SM OU Times Like These


INTRODUCTION
Hello, my name is ez. A team rater and tutor on smogon and a random who recently had a nice run in OST and made top 16. I started playing pokemon at a pretty young age but only got into the competitive scene around 2 years ago. Today I would like to share a team that was made for my round 6 opponent. Those replays can be found here and here. This team was made with the help of Isza who I approached to help me prep for my r6 opponent. We noticed that my opponent liked to use Baton Pass or Stall a lot. Which is how we decided on building around Choice Specs Gengar who matches up well vs both of those playstyles. With this in mind, let's get right into the team.
TEAMBUILDING PROCESS

As mentioned in the Introduction, this team was built around Choice Specs Gengar. Choice Specs allows gengar to wallbreak pretty nicely. However, it does have to be wary about mons that may abuse its choice lock which can allow the opponent to set up or take momentum.

Since we were prepping for stall, we wanted something that could absorb the wil-o-wisp from Sabeleye-Mega while also threatening it to switch out to allow us to get stealth Rocks. Which is why we decided to chose Clefable who can do both of those roles while not getting worn down or trapped by dugtro.

Both Gengar and Clefable were pretty much walled by the special walls on stall. Also, the team lacked counter measures for hard hitting psychic types like Tapu Lele. We also wanted a physical attacker that can pressure both stall and baton pass. Which is how we decided on Mega Metagross, who can help pressure stall and pivit into the tapus.

Our team lacked a ground immunity making us vulnerable to common ground types like Lando, Exca, Garchomp. We decided on our own Landorus-therian who can also us break through stall by weakening the Skarmory for Mega Metagross.

Our team lacked a water resist making things like Keldeo and Tapu Fini very threatening. Which is why we chose Tangrowth. Tangrowth is a nice piviot and has knock off support which help the rest of the team members.

The team had no fire resist and lacked speed control. Which made Keldeo the final member of the team as Keldeo can help pivit into fire types like Heatran while also giving us a solid revenge killer.

TEAM ANALYSIS

Gengar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
-
Shadow Ball
-
Sludge Wave
-
Thunderbolt
-
Focus Blast​

Choice Specs Gengar hits very hard especially with teams usually lacking a ghost resist. However, be wary about your opponent abusing Gengar being Choice Locked as using it as an opportunity to set up / gain momentum. Shadow Ball and Sludge Wave as Gengar's main stab moves, Thunderbolt allows gengar to hit flying and water types harder like Toxapex and Mandibuzz. Focus Blast as coverage for steel types like Heatran and Ferrothron. The evs are standard Max attack, Max Spe to allow Gengar to hit as hard as possible while being as fast as possible.
......

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 172 Def / 88 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
-
Stealth Rock
-
Moonblast
-
Flamethrower
-
Soft-Boiled​

Clefable's usage has dropped in SM due to how many things pressure it. However, Clefable can still be used. Clefable acts as the status absorber so the team wont get worn down by mons like Mega Sableye. It also acts as the Stealth Rocker for the team. Moonblast as a it's main stab to force out Sableye. Soft-boil is for longevity and Flamethrower to punish steel types like Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn. Clefable was also my Pheromosa check in case Gengar got to weak. Do be wary of Posion Jab.
......

Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
-
Meteor Mash
-
Zen Headbutt
-
Earthquake
-
Thunder Punch​
Metagross-Mega is one of the most common megas in Sun and Moon. Metagross-Mega hits very hard making it difficult to switch into. Standard Evs with Max Attack and Max Speed. Meteor Mash and Zen Headbutt were chosen as Metagross's main stab move. Thunder Punch to punish water types like Toxapex and Tapu Fini and Earthquake for coverage for steel types like Heatran and other Mega Metagross. This is your only Psychic resist on the team. This means that you have to watch out for it's HP so things like Lele have a harder time winning.
......

Landorus-Therian @ Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
-
Stone Edge
-
Earthquake
-
Swords Dance
-
Rock Polish​

Landorus-therian has the highest usage in Sun and Moon with good reasoning. It's ability to check so many things while also having the ability to set up and sweep/weaken teams. As mentioned before, Landorus-therian can weaken things like Skarmory which can open for other members on the team. Max attack and Max speed to hit and be as fast as possible. Earthquake as the main stab move with Stone Edge to hit mons that are not effected by Earthquake. Sword Dance And Rock Polish to aid Landorus-Therian sweep. We decided to put the Z move on Landorus-therian to help it break through more teams.
......

