Rezzo
Occasionally
Y'all. This subforum is dummy dead. So I'm gonna attempt to revitalise it!
I've been playing DPP OU on-and-off for about 12 years now, which is insane to think about. In fact, one of the very first teams I ever built was in this here post, and it certainly shows its age as by modern OU standards it's god-awful (and honestly it wasn't much better back then). Hilariously, Clefable and (to a lesser extent,) SD Empoleon are actually staples of modern DPP OU and weren't really explored back in 2009, so I guess I was at the forefront of a revolution in a way?
Anyway, not to get too sidetracked by days of future past, because recently I've taken a keen interest in re-learning the metagame as best as I can rather than casually playing ladder sessions to pass the time. My teams as I go through them should become more consistent, and by writing about them in this post I can see how my understanding has developed over time(!).
So without further ado, let's explore some of the teams that I've been using on the Pokemon Showdown ladder for the past 18 or so months~
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Team 1: Gli-Emp-Loom Core
Here's one of the first reliable teams I've built since 2019 that I've had some mild success with. It's gone through various iterations but the core idea of the team is that the staple of Gliscor / Empoleon / Breloom is difficult to break midgame - they all collectively take little damage from Stealth Rock and cover a lot of threats and pairings that you see within modern DPP. The team does have problems though - despite having a Latias to absorb sleep the team still has massive trouble taking out Breloom. It also struggles with spikers if opposing Metagross manages to boom the Gliscor (who is sadly this team's best Meta check). There are further problems but these are the ones I've picked up on during my learning process.
I (Infernape) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 64 Atk / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Overheat
- Close Combat
- Fake Out
Lead Nape is rarely seen in modern DPP but it's still pretty functional against certain common leads. The combination of Fake Out and Stealth Rock allows it to scout the opposing lead and break a focus sash within a single turn, which allows you to make better decisions on turn 2 as to whether you should attack or rock up. This is especially helpful against the growing popularity of fat Sitrus Azelf, that is to say; Faking Out allows you to get a very good estimate of the opponent's Azelf spread and react accordingly since Fake Out into Overheat KOes all but the bulkiest of Azelfs.
Its biggest problems are Hippowdon leads and (hilariously) Tyranitar leads, as the sand breaks the sash turn 1 and allows them to effectively OHKO you. Tyranitar is especially dangerous as opting to attack it allows Scarf Rotom and Gengar in for free to block the Fake Out / CC and then outspeed to completely deny rocks and KO your best Tar check. Usually best to switch out here and force pressure with another mon like Gliscor or Breloom.
Speed EVs allow you to outspeed max +Spe 100s.
G (Gliscor) @ Leftovers
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Atk / 24 Def / 148 Spe
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Wing Attack
- Taunt
Here's the first piece of the core. Despite lacking an attack for it, it shuts down Skarm completely and forces it to damage itself with Brave Bird if it's running an attack, otherwise it's forced to struggle or switch out. Basically, this team can corner Skarm into being one of the last remaining mons in some occasions, and both Tar and Gli completely starve it of being able to wall them and outstall (we'll get to the Tar soon). Wing Attack is for OHKOing Breloom mainly but it lands nice damage against Latias as well as Flygon in a pinch. Ice Fang is definitely a decent alternative option but I much prefer Wing Attack just to pressure Loom who this team otherwise struggles against.
Taunt is for blocking Skarm as well as Clef and Blissey from accomplishing anything. Gliscor's fast Taunt is generally very useful tool and can beat certain teamstyles single-handedly if you get the positioning right consistently.
EV spread is optimised and I'm quite proud of it! 148 Speed allows you to outspeed Jolly Metagross (and Jolly Breloom, although he's bad), while 84 attack EVs allow you to guarantee a 2HKO against max HP Metagross. The rest goes into maximising defensive bulk to handle Meteor Mashes and Seed Bombs from the two biggest annoyances that Gliscor might face.
B (Breloom) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Mach Punch
- Superpower
- Seed Bomb
This is just a cookie cutter Breloom. The set used here allows it to keep offensive pressure while also being an emergency speed check to DDers as well as off-picks like Rain Dance Kingdra and other Swift Swimmers.
It's probably a bit fast - I believe it's hitting a speed category to outspeed Timid Empoleon but this has not ever come into play in my time testing.
E (Empoleon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Surf
- Aqua Ring
This is where the leftover heat still remains in the team. Surf / Toxic / Protect / Roar would be magnitudes better, but I really really wanted to see if I can make Aqua Ring Empoleon work back at the time. And it can - it sits on bulky Starmie's face, as well as a few other things like Heatran, but sadly it's far too passive for a decent player to let you get away with sitting and healing and poisoning everything. It also has problems actually getting into position in the first place, as Subbing then Toxicing, then Ringing just takes far too long and gives your opponent way too many turns to do things like trap you with Magnezone, EQ spam you with Flygon, Roar you out with Suicine... (who this set was meant to pressure! It does an awful job in practice).
Pretty fun when it does work, though.
