Hey there! Currently trying my hand at the XY OU metagame for the first time. I have a team build here, but I know there are plenty of things that can be improved.
Basically, I'd like it to be a balanced offense team, with Pinsir and his shiny new mega stone bringing up the rear as an end-game sweeper. Bug/Flying is actually pretty decent typing, but if I can save him till the end I don't have to worry so much about his biggest weakness: Stealth Rock. Pinsir's set looks like this:
@ Pinsirite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 6 Def
Jolly Nature
Swords Dance
Quick Attack
Return
X-Scissor
Flying and Ground get awesome coverage, hitting many threats for at least neutral damage. After a quick SD on a switch or a lucky Moxie boost, there isn't much this thing can't deal with in a single blow. Thanks to Aerialate boosting his Flying STAB to insane levels, Quick Attack hits with comparable power to Scizor's Bullet Punch. It's also useful for picking off weakened pokemon while still in normal-Pinsir form and nabbing your +1. Return is Pinsir's super strong nuke move... most if not all physical walls that take neutral damage from Flying are OHKO'd at +2. Earthquake rounds it out, taking down stuff like Heatran and Aegislash. Even with uninvested HP and defenses, MegaPinsir is bulky enough to shrug off a stiff priority move or two (Aegislash's Shadow Sneak for example).
So, I need a way to deal with the few pokemon that can counter this guy. A quick list right off the bat:
Skarmory
Talonflame (priority Brave Birds suck)
Flying or Levitating Electrics (Rotom-W, Zapdos, Thundurus)
Assorted super bulky Water/Ice/Ground/Steel types (Landorus-T, levitate Bronzong)
Ugh, that dumb washing machine everywhere these days. The rest of the team should be designed around taking out these threats as best as possible in order to let Pinsir do his job. That first point is easily taken care of:
@ Light Clay
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SDef
Bold Nature
Stealth Rock
Light Screen
Reflect
Moonblast
So another Prankster user ? Outclassed by Whimsicott, itself outclassed by Tornadus, itself outclassed by the "unoutclassable" Prankster user Thundurus. Yeah. It's doomed for the abyss.
Thunder Wave or Toxic can be used in function of the threat: a sweeper may shut down with Thunder Wave, whilst a wall will fear Toxic. Dazzling Gleam is a filler, mainly attacking some Dragons here and there. Spikes is a support move that will fade away after a bird come on, and otherwise will damage Pokémon.
@ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
Slack Off
Psychic
Flamethrower (Anistar City)
Ice Beam (Snowbelle Gym)
My Bro here can take even boosted Fire and Ice moves in his sleep, and doesn't mind getting punched in the face with a Fighting move to save Magnezone either. On a good day he can even take on MegaKangaskan and live to tell about it. Thunder Wave really makes this set, allowing him to slow down faster attackers for the also-quite-slow Magnezone. It also really helps Pinsir out if many of the opponents are slower, allowing him to use his more powerful moves without resorting to Quick Attack. Ice Beam nets the surprise KO on annoying Dragons, like 'Nite and 'Chomp. Scald is used over Surf for the extra Burn chance, which can be a saving grace against the aforementioned MegaKanga.
Pinsir is strong, but that doesn't mean he can't make use of entry hazards to turn 2HKOs onto OHKOs. I also still need a check against those pesky Rotom-W. A good counter would be a bulky Grass type that can do both of these things, while having good type synergy with the rest of the team.
@ Choice Scarf
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 6 Spe
Calm Nature
Shadow Ball (Terminus Cave)
Toxic Spikes
Giga Drain
Sludge Bomb (Route 19)
Roserade is great at laying spikes, usually coming in on a Water or Electric move and forcing the attacker out. It's a really great counter to Rotom-W especially, thanks to the fact that it can absorb Will-o-Wisp or Toxic for the rest of the team (Slowbro in particular wants to avoid that poison damage). Leaf Storm blasts bulky waters for great damage, and the SpA drop doesn't matter much when you are Resting up and switching next turn anyway for full health. Sludge Bomb is mostly filler, but it does get nice coverage on fairies and other Grass types looking to sponge Leaf Storm.
Looking at the team thus far, you notice how it's quite lopsided on the special attacking side. I wanted a strong physical attacker with typing and moves that would fit in well with the rest of the team. Enter Bandlax:
@ Choice Band
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 SpD
Adamant Nature
Crunch
Rest
Snore
Belly Drum
Here one of my favorite sets makes a return. Snorlax has the HP and defenses to tank hits from some of the best sweepers in the metagame and deal back bone crushing damage. Thick Fat is a great ability, providing a pseudo resistance to Fire and Ice, which basically my whole team greatly appreciates. Most people run Return, but personally I swear by Body Slam. I'd rather do 70% most of the time and a clean 2HKO sometimes (thanks to paralysis) than 80% all of the time. Pursuit traps and kills frail pokemon (psychics looking to take out Roserade, for example), and Earthquake grants coverage against Steels. Self-Destruct is for when Snorlax is on his last breath, or for if I need to take out a particularly troublesome pokemon to make way for Pinsir's sweep.
Finally, a pokemon to lay down Stealth Rock of my own and disrupt the opponent's lead pokemon.
@ Wide Lens
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
Hone Claws
Earthquake
Protect
Stone Edge (Frost Cavern)
Decided to change to Dugtrio since he was so much fun to play with on showdown rather than Mamo.
