SM OU The First Order - Zygarde + M-Scizor SM OU Team RMT

[chasedown]

(the squadron)

The First Order - Zygarde + M-Scizor Bulky Offense

(I think this song still applies to Zygarde after getting Thousand Arrows) from the GOAT shofu​

After playing the OverUsed metagame during Pokemon ORAS too much, I decided to take quite a long break before entering back into the competitive scene. Therefore, I'm back almost 5 months after the initial release of the new Sun and Moon metagame.

I've so far only peaked around the 1500s with this team, and that is because I am still feeling out the metagame. However, to really do better, I really believe that I need a solid team (I could always steal from other RMTs, the Sample Team Thread, or from Youtube videos; but I love building teams and the process)

Also, "I really like bulky offense because they can not only take hits well but also hit very hard. I combined this offense type with voltturn so I could bring in my heavy hitters or pivot around a Pokemon. I'm quite comfortable with voltturn bulky offense. (Therefore, I'm not used to the likes of Bisharp HO and Chansey Stall)" In other words, I'm not that good of a player to consistently make the correct predictions to win with Hyper Offense, and Stall is just boring.

Also, I only use standard stuff, nothing below BL is usually used. And no tech, or gimmick.

Another thing that is important to me is the aesthetic of the team. The team when lined up together must look look aesthetically pleasing. (Check out my ORAS Volcanion team) Therefore, I tend to stray away from ugly Pokemon when I build (I think this is a bad thing, but it hurts me to see an Alolan Muk or likewise on the line-up)

There are some key issues, currently with this team, that I would like to be addressed: and I really hope this RMT can help me do that.

The Squadron

Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 192 Def / 16 SpD / 52 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Nature's Madness
- Moonblast
- Defog

As soon as the Sun and Moon metagame came out, I played for a day and I immediately realized that Tapu Fini could be a very reliable Defogger. It would tank hits, while also weakening opponents with Nature's Madness. (This set is just the standard defensive set on Smogon) Also, it helped check any Ice type attacks that may be coming Zygarde's way and any Fire attacks coming Scizor's way.

I also experimented with the Calm Mind Offensive set a little, but CM would usually do nothing and I would really wish I had Taunt instead. Fini, in a way, is also my stallbreaker with Taunt (the best Chansey can do is Seismic Toss). And also Moonblast is used as its offensive move.

The reason for the EVs can be found on the Smogon Dex page for Tapu Fini. (Look in Appendix)

However, I think my love for Fini has overestimated her use in this team for Scizor could easily become my physical wall and Defogger as well. So I'm really torn on whether I should get rid of her.

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 116 Def / 128 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn

I pray to Mega Scizor everyday, such a reliable Pokemon to pivot from and also a brilliant sweeper. Scizor can pivot into a physical attack and U-turn out when the opponent brings in a Fire-type or Toxapex to counter my Scizor, and switch into Banded Zygarde to get a big hit off on something.

Scizor also forms a beautiful core with Tapu Fini. But I'm considering putting Defog on Scizor and changing Tapu Fini to another more offensive Pokemon.

Zygarde @ Choice Band
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Thousand Arrows
- Outrage
- Toxic

Back in ORAS, Zygarde used to never be used because it was walled by prevalent flying types (Landorus Therian and Skarmory), but now with Thousand Arrows, it has become quite a dangerous threat. So I decided to try it out (and so did many other people I could tell)

Also, the one thing I hate most on the ladder is losing to a bad stall player because I have nothing to deal with their team: so I picked the most powerful stallbreaker that creates a headache for most stall players - Banded Zygarde. Max Speed, Max Attack, Adamant for fast, powerful breaking.

Espeed for priority when Scizor's Bullet Punch fails to kill. Thousand Arrows is a non-drawback spammable move that hits everything, and hits everything hard. Outrage as powerful Dragon STAB (Dragon Tail is really not an option). And Toxic to poison and wear down any Grass types that usually switch into Zygarde.

Zygarde destroys the Steel, Fire, Water types that wall Scizor and weaken heavily Grass types and Ground types for Tapu Koko to clean with a powerful Thunderbolt.

Tapu Koko @ Magnet
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch
- U-turn

At this point, I realized my team was quite slow and bulky, so I added Tapu Koko as a fast, special attacking revenge killer. It is really quite a standard set with double Turn (Volt Switch and U-turn) because I really like momentum and not having to hard switch when the other player brings in a ground type. HP Ice for coverage on Landorus Therians and Garchomps, etc.

Although Koko is pretty fast, it is the fastest Pokemon on my team and it is still outsped by Ash greninja. So I'm considering replacing Koko with a Scarf Pokemon or even a Grass type because Zygarde works well when bulky Ground and Water types are removed or pressured.

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 24 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn

Standard defensive Landorus Therian form has been the GOAT ever since the start of Black and White. I pray to this Pokemon everyday. It is so reliable and is usually on every team. It forms a beautiful defensive core with Tapu Fini and voltturn core with Scizor, while also offering Stealth Rock support. EQ for STAB, HP Ice for the other Landos and the Garchomps that switch in, U-turn for momentum.

