Ok, I'm going to go off the team you posted after Anchor's suggestions.
Overall thoughts: The team itself looks fine, but it has some issues. Notably, Cinderace's Court Change does not synergize well with Gliscor's Spike stacking, and the team's offense is essentially limited to Cinderace (who's not that strong in it of itself, and you use it as a support) and Darkrai (whose choice lock and frailty makes it susceptable to being revenge killed). There's also the issue of stall, and while certain mons like Hex Gholdengo contribute towards the matchup, there are basically no mons that can pressure it or wallbreak reliably. Special attackers are also problematic, with Raging Bolt and Iron Moth threatening the majority of the team, especially if Gliscor goes down.
Cinderace: The Cinderace set is fine; however, I actually recommend keeping Court Change in this situation. One playstyle that your team may struggle against is Sticky Web Hyper Offense, which, while rare, can screw up your fastest mon in Darkrai. Cinderace's other moves, High Jump Kick and Sucker Punch, don't provide much utility on a game to game basis. High Jump Kick off of Cinderace's support-based EV spread doesn't accomplish much more than simply U-Turning out, and Sucker Punch's main ideal target, Dragapult, commonly runs dual status and can just paralyze Cinderace. Other common threats also have ways of bypassing Sucker Punch, such as Substitute Iron Moth and a lot of mons that resist Dark, like Iron Valiant and Zamazenta. Thus, just keep this current set; just make sure to use Court Change only when necessary so as to not get Spikes on your side of the field (usually that's against Webs teams, but you can make your own calls.)
However (spoiler alert), there is a chance Spikes Gliscor will be replaced by Swords Dance Gliscor later on, and SD Gliscor really likes Spikes support set for it. Obviously Cinderace can't achieve that, but another mon fills that role while offering similar utility to Cinderace: Ogerpon.
Ogerpon (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Tera Type: Grass
Jolly Nature
- Ivy Cudgel
- Spikes
- U-turn
- Encore
The reason this is base Ogerpon and not any of its masks is twofold. First, the other two masks generally have offensive purposes rather than defensive, as evidenced by their lack of ability to hold Boots and Ogerpon-Cornerstone's Sturdy getting trashed by hazards. Secondly, Ogerpon can grab a Speed boost upon terastilization and maintain it throughout the course of the game, even if it pivots out with U-Turn. Encore is to help against setup Pokemon like Dragonite and Kingambit, ensuring they don't have a free opportunity to set up. Heavy-Duty Boots strengthens Ogerpon's longevity, which is quite necessary as Ogerpon does not possess the greatest bulk.
Corviknight: See, this is where it gets tricky. Corviknight has Defog, but by using it, you are effectively removing all the hazards that Gliscor are setting. Even though this may be beneficial at times, I do not think it is a good idea on this team structure. To help with the issue with special attackers, I suggest Galarian Slowking, who has existent offensive pressure while being solid as a check to special attackers.
Slowking-Galar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Def / 240 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Tera Type: Water
Sassy Nature
- Future Sight
- Chilly Reception
- Sludge Bomb
- Toxic / Slack Off
Future Sight and Sludge Bomb are STABs, with Future Sight partnering with Chilly Reception as a method of pivoting out while still being present offensively. For the last move, the choice is between Toxic and Slack Off. Toxic helps against specially bulky walls that Glowking can't damage consistently, like Ting-Lu, allowing damage to rack up over time. Slack Off allows Glowking to sit on the field for longer. Personally, I recommend Toxic, as Glowking has its defensive teammates that can pivot in for Glowking, thus eliminating much need for Slack Off. Toxic can also chip Pokemon that other statuses may be more ineffective against, such as Raging Bolt, who is immune to paralysis and takes minimal damage from burn.
Darkrai: Scarf Darkrai is useful and provides good speed control; however, because of the defensive backbone of the team, Scarf doesn't provide as much value as on, for example, offensive teams. Darkrai can instead leverage its large Special Attack and use Life Orb. With Wish healing from Alomomola, Dakrai can take hazard damage and recoil from Life Orb more freely, and the team would appreciate its combination of Speed and immediate power against a Pokemon like Great Tusk, who can eat hits from many Pokemon and only fears Future Sight and Darkrai's moves.
Gliscor: With only Darkrai as a consistent source of offensive pressure, one option for Gliscor it to run Swords Dance. Notably, SD Gliscor is great against stall, being able to Knock Off the multitude of Heavy-Duty Boots that they usually run.
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 36 Def / 228 SpD
Tera Type: Normal
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Facade
- Protect
I already hinted at this set with Ogerpon, but the premise is to use Tera Normal Facade to wallbreak and Knock Off all Boots in sight. This would allow the Spikes set by Ogerpon to deal massive damage to the opposing team over time, especially to Stall, allowing Facade to brute force them a lot easier. Protect is to extract as much health as possible from Poison Heal, and a specially bulky spread provides safer setup opportunity against Pokemon like Raging Bolt and Gholdengo.
However, a Spikes oriented set can also work alongside Cinderace. If you plan to use that, the set you are using is perfectly fine.
Gholdengo: The biggest aspect about Gholdengo that should be changes is the item. Specifically, Air Balloon allows Gholdengo to be a much more comfortable check to Dragonite, as none of Extreme Speed, Ice Spinner, and Earthquake can threaten Gholdengo with balloon intact, allowing Gholdengo to Thunder Wave. Gholdengo actually lives a +1 Earthquake from Dragonite, so it can still neutralize Dragonite even if balloon is popped.
Alomomola: Again, this set is fine.
POKEPASTES:
Cinderace & Spikes Gliscor: https://pokepast.es/51d4cbca3e5274ef
This team struggles a bit more with wallbreaking, so you have to try and use Toxic Glowking a lot more. Try partnering status moves with Gholdengo's Hex to generate enough power to break past walls. Darkrai's importance on this team is greater due, but don't rush Darkrai in against a healthy team and preserve it to clean up late game.
Ogerpon & SD Gliscor: https://pokepast.es/8c47e45dd866ce3b
This team is much better off offensively; however, be wary of Ogerpon's health. It is slower than Cinderace and thus can be outsped by more Pokemon, and it cannot offer Will-o-Wisp utility for physical attackers, thus making them more threatening. Focus on setting hazards and switching out if necessary to Alomomola in attempt to pass a wish.
Tips for using this team:
1. Alomomola is the main Pokemon you want to preserve. Due to its ability to pass Wishes along with its slow Flip Turn, you can basically revive a battered Pokemon. Thus, if a Pokemon like Darkrai is on low HP, yet it's really good against the other team, you can save it and pass a Wish to it later on.
2. If possible, preserve Gholdengo's balloon. This balloon is absolutely key for not only Dragonite, but also non-Knock Off Great Tusk and the Ground-Flyings, Landorus-T and Gliscor. Even though Gholdengo is unable to paralyze these Ground types, Make it Rain can do substantial damage as they have to waste a turn popping the balloon. Additionally, Gliscor often comes in statused thanks to Toxic Orb, and your own Gliscor can Toxic the other Grounds, allowing Gholdengo to boost Hex through a teammate's status. However, due to most Great Tusk and a good amount of Landorus and Gliscor being faster than Gholdengo, its balloon is crucial for its survival, especially if Tera has been used already.
3. In the current OU meta, offense is a very common playstyle and it is common for balance to be overwhelmed by offense. Try to use pivoting moves like U-Turn from Cinderace and Ogerpon and Chilly Reception from Glowking to generate opporunities for LO Darkrai and Gliscor. Against bulkier teams and stall, prioritize hazard stacking with Ogerpon or Gliscor and preserving Alomomola to consistently heal your team.
Lastly, I want to thank Tensa Zangetsu and Anchor9 for assisting me in editing this RMT, especially Tensa. The first edition of this was quite bad, but this rendition should make the team better in OU overall.
Hope I helped!
