Hey guys, welcome to another team of mine. Without further ado, let us step into the Teambuilding process!
Teambuilding
The Team
Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Spd / 184 SAtk
Timid Nature
- Defog
- Roost / Psyshock
- Draco Meteor
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
This girl puts in work, even for the rather lame role of being a Defog mon, and having to get rid of hazards for the team. She also has a nice incentive in being immune to Sticky Web, allowing her to blow away any chance that Web Offense may think it has. The next slot is up to preference. Roost expands Latias' capability to remain in the field longer, while Psyshock makes it a hard counter to Keldeo and Mega Venusaur, as the former can do a number on my team, while Venusaur is a pain to deal with in general. Draco Meteor is what makes using the Lati@s twins worth it. Firing off Draco Meteors in this meta is really rewarding, with not much taking the hit with appreciation (for those who aren't immune to it). Most Aegislash take a good 25-33% while in Shield Form from a LO Draco, and it does really well with LO recoil damage (If I'm running Psyshock), as I can get in the last hit and bring in a mon for free. Lastly, I'm running HP Fighting to hit TTar (when it will Pursuit me) and Bisharp (when it will Pursuit me, or try to use Knock Off on the expected switch in), and net around 47% damage and an OHKO, respectively.
Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 Atk / 248 HP / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- King's Shield
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
Latias + Aegislash makes a great synergetic core, with them only having a common weakness of Dark moves (see Hidden Power Fighting Latias; Keldeo). I decided to back to the opening stages of OU and use the SD set. Following fairly simple steps and plays, Aegislash can set up and sweep. Swords Dance is the super glue to this set, allowing Aegislash to boost to happiness and beyond, and also allow it to somewhat mitigate the drops from Intimidate users. King's Shield allows me to revert back to shield form and/or scout a threatening move that could prevent Aegislash's sweep.Shadow Sneak is the move of STAB, allowing me to abuse the priority advantage to somewhat patch up the slow base 60 Speed stat. It also allows me to fend off many other mons who aren't a part of the priority infested crew, who may otherwise get in the sufficient damage for the KO. Sacred Sword is my back-up move, and chosen over Iron Head, mainly for the coverage that Ghost-Fight boasts. The Sword move nets me a stronger move option against bulky walls such as, but not limited to Vaporeon (guys, this sucks outside of Baton Pass; dont use it), Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Manaphy, etc. Being able to hit these mons with a duo of Sacred Sword & Shadow Sneak at +2 nets me the KO.
Thundurus @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Flying]
Thundurus, the ever-so-common sweeper stopper. Mega Gyarados/Tyranitar got to +2 somehow? Well, Billy Mays here with priority Thunder Wave. It serves as the perfect battle utility move when you dun goofed. Nasty Plot brings Thundurus into a state in which a mon will be lost to revenge kill Thundurus, which is what makes him so good. Dual STABs Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Flying have some decent offensive synergy together, with little to resist the attacks Thundurus will dish out at +2. Thunderbolt serves as the spamming STAB, as it has a higher base power and has a nice chance for paralysis (which could lead to full para), meanwhile HP Flying hits MVenu, Conk, and any ground type bar Excadrill for big amounts of damage.
Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Rash Nature
- Earth Power
- Psychic
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
Damage? Nah, my boy Landorus here doesn't settle for that. He settles for the KO. Earth Power is the main choice of STAB, just destroying anything without a ground immunity or resistance. Psychic here to mess up MVenu, where HP Ice would fail to do so. It helps against Conk and any mon with a Ground immunity, especially when paired with Knock Off. Knock Off takes out any possible recovery or possibility of outspeeding (Adamant Scarfed Lando-T), and then allows me to hit then with either EP or Psychic. Knock Off has its uses over Psychic, being able to hit Balloon Excadrill & Balloon Aegis. Finally, Landorus usually ends up as a lead, due to its great ability to dent the opponent's team, and the ability to set up Stealth Rocks. If it gets them up, it prevents many Megas from having a desirable amount of HP after SR damage (Char, Pinsir), and makes VoltTurn easier to wear down.
Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind
You thought Talonflame could stop this god from Gen 5? Well, it can. But that doesn't mean Keldeo is out of the question. Keldeo shines as one of the best Scarfers this gen. Scald & Hydro Pump are both Water STABs, yes, but serve different purposes. Scald is mainly for KO'ing specific threats, when Keldeo is still threatened, or when something resists Water. It also has a nice Burn chance, which I can hope for (no, I'm not unskilled for relying on RNG) on threats such as Azumarill, who can switch in almost for free. Hydro Pump is for late game sweeping. Being able to fire off strong Water moves at an opponent's weakened team guarantees me a win if I don't happen to miss. Secret Sword helps when facing Tyranitar and Bisharp, 2 mons who should NEVER stay in on Keldeo when they are healthy. Finally, Icy Wind is mainly a scouting move on the likes of suspected MGyarados teams, whom I do not wish to sack my Thundurus to prevent a Dragon Dance sweep. It also hurts Dragonite, who can also wall my other moves, but I must make sure to break Multiscale first. Keldeo is a good back up in case I lose Latias to Web Offense.
Pinsir @ Pinsirite
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Feint
- Earthquake
Pinsir is quite the addition to the team. Although his Mega Form does add the extra and not needed Ice weakness, I doubt any Ice mons will be getting to it. Get started with Pinsir's respectable bulk and go for a sweep when you set up Swords Dance. At +2, Pinsir just 2HKO's the whole Ou meta, apart from Skarmory (calcs can be found on Smogon's MPinsir thread). Return is my spammable STAB, doing a hefty amount of damage to anything. Sadly, I forgot how to format Happiness when you write out teams (team built by hand), so yeah. However, I do have Feint over QA, specifically since my team is very Talon weak. At +2, Feint can KO any Talon who has prior damage from either Rocks or BB/FB/LO recoil, and net me a kill before it sweeps me. Feint also allows me to hit Aegislash while it using King's Shield, so the added damage can help if I need to get it in range for a KO. And I cant do that if I dont have Earthquake. EQ covers almost all synergetic options, bar Skarm and Rotom.
Well, that's the team for ya. Calcs coming soon. I hope you enjoyed the team, and please suggest any changes, as it is far from perfect.