However, I'm thinking of switching the reliable defensive set for a more offensive set with Flyinium Z Supersonic Skystrike, to pressure the grass types that switch in to Zygarde

New set:
Landorus-Therian @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Fly
- Stealth Rock

Celesteela @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 84 HP / 252 SpA / 172 Spe
Modest Nature
- Autotomize
- Air Slash
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain

And finally I wanted a powerful sweeper that could benefit or synergize with Zygarde's wallbreaking. I have never tried out Autotomize sweeping Celesteela so I decided to give it a try. Z Supersonic Skystrike to break pass Pokemon that otherwise would not be OHKOed to get the Beast Boost. Fire Blast for Ferrothorns and Scizors. And Giga Drain for Water and Ground types.

However, Electric types are becoming more threatening so I'm thinking about adding a grass type in the place of Tapu Koko. (It is hard to switch in two Ground pokemon that are both 4x weak to ice because Electric types most definitely also run HP Ice)

Also, I'm thinking about replacing Celesteela with a more defensive variant because Tapu Lele is getting annoying as well.

New set:
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower

Conclusion

In conclusion, my team is based around a defensive core of Tapu Fini, Landorus-T and Mega Scizor to voltturn into the hard hitting Choice Banded Zygarde, which then would set up the faster Tapu Koko and Celesteela to sweep.

After extensive testing, I do believe this team is good enough to be competitive, but there are various things I'm not sure about and that further testing would not help me with.

1. As I was testing the team, I realized that the entire team is too slow. The fastest Pokemon is Tapu Koko which is still outsped by the likes of Greninja and Scarf Pokemon. I felt that Tapu Koko was checking too many of the faster threats, and as soon as Koko fainted, I felt that it was way harder to win with the other 5 slower, bulky Pokemon. (I feel like this is a recurring problem in my team building (check out my slow Volcanion team), and I want to know how to fix it)
2. Tapu Fini dilemma: Although I love Tapu Fini and its place in the team, I think its job as a Defogging stallbreaker could be taken by Scizor. And it could be replaced by a faster and more offensive water type.
3. Tapu Koko dilemma: I would like to replace Koko with a Grass type, but when I did I really miss his presence with a powerful reliable Thunderbolt. However, Celesteela is really quite threatened by Electric types and Zygarde by Water and Ground types so a Grass type would help.
4. Landorus-Therian dilemma: Should Landorus be more offensive with a Flying Z move?
5. And if Landorus is more offensive then, should Celesteela be more defensive? to cover up against Tapu Lele

Thank you guys so much!! Any help is appreciated.

Appendix

Importable

Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 192 Def / 16 SpD / 52 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Nature's Madness
- Moonblast
- Defog

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 116 Def / 128 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn

Zygarde @ Choice Band
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Thousand Arrows
- Outrage
- Toxic

Tapu Koko @ Magnet
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch
- U-turn

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 24 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn

Celesteela @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 84 HP / 252 SpA / 172 Spe
Modest Nature
- Autotomize
- Air Slash
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain

Smogon Dex: Tapu Fini, Scizor, Zygarde, Tapu Koko, Landorus-Therian, Celesteela
Pastebin: https://pastebin.com/ZfCPGN8m

 

[Anish]

hi

pretty cool team, and i really like how it is structured and incorporates a lot of cool pokemon rn like cb zygarde. as you mentioned in ur introduction the largest threats are tapu koko , and the lack of speed control, which hurts ur matchup vs volcarona since band zygarde takes about 80% from +1 inferno overdrive. mega zard y is also annoying since it 2hkos band zygarde with fire blast and solar beam, while also pressuring out pokemon like mega scizor, celesteela, defensive lando t and even tapu fini, so i have a couple of suggestions you could try.

>

first off i would recommend running scarf keldeo > tapu fini. it eases the matchup with zard y and volcarona, with stone edge, both of which are really annoying, while it isnt something koko can switch into. it also helps with sets like darkium bish , and keeps a dark resist for the team, while maintaining a check to pokemon like ash greninja. it also adds a lot of speed control for this team which this team lacks. you also do not have your zygarde outrage weakened by misty terrain, which helps in breaking past pokemon like av tangrowth. it also still annoys lando, by taking a eq and threatening to ohko back with surf. the main downsides of this change are that it means that you lose taunt for sticky webs , and u lose a defogger. stall also is more annoying, but cb zygarde helps with that matchup

• i would recommend you run taunt > volt switch on tapu koko here, as it helps with the matchup versus sticky webs team, as you lose taunt when you replace fini. it helps with preventing defensive pokemon like chansey from recovering hp too. while you do lose a pivoting move, you still have u turn to pivot with koko here, and it is still effective even with this

• a minor nitpick would be to run 4 more hp evs on celesteela instead of speed evs, since your set is evd for modest pheromosa, which is now banned. however, you can only move 4 evs , as that is the minimum to outspeed transformed ash greninja.

other options

• you could try to use a defog scizor over swords dance, as it helps the team by removing rocks, and other annoying hazards like spikes (which can wear down keldeo) and toxic spikes, both of which have been gaining in popularity. this does mean you lose a wincondition, but even then you still have autotomize celesteela as a wincon, while you can also try to pressure him through things like zygarde + volt turn support, and while it is not as necessary, since nothing is weak to stealth rocks, it can still help. it also makes the matchup versus defensive lando t a little more tricky, as they can sometimes stall out roost pp with eq, and u can not threaten to sd and punish them that way, but it is still manageable with celesteela + keldeo + your own lando t. you could also try to run a little more speed, at the expense of some bulk, to outrun common magnezone.

