Gen 8 Specs Lele and Dragapult

[SaucyCriminal]

Hello everyone, this team is built around specs lele and pult because they are strong special sweepers and they seem good on an offensive team. This is sadly my last SS OU team so I want to go out with a bang.

Tapu Lele @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast

Tapu Lele is a really good special attacker that I love implementing into my offensive teams. I also wanted to build around Choice Specs Tapu Lele and Dragapult because they are very strong specially.
Moves: I have Moonblast because it is very good against dragon type mons like Dragapult, Dragonite, Garchomp and all of the other strong dragon mons right now. Psychic and Psyshock are very strong moves since they get that buff from Psychic Surge they it needs. Psychic and Psyshock work together against mons like blissey where she has only 5 defense base. Focus blast is supposed to be a suprising move just like running flamethrower on slowbro is not to be expected.

Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt

Next is one of my favorite mons Dragapult. Dragapult is a fast heavy hitter with 421 speed and 299 SpA.
Moves:Draco Meteor is a must because it allows me to be able to get rid of these or dragon mons and against neutral hitting mons it still does crazy damage. Flamethrower for the grass mons and the occasional buzzwole. I run shadow ball because it is very strong against a lot of relevant mons right now. Thunderbolt allows me to be able to fight against mons that kind of wall me like slowbro.

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 244 Atk / 248 SpD / 16 Spe
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock

I dont really have much to say besides that he is Lando and he is very good. Eq is a must for him, Knock off is good againt the Lando V lando matchups and againt the occasional stall team. U turn allows me to be able make a plan while also getting some small chip in, its a good pivoting move and just is a need for lando. Rocks allows me to get a hazard up as well as see what my opponent does, I usually uturn after depending on the situation.

Rotom-Wash @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Volt Switch
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp

Rotom-Wash probably wasnt the right mon to choose her but i like him. I like having that fast pivot and defogger. Volt switch lets me get some good damage while being a good pivot move just like uturn, flip turn, etc. Pain split is always good to use on rotoms because it allows me to heal and reduce the hp of the enemy and is a signature move on rotom. Will-o-wisp is always a nice move to have on rotom as well because it gives us a burn most of the time.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Knock Off
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball

Ferrothorn is a nice defensive mon that is resistant against a lot. Steel is one of my favorite types because of how strong it is against most type moves. Yes, you could argue the smallest it of fire will kill me I have a heatran and a rotom so it doesnt scare me much. Spikes are always nice in combination with rocks from Lando snd gyro is always going to do some big damage since my speed is very low. Knock off to get rid of lefties or whatever item and leech seed for some slow chip and hp regain.

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Protect
- Toxic

Heatran is a very powerful mon that eats all fire type moves with flash fire and buffs your own fire type moves, really great ability. I run lava plume because there is good burn chances and it allows me to get some slow chip in and reduce damage. Protect is always good to bait out choiced mons then switch accordingly. Toxic is always reliable I like to run it even thought i shouldnt.

Overall, this team is an offensive team that is built to deal damage and destory the opponent. I like to play these offensive teams with choiced mons in this case lele and pult both being specs. Lando is good as a uturner a hazard mon and a good ground flying type. Rotom is a good pivot mon that can deal some damage and give burn I like how burn decreases damage and he is always annoying to see on the field. Ferrothorn walls a lot of pokemon that cannot counter it. Its weakness to fire is not ideal of course but that is what we have heatran for. Heatran is running flash fire allowing him to eat up all of those fire moves and dish out stronger ones. He is a good mon for scouting choiced mons and has good chances of getting a status on mons like burn or toxic.

Here is the paste for the team https://pokepast.es/d27c52757ddb6fd7

My pokemon showdown account name is SaucyCriminal

Thanks in advance for all the help I get.

 

[awyp]

Hey there SaucyCriminal,

I would say I like the hard hitting strategy you have here with the Dragapult and Tapu-Lele combination.

I'll break down your threats first and than we'll talk about changes to the team to address.

I feel like this team has a weakness to Arcozolt under hail. I know uncommon but it pretty much runs through your whole team aside Ferrothorn (Low Kick will be doing around 35-40% damage), so Ferrothorn is key to this team when it comes to keeping it healthy. Another uncommon Pokémon is Zapdos-Galar but common enough to cover for, you cannot switch in Landorus-Therian because of the Defiant boost. Ferrothorn does not want to eat a fighting move and depending on which variant if it is scarfed or banded it can give both Dragapult and Lele problems with Brave Bird. Heatran does not want to take a Close Combat and Rotom-W with the current EV spread will get OHKO 31% of the time (depending on the roll). Long story short I do believe you have a speed control problem that should be addressed.

Zapdos-Galar Close Combat (Choice Banded) to Rotom-W Calc

252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Wash: 270-318 (88.8 - 104.6%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

Recommendations:

I like Tapu-Lele's current set but I would say to not get walled by Corviknight and not risk the misses with Focus Blast to go with Thunderbolt because opposing Ferrothorns will have to worry about your Heatran. So I do believe you have enough coverage for Ferrothorn where Thunderbolt might be the preference here. Another recommendation is to hit even harder and scout on the potential mon switches which can help with forcing certain Pokémon's out I would go with Future Sight > Psychic. (It hits way harder and like I said above it will force your opponent to switch out to things they don't want)

This is where my speed check recommendation comes in I think with Dragapult I would go with Choice Scarf > Choice Specs (switch nature to Modest) based on the speed reasons I said above when it comes to Arcozolt (under hail) and Zapdos-Galar (Choice Scarf variants). It's just good on a balanced team like this to have a speed check. The last recommendation for this Pokémon is to go with U-turn instead of Thunderbolt so you can scout out switches and also use it in combination with Future Sight which I think can be advantageous to this team. Also I would go with Infiltrator instead of Clear Body since your special based.

