SM OU You are entering a no fun zone: Scolipass HO team

[P3DS]

Forgive me for unleashing this. I used this mainly for a memorial tourney at my Uni's Pokesoc and just to have fun on the ladder. I wanted a fun team, and saw Scolipass as a solid point in the meta, that people didn't seem prepared for. It punished passive plays with strong setup. Lele's influence and Talonflame nerf (RIP best birb) meant that there were few big priority users in the format, perfect for Scolipassing. Plus, the new Ultra Beasts let sweeping get better with the speed boost option available to a lot of teams. Overall, it is a good time to Scolipass before its banned.

Teambuilding:

After seeing robopoke's team on the pre-bank ladder, I started to try it out. I loved the direction it went with, but I felt there were some really weak parts to the team. For starters, although Magearna was solid, it kept getting outsped by common scarfers, and needed multiple boosts to get the speed needed. Metagross just seemed like a dead-weight, and I felt that Excadrill could start games too passive against mons like Charizard and Celesteela. The 3 were eventually cut.

Scolipede/Manaphy/Xurkitree
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It was at this time I was needing a team for an OU tourney at my Uni's Pokemon Society, and I felt this was going to be the best team to use. I looked around for some ideas, and stumbled across another team in the Ou Bazaar. It had the original 3 I was looking at, with some altered spreads, and added Greninja, Kartana and Hoopa-U. This felt strong, but Hoopa just didn't fit. And at the tourney, I knew there was a mono electric team, and thought it would be fun to have a mon that beat that.

Scolipede/Manaphy/Xurkitree/Greninja/Kartana
​

I looked at solid Pokemon to beat Electric types, and concluded that it was either Excadrill, or Zygarde. I chose Zygarde, as it had the better option to hit Flying Types, and could boost speed itself. It turned out to be the perfect addition. So, with a few tweaks, I had my team ready to play.

Anemoi (Scolipede) @ Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Poison Jab
- Substitute
- Protect
- Baton Pass

Member No1. and most likely to be your lead. This thing can cause chaos if left to its own devices. It punishes passive plays, and with good prediction, you can usually get a free sub. For example, you see a lead that is likely to Stealth Rock rather than attack, because it is likely for you to Protect T1, Sub, and watch as you get +1 Spe and a Sub. Then Protect and now you have +2 and a sub. Then BP into the necessary threat. I picked Poison Jab as the final move, just to have some form of attack, and a way to hit the Tapus for SE damage, to pick the blighters off. Max HP for longevity. If you play this Pokemon right, it can be a very big threat to take down.

Notos (Xurkitree) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Energy Ball
- Tail Glow

The easiest to snowball. Xurk can come easily onto ground moves and can be very disruptive with its array of attacks. I kept the same 3 Attacks+Tail Glow from Robopoke's team, with the Air Balloon, as this can just force switches on scarfed Landorus. With Tail Glow, this thing is ridiculous. Tbolt hits hard, HP ice for that sweet bolt-beam duo, and Energy Ball for bulkier Grounds. Modest nature just to destroy stuff better, and max speed to try not get outsped. Beast Boost just makes this thing a terror to play, as you don't want it taking a KO, due to it boosting its SpAtt up and sweeping more. Definitely MVP for the team.

Zephyrus (Manaphy) @ Waterium Z
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Energy Ball
- Tail Glow

The safest switch. Manaphy is usually the go to for passing. it is fairly bulky, and, with Tail Glow boosts, a nightmare to face. It has very solid coverage in Water, Ice and Grass. Surf > Scald for the added power. You want to OHKO stuff. Fishing for burns is better on the slower sets. Ice Beam kills Dragons, and Energy Ball for bulky Waters. Spread is to maximize power, then rest on speed. I chose Waterium Z of the other team for one reason: Sometimes, you get a bulky mon that could outright KO you, and can't be OHKOed normally. Waterium allows me to nuke the threat and try remove it from the field.

Eurus (Kartana) @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Night Slash

The 3rd wheel. Kartana is usually the least used on the team, but it does its job well. 4 Attacks was chosen, just to hit hard ASAP. Leaf Blade+Smart Strike for STABs, and Sacred Sword for Steel Types. Night Slash was opted for over Swords Dance due to a poor Marowak-A match up. Life orb for more damage, and Jolly nature was picked, so I tied with jolly scarf-tana and was kinda the only one I had.

Boreas (Greninja) @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Gunk Shot

The Glue. Greninja was perfect for the team, and was kept from the 2nd version of the team as it was. Usually the other lead for the team, to soften the foe before I sweep. Hydro Pump hits nastily hard, and can clear some Pokemon to allow Scolipede/Zygarde to setup. Dark Pulse KOs Mega Alakazam and Bulky Psychics. HP fire for Ferrothorn, who otherwise is a huge pain. Gunk Shot for Fairies, and beats them before they are threats. Naive and max SpA, because it makes it fast, and hit hard with Special STABs. Protect the fact this thing hasn't got Ice Beam. Most Dragons switch out on this, and it can perform very well to bait in Ferrothorn and such.

