Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Explosion / Superpower
Credits to
paper dreams for discussing this nomination with me! Currently, my main concern here is Exca. I realize covering Exca with highly offensive builds like this one isn't always easy, but this team would appreciate some counter play regardless to avoid being trampled. When I think of Exca checks on offense, Pokemon like Loom and Azu instantly come to mind. However, I don't think either fits very well on the team currently, mainly because they're both slow and make things like offensive Electric-types even more dangerous to face. With this established, Scarf Lando-T appeared to be a good choice. Although it's not the best Exca answer in the world, it does give the team something to fall back on when up against the mole. In addition, it's able to check offensive Electric-types like Thund-I and Mega Manec. These are two well known threats to offense, and Latios as our only real check is definitely shaky. This aside, Lando-T's revenge killing capabilities as a whole are appreciated. This is because the team appears to rely on Klefki to emergency check a ton of faster offensive threats, so the likelihood of it getting overwhelmed is high. Lando-T gives us some much needed speed to relieve some pressure from Klefki and help keep threats like Mega Lop, Mega Zam, and DDers like Mega Gyarados in check. Lando-T accomplishes these roles all while fitting the offensive nature of the team, even providing U-turn to help keep up or generate momentum.
While Lando-T does help the team patch up a few offensive weaknesses, it doesn't do much to assist with stall unfortunately. Assuming Lando-T is chosen, I like the sound of
LightningLuxray's Mega Gyara as the final member. Offensive Water-types are always nice to have on offense, and Mega Gyara gives us a little something extra to pressure fatter builds. Double Intimidate between Lando-T and Mega Gyara prior to evolving is also nice on offensive teams like this to help with Zard-X, Talon, and so on. The offensive combo it forms with Lucario isn't half bad either, and the ground immunity in its unevolved state is useful to further help with Exca and others.