Introduction with notes about the state of the No-mega metagame:
In late September when I noticed there would be a sign up for an OU-no mega tour I was stoked. i had begun playing the No-mega tier before the end of the Landorus-i meta when it first came out and had done well on the ladder peaking #1 a few times using a spike stacking team that I RMT'd months earlier (http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/ou-no-mega-bulky-offense-peaked-1.3534654/#post-6158053 if anyone cares to look). However the team felt more tailored to the Landorus-i meta to me, I hadn't used it in months, and didn't strike me as something that I would want to use in the tournament. So I built a few different teams and after winning round 1 and watched the tournament unfold from sporadic replays posted by participants and from games on PS. I quickly noticed sand was prominent and something I should definitely prepare for.(Ex: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battletower-ounomega-338564,
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ounomega-278035473).
While in the tournament Excadrill, Tyranitar, and Hippowdon (either separately or 2 of them together) seemed to be everywhere, the no-mega ladder was dominated by balance and bulky offense often based off of Skarmory/Ferrothorn stacking spikes assisted with defensive pivots like Landorus-t and/or Rotom-W. Stall was also beginning to creep into the occasion as well centered around the ABR stall core of Amongus, Chansey, Skarmory, Quagsire, and goth. The last slot was often taken up by Zapdos to check Tornadus-T and stallbreaker Talonflame, and even Gliscor if carrying hp ice, a build made popular by the efforts of Staceface/Gaegaerg and later StrawhatHecky. In creating this team I set to make an offensive build that would beat bulky teams but also could handle sand offense quite readily, while having some counter-play to threats that offense usually struggles with.
Team Preview:
I started with life orb Mamoswine as I thought it would be a great choice for both decimating balance and doing work against sand
I thought about adding Magnezone to trap Skarm but decided to go with Thundurus as I find trappers lame. I went with the mixed set to lure chansey and felt like mamo and thundy would work well together as Mamo beats bulky grounds like Hippowdon that Thundurus struggles with. In particular freeze dry Mamo could lure and beat Quagsire, a problem for Thunderus against stall.
I wanted a hazard setter that wasn't a suicide lead that could beat other hazard setters and went with taunt air balloon Heatran. It can act as a stallbreaker as well with magma storm and can act as a soft check to talonflame.
My team so far was very weak to Weavile so I added choice band Azumarill. The bunny also acts as a real strong pokemon against sand and provides another form of priority.
I added breloom next as I found my team weak bisharp and also wanted another water resist in case I had to take a +6 aqua jet from belly drum azumarill. Breloom is also another pokemon that wrecks sand and spore is rediculous.
I originally had Latios in my final spot for hazard removal but felt like the team was too slow so added Alakzam which is unaffected by hazards and provides some speed. Originally had life orb for power but felt my team had enough firepower for beating bulky teams and felt focus sash would better provide an emergency check against threats like Bisharp, Talonflame, and Weavile with sash intact.
Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 244 Atk / 12 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Freeze-Dry
Plucked this set right off of the analysis because I thought it looked really interesting. The endeavor lead set which is awful in OU is viable in no-mega sans Mega-Sableye, and one of my friends on the ladder uses it to great success, but I wanted to try something different. Many people opt for Weavile over life orb Mamoswine, but Mamoswine has several perks over it. While weaville is very good against offense with its blistering speed tier mamoswine is much better against a lot of balance and stall builds due to its ability to hit clefable hard with earthquake (244 Atk Life Orb Mamoswine Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 172 Def Clefable: 222-263 (56.3 - 66.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery) and to beat quagisre with freeze dry (12 SpA Life Orb Mamoswine Freeze-Dry vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Quagsire: 426-504 (108.1 - 127.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO) Mamoswine is also a much better electric check than weaville preventing volt switch and beating raikou easily 1v1. Mamo's lack of weakness to rocks also gives it another advantage over its dark type competition. Mamo's ice shard also allows it a nice form of priority that is slightly stronger than weaville's doing about 3% more to Thundurus.
Other options: Endeavor lead Mamoswine with endeavor, stealth rock, ice shard, and earthquake is an option in this slot. This would free up a moveslot for Heatran where you could run stone edge over stealth rock or even switch Heatran to a power herb solarbeam set. Life orb Alakazam over Focus Sash would probably be a better option with this change as well.
Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 76 Atk / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power [Ice]
This set is so much fun play. I wanted to be different and realizing early on that I would have a lot of priority on this team I didn't feel that thunder wave would be as necessary. Thunderbolt is standard stab and superpower is a much more reliable albeit less powerful alternative to focus blast. Thundurus is my only knock off user and it does a very good job of it allowing it to reliably hit bulky psychics like celebi and Latios that Breloom has trouble with. The ev's are fairly standard though the new analysis says 68 attack max speed with 188 special attack but I doubt the difference is that big. I am using hp ice on this set to hit Landours-t and Garchomp. Defiant allows you to get a boost from defogging which is very cool even though this team doesn't have spikes. Thunderus also provides a soft check to Talonflame lacking flare blitz as well as a ground immunity. The lack of hazard removal on this team does hurt is somewhat but I find it to be a very strong member of the team.
Other options: A standard set with t-wave and/or nasty plot could work providing a powerful method of status and a way to help my somewhat slow team (for offense anyway) deal with threats. I chose mixed Thundurus more for the surprise factor, the standard set or a boosting nasty plot set with leftovers for recovery or even prankster taunt could work better.
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVS: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Magma Storm
Stallbreaker Heatran is one of my favorite pokemon in the metagame. Simply put it's ridiculously good at anti-leading pretty much everything. Garchomp and Landorus-t get taunted and can't set rocks, and can't earthquake me due to airbaloon. Max speed insures I get a taunt off even against faster variants of tank chomp that speed creep max speed jolly bisharp. Azelf is forced to its sash against magma strom as long as it hits and its a 50/50 on whether they taunt and you magma storm or whether they set rocks and you can set rocks immediately after. Endeavor mamoswine is forced to its sash as well and since mamo outspeeds you you can't be endeavored to 1% after attacking. Taunt is also useful to prevent bulky mons from recovering and allows you to beat clefable and prevent it from setting up calm minds while trapping it with magma storm. Earth power decimates other Heatrans and hits roosting Talonflames especially hard (252 SpA Heatran Earth Power vs. 88 HP / 0 SpD Talonflame: 266-314 (83.3 - 98.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO). It also provides a 100% accurate move which is very nice to have as magma storm misses 25% of the time.
Other options: Stone edge or ancient power to hit Talonflame are options to consider over earth power. Magma storm could be replaced for a more accurate fire move but then i feel the set's effectiveness is reduced dramatically.
Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 164 HP / 252 Atk / 92 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Waterfall
- Superpower
Choice band Azumarill is simply a monster. It hits like a truck and provides a very stron wall-breaker for this team. The speed ev's are to outspeed other choice band Azumarill's which speed creep clefable. with 84 speed. This can also be ev'd to outspeed belly drum Azumarill or even go max speed to outspeed uninvested Rotom-W but you lose out on a lot of bulk, as Azumarill is often meant to take a hit before retaliating due to its low speed. The only reliable defensive answer to Azumarill in the tier is Amoongus, and without it defensive teams struggle to switch in to this thing. Its a very good check to Weavile resisting both stabs and low kick as well. Priority aqua jet is a huge problem for opposing offense late game especially if the opposing team's water resists have been weakened. Azumarill can also provide a soft Keldeo check if necessary, though risking a scald burn can be somewhat problematic and it doesn't switch in to the specs set well. Ferrothorn can be lured in with superpower, and is a very good move to use if the opponent is likely switching out and you don't know what's coming in. Waterall is standard stab and play rough is your most powerful move, and even a weakened Amoongus fear for its life when switching in with rocks on the field (252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 136+ Def Amoonguss: 137-162 (31.7 - 37.5%) -- 0% chance to 3HKO after Black Sludge recovery). Azumarill in my opinion is the best pokemon in no mega as it terrorizes every playstyle (the lack of Mega Venusaur is huge for it) and the guessing game at whether your facing band or belly drum makes it very hard to predict when facing it.
Other Options: The belly drum set is a viable alternative on this team though I don't think it's as good as a weaville check as it's less bulky. Your sitrus berry often gets knocked off before it can activate, and this team is built more on the premise of immediate wall-breaking than setting up. However, this team is very good already against bulky teams and belly drum azumarill is somewhat better than the band set against offense due to its ability to switch moves. The premise of luring quagsire against stall with mamo so belly drum Azumarill can sweep (make sure you run enough speed to outspeed standard defensive Skarmory!) should at least work in theory as well.
