Introduction: It's been a while since I've last battled. I stopped sometime after the Salamence ban some months back, and with a new generation, I've decided to try battling once more. After playing around with a few team ideas and not really getting anywhere, I ended up with this team after Roobushin ended up giving my previous teams too many issues, and I need a reliable way to defeat him. Someone suggested Rankurusu, and it's worked absurdly well, to where I'm actually climbing the OU ladder rather quickly. Onwards!
At first, I wanted Rankurusu because Roobushin is enough of an issue in this metagame at the moment to where by carrying him, a lot of teams would have problems, and Roobushin actually becomes setup bait.
Now I needed a complement to Rankurusu. Dark-types like Tyranitar could totally ruin his day, as could Scizor and friends. Dark-types were an issue, and Darkrai is still annoying, so I chose Roobushin. He can complement Rankurusu to become the most annoying combo in the game so far.
With this in mind, I needed some resistances that could support the pair. Rain teams also are an issue, as are sun teams to a lesser degree. Thus, Tentacruel was chosen to set toxic spikes and be a general utility against rain and sun teams.
I noticed afterward that I needed some help on the physical side of things. And more spike support wouldn't hurt, so Skarmory was chosen for the added bulk, Dark resistance, spike support, and phazing against Baton Pass teams.
With that, my core was finished, but I really couldn't think of much to complement the team, so I went with a Sandstorm package of Tyranitar as a lead and...
...Doryuuzu, who could fuck someone's shit backwards six ways from Sunday. He could also clean up if Rankurusu couldn't, and he's generally something to fear. I mean, look at that motherfucker. He could drill you if he wanted.
The Team:
Galamoth (Tyranitar) (F) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 232 HP / 252 SAtk / 24 Spd
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Beam
- Fire Blast
- Crunch
Explanation: Tyranitar is a great lead currently due to the amount of status going around. He handles status like burn and sleep with a Lum Berry, while he can either set up Stealth Rock or slay the other lead with his repertoire of attacks. I chose this lead mainly because Forretress and Espeon leads were a major issue at the time. Ice Beam is for Gliscor and his Dragon-type friends, Fire Blast covers Forretress, Nattorei, and many more, and Crunch is an obligatory STAB, handling the many ghosts out there like Burungeru and Gengar, who fails to OHKO with Focus Blast on this variant. He's slow enough to where in weather-vs-weather lead scenarios, his weather will go last, guaranteeing that sandstorm is out when the fight starts.
Samael (Rankurusu) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
Explanation: This dude is the one I wanted to build my team around. His typing might not be good, even mediocre at best, affording it two resistances and quite a few weaknesses, but everything else is awesome. She will fuck your shit backwards, overkill you, burn the remains, then send the ashes in 10 different directions. Magic Guard is amazing, and allows her to make for a good status absorber. Leftovers are needed for healing, and the EV spread/nature allow for maximum physical bulk while boosting it's special side. Calm Mind and Recover can be cycled to boost upwards, then a combination of Psychic and Focus Blast can strike down most foes. This thing is deceptively bulky, and proves rather hard to take down, with bulk rivaling that of Vaporeon.
Changes to be considered: I could change Focus Blast to HP Fighting if the accuracy is bad enough, but then I barely lose out on the OHKO on Tyranitar if it switches in on the CM. The only thing that Tyranitar can do to guarantee a OHKO on him is to run a CB Crunch, as Pursuit won't do enough if she stays in. I've been told that Psycho Shock is better, and I might consider it if given a good reason.
Ishtar (Tentacruel) (F) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Boil Over
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic Spikes
Explanation: Tentacruel provides for a good water resistance, and lays down Toxic Spikes to support the core of the team. Boil Over lets it have a chance of burning Levitate/Flying-type pokes, and Ice Beam is for the Dragons. The EV spread was to give Tentacruel more bulk, as he isn't there to really kill anything, but soak up hits and set up. Rapid Spin is used to clear hazards that could threaten the team.
Metatron (Roobushin) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bulk Up
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Payback
Explanation: Roobushin is amazing, and supports Rankurusu by slaying the pesky Dark-type pokes that think they can threaten Rank. Tyranitar is dead if it stays in, Scizor gets his crap beaten in, and everything else? Hah.
The EV spread and nature is used to maximize his offensive prowess, while bolstering his defenses. Bulk Up and Mach Punch are his bread and butter, letting him boost up, and slay faster foes (Doryuuzu, I'm staring at you!). Drain Punch is for healing and a stronger STAB option, and Payback is for the ghosts and some other threats.
Changes to be considered: I have considered adding Stone Edge over Payback so he could better handle Gyarados and other fliers, although this could be argued either way. Anyone want to chime in on this?
Beelzebub (Skarmory) (F) @ Shed Shell
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 160 SDef / 8 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
Explanation: There really isn't too much to say here about Skarmory. He's always been a great spiker, and still does so. A Shed Shell was chosen in case the odd Magnezone shows up, or I accidentally enter a DW battle and Shanderaa tries to trap my shit. Brave Bird is needed badly to pop Balloons and answer Roobushin somewhat. Roost is great for reliable healing, Spikes is there to stack on the damage, and Whirlwind is there for phazing and shuffling up the enemy team. You really can't say more regarding him, he's just that good at his job. He can also answer Doryuuzu if Roobushin cannot by taking a hit and phazing him out.
Lucifer (Doryuuzu) (M) @ Balloon
Trait: Sand Throw
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Brick Break
Explanation: This motherfucker will clean your shit up. In the event that Rankurusu can't clear the enemy team out, he'll be on cleanup duty, where he uses his broom of doom in Sandstorm to sweep whatever is still standing. The Balloon is chosen to thwart most pokes that think they can Earthquake him, and it helps in Doryuuzu vs Doryuuzu fights. The EVs and Nature are self-explanatory, and to maximize speed so that opposing Doryuuzu aren't an issue (ones without Brick Break anyway.) One Swords Dance lets him rip through whatever is left, and a combo of Earthquake and Rock Slide will murder most foes. Brick Break is for everything else that resists those two.
Changes to be considered: Maybe change Brick Break for X-scissor?
Final Thoughts:
Well, there's not much else to say, although I do need some help with figuring out a way to block Rapid Spinners, mainly Starmie. Scizor and Darkrai also present a problem, although the latter is solved partly through Toxic Spikes support and Roob's Mach Punch, leaving Scizor to be a slight issue.
So rate, steal, c&c, etc.
At first, I wanted Rankurusu because Roobushin is enough of an issue in this metagame at the moment to where by carrying him, a lot of teams would have problems, and Roobushin actually becomes setup bait.
Now I needed a complement to Rankurusu. Dark-types like Tyranitar could totally ruin his day, as could Scizor and friends. Dark-types were an issue, and Darkrai is still annoying, so I chose Roobushin. He can complement Rankurusu to become the most annoying combo in the game so far.
With this in mind, I needed some resistances that could support the pair. Rain teams also are an issue, as are sun teams to a lesser degree. Thus, Tentacruel was chosen to set toxic spikes and be a general utility against rain and sun teams.
I noticed afterward that I needed some help on the physical side of things. And more spike support wouldn't hurt, so Skarmory was chosen for the added bulk, Dark resistance, spike support, and phazing against Baton Pass teams.
With that, my core was finished, but I really couldn't think of much to complement the team, so I went with a Sandstorm package of Tyranitar as a lead and...
...Doryuuzu, who could fuck someone's shit backwards six ways from Sunday. He could also clean up if Rankurusu couldn't, and he's generally something to fear. I mean, look at that motherfucker. He could drill you if he wanted.
The Team:
Galamoth (Tyranitar) (F) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 232 HP / 252 SAtk / 24 Spd
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Beam
- Fire Blast
- Crunch
Explanation: Tyranitar is a great lead currently due to the amount of status going around. He handles status like burn and sleep with a Lum Berry, while he can either set up Stealth Rock or slay the other lead with his repertoire of attacks. I chose this lead mainly because Forretress and Espeon leads were a major issue at the time. Ice Beam is for Gliscor and his Dragon-type friends, Fire Blast covers Forretress, Nattorei, and many more, and Crunch is an obligatory STAB, handling the many ghosts out there like Burungeru and Gengar, who fails to OHKO with Focus Blast on this variant. He's slow enough to where in weather-vs-weather lead scenarios, his weather will go last, guaranteeing that sandstorm is out when the fight starts.
Samael (Rankurusu) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
Explanation: This dude is the one I wanted to build my team around. His typing might not be good, even mediocre at best, affording it two resistances and quite a few weaknesses, but everything else is awesome. She will fuck your shit backwards, overkill you, burn the remains, then send the ashes in 10 different directions. Magic Guard is amazing, and allows her to make for a good status absorber. Leftovers are needed for healing, and the EV spread/nature allow for maximum physical bulk while boosting it's special side. Calm Mind and Recover can be cycled to boost upwards, then a combination of Psychic and Focus Blast can strike down most foes. This thing is deceptively bulky, and proves rather hard to take down, with bulk rivaling that of Vaporeon.
Changes to be considered: I could change Focus Blast to HP Fighting if the accuracy is bad enough, but then I barely lose out on the OHKO on Tyranitar if it switches in on the CM. The only thing that Tyranitar can do to guarantee a OHKO on him is to run a CB Crunch, as Pursuit won't do enough if she stays in. I've been told that Psycho Shock is better, and I might consider it if given a good reason.
Ishtar (Tentacruel) (F) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Boil Over
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic Spikes
Explanation: Tentacruel provides for a good water resistance, and lays down Toxic Spikes to support the core of the team. Boil Over lets it have a chance of burning Levitate/Flying-type pokes, and Ice Beam is for the Dragons. The EV spread was to give Tentacruel more bulk, as he isn't there to really kill anything, but soak up hits and set up. Rapid Spin is used to clear hazards that could threaten the team.
Metatron (Roobushin) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bulk Up
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Payback
Explanation: Roobushin is amazing, and supports Rankurusu by slaying the pesky Dark-type pokes that think they can threaten Rank. Tyranitar is dead if it stays in, Scizor gets his crap beaten in, and everything else? Hah.
The EV spread and nature is used to maximize his offensive prowess, while bolstering his defenses. Bulk Up and Mach Punch are his bread and butter, letting him boost up, and slay faster foes (Doryuuzu, I'm staring at you!). Drain Punch is for healing and a stronger STAB option, and Payback is for the ghosts and some other threats.
Changes to be considered: I have considered adding Stone Edge over Payback so he could better handle Gyarados and other fliers, although this could be argued either way. Anyone want to chime in on this?
Beelzebub (Skarmory) (F) @ Shed Shell
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 160 SDef / 8 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
Explanation: There really isn't too much to say here about Skarmory. He's always been a great spiker, and still does so. A Shed Shell was chosen in case the odd Magnezone shows up, or I accidentally enter a DW battle and Shanderaa tries to trap my shit. Brave Bird is needed badly to pop Balloons and answer Roobushin somewhat. Roost is great for reliable healing, Spikes is there to stack on the damage, and Whirlwind is there for phazing and shuffling up the enemy team. You really can't say more regarding him, he's just that good at his job. He can also answer Doryuuzu if Roobushin cannot by taking a hit and phazing him out.
Lucifer (Doryuuzu) (M) @ Balloon
Trait: Sand Throw
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Brick Break
Explanation: This motherfucker will clean your shit up. In the event that Rankurusu can't clear the enemy team out, he'll be on cleanup duty, where he uses his broom of doom in Sandstorm to sweep whatever is still standing. The Balloon is chosen to thwart most pokes that think they can Earthquake him, and it helps in Doryuuzu vs Doryuuzu fights. The EVs and Nature are self-explanatory, and to maximize speed so that opposing Doryuuzu aren't an issue (ones without Brick Break anyway.) One Swords Dance lets him rip through whatever is left, and a combo of Earthquake and Rock Slide will murder most foes. Brick Break is for everything else that resists those two.
Changes to be considered: Maybe change Brick Break for X-scissor?
Final Thoughts:
Well, there's not much else to say, although I do need some help with figuring out a way to block Rapid Spinners, mainly Starmie. Scizor and Darkrai also present a problem, although the latter is solved partly through Toxic Spikes support and Roob's Mach Punch, leaving Scizor to be a slight issue.
So rate, steal, c&c, etc.
