ORAS OU Pure Furies, Whereabouts of the Heart ~ A M-Alt RMT

[Futatsuiwa of Sado]

Pure Furies, Whereabouts of the Heart

A Team by Futatsuiwa of Sado

Introduction​

Hello people, and welcome to another RMT! I'm Sado, I rate mostly in the RMT Room on PS, though sometimes I come to forums and rate if I get bored. This team came about when I was listening to some music on a playlist, when suddenly a song came on and it for whatever reason, reminded me of Mega Altaria (Idek lol). Thus, I built a team around it, because you know, that's what you have to do when you hear a song that reminds you of something right? Anyways, the team I ended up with was a balanced sand team, and I must say, I've enjoyed using it in the ladder. Refreshing from all the Volcarona teams I've been using as of late. Can't have too much of a good thing I suppose. Ah well, let's just move on to the RMT.

P.S. Click on the pictures and stuff will happen. Edits will be made in Green.

Thought Process

Of course, we have to start with fluffy cloud herself! It wouldn't be an Altaria team without Altaria now would it?

This team actually used to have a Volcarona on it. I figured that these two had some really nice synergy together, with Altaria being able to switch into things like Keldeo and other things that troubled Volcarona. Altaria also is able to threaten numerous problematic Pokemon that Volcarona struggles against including Dragonite, Zard X, and other Water-types. Volcarona was also able to support Altaria by threatening some fairies like Clefable (I was running Lum Berry at the time), Scizor, Venusaur and other Steels like Ferrothorn and Skarmory.

Whenever I put a Volcarona on my teams, I usually try to find a good way to remove hazards for it. Due to the fact that I still wanted a solid answer to fairies, as well as threats like Azumarill, Landorus and Excadrill, I chose Skarmory for this role. I kinda wanted a reliable Defogger that can stay alive for a long time as I was already planning on making this into a balanced team at the time, so I figured that if I wanted to get a late game sweep with Volcarona or Altaria, (she prefers hazards gone to survive certain attacks) I would want something that can remove hazards for a while which is why Skarm is here over something like Lati@s.

I was looking fairly weak to Talonflame, and I wanted a good rocker that had the advantage of beating some common users of Defog. I chose Tyranitar for this team because Pursuit allows me to trap the Latis, lure in things like Skarmory with Fire Blast and still threaten Talonflame at the same time. Pursuit trapping seemed especially nice for me at the time since my Volcarona wasn't running Bug Buzz, so removal of the Latis was a nice benefit so I didn't have to worry about them later.

After adding Tyranitar, I figured that pairing it with its partner in crime wasn't a bad idea at all. The team was lacking some speed, and Excadrill allows me to revenge kill numerous threatening Pokemon such as Alakazam, Kyurem, and Tornadus. It also gives me a secondary answer to Talonflame while under the sand which is appreciate on any team with a Volcarona or Altaria.

I found that Tornadus was still a VERY annoying mon, and waters were still threatening considering that half my team is weak to them. Thus, I added Rotom (Yay for more anti-Talonflames!). He also gives me a secondary check to opposing sand teams as well as a way to threaten several annoying physical attackers.

Unfortunately, more often than not, I found Volcarona usually being dead weight on this team. I also found that stall was still kind of a nuisance (though Altaria and Volcarona together can do some work), and I was relying heavily on Excadrill to revenge kill many threats, especially the previously mentioned Alakazam. It was also at this point where I decided that changing Defog on Skarmory to Spikes and making Excadrill my spinner was beneficial in order to abuse Tyranitar's ability to remove common Defoggers even more while putting pressure on my opponent's team with the Spikes.

(Courtesy of _Astral_) Opposing Rotom-W's were really hard to kill and could burn/wall a large majority of my team. Also, certain waters were still somewhat annoying, most notably Manaphy and Mega Burrito (Slowbro). Because of this, Serperior was added to alleviate this weakness and provide this team with a bit more speed and power in general. It also helps against Ferrothorn via HP Fire which is nice.