T (Tyranitar) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
God I love the role compression of DDtar. It's fantastic on this team, working as this team's primary special check, alongside Latias. You can play this Tar in two ways: come in early game on the opposing Latias to feign Pursuit trap, and DD twice and go absolutely savage against the opponent as they struggle to wall or outpressure unless they have Scizor or a very fast scarfer like Flygon waiting in the back. Lum Berry facilitates Tar getting far ahead when the opportunity presents itself by denying paralysis or Toxic Spikes if they're already on the ground.
Fire Punch is purely for late game shenanigans and allows Tar to cover Skarmory, Breloom and (Bulky) Scizor in a single moveslot, and is just generally great to have to hit these mons in a single moveslot on the occasion that it needs it. Otherwise it's going to be using EQ and Crunch 99% of the time quite honestly.
L (Latias) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt
- Dragon Pulse
- Sleep Talk
Poor Lati has gone through the most changes on this team. She's gone from being Specs, to being Trick Scarf, to being Trick Scarf + Healing Wish, to being Trick Specs 3 attacks... many iterations have existed.
The one that's probably best is this one, it allows her to check Gyarados after a single Dragon Dance as well as be the team's primary sleep absorber. Dragon Pulse, while consistent, usually hits like a wet tissue and can easily be replaced with Surf for Heatran (and Jirachi in a pinch), it'd be nice to have Trick here but the combination of Trick and Talk is game-losing sadly..!
Like I mentioned earlier, Latias is the team's secondary special check as she can switch in on a lot of moves this team fears (saving Tar for later-game use), and also facilitates the 'Starmie dance' that this team has to perform in order to pivot around offensive Mie from taking a life. She's just a very slappable (in the non-abusive way) Pokémon for this team and a no-brainer for the sheer role compression she offers here.
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Team 2: Fatass Rhyperior (Paraspam / Semi-Stall)
Mmm! Look at all of those EQ-weak mons. Swampert has the time of its life versus this team, especially if Zapdos is dead. Otherwise, the team is fairly consistent and a pretty fun take on semi-stall that I came up with not long after th Gli-Loom-Emp core team. Basically, your core idea is to force the gamestate into remaining Heatran and/or Rhyperior and tear through the opponent's remaining mons with their combined bulk and offence.
Basically, paralyse a bunch of stuff, get Rhyperior in, rely on parahax and flinches, win game. Easy!
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Earthquake
- Roar
Standard Hippo that you see on stall teams added here for good measure. Sand is mandatory and we'll get to why we want it up later. My experience is that a LOT of ladder players don't have a reliable way of dealing with the classic stall combination of Hippo, Clef, Rachi and Zap, and just these 4 mons can win the game by themselves if your opponent has no way to beat stall reliably.
Roar is massively needed over Ice Fang as the team has no way of phasing out setup sweepers.
Don't let lead Heatran OHKO you.
Clefable @ Sticky Barb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 224 SpD / 28 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Trick
- Soft-Boiled
- Seismic Toss
Ah, DPP Clefable. Such a good defensive staple for teams, capable of walling a tonne of stuff and outstalling it with the combination of heal + Knock Off. This team actually ran the Knock Off variant for some time, but after playtesting with Trick & Sticky Barb I've found that is so so so so so good at switching into Trick users and punishing them, 'cuz honestly once a Scarf Rotom comes in and Tricks immediately on the Knock Off variant of this Clef, you're ****ing screwed for the rest of the game as nothing else on this team can properly hurt said Rotom.
28 Speed IVs allows you to outspeed max Jolly Tar as well as other stuff creeping it if you give/take a Scarf from someone, and it's a minimal investment for what has actually come in useful in a few of my matches where the opposing Tar is a Toss away from dying. Definitely worth taking a small amount of SpDef out for that lovely benchmark imo.
Thunderwave is for supporting the team in general and giving Rhyperior an easier time to do its thing.
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Dragon Pulse
- Explosion
Generally good speed control and one of the few sand immune viable scarfers in the tier. Most of the time you actually want to be exploding since Blissey and Suicune usually want to come in on you, but you can get away with coming in to attack if you're healthy and don't have enough info about your opponent. Just be wary of your opponent forcing you to explode with hazard chip as the unpredictability of this mon what makes it good. Scarf Tran isn't so much a standard these days and a fast boom can take out some stuff if you Houdini your way past the opponent (against all logic of how a semistall team should actually be played).
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 224 Def / 36 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Roost
- Discharge
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Heat Wave
Thank goodness for Zapdos, the role compression it offers on this team is great. This set might look pretty goofy, but it definitely works and can disrupt the opponent pretty heavily if you reserve from revealing Hidden Power against Gliscor for example. Heat Wave + this much bulk also scares a lot of Gliscor straight out of the battlefield (even if they opt to Taunt you), and it's very much a learning pattern of knowing when to attack and when to Roost with this set on this team.
Chances are you're going to be taking constant Stealth Rock damage, so do keep this in mind and be conservative as to when you switch in Zapdos, as while it's the best EQ absorber on the team, it can't repeatedly switch into such attacks unless they come from choice-locked mons (which there are a surprising number of choice-locking EQers in the tier and this team actually encourages your opponent to go for it once information is revealed to them).
Discharge over Tbolt cuz we're paraspamming baby!
