Introduction
I started out with this team with no real purpose - just building a team for fun. I made enough changes that it became a new team. It's built specifically to beat Tapus/Hawlucha and Rain because I hate losing to those, and I don't have great speed control. I like to use Heracross early to bust holes and sweep later with Thundurus-T and Greninja. I love VoltTurn, so I put it on a lot of things on the team. Keeping momentum is fun because it makes your opponent feel bad since they're on the defensive, plus the team requires it.
Teambuilding Process
I originally made this team because I wanted to use Mega-Aerodactyl because I've always felt like it's a bit underrated (although it's still not very good, but the speed + coverage makes a great cleaner). I love scarfed, physical Greninja because it's super good at patching up holes in coverage, and it's a really great secondary win condition at the end of games. I added Toxapex because it's a great answer to things like Ash-Greninja and Blacephalon, and I've also never used it. I also just keep hearing about how broken it is, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Landorus-T is my blanket physical check, particularly to Zygarde. Magearna is my blanket special check - standard Assault Vest set. I added banded Tapu Bulu on for a nuke. Plus, I hate Chansey and think it's borderline overcentralizing, and it's nice to have something that can almost always switch into it and drop a bomb because Grassy Terrain will heal you.
--->
Pretty quickly, I figured out Aerodactyl was rarely doing anything, and the team struggled quite a bit with bulky steels, particularly Celesteela and Skarmory. Putting Heracross on took away a LOT of speed from the team because now my second fastest Pokemon is lower than base 100, but the power and bulk increases definitely were worth it. Being able to 2HKO Cele and Skarm is amazing for this team because they can otherwise just wall it pretty well.
--->
I replaced Toxapex with Latias because I found myself getting used as set up fodder, and also scarfed Kartana and Heatran (especially fast Magma Storm) were a real problem for the team. I ran Earthquake and Thunderbolt/HP Fire (at different times) for the aforementioned threats. This also allowed me to put defog on Lati, because prior I had to run it on Lando, which was really troublesome because I had to forego HP ice, which hurt a lot against Zygarde. Lati also worked as a great lure to Tran and Ferrothorn.
--->
I needed more physical bulk in this slot, and Mew has the added benefit of being rather unpredictable in its set. I could've ran more physical bulk on Latias, but I noticed that it just wasn't getting rid of the things I wanted to, particularly Kartana. Mew also has defog, no weakness to dragon/ice, and can take on Hawlucha.
--->
After a while, I started getting tossed by Rain, Tapu/Hawlucha, and Mega-Pinsir. The team is really slow, and the aforementioned team archetypes can just boost past me since I don't have priority. Originally I ran dual dance, boltbeam Thundurus-T, but after a while I realized I could replace Nasty Plot with Grass Knot to deal with my Swampert and Hippowdon problems.
Proof of Peak
Yeah, my GXE is low, but that's because I usually play for fun and don't ladder seriously all that much.
The Final Team
$nicker $nacker (Greninja) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Gunk Shot
- Rock Slide
- Ice Beam
Gren is my all purpose scarfer. I'll get to it in the threatlist, but CharYzard and fire types in general are a huge problem for this team, as is Clefable. Greninja can get through these even after a speed boost, which is nice. I almost always lead Greninja. Gunk Shot is great against Koko and Clef leads. I U-Turn on pretty much anything else. Sometimes I'll go for the Ice Beam on Lando if I think it's the sashed explosion set, then switch into something to take the explosion turn 2. It's also particularly useful against Kartana since uninvested Ice Beam OHKOs after rocks and has a good chance to even at full, which can do a lot of damage to my team, especially with Grassy Terrain up.
juiCeD (Thundurus-Therian) @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Focus Blast
The wonky member of the team. I got so tired of losing to birds and rain that I added this on. I'll lead this against rain and agility on the Pelipper hoping they bring Swampert in to get KO'd by Grass Knot. If they go Kingdra, well I'm screwed. I also lead this against teams that have Kyurem-B because I can Z-Focus Blast and KO it, and KyuB is otherwise a huge problem for me. This also takes care of Ferrothorn and Tyranitar, two common switch-ins to it, so it acts as a lure of sorts.
