So I wanted to build a team around my two favourite reptiles - Sceptile and Feraligatr. I believe they work great as a core because they go hand-in-hand taking hits and checking their respective threats for eachother. To boot, they also have their own unique way of boosting their attacks - Feraligatr's Sheer Force is to be reckoned with and Mega Sceptile has Lightning Rod to snatch a Special Attack boost on the switch-in. While Feraligatr can switch into an incoming Ice type move, Mega Sceptile benefits from Electric types that threaten Feraligatr and can fire off powerful special attacks in retaliation.
As for the team itself, it turned out to be general hyper offense - with the only defensive synergy relying in types, abilities and items. This somehow results in a very balanced W/L record for me - I seem to be getting neither up or down by the looks of things, so that's why I'm posting my team here! FYI, I used to mainly play the Uber and Monotype tiers, but after some experimenting I feel comfortable playing in OU, and it feels good to be able to play in the most mainstream tier in the metagame.
Sceptile @ Sceptilite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Energy Ball
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Protect
Mega Sceptile is quite underrated in the OU metagame. I actually believe he works better in OU than UU, mainly due to the popular Electric, Rock, Dragon and Ground types that he can take advantage of. With the right coverage his only real weaknesses are Weavile, Mamoswine, Mega Pinsir and Talonflame - all of which are fortunately more than covered by the rest of my team.
Energy Ball is a consistent primary STAB that hits like a cannon, especially under a Lightning Rod boost. Dragon Pulse is the same albeit slightly weaker, but still able to OHKO most Dragons after Stealth Rock. HP Fire OHKOs Scizor and roasts Ferrothorn - two Pokemon that would buffer Sceptile very hard without it. Protect is used for anti-faking and general safety before Mega Evolving.
Feraligatr @
Ability: Sheer Force
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch
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- Dragon Dance
Feraligatr is my favourite setup sweeper as the combination of Dragon Dance + Sheer Force is simply deadly. In fact, Feraligatr's the only Pokemon that can viably use this combo which gives him plenty of credit. He also has all the coverage he needs to hit his checks.
Waterfall pummels anything that doesn't resist it very hard, especially after a dance. Originally Crunch was useful for OHKOing Lati@s, Celebi and Psychics, but in the end Ice Punch hits the former two, most Psychics barring Slowbro which are OHKOed or 2HKOed by Waterfall, and Grass types such as Serperior that may switch in on Feraligatr. Superpower allows Gatr to get past Ferrothorn - very annoying in this meta.
I have to be honest - I never liked the Life Orb. I always thought losing HP as you swept a team would just leave you suspectible to being revenge-killed by priority. However, it never struck me that Sheer Force negates LO recoil for some reason - which is interesting since it is an item and not a move. Nonetheless, Feraligatr is now truly hitting his hardest and is deadlier than ever.
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Timid Nature
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Toxic
- Taunt
While not part of the initial core, Heatran forms a very nice GFW core as a double Ice and Grass resist for Sceptile and Feraligatr respectively, as well as the ever-useful double resistance to Fairy. The team also needed a form of stallbreaking, so here he is in his offensive stallbreaker form.
Magma Storm, albeit with its shaky accuracy, is a potent stall antidote that can wear things down very quickly. Earth Power answers to opposing grounded Heatran and in some cases Fire types. The Toxic + Taunt combo is vital for any stallbreaker, and no one uses it better than Heatran who uses it in conjunction with Magma Storm to trap, taunt and wear down even the bulkiest of walls. All this is topped off by the Air Balloon which gives Heatran that very handy immunity to Ground.
Starmie @ Wise Glasses
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
I would later add a Stealth Rocker to my team, so I added Starmie as a reliable offensive spinner for my side. In the early stages this team also had a particular weakness to Fighting types - particularly Conkeldurr and Keldeo, so I needed a good Psychic type as well.
Psychic acts as STAB here, primary weapon against Fighting types and the occasional Poison type. The BoltBeam combo hits many Flying types and in Ice Beam's case OHKO's Gliscor, Garchomp and Landorus-T. Rapid Spin for essential hazard control. The Wise Glasses actually work surprisingly well on Starmie - even though its Special movepool is fantastic, it's somewhat undermined by a simple 100 base Special Attack stat. This means that it will have 299 maximum without a Modest nature. Since Starmie's Speed is an important factor on this team, it needs to be Timid, however it cannot afford to run Choice Specs (since locking yourself into Rapid Spin isn't exactly the smartest idea) and it also cannot afford to run Life Orb due its low bulk.
Bisharp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Impish Nature
-
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
Bisharp serves as an extra Steel type and great emergency check to various setup sweepers - thanks to a nifty little combination in the Focus Sash and Foul Play. He also serves as an offensive Fairy check and general revenge killer.
Thunder Wave + Focus Sash is a reliable combo to stop rampaging setup sweepers more reliably, particularly Mega Gyarados which is normally game over at +2. It's also very useful for luring annoying Fighting types like Keldeo and Terrakion into 2HKOing Bisharp and kissing goodbye to their 346 speed stats. Sucker Punch is mandatory priority. Knock Off puts all Eviolite users in check as well as punishing anything that switches into it by depriving them of their item. Iron Head to stab Fairies (Get it? BiSHARP? Heh...)
Rhyperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Impish Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Stealth Rock
Rhyperior just works surprisingly well, and with him I've managed to climb further up into the ladder by the late 1300s. While Aerodactyl is one of my favourite team players, Rhyperior does everything Aero did 10x better. STAB EdgeQuake, a more consistent Ice type move, premier physical bulk and HP, a MUCH MORE reliable check to Talonflame - Stone Edge OHKOes even when burned and neither of Talon's STAB moves can even phaze Rhyperior, not even at +2. There just isn't any real oppurtunity cost here except being the complete opposite of fast which is the only real downside. This thing can even take Hidden Power Ice from Manectric, Thundurus and Raikou without any Special Defense investment. Talk about a tank.
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