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 240 HP / 160 Def / 76 SpD / 32 Spe
Impish Nature
- Body Slam
- Iron Head
- Wish
- U-turn
Jirachi is another fantastic role compression that this team benefits from. You have a delicious 60% para chance Body Slam to boot alongside Iron Head to wear down many opposing switch-ins and otherwise checks to KO range from teammates. I've found that this Rachi mostly uses Wish for itself but it also does a sublime job of allowing Clefable to come in safely on opposing special attackers like Empoleon and Heatran and sit them out while they waste PP or risk misses as you gain free turns to Twave or Toss.
U-turn allows you to escape Magnezone, but also hits a lot of the common switch-ins for decent chip. Also allows Wish-passing to be a lot smoother as Rachi can soak in some damage from the opponent and allow in a teammate undamaged with a slow Turn (if available).
It's also worth mentioning that Rachi can just YOLO its way to victory on occasion since the combination of bulk + paraspam + wish + leftovers + sand turn this thing into the most dangerous slot machine to ever exist in Pokémon. Don't be afraid to spam Iron Head if your opponent has allowed you to get to a gamestate where you're decently healthy and able to outspeed the majority of their team.
Finally Rachi is the best check to Draco Meteors from Latias on this team and can get some momentum from coming in on them. Choiced Flygon and Dragonite also don't like this thing, but you should always be wary of mixed sets as EQ from either of those does a nasty chunk and can 2HKO with ease.
Rhyperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 200 HP / 56 Atk / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Fire Punch
Finally we're at the meat of this team, the Fatass Rhyperior. With 252 SpD EVs, its SpD under Sandstorm is actually higher than its Defence stat, meaning that you can do hilarious stuff like take nothing from Heatran Earth Power, nothing from Zapdos HP Ice, nothing from Gengar Focus Blast... you get the idea. Solid Rock + Sandstorm + SpD makes this thing comically bulky.
But, that's not why we're using Rhyperior, it's actually the EdgeQuake coverage alongside its gigantic attack stat - with paralysis support Rhyperior becomes an absolute tank and hits like one too. Swords Dance Supplements it absolutely smacking stuff; even Skarmory doesn't want to take multiple Stone Edges from this thing and massively fears the slow EQ on Roost when not paralysed.
Which brings us to the final move which is Fire Punch. This is honestly there because Rhyperior HATES missing Stone Edge, and Fire Punch supplements hitting things that Stone Edge doesn't want to risk missing, e.g. Skarmory threatening a Whirlwind. You can actually run Substitute here and it's fantastic at blocking emergency statusers coming in and trying to ruin your fun, but I've found that Fire Punch has probably saved my skin in scenarios where I'm required to hit multiple Stone Edges on the opponent and hitting a single Edge into Fire Punch (and vice versa) has created a win-con.
Sadly you're mostly relying on surprise factor with Rhyperior on this team as there are better options that can at least make things happen if the opponent isn't paralysed on key targets - and this is just the general problem with paraspam is that smarter players can limit the amount of damage caused by your strategy. Overall though, this was a pretty decent build that I'd made and showed that I was improving my playstyle and branching out into different strats.
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Team 3: Unnamed Spikes Phys Offence
Truth be told, I've not used this team a whole lot, but it does feel strong and consistent to me aside from a few hiccups. It was my first go at Spikes Offence and I'm still learning how the style works as a player. Expect my elaborations to be shorter for this team in comparison to the other three teams.
Aerodactyl @ Power Herb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Earthquake
- Sky Attack
This combination of moves on a lead Aero isn't all that common, but the accuracy and boosted power of Sky Attack allows you to chunk some important targets, such as Azelf and Swampert. You have a decent chance to flinch and crit as well.
I'm aware that lead Aero is falling off in favour of other stuff, but this set has gotten me some mileage.
Roserade @ Black Sludge
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 136 SpD / 120 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Spikes
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Leech Seed
Spiker, Seeder, all-around general pressurer. It probably needs Poison Point to handle Breloom's Spore (and would also be nice against Pert). Also absorbs TSpikes.
Magnezone @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
- Explosion
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunder Wave
Uhh, he traps stuff. I really haven't used this team recently, have I? I can't remember the reasoning behind many of these teambuilding choices. If you've made it this far I plead for you to jump down to team 4...
Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Crunch
- Bullet Punch
- Ice Punch
Best of both worlds - LO allows you to damage stuff hard without being locked into a move. Bullet Punch is for Scarf Tar and Gengar.
Rotom-Heat @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 200 Def / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Will-O-Wisp
- Substitute
- Discharge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Can't remember why HP Ice but it is needed lol
Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
Bottom Text (skip to next team plz)
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Team 4: Copycat Mespirit with Defensive Swampert
This team is still pretty young, but I've had massive success with it. The way I think about this team as if you have 3 disruptors (Mespirit, Swampert, Rotom), one bulky attacking pressure mon (Jirachi), and 2 damage dealers (Heatran, Dragonite). Dragonite wants to come in late-game to sweep, but through testing I've noticed that it has some good midgame utility, and with some added bulk it might be able to fulfill its role much more consistently since Dnite can be difficult to KO (even with no investment).
