ORAS NU Free Bird (Peaked #2)

[Dundies]

Hi, today I'll be sharing an NU team I've been using a lot recently. Scyther has always been a Pokemon I've always liked, so I decided to build around it. Instead of using the standard Swords Dance + U-turn set, I decided to take a stab at a bulkier Substitute + Swords Dance set, and I had a lot of fun doing so. I peaked #2 with this for now (proof), but I'll probably keep climbing until I top the ladder. Enjoy!

Like I said in the intro, I began with bulky Substitute + Swords Dance Scyther.

I knew Pokemon such as Rhydon, Quagsire, and Carracosta would be a major pain for Scyther, so I added Hidden Power Grass Archeops to lure and weaken / KO them.

I was looking super weak to Stealth Rock, so I added Claydol since it could reliably spin and it provided a strong Electric immunity.

I needed Stealth Rock of my own, so I added Ferroseed. It also provides a strong Water resist and a Pokemon to take on Ice-types.

Rotom was added as something that could spin block, pick up momentum, revenge kill, and overall act as a nice glue for the team.

Originally I had Magmortar as the last member of my team to check Fire-types, but I found that hazards were far too troubling for the team and I really struggled to switch into Water-types.

I tried replacing Magmortar with Hariyama as a Fire check, but I found that I kept getting swept by Klinklang once Rotom was weakened, and I still had trouble with Water-types.

I finally decided on Poliwrath and it has been a great addition to the team. It checks Fires, Klinklang, Waters, and even provides priority.

Scyther @ Eviolite | Technician
248 HP / 44 Atk / 216 SpD | Careful
Substitute / Swords Dance / Aerial Ace / Roost

Like I said, Scyther was the Pokemon I started with, and I wanted to try out the mono-attacking Substitute + Swords Dance set. This spread prevents Lanturn's Volt Switch from breaking my sub, meaning I basically gain a free setup opportunity from it; the rest of the EVs were placed into Attack. I decided to go with Aerial Ace over Bug Bite because while Bug Bite allows me to hit Rhydon neutrally, Sawk is such a big threat in this meta that I knew I needed to be able to KO it with my main check.

Archeops @ (none) | Defeatist
252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe | Naive
Acrobatics / Earthquake / Hidden Power [Grass] / Roost

The main idea behind adding Archeops was not only that it could wallbreak to make it easier for Scyther to sweep, but with HP Grass, it can also lure Pokemon such as Rhydon, Quagsire, and Carracosta, 2HKOing them and making it much easier for Scyther to sweep. Archeops can also hit Steel-types such as Mawile and Klinklang on the switch and weaken them for Scyther.
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Claydol @ Soft Sand | Levitate
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe | Modest
Earth Power / Psychic / Shadow Ball / Rapid Spin

I knew a spinner would be mandatory, and Claydol is currently the most reliable spinner in the tier. It resists Stealth Rock and is immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, meaning it isn't pressured as much as other spinners if it comes in to spin away opposing hazards. Claydol also provided a Volt Switch absorber which is really nice overall, as even if it can't always beat Pokemon such as Lanturn, it can at least prevent the foe from freely clicking Volt Switch.
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Ferroseed @ Eviolite | Iron Barbs
248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def | Impish
Stealth Rock / Gyro Ball / Leech Seed / Protect

Ferroseed can reliably get up Stealth Rock most of the time, and it can check a lot of the tier's more common physical attackers, such as Rhydon and Archeops. Protect is really nice for scouting out Pokemon such as Sawk that are choice-locked into a move, and along with Leech Seed, Ferroseed can usually survive pretty long throughout battles.

Rotom @ Choice Scarf | Levitate
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe | Timid
Volt Switch / Shadow Ball / Will-O-Wisp / Trick

Rotom added some much needed Speed to the team, as well as a Pokemon that could pivot around. Overall I was glad that I added Rotom to the team since it can spinblock as well, which comes in handy more than expected. Being able to cripple some of Rotom's switch-ins with Will-O-Wisp and Trick is really nice as well, since it often gives Scyther extra setup opportunities.
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Poliwrath @ Leftovers | Water Absorb
96 HP / 252 SpA / 160 Spe
Focus Blast / Scald / Ice Beam / Vacuum Wave​

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Poliwrath was honestly thrown on as a blanket check to a lot of the tier's bigger threats, and it turned out to be a great pick. Being able to spam Scald with the chance for a burn is really nice, and Poliwrath also carries the only priority in my team in Vacuum Wave. I opted for Leftovers over the likes of Life Orb or Choice Specs because I really wanted Poliwrath to take hits more than I wanted it to dish out damage.

