SM OU Offensive Tapu Bulu RMT

[Cenamazing]

I haven't played that much 7th gen, so I was excited to start off. I watched a bit of gameplay, read up on the forums, and eventually decided it was time to make my own team. Out of all of the Tapus, Tapu Bulu was by far the most interesting to me. Tapu Lele and Tapu Koko were on practically every team, and Tapu Fini was more of a supporting member. So I wanted to create a nice Tapu Bulu squad.

This team is built around a core of Tapu Bulu & Heatran.

Tapu Bulu @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Zen Headbutt

I went with SD Fightinium Z Tapu Bulu, since I didn't have much experience with the new Z-Moves and I figured it would be a fun set to try out. I've had quite a bit of success with this pokemon, due to how few teams are prepared for it. Horn leech is shockingly powerful coming from 359 Attack, and All-Out Pummeling is a nice nuke to use against so-called switch-ins. This thing's defensive capabilities are also quite impressive. Due to grassy terrain, this thing can take a +6 252 Atk Adamant Earthquake from Garchomp (+6 252+ Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Tapu Bulu in Grassy Terrain: 158-186 (56.2 - 66.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery). And despite the irritating 4x poison weakness, this thing's defensive typing is pretty decent. I've had a ton of fun with this thing, and I don't want to stop using it any time soon. No matter what edits are made to this team, this pokemon can NOT be removed.

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock

I used Heatran all the time back in 6th gen. It's amazing defensive typing, access to stealth rock, and stallbreaking capabilities has made it one of my most-used pokemon of all time. I wasn't planning on using it again so soon, but it's synnergy with Tapu Bulu was too excellent to pass up. What are the two things Heatran fears? Water and Ground type pokemon, the two types Tapu Bulu just so happens to excel against. Grassy Terrain makes obliterating those pesky ground types a piece of cake, and can even help Heatran tank a couple ground-type attacks. And of course, Heatran easily takes hits from the Fire, Flying, Ice, Steel, and Poison types giving Tapu Bulu trouble. These two synnergize perfectly together, and make for an excellent defensive core.

Next off, I wanted a fast and powerful attacker who could deal with some of the common threats in the metagame. Greninja is one of the most common threats, and it can suprise Tapu Bulu with it's insane coverage. There are also a ton of problematic steel types currently in the meta, like Magerna and Mega Metagross. And finally, I just needed a nice revenge killer with strong STAB moves and an insane attack stat. Therefore, ScarfChomp fits the bill.

Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Rock Slide
- Dragon Claw

Garchomp is simply one of the most adaptable pokemon I've ever seen. Back in DPP it was one of the most insane offensive threats. But, as metas changed, it slowly began to fall out of fashion, before returning full-force with the classic Tank Chomp set in XY. And now, we're back to the original, insanely strong attacker Garchomp we know and love. I missed using Garchomp this way: fast, strong, and able to take on some of the biggest threats in the OU Tier. Capable of revenge-killing huge threats thanks to it's outstanding speed with a scarf, Garchomp is one of the best offensive pokemon on this team.

It was here I noticed my team was lacking in strength on the special side, and I was lacking a mega-evolution too. I was also a bit worried about fighting types; while not nearly as prevelant as back in XY, fighting types were still a force to be reckoned with, and the recently reintroduced mega medicham could prove problematic for my simple squadron, especially emphazing it's effectiveness eradicating Heatran. So, frying the filthy fighting-types and alleviating the aggresive alliteration, Alakazam. Mega Alakazam to be precise.

Alakazam-Mega @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Substitute

I don't really have much of a story behind this one; I used regular Alakazam a lot in the past, but besides it being the first mega I ever used (on an incredibly mediocre team), I don't use it very often or have many fond memories with it. But I'm excited to use it again! This is a mostly standard set: Psychic is the STAB move, Shadow Ball hits those pesky ghost types, Substitute is used against a predicted switch and can set up for a sweep, and Focus Blast misses.

I hate Focus Blast.

Other than that, a great mon and special sweeper.

Next, I needed an ally to fight against my arch-nemesis: entry hazards. To be completely honest, with spike-stacking being such an easy and effective strategy, some kind of hazard control is practically a requirment these days, or at least to me it is. Despite the fact I have a tendancy to.... forget to use it, Defog is quite a useful move, and I wanted a user of it on my team. Unfortunately, there were very few defoggers that actually fit well at all. Eventually, I chose to take Ash-Greninja off the team (and replace it with the next mon) and add Tapu Fini to the team.

Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 184 Def / 16 SpD / 60 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Nature's Madness
- Taunt
- Defog

I'm going to be honest, this mon is not one of my favorites. In my opinion, it's defenses are not nearly high enough and it's only recovery being leftovers is REALLY annoying (much more so than Heatran actually). I'm also not that big a fan of it's defensive typing. On the other hand, Misty Surge is VERY useful, Nature's Madness + Taunt is an amazing Stallbreaking combo, and it has Scald. I don't even have to elaborate on Scald, you all know what it does. And of course, I really do need a defogger, especially with the final pokemon coming up. So for now, it stays on the team.

Finally, looking over my team, I really, REALLY wanted an offensive pivot. My original was greninja, but with Tapu Fini, my team had two water types creating an annoying grass-electric weakness, and I'm 99% sure that monster is getting banned by the end of June or so, and I want this team to last. So, I decided to look for another offensive pivot. I actuallly thought about this mon multiple times when trying to choose the 6th member, but I dismissed it due to how low it was on the viability rankings. Then I remembered that I never care about the viability rankings and chose it anyway.

Tornadus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Superpower
- U-turn

I have yet more history with this thing. Due to the prevalance of Fighting-types in 6th gen I mentioned earlier, this thing found it's way onto many of my teams. And honestly, I love it to death. It's ungodly fast, has Regenerator + U-Turn which works miracles, can kill anything it can actually land a Hurricane on, and is another mon to deal with ground types. So overall, it's a great addition to the team. I'm honestly constantly suprised by what Hurricane can manage to kill, the suprise kills it nets are always a treat. And of course, it has amazing coverage. It's another great member of this team.

And that ends my first official not for fun SM OU Team. I think I did pretty well, but I honestly have no clue. I'm going to try to get higher on the ladder this gen than I usually do, but we'll see how things go. Any criticism is welcome, but please keep Tapu Bulu and consider what I'm going for with this team. Thanks in advance, and I hope to see you later in this brand new gen!

 

[Haxicuno]

Alright, let's do this.
To start: I AM NOT a high ladder player(close to 1400), so if you wish, take this with a grain of salt. But I really like your team and wanted to do small rate on it and small change. Also, I am as novice as a rater gets, I have no idea how to do any fancy stuff, so this rate is going to be all text. Sorry in advance.

Respect for using Bulu, don't see him that often and I believe he's underrated. Grassy Terrain is huge in a meta filled with ground types, like the ScarfChomp we know and love. I also love the defensive synergy between Heatran, Bulu, and Fini and believe that this is something the team does great. However, there are two problems i see.

1. Hopefully i'm right in this being more of a bulky offense team. In that spirit, I don't really see Mega Alakazam pulling it's weight. I know on paper it's a great sweeper and in the beginning of SM it blew through most teams like paper, but its STAB and kinda pathetic defenses are very exploitable right now. To that end, I propose swapping MEGA ALAKAZAM out for TAPU LELE. Lele trades in raw power for much better bulk, the great benefit of Psychic Terrain, and invaluable Fairy STAB. Alongside boosting its own STAB moves, Psychic terrain also boosts Tapu Bulu's Zen Headbutt, and it's always great to have pseudo-STAB on a move that covers a mon's most crippling weakness. And Fairy STAB is…well it's Fairy STAB. It's pretty close to fucking broken. I am going to recommend the Stallbreaker set to deal with your slight weakness to stall, as you can use Moonblast to muscle through M-Sableye and Taunt to fuck with the rest of the generic stall team. I know this change makes you a little bit weaker to Megagross, but you have ScarfChomp and Heatran to deal with him.

2. And now the bigger problem. There is a huge ice weakness. HUGE. While Ice stab isn't as prevalent as usual, a mon with ice coverage(Tapu Koko and occasionally Ash-Greninja) or powerful STAB(Weavile and Scarf Mamoswine) can cause your team a lot of trouble. Tornadus has a place on your team, I know, but I know a mon that can do it better. And that mon is…
CELESTEELA!!
Please kill me for recommending this.
I know this piece of shit steel cancer god is annoyingly everywhere, but it's there for a reason. It simply has one of the best defensive typings in the game. It alleviates your crippling weakness, serves as a great blanket check, and can actually do some decent damage in return. However, it doesn't make sense to put Celesteela's defensive set in place of your offensive Torn-T, which is why I'm going to recommend the Automotize set. This set can actually act as a wincon(of sorts) due to Beast Boost and with it's coverage moves in Fire Blast and Giga Drain can deal with the steel and water types that annoy you.