This team has taught me a lot about how to optimise disruption play in DPP and when it's appropriate to take some momentum from your opponent and when it's appropriate to dish out some damage. Mespirit being able to pivot as well as do some really cool counterplay is something that's currently underexplored in the metagame as a whole.
Heatran @ Choice Specs
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Overheat
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Explosion
Specs Heatran hits so hard that nothing outside of Blissey, Suicune and opposing Heatran wants to switch into it. I've used it as an anti-lead here alongside Mespirit and Swampert as both can get in safely on anything that threatens it and get up rocks with little hassle (i.e. Metagross, Uxie, Heatproof Bronzong).
This thing's great damage for mid-game too, so unless you're (almost) certain that you're in a favourable lead position, try to reserve it for later. This thing's Overheats and Flamethrowers sting like ****.
Mesprit @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 20 SpD / 240 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock / Healing Wish
- U-turn
- Copycat
- Trick
So this is the guy who stands out the most on the team. Scarf Mespirit with 1 attack. 1 Non-stab attack that hits off of an uninvested base 105 attack stat and can't be spammed.
That's because this Mespirit is utility and revenge killer combined into one, and it can do both of those roles fantastically depending on what the team needs.
Predicting a special wall to come in on you? Trick the Choice Scarf onto them.
Opponent Exploded on your Pert? Scarf Copycat the Explosion and chunk the opponent back.
Afraid of being pursuit trapped? Scarf U-Turn the hell outta there.
Heatran missed Overheat on lead Machamp on Dynamic Punch? Scarf Copycat the Dynamic Punch, maybe they'll even go into Tar and take a tonne (just need to land it! You've got two tries).
Want to double boom? Explode Heatran, go to this guy, boom again, ???, PROFIT!
Lead Gross boomed your Swampert? No problem, you've got backup rocks.
Opponent Spored you and switched out? Copycat Spore them back~
Skarm spiking in your face? Copycat Spike in THEIR face!
Wait, Mespirit was Roared IN? and you've already got Stealth Rock down? Scarf Copycat Roar them 32 times! What are you waiting for???
Basically, this set covers a surprising number of scenarios and can accomplish a hilarious amount of stuff in the space of 4 moveslots and a choice scarf. Mespirit is also hella bulky and can take multiple hits, allowing you to use it as a defensive pivot against a lot of stuff that you don't want your Jirachi risking its health over.
240 Speed EVs to outspeed max Weavile (drop for defenses if you fancy, just make sure you outspeed Scarf Tar).
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Protect
Pert sits and checks a lot of the things which disrupt this team, such as Scizor, Tyranitar, Gliscor and even some special attackers in a pinch. The main problem is that your opponent is going to break you down piece-by-piece if they have brought an entire offensive arsenal to dispose of it, so be aware of this and use it to your advantage to create situations.
Man I'd LOVE to fit all of Stealth Rock, EQ, Roar, Protect and Ice Beam onto this guy, but alas this is probably the best combination sans Roar over Protect. I can't bring myself to sacrifice the scouting ability of Protect for Roar though and that's one of this team's largest shortcomings unfortunately.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Atk / 136 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- U-turn
Jirachi is glue on this team for most other stuff, and used to check stuff like Starmie and Latias while also hitting a multitude of threats back with a decent amount of power. The U-Turn spam between this and Mespirit can really agitate an opponent who is trying to make predictions, as well as hurt Starmie who stares you in the face as you come in to handle it.
This Jirachi doesn't hit massively hard, but it does outdamage an absolute tonne of threats and is able to handle things in a pinch in case things go wrong.
Rotom-Wash @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Pain Split
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
Anti-stall, Anti-Gliscor, Anti-don't-take-the-mickey. Subsplit Rotom has it all, and it's able to really hamper a lot of stuff with its 32 PP and status-blocking Subs. You can get roared out by some stuff, but Swampert really doesn't like taking the Hydro Pump damage and Gliscor can't come in and Taunt you safely either.
Substitute also allows you to escape Pursuit trapping in a pinch, which just adds to this guy's arsenal. Honestly Subsplit Rotom puts in so much work on this team as a disruptor and pairs fantastically with Mespirit in general.
Dragonite @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Superpower
- Extreme Speed
Firstly, let's just mention that lefties Dnite outside of sand is a beautiful thing. If your opponent hasn't brought a sand-setter either they're going to be sent into a panic trying to stop this thing from setting up and getting ahead. It also allows you to come in mid-game much more than a couple of times and heal off the subsequent Stealth Rocks damage while threatening meaty Outrages and pick-offs with Extremespeeds.
But most importantly, let's talk about Dnite's role. Dragon + Fighting Coverage is completely unresisted in DPP, which means that outside of the downsides of those moves (which become somewhat irrelevant with correct play from your other teammates), you can run whatever move you like in the last slot. I've opted for Extremespeed as it offers speed control while also allowing you to punch Scarfers real hard with a +1 if they dare come in weakened. As mentioned in the preliminary, this Dnite also enjoys coming in mid-game and healing off rocks damage if it can, which allows it to revenge kill and pressure in quite a fascinating way.
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Well, that about sums it up. I'm still playing and learning DPP OU but for the time being I have aspirations in accomplishing other things in the competitive Pokémon community, so keep an ear out for those I suppose.
