Here I am, back in RMT again after a long hiatus in which I just couldn't find inspiration to build a creative team. I've made plently of 'normal' teams but none of them felt special enough for a full RMT. Anyway, I really like Honchkrow and while it's not particularly amazing, it has some tricks up its sleeve to catch a bunch of players unawares, so I decided to build a team around it. Given the time of year I decided to add some Halloween themes as well. It's probably not the best team I'e every made(I have a vote for what is), but it's thematic and it's nice to run some heat mons every now and then.
Teambuilding Process
Honchkrow was the inspiration for the team. I've made several sets before, but the prevalence of TankChomp was annoying and it rarely did anything. So, I found a nice move that Honchkrow learns that is the most godly move I've yet seen.
I first noticed that Celebi is good in this slot. It takes on Thundurus, Mega Lopunny, Keldeo, Sand Rush Excadrill, Rain and others. However, Gourgeist is more Halloween themed and while it checks most of the same things as Celebi, it can also beat Lando-T and Mega Metagross and some others.
The first thing I noticed when I looked at the Honchkrow/Gourgeist core is the weakness to stall. Mega Sableye instantly just destroys both, and Clefable tears them apart. Other weaknesses include Mega Scizor, Tornadus and Ice in general. I picked CM Rain Dance Manaphy in the next slot to combat this, and since I started using it, I don't think there's any going back to Tail Glow 3 Attacks. It's single handedly won me so many games it's ridiculous.
Latias is thrown on top. It exacerbates a Hoopa-U weakness but, being totally honest, is there actually anything that can properly stop that thing? If so, isn't defensive Manaphy one of the few that can sometimes survive the 2HKO? Anyway, Latias is chosen over Latios to take on Zard Y and Electrics a bit easier. It's also a nice second Keldeo check if Gourgeist is weakened.
There was a profound Fairy weakness in the team, along with an Alakazam weakness and it still had difficulties with some Ice types, especially Weavile. Bulky Mega Scizor slotted in quite well, providing a nice defensive backbone and checking these threats.
This is... the least certain I've been over a Pokemon in one of my teams that I haven't thought of a good replacement for. I chose Life Orb Garchomp in this slot. I needed rocks, and having first used Clefable and losing to Volcarona, Garchomp was the only solution I could find. Being offensive, it's a bit harder to check things like Bisharp but Chomp still eats attacks from Volc and still gets up rocks. The reason I chose offensive was to catch things like Hoopa and Mega Medicham/Gardevoir that think they can come in and get a kill. It also is nice to get a good chunk of damage from Rotom which, despite having 3 checks to, I could never be unprepared for.
Sets in Detail
Honchkrow @ Life Orb
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 220 Atk / 36 SpA / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Brave Bird
- Sucker Punch
- Icy Wind
Yes, that is Icy Wind on a negative SpA natured Honchkrow. The EVs are specifically designed to always 2HKO the standard BulkyChomp spread, without taking all the nasty recoil of Brave Bird. It's also nice for Lando and for dropping opponent's Speed in desperate situations. Moxie allows me to sweep bulkier teams as well as late game against offense with Sucker Punch. Superpower hits Ferrothorn hard, and while I'd love to run Heat Wave for Skarmory and Klefki, Heatran is way too annoying for me to do that.
Gourgeist-Super @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Seed Bomb
- Synthesis
This is the standard set for Gourgeist. It's really the only possibly feasible one in OU. I've been meeting mixed results with it, although in general it's actually been doing better than expected, sometimes much better than any Celebi would be doing in the same position. Also, it's pretty spooky.
Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rain Dance
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Rest
There's not much that can take this thing on once the opponent realizes the set. Set up to +1/+1 on the switch into Lati and watch as your opponent's team falls apart. Stall is hopeless to it, and in general it's just a great Pokemon.
Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Defog
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
Very standard set for a Latias. I initially had HP Fire but it wasn't really doing much. This set is tried and tested and it does the work I need it to. Defog isn't crucial but it's handy against Hazard Stacking teams.
Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 16 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bute
- Roost
I had Knock Off originally, until I was swept by a Mega Gyarados that didn't get Scald burned by Manaphy, which in retrospect was a really bad thing to rely on. Bug Bite leaves me much weaker to Skarmory but at the same time 44 Attack +2 Knock Off doesn't do much anyway and I still beat it last mon. Besides, Manaphy exists. The EVs are the standard set, and work really well.
Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fire Fang
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Dragon Claw
I wanted to make an offensive set that keeps some of the bulk of the bulky set. In other words, I didn't want to run Naive or Hasty, so I used Fire Fang instead of Fire Blast which is rising in popularity at the moment. Dragon Claw over Outrage because I like to Dragon Claw Rotom, then set Rocks, so I don't want to be locked in. Plus, Fairies are super annoying.
Threats
Nasty Plot Thundurus leaves a big hole in the team once I've managed to deal with it. Sucker Punch does a hefty amount and Bug Bite and Draco do considerable damage, but it can usually kill at least 2 if not more Pokemon.
Heracross along with most physical wallbreakers (Crawdaunt, Mega Chomp, Hoopa) are kind of hard to work around. While I have plently to revenge kill, if they are in on a favorable matchup they can almost always get kills unless I predict perfectly. This suits my style of play, as I'm very happy to sac my Pokemon throughout the game, but it can put a lot of pressure on predictions being correct.
Honchkrow @ Life Orb
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 220 Atk / 36 SpA / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Brave Bird
- Sucker Punch
- Icy Wind
Yes, that is Icy Wind on a negative SpA natured Honchkrow. The EVs are specifically designed to always 2HKO the standard BulkyChomp spread, without taking all the nasty recoil of Brave Bird. It's also nice for Lando and for dropping opponent's Speed in desperate situations. Moxie allows me to sweep bulkier teams as well as late game against offense with Sucker Punch. Superpower hits Ferrothorn hard, and while I'd love to run Heat Wave for Skarmory and Klefki, Heatran is way too annoying for me to do that.
Gourgeist-Super @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Seed Bomb
- Synthesis
This is the standard set for Gourgeist. It's really the only possibly feasible one in OU. I've been meeting mixed results with it, although in general it's actually been doing better than expected, sometimes much better than any Celebi would be doing in the same position. Also, it's pretty spooky.
Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rain Dance
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Rest
There's not much that can take this thing on once the opponent realizes the set. Set up to +1/+1 on the switch into Lati and watch as your opponent's team falls apart. Stall is hopeless to it, and in general it's just a great Pokemon.
Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Defog
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
Very standard set for a Latias. I initially had HP Fire but it wasn't really doing much. This set is tried and tested and it does the work I need it to. Defog isn't crucial but it's handy against Hazard Stacking teams.
Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 16 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bute
- Roost
I had Knock Off originally, until I was swept by a Mega Gyarados that didn't get Scald burned by Manaphy, which in retrospect was a really bad thing to rely on. Bug Bite leaves me much weaker to Skarmory but at the same time 44 Attack +2 Knock Off doesn't do much anyway and I still beat it last mon. Besides, Manaphy exists. The EVs are the standard set, and work really well.
Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fire Fang
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Dragon Claw
I wanted to make an offensive set that keeps some of the bulk of the bulky set. In other words, I didn't want to run Naive or Hasty, so I used Fire Fang instead of Fire Blast which is rising in popularity at the moment. Dragon Claw over Outrage because I like to Dragon Claw Rotom, then set Rocks, so I don't want to be locked in. Plus, Fairies are super annoying.
Threats
Nasty Plot Thundurus leaves a big hole in the team once I've managed to deal with it. Sucker Punch does a hefty amount and Bug Bite and Draco do considerable damage, but it can usually kill at least 2 if not more Pokemon.
Heracross along with most physical wallbreakers (Crawdaunt, Mega Chomp, Hoopa) are kind of hard to work around. While I have plently to revenge kill, if they are in on a favorable matchup they can almost always get kills unless I predict perfectly. This suits my style of play, as I'm very happy to sac my Pokemon throughout the game, but it can put a lot of pressure on predictions being correct.
Honchkrow @ Life Orb
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 220 Atk / 36 SpA / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Brave Bird
- Sucker Punch
- Icy Wind
Gourgeist-Super @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Seed Bomb
- Synthesis
Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rain Dance
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Rest
Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Defog
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 16 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Roost
Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fire Fang
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Dragon Claw
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 220 Atk / 36 SpA / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Brave Bird
- Sucker Punch
- Icy Wind
Gourgeist-Super @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Seed Bomb
- Synthesis
Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rain Dance
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Rest
Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Defog
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 16 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Roost
Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fire Fang
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Dragon Claw
Well, that's my team. It's my first RMT in a long time and I hope you guys can have fun with it!
