ORAS LC Omanyte Offense by Kushalos

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Introduction

This team has been used throughout LCPL and LC Open to great success by its builder, Kushalos, and is centred around one of the tier's scariest sweepers: Omanyte. Omanyte is one of the best anti-balance Pokemon in the metagame, and is very difficult to deal with. The team is designed to make Omanyte even more deadly than normal, destroying most teams without Fighting-type priority or a Slowpoke. The team includes some unusual choices, such as Hidden Power Fire Omanyte and an absence of Fighting-types, which are very common in LC. The team makes great use of these unorthodox choices, utilising a reliable Spiker in Ferroseed and an incredible wallbreaker in Gastly. With Spikes support, Gastly is able to handle bulky Normal-types and Fighting-types, while Pawniard is sufficiently covered through careful play. Thanks to Hidden Power Fire, Ferroseed no longer handles Omanyte, causing balanced teams to lose their best counter to Omanyte. Between Omanyte, Spikes and Gastly, most balanced teams are on the back foot from team preview, and sometimes have an almost impossible chance of winning. The team also has a hugely threatening matchup against hyper offensive teams, where Gastly and Fletchling, particularly with Spikes support, cause the opposition issues every time they come in. There are few matchups where this unique team does not shine, but overall its constantly stellar performances are a testament to its solidity.

In-Depth
Omanyte @ Eviolite | Shell Armor
Modest | 36 Def / 200 SpA / 240 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
• Shell Smash
• Surf
• Earth Power
• Hidden Power [Fire]


Omanyte is the main sweeper of the team and an extremely effective wallbreaker. Due to its Water / Rock typing, Omanyte is able to handle several irksome Pokemon for the team, including Fire-types such as Ponyta, Larvesta and Fletchling, and even turn them into setup opportunites. The set deviates from the standard in several ways; Hidden Power Fire is chosen over Ice Beam to specifically target Ferroseed while still securing KOs against Foongus and Cottonee. Foongus and Cottonee both need to have their item knocked off to be OHKOed by Hidden Power Fire, however. The EV spread is also slightly different than the standard spread, with the leftover EVs being invested into Defense, which allows Omanyte to tank Sucker Punch and Mach Punch better than normal. Surf is run instead of the more powerful Hydro Pump for reliability. Besides, the added power typically is not needed thanks to the pressure the team provides. Earth Power OHKOs Chinchou and provide good neutral coverage alongside Hidden Power Fire. This coverage eaves Omanyte countered by only a handful of Pokemon, half of which are irrelevant in the ORAS metagame, and the other half of which are covered by the support the team provides.
Ferroseed @ Eviolite | Iron Barbs
Careful | 84 HP / 36 Atk / 188 Def / 148 SpD / 36 Spe
• Knock Off
• Bullet Seed
• Spikes
• Thunder Wave

Ferroseed does three critical things for the team: It provides Spikes support to punish the switches forced by the team and helps weaken walls in order to put them in range for Gastly, Fletchling and Omanyte to beat, it helps to keep Cottonee and Foongus in check by knocking off their Eviolites, and lastly it provides the team with paralysis support to prevent potential threats from getting out of hand. If Ferroseed's defensive utility against Corphish or other offensive Waters isn't needed, it should be played aggressively in order to set up hazards quickly. Knock Off should be used against Foongus, Timburr, Cottonee to make them easier for the rest of the team to handle. Bullet Seed is used primarily to check Corphish and Drilbur, but its use is limited otherwise. Thunder Wave is mainly there to prevent Ferroseed from being set up on and for crippling Ponyta, and helps provide more turns to set up Spikes.
Pawniard @ Choice Scarf | Defiant
Jolly | 236 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 196 Spe
• Knock Off
• Iron Head
• Brick Break
• Pursuit

Pawniard acts as the team's main way to pressurise offensive teams; with a Choice Scarf and Pursuit, Pawniard is great for trapping massive threats such as Abra and Gastly, while Knock Off and Iron Head can place the opposition on the back foot. Although Pawniard acts as a secondary Shellder counter and a decent Flying-type check, its defensive capabilities are somewhat lacking, and its constant habit of bringing in Fighting-types can be rather problematic. Intelligent double switches can alleviate this issue, however. Brick Break helps keep opposing Pawniards in check, which is useful if Fletchinder is able to use U-turn as one switches in. Pawniard can also serve to deter Defoggers, as a +2 Iron Head is very difficult to handle without a sturdy resist.
Drilbur @ Eviolite | Mold Breaker
Jolly | 36 HP / 236 Atk / 212 Spe
• Stealth Rock
• Rapid Spin
• Earthquake
• Rock Slide

Drilbur was added to the team chiefly for its ability to reliably clear hazards and simultaneously set up its own Stealth Rock. Drilbur is the team's glue, acting as a Volt Switch immunity and a Magnemite check. Thanks to its high Attack and Mold Breaker Earthquake, Drilbur is very hard to switch into and rarely loses momentum for the team. Drilbur is also fairly expendable despite its attributes, allowing the player to play it aggressively to win the hazards game or utilise Drilbur as fodder to get a key Pokemon in at the right time.
Gastly @ Life Orb | Levitate
Timid | 36 Def / 196 SpA / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
• Shadow Ball
• Sludge Bomb
• Dazzling Gleam / Hidden Power [Fighting]
• Destiny Bond