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

Keldeo usage dropped with the new addition of Tapus in Sun and Moon. However, it recently has been used more and more. I ran Toxic on my Keldeo as my ost opponent liked to use Calm Mind Slowbro-Mega. However, I would personally go with Stone Edge to help the team check Volcarona. This does mean u have to run a Hasty Nature so you do not weaken the Stone Edge. The evs are standard Max Spa and Max Spe. The other 3 moves are the standard 3 moves on Choice Locked Keldeo being Scald, Hydro Pump and Secret Sword. The Scarf was chosen to allow the team to have a reliable revenge killer and more speed control.
......

Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Def / 184 SpD
Sassy Nature
-
Knock Off
-
Leaf Storm
-
Hidden Power [Fire]
-
Earthquake​

Tangrowth is an amazing pivot in Sun and Moon. It's also one of the few mons who dont mind the Nature Mindess from Tapu Fini. 72 Evs were put into Def to allow Tangrowth to avoid the 2ko from U-turn Mega Scizor while also avoiding the oko from +2 U-turn Mega Scizor. Other things the 72 Def Evs does is allow Tangrowth to avoid the 2ko from Choice Specs Keldeo's Secret Sword and Mega Metagross's Meteor Mash. THe rest was dumped into maxing HP and Spd. Leaf Storm as Tangrowth's Main Stab with Knock off to get rid of items. Earthquake to lure steel types like Heatran and Hidden Power Fire was needed to hit Mega Scizor and preventing Ferrothorn from setting up layers.​
......
CONCLUSION
OST was a fun first tournament experience. This is where I took pokemon seriously for the first time and actually prepped and practiced before getting into the real game. It also got me closer with some of my friends who were already in tournament. I hope that I can continue playing mons at a high level and improve my battling skills. Oh and here is the importable if anyone wishes to use this team. Thanks for checking out my rmt btw. >_<

Bloo- You helped me a lot over the time we known each other. You helped me notice my mistakes in battling and improve as a battler. Just talking to you was also fun, so thank you and good luck with your HPL!

Isza- lmao thanks for helping me prep and stuff for ost bro. You're a great battler and a great friend. Thanks for the help in making this team too :x

mil- You helped me get more serious with smogon. Thanks for the advice and tips that helped me achieve my first badge here. JK i am your alt lel xD.

Hector Hard Mode - yo, I got an essay I have to write on Canada, ghost me.

Hiye- Lmao why did you quit mons for Clash Royale.

godphil- Ur stoopid. Jk ur prob my oldest friend on this site. Come back tho idiot.
 

bludz

a waffle is like a pancake with a syrup trap
is a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Yo ez! Nice team bro, it looks sorta standard but sometimes thats how you catch some Ws. I think you did a good job of choosing movesets that created synergy between the team members so I dont have any suggestions for that.

I would like to note though that this team is very weak to hazards. Particularly Spikes and Sticky Web can be a big problem for you, since Lando is the only mon who avoids them and you have no hazard removal. While you do have lures to Ferrothorn, it still finds opportunities to get up layers while Skarmory and Greninja will also be able to. In a battle against hazard stackers, you will be forced to be extremely aggressive because time is against you. Webs are another issue entirely and just look really threatening.

I have a couple suggestions which I think can help you by adding a hazard remover and shuffling other necessary pieces.

My first suggestion is to add Zapdos over Clefable. Getting right to it, this is a hazard remover which beats the common Spikers in the tier in Ferro and Skarm (fuck Greninja), which is more important than having a good matchup vs Rockers because you arent particularly weak to Rocks standalone. Zapdos also lets you deal with Steel types such as Mega Scizor and Celesteela a bit better than you already do (Tang's set kinda shows you trying to patch up a weakness to Scizor). Plus, I think its a bit less passive than Clef since it has more initial power and you can get Discharge paras and whatnot. As added benefits, you get another mon which can take one hit from Metagross and is a decent check to Mega Mawile which looks threatening.

Ok so I removed the Stealth Rocker so something needs to be done about that. To make it really simple, I'm gonna suggest Stealth Rock > Rock Polish on Landorus-T. While you wont win a lead matchup with Mega Sableye right off the bat, it is still a Rock setter which can get them up against stall teams (and this might even lure Skarm a bit better).

Last suggestion is just to give HP Ice to Tangrowth over HP Fire to alleviate the loss of Clefable on your matchup with Zygarde. Zapdos covers the main stuff you were using HP Fire on Tangrowth for so you should be ok.

Now I'll admit there are a few issues with these changes. SD Garchomp and Zygarde are bigger threats, while Mamoswine and Weavile become bigger problems as well. With Pheromosa hopefully on the way out though, these changes should reap overall positive benefits since you wont have to click X against Webs and your stall matchup should remain pretty decent still.