Skiron (Zygarde) @ Groundium Z
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Dragon Dance

The hidden gem: Finally, a Pokemon I added. Initially to annoy a friend using mono Electric, Zygarde didn't disappoint. Thousand Arrows is horrible. It breaks down teams easily, and, with Dragon Dance, can be extremely hard to tank. Extreme Speed is my only priority, and Outrage was there to hit Salamence and Garchomp on a switch. Groundium was picked to offer a nuke for hardy mons that could take my hits, like Kartana.

But wait... 2 Z Crystals... That's stupid. It would waste item slots that could be useful, like life orb or such... My response is that I know. But the 2 crystals make sense. Half the time, Manaphy has enough power to sweep, but, there is that one mon that stands in its way. It could go down, and phone a friend, to help, but no. Waterium takes down their check, and I go for the checkmate. Same with Zygarde. Kartana usually takes the hit, and Leaf Blade is nasty, but a Tectonic Rage at +1 is usually an OHKO. I know the consequences, and I know that it works how I want it to.



Threats:

Toxapex: this thing is pure terror most of the time. Sometimes I have to sack my Z move to remove this thing, but it is usually worth it. Haze and the bulk lets it live a +1 Thousand Arrows from Zygarde.

Mega Alakazam: This guy is a huge threat. If it traces Beast Boost or Speed Boost, kill it ASAP! if you can prevent it, make some smart switches and maneouver it into a possition to scoli setup and pass to a Pokemon who can KO it.

Mega Venusaur: Ugh... too bulky, and I have very little to damage it with. Catching it on the switch is good, but if you see it lacks HP Fire, Kartana walls it to death.

Sound Moves: Bypasses sub, and are nasty to try beat. Perish Song is evil, but Specs Kommo-o is surprisingly painful, especially with Clanging Scales.

P/hazing: I lose boosts, but, if they don't roar quick, I get some free damage on them. Also, I have Greninja, Kartana and Zygarde to hammer the common ones.

importable

Anemoi (Scolipede) @ Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Poison Jab
- Substitute
- Protect
- Baton Pass

Notos (Xurkitree) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Energy Ball
- Tail Glow

Zephyrus (Manaphy) @ Waterium Z
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Energy Ball
- Tail Glow

Eurus (Kartana) @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Night Slash

Boreas (Greninja) @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Gunk Shot

Skiron (Zygarde) @ Groundium Z
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Dragon Dance

​

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the team!

 

[robopoke]

Can you share some replays that show us how the team works?

When looking at your team I realize that you lack any form of entry hazards. While I can understand this because you want to maximize the amount of Speedrecipients that could win the game, having Stealth Rocks is incredibly important for two reasons:
1) It breaks potential sashes and chips away at huge threats like Volcarona and Zards
2) It forces the usage of Defog. If your opponent is forced to defog, you can get a turn to setup and basicly win the game. Most people recognize this and are too afraid to Defog because of the massive threat of your recipients, which is almost as good.

I also realize the lack of bulk on any of your mons. Having max Speed on your mons is good in case you cannot setup because of Haze, Whirlwind or priority that kills Scolipede and thus forces it out, (Quick Atk from Mpinsir, Water Shuriken) having 0 bulk makes setting up more difficult for you in case you are able to pass speedboosts.

 

[P3DS]

Can you share some replays that show us how the team works?

When looking at your team I realize that you lack any form of entry hazards. While I can understand this because you want to maximize the amount of Speedrecipients that could win the game, having Stealth Rocks is incredibly important for two reasons:
1) It breaks potential sashes and chips away at huge threats like Volcarona and Zards
2) It forces the usage of Defog. If your opponent is forced to defog, you can get a turn to setup and basicly win the game. Most people recognize this and are too afraid to Defog because of the massive threat of your recipients, which is almost as good.

I also realize the lack of bulk on any of your mons. Having max Speed on your mons is good in case you cannot setup because of Haze, Whirlwind or priority that kills Scolipede and thus forces it out, (Quick Atk from Mpinsir, Water Shuriken) having 0 bulk makes setting up more difficult for you in case you are able to pass speedboosts.

Unfortunately, I'm not the kind of person to record my battles on showdown, and due to the nature of the team, not many people save the battle video. I do however, have some in game videos of games, with a couple of examples of where it lost. I can upload them tomorrow, and post the codes in the op. I try to play the team fairly agro, with a lot of reading, hard reading and reacting. For example, I had someone lead mega aerodactyl to my scolipede, and they knew kinda what they were doing, and knew what kind of team I had. Thinking about that, I chose to read a stealth rock turn 1 (He had no other noticable lead rocker other than an infernape, and on a team like their's, they would lead a rocker vs my team, to punish the no hazard control and punish the scolipede switching) and I went for a Sub, which I called correctly. It snowballed, and manaphy took a sweep. Its the style I love to use, and it can adapt fairly well. Though, a wrong call can sometime be bad, but mostly it is alright. One bad call that went wrong was not noticing the scarfed koko, and poison jabbing it before it switched. He swapped into a steel type, and I lost a bit of momentum, especially with missing the free sub after the volt switch. ITs a mistake that kinda cost me a sweep, and ended the game quicker, as I lost my zygarde fairly early, and called a bad switch, and should have straight tectonic raged

I do have to agree on the lack of bulk and SR. On the SR side, I rarely encounter sash or sturdy Pokemon. Those I do can cause some momentum loss (Like duggy on revenge killing) or can sometimes setup and cause some problems if they have priority (Looking at you mimikyu) A stealth rocker would seem useful, and I agree. But in a format filled with entry hazards, there are only a few viable sash users.

