TKO!
At a glance:
At a glance:
So I wanted to make a SERIOUS OU team using a mono-type team. I experimented with fire and water but HATED the fact that you pretty much HAVE to use Ninetales and Politoad for weather boosters on those type of teams. I really hate how much weather there is, so this team is great because besides ghost types, nothing can "wall" this team as most wall-type Pokemon don't like taking punches to the face! The team makeup also allows to make a hyper offensive team that can all but IGNORE hazards as they do 6% (Stealth Rock) to 4/6 pokes. Here is how the team makeup started:
The team started with another team having huge success with lead Breloom and Salac-Sub-Dance Terrakion. 2 Fighting types that worked really well together and had good synergy seemed like a great place to start. This team loves Ferrothorn because he is so common and countered by EVERY one of my Pokemon. Basically the opponent starts with 4v6 (see Breloom also below)
I had great success in the past with Moxie-Scarf Heracross so I decided to throw him on the team. This did NOT disappoint. I'll explain more below but this guy is AMAZING! Synergy on the other hand worked decently well with Terrakion but shared the x4 weakness to fighting AND fire AND psychic with Breloom. Well, not much I can do about Flying in a Mono-Fighting group but lets see about the others...
Keldeo Resolution fits in just great! He resist fire which helps out Heracross and Breloom, and hits special defense instead of physical. I'll definitely need at least 2 special attacks and at least Keldeo doesn't HAVE to run Focus Miss (Blast). I really hate Focus Miss but it's one of the only special fighting moves... Onto my next special sweeper:
Yes Infernape. He's kind of in a rough spot. He has decent synergy (Save flying of course) with the rest of the squad, and he could run a mixed set, but for now I am running a Focus Sash, pure special attacking set. Seems to catch many opponents off guard as I have 2 Focus Sash pokes. I'm debating changing to life orb but the focus sash has saved me many times from Tornadus-T.
I opted to go for a bulky Conkledurr with Ice Punch. Helps Infernape with the Dragons, can heal itself up with Drain Bunch to offset the Flame Orb he is carrying. Worked decently well but honestly was acting more as a sacrifice for the others most of the time so I decided to change it up a bit...
Hitmonlee. I has seen this guy wreck faces in other games, and also fail miserably, so I was a little leery. However the Normal Gem Fake Out plus Unburden combo is really really sick. Hitmonlee is my answer to Sun teams as it can KO Ninetales after the fake out AND out speeds Venasaur. I have to be REALLY careful though because he is my ONLY answer to Venasaur save Infernapes Focus Sash. (which requires me to sack something else to get him in at full HP) If rocks are up Venasaur screws me completely. This was working well until I started facing more Toxicroaks. That guy really just wrecks this team nearly single-handedly... I kept wondering what to do when I realized... He's 4x weak to Psychic.
While Terrakion hurt to get rid of, it really helped overall I would say. Enter Gallade. 1 Psycho Cut will OHKO Toxicroak no matter the EVs. Gallade runs a Choice Scarf which is almost a must since he has such low speed. It's worked VERY well so far and he even counters some other common ghost type walls. (Gengar with Psycho Cut and Jellicent with Leaf Blade) The team feels great now. The only weak link I would venture to say would be infernape. But the fire power from Fire Blast and blaze with focus sash all but annihilates anything without rain in effect. Here's an in-depth look at the team:
Descriptions:
Breloom @ Focus Sash
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch
- Spore
- Swords Dance
Breloom @ Focus Sash
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch
- Spore
- Swords Dance
Ah Breloom. Easily one of the best Pokemon in OU. He's got great attack but that really isn't where lead Breloom shines. It's getting rid of 1 of their Pokemon with 1 move. Focus Sash Breloom Fears Nothing save Cloyster. HOWEVER, he's faster or at LEAST speed ties all variants save choice scarf (which you NEVER see) so I usually just spore them too! Breloom can be a GREAT counter to their flying type. It easily counters a Skarmory hoping to 1HKO with Brave Bird, after which Skarm is asleep and Breloom starts swords dancing. If lucky on the sleep turns it can actually 2HKO Skarm with 2 boosts.
