SM OU Bulky Offense | The Return of Torn-T? | Mega-Lopunny

[LMastro99]

Introduction

Hello RMT, this is my very first post on a Smogon forum, but I have been lurking the threads since mid-2016. I have built teams in the past, however, I believe this is by far my greatest creation. I have just begun the laddering process and am currently in the mid 1400's. Any help, advice, or edits would be greatly appreciated!​

The Team​

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 156 Def / 112 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Soft-Boiled
- Ice Beam
- Heal Bell / Overheat / Stealth Rock

Reasons Why

To start off the team, I decided to use Mew. With pertinent physical threats in the USUM OU metagame such as Landorus-Therian, Mega Lopunny, Zygarde, Mega Medicham, Tyranitar, Mega Mawile, Hawlucha, and Mega Scizor, Mew is able to counter them all with relative ease. The combination of Will-O-Wisp + Ice Beam or Will-O-Wisp + Overheat cleanly erases the above threats. The defensive utility provided by Mew is severely underrated in my opinion and definitely deserves more usage. The main issue I face with Mew is Four-Moveslot-Syndrome as I cannot decide between Heal Bell, to cure my team of harmful status, Overheat, to nuke Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, and Mega Mawile, or Stealth Rock as my team lacks hazards.
***UPDATE: I Decided on Stealth Rock in the 4th Slot***

Tapu Bulu @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Atk / 56 SpD / 144 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Wood Hammer / Stone Edge
- Superpower
- Nature's Madness

Reasons Why

At this point in the teambuilding process, I felt fairly comfortable with Mew as a physically defensive presence. At the same time though, I noticed I was weak to one of the metagames top threats: Ash-Greninja. Assault Vest Tapu Bulu was about as hard a counter to Greninja that I was willing to use without rendering my team to become too passive. Aside from the rare, but lethal, Gunk Shot, Tapu Bulu walls Ash-Greninja and KO's back with Horn Leech restoring most of his health. During testing, I noticed most Ash-Greninja would lock themselves into Dark Pulse against Mew which allowed me to freely bring in Tapu Bulu to apply pressure. The walling capabilities of AV Bulu at this point should not be a surprise to anyone and this set is relatively standard. I am unsure whether I want to use Wood Hammer or Stone Edge and would really appreciate opinions on which is more optimal.

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 224 HP / 44 Def / 240 Spe
- Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute / Taunt
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Toxic

Reasons Why

Adding to my already stellar defensive core, Sub-Toxic Heatran made perfect sense as it synergizes with Bulu nearly perfect. With Grassy Terrain weakening opposing Earthquakes while providing Heatran with steady recovery in addition to leftovers, Tran quickly became one of my team's Most Valuable Pokemon. 240 speed EV's with a Timid nature allows Heatran to outspeed all variants of opposing Tapu Bulu while surprising Defensive Landorus who assume Heatran will switch out and end up U-Turning on Tran's sub. Magma Storm + Toxic is a great way to trap and eliminate opposing threats as the chip damage racks up extremely quick leading to many unexpected KO's. Being behind a sub is key to Heatran's success and often requires well-timed predictions to setup, but the benefits are exponential.
***UPDATE: I Decided on Taunt in the 1st Slot***

Tornadus-Therian @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 52 HP / 252 SpA / 204 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Defog

Reasons Why

Wow. What can I say about this mon... Torn-T was a staple of ORAS OU and with the addition of Tapu Koko I understand why it fell off in usage, but as you will later read, I have Koko counterplay. With its Godsent ability Regenerator, Torn-T is great at both Knocking Off items as well as scouting attacks with U-Turn. Knocking off opposing Zapdos on the switch, as well as Clefable, Chansey, and Scarf Kartana, provides the team with even more utility. Not only is Torn-T an excellent scout, but it is also an extraordinary Z-User: Supersonic Skystrike via Hurricane. With Z-Hurricane Torn-T is capable of OHKO'ing opposing AV Bulu, AV Tangrowth, and dealing huge damage to Mega Scizor. As a final move, I decided to give Torn-T Defog to clear hazards + opposing Aurora Veil/Screens.

Zygarde @ Choice Band
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Extreme Speed
- Outrage
- Toxic

Reasons Why

Although Heatran, Bulu, and Torn-T are strong offensive presences in their own right, my team was lacking both a breaker and a cleaner. I decided to use CB Zygarde here because it can wallbreak mid-game for Lopunny to clean or vice versa depending on the situation. Banded E-Speed is crucial to the success of this set. Able to break Toxapex, Magearna, opposing Heatran, etc. by spamming Thousand Arrows is incredibly valuable and hard to switch-in to/deal with for my opponents. Banded E-Speed is able to KO most offensive mons and clean late-game with ease. If possible, I would like all suggestions to ensure Banded Zygarde remains on my team, but I am open to other ideas.

