123456789101112131415161718192
123456789101112131415161718190
1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272
1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272
Hi Smogon!
First of all, what you might be seeing with your glaring eyes is a team that at first glance doesn't look like a conventional OU team. In fact, a legitimate argument can be made about it being an Unteam team or Cheesy team that judging by the appearance it's a mega-less team flooded with tissue paper defense pokemons from beginning to end and surprise, surprise, in all of a sudden it can't get anything done. Said argument, to my personal standpoint, is all the opposite to what this team really stands for. Tailwind Offense, this is how it's meant to be called and has had some memorable hard-fought battles. It has passed through a path of destruction in Ladder, and still considered by some a gimmick with some widespread speculation attached to it. This is an archetype! Just like my friend Limousines used to call it (who by the way I will be going into details on the Team Building Process), and both BDDM (BanDisnDatnMe[Me]) as Limousines, even with the team shortcomings, have managed to stay relatively high on ladder for a chunk and get various accounts to 1900's. We'd even rise to the occasion and and go far enough to say that the combination of 3 standard Tailwind setters and 3 potent attackers with traits to anchor turn consumer moves like Protect, Substitute and Fake Out, is borderline broken, but that's a discussion for another time.
The Team
This team fares pretty well against all kinds of teams ranging from full stall to cancer rain teams to hyper offense, while being particularly effective against both Double Screen offense, Balance teams , and many forms of stall. Sticky Web has proven not to be a major problem since Tailwind can still provide with Speed to a lesser degree. Against Rain teams this team has not yet shown its true colors but I believe that after a couple of battles and using tactics to dismantle Rain teams, then it would be another story. Trick Room is very annoying for the team, as it is exactly Tailwind's counterpart. This team by no means can be played vaguely, as it possesses little to no switch outs and the best thing to do is to use your prediction skills to have your Choice Locked sweepers facing a favorable match-up, which leads your opponent to the foregone conclusion of forcing a switch out and this inmediately turns the match-up in your favor. A way to know when to set up is really going to be the difference between winning or losing, as this team in most cases appreciates having preserved the two main Tailwind setters in Whimsicott and Tornadus, as they tend to serve as gamebreaking late in the battle. Said this, a way to spam U-turns as opposed to straight up using Tailwind is something that is needed to be learned in order to thrive off with this team. For example, because of an opponent is trapped into Encore, it doesn't mean that that scenario gives green lights to Tailwind, rather than that, it makes it a go-to-scout by using U-turn and so that a potent attacker on the shelf has its entry only to wreak havoc and annihilate whatever is standing up front. Lastly, like any team it has a fair share of weaknesses and most likely has room for improvement, so rates and feedback are always appreciated.
Team Building Process
-------------------------
Team Breakdown
-------------------------
Tornadus
Item: Flyinium Z
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Rash (+SpA, -SpD)
• Hurricane
• Heat Wave
• Tailwind
• Superpower
First off, I want to go out of my way to let you guys know that when featured on a Tailwind offense, Tornadus got the chance to enter the spotlight of OU once again. Flying is a very good offensive type with little to no Pokemon that resist it in OU, and Tornadus makes excellent use of it with STAB Hurricane, base 125 Special Attack, and base 111 Speed. Most Steel-, Rock-, and Electric-types looking to tank a Hurricane can get promptly smashed by Heat Wave or Superpower, which means that walling Tornadus is not an easy feat. This tornadus's set was built specially to be the second most valueable Tailwind setter, being Whimsicott the one the get sacked first as it doesn't offer the offensive prowess that Tornadus does. With that being said, Tailwind on Tornadus will most of the time be given use when Flynium Z has already been utilized, because it's extremely essential to have pokemons getting picked off by Supersonic Skystrike as it opens a gap for Tailwind to give better use of its diminished turns compared to other speed control playstyles such as Trick Room and Rain. Both Tornadus as Whimsicott have the privilege of setting up a prompt Tailwind which will most of the times catch players off guard by not noticing that the full turns of Tailwind (3 turns) has already been activated after the Tailwind setter has fainted. Reason being is that it's overly important to understand that Tailwind will have its better functionality when the Tailwind setters are in distress and it is being used on a whim right before the pokemon is on verge to faint. All in all, Tornadus reached the highest peak of its game when it is being run in a way that when Tailwind is activated you get to castigate with Supersonic Skystrike as its nature is slower than usual in Rash as opposed to Timid, because of the need of wanting to ultimate Choice Specs bulky Lele, Mega swampert, Zygarde and Clefable.
Hurricane - While running Hurricane, I came to a realization that the majority of pokemons enduring Flying-type moves are worn down in the blink of an eye. Getting to witness the havoc caused by 185-Base Power Supersonic Skystrike blowing through common threats like Landorus-T, Clefable, Mega Sableye, Mega Swampert and Tornadus-T just made me think of this being the eazy way out of reducing the pokemon slots in the oposing team, only to have Tailwind accommodated. Despite the main goal of this set and the lack of a boosting item, its Hurricane still tears holes in the opponent's team.
Heat Wave - Heat Wave almost OHKOes Ferrothorn in rain and 2HKOes Jirachi outside of rain, but dispatches Bulky Mega Scizor 128.2 - 151.6% of the time. Given the situation that Steel-type pokemons that resist Fighting moves + Priotity moves such as Mega Mawile and Mega Scizor could potentially become a problem for this team, heat wave goes hand in hand with Tornadus as it wipes them out.
Tailwind - Gives the whole team a +2 Speed boost for three turns and has priority thanks to Prankster, meaning that no matter how fast a Pokemon gets, Tornadus can sacrifice itself in order to set up a Tailwind and allow its teammates to revenge kill the dangerous sweeper. Tailwind can even let Tornadus and its teammates get a last-minute sweep against normally faster Pokemon, and turns hard hitting Pokemon such as Choice Band Hoopa-U and Choice Specs Blacephalon into absolute beasts for three turns.
Superpower - Gives the same coverage as Focus Blast, but has the benefit of 2HKOing Blissey after Stealth Rock, 3HKOing Chansey and cleanly OHKOing 252 HP Tyranitar, as well as having perfect accuracy. It also serve to pick off tissue paper defense Greninja and Heatran while also getting the chance to pick off pokemons in a pinch without the possibility of missing which both Hurricane and Heat Wave have. Although the absence of a boosting item may portray Superpower as redundant, it still does plenty to the opponent's Steel- and Dark-types, such as Tyranitar, and Heatran repectively.
EV Spread - Maximum Special Attack investment is used to hit as hard as possible, and a Rash nature is used to avoid rare damage in leaving pokemons in distress as a Timid may not be able to get the job done, despite it having some merits for outspeeding Kartana Z move, Choice Specs Keldeo and such, but in most cases players would rethink whether you're Rash or not, forcing a switch out. This spread also allows Tornadus perform better offense against stall teams and Rain teams, since a kill has got to pretty much be guaranteed given the situation that Tailwind appreciates an oposing team where most of the pokemons have yet fainted.Rash over Mild to avoid getting killed by Smart Strike from Scarf Kartana after rock damage.
Mew
Item: Mental Herb
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
• Explosion
• Tailwind
• Taunt
• Stealth Rock
This Mew is the biggest thorn in this Tailwind team, not many pokemons have the raw power to 1HKO it, reason being is that I opted to run Mental Herb over Focus Sash. Mental Herb is perfect to deter Tapu koko Double Screen's momentum and other swift Taunt users. Taunt prevents slower Pokemon, such as slower variants of Bisharp, Mega Mawile and Mega Scizor, from boosting their stats, and even lets Mew stop popular Stealth Rock users, such as Heatran and Ferrothorn, from setting up entry hazards. Tailwind gives Mew the jump on the whole entire tier and pokemons with the Speed boosted, reaching an astonishing 656, that's 42 more points than what Standard Hawlucha could get when Unburden is activated (614). There would be a high chance of Mew leaving 2 turns of Tailwind per lead, and if you're lucky enough, you can get the full turns of Tailwind right off the bat. Explosion is Mew's only weapon to inflict damage, leaving the opposing pokemon vulnerable to faint as one of the two Choice locked beasts switch ins to start disappearing pokemons up. Hence, Explosion helps avoid switch ins, which this team pretty much doesn't have if not by nice typing in Whimsicott and in the Special Defense side we have Hoopa, but certainly not a favorable thing to do to shorten your main sweepers HP, as you're gonna end up necessitating them for late game blowouts. Mew could also be saved back on the shelf to maximize the possibilities of multiple Tailwind setups, but it would be really situational and dependant. This would most likely happen against stall, where you don't have much to lose rather than just switch out into Whimsicott and Mew respectively, which may take advantage on Mew's ability Synchronize. Mew might not be very successfull at setting up hazard when facing stall, but when played exuberantly good you can get rocks up. Finally, Mew is a very, very decent lead that has facilitated this team with a bunch of good stuff, from getting the momentum going to just set up hazard for a more smoothly sweep.
Explosion - Explosion is the only attack for Mew, letting it go out with a bang. Best known for picking off frail attackers like Greninja, Tornadus-T and Tapu lele, while leaving the opposing pokemon as an easy target for the Choice locked sweepers mostly.
Tailwind - This move on Mew will work kind of in a different fashion than on the others Tailwind setters, because here we have that Mew doesn't necessarily get a fast Tailwind all the time, which may be kind of disheartening but still, in my opinion I believe that a 100 Base speed with fastest nature which combines for 300 BS in bulk can still set up Tailwind all day and on several occasions.
