SM OU First team! It seems to work quite well but I'm sure there are plenty of mistakes

[thiccner]

Introduction​

**Introduction goes here**

Latios @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Defog
​

I decided on Latios due to few mons being capable of taking it out in a 1v1 in SM OU. Draco works perfectly for this set imo as it allows Lati to OHKO the majority of the tier. Psyshock gives coverage for fairy types and is able to a large chunk out of Clef who is extremely common atm. HP fire gives desperately needed coverage for some grass and steel types and is capable of OHKO on Kartana and good damage on Jiirachi. Defog is a good move but I think it is wrong for this set as I find the idea of taking chip damage on such a fragile mon too unattractive to use a Lati switch when I could use that switch to go for an OHKO.

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 240 HP / 176 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Tail
​

This Garchomp set has been appearing more and more frequently recently and it compliments Latios well. Stealth rock works well as the set requires EV's in HP and def anyway and allows Garchomp to act as the teams' stealth rocker. Earthquake gives coverage for electric types like Koko and Rotom, which I normally have trouble with, as well as Heatran, who is the main counter to Clef, and Toxapex. Fire blast helps with the steel and grass coverage mentioned earlier (looking at you kartana).

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Gunk Shot
- Recover
- Toxic Spikes
​

Toxapex is a powerful and easy to use mon with use in every battle. Most of the set needs no introduction however gunk shot is a strange choice on Toxapex. I decided to include it to help deal with Clef, as my only other counter is chip and Bulu or my own Clef criting, and also to give some options against grass mons like Bulu. I am not sure if I made the wright decision here as, although I find myself using gunk shot constantly (it works well as it is so unexpected), I find it hard to deal with speedy mons once they've set up as Chomp is not bulky enough to dragon tail them out after taking chip earlier in the battle which haze would help with.

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Air Cutter
- Roost
- Defog
​

I love this Zapdos set so much as it has so much utility. This set fills in all the gaps in the rest of the team, discharge gives much needed coverage against water and flying types which wreck this team otherwise (Skarm, Gyarados, Hawlucha e.t.c.) while air cutter gives options for the fast fighting megas and some grass types (I decided i didn't need more fire moves on this team so decided against overheat but maybe drill peck is a better choice). Defog is the teams only real hazard clear but this bulkier set tends to have little problems atm.

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Soft-Boiled
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower
​

Clef is a great pick for this team as it can act as set up sweeper, tank and as coverage with the only fairy move on the team. Calm mind is essential to allow it to win a clef on clef war and allows clef to set up while forcing switches. Moonblast is a great STAB move on Clef and a must pick for any set, it also is the only fairy move in the set. Flamethrower gives a lot of coverage with steel, grass and ice types and is good as an alternative to the predictable moonblast spam. Soft boiled is needed for calm mind set ups, tanking and Clef wars so it's not getting swapped out any time soon.

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

Bulu gives a huge amount of coverage and supports the rest of the team well as it is versatile enough to fill holes when mons get knocked. Horn leech gives great healing, wood hammer does around 70% on a neutral attack and will 1 shot nearly anything its super effective against. Superpower can take out a Heatran after some chip and since the set can tank a fire blast or a couple (if you're lucky) of magma storms it can be catch a comfortable switch in off guard. Stone edge gives more coverage against flying types, taking some weight off of Zapdos, but is mainly just there for Charizard and Talonflame.

Any questions and suggestions are more than welcome thanks for getting this far through my ramblings.

Importable

Latios @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Defog

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 240 HP / 176 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Tail

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Gunk Shot
- Recover
- Toxic Spikes

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Air Cutter
- Roost
- Defog

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Soft-Boiled
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower

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

 

[Gross Sweep]

Hey thiccner glad to see you're getting into competitive pokemon, it's a great game. I like the general idea, but do have a few issues. Firstly Gunk Shot on Toxapex isn't a very good option, Tank chomp isn't that great right now (also rotom-w has levitate so Chomp's EQ doesn't effect it), there is a lack of breaking power within the team overall, and you lack a steel type which makes you to weak against threats like Tapu Lele for me to be comfortable. Usually when you build a team with no steel to completion you're left with an almost flawed nonfixable team construct. That being said I have a solution that doesn't change to much, so your team is still recognizable, and the essence of the team is still strongly captured, but a lot of the match ups are improved. It's still not perfect, ends up being a tad M-Medi weak (tho it's by no means close to an unwinnable match up). With that being said let's jump into the meat of the rate.

>

While I love Clefable I think this is a very necessary change. Heatran gives the team the steel type it desperately needed. Tran also provides rocks (you have rocks on Chomp, but we'll get to that in a minute). Heatran also keeps pressure on teams similar to CM on Clefable but Heatran helps with the stall match up specifically being able to trap and eliminate threats helping the team break opposing fatter teams better.

