Introduction
The introduction of Gen VI brought a lot of new toys to the metagame. I played with many of these toys (and I'm sure many of you did as well) and I ended up building a lot of teams. Some of them were better than others, but overall I had a very difficult time making something "click". Usually, I would pick a Mega Evolution I liked and I would attempt to build something around it, with some variation in success. I probably have about 7-8 teams on Showdown at the moment (and several more I scrapped) but with a new semester of college starting I decided that I wanted to make one really good one.
I'll admit right off the bat that I am not the best team builder. However, I was lucky enough to befriend an individual on the Neoseeker forums (username Grimes_er) who has spent the last several months assisting me with my team building, strategy and overall battle technique. The past few weeks I've supplemented his teachings with watching a lot of great battlers on YouTube. So Grimes_er and I sat down one day and we started tossing around some ideas as to how we wanted the team to function and, more importantly, what Pokemon we wanted to build the team around.
We threw around some ideas as to what to build the team around when we finally settled on Entei. One of the new toys that was brought into the metagame was the introduction of Sacred Fire to Entei. Sacred Fire now gives Entei a reason to be used competitively, as it is the best move in the game in my opinion. And with Entei settled on, we began the team building process.
Team Building
Of course, we started out with Entei. Entei can abuse the game's best move and cripple most pokemon with a burn. We settled on the CB set to hit as hard as possible.
Manaphy was the next pokemon we decided on. It can easily dispatch of the fire, water, and ground types that Entei isn't too fond of.
We realized that Mega Venusaur and Mega Gyarados could give us trouble, so Latios was added. Latios is also invaluable as it provides Defog support for the team.
Assault Vest Azumarill was added next to help us deal with fast special attackers like Latios and Greninja that can cause the team trouble. Azumarill also bring along a key dragon immunity along with a dark resistance
For my edition of the team I opted to go with Landorus-T. I added Landorus-T to accomplish 3 goals: set up rocks, provide a check to Thundurus-I and Talonflame and soak up T-Waves.
Lastly, Aegislash was added to provide addition Ice/Dragon resistance, extra priority and also a counter for some of those pesky fairy types.
*In Grimes_er's version of the team, Garchomp and Scarf Ditto are used in place of Landorus-T and Aegislash.
The Team
Entei @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Extreme Speed
- Stone Edge
- Bulldoze
Here he is. The star of the show. Choice Band Entei is an absolutely terrifying pokemon. Unless you're a fire type, you don't want to switch into Entei. And with correct prediction, Entei can O-2HKO any fire type. Choice Band is the item of choice to let Entei hit as hard as possible. Because of Entei's relatively lackluster attack (115), an Adamant nature is a must. The EVs I chose were to maximize Entei's potential both as a physical presence on the battlefield but also to outspeed many common threats.
Grimes_er opted for a slightly different spread @ 60 HP/252 Atk/196 Spd, opting to increase Entei's bulk and dropping the speed tier it excels in ever so slightly.
Although there are 4 moves up there, the only one that really needs paying attention to is Sacred Fire. Sacred Fire is in my opinion the best move in the game. 50% burn chance is absolutely insane and it cripples practically anything that attempts to switch into it. Extremespeed gives Entei priority and can be used to clean up weakened teams. Stone Edge and Bulldoze are used to hit fire types that attempt to switch into Entei, although a lot of them are 2HKO'd by Sacred Fire anyways.
Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Tail Glow
- Surf
- Energy Ball
- Ice Beam
One of my personal favorite additions to OU this generation has got to be Manaphy. Water is still an excellent typing this generation, and Tail Glow makes it a pretty terrifying sweeper even after just one use. The ease at which it can set up and sweep is astounding. I've swept so many unprepared teams with Manaphy. Max speed and special attack are there to hit as hard and as fast as possible. Leftovers is my preferred item of choice.
Grimes_er opted to use a Wacan Berry instead. He says, "There's nothing more satisfying than tanking a Thunderbolt that the opponent though would KO, killing the attacking mon, and then proceeding to sweep the opponent's team. Manaphy's just too damn good."
Tail Glow is the boosting move of choice, sending Manaphy's special attack sky high. Surf, Energy Ball and Ice Beam give Manaphy fantastic coverage. Energy Ball is especially useful for taking down bulky waters that can be troublesome to this team. In this metagame it is really important to have at least one Grass type move somewhere to deal with Rotom-W, Gastrodon, Quagsire and other water types. Of course, Surf hits fire, ground, and rock types. Ice Beam hits ground, flying, dragon, and grass types. Without Manaphy, this team couldn't function near as well as it does. It has been invaluable to the team's success.
