SM OU a pokemon team ft. sub volcanion (peaked #1 2016 elo)

[Swaqfeq]

a pokemon team
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something to listen to while reading...​

hey, i'm here to share a team that i've been using for the last few weeks, with it winning more often then not :^). while i did ladder a lot with this team over the last two or so weeks, it was built by DANN3 and he'll go through the teambuilding process below.

teambuilding process:

teambuilding process (DANN3)

The team started with the core of Diancie

and Volcanion

, with Diancie being one of the best megas with an amazing speed tier and high powered stabs, and Volcanion being able to take advantage of the steel types like Celesteela and Scizor which wall Diancie.

A defensive core to blanket check threats is necessary in this meta, so Landorus-T

and Celesteela

were chosen for their roles as sponges on bulky offense which could retain momentum with U-turns and forcing switches with Leech Seed. Both mons have protect since there are many choice locked threats in this metagame including specs Lele and Koko, and specs and scarf Greninja.

Specs tapu lele

is absolutely broken, and should be S rank imo. All of its checks/counters get worn down very easily, with AV magearna taking 40 from psyshock, and there is little reason not to use it on a bulky offense/offense team. It also has good synergy with volcanion, as volcanion gets subs on celesteela and ferrothorn and 1v1s heatran, all of which can switch into lele at full health.

Lastly, the team needed speed control and hazard removal. Scarf Kartana

is consistent vs offense and can often clean late game with the appropriate move. While it is not the best defogger, magic bounce support + pressure from other members is enough to make sure hazards do not overwhelm the team.

and here's the proof of peak (shit gxe, started like 72/73 so thats g):

proof of peak

https://imgur.com/a/BK0Gv

lets go deeper...

Volcanion @ Leftovers​

Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steam Eruption
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Substitute
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volcanion, the star of the show. this mon is really, really underrated and i think it doesn't get the recognition it deserves. anyone out there that struggles with cele / pex / clef type balance builds, try this mon out. this set subs up on pex and earth powers it freely, 2hkoes clefable with steam eruption and easily 2hkoes celesteela. DANN3 made this flamethrower over fire blast as the pp is important vs balance and stall. the ev spread maximises special atk and has enough speed to outspeed standard defensive lando, with the rest in hp for bulk.

Tapu Lele @ Choice Specs​

Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
​

tapu lele, what can this mon not do. it can run z-moves, scarf, taunt/cm and in this case, specs. lele is here to damage everything that isn't immune to it as even resists like ferro take ~40% from psychics. this mon is crucial in the stall matchup along with mega-diancie but there must be care taken to avoid it gettin chipped by chansey's seismic toss. the power of lele with specs really helps the team in weakening mons so that diancie, kartana or volc can finish them off. ev spread is standard, max max for most power output and timid cos why not.

Diancie-Mega @ Diancite​

Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
​

diancie-mega is crucial for this team because it brings several things to the table. it's the teams stealth rock setter which in most cases is a must have on a pokemon team as well as being a hard hitter on both sides of the spectrum. diamond storm is handy against chansey in the stall matchup as it does ~35% on the switch and combined with rocks, chansey has to be above ~85% to switch into diancie comfortably, which is hard for the stall player to do as the game goes on. moonblast hits landorus hard which is very handy and earth power smacks pex, tran (although scarf tran has risen a bit in popularity). ev spread is standard max max, 4 in atk for diamond storm as its still the best option on diancie in terms of rock moves.

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers​

Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Def / 148 SpD / 20 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Toxic
- U-turn
- Protect
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up next is lando-t, obligatory on most teams due to the sheer utility it provides. this set is different compared to most defensive landos because it doesn't have rocks. and the amount of spdef on this one is a lot higher than usual. this is because it's the teams best koko answer/switch-in. turn 1 a lot of koko users will lead of with specs koko, expecting to kill the lando.

252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Koko Hidden Power Ice vs. 248 HP / 148 SpD Landorus: 320-380 (83.9 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

lando takes 1 and kills with eq. protect is used just in case koko is about to wreck havoc mid-late game and you have to scout what it could be locked into or you need the extra little bit of hp to take a hit from koko or anything else. non specs koko is a lot easier for the team to deal with as lando takes like ~60%. toxic is also an option over hp ice on lando as it really aids the team in beating zapdos in the long run.