>

With the addition of Heatran there is no longer a need for Garchomp to run Stealth Rock. With this I noticed the lack of scarfer on the team, which is troublesome. A team like yours needs the speed control a Choice Scarf abuser can provide since at some point you'll need to revenge something that your defensive switch ins can no longer manage. Also in a metagame like USM OU you'll come to find no defensive core is really unbreakable, so having that back up plan is nice. The reason for Scarf Landorus-T instead of Scarf Garchomp is because Lando can help defensively vs mons like Zygarde, while serving as a revenge killer vs an array of threats from Tapu Koko to Reuniclus. There are probably better Lando spreads out there, but that is one I could quickly find.

>

Next change I had in mind was making Latios Mega. M-Latios still applies pressure similarly to Specs Latios, but with the ability to switch up moves and swap into Heatran it becomes a much more reliable and solid mon. The set I had in mind was Psychic, Earthquake, Ice Beam, Recover. This set gives you longevity, a spammable stab, a way to pressure common switchins like Ttar and Tran with EQ, and a way to deal big damage vs common breakers like Banded Zygarde and Gliscor. Yes you lose the coverage vs Kartana HP Fire provides, but with Zapdos and Heatran you should still be ok.

Recently AV Tapu Bulu has been falling off a little bit as it no longer applies enough pressure with all the fat balance teams running around. I would like to suggest a SpDef Swords Dance set that can still check mons like Ash Greninja, while at the same time possessing the ability to set up and threaten fat balance thanks to Swords Dance + Synthesis. The set uses stab Horn Leech, and coverage in Superpower. Overall I feel this change will really help the team vs the increasingly popular fat balance teams you'll be facing, but wont sacrifice your match up vs offense at the same time.

I like Zapdos on this team, but Heat Wave > Air Cutter is a change I would make here. Heat Wave helps vs mons like Ferrothron and M-Scizor and other steel and grass types. I realize Air Cutter is stab, but it honestly doesn't help Zapdos vs anything noteworthy.

Firstly Gunk Shot is not a good move on Toxapex, so change that to Haze right away, which helps you vs set up sweepers like Volcarona. This is more optional, but I would run Toxic > Toxic Spikes. you don't really have anything that abuses Tspikes, and being able to toxic stuff like Zapdos and M-Latios that might switch into Toxapex is to nice to pass up on. Finally I would make Toxapex Payapa berry to better handle threats like Volcarona (also leaving a new spread in the importable that lets you eat a Zen Headbutt from M-Medi with Payapa Berry so you can Toxic or Scald it helping you wear it down so it can't annoy you as much throughout the course of the game.

That's all I had in terms of changes. I hope this helped a bit, and if you have anymore questions feel free to hit me up, and I can try to help. Like I said before this was a good first attempt, just that the lack of Steel type really caused a lot of issues for the team. Anyways I hope this version of the team serves you well, have fun laddering!!

Import

Latios @ Latiosite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Psychic
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Recover

Toxapex @ Payapa Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Def / 168 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Roost
- Defog

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt

Tapu Bulu @ Grassium Z
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 224 HP / 216 SpD / 68 Spe
Careful Nature
- Horn Leech
- Swords Dance
- Superpower
- Synthesis

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Def / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Punishment

 

[thiccner]

Hey thiccner glad to see you're getting into competitive pokemon, it's a great game. I like the general idea, but do have a few issues. Firstly Gunk Shot on Toxapex isn't a very good option, Tank chomp isn't that great right now (also rotom-w has levitate so Chomp's EQ doesn't effect it), there is a lack of breaking power within the team overall, and you lack a steel type which makes you to weak against threats like Tapu Lele for me to be comfortable. Usually when you build a team with no steel to completion you're left with an almost flawed nonfixable team construct. That being said I have a solution that doesn't change to much, so your team is still recognizable, and the essence of the team is still strongly captured, but a lot of the match ups are improved. It's still not perfect, ends up being a tad M-Medi weak (tho it's by no means close to an unwinnable match up). With that being said let's jump into the meat of the rate.

>

While I love Clefable I think this is a very necessary change. Heatran gives the team the steel type it desperately needed. Tran also provides rocks (you have rocks on Chomp, but we'll get to that in a minute). Heatran also keeps pressure on teams similar to CM on Clefable but Heatran helps with the stall match up specifically being able to trap and eliminate threats helping the team break opposing fatter teams better.

