ORAS OU oh | a tribute

Nedor

thiccc
oh

so, with the oras generation wrapping up, i've decided to write up an rmt of one of my absolute favourite builds on a creative and effective level. although this team doesn't have much tour sucess, i strongly feel it is a strong choice against certain opponents. i'm not entirely certain of what i peaked in terms of ELO, but the build did show its consistency with an 88 gxe. since my last rmt, i was given a spot on canada's wcop team; i had fairly poor results but i was still proud of a few aspects. for this to not become an arbitrary and boring intro, let us get right into the build at hand :p





the initial inspiration of creating this team was really just going through the tier list as well as usage statistics to get a general idea of what i can exploit to a. give a sense of unpredictability / surprise factor and b. how effective and consistent this will be. these are two factors that i try to implement in almost every build. to elaborate on this, a set or pkmn that you use to catch your opponent's off-guard based on holes you recognize in common team structures is used to put you at an advantage from team matchup. it provides you a route of throwing off your opponent's game plan, but you have to determine how consistent it will be at its given role. "standard" teamstyles and structures can still be effective in what they're trying to accomplish, but giving yourself an edge as a builder and battler even in subtle ways can make a difference in performance. not only this, its far less predictable from team preview. this team incorporates a few things that allow it to stand out, but its effectiveness shows with how it can be played out and the multiple goals available to the battler depending on the matchup.

as one can tell from the sprite preview when analyzed, this is a mega lopunny based spike balance, but there are many more elements involved that make the team successful. this team strays away from typical tyranitar + spike builds and has its own unique characteristics that allow it to accomplish a goal. these characteristics include the fluidity and how comfortable a matchup plays out due to type immunities as well as key resistances to combat threats to these slower builds, such as powerful wallbreakers with good coverage. in general, i find type immunities to be a pretty important but not mandatory asset on bulkier and offensive teams alike. on this build in particular, complete immunities to electric, ground, water, and dragon which are some of the best offensive typings in the game allow me to maneuver and manage threats to a much better degree, thus solidifying the backbone. because this is oras ou, there are threats or certain strategies you won't be capable of dealing with defensively, so there are forms of speed control / hazards that functions as counterplay. despite being a slower, bulkier structure, the team's offensive backbone synergizes extremely well in unison with the team support provided and has the sheer power to break or wear things down considerably.

proceeding with the objective(s) of the team as it will help you picture and understand the possible routes to take when battling with it. first and foremost, hazards are certainly a focal point as they contribute in punishing (aggressive) doubles, switches when the opponent is forced out, and just chipping away at the opposition's team consistently. the hazard damage from spikes and rocks also helps put key threats in range or support my win conditions, namely curse gastrodon, or mega lopunny (+ specs latios as a wallbreaker). the hazard setters are specifically chosen for their reliability in getting up layers throughout the match against various removers, while also supporting the team in other ways, whether that be keeping the opposing team low or removing items. this team is all about support to achieve a favourable position in a battle, this support includes but isn't limited to knock off, hazards, taunt, status, trick, lures, trapping, and different ways of punishing the opponent. when this team support comes together, there's not really an autoloss matchup. what i love about the build is that it does not just react to whatever is thrown at it, but can exploit what the opponent does and his mentality in any given situation. there are other versions of the team that i will touch upon later, but this is the best dynamic of sets and spreads that i've experienced.



getting into the actual building process, i started off with a defensive threat that appealed to me and seemed to be pretty good based on what is being used, phys. def rocky helmet skarmory. aside from full on stall builds, this particular spread is rarely used; spdef variants are prominent for its ability to check stuff like mega diancie, serperior and mega gardevoir. despite this role compression, the phys. def variant checks the large majority of the physical metagame, such as threats like sd m-zor, scarf lando-t, weavile, excadrill, mega lopunny, mega metagross, mega pinsir, etc. you may argue that the spdef variant is capable of beating a few on that list as well, but rocky helmet is what allows you to punish anything they choose to do, while also beating and exploiting common combinations of these pkmn, considering they can be used together to overload phys. def tanks.



now, my first thought after picking skarmory is that i need something to make up for what it cannot check, which is essentially working on the defensive backbone for the team. i basically knew the build would take more of a balanced route, so i decided on mixdef curse gastrodon which provides a ton of role compression, a factor that is basically mandatory in oras. the spread used that i will go more in-depth on enables gastrodon to comfortably counter offensive electrics, check mega diancie, tornadus-t, and the list goes on. it functions as a pretty good blanket check to a lot and having immunities to two solid offensive typings is dope. curse gastrodon is also great against typical offenses which helps a lot.



now, i have a lot of bases covered with a solid starting backbone; spike support, taunt / phazing, status in scald, a potential wincon, as well as consistent answers to many threats. at this point, i wanted to get the rocker slot out of the way considering its very important, and i found clefable to be the most reliable option. in the long run, this team can either keep hazards against every relevant remover, or take advantage of them in other ways. bulkier teams are typically disturbed by status, and i didn't want gastrodon taking the burn from rotom-w if i don't need to. clefable provides much support in a dragon immunity, and just a general glue.