Pure Furies, Where Abouts of the Heart

"My mortal enemy, Chang'e. Are you watching!? Gaze upon this poor soul as she struggles between life and death!"
ピュアヒューリーズ, 心の在処 (Altaria) (F) @ Altarianite
Ability: Cloud Nine
Happiness: 0
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 96 SpD / 28 Spe
Impish Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Frustration
- Heal Bell
​

Big. Fluffy. Cloud. Altaria is such a fun Pokemon that is actually really good against a large portion of the current metagame. Her role on this team is to act as my primary answer to most Dragons, and Keldeo, being able to switch into many of them and killing/threatening them out. She also act as a sort of wincon for the team, as well as providing support in the form of Heal Bell. She's pretty self-sufficient, which is really nice, letting her focus a lot on supporting the team while still being able to sweep herself. A lovely combination of traits if you ask me. Cloud Nine is chosen as the ability prior Mega evolution because of the fact that I already have Heal Bell on her, so Natural Cure seemed redundant. EVs give her the survivability to deal with otherwise threatening attacks including avoiding the 2HKO from Life Orb Thundurus' HP Ice, +1 Jolly Mega Zard-X Flare Blitz, avoiding the OHKO from unboosted Azu's Play Rought and many more important survivals from random mons. Speed EVs allow her to outspeed Mega Lop and Mane at +2, and it outspeeds max speed Azu while unboosted (as uncommon as it is).

Dragon Dance is staple on this set giving her the ability to sweep/become a great win-con. In conjunction with Roost, another staple move on this set, it allows her to slowly accumulate boosts once her checks are gone. It also keeps her healthy in the early game when she is used more for her defensive capabilities. Frustration is her safest STAB attack that gets boosted by Pixilate, being really consistent and having good mono-coverage. It's picked instead of Return because they're literally the same thing, and should I ever run into a Ditto, they will have a weaker Frustration. Return does have the better animation though, so I'll give it that. Heal Bell's great utility allows her to cure status conditions, so I don't have to remove potential Will-o-Wisp users or other status that would wear her down/stop a sweep. Again, she can also support my team mates with the Heal Bell early game should something happen to one of them.

Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke

"A legendary phoenix, growing in strength with each rebirth. The bullets of this evening will be the young lady's eternal trauma."
月まで届け、不死の煙 (Talonflame) (F)
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Acrobatics
- Roost
- Bulk Up
- Will-O-Wisp
​

Talonflame is this team's main answer to stall/stallesque teams with its ability to annoy the crap out of them with Bulk Up and Taunt. It's also one of my primary answers to Grasses like Venusaur and Serperior, as well as revenging frail mons like Alakazam. The spread is pretty self-explanatory, maximizing Special Defense to switch into threatening Special Attackers to balanced like Zard Y while minimizing residual damage to increase the number of times Talon can switch in. I chose to run 8 Speed EVs on this set which is normally used to outspeed Kyurem and Will-o-Wisp it because I can outspeed Kyurem and Bulk Up on it which lets Talonflame survive a Fusion Bolt from full health. Now that I added Will-O-Wisp, I can actually do this as well and just Roost to beat it. If the Kyurem is weakened enough via the many forms of residual damage on this team, as well as its Life Orb, I can deal about 40-50% with a +1 Acrobatics. No item because... Acrobatics.

Acrobatics is used instead of Brave Bird because on this set, the damage doesn't matter too much and it would prefer the longevity that Acrobatics provides. Roost is required to keep Talonflame healthy to check what it's meant to check longer and in conjunction with its other moves, allows it to greatly hurt stall teams. Bulk Up is here to act as a sort of secondary win con at times, and allows it to survive some things it wouldn't otherwise be able to (see above Kyurem scenario). It's also necessary so Talonflame can get over Sableye. Will-O-Wisp is chosen over Taunt here as otherwise, Bisharp is a big threat to this team, and Talonflame needs to burn it since Rotom-W can't switch into it safely. It also punishes numerous common switch ins to Talonflame, mainly being things like bulky grounds.

