SM OU Mega Diancie Balance: Peak 1735

[Draskk]

​

Introduction

Hello Smogon! This will be my first RMT on the site, or ever for that matter. This is a team I made 2 or so weeks ago, and I've been having tons of fun & success with it, after a few edits of the original version of course, and some help from friends. It took me to my peak on the ladder, 1735, and has been my go-to team when I want to play. Anyways, on to the teambuilding process:

Teambuilding Process

SubEndeavor Diancie was the first pick for the team, and it's an extremely slept on Pokemon in my opinion. It's incredibly hard to wall, being able to break down would-be checks such as Gastrodon, Chansey, Heatran, Ferrothorn, etc. with Endeavor and hitting almost everything in the tier incredibly hard with Moonblast or Diamond Storm. It also has a fairly good speed tier in 110, being able to outspeed or speed tie with most opposing wallbreakers or unboosted sweepers as well as every defensive Pokemon in the tier. It also has a useful ability in Magic Bounce and some defensive utility before it Mega Evolves, being able to check some less common Pokemon defensively such as Victini. I really wanted to build around it, because it seemed to be really good in the current metagame, with trends like Tornadus T usage rising and Toxapex usage dropping.

Next, I added Volcarona. It appreciates Diancie's Magic Bounce keeping off hazards as well as the holes it rips into teams & the fact that it invites in Volcarona setup fodder, paving the way for Volcarona to sweep.

After a quick look at the core, I realized it had a few glaring weaknesses. Namely Ash Greninja, being fairly easily forced out by common revenge killers like Scarf Lando T and Scarf Greninja, a lack of any real defensive presence, and no Stealth Rock. Naturally, I added Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn checks Ash Greninja, gives me Stealth Rock, and is a start to a defensive core to fall back on when needed.

I still was lacking some things, like a Ground and Electric immunity for common Pokemon like Landorus T and Tapu Koko, a defogger, a Heatran switch-in, and a reliable way to break Toxapex. So, I added Gliscor. Gliscor has great defensive synergy with Ferrothorn, taking care of Pokemon that trouble Ