ORAS OU The Smogh Ness Monster

[IWantYouBad]

Hi guys,
I am here today to present to you my first competitive Team ever!

I've always had the desire to create something of my own since I started playing on Showdown (even if it is not a long time) and just yesterday I received an input: "To play something different, why not build something around regular Gyarados?".

I immediately liked how it sounded in my head...

So here I am in this, shy, RMT!

Ah...I state immediately that you must excuse me for some possible grammatical errors. English is not my native language.

Nessie (Gyarados) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 68 HP / 192 Atk / 248 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Bounce
- Waterfall
- Substitute

The Pokémon from which everything is born. If he is left behind the Sub, cause I've seen be underestimated by many, it is able to give a hard time to a good chunk of the OU and not being the Mega of the Team it means that its weaknesses (only 2) are easily covered.

Sceptiroth (Sceptile) (M) @ Sceptilite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Our Mega. I have rarely found it in ladder (in this period at least), but I think it is one of the best companions for Gyarados. They can easily cover each other not only as it regards the weaknesses but also for the type of defense that they will hit (if I can say so).

Hephaestus (Heatran) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock

At this point I felt the need of two things: a weapon to better fight very defensive Grass Types and someone who could set the rocks. Who better than Heatran? It give me also access to Burn (30% on Lava Plume it is not bad at all) and Toxic and it allows me to control the boring Stall Teams.

Lapis (Latios) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Recover
- Defog

Which is a Pokémon that is comfortable throughout and offers excellent coverage? It also bothers all those who seek to eliminate Heatran but which are not easily stopped by Gyarados and Sceptile since it is not their job. Overall I think it is an essential member for most teams.

LittlePwny (Keldeo) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Ice]I thought about what Latios suffered particularly and I thought Keldeo could be the perfect companion. Also I needed a Scarfer. and it gives me a way to deal effectively with Pokémons like Lando-T, Tyranitar and Garghomp.

Enten (Landorus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 232 Def / 28 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Stone Edge

After a quick glance, I realized that the Team was still a bit weak to Electric Mons and Ground Types. So who is better than Lando to complete it? But having already SR on Heatran I thought about putting Knock Off on him just to have some more utility and a physical defense of this caliber is always handy.
Well guys, this is the Team. Probably I would not have known how to best describe it given my limited experience, but overall I find it quite balanced.

Surely it will need some small changes...or drastic changes! But to be the first test I am very satisfied.

In any case I thank in advance those who will want to leave a comment and I hope to learn something more thanks to you.

 

[Morsel]

Sorry this isn't really a proper rate but I just wanna say I love your writing style! It's like I'm reading a story looking through your team.

 

[IWantYouBad]

Well, it's always nice to read replies like that :)

 

[IWantYouBad]

Don't mind me, just a bumperino :)

 

[IWantYouBad]

Someone (I can't remember the name) in game said to use something like:

Nessie (Gyarados) (F) @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang

And instead of Sceptile:

Dovahkiin (Clefable) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 172 SpD
Calm Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave

 

[lightninging]

gyarados is fine non mega. sceptile, tho, is horribly outclassed. it lacks bulk, and it also doesnt have the amage output of most toptier ou threats. in its place, id recommend megavenusaur. its another good elec resist, and it pairs very well with heatran (idk if youve ever heard of venutran but once upon a time it was all the rage).

Heres the set id recommend:
Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 232 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power Fire/Leech Seed
- Synthesis

You get good damage output while also having soooo much more bulk and defensive utility. the given EVs outpace adamant azumarill, hit a sr number, and maximize spA. hope this helps!

 

[IWantYouBad]

I'll try both the variation. Thanks a lot.

What about the rest of the Team?

 

[MeepBard]

Heya! Interesting team (and nice name, pretty clever imo). Normal Gyarados is fine, although it is a tad outclassed. But since that is what you are going for, I say keep it. I agree with lightninging's suggestion because Mega-Venusaur gives you much more bulk, which is crucial to your team. Keldeo's HP Ice should be replaced with Icy Wind because even though it has less power, it still gets a 2HKO on Lati@s and Dragonite while also lowering the opponents speed, crippling your opponent. The rest of your team looks pretty solid to me, good luck!

 

[IWantYouBad]

Hey thanks a lot!

 

[MANNAT]

Keep your current team, both regular gyarados and mega sceptile are perfectly viable in OU, I will drop a full rate in a few minutes

 

[IWantYouBad]

Can't wait Littlelucario, thanks a lot.

 

[MANNAT]

Hey there IWantYouBad, this is a really cool team with Mega Sceptile and Gyarados complementing each other very well.

Threat Overview
While this is a really solid team, there are most certainly several Pokemon that can threaten this team. To start, Surf Latios and Offensive Starmie can really devastate your team since your only Dragon resist is Heatran and your water resists die to BoltBeam. Not only that, but Mega Gardevoir and Mega Alakazam are also big issues for the team, as they almost always runs Focus Blast to peg Heatran as well as being absolute hell for the rest of your team to switch into. Additionally, your team has a hard time switching into Choice Band Azumarill without requiring prediction, as you have no mon to check it, and it comes in a lot vs Scarf Keld. Lastly, your team lacks any real wallbreaking power, so it will struggle against Balanced/Stall Teams, as they pack bulky enough Pokemon to wall your main team members.