iGOTbrixINmyCLOUD (Landorus-Therian) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock
Not much to say here. I use this for Zygarde and dragons in particular. I also like to switch it into things like Bulu and Hawlucha to hit them with the -1 attack and pivot out. I've noticed I have trouble getting rocks up because it sacrifices a lot of momentum for a team this slow that is constantly turning, but I'm working on that. I ran more Def instead of the small amount of SpD that a lot of people run because I'm not really worried about this thing taking a Draco Meteor from Lati@s, and I try not to let it take opposing Lando's HP Ice, and that 2HKO a lot of the time with investment anyway, so I dumped it into bulk.
MAXiMiLLiON (Mew) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Earth Power
- Defog
- Soft-Boiled
I ran fully defensive Mew so I would have an answer to Hawlucha. Mew lives a +3 Acrobatics and can dent Hawlucha with Psychic. After some chip, it KOs. Earth Power is for Heatran that try to come in. Putting big damage on Heatran early can open up a lot of opportunity for a Thundy sweep, and it's also just a good move to chip something on the switch. This thing can also take on mega fighting types, which are otherwise a massive problem for me, particularly Jolly Medicham. I wanted to run Ice Beam for Lando, but I just couldn't prioritize Lando over Tran, especially since Hera can dent Lando and also sub on it.
$tep 2 ME (Magearna) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 56 SpA / 200 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Fleur Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Magearna is broken, that's all I can say. HP fire is for Ferrothorn, but I notice myself using it so little I've been seriously considering switching it to Ice Beam because, like I said, Lando is an issue if played well. This is also my Bulu switch in if the team doesn't have psychic spam or greninja. I like the ability to Flash/Fleur Cannon on the switch and open up opportunities for Thundy and Greninja late game. I run Flash Cannon over Iron Head because I've found having the ability to pop things on the switch is more useful than beating opposing Magearna, especially since Hera CC does >50% to AV Mage.
don't mi$$ (Heracross-Mega) @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Close Combat
- Pin Missile
- Rock Blast
The wallbreaker. This thing also can never hit it's moves to the point where I've considered doing a statistics test just because of the number of game-breaking Rock Blasts I've missed. Really great to switch into Bulu, Chansey, Lando, and Toxapex. I can sub up on these and start hitting things as they come in. Having the ability to 2HKO Pex, Zapdos, Skarm, Cele, etc. is invaluable because like I said earlier, I have trouble with them, and I don't like hazards on my side since I'm constantly switching.
Threat List
I started out with this team with no real purpose - just building a team for fun. I made enough changes that it became a new team. It's built specifically to beat Tapus/Hawlucha and Rain because I hate losing to those, and I don't have great speed control. I like to use Heracross early to bust holes and sweep later with Thundurus-T and Greninja. I love VoltTurn, so I put it on a lot of things on the team. Keeping momentum is fun because it makes your opponent feel bad since they're on the defensive, plus the team requires it.
Teambuilding Process
I originally made this team because I wanted to use Mega-Aerodactyl because I've always felt like it's a bit underrated (although it's still not very good, but the speed + coverage makes a great cleaner). I love scarfed, physical Greninja because it's super good at patching up holes in coverage, and it's a really great secondary win condition at the end of games. I added Toxapex because it's a great answer to things like Ash-Greninja and Blacephalon, and I've also never used it. I also just keep hearing about how broken it is, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Landorus-T is my blanket physical check, particularly to Zygarde. Magearna is my blanket special check - standard Assault Vest set. I added banded Tapu Bulu on for a nuke. Plus, I hate Chansey and think it's borderline overcentralizing, and it's nice to have something that can almost always switch into it and drop a bomb because Grassy Terrain will heal you.
Pretty quickly, I figured out Aerodactyl was rarely doing anything, and the team struggled quite a bit with bulky steels, particularly Celesteela and Skarmory. Putting Heracross on took away a LOT of speed from the team because now my second fastest Pokemon is lower than base 100, but the power and bulk increases definitely were worth it. Being able to 2HKO Cele and Skarm is amazing for this team because they can otherwise just wall it pretty well.
