ORAS NU Can't Break Liepard's Stride (Peak 1600 Elo, #11)

The Goomy · Jun 5, 2016

(I'm clickable!)

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Proof of Peak: http://i.imgur.com/kRHAfhC.png
Ain't nothin' gonna break my stride
Nobody's gonna slow me down
Oh no, I've got to keep on movin'
- Volt-Turn in a Nutshell

Shoutouts iplaytennislol for being a horse. :]

Hello everyone, Steven here. And today, I'm going to bring you guys an RMT that shows my take on Volt-Turn in NU. I really enjoy trying to use new stuff in NU since the meta has been pretty stale since Sawk was banned. The Smeargle hype died down really quickly so I wanted to try to make a decent Smeargle Hyper Offense team, and I ended up deciding on Volt-Turn. I think this team does a good job of working as a HO team by having good checks to most threats in the metagame, while also being able to put an immense amount of pressure on opponents from the onset. Let's get on to the team!

As I said in the introduction, I really wanted to build a Smeargle Hyper Offense team, so naturally I led with Smeargle. Then, I figured I wanted to keep hazards off the field while losing as little momentum as possible, so I settled on U-turn Xatu. Smeargle has a wonderful way of supporting Xatu that I will get into in the bulk of the RMT that makes this relationship almost perfection.

My Volt-Turn core. Scarf Rotom makes a ton of sense on this team as it provides speed and acts as a spin blocker against the most common spinners in the tier (Hitmonchan, Cryogonal). Liepard is excellent because it has the potential to Pursuit trap Xatu for Smeargle, has great speed, and access to U-turn to complete the Volt-Turn core.

Now that I have a solid Volt-Turn core, it's great to have a wallbreaker that can punish common switch ins to Volt-Turn (Lanturn, ground types, other fat stuff). Samurott is probably the best wallbreaker in the tier and its natural bulk and typing fit well on the team, so I threw him on here.

And finally, every good team needs a win condition. Torterra again does a great job of punishing common answers to Volt-Turn and has the potential to sweep late game as a dual dance set up sweeper. I love Torterra's typing and offensive presence.

Smeargle @

| Own Tempo
Jolly | 248 HP / 252 Spe / 8 Atk
Stealth Rock
Spikes
Nuzzle
Parting Shot

Smeargle is a really cool lead for Hyper Offense in NU. It gets access to every type of hazard (obviously) and can run some interesting support options depending on what your team needs. It's one of the few HO leads that can always get a good result against opposing lead Archeops (just click Nuzzle). The EVs are standard and allow Smeargle the maximum bulk possible while retaining a nice speed tier to get up as many hazards as possible.

The coolest part of this Smeargle is Parting Shot. Not only does this help Smeargle to fit in on the Volt-Turn core, but it also makes a lot of previously awkward lead situations much easier to handle.

For example: If the opponent leads with something like Rhydon, you would normally have to be very cautious about going into Xatu and Rock Blast kills Smeargle. However, with Parting Shot the play is ALWAYS going to be Parting Shot into Xatu. Making early game situations easier is one of the best traits a HO lead can have. Smeargle + Xatu make for an excellent pairing that makes early game often in your favor.

Xatu @

| Magic Bounce
Bold | 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Psyshock
Roost
Grass Knot
U-turn

Xatu is a really good way to manage hazards in the current NU metagame. It does a great job at coming in on the majority of hazard setters and keeping my side of the field clean for Volt-Turn shenanigans. This EV spread is really old (like XY old), but I like it. It allows Xatu to outspeed neutral speed nature base 70s like Garbodor and Samurott and threaten them with Psyshock and Grass Knot respectively. Grass Knot allows me to punish things like Rhydon, Steelix, and Gastrodon simultaneously, which is nice. Xatu's excellent bulk and typing allows it to check a bunch of stuff for the team while maintaining momentum like (Lilligant, Fighting Types, Garbodor, etc).

Rotom @

| Levitate
Timid | 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Thunderbolt
Volt Switch
Shadow Ball
Trick

This is a scarf Rotom (shoutouts FLCL). It provides the team with speed, spin blocking capabilities, and it's probably the best user of Volt Switch in the tier. It's quite fun to use and gives my team a way to check certain Shell Smash users and Vivillon at +1. I opted for Thunderbolt because it gives me a reliable way to sweep late games against certain teams without having to pivot around. Trick allows me to cripple bulky waters for Samurott to have an easier time. I also have one of the best switch ins to Lanturn in the tier, so I'm not too concerned about firing off Volt Switch throughout the course of a game.

