SM OU First SM (PokeBank) OU Team

[Trunks40]

-Intro-
This here is my first OU Team for Generation 7, and my second competitive set in general. I feel that since my last team post (which was a brick and a half ago) my competitive battling skills have gone up, but my teambuilding skills haven't much. So I'm putting in this team that I've been using for the past week up for analysis.

Tapu Bulu @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Superpower
- Stone Edge
- Horn Leech
This is the Pokemon that I'm basing the team around, it being on of my favorites from Gen 7. Personally, I have found more success using Swords Dance Bulu rather than Banded Bulu. I have Horn Leech as a form of recovery and dishing out power with the STAB and Grassy Terrain Boost. Stone Edge and Superpower are both very powerful coverage moves, due to Bulu not getting Play Rough (Dazzling Gleam doesn't really help out). The Attack investment really allow Bulu to get as much damage as possible, while the HP and Lefties allow Bulu to get as much survivability as possible in battle.

Gengar (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast

So the first thing I thought about after the initial Pokemon set is " how do I cover up that glaring Poison weakness that Tapu Bulu has while still being able to put some heavy damage in at the same time?" To answer that question, I added Gengar to the squad. Unfortunately, with the advent of Cursed Body (which does have its uses), it's harder to build around it's new ground type weakness. However I have found that AV works to a point, it allows a little bit of bulk if a STAB or coverage move doesn't OHKO against a threat.

Arcanine (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 Spe / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Wild Charge
- Extreme Speed
- Flare Blitz
- Outrage

Next up to play is a "Fire-Shield" for Tapu Bulu, being Flash Fire Arcanine. I had the same idea as Gengar in choosing Arcanine, a 'mon that can put a hole in some teams while being a resist for one of Bulu's weaknesses. Banded Arcanine is supposed to just dish out heavy damage. The moveset used does have a lot of crash damage, but the damage output makes it useful at times.

Aerodactyl-Mega (M) @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 248 Spe / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail
- Roost

I honestly chose Mega Aero for the sole purpose of trying out a new mega Pokemon. The Pokemon being used has put in work against many threats such as Minior with STAB Stone Edge and Aqua Tail. EQ is always great for coverage if available and Roost is for the obvious healing that would be necessary if taking a hard hit or crit.

Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Dark Pulse
- Extrasensory
- Ice Beam
Thanks to the new meta, Protean Greninja is rereleased to the OU Public. To combat against the various water weaknesses that I had on my team. I ran Grass Knot on this Greninja initially, but then the new Alolan threat of Toxapex forced me to change up my spread a tiny bit and switch out Grass Knot to Extrasensory. My one concern about this pokemon is it's natural frailty, as it is quite key in this team.

Excadrill (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Poison Jab

I put this addition into my team due to my team being repeatedly inhibited by hazards such as Rocks and Webs. He's a bulky set with STAB Iron Head and EQ with an addition with Poison Jab as a coverage move. I'm considering using Rock Slide instead of Poison Jab for the threat of Fire-type Pokemon.

-------------------------------------------------
That's my whole team, what do you guys think should change in it?

 

[Sun]

(first SM rate)
hi Trunks40, after looking your team i noticed that a lot of sets and pokemons are not the best choice for the actual OU metagame, Tapu bulu is definitely a great pokemon, but I think you have chosen the wrong partners to support it, now I'll put you compare one of mine Tapu Bulu's builds and I'll explain how I worked around, Tapu Bulu | Mega Aerodactyl | Celeestela | Alolan Marowak | Greninja | Tapu Lele, in my build, as you can see, I chose to use Celesteela + alolan Marowak, a defensive core that manages to beat pokemon very common in the metagame as Tapu koko, Pheromosa, Genesect, Lando-i, Tapu lele, others Tapu bulu, secondly, I noticed that I needed more offensive presence to beat many switches in of my core, I thought, like you, to Greninja, which succeeds thanks to its speed and combinations of moves to knock out as many Pokemon as Toxapex, fire types as alolan Marowak, Charizard x and Heatran and finally fairy types the likes of tapu Fini, Lele and Bulu, finally i choose scarf tapu Lele, a revenge killer that can put a lot of pressure to fast pokemons like Pheromosa, Greninja, and can knock out steel types likes of Genesect, mega Scizor and Ferrothorn with hp fire, as you can see, my team has the main objective of supporting my initial core putting a defensive core, and then put offensive support to help in the various match up where my core has trouble.