If you fancy using any of these teams yourself, I've uploaded them here.
See ya!
I've been playing DPP OU on-and-off for about 12 years now, which is insane to think about. In fact, one of the very first teams I ever built was in this here post, and it certainly shows its age as by modern OU standards it's god-awful (and honestly it wasn't much better back then). Hilariously, Clefable and (to a lesser extent,) SD Empoleon are actually staples of modern DPP OU and weren't really explored back in 2009, so I guess I was at the forefront of a revolution in a way?
Anyway, not to get too sidetracked by days of future past, because recently I've taken a keen interest in re-learning the metagame as best as I can rather than casually playing ladder sessions to pass the time. My teams as I go through them should become more consistent, and by writing about them in this post I can see how my understanding has developed over time(!).
So without further ado, let's explore some of the teams that I've been using on the Pokemon Showdown ladder for the past 18 or so months~
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Team 1: Gli-Emp-Loom Core
Here's one of the first reliable teams I've built since 2019 that I've had some mild success with. It's gone through various iterations but the core idea of the team is that the staple of Gliscor / Empoleon / Breloom is difficult to break midgame - they all collectively take little damage from Stealth Rock and cover a lot of threats and pairings that you see within modern DPP. The team does have problems though - despite having a Latias to absorb sleep the team still has massive trouble taking out Breloom. It also struggles with spikers if opposing Metagross manages to boom the Gliscor (who is sadly this team's best Meta check). There are further problems but these are the ones I've picked up on during my learning process.
I (Infernape) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 64 Atk / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Overheat
- Close Combat
- Fake Out
Lead Nape is rarely seen in modern DPP but it's still pretty functional against certain common leads. The combination of Fake Out and Stealth Rock allows it to scout the opposing lead and break a focus sash within a single turn, which allows you to make better decisions on turn 2 as to whether you should attack or rock up. This is especially helpful against the growing popularity of fat Sitrus Azelf, that is to say; Faking Out allows you to get a very good estimate of the opponent's Azelf spread and react accordingly since Fake Out into Overheat KOes all but the bulkiest of Azelfs.
Its biggest problems are Hippowdon leads and (hilariously) Tyranitar leads, as the sand breaks the sash turn 1 and allows them to effectively OHKO you. Tyranitar is especially dangerous as opting to attack it allows Scarf Rotom and Gengar in for free to block the Fake Out / CC and then outspeed to completely deny rocks and KO your best Tar check. Usually best to switch out here and force pressure with another mon like Gliscor or Breloom.
Speed EVs allow you to outspeed max +Spe 100s.
G (Gliscor) @ Leftovers
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Atk / 24 Def / 148 Spe
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Wing Attack
- Taunt
Here's the first piece of the core. Despite lacking an attack for it, it shuts down Skarm completely and forces it to damage itself with Brave Bird if it's running an attack, otherwise it's forced to struggle or switch out. Basically, this team can corner Skarm into being one of the last remaining mons in some occasions, and both Tar and Gli completely starve it of being able to wall them and outstall (we'll get to the Tar soon). Wing Attack is for OHKOing Breloom mainly but it lands nice damage against Latias as well as Flygon in a pinch. Ice Fang is definitely a decent alternative option but I much prefer Wing Attack just to pressure Loom who this team otherwise struggles against.
Taunt is for blocking Skarm as well as Clef and Blissey from accomplishing anything. Gliscor's fast Taunt is generally very useful tool and can beat certain teamstyles single-handedly if you get the positioning right consistently.
EV spread is optimised and I'm quite proud of it! 148 Speed allows you to outspeed Jolly Metagross (and Jolly Breloom, although he's bad), while 84 attack EVs allow you to guarantee a 2HKO against max HP Metagross. The rest goes into maximising defensive bulk to handle Meteor Mashes and Seed Bombs from the two biggest annoyances that Gliscor might face.
B (Breloom) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Mach Punch
- Superpower
- Seed Bomb
This is just a cookie cutter Breloom. The set used here allows it to keep offensive pressure while also being an emergency speed check to DDers as well as off-picks like Rain Dance Kingdra and other Swift Swimmers.
It's probably a bit fast - I believe it's hitting a speed category to outspeed Timid Empoleon but this has not ever come into play in my time testing.
E (Empoleon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Surf
- Aqua Ring
This is where the leftover heat still remains in the team. Surf / Toxic / Protect / Roar would be magnitudes better, but I really really wanted to see if I can make Aqua Ring Empoleon work back at the time. And it can - it sits on bulky Starmie's face, as well as a few other things like Heatran, but sadly it's far too passive for a decent player to let you get away with sitting and healing and poisoning everything. It also has problems actually getting into position in the first place, as Subbing then Toxicing, then Ringing just takes far too long and gives your opponent way too many turns to do things like trap you with Magnezone, EQ spam you with Flygon, Roar you out with Suicine... (who this set was meant to pressure! It does an awful job in practice).
Pretty fun when it does work, though.
T (Tyranitar) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
God I love the role compression of DDtar. It's fantastic on this team, working as this team's primary special check, alongside Latias. You can play this Tar in two ways: come in early game on the opposing Latias to feign Pursuit trap, and DD twice and go absolutely savage against the opponent as they struggle to wall or outpressure unless they have Scizor or a very fast scarfer like Flygon waiting in the back. Lum Berry facilitates Tar getting far ahead when the opportunity presents itself by denying paralysis or Toxic Spikes if they're already on the ground.
