Hey guys, as the title suggests this team focuses on Mega Charizard X and it's partner in crime, Thundurus. Ever since the announcement of Mega Charizard X back in XY, I've wanted to be able to use a mon that I loved since childhood (you've heard this before right?). ZardX is quite the power house threat in the OU tier, not only possessing a sizable attack stat but boasting the equivalent of a LO boost when using contact moves in the form of Tough Claws. Another great asset is that it is immune to burns due to it's fire typing. It's dual typing compliment each other, resisting electric attacks (from being super effective before mega evolving), to taking neutral hits from water and fairy attacks.
The reason I'm making this RMT is that I've been hitting a few walls when coming up against certain mons and sometimes, teams in general. I have a particularly hard time against stall unless the opponent lets me set up with Zard X and proceed to 6-0 them. I also have difficulty with Weavile due to it's impressive speed and STAB moves. While the problems are highlighted (well there are more probably), my trouble is trying to modify the team without hurting any balance I might have at the moment, so any help in this regard would be truly appreciated.
Without further ado, let's get to the team
Charizard (M) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
ZardX is the basis of which the team was made. It has 2 reliable stabs that will hit most things for neutral damage at least (exceptions being M-Altaria, Heatran, and Azumarill). Can boost it's attack and speed via Dragon Dance and Roost when low on health (it is a must when using Flare Blitz). I chose this set other others, Wisp ZardX for example, because I wanted ZardX to be at the forefront of this team rather than a support member. Jolly nature is used over Adamant so dragon dance isn't as mandatory when it comes to outspeeding opponents, with Jolly nature I am able to outpseed Jolly nature Excadrill and speed tie with Timid max speed Volcarona and Mega Gardevoir (the latter being more important).
Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Grass Knot
While trying to find a great partner for ZardX, I came across LO Thundurus, and it is (in my opinion), the best partner for it. Thunder Wave is great for slowing down mons that are much faster than ZardX which allows me to attack right off the bat without needing to ddance or take unnecessary damage. Hidden Power Ice is used against to eliminate Garchomp (the tank set will rack up a sizable amount of damage and potentially KO-ing it) and Landorus-T. The scarf set is harder to contend with for Thundurus unless it comes in on a switch, however Scarf Lando does have difficulty taking a Flare Blitz if they plan on switching in like that. Grass Knot is mainly for Hippowdon since HP ice will not deal enough damage to it and any water/ground types that may try to take down Charizard (or soaking up T-bolt damage). Focus Blast was left out due to Scizor already carrying Superpower and most mons that would require me to Focus Blast are too tanky for it (Bisharp and non-bulky ttars being the exception). Life Orb is used over lefties to add extra punch to my attacks and to take out threats it otherwise would not be able to do using lefties. The downside of this is that Thundurus only has at most, 10 attacks.
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Stone Edge
Hippowdon is a recent addition to the team, replacing Tank chomp because it is simply much more bulkier, can stand up to Mega Lopunny better (especially if it's carrying Ice Punch) and is not as scared of Weavile, capable of dealing with Talonflame in the form of Stone Edge, and it carries a recovery move in Slack Off, allowing it to take more damage than Garchomp could. Hippowdon is one of potential leads when dealing with teams that have fast physical mons that they will potentially lead with. It's usually a safe bet for setting up rocks and great for soaking up most forms physical damage (which is so prevalent in this tier). I decided to use Sand Force over Sand Stream because I don't want my other mons suffering from chip damage due to Sandstorm, although in saying that, if I used Excadrill, Sand Stream might become viable.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Rotom is one my pivots that can be splashed on to most teams, it is a slow-ish volt switcher which allows it to soak up incoming attacks, leaving my next mon to not take the hit. The set is pretty standard except I went for specially defensive investment because my team would otherwise be prey to special attackers (Gengar, Torn-t, etc). Rotom also compliments ZardX by being a switch in to ground moves due to it's ability in Levitate, although this can be negated by the likes of Kyurem-B's Teravolt and Mold Breaker Variants of Excadrill.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Knock Off
Before Rotom, this was my only pivot, and frankly it had (and still does have) a lot on its plate. Banded Scizor is my answer to fairies, Mega Diancie, Clefable (some can live a bpunch but after a bit of damage it becomes increasingly harder). Superpower is an absolute must to deal with the dark types in tier, the annoying blob chansey and will generally destroy Ferrothorns thinking they can live a few hits. Knock Off is a great asset to have as it cripples mons that could otherwise wreck my team such as scarf users (or specs/band even), and eviolite. Scizor is also my usual switch in to fairy moves, I do keep in mind of the potential fire move and try to make sure I don't fall for it.
Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 80 HP / 176 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Healing Wish
- Defog
My last member is the obligatory hazard remover that ZardX needs to have due to its weakness to Stealth Rock (and spikes if present and Zard has mega evolved). I'm still undecided on whether I should use Latias or Latios as both have their advantages to the team, Latias's greatest trait is the use of Healing Wish, giving my Charizard a second chance at life. Latios on the other hand boasts superior damaging capabilities and has the option to run Earthquake, HP fire, or Roost. Earthquake is great because it is unaffected by Draco Meteor's stat drop, however it uses Latios's weaker attack stat, and will become walled by the likes of Skarmory. While HP fire does remedy this, Latios will struggle with Heatran and ttar, with the latter capable of pursuit trapping it. Something both Latis can do is remove Keldeo. Keldeo is a big problem to most teams, great typing, a great STAB move in Secret sword which goes for the target's defence rather than it's Special defence, and it's use of scald (for burns) and H-pump (for pure damage) to decimate anything else.
Keldeo: I am unable to switch in on this with my team (for the most part), while rotom can stand up a scald and probably a couple of specs hpumps, it won't live through a Secret sword as it doesn't have any defensive investment (8 Def is hardly much either). It is only manageable if ZardX has boosted once or Thundurus is already in.
Weavile: As stated above, it's fast and has a lot of power. I have mons that resist one of its STABs or the other but not both. Low Kick is also a pain to deal with as it stops me from using the likes of Heatran or Bisharp to stop it. While I have identified Keldeo as a good counter, I simply can't fit it on my team (doesn't mean it can't, I just don't know how).
Ttar: Not as big as the other two as only some of the variants are problematic. If it's carrying Fire Blast then my Scizor will struggle to take it down, however Hippowdon will struggle if it has Ice Beam (I have only ever come across a few that have both).
Stall teams: My team lacks the ability to break past walls unless it's severely weakened. While ZardX can deal with most Sableye varients, it won't be able to take down the blobs easily, and will usually fall to a twave or toxic (the former being more of a problem).
Weavile: As stated above, it's fast and has a lot of power. I have mons that resist one of its STABs or the other but not both. Low Kick is also a pain to deal with as it stops me from using the likes of Heatran or Bisharp to stop it. While I have identified Keldeo as a good counter, I simply can't fit it on my team (doesn't mean it can't, I just don't know how).
Ttar: Not as big as the other two as only some of the variants are problematic. If it's carrying Fire Blast then my Scizor will struggle to take it down, however Hippowdon will struggle if it has Ice Beam (I have only ever come across a few that have both).
Stall teams: My team lacks the ability to break past walls unless it's severely weakened. While ZardX can deal with most Sableye varients, it won't be able to take down the blobs easily, and will usually fall to a twave or toxic (the former being more of a problem).
So that's the team at this point in time guys, while I have identified most of the problems, my problem comes in fitting in potential solutions without upsetting the balance of the team as it is. Any help here is extremely appreciated.
Thank you for reading.
