SV OU Loaded Dice Baxcalibur + Tera Ground Volcarona Hyper Offense

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Introduction
OU has seen rapid development these past few weeks due to SPL. This has been especially evident in the wide variety of teams being brought. From weather teams to offense to stall, it seems like just about everything is viable. This week, we are looking at a hyper offense team featuring some more unusual sets that took home a win in Week 7 of SPL.
Meowscarada is an excellent lead, easily getting up entry hazards while denying the opposition from doing the same. The cat is quickly followed up with the first unusual set of the team: dual screens Dragapult, which can get up Reflect and Light Screen fairly consistently due to its high Speed while spinblocking at the same time. After all that setup, it becomes almost trivial for the team's sweepers to make short work of the opponent's team. Tera Ground Tera Blast Volcarona takes advantage of teams that rely on Iron Moth or Tera Fire Amoonguss to check it, Loaded Dice Baxcalibur is an impressively powerful wallbreaker that has very few consistent answers, Taunt + Tera Ghost Shadow Ball Iron Valiant can bait in and eliminate Skeledirge, and Kingambit is the best "last resort" to ever exist in Pokemon, cleaning teams with its Supreme Overlord-boosted attacks. Baxcalibur wallbreaks for Kingambit very well, while Iron Valiant keeps special walls low for Volcarona. This team highlights the wackier side of SPL building, showing how the element of surprise factors into teambuilding.

In-Depth

:sv/Dragapult:
Polterghast (Dragapult) @ Light Clay
Ability: Cursed Body
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Darts
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Curse

Dual screens Dragapult is a rare occurrence, as most players see Dragapult only for its offensive capabilities. However, it provides just what this team needs in terms of support, getting Reflect and Light Screen up while chipping foes with Dragon Darts and quickly KOing itself with Curse to keep momentum. Cursed Body further adds to its support capabilities, potentially disabling a foe's move, giving a teammate the green light to set up.

:sv/Meowscarada:
Calamitas (Meowscarada) @ Life Orb
Ability: Overgrow
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Flower Trick
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt

Meowscarada has often been used as a dedicated lead on many teams already this generation, as its blistering Speed and access to Taunt and Spikes make it look like a shade of Deoxys-S. However, this set aims to make use of its decent offensive potential to deal as much chip damage while setting up entry hazards, doing massive damage with Life Orb-boosted Flower Trick and Sucker Punch to add some wallbreaking to its support mix. In the face of Defog Corviknight, Meowscarada can simply use a combination of Spikes and Taunt to get up at least one layer of Spikes; against frailer leads leads like Dragapult, it can use the appropriate attack to exact as much chip damage or secure any surprise KOs. With Spikes up, the rest of the team has a much easier time finding an opening to a win.

:sv/Volcarona:
Providence (Volcarona) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 100 Def / 156 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Flamethrower
- Giga Drain
- Tera Blast

Volcarona has been terrorizing OU since the release of Scarlet and Violet with its infamous bulky Quiver Dance sets. This has inspired many to start running Tera Fire on a multitude of Pokemon like Kingambit and Amoonguss. This Volcarona set seeks to circumvent those efforts, running Tera Ground + Tera Blast to snipe unsuspecting "counters" like Skeledirge and the aforementioned Amoonguss. Giga Drain, meanwhile, threatens Tera Water Pokemon like Amoonguss and Corviknight while giving Volcarona some recovery. The Defense EVs allow Volcarona to avoid the OHKO from Choice Band Tera Dragon Baxcalibur's Glaive Rush with Reflect up.

:sv/Kingambit:
The Old Duke (Kingambit) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Supreme Overlord
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Kowtow Cleave
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch

Kingambit has quickly become the predominant offensive threat in OU. Very little can answer a healthy Kingambit late-game, and this set seeks to take full advantage of traditional countermeasures. It is often best to leave Kingambit as the last or second-to-last Pokemon left to afford it the most power from Supreme Overlord. With Tera Fire, Kingambit becomes immune to burn, letting it reliably Sucker Punch Will-O-Wisp Rotom-W, dismantle Skeledirge, and not have to play Sucker Punch mindgames with Iron Moth and opposing Volcarona. Oftentimes, Kingambit can bring games back from the brink of defeat due to its sheer power in the late-game. If Kingambit has yet to be KOed, you still have a chance to win.

:sv/Baxcalibur:
Devourer of Gods (Baxcalibur) @ Loaded Dice
Ability: Thermal Exchange
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 188 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Icicle Spear
- Glaive Rush
- Earthquake

Baxcalibur is one of the strongest Pokemon stat-wise to ever grace OU; with its monstrous base 145 Attack and STAB Glaive Rush, not a whole lot, if anything, can switch into the icy dragon. Foregoing Heavy-Duty Boots for Loaded Dice gives Baxcalibur an actually strong, consistent Ice-type STAB attack in Icicle Spear, letting it mow down any foe that does not resist it. Earthquake takes care of foes like Toxapex, Garganacl, and Gholdengo. Tera Fairy allows Baxcalibur to turn its Dragon weakness into an immunity, potentially letting it set up on Pokemon like Walking Wake and Dragapult. 188 Speed EVs let Baxcalibur outspeed Dragapult at +1 and subsequently KO it with its choice of STAB attack.

