OK, so a friend of mine and me wanted to make a fun volt-turn into mega zard team. We didn't like our options of electric types though; rotom is on every team so we didn't want to use that again, manectric takes up a mega slot, and raikou is bad. We took some time to think, and it finally dawned upon us to use the most broken pokemon in the current metagame: Dedenne the monster, the animal, the legend. And thus, the team building process sprouted into action. As mentioned in the title, we peaked 1700 with this team, although that was more him than me as I find this team is the funnest to use when I play with other people for fun.
Team building Process:
After deciding to use the most broken pokemon in the game, that being dedenne, we wanted of coarse to run a pokemon that can perfectly compliment this threat. So we chose Charizard X. Charizard is OP, Dedenne is OP, so you see, they compliment each other. Dedenne also of coarse is immune to dragon so is nice for faster dragons like the lati twins.
With 2 major ground weaknesses, Landorus was practically mandatory to stop thinks like Excadrill, Garchomp, and opposing Landorus's from just running over the entire team. Landorus adds to the volt-turn core of the team, and provides the team with the ever-important stealth rocks. Landorus has always suffered from the fact that while he is immune to electric, he doesn't actually counter electric types. Dedenne and Charizard stop many things that threaten landorus: bulky waters like Rotom, Slowbro or defensive Starmie, Weavile, Raikou/Manectric, among other things.
Having gotten this far, we realized the next component we were missing for the team was both a bulky water, and a form of hazard removal. Starmie fills both roles, and is able to spin on the majority of stealth rockers in the tier while simultaneously threatening them out with STAB scald.
At this point, a few things became apparent. First off, we still had a plethora of ground weaknesses and only Landorus to respond to that. Second, the team lacked damage output. Third, it was weak to stall. And fourth, it lacked speed. So what pokemon can patch up all those holes? None other than Tornadus-Therian. Torn adds to the volt-turn core, provides the team with a little bit more sustainability with regenerator (in terms of passive healing), threatens common stall pokemon while also able to knock off chansey, and offers an incredible base speed for the team with equally incredible offences (assuming you can actually land a hurricane).
To round off the team, we wanted a steel type to form a sort of dragon-steel-fairy core with the team while also being able to maintain the volt-turn momentum. We also needed a pokemon fast enough to threaten the likes of Mega Lopunny and Weavile, to just name a few pokemon. To us, the only answer was Jirachi. While this added another ground weakness to the team, it offered at the same time another ground immunity in a sense: Landorus has a lot of pressure by being the teams premier answer to many things in the tier so having healing wish support to bring landorus back from a low HP was vital.
And now, after all that, here's the team itself:
Raikou is Bad (Dedenne) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Cheek Pouch
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Def / 160 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
- Volt Switch
- Toxic
- Super Fang
- Recycle
So here's the god itself, first on the lineup. 8 speed evs is creeping max speed base 70 pokemon without a speed boosting nature. I originally ran enough speed to out speed these pokemon even with a boosting nature, but the extra SpDef evs guarantees that Manaphy cannot ohko with scald after a tail glow. So while Bisharp and Breloom generally carry Jolly anyways, this was more so relevant for Volcanion which all run modest. The defense evs guarantees that Weavile cannot OHKO with icicle crash, and also guarentees that life orb Starmie and life orb Latias cannot 2hko with psyshock. The rest is put into special defence, which helps versus Manaphy and Starmie as mentioned as neither can 2hko, but more importantly helps versus Tornadus-Therian and Keldeo. This set lives specs hydro pump, and doesn't get 2hkod by specs scald or scarf hydro pump, and is able to switch into life orb Tornadus surprisingly well. As well as electric types of coarse.
Recycle is for sustainability: with Dedenne having the potential to hard wall so many pokemon this move was essential.
Volt switch maintains the volt-turn core and keeps momentum on my side of the field.
Toxic and super fang are for anything I can't volt switch on, and weakens things like Hippowdon and Quagsire on the switch in to make the game easier for Zard.
X Gon Give it to ya (Charizard-Mega-X) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 248 HP / 100 Def / 144 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Dragon Dance
The next set is the Charizard set. It's a little strange, because it's mixed defenses, but the Evs help immeasurably for Weavile and Charizard Y, as neither 2hko, and can also wall Magnezone and Bisharp. It's worth noting that Charizard is my only switch in to Weavile, Magnezone and Bisharp, but it's still a solid switch in. But other than that, it's not too crazy. Wisp hits common switch ins like the aforementioned Hippo and Quagsire and weakens them for an easier chance to sweep later. Flare blitz is self explanatory as is roost, but dragon dance was the final move chosen to give the team set up potential. While this leaves the set completely walled by heatran, after testing the team with both EQ over dragon dance, and Thunder punch over dragon dance, and even outrage over dragon dance, we think that DD is the all around best option.