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I know I'm probably going to miss a few things and I'm only human so if you notice the team has a glaring weakness to something in particular, please point it out to me and I can add it here.

It's honestly pretty hard to not be weak to something with as good of coverage as Magmortar, but sadly my team isn't one of the lucky ones. I'm usually forced to pivot from Poliwrath to Claydol or revenge kill it with Archeops.

Rotom is definitely troubling for this team, but in particular, Will-O-Wisp + Hex Rotom gives me a lot of problems. I can usually deal with Scarfed Rotom by Leech Seeding it with Ferroseed, but Will-O-Wisp + Hex Rotom beats it 1v1. Luckily, I can revenge kill these with the Scarfed Rotom of my own.

Aurorus is another one of those Pokemon where it's like "what switches into this thing lol". Poliwrath, Archeops, Claydol, and Ferroseed can revenge kill this thing without problems, but it 2HKOs or OHKOs my entire team, so don't expect to switch much into this.

Jynx, especially the Focus Sash set, really threatens my team considering I don't have anything that resists its dual STAB combo and it can put anything on my team asleep. Rotom and Archeops outspeed it, so I'm basically forced to let something sleep then bring one of the two in to weaken it for the other.

frens

These guys deserve a full shoutout:

2xTheTap - You're probably one of the nicest guy I've met on Showdown, and it's been cool to share an obsession with The Office to you :]

Sir Kay - It's been a real pleasure to get to talk to you ever since I've met you on here. Just like tap, one of the nicest guys on PS, here's to more fun in the future buddy :]

You're still frens, don't feel bad you don't have a full shoutout from 3 a.m. Dundies:

Dell
galbia
Magnemite
Anty
-Grim
Megazard
Montsegur
Raiza
scorpdestroyer
TONE114
gasquakee
Mistress Remilia
Terrakion.
Twix
Deej Dy
HJAD
Kingler12345
Kushalos
macle
Mambo
RawMelon
Robert Alfons
Detect Marowak
WhiteDMist
Raseri
boltsandbombers
Realistic Waters
Teddeh
Shaneghoul
Syncrasy
BulbaSword
trc
Mael
thecrystalonix
slurmz

Not in any particular order. Sorry if I forgot you :p

I hope you all enjoy the team as much as I have. It feels like it's been a really long time since I joined Smogon, and I honestly don't know exactly how long it's been, but I look forward to the future here. Good luck to everyone laddering, bye :]

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[MZ]

YOU LITERALLY HAD A BENCHMARK TWO POSTS AGO ER[OPNV3EOQRWBNVWQEP4OFN

shit now I have to actually rate it uh CB Archeops lures all the same things but can actually hit wisp/hex rotom so you aren't giving it a relatively free switch as long as you don't EQ too much or something and ur not that gurdurr weak and you have to keep rocks off anyway so losing roost isn't that bad fsr. nerd.

 

[HJAD]

hey official cool user: Dundies

Cool team fren n_n. Anybody who has known me for quite a while knows i love spdef subsd Scyther. I think its literally the best thing ever, so if there is anything im changeing on this team, its not gonna be that lmao. I love how you lure in its checks with Wisp Rotom and HP Grass Archeops, and bop them. Now lets get onto the nitty gritty of this squad. Archeops itself looks really annoying, no switchins to acrobatics bar your rotom which isnt enjoying it or ferroseed, which doesnt get any recovery at all. Magmortar, Aurorus and WispHex Rotom as well as Pyroar all threats as listed in your threatlist, and generally, you have lots of pressure on ferroseed to do its job. Shiftry is also fucking annoying. I think what your team needs is a blanket special switchin. Poliwrath looks like the most expendable member of this team. Its a cool mon, but you arent really weak to klinklang, considering ferroseed does a good job of walling it with my proposed switch.