>

With the addition of Heatran there is no longer a need for Garchomp to run Stealth Rock. With this I noticed the lack of scarfer on the team, which is troublesome. A team like yours needs the speed control a Choice Scarf abuser can provide since at some point you'll need to revenge something that your defensive switch ins can no longer manage. Also in a metagame like USM OU you'll come to find no defensive core is really unbreakable, so having that back up plan is nice. The reason for Scarf Landorus-T instead of Scarf Garchomp is because Lando can help defensively vs mons like Zygarde, while serving as a revenge killer vs an array of threats from Tapu Koko to Reuniclus. There are probably better Lando spreads out there, but that is one I could quickly find.

>

Next change I had in mind was making Latios Mega. M-Latios still applies pressure similarly to Specs Latios, but with the ability to switch up moves and swap into Heatran it becomes a much more reliable and solid mon. The set I had in mind was Psychic, Earthquake, Ice Beam, Recover. This set gives you longevity, a spammable stab, a way to pressure common switchins like Ttar and Tran with EQ, and a way to deal big damage vs common breakers like Banded Zygarde and Gliscor. Yes you lose the coverage vs Kartana HP Fire provides, but with Zapdos and Heatran you should still be ok.

Recently AV Tapu Bulu has been falling off a little bit as it no longer applies enough pressure with all the fat balance teams running around. I would like to suggest a SpDef Swords Dance set that can still check mons like Ash Greninja, while at the same time possessing the ability to set up and threaten fat balance thanks to Swords Dance + Synthesis. The set uses stab Horn Leech, and coverage in Superpower. Overall I feel this change will really help the team vs the increasingly popular fat balance teams you'll be facing, but wont sacrifice your match up vs offense at the same time.

I like Zapdos on this team, but Heat Wave > Air Cutter is a change I would make here. Heat Wave helps vs mons like Ferrothron and M-Scizor and other steel and grass types. I realize Air Cutter is stab, but it honestly doesn't help Zapdos vs anything noteworthy.

Firstly Gunk Shot is not a good move on Toxapex, so change that to Haze right away, which helps you vs set up sweepers like Volcarona. This is more optional, but I would run Toxic > Toxic Spikes. you don't really have anything that abuses Tspikes, and being able to toxic stuff like Zapdos and M-Latios that might switch into Toxapex is to nice to pass up on. Finally I would make Toxapex Payapa berry to better handle threats like Volcarona (also leaving a new spread in the importable that lets you eat a Zen Headbutt from M-Medi with Payapa Berry so you can Toxic or Scald it helping you wear it down so it can't annoy you as much throughout the course of the game.

That's all I had in terms of changes. I hope this helped a bit, and if you have anymore questions feel free to hit me up, and I can try to help. Like I said before this was a good first attempt, just that the lack of Steel type really caused a lot of issues for the team. Anyways I hope this version of the team serves you well, have fun laddering!!

Import

Latios @ Latiosite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Psychic
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Recover

Toxapex @ Payapa Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Def / 168 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Roost
- Defog

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt

Tapu Bulu @ Grassium Z
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 224 HP / 216 SpD / 68 Spe
Careful Nature
- Horn Leech
- Swords Dance
- Superpower
- Synthesis

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Def / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Punishment

Thanks so much for the help. After a lot of messing about trying different things have implemented all of you're changes except removing gunk shot on pex (sorry I just love it too much) and using a slightly different Heatran set (a z-trapper set which can one shot Toxapex). I have found it to work very well, although I miss my Lati draco 1 shotting everything, and have been having trouble with Landorus (although I'm pretty sure that's due to a lack of practice). Thanks again for all the help I have found you're input extremely useful, especially on the importance of steel pokemon and hop to back with more teams soon.

P.S. Is it alright if I post a single pokemon's build and ask what people think on this forum or is there another place I should do that

 

[Gross Sweep]

Thanks so much for the help. After a lot of messing about trying different things have implemented all of you're changes except removing gunk shot on pex (sorry I just love it too much) and using a slightly different Heatran set (a z-trapper set which can one shot Toxapex). I have found it to work very well, although I miss my Lati draco 1 shotting everything, and have been having trouble with Landorus (although I'm pretty sure that's due to a lack of practice). Thanks again for all the help I have found you're input extremely useful, especially on the importance of steel pokemon and hop to back with more teams soon.

P.S. Is it alright if I post a single pokemon's build and ask what people think on this forum or is there another place I should do that

Hey I'm glad some of the suggestions are working for you! As far as your question the RMT forum is not the place to discuss single sets. You'd probably have more luck bringing them up in the metagame discussion thread in the OU Forums.

 

[thiccner]

Hey I'm glad some of the suggestions are working for you! As far as your question the RMT forum is not the place to discuss single sets. You'd probably have more luck bringing them up in the metagame discussion thread in the OU Forums.

Will do thanks