I replaced Toxapex with Latias because I found myself getting used as set up fodder, and also scarfed Kartana and Heatran (especially fast Magma Storm) were a real problem for the team. I ran Earthquake and Thunderbolt/HP Fire (at different times) for the aforementioned threats. This also allowed me to put defog on Lati, because prior I had to run it on Lando, which was really troublesome because I had to forego HP ice, which hurt a lot against Zygarde. Lati also worked as a great lure to Tran and Ferrothorn.
I needed more physical bulk in this slot, and Mew has the added benefit of being rather unpredictable in its set. I could've ran more physical bulk on Latias, but I noticed that it just wasn't getting rid of the things I wanted to, particularly Kartana. Mew also has defog, no weakness to dragon/ice, and can take on Hawlucha.
After a while, I started getting tossed by Rain, Tapu/Hawlucha, and Mega-Pinsir. The team is really slow, and the aforementioned team archetypes can just boost past me since I don't have priority. Originally I ran dual dance, boltbeam Thundurus-T, but after a while I realized I could replace Nasty Plot with Grass Knot to deal with my Swampert and Hippowdon problems.
Proof of Peak
Yeah, my GXE is low, but that's because I usually play for fun and don't ladder seriously all that much.
The Final Team
$nicker $nacker (Greninja) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Gunk Shot
- Rock Slide
- Ice Beam
Gren is my all purpose scarfer. I'll get to it in the threatlist, but CharYzard and fire types in general are a huge problem for this team, as is Clefable. Greninja can get through these even after a speed boost, which is nice. I almost always lead Greninja. Gunk Shot is great against Koko and Clef leads. I U-Turn on pretty much anything else. Sometimes I'll go for the Ice Beam on Lando if I think it's the sashed explosion set, then switch into something to take the explosion turn 2. It's also particularly useful against Kartana since uninvested Ice Beam OHKOs after rocks and has a good chance to even at full, which can do a lot of damage to my team, especially with Grassy Terrain up.
juiCeD (Thundurus-Therian) @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Focus Blast
The wonky member of the team. I got so tired of losing to birds and rain that I added this on. I'll lead this against rain and agility on the Pelipper hoping they bring Swampert in to get KO'd by Grass Knot. If they go Kingdra, well I'm screwed. I also lead this against teams that have Kyurem-B because I can Z-Focus Blast and KO it, and KyuB is otherwise a huge problem for me. This also takes care of Ferrothorn and Tyranitar, two common switch-ins to it, so it acts as a lure of sorts.
iGOTbrixINmyCLOUD (Landorus-Therian) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock
Not much to say here. I use this for Zygarde and dragons in particular. I also like to switch it into things like Bulu and Hawlucha to hit them with the -1 attack and pivot out. I've noticed I have trouble getting rocks up because it sacrifices a lot of momentum for a team this slow that is constantly turning, but I'm working on that. I ran more Def instead of the small amount of SpD that a lot of people run because I'm not really worried about this thing taking a Draco Meteor from Lati@s, and I try not to let it take opposing Lando's HP Ice, and that 2HKO a lot of the time with investment anyway, so I dumped it into bulk.
MAXiMiLLiON (Mew) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Earth Power
- Defog
- Soft-Boiled
I ran fully defensive Mew so I would have an answer to Hawlucha. Mew lives a +3 Acrobatics and can dent Hawlucha with Psychic. After some chip, it KOs. Earth Power is for Heatran that try to come in. Putting big damage on Heatran early can open up a lot of opportunity for a Thundy sweep, and it's also just a good move to chip something on the switch. This thing can also take on mega fighting types, which are otherwise a massive problem for me, particularly Jolly Medicham. I wanted to run Ice Beam for Lando, but I just couldn't prioritize Lando over Tran, especially since Hera can dent Lando and also sub on it.