Fire Punch is purely for late game shenanigans and allows Tar to cover Skarmory, Breloom and (Bulky) Scizor in a single moveslot, and is just generally great to have to hit these mons in a single moveslot on the occasion that it needs it. Otherwise it's going to be using EQ and Crunch 99% of the time quite honestly.
L (Latias) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt
- Dragon Pulse
- Sleep Talk
Poor Lati has gone through the most changes on this team. She's gone from being Specs, to being Trick Scarf, to being Trick Scarf + Healing Wish, to being Trick Specs 3 attacks... many iterations have existed.
The one that's probably best is this one, it allows her to check Gyarados after a single Dragon Dance as well as be the team's primary sleep absorber. Dragon Pulse, while consistent, usually hits like a wet tissue and can easily be replaced with Surf for Heatran (and Jirachi in a pinch), it'd be nice to have Trick here but the combination of Trick and Talk is game-losing sadly..!
Like I mentioned earlier, Latias is the team's secondary special check as she can switch in on a lot of moves this team fears (saving Tar for later-game use), and also facilitates the 'Starmie dance' that this team has to perform in order to pivot around offensive Mie from taking a life. She's just a very slappable (in the non-abusive way) Pokémon for this team and a no-brainer for the sheer role compression she offers here.
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Team 2: Fatass Rhyperior (Paraspam / Semi-Stall)
Mmm! Look at all of those EQ-weak mons. Swampert has the time of its life versus this team, especially if Zapdos is dead. Otherwise, the team is fairly consistent and a pretty fun take on semi-stall that I came up with not long after th Gli-Loom-Emp core team. Basically, your core idea is to force the gamestate into remaining Heatran and/or Rhyperior and tear through the opponent's remaining mons with their combined bulk and offence.
Basically, paralyse a bunch of stuff, get Rhyperior in, rely on parahax and flinches, win game. Easy!
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Earthquake
- Roar
Standard Hippo that you see on stall teams added here for good measure. Sand is mandatory and we'll get to why we want it up later. My experience is that a LOT of ladder players don't have a reliable way of dealing with the classic stall combination of Hippo, Clef, Rachi and Zap, and just these 4 mons can win the game by themselves if your opponent has no way to beat stall reliably.
Roar is massively needed over Ice Fang as the team has no way of phasing out setup sweepers.
Don't let lead Heatran OHKO you.
Clefable @ Sticky Barb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 224 SpD / 28 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Trick
- Soft-Boiled
- Seismic Toss
Ah, DPP Clefable. Such a good defensive staple for teams, capable of walling a tonne of stuff and outstalling it with the combination of heal + Knock Off. This team actually ran the Knock Off variant for some time, but after playtesting with Trick & Sticky Barb I've found that is so so so so so good at switching into Trick users and punishing them, 'cuz honestly once a Scarf Rotom comes in and Tricks immediately on the Knock Off variant of this Clef, you're ****ing screwed for the rest of the game as nothing else on this team can properly hurt said Rotom.
28 Speed IVs allows you to outspeed max Jolly Tar as well as other stuff creeping it if you give/take a Scarf from someone, and it's a minimal investment for what has actually come in useful in a few of my matches where the opposing Tar is a Toss away from dying. Definitely worth taking a small amount of SpDef out for that lovely benchmark imo.
Thunderwave is for supporting the team in general and giving Rhyperior an easier time to do its thing.
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Dragon Pulse
- Explosion
Generally good speed control and one of the few sand immune viable scarfers in the tier. Most of the time you actually want to be exploding since Blissey and Suicune usually want to come in on you, but you can get away with coming in to attack if you're healthy and don't have enough info about your opponent. Just be wary of your opponent forcing you to explode with hazard chip as the unpredictability of this mon what makes it good. Scarf Tran isn't so much a standard these days and a fast boom can take out some stuff if you Houdini your way past the opponent (against all logic of how a semistall team should actually be played).
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 224 Def / 36 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Roost
- Discharge
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Heat Wave
Thank goodness for Zapdos, the role compression it offers on this team is great. This set might look pretty goofy, but it definitely works and can disrupt the opponent pretty heavily if you reserve from revealing Hidden Power against Gliscor for example. Heat Wave + this much bulk also scares a lot of Gliscor straight out of the battlefield (even if they opt to Taunt you), and it's very much a learning pattern of knowing when to attack and when to Roost with this set on this team.
Chances are you're going to be taking constant Stealth Rock damage, so do keep this in mind and be conservative as to when you switch in Zapdos, as while it's the best EQ absorber on the team, it can't repeatedly switch into such attacks unless they come from choice-locked mons (which there are a surprising number of choice-locking EQers in the tier and this team actually encourages your opponent to go for it once information is revealed to them).
Discharge over Tbolt cuz we're paraspamming baby!