Reverse Ideology

"In this inverted castle where everything is turned upside-down, I'll give you a taste of the humiliation the weak have suffered!"
リバースイデオロギー (Serperior) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Taunt
​

Serperior's main job for this team is breaking down opposing mons with its great ability Contrary in conjunction with Leaf Storm while providing some immediate speed. More specifically, it was chosen as a reliable way to kill waters most notably Manaphy, Slowbro, and Rotom as they were rather annoying to kill for this team. Secondly, it gives me a second way to beat Ferrothorn that can actually sometimes switch into it since Tyranitar doesn't appreciate taking 50% from a Gyro or Power Whip. Life Orb lets me hit as hard as possible with all my attacks, though I have been considering Miracle Seed as the Life Orb in conjunction with Sand wears down Serperior pretty quickly. EVs are here to abuse Serperior's great speed tier while maximizing it's special attack to nuke things harder. IVs give me HP Fire while minimizing attack because I'm nitpicky like that. It also gives me that perfect Life Orb number, maximizing the times Serperior can fire off attacks. Contrary is chosen for obvious reasons. After all, it boosted Serperior all the way from NU to OU.

Leaf Storm is amazing for Serperior, granting it a Nasty Plot that does damage to the opponent and has huge base power. It hits deceptively hard considering Serperior's low base Special Attack. It also grants a boost to Serperior's coverage moves which guarantees sooo many KOs, it's hard to count. Dragon Pulse is here to hit Dragons (duh) like Latios and Kyurem as otherwise they can usually eat a Leaf Storm. HP Fire allows me to hit things like Steels and Grasses, most importantly Scizor, opposing Serperior, Ferrothorn and Skarmory. Taunt was picked over something like Giga Drain or Glare because I wanted Serperior to have an easier time terrorizing bulkier teams by limiting their recovery options, which actually can allow it to very rarely break through something as scary as a Chansey.

The Pierrot of the Star Spangled Banner

"Kyahahahaha! Something real interesting is going on~! Hey, fairies! Let's crank up the speed! It's lunatic tiiiime! Welcome to a world of madness!"
星条旗のピエロ (Excadrill) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin​

Yes, let's crank up the speed indeed! Excadrill is this teams form of hazard removal and secondary revenge killer while under sand. Really important since it revenges soooo many threats to this team while under sand, the most crucial being Kyurem. It's also my best Magnezone check so to an extent, Altaria can do its job more comfortably. Life Orb was chosen as the item because I didn't have any way to boost my attack as I'm running a Rapid Spin set and I like Excadrill to hit as hard as possible. Sand Rush is here for obvious reasons. Yay for sand abuse. EVs make Excadrill hit as hard as possible and be as fast as possible. Adamant because again, didn't really have the Swords Dance and I felt like I didn't need to outrun +2 Jolly Gyarados as it seemed too situational, especially with a Rotom on the team.

Earthquake and Iron Head are powerful dual STAB moves that have good power and great coverage together. Iron Head can also cheese some wins with flinch hax if I'm actually that desperate enough to need to rely on that 30% chance. LO Boosted EQ actually 2HKO's most Ferrothorn if you need a perspective on how strong it is. Rock Slide finishes that EdgeQuake coverage hitting Flying-types like Dragonite, Talonflame and Thundurus. Finally, Rapid Spin is how I remove hazards on my side of the field which is especially helpful for Talonflame, and works well with the hazard stacking that this team tends to end up doing.

Desire Drive

"My faithful servant. Go eradicate the one who would deny this resurrection!"
デザイアドライブ (Tyranitar) (F) @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Fire Blast
​

Tyranitar is a really solid rock setter and plays a rather important role on this team. Not only does it provide Excadrill with its sand, but it helps keep pressure on the opponents team by eliminating common users of Defog like Zapdos and Mandibuzz with its STAB Stone Edge and Pursuit Trapping the Latis. This is important because this team does force a lot of switches at times, and the residual damage is nice to build up. Chople Berry allows Tyranitar to more comfortably Pursuit trap things like Gengar and Alakazam by allowing it to take one Fighting attack. It also really helps against the Thundurus match up due to lots of them carrying Focus Blast as coverage. Sand Stream because... it's a Sand team. EVs allow Tyranitar to survive an EQ from a +1 Dragonite and respond with a Stone Edge, as well as taking two Dragon Claws from +1 Zard X after rocks, giving me a tertiary Zard Check (YAY!) Rest of the EVs are put in SpDef to ease TTar's role in absorbing some SpDef attacks from the likes of Latios and Heatran.

