Edit: Whoops, forgot the OR/AS OU tag.
Hello friends, I'm here to share with you one of my new favorite teams. In the past I've usually run balanced offense teams with solid defensive cores because I've never really liked stall. However, I've found a team that I like that fits my playstyle well. I have maybe about 10 games using this team, but I'm undefeated with it so far (low rating and recent ladder issues.) I'd like to tailor it to handle huge threats better.
Team at a glance:
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The team's core strength comes from its heavy defensive focus. Between Ferrothorn, Tentacruel, Sableye, and Hippowdon most attackers struggle to get through (bar the most powerful offensive threats.) All three damaging entry hazards are spread across this team's movepool and M-Sableye prevents these hazards from leaving play. Bisharp and Greninja are key for their ability to come in and finish off worn down targets or revenge kill if need be.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Thunder Wave
- Spikes
- Power Whip
Ferrothorn has been a reliable team member on previous balanced offense teams due to its ability to stomach hits and disable targets with Thunder Wave. I rarely opt to lead with Ferrothorn because most opposing leads have the advantage - Ferrothorn's role is heavily focused on that Thunder Wave and Spikes support. Targets are also easily worn down by Leech Seed and Power Whip if they can't dish out considerable damage.
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 240 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Sludge Wave
Another personal favorite of mine is Tentacruel. Many people choose not to run Tentacruel because of its middling defensive statistics and because many other Pokemon do the same job but better. I personally chose Tentacruel because of its typing, access to Rapid Spin, and access to Toxic Spikes. Tentacruel can easily come in on almost anything that threatens Sableye and set up Toxic Spikes.
Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Recover
- Knock Off
This is my newest love. The distinctly different roles that Sableye and Sableye-M play make it quite versatile. I opted for a defensive support set because I felt that the Calm Mind sets just didn't play out in a style that fit this team. Sableye's ability to neutralize physical powerhouses with priority Will-o-Wisp, sabotage enemy leads with Taunt and Magic Bounce, and provide additional support with Knock Off makes this guy crucial to my team's success. This is my general lead of choice because of its resilience versus offensive leads and its ability to shut down defensive ones.
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Roar
In desperate need of phase support, I looked for strong users of Roar, Whirlwind, and Dragon Tail. I saw some old popular choices in Heatran and Skarmory, but their typing did not mesh well with my team. Hippowdon is incredibly bulky and survives almost any hit that one of my other defensive Pokemon would not. Sandstorm support helps wear down targets further and the access to Stealth Rock and reliable recovery was important to me.
Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
For a short period of time, I was considering running a team full of stuff with no killing power and relying on residual damage and entry hazard damage to do the job. That's probably a terrible idea. Bisharp is incredibly useful for its ability to finish off targets or get a Swords Dance boost off of a predicted switch. If I lose one of my defensive Pokemon and Bisharp comes in on a weakened target there usually aren't many choices for them. A predicted switch leads to a boost and a predicted attack leads to a powerful Sucker Punch. Bisharp rewards prediction well and fits in with a team designed to wear targets down.
Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Ice Beam
- U-turn
- Gunk Shot
- Dark Pulse
Scouting, mindgaming, and cleaning help Greninja cement its place as the last position on my team. Greninja can come in to revenge kill after almost anything on my team faints simply because of its speed, power, and type coverage. Greninja's set is the most fluid, I should probably run Hydro Pump; however, right now I'm content faking having a Water type move on the set to force switches that the enemy doesn't need to do to help push more hazard damage. I'm considering HP Fire or Hydro Pump over Dark Pulse at the moment. Gunk Shot is invaluable for its Fairy coverage.
Hello friends, I'm here to share with you one of my new favorite teams. In the past I've usually run balanced offense teams with solid defensive cores because I've never really liked stall. However, I've found a team that I like that fits my playstyle well. I have maybe about 10 games using this team, but I'm undefeated with it so far (low rating and recent ladder issues.) I'd like to tailor it to handle huge threats better.
Team at a glance:
The team's core strength comes from its heavy defensive focus. Between Ferrothorn, Tentacruel, Sableye, and Hippowdon most attackers struggle to get through (bar the most powerful offensive threats.) All three damaging entry hazards are spread across this team's movepool and M-Sableye prevents these hazards from leaving play. Bisharp and Greninja are key for their ability to come in and finish off worn down targets or revenge kill if need be.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Thunder Wave
- Spikes
- Power Whip
Ferrothorn has been a reliable team member on previous balanced offense teams due to its ability to stomach hits and disable targets with Thunder Wave. I rarely opt to lead with Ferrothorn because most opposing leads have the advantage - Ferrothorn's role is heavily focused on that Thunder Wave and Spikes support. Targets are also easily worn down by Leech Seed and Power Whip if they can't dish out considerable damage.
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 240 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Sludge Wave
Another personal favorite of mine is Tentacruel. Many people choose not to run Tentacruel because of its middling defensive statistics and because many other Pokemon do the same job but better. I personally chose Tentacruel because of its typing, access to Rapid Spin, and access to Toxic Spikes. Tentacruel can easily come in on almost anything that threatens Sableye and set up Toxic Spikes.
Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Recover
- Knock Off
This is my newest love. The distinctly different roles that Sableye and Sableye-M play make it quite versatile. I opted for a defensive support set because I felt that the Calm Mind sets just didn't play out in a style that fit this team. Sableye's ability to neutralize physical powerhouses with priority Will-o-Wisp, sabotage enemy leads with Taunt and Magic Bounce, and provide additional support with Knock Off makes this guy crucial to my team's success. This is my general lead of choice because of its resilience versus offensive leads and its ability to shut down defensive ones.
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Roar
In desperate need of phase support, I looked for strong users of Roar, Whirlwind, and Dragon Tail. I saw some old popular choices in Heatran and Skarmory, but their typing did not mesh well with my team. Hippowdon is incredibly bulky and survives almost any hit that one of my other defensive Pokemon would not. Sandstorm support helps wear down targets further and the access to Stealth Rock and reliable recovery was important to me.
Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
For a short period of time, I was considering running a team full of stuff with no killing power and relying on residual damage and entry hazard damage to do the job. That's probably a terrible idea. Bisharp is incredibly useful for its ability to finish off targets or get a Swords Dance boost off of a predicted switch. If I lose one of my defensive Pokemon and Bisharp comes in on a weakened target there usually aren't many choices for them. A predicted switch leads to a boost and a predicted attack leads to a powerful Sucker Punch. Bisharp rewards prediction well and fits in with a team designed to wear targets down.
Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Ice Beam
- U-turn
- Gunk Shot
- Dark Pulse
Scouting, mindgaming, and cleaning help Greninja cement its place as the last position on my team. Greninja can come in to revenge kill after almost anything on my team faints simply because of its speed, power, and type coverage. Greninja's set is the most fluid, I should probably run Hydro Pump; however, right now I'm content faking having a Water type move on the set to force switches that the enemy doesn't need to do to help push more hazard damage. I'm considering HP Fire or Hydro Pump over Dark Pulse at the moment. Gunk Shot is invaluable for its Fairy coverage.
Mega Salamence - The monster every team needs to prepare for right now. I can sacrifice Sableye to cripple it and make it more manageable. If it doesn't boost I can revenge kill it with Greninja.
Mega Heracross - OHKOs or 2HKOs my entire team. Sableye can handle it after a burn and a transition to Mega Sableye. Sableye gets punished for this pretty badly though. Sableye can't risk switching in either. Very hard for my team to handle with no suitable revenge killer.
Latios - The only one on my team that can stomach multiple hits from this is Sableye in Mega form. Otherwise everything gets wiped out. Tentacruel is pummeled by Psyshock, Ferrothorn and Bisharp by HP Fire, and everything else by Draco Meteor. It's fairly simple to revenge kill though.
Mega Charizard X - My lack of solid ground coverage makes this guy nearly impossible to handle. Hippowdon handles Megazard X hits the best but is still 2HKOd pretty cleanly. At least I have Stealth Rock to make it easier to handle.
Crawdaunt - 2HKOs everything on my team except Ferrothorn and even Ferrothorn has a hard time staying in. Knock Off followed by Superpower will cleanly remove it. Priority Will-o-Wisp safely cripples it if I haven't Mega Evolved Sableye.
Mega Heracross - OHKOs or 2HKOs my entire team. Sableye can handle it after a burn and a transition to Mega Sableye. Sableye gets punished for this pretty badly though. Sableye can't risk switching in either. Very hard for my team to handle with no suitable revenge killer.
Latios - The only one on my team that can stomach multiple hits from this is Sableye in Mega form. Otherwise everything gets wiped out. Tentacruel is pummeled by Psyshock, Ferrothorn and Bisharp by HP Fire, and everything else by Draco Meteor. It's fairly simple to revenge kill though.
Mega Charizard X - My lack of solid ground coverage makes this guy nearly impossible to handle. Hippowdon handles Megazard X hits the best but is still 2HKOd pretty cleanly. At least I have Stealth Rock to make it easier to handle.
Crawdaunt - 2HKOs everything on my team except Ferrothorn and even Ferrothorn has a hard time staying in. Knock Off followed by Superpower will cleanly remove it. Priority Will-o-Wisp safely cripples it if I haven't Mega Evolved Sableye.
My team is honestly threatened by some of the most common Pokemon in the OU metagame and I could really do with some answers - especially Megacross, Megazard X, and Latios.
Running Scarf Lando-T is an answer to Megazard X. Any Flying type move would clear out Megacross, and Latios would be walled by a differently typed specially defensive mon. In the past I've run a full special defense Heatran that wasn't bothered by Latios much at all.
My team's key strategy is placing hazards, preventing anti-stall tactics through Taunt, Magic Bounce, and strong game-changing revenge killers. I am probably held back by my desire to run all 3 damaging entry hazards.
Running Scarf Lando-T is an answer to Megazard X. Any Flying type move would clear out Megacross, and Latios would be walled by a differently typed specially defensive mon. In the past I've run a full special defense Heatran that wasn't bothered by Latios much at all.
My team's key strategy is placing hazards, preventing anti-stall tactics through Taunt, Magic Bounce, and strong game-changing revenge killers. I am probably held back by my desire to run all 3 damaging entry hazards.
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