3. Just FYI, Scald on Fini won't burn grounded targets in Misty Terrain. You can still use it to burn mons with Levitate or a Flying typing, but Surf may be a better option. This is the most nonessential change and it really does not make a difference whether you change or keep it.

Tapu Lele @ Twisted Spoon (swap for M-Alakazam)
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power Fire
- Taunt

Celesteela @ Flyinium Z (swap for Torn-T)
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 84 HP / 252 SpA / 172 Spe
Modest Nature
- Autotomize
- Air Slash
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain

Thanks for reading!! Once again, I really like your team and I apologize if I made any bad calls. If you decide to use the changes, have fun with them!

 

[Cenamazing]

Alright, let's do this.
To start: I AM NOT a high ladder player(close to 1400), so if you wish, take this with a grain of salt. But I really like your team and wanted to do small rate on it and small change. Also, I am as novice as a rater gets, I have no idea how to do any fancy stuff, so this rate is going to be all text. Sorry in advance.

Respect for using Bulu, don't see him that often and I believe he's underrated. Grassy Terrain is huge in a meta filled with ground types, like the ScarfChomp we know and love. I also love the defensive synergy between Heatran, Bulu, and Fini and believe that this is something the team does great. However, there are two problems i see.

1. Hopefully i'm right in this being more of a bulky offense team. In that spirit, I don't really see Mega Alakazam pulling it's weight. I know on paper it's a great sweeper and in the beginning of SM it blew through most teams like paper, but its STAB and kinda pathetic defenses are very exploitable right now. To that end, I propose swapping MEGA ALAKAZAM out for TAPU LELE. Lele trades in raw power for much better bulk, the great benefit of Psychic Terrain, and invaluable Fairy STAB. Alongside boosting its own STAB moves, Psychic terrain also boosts Tapu Bulu's Zen Headbutt, and it's always great to have pseudo-STAB on a move that covers a mon's most crippling weakness. And Fairy STAB is…well it's Fairy STAB. It's pretty close to fucking broken. I am going to recommend the Stallbreaker set to deal with your slight weakness to stall, as you can use Moonblast to muscle through M-Sableye and Taunt to fuck with the rest of the generic stall team. I know this change makes you a little bit weaker to Megagross, but you have ScarfChomp and Heatran to deal with him.

2. And now the bigger problem. There is a huge ice weakness. HUGE. While Ice stab isn't as prevalent as usual, a mon with ice coverage(Tapu Koko and occasionally Ash-Greninja) or powerful STAB(Weavile and Scarf Mamoswine) can cause your team a lot of trouble. Tornadus has a place on your team, I know, but I know a mon that can do it better. And that mon is…
CELESTEELA!!
Please kill me for recommending this.
I know this piece of shit steel cancer god is annoyingly everywhere, but it's there for a reason. It simply has one of the best defensive typings in the game. It alleviates your crippling weakness, serves as a great blanket check, and can actually do some decent damage in return. However, it doesn't make sense to put Celesteela's defensive set in place of your offensive Torn-T, which is why I'm going to recommend the Automotize set. This set can actually act as a wincon(of sorts) due to Beast Boost and with it's coverage moves in Fire Blast and Giga Drain can deal with the steel and water types that annoy you.

3. Just FYI, Scald on Fini won't burn grounded targets in Misty Terrain. You can still use it to burn mons with Levitate or a Flying typing, but Surf may be a better option. This is the most nonessential change and it really does not make a difference whether you change or keep it.

Tapu Lele @ Twisted Spoon (swap for M-Alakazam)
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power Fire
- Taunt

Celesteela @ Flyinium Z (swap for Torn-T)
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 84 HP / 252 SpA / 172 Spe
Modest Nature
- Autotomize
- Air Slash
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain

Thanks for reading!! Once again, I really like your team and I apologize if I made any bad calls. If you decide to use the changes, have fun with them!

Thanks for the help! I'll definitely change Scald to surf, that was just an error on my part.

I'm hesitant to use Lele since that's the Tapu I've disliked since launch, but I've found myself become obsessed with mons I hated in the past (*cough* Rotom-W *cough*) so I'll see how it works out. It's a much more interesting set than the average choice-locked spam I usually encounter on the ladder, so I'll try it out with the team.

