So, way back in the day I used to run a grassy terrain team as sort of a meme team. It was really fun to use, and I would always tell my friends how much I wished there was an actual terrain starter much like their are weather starters. And it seems at long last, my dreams have been answered. It's much different than I expected, as instead of using terrain to support the team, the terrain starters support themselves. Which is just... so good. The Tapu's, are all just so freaking good dude. So this team is for SUMO, not ORAS. I was told by a friend I should be allowed to post this here without getting in trouble, so please let me know if I'm doing a bad thing by posting it here and now. I was just excited with the start of the new gen and really wanted to showcase this really fun team.
Teambuilding Process:
First and foremost, I present Tapu Bulu. I've basically explained above why he was my initial choice, but I have to talk about how insanely powerful Bulu is. Bulu ohkos-2hkos pretty much anything that isn't a quad resistance. Meaning, anything that isn't Scizor, Celesteela, Skarmory, Venusaur, Ferrothorn, Charizard, etc.
When deciding the first partner for Bulu, I looked again at the list of counters Bulu had. And almost every single one of them was trapped and killed with ease by Magnezone; notably Scizor, Celesteela, Ferrothorn and Skarmory. Magnezone is incredibly strong right now thanks to what it offers a team in terms of what it can beat, and the Tapu-Mag core has proved through my experiences to be one of the most reliable newly formed offensive cores in the tier (in my humble oppinion, of coarse).
The next teamslot was open to a bulky water type. I needed a pokemon to ease my matchups versus fire types like Charizard X, Marowak and Volcanion to an extent. I also thought the team would really appreciate a setup sweeper to help out with defensive cores that Tapu-Mag struggle to beat. Calm mind Tapu Fini was my bulky water of choice, and is noteworthy to mention that it gets free setup on the likes of Toxapex, which I've been seeing a lot of recently, among other prevalent pokemon.
When looking for my mega, I had to consider 2 pokemon that my team would struggle to switch into without: Tapu Lele, and opposing Tapu Bulu. I needed a heavy duty grass resist, and an equally heavy duty fairy, psychic and steel resist. By adding Mega Scizor to the squad, I was given a counter to Tapu Bulu and Kartana, a check to Tapu Lele and the lati twins, an answer to Bisharp, Breloom and Weavile all in one convenient package.
The way the team was going, a major glaring weakness was arising: that to magnezone and Tapu Koko. What better way to answer these pokemon, along with Xurktree, than with Alohan Marowak? Alohan Marowak in addition to being my favourite Alohan mon, provides the team with incredible type resistances to things like Pharamosa/Buzzwhole, every electric type in the tier barring rotom, Magearna, Serperior, and also has the added benefit of living a shadow ball from PZ after a Z-move conversion. Marowak also completes a form of FWG core with both Tapu's on the team.
And the finally as my last pokemon: Mantine. Mantine patched up several things for the team. First off, it's really nice for aegislash. Which will be banned soon anyways, but for the moment that's relevant to mention. I also needed a ground immunity, a steel resist that wasn't weak to fire (for genesect), another fire resist, hazard removal and charizard Y switch in.
Tapu Bulu @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Horn Leech
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
As mentioned, Bulu is the main focus of the team. It doesn't really appear at first glance that grassy terrain is really much of a focus for the team, but grassy terrain provides very important utility for the team. It provides recovery for Marowak and Magnezone who lack their own sustain while simultaneously weakening the damage taken from earthquake for them. Wood Hammer is the move that is made to be spammed, while horn leech gives recovery when I know dropping a nuke won't gain me much momentum (ie; on a sac or on a sub). Stone edge hits Charizard which people keep trying to switch into, and Superpower hits Ferrothorn.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Choice scarf Magnezone is here to not only trap all the aforementioned steel types but also gives the team more speed control. The main issue with this team is how slow it is as a whole, since it relies heavily off scarf Magnezone and Bullet punch to deal with fast threats. The moveset is pretty standard with HP fire to kill the pokemon that are quad supper effective to it and 3 STAB moves to provide it's more effective tools to revenge kill.
Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
Maximum physical defence allowed Tapu Fini to not be 2hkod by poison jab Pharamosa, and is just in general appreciated to aid it to set up. I'm not 100% sure if the EVs are what they should be, but it's worked well up until now. As mentioned before, with sub+calm mind I can set up on Toxapex that don't carry haze. Dual STAB has fairly good coverage, and scald is always chosen over surf since as a setup sweeper, I plan to stay in long after the terrain ends, so burns are always possible.
Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Swords Dance/Pursuit
- Roost
This is pretty much another standard set. I've always loved using mega Scizor, and it stays being one of if not THE best mega in the tier. U-turn prevents me from getting trapped by Magnezone which allows me to consistently check certain threats and bullet punch is an obvious choice but I want to re-emphasize the importance of priority to the team. I'm using swords dance for the moment, but to be honest I've never yet gotten the opportunity to actually setup. I feel like I really should be running pursuit, but I was hoping to get opinions on it. Roost of coarse for sustainability.
Marowak-Alola @ Leftovers
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Bone/Knock off
- Flare Blitz
Specially defensive Marowak is an interesting mon: half the people who play gen 7 pokebank OU say it's trash, and the other half think it's the way of the future. I'm very much so in the latter category. Marowak is an excellent stealth rocker to have and gets many opportunities to set up hazards on Magnezone and Tapu Koko as previously mentioned. Will-o-Wisp is amazing utility and catches common checks to Marowak on the switch. The last 2 moves are attacking moves, with Shadow bone yielding more damage output but knock off offering more utility (for instance, knocking off rotom or tapu fini's leftovers).
Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Roost
- Defog
And finally, this is my mantine set. Maximum physical defence compliments Mantines typing and as a result makes switching into Marowak, Buzzwhole/Pharamosa Scizor considerably easier while still being able to switch into charizard y consistently. Toxic can wear down anything that doesn't mind recieving a scald burn, while roost and defog keep both itself and the team healthier.
Threat list:
(tapu lele), (tapu bulu),
Teambuilding Process:
First and foremost, I present Tapu Bulu. I've basically explained above why he was my initial choice, but I have to talk about how insanely powerful Bulu is. Bulu ohkos-2hkos pretty much anything that isn't a quad resistance. Meaning, anything that isn't Scizor, Celesteela, Skarmory, Venusaur, Ferrothorn, Charizard, etc.
When deciding the first partner for Bulu, I looked again at the list of counters Bulu had. And almost every single one of them was trapped and killed with ease by Magnezone; notably Scizor, Celesteela, Ferrothorn and Skarmory. Magnezone is incredibly strong right now thanks to what it offers a team in terms of what it can beat, and the Tapu-Mag core has proved through my experiences to be one of the most reliable newly formed offensive cores in the tier (in my humble oppinion, of coarse).
The next teamslot was open to a bulky water type. I needed a pokemon to ease my matchups versus fire types like Charizard X, Marowak and Volcanion to an extent. I also thought the team would really appreciate a setup sweeper to help out with defensive cores that Tapu-Mag struggle to beat. Calm mind Tapu Fini was my bulky water of choice, and is noteworthy to mention that it gets free setup on the likes of Toxapex, which I've been seeing a lot of recently, among other prevalent pokemon.
When looking for my mega, I had to consider 2 pokemon that my team would struggle to switch into without: Tapu Lele, and opposing Tapu Bulu. I needed a heavy duty grass resist, and an equally heavy duty fairy, psychic and steel resist. By adding Mega Scizor to the squad, I was given a counter to Tapu Bulu and Kartana, a check to Tapu Lele and the lati twins, an answer to Bisharp, Breloom and Weavile all in one convenient package.
The way the team was going, a major glaring weakness was arising: that to magnezone and Tapu Koko. What better way to answer these pokemon, along with Xurktree, than with Alohan Marowak? Alohan Marowak in addition to being my favourite Alohan mon, provides the team with incredible type resistances to things like Pharamosa/Buzzwhole, every electric type in the tier barring rotom, Magearna, Serperior, and also has the added benefit of living a shadow ball from PZ after a Z-move conversion. Marowak also completes a form of FWG core with both Tapu's on the team.
And the finally as my last pokemon: Mantine. Mantine patched up several things for the team. First off, it's really nice for aegislash. Which will be banned soon anyways, but for the moment that's relevant to mention. I also needed a ground immunity, a steel resist that wasn't weak to fire (for genesect), another fire resist, hazard removal and charizard Y switch in.
Tapu Bulu @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Horn Leech
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
As mentioned, Bulu is the main focus of the team. It doesn't really appear at first glance that grassy terrain is really much of a focus for the team, but grassy terrain provides very important utility for the team. It provides recovery for Marowak and Magnezone who lack their own sustain while simultaneously weakening the damage taken from earthquake for them. Wood Hammer is the move that is made to be spammed, while horn leech gives recovery when I know dropping a nuke won't gain me much momentum (ie; on a sac or on a sub). Stone edge hits Charizard which people keep trying to switch into, and Superpower hits Ferrothorn.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Choice scarf Magnezone is here to not only trap all the aforementioned steel types but also gives the team more speed control. The main issue with this team is how slow it is as a whole, since it relies heavily off scarf Magnezone and Bullet punch to deal with fast threats. The moveset is pretty standard with HP fire to kill the pokemon that are quad supper effective to it and 3 STAB moves to provide it's more effective tools to revenge kill.
Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
Maximum physical defence allowed Tapu Fini to not be 2hkod by poison jab Pharamosa, and is just in general appreciated to aid it to set up. I'm not 100% sure if the EVs are what they should be, but it's worked well up until now. As mentioned before, with sub+calm mind I can set up on Toxapex that don't carry haze. Dual STAB has fairly good coverage, and scald is always chosen over surf since as a setup sweeper, I plan to stay in long after the terrain ends, so burns are always possible.
Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Swords Dance/Pursuit
- Roost
This is pretty much another standard set. I've always loved using mega Scizor, and it stays being one of if not THE best mega in the tier. U-turn prevents me from getting trapped by Magnezone which allows me to consistently check certain threats and bullet punch is an obvious choice but I want to re-emphasize the importance of priority to the team. I'm using swords dance for the moment, but to be honest I've never yet gotten the opportunity to actually setup. I feel like I really should be running pursuit, but I was hoping to get opinions on it. Roost of coarse for sustainability.
Marowak-Alola @ Leftovers
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Bone/Knock off
- Flare Blitz
Specially defensive Marowak is an interesting mon: half the people who play gen 7 pokebank OU say it's trash, and the other half think it's the way of the future. I'm very much so in the latter category. Marowak is an excellent stealth rocker to have and gets many opportunities to set up hazards on Magnezone and Tapu Koko as previously mentioned. Will-o-Wisp is amazing utility and catches common checks to Marowak on the switch. The last 2 moves are attacking moves, with Shadow bone yielding more damage output but knock off offering more utility (for instance, knocking off rotom or tapu fini's leftovers).
Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Roost
- Defog
And finally, this is my mantine set. Maximum physical defence compliments Mantines typing and as a result makes switching into Marowak, Buzzwhole/Pharamosa Scizor considerably easier while still being able to switch into charizard y consistently. Toxic can wear down anything that doesn't mind recieving a scald burn, while roost and defog keep both itself and the team healthier.
Threat list:
