SM OU GEN 7 OU; BL Rise Up! (feat. my fav Poke :])

Introduction

Hello all.
I know it was really cheesy to just write "Introduction" like that but don't mind that. I've been playing on Showdown! for the small span of a few months. However I have all the basics down and yes, I can play well enough to gain momentum (predicts, double Volt-Turn e.g) so everything I'll be discussing here will be purely for the team. This is the latest iteration that I've been using to ladder up to 1500's. If you read my profile, you'll see who I don't want replaced, that's how much I love that Poke, so as much as possible please don't switch him out for something else (yes very anti-competetive but hey, I do what I do). Moveset changes, EV spreads, and Poke replacements are well appreciated.

Teambuilding Process

I was feeling tired and scrapped off of my old OU team. Pretty sure it looked like this:

Everything is pretty standard, I had Bish for Fairies and Medi and Chomp to capitalize on that. However after a while it just felt like the team wasn't very good. I tried replacing Mega Medicham with Mega Gallade (
<
) so I had a check to SD Kart thanks to the better speed. And it worked for a while. I essentially unknowingly tried out the Gallade-Bisharp core, which I had to look up about. It worked for a while, because not gonna lie the core did function well and Bisharp was fun to use with Defiant. However, Bish's base 70 Speed was absolute trash in OU, and Sucker Punch had only 8 PP, so I wasn't sure what to do. I ended up replacing Bisharp with Weavile (
<
) for the extra speed, plus It still hit Fairies decently hard with Icicle Crash. Along the way I replaced Koko with Tapu Lele (
<
) to try and synergize with Gallade and his Zen Headbutt. I also didn't like how passive Ferrothorn was and sacked him for Magearna (
<
) as a Fairy resist that also gained momentum by Volting out. For a while, the team stuck as this:

I was running Tankchomp at the time, and it worked fairly well, but it just felt like dead weight on the team once it got up rocks, so it ended with Grayson the Garchomp kicking the bucket to make way for Landorus-Therian (
<
) and ran it as a defensive Fly Z set at the time. After being kind of sick with having only one fast win-con, I changed the EVs to make him the standard offensive Fly Z set to add more offensive presence to the team. This stuck for a while until Lele's terrain caused issues with Weavile's Ice Shard, so I ultimately decided to replace Lele with Ash-Gren (
<
) a faster, harder hitting option that doesn't hinder Weavile's revenge killing. This final edition of what was originally a Mega Medi-SD Bisharp wallbreaking core turned into a Puruit-Trap-Volt-Turn-Dark-Spam Balanced Offense team that carried me noticeably high on the ladder. I made it to 1700's once, but since I didn't screenshot it back then and thus don't have proof, it's up to you whether you believe me or not.


The Team

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Landorus-Therian (M) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Fly
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock

Is there an OU team in existence that doesn't have one of these guys? (And yes that's a sarcastic joke). Lando fulfills the role of a stealth rocker, Z-User, and Electric and Ground immunity. There shouldn't be much depth in this since any OU player who is an OU player knows what this thing does. EQ is the main spammable STAB move while Fly maximizes the power of Supersonic Skystrike. I opted for S-Strike instead of C-Crush since I had good checks to Zapdos and Tornadus-T anyway (And Fly-Z still blows offensive Torn away), and the later team members really appreciate Tangrowth and Fighting-types gone and acts somewhat of a check to Koko-Lucha. I also opted for U-turn instead of Smack Down or Stone Edge since I appreciate the chip/momentum, and because Landorus isn't my win-con. In the long run, I can end up sacking Landorus just to get the Intimidate off, and his ability makes him a teensy bit of a physical pivot.


Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Fleur Cannon
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Volt Switch

AV Mag (No not Magnezone) is one of the tier's best special checks. Mag is the switch-in to Ash-Gren and Lele (as well as my only block to Clangorous Soulblaze but eh) and adds a Steel- and Fairy-type to the roster. Magearna works so well as a pivot, being able to gain momentum with Volt Switch or fire off a HUGE Fleur Cannon on whatever poor Non-Heatran Poke that wanted to switch in. I went with T-bolt instead of Steel STAB to help pressure Skarmory and Toxapex, (the former I don't have good answers to, but Skarm is so passive it's not really very crippling). Ice Beam is for nailing Landorus on the switch and daring those ballsy enough to try and predict my switch to set up rocks only to take one of these to the face (you'd be surprised by how many there are) and completing the infamous Bolt-Beam coverage. Was previously HP Fire but the team had things against Ferro and Scizor already, and I didn't need HP Ground for Heatran since I had good answers to Heatran anyway so that's not very scary in the long run. Nature and IVs let me absorb Leech Seed from Celesteela.


Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Defog
- Will-O-Wisp
- Volt Switch

Who would've guessed that a washing machine would be a good answer to a lot of the metagame's offense? (Note that I said a lot, not all, so don't start with me). Rotom provides status and hazard control for the table, as well as a good check to Gliscor and opposing Landorus-T. EV spread allows me to outspeed adamant T-tar and Wisp it I believe? Rotom also allows for a good switch-in to T-tar as well as regular Dragon Dance Gyarados and Sand Rush Excadrill, and throw off a burn on any Ferrothorns and Bulus who want to make a cheeky switch in. This thing walls most defensive sets of Landorus, Swampert, and Tornadus-T, and provides another Ground immunity so I don't lose to Scarf Lando right off the bat (not that I would anyway, as you'll see later). Forms a nice physical/special pivot core with Magearna. Rotom also has a good prediction game, and if you'll watch my replays you'll see that I love to predict (I dunno man but the satisfaction you get while Volting out on a Ground-type switching out feels so good)

.

Greninja-Ash (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- Spikes

And there's the edgiest Naruto-watching weeaboo froggy boi that everyone wanted to see. Ash-Gren is my special win-con that hits any poor soul who doesn't resist his dual STAB hard. Set is standard: dual STAB (Surf over Hydro Pump because hhrrrnnnghh), Shuriken for OP priority, and Spikes to punish switches. I could run Gunk Shot or Ice Beam, but that leaves Gren no way to punish opposing AV Mags in return for coverage against the Tapus and Zapdos. And I'm sure Spikes will do Gren better in the long run and I'm adamant on that. All the Volt-Turn from before all leads up to getting this guy in until he forces a kill (I wish he got Pursuit), and when he does, everything's gonna drop. This guy is the third fastest thing in OU (outpaced only by Mega Alakazam and Mega Lopunny), and hits hard to boot. He's basically a Mega who can hold an item, which would be absolutely broken if that was a thing. Imagine a Mega Beedrill or Medi with a Choice Band, or Mega Sableye with Leftovers. Yikes.


Gallade-Mega (M) @ Galladite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Zen Headbutt
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance

And there's the other edgy Yu-Gih-Oh! glugging caped crusader that I'm sure some people are surprised to see. Gasp! This guy's not in OU! Why run him when you can run Mega Medi? Hear me out: Gallade might not hit as hard, but he is faster and has far superior coverage. I did run Mega Medi in the past, but I really wanted just that tiny bit of extra speed to go alongside amazing offensive presence, and here we are. Mega Gallade still functions very well in OU and I'm surprised he's still BL. Gallade has above-average SpDef which lets it take a hit from the likes of Alakazam and Clefable, and hit back hard with Knock Off or Zen. Gallade also has an easy time Dancing up against Heatran, Chansey and to some extent, Kyurem and Ferrothorn. That's the thing I love with Mega 'Lade, because while Mega Medi forces switches and gets kills, Mega Gallade forces switches, SDs up, and wins. As you can tell, this is my second win-con.