While I've definetely encountered problems with that Ice weakness you mentioned, I'm still not 100% sure Celesteela is the way to go. However, I'll still try it out anyway to see if I can find any successes with it on the ladder. I may end up keeping Torn-T, I'll just have to test the team out a bit more.

These are definetely some interesting changes. I'll likely test three teams: one with no changes (besides the obvious surf one), one with Lele over M-Zam, and the final with all of your changes, and see which one I like the best. Thanks for taking the time to post that, I'll see how things go!




PS: This isn't much of a problem, but I just wanted to point out that Bulu can't benefit from a stronger Zen Headbutt under Psychic Terrain, since he sets up his OWN grassy terrain on the switch!

 

[Jucherz]

Both of the Tapus you used can make revenge killing much harder for your own Garchomp, since grassy terrain weakens its Earthquake and misty terrain weakens its dragon attacks. Maybe you could try using another scarf mon such as Keldeo, Nihilego, Staraptor etc. I didn't play with the team though so idk if the terrains are a real problem in game, but on paper it looks like a problem.

 

[Haxicuno]

Thanks for the help! I'll definitely change Scald to surf, that was just an error on my part.

I'm hesitant to use Lele since that's the Tapu I've disliked since launch, but I've found myself become obsessed with mons I hated in the past (*cough* Rotom-W *cough*) so I'll see how it works out. It's a much more interesting set than the average choice-locked spam I usually encounter on the ladder, so I'll try it out with the team.

While I've definetely encountered problems with that Ice weakness you mentioned, I'm still not 100% sure Celesteela is the way to go. However, I'll still try it out anyway to see if I can find any successes with it on the ladder. I may end up keeping Torn-T, I'll just have to test the team out a bit more.

These are definetely some interesting changes. I'll likely test three teams: one with no changes (besides the obvious surf one), one with Lele over M-Zam, and the final with all of your changes, and see which one I like the best. Thanks for taking the time to post that, I'll see how things go!




PS: This isn't much of a problem, but I just wanted to point out that Bulu can't benefit from a stronger Zen Headbutt under Psychic Terrain, since he sets up his OWN grassy terrain on the switch!

I'm such an idiot, I totally forgot about conflicting terrains! Sorry about that.

I understand why you would be hesitant to use Lele (fairy spam is VERY annoying), but I think that it would really benefit your team with its offensive capabilities and good defensive typing. If you keep M-Zam, M-Sableye walls you, which is why I suggested Lele.

There's also another candidate for Torn-T's spot in case you don't want to use Celesteela which I just remembered. Tornadus-T fills the niche of semi-bulky offensive Flying type, and it's good at it. However, along with Celesteela, Zapdos could fill this spot. Zapdos has very respectable bulk and a better defensive typing than Tornadus-T in Electric/Flying, and its Roost+3 Attacks set could provide the offensive edge you need to have another answer to Water types and the Flying types that threaten Bulu. Just another idea.

One final nitpick, Stone Edge over Rock Slide on Garchomp. While Slide has better accuracy, it's simply too weak for non-STAB.

Zapdos @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Roost
- Discharge/ Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power Ice

Have fun!

 

[Cenamazing]

Hi again! The reason I'm replying to this thread again is because I've done some reasearch and come to a major conclusion about my team: Tapu Fini is far too passive and needs to be changed. I've learned that Tapu Fini is only ever used on Balance and Stall due to it's lack of momentum. Now that Torn-T is off the team, I'm also debating how nessessary hazard control is for this team. So, my goal is to find a good replacement for Tapu Fini that isn't as passive but still takes a decent amount of hits. Does anyone have any good ideas?

 

[Haxicuno]

I know that there is a Defog Scizor set, but it may not be the best option depending on your Fire weakness. Tapu Fini is rather unfortunately one of the best options atm. Another option I can think of is Defog Zapdos, which is so-so.

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
- Discharge
- Roost
- Heat Wave
- Defog

The absolute last-ditch idea is Rapid Spin and Toxic Spikes Tentacruel.

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 8 SpA / 16 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Haze
- Toxic Spikes


Hazards are pretty broken right now due to lack of good removers. It's really either Fini, Scizor, or Zapdos. You could get Starmie or Tentacruel as a spinner, but it offers less overall.

Sorry I could not be of more help, this is a very hard problem to deal with across the entire meta.