:sv/Iron Valiant:
Astrum Deus (Iron Valiant) @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Shadow Ball
- Taunt

Iron Valiant has been a fixture on hyper offense teams since the inception of SV OU, and this team is no different. It may seem odd to run Taunt on a Pokemon as frail as Iron Valiant, but this lets Iron Valiant not be stopped by common foes like Amoonguss, Clodsire, and Roar Skeledirge. It also importantly denies the latter two's recovery moves, keeping them weak to be picked off later in the game. Tera Ghost Shadow Ball gives Iron Valiant a means of bursting through Amoonguss and Clodsire with Shadow Ball's Special Defense drop chance while also pressuring Gholdengo.

Threat List

Lead Glimmora: There is very little that the team can do to stop Glimmora from getting at least one layer of Toxic Spikes up, as Meowscarada cannot deny it with Taunt. The best outcome is to just accept that there will be one layer of Toxic Spikes up for the game and KO it quickly with Meowscarada.

Walking Wake: Special Attack-boosted Walking Wake is not so much of an issue; Dragapult is easily capable of forcing Walking Wake out and it is much less threatening with dual screens up; Volcarona and Baxcalibur can also deal with it decently well once they get +1 Speed. Speed-boosted Walking Wake, however, is a much larger threat, as it can immediately threaten the vast majority of the team with super effective damage and even deny Meowscarada's entry hazards by simply OHKOing it. Walking Wake must be played around carefully, and you may have to sack multiple Pokemon to it just to afford either Iron Valiant or Kingambit the opportunity to KO it.

Tera Ground Volcarona: Just as this team uses Tera Ground Volcarona to circumvent standard Tera Grass Volcarona answers, opposing Tera Ground Volcarona is incredibly threatening into this team. It cannot be given free setup under any circumstances, and therefore must be played around very carefully.

Replays

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ou-678213 - Lily vs. Hyogafodex

Importable
Polterghast (Dragapult) @ Light Clay
Ability: Cursed Body
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Darts
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Curse

Calamitas (Meowscarada) @ Life Orb
Ability: Overgrow
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Flower Trick
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt

Providence (Volcarona) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 100 Def / 156 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Flamethrower
- Giga Drain
- Tera Blast

The Old Duke (Kingambit) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Supreme Overlord
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Kowtow Cleave
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch

Devourer of Gods (Baxcalibur) @ Loaded Dice
Ability: Thermal Exchange
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 188 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Icicle Spear
- Glaive Rush
- Earthquake

Astrum Deus (Iron Valiant) @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Shadow Ball
- Taunt

Credits
Created by: Lily
Written by: dex
Quality Checked by: ausma
Grammer Checked by: UT
Art by: sasha
 
Has a spdef hatt been played around with in sub for Iron Valiant? It would seem like spdef tera water hatt (calm mind, draining kiss, psyshock, mystic fire/ nuzzle) would help take care of glimmora, wake, and volcarona without sacrificing much of an offensive presence (not to mention magic bounce is *chef kiss*)... no?
 
I’ve been using this team in lower ladder and it is some of the most fun I’ve had while playing competitive Pokémon ever, you just get screens up with pult, set up and spam a couple move
 
I've been using this team and have a couple of comments:

I tend to use suicide leads myself. Curse on Dragapult is a great way to remove myself to prevent the opponent from gaining long-term momentum, and I'm considering it for every single offensive team I have made. Dragapult and Volcarona is the most important combination on this team and people are unprepared for it.

Change 1: I've put Heavy-Duty Boots on Baxcalibur. You don't have a spinner. Has kept it from dying many times. If I did use Loaded Dice, I'd probably make it a more bulky/defensive EV spread.

Change 2: Iron Valiant with just Taunt is not enough to adequately handle Clodsire, or ANY Skeledirge, not just Roar ones. I don't think I once set up a meaningful Calm Mind sweep with it, so I've simply put Destiny Bond. Destiny Bond is an interesting tool for Hyper Offense. Sacrifice Iron Valiant to remove any single Pokemon on the opposing team. Destiny Bond also pairs well with Taunt.

I sped up the Kingambit a little because this team is weak to many of the Pokemon that are itself on it, including Iron Valiant & Kingambit, which happens to be an offensive core in itself. With this I can Iron Head + Flinch more opposing Kingambit.

Tera Ground is now my favorite type for Volcarona.
 
I nearly made it to an ELO I haven't before. I've changed the Tera Type on Meowscarda as Tera Steel is not enough to actually defend from anything and it increases the offensive potential.
Dog Maul Victim (Meowscarada) @ Life Orb
Ability: Overgrow
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Flower Trick
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt

I took the Heavy-Duty Boots off but made the Baxcalibur defensive enough to survive things it otherwise wasn't:
Quick Launch (Baxcalibur) @ Loaded Dice
Ability: Thermal Exchange
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 112 HP / 200 Atk / 8 Def / 188 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Icicle Spear
- Glaive Rush
- Earthquake

The rest of my changes are in the above comment from two days ago.
 

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