Control (XY OU)

[The Imposter]

So, my first XY OU RMT (yay acronyms). For those of you who may not know me, I played a lot during the BW era under the name 'magikarprules'. I left for a couple of years and returned to an unfamiliar metagame, so it was difficult adjusting. Since the majority of my playing was during a very offensive metagame, it definitely reflects in my playstyle. As the name may indicate, this team uses sheer power to control the opponent and make them switch into lethal attacks that quickly break through the opponent's team. No threats to this team can easily switch in, as this team's vast coverage and power punishes nearly all potential switch-ins. I've playtested the team a fair bit, and it has performed admirably in the battles I have had with it.

AT A GLANCE

​

Spoiler: Teambuilding Process

My personal favorite Mega Pokemon is Mega Mawile. I've been using it since the Mega Kangaskhan days, and it never failed to disappoint. Since I was going for a pretty offensive style here, I naturally gravitated towards it.

Thinking about Mawile's counters, I tried to find something that could handle them all. I considered a few options, but I found what I was looking for in the newest issue of The Smog. Extrasensory Greninja beats everything that gives Mawile trouble, and brings in things that it can smash through. They're a wonderful duo, and form one of the better cores I've used.

I have no method of handling Rotom-W. This needed to be changed, considering its omnipresence in OU. Latios seemed to fit the bill, as it provided a more concrete answer to Venusaur and a potent lure for Heatran.

I wanted something that would cripple offensive teams, as the current setup is more geared for stallbreaking. I've used Thundurus in the past, before it was banned in BW, and it was an amazing crippler. Conveniently, I already intended on putting Defog on Latios, so it fit in pretty well.

I still had no Scarfer, and Talonflame could be a bit of a nuisance lest Thundurus be severely weakened or dead. Calling upon more Gen 5 stuff, I introduced Scarfed Rotom-W into the team. It's fallen out of favor recently, but its usefulness is still present.

I had no Stealth Rocker, I had an Ice weakness, and Ferrothorn is a ***** for this team to handle. Heatran handles all of these problems quite nicely, and tied the team together pretty well.

Somehow, I had managed to overlook my weakness to the blobs and Tyranitar. Eaglehawk suggested Assault Vest Conkeldurr, which fit into the team perfectly. I replaced Thundurus, as it wasn't being incredibly helpful. Rotom-W was also turned into a bulky pivot.

A CLOSER LOOK

Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 208 HP / 252 Atk / 48 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off

Mega Mawile is a beast. There's no way around it. It's honestly impressive how such a pathetic Pokemon that wasn't even used in PU managed to skyrocket up to a top-tier OU threat. The entire team is based around luring in things that are forced out by Mawile and having it smash the switch-in with a hit that will either kill or cripple it, allowing something else to come in and finish it off. Play Rough is the obligatory STAB, and what I'll be using most of the time to damage things. Swords Dance lets me boost up to the point where even dedicated physical walls tremble in fear of Play Rough, while Sucker Punch lets me revenge kill and pulverize offensive teams. Since Dark/Fairy is phenomenal coverage as is, Knock Off is usable and lets me cripple walls early on by removing their item on the switch-in.

Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 16 HP / 252 SAtk / 240 Spd
Naive Nature
- Hydro Pump
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Extrasensory

Extrasensory Greninja is, in my opinion, the perfect partner for Mawile. Mawile's main counters are Hippowdon, Gliscor, Heatran, and Mega Venusaur. Greninja handily beats all of these, while luring in things like Conkeldurr to either Extrasensory or give Mawile a free switch. Hydro Pump and Ice Beam are a necessity on Greninja in my opinion, and take advantage of its Protean to play some mindgames with the opponent. U-turn allows me to nab momentum off of a switch, and hurts a lot of Pokemon like Tyranitar. Extrasensory makes this an amazing lure for Mega Venusaur, allowing Greninja to cripple it for Mawile. The EVs allow it to outspeed base 120s, because running max Speed isn't terribly useful considering Tornadus-T, the only thing it could outspeed with max investment, rarely runs max Speed itself. 16 HP also puts it at a nifty Life Orb number.

Latios (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Surf
- Defog

As it stood, my core didn't have much of a way of handling Rotom-Wash. Latios is my answer to that and my primary Mega Venusaur counter. Some might say Latias is more suited to a Defogging role, but Latios's sheer power fit in better with this team. Draco Meteor turns this thing into a total nuke, shredding offensive Pokemon and literally anything else that isn't Steel-typed or a special wall. Psyshock hurts Mega Venusaur, Conkeldurr, and standard special walls hard, while Surf makes it an effective Excadrill/Heatran lure. Defog is obligatory hazard control that almost every team needs, and helps this team's switching around.