Lopunny-Mega @ Lopunnite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out / Power-Up Punch
- Return
- High Jump Kick
- Ice Punch / Encore

Reasons Why

Mega Lopunny...ahhh yes...Mega Lopunny!!! This is by far-and-away my favorite Mega Evolution and is more than viable in the current USUM OU Metagame. During my testing on the ladder, most of my opponents resorted to switching in their Mew or the ever-prevalent Landorus-Therian. On the switch, Lopunny does around 80% to Offensive Lando-T and 2HKO's Defensive Lando-T. Although Mega Lopunny is unable to break opposing Mew, it can take on one of my team's most common counters: Tapu Koko. The combination of Fake Out + Return guarantees a KO on opposing Tapu Koko; I cannot stress how crucial this has been on the ladder. Aside from that, Mega Lopunny is able to force out common Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Greninja, and Heatran with HJK. Similar to CB Zygarde, I feel Mega Lopunny is a must-have on my team.
***UPDATE: I Decided on Power-Up Punch in the 1st Slot and Encore in the 4th Slot***

Conclusion​

As I stated in the introduction, I have only laddered to the mid-1400's thus far and will continue my climb. The Pokemon I seem to have the most trouble with during testing have easily been Scarf Kartana, unless Knocked-Off, and Mega Zard X. Any help and suggestions made to the team would be more than appreciated. Although this is my first post on Smogon, I intend to become an active and vocal user as I've lurked for over a year and feel I finally grasp the OU Tier enough to make meaningful contributions. Thank you once again for taking the time out to read my RMT.

Replays

Mew Comes Through
Bulky Offense at its Finest
The Value of Heatran

Importable

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 156 Def / 112 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Soft-Boiled
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock

Zygarde @ Choice Band
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Extreme Speed
- Outrage
- Toxic

Lopunny-Mega @ Lopunnite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Power-Up Punch
- Return
- High Jump Kick
- Encore

Tapu Bulu @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Atk / 56 SpD / 144 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Wood Hammer
- Superpower
- Nature's Madness

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 224 HP / 44 Def / 240 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Toxic

Tornadus-Therian @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 52 HP / 252 SpA / 204 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Defog

 

[Meliodafu7]

Hey buddy! Nice team and good explanations! Here are my two cents about it:

1.- Since you have Heatran to take on Steel-types, I think you probably run Stealth Rocks Mew instead of Overheat or Heal Bell, as it are almost imperative in every team. Your team can be weak to T-Spikes, but Torn-T gets the defog against Toxapex while knocking off its item, which is great. I say this because since Heatran goes down, a Volcarona, especially in Psychic Terrain can swept this team fairly easily, Stealth rocks pressure it and the other team in order to keep them off the field, meaning they lose momentum and you can gain it if predicted well the move.

2.- Since you're running CB Zygarde with Toxic to wear down Lando-T, AV Bulu and Tangrowth, I think you probably could run PuP+Encore Loppuny, it gives you a better way cleaning late game while also giving utility against more balanced builds, because I can see this team only have SubToxic Heatran to deal with bulkier builds, since this squad lacks a member with sheer power to break through those team, and PuP can give you a better shot at doing that.

Good luck! :D

 

[LMastro99]

Hey buddy! Nice team and good explanations! Here are my two cents about it:

1.- Since you have Heatran to take on Steel-types, I think you probably run Stealth Rocks Mew instead of Overheat or Heal Bell, as it are almost imperative in every team. Your team can be weak to T-Spikes, but Torn-T gets the defog against Toxapex while knocking off its item, which is great. I say this because since Heatran goes down, a Volcarona, especially in Psychic Terrain can swept this team fairly easily, Stealth rocks pressure it and the other team in order to keep them off the field, meaning they lose momentum and you can gain it if predicted well the move.

2.- Since you're running CB Zygarde with Toxic to wear down Lando-T, AV Bulu and Tangrowth, I think you probably could run PuP+Encore Loppuny, it gives you a better way cleaning late game while also giving utility against more balanced builds, because I can see this team having no way to deal with bulkier builds since it lacks sheer power to break through those team, and PuP can give you a better shot at doing that.

Good luck! :D

Thanks for the rate! After reading what you said about what I assume to be Psychium-Z Volcarona and running some calcs, you're right, I definitely need rocks on Mew. Having SR conveniently helps me with one of my toughest opponents as well: Mega Zard X catching it as regular Zard on the switch-in. As far as PuP + Encore Lopunny, I just tried those changes and wow...the difference it makes against balance and stall is insane. Thank you!

 

[Meliodafu7]

Thanks for the rate! After reading what you said about what I assume to be Psychium-Z Volcarona and running some calcs, you're right, I definitely need rocks on Mew. Having SR conveniently helps me with one of my toughest opponents as well: Mega Zard X catching it as regular Zard on the switch-in. As far as PuP + Encore Lopunny, I just tried those changes and wow...the difference it makes against balance and stall is insane. Thank you!

About Volcarona, I think any variant sweeps this team after Heatran goes down, the most problematic ones are Psychium-Z and SubSwarm Buginium Z Volcarona, both of them hitting stupidly hard after a QD. I say about Psychic Terrain because it block priority, what is your only way to revenge kill it, it block Zygarde's Extreme Speed and also, M-Lopp's Fake Out, meaning you have nothing to deal with it after Heatran got lured and KOed by some shit like EQ M-Latios or something like that. For that reason Stealth Rocks are imperative in this team.

About Loppuny, yeah, that set is great against more fat builds because of how easily is force them to recovery moves and then Encore to set up some PuPs, the only thing you should do is hit them with Return/HJK on the switch and then encore to death hahaha
Good luck buddy :D