AV Mixed Defenses Thick Fat Hariyama > Poliwrath gives you a similar type of Pokemon, however with much improved special defenses. This allows you to manhandle the likes of Magmortar and Aurorus with ease, which is important considering you are running a ferroseed, the likes of magmortar will always be brought in to check it, and it would be detrimental to just not give yourself a switch in, at all. It also semi-helps with your Archeops weakness. Access to dual priority in fake out + bullet punch means you can actually check archeops with yama past a certain point, thanks to bullet punch being super effective and in all likeliness knocking chops into defeatist, mitigating the threat it actually proposes. Mixed Defensives help you take physical dark hits from the likes of skuntank and shiftry, and check them.

Of course, adding Hariyama makes us a tad bit weaker to Klinklang, so we are going to have to supplement this. Running Knock Off > Gyro Ball / Protect and changing the EV Spread 252 HP / 44 Atk / 212 Def Relaxed Nature on Ferroseed. The reason why Klinklang beats ferroseed 1v1 is due to its access to substitute and steel type'ing, walling ferroseed out of gyros, despite the upperhand type wise. Running Knock Off means you can easily 2HKO KK's substitute with the additional 44 attack, 100% of the time. It vastly improves your matchup vs Klinklang, as well as the capability of knocking off certain walls items, should it be neccesary. Giving the likes of archeops and scyther easier times versus eviolite walls like ferroseed itself.

Finally on list of changes is your scyther spread. after tweaking with it a lot, 44 attack doesnt really claim any real crucial damage. Its still piss weak at +0. As a result changing the spread to 248 HP / 200 SpD / 60 Spe Careful Nature is a solid swap. The reason why i added the 60 Speed investment is that scyther wants to outspeed as much as possible without boosts, but still keep its sub intact when taking on lanturn's volt switches. 60 Spe allows you to hit 261 Base Speed, which is two speed points higher than max speed neutral natured 80 base pokemon. The most relevant one is Shiftry, but outspeeding adamant Kabutop and Modest Mesprit (lol) is cool too.

sets

Hariyama @ Assault Vest
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 200 Atk / 128 Def / 128 SpD / 56 Spe
Adamant Nature
-Bullet Punch
-Close Combat
-Knock Off
-Fake Out / Earthquake

best of luck in the future,
~HJAD

 

[YABO]

why didnt you pass me a team like this one you little shit...In terms of the actual team, I really don't see a single thing it doesn't handle in multiple ways aside from the things you listed and maybe Jynx. Jynx looks to be a pain, particularly the sash variant, as it outspeeds Scyther and can sleep your other members. Provided it gets good rolls, it looks troublesome. Not unbeatable by any stretch, but troublesome. Obviously, you're not going to mess up everything to deal with Jynx but I do have one change that will help i think. This change is Colbur Berry > Soft Sand on Claydol. The reason for this is that your team is fairly weak to Hazard Stack and should Claydol go down, things would get really hairy real quick. Colbur Berry simplifies any situation where there is a dark type versus your Claydol, letting you switch freely and allowing you to spin later.

 

[Evan.]

hi dundies

i actually really like this team and its similar to a couple of my recent builds. i'm not gonna be making any structural changes but there are some optimizations i think you can make that will improve the team. with your current scyther spread, non-choiced sawk looks like a real bitch to take down since it hits everything for SE damage (with a combination of Knock/CC/ZHB/Edge which is the optimal set) and can even chew a hit from Archeops with sturdy and retaliate.

although keeping a sub against lanturn is nice, i don't think it's really that practical in this meta since a lot of lanturns are paired with bulky rock types like rhydon and regi which you cant do anything against anyways. I personally think that going with just the standard bulky SD U-turn scyther would be best, but i know you wanted to build around sub SD so i'm not gonna suggest that change. i think you'd benefit a lot more from going with a spread of 248 HP / 164 SpDef / 96 Spe w/ a Jolly Nature on Scyther since this spread lets you outspeed Jolly Sawk while keeping up as much special bulk as possible.

colbur claydol is another switch you should definitely go with since it also can help check non-choice sawk if need be and just fighting types in general, although I normally run a bulkier spread since i dont think that max speed hits anything super relevant. i'd suggest going with 136 HP / 252 SpAtk / 120 Spe since you get the jump on Aurorus which you've identified as a major threat to your team.

thats pretty much it, just know that if you do end up making the switch to hariyama, it makes you a bit weaker to offensive rhydon variants, specifically RP variants, since they can hit claydol and pressure ferroseed on the constant switch ins. hope i helped!