Latios (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
- Defog
I will admit, I was concerned about the fate of Lati@s this generation. After some experimenting, it's clear they are still the same powerful attackers they were in Gen 5. Once again, max speed and special attack are used to hit as hard and fast as possible. We ran Expert Belt in order to bluff a Choice Scarf/Specs and so Latios could use Defog effectively. Levitate is also invaluable as it gives us our only ground immunity.
Draco Meteor is the preferred STAB of choice, hitting every non-steel and non-fairy for huge chunks of damage. Thunderbolt allows Latios to hit the two common fairies, Togekiss and Azumarill, super effectively. Thunderbolt takes care of MegaDos who would otherwise be a pain to deal with. It also deals out solid damage to the likes of Slowbro and Mandibuzz who like to switch in on Latios. Psyshock is used to hit Conkeldurr and Mega Venusaur. Lastly, Defog is used to clear hazards, allowing Entei to switch in free of harm.
Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 92 HP / 4 SDef / 160 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Superpower
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
Azumarill is easily one of my favorite mons to use in the metagame. It has great typing, a great ability, and a farily solid movepool to abuse it. No one really uses Assault Vest on Azumarill, but I've fallen in love with it. It lets me beat NP Lucario, which is a huge threat to the team. Most people are shocked when Azumarill tanks one of their attacks and KO's in return. 160 speed EV's allows Azumarill to outspeed 76 speed Trevenant and 2HKO with Play Rough on the switch in. Adamant nature is there to let it hit as hard as possible. Azumarill checks Conkeldurr, Lucario, and most dragons for the team.
Waterfall is the STAB move of choice, destroying everything that's weak to it along with a lot of pokemon who are hit neutrally. Superpower is mainly there for Ferrothorn. Play Rough hits darks, dragons and fighting types. While Aqua Jet provides Azumarill with much needed priority, letting it clean up weakened teams.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 88 Spd / 248 HP / 172 Def
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
Classic utility Landorus-T. Although Grimes_er opted to go with Garchomp and Ditto for his last two team members I opted to go with Landorus-T and Aegislash. Landorus-T has been invaluable for the team. It can switch in on just about any physical attacker and right off the bat slash their attack. It has been especially useful against boosting attackers like Charizard X, Dragonite, and Salamence. It also is a safe switch into Talonflame, not only slashing it's attack down with Intimidate but hitting it 4x effectively with Stone Edge. Lando-T's ground typing also helps soak up Thunderbolts/Waves.
U-turn gives the team some momentum and hits some of those annoying Psychic or Dark types super-effectively. Stone Edge is for the aforementioned Talonflame but also hits Salamence and Dragonite really hard. Earthquake and Stealth Rock are both pretty self explanatory. When I see Dragonite, Volcarona or Talonflame I make getting rocks on their side of the field a priority.
Aegislash @ Air Balloon
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Quiet Nature
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball
- Shadow Sneak
- Iron Head
A strong case can be made for Aegislash being my favorite Pokemon introduced in Gen 6. Looking at my team I saw not only a few Ice weaknesses but I also find that if I don't carry a steel type to resist fairy type moves in the OU metagame on Pokemon Showdown! I find myself regretting it.
King's Shield along with it's ability just gives it so many options and it is really quite fun to play. There are a lot of options available when it comes to hold items for Aegislash but I find Air Balloon a great defensive option. I have never tried the Spooky Plate (or even Weakness Policy) though. The days of Sword Dancing purely physical Aegislash are mostly over, as Shadow Ball and Shadow Sneak together make for an excellent combo. And then finally I went with Iron Head. After running a few damage calcs the only Fairy type that would take more damage from Flash Cannon (even considering the Quiet Nature and Sp A EVs) is Azumarill.
Conclusion
Wow. Well, that was long. If you made it through the whole thing, thanks for reading. I'd like to thank Grimes_er for partnering up with me in the creation of this team. Without him, the team wouldn't be close to this good. I think I speak for the both of us in saying that this has been our favorite team to date. It's also been the most successful. Grimes_er has even taken the team to the top 100 on the ladder, but we are looking for any and all suggestions to take us to the next level. Thanks for reading!