Landorus-Therian looks great in my opinion (Wouldn't recommend a change) aside from going to 252 HP / 252 Special Defense Careful Nature.

With Rotom-Wash (I have 2 recommendations) I feel like you don't need speed EVs with this Pokémon because I think this Pokémon should provide some bulk since it will be your defogger so it's best to keep it alive as long as possible. The physical defensive bulk will also help in the case of Rain Dance teams since Rotom-Wash is one of your biggest checks to Barraskewda in rain also it assists for any popular physical attacker like (Urshifu Rapid-Strike, Garchomp, Weavile). I feel that it would be key to go with Hydro Pump > Will-O-Wisp since I feel like double coverage will be ideal since most teams in general have a electric immunity (usually ground type). I'll suggest the set below:

Rotom-W (Physically Defensive)

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Defog
- Pain Split

Ferrothorn looks good I would say the only thing I would recommend is to go with Body Press > Gyro Ball so you can hit steel types wanting to switch in like other Ferrothorns, Bisharp, Corviknight or Magnezone.

Lastly I think Heatran should go with Magma Storm instead of Lava Plume since with the current set you have now Toxic / Protect stall in combination with Magma Storm trapping (it would be ideal). In order to complete the trapping strategy and beat things like Toxapex, Blissey, and Clefable I would recommend to go with Taunt > Protect. This set will be more intimidating in terms of forcing your opponent not to switch into things that might get trapped and taunted to death.

Cool team, and wish you continued success!

 

[Slowpoke Fan]

Hello! Specs Lele and Dragapult form a fantastic offensive core and you have an interesting selection of supporting Pokemon around them. I hope that my suggestions will improve your experience with this concept!

Pokepaste: https://pokepast.es/879725c4e44993e5

While psychic is absurdly good STAB for specs Lele, shadow ball is preferable for this build due to the emergence of bulky psychic types on stall (as well as niche Pokemon such as Shedinja thanks to tntblader) as well as a slight Aegislash resurgence in the metagame. Lele takes on the role of a stallbreaker in this core and it is better for her to fully commit to it here.

Swapped out thunderbolt for u-turn as the pivoting is useful if you are unsure on what to click besides bringing in Lele if the opponent switches into a Pokemon that it weak to the latter. Infiltrator should almost always be used on choice specs Dragapult as ignoring screens and substitute is massive against builds that abuse those moves (e.g. HO).

I opted for a specially defensive set with thunder wave here as pain split allows Rotom to slow opposing Dragapult down more effectively than Heatran. The special defensive investment also allows Rotom to be a great Heatran check itself as the latter bothers the rest of your team otherwise.

Changed knock off to body press as this team really wants Ferrothorn to check threats like Kartana, Weavile and Melmetal if Rotom-Wash is preoccupied with other threats.

TO

Specially defensive Hippowdon backs up Rotom-Wash quite well on the special side and allows the team to be less reliant on Landorus-Therian to compress so many roles (e.g. electric and ground immunity, grass type check, etc). Hippowdon not being a steel type is partially mitigated by its great mixed bulk and the team already having a sturdy steel type in Ferrothorn, so while the Tapu Lele mirror matchup is a bit more precarious, it is still playable (especially with shadow ball Lele).

TO

The stormy Therian forme gives the team a sturdier Kartana and Rillaboom check while providing hazard removal and knock off support.

 

[tntblader]

Hello! Specs Lele and Dragapult form a fantastic offensive core and you have an interesting selection of supporting Pokemon around them. I hope that my suggestions will improve your experience with this concept!

Pokepaste: https://pokepast.es/879725c4e44993e5

While psychic is absurdly good STAB for specs Lele, shadow ball is preferable for this build due to the emergence of bulky psychic types on stall (as well as niche Pokemon such as Shedinja thanks to tntblader) as well as a slight Aegislash resurgence in the metagame. Lele takes on the role of a stallbreaker in this core and it is better for her to fully commit to it here.

Swapped out thunderbolt for u-turn as the pivoting is useful if you are unsure on what to click besides bringing in Lele if the opponent switches into a Pokemon that it weak to the latter. Infiltrator should almost always be used on choice specs Dragapult as ignoring screens and substitute is massive against builds that abuse those moves (e.g. HO).

I opted for a specially defensive set with thunder wave here as pain split allows Rotom to slow opposing Dragapult down more effectively than Heatran. The special defensive investment also allows Rotom to be a great Heatran check itself as the latter bothers the rest of your team otherwise.

Changed knock off to body press as this team really wants Ferrothorn to check threats like Kartana, Weavile and Melmetal if Rotom-Wash is preoccupied with other threats.

TO

Specially defensive Hippowdon backs up Rotom-Wash quite well on the special side and allows the team to be less reliant on Landorus-Therian to compress so many roles (e.g. electric and ground immunity, grass type check, etc). Hippowdon not being a steel type is partially mitigated by its great mixed bulk and the team already having a sturdy steel type in Ferrothorn, so while the Tapu Lele mirror matchup is a bit more precarious, it is still playable (especially with shadow ball Lele).

TO

The stormy Therian forme gives the team a sturdier Kartana and Rillaboom check while providing hazard removal and knock off support.

tee hee shedinja goes brrr :3 im going to pull out like the perfect counter pal and nobody will be ready.