Introduction:
At first, I didn't think I would be playing OU seriously this gen given the crazy amount of power creep from all of the threats that were introduced. But one day, I was watching LRXC's Battle Factory Singles World Record attempts when I caught a glimpse of the insane Gardevoir-5 set (Salac Berry, with Endure, Destiny Bond, Psychic, and Shadow Ball). Gardevoir has been my all time favorite Pokemon since I started looking into competitive play almost a decade ago. I was hesitant to build around it because I didn't think it would have much of a chance given the reason mentioned above, and also because it is often seen as unviable in OU. The set I took inspiration from reminded me that this Pokemon, while gimmicky, could be used for some cool and interesting strategies. It was then that I had decided I would try my hand at building a team around Gardevoir which could reach the top 500 on the ladder, as I believed it was a reasonable goal. Without further ado, on to the team and the building process!
Detailed Breakdown of each Pokemon:
Rhapsodie (Gardevoir) (F)
Gardevoir @ Grassy Seed
Ability: Trace
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Def / 128 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Draining Kiss
- Stored Power
- Mystical Fire
The Star of the team, Trace allows Gardevoir to do some rather interesting things. It can provide situational win conditions against Pokemon that usually give Grassy Terrain teams trouble, like Gliscor, Dragonite, opposing Hawlucha, and Heatran. By copying their abilities, Trace can give strong opportunities to set up and either sweep or force significant progress against teams with these Pokemon. Baiting out Toxic from Gliscor and getting Poison Heal makes Gardevoir significantly more difficult to wear down, along with Dragonite’s Multiscale making it more difficult to revenge kill, while Flash Fire can stop any Heatran lacking Flash Cannon or Taunt. Zamazenta’s Dauntless Shield can also give an additional Defense boost, significantly adding to Gardevoir’s physical bulk.
The set being used is designed to maximize these use cases for Trace, giving Gardevoir the amount of bulk it needs to survive attacks, while outspeeding specific threats and not sacrificing Special Attack too much. 128 Speed allows it to outpace defensive Gliscor as well as the standard Raging Bolt set. 252 Defense and 128 HP gives enough physical bulk to survive Kingambit’s Iron Head at +1 Def, while also being favored to survive Gholdengo’s Make It Rain with +1 SpD after rocks + terrain recovery. As for moves, Draining Kiss was chosen over Moonblast to allow for sustaining the sweep, Stored Power as psychic STAB for nuking resists and anything daring to CM against it, and Mystical Fire for punishing steel types like Kingambit and Gholdengo, which Hawlucha especially appreciates. Tera Steel is chosen here, as it eliminates all of Gardevoir’s usual weaknesses and can provide some useful surprise resistances to Normal, Steel, and Ice in a pinch for eliminating a big threat. Being immune to Toxic where Poison Heal is unavailable is also a plus.
Sonata (Rillaboom) (F)
Rillaboom @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 164 HP / 252 Atk / 92 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Grassy Glide
- Knock Off
- Low Kick
The crucial centerpiece of the team, and it is pretty much required on teams of this archetype. Grassy Terrain allows Gardevoir and Hawlucha to activate their items, as well as providing recovery and weakening Earthquake for its teammates. Rillaboom provides a strong form of priority while being a bulky pivot that can allow other Pokemon on the team safe entry, something the aforementioned Gardevoir can struggle to do, for instance. Rillaboom also provides a way to remove annoying items like Heavy-Duty Boots, Leftovers, and most notably Rocky Helmets from the likes of Corviknight and Skarmory due to Rilla being so good at encouraging them to come in. This is something that Hawlucha in particular appreciates because it enables it to win 1v1 vs them without taking chip damage if Lucha has them Encored into Iron Defense. Since punishing Kyurem and heavily chipping any Heatran before tera is more necessary than ground coverage for Raging Bolt, Low Kick is chosen over High Horsepower. Assault Vest was the item of choice over Terrain Extender because it helps in checking special attackers like Primarina and Walking Wake more reliably, and having better ability to trade HP for momentum or even removing threats like specially oriented boots Kyurem. That being said, it is absolutely crucial to correctly manage its HP to avoid one or more dead team slots, since if hazards are on the field, it may be unable to set Terrain again. The given EV spread maximizes Rillaboom’s power and bulk while speed creeping Gliscor, helping it bait Toxic for Gardevoir. Tera Grass gives Rillaboom extra power on its priority move, which can be handy in some late game scenarios where the added power can allow Rilla to pick off the remainder of an opposing team. Using this Tera is admittedly rare, and it's possible that other types can be explored.