Edit: forgot the sets give me a sec haha. There is probably a better Zapdos spread but i dont have one

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
- Discharge
- Roost
- Heat Wave
- Defog

Landorus-Therian @ Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power Ice
 
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Hey ez, I like your team; it's quite similar to a team I have used in SPL (I had Nidoking over Gengar and some different sets, for reference). But I have noticed that your team is a bit weak to some common threats:
  • You lack a solid Metagross switchin and the only countermeasures vs it are your own Earthquake Metagross, Scarf Keldeo (which has to rely on a Scald Burn) and chipping with Clefable / Tangrowth as it switches in. To help with that you could try to use a mixed defensive Tangrowth with either Leech Seed, Sleep Powder or Stun Spore over Earthquake (which I consider to be the most expendable move on mixed defensive Tangrowth). It still checks Tapu Koko and Tapu Fini, just a bit less reliable than AV Tangrowth does so be careful around those Pokemon.
  • Sleep Powder / Stun Spore Tangrowth also helps vs Mega-Charizard-Y, another threat to your team which basically gets a free kill every time it switches into Clefable. To solve this issue I would use Pursuit > Zen Headbutt Metagross. Standard Mega-Charizard-Y usually doesn't stay in vs Metagross because Thunder Punch does 94.9 - 112.4% damage so you can take advantage of that by pursuiting it for 50.8 - 59.9% damage (assuming it switches out, obviously). Pursuit also helps vs Tapu Lele which is very annoying to deal with otherwise.
  • I agree with bludz that Spikes stacking teams are annoying to deal with but I'm not sure about the Zapdos suggestion because that'd make you weak to specially offensive Pheromosa which can spam Ice Beam very freely. So I'd let the Clefable slot as is, especially because Spikes stacking teams are often pressured by Gengar and Flamethrower Clefable. Spikes + Tapu Koko, however, is a deadly combination vs your team (assuming you use mixed defensive Tangrowth) so you can consider using Ferrothorn > Tangrowth if you are afraid of that. Spikes Ferrothorn also helps chipping Heatran which can be troublesome; I'd personally keep Tangrowth but both Pokemon should work.
    Spikes + Tapu Koko was also another reason why my team had Nidoking > Gengar but I wouldn't recommend making that change since Gengar is the focal point of your team and our teams would be exactly the same with that change, lol.
@ Metagrossite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake
- Meteor Mash

@ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Def / 184 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Knock Off
- Sleep Powder / Stun Spore / Leech Seed
- Leaf Storm / Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]

OR

@ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Protect / Gyro Ball
- Power Whip

Edit: It was supposed to be Power Whip, thanks for pointing it out legend slayer.
 
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Hey ez, I like your team; it's quite similar to a team I have used in SPL (I had Nidoking over Gengar and some different sets, for reference). But I have noticed that your team is a bit weak to some common threats:
  • You lack a solid Metagross switchin and the only countermeasures vs it are your own Earthquake Metagross, Scarf Keldeo (which has to rely on a Scald Burn) and chipping with Clefable / Tangrowth as it switches in. To help with that you could try to use a mixed defensive Tangrowth with either Leech Seed, Sleep Powder or Stun Spore over Earthquake (which I consider to be the most expendable move on mixed defensive Tangrowth). It still checks Tapu Koko and Tapu Fini, just a bit less reliable than AV Tangrowth does so be careful around those Pokemon.
  • Sleep Powder / Stun Spore Tangrowth also helps vs Mega-Charizard-Y, another threat to your team which basically gets a free kill every time it switches into Clefable. To solve this issue I would use Pursuit > Zen Headbutt Metagross. Standard Mega-Charizard-Y usually doesn't stay in vs Metagross because Thunder Punch does 94.9 - 112.4% damage so you can take advantage of that by pursuiting it for 50.8 - 59.9% damage (assuming it switches out, obviously). Pursuit also helps vs Tapu Lele which is very annoying to deal with otherwise.
  • I agree with bludz that Spikes stacking teams are annoying to deal with but I'm not sure about the Zapdos suggestion because that'd make you weak to specially offensive Pheromosa which can spam Ice Beam very freely. So I'd let the Clefable slot as is, especially because Spikes stacking teams are often pressured by Gengar and Flamethrower Clefable. Spikes + Tapu Koko, however, is a deadly combination vs your team (assuming you use mixed defensive Tangrowth) so you can consider using Ferrothorn > Tangrowth if you are afraid of that. Spikes Ferrothorn also helps chipping Heatran which can be troublesome; I'd personally keep Tangrowth but both Pokemon should work.
    Spikes + Tapu Koko was also another reason why my team had Nidoking > Gengar but I wouldn't recommend making that change since Gengar is the focal point of your team and our teams would be exactly the same with that change, lol.
@ Metagrossite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake
- Meteor Mash

@ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Def / 184 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Knock Off
- Sleep Powder / Stun Spore / Leech Seed
- Leaf Storm / Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]

OR

@ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Protect / Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
u have 2 leech seed on the ferrothorn do u mean stealth rock?
 

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