Taunt - This one right here is mandatory as it repels hazard, which is evidently obvious due to Blacephalon and Tornadus. Having those two at full health can only ease up stuff as Blacephalon can resist non-effective priority move Bullet Punch having the tissue paper defense that it is characterized by, and Tornadus is then going to be capable of setting up hazard freely without having to preoccupy by rock damage.
Stealth Rock - A legitimate argument can be made about how good does this mew lead set can actually be against stall, but the reality is that having a potent dark-type attacker in Hoopa which can take on Both Chansey and Shedinja. In the other hand, Skarmory would mean a problem due to sturdy but can be worn down with ease by Hyperscale Fury and Special attacks from such as Hidden Power Fire Tapu Lele LO and Flamethrower Blacephalon. The level of aggression from part of the potent sweepers is what ends up suffocating stall in general, not the rocks itself. By this I don't mean that they're not crucial, yes they are, but one can still suffocate stall with the offesive pokemons at its disposal and ultimately finish off winning to a lesser degree.
Whimsicott
/
Item: Lagging Tail / Full Incense
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD
Nature: Relaxed (+Def, -Spe)
• Tailwind
• Encore
• Defog
• U-turn
Whimsicott is my most important line of Tailwind offense. It specifically differentiates itself from other Pokemon thanks to Prankster combined with a huge number of helpful and annoying support options, ranging from Encore to Defog to Tailwind. This alone makes Whimsicott an ultimate annoyer and team supporter, capable of disrupting the opponent while creating switch-in and setup opportunities for your own Pokemon. Additionally, because Whimsicott is notorious for what it does, it is somewhat predictable, and thus requires great patience and prediction to use. However, its presence causes a number of competent players to play cautiously around it, so they, too, are capable of serious mispredictions and ill-timed decisions. At the end of the day, be wary that Whimsicott is high-risk with unpredictable rewards. The way that I use Whimsicott is I normally don't straight up use Tailwind since the very beginning, rather than that, I dictate the pace! Whimsicott is well used when it is uniquely spamming slow U-turns after slow U-turns, gaining a ton of momentum for the sweepers to come in and do what they know to do best which is causing them pokemons to faint when things are odd or things are quaint. Another way that signals that you're nailing the Whimsicott's gimmick is when whimsicott has been disrupting setup sweepers and taking one hit after another and living a lot of things thoughout the course of the battle, making it an annoyer to put the team in position to win. Nonetheless, Whimsicott's greatest capabilities can be seen when it gets sacked leaving 3 full turns of pain, opening the door for the Choice locked sweepers to castigate severely.
Tailwind - I personally would describe this move as potentially gamebreaking to some extent, as it tends to turn the match-up in my favor at all cost.
Encore - Encore is a reliable way to force switches and aid sweepers, as forcing your opponent to continually use a move such as Protect will provide a massive opportunity to use slow U-turn and scout whatever pokemons switches in or whether the opponent decided to stay or not is something that is yet to be seen. My best advice is to use Encore exclusively when you know the rival is not expecting you to go for it, and right after the opponent fell into Encore's effect, the best thing to do is to U-turn as it allows you to gain momentum on so many levels, because of how awkward it is for the opponent to face such a tremendous potent attacker only to have it blow through your pokemon in the field or sack a pokemon on the shelf.
Defog - Allows Whimsicott to serve as pinch entry hazard removal for this Tailwind offense. As opposed to U-turn, defog benefits from Prankster, due to the fact that if by any chance Blacephalon or Tornadus are in distress and cannot switch in because of rocks are up on your side of the field, then here it is when a swift Defog can't be neglected.
U-turn - U-turn is relatively standard and ensures Whimsicott won't die early early in the game, as it can support its team with Tailwind and Encore multiple times if needed. Now unlike Defog, a slow U-turn is appreciated and there is no way to label Lagging Tail as redundant. Laggin Tail U-turn guarantees that no swich outs are being made, which this archetype truly demands since practically all of the members of the team are not supposed to take hits due to their lackluster defensive prowess.
EV Spread - The given 108 Def Relaxed nature to guarantee a 2HKO from Smart Strike by Kartan Choice Scarf and the remaining 148 invested in SpD to better wall moves from potent special attackers such as Tapu Koko Choice Specs, Kindra Choice Specs, Ash-Greninja, Magearna, Mega Alakazam and Tapu Lele. Negative nature on Speed to be slower than Scarf Kartana on item loss (Knock Off from Kartana).
Tapu Lele
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk) / Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
• Psyshock
• Moonblast
• Calm Mind
• Hidden Power Fire
Tapu lele is an absolute necessity in terms of negating Priotity, which is one of the biggest downside regarding our Choice locked pokemons Blacephalon and Hoppa-U due to their tissue paper physical defense. Tapu Lele for me is the best wallbreaker that this team has (followed pretty closely by Hoopa-U), as it excels at dealing a chunk of damage to both Physical as Special Defense pokemons. Ever since this team doesn't possess a Mold Breaker Hazard setter lead (Excadrill and Druddigon), it relies on what its sweepers bring to the table. Calm Mind might look hesitant to the naked eye, since this is meant to be an offense that doesn't condone the waste of turns in setup boosting moves, but I assure you that it does function perfectly on this team, as Tapu Lele would require to boost its Special attack to 1HKO Ferrothorn and Excadrill either ways, and not only that, Calm Mind takes care of Stall in general, the majority of the times used when leading against Mega-Sableye. In this case, it's highly recommended to lead Tapu Lele against stall as it can set up on hesistant Mega Sableye's Protect, and put out 2 to 3 kills per stall encounter. Blacephalon and Hoopa-U are in charge of being clutch on the remaining walls. Tapu Lele doesn't have a jaw-dropping Speed but it's definitely a good one and when Tailwind is activated Tapu Lele becomes the second fastest pokemon after Tornadus. Although Life Orb cripples Tapu Lele's longevity, it doesn't signify that it's up for debate or that it's a viable option. It's clearly not. Running Twisted Spoon will make Moonblast and Hidden Power Fire lose potency, and that turns into a disadvantage due to the fact that the one thing Tailwind appreciates the most is instant kill. Regardless, Tapu Lele is an unreplaceable fit on this team, specially because of Priotity users such as Ash-Greninja in Water Shuriken, Mega Mawile in Sucker Punch, Mega Lopunny in Fake Out, Zygarde in Extreme Speed and Mega Scizor in Bultte Punch would otherwise have their performances halted.
Psyshock - It's a fairly powerful Psychic-type STAB move that lets Tapu Lele counter Poison-types, such as Mega Venusaur. Psyshock also lets Tapu Lele win Calm Mind wars and hit Chansey hard at +1, unlike Psychic.
Moonblast - Hits quite hard with a Life Orb, dealing with the plethora of Fighting-, Dark-, and Dragon-types in the tier, such as Mega Lopunny, Tyranitar, and Garchomp.
Calm Mind - Tapu Lele can set up Calm Minds and then begin to power through them. It isn't only stall teams that Tapu Lele can set up on; it can also up on things like Clefable that cannot hit it hard.
Hidden Power Fire - Allows Tapu Lele to get past Steel-types such as Scizor and Ferrothorn, which can shrug off Moonblast and Psyshock easily.
EV Spread - Modest nature can be used to better deal with AV Magearna and Muk-Alola and also serves as a way to prevent odd damage from happening whereas Timid nature increases the chances of outspeeding Unburden Hawlucha.
Blacephalon
Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
• Shadow Ball
• Fire Blast
• Mind Blown
• Flamethrower
To my dismay, Modest Choice Specs Blacephalon happens to be the Choice locked sweeper to be given the most use against Double Screen offense, balance teams and Hyper offense. Its superb offensive typing in Fire / Ghost turns it into a go-to-leave a path of destruction whenever Tailwind is activated. Beast Boost only worsens stuff for the opposing team. Modest nature ensures that Zygarde gets fainted at +1 SpA, 2HKOes Gastrodon and Specially invested Toxapex by Shadow Ball. Flamethrower's accuracy makes a more relyant option over Fire Blast, but there are gonna be scenarios in which Fire Blast gets the benefit of the doubt only to deal a chunk of damage and take advantage of the short turns as much as possible. When it comes to Trick, I consider it to be kind of redundant and situational mostly being utile for stall. Mind Blown could potentially be better in a hurry but it will all depend on how definitive its utility is. Blacephalon's offensive prowess could end up in an eyebrow raising and head scratching experience that would most likely leave your opponent distasted. Blacephalon is relatively crippled by two common priotity users in Ash-Greninja and Mega Mawile, making it overly relyant to Psychic Terrain, but when it gets going there's literally nothing that can be made to stop the bleeding. Blacephalon has rightfully earned a spot on this team as it is a hard hitting potent special attacker always poised to blow through Balance, Sticky Webs teams and Double Screen offense teams. Additionally, Blacephalon's typing in Ghost officially downplays both Fake Out and Extreme Speed, turning it into a must for Tailwind Offense.
Shadow Ball - Go-to Ghost-type STAB move if the opponent's team can handle Fire-type moves or has an apparent Ghost-type weakness to exploit.
Fire Blast - Hits even Blacephalon's common switch-ins, like Tyranitar, for decent damage while OHKOing all moderately bulky threats that do not resist it, such as Mega Sableye and Clefable.
