ORAS OU Scorching, Troublesome, Divine Flame

[Futatsuiwa of Sado]

Scorching, Troublesome, Divine Flame
An RMT by Futatsuiwa of Sado

Introduction​

Hello peoples of Smogon, and welcome to my first RMT. Volcarona's always been one of my favorite Pokemon, and I find the glorious flaming moth to be especially fun to use. Almost every OU team I've made is based around Volcarona. I built this team in mind with Pokemon that would support a Volcarona and Gyarados to allow them sweep the enemies team away (Gyarados is in here too if you didn't notice). Offense has always been my playstyle in singles, after all, the best defense is a dead opponent, and this team shows that quite well.

Anyways, enough blabbering, onto the team! Btw, click on the pictures. Edits made in green.

Thought Process

Obviously, I wanted to start out with Volcarona. A while back, I saw a core of Volcarona/Gyarados so why not use it here. The two cover each others weaknesses quite nicely. This is the core that the team is based around.

I added a scarfed Terrakion as a revenge killer as well as a way to threaten opposing D-Dancers (looking at you, Zard-X). His great offensive typing of Rock/Fighting appealed to me as well.

I still needed a form of hazards, because Talonflame was being a bitch, so i looked to suicide-lead Mamoswine. I chose him for his Ground/Ice STAB attacks that could pack tons of damage.

Fairies, especially Unaware Clefable, were being mean to me, so in comes one of my favorite wall breakers, CB Scizor. He hits like a truck and he provides slow U-Turn which was great for my team, letting me bring in Volcarona safely.

Hazard removal is a necessity for any team with Volcarona, and the Lati twins happen to work very well with Volcarona. I picked Latias because of her bulk and access to Healing Wish, allowing me to bring back one of my sweepers for a second chance.

Bulky waters were being a pain so I ended up replacing Terrakion with AV Raikou. With this change, i needed an answer to things like Talonflame and Zard-X. Helmet Lando-T was a good option for me because of his bulk, and ability to make birds like Talonflame disappear magically.

Bulky waters were still a problem so I went with NotFalse's suggestion of replacing Scizor with Ferrothorn and it worked very well. Ferro also gives a lot more bulk to the team.

Scorching Troublesome Divine Flame

"Lord Yatagarasu, the Black Sun. Thank you for giving me your power. The sunlight that rains down on the Earth is a nuclear furnace that will create new atoms. My ultimate nuclear fusion will burn up
every body, heart, phantom, and fairy!"​

熱かい悩む神の火 (Volcarona) (F) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Giga Drain
- Quiver Dance
​

Volcarona is a powerhouse, possessing good coverage, massive special attack, and most importantly, one of the best boosting moves in the game via Quiver Dance, raising its SpA, SpDef and Spe by 1. The ability is Flame Body because it's always funny when ur opponent tries to attack you physically and they get burnt. Lum Berry is used to prevent Klefki and Thundurus from coming in, Thunder Waving, and being like, "No, you slow down". It's a back up plan to keep a sweep going and it slows my opponent's momentum down. 252 SpA EV's make Volcarona nuke the opponent's stuff. 184 Spe EV's with a Timid Nature allow Volcarona to outspeed Scarf Landorus at +1, preventing it from Stone Edging me in the face and me being salty about it. Fire Blast is used because its the strongest fire move Volcarona has that isn't Overheat. I use HP Ground>Bug Buzz because Lati@s is covered by Gyarados, and it allows Volcarona to hit Heatran and Zard-X. The IV's are there to give me the right IV's for HP Ground while keeping my attack as low as possible to reduce confusion and Foul Play damage. Giga Drain is for those pesky waters that want to come in and stop a sweep like Quagsire, Keldeo, and Manaphy (also nommy HP's make me a happy Bake-Danuki). I always use Volcarona as a late game cleaner because it's just so effective at obliterating the opponents stuff bye-bye ^-^.

Miserable Expanse of the Ocean

"It looks like letting you on puts us in danger of sinking.
Fall out of this ship and bathe in the cursed oceans!"
惨憺たる大海原 (Gyarados) (F) @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Substitute --> Ice Fang
- Dragon Dance​

Good Ol' Gyarados being as powerful as ever. Gyarados is the second part of my Gyra-Rona double boosting core, and it works very effectively. Gyarados is stopped by Steel, Grass, and Fairies, which is where Volcarona comes in and gets rid of those for Gyarados. Gyarados also gets rid of the troublesome Rock, Fire and several of the Water types that give Volcarona trouble. Intimidate is the ability because… duh? It's also pretty useful at tanking attacks from the likes of Excadrill, Conkeldurr etc. The EV spread is there to help Gyarados sweep. Waterfall is Gyarados' most reliable STAB move, having a 100% accuracy rate as well as the ability to flinch sometimes. Crunch is Gyarados' other STAB move that hits bulky Psychics like Celebi, Slowbro and Jirachi. Substitute is an AMAZING move on this set because it prevents Gyarados from being burned and paralyzed, both of which would have stopped it's sweep. You can also use it to get more D-Dances up to ensure that you sweep the opponent. Ice Fang lets Gyarados touch Altaria and hits Dragons a lot better. D-Dance is again, self explanatory.

Disciple of Vaiśravaṇa

"If you want to fight me, I'll be your opponent. However, if you've chosen to follow the wrong path ...
Then you'll have to bear witness to the light of dharma which is even brighter here in Makai -- And bow down before this pagoda of Bishamonten!"

毘沙門天の弟子 (Raikou) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Extrasensory --> Shadow Ball​

Raikou here is my most recent addition to the team. I needed a fast special attacker that could deal with bulky water types so I turned to Raikou. I've always liked using Raikou. Her role on this team is mainly to stop waters, mostly Slowbro and Suicune, from being too annoying. She's also a nice pivot for the team. The AV also increases her longevity in the battle and lets her switch into special attackers like Zard-Y, Thundurus, Keldeo and Manaphy. EV's are standard, maximizing damage and speed. Thunderbolt is a strong STAB move that lets Raikou check Zard-Y and water types. Volt Switch gains me momentum and works well with the other U-Turners of the team. HP Ice hits Lando-T, Gliscor and Garchomp hard and is good coverage for Raikou in general. Extrasensory was picked over Shadow Ball since it lets Raikou hit Mega-Venusaur hard. The Lati twins aren't a threat to the team with Pursuit Scizor and Gyarados. Shadow Ball's here to let me touch Psychics like Lati's and Medicham.
​

The Big Wheel, Having Guarded and Been Guarded

"Unzan tells me you're after the fragments
of the flying treasure. Is this true?"

守り守られし大輪 (Landorus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn​

Lando-T somehow ends up on almost every team I make, it's just that useful. I needed a mon that provided rocks, and allowed by to stop Talonflame from sweeping my team. His role on this team is to be a check to Zard-X, Heatran and other physical mons that would otherwise give my team troubles, while providing rocks and a slow U-Turn to bring in Volcarona and Gyarados safely. I'm using Helmet>Lefties because if a Talonflame or Zard attacks into it with Brave Bird or Flare Blitz, they take so much recoil, Landorus can just KO them back with Stone Edge and EQ respectively. The EV's are there to maximize his bulk and allow him to survive a HP Ice from Manectric and KO it back with EQ. 8 Spe EV's let him outspeed Modest and kill it unless it's balloon. Stealth Rocks are there because Stealth Rocks. EQ gives Lando some offensive presence by hitting grounded Pokemon pretty hard. Stone Edge is important for Lando because it can KO Talonflame and Thundurus. U-Turn is a wonderful move for Lando because of his ability to force out physical attackers, pushing the tide of the battle into your favor. It gains so much momentum, and I love him for that. ​

Forgathering Dream, Illusion, and Thus a Night Parade of a Hundred Demons

"My army is the night parade of a hundred demons! No human or youkai can stand against foregathered oni!"

萃まる夢、幻、そして百鬼夜行 (Ferrothorn) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Spikes​

Ferrothorn, as suggested by NotFalse, has proven to be a wonderful addition to this team. He covers a lot of this team's weaknesses like Kyurem-B, Azu, and Manaphy, as well as being able to damage them massively with his STABs. It's like shoving a stop sign in their face and being like: ahem, you can't do that. Leftovers keeps Ferro alive throughout the battle, as he has no reliable form of recovery (imagine if he did though). The EVs are here to let me survive a +3 Manaphy's Ice Beam, while having enough physical bulk to handle those threats such as +1 Gyarados' Crunch. I use both Power Whip and Gyro Ball on this set to handle water types, fairies, and Kyurem-B that would be problematic to the team. Leech Seed is an annoying status for the opponent that keeps Ferrothorn and sometimes other members of the team alive. Spikes stacking punishes the opponent for switching even more, and it's by far my favorite hazard.
​

Acharya who Surpassed the Primates

"Humans haven't changed since my days in the temple. How foolish and self-centered you are! Now, namusan ―― !"

霊長類を越えた阿闍梨 (Latias) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Healing Wish ​

Latias is vital to this team's success. I picked Latias because of how well she works with Volcarona, providing bulk, hazard removal, and Healing Wish support as a back-up plan. Her Dragon/Psychic typing with Levitate lets her switch into many special attacks. Life Orb is used to give some umph behind her attacks. The spread is there to maximize speed, and allows her to avoid the 2hit from the HP Ices of things like Thundurus, Manectric etc. while giving her a perfect Life Orb number. 0 IVs lower damage from Foul Plays and Confusion. Defog is a must for this team as Volcarona despises SR and there's a ton of VoltTurn. Draco Meteor is quite literally a nuke and is important for revenge killing things like CB Dragonite and LO Kyurem. Psyshock lets you damage special walls like Chansey and Sylveon and lets Latias check Keldeo and other Fighting types. Healing Wish lets you revive a failed sweep or just heal a Pokemon to annoy the hell out of your opponent.
​

Old Team Members


The Eternal Scarlet Young Moon

"Looks like it's going to be a fun night."
永遠の紅い幼き月 (Scizor) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Pursuit


The Avatar of Mountains and Lakes

"It's not as if your faith can fall below zero. What Gensokyo lacks… Is faith in its gods.
A shrine maiden like you should understand that, yes?"

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Iron Head


Unnatural Chill

"Quit teasing me～ I'll cryo-freeze you with some English beef!!"

Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Endeavor
​

Importable

熱かい悩む神の火 (Volcarona) (F) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Giga Drain
- Quiver Dance

惨憺たる大海原 (Gyarados) (F) @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Ice Fang
- Dragon Dance

毘沙門天の弟子 (Raikou) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Shadow Ball

守り守られし大輪 (Landorus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn

萃まる夢、幻、そして百鬼夜行 (Ferrothorn) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 192 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Spikes

霊長類を越えた阿闍梨 (Latias) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Healing Wish

​

​

Threats
Rain is kind of an issue for this team, especially the kind with Mega Scizor since Volcarona can't check it as well.
Zard-X is really annoying, not impossible to deal with though.
Mega Slowbro, Manaphy and Crocune are really hard to deal with once they have a few Calm Minds up.
Kyurem-B can punch too many holes in my team. Ferrothorn is my best bet, but be wary of the very few Kyurem that run HP Fire
Conclusion​

Thank you for sitting through this long af post. I think I did a fairly good job considering how bad my team building skills are. Shout out to everyone in the RMT room for helping me out with this. Feel free to use it, but I do ask you keep the names :3 consider it a gift from a little Bake-danuki. And as I sit here eating my Cup Noodles, I must say farewell *says farewell*
​

​

 

[ErcaPerca]

Hey there, cool team! Your building is not bad at all.. it passes all the tests I do on it! anyway, just a few things:
I agree with NotFalse, use Shadow Ball > Extrasensory. Shadow ball is just better. It allows for Raikou to hit the Lati@s harder, as well as bulky psychic types that can roam around, such as Reuniclus.. Extrasensory does not really accomplish anything(in my opinion) except hit Mega-Venusaur..which is not much of an issue to your team anyway.
Also Ice Fang/Earthquake > Substitute Although Substitute can be really nice in certain situations, Mega Gyarados simply lacks the ability to hit many bulkier steel/dragon types with only Crunch or Waterfall..it's more viable. Is it a mandatory change? No, but most people don't run substitute Mega-Gyarados for a reason.
Personally, I enjoy Lum Berry on Volcarona, much more than Passho, I can see the reason for both, but being as t-wave is ever so popular is the current metagame, Lum Berry is nice as a reliable item to prevent paralysis, even possible spore sashes.
There is not one pokemon that really plows through your team except Kyurem-B but i mean what team does that not plow through, perhaps the only threat could be Azumarill, so playing Scizor correctly is vital if they have an Azumarill.
You could do as NotFalse says and make Ferrothorn > Scizor, it would be a nice pivot user, and take a lot of the physical defensive pressure off of Landorus! However, then you lose your only form of priority...So it's about weighing your pros and cons.
Anyway this probably is not much help, but truthfully I don't see a lot wrong with your team! So generally speaking, awesome team bro!

 

[Futatsuiwa of Sado]

Thanks for the rate guys! I definitely will be changing Shadow Ball>Extrasensory, especially if i decide to change Scizor out, as well as Ice Fang>Sub on Gyarados.
And as for Lum vs Passho on Volcarona, I think it'll really depend on whether I go with the Ferrothorn or the Scizor respectively.
Now for the Ferrothorn>Scizor suggestion, I will definitely have to do some testing to see the positives and the negatives of each. Ferrothorn makes my team a lot slower (and I don't have a nickname for it lol), but provides more bulk and a better check to waters like the Azu ErcaPerca said was a threat to my team.
Kyurem-B has been a problem, but I had usually just dealt with it with Scizor/Lati wearing it down. It is really hard to play around it though and does require me to revenge kill it at times.
As for NotFalses suggestion for Swords Dance>U-Turn on Lando-T, I'm not too sure about that because I really like U-Turn on Lando right now, but I do see what you mean when you say my team can be a bit passive.
Anyways, thank you both for the rate and I'll make an edit for this soon to see if I stick with Scizor or not. :]

EDIT: After testing with Ferrothorn for about 8 battles, I am definitely making the switch to Ferrothorn. I actually just fought a team with literally every single threat mentioned in the replies. Kyurem-B, Azu, etc. I will be missing the priority and power of Scizor, but I think Ferrothorn will be worth it.

 

[ErcaPerca]

Thanks for the rate guys! I definitely will be changing Shadow Ball>Extrasensory, especially if i decide to change Scizor out, as well as Ice Fang>Sub on Gyarados.
And as for Lum vs Passho on Volcarona, I think it'll really depend on whether I go with the Ferrothorn or the Scizor respectively.
Now for the Ferrothorn>Scizor suggestion, I will definitely have to do some testing to see the positives and the negatives of each. Ferrothorn makes my team a lot slower (and I don't have a nickname for it lol), but provides more bulk and a better check to waters like the Azu ErcaPerca said was a threat to my team.
Kyurem-B has been a problem, but I had usually just dealt with it with Scizor/Lati wearing it down. It is really hard to play around it though and does require me to revenge kill it at times.
As for NotFalses suggestion for Swords Dance>U-Turn on Lando-T, I'm not too sure about that because I really like U-Turn on Lando right now, but I do see what you mean when you say my team can be a bit passive.
Anyways, thank you both for the rate and I'll make an edit for this soon to see if I stick with Scizor or not. :]

EDIT: After testing with Ferrothorn for about 8 battles, I am definitely making the switch to Ferrothorn. I actually just fought a team with literally every single threat mentioned in the replies. Kyurem-B, Azu, etc. I will be missing the priority and power of Scizor, but I think Ferrothorn will be worth it.

Glad to help! :]