Introduction
Hey there! This is my second RMT. I love mega heracross and have always been able to see past it's flaws, (Talonflame and other flying types in particular). So It didn't surprise me that when I started playing around with OU, this beastly bug of BL was one of the first things that came to mind. I admit that you can't ignore the big beetle's flaws, so I just covered for them instead. So, anyways, lets get to the point.
A Quick Look
Teambuilding Process
I started with just Mega Heracross, and built from the core of a swords dance sweeper.
Heracross isn't the fastest, especially compared to many flying types so I brought in Thundurus for a prankster T-Wave. Taunt and Volt Switch also add to this great Pokémon's versatility.
For trapsetting and as a bonus, extra coverage on fairies with gyro ball, I've found that Ferrothorn works nicely with this team.
I thought that tentacruel would do nicely for rapid spinning, and could also support with toxic spikes.
Even with paralysis, gale wings gives brave bird priority and I couldn't rely on parahax, so as a talonflame counter, Tyranitar joined the team.
Weavile was put in as a general cleanup pokemon and revenge killer with high speed, high power and priority in ice shard, but also as a cover to offensive Gliscor and Landorus-T.
After playing around with this team, I realized that Tentacruel had bad synergy with the team. It wasn't doing much and toxic spikes actually stopped me from being able to spread paralysis. I also realized that I needed a cleric with heal bell or aromatherapy, so smeargle, being the only pokemon that can learn both rapid spin and a team healing move was tentacruel's replacement.
Well, Smeargle's lifetime on the team was certainly short lived. As pointed out in the comments by Tio Chico, a bulky latias defogger with healing wish would do far better than smeargle.
Set Details
Heracross-Mega @ Heracronite
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast
- Swords Dance
Heracross is the center of this team. With an insane 185 base attack and an ability granting many powerful moves, Mega Heracross is a force to be reckoned with. It can even do heavy damage to flying types that it predicts or that it can outspeed with rock blast, a 125 BP rock type move with skill link. Swords Dance is to rocket it's attack to insane levels. A +2 Skill Link Pin Missile hits like a TRUCK. Pin Missile is it's primary STAB as it is a base of 125, 187 with 95% accuracy and no drawbacks. Close Combat is secondary STAB and provides great damage on types that resist pin missile. It's defense dropping effect is okay, because Mega-Heracross has limited bulk anyways.
Thundurus @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 200 HP / 248 SpA / 60 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
Prankster Thundurus is a great support 'mon with T-Wave and taunt. It can paralyze faster pokémon so that Heracross can outspeed them. Volt Switch is for pivoting and T-Bolt is in case Thundurus needs to stay in and attack. Thundurus can be an effective and adaptable lead as it can screw up other leads with priority taunt and then use T-Wave on the switch in to screw up an entire team. Volt Switch is for when Thundurus just needs to leave and with 248 EVs in special attack, it and especially T-bolt hit quite hard.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 200 HP / 56 Def / 252 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Sassy Nature
- Protect
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
Ferrothorn is a great pokemon, being able to set rocks and spikes, with considerable bulk and access to leech seed for residual healing. Gyro ball with a base 20 speed and 0 IVs in speed hits quite hard, especially on faster pokémons. Basically, unless it's a special fire type, Ferrothorn can do something to it, whether it be iron barbs damage+recoil from flare blitz or for non fire types, Ferrothorn can easily bulk out enough to set rocks and seeds and then can place down layers upon layers of spikes and attack with Gyro Ball freely.
Tyranitar @ Expert Belt
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Earthquake
Being mostly a counter for pokes that this team is weak to, I thought that expert belt would be a good decision for Tyranitar, as it provides a boost to all super effective moves without the negative effects of a life orb. Unnerve is because sand stream would screw up my team. Basically a pretty standard EdgeQuake set with crunch for secondary stab and pursuit for pokémon that would be scared off by Tyranitar.
Latias@Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Timid Nature
EVs: 72 Hp, 184 SpA, 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
-Defog
-Psyshock
-Draco Meteor
-Healing Wish
Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick
Weavile is a counter for Landorus-T and Gliscor while also being an effective revenge killer with high speed, priority and high power. Knock Off and Icicle Crash are the primary stab moves while Low Kick is coverage and Ice Shard is a handy little priority move. Weavile with Life Orb is actually insanely powerful, and murders most pokémon that don't resist it's STABs. Weavile's shortened lifetime from Life Orb doesn't actually matter, because it will almost never be used throughout the game or asked to take a hit.
Former Team Members
Tentacruel @ Leftovers
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Rain Dance
- Substitute
- Rapid Spin
Before Smeargle was a part of my team, Tentacruel was my spinner. I probably could have made many improvements to his set, but I decided to just eliminate him all together. He served his purpose, but not very well, and in the end he had to go. Smeargle, though it has very limited bulk, was by far the better option.
Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Aromatherapy
- Rapid Spin
- Pain Split
As I said, Smeargle has insanely limited bulk. If you mess up, it's gone. I didn't realize because I often overlook defoggers, but especially with spikes gone from Ferrothorn, Latias is definitely the better option for my team.
Final thoughts
So, that was my team. Feel free to tell me any mistakes I made or improvements that I could make. I'm still fairly new to competitive pokémon and am striving to get better. Thanks a lot for any and all suggestions!
A Last Look
Hey there! This is my second RMT. I love mega heracross and have always been able to see past it's flaws, (Talonflame and other flying types in particular). So It didn't surprise me that when I started playing around with OU, this beastly bug of BL was one of the first things that came to mind. I admit that you can't ignore the big beetle's flaws, so I just covered for them instead. So, anyways, lets get to the point.