Mind Blown - Mind Blown can be used on the Choice Specs set to nuke certain Pokemon, such as Alolan Muk, harder. Said pokemon annoys this team considerably. It's major contribution is in late-game scenarios, where HP will not matter any longer and Blacephalon can abuse Mind Blown to decimate pokemons that could otherwise wall Shadow Ball and Flamethrower. The maximun number of Mind Blown that can be used per battle is 2 times.
Flamethrower - It's not an alternative (don't get it twisted), reliable Fire-type STAB move OHKOing most frail Pokemon thanks to Choice Specs but sports a noticable dip in power. Flamethrower is inmensely appreciated on Blacephalon because one mere miss can signify the difference between a win or a loss.
EV/IV Spread - A 252 SpA Modest nature can be used to secure a 2HKO against Gastrodon, Ferrothorn, Tangrowth, AV Tapu Bulu and Toxapex after Stealth Rock.
Hoopa-U
Item: Choice Band
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
• Hyperspace Fury
• Zen Headbutt
• Gunk Shot
• Fire Punch
And last but surely not least, we have our potent hard hitting physical attacker in Hoopa. It's a foregone conclusion the fact that Hoopa will just punchhole the opposing team like there is no tomorrow, that itself is scary. Take in mind that Hoopa is in charge of detering Chansey on stall. It has such an enthralling wallbreaker capability by negating Protect and bypassing Substitute due to Hyperspace Fury. Said move is what makes Hoopa a must-run for Tailwind offense. Hoopa takes advantage of the Tailwind turns better than any other member of the team, as it is oblivious about pokemon attempting to Protect or Substitute only to decimate Tailwind's lack of turns. A subbed pokemon would mean the end for Tailwind offense if it wasn't for Hoopa. Hoopa's special bulk is considerably good, allowing it to switch on common threats like Heatran and Mega Alakazam. Hoopa is the second best wallbreaker if not the first one when played with some level of prediction skills. Hoopa-U is widely known for its monstrous power as well as its signature move (Hyperspale Fury) that break the most troublesome move for Tailwind, Protect. Additionally, Hoopa-U's ability to break Protect pressures the opponent, as they can't simply use Protect to stall out turns of Tailwind or Trick Room reliably. Its Psychic / Dark typing also does not really grant it much defensively beyond an immunity to Psychic-type attacks. On the other hand, though, Hoopa-U has a high base 130 Special Defense that can be used to take a lot of special hits nicely. Dark-types like Muk-Alola, Bisharp, and Hydreigon are also an issue, as they resist Hoopa's dual STAB moves, and Fairy-type Pokemon also threaten to KO it.
Hyperspace Fury - Hoopa-U's strongest physical attack and often its go-to move to hammer away at the opponent, and, like Feint, it also breaks Protect.
Zen Headbutt - Secondary STAB move to hit Mega Venusaur and Toxapex so that Hoopa-U can save PP on Hyperspace Fury; this move is also notable for taking out Buzzwhole, which can take the rest of Hoopa-U's moves aside from Fire Punch with ease.
Gunk Shot - Gunk Shot lets Hoopa-U hit Fairy-types that resist Hyperspace Fury such as Tapu Fini, Clefable, and Tapu Koko while also netting coverage against Tangrowth, which can take the rest of Hoopa-U's attacks with a physically defensive set.
Fire Punch - Needed to avoid dancing around Magearna and Mega Mawile; should one not opt for it, Hoopa-U will struggle to break any cores involving these Pokemon.
EV/IV Spread - Choice Band boosts Hoopa-U's physical attack stat to high levels to pick up key KOs and deal heavy damage. The Adamant nature was chosen to both increase Hoopa-U's Attack and preserve its outstanding Special Defense stat, as it wouldn't be taking most physical hits anyway. The rest is dumped into Attack to hit as hard as possible with Hyperspace Fury, which easily OHKOes threats like Serperior, Jirachi and Tapu Lele.
-------------------------
Threats
-------------------------
Ash-Greninja
For Ash-Greninja I normally tend to not allow it to activate Battle Bond, either by switching into Whimsicott or kill it with an unexpected Explosion by Mew. But what is really suggested in this scenario is to use the phychic terrain smartly and preserve Tapu lele so that it's priotity move Water Shuriken doesn't deflate Blacephalon.
Kartana Choice Scarf
For this fellow right here, I go into whimsicott as it's invested to resist its Smart Strike and use a speedy Tailwind to kind of cripple it with one of my sweepers depending on the match-up. If whimsicott is not available, then Tornadus is able to take a hit too but without rocks being up on your side of the field.
Zygarde OU Subs Dance
I have seen people so stubborn that even when I use Encore on Dragon Dance they continue to DD all the way and believe it or not guys but there have been times when they kind of got away with it. So the most reasonable thing to do here is just switch in Whimsicott and just annoy Zygarde, they will most of the times switch it out or stay, but when it does stay, just go into Tapu Lele so that Extreme Speed is no longer utile.
Muk-Alola
A way I wear Muk-Alola down is I use Supersonic Skystrike surprisingly. Also Hoopa-U can deal a chunk of damage when using Fire Punch or even Hyperspace Fury.
AV Magearna
What I love to do against AV Magearna is I either Fire Blast or just go the safest way possible which is Flamethrower. Another way to kind of hold it down would be to straight up Fire Punch it. Heat Wave from Tornadus can help sometimes as well as Hidden Power Fire from Tapu Lele.
Tyranitar
The best solution for Tyranitar is to, in all of a sudden, Superpower with Tornadus as it might be expecting a Focus miss or just you not running coverage for Rock, since this is a setup Tailwind offense.
Mega Mawile
Here against Mawile, again I conserve Tapu Lele to prevent its Sucker Punch from operating effectively. Fire Punch from Hoopa-U is the most suggested thing to do in this scenario as Sucker Punch 2HKOes it but also Blacephalon when Psychic terrain is acitvated can get the job done. Both Tornadus and Tapu Lele can get the job done too but to a lesser degree.
Heatran
And last but certainly not least here we have Heatran. For Heatran you will have me spamming Hyperspace Fury by switching into Hoopa-U. Also I would spam Shadow balls from Blacephalon. Another functional tactic is I Superpower with Tornadus, and Calm Mind Psyshock from Tapu Lele might aid too to a lesser degree.
Replays
How to derail Stall:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-754111949 New!
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750970193
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750236056
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-749376302
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-749379345
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-749858910
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750955037
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750318269
Mirror battles:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-749083279
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-749557340
Against Rain team:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-753909755 New!
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750843808
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-749905182
Against Sticky Web:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750243875
Double Screen Offense:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750393309
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-749530725
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-748599156
TR
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-753143670 New!
Bonus replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-754101929 New!
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750346771
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-751405494
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750007345
1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272
Hi Smogon!
First of all, what you might be seeing with your glaring eyes is a team that at first glance doesn't look like a conventional OU team. In fact, a legitimate argument can be made about it being an Unteam team or Cheesy team that judging by the appearance it's a mega-less team flooded with tissue paper defense pokemons from beginning to end and surprise, surprise, in all of a sudden it can't get anything done. Said argument, to my personal standpoint, is all the opposite to what this team really stands for. Tailwind Offense, this is how it's meant to be called and has had some memorable hard-fought battles. It has passed through a path of destruction in Ladder, and still considered by some a gimmick with some widespread speculation attached to it. This is an archetype! Just like my friend Limousines used to call it (who by the way I will be going into details on the Team Building Process), and both BDDM (BanDisnDatnMe[Me]) as Limousines, even with the team shortcomings, have managed to stay relatively high on ladder for a chunk and get various accounts to 1900's. We'd even rise to the occasion and and go far enough to say that the combination of 3 standard Tailwind setters and 3 potent attackers with traits to anchor turn consumer moves like Protect, Substitute and Fake Out, is borderline broken, but that's a discussion for another time.
The Team
This team fares pretty well against all kinds of teams ranging from full stall to cancer rain teams to hyper offense, while being particularly effective against both Double Screen offense, Balance teams , and many forms of stall. Sticky Web has proven not to be a major problem since Tailwind can still provide with Speed to a lesser degree. Against Rain teams this team has not yet shown its true colors but I believe that after a couple of battles and using tactics to dismantle Rain teams, then it would be another story. Trick Room is very annoying for the team, as it is exactly Tailwind's counterpart. This team by no means can be played vaguely, as it possesses little to no switch outs and the best thing to do is to use your prediction skills to have your Choice Locked sweepers facing a favorable match-up, which leads your opponent to the foregone conclusion of forcing a switch out and this inmediately turns the match-up in your favor. A way to know when to set up is really going to be the difference between winning or losing, as this team in most cases appreciates having preserved the two main Tailwind setters in Whimsicott and Tornadus, as they tend to serve as gamebreaking late in the battle. Said this, a way to spam U-turns as opposed to straight up using Tailwind is something that is needed to be learned in order to thrive off with this team. For example, because of an opponent is trapped into Encore, it doesn't mean that that scenario gives green lights to Tailwind, rather than that, it makes it a go-to-scout by using U-turn and so that a potent attacker on the shelf has its entry only to wreak havoc and annihilate whatever is standing up front. Lastly, like any team it has a fair share of weaknesses and most likely has room for improvement, so rates and feedback are always appreciated.
Team Building Process
Okay before I start to apportion this team, I want to clarify that the concept of this team has been long held love I had to elevate this archetype. Unfortunately, by that time neither Tapu Lele nor Blacephalon has been released, so I had to sit and wait and see whether the new generation pokemons were going to eventually make this team viable for OU competition. So I patiently did, and to my dismay this is what has come up, a terrain that negates turn consumer Fake Out and Priotity moves and a Beast Boost ability that takes away any hope of winning you might have. But the beginning of this was disastrous, the team commenced this way:
Okay, so the stupidity began with this team and here's why:
1. Mew had an absurd set of Hail, Aurora Veil, Tailwind and Stealth Rock.
2. Tapu Lele was running Choice Specs.
3. The team wasn't Mega-Less in the very beginning (Mega Charizard Y Tailwind)
4. Kartana was my Z move user in Tailwind-Z as opposed to Tornadus Supersonic Skystrike.
5. Hoopa was an old effective set, that was fine.
6. LO Tornadus overly missing Hurricane here and there.
Then after further research, it led to this archetype to look like this:
This version of the team was a little bit better due to the following adjustments made:
1. Mega Medicham's staggering physical attack performs greatly on Tailwind Offense.
2. This version is Hazard-less but that fact that Whimsicott was bringing good stuff for the Tailwind Offense to flow smoothly then that sort of was compensating a Hazard setter absence.
3. Tapu Lele Choice Specs was getting predictable by Stall players, unable to wallbreak them due to the Choice Lock effect.
4. Kartana Tailwind-Z was coming up short and getting walled by Celesteela.
Now here's the funny part. I even got to try to combine a rain team with this Tailwind offense thinking that a 100% accuracy hurricne LO would take me to the promise land. The team went like this:
This Rain team was absolute failure...
After all this ups and downs, I was kind of down about this Tailwind team, but still kept laddering hoping that there is room for improvement. So while doing so, I found a player by the name of Limousines. He peeked the team, and in the blink of an eye he goes: Oh that's a Tailwind team. First thing that came to my mind was that this dude was also trying to elevate Tailwind as well but that at some point got tired because the Tailwind team was not getting anything done, that right there has happened to me in the past, there are times some archetypes just do not work on nowadays meta, but in this case, we then gave Tailwind Offense the benefit of the doubt and quickly we started a discussion about Tailwind viability and what can be done to elevate it on this rigid OU meta. So here's what it came down to:
1. Limousines introduced to Lagging Tail Whimsicott, in my mind I thought to myself that I have never seen such an exceptional Item with such an enthralling utility for this specific pokemon and Tailwind team, because in Tailwind Offense fast U-turns are a no-no, better to have a slow u-turn or a suicide move that prevent your frail pokemons on the shelf to switch in and take hits.
2. Also, I got to use Supersonic Skystrike before, but then opted to solicit anothe Z move user, which was a mess, so in the end, kept the Flynium Z on Tornadus.
3. Limousines suggested me to run a hazard setter in Mew, but his Mew wasn't really a good lead, so I ended up giving it shape and came up with the idea of this astonishing Mental Herb Mew Lead running Explotion, Tailwind, Taunt and Stealth Rock.
4. Then I came to a realization that Choice Locked Tapu Lele was getting mad screwed by Stall, oftenly requiring a whole lot of prediction skills to finish victorious. So I considered Life Orb to be the perfect item for a Tapu Lele that appreciates getting rid of stuff and hitting as hard as it can with the whole entire movepool.
5. Limousines presented to me a Tailwind he's been working on, which included a Choice Specs Blacephalon. I loved the idea of having a Ghost potent Special attacker nullifying Fake Out and Extreme Speed. However his Blacephalon was being run Timid, being ultimately switched to Modest by my personal belief.
6. Last but not least, the only set that has been brilliant in all this time period: Adamant Choice Band Hoopa-U.
Okay, so the stupidity began with this team and here's why:
1. Mew had an absurd set of Hail, Aurora Veil, Tailwind and Stealth Rock.
2. Tapu Lele was running Choice Specs.
3. The team wasn't Mega-Less in the very beginning (Mega Charizard Y Tailwind)
4. Kartana was my Z move user in Tailwind-Z as opposed to Tornadus Supersonic Skystrike.
5. Hoopa was an old effective set, that was fine.
6. LO Tornadus overly missing Hurricane here and there.
Then after further research, it led to this archetype to look like this:
This version of the team was a little bit better due to the following adjustments made:
1. Mega Medicham's staggering physical attack performs greatly on Tailwind Offense.
2. This version is Hazard-less but that fact that Whimsicott was bringing good stuff for the Tailwind Offense to flow smoothly then that sort of was compensating a Hazard setter absence.
3. Tapu Lele Choice Specs was getting predictable by Stall players, unable to wallbreak them due to the Choice Lock effect.
4. Kartana Tailwind-Z was coming up short and getting walled by Celesteela.
Now here's the funny part. I even got to try to combine a rain team with this Tailwind offense thinking that a 100% accuracy hurricne LO would take me to the promise land. The team went like this:
This Rain team was absolute failure...
After all this ups and downs, I was kind of down about this Tailwind team, but still kept laddering hoping that there is room for improvement. So while doing so, I found a player by the name of Limousines. He peeked the team, and in the blink of an eye he goes: Oh that's a Tailwind team. First thing that came to my mind was that this dude was also trying to elevate Tailwind as well but that at some point got tired because the Tailwind team was not getting anything done, that right there has happened to me in the past, there are times some archetypes just do not work on nowadays meta, but in this case, we then gave Tailwind Offense the benefit of the doubt and quickly we started a discussion about Tailwind viability and what can be done to elevate it on this rigid OU meta. So here's what it came down to:
1. Limousines introduced to Lagging Tail Whimsicott, in my mind I thought to myself that I have never seen such an exceptional Item with such an enthralling utility for this specific pokemon and Tailwind team, because in Tailwind Offense fast U-turns are a no-no, better to have a slow u-turn or a suicide move that prevent your frail pokemons on the shelf to switch in and take hits.
2. Also, I got to use Supersonic Skystrike before, but then opted to solicit anothe Z move user, which was a mess, so in the end, kept the Flynium Z on Tornadus.
3. Limousines suggested me to run a hazard setter in Mew, but his Mew wasn't really a good lead, so I ended up giving it shape and came up with the idea of this astonishing Mental Herb Mew Lead running Explotion, Tailwind, Taunt and Stealth Rock.
4. Then I came to a realization that Choice Locked Tapu Lele was getting mad screwed by Stall, oftenly requiring a whole lot of prediction skills to finish victorious. So I considered Life Orb to be the perfect item for a Tapu Lele that appreciates getting rid of stuff and hitting as hard as it can with the whole entire movepool.
5. Limousines presented to me a Tailwind he's been working on, which included a Choice Specs Blacephalon. I loved the idea of having a Ghost potent Special attacker nullifying Fake Out and Extreme Speed. However his Blacephalon was being run Timid, being ultimately switched to Modest by my personal belief.
6. Last but not least, the only set that has been brilliant in all this time period: Adamant Choice Band Hoopa-U.
-------------------------
Team Breakdown
-------------------------
Tornadus
Item: Flyinium Z
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Rash (+SpA, -SpD)
• Hurricane
• Heat Wave
• Tailwind
• Superpower
First off, I want to go out of my way to let you guys know that when featured on a Tailwind offense, Tornadus got the chance to enter the spotlight of OU once again. Flying is a very good offensive type with little to no Pokemon that resist it in OU, and Tornadus makes excellent use of it with STAB Hurricane, base 125 Special Attack, and base 111 Speed. Most Steel-, Rock-, and Electric-types looking to tank a Hurricane can get promptly smashed by Heat Wave or Superpower, which means that walling Tornadus is not an easy feat. This tornadus's set was built specially to be the second most valueable Tailwind setter, being Whimsicott the one the get sacked first as it doesn't offer the offensive prowess that Tornadus does. With that being said, Tailwind on Tornadus will most of the time be given use when Flynium Z has already been utilized, because it's extremely essential to have pokemons getting picked off by Supersonic Skystrike as it opens a gap for Tailwind to give better use of its diminished turns compared to other speed control playstyles such as Trick Room and Rain. Both Tornadus as Whimsicott have the privilege of setting up a prompt Tailwind which will most of the times catch players off guard by not noticing that the full turns of Tailwind (3 turns) has already been activated after the Tailwind setter has fainted. Reason being is that it's overly important to understand that Tailwind will have its better functionality when the Tailwind setters are in distress and it is being used on a whim right before the pokemon is on verge to faint. All in all, Tornadus reached the highest peak of its game when it is being run in a way that when Tailwind is activated you get to castigate with Supersonic Skystrike as its nature is slower than usual in Rash as opposed to Timid, because of the need of wanting to ultimate Choice Specs bulky Lele, Mega swampert, Zygarde and Clefable.
Hurricane - While running Hurricane, I came to a realization that the majority of pokemons enduring Flying-type moves are worn down in the blink of an eye. Getting to witness the havoc caused by 185-Base Power Supersonic Skystrike blowing through common threats like Landorus-T, Clefable, Mega Sableye, Mega Swampert and Tornadus-T just made me think of this being the eazy way out of reducing the pokemon slots in the oposing team, only to have Tailwind accommodated. Despite the main goal of this set and the lack of a boosting item, its Hurricane still tears holes in the opponent's team.