Now that we have a look at my team, we look at your, initially I say that Av Gengar and Cb Arcanine are not very synergistic in the team, and many spreads, such as the one of Aerodactyl, Bulu and Excadrill must be optimized, the lack of stealth rock setter is a huge failure from an attacking point view, since fire types of the likes of Charizard y/x, Volcarona have easier times against your team, also i don't like how Pheromosa and Lele can be annoying for the team, then, keeping this in mind, i'd suggest you to use my team's defensive core Celesteela and alolan Marowak over gengar and arcanine , this core is pretty solid to deal better with the threats aforementioned, also Marowak can be used offensive to put more offensive pressure to pokemon of the likes of Charizard x and mega Venusaur, after that, i'd suggest using 116 HP / 252 Atk /140 Speed on Bulu, this spread allows him to outspeed 0 speed investment Rotom-w, defensive heatran and mega Venusaur, also i suggest to use Zen headbutt over Stone edge, this change allows bulu to lure mega Venusaur very well after a SD boost, about Celesteela, i think a special defensive sets might be cool to switch as well as possible to things like Tapu lele, mega Zam, Lando-i, Latios, concerning Excadrill, i think a special defense variant is cool for the team, provides stealth rocks for bulu and Aero, finally gives hazard control support for the team and a very solid fairy switch in, a interesting variant to Excadrill can be tapu Fini, which is a really cool hazard removal and a great Zard x and Buzzwole check, another choice that might be really interesting is Mantine , which shows to be really good against Charizard Y, Pheromosa, and Greninja (Hp electric less) I recommend you try them all, replace Boomerang with Stealth rock on Marowak if you use fini or mantine as hazard remover over Excadrill , after that, i'd suggest to use a simple 252 Atk / 252 speed spread on mega Aero which optimizes its offensive capabilities, Pursuit or ice fang are a great choice over roost, pursuit can trap psychic types as mega zam, tapu lele and ghost types as gengar, marowak, Ice fang is a cool move to have easiest times against Lando-t and Garchomp, Wing attack over aqua tail is an interesting choice to beat fighting types and grass types, finally, i'd suggest using Hydro pump over scald on Greninja, hydro pump allows to hit hard SpD heatran and Zard x OHKOing it after Sr damage.

sets

Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 248 HP / 200 SpD / 60 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake

Tapu Bulu @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 116 HP / 252 Atk / 140 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Zen Headbutt
- Superpower

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Leech Seed
- Heavy Slam
- Protect
- Fire Blast

Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wing Attack
- Earthquake
- ice fang / Pursuit
- Stone Edge

Marowak-Alola @ Leftovers
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Bonemerang / stealth rock (if you choose mantine/fini)

Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Extrasensory
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam

Mantine and fini sets

Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Scald
- Roost
- Haze

Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 200 Def / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nature's Madness
- Surf / scald
- Taunt
- Defog

There are many partners for tapu bulu, such as Charizard x, mega Metagross, tapu Fini, tapu koko and others, try them all, build many teams, this is the key to improve, that's all, I hope you have luck with your team

 

[Trunks40]

