To make a long story short, I'm one of those people who isn't happy with slapping the top 6 OU mons on a team and calling it a day. Nope, gotta get my cool points. And thus, this team was made. Okay, it's not reaching the top of the ladder anytime soon, but I get more wins than losses with it...and y'know what? It's fun to play. It feels good to win with this. And that's a nice thing.
At a glance:
Building process:
Cool mon #1? Honchkrow. I was initially considering building a UU team around this bird...buuut then the hipster urge overcame me.
Bane of birds everywhere is Stealth Rock. This particular bird also hates Fairies. Excadrill gets rid of both.
Something else that plagues birds is Electricity. Marowak-A absorbs that...somehow, while also setting up my own Rocks.
The problem with Excadrill and Marowak-A is their weaknesses to common Ground, Fire, and Water moves. I initially used Mega Sharpedo here, but the severe lack of bulk was really painful. Hence replacing the shark with the shrimp. The extra Rock weak mon can be a liability, but overall has made a much better fit.
Enter cool mon #2. Roserade was introduced to facilitate a Honchkrow sweep by setting up Spikes and shutting down threats with Sleep Powder. It also completes a FWG core.
Finally, I looked for a pivot that would glue the team together. I started with Rotom-W, but then realized that I didn't have much to stop set-up sweepers. Unaware Clefable fixed that, and also provided Wish support.
The team in depth:
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Brave Bird
- Sucker Punch
- Superpower
Bird. Okay, I'll admit: I wanted to try Z-Mirror Move for the stolen opponent Z-move potential. Then I realized that no, Mirror Move does not have priority. Whoops. That idea went into the scrap heap, but Honchkrow himself stayed. Why Honchkrow? Well, I like the mon, firstly, but it's also an unusual threat that not many teams are prepared for.
Z-Brave Bird helps get the Moxie train rolling. Sucker Punch is useful priority. Pursuit makes for 50/50 scenarios between attacking and retreating. Finally, Superpower gets around Rocks and Steels, and is a move I think a lot of people forget Honchkrow can learn. Takes quite a few off guard.
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
Mole. Mole's job is to spin SR and check Fairies, both of which bother this team a lot. This was initially a more offensive spread, but the lack of bulk made checking stuff like Tapu Lele and Alakazam harder than it should've been. Though fatter, Excadrill is still formidably strong, and is one of two answers to Electric types.
Rapid Spin gets rid of hazards. EQ and Iron Head are STABs. Rock Slide hits Flying types. I chuckle when people miss that mole has Mold Breaker and it blows up their Rotom-W/Hydreigon/thing this normally should not be able to hit.
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Bone
- Fire Punch
- Bonemerang
- Stealth Rock
Ghost. I was surprised how darn strong Marowak-A is. While the primary function of this mon is to be Electric-and-Fairy-check-#2, you have to respect the holes this thing punches in opposing teams. It also acts as a spinblocker, useful when I'm packing two hazards.
The EV spread is likely unoptimized for the role I want this to play, but I find running a 252 Atk/252 Spe set makes Marowak-A too frail to effectively pivot into threats I want to check. Plus, this thing has 45 base Speed. I don't believe maximum investment is useful.
Shadow Bone is power. Fire Punch over Flare Blitz to preserve as much of this mon's health as possible. Bonemerang is a Toxapex deterrent. And rocks are rocks.
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
Shrimp. Gyarados has proven himself to be a major part of this team's success -- even more than the mon this team was built to support in the first place! Gyarados comes in on so many threats like Mega Scizor, Dugtrio, and Landorus-T, it's ridiculous. Intimidate is very useful, and makes it easier not only for him to set up, even with minimal defensive investment, but also to soften attacks for teammates. Sometimes I won't Mega-evolve until late game, just to keep Intimidate around.
The set is pretty standard, and I don't think it requires much explanation. Crunch and Waterfall are STABs once Mega. Dragon Dance can make this one of three win conditions on this team. Earthquake is for Toxapex, bulky Steels, and Rotoms that forget this gets Mold Breaker.
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder
Plant. Roserade is definitely not an OU staple, but she fills an important spot in this team. She busts bulky Waters and Grounds, sets up hazards to facilitate sweeps, and shuts down a mon with sleep. Natural Cure means she can take burns and paralysis with little concern. Minimal bulk can be a problem sometimes, but her speed and power is too useful to cut in to.
Spikes deal residual damage to grounded foes, which, combined with SR, means Gyarados, Honchkrow, and Clefable don't have to set up as much to get KOs. Giga Drain helps keep her healthy. Sludge Bomb is strong STAB and OHKOs Tapu Bulu. Sleep Powder affords my sweepers time to set up.
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect
Blob. All it took was a single Porygon-Z to show me that this team, prior to Clefable's addition, was very susceptible to set-up mons. Clefable's mere presence ignores stat boosts thanks to Unaware, making threats like the aforementioned P-Z, Quiver Dance Pheromosa, and DD Gyara (ironically) not a problem. She provides Wish support to the team, which is useful when none of them have means of recovery. And then she can set up herself with Calm Mind, making her a win condition in some situations.
Calm Mind means she can win any set-up war, since she ignores the opponent's boosts. Moonblast is STAB and hits many things for neutral damage. Wish keeps herself and her teammates healthy. Protect guarantees the self Wish procs and scouts for movesets and Choice items.
Big problems:
Charizard-Y and Sun teams tend to steamroll the squad pretty harshly. Everything on my team is 2HKOd by Sun-boosted Fire moves.
Ugh, I gag every time I see this. If Marowak-A is dead, I can't touch Celesteela. Gyarados can set up on it to an extent, but the combination of Leech Seed, Protect, and occasionally Toxic means it's often a losing battle. It's GG if it gets a Beast Boost.
Mega-Metagross is also an issue. It usually costs a mon or two to get this into Earthquake or Sucker Punch KO range thanks to its bulk.
- - -
Anyway, there's the not-butt team. It was fun to build this and, despite its flaws, it's fun to play. After all, Pokemon is all about the cool points, right?
...right?
Honchkrow (M) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Brave Bird
- Sucker Punch
- Superpower
Excadrill (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
Marowak-Alola (F) @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Bone
- Fire Punch
- Bonemerang
- Stealth Rock
Roserade (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder
Gyarados (M) @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Brave Bird
- Sucker Punch
- Superpower
Excadrill (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
Marowak-Alola (F) @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Bone
- Fire Punch
- Bonemerang
- Stealth Rock
Roserade (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder
Gyarados (M) @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-528811062
A small showcase of Honchkrow cracking open my opponent's team after getting two Moxie boosts.
A small showcase of Honchkrow cracking open my opponent's team after getting two Moxie boosts.
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