Heat Wave - Heat Wave almost OHKOes Ferrothorn in rain and 2HKOes Jirachi outside of rain, but dispatches Bulky Mega Scizor 128.2 - 151.6% of the time. Given the situation that Steel-type pokemons that resist Fighting moves + Priotity moves such as Mega Mawile and Mega Scizor could potentially become a problem for this team, heat wave goes hand in hand with Tornadus as it wipes them out.
Tailwind - Gives the whole team a +2 Speed boost for three turns and has priority thanks to Prankster, meaning that no matter how fast a Pokemon gets, Tornadus can sacrifice itself in order to set up a Tailwind and allow its teammates to revenge kill the dangerous sweeper. Tailwind can even let Tornadus and its teammates get a last-minute sweep against normally faster Pokemon, and turns hard hitting Pokemon such as Choice Band Hoopa-U and Choice Specs Blacephalon into absolute beasts for three turns.
Superpower - Gives the same coverage as Focus Blast, but has the benefit of 2HKOing Blissey after Stealth Rock, 3HKOing Chansey and cleanly OHKOing 252 HP Tyranitar, as well as having perfect accuracy. It also serve to pick off tissue paper defense Greninja and Heatran while also getting the chance to pick off pokemons in a pinch without the possibility of missing which both Hurricane and Heat Wave have. Although the absence of a boosting item may portray Superpower as redundant, it still does plenty to the opponent's Steel- and Dark-types, such as Tyranitar, and Heatran repectively.
EV Spread - Maximum Special Attack investment is used to hit as hard as possible, and a Rash nature is used to avoid rare damage in leaving pokemons in distress as a Timid may not be able to get the job done, despite it having some merits for outspeeding Kartana Z move, Choice Specs Keldeo and such, but in most cases players would rethink whether you're Rash or not, forcing a switch out. This spread also allows Tornadus perform better offense against stall teams and Rain teams, since a kill has got to pretty much be guaranteed given the situation that Tailwind appreciates an oposing team where most of the pokemons have yet fainted.
Resistance
252 Atk Kartana Smart Strike vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Tornadus: 220-259 (73.5 - 86.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tornadus: 267-315 (89.2 - 105.3%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tornadus in Psychic Terrain: 267-315 (89.2 - 105.3%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
4 SpA Heatran Magma Storm vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tornadus: 163-193 (54.5 - 64.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after trapping damage
252+ Atk Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Tornadus: 201-237 (67.2 - 79.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Offensive Prowess
[Supersonic Skystrike]
252+ SpA Tornadus Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde: 337-397 (94.1 - 110.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Tornadus Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 388-457 (101.5 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Tornadus Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 351-414 (89 - 105%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Tornadus Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Swampert-Mega: 297-351 (87 - 102.9%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Tornadus Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Sableye-Mega: 286-337 (94.3 - 111.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Tornadus Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele: 285-336 (101.4 - 119.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
[Heat Wave]
252+ SpA Tornadus Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 208+ SpD Ferrothorn: 296-352 (84 - 100%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Tornadus Heat Wave vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Scizor-Mega: 440-520 (128.2 - 151.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Tornadus Heat Wave vs. 248 HP / 108+ SpD Jirachi: 180-214 (44.6 - 53.1%) -- 26.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Tornadus Heat Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Excadrill: 316-372 (87.5 - 103%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
[Superpower]
4 Atk Tornadus Superpower vs. 80 HP / 0 Def Tyranitar: 360-428 (99.7 - 118.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
4 Atk Tornadus Superpower vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 186-220 (48.1 - 56.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
4 Atk Tornadus Superpower vs. 244 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 260-306 (37 - 43.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
4 Atk Tornadus Superpower vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 272-320 (95.4 - 112.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Kartana Smart Strike vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Tornadus: 220-259 (73.5 - 86.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tornadus: 267-315 (89.2 - 105.3%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tornadus in Psychic Terrain: 267-315 (89.2 - 105.3%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
4 SpA Heatran Magma Storm vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tornadus: 163-193 (54.5 - 64.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after trapping damage
252+ Atk Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Tornadus: 201-237 (67.2 - 79.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Offensive Prowess
[Supersonic Skystrike]
252+ SpA Tornadus Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde: 337-397 (94.1 - 110.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Tornadus Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 388-457 (101.5 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Tornadus Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 351-414 (89 - 105%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Tornadus Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Swampert-Mega: 297-351 (87 - 102.9%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Tornadus Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Sableye-Mega: 286-337 (94.3 - 111.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Tornadus Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele: 285-336 (101.4 - 119.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
[Heat Wave]
252+ SpA Tornadus Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 208+ SpD Ferrothorn: 296-352 (84 - 100%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Tornadus Heat Wave vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Scizor-Mega: 440-520 (128.2 - 151.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Tornadus Heat Wave vs. 248 HP / 108+ SpD Jirachi: 180-214 (44.6 - 53.1%) -- 26.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Tornadus Heat Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Excadrill: 316-372 (87.5 - 103%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
[Superpower]
4 Atk Tornadus Superpower vs. 80 HP / 0 Def Tyranitar: 360-428 (99.7 - 118.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
4 Atk Tornadus Superpower vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 186-220 (48.1 - 56.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
4 Atk Tornadus Superpower vs. 244 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 260-306 (37 - 43.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
4 Atk Tornadus Superpower vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 272-320 (95.4 - 112.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
Mew
Item: Mental Herb
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
• Explosion
• Tailwind
• Taunt
• Stealth Rock
This Mew is the biggest thorn in this Tailwind team, not many pokemons have the raw power to 1HKO it, reason being is that I opted to run Mental Herb over Focus Sash. Mental Herb is perfect to deter Tapu koko Double Screen's momentum and other swift Taunt users. Taunt prevents slower Pokemon, such as slower variants of Bisharp, Mega Mawile and Mega Scizor, from boosting their stats, and even lets Mew stop popular Stealth Rock users, such as Heatran and Ferrothorn, from setting up entry hazards. Tailwind gives Mew the jump on the whole entire tier and pokemons with the Speed boosted, reaching an astonishing 656, that's 42 more points than what Standard Hawlucha could get when Unburden is activated (614). There would be a high chance of Mew leaving 2 turns of Tailwind per lead, and if you're lucky enough, you can get the full turns of Tailwind right off the bat. Explosion is Mew's only weapon to inflict damage, leaving the opposing pokemon vulnerable to faint as one of the two Choice locked beasts switch ins to start disappearing pokemons up. Hence, Explosion helps avoid switch ins, which this team pretty much doesn't have if not by nice typing in Whimsicott and in the Special Defense side we have Hoopa, but certainly not a favorable thing to do to shorten your main sweepers HP, as you're gonna end up necessitating them for late game blowouts. Mew could also be saved back on the shelf to maximize the possibilities of multiple Tailwind setups, but it would be really situational and dependant. This would most likely happen against stall, where you don't have much to lose rather than just switch out into Whimsicott and Mew respectively, which may take advantage on Mew's ability Synchronize. Mew might not be very successfull at setting up hazard when facing stall, but when played exuberantly good you can get rocks up. Finally, Mew is a very, very decent lead that has facilitated this team with a bunch of good stuff, from getting the momentum going to just set up hazard for a more smoothly sweep.
Explosion - Explosion is the only attack for Mew, letting it go out with a bang. Best known for picking off frail attackers like Greninja, Tornadus-T and Tapu lele, while leaving the opposing pokemon as an easy target for the Choice locked sweepers mostly.
Tailwind - This move on Mew will work kind of in a different fashion than on the others Tailwind setters, because here we have that Mew doesn't necessarily get a fast Tailwind all the time, which may be kind of disheartening but still, in my opinion I believe that a 100 Base speed with fastest nature which combines for 300 BS in bulk can still set up Tailwind all day and on several occasions.
Taunt - This one right here is mandatory as it repels hazard, which is evidently obvious due to Blacephalon and Tornadus. Having those two at full health can only ease up stuff as Blacephalon can resist non-effective priority move Bullet Punch having the tissue paper defense that it is characterized by, and Tornadus is then going to be capable of setting up hazard freely without having to preoccupy by rock damage.
Stealth Rock - A legitimate argument can be made about how good does this mew lead set can actually be against stall, but the reality is that having a potent dark-type attacker in Hoopa which can take on Both Chansey and Shedinja. In the other hand, Skarmory would mean a problem due to sturdy but can be worn down with ease by Hyperscale Fury and Special attacks from such as Hidden Power Fire Tapu Lele LO and Flamethrower Blacephalon. The level of aggression from part of the potent sweepers is what ends up suffocating stall in general, not the rocks itself. By this I don't mean that they're not crucial, yes they are, but one can still suffocate stall with the offesive pokemons at its disposal and ultimately finish off winning to a lesser degree.