OK, so that's the team! Please suggest whatever you like for changes, and I'll test them out on Showdown. Thanks for helping!!
Basically, I'd like it to be a balanced offense team, with Pinsir and his shiny new mega stone bringing up the rear as an end-game sweeper. Bug/Flying is actually pretty decent typing, but if I can save him till the end I don't have to worry so much about his biggest weakness: Stealth Rock. Pinsir's set looks like this:
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 6 Def
Jolly Nature
Swords Dance
Quick Attack
Return
X-Scissor
Flying and Ground get awesome coverage, hitting many threats for at least neutral damage. After a quick SD on a switch or a lucky Moxie boost, there isn't much this thing can't deal with in a single blow. Thanks to Aerialate boosting his Flying STAB to insane levels, Quick Attack hits with comparable power to Scizor's Bullet Punch. It's also useful for picking off weakened pokemon while still in normal-Pinsir form and nabbing your +1. Return is Pinsir's super strong nuke move... most if not all physical walls that take neutral damage from Flying are OHKO'd at +2. Earthquake rounds it out, taking down stuff like Heatran and Aegislash. Even with uninvested HP and defenses, MegaPinsir is bulky enough to shrug off a stiff priority move or two (Aegislash's Shadow Sneak for example).
So, I need a way to deal with the few pokemon that can counter this guy. A quick list right off the bat:
Skarmory
Talonflame (priority Brave Birds suck)
Flying or Levitating Electrics (Rotom-W, Zapdos, Thundurus)
Assorted super bulky Water/Ice/Ground/Steel types (Landorus-T, levitate Bronzong)
Ugh, that dumb washing machine everywhere these days. The rest of the team should be designed around taking out these threats as best as possible in order to let Pinsir do his job. That first point is easily taken care of:
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SDef
Bold Nature
Stealth Rock
Light Screen
Reflect
Moonblast
So another Prankster user ? Outclassed by Whimsicott, itself outclassed by Tornadus, itself outclassed by the "unoutclassable" Prankster user Thundurus. Yeah. It's doomed for the abyss.
Thunder Wave or Toxic can be used in function of the threat: a sweeper may shut down with Thunder Wave, whilst a wall will fear Toxic. Dazzling Gleam is a filler, mainly attacking some Dragons here and there. Spikes is a support move that will fade away after a bird come on, and otherwise will damage Pokémon.
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
Slack Off
Psychic
Flamethrower (Anistar City)
Ice Beam (Snowbelle Gym)
My Bro here can take even boosted Fire and Ice moves in his sleep, and doesn't mind getting punched in the face with a Fighting move to save Magnezone either. On a good day he can even take on MegaKangaskan and live to tell about it. Thunder Wave really makes this set, allowing him to slow down faster attackers for the also-quite-slow Magnezone. It also really helps Pinsir out if many of the opponents are slower, allowing him to use his more powerful moves without resorting to Quick Attack. Ice Beam nets the surprise KO on annoying Dragons, like 'Nite and 'Chomp. Scald is used over Surf for the extra Burn chance, which can be a saving grace against the aforementioned MegaKanga.
Pinsir is strong, but that doesn't mean he can't make use of entry hazards to turn 2HKOs onto OHKOs. I also still need a check against those pesky Rotom-W. A good counter would be a bulky Grass type that can do both of these things, while having good type synergy with the rest of the team.
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 6 Spe
Calm Nature
Shadow Ball (Terminus Cave)
Toxic Spikes
Giga Drain
Sludge Bomb (Route 19)
Roserade is great at laying spikes, usually coming in on a Water or Electric move and forcing the attacker out. It's a really great counter to Rotom-W especially, thanks to the fact that it can absorb Will-o-Wisp or Toxic for the rest of the team (Slowbro in particular wants to avoid that poison damage). Leaf Storm blasts bulky waters for great damage, and the SpA drop doesn't matter much when you are Resting up and switching next turn anyway for full health. Sludge Bomb is mostly filler, but it does get nice coverage on fairies and other Grass types looking to sponge Leaf Storm.
Looking at the team thus far, you notice how it's quite lopsided on the special attacking side. I wanted a strong physical attacker with typing and moves that would fit in well with the rest of the team. Enter Bandlax:
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 SpD
Adamant Nature
Crunch
Rest
Snore
Belly Drum
Here one of my favorite sets makes a return. Snorlax has the HP and defenses to tank hits from some of the best sweepers in the metagame and deal back bone crushing damage. Thick Fat is a great ability, providing a pseudo resistance to Fire and Ice, which basically my whole team greatly appreciates. Most people run Return, but personally I swear by Body Slam. I'd rather do 70% most of the time and a clean 2HKO sometimes (thanks to paralysis) than 80% all of the time. Pursuit traps and kills frail pokemon (psychics looking to take out Roserade, for example), and Earthquake grants coverage against Steels. Self-Destruct is for when Snorlax is on his last breath, or for if I need to take out a particularly troublesome pokemon to make way for Pinsir's sweep.
Finally, a pokemon to lay down Stealth Rock of my own and disrupt the opponent's lead pokemon.
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
Hone Claws
Earthquake
Protect
Stone Edge (Frost Cavern)
Decided to change to Dugtrio since he was so much fun to play with on showdown rather than Mamo.
OK, so that's the team! Please suggest whatever you like for changes, and I'll test them out on Showdown. Thanks for helping!!
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