SS OU Coming Back Fast

[Baby Ollie]

Hello all. It has been awhile since I have played, and it seems I skipped a few generations. Getting back into it, and put the following team together after maybe a hundred or so random battles (Dynamax is meh). I built the team based off of pokemon that I found were excellent sweepers with very little (re: no) setup. At the risk of sounding like Jeramy Clarkson, every Pokemon is set up around speed and power. Move-sets were mostly set up so that I would have a super effective against every counter, as well as some (hopefully) surprise move types against some of the truly over-used pokemon in the class.

While I understand that some teams are better suited for beating other teams, what I have found issues with countering are Drizzle/Swift Swim teams, and the ever annoying Sticky Web. The key component of the team is to hit first and hit hard, so having that advantage taken away really cripples me. The other issue that I have is that I do not have any good pokemon to switch in to absorb attacks and set me up to retaliate in case I do not have any super-effectives to a counter. I am pretty decent at predicting people trying to set up and play the game fast and loose overall... But that gives me about a 50% success rate. I believe that if I had at least one pokemon capable of soaking up hits and maybe statusing the opponent or healing my pokemon, that it would benefit greatly. The ability to remove traps would be good too.

I'm heavy on physical sweepers so I believe that is where the change needs to take place, but I am not sure where to start. Each has proven to be quite effective depending on the opponent's team. Darmanitan gets the least use, but the Flame Charge with Sheer Force is just so powerful... It's hard to let go. Really appreciate any feedback or suggestions. Please keep in mind I do enjoy playing "reckless," and have found that by using proper risk management, I am able to surprise a lot of people by not switching out when expected and using superior speed attack power can get two hit knock outs while the opponent boosts.

A replay giving an idea of my play style can be found here: click me.

Machamp
Machamp @ Expert Belt
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Darkest Lariat
- Rock Slide
- Bullet Punch
​

I typically use Machamp in concert with Zearora and/or against bulky defenders. If I can combine confusion with paralysis, with a little bit of luck I can knock-out even heavy defensive pokemon unscathed. Darkest Lariat helps counter all the Ghost Type that come in, and Rock Slide is obviously for the flying threats. Bullet Punch is for those aggravating moments where there is a boosted pokemon faster than mine, or one using another priority move that I need to beat. It is also a counter to Fairy Types, however they typically need to be below 30-40% health if I am to get a knock out. Machamp is one of the slower pokemon on the team, so I do need to be a little bit wiser when picking my fights with him.

Mew
Mew @ Life Orb
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Flamethrower
- Focus Blast
- Dazzling Gleam
​

Mew is one of two special attackers that I have. With the high speed, he is able to OHKO all the Sythers that people try to counter it with. I run focus blast for the normal type bulky guys, and Dazzling Gleam as I do not have many other super effective types against Dragon Types. Mew has some of the better defensive stats given his IV spread, so that is usually who gets switched in if I am unsure of what type of attack to expect as he is, so far, able to soak them up the best.

Hawlucha
Hawlucha @ White Herb
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Close Combat
- Throat Chop
- Poison Jab
​

I love this Hawlucha moveset. What's not to like about getting a free Close Combat followed by over 700spd and 110power Acrobatics? Another advantage is his natural defense against Sticky Web. What is left to be desired, however, is Hawlucha's effective against its counters. Obviously Throat Chop is there for the Psychic type, and Poison Jab for the Fairy Type, but I do not see the expected HP drop against most pokemon that I would like. Any suggestions on a better setup here would be greatly appreciated.

Darmanitan
Darmanitan @ Expert Belt
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Body Slam
- Iron Head
- Zen Headbutt
​

Darmanitan is probably the least utilized pokemon of the set. His power is undeniable with Sheer Force, however I do not have any good counters to Water Type counters, and that is cramping his style somewhat. I was running him with a Life Orb which was devastating to the opponent... But also devastating to Darmanitan; especially when combined with the Expert Belt. I should probably swap Body Slam to better be able to utilize the Expert Belt, but I'm really not sure where to go with him.

Durant
Durant @ Wide Lens
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- X-Scissor
- Iron Head
- Crunch
- Rock Slide
​

This may sound stupid, but Durant is probably my favorite pokemon of this set. I believe he is underestimated by many, and is thus able to get a lot of knock outs by taking people by surprise. His move-set gives wide coverage, and I greatly enjoy OHKO Fire Type pokemon that are so commonly switched in against him. With the attack boost from Hustle, his attack is 425. I have tried to mitigate the accuracy loss with the Wide Lens which puts the accuracy of everything at 88% (except Rock Slide). The hardest thing to counter are Fighting Types followed by Ground Types.