Unban Incarnate (Landorus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
Pretty much just a standard Landorus set. It's my best answer to things like Excadrill, Garchomp, and Talonflame. Provides stealth rock support and adds to the volt-turn core. Stone edge is used over knock off specifically for talonflame. Talonflame is a strange pokemon to this team, because if it's Spdef+wisp, then Dedenne/Starmie can potentially beat it, and if it's offensive Landorus can beat it. It just comes down to figuring out the set.
Nerf Genji (Starmie) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect Type
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Scald
Reflect type Starmie isn't that common anymore but I still love the pokemon. It lets you beat Ferrothorn 1v1, thus preventing hazards. It lets you not get pursuit trapped by Ttar and Bisharp. Also lets you reflect type on Magnezone which is neat. For anybody who doesn't know, although this should be common knowledge by this point, Starmie out speeds scarf Magnezone. Starmie is also my premier switch into Heatran. The most important thing over all, is Starmie spins on the majority of rockers in the tier, which helps zard a lot.
Hurrican't Hit (Tornadus-Therian) @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave/Focus Blast
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Torn is here for a bit more momentum and a heck of a lot more dammage.... on paper. Because hurricane doesn't actually land in real life. Knock off is an amazing move and threatens Chansey from switching in. Focus Blast is for Heatran and Heat wave is for Ferrothorn. I've been using the team with heat wave the majority of the time, and Heatran hasn't been too much of an issue, especially once you knock its leftovers off.
In Range of Flinch (Jirachi) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Heart Stamp
- Healing Wish
- U-turn
Last pokemon here is the Jirachi. Choice scarf lets me threaten Mega Lopunny and Weavile as I mentioned, to just name 2 pokemon. I chose dual STAB over fire punch because I found I had enough answers for Scizor from testing. And as mentioned, healing wish is massively important for almost every matchup because there is always so much pressure put onto specific mons that the second life can win me games. Heart stamp I just like for Breloom and Mega Lopunny.
Threatlist:
Faries:
Ground Types:
Others:
Replays:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-470049973
^(sac lando turn 1 and still 4-0 with dedenne)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-470049341
^(tournament game vs a Mega Diancie)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-432055242
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-432050533
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-422998692
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-463126760
Team building Process:
After deciding to use the most broken pokemon in the game, that being dedenne, we wanted of coarse to run a pokemon that can perfectly compliment this threat. So we chose Charizard X. Charizard is OP, Dedenne is OP, so you see, they compliment each other. Dedenne also of coarse is immune to dragon so is nice for faster dragons like the lati twins.
With 2 major ground weaknesses, Landorus was practically mandatory to stop thinks like Excadrill, Garchomp, and opposing Landorus's from just running over the entire team. Landorus adds to the volt-turn core of the team, and provides the team with the ever-important stealth rocks. Landorus has always suffered from the fact that while he is immune to electric, he doesn't actually counter electric types. Dedenne and Charizard stop many things that threaten landorus: bulky waters like Rotom, Slowbro or defensive Starmie, Weavile, Raikou/Manectric, among other things.
Having gotten this far, we realized the next component we were missing for the team was both a bulky water, and a form of hazard removal. Starmie fills both roles, and is able to spin on the majority of stealth rockers in the tier while simultaneously threatening them out with STAB scald.
At this point, a few things became apparent. First off, we still had a plethora of ground weaknesses and only Landorus to respond to that. Second, the team lacked damage output. Third, it was weak to stall. And fourth, it lacked speed. So what pokemon can patch up all those holes? None other than Tornadus-Therian. Torn adds to the volt-turn core, provides the team with a little bit more sustainability with regenerator (in terms of passive healing), threatens common stall pokemon while also able to knock off chansey, and offers an incredible base speed for the team with equally incredible offences (assuming you can actually land a hurricane).
To round off the team, we wanted a steel type to form a sort of dragon-steel-fairy core with the team while also being able to maintain the volt-turn momentum. We also needed a pokemon fast enough to threaten the likes of Mega Lopunny and Weavile, to just name a few pokemon. To us, the only answer was Jirachi. While this added another ground weakness to the team, it offered at the same time another ground immunity in a sense: Landorus has a lot of pressure by being the teams premier answer to many things in the tier so having healing wish support to bring landorus back from a low HP was vital.