Kartana @ Choice Scarf​

Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Defog / Frustration
​

kartana is here to do what it does best, handle offense. this is the teams scarfer and cleaner. standard set with defog because tox spikes/spikes are annoying to deal with. after hazards have been cleared by kart (if they have gone up), and diancie has setup rocks, a lot of the time kart can clean up late game with a few rocks switchins. another option over defog if you like to play more aggressive is frustration since the high atk of kartana allows it to just use the move to hit more neutrally, especially late game. if frustration is used however, ensure volcanion doesn't take tspike damage by switching hard into toxapex as it sets up spikes. gren/pex MUST be pressure harder if frustration is used over defog.

Celesteela @ Leftovers​

Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Sassy Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
- Leech Seed
- Protect
​

celesteela rounds the team out. this mon is just an annoyance to deal with, as it recovers hp quickly with leech seed + protect as well as slowly draining opposing mons with its decent power attacking moves and leech seed. this set is max spdef since it can take a hit from koko if needed, as well as better checking magearna, lele, keldeo ect. good mon, good stuff.

replays

replays

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-649145729 vs balance
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-648357137 losing diancie early but still winning
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-648233474 vs webs veil
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-648171584 vs bulky rain
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-647366746 vs fat
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-642834812 vs balance, volc puttin in work
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-640588088 vs stall. yet to lose against stall.

more replays can be found by searchin up my name. i save most battles.

importable

import

Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock

Volcanion @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steam Eruption
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Substitute

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Def / 148 SpD / 20 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
- Protect

Tapu Lele @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]

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

Kartana @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Defog

homies

s/o's

DANN3 for making sweet teams
all the peeps in the rooms i frequent, fuck s/o's lol.

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[S1nn0hC0nfirm3d]

Hey great team! My last comment got deleted but basically I applauded how solid this team was and how much successes I was having with it.

Personally though, I am not a fan of teams without at least one form of set up sweeper, as well as no Z move user either!

I switched Lando with Flyium Z Dragonite (ice punch and earthquake for coverage) and I've had similar successes.

But any tips on what i could maybe replace if i want either a setup sweeper or a z move abuser?

 

[Swaqfeq]

Hey great team! My last comment got deleted but basically I applauded how solid this team was and how much successes I was having with it.

Personally though, I am not a fan of teams without at least one form of set up sweeper, as well as no Z move user either!

I switched Lando with Flyium Z Dragonite (ice punch and earthquake for coverage) and I've had similar successes.

But any tips on what i could maybe replace if i want either a setup sweeper or a z move abuser?

hey buv, glad u like it. yeah i didnt even notice it had no zmove user. honestly i think trying to force a zmove user on is a bit tough, but if it had to be done i'd change volcanions item from lefties to groundium, killing pex after epower. i think lando is too important in terms of being a soft koko check for it to be changed, but yea try groundium and see how it goes :^)

regarding setup nothing on the team can really be changed to turn into a setup sweeper. im not sure what could be changed to accommodate a setup sweeper without makin the team weaker to a big more stuff.

 

[Deleted User 91486]

As volcanion is one of my favourite pokemon, I tried this team out - and found out that it has some glaring weaknesses:

• You can't lead with Diancie against Landorus-T, as it gets rekt by Earthquake - this means you may not be able to get rocks up against them. Rocks on Lando might be the better choice, as it can set them up against opposing Landorus - and Lando is arguably one of the most common leands in OU.
• No real counterplay against ZardY. Diancie can defeat it with Diamond Storm, but can't switch in due to Solar Beam, Volcanion fails to kill it with Steam Eruption due to sun.
  
• No switchin against Magnezone. Two steel-weak mons, and both steel resists are weak to electric while Kartana is as thin as paper on the special side. Landorus can switch into correctly predicted T-bolts, but is 2HKOed by Flash Cannon. Volcanion tanks Flash Cannons but not T-bolt or Volt Switch.
  
• Similar case with other electrics as they tend to carry HP Ice, which Landorus doesn't like - and the other electric resist, Kartana, still can't take any hit.
  
• Scarf Kartana is... not great. It lacks a good STAB typing, movepool and offensive coverage so that it often fails to OHKO or 2HKO its target, while it can't switch in, even on resisted hits. I faced a sun team, and Kartana failed to 2HKO the opposing Chlorophyll Vensaur, so that it could not only kill Kartana, but also set up a Growth to sweep my team.
• Heatran is a nuisance to deal with, as it outspeeds and kills Volcanion with Earth Power, while being able to freely switch into Lele, Diancie, Kartana - when it doesn't use sacred sword -, and Celesteela.
• Magearna, especially shift gear variants with boltbeam, seem to have an easy time with this team.

Maybe replacing Kartana with a Ferrothorn or using a bulky Latias-Mega over Lele can solve some of those issues?