Breloom counters any lead save Taunt versions of Deoxys-D. But I'm happy with a Pokemon that has only 1 counter. And even then, might as well try and spore turn 1, if it works then cool, if I get taunted, then just start using Bullet seed. Breloom can 2HKO Deoxys with Bullet Seed if he gets lucky rolls. Also if I stay at 100% health, then the battle is 4v5 once Breloom kills Deoxys and spores the next Pokemon. Heck if he's lucky enough he can sleep one and kill another before it goes down. Thus making it 3v5. Yeah the hazards will hurt if there are spikes and rock, but hopefully the massive numbers in my favor will make up for it. (And have in the past)
Hitmonlee @ Normal Gem
Trait: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Earthquake
- Blaze Kick
I never really liked Hitmonlee, until I played him! His combo super well on 90% of the OU tier. He has only a few counters being Gengar, Jellicent, Latios/Latias, Dragonite, Salamence. Yes these counters are all very prevalent and can be pretty scary, but I have a few counters that can stop them in their tracks pretty well. As for Hitmonlee, for the rest of the tier beware. I opted to use Earthquake over Stone Edge due to accuracy and coverage, though that is the filler move that I am wondering if Stone Edge would be a better fit, but the accuracy leads much to be desired.
Hitmonlee leads if Breloom just would not be a good idea. (Which is almost never) Mainly against Sand/Sun teams as he can proceed to wreck most everything standard single-handedly. Eat your heart out Stoutland in the sand, I outspeed and OHKO you. Oh and Venasaur doesn't like a boosted Blaze Kick to the face in the sun. Also a OHKO. Hitmonlee destroys Sun teams. Ninetales usually comes out seeing as I have no weather inducer, just to take a 30% Fake out and get nothing done, then either eat the Earthquake and die, or swap out and if the other poke gets 2H or OHKOed, then Hitmonlee still has the advantage.
High Jump Kick is risky yet high reward move. As long as the opponent doesn't have protect, it deals massive damage coming from a 130 base attack and Adamant Nature. Nature need not be changed because all double speed pokes, (Stoutland and Venasaur mainly) have base 80 vs 87 and always (At least from what I've seen) run a +attacking nature. (Satk in Venusaur's case) They don't really fear any scarfers once they are in the Sun/Sand, so why put extra into Speed? This gives Hitmonlee the edge. He also loves to Blaze Kick Genesect in the face, a OHKO.
Gallade @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Psycho Cut
- Close Combat
- Leaf Blade
- Ice Punch
Oh Gallade... We all WANT to play you, but your speed is just too slow. He has a niche in this team being able to count a few threats that nearly completely wall the team. Gallade is saved specifically to counter Gengar, Jellicent, and most importantly Toxicroak, who destroys this team nearly single-handedly in the rain. If it weren't for rain, Toxicroak wouldn't nearly be as scary. But lets face it, weather is EVERYWHERE and highly annoying. So even though I'm sure some of you are going to say that Gallade is a bad fit, I don't think there is another Fighting type that counters the above threats, which really hurt this team in the hands of any good players.
Gallade also does surprisingly well against the Dragons and slew of super-ice-weak Pokemon that plague the OU tier. Gallade can OHKO any super ice weak pokemon save Physically defensive Gliscor (who is 2HKOed easily) and Landorus-T (due to intimidate) But handles the more common Sheer Force Landorus with ease, as well as all the double weak dragons.
Leaf Blade is common but will handle any Rotoms (who usually spec special defense) and all the Water/Ground types with ease. It's also one of my only answers to Jellicent, who can be a real pain otherwise. (Though Scald can still be an issue as Gallade can't ever 1HKO Jellicent, but with his high SDef will also never be OHKOed even by Shadow Ball. (Bar crit hax) Just remember, don't hit Gallade with a dark attack with justified or you will regret it! He only takes neutral damage and gets a 50% damage boost!