(first SM rate)
hi Trunks40, after looking your team i noticed that a lot of sets and pokemons are not the best choice for the actual OU metagame, Tapu bulu is definitely a great pokemon, but I think you have chosen the wrong partners to support it, now I'll put you compare one of mine Tapu Bulu's builds and I'll explain how I worked around, Tapu Bulu | Mega Aerodactyl | Celeestela | Alolan Marowak | Greninja | Tapu Lele, in my build, as you can see, I chose to use Celesteela + alolan Marowak, a defensive core that manages to beat pokemon very common in the metagame as Tapu koko, Pheromosa, Genesect, Lando-i, Tapu lele, others Tapu bulu, secondly, I noticed that I needed more offensive presence to beat many switches in of my core, I thought, like you, to Greninja, which succeeds thanks to its speed and combinations of moves to knock out as many Pokemon as Toxapex, fire types as alolan Marowak, Charizard x and Heatran and finally fairy types the likes of tapu Fini, Lele and Bulu, finally i choose scarf tapu Lele, a revenge killer that can put a lot of pressure to fast pokemons like Pheromosa, Greninja, and can knock out steel types likes of Genesect, mega Scizor and Ferrothorn with hp fire, as you can see, my team has the main objective of supporting my initial core putting a defensive core, and then put offensive support to help in the various match up where my core has trouble.

Now that we have a look at my team, we look at your, initially I say that Av Gengar and Cb Arcanine are not very synergistic in the team, and many spreads, such as the one of Aerodactyl, Bulu and Excadrill must be optimized, the lack of stealth rock setter is a huge failure from an attacking point view, since fire types of the likes of Charizard y/x, Volcarona have easier times against your team, also i don't like how Pheromosa and Lele can be annoying for the team, then, keeping this in mind, i'd suggest you to use my team's defensive core Celesteela and alolan Marowak over gengar and arcanine , this core is pretty solid to deal better with the threats aforementioned, also Marowak can be used offensive to put more offensive pressure to pokemon of the likes of Charizard x and mega Venusaur, after that, i'd suggest using 116 HP / 252 Atk /140 Speed on Bulu, this spread allows him to outspeed 0 speed investment Rotom-w, defensive heatran and mega Venusaur, also i suggest to use Zen headbutt over Stone edge, this change allows bulu to lure mega Venusaur very well after a SD boost, about Celesteela, i think a special defensive sets might be cool to switch as well as possible to things like Tapu lele, mega Zam, Lando-i, Latios, concerning Excadrill, i think a special defense variant is cool for the team, provides stealth rocks for bulu and Aero, finally gives hazard control support for the team and a very solid fairy switch in, a interesting variant to Excadrill can be tapu Fini, which is a really cool hazard removal and a great Zard x and Buzzwole check, another choice that might be really interesting is Mantine , which shows to be really good against Charizard Y, Pheromosa, and Greninja (Hp electric less) I recommend you try them all, replace Boomerang with Stealth rock on Marowak if you use fini or mantine as hazard remover over Excadrill , after that, i'd suggest to use a simple 252 Atk / 252 speed spread on mega Aero which optimizes its offensive capabilities, Pursuit or ice fang are a great choice over roost, pursuit can trap psychic types as mega zam, tapu lele and ghost types as gengar, marowak, Ice fang is a cool move to have easiest times against Lando-t and Garchomp, Wing attack over aqua tail is an interesting choice to beat fighting types and grass types, finally, i'd suggest using Hydro pump over scald on Greninja, hydro pump allows to hit hard SpD heatran and Zard x OHKOing it after Sr damage.

sets

Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 248 HP / 200 SpD / 60 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake

Tapu Bulu @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 116 HP / 252 Atk / 140 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Zen Headbutt
- Superpower

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Leech Seed
- Heavy Slam
- Protect
- Fire Blast

Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wing Attack
- Earthquake
- ice fang / Pursuit
- Stone Edge

Marowak-Alola @ Leftovers
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Bonemerang / stealth rock (if you choose mantine/fini)

Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Extrasensory
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam

Mantine and fini sets

Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Scald
- Roost
- Haze

Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 200 Def / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nature's Madness
- Surf / scald
- Taunt
- Defog

There are many partners for tapu bulu, such as Charizard x, mega Metagross, tapu Fini, tapu koko and others, try them all, build many teams, this is the key to improve, that's all, I hope you have luck with your team

Thank you very much for the reply to this team spread. I will definitely be trying out these sets and will report back with the results