Between Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb, Gastly hits absurdly hard and is nearly impossible to switch into. With Gastly's high powered attacks and speed, it acts as both a reliable revenge killer and the main offensive tool for breaking down opposing teams. Dazzling Gleam hits Scraggy and Timburr hard, which helps the team maintain its momentum and relieves some pressure on Fletchling. Hidden Power Fighting can also be used, however without Substitute this is only mildly useful against Pawniard. With Ferroseed's Spike support, only the rare Stunky or Berry Juice Munchlax can manage to switch into Gastly's high power attacks. Gastly can also block Rapid Spin, although this is risky due to its frailty. Substitute is forgone in favor of Destiny Bond, which allows Gastly to obtain another KO before being taken out, even when it is Pursuit trapped. Gastly is the team's main tool for pressuring Porygon, and its key wallbreaker as the team does not have a Fighting-type. Gastly has the benefit of baiting in Choice Scarf Pawniard, which Omanyte easily sets up on when it is locked into Pursuit.
Fletchling | Gale Wings
Adamant | 196 Atk / 252 Def / 20 Spe
• Acrobatics
• U-turn
• Swords Dance
• Roost

Fletchling acts as the team's general revenge killer. With its priority Acrobatics, opposing Scraggy, Carvanha, Snivy, Abra and Aipom are far less threatening than they would be otherwise. In addition, Fletchling makes for a great secondary sweeper, particularly after a boost and once opposing walls have been weakened by hazards. The few Pokemon that can sufficiently handle Fletchling are usually completely vulnerable to Gastly, which means that frequently Fletchling can use U-turn on an incoming Rock-type, such as Onix, and pivot to Gastly to KO it. Fletchling is able to place extreme pressure on offensive teams, which in tandem with Gastly and the hazards provided by Ferroseed and Drilbur, can be extremely hard for those teams to deal with. Roost allows Fletchling to continue to be a threat throughout the match, although its opportunities to use Roost are infrequent. Unfortunately, Fletchling can give the irksome Pawniard and all Shell Smashers free turns, meaning Fletchling has to be played particularly well in these matchups.

Threat List

Ponyta deals with everything on the team besides Omanyte pretty well. In fact, only Omanyte can switch into Ponyta, and even then Omanyte would rather avoid this in order to stay healthy enough to set up later on in the match. Pawniard can 2HKO it if it avoids being burned, making it an unreliable check at best. If Ferroseed can paralyse Ponyta, Gastly is able to handle it without issue. Fletchling and Drilbur can also revenge kill Ponyta, though either of these being burned is less than ideal. Similarly, Larvesta is an issue for almost the whole team and can spread burns through Flame Body. Nothing can switch into Larvesta either, but being 4x weak to Stealth Rock, weak to Fletchling's Acrobatics, and slower than Drilbur and Gastly makes it substantially easier to handle. Houndour is harder to handle, as it can OHKO or 2HKO the entire team and has a strong priority attack in Sucker Punch. However, Houndour cannot switch into anything besides Pursuit-locked Pawniard or Ferroseed, making intelligent play usually enough to keep it at bay. Luckily, these three Fire-types are pretty rare overall, and the first two are set up bait for Omanyte which helps keep them at bay.


The team lacks a solid answer to Fighting-types, and has several Pokemon which happen to invite them in. While all Fighting-types are mildly annoying and require some intelligent playing, Timburr and Croagunk are particularly hard to handle. With their Fighting-type priority moves, these need to be taken out in order for Omanyte to successfully set up. The team also lacks a way to effectively trap or lure these Pokemon, allowing them to survive most of the match unless they are played around extremely well. Timburr or Croagunk in tandem with Ponyta is also extremely difficult to play against.


Between Drilbur and Ferroseed, Magnemite is usually decently covered. However, if it predicts correctly Magnemite can KO its checks or cause a potentially detrimental shift in momentum. Fletchling also gives it a decent amount of chances to come in, but with Scarf Pawniard waiting in the wings, Magnemite is usually manageable.


Abra naturally outspeeds most of the team and generally will pick up one KO in a match. Abra is also a 100% stop to Omanyte, making it an extreme issue for the team. Moreover, only Ferroseed and Pawniard can switch into Abra, which is naturally problematic as Hidden Power Fighting KOs both. However, Abra can be revenge killed by several members of the team, or at worst, Abra's Focus Sash can be activated by Pawniard's Pursuit.


Between Knock Off and Brave Bird, only Ferroseed and Pawniard can really switch into Vullaby. Furthermore, Pawniard usually wants to keep its item and Ferroseed can do little back to Vullaby. This makes Vullaby hard to handle as a whole, although it is fairly limited by Gastly and Drilbur's strong attacks. Vullaby also lacks opportunities to switch in, and is set up on by Omantye.

Importable
Omanyte @ Eviolite
Ability: Shell Armor
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Def / 200 SpA / 240 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Shell Smash
- Surf
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 5
EVs: 84 HP / 36 Atk / 188 Def / 148 SpD / 36 Spe
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Bullet Seed
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave

Pawniard @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defiant
Level: 5
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Brick Break
- Pursuit

Drilbur @ Eviolite
Ability: Mold Breaker
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 212 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

Gastly @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Def / 196 SpA / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Dazzling Gleam
- Destiny Bond

Fletchling
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Atk / 252 Def / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- U-turn
- Swords Dance
- Roost

Credits

Created by: Kushalos
Written by: Fiend
Grammar checked by: IronBullet
Art by: Team Pokepals
 

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