SS OU Riot

MANNAT · Aug 2, 2020

Introduction

Hey guys, I just wanted to share my favorite team that I've made this generation because I just got reqs with it and really enjoyed using it. I also just finished wcop, which was a rollercoaster of emotions for me as well as my most fun official team tournament experience thus far, so I figured that an RMT would be a fun way to commemorate it, as I haven't done one in a while. For some background on the song choice, I'm a huge Hunter x Hunter fan and riot is both one of my favorite tracks from the ost as well as a name that I think fits the team. I originally made this team during wcop because I was looking to make a strong hyper offense team to bypass having to play long sequences with Toxapex and Blissey while still being good against the metagame as a whole. I ended up coming up with this to abuse how broken double dance Magearna is with Grassy Terrain up, being able to win games by itself a lot of the time. Then, I decided to use the team for the suspect ladder and edited it a bit to be more secure against ladder trends like sun and stall that I was having a difficult time dealing with while using the previous version of the team. HO is notoriously inconsistent in this metagame due to threats such as cinderace, volcarona, stall, and weather, so it's quite the challenge to make. As a result, this team makes the most of stacking up priority users and specific wincons to mitigate these issues.

The Team

Magearna @ Grassy Seed
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 80 HP / 184 SpA / 244 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shift Gear
- Calm Mind
- Draining Kiss
- Stored Power

As was said in the intro, this team was primarily made as an HO designed to make the most out of this incredible Magearna set. This set can set up really easily against the vast majority of the metagame, bulky and offensive teams alike due to its incredible combination of typing and natural bulk. What really sets this set apart from Magearna's other sweeping sets as well as its sweeping sets in SM is the new moves that it got access to: Stored Power and Draining Kiss. Anyone that's played against dedicated Baton Pass knows just how terrifying Stored Power can be, on this set it allows you to easily push past stuff like Rotom-H that easily dispatches most other Shift Magearna sets. On the other hand, Draining Kiss gives you both a great move to hit darks immune to Stored Power and provides a potent recovery option that even allows you to win the 1v1 against Blissey and Chansey, especially if they lack Thunder Wave.

What's particularly noteworthy about this team that makes this Magearna set even more potent is the presence of Grassy Terrain, which gives Magearna a defense boost upon entry, which allows it to take strong physical hits, such as Pyro Ball from Cinderace. Not only that, but Grassy Terrain also removes Magearna's weakness to Earthquake, allowing it to power through Excadrill under certain conditions, though you should still watch out for High Horsepower if the opposing team has a Rillaboom. Finally, Magearna gets passive recovery between turns from Grassy Terrain, whcih allows it to heal out of range from a bevy of priority attacks, most notably Sucker Punch from Urshifu and Cinderace. The spread outruns Choice Scarf Excadrill after a boost, has enough special attack to OHKO Toxapex after a Shift Gear and a Calm Mind, and the rest of the EVs are put into HP to beef up its bulk against stray attacks that it may take while setting up.

Zeraora @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Knock Off
- Close Combat
- Volt Switch

Zeraora is one of the best pivots in SS OU right now, fulfilling a slew of small roles that really make this team go. Zeraora is probably the most consistent mon on this team, always putting in work even when the opposing team has a "hard counter" for it. Zeraora functions as a great offensive check to mons like Dragapult, Togekiss, (Leftovers) MB Exca, Togekiss, and Hydreigon just to name a few. Zeraora ends up keeping a ton of stuff in check by virtue of its phenomenal speed stat and great physical coverage. Additionally, Zeraora is a phenomenal disrupter, removing items left and right and constantly gains momentum at the same time.

Unlike most Knock Off users, most of Zeraora's answers can't just hard into it after they lose their item and check it like usual because many of them just get volted on and chipped, so Zeraora tends to remove items from 2-3 mons a game. Close Combat is chosen as the coverage move of choice over options like Grass Knot or Play Rough because this team is already quite irritated by Sand Rush Excadrill, and dropping Close Combat would only make that issue worse. I've briefly tested utility options on this set over Volt Switch like Taunt to keep Clefable/Hippowdon/Quagsire low and Bulk Up + Acrobatics with a Grassy Seed to lure Grass-types for Rillaboom (which was using Choice Band at the time), but I'd much rather Volt into one of my breakers and bust down some walls than try to get cute with techs to deal with the aforementioned defensive mons.

Crawdaunt @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Crabhammer
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet

Moving on, we get to the big offensive water of the team: Crawdaunt. This slot was originally Belly Drum Azumarill, but I found that I was struggling to do real damage with Aqua Jet without a boost, doing paltry damage to even threats that it was super effective against like Cinderace and Excadrill that it was imperative for this slot to check. Azumarill struggled to do anything against both the balanced and stall teams that it was supposed to do well against due to stuff like Choice Specs Magearna checking it easily and stall having Unaware mons, primarily Quagsire, that could stonewall it and entirely ignore the Belly Drum boost.