And now, after all that, here's the team itself:
Raikou is Bad (Dedenne) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Cheek Pouch
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Def / 160 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
- Volt Switch
- Toxic
- Super Fang
- Recycle
So here's the god itself, first on the lineup. 8 speed evs is creeping max speed base 70 pokemon without a speed boosting nature. I originally ran enough speed to out speed these pokemon even with a boosting nature, but the extra SpDef evs guarantees that Manaphy cannot ohko with scald after a tail glow. So while Bisharp and Breloom generally carry Jolly anyways, this was more so relevant for Volcanion which all run modest. The defense evs guarantees that Weavile cannot OHKO with icicle crash, and also guarentees that life orb Starmie and life orb Latias cannot 2hko with psyshock. The rest is put into special defence, which helps versus Manaphy and Starmie as mentioned as neither can 2hko, but more importantly helps versus Tornadus-Therian and Keldeo. This set lives specs hydro pump, and doesn't get 2hkod by specs scald or scarf hydro pump, and is able to switch into life orb Tornadus surprisingly well. As well as electric types of coarse.
Recycle is for sustainability: with Dedenne having the potential to hard wall so many pokemon this move was essential.
Volt switch maintains the volt-turn core and keeps momentum on my side of the field.
Toxic and super fang are for anything I can't volt switch on, and weakens things like Hippowdon and Quagsire on the switch in to make the game easier for Zard.
X Gon Give it to ya (Charizard-Mega-X) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 248 HP / 100 Def / 144 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Dragon Dance
The next set is the Charizard set. It's a little strange, because it's mixed defenses, but the Evs help immeasurably for Weavile and Charizard Y, as neither 2hko, and can also wall Magnezone and Bisharp. It's worth noting that Charizard is my only switch in to Weavile, Magnezone and Bisharp, but it's still a solid switch in. But other than that, it's not too crazy. Wisp hits common switch ins like the aforementioned Hippo and Quagsire and weakens them for an easier chance to sweep later. Flare blitz is self explanatory as is roost, but dragon dance was the final move chosen to give the team set up potential. While this leaves the set completely walled by heatran, after testing the team with both EQ over dragon dance, and Thunder punch over dragon dance, and even outrage over dragon dance, we think that DD is the all around best option.
Unban Incarnate (Landorus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
Pretty much just a standard Landorus set. It's my best answer to things like Excadrill, Garchomp, and Talonflame. Provides stealth rock support and adds to the volt-turn core. Stone edge is used over knock off specifically for talonflame. Talonflame is a strange pokemon to this team, because if it's Spdef+wisp, then Dedenne/Starmie can potentially beat it, and if it's offensive Landorus can beat it. It just comes down to figuring out the set.
Nerf Genji (Starmie) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect Type
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Scald
Reflect type Starmie isn't that common anymore but I still love the pokemon. It lets you beat Ferrothorn 1v1, thus preventing hazards. It lets you not get pursuit trapped by Ttar and Bisharp. Also lets you reflect type on Magnezone which is neat. For anybody who doesn't know, although this should be common knowledge by this point, Starmie out speeds scarf Magnezone. Starmie is also my premier switch into Heatran. The most important thing over all, is Starmie spins on the majority of rockers in the tier, which helps zard a lot.
Hurrican't Hit (Tornadus-Therian) @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave/Focus Blast
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Torn is here for a bit more momentum and a heck of a lot more dammage.... on paper. Because hurricane doesn't actually land in real life. Knock off is an amazing move and threatens Chansey from switching in. Focus Blast is for Heatran and Heat wave is for Ferrothorn. I've been using the team with heat wave the majority of the time, and Heatran hasn't been too much of an issue, especially once you knock its leftovers off.
In Range of Flinch (Jirachi) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Heart Stamp
- Healing Wish
- U-turn
Last pokemon here is the Jirachi. Choice scarf lets me threaten Mega Lopunny and Weavile as I mentioned, to just name 2 pokemon. I chose dual STAB over fire punch because I found I had enough answers for Scizor from testing. And as mentioned, healing wish is massively important for almost every matchup because there is always so much pressure put onto specific mons that the second life can win me games. Heart stamp I just like for Breloom and Mega Lopunny.
Threatlist:
Faries:
Ground Types:
Others:
Replays:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-470049973
^(sac lando turn 1 and still 4-0 with dedenne)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-470049341
^(tournament game vs a Mega Diancie)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-432055242
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-432050533
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-422998692
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-463126760
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