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 240 HP / 160 Def / 76 SpD / 32 Spe
Impish Nature
- Body Slam
- Iron Head
- Wish
- U-turn
Jirachi is another fantastic role compression that this team benefits from. You have a delicious 60% para chance Body Slam to boot alongside Iron Head to wear down many opposing switch-ins and otherwise checks to KO range from teammates. I've found that this Rachi mostly uses Wish for itself but it also does a sublime job of allowing Clefable to come in safely on opposing special attackers like Empoleon and Heatran and sit them out while they waste PP or risk misses as you gain free turns to Twave or Toss.
U-turn allows you to escape Magnezone, but also hits a lot of the common switch-ins for decent chip. Also allows Wish-passing to be a lot smoother as Rachi can soak in some damage from the opponent and allow in a teammate undamaged with a slow Turn (if available).
It's also worth mentioning that Rachi can just YOLO its way to victory on occasion since the combination of bulk + paraspam + wish + leftovers + sand turn this thing into the most dangerous slot machine to ever exist in Pokémon. Don't be afraid to spam Iron Head if your opponent has allowed you to get to a gamestate where you're decently healthy and able to outspeed the majority of their team.
Finally Rachi is the best check to Draco Meteors from Latias on this team and can get some momentum from coming in on them. Choiced Flygon and Dragonite also don't like this thing, but you should always be wary of mixed sets as EQ from either of those does a nasty chunk and can 2HKO with ease.
Rhyperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 200 HP / 56 Atk / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Fire Punch
Finally we're at the meat of this team, the Fatass Rhyperior. With 252 SpD EVs, its SpD under Sandstorm is actually higher than its Defence stat, meaning that you can do hilarious stuff like take nothing from Heatran Earth Power, nothing from Zapdos HP Ice, nothing from Gengar Focus Blast... you get the idea. Solid Rock + Sandstorm + SpD makes this thing comically bulky.
But, that's not why we're using Rhyperior, it's actually the EdgeQuake coverage alongside its gigantic attack stat - with paralysis support Rhyperior becomes an absolute tank and hits like one too. Swords Dance Supplements it absolutely smacking stuff; even Skarmory doesn't want to take multiple Stone Edges from this thing and massively fears the slow EQ on Roost when not paralysed.
Which brings us to the final move which is Fire Punch. This is honestly there because Rhyperior HATES missing Stone Edge, and Fire Punch supplements hitting things that Stone Edge doesn't want to risk missing, e.g. Skarmory threatening a Whirlwind. You can actually run Substitute here and it's fantastic at blocking emergency statusers coming in and trying to ruin your fun, but I've found that Fire Punch has probably saved my skin in scenarios where I'm required to hit multiple Stone Edges on the opponent and hitting a single Edge into Fire Punch (and vice versa) has created a win-con.
Sadly you're mostly relying on surprise factor with Rhyperior on this team as there are better options that can at least make things happen if the opponent isn't paralysed on key targets - and this is just the general problem with paraspam is that smarter players can limit the amount of damage caused by your strategy. Overall though, this was a pretty decent build that I'd made and showed that I was improving my playstyle and branching out into different strats.
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Team 3: Unnamed Spikes Phys Offence
Truth be told, I've not used this team a whole lot, but it does feel strong and consistent to me aside from a few hiccups. It was my first go at Spikes Offence and I'm still learning how the style works as a player. Expect my elaborations to be shorter for this team in comparison to the other three teams.
Aerodactyl @ Power Herb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Earthquake
- Sky Attack
This combination of moves on a lead Aero isn't all that common, but the accuracy and boosted power of Sky Attack allows you to chunk some important targets, such as Azelf and Swampert. You have a decent chance to flinch and crit as well.
I'm aware that lead Aero is falling off in favour of other stuff, but this set has gotten me some mileage.
Roserade @ Black Sludge
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 136 SpD / 120 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Spikes
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Leech Seed
Spiker, Seeder, all-around general pressurer. It probably needs Poison Point to handle Breloom's Spore (and would also be nice against Pert). Also absorbs TSpikes.
Magnezone @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
- Explosion
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunder Wave
Uhh, he traps stuff. I really haven't used this team recently, have I? I can't remember the reasoning behind many of these teambuilding choices. If you've made it this far I plead for you to jump down to team 4...
Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Crunch
- Bullet Punch
- Ice Punch
Best of both worlds - LO allows you to damage stuff hard without being locked into a move. Bullet Punch is for Scarf Tar and Gengar.
Rotom-Heat @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 200 Def / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Will-O-Wisp
- Substitute
- Discharge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Can't remember why HP Ice but it is needed lol
Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
Bottom Text (skip to next team plz)
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Team 4: Copycat Mespirit with Defensive Swampert
This team is still pretty young, but I've had massive success with it. The way I think about this team as if you have 3 disruptors (Mespirit, Swampert, Rotom), one bulky attacking pressure mon (Jirachi), and 2 damage dealers (Heatran, Dragonite). Dragonite wants to come in late-game to sweep, but through testing I've noticed that it has some good midgame utility, and with some added bulk it might be able to fulfill its role much more consistently since Dnite can be difficult to KO (even with no investment).
This team has taught me a lot about how to optimise disruption play in DPP and when it's appropriate to take some momentum from your opponent and when it's appropriate to dish out some damage. Mespirit being able to pivot as well as do some really cool counterplay is something that's currently underexplored in the metagame as a whole.
