[OU] A Song Of Fire And Ice

[NickCrash]

Welcome to another RMT. Today's special is Mega Charizard Y ... with a twist.

~ ~ ~

Even if it's a fan-favorite and has two mega evolutions, completely different from each other, the team preview almost always lets you know which Zard you are going to face. I decided to experiment with a set different than the usual, and pair it with Weavile, a pokemon I usually avoid using because of its frailty. The rest of the team are here to provide support and pave the way for the other two to sweep, because if left unchecked they might become a win-con themselves. Since it's Hyper Offensive, it doesn't have good answers to everything, and most notably Scald and Knock Off absorbers. It occasionally has issues with Paralysis spam, but I guess we can't have everything now, can we? Without further ado, let's introduce the team!

Vegan (Heatran) @ Leftovers

Ability: Flash Fire

EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Lava Plume

- Toxic

- Taunt

- Stealth Rock

Fast and bulky. Heatran is my SR setter and a way to deal with Stall and stop certain special sweepers on their tracks. Taunt helps deal with Stall, when my wallbreaking abilities are not enough, and actually shuts down a lot of pokemon. Among those are slow defoggers and status spreaders. Its natural bulk allows me to invest in speed, which may be crucial at certain points.

Kratos (Thundurus) @ Life Orb

Ability: Defiant

EVs: 68 Atk / 188 SpA / 252 Spe

Hasty Nature

- Knock Off

- Superpower

- Thunderbolt

- Hidden Power [ice]

Thundy is there remove any problematic pokemon that may disrupt my sweep. A mixed set is something people don't expect often, and quite many Latias and Scizor think they can use Defog to get rid of Heatran's SR, only to increase my Atk stat and help me sweep them faster. Since I can bluff a Prankster Thunder-wave set, I force a lot of switches which may come in handy when dealing with inexperienced opponents, switching randomly or carelessly around. A surprize kill against a Ferrothorn or Chansey is never a bad thing anyway. The EVs don't provide wallbreaker abilities, but it passes judgement where it's due.

Adelle (Charizard-Mega-Y) @ Charizardite Y

Ability: Blaze

EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Hasty Nature

- Flamethrower

- Earthquake

- Solar Beam

- Dragon Dance

Time for the real star of the team to shine. If you weren't convinced by Thundurus trying to hit both ways, allow Zard to do a demonstration. Sun allows me to run Flamethrower instead of Fire Blast because an untimely miss may make my game much harder to win, and Solarbeam is there to remove shits like Keldeo or Slowbro, whom I can bait to come in with Dragon Dance, expecting a Zard X. Said move allows me to outspeed scarfed Landos, M-Manectric, and M-Lopunny who think they can enter next turn and OHKO me. It also boosts EQ, which I keep for things like Heatran or weakened Tyranitar, Tentacruel and Dragalge, which could wall me all day, since I don't exactly trust the accuracy of Focus Blast.

Vinny Diesel (Weavile) @ Life Orb

Ability: Pressure

EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Icicle Crash

- Knock Off

- Pursuit

- Ice Shard

Pretty standard set. At first I had Poison Jab in place of Pursuit, but then I saw that Excadrill was more than enough to get the job done against Fairies, so I thought it would be a nice move to turn my Weavile into a trapper. Usually people expect Low Kick as the last move, so they have no second thoughts about switching their Slowbro, Starmie or Alakazam out, as soon as they see me switch into Weavile or bring it in after a teammate dies. As much as I'd like to remove a random item or do damage in general, I cannot allow things like Slowbro to live much longer and regain health with Regenerator, so I make sure I kill them. The same goes for strong things that expect to survive and come back later to retaliate. The rest is pretty standard, and Ice Shard helps me finish some things with priority or negate an opponent's Sucker Punch (which I love doing).

KGB (Excadrill) @ Choice Scarf

Ability: Mold Breaker

EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Adamant Nature

- Iron Head

- Earthquake

- Rock Slide

- Rapid Spin

KGB because you know, because he's a mole and is going to pass confidential information to other gardeners? No? Ok. Sad-face

Standard scarf Excadrill set. This thing allows me to revenge kill certain things or bypass Levitaters and hit for hard damage. When rocks are in the field, I'm forcing my opponent to make a hard decision and either harm their birds or risk a lost pokemon. I love those 50/50s because I'm not even forced to mindlessly go for EQ. That said, it's a guaranteed method of removing rocks unless I'm pinned against the rare Breloom/Conkeldurr/Lucario or if Azumarill is still alive. Iron Head for Fairies and other stuff that I can't harm with EQ, and Rock Slide for specific fliers who cannot destroy me with their non-priority moves, like M-Pinsir, Talonflame or Volcarona. It also has a nice typing which can help tank a random Draco Meteor from Latios and strike back.

