SM OU Bulky Offense (Peaked 1986 / 18-1 Ratio at high Ladder)

[⚡THUNDER482⚡]

Hi, this is my second RMT and today I will present you one of my 2 teams which allowed me to reach 1986 ELO. I will present you the other one next week in that it's 1 rmt/week. So it’s a Bulky Offense with a relatively slow volt-turn core and without defog user. Besides this team recquires to be played with a minimum of skill in that it needs to build a gameplan in every match in order to, for instance, sweep with Zygarde or lure with Mag. If you achieve to do it you will be able to have a chance against every playstyle.

Proof of Rank

Analysis

Zygarde @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Thousand Arrows
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed

So let’s begin. Zygarde was the first mon in my team. The idea was to build around him to allow him to sweep or to make trouble in opposite team the most often possible. I chose the dd and Z outrage set in that it can break a lot of defensive core or easily sweep in late game. Zygarde is extremely strong when he has the opportunity to set up so the idea is to take advantage of foes like heatran,Jirachi or locked target as Stone edge ttar. But for more effectiveness, I recommend to set up after weakened opposite team.

CALC :
+1 252+ Atk Zygarde Devastating Drake (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tangrowth: 349-412 (86.3 - 101.9%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 356-422 (97.8 - 115.9%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 280-330 (98.2 - 115.7%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

Mawile-Mega (M) @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 104 HP / 240 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Thunder Punch
- Fire Fang

Then I had to take a mon able to put pressure on Zygarde’s counters. Mawile was one of the best choice in that he can put incredibly pressure on foes that Zyg doesn’t like as Tapu fini, Clefable, Ferrothorn and even Lando-T RH to weaken him in order to let Zyg have more chance to sweep because Mawile attracts Lando’s. That’s why Hyper Cutter is a viable option over Intimidate but personnaly I think it’s more situationnal so it depends of point of views. Moreover, in return, Zygarde can take advantage of Heatran and others fire types that Mawile doesn’t like. I know we all know Mawile’s power lol so i dont think i need to show some calcs.

Greninja (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Gunk Shot
- Ice Beam
- Rock Slide

So now i needed a fast mon able to beat foes such as Manectric and Tapu koko because with the two first mons I didn’t have enough speed to struggle against them. So I decided to test ScarfGren, it was the first time I played him and it worked very well. With this set Greg can take advantage of a lot of mons that are annoying for the moment like Tapu Lele/Koko who are OHKO by Gunk Shot, opposite Greninjas who are OHKO by U-turn, same for Zam-M and even Manectric who doesn’t like to take a uturn each time he faces Gren. Besides, ScarfGren allows me to have an answer to Volca at +1 with HP Ice in using Rock Slide. The last slot is Ice Beam, even without investistment in spa it can OHKO foes such as Lando-t, Offensive Zygarde and Garchomp.

CALC : 252 Atk Protean Greninja Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 362-428 (128.8 - 152.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Protean Greninja U-turn vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 254-302 (89.1 - 105.9%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Protean Greninja U-turn vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Alakazam-Mega: 260-308 (103.5 - 122.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Ce dieu. (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 44 SpD / 216 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt / Discharge
- Roost
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Now it was time to introduce a ground immunity able to take advantage of Lando-T RH in order to avoid to be locked on Ice beam ScarfGren. So I chose Zapdos. This thing is an incredibly anti-meta and allows me to put pressure on foes like M-Zor, Ferro, Lando-T RH, Tapu Bulu or Tapu Fini so he works pretty well with Zygarde obviously. I decided to play the 3atk instead of the defog one because I dont really need defog support and overall I need fire and ice coverage. I put these ev’s in Speed to reach 290 and to allow Zapdos to outspeed Adamant Zygarde/Timid Tran/Jolly Bulu or Adamant Lando-T. Ev’s in HP and Spdef + Calm Nature maximizes his Special bulk but he can obviously check mons like Pinsir, Kartana or Hawlucha without Stone edge (but np it will miss :eh:)

CALC:
0 SpA Zapdos Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Fini: 188-224 (54.8 - 65.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Zapdos Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 24 SpD Landorus-Therian: 248-292 (64.9 - 76.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Zapdos Hidden Power Ice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde: 220-260 (61.4 - 72.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Zapdos Heat Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Bulu: 172-204 (61.2 - 72.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 72 Def / 140 SpD / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Will-O-Wisp
- Soft-Boiled
- Volt Switch / U-turn