A Quick Look
Teambuilding Process
I started with just Mega Heracross, and built from the core of a swords dance sweeper.
Heracross isn't the fastest, especially compared to many flying types so I brought in Thundurus for a prankster T-Wave. Taunt and Volt Switch also add to this great Pokémon's versatility.
For trapsetting and as a bonus, extra coverage on fairies with gyro ball, I've found that Ferrothorn works nicely with this team.
I thought that tentacruel would do nicely for rapid spinning, and could also support with toxic spikes.
Even with paralysis, gale wings gives brave bird priority and I couldn't rely on parahax, so as a talonflame counter, Tyranitar joined the team.
Weavile was put in as a general cleanup pokemon and revenge killer with high speed, high power and priority in ice shard, but also as a cover to offensive Gliscor and Landorus-T.
After playing around with this team, I realized that Tentacruel had bad synergy with the team. It wasn't doing much and toxic spikes actually stopped me from being able to spread paralysis. I also realized that I needed a cleric with heal bell or aromatherapy, so smeargle, being the only pokemon that can learn both rapid spin and a team healing move was tentacruel's replacement.
Well, Smeargle's lifetime on the team was certainly short lived. As pointed out in the comments by Tio Chico, a bulky latias defogger with healing wish would do far better than smeargle.
Set Details
Heracross-Mega @ Heracronite
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast
- Swords Dance
Heracross is the center of this team. With an insane 185 base attack and an ability granting many powerful moves, Mega Heracross is a force to be reckoned with. It can even do heavy damage to flying types that it predicts or that it can outspeed with rock blast, a 125 BP rock type move with skill link. Swords Dance is to rocket it's attack to insane levels. A +2 Skill Link Pin Missile hits like a TRUCK. Pin Missile is it's primary STAB as it is a base of 125, 187 with 95% accuracy and no drawbacks. Close Combat is secondary STAB and provides great damage on types that resist pin missile. It's defense dropping effect is okay, because Mega-Heracross has limited bulk anyways.
Thundurus @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 200 HP / 248 SpA / 60 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
Prankster Thundurus is a great support 'mon with T-Wave and taunt. It can paralyze faster pokémon so that Heracross can outspeed them. Volt Switch is for pivoting and T-Bolt is in case Thundurus needs to stay in and attack. Thundurus can be an effective and adaptable lead as it can screw up other leads with priority taunt and then use T-Wave on the switch in to screw up an entire team. Volt Switch is for when Thundurus just needs to leave and with 248 EVs in special attack, it and especially T-bolt hit quite hard.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 200 HP / 56 Def / 252 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Sassy Nature
- Protect
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
Ferrothorn is a great pokemon, being able to set rocks and spikes, with considerable bulk and access to leech seed for residual healing. Gyro ball with a base 20 speed and 0 IVs in speed hits quite hard, especially on faster pokémons. Basically, unless it's a special fire type, Ferrothorn can do something to it, whether it be iron barbs damage+recoil from flare blitz or for non fire types, Ferrothorn can easily bulk out enough to set rocks and seeds and then can place down layers upon layers of spikes and attack with Gyro Ball freely.
Tyranitar @ Expert Belt
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Earthquake
Being mostly a counter for pokes that this team is weak to, I thought that expert belt would be a good decision for Tyranitar, as it provides a boost to all super effective moves without the negative effects of a life orb. Unnerve is because sand stream would screw up my team. Basically a pretty standard EdgeQuake set with crunch for secondary stab and pursuit for pokémon that would be scared off by Tyranitar.
Latias@Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Timid Nature
EVs: 72 Hp, 184 SpA, 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
-Defog
-Psyshock
-Draco Meteor
-Healing Wish
Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick
Weavile is a counter for Landorus-T and Gliscor while also being an effective revenge killer with high speed, priority and high power. Knock Off and Icicle Crash are the primary stab moves while Low Kick is coverage and Ice Shard is a handy little priority move. Weavile with Life Orb is actually insanely powerful, and murders most pokémon that don't resist it's STABs. Weavile's shortened lifetime from Life Orb doesn't actually matter, because it will almost never be used throughout the game or asked to take a hit.
Former Team Members
Tentacruel @ Leftovers
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Rain Dance
- Substitute
- Rapid Spin
Before Smeargle was a part of my team, Tentacruel was my spinner. I probably could have made many improvements to his set, but I decided to just eliminate him all together. He served his purpose, but not very well, and in the end he had to go. Smeargle, though it has very limited bulk, was by far the better option.
Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Aromatherapy
- Rapid Spin
- Pain Split
As I said, Smeargle has insanely limited bulk. If you mess up, it's gone. I didn't realize because I often overlook defoggers, but especially with spikes gone from Ferrothorn, Latias is definitely the better option for my team.
Final thoughts
So, that was my team. Feel free to tell me any mistakes I made or improvements that I could make. I'm still fairly new to competitive pokémon and am striving to get better. Thanks a lot for any and all suggestions!
A Last Look
Fully importable version of the team for anyone who wishes to use it on Pokémon Showdown:
Heracross-Mega @ Heracronite
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast
- Swords Dance
Thundurus @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 200 HP / 248 SpA / 60 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 200 HP / 56 Def / 252 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Sassy Nature
- Protect
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Timid Nature
- Defog
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Healing Wish
Tyranitar @ Expert Belt
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Earthquake
Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick
Heracross-Mega @ Heracronite
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast
- Swords Dance
Thundurus @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 200 HP / 248 SpA / 60 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 200 HP / 56 Def / 252 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Sassy Nature
- Protect
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Timid Nature
- Defog
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Healing Wish
Tyranitar @ Expert Belt
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Earthquake
Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick
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