I'm an on-and-off OU player and this gen looked too fun to pass on. I wanted to use Meowscarada because I'm a simp for fast Protean starters and took inspiration from some other teams to come up with this. The basic idea is to have a switch for most of the relevant metagame threats as well as safe ways to get in your breakers. I've been climbing pretty consistently but mostly only played on the lower ladder, so I'm eager for opinions. Credit to the team in this for inspiration
Meowscarada (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flower Trick
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Trick
This thing is so fun to use. I'm also a big fan of band but in this iteration it's taking on the role of speed control. Flower Trick is less spammable with a scarf compared to band, but it's still good against stuff like Garganacl (#1 opp) and bulky waters. It's possible Knock Off should be different coverage with Chi-Yu in the back, but taking items feels good and smacking Gholdengo is nice. Trick is for bulky teams when you don't need to revenge stuff or to stop set up. U-turn is self explanatory. Protean U-turn is the purest joy in all Pokemon and I can't be convinced otherwise. I like to lead with this thing since the scarf can catch people off guard and if the matchup is bad you usually have a good pivot to U-turn into for free chip. The idea with Tera Grass is to potentially clean up with Flower Trick but I've never used it.
Garchomp @ Leftovers
Ability: Rough Skin
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Spikes
Chomp is here to set hazards and check stuff. The EVs let it outspeed stuff like Great Tusk, Gholdengo, and Ceruledge. This specific speed tier only beats out max speed Tusk and Baxcalibur which don't seem super important, so I'm thinking of dumping a little more into defense. Dragon Tail is useful so that stuff like Dragonite can't set up for free and to phaze for hazard damage. I don't click Spikes super often, but it comes up and I don't know if there's a better 4th move. It's possible this should be a different bulky ground entirely but Chomp has been doing its job. I originally had helmet on this and Leftovers on Corv, but I'm testing the reverse currently and the extra longevity has made a difference.
Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost
Corv is here as a pivot and to remove hazards, and so I can pretend I'm using mega Scizor. Slow U-turns are great for getting Chi-Yu or Pult in safely. Corv is definitely a less reliable form of hazard removal on a ladder full of Gholdengo's, but this team is pretty good at getting rid of it between Chi-Yu, Pult, and Meow. U-turning on their switch when they expect Defog and getting a free Overheat with Chi-Yu is a common play pattern. Body Press helps against stuff like Chien-Pao and Kingambit. Helmet is chip to help our breakers break and to make Maushold look stupid.
Chi-Yu @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beads of Ruin
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Tera Blast
Chi-Yu is a criminal. Specs Overheat is simply too powerful. I'm not 100% sure on the coverage with this set. I almost always Tera Pult for the ghost STAB, but this seems good in theory for Water types that want to come in on Overheat. I've considered Psychic or even Hex since Pex spreads status but I don't know if I'd ever click them. Psychic notably lets it break through SpD Pex so if that ever becomes more popular it might be worth it.
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Toxic
- Recover
- Haze
I think this thing is underused, even with the Regenerator nerf and loss of Scald and Knock Off. It switches into stuff like Chien-Pao and Iron Valiant, and Haze feels especially good with all of the set up running around. I'm using SpD because this team needs a Chi-Yu answer. This set can't touch steel types, but I can't figure out if that's a problem yet. If so, Surf over Sludge Bomb might be better. I've also thought about Toxic Spikes instead of Toxic, but the combination of Toxic + Haze makes this thing really annoying for anything that wants to set up. Black Sludge over Helmet since we already have it on Corv alongside Rough Skin on Chomp.
Dragapult @ Choice Band
Ability: Infiltrator
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Darts
- Tera Blast
- Sucker Punch
- U-turn
Banded Pult is dope right now. Ghost Tera + Terablast gives access to the reliable physical Ghost STAB it was missing before, and Dragon Darts has never been more spammable with the current lack of Fairies. Infiltrator is also super useful for as long as Cyclizar is legal. If that ever changes, Clear Body may be better to stop Intimidate, Parting Shot, etc. Between this, Haze on Pex, and Dragon Tail on Chomp you have a lot of tools against HO or anything else that wants to set up. I don't think I've clicked it yet, but Sucker Punch helps in theory against Scarf Gholdengo which is barely faster, and I could see it being useful to revenge kill other scarfers or boosted things as well. U-turn is self explanatory. I also like to lead with this thing.