I didn’t have SR user and a check to Medicham or Tapu Lele so my choice turned into Mew. With this spread, he isn’t 2HKO’ed by HJK’s Medicham and by any move of ScarfLele but however SpecsLele with Moonblast can be annoying for him. Volt Switch is here for momentum, it’s incredibly interesting and thanks to his relatively Slow Volt Switch (250 speed), he allows me to put the right mon in order to put a lot of pressure. It can also get opposite AshGrens predicting Will-o-Wisp or Volt switch on Volcarona who try to set up vs Mew in order to take 10 or 15% of his life and put him in Rock Slide range even with his potential Charti berry (Rock Slide does a min roll of 94% against charti volca). The two last slow are obvious. PS: Psychic is a viable option to take advantage of foe like M-Saur to not struggle against him but personnaly I prefer momentum with Volt Switch, it's very important in that team.

Magearna @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flash Cannon
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch

Last but not least Magearna ! This is the lure of my team and this set works very well. Also I needed a mon able to lure lando-t zygarde and chomp because I dont have any switch-in to Thousand Arrows and with Shuca berry I can kill Lando-t RH who is annoying for Zygarde. The idea is to keep magearna with at least 60% when there are Zygarde Lando-t or Chomp for example in opposite team (it’s obv almost always the case lol). Why 60% ? Because it allows Mag to survive a Thousand Arrows from banded Zyg and even an EQ from Adamant Lando-t (except from Earth Plate or LO but it’s rare). Obviously this set works too vs other grounds like Dugtrio or EQ from Nite/Ttar.

CALC :
252+ SpA Magearna Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 24 SpD Landorus-Therian: 504-596 (131.9 - 156%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Magearna Ice Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde: 452-532 (126.2 - 148.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO.

Threatlist

Marowak is a huge threat for my team particularly in TR because I dont have any switch in to his moves. If You face him, try to put SR fastly then you will 2HKO him on the switch with Mawile and even Magearna. Zygarde and Greninja are viable options to beat him but most of the time the opponent will switch to get a kill later.

Heatran can be annoying in that I dont have a lot of moves to touch him. If you face him try to not send Zygarde on his moves because Zyg is the main option to beat him and if He takes a Magma Storm/Toxic/Wow, his staying power is limited so try to turn around him with mew in using Volt Switch to send Zygarde without any risk. Zapdos is faster and can seriously weaken Tran or Mawile can finish him. In talking of Mawile I wanted to test Focus Punch to lure Trans but I think Thunder Punch is generally better particularly vs stalls.

Greninja-Ash, in a lesser extent, can be a threat for my team in that I dont rly have switch in to Hpump but with ScarfGren I can pressure him and Zapdos/Zyg/Mag can all take a hit and OHKO him, even Mew (if Gren hasn't evolved yet)
can take Dark Pulse/Hpump and use Volt Switch, so it's pretty easy to manage him but still be careful, if not AshGren can have fun lol.

Replays

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-590790293 Vs. TR
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-591093313 Vs. Ben Gay rmt
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-591115934 Vs. HO sticky
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-591131041 Vs. Paycard's Offense
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-591915137 Vs. ShedStall
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-591893716 Vs. Balanced

Import

Zygarde @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Thousand Arrows
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed

Mawile-Mega (M) @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 104 HP / 240 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Thunder Punch
- Fire Fang

Greninja (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Gunk Shot
- Ice Beam
- Rock Slide

Ce dieu. (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 44 SpD / 216 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Roost
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 72 Def / 140 SpD / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Will-O-Wisp
- Soft-Boiled
- Volt Switch

Magearna @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flash Cannon
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch

I hope you enjoyed my team ! n_n. Also I thank my friend Birdo.Bae for making my cute logo ! Feel free to say me your impressions about it and have a nice day ! (PS:I'm french so one more time sorry for possible mistakes haha)

 

[Gross Sweep]

Hey cool team and grats on the peak! While I'm not the biggest fan of no spikes or removal right now, you seem to be doing pretty well without them. I also really like the way this team plays just watching replays (although I'd prefer a SPL Stall replay > Shed Stall as the BP ban has made that the lesser of the two imo). I do however have one small suggestion that could help the team a tad.

On Zapdos I would recommend Pressure over Static for the ability. If at some point in the game you've revealed the Scarf on Greninja (meaning no spikes) along with Stealth Rock on Mew (Meaning no Defog) a lot of people are going to look at the Zapdos, and think that has to be defogger. So, if you've only revealed one coverage option at this point a Pressure Zapdos (which is compatible with Defog) could lure in a threat as they're thinking you lack coverage to hit them / simply think you're going to defog so it's a pretty free switch. I personally feel the ability to bluff Defog outweighs the odd para chance, especially vs teams that prioritize keeping up rocks or other hazards like Sticky Webs.

 

[⚡THUNDER482⚡]

Hi and thanks. Yeah I think too, stalls with Clef can make more troubles to my team than shedstalls.
Interesting idea I didn't even know we couldn't play Zapdos with defog without pressure but is it necessary ? Is the coverage's lure more effective than the 30% to para ? Personally I dont think, I love how Zapdos para u-turn users such as Greninja or Lando-t or physical attackers like Swampert or Pinsir and generally I dont need to hide heat wave. Anyways, most of the time opponent will scout my set before send their Ferro for example LOL.

 

[Gross Sweep]

Yeah I was definitely interested in seeing how you handled the more standard stall, since in your replay you relied on para hax to beat the chansey, but reviewing the team DD Zygarde + Mawile is your main way of beating it - but with unaware clef to stop Zygarde and Dugtrio taking out Mawile after about 10-15% chip damage I was just interested to see you break it (totally doable, just wanted to see it - hear about how often you beat it). Also on Zapdos it does come down to preference a lot since the para chance can be nice. Although I will mention U-turn on Gren is falling on the Ash set as Spikes rises, Defensive Landorus-T is starting to run Protect Leftovers to beat Zygarde more cleanly (dropping U-turn), and the Static isn't really needed to beat M-Pinsir (but without defog I see how the chance to para comes in handy vs that). I guess it comes down to the consistent bluff, or the % chance to para - but yes both are solid options. Also I get people will scout the set, but with Pressure you actually make them scout since a Static Zapdos is pretty much guaranteed at this point to be 3 attacks or some offensive set. But, it's definitely your choice as the Para chance from Static can be nice when it activates.

 

[⚡THUNDER482⚡]

Yeah I'm totally aware that I'm weak to stalls with Clef, we will say that it's a choice lol because we cant manage all the meta. I liked how this team worked against offensive or balanced playstyles so I dont really know what to change to have more chances against Clef's stalls without break its effectiveness against other playstyles. (Also that's why I needed my other team to struggle against the many stalls on ladder at a point)

 

[bludz]

Hey dude I think this team looks pretty solid. I just have a couple minor things I would suggest.

For Mawile, I would change the EV spread to 104 HP / 240 Atk / 164 Spe. Your current spread speed ties with Skarmory which could be annoying for trying to 2HKO it with Thunder Punch. You also only need 104 HP EVs to survive Dugtrio's Earthquake, so you can get away with moving those 4 additional EVs to Speed.

The only other thing that I really think I would change a little is Mew. While I like the idea of Volt Switch, I think it leaves you more susceptible to Lightning Rod Marowak primarily, but also Sub Zygarde to an extent. I think you could be just fine with U-turn instead, since it still hits Greninja well and chips Volcarona just enough unless you get burned beforehand.

BTW Shuca Magearna is insanely good at luring, I think the combo of that + fast HP Ice Zapdos is really good for checking offensive ground types.

Edit: oh yeah I would suggest changing Thunderbolt to Discharge on Zapdos. You hardly miss the power in exchange for 30% to paralyze

 

[⚡THUNDER482⚡]

Hi bludz yeah I realised just after posting I had the same speed that Skarm on mawile so yeah I agree with this spread.

Concerning U-turn it's not a bad idea at all but even if Volt switch isnt here to do much damages I think it allows me to touch foes like mantine/celesteela/keldeo and generally sub zygarde is played with coil and around 240 speed so I can use wow if necessary. However I will test it seems interesting.

I really hesitated between Tbolt and discharge on Zapdos and finally I chose power instead of para. I know Static + Discharge is a great combo but Tbolt allow me to 2hko some foes instead of 3hko with discharge and I consider there are still good chances to para with contact moves so yeah it's really a choice and mine was to play Tbolt but I will edit my post and add an other option for Zapdos.