Featured OU RMT

Team by Snunch, with commentary by Iconic. Art by Harsha.

This team was my bread and butter during st8. I used it every round until the semifinals in game 2 because I expected most people to use their best team game 2, and I was confident enough in this team to pull through. This team rose to the challenge, going 7-0 before I stopped using it. Before st8, I also used this team in smaller tournaments, winning a #ratemyteam cup, doing very well in battle city, and 6-0ing Earthworm. I'm posting this team for two reasons: first, nasty plot mew is great. Second, I really like how this team works. This team can either be a very stall-oriented team, wearing down my opponent with toxic spikes and jelli / forry / tran, or it can play like heavy offense, sacrificing my walls to set up hazards or get in a burn then letting my sweepers go to town. Sometimes BW demands that you play fast-and-loose with your walls and this team makes that easy. Team name comes from putting my itunes library on shuffle and choosing the first song.

Jellicent (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 200 Def / 60 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Scald
- Recover

Jellicent is really underrated at the moment. Starmie has been seeing getting a lot of use lately and Jellicent can usually just shut it down, ensuring my hazards stay down the entire match. Shadow Ball is a move that I just can't live without as it allows Jellicent to 2hko the aforementioned Starmie, as well as Pokemon like Latios and Alakazam that can otherwise maneuver around Jellicent and pose a problem for me. I don't miss Taunt at all. The neutral hit on Rotom-W is always nice as well. The SDef EVs are another thing I just couldn't live without, as not only does it allow Jellicent to always beat Leftovers Thunderbolt Starmie, but it also keeps the damage from Rotom-W's volt switches to a minimum, allowing Jellicent to break Scizor / Rotom cores. Jellicent comes in very handy sometimes, taking the pressure off Mew to take on strong fighters like Terrakion and Infernape, but overall it's probably my LVP. Still, the fact that it counters Starmie makes it very hard to replace.

Forretress (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball
- Volt Switch

I just love Forretress right now. It just completely shuts down so many popular Pokemon on both stall and offense such as Haxorus, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn. As long as Forretress is at a reasonable health these Pokemon are not only useless, but actually made liabilities because they allow Forretress to set up its dangerous Toxic Spikes for free. When I have Toxic Spikes up, which because of Sturdy + Jellicent is nearly impossible to prevent unless my opponent has an absorber, all of the otherwise mediocre sets my team carries become deadly. Heatran becomes more annoying than Jirachi and Togekiss combined, and Dragonite and Virizion can both beat some of their common counters with Toxic Spikes up. Some powerful Band / Specs users such as Terrakion would otherwise be able to wear down my team with its powerful Stone Edges without Toxic Spikes in turn chipping away at its health. Gyro Ball is an essential move on Forretress so that it can actually threaten the offensive Pokemon it switches in on, and I will never understand why some people would run Forretress without it. The last slot is a tossup; Volt Switch is very useful for unscouted Scizors (where I don't know whether they will use Swords Dance or U-Turn), breaking DragMag, and breaking Dragonite's Multiscale. I could instead use Spikes which is a bit more anti-metagame, as giving me more layers would be more punishing to Sub+Protect Gliscor, and it would benefit Virizion more than Toxic Spikes do.

Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Roar
- Stealth Rock
- Protect

Everybody knows how Heatran works. It switches in on something it walls, tries to get a 30% burn on Rotom-W on the switch, protects, and switches out. Heatran serves as my specially defensive wall, being able to phase, get off stealth rock, and cause status helps the dramatically. Heatran serves as a pillar for my team, and takes away a myriad of weaknesses that I have. Heatran is my only way of taking on special dragons, which works well if they're choiced but not so great if it's a last mon CM Latias. I chose Roar over a status move because the latter seemed redundant with Toxic Spikes. What I really like about Heatran is that if I see in team preview that it will be close to useless aside from setting up SR, it has the bulk to stay in on Scalds and Hydro Pumps and go for Lava Plume burns before it dies.

Virizion @ Leftovers
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Leaf Blade
- Stone Edge

When I built this team rain stall was at its peak and SD Virizion was being hyped as the rain stall killer. Because Rain Stall always carries a Tentacruel to absorb my poor Forretress' Toxic Spikes, I figured a rain stall killer would be helpful. Sadly, because Virizion lacks the ability to OHKO anything without a boost, most rain stall mons can just Toxic it and switch out. Thankfully, my other sweepers pick up the slack against rain stall. Instead, Virizion exists to provide good offensive and defensive synergy, making both a decent switchin to both Rotom-W and Tyranitar which bother my previous three Pokemon, and a good Scizor lure, which is OHKOed by a little prior damage, paving the way for a Dragonite sweep. I've thought about changing this to the CM set because it wouldn't be as bothered by burns, but I really need Virizion to get strong quickly. Slow boosting would require me to switch out too much, and because Virizion is already pretty vulnerable to priority from Scizor and Dragonite I don't want it to get into that 60% range.

Mew @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Aura Sphere
- Flamethrower

Hey Mew is actually pretty diverse and has a good movepool, who knew. Most of Mew's counters rely on it not being able to hurt much without Will-O-Wisp, which makes this set a great lure. Mew still beats Tyranitar, Scizor, and Terrakion, but I obviously have to be much more careful switching this in, which is where Forretress' Volt Switch comes in handy. If I get Mew in at good health, it's very hard to stop it from getting multiple boosts if it needs to because the OU Pokemon with super effective STAB attacks are KOed by +2 Aura Sphere or Psychic. This means you need something with roughly the same power as a specs Latios Draco Meteor to OHKO Mew, which Heatran / Forretress / Jellicent can usually handle. This slot was originally Jolteon but I switched it to Mew because I noticed a weakness to Conkeldurr and Toxicroak, and I have not been disappointed. Use different Mew sets everybody, Taunt+WoW isn't the only thing it can do.

Dragonite (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Atk / 72 SDef / 172 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Substitute
- Roost

My endgame sweeper. With Toxic Spikes support it's very easy for this set to get past Pokemon like Perish Song Politoed and Unaware Quagsire, and is insanely hard to beat if I can get it in with offensive momentum. Heatran, most Ferrothorn, Forretress, and some Jirachi are set-up bait for this set, and of course a dragon that can get past a majority of the OU steel types is a huge threat. I've played games where I just sacrificed all of my other Pokemon then led a comeback sweep with Dragonite when my opponent realizes they can't beat this set without Skarmory being able to Whirlwind it. I typically don't ask Dragonite to take many attacks even though it easily can because I want to preserve Multiscale as much as possible. I won a game because this Dragonite was able to set up on a CB Terrakion's Stone Edge, kill it, then survive a CB Dragonite ExtremeSpeed and kill that. To put it simply, this set just wins games.

With weather teams running rampant in OU due to their effectiveness and ease of use, it's easy to forget that bulky offensive teams can be a very efficient way to check a huge array of threats while maintaining an offensive presence. Team Sloop John B by Snunch is a prime example of this team archetype, and he demonstrates that you don't necessarily need weather control to succeed. Snunch's team is comprised of a wide variety of both stall- and offensively-based Pokemon, and he utilizes a few uncommon and underrated movesets to catch his opponents by surprise. While this may seem like a simple and fairly common concept at first glance, this team has been extremely successful for Snunch, leading him to an impressive 7-0 record in Smogon Tournament 8 en route to claiming the coveted golden trophy.

The first Pokemon on Snunch's team is none other than the Pringles man himself, Jellicent. While Jellicent isn't necessarily Snunch's lead, it plays a crucial role in checking a wide array of threats, namely Rapid Spin users. Thanks to its great stats and phenomenal typing, Jellicent is a perfect choice to ensure Snunch's entry hazards remain untouched, as Jellicent has the ability to defeat almost all spinners. Scald is a natural choice on Jellicent because it dissuades physical attackers from switching in thanks to its great burn chance, especially Pursuit users. Shadow Ball may be a far less common move on Jellicent, but it's a great move to hit Starmie and other pesky Psychic-types. Between Will-O-Wisp and Recover, Jellicent can slowly stall out a huge number of Pokemon, ensuring Jellicent remains healthy for the majority of games.

Forretress is Jellicent's partner in crime, setting up the dreaded Toxic Spikes that Jellicent valiantly prevents from being spun away. Not only can Forretress lay down Toxic Spikes to help wear down the counters to Snunch's sweepers, but it also doubles as Snunch's Rapid Spin user, which is particularly useful to keep Dragonite's Multiscale in tact. Forretress is a perfect switch-in to common Spikes users, such as Skarmory and Ferrothorn, and it can easily clear the Spikes they have laid down or take the time to set up its own Toxic Spikes. Forretress's Steel-typing means that it's a great check for strong Dragon-types, and Snunch uses Gyro Ball to deal big damage to them, especially following a Dragon Dance. Volt Switch is an excellent scouting move on Forretress, as it's very useful when anticipating a switch, especially against opposing spinners like Tentacruel and Starmie.

Heatran is Snunch's choice to set up Stealth Rock, a necessity for all teams, and it helps keep the team together by checking several special threats that would otherwise pose quite the problem. In addition to this, Heatran's unique typing and massive Special Defense mean it's great for wearing down its opponent's Pokemon. Heatran is a good switch-in for most special Dragons, especially if they're choiced, and it works well in tandem with Dragonite to shut down must Drought teams. Similarly to how Jellicent abuses Scald, Lava Plume is mainly used for its 30% burn chance, which can help rack up the passive damage against common Water- and Dragon-types that switch into Heatran. Protect complements Lava Plume and Toxic Spikes quite nicely thanks to its ability to get in an extra turn of status damage. With Roar, Heatran can also wear down walls to the point that they're in KO range for one of his three sweepers.

Completing the classic FWG core is Virizion, who also serves as Snunch's first set-up sweeper. Virizion brings several key resists to the table that greatly help the synergy of Snunch's team, and it can also sweep on a whim thanks to its excellent Speed and access to Swords Dance. Its Grass-typing is quite helpful against bulky Water-types like Rotom-W, and Virizion also serves as a great weapon against Drizzle teams, especially rain stall. Despite its modest Attack stat (pun unintended), it has two great dual STAB moves to abuse in Leaf Blade and Close Combat, while Stone Edge provides nice coverage against Dragonite and other Flying-types. While Virizion lacks the immediate power that a lot of other sweepers possess, it's fast enough to get a strong +2 attack off on likes of Gliscor, weakening it to the point that it can no longer counter Snunch's primary sweeper, Dragonite.

Snunch's next team member is a Pokemon that is frequently seen in OU, but almost never used as a sweeper. While most people take advantage of Mew's great support movepool as a wall or stallbreaker, Snunch has decided to employ Mew as a Nasty Plot sweeper. Most people tend to forget that Mew not only has access to the famed Nasty Plot, but that its special movepool is massive, allowing it to hit a large number of Pokemon super effectively. Psychic is Mew's obligatory STAB attack, while Aura Sphere and Flamethrower provide some nice auxiliary coverage. The cool thing about Mew is that its great movepool lets it get past Tyranitar and Scizor, who are often the bane of special attackers. Mew essentially encompasses what it means to be a bulky attacker, because while it can threaten to sweep given the opportunity, it has equally impressive defensive stats that makes countering the likes of Conkeldurr much easier.

The final member of this bulky barrage of Pokemon is Dragonite, the sweeper that many claim to be the most broken in OU. However, Snunch doesn't utilize Dragonite as your typical Choice Bander or Dragon Dancer, but rather he abuses Multiscale through the use of Dragon Dance + Substitute. Substitute is a fantastic move for Dragonite because not only does the move protect it from annoying status, but it also allows Dragonite to defeat some of its common counters one on one, most notably Ferrothorn. Dragonite is great late game cleaner on this team because it receives tons of support in the form of Toxic Spikes and Rapid Spin, which allows it to sweep with greater ease and makes countering Dragonite a daunting task.

While Sloop John B is a solid example of a well-constructed and successful bulky offensive team, there are still a few threats that give it problems. Bulky Calm Mind or Nasty Plot users, most notably Latias and Celebi, can be quite troublesome if they're the last Pokemon standing because Heatran can no longer phaze them and they have the ability to hit most of Snunch's team with powerful boosted attacks. Terrakion is also an issue if Toxic Spikes aren't up, as a Choice Band Stone Edge will 2HKO or OHKO everything on Snunch's team with Stealth Rock support. While it does sport other weaknesses to the likes of Substitute + Toxic Gliscor and Will-O-Wisp Rotom-W, Snunch's team is flexible enough handle nearly all threats with proper pre-game planning, which is a testament to the team's strong build. Congratulations on your great accomplishment, Snunch, and it's fortunate that you didn't run into any Zuruzukin on your way to the top!

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