• you could try using a earthquake zygarde set over toxic, to 2hko pokemon like mega scizor. toxic doesnt help this team all that much, only hitting av tangrowth which is still 2hkod by outrage, and has regenerator for toxic anyway.

• you could try a stallbreaking koko set, with a mago berry and taunt + natures madness. this helps if you are concerned zygarde can not break stall alone, while also easing you matchup versus pokemon like magearna and keldeo. the set i will pass is evd to take on av magearna and keldeo, by letting flash cannon activate the mago berry, and it would well with defog scizor, as defogging away rocks helps guarantee this, while outspeeding non scarf protean greninja . this does make the matchup against offensive lando t more annoying, but you still have keldeo + defensive lando to help with it, though the first only helps once, while the second can get worn down.

• another option you could try out, is running a yache berry on lando t to help with tapu koko and mega medicham, the former of which you noted is extremely difficult for this team to beat, the latter which can guarantee a kill if it comes on anything slower than it. however you do lose chip damage from rocky helmet, which could weaken pokemon like alolan marowak a bit better, as well as pressure defensive lando from clicking u turn, while getting some chip in general.

importable

Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Surf
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind
- Stone Edge

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 120 Def / 124 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Defog / Swords Dance
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn

OR

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 104 Def / 124 SpD / 32 Spe
Impish Nature
- Defog / Swords Dance
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn

Zygarde @ Choice Band
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Thousand Arrows
- Outrage
- Earthquake / Toxic

Tapu Koko @ Magnet
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Taunt
- U-turn

OR

Tapu Koko @ Mago Berry
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 52 SpA / 12 SpD / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Nature's Madness
- Taunt
- U-turn

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 24 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn

OR

Landorus-Therian @ Yache Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn

Celesteela @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 88 HP / 252 SpA / 168 Spe
Modest Nature
- Autotomize
- Air Slash
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain

hope i helped n_n.

 

[UltraBallz]

I love the look of this team for the most part as it does cover a nice portion of the meta, however for bulkier offensive teams like this a fast scarfer is nearly mandatory at this point of the meta so I'd like to second the suggestion to use scarf keldeo over tapu fini. A set like this should be used (shown below); stone edge is needed for a +1 Volcarona which you really struggle with currently. Another option would be to use surf and then a hidden power of your choice over the double water STAB. You can use electric to revenge a boosted Flyinium Z Gyarados or ice to hit scarf chomp and DD Zygarde. Electric also helps you dent stuff like Fini on the switch.

Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Stone Edge

At this point, you still probably need a defogger with a bulkier team and Mega Scizor is arguably the best defogger in the OU tier right now. The problem with Fini as a defoger is it is very easily pressured and worn down. AnishSomani lists this in other suggestions and personally I think this is a very important change. SD Sciz is not as good as it was in ORAS due to the amount of steels in the tier as well as haze toxapex so sweeping becomes very difficult, however it is very reliable at keeping off hazards due to toxic spikes immunity and reliable recovery in roost.

I do like Koko on this team because you no longer have a speed control issue if you add scarf keldeo in addition to the koko. If you were to change it though two options that come to mind would be AV tangrowth or defensive 3 attack+roost Zapdos. Zapdos has become a huge threat this Meta with Electric/Fire/Ice coverage being so hard to switch into. Zapdos would allow you to keep your electric stab you were talking about while still giving you a form of speed control with discharge having a pretty good para chance which could be coupled with Static. Some still prefer Pressure on 3 attacks because it helps against Stall but both have merits. AV tang would immediately take care of your ash-gren and tapu koko problem as well as another pretty good Zygarde check. Of course this doesn't help your speed problem but it does patch some of those weaknesses you were mentioning. Sets for both of these options are listed below:

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost

Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Finally, regarding your decision between offensive Steela and Lando, I would definitely keep it as you originally had it. If you make Lando Offensive you have next to no switch ins to Banded Zygarde as Steela gets 2HKO on the switch due to the second hit being super effective and Scizor can only switch in if its super healthy. Also, opposing offensive Lando would become a problem to your team without defensive landorus as +2 Continental Crush KO's Celesteela. If you do make a switch from Koko to Tangrowth however, I would make this change as it would greatly help your stall matchup. Autotomize Celesteela does nothing vs. stall since it's walled by Chansey forever but SD Lando can dent stall decently well. If you do make this change tho, I'd recommend using stone edge/rockium z over fly as it lets you power past common checks like skarmory and opposing celesteela, both of which become annoying without something like Tapu Koko.

Good luck getting back into the meta and climbing the ladder :)