Defensive Prowess
252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 336-396 (83.1 - 98%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Kartana Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mew: 272-322 (67.3 - 79.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mew in Sun: 313-370 (77.4 - 91.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Tornadus-Therian Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 270-318 (66.8 - 78.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Offensive Prowess
4 Atk Mew Explosion vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 249-294 (87.3 - 103.1%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
4 Atk Mew Explosion vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tornadus-Therian: 216-255 (72.2 - 85.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4 Atk Mew Explosion vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Lele: 228-269 (81.1 - 95.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4 Atk Mew Explosion vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 206-243 (73.3 - 86.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 336-396 (83.1 - 98%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Kartana Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mew: 272-322 (67.3 - 79.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mew in Sun: 313-370 (77.4 - 91.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Tornadus-Therian Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 270-318 (66.8 - 78.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Offensive Prowess
4 Atk Mew Explosion vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 249-294 (87.3 - 103.1%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
4 Atk Mew Explosion vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tornadus-Therian: 216-255 (72.2 - 85.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4 Atk Mew Explosion vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Lele: 228-269 (81.1 - 95.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4 Atk Mew Explosion vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 206-243 (73.3 - 86.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Whimsicott
Item: Lagging Tail / Full Incense
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD
Nature: Relaxed (+Def, -Spe)
• Tailwind
• Encore
• Defog
• U-turn
Whimsicott is my most important line of Tailwind offense. It specifically differentiates itself from other Pokemon thanks to Prankster combined with a huge number of helpful and annoying support options, ranging from Encore to Defog to Tailwind. This alone makes Whimsicott an ultimate annoyer and team supporter, capable of disrupting the opponent while creating switch-in and setup opportunities for your own Pokemon. Additionally, because Whimsicott is notorious for what it does, it is somewhat predictable, and thus requires great patience and prediction to use. However, its presence causes a number of competent players to play cautiously around it, so they, too, are capable of serious mispredictions and ill-timed decisions. At the end of the day, be wary that Whimsicott is high-risk with unpredictable rewards. The way that I use Whimsicott is I normally don't straight up use Tailwind since the very beginning, rather than that, I dictate the pace! Whimsicott is well used when it is uniquely spamming slow U-turns after slow U-turns, gaining a ton of momentum for the sweepers to come in and do what they know to do best which is causing them pokemons to faint when things are odd or things are quaint. Another way that signals that you're nailing the Whimsicott's gimmick is when whimsicott has been disrupting setup sweepers and taking one hit after another and living a lot of things thoughout the course of the battle, making it an annoyer to put the team in position to win. Nonetheless, Whimsicott's greatest capabilities can be seen when it gets sacked leaving 3 full turns of pain, opening the door for the Choice locked sweepers to castigate severely.
Tailwind - I personally would describe this move as potentially gamebreaking to some extent, as it tends to turn the match-up in my favor at all cost.
Encore - Encore is a reliable way to force switches and aid sweepers, as forcing your opponent to continually use a move such as Protect will provide a massive opportunity to use slow U-turn and scout whatever pokemons switches in or whether the opponent decided to stay or not is something that is yet to be seen. My best advice is to use Encore exclusively when you know the rival is not expecting you to go for it, and right after the opponent fell into Encore's effect, the best thing to do is to U-turn as it allows you to gain momentum on so many levels, because of how awkward it is for the opponent to face such a tremendous potent attacker only to have it blow through your pokemon in the field or sack a pokemon on the shelf.
Defog - Allows Whimsicott to serve as pinch entry hazard removal for this Tailwind offense. As opposed to U-turn, defog benefits from Prankster, due to the fact that if by any chance Blacephalon or Tornadus are in distress and cannot switch in because of rocks are up on your side of the field, then here it is when a swift Defog can't be neglected.
U-turn - U-turn is relatively standard and ensures Whimsicott won't die early early in the game, as it can support its team with Tailwind and Encore multiple times if needed. Now unlike Defog, a slow U-turn is appreciated and there is no way to label Lagging Tail as redundant. Laggin Tail U-turn guarantees that no swich outs are being made, which this archetype truly demands since practically all of the members of the team are not supposed to take hits due to their lackluster defensive prowess.
EV Spread - The given 108 Def Relaxed nature to guarantee a 2HKO from Smart Strike by Kartan Choice Scarf and the remaining 148 invested in SpD to better wall moves from potent special attackers such as Tapu Koko Choice Specs, Kindra Choice Specs, Ash-Greninja, Magearna, Mega Alakazam and Tapu Lele. Negative nature on Speed to be slower than Scarf Kartana on item loss (Knock Off from Kartana).
Defensive Prowess
252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Koko Dazzling Gleam vs. 248 HP / 148 SpD Whimsicott: 168-198 (52 - 61.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Kartana Smart Strike vs. 248 HP / 108+ Def Whimsicott: 270-320 (83.5 - 99%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Bisharp Iron Head vs. 248 HP / 108+ Def Whimsicott: 258-306 (79.8 - 94.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. 248 HP / 108+ Def Whimsicott: 248-294 (76.7 - 91%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
80 SpA Protean Greninja Ice Beam vs. 248 HP / 148 SpD Whimsicott: 228-270 (70.5 - 83.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Alakazam-Mega Psychic vs. 248 HP / 148 SpD Whimsicott: 195-231 (60.3 - 71.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Swampert-Mega Ice Punch vs. 248 HP / 108+ Def Whimsicott: 184-218 (56.9 - 67.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Kingdra Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 148 SpD Whimsicott in Rain: 189-222 (58.5 - 68.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 248 HP / 148 SpD Whimsicott: 288-338 (89.1 - 104.6%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 248 HP / 148 SpD Whimsicott in Psychic Terrain: 234-276 (72.4 - 85.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Koko Dazzling Gleam vs. 248 HP / 148 SpD Whimsicott: 168-198 (52 - 61.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Kartana Smart Strike vs. 248 HP / 108+ Def Whimsicott: 270-320 (83.5 - 99%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Bisharp Iron Head vs. 248 HP / 108+ Def Whimsicott: 258-306 (79.8 - 94.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. 248 HP / 108+ Def Whimsicott: 248-294 (76.7 - 91%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
80 SpA Protean Greninja Ice Beam vs. 248 HP / 148 SpD Whimsicott: 228-270 (70.5 - 83.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Alakazam-Mega Psychic vs. 248 HP / 148 SpD Whimsicott: 195-231 (60.3 - 71.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Swampert-Mega Ice Punch vs. 248 HP / 108+ Def Whimsicott: 184-218 (56.9 - 67.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Kingdra Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 148 SpD Whimsicott in Rain: 189-222 (58.5 - 68.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 248 HP / 148 SpD Whimsicott: 288-338 (89.1 - 104.6%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 248 HP / 148 SpD Whimsicott in Psychic Terrain: 234-276 (72.4 - 85.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Tapu Lele
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk) / Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
• Psyshock
• Moonblast
• Calm Mind
• Hidden Power Fire
Tapu lele is an absolute necessity in terms of negating Priotity, which is one of the biggest downside regarding our Choice locked pokemons Blacephalon and Hoppa-U due to their tissue paper physical defense. Tapu Lele for me is the best wallbreaker that this team has (followed pretty closely by Hoopa-U), as it excels at dealing a chunk of damage to both Physical as Special Defense pokemons. Ever since this team doesn't possess a Mold Breaker Hazard setter lead (Excadrill and Druddigon), it relies on what its sweepers bring to the table. Calm Mind might look hesitant to the naked eye, since this is meant to be an offense that doesn't condone the waste of turns in setup boosting moves, but I assure you that it does function perfectly on this team, as Tapu Lele would require to boost its Special attack to 1HKO Ferrothorn and Excadrill either ways, and not only that, Calm Mind takes care of Stall in general, the majority of the times used when leading against Mega-Sableye. In this case, it's highly recommended to lead Tapu Lele against stall as it can set up on hesistant Mega Sableye's Protect, and put out 2 to 3 kills per stall encounter. Blacephalon and Hoopa-U are in charge of being clutch on the remaining walls. Tapu Lele doesn't have a jaw-dropping Speed but it's definitely a good one and when Tailwind is activated Tapu Lele becomes the second fastest pokemon after Tornadus. Although Life Orb cripples Tapu Lele's longevity, it doesn't signify that it's up for debate or that it's a viable option. It's clearly not. Running Twisted Spoon will make Moonblast and Hidden Power Fire lose potency, and that turns into a disadvantage due to the fact that the one thing Tailwind appreciates the most is instant kill. Regardless, Tapu Lele is an unreplaceable fit on this team, specially because of Priotity users such as Ash-Greninja in Water Shuriken, Mega Mawile in Sucker Punch, Mega Lopunny in Fake Out, Zygarde in Extreme Speed and Mega Scizor in Bultte Punch would otherwise have their performances halted.
Psyshock - It's a fairly powerful Psychic-type STAB move that lets Tapu Lele counter Poison-types, such as Mega Venusaur. Psyshock also lets Tapu Lele win Calm Mind wars and hit Chansey hard at +1, unlike Psychic.
Moonblast - Hits quite hard with a Life Orb, dealing with the plethora of Fighting-, Dark-, and Dragon-types in the tier, such as Mega Lopunny, Tyranitar, and Garchomp.
Calm Mind - Tapu Lele can set up Calm Minds and then begin to power through them. It isn't only stall teams that Tapu Lele can set up on; it can also up on things like Clefable that cannot hit it hard.
Hidden Power Fire - Allows Tapu Lele to get past Steel-types such as Scizor and Ferrothorn, which can shrug off Moonblast and Psyshock easily.
EV Spread - Modest nature can be used to better deal with AV Magearna and Muk-Alola and also serves as a way to prevent odd damage from happening whereas Timid nature increases the chances of outspeeding Unburden Hawlucha.
