threats besides those listed above include generally threatening Pokemon such as Volcarona, LO Starmie, Keldeo, Landorus-T and a few others. These threats aren't particularly devastating to the team because they are often easy to revenge kill and usually cannot wall or sweep my team. Something noteworthy is that many of the threats listed above are relatively uncommon in OU.
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Comments, rates and criticism are all appreciated! This team is by no means perfected and it relies on good prediction to perform well, but that's part of what makes it so fun to use. Thanks for reading, and have fun if you decide to give this team a shot!
Here are a few replays for you all to see how this team functions against the standard (and non-standard) threats of OU.
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/ou-50193197
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/ou-50045015
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/ou-51808971
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/oususpecttest-4759142
Importable:
Politoed @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 SAtk / 244 Spd / 12 HP
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Encore
Magnezone @ Rocky Helmet
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Thunder
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
Tornadus @ Flying Gem
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Tailwind
Articuno @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SAtk / 232 Spd / 24 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Hurricane
- Roost
- Tailwind
Forretress @ Leftovers
Trait: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Gyro Ball
- Volt Switch
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
Abomasnow @ Focus Sash
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 176 SAtk / 80 Spd / 252 Atk
Mild Nature
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 SAtk / 244 Spd / 12 HP
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Encore
Magnezone @ Rocky Helmet
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Thunder
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
Tornadus @ Flying Gem
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Tailwind
Articuno @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SAtk / 232 Spd / 24 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Hurricane
- Roost
- Tailwind
Forretress @ Leftovers
Trait: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Gyro Ball
- Volt Switch
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
Abomasnow @ Focus Sash
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 176 SAtk / 80 Spd / 252 Atk
Mild Nature
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
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