Stealth Rocks because its Stealth Rocks. Whoa big surprise right? Stone Edge is TTar's best STAB move and allows it to function superbly as a rock setter and hits important mons like Talonflame and Kyurem. Pursuit lets me trap the annoying AF Lati twins, considering how common they are. Again, works really well with this teams hazard stacking. Fire Blast was chosen as the final coverage move because its my best move to hit Ferrothorn, and I didn't really need Ice Beam or Crunch due to me not being too weak to Lando/Garch or Alaka.

Pandemonic Planet

"All right. You're a cute little thing, so I'll play with you a bit. Usually, I'd rather not fight the likes of a human, but... 'You used some rude language towards me." For that reason alone, I'll drop you into hell. For that reason, and no more! Now, suffer even in death!"
パンデモニックプラネット (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split​

Finally, we have this crazy little bugger. I chose him as a nice pivot/glue mon for this team, providing me with my best answer to Tornadus-T, Talonflame, Starmie, Excadrill and common Water-types like Azu, Volcanion and Manaphy. Leftovers gives Rotom-W a reliable form of passive recovery which increases its longevity to longer check the things it's meant to check. The HP and Defense are here to make Rotom function well as a Phys Def pivot, with the HP being reduced by 4 EVs to minimize residual damage, therefore increasing Rotom's staying power. 8 Speed allows Rotom to outspeed Adamant Crawdaunt, as uncommon as it is. Finally, 0 ATK IVs because I love being nitpicky like that and minimizing Foul Play/confusion damage (confusions actually kinda important seeing as Rotom's main role on this team is a Torn-T counter.

Volt Switch is Rotom's way of gaining momentum for the team as it forces PLENTY of switches against the mons its meant to check for me. Mons that it forces out include Azu, Lando, Talon and more so sometimes it is best to Volt Switch that Lando, since they don't wanna risk losing it or it getting crippled especially against a team with a Talonflame. Hydro Pump allows Rotom to beat plenty of the mons it checks, namely Grounds like the aforementioned Landorus and things like Mamoswine that lack Freeze Dry. Will-O-Wisp is very spammable as it can cripple a lot of the opponent's physical attackers. Pain Split is Rotom-W's form of recovery, that actually does a number against bulkier teams due to their mons having higher HP's like Chansey and Hippowdon. You really won't get an opportunity to use it against offensive teams though so preserve the Rotom wisely.

Importable

ピュアヒューリーズ, 心の在処 (Altaria) (F) @ Altarianite
Ability: Cloud Nine
Happiness: 0
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 96 SpD / 28 Spe
Impish Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Frustration
- Heal Bell

月まで届け、不死の煙 (Talonflame) (F)
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Acrobatics
- Roost
- Bulk Up
- Will-O-Wisp

リバースイデオロギー (Serperior) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Taunt

星条旗のピエロ (Excadrill) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin

デザイアドライブ (Tyranitar) (F) @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Fire Blast

パンデモニックプラネット (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

​

Threats​

(Courtesy of GonxKillua)
NP Thundurus is an annoyance for this team as it usually means it involves sacking a mon, usually Tyranitar. My best bet is to revenge it with Excadrill, though Altaria lives a +2 HP Ice and does about 75% with an unboosted Return.

This thing is actually pretty hard to switch into. It's not really the big of an issue because Talonflame just fucks it over, but it hits the rest of my team for SE damage assuming that it's HP Fire.

To be fair, when is this not a threat to balanced teams? Kyurem is one of those mons that I have to revenge kill or just wear down, but that's usually how balanced gets rid of it anyways. Luckily, this team carries a lot of residual damage that wear it down really fast. I can also hit it with a Dragon Pulse from Serp if its low enough, and Talonflame can live a burned Kyub's Fusion Bolt.