Offensive Prowess
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Psyshock vs. 244 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 339-399 (48.2 - 56.8%) -- 91.8% chance to 2HKO
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 208+ SpD Ferrothorn: 348-411 (98.8 - 116.7%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Hidden Power Fire vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Excadrill: 364-429 (100.8 - 118.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Bisharp: 269-317 (99.2 - 116.9%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 28 Def Tangrowth: 207-243 (51.2 - 60.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 80 HP / 0 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 268-320 (74.2 - 88.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Landorus-Therian in Psychic Terrain: 278-329 (87.1 - 103.1%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Psyshock vs. 244 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 339-399 (48.2 - 56.8%) -- 91.8% chance to 2HKO
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 208+ SpD Ferrothorn: 348-411 (98.8 - 116.7%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Hidden Power Fire vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Excadrill: 364-429 (100.8 - 118.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Bisharp: 269-317 (99.2 - 116.9%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 28 Def Tangrowth: 207-243 (51.2 - 60.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 80 HP / 0 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 268-320 (74.2 - 88.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Landorus-Therian in Psychic Terrain: 278-329 (87.1 - 103.1%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
Blacephalon
Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
• Shadow Ball
• Fire Blast
• Mind Blown
• Flamethrower
To my dismay, Modest Choice Specs Blacephalon happens to be the Choice locked sweeper to be given the most use against Double Screen offense, balance teams and Hyper offense. Its superb offensive typing in Fire / Ghost turns it into a go-to-leave a path of destruction whenever Tailwind is activated. Beast Boost only worsens stuff for the opposing team. Modest nature ensures that Zygarde gets fainted at +1 SpA, 2HKOes Gastrodon and Specially invested Toxapex by Shadow Ball. Flamethrower's accuracy makes a more relyant option over Fire Blast, but there are gonna be scenarios in which Fire Blast gets the benefit of the doubt only to deal a chunk of damage and take advantage of the short turns as much as possible. When it comes to Trick, I consider it to be kind of redundant and situational mostly being utile for stall. Mind Blown could potentially be better in a hurry but it will all depend on how definitive its utility is. Blacephalon's offensive prowess could end up in an eyebrow raising and head scratching experience that would most likely leave your opponent distasted. Blacephalon is relatively crippled by two common priotity users in Ash-Greninja and Mega Mawile, making it overly relyant to Psychic Terrain, but when it gets going there's literally nothing that can be made to stop the bleeding. Blacephalon has rightfully earned a spot on this team as it is a hard hitting potent special attacker always poised to blow through Balance, Sticky Webs teams and Double Screen offense teams. Additionally, Blacephalon's typing in Ghost officially downplays both Fake Out and Extreme Speed, turning it into a must for Tailwind Offense.
Shadow Ball - Go-to Ghost-type STAB move if the opponent's team can handle Fire-type moves or has an apparent Ghost-type weakness to exploit.
Fire Blast - Hits even Blacephalon's common switch-ins, like Tyranitar, for decent damage while OHKOing all moderately bulky threats that do not resist it, such as Mega Sableye and Clefable.
Mind Blown - Mind Blown can be used on the Choice Specs set to nuke certain Pokemon, such as Alolan Muk, harder. Said pokemon annoys this team considerably. It's major contribution is in late-game scenarios, where HP will not matter any longer and Blacephalon can abuse Mind Blown to decimate pokemons that could otherwise wall Shadow Ball and Flamethrower. The maximun number of Mind Blown that can be used per battle is 2 times.
Flamethrower - It's not an alternative (don't get it twisted), reliable Fire-type STAB move OHKOing most frail Pokemon thanks to Choice Specs but sports a noticable dip in power. Flamethrower is inmensely appreciated on Blacephalon because one mere miss can signify the difference between a win or a loss.
EV/IV Spread - A 252 SpA Modest nature can be used to secure a 2HKO against Gastrodon, Ferrothorn, Tangrowth, AV Tapu Bulu and Toxapex after Stealth Rock.
Offensive Prowess
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 325-384 (85 - 100.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde: 252-297 (70.3 - 82.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Fire Blast vs. 244 HP / 12 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 210-247 (29.9 - 35.1%) -- 19.9% chance to 3HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 208+ SpD Ferrothorn: 162-192 (46 - 54.5%) -- 5.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 229-271 (59.3 - 70.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Gastrodon: 196-232 (46.1 - 54.5%) -- 8.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 228+ SpD Assault Vest Tangrowth: 178-211 (44 - 52.2%) -- 16.8% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 56 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Bulu: 159-187 (46.3 - 54.5%) -- 8.2% chance to 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Magearna: 288-342 (79.3 - 94.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Sableye-Mega: 294-346 (97 - 114.1%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 325-384 (85 - 100.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde: 252-297 (70.3 - 82.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Fire Blast vs. 244 HP / 12 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 210-247 (29.9 - 35.1%) -- 19.9% chance to 3HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 208+ SpD Ferrothorn: 162-192 (46 - 54.5%) -- 5.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 229-271 (59.3 - 70.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Gastrodon: 196-232 (46.1 - 54.5%) -- 8.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 228+ SpD Assault Vest Tangrowth: 178-211 (44 - 52.2%) -- 16.8% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 56 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Bulu: 159-187 (46.3 - 54.5%) -- 8.2% chance to 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Magearna: 288-342 (79.3 - 94.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Blacephalon Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Sableye-Mega: 294-346 (97 - 114.1%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
Hoopa-U
Item: Choice Band
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
• Hyperspace Fury
• Zen Headbutt
• Gunk Shot
• Fire Punch
And last but surely not least, we have our potent hard hitting physical attacker in Hoopa. It's a foregone conclusion the fact that Hoopa will just punchhole the opposing team like there is no tomorrow, that itself is scary. Take in mind that Hoopa is in charge of detering Chansey on stall. It has such an enthralling wallbreaker capability by negating Protect and bypassing Substitute due to Hyperspace Fury. Said move is what makes Hoopa a must-run for Tailwind offense. Hoopa takes advantage of the Tailwind turns better than any other member of the team, as it is oblivious about pokemon attempting to Protect or Substitute only to decimate Tailwind's lack of turns. A subbed pokemon would mean the end for Tailwind offense if it wasn't for Hoopa. Hoopa's special bulk is considerably good, allowing it to switch on common threats like Heatran and Mega Alakazam. Hoopa is the second best wallbreaker if not the first one when played with some level of prediction skills. Hoopa-U is widely known for its monstrous power as well as its signature move (Hyperspale Fury) that break the most troublesome move for Tailwind, Protect. Additionally, Hoopa-U's ability to break Protect pressures the opponent, as they can't simply use Protect to stall out turns of Tailwind or Trick Room reliably. Its Psychic / Dark typing also does not really grant it much defensively beyond an immunity to Psychic-type attacks. On the other hand, though, Hoopa-U has a high base 130 Special Defense that can be used to take a lot of special hits nicely. Dark-types like Muk-Alola, Bisharp, and Hydreigon are also an issue, as they resist Hoopa's dual STAB moves, and Fairy-type Pokemon also threaten to KO it.
Hyperspace Fury - Hoopa-U's strongest physical attack and often its go-to move to hammer away at the opponent, and, like Feint, it also breaks Protect.
Zen Headbutt - Secondary STAB move to hit Mega Venusaur and Toxapex so that Hoopa-U can save PP on Hyperspace Fury; this move is also notable for taking out Buzzwhole, which can take the rest of Hoopa-U's moves aside from Fire Punch with ease.
Gunk Shot - Gunk Shot lets Hoopa-U hit Fairy-types that resist Hyperspace Fury such as Tapu Fini, Clefable, and Tapu Koko while also netting coverage against Tangrowth, which can take the rest of Hoopa-U's attacks with a physically defensive set.
Fire Punch - Needed to avoid dancing around Magearna and Mega Mawile; should one not opt for it, Hoopa-U will struggle to break any cores involving these Pokemon.
EV/IV Spread - Choice Band boosts Hoopa-U's physical attack stat to high levels to pick up key KOs and deal heavy damage. The Adamant nature was chosen to both increase Hoopa-U's Attack and preserve its outstanding Special Defense stat, as it wouldn't be taking most physical hits anyway. The rest is dumped into Attack to hit as hard as possible with Hyperspace Fury, which easily OHKOes threats like Serperior, Jirachi and Tapu Lele.