Breloom @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Mach Punch
- Spore
- Bullet Seed
- Swords Dance
I'm not a huge fan of focus sash Breloom and while I did use it on this team for a short while I didn't find it very useful. Life orb Breloom however is a monster. Spore is an absolutely ridiculous move being able to put to sleep what should be reliable switch-ins. Breloom along with Azumarill and Mamoswine forms my formidable anti-sand priority trio that wrecks Excadrill, Tyranitar, and Hippowdon. Bullet seed is boosted by technician and is a very strong stab move. Swords dance is used in the last slot for a raise in attack power and its very unexpected a lot of times and allows me to break defensive pokemon easily. Breloom's lack of bulk though does mean it can be hard to set up sometimes but loom does tend to force a lot of switches and you can often SD on the opponent's sleep turns. Breloom acts as a decent Bisharp check with mach punch and can either wall-break or clean late game depending on the situation.
Other options: Rock tomb is standard and allows you to catch Talonflame on the switch, and can be used instead of swords dance. Superpower is also a strong stab move to hit Ferrothorn harder if desired.
Alakazam @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Encore
I originally had life orb on this set but I changed it to focus sash to help out with some threats this team struggles with, primarily Talonflame. The power difference is somewhat significance but the insurance against opposing offense is often worth it. Alakazam's speed tier is very good in no mega allowing it to outspeed a lot of threats outside of Tornadus-T, Weavile, Talonflame, and a few others. Psychic is its main stab move and fairly strong. Shadow ball is decent coverage to hit resists and focus blast is nice for Weavile after being taken to sash as long as it hits. Encore is a remnant of when I still had life orb on this thing to help against Bisharp but I'm not sure what I should put on it. I could use something niche like thunder-wave or even hp ice for adamant band Dragonite locked into extreme speed, though my team already has a lot of ice coverage. Encore though is a strong move against bulkier teams and does ease prediction versus a lot of threats and stops a lot of set-up mons.
Other options: Besides HP ice mentioned above dazzling gleam is a more reliable way to hit Weavile but its not a great move without Mega-Sableye in the tier. Life orb is also an option over focus sash.
Proof of Peak:
Threatlist:
Talonflame: The offensive variant is a bigger problem than the defensive variant for my team as Thunderus can outspeed and beat most defensive variants handily. The offensive variant tends to kill itself easily, but if it manages to set up I'm a goner if Alakazam is not alive or if it's acrobatics Talonflame. Azumarill can live a hit if it's not weakened and retaliate and Heatran can hit talon with magma storm forcing it to roost. Here's the calc against jolly swords dance talon with 252 attack: (252 Atk Sharp Beak Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 81-96 (25 - 29.7%) -- guaranteed 4HKO). As you can see the more Heatran is worn down the more Talonfalme becomes a problem. On a lot of hyper-offensive no-mega teams I'll run an e-speeder like Lucario for Talonflame, but for this team you need a healthy Alakazam.
Weavile-Azuarmill is needed for this but the aquatic bunny gets weakened easily so this might just be the biggest threat for my team that's run commonly on opposing offense. Luckily like Talonflame it gets worn down super fast and if Alakazam has an intact sash and can hit a focus blast you won't get swept.
Bisharp- Another mon with priority that can be a problem. Not as big of a deal as the first two but I still feel like I should mention it especially because it's a ridiculous threat in this tier and Breloom is worn down easily.
E-speed users: Lucario is rediculously hard to deal with if it's the e-speed variant especaily because it 4x resists rocks. People don't realize how good this thing is because in OU it's somewhat outclassed by mega fighting types. Dragonite is a big problem late game because Heatran can't beat it that well if it's weakened. If it comes in late game with Multiscale intact you're screwed but with consistent pressure on the opponent you can beat this thing. Entei is less of a problem than the other two because balloon Heatran is a very good check but it can still create havoc.
Replays:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ounomega-94976 Third round of the no-mega tour against Shoot showing the utility of taunt Heatran and defiant Thundurus
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ounomega-96575 4th round of the same tour versus Chef Rice where Heatran again comes in clutch
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ounomega-99560 6th round/finals of the tour against Teremiare where I lose the series but the team puts in some work.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ounomega-286160394 On a ladder alt versus Xexexe when Latios was still on the team. Here I struggle against the combination of Rotom-H and Mew. Mew is a more common mon in no mega than in regular OU and while I didn't put it on the threat-list it can be an issue at times. In particular, will-o-wisp mew.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ounomega-293751570 Match on the ladder where I used this team to reach #1.
Thanks for everyone for reading I wanted to post this team because I really like this metagame and wanted to post a team that I think represents hyper offense in no-mega. No-mega really does require a different approach than regular OU in some ways. Any suggestions are appreciated as this team is not perfect by any means as the standard threats to hyper offense can do work against this squad, and while this squad is very strong against bulky teams and stall it is by no means a surefire win. You still have to play smart. Sand though is very hard to lose to unless you play really badly.
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