Infernape @ Focus Sash
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Focus Miss (Blast)
- Fire Blast
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power (Ice)
Infernape is easily my weakest link on the team, but finds his niche in the Focus Sash/Fire Blast/Blaze combo. There aren't that many things that can take a boosted Fire Blast with STAB save resists. Plus he also suits the team as the second Special attack fighting type and answer to the dragons. Infernape will naturally out speed all dragons save scarfed Latios, whom Heracross takes out the non-scarfed versions with ease.
Infernape would be a wall killer... But 4x fire doesn't matter too much save being a safer way to kill Ferrothorn or Metagross then Blaze Kick from Hitmonlee. And most Genesects are scarfed anyway and will just U-turn out. (Which is fine because it does almost no damage to Infernape who x4 resists bug) Infernape can be good, but he can't really help with Focus Blast because it ALWAYS misses when you need it to hit.
Other then the obvious, he still is a really good addition to the team. He can out speed many Pokemon and KO with powerful Fire attacks. The rain severly dampers this guys even slight attempts to sweep. Although sometimes you just NEED someone who can hit Sdef instead of psysical, and that's where Infernape can shine. Maybe a mixed set with an emphasis on Satk would be the answer?
Keldeo(Resolution) @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Surf
- Secret Sword
- Calm Mind
- Taunt
So Keldeo is really great, especially in the rain, which is 90% of the teams I fight anyways. After one Calm Mind and life orb, he can sweep entire teams if they are unprepared. Just watch out for Jellicent as it COMPLETELY walls this guy. Taunt for setup sweepers, allowing me to setup myself, and Sweep. The debate between Life Orb and Leftovers is a good one, but Life Orb seems to make those 2HKOs into OHKOs so I've kept it.
I know this move set needs help so I am all ears to any suggestions! Keldeo is a staple on this team due to it's water typing, many resists, and the ability to hit SAtk instead of attack is great on a team where 4/6 are physical attacks. Luckily for this team, fighting moves are the way to get through steel walls. :) Secret Sword DOES hit Physical, but just the fact that it's not Focus Miss makes it fine. Plus I don't know many walls who can take a +1 Secret sword AND Surf, most being 2HKOed by the combo.
Keldeo will team up with Infernape to sponge Will-O-Wisp, but Keldeo does one better and sponges Scalds and their burns as well. After 1 Calm Mind, it only takes about 20% life from a Scald in the rain. (But as he is walled by Jellicent... This doesn't help much)
Heracross @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
- Stone Edge
- Night Slash
Heracross! This Poke is the glue that makes this team work. I went Adamanet because lets face it, he's not out speeding anything base 80 that would also be scarfed anyway. With Moxie he can become a MONSTER. He is my late-game sweeper. He's got pretty dang good resistances for his typing and can knock the socks off of most everything that's weakened at this point with either Close Combat or Megahorn. After 2 Moxie boosts things start getting OHKOed even if they resist one of the 2 attacks.
Night Slash for coverage if Gallade goes down I NEED something to kill those pesky ghost types. Stone Edge is also coverage in case there are flying types still running around. Heracross has decent defensive stats so usually needing a 2HKO isn't that big of a deal when he's locked into a resisted move of some flavor.
The only thing Heracross really fears is Intimidate and Burns, Which basically take him out completely. If he's gotten a moxie boost already, then Intimidate isn't as big of a deal, but still highly annoying.
At a glance:
As you can see this team can be HIGHLY effective. It's only true weakness in OU is 1-2 Pokemon at most. The rest just don't have the offensive presence to do much. This team usually wins about 75-80% of the time. Which for a Mono-type team I would say is pretty good. This team has a long way to go to being perfect, but please suggest! Remember it's a Mono-Fighting Team so replacements HAVE to be a fighting type!
Thanks for reading! Be sure to leave a comment/rate, and if you don't have any suggestions, be sure to luvdisc if you love fighting types!