Offensive prowess
[Hyperscale Fury]
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 56 HP / 0 Def Serperior: 328-387 (107.5 - 126.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 244 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 415-490 (59.1 - 69.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Sableye-Mega: 195-229 (64.3 - 75.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 217-256 (76.1 - 89.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 178-211 (53.4 - 63.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Gastrodon: 426-502 (100.2 - 118.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 298-352 (77.2 - 91.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Swampert-Mega: 288-340 (84.4 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Zygarde: 267-315 (74.5 - 87.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
[Zen Headbutt in Psychic Terrain]
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Zen Headbutt vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Zygarde in Psychic Terrain: 321-378 (89.6 - 105.5%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Zen Headbutt vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Lele in Psychic Terrain: 239-282 (85 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 28 Def Tangrowth in Psychic Terrain: 306-360 (75.7 - 89.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Zen Headbutt vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Gastrodon in Psychic Terrain: 511-603 (120.2 - 141.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable in Psychic Terrain: 331-391 (84 - 99.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
[Gunk Shot]
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 442-520 (112.1 - 131.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Gunk Shot vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Tapu Fini: 442-522 (128.8 - 152.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gyarados-Mega: 233-275 (70.3 - 83%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
[Fire Punch]
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Fire Punch vs. 40 HP / 0 Def Mawile-Mega: 260-306 (103.5 - 121.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Fire Punch vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 280-330 (77.1 - 90.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Fire Punch vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Tapu Bulu: 280-330 (81.6 - 96.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
[Hyperscale Fury]
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 56 HP / 0 Def Serperior: 328-387 (107.5 - 126.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 244 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 415-490 (59.1 - 69.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Sableye-Mega: 195-229 (64.3 - 75.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 217-256 (76.1 - 89.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 178-211 (53.4 - 63.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Gastrodon: 426-502 (100.2 - 118.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 298-352 (77.2 - 91.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Swampert-Mega: 288-340 (84.4 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Zygarde: 267-315 (74.5 - 87.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
[Zen Headbutt in Psychic Terrain]
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Zen Headbutt vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Zygarde in Psychic Terrain: 321-378 (89.6 - 105.5%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Zen Headbutt vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Lele in Psychic Terrain: 239-282 (85 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 28 Def Tangrowth in Psychic Terrain: 306-360 (75.7 - 89.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Zen Headbutt vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Gastrodon in Psychic Terrain: 511-603 (120.2 - 141.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable in Psychic Terrain: 331-391 (84 - 99.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
[Gunk Shot]
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 442-520 (112.1 - 131.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Gunk Shot vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Tapu Fini: 442-522 (128.8 - 152.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gyarados-Mega: 233-275 (70.3 - 83%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
[Fire Punch]
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Fire Punch vs. 40 HP / 0 Def Mawile-Mega: 260-306 (103.5 - 121.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Fire Punch vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 280-330 (77.1 - 90.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Fire Punch vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Tapu Bulu: 280-330 (81.6 - 96.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
-------------------------
Threats
-------------------------
Ash-Greninja
For Ash-Greninja I normally tend to not allow it to activate Battle Bond, either by switching into Whimsicott or kill it with an unexpected Explosion by Mew. But what is really suggested in this scenario is to use the phychic terrain smartly and preserve Tapu lele so that it's priotity move Water Shuriken doesn't deflate Blacephalon.
Kartana Choice Scarf
For this fellow right here, I go into whimsicott as it's invested to resist its Smart Strike and use a speedy Tailwind to kind of cripple it with one of my sweepers depending on the match-up. If whimsicott is not available, then Tornadus is able to take a hit too but without rocks being up on your side of the field.
Zygarde OU Subs Dance
I have seen people so stubborn that even when I use Encore on Dragon Dance they continue to DD all the way and believe it or not guys but there have been times when they kind of got away with it. So the most reasonable thing to do here is just switch in Whimsicott and just annoy Zygarde, they will most of the times switch it out or stay, but when it does stay, just go into Tapu Lele so that Extreme Speed is no longer utile.
Muk-Alola
A way I wear Muk-Alola down is I use Supersonic Skystrike surprisingly. Also Hoopa-U can deal a chunk of damage when using Fire Punch or even Hyperspace Fury.
AV Magearna
What I love to do against AV Magearna is I either Fire Blast or just go the safest way possible which is Flamethrower. Another way to kind of hold it down would be to straight up Fire Punch it. Heat Wave from Tornadus can help sometimes as well as Hidden Power Fire from Tapu Lele.
Tyranitar
The best solution for Tyranitar is to, in all of a sudden, Superpower with Tornadus as it might be expecting a Focus miss or just you not running coverage for Rock, since this is a setup Tailwind offense.
Mega Mawile
Here against Mawile, again I conserve Tapu Lele to prevent its Sucker Punch from operating effectively. Fire Punch from Hoopa-U is the most suggested thing to do in this scenario as Sucker Punch 2HKOes it but also Blacephalon when Psychic terrain is acitvated can get the job done. Both Tornadus and Tapu Lele can get the job done too but to a lesser degree.
Heatran
And last but certainly not least here we have Heatran. For Heatran you will have me spamming Hyperspace Fury by switching into Hoopa-U. Also I would spam Shadow balls from Blacephalon. Another functional tactic is I Superpower with Tornadus, and Calm Mind Psyshock from Tapu Lele might aid too to a lesser degree.
Replays
How to derail Stall:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-754111949 New!
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750970193
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750236056
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-749376302
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-749379345
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-749858910
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750955037
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750318269
Mirror battles:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-749083279
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-749557340
Against Rain team:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-753909755 New!
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750843808
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-749905182
Against Sticky Web:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750243875
Double Screen Offense:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750393309
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-749530725
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-748599156
TR
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-753143670 New!
Bonus replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-754101929 New!
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750346771
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-751405494
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-750007345
Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Band
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Zen Headbutt
- Gunk Shot
- Fire Punch
Blacephalon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- Mind Blown
- Flamethrower
Tapu Lele @ Life Orb
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Whimsicott (F) @ Lagging Tail
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD
Impish Nature
- Tailwind
- Encore
- Defog
- U-turn
Mew @ Mental Herb
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Explosion
- Tailwind
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
Tornadus @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Tailwind
- Superpower
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Zen Headbutt
- Gunk Shot
- Fire Punch
Blacephalon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- Mind Blown
- Flamethrower
Tapu Lele @ Life Orb
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Whimsicott (F) @ Lagging Tail
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD
Impish Nature
- Tailwind
- Encore
- Defog
- U-turn
Mew @ Mental Herb
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Explosion
- Tailwind
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
Tornadus @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Tailwind
- Superpower
Limousines
CamilaCruz
AnnaKartanna
Storm Zone
Aurella
Essence
DianaZaldivar
manols
Crime♡
dia_sre
Fantastic_fuego
ilosetostalloroffense
Idud
nintendonoah
ZombieFriedChicken
Predator 30
Dark Elegy
hkjjljih
Austin Whitaker
StayHighAllTheTime
Lil Win
CamilaCruz
AnnaKartanna
Storm Zone
Aurella
Essence
DianaZaldivar
manols
Crime♡
dia_sre
Fantastic_fuego
ilosetostalloroffense
Idud
nintendonoah
ZombieFriedChicken
Predator 30
Dark Elegy
hkjjljih
Austin Whitaker
StayHighAllTheTime
Lil Win
Kyurem Stall
Druddigon BP
Kommo-o Belly Drum HO
Double Blob Hyper Stall
Supreme Hazard-Less Setup Boosting Team - BUMMO
Druddigon BP
Kommo-o Belly Drum HO
Double Blob Hyper Stall
Skarmory @ Shed Shell
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Whirlwind
- Roost
- Defog
- Spikes
Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Toxic
- Earthquake
Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 194 Def / 62 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Recover
- Toxic Spikes
- Haze
Sableye-Mega @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
- Knock Off
Blissey @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Wish
- Heal Bell
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Whirlwind
- Roost
- Defog
- Spikes
Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Toxic
- Earthquake
Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 194 Def / 62 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Recover
- Toxic Spikes
- Haze
Sableye-Mega @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
- Knock Off
Blissey @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Wish
- Heal Bell
Supreme Hazard-Less Setup Boosting Team - BUMMO
I just want to clarify that I created a new PS account named BDDM which the abbreviation of my main account so if you guys see those four letters then that's evidently me xD and lastly, I am a pioneer for Tailwind Offense.
I want to thank my friend Limousines for being so smart and present me a Tailwind team that was very utile to create what today's this Tailwind Offense. Appreciate your time and the fact that you believed in this being elevated is priceless for me bro def one of the pioneers for Tailwind Offense.
Okay so I wanna let you guys know that Anna Kartana is an amazing friend who has been supporting this team since I came up with this gimmick that works. She's been aware of the team before it was posted and also got to even contribute with some imperfection the team had. So also a pioneer :) Oh and AK also gave me the abbreviation nick BDDM which is really cool xD never came to a realization
Okay my very very very special friend Camila. She's been on and off, going back and forth with me about this team... I'm so sorry for all the thinking a made you go through xD there's been times when we were brain-storming and that was so hilarious...but getting to have you suggesting me which pokemon is more fitting for certain rolls is for me breathtaking... I feel very lucky to find such a magnificent friend like you... none of these would've been possible without your brain xD one last question though? Is your brain okay? All I remember was that there was a lot of thinking :I xD
I want to thank my friend Limousines for being so smart and present me a Tailwind team that was very utile to create what today's this Tailwind Offense. Appreciate your time and the fact that you believed in this being elevated is priceless for me bro def one of the pioneers for Tailwind Offense.
Okay so I wanna let you guys know that Anna Kartana is an amazing friend who has been supporting this team since I came up with this gimmick that works. She's been aware of the team before it was posted and also got to even contribute with some imperfection the team had. So also a pioneer :) Oh and AK also gave me the abbreviation nick BDDM which is really cool xD never came to a realization
Okay my very very very special friend Camila. She's been on and off, going back and forth with me about this team... I'm so sorry for all the thinking a made you go through xD there's been times when we were brain-storming and that was so hilarious...but getting to have you suggesting me which pokemon is more fitting for certain rolls is for me breathtaking... I feel very lucky to find such a magnificent friend like you... none of these would've been possible without your brain xD one last question though? Is your brain okay? All I remember was that there was a lot of thinking :I xD
Attachments
Last edited:
