Hi everyone, this is my try at building a capable and fun OU team.
I've played quite a bit with this team, and feel it's got potential, only I'm not a great player, so it only got me to around 1400 on my test account, so far.
So, here's the team:
Orlando(rus) (Landorus-Therian) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Rock Tomb
In my opinion, Landorus is a beast at leading teams. I chose this set in particular as I think it fits the team's needs quite well. It can set up stealth rocks in any circumstance and sometimes surprise Greninja by OHKOing it with Explosion.
I feel there's not much else to say about this set - it is a tried and tested Smogon set - and I feel it fits the leader role perfectly well within this team.
Sorry (Toxapex) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic
The first Regenerator of the team, Toxapex is the main Greninja and Rotom-W switch-in, which walls them forever with toxic + recover, if they didn't pivot out. Rotom's Volt Switch is easily shrugged off by Regenerator, which makes this mon a very consistent check.
I have tinkered with a few other options in this slot, but in those situations, I always found myself really feeling the absence of this bulk. I sometimes let it stay in against Zapdos, in order to poison it. Zapdos and Koko cannot OHKO this set with their electric attacks, and, as such, I can consistently get them poisoned before switching out into Lando to absorb Koko's Volt Switch.
Pex is a great mon, and I think it's bulk compliments the team very well, and it definitely helps against many matchups.
Karzan (Kartana) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Knock Off
Kartana is such a great mon.
This thing is normally used to either revenge kill Heatran, the ballsy Keldeo that stays in, Fini, Lele and many other mons that it can one shot easily. It can be difficult to make use of Beast Boost, as after getting a kill, it is unlikely to be locked into a super effective move against the mon that comes in. The most common example of this is knocking out a mon with sacred sword or leaf blade and stuff like Tangrowth, Celesteela or Zapdos switching in, forcing Kartana to leave.
This set is fast and hits hard, and is personally my favorite, since once able to stack Beast Boosts, it becomes unstoppable.
What's a therian (Tornadus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
- Defog
Even though Torn can't reliably check Lando, thanks to Stone Edge, HP Ice is in the set to surprise it, as well as Garchomps and Gliscors. I don't feel like Rocky Helmet is the perfect choice, but I cannot think of any other great alternative.
Hurricane is also questionable, as it misses most of the time for me, and I have yet to have found great opportunities to use it, other than the rare Hawlucha it gets to connect with.
I feel as this mon really shines as a great partner for Toxapex. I usually switch this in to absorb an Earthquake that would otherwise KO Pex, and hit the attacker with a very fast HP Ice, which some times kills them, if their hurt by poison, and most times forces a switch, which I then answer with U-Turn into a threat (most times Mawile).
Regenerator on both mons cements the synergy very well, as it gives consistency to the combo, and let's me perform it many times throughout a match, with obvious care, as Torn is very frail.
Mowy the Mower (Mawile-Mega) @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Fire Fang
- Swords Dance
Now, on to the star of the team.
I was very hesitant to use Mawile outside of a Trick Room team, as I felt as if I couldn't make it work very well. Boy, was I wrong.
Mowy here is the bane of all Ferrothorns and Scizors, more so than any other fire type mon I have ever used.
Usually my opponent will let me set up a Swords Dance for free on Ferrothorn, only to find that +2 Fire Fang OHKOs said Ferrothorn and the Scizor they have in the back. Then, Sucker Punch and Fire Fang proceed to wreak havoc against any unprepared foes. With a bit of good predictions, Play Rough can be used to OHKO Garchomp, as most times they just use Stealth Rocks, predicting Mawile to switch out. This set is also able to tank an Earthquake from said Garchomp and OHKOing it with Play Rough, if need be, so Play Rough is usually a very good choice against Garchomps because even in the rare chance they switch out, it still hits neutral foes for very good damage.
Mowile is very, very versatile, and I feel it makes this team come alive, since it can be a wallbreaker or a revenge killer, as the situation commands.
Uber in disguise (Kyurem-Black) @ Icium Z
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Freeze Shock
- Fusion Bolt
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
Finally, we have Kyurem-Black.
I needed a strong Z-Move user for the team, and while I could have slapped Flyinum Z on Torn and explore other options here, I felt that Kyurem would fill the role of Toxapex and flying mons killer, as well as providing a monstrous Subzero Slammer, that wrecks anything that doesn't resist it.
Kyurem is a very straight forward mon, and I utilize it as I mentioned before, and in some situations as a potent neutral damage hole puncher, as it can eat hits and fire off powerful coverage in Earth Power, that 2HKOs Heatrans, and Fusion Bolt, for Keldeo and other water types.
---------- ---------- ---------- Pokepaste ---------- ---------- ----------
That is it for the team, now on to the Threat List:
Celesteela: I cannot deal with Celesteela. This mon is always my biggest concern when laddering, for the sole fact that it can wall my team, while being tickled by my mons. The only thing that can actually kill a celesteela in this team is Fire Fang, and even that doesn't OHKO, putting Mawile vulnerable to Flamethrower.
Tapu Lele: Lele can be hard, since Specs variants can easily roll through my team. The only Lele check is Smart Strike, and if Kartana is dead once this thing starts pressing buttons, it's most likely gg.
Those are the two biggest threats I can think of right now.
As I ladder, I tend to find some teams that are harder than others, but so far no team has really 6-0'd this team, as it can fight back reliably most of the time.
Conclusion
I feel like this team has a lot of potential, and the truth is, I am proud of what it can do.
One thing that I must comment on is that almost all of the pokémon have Smogon sets, and I know those can be suboptimal in certain cases... But since I am not very good at analysing threats and thinking of what to change, I decided this RMT would me my best bet in that regard.
That's it! Thanks for reading, and please give me your suggestions and changes you would make to the team. Any feedback is greatly appreciated, and as this is the first team I put together from scratch, I will take this as a learning experience, and I hope I can get a better insight into this fun team building business!
I've played quite a bit with this team, and feel it's got potential, only I'm not a great player, so it only got me to around 1400 on my test account, so far.
So, here's the team:
Orlando(rus) (Landorus-Therian) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Rock Tomb
In my opinion, Landorus is a beast at leading teams. I chose this set in particular as I think it fits the team's needs quite well. It can set up stealth rocks in any circumstance and sometimes surprise Greninja by OHKOing it with Explosion.
I feel there's not much else to say about this set - it is a tried and tested Smogon set - and I feel it fits the leader role perfectly well within this team.
Sorry (Toxapex) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic
The first Regenerator of the team, Toxapex is the main Greninja and Rotom-W switch-in, which walls them forever with toxic + recover, if they didn't pivot out. Rotom's Volt Switch is easily shrugged off by Regenerator, which makes this mon a very consistent check.
I have tinkered with a few other options in this slot, but in those situations, I always found myself really feeling the absence of this bulk. I sometimes let it stay in against Zapdos, in order to poison it. Zapdos and Koko cannot OHKO this set with their electric attacks, and, as such, I can consistently get them poisoned before switching out into Lando to absorb Koko's Volt Switch.
Pex is a great mon, and I think it's bulk compliments the team very well, and it definitely helps against many matchups.
Karzan (Kartana) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Knock Off
Kartana is such a great mon.
This thing is normally used to either revenge kill Heatran, the ballsy Keldeo that stays in, Fini, Lele and many other mons that it can one shot easily. It can be difficult to make use of Beast Boost, as after getting a kill, it is unlikely to be locked into a super effective move against the mon that comes in. The most common example of this is knocking out a mon with sacred sword or leaf blade and stuff like Tangrowth, Celesteela or Zapdos switching in, forcing Kartana to leave.
This set is fast and hits hard, and is personally my favorite, since once able to stack Beast Boosts, it becomes unstoppable.