Liepard @

| Prankster
Jolly | 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Knock Off
Pursuit
U-turn
Copycat

Let's get on to the star of the show! Now that I've set up all the other pieces of my Volt-Turn core (Smeargle Parting Shot, Xatu U-turn, Rotom Volt Switch), lets get to the most fun Volt-Turn Pokémon in the game. So, Liepard lets me check a lot of stuff really creatively with Copycat. If the opponent switches out on a Volt Switch/U-turn/Parting Shot then I can go into Liepard and get a priority Volt Switch/U-turn/Parting Shot guaranteed. This this is a monster and the fact that you can outspeed things with priority is brilliant.

For example: Opponent goes Lilligant on Samurott, they Quiver Dance as you go Xatu, you live and U-turn into a priority U-turn.

Choice Band is such a good item on Liepard as it easily wears down everything not named Mega Audino with Knock Off. Pursuit allows me to trap annoying ghosts and namely Xatu so that Smeargle can set up hazards. U-turn is there for the times you cannot Copycat the momentum.

Copycat allows you to check a lot of stuff in cool ways and the team is mostly comprised of physical attackers for a reason. Wearing down water resists and then winning with Copycat Waterfall is wonderful. I really enjoy using this set and I think it provides a ton of utility to this team that no other Pokémon could.

Samurott @

| Torrent
Adamant | 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Waterfall
Aqua Jet
Return
Megahorn

Ok, Choice Banded Samurott is a menace. This thing punches holes through basically every team and obviously gets a lot of free switch ins due to the nature of the team. I opted for Adamant because the team already had a lot of speed and Adamant allows you to pick up some crucial 2hkos:

252+ Atk Choice Band Samurott Return vs. 40 HP / 156 Def Lanturn: 188-222 (46.8 - 55.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Samurott Return vs. 252 HP / 240 Def Mantine: 153-180 (45.8 - 53.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Return allows me to punch common switch ins to Samurott while Megahorn is there to hit niche switch ins like Cradily while giving me another check to Malamar. I chose not to run Superpower because I have Xatu for Ferroseed anyway. Not much in the tier can really switch in on a Choice Banded Waterfall and it does a great job of revenging or even sweeping late game with Aqua Jet. This combined with hazards is an excellent wallbreaker that is almost impossible to switch into for balanced teams.

Torterra @

| Overgrow
Jolly | 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 SpDef
Rock Polish
Earthquake
Wood Hammer
Swords Dance

Torterra is one of my favorite offensive Pokémon in NU right now. Banded, RP, and Dual Dance are all incredibly good. I chose to run Dual Dance with Lum Berry as it allows you to set up on stuff like Rotom free of charge. Jolly is the preferred nature because it lets you outspeed Scarf Rotom at +2. Torterra works wonders on this team as Liepard supports it by Pursuit trapping Xatu and Xatu also counters stuff like Weezing that would otherwise hard wall Torterra. In addition, Torterra really punishes Lanturn, one of the best counters to Volt-Turn in the tier. The excellent natural bulk allows you many set up opportunities and it's strong enough that it can Swords Dance and beat Mega Audino, which the rest of the team can struggle with quite a bit. A lot of games end with this thing at +2 in a stat and just blitzing through worn down teams.

Jynx:

Jynx is really hard to switch into, cannot be revenged by Aqua Jet, and outspeeds my whole team if it is Choice Scarf.

Malamar:

Malamar is scary because it can run enough speed to outpace Samurott and gets free Superpowers against a couple team members. However, it's not too awful to deal with as the momentum should be in your favor for most of the game.

Skuntank:

Outspeeds and Taunts Smeargle, can Defog hazards and Pursuit trap 2 of my members. Yikes.

Mega Audino with Fire Blast:

Not too common, but can hit Torterra, which is the best way to handle Mega Audino on this team. Fortunally Fire Blast generally means a more offensive set that can be beaten with timely flinches from Samurott.

Trick Room/Rain:
Don't really have any switch ins to powerful hitters that outspeed me since the way I check things is with speed.

This team is really fun, but somewhat difficult to use. I hope that this team gives people inspiration on new and creative ways to use Copycat Liepard and can potentially give a framework of a good way to build with lead Smeargle Hyper Offense.

Importable:

Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Nuzzle
- Parting Shot

Xatu @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- Psyshock
- Roost
- Grass Knot
- U-turn

Rotom @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Shadow Ball
- Trick

Liepard @ Choice Band
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- U-turn
- Copycat

Samurott @ Choice Band
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Return
- Megahorn

Torterra @ Lum Berry
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Polish
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-379887831 - Against #3 on ladder at the time
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-379885755 - Against that based Sticky Web team
(Sorry, that's all the replays I have)

Watch me play with the team live with the NUTL, Kiyo

ORAS NU Can't Break Liepard's Stride (Peak 1600 Elo, #11)

The Goomy

Whitest Mexican Alive

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