Pony2012 (Keldeo) @ Choice Specs

Ability: Justified

EVs: 24 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Scald

- Hydro Pump

- Secret Sword

- Icy Wind

Also another common set. I used to run HP-Flying to deal with Amoonguss and Celebi, but in the end the speed drop may allow me to bring in another member and sweep, not only in the case of a Grass/Dragon type, but also to hinder setup sweepers. Besides that, Specs Keldeo is a threat for ~70% of the metagame, so even if I don't kill everything, I will have hurt some threats enough for the rest of the team to clean safely. Being able to hit both Special Atk and Physical Atk with the same boosting item is a gift few pokemon have, and of course the casual Scald Burn is always welcome. Oh and I stole that nickname from someone who used Keldeo in Nations2, but I don't remember who it was.

So that's the team! I would very much appreciate any feedback, constructive criticism or just your general thoughts on the team. Your input as a 3rd-view spectator means a lot for me to improve my teams and gain battle experience. Thanks for reading this far, and I hope you have a nice day, many battles and lots of fun in your lives in general. Cheers.

[Odybld]

Magma Storm on Tran to do the stallbreaking better (traps your target, Taunt, Toxic and it's forced to stay and rack up more damage, altho MS acc is 7,5 and it has 0,8 pp.

Twave over one physical move on Thundi cause you look weak against lots of stuff at +1.

What's the calc on Zard vs Ttar at 0 and +1? I'm on the beach right now

What are these 24 Def evs on Keld?

[NickCrash]

After missing 3 times in a row with Icy Wind in my last game, I'm a bit iffy about MS. I chose Lava Plume mainly for the 100%Acc and the 30% chance to burn, which is quite spammable.

About T-wave on thundy, I might switch Knock Off for it, but then I lose some unpredictability. M-Zard-X at +1 seems threatening, but I gave those 24Def EVs on Keldeo to make sure that doesn't happen if I bring it in for free with no SR. If it's the 3-attacks set, I'll have to play around it. If its Gyarados (which is rare and usually has Sub/DD), it's the same story with Waterfall and Crunch. Other speedsters are dealt by Excadrill or can't get past Heatran.

Hawlucha is indeed a problem, but Thundy can tank a hit or two, depending on the situation, destroy possible subs or the pokemon itself for Weavile to kill afterwards either with priority or Icicle Crash. What else did you have in mind?

The Keldeo EVs were basically me trying to balance survivability and damage output. As they stand now, I can kill anything I like while Specz, and survive a +1 Dragon Claw by Zard-X and an Adamant Sand Rush Excadrill EQ at full health and OHKO back with Hydro Pump (or even Scald for Excadrill).

Zard doesn't do much to Tyranitar. Around 33% max. However, it's much better than the 12% the other moves would do, plus it's going to be switching in and out in rocks, since Keldeo and Excadrill will be constantly chasing it. EQ on Zard can potentially kill M-Diancie when at +1, and destroys Magnezone and Heatran when it DDs up on their switch. I don't really have any other relevant calcs, since it's a move mostly used after the Sun turns are over. Under Sun Flamethrower is usually the answer to everything.

[pyrromanis]

Have you consider running 2 hazzard removers since your Charizard doesn't have Roost? Dunno how can you always keep the rocks aways from your field, I never seem to achieve that .

I tottaly agree with Twave on Thundy and I always prefer Expert Belt for some reason on mixed attackers, since I hate the LO recoil...

Also, although rare, Rock Polish Diancie destroys this team!

[Odybld]

So, I have to ask you, what is the point of this team. On team preview it looks like a Pursuit+Keld+ZardY that will shit on opposing semistall-balance-bulky offense teams.

The DD Roostless Zard however isn't the answer, since it can neither wallbreak that well without Focus Miss nor, which is more importantly, stay around to slay.

Rapid Spin support from scarf Exca... basically gives free rocks to defensive Lando, is forced out by TankChomp and other setters can exploit the movelock (Heatran on Iron Head).

Moreover, a weakened Exca can get worn down and in the end spinblocked by the various Helmet users of the tier. Using DD Roostless ZardY with a spinner that is fast but not reliable is really tough. Coupled by the one turn you need to set up a DD, Zard will simply die too soon.

Sorry that I do it in doses. I'm still on the beach.

Edit: gdi Pyrro!!!