Crawdaunt ended up being an excellent fit over Azumarill, being able to take out the offensive mons that Azumarill struggled with while being able to steamroll defensive teams due to its STAB attacks not needing a boost to blow back Unaware mons. It's imperative for this set to run a Jolly Nature, as sad as it is to lose the power boost, as it allows it to outspeed virtually every Choice Specs Magearna as well as Mandibuzz that's creeping Belly Drum Azumarill. In addition to how scary it is as an offensive threat, Crawdaunt's typing allows it to take key hits from offensive mons, which allows it to create chokepoint situations against Urshifu locked into Wicked Blow and Dragapult locked into Hex/Shadow Ball to force kills. In addition to blowing up Excadrill and Cinderace, Aqua Jet allows Crawdaunt to clean/threaten offensive teams incredibly well, smashing through a ton of mons with just a little bit of chip damage, dispatching mons like Zeraora and Gengar from above even half HP.

Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pyro Ball
- Gunk Shot
- Sucker Punch
- U-turn

Next up is Cinderace, the second half of this team's furry pivoting core. Cinderace is an absolute menace for basically every single team in the metagame to deal with, with access to obscene offensive coverage, pivoting, and even priority in Sucker Punch. Similarly to Zeraora, Cinderace's can check a ton of offensive mons and pivot around with U-turn to really wear down the opposing team. Typically, Volcarona poses an immense threat to offensive teams, but Cinderace does an admirable job checking it. Moreover, Cinderace helps against miscellaneous stuff like Magearna and Rillaboom that are really irritating for offensive teams to pivot into, but has to be wary of switching into potential coverage moves and can get blown up by choice sets. In addition to being a great check to normal HO threats, Cinderace can demolish teams solely by spamming STAB U-turn to chip them down and getting Crawdaunt in as the opponent is forced to go into Hippowdon or Slowbro to check Cinderace.

Gunk Shot is a lifesaver against a plethora of mons, and is just generally an amazing move to have at your disposal. It stops Azu from setting up a Belly Drum, smashes even physdef Clefable, gives you a really strong attack to smack Rotom-H with, and you can use it to fish for status on bulkier mons like Hippowdon, Mandibuzz, and Slowbro that are forced to heal up in order to switch into Cinderace in the future. Rounding out the moveset is Sucker Punch, which allows Cinderace to dispatch faster offensive threats, such as Alakazam and Dragapult that would otherwise dominate Cinderace. More importantly, it cleans up weakened stuff like Venusaur and Zeraora or gets necessary chip damage on them for a teammate like Crawdaunt to win the game. Finally, I opted for an Adamant Nature because it helps with a ton of rolls, particularly Gunk Shot against physically defensive Clefable and Sucker Punch against Dragapult, both of which basically never KO with Jolly.

Kommo-o @ Focus Sash
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Clanging Scales
- Flamethrower
- Taunt

When building HO in this gen, there's oftentimes a debate between whether or not it's worth it to include rocks or just stick an offensive threat in that slot. I find rocks to still be very useful for forcing chip damage in tandem with my pivots as well as punishing switching, however little they do, allowing me to pursue more offensive play paths. Originally, I had Terrakion in this slot for its high speed and offensive potency, being able to OHKO a lot of offensive mons baited into trying to KO it that ended up getting thwarted by Focus Sash. Unfortunately, once I got a bit higher on the ladder, my opponents started catching onto my Terrakion being a suicide lead and playing accordingly, which severely limited its effectiveness. I also noticed that the team struggled mightily against sun builds, with Venusaur oftentimes sweeping through the team with ease.

I wanted a rocker that was consistent, even when the opponent could guess that it was a suicide lead at team preview, and I also wanted it to improve my matchup against sun teams especially, so Kommo-o was a natural fit. Invested Clanging Scales hits surprisingly hard, taking a chunk out of most neutral defensive mons, most notably Defog Mandibuzz, and keeps them at perfect ranges for teammates in conjunction with Taunt. Flamethrower increased the sets consistency overall, allowing it to threaten mons like Corviknight and Rocky Helmet Amoonguss that walk all over Terrakion. Additionally, its natural bulk coupled with its neat defensive typing and Bulletproof allow it to be sturdy enough to function as a check to many offensive mons, taking a hit and threatening to KO or chip them into range of one of my three priority users in return. This is most notable against Venusaur, as +2 Life Orb Giga Drain caps out at a little over 55%, and Flamethrower kills after SR + LO recoil.

Rillaboom @ Grassy Seed
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Grassy Glide
- High Horsepower
- Acrobatics

Finishing up the team is Rillaboom, the biggest "support" mon within this structure as well as a potent threat in its own right. Rillaboom does a ton of things for this team, the most notable of which being setting up Grassy Terrain. On that team, that allows Magearna to sweep much easier, provides passive recovery to the team's pivots, and weakens Earthquakes from Excadrill and Hippowdon, allowing teammates to abuse the hell out of them to go for kills. I've tested a few sets here, particularly Choice Band to further the pivoting core and OHKO Excadrill and Zeraora with Grassy Glide, but this is the set that I ultimately went with. Similarly, I've considered using Terrain Extender on this set to further increase the probability of a Magearna sweep, but losing that instant defense boost as well as the Acrobatics lure impacts this team negatively to a severe extent and it isn't worth the slight boost to a mon that's either going to sweep or not provided that you play well. However, burning Grassy Seed upon switchin lets Rillaboom function as a very sturdy check to quick physical attackers in the early-game, such as the aforementioned Zeraora and Excadrill, and that little bit of added defensive utility is invaluable for this team.

SD + Acrobatics luring Grass-types like Amoonguss and Tangrowth is an absolute boon for this team, as Zeraora and Crawdaunt love having these removes so that they can spam their STAB attacks unimpeded. High Horsepower is used as the coverage move of choice so that this set isn't setup bait for Magearna, and it also acts as a deterrent for Excadrill that try to threaten it outside of Grassy Terrain. Additionally, Grassy Glide is a phenomenal priority move, busting through a ton of offensive mons from incredibly high ranges, and can actually run through teams with a Swords Dance boost.Glide is particularly helpful against Rain teams, which this team would otherwise get swamped by, as it keeps all of the key sweepers in check and can clean them very easily once the primary grass check (usually Ferrothorn) is gone.

Threatlist

Even with the addition of Kommo-o, sun teams can be an absolute headache to deal with, as this team has no switchin for Specs Charizard, struggles mightily against a well played Cinderace firing off sun-boosted Pyro Balls, and can very easily be overwhelmed by Venusaur, especially Solar Beam variants, but the matchup can still be won if you get up rocks as soon as possible and limit the amount of damage that the offensive threats on the opposing team can do.

:Urshifu:

Urshifu is an absolute headache for this team to deal with. Its impressive natural bulk coupled with its typing leaves it surprisingly resilient against the team in general being able to take multiple priority moves as well as nearly every other attack on this team, which can lead to it quickly racking up kills with Close Combat very quickly. On top of that, it also has access to Sucker Punch, which KOs Cinderace and Zeraora from 80% on Choice Band sets, though you can force Sucker Punch mindgames with Cinderace. Your best bet against it is saving your sacks early on and wrapping up the game quickly by sweeping with Magearna or Rillaboom before it can get too many kills.

:Dragapult:

This can usually be staved off with Sucker Punch Cinderace + Zeraora checking it, but this team's Ghost-resist is Crawdaunt, so Hex sets (specs or otherwise) pose a huge problem for this team if they're given opportunities to cause problems. Be smart about when you bring in Rillaboom, Crawdaunt, and Kommo-o so that there's some degree of risk for your opponent whenever Dragapult is in, as the other three can threaten it pretty hard. Be cognizant about retaining Cinderace's fire typing whenever possible so that you don't get Wisped on a Sucker Punch, as your typing does not change when it fails.

:Excadrill:

While Rillaboom helps limit Sand Rush Excadrill throughout the game, it can still pose a huge offensive threat to this team whenever Grassy Terrain isn't up, threatening out half the team, threatening an OHKO, while being able to overwhelm Rillaboom, especially after it burns Grassy Seed. You've just gotta pressure Excadrill really hard and force it to come in either when terrain is up, sand is off, or against one of the three mons that it's forced out by under sand. The Excadrill user needs some fairly ideal conditions for it to put in a ton work, so just plan out your sequences ahead of time to limit its effectiveness.

Importable

Magearna @ Grassy Seed
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 80 HP / 184 SpA / 244 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shift Gear
- Calm Mind
- Draining Kiss
- Stored Power

Zeraora @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Knock Off
- Close Combat
- Volt Switch

Crawdaunt @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Crabhammer
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet

Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pyro Ball
- Gunk Shot
- Sucker Punch
- U-turn

Kommo-o @ Focus Sash
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Clanging Scales
- Flamethrower
- Taunt

Rillaboom @ Grassy Seed
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Grassy Glide
- High Horsepower
- Acrobatics

Shoutouts

Love all of you guys, you're some of my closest group of friends on here. Between talking about anime, watching tour games, and generally talking shit, we have a lot of fun. I'm really happy to spend time with you guys and you really make it worth being here more than any pixels or "clout" ever could.

As the team that gave me my first shot in an official tour, it was great to see how much we improved and came together as a team this year in spite of all the adversity that we had to deal with. It was an absolute blast hanging out with you guys and we'll come back even stronger to win the whole thing next year.

I know that Day1s isn't really a smogon chat anymore, but you guys mean a lot to me and I wanted to shout you out here. You've helped me discover my passion for anime and manga as well as helped me discover more about myself and getting through some of the toughest times in my life and I really appreciate that more than anything else.

Talking about NBA / Hip-Hop / Politics and Culture with you guys is always fun and I'm glad that we can joke around and troll each other without anyone getting upset about it for more than a couple hours. Seeing the chat change so much and continue being active even when basketball was cancelled was really cool to see and I hope that we can continue to be a group down the line

You guys don't fit into any of the above groups because we don't share any social chats, but you're still some of the best friends that anyone could ever ask for and the fact that the community has so many amazing people like you is what makes it so special, even among all the garbage that has been happening lately.

SS OU Riot

MANNAT

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