The introduction of Gen VI brought a lot of new toys to the metagame. I played with many of these toys (and I'm sure many of you did as well) and I ended up building a lot of teams. Some of them were better than others, but overall I had a very difficult time making something "click". Usually, I would pick a Mega Evolution I liked and I would attempt to build something around it, with some variation in success. I probably have about 7-8 teams on Showdown at the moment (and several more I scrapped) but with a new semester of college starting I decided that I wanted to make one really good one.
I'll admit right off the bat that I am not the best team builder. However, I was lucky enough to befriend an individual on the Neoseeker forums (username Grimes_er) who has spent the last several months assisting me with my team building, strategy and overall battle technique. The past few weeks I've supplemented his teachings with watching a lot of great battlers on YouTube. So Grimes_er and I sat down one day and we started tossing around some ideas as to how we wanted the team to function and, more importantly, what Pokemon we wanted to build the team around.
We threw around some ideas as to what to build the team around when we finally settled on Entei. One of the new toys that was brought into the metagame was the introduction of Sacred Fire to Entei. Sacred Fire now gives Entei a reason to be used competitively, as it is the best move in the game in my opinion. And with Entei settled on, we began the team building process.
Team Building
Of course, we started out with Entei. Entei can abuse the game's best move and cripple most pokemon with a burn. We settled on the CB set to hit as hard as possible.
Manaphy was the next pokemon we decided on. It can easily dispatch of the fire, water, and ground types that Entei isn't too fond of.
We realized that Mega Venusaur and Mega Gyarados could give us trouble, so Latios was added. Latios is also invaluable as it provides Defog support for the team.
Assault Vest Azumarill was added next to help us deal with fast special attackers like Latios and Greninja that can cause the team trouble. Azumarill also bring along a key dragon immunity along with a dark resistance
For my edition of the team I opted to go with Landorus-T. I added Landorus-T to accomplish 3 goals: set up rocks, provide a check to Thundurus-I and Talonflame and soak up T-Waves.
Lastly, Aegislash was added to provide addition Ice/Dragon resistance, extra priority and also a counter for some of those pesky fairy types.
*In Grimes_er's version of the team, Garchomp and Scarf Ditto are used in place of Landorus-T and Aegislash.
The Team
Entei @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Extreme Speed
- Stone Edge
- Bulldoze
Here he is. The star of the show. Choice Band Entei is an absolutely terrifying pokemon. Unless you're a fire type, you don't want to switch into Entei. And with correct prediction, Entei can O-2HKO any fire type. Choice Band is the item of choice to let Entei hit as hard as possible. Because of Entei's relatively lackluster attack (115), an Adamant nature is a must. The EVs I chose were to maximize Entei's potential both as a physical presence on the battlefield but also to outspeed many common threats.
Grimes_er opted for a slightly different spread @ 60 HP/252 Atk/196 Spd, opting to increase Entei's bulk and dropping the speed tier it excels in ever so slightly.
Although there are 4 moves up there, the only one that really needs paying attention to is Sacred Fire. Sacred Fire is in my opinion the best move in the game. 50% burn chance is absolutely insane and it cripples practically anything that attempts to switch into it. Extremespeed gives Entei priority and can be used to clean up weakened teams. Stone Edge and Bulldoze are used to hit fire types that attempt to switch into Entei, although a lot of them are 2HKO'd by Sacred Fire anyways.
Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Tail Glow
- Surf
- Energy Ball
- Ice Beam
One of my personal favorite additions to OU this generation has got to be Manaphy. Water is still an excellent typing this generation, and Tail Glow makes it a pretty terrifying sweeper even after just one use. The ease at which it can set up and sweep is astounding. I've swept so many unprepared teams with Manaphy. Max speed and special attack are there to hit as hard and as fast as possible. Leftovers is my preferred item of choice.
Grimes_er opted to use a Wacan Berry instead. He says, "There's nothing more satisfying than tanking a Thunderbolt that the opponent though would KO, killing the attacking mon, and then proceeding to sweep the opponent's team. Manaphy's just too damn good."
Tail Glow is the boosting move of choice, sending Manaphy's special attack sky high. Surf, Energy Ball and Ice Beam give Manaphy fantastic coverage. Energy Ball is especially useful for taking down bulky waters that can be troublesome to this team. In this metagame it is really important to have at least one Grass type move somewhere to deal with Rotom-W, Gastrodon, Quagsire and other water types. Of course, Surf hits fire, ground, and rock types. Ice Beam hits ground, flying, dragon, and grass types. Without Manaphy, this team couldn't function near as well as it does. It has been invaluable to the team's success.
