[OU] Beat 'Em or Kyur 'Em

[NickCrash]

~ ~ ~

Hello and welcome to another RMT of mine. This time we have a team that began as a mock but the offense core of M-Metagross and Talonflame ended up being pretty good in regular OU, so I decided to casually build upon that with pokemon that I don't use very often, such as Kyurem-B and Zapdos. Naturally it went through various stages, at first also including Gallade (part of the original three-way core), but here we are, bulky enough to take a couple of hits, yet deadly enough to punch holes in opposing teams. They work well with each other, and they hope to prove their worth to you. Without further ado...

The Members

Breloom @ Life Orb

Ability: Technician

EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Mach Punch

- Bullet Seed

- Spore

- Rock Tomb

Pretty standard LO set with nice STAB priority and utility in Spore, which allows me to defeat Stall and remove worrisome opponents from active play, either on the switch or by outspeeding them. If I put a key threat to sleep the game becomes much easier. Rock Tomb is there instead of the (now) common Swords Dance to deal with Fliers on the switch or simply stop a sweep by making something slow enough. Really cool guy and sometimes underestimated due to its multiple weaknesses.

Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite

Ability: Clear Body

EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Meteor Mash

- Zen Headbutt

- Ice Punch

- Hammer Arm

The mega of the team, and main killing machine. Metagross's ability skyrockets my damage input and manages to completely destroy unprepared teams. Usually you see it have Thunder Punch instead of Ice, but given the moves the other members have, I believe it's much better to OHKO threats like Garchomp, Landorus-T and Gliscor than have something else weaken them first, since they can punch holes in my team. The rest is pretty standard, with dual STAB and Hammer Arm to punch through Ferrothorn and the occasional Chansey that think they can come in and wall moi.

Talonflame

Ability: Gale Wings

EVs: 248 HP / 48 Atk / 212 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Acrobatics

- Roost

- Swords Dance

- Will-O-Wisp

I like having a fat monster that can dish damage. Call me weird. Talonflame's EV spread allows it to outspeed all 115 base speed mons, meaning that only Tornadus-I, Weavile and other Talons can outspeed it. It does not care much, truth be told, since those pokemon don't pose much threat. It can burn up its foes and proceed to setup in front of them, as with 1 SD it reaches 420 Atk. Combine that with a 110 attack shot with priority and you have a bulky fast killing machine that can return some life once in a while. Sure it doesn't like rocks much, but that's why we got Zapdos in the team. Not so standard set, but gets the job done.

Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb

Ability: Teravolt

Shiny: Yes

EVs: 20 Atk / 252 SpA / 236 Spe

Mild Nature

- Ice Beam

- Earth Power

- Fusion Bolt

- Roost

Once you go Kyurem-Black, you... better give it a nice mixed set that can bring any foe to their knees. Its absurd high Atk allows me to throw all EVs (and nature) into SpA and still have ~375 in both. Speed EVs allow me to outspeed every jolly thing with 80 base Spe and lower, all uninvested 110s and the Life Orb increases the damage dealt to levels high enough to level the whole opponent team. After all, its destructive power is on a whole new level (ok I stop here). Mainly special to deal with all physical tanks that wall my previously introduced pokemon, yet has Fusion Bolt to dent all fat Water pokemon easily. It's natural bulk gives me plenty of opportunities to recover some LO damage with Roost, and that's why I keep it instead of Dragon Claw / Outrage. I already have Metagross, so Iron Head would be redundant anyway. Did I mention that Teravolt doesn't give a shit about Rotom-W's Levitate? Even though it wasn't in the team from the start, it quickly rose to stardom. Can you believe I didn't use it till now?

Clefable @ Leftovers

Ability: Magic Guard

EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD

Calm Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Stealth Rock / Knock Off

- Moonblast

- Soft-Boiled

- Thunder Wave

Clefable became an incredible pokemon when it turned into Fairy type. The main set may be one, but it has so many variations, it's so fun to use to cater for your team's needs. Right now the 3 moves are set, as T-wave provides invaluable support for my other relatively slow damage dealers, Breloom and Kyurem-B, making sweeping much easier when the game is set. Moonblast destroys quite a few regular walls like M-Sableye and Altaria, while Soft-boiled keeps me healthy. The last spot 8/10 has SR as I need to apply a bit of pressure into my opponents, but sometimes I experiment with Knock Off to surprise people who rely on their items to deal damage. I haven't decided yet, inclined towards SR, but time will tell. You can also tell me your preference.

Zapdos @ Leftovers

Ability: Pressure

EVs: 248 HP / 196 Def / 48 SpA / 16 Spe

Bold Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Discharge

- Roost

- Defog

- Heat Wave

When it was in UU, it was one of my favorite pokemon to use, and for good reason. Good bulk, more than average SpA which can do serious damage even with minimal investment, a nice speed tier, and a very interesting movepool that helps Zapdos work as a glue for many teams. I have to admit I was salty when it rose to OU, but till recently I wasn't letting go of my pride to use it in its new home. Right now it has become a crucial member of the team, providing hazard control, as it's much more important to keep them off my side than throw them to the other one, as both Talonflame and Kyurem-B suffer from those pesky rocks. Zapdos doesn't care much, as it can sponge a few hits and Roost up the damage, while inducing parahax with Discharge. Well, it's not that reliable, and appears that Scald burns happen a lot more, but it's there when I need it and has saved my butt more times than I remember. Heat wave is ironically my only Fire coverage move, and works nicely in tandem with talonflame, as people expect me to run the more offensive set so they enter with Scizor or Serperior, just to feel the Bern. Hot stuff.

- - -

Long introduction is done. The team, even though it doesn't have the top used pokemon like Lando-T or Heatran, stands its ground pretty well so far. I hope to improve it, and use those guys a little more now that I found interesting ways to combine them, and I also hope that you help me improve upon the team. I don't mind changes, as they could be compiled in order for the new creation to become a v2 (so to speak) of the team, so feel free to shoot me with your suggestions. At some point I'll try Keldeo, so if you were going to propose it, just give me a set you like best. If you are reading this far, you are awesome. Good luck in your games, and as always...

~Thank You~

[Garnet.]

i swear to god mr jamvad i will beat you with a brick for these damn titles ive had enough youre going down

this is a very thoughtful team. from team preview it looks like standard.bulkyoffense but upon seeing sets it actually looks very balanced. not my personal playstyle so i dont think i can recommend any edits. id say keep SR on clef, as many teams benefit heavily from rocks. specially on balance, your games are going to end up taking longer so having hazards helps the team heavily.

[Noir]

Your team has the offensive pressure to check/deter it from coming in and revenge kill it, but your team practically is begging for something to die if Specs Keldeo gets a free switch in. Given your team composition's moves, your team also has it hard pressed to deal with Nasty Plot Thundurus. Mega Diancie also steamrolls like most of your team with Clefable and Mega Metagross being the only checks, and you can chip off some damage with Loom if you want-- while not as common in the current metagame (you probably won't see it but through personal experience these things exist) I find Calm Mind Mega Diancie more dangerous than the all out attacker simply because it can break through Clefable.

Amoongus is the first thing that comes to mind if you want to check all these things well in one slot, snce you can't use Mega Venusaur with MegaGross as your Mega. Alternatively you could run Latias as your Defogger since it counters Keldeo and to a lesser extent Thundurus. (Latios is also fine but less bulk means Thundy can break it after SR).

Edited September 29, 2016 by Noir