Hey! I'm not normally a PU player, but since OU is garbage right now I decided to check out the tier for the first time in quite a while yesterday. I built a quick team and after playing yesterday and today, I realized it was very successful, I think I lost maybe 1 game and I'm not even sure about that, quickly getting me up to almost 1600. It's been very fun to use so I decided to share it. It's been through some iterations and I think the current one is my favorite. I learned pretty much everything I know about this metagame from playing over the past two days, so excuse me if I get anything wrong.
I wanted to build around Kangaskhan, because it seemed fun to use and is apparently a menace in this metagame.
Scarf Mesprit was the next addition, forming a pretty cool core with Speed control through Scarf and double Priority.
I added Sandslash-Alola as a spinner and a decent Physical backbone.
Next was Mudsdale as a rocker, giving me a switchin to Rock type moves and generally giving me another good Physical Tank.
I used Qwilfish as a Water resist. This also gave me Spikes, allowing Kangaskhan to pressure teams more easily.
The team was finished off with Oricorio-Sensu as a wincon and spinblocker, as well as additional Ground resist.
The next build was a fair bit bulkier, replacing Qwilfish and Oricorio with Jellicent and Tangela. This proved too passive for me.
I replaced Tangela with Gurdurr, giving me a Status absorber and Special Pivot.
I still wasn't completely content. I noticed I was not doing amazing on the Special breaking front and I didn't feel like I needed a Spinblocker anymore. Skuntank was added as a Specially offensive Stallbreaker. And that's the current iteration.
The Team
I wanted to build around Kangaskhan, because it seemed fun to use and is apparently a menace in this metagame.
Scarf Mesprit was the next addition, forming a pretty cool core with Speed control through Scarf and double Priority.
I added Sandslash-Alola as a spinner and a decent Physical backbone.
Next was Mudsdale as a rocker, giving me a switchin to Rock type moves and generally giving me another good Physical Tank.
I used Qwilfish as a Water resist. This also gave me Spikes, allowing Kangaskhan to pressure teams more easily.
The team was finished off with Oricorio-Sensu as a wincon and spinblocker, as well as additional Ground resist.
The next build was a fair bit bulkier, replacing Qwilfish and Oricorio with Jellicent and Tangela. This proved too passive for me.
I replaced Tangela with Gurdurr, giving me a Status absorber and Special Pivot.
I still wasn't completely content. I noticed I was not doing amazing on the Special breaking front and I didn't feel like I needed a Spinblocker anymore. Skuntank was added as a Specially offensive Stallbreaker. And that's the current iteration.
The Team
Kangaskhan @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
I built this team around Kangaskhan, an awesome Physical breaker and a Pokemon with 2 priority moves, giving it a good matchup versus both offensive and bulkier teams. The set is standard. I opted to go Adamant, as I did not feel like running Jolly would benefit me much and so far that has proven to be the correct choice. I initially ran Frustration to avoid recoil, but the extra power Double-Edge provides is too important.
Mesprit @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Healing Wish
Mesprit was added next. It's a Fighting resist, which Kangaskhan appreciates. It can also Healing Wish it if it's used Double-Edge too many times or taken other hits and get it back in the game. I went with Psychic over Psyshock for that extra bit of power and Ice Beam over Dazzling Gleam to hit Pokemon like Mudsdale, which Kangaskhan cannot break.
Sandslash-Alola (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Slush Rush
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Atk / 92 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
Since both previous Pokemon are prone to chip damage, I wanted to avoid that as much as possible and make sure Stealth Rock are never up on my side. Alolan Sandslash seemed like a cool spinner, also giving me a resist to Ice, Grass, Normal, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Dragon and Fairy, which neither of the previous members had. I run a lot of Speed to outspeed other Alolan Sandslash as well as all Drampa and I opted to put spare EVs into Attack over Sp.Def. to let this Pokemon have a real offensive presence. That's also the reason I have Swords Dance on it, because it lets it dish out some serious damage against pretty much every Pokemon in the tier.
Mudsdale (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stamina
EVs: 240 HP / 128 Atk / 140 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Protect
Now, I wanted my own rocker. Mudsdale seemed like a great choice, as I did not have an Electric resist and its Stamina would let it take on several physical threats. The EVs are slightly different from the standard set, maximizing Leftovers recovery while also giving it slightly better Physical Defense. Toxic and Protect take up the last two moveslots, as I appreciate the ability to wear things that can take Earthquakes and Rock Slides down, as well as giving Mudsdale the opportunity to recover a bit more with its Leftovers.
Skuntank (M) @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Aftermath
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Acid Spray
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt
Skuntank is a personal favorite of mine, but that's not because of its use in battle, so that's a topic for another day. It's on the team to pressure Pokemon like Mesprit and Haunter while also giving me a check to Jynx. In addition, it resists Dark, which is great for opposing Skuntank as well as Houndoom. Taunt+Acid Spray lets it break through Stall while Z-Dark Pulse is a great nuke. Sucker Punch is the last move to pick off Haunter, Jynx and Alolan Raichu. Timid nature over Modest mostly for opposing Kangaskhan, which can be a threat if Mudsdale is weakened. I went with Darkinium Z as the item, because I had no other Z-user and it seemed to work.
Gurdurr (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Knock Off
Gurdurr is a bit of a Special sponge and Status absorber, as I was looking a bit weak to Burns and Toxics, as well as Pokemon that like to Volt Switch such as Lanturn. It also gave me a Pokemon that can set up, which I lacked. I decided to go with this spread because Gurdurr was not supposed to be my main check to Stoutland, rather picking off Pokemon such as Houndoom and Absol. The rest should be self-explanatory, it's just Gurdurr.
And that's the team! Here's an import: https://pokepast.es/cab0c64ac2d62c9c
There are a couple threats to this team, though.
Threatlist
SUN
Sun teams with Victreebell are scary. Wincon is opposing human error if Skuntank takes some chip, as everything else dies to a +2 move. All the priority moves help, but it's still not an awesome matchup.
Oricorio
All forms can be bitches but Pom Pom and Sensu are specifically scary, the offensive CM sets, bulky CM sets and stallbreaker sets.
Poliwrath
Not a huge threat, but definitely annoying to break. Not fun to switch in to.
Skuntank
With a lot of different sets, you have to scout what it does and deal with it appropriately. Don't let it get out of hand.
And that's it! Thanks for reading!
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