Latios (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
- Defog
I will admit, I was concerned about the fate of Lati@s this generation. After some experimenting, it's clear they are still the same powerful attackers they were in Gen 5. Once again, max speed and special attack are used to hit as hard and fast as possible. We ran Expert Belt in order to bluff a Choice Scarf/Specs and so Latios could use Defog effectively. Levitate is also invaluable as it gives us our only ground immunity.
Draco Meteor is the preferred STAB of choice, hitting every non-steel and non-fairy for huge chunks of damage. Thunderbolt allows Latios to hit the two common fairies, Togekiss and Azumarill, super effectively. Thunderbolt takes care of MegaDos who would otherwise be a pain to deal with. It also deals out solid damage to the likes of Slowbro and Mandibuzz who like to switch in on Latios. Psyshock is used to hit Conkeldurr and Mega Venusaur. Lastly, Defog is used to clear hazards, allowing Entei to switch in free of harm.
Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 92 HP / 4 SDef / 160 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Superpower
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
Azumarill is easily one of my favorite mons to use in the metagame. It has great typing, a great ability, and a farily solid movepool to abuse it. No one really uses Assault Vest on Azumarill, but I've fallen in love with it. It lets me beat NP Lucario, which is a huge threat to the team. Most people are shocked when Azumarill tanks one of their attacks and KO's in return. 160 speed EV's allows Azumarill to outspeed 76 speed Trevenant and 2HKO with Play Rough on the switch in. Adamant nature is there to let it hit as hard as possible. Azumarill checks Conkeldurr, Lucario, and most dragons for the team.
Waterfall is the STAB move of choice, destroying everything that's weak to it along with a lot of pokemon who are hit neutrally. Superpower is mainly there for Ferrothorn. Play Rough hits darks, dragons and fighting types. While Aqua Jet provides Azumarill with much needed priority, letting it clean up weakened teams.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 88 Spd / 248 HP / 172 Def
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
Classic utility Landorus-T. Although Grimes_er opted to go with Garchomp and Ditto for his last two team members I opted to go with Landorus-T and Aegislash. Landorus-T has been invaluable for the team. It can switch in on just about any physical attacker and right off the bat slash their attack. It has been especially useful against boosting attackers like Charizard X, Dragonite, and Salamence. It also is a safe switch into Talonflame, not only slashing it's attack down with Intimidate but hitting it 4x effectively with Stone Edge. Lando-T's ground typing also helps soak up Thunderbolts/Waves.
U-turn gives the team some momentum and hits some of those annoying Psychic or Dark types super-effectively. Stone Edge is for the aforementioned Talonflame but also hits Salamence and Dragonite really hard. Earthquake and Stealth Rock are both pretty self explanatory. When I see Dragonite, Volcarona or Talonflame I make getting rocks on their side of the field a priority.
Aegislash @ Air Balloon
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Quiet Nature
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball
- Shadow Sneak
- Iron Head
A strong case can be made for Aegislash being my favorite Pokemon introduced in Gen 6. Looking at my team I saw not only a few Ice weaknesses but I also find that if I don't carry a steel type to resist fairy type moves in the OU metagame on Pokemon Showdown! I find myself regretting it.
King's Shield along with it's ability just gives it so many options and it is really quite fun to play. There are a lot of options available when it comes to hold items for Aegislash but I find Air Balloon a great defensive option. I have never tried the Spooky Plate (or even Weakness Policy) though. The days of Sword Dancing purely physical Aegislash are mostly over, as Shadow Ball and Shadow Sneak together make for an excellent combo. And then finally I went with Iron Head. After running a few damage calcs the only Fairy type that would take more damage from Flash Cannon (even considering the Quiet Nature and Sp A EVs) is Azumarill.
Conclusion
Wow. Well, that was long. If you made it through the whole thing, thanks for reading. I'd like to thank Grimes_er for partnering up with me in the creation of this team. Without him, the team wouldn't be close to this good. I think I speak for the both of us in saying that this has been our favorite team to date. It's also been the most successful. Grimes_er has even taken the team to the top 100 on the ladder, but we are looking for any and all suggestions to take us to the next level. Thanks for reading!