Set Change(s)

Choice Scarf--->Choice Specs: As mentioned earlier, your team has a very difficult time breaking through bulkier teams, so you should change Keldeo's item to Choice Specs, as this allows you to do significantly more damage to bulkier mons such as Mega Sableye, Skarmory, Quagsire, etc. that make up common stall team cores. Not only that, but the added power from Choice Specs allows you to pressure Mega Gardevoir a lot more than you previously could, as it does enough to OHKO after a couple rounds of Stealth Rock recoil or some random chip damage.

Hidden Power Ice--->Hidden Power Bug: Hidden Power Ice really only hits the Lati twins on Keldeo and should be replaced by Icy Wind most of the time because it lets you outspeed common Keldeo switchins after attacking them upon switch such as Torn-T and Latios. However, this team also has an unfortunate weakness to Psychic types in general, with Offensive Starmie being one of the Pokemon that stick out, so you should run Hidden Power Bug on Keldeo to nail Starmie upon switch in, which is really nice since offensive Starmie usually forgoes recovery for a coverage move.

[Optional]
Defog--->Thunderbolt/Calm Mind: As your team stands, your only Stealth Rock weak Pokemon is Gyarados, who doesn't usually switch into battle that much, so Defog isn't really that great on it. I recommend replacing it with either Thunderbolt to hit Azumarill or Calm Mind to pressure bulkier teams, as it breaks through common counters at +1 like Chansey as well as essentially giving you a specs boost coupled with Life Orb, and it allows you to switch moves and even roost up to keep healthy vs Keldeo teams. This change is optional because it makes you a tad weaker to spikes stack, but your team pressures most common rockers really well in between Keldeo+Latios+Mega Scep.

Defensive Utility--->Defensive Swords Dance: While Knock Off is a solid utility move in general, this team appreciates some of Lando-T's other options a bit better. Running a Swords Dance set should be done, especially if you don't add Calm Mind Latios, as it allows you to pressure bulkier teams a lot more than you could before in conjunction with Keldeo. Additionally, SD Lando-T with Smack Down allows you to remove common Gyarados checks such as Skarmory, Zapdos, and Rotom-W so that Gyarados doesn't have to deal with them later in the game, which is really nice.

Substitute--->Rest+Chesto Berry: When using Substitute+Dragon Dance Gyarados, Gyara gets worn down really quickly into the range of many priority moves like Talonflame Brave Bird after a mon breaks your Substitute, so you should run Rest-O-Chesto Gyarados so that you can rest up when Gyarados gets low enough on HP and resume your sweep without having to worry about being revenge killed, which is really nice. Not only that, but Gyara's bulk allows it to safely rest vs a myriad to targets, not to mention that people often try to status setup sweepers with moves like Toxic.

Pokemon Change(s)

--->

As mentioned earlier, your team struggles with Mega Gardevoir, Mega Alakazam, and Surf Latios. Changing Jirachi to Heatran amends these issues while providing another VoltTurn user to complement Lando-T. Not only that, but Jirachi's superior bulk to Heatran allows it to take on Hidden Power Fire variants of Latios as well as Shadow Ball Alakazam, which is really neat for the team. Also, Jirachi stays as a Stealth Rocker for the team while also having Healing Wish on its moveset to give Gyarados, Landorus, or Latios a second chance to setup later in the game as well as allowing you to be more liberal against threats like Excadrill and Zardx with Lando-T, as it can be healed up if need be. Jirachi also helps vs Choice Band Azumarill a bit since it resists Play Rough, and it's neutral to both Waterfall and Superpower on Azumarill, but you should be careful to Scout for Knock Off before switching Jirachi straight in.

In the hide tag below are your adjusted sets, with changes being made in bold.

New Sets

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpD
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Bug]

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Recover
- Calm Mind/Thunderbolt

Landorus-Therian @ Earth Plate
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 28 HP / 240 Atk / 148 Def / 92 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Smack Down
- U-Turn

Gyarados @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 72 HP / 188 Atk / 248 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Bounce
- Waterfall
- Rest

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn/Body Slam
- Healing Wish

I hope you liked my rate an gl with the team :]

 

[IWantYouBad]

Wow, I don't really know how to thank you.

Some changes allow me to test Set not yet tested by me and still allow me to keep practically intact the whole Team.

Great, can not wait to try these changes!

P.s Being relatively new, this kind of advice helps me a lot for future Team Buildings

 

[MANNAT]

Wow, I don't really know how to thank you.

Some changes allow me to test Set not yet tested by me and still allow me to keep practically intact the whole Team.

Great, can not wait to try these changes!

P.s Being relatively new, this kind of advice helps me a lot for future Team Buildings

no problem man, seeing the positive feedback is all the thanks I need :]]