Zeraora
Zeraora @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Volt Switch
- Aura Sphere
​

I believe that Zeraora is the only new generation Pokemon that I have on my team. I absolutely love the speed on Zeraora. I understand why a lot of people use Plasma Fist, but the base stats really set him up to be a special sweeper. This has let me take advantage of some people switching in expecting to have physical attacks thrown at them. Due to his somewhat frail nature, I have been running him with Heavy-Duty Boots which I have found to be quite advantageous when switching him in. As previously stated, I like to run him in conjunction with Machamp. He is typically my lead pokemon out as, unless they are running a priority move or prankster, he always goes first. Usually I will try to get a quick status in and then Volt Switch out depending on the opposing team. I run Aura Sphere as it hits hard against Ground Type. I do not run Focus Blast as I do not see the risk worth the reward on the accuracy of it with this pokemon. While it may OHKO some pokemon, it may not. If I cannot use an Electric Type attack agains the opponent, then I will take the (usually guaranteed) two hit knock out over the maybe OHKO.




Thank you everyone for your input and suggestions!

Edit: Replay Added
Edit 2: Some grammar and misspelled/autocrrect words corrected.

 

[toaster04]

This is an interesting team build you have here. I'm not an expert at Gen 8 but I can certainly help you with your team since I've been getting back into it some too. There are interesting ideas here but I think you could change a few things.

On your team I see a lack of Stealth Rock. Adding Stealth Rock to your Mew will change the game a lot because you will be getting lots of chip damage and punish switches into vulnerable Pokemon like Volcarona and Rotom-Heat. To fix this, adding Stealth Rock > Focus Blast on your Mew will help you steal momentum. You won't be utilizing Focus Blast as much because you do a plausible amount of damage to Ferrothorns that want to ruin you with Leech Seed by using Flamethrower. As much as I really like the offensive presence of your team, offensive pressure definitely should not miss out on Stealth Rock. You could maybe even fit Spikes too!

I want to point out hazard control again - you have no Defog user other Stealth Rock users give your Darmanitan problems. Defog users on your team are important because you have two Pokemon that are punished by Stealth Rock, and also Spikes damage (bar Hawlucha). This can easily be patched up by either replacing one of your Hawlucha's moves with Defog, or replacing Hawlucha with a Corviknight that has an easier time of dealing with the aforementioned fairies like clef. A Brave Bird should be able to take out Alakazam and Corviknight can ignore the lackluster chip from Primarina and Clef. Here is the set, I was worried that my rate would break the offensive presence of your team so I decided to give it a Bulk Up set to maintain offensive momentum.

Corviknight

Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 228 SpD / 28 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bulk Up
- Roost
- Brave Bird
- Defog

I'm pretty sure I caught everything, good luck with your team!

 

[Baby Ollie]

This is an interesting team build you have here. I'm not an expert at Gen 8 but I can certainly help you with your team since I've been getting back into it some too. There are interesting ideas here but I think you could change a few things.

On your team I see a lack of Stealth Rock. Adding Stealth Rock to your Mew will change the game a lot because you will be getting lots of chip damage and punish switches into vulnerable Pokemon like Volcarona and Rotom-Heat. To fix this, adding Stealth Rock > Focus Blast on your Mew will help you steal momentum. You won't be utilizing Focus Blast as much because you do a plausible amount of damage to Ferrothorns that want to ruin you with Leech Seed by using Flamethrower. As much as I really like the offensive presence of your team, offensive pressure definitely should not miss out on Stealth Rock. You could maybe even fit Spikes too!

I want to point out hazard control again - you have no Defog user other Stealth Rock users give your Darmanitan problems. Defog users on your team are important because you have two Pokemon that are punished by Stealth Rock, and also Spikes damage (bar Hawlucha). This can easily be patched up by either replacing one of your Hawlucha's moves with Defog, or replacing Hawlucha with a Corviknight that has an easier time of dealing with the aforementioned fairies like clef. A Brave Bird should be able to take out Alakazam and Corviknight can ignore the lackluster chip from Primarina and Clef. Here is the set, I was worried that my rate would break the offensive presence of your team so I decided to give it a Bulk Up set to maintain offensive momentum.

Corviknight

Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 228 SpD / 28 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bulk Up
- Roost
- Brave Bird
- Defog

I'm pretty sure I caught everything, good luck with your team!

Here is my first game with stealth rock and defog.

I forgot to record the first game with Corviknight, so here is the highlight real of SEA at ATL instead. (Let Russ cook!)

Toaster,

Thank you for taking the time to put together a response. It is greatly, greatly appreciated. I have played two games, one of each with the different suggestions that you made. I agree 100% that I need to run Defog and Stealth Rock. Not only will the chip shots demoralize the opponent on switching other pokemon in, but it can also help break the effectiveness of the focus sash and sturdy. Defog is also beneficial as it can remove the Light Screen and Reflect that can slow down my momentum.

On my game with Corviknight (which I also won ), I got into a situation with a porygon that was able to set up a Substitute and use Nasty Plot that may not have happened with Hawlucha. That stated, it also hung in there long enough to set up my Durant to take it out... Not something Hawlucha could have done. That was only one game, but I can see how effective Corviknight could be on the team already. He has staying power and can switch in to a really good amount of threats.

Again, thank you for your input. I am going to play around with both options a bit and see which one sticks. You helped me see outside the Attack! Attack! tunnel that I was in. Really appreciate it.