El Contrabandista (Hawlucha) (F)
Hawlucha @ Grassy Seed
Ability: Unburden
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Encore
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Acrobatics
Another staple on Grassy Terrain teams, Hawlucha provides yet another source of speed control capable of outrunning even most of the boosted metagame. This Pokemon really feels like cheese sometimes, as I have suddenly found myself sweeping teams after one SD countless times with its ridiculous STAB 110 Base Power Acrobatics and blazing speed. Encore is a crucial move that can help vs opposing setup mons and massively swing momentum in Hawlucha’s favor, even allowing another SD in some cases. It also can help vs stall by weakening mons like Dondozo by forcing them to attack head on and take damage so that other Pokemon have an easier chance to KO it later. That said, it can be a risky option if the opponent is aware of Encore, as they can just switch. Tera Ground allows Lucha to avoid being revenge killed by Raging Bolt and can even turn it into setup fodder with a well-timed Encore.
Consolation (Iron Moth)
Iron Moth @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 124 Def / 132 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fiery Dance
- Sludge Wave
- Tera Blast
- Substitute
Iron Moth provides immediate speed and power to the team and is capable of snowballing without the need to setup. Iron Moth was chosen in this slot because it also gives a crucial Fire resist, which any Grassy Terrain team worth its salt should have. It also gives a source of counterplay to opposing weather and Trick Room by using Substitute to waste turns and can even be used to deter Sucker Punch and scout opposing Teras. Notably, Iron Moth plays an important role vs sun teams by weakening Walking Wake and/or Gouging Fire for Lucha to clean up after. Tera Ground allows it to hit non-air balloon Heatran, Garganacl, Glimmora, and the aforementioned Gouging Fire, who can otherwise be very annoying to deal with. It can also be used to gain an advantage against Glowking, either providing another opportunity to get a Fiery Dance boost or KO with Tera Blast for Garde later on.
Leslie J. Howard (Landorus-Therian)
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 224 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Taunt
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
Landorus-T compresses many roles on this team. It's a very splashable Pokemon that can deter hazards, blanket check physical attackers, and provides another pivot for the team that can aid in positioning its teammates. It's usually the first answer to anything with a contact move, since Rocky Helmet discourages them and can net important chip damage on things like Roaring Moon or opposing Landorus, which Iron Moth especially appreciates because it is checked by them. Being a check to Gouging Fire is also worth mentioning, as it can be a threat vs grassy teams. Earth Power is the move of choice here because it isn't weakened by Terrain and allows Lando to more easily ignore burns, often trading chip damage on annoyances like Dragapult. Tera Water can be used in some situations, such as flipping the matchup against ice moves and punishing one of the most annoying moves for Grassy Teams, Ice Spinner.
Mephisto (Kingambit)
Kingambit @ Heavy Duty Boots
Ability: Supreme Overlord
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 108 HP / 252 Atk / 148 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Kowtow Cleave
If I had a dime for every time Kingambit's Sucker Punch was a godsend against a huge threat that resists Grassy Glide, I'd have enough to take a nice vacation. Supreme Overlord is a ridiculous ability that can make Gambit an especially strong wallbreaker and win condition late game if all else fails. I always say that where there's a Gambit, there's a way. In addition to forming a dual priority core with Rillaboom, it provides some nice resistances to Ice, Dark, Ghost, and Steel. Kingambit's EVs allow it to live a +1 Dnite EQ, while still having enough speed to speed creep Corviknight. Tera Fire is given here, as it can prevent wisp from working and give huge momentum by setting up a Swords Dance, sometimes 2 while also being very helpful against Flame Body Pokemon like Moltres, who would otherwise be very annoying. It also is useful as an emergency fire resistance for if Gouging Fire gets out of control, as a more reliable way to deal with it than to use Sucker Punch.