What's a therian (Tornadus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
- Defog
Even though Torn can't reliably check Lando, thanks to Stone Edge, HP Ice is in the set to surprise it, as well as Garchomps and Gliscors. I don't feel like Rocky Helmet is the perfect choice, but I cannot think of any other great alternative.
Hurricane is also questionable, as it misses most of the time for me, and I have yet to have found great opportunities to use it, other than the rare Hawlucha it gets to connect with.
I feel as this mon really shines as a great partner for Toxapex. I usually switch this in to absorb an Earthquake that would otherwise KO Pex, and hit the attacker with a very fast HP Ice, which some times kills them, if their hurt by poison, and most times forces a switch, which I then answer with U-Turn into a threat (most times Mawile).
Regenerator on both mons cements the synergy very well, as it gives consistency to the combo, and let's me perform it many times throughout a match, with obvious care, as Torn is very frail.
Mowy the Mower (Mawile-Mega) @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Fire Fang
- Swords Dance
Now, on to the star of the team.
I was very hesitant to use Mawile outside of a Trick Room team, as I felt as if I couldn't make it work very well. Boy, was I wrong.
Mowy here is the bane of all Ferrothorns and Scizors, more so than any other fire type mon I have ever used.
Usually my opponent will let me set up a Swords Dance for free on Ferrothorn, only to find that +2 Fire Fang OHKOs said Ferrothorn and the Scizor they have in the back. Then, Sucker Punch and Fire Fang proceed to wreak havoc against any unprepared foes. With a bit of good predictions, Play Rough can be used to OHKO Garchomp, as most times they just use Stealth Rocks, predicting Mawile to switch out. This set is also able to tank an Earthquake from said Garchomp and OHKOing it with Play Rough, if need be, so Play Rough is usually a very good choice against Garchomps because even in the rare chance they switch out, it still hits neutral foes for very good damage.
Mowile is very, very versatile, and I feel it makes this team come alive, since it can be a wallbreaker or a revenge killer, as the situation commands.
Uber in disguise (Kyurem-Black) @ Icium Z
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Freeze Shock
- Fusion Bolt
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
Finally, we have Kyurem-Black.
I needed a strong Z-Move user for the team, and while I could have slapped Flyinum Z on Torn and explore other options here, I felt that Kyurem would fill the role of Toxapex and flying mons killer, as well as providing a monstrous Subzero Slammer, that wrecks anything that doesn't resist it.
Kyurem is a very straight forward mon, and I utilize it as I mentioned before, and in some situations as a potent neutral damage hole puncher, as it can eat hits and fire off powerful coverage in Earth Power, that 2HKOs Heatrans, and Fusion Bolt, for Keldeo and other water types.
---------- ---------- ---------- Pokepaste ---------- ---------- ----------
That is it for the team, now on to the Threat List:
Celesteela: I cannot deal with Celesteela. This mon is always my biggest concern when laddering, for the sole fact that it can wall my team, while being tickled by my mons. The only thing that can actually kill a celesteela in this team is Fire Fang, and even that doesn't OHKO, putting Mawile vulnerable to Flamethrower.
Tapu Lele: Lele can be hard, since Specs variants can easily roll through my team. The only Lele check is Smart Strike, and if Kartana is dead once this thing starts pressing buttons, it's most likely gg.
Those are the two biggest threats I can think of right now.
As I ladder, I tend to find some teams that are harder than others, but so far no team has really 6-0'd this team, as it can fight back reliably most of the time.
Conclusion
I feel like this team has a lot of potential, and the truth is, I am proud of what it can do.
One thing that I must comment on is that almost all of the pokémon have Smogon sets, and I know those can be suboptimal in certain cases... But since I am not very good at analysing threats and thinking of what to change, I decided this RMT would me my best bet in that regard.
That's it! Thanks for reading, and please give me your suggestions and changes you would make to the team. Any feedback is greatly appreciated, and as this is the first team I put together from scratch, I will take this as a learning experience, and I hope I can get a better insight into this fun team building business!
