Introduction
Hi everyone I’m Colin (meyhem l on the ladder) and this is a team I made with my friend BHARATH_THEBEST based around Choice Specs Gengar. I was eventually able to peak #1 on the OU ladder while using it, so I’ve decided to share the team with all of you.
Teambuilding Process
We decided we wanted to build around Choice Specs Gengar, as it hits incredibly hard and there very few ghost resists throughout the tier.
We thought spike support would be great when paired with Gengar, so we opted for Protean Greninja, which gives the team some more speed and offensive presence that is difficult to predict.
Mega Metagross was added as we thought we were weak to Tapu Lele, especially Choice Scarf variants. Metagross is one of the best Pokemon in the tier, and like Protean Greninja it’s strong, fast, and has incredible coverage.
Our team was looking very weak to Choice Specs Ash Greninja, so we decided to add AV Tangrowth to help alleviate that weakness and give us some overall great defensive utility. Tangrowth can also help deal with offensive ground types such as Zygarde, Garchomp and some Landorous.
We still needed rocks and way to break stall, so we opted for SD rocks Landorous with Rockium Z. It not only helps with our stall match up, but gives use an important ground immunity and way to break bulky nuisances such as Celesteela and Zapdos.
Despite having a fairly fast team, we still needed speed control in the form of a scarfer. We opted for Garchomp, which has a nice speed tier and typing that is useful for handling things such as Charizard-Y and Volcarona.
The Team
Gengar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Focus Blast
- Trick
Choice Specs Gengar is the focal point of the team and is an absolute monster in the tier at the moment. Ghost resists in OU are few and far between, meaning Gengar gets to consistently spam strong Shadow Balls, making it a very hard pokemon to switch in to. Gengar’s typing is useful for soft checking Pheromosa, which is obviously a huge threat, and Poison STAB is nice in a tier with same many Fairy types. Being a Ghost type allows Gengar to serve as a spin blocker and prevents it from being trapped by Dugtrio. Trick allows you to neuter Chansey and potentially other walls.
Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Hydro Pump
Greninja is a very reliable spike setter, which is important because our team lacks hazard control, meaning you must often rely on matching hazards with opposing spikes based teams. Protean makes Greninja one of the most difficult pokemon to switch and allows to reliably dent nearly the whole tier. Gunk Shot allows you to pressure Tapu Fini when it attempts to Defog, while HP Fire nets kills on Ferrothorn and Scizor. Hydro Pump is just a strong move that allows you to dent things you can’t hit super effectively.
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Bullet Punch
- Thunder Punch
Mega Metagross is probably the best pokemon in the tier at the moment, as it is fast, hits insanely hard, and has incredible natural bulk. To go along with this, it also a fantastic movepool, making it hard to predict. To go along with standard Meteor Mash and Earthquake, we’ve opted for Bullet Punch to give the team a form of priority, which allows Metagross to check things such as Pheromosa after chip damage. Thunder Punch allows us to hit Skarmory, Celesteela, Gyarados, Mantine, and Charizard-Y.
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Tangrowth is the only true defensive Pokemon on the team. Assault Vest allows it reliably check a myriad of special attackers, including the ever so threating Ash Greninja. Bulky Grass types are great in the current metagame, and HP Ice allows Tangrowth to deal with Zygarde, Garchomp, and some Landorous. Earthquake allows you to hit Heatrans as they switch and lets you dent Steel types such as Metagross and Magearna.
Landorus-Therian @ Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
I think offensive Landorous is one of the best rockers at the moment, and is invaluable to this team. Using this set well will allow you to break stall and break teams which rely on fat defensive cores. An offensive set allows to punish Tapu Fini as it switches in when you set up Stealth Rock, while Swords Dance allows it to take on Pokemon such as Scizor, Zygarde, and many others. The EV’s for allowing you to outspeed Zapdos, but I’m not sure this is the most optimal spread. I feel as though max speed could be the better option, but the team has been successful so I haven’t changed it.
Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Outrage
Garchomp serves as the teams speed control, and it’s base 102 Speed allows to check the rampant amount of base 100 Speed Pokemon capable of boosting such as Salamence, Charizard-X, and Volcarona. While it’s unfortunate that you pretty much always have to lock yourself into a move that the opposing team has an immunity to, Earthquake and Outrage hit pretty hard. Additionally, Garchomp’s typing allows to soft check Fire types such as Charizard-Y and Heatran.
Conclusion
Overall, this is a pretty fun offense team that has worked really well for BTB and I. There are some pretty massive threats to it, such as Autotomize Celesteela, Quiver Dance Pheromosa, and Mega Scizor. The stall matchup is also pretty difficult because nothing really handles Mega Sableye, but it is not unwinnable. Overall, I think this is a pretty well built team that has proven to be effective. It’s pretty easy to use and gives you a chance to win versus nearly any other archetype. Shoutout Dokkerich, Patlop, TK, Denis, Eric and everyone else.
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Gengar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Focus Blast
- Trick
Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Hydro Pump
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Bullet Punch
- Thunder Punch
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Landorus-Therian @ Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 140 HP / 252 Atk / 116 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Outrage
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Focus Blast
- Trick
Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Hydro Pump
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Bullet Punch
- Thunder Punch
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Landorus-Therian @ Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 140 HP / 252 Atk / 116 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Outrage
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