Threats:
Ting Lu-& other phazers: These are some of the biggest threats to this team. Phazing destroys one-time use item strategies, especially when used by bulky Pokemon like Ting-Lu that can repeatedly click Whirlwind and possibly exhaust all the sweepers. It's not impossible to manage, however, since there are ways to wear it down like by trading Gambit for HP on Ting-Lu. Roar Zamazenta can also thwart Gardevoir's attempt at punishing it, or shutting down Lucha's ability to sweep while being able to take boosted attacks. Roar Garchomp can be a nuisance for both Hawlucha and Iron Moth, but it is incredibly uncommon.
Dragonite: Because this Pokemon often packs Ice Spinner, it will automatically end Terrain, preventing Grassy Seed from being used. Only Gardevoir can safely switch into it via the Defense boost + Multiscale if no hazards are present. Tera Normal with E-speed with Earthquake allows it to take multiple Pokemon before it is successfully KO'd. Counterplay is possible since Gardevoir can survive even boosted hits even if the ability is not active. Kingambit also has enough HP to survive an Earthquake at +1 from full 93% of the time, and Landorus can be traded for breaking Multiscale via Rocky Helmet chip. While this team does not lose to Dnite alone, it will often end up requiring at least 1 sack.
Bulk Up Great Tusk: Another Pokemon that packs Ice Spinner to end Grassy Terrain, the Booster Speed set is especially problematic, as after one rapid spin it outspeeds even Hawlucha. Bulk Up in tandem makes it far more difficult to check, though counterplay is not impossible. Tera Water on Landorus-T can allow it to survive boosted Ice Spinner and hit back with Earth Power, while Gardevoir can survive a +1 Ice Spinner into Headlong Rush from full HP at +1 Def, inflicting heavy damage back with even a 40 BP Stored Power. If the Great Tusk cannot use Tera, Rillaboom’s Grassy Glide can also KO it provided enough chip has been dealt
Stall: Difficult to win, must be played very well. Many stall teams include Tera Dark or Tera Steel special walls such as Blissey or Clodsire that stop Gardevoir from nuking them with Stored Power. Dondozo also hard walls the physical attackers, making for a rough time breaking through the team. If Hawlucha can force Dondozo to come in, it can use Encore to lock it into Curse or force chip on it. Gardevoir can also break Tera Dark Blissey by scoring a critical hit with Draining Kiss once it has setup all 6 CM (roughly 49.4% chance). If Dozo can be successfully removed, Gambit can also win late game with a combination of SD and Supreme Overlord, since generally Dondozo is the only physically defensive unaware wall that does not need tera to beat it.
Kyurem: Ice + Ground coverage from this is very threatening. This Pokemon can claim a KO every time it enters the field, and counterplay will depend on the set. For specs, Gambit can switch into it once, threaten it out, and playing aggressively to get Rocks can help chip it into range for Moth. The Boots set can be annoying to deal with, but if Rilla is at full HP, it can eat one Ice Beam and hit back with Low Kick, Tera withstanding. Garde also takes significantly less damage from this set and can trade. The Dragon Dance set can be tricky to deal with because Kingambit's Sucker Punch will often fail to KO from high HP, and Tera sets are often run to get past Steel-types.
Proof of Peak & Replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2088505872 - vs sand. Surviving stellar iron head without proccing sturdy was insane
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2092562715 - vs Kyurem semi stall. As can be seen, Gliscor's toxic was heavily punished by Gardevoir
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2094258297-pu06i0uhvk1sxlcffpee0kvg940oe5fpw - vs Gking Kyurem bulky offense
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2101411952 - vs Ting-Lu bulky offense
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2104617250-0e90t86k2ot6dti68ng3qkg90m7ek8apw - vs Ursaluna bulky offense
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2105400669-kl9wy8h9d20twcei6pn1ncwgb505cflpw - vs Lokix + Iron Crown bulky offense
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2098648238 - vs Deoxys Speed balance. Probably the most hilarious replay where I take advantage of Gliscor
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2108156524?p2 - vs webs. Replay proving peak of 1780
Special Thanks
I would like to give thanks to LRXC and Pinkacross. Both played a part in inspiring me to take the journey to top 500 with Gardevoir because their videos gave me the motivation to solve the problem in a creative way. I also appreciate Pinkacross for reviewing the team and making the suggestion to use tera ground on Iron Moth over Fairy w/Dazzling Gleam since I find it to be more consistent overall.