Hello P3DS, I just have one advice : in your team, you have 2 Z-Moves users. So, you could use Sitrus Berry on Manaphy (like Robopoke on his Bazooka Offense) or run a Yache Berry on your Zygarde which will allow you pass it speed without being affraid by HP Ice users. I hope it will help you. Good luck ^_^

Yeah. The reason for 2 Z crystals was kinda cause I needed a way to let zygarde hit hard. Zygarde would be the main one to lose the Z Crystal, because Manaphy finds it just so more useful to help in its quest to sweep.

+3 252+ SpA Manaphy Surf vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Celesteela: 240-283 (60.3 - 71.1%)
Vs
+3 252+ SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Celesteela: 466-549 (117 - 137.9%)

The difference does show in this case. And that is on the bulky ones. The sweeper celesteela is a 62.5% chance to get OHKOed by +3 surf. And most run a bit more bulk than that. And those are the ones that like to run stuff like Toxic or a grass move like giga drain and seed bomb, which can force the sweep to an end. This is just one example. Some specially bulky mons that usually are there to break sweeps can't deal with the water Z move. So that's why Manaphy would be better keeping its item as opposed to the sitrus berry.

Yache on Zygard is a thought, though its usually not the main switch in. most stuff with HP ice is dealt with by Xurk and Manaphy. Though I do think a more appropriate item here would be useful than the groundium, though it is good at baiting in a toxapex, and destroying it. It was a quick hack at the time, and nothing else really stood out, so it stayed.

 

[Gravelmouse]

----->

Scolipede is a poison type so Black Sludge will do the same thing as leftovers for it. The reason to use Black Sludge over lefties is because it punishes trick users by decreasing their HP by 1/16 percent each turn iirc.



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Not a rate just a quick correction, black sludge decreases by 1/8 not 1/16. Don't mind me...

 

[P3DS]

Replace Hydro Pump with Extrasensory on Greninja

You mentioned that your team was extremely weak to toxapex, and Extrasensory (its fun to say it, Extra-Sensory) easily beats not only toxapex but also Mega Vensaur, another mon I noticed your team was very weak to. Sacrificing Hydro Pump isin't really as bad as it seems because your team badly needs the coverage provided by Extrasensory.

------->

As Mr. JFK mentioned, you already have 2 Z move users, and Zygarde is very mediocre when holding Groundium Z. It appreciates the power boost to all of its moves full time around, not just a one time nuke. I feel that a Life orb will fit its needs, not to mention Life orb is the standard item on any Offensive Zygarde set.

------->

You also mentioned that your team was very weak to mega alakazam. Kartana really doesn't do much for your team, so why don't you use Assault Vest Magearna instead? It checks Mega alakazam and Mega Venasaur while providing your team a slow volt switch to take advantage of (none of your sweepers like coming in onto attacks). It also acts as an emrgency check to Ferrothorn and is just the perfect glue to your team overall.

----->

Scolipede is a poison type so Black Sludge will do the same thing as leftovers for it. The reason to use Black Sludge over lefties is because it punishes trick users by decreasing their HP by 1/16 percent each turn iirc.

Modest Nature-----> Timid Nature

Though it might seem redundant to add a speed boosting nature on top of speed boosts, if Xurkitree gets a select number of boosts, it will be still be outspeed and revenge killed by many of the choice scarf users in the tier. Using timid helps mitigate this problem. Better safe then sorry right?
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Ya know, Waterium Z is the standard and recommended item on manaphy. We were talkin about the Z crystal on zygarde, where it doesn't belong. A plus one thousand arrows OHKOes toxapex after SR and has a chance to do so even without stealth rocks, so I don't see the need of Groundium Z at all. On top of that,
Tetonic Rage doesn't hit flying types like thousand arrowas does, so its actually easier to check.

Must have missed your first post when I replied earlier. Life orb is a great shout.
+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 281-330 (92.4 - 108.5%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
That's a chance I'm willing to take if it means upping my chances against Toxapex. I may miss the groundium from time to time, but I'll be fine with that.

On extrasensory, another good call. It really helps with the venusaur match up I usually dread to see.

Magearna... I tried it. It didn't fit my style. It does help my alakazam matchup, but makes my rain matchup that bit harder. It also is another special attacker, and that makes the blobs harder to deal with. I can usually stall rain for a bit, then pass to kartana. a few leaf blades later, and I can ruin their rain mode. Something this slot could become is a mega evo. I have my eyes on Mawile when it comes back (and if it is OU).