Winning isn't just about making a good team but also about the unexpected! I tried to combine both to make a fierce squad to carry me up the ladder. Let's get right into the team and please tell me what you think afterwards.
Greninja @ Insect Plate
Ability: Protean
EVs: 196 Atk / 60 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Spikes
- U-turn
- Taunt
Main hazard setter for the team. Protean Gren set up are hard to deal with in general due to it's unpredictability. Toxic Spikes and Spikes gives Gren resistance to the ever abundance of Fairies in OU while also giving him immunity to electric. U Turn makes Gren into a nice Pivot. Lastly we have taunt to stop momentum from set up mons, defog users and sustain moves like Soft Boiled, Slack Off and Recover. I went with Insect Plate over Life Orb because with this set, I only have one move and the 1.2x over 1.3x for U turn is worth giving up considering that Life Orb will chunk it's HP every attack.
Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Fusion Bolt
- Roost
Instead, I saved it for who I think needs it more. Life Orb Kyurem B works really good with this team. It punches through plenty of pokemon in the tier and is difficult to switch into. If able to get up hazards, Kyurem can carry most matches on his own. Earth Power blows away Heatran. Ice beam takes care of Ground/Dragon types. Fusion Bolt covers you against water typings and punches holes through Celesteela. Life Orb can wear Kyurem B down so I went with Roost to help deal with that.
Magearna @ Fairium Z
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 48 Def / 252 SpA / 208 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shift Gear
- Calm Mind
- Ice Beam
- Fleur Cannon
I wanted my sweeper to have a good typing + natural bulk and I thought, what better to use than Magearna. I gave Mag enough Def investment to survive Defensive Lando T Earthquake but still having having enough Spe to out speed even the fastest opposing pokemon such as Gren, Mega Alakazam, Mega Beedrill and Zeraora after Shift Gear. Ice beam is probably the best coverage move for Mag and works better for carrying games over Aura Sphere and Thunderbolt. Calm Mind further increases Mag's sweep potential. Z Fleur Cannon is for strong stab used mainly to get through bulky or resistant pokemon.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Psychic
- Iron Head
- Doom Desire
- Wish
I didn't have much to threaten Toxapex with this team. Kyurem B could but it was too risky using him because of the chance of Scald burn which would render Kyurem B useless. I also realized that my team needed a pokemon to stop Tapu Lele. Using Mag for that would ruin a lot of it's set up potential after realizing that even with resistance to Psychic, a Choice Specs Lele can still chunk half of it's HP with Psychic Terrain boosted Psychic/Psyshock. Jirachi takes care of both these problems. Toxapex with max SpDef investment loses about half of it's HP with Psychic. Iron Head is also key to taking down Toxapex. Landing at least one flinch with Iron Head is enough to take Toxapex out with a second Psychic. This forces the opponent to either switch it out or sack it. As long as you don't give it chances to recover, it won't. Doom Desire has a niche in stopping Toxapex from abusing Recover and even if switched out, it still leaves other pokemon open to being hit with a 140 power stab which would chunk a lot of pokemon not resistant to it. Wish was added to keep my team healthy, thus giving my Jirachi a support role as well.
Crawdaunt @ Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Night Slash
Having a knock off pokemon was crucial for me to break through teams. Banded Crawdaunt is a deadly hard hitter. The general OU tier gets nearly OHKO'd by Knock Off if they have a held item. Even Max Def Ferrothorn loses a whopping 70% of HP with Knock Off. Crab Hammer is another hard hitting stab that will nearly take out most mons. Aqua Jet is for priority. Night Slash to give Crawdaunt additional stab.
Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Defog
This team screams with no checks for Charizard X. Lando T main purpose is to fill that position. Pretty standard set of Earthquake stab, U Turn pivot, Stealth Rocks for additional Hazards and Defog since I have no other pokemon that can use it.
Greninja @ Insect Plate
Ability: Protean
EVs: 196 Atk / 60 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Spikes
- U-turn
- Taunt
Main hazard setter for the team. Protean Gren set up are hard to deal with in general due to it's unpredictability. Toxic Spikes and Spikes gives Gren resistance to the ever abundance of Fairies in OU while also giving him immunity to electric. U Turn makes Gren into a nice Pivot. Lastly we have taunt to stop momentum from set up mons, defog users and sustain moves like Soft Boiled, Slack Off and Recover. I went with Insect Plate over Life Orb because with this set, I only have one move and the 1.2x over 1.3x for U turn is worth giving up considering that Life Orb will chunk it's HP every attack.
Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Fusion Bolt
- Roost
Instead, I saved it for who I think needs it more. Life Orb Kyurem B works really good with this team. It punches through plenty of pokemon in the tier and is difficult to switch into. If able to get up hazards, Kyurem can carry most matches on his own. Earth Power blows away Heatran. Ice beam takes care of Ground/Dragon types. Fusion Bolt covers you against water typings and punches holes through Celesteela. Life Orb can wear Kyurem B down so I went with Roost to help deal with that.
Magearna @ Fairium Z
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 48 Def / 252 SpA / 208 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shift Gear
- Calm Mind
- Ice Beam
- Fleur Cannon
I wanted my sweeper to have a good typing + natural bulk and I thought, what better to use than Magearna. I gave Mag enough Def investment to survive Defensive Lando T Earthquake but still having having enough Spe to out speed even the fastest opposing pokemon such as Gren, Mega Alakazam, Mega Beedrill and Zeraora after Shift Gear. Ice beam is probably the best coverage move for Mag and works better for carrying games over Aura Sphere and Thunderbolt. Calm Mind further increases Mag's sweep potential. Z Fleur Cannon is for strong stab used mainly to get through bulky or resistant pokemon.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Psychic
- Iron Head
- Doom Desire
- Wish
I didn't have much to threaten Toxapex with this team. Kyurem B could but it was too risky using him because of the chance of Scald burn which would render Kyurem B useless. I also realized that my team needed a pokemon to stop Tapu Lele. Using Mag for that would ruin a lot of it's set up potential after realizing that even with resistance to Psychic, a Choice Specs Lele can still chunk half of it's HP with Psychic Terrain boosted Psychic/Psyshock. Jirachi takes care of both these problems. Toxapex with max SpDef investment loses about half of it's HP with Psychic. Iron Head is also key to taking down Toxapex. Landing at least one flinch with Iron Head is enough to take Toxapex out with a second Psychic. This forces the opponent to either switch it out or sack it. As long as you don't give it chances to recover, it won't. Doom Desire has a niche in stopping Toxapex from abusing Recover and even if switched out, it still leaves other pokemon open to being hit with a 140 power stab which would chunk a lot of pokemon not resistant to it. Wish was added to keep my team healthy, thus giving my Jirachi a support role as well.
Crawdaunt @ Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Night Slash
Having a knock off pokemon was crucial for me to break through teams. Banded Crawdaunt is a deadly hard hitter. The general OU tier gets nearly OHKO'd by Knock Off if they have a held item. Even Max Def Ferrothorn loses a whopping 70% of HP with Knock Off. Crab Hammer is another hard hitting stab that will nearly take out most mons. Aqua Jet is for priority. Night Slash to give Crawdaunt additional stab.
Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Defog
This team screams with no checks for Charizard X. Lando T main purpose is to fill that position. Pretty standard set of Earthquake stab, U Turn pivot, Stealth Rocks for additional Hazards and Defog since I have no other pokemon that can use it.
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