Heatran @ Choice Specs
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Overheat
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Explosion
Specs Heatran hits so hard that nothing outside of Blissey, Suicune and opposing Heatran wants to switch into it. I've used it as an anti-lead here alongside Mespirit and Swampert as both can get in safely on anything that threatens it and get up rocks with little hassle (i.e. Metagross, Uxie, Heatproof Bronzong).
This thing's great damage for mid-game too, so unless you're (almost) certain that you're in a favourable lead position, try to reserve it for later. This thing's Overheats and Flamethrowers sting like ****.
Mesprit @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 20 SpD / 240 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock / Healing Wish
- U-turn
- Copycat
- Trick
So this is the guy who stands out the most on the team. Scarf Mespirit with 1 attack. 1 Non-stab attack that hits off of an uninvested base 105 attack stat and can't be spammed.
That's because this Mespirit is utility and revenge killer combined into one, and it can do both of those roles fantastically depending on what the team needs.
Predicting a special wall to come in on you? Trick the Choice Scarf onto them.
Opponent Exploded on your Pert? Scarf Copycat the Explosion and chunk the opponent back.
Afraid of being pursuit trapped? Scarf U-Turn the hell outta there.
Heatran missed Overheat on lead Machamp on Dynamic Punch? Scarf Copycat the Dynamic Punch, maybe they'll even go into Tar and take a tonne (just need to land it! You've got two tries).
Want to double boom? Explode Heatran, go to this guy, boom again, ???, PROFIT!
Lead Gross boomed your Swampert? No problem, you've got backup rocks.
Opponent Spored you and switched out? Copycat Spore them back~
Skarm spiking in your face? Copycat Spike in THEIR face!
Wait, Mespirit was Roared IN? and you've already got Stealth Rock down? Scarf Copycat Roar them 32 times! What are you waiting for???
Basically, this set covers a surprising number of scenarios and can accomplish a hilarious amount of stuff in the space of 4 moveslots and a choice scarf. Mespirit is also hella bulky and can take multiple hits, allowing you to use it as a defensive pivot against a lot of stuff that you don't want your Jirachi risking its health over.
240 Speed EVs to outspeed max Weavile (drop for defenses if you fancy, just make sure you outspeed Scarf Tar).
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Protect
Pert sits and checks a lot of the things which disrupt this team, such as Scizor, Tyranitar, Gliscor and even some special attackers in a pinch. The main problem is that your opponent is going to break you down piece-by-piece if they have brought an entire offensive arsenal to dispose of it, so be aware of this and use it to your advantage to create situations.
Man I'd LOVE to fit all of Stealth Rock, EQ, Roar, Protect and Ice Beam onto this guy, but alas this is probably the best combination sans Roar over Protect. I can't bring myself to sacrifice the scouting ability of Protect for Roar though and that's one of this team's largest shortcomings unfortunately.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Atk / 136 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- U-turn
Jirachi is glue on this team for most other stuff, and used to check stuff like Starmie and Latias while also hitting a multitude of threats back with a decent amount of power. The U-Turn spam between this and Mespirit can really agitate an opponent who is trying to make predictions, as well as hurt Starmie who stares you in the face as you come in to handle it.
This Jirachi doesn't hit massively hard, but it does outdamage an absolute tonne of threats and is able to handle things in a pinch in case things go wrong.
Rotom-Wash @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Pain Split
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
Anti-stall, Anti-Gliscor, Anti-don't-take-the-mickey. Subsplit Rotom has it all, and it's able to really hamper a lot of stuff with its 32 PP and status-blocking Subs. You can get roared out by some stuff, but Swampert really doesn't like taking the Hydro Pump damage and Gliscor can't come in and Taunt you safely either.
Substitute also allows you to escape Pursuit trapping in a pinch, which just adds to this guy's arsenal. Honestly Subsplit Rotom puts in so much work on this team as a disruptor and pairs fantastically with Mespirit in general.
Dragonite @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Superpower
- Extreme Speed
Firstly, let's just mention that lefties Dnite outside of sand is a beautiful thing. If your opponent hasn't brought a sand-setter either they're going to be sent into a panic trying to stop this thing from setting up and getting ahead. It also allows you to come in mid-game much more than a couple of times and heal off the subsequent Stealth Rocks damage while threatening meaty Outrages and pick-offs with Extremespeeds.
But most importantly, let's talk about Dnite's role. Dragon + Fighting Coverage is completely unresisted in DPP, which means that outside of the downsides of those moves (which become somewhat irrelevant with correct play from your other teammates), you can run whatever move you like in the last slot. I've opted for Extremespeed as it offers speed control while also allowing you to punch Scarfers real hard with a +1 if they dare come in weakened. As mentioned in the preliminary, this Dnite also enjoys coming in mid-game and healing off rocks damage if it can, which allows it to revenge kill and pressure in quite a fascinating way.
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Well, that about sums it up. I'm still playing and learning DPP OU but for the time being I have aspirations in accomplishing other things in the competitive Pokémon community, so keep an ear out for those I suppose.
If you fancy using any of these teams yourself, I've uploaded them here.
See ya!
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