This thing's a nuisance to get rid of. Luckily, Tyranitar does about 70 with Fire Blast which helps, but it doesn't appreciate being worn down by it. Also, Serperior can HP Fire which when Leaf Storm boosted, usually kills most Ferrothorn.

The newest Pokemon does quite a number against this team. Nothing really switches in safely, besides like Rotom-W against sets lacking HP Grass or Power Herb+Solar Beam. Rotom-W is my best answer to it, although Excadrill or Talonflame can respectively kill/revenge weakened Volcs.

This little bugger is annoying, but it does lose the 1v1 against Altaria. It is annoying to kill however, but then again, when is it not? (unless your name's Serperior or something) Well, now I've added Serperior soooo FUCK YOU ROTOM

Conclusion
Thank you guys for reading/rating~! I wanna give a shout out to the RMT room (there's too many of you I want to name so ya guys are gonna have to deal with one big general shoutout :3) for being such great people, stay fabulous you guys n_n Overall, I've really enjoyed using this team, especially since you don't see Altaria as much as you used to. There have been a few things that I'm kinda hesitant about and I want some second opinions on. I've been considering a Swords Dance set for Talonflame to better deal with things like Ferrothorn and like AV Raikou>Rotom for Thundy. Hope you guys enjoyed looking through it, until next time! <3 ​

​

 

[_Astral_]

Ehy man :)
Really nice team I love the Sand Build. The team is solid but I think that are things to improve. The first problem of this team is Rotom-W: Altaria can't switch on Volt Switch if hasn't mega evolves and in generally isn't really good control for it. Rotom-W can stop Excadrill and Talonflame really easily and you haven't a switch in for it outside Mega Altaria Mega Evolute that is really bad. Another problem is Venusaur that stop Altaria sweep, Talonflame can break it but if there are stealth rock isn't a switch in. Another problem is Thundurus because stop the Altaria and Talonflame sweep easily, your only mode to kill it is with Excadrill (Revegekill) Tyranitar can check it but if has Superpower/Focus Blast destroy it. Also Manaphy is annoying for this team because can setup against Tyranitar and can kill Altaria with Ice Beam and Rotom with Energy Ball really easily or can spam Scald because you haven't a good status absorber. Mega Slowbro and Quagsire are annoying for this build because you haven't a good mode for stop it.

Since this team is sand balance, the main focus isn't on sweeping with Excadrill. As such Excadril should not need 8 turns of sand to be effective. For this reason I think that Chople Berry > Smooth Rock on Tyranitar is the best option: Chople Berry helps you against many things for Example Thundurus that is a weakness for this team. Another suggest is to try Serperior > Skarmory you have Rotom-W that helps against other Sand Teams and Excadrill that helps against fairy. Serperior gives you a switch in for Rotom-W and improve your matchup against Bulky Water like Manaphy that are annoying for this build and Mega Slowbro, also can break Ferrothorn that help the Altaria and Talinflame Sweep. Bisharp is annoying for this team, Rotom can check it but isn't a Safe switch in for this reason you csn try Will-O-Wisp on Talonflame for improve your matchup against it.

The team is solid but have some problem: the first is Venusaur your only switch in for it is Talonflame but if there are hazard is bad play against it. Another problem is Bisharp: Rotom isn't a good switch in but can play against it with Talonflame.

Set Complete:

Hide

Serperior @ Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power Fire
- Giga Drain/Taunt

Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Fire Blast

Hope I help :3

 

[Futatsuiwa of Sado]

Hey _Astral_ Thanks for the response :]

I'm definitely going to being doing Chople>Smooth Rock on TTar because I do agree that the 8 turns has been a bit excessive at times, and the ability to sponge Fighting coverage from things like Gengar and Thundurus like you mentioned is more worth it. Now for Serperior>Skarmory, I do feel like this is also a good idea, however, I would be slightly weaker to something like Weavile, but I think it's worth the switch. And yeah, after removing Skarmory, Bisharp becomes much more of a nuisance so I think I will end up with WoW on Talonflame. Anyways, thanks again and have a good day fine sir~