looking at the first three members (phys. def skarmory | curse mixdef gastro | rocks clefable), the team lacks speed and immediate power which are important elements in any balanced build. based on the team support, i really liked the way mega lopunny fit. it provides the much needed speed / revenge killer to make up for what the backbone has a harder time managing. mega lopunny restricts a lot of slower wallbreakers from coming in freely which helps a ton, but its typing / not god awful bulk disallows bisharp from getting out of hand. due to its speed in unison with spikes, mega lopunny is often troublesome for offensive teams.



hazard support + a single offensive presence is not enough to break bulkier cores down, so i knew this team appreciated something with immediate power that provided something on a defensive level too. i tested a few options, but specs latios gelled the best due to its sheer power, ability to lure / cripple some annoyances to the build, speed tier high enough for troubling wallbreakers, and its natural bulk gives itself opportunities to come in, but the team also doubles efficiently. the offensive core of mega lopunny + latios in unison with hazards is hard for teams to manage, especially with a solid backbone to rely on.



to round off the build, i wanted even more support to pave the way for my main wincons, something that has enough offensive presence to not get taken advantage of, and a check to some relevant threats. taunt toxic heatran was the perfect choice for its ability to keep fatter teams low, status the likes of latis and rotom-w for curse gastrodon in the long run, while keeping mew and clefable at bay, to a degree. i'm comfortable with using plume here considering the fact that i have reliable mega scizor answers anyways, and it really helps at chipping down teams. in general, heatran provides important role compression and is valuable to what the team is trying to accomplish.




skarmory @ rocky helmet | sturdy *** ill lyricist
impish nature | 248 hp / 224 def / 36 spe
spikes | roost | brave bird | taunt




gastrodon @ leftovers | storm drain *** a little more
sassy nature | 252 hp / 164 def / 92 spdef
scald | earthquake | recover | curse




clefable @ leftovers | magic guard *** angels
calm nature | 252 hp / 184 def / 72 spdef
calm mind | moonblast | soft-boiled | thunder wave



lopunny @ lopunnite | limber *** till i die
naive nature | 244 atk / 12 spa / 252 spe
fake out | return | high jump kick | ice beam



latios @ life orb | levitate *** sin city
timid nature | 252 spatk / 4 spd / 252 spe
draco meteor | hp fire | roost | defog




heatran @ leftovers | flash fire *** renegade
timid nature | 80 hp / 176 spa / 252 spe
lava plume | stealth rock | toxic | taunt




i will be going over some of the biggest threats to this build and how they can be managed, especially seeing as no pkmn is an instant loss!

| subseed variants of serperior can become extremely annoying to play against because not only does heatran already lose to the set, the fact that i'm running magma storm means my main check will be shaky. try to play around it via mega lopunny and latios or put yourself in a favourable position before it enters the field.

| variants of sd (lo, lum, black glasses) are all troublesome to play around seeing as bisharp finds setup opportunities on a few members. keep mega lopunny and heatran healthy, trick with latios or find ways to not allow it to setup, which can definitely be done.

| belly drum versions can clean this build quite easily, but there are ways around it. keeping specs latios healthy enough for a +6 aqua jet or rocky helmet + brave bird damage + fake out from mega lopunny is typically what will occur.

| dd charizardx is the biggest threat to this build in my opinion. use your own judgement to decide what set you think it will be, dd stabs roost can be managed to a degree via toxic / earth power heatran. dd 3 attacks will need to be worn down through recoil + mega lopunny priority.

| mega gardevoir is probably the biggest nuisance of a wallbreaker to go up against. its dealt with through mega lopunny's offensive presence or utilizing some of the bulkier pkmn of the team to pick it off; it will wreck havoc so play smartly.

| (ignore the god awful sprite) - tauntwisp talonflame is an annoying matchup because not many of the members are super strong to break it down immediately. it can be dealt with by pressuring through rocks + knock off clefable. specs latios dents it extremely hard and heatran can pressure through earth power / predicted toxic.


a few replays that showcase the team's effectiveness:

vs. mega scizor hyper offense
vs. mega metagross bulky offense
vs. mega lopunny spikes
vs. mega diancie bulky offense
vs. mega diancie + hydreigon balance
vs. mega alakazam offense
vs. volcarona balance
vs. charizard-y balance
vs. mega scizor + nidoking balance
vs. mega gyarados offense



so, oras ou was a pretty lit generation that allowed me to meet a multitude of people and become much better as a competitive player. this was the first gen i've played entirely, and it was certainly really fun. the memories made can't be forgotten. i know i'm not the only one looking forward to what s/m has in store for us, but its looking pretty amazing! i can't wait to dive into the depths of this new gen, and until then, hope you enjoyed this little rmt i put together, and peace!



shoutouts oh.
 
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