Weavile @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard

Gasp! Yet another BL intruder! How dare you fill OU with such filth! Yeah, say that to my face. Weavile is hands-down, the best Pursuit-trapper, best revenge-killer, best dragon-killer, and best Ice-type in the game. (My opinion, sorry folks). CB Weavile hits fast and hits hard, serving as a good anti-lead against Landorus and Garchomp. The cool thing about running Pressure over Pickpocket is it allows me to scout for scarves! Yeah, pretty niche but it's not like I'm switching this guy hard on a Knock Off anyway. Speaking off Knock Off, say goodbye to your Lefties and your berries cuz those are getting blown away on any attempt on a switch-in. Again, I'm surprised Weavile isn't in OU, since he functions so well in it. Weav also compliments Gallade pretty well, Pursuing Scarfed Ghosts locked into Shadow Ball so Gallade is undeterred in his sweep. He also deals with Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth exceptionally well leaving Greninja undeterred in his sweep. This guy rips holes in many defensive cores and allows my offenses to run wild. Weavile is also a backup for Scarfchomp and Scarf Lando, and in fact I can just hard predict them switching and nab them with Pursuit or doubling out into Gren or Gallade. Weavile appreciates hazard control and even though he can only switch into rocks five times, you might as well count that as five kills.

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Well that's about it. I love what these guys do for me, and hopefully this team is well built enough so changes are minimal. Because every time I drop a win with these guys, it feels good knowing that the team functions well. Cuz everyone knows GG stands for Greninja-Gallade.

Flame Charge Mega Charizard-Y
As rare as it is, once it Flame Charges I can't really do anything, especially if it carries Solarbeam.
Mega Sableye
I can't very easily beat this thing since I carry only one Fairy move in the entire team.
Mega Alakazam
Mega Zam OHKO's Mega Gallade if it carries Shadow Ball and outspeeds Gren and Weavile and kills with Focus Blast.
Mega Mawile
Not as dangerous as the others, but once Lando goes down Mega Mawile can very easily sweep.
Skarmory
I lack special coverage to hit Skarm with, and Volt Switch forces more hazard damage.
Scarfers
Due to my lack of a scarf, I can lose to strong scarfers once their checks are worn down.

Knock Off < Shadow Sneak The team was ripped apart by Mega Alakazam, so having super effective priority lets Gallade counter that. It also lets Gallade stand up to Scarf Blaceph and Gengar and not risk the speed tie with the Latis and Gengar.
<
I often find myself in situations with Weavile where I'm all "Man, I really wanna Ice Shard."
<
Pex similarly acts as a Greninja check and provides me something to use against Mega Mawile.


Landorus-Therian (M) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Fly
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock

Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Fleur Cannon
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Defog
- Will-O-Wisp

Greninja-Ash (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- Spikes

Gallade-Mega (M) @ Galladite
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Zen Headbutt
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance

Weavile @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Pursuit

Laddering Proof:
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Hey quite interesting team. Wish i was more keen on USM to give you a helping hand but i never get into sm's mindset that much because it was loathsome whatsoever to me. I had a closer look to your team and i noticed you struggle against tapu bulu, you could either run ice beam on greninja just not to let tapu bulu being switched in for free or you could swap weavile and run victini, even if i don't know if that could change things honestly.
 
Hey quite interesting team. Wish i was more keen on USM to give you a helping hand but i never get into sm's mindset that much because it was loathsome whatsoever to me. I had a closer look to your team and i noticed you struggle against tapu bulu, you could either run ice beam on greninja just not to let tapu bulu being switched in for free or you could swap weavile and run victini, even if i don't know if that could change things honestly.
Thanks for the suggestions! But where exactly are you coming from? Swapping Weav for Victini is just swapping one hazard weak Mon for another and swapping Ice for Fire. Weav in synergy with Lando can deal with any Bulu rather well, and Ice is just a much more spammable type in the metagame anyway. Plus doubling up on Psychics while losing my Ghost resist means I'd struggle significantly more against Scarfecephalon and Scarf Gengar without a Pursuit-Trapper. Also I appreaciate Weavile's Ice Shard at the end of the day.
 

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