$tep 2 ME (Magearna) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 56 SpA / 200 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Fleur Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Magearna is broken, that's all I can say. HP fire is for Ferrothorn, but I notice myself using it so little I've been seriously considering switching it to Ice Beam because, like I said, Lando is an issue if played well. This is also my Bulu switch in if the team doesn't have psychic spam or greninja. I like the ability to Flash/Fleur Cannon on the switch and open up opportunities for Thundy and Greninja late game. I run Flash Cannon over Iron Head because I've found having the ability to pop things on the switch is more useful than beating opposing Magearna, especially since Hera CC does >50% to AV Mage.
don't mi$$ (Heracross-Mega) @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Close Combat
- Pin Missile
- Rock Blast
The wallbreaker. This thing also can never hit it's moves to the point where I've considered doing a statistics test just because of the number of game-breaking Rock Blasts I've missed. Really great to switch into Bulu, Chansey, Lando, and Toxapex. I can sub up on these and start hitting things as they come in. Having the ability to 2HKO Pex, Zapdos, Skarm, Cele, etc. is invaluable because like I said earlier, I have trouble with them, and I don't like hazards on my side since I'm constantly switching.
Threat List
- (Fast) fire types, particularly CharYzard, Blacephalon, Volcarona, Volcanion, ChariXard: These can all come in on anything that isn't Thundurus or Greninja and just get a kill. Whenever I'm playing against teams with these, I have to play super aggressively and predict the switch so I don't lose a Pokemon every time. Rocks helps a lot against them, but the very act of setting up rocks lets good players switch them in since Lando can't really beat most of them 1v1.
- Flying types, particularly Mega Pinsir: It comes in and SDs or uses Frustration. I have little counterplay other than prediction. Against teams with birds, I'll often try not to show that Gren is scarfed so I can bluff the scarf with Thundy, but that's a high-risk strategy.
- Strong, special attackers: Ash-Ninja, Gengar, Kingdra, Koko, Heatran all come in and fire off moves. I use Mage as a check to all of them, which is why I'm running the SpD set instead of just AV no SpD. If the other player knows what they're going, they can chip it repeatedly and then start knocking holes in my team.
- Dragonite: If it's weakness policy, which admittedly isn't that common anymore. Having Ice Beam on Mew or Mage would help with this a lot, but at +2 this thing can Extremespeed and Fire Punch through me quite well, especially since Mew doesn't have Wisp.
- Mega-Venusaur and Mega Scizor: I add these at the bottom because they're only a threat if I can't hit them with Heracross. I've generally not had a whole bunch of problems with them, but the few times I'm unable to put damage on them, they can just tear me up since nothing on my team can OHKO either one (except maybe Mage HP Fire on Scizor, but Bullet Punch is a thing.
- https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-681462266 (The peak battle against Blacephalon, Koko, and Ttar, pretty difficult pokemon for me to get through if they're played well)
- https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-681447473 (The highest ranked player I beat. Playing against webs and Pinsir/Koko/Kartana)
- https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-681035612 (CharYzard and Bulu)
- https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-681034008 (Aurora Veil is kind of a problem for me because Hypnosis can take out Mage, which is how I beat Ninetales, and Gyarados of either variety can become a problem)
- https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-681032398 (Charizard and Gengar, oh man)
- https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-680525354 (RAIN!)
- I have a ton of replays saved with this team if you go to my replays.
$nicker $nacker (Greninja) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Gunk Shot
- Rock Slide
- Ice Beam
juiCeD (Thundurus-Therian) @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Focus Blast
iGOTbrixINmyCLOUD (Landorus-Therian) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock
MAXiMiLLiON (Mew) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Earth Power
- Defog
- Soft-Boiled
$tep 2 ME (Magearna) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 56 SpA / 200 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Fleur Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
don't mi$$ (Heracross-Mega) @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Close Combat
- Pin Missile
- Rock Blast
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Gunk Shot
- Rock Slide
- Ice Beam
juiCeD (Thundurus-Therian) @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Focus Blast
iGOTbrixINmyCLOUD (Landorus-Therian) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock
MAXiMiLLiON (Mew) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Earth Power
- Defog
- Soft-Boiled
$tep 2 ME (Magearna) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 56 SpA / 200 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Fleur Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
don't mi$$ (Heracross-Mega) @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Close Combat
- Pin Missile
- Rock Blast
Attachments
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