Conkeldurr @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch

Originally, I had Thundurus here, but it wasn't pulling its weight. Conkeldurr provides an almost everything this team struggles with, such as Blissey, Tyranitar, and Rotom-W. Mach Punch gives the team some appreciated priority, which is never a bad thing. Drain Punch deals good damage while simultaneously healing Conk, which helps as it is a bit of a tank. Knock Off punishes switch-ins and provides helpful Dark coverage, and Ice Punch handles Dragons, Gliscor, and Landorus-T.

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Will-o-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split

This was originally Scarfed, but the team proved to need some more bulk. Rotom gives me a pivot, forming a VoltTurn core with Greninja and something to switch into to sponge attacks while countering Talonflame and Mega Pinsir. The moves are relatively standard. Volt Switch and Hydro Pump are the necessary STABs; nothing different there. Will-O-Wisp gets burns off, crippling physical attackers and getting a little chip damage in. Pain Split is offensive recovery to heal Rotom and hurt the opponent.

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 56 HP / 252 SAtk / 200 Spd
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power

Heatran is the glue of this team. It sets up Stealth Rock, Fire Blasts things that are troublesome to this team like Ferrothorn, and is overall a boss. Stealth Rock is the most influential move in this game, no questions asked. It weakens things like Dragonite and breaks Focus Sashes so that Mawile can beast mode through everything. Fire Blast is incredibly powerful, and dissuades a lot of Pokemon from switching in. Flash Cannon is my best option against Fairies in case Mawile goes down. Earth Power handles opposing Heatrans and any other Fire types they may have that would trouble Mawile.​

Spoiler: importable

Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 208 HP / 252 Atk / 48 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off

Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 16 HP / 252 SAtk / 240 Spd
Naive Nature
- Hydro Pump
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Extrasensory

Latios (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Surf
- Defog

Conkeldurr @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Will-o-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 56 HP / 252 SAtk / 200 Spd
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power

Spoiler: Threatlist

Garchomp: can't switch in on anything, but can hurt everything with the proper move. SD sets get handled by Latios/Greninja. Scarfed sets are harder to stop, but can be played around with Mawile+Latios. Most common sets walled by Rotom.

Excadrill: same boat as Garchomp, but has even fewer chances to switch in

Tyranitar: I only have Mawile and Conkeldurr for this really, but it's easy to keep those alive

Dragonite: easy to prevent it from getting +1, meaning that most everything handles it. Rotom can beat it with Will-o-Wisp should it not be Lum Berry, but a pretty big threat to the team nonetheless

Mamoswine: can't switch in, and Rotom beats it, but still is annoying

Blissey/Chansey: Mawile and Conkeldurr, but nothing else touches it

So, that was the team. Rate, hate, steal, whatever. I'd appreciate whatever constructive criticism you could provide, and feel free to change whatever you deem necessary.

 

[Simran12]

The team looks nice for your thunderous you should give it taunt instead of focus Miss. Makes better use of prankster and focus blast is not very accurate. Also the fact that your team has 2 pokemon (Mawile and Latios's psy shock) to kill Blissey which walls most of your other pokemon. Taunt shuts down most Blissey sets.

 

[Clone™]

Well, I looked at it like you asked, so here it is for my suggestions:

Replace HP Ice on Scrotom with Will o Wisp. Thundurus is better with HP ice, and the only thing that you notably hit with it is Dragon types, which seem to be covered by the rest of the team. Will o Wisp neuters all physical attackers bar Conkeldurr, who still beats Rotom 1 on 1 anyways.

Btw, you have Trick, so you won't really be locking yourself into a move once the Scarf is gone.

 

[Eaglehawk]

I'm surprised your threatlist is void of Chansey, Blissey, etc. The truth is that your team is so Specially heavy that it can't deal with either blob (and Specially Defensive Fairies). This allows a perfect segue into my suggestion. I definitely think AssVest Conkeldurr solves most of your problems. It has reliable recovery (Drain Punch) and is bulky enough to take hits from Tyranitar, Excadrill, and Garchomp. Furthermore, it is a perfect Chansey counter and can seriously prevent a lot of things from switching in, especially on a Knock Off.

Nitpicks (besides Speed EVs)
- Fire Fang or Substitute > Knock Off. Knock Off serves as a more utilitistic role unless you have a Dark STAB. Fire Fang allows you to punch through defensive Steel types.
- HP Grass > U-Turn. Lures out Rotom-W, which is a big nuisance for Mawile. HP-Grass 2HKOs iirc.
- Stone Edge > Flash Cannon for Heatran. Does more damage than AncientPower or HP Rock and beats Char-Y/Talonflame's *** in.

 

[kirant]

Any reason Heatran is Modest? I think as a damage sponge, you'll want it to be Calm.

 

[Caluminousdugtrio]

Any reason Heatran is Modest? I think as a damage sponge, you'll want it to be Calm.

From my understanding, this team uses sheer power (hence Modest) to break through defensive cores/teams and won't be needing to tank hits quite often.

 

[kirant]

From my understanding, this team uses sheer power (hence Modest) to break through defensive cores/teams and won't be needing to tank hits quite often.

I guess the easier question to ask is "does this nature guarantee specific KOs that it needs"? Extra firepower is nice (and even though I'm a stall player, I have lots of Pokemon with natural attack power...as I mention in my own RMT, just a hair over 100 average relevant attack stat), but it needs to ensure something. Maybe it's just because I spend too much time theory-ing and not enough playing (this entire generation is just over 50 battles), but it needs to give something. All else being equal, I'd take Calm though it's somewhat expected on Heatran now.

 

[Eaglehawk]

I guess the easier question to ask is "does this nature guarantee specific KOs that it needs"? Extra firepower is nice (and even though I'm a stall player, I have lots of Pokemon with natural attack power...as I mention in my own RMT, just a hair over 100 average relevant attack stat), but it needs to ensure something. Maybe it's just because I spend too much time theory-ing and not enough playing (this entire generation is just over 50 battles), but it needs to give something. All else being equal, I'd take Calm though it's somewhat expected on Heatran now.

Any form of a Defensive Pokemon doesn't glue well with this team. Loses too much momentum because of the lack of Damage. His EVs are not even geared for Defensive play and his Pokemon's carrying an Air Balloon, which makes its longevity short lived. 0 EVs Neutral (Defensive Heatran) and 252 EVs beneficial (Imposter's Heatran) has a difference of almost 100 Sp. Att. Besides, Calm Heatran (Defensive) is basically assumed when playing against Stall or Balance and not really on (Hyper) Offense like Imposter's.

Also, for Imposter. I'd much rather see a Pivot Rotom-W over Scarf Rotom-W for two reasons. First, your team lacks an offensive pivot (your defensive panic button against some things). Second, Pivot Rotom-W carries status that can easily shut down a good portion of the physical metagame and help you deal with the aforementioned threats such as Garchomp, Tyranitar, and others. Finally, Current OU still leans more on the side of priority abuse, so Scarfs are more or less out of favor right now, not to also mention you already have a couple of very fast Pokemon on your team, which is pretty much all you need currently in terms of raw speed.

 

[The Imposter]

Thanks everyone for the advice, especially Eaglehawk. I'll try running Pivot Rotom over my current one, and Conkeldurr over Thundurus. If it does well, I'll update the team. You're also right that the blobs are serious pains in the ***; I had just forgot to put them in the threatlist for some reason.

 

[CyberKoopa]

It seems pretty solid to me.

 

[kirant]

Any form of a Defensive Pokemon doesn't glue well with this team. Loses too much momentum because of the lack of Damage. His EVs are not even geared for Defensive play and his Pokemon's carrying an Air Balloon, which makes its longevity short lived. 0 EVs Neutral (Defensive Heatran) and 252 EVs beneficial (Imposter's Heatran) has a difference of almost 100 Sp. Att. Besides, Calm Heatran (Defensive) is basically assumed when playing against Stall or Balance and not really on (Hyper) Offense like Imposter's

Fair enough. I've never really gotten into hyper offence teams (and really did dislike Generation 5's metagame because of this) so I speak more from more of a "control" standpoint.

 

[The Imposter]

Some changes have been made to the team: Thundurus has been replaced with Conkeldurr, and Rotom-W is a bulkier variant. See the OP for more details.

 

[смерть]

Hey man, you seem to have a decently solid team here Your main win condition is Mega Mawile, which is a really nice sweeper this generation, being able to bypass Mega Pinsir, threaten Aegislash, as well as a host of other things. Its speed is a huge let down however (being beaten by Aegislash of all things) and you handle that well with respective teammates Latios and Greninja. Both cover each others' weaknesses, and Mawile especially appreciates the ability for Latios to lure in TTar (who you can force out to set up a SD or a Sub if you wanted or something). One thing I see however is an overreliance on Rotom-W. Dual Flying cores really hurt you, as Mega Pinsir forces out Heatran assuming you come in on a move and not Swords Dance. Staraptor really hurts both Rotom and Heatran with Close Combat. As always, Talonflame hits hard with a band Brave Bird. Charizard Mega can hurt as well if it doesnt carry Outrage and opts for Dragon Claw instead. Your only hope is early game with Heatran, which is the only way you are getting it in safely, balloon attached. Also once you send in Air Balloon Heatran on Charizard X, people are going to know something is up and assume you run Earth Power or Toxic or something and switch out, making it a shaky check at best (not to mention if they switch out you lose all surprise value of Earth Power). Mawile is also your other option, and I don't believe that Sucker Punch OHKOes, while quite obviously Earthquake or Flare Blitz or Fire Punch KO at +1. To be honest a lot of really hard hitting Band users devastate you. CB Terrakion, CB Azumarill, CB Scizor, and you only have one check for each that gets devastated with the right prediction move. Having a nice Pivot would really help.

To solve your banded threats really taking a number on you, Scarf Landorus-T could really help over Heatran, as it, 1) distributes the Special Attacker/Physical Attacker Ratio evenly, and because it beats Scizor, Terrakion, adds an extra check to Dragonite, and can be a check to Charizard X, pre boosting. It also beats Excadrill rather nicely, which I think was something you said you struggled with. It can soft check the birds, but it doesnt want to take repeated hits and it would be safer to go to Rotom anyway. Having Landorus out however allows you to surprise Staraptor and Mega Pinsir (+1 Quick Attack fails to OHKO) and KO them. Oh, Heatran is also bait for things like Manaphy to set up on you (Psychic variants straight 6-0 you) so its nice to have a good check for that as well. It has a much better Ground Immunity than Heatran did, which really helps.

Now, Surf does NOT make Latios a good lure. Now that you have Landorus, you don't need to poorly try and lure in Excadrill, and Heatran takes a pitiful amount of damage from it anyway (its just a waste of Life Orb recoil). Instead either run Thunderbolt or Roost. Either work, Thunderbolt grants you an extra Manaphy check if you didnt want to chance the Draco Meteor miss, while also having the benefit of smacking Azumarill, which is 2hkoed by it. So if you hit it with Psyshock and then Thunderbolt on the outspeed, you have a good chance to 2hko it. It also hits Charizard Y, which you dont really want to waste a Draco Meteor on. Also if you are going to argue that with the removal of Heatran i made you more Char Y weak, you were already really weak to it, as Heatran couldn't do anything anyway and it can hit with a Focus Blast on your uninvestment. I woudl get rid of U-turn on Greninja. You don't want to predict wrong and give up a favorable position by U-turning out of something, and quite honestly it just eats up HP. Replacing it with literally anything else, such as Hidden Power Fire would be better. Actually, Dark Pulse covers the same threats and hits Aegislash supereffectively, allowing you to have something to spam. Lastly, replace Knock Off on Mawile with Substitute. Mawile can abuse the switches it forces to set up a sub and then set up a swords dance. Knock Off isn't as useful because you are so slow, a lot of things will already kill you before you move. Having a sub forces an attack, meaning that Sucker Punch will ALWAYS work, which is really nice. Have a nice day!

 

[Eaglehawk]

Also, just a quick pointer. If you want to get rid of Heatran really badly from Mega-Mawile, throw Earthquake > Surf on Latios. Completely viable if you really need Heatran gone.

 

[The Imposter]

cmeptb: Thanks for all of the suggestions. However, I think I'll stay with Heatran. For one, Scarfed Landorus removes any real feasible chances of getting Stealth Rock up, and even with its outspeeding Manaphy it won't OHKO and gets OHKOd in return, so it doesn't really fix that. I've used Scarfed Lando in the past, and from what I've seen of it I don't think it would mesh too well with this team. Also, Knock Off has been really helpful to me before, but I will try Substitute. Thanks.

Eaglehawk: How did I forget about Earthquake Latios; I use that thing so much -_- I'll try it out and see how it works. It's a switch I'll probably make.

 

[MuhFugginMoose]

Hope you don't mind Imp, but I've been testing out your team, and it's really well put together. Although, I will say I traded off Knock off for Fire Fang on Mawile.
I've yet to see any huge threats, granted I'm using a test alt so, I'm currently in the no mans land called the bottom of the ladder.

I shall update if I have any other things that come up.

EDIT:FOUND ONE!
TechLoom is a problem once Latios is gone. Mach Punch really does a number on the entire team as long as it isn't Latios. Conkeldurr can take a hit as long as it isn't switching in. But 4 Bullet seeds can take him out if rocks are up. Thankfully, TechLoom isn't too popular this gen. And, if Mawile is already Mega and has taken some damage it can be a bit of a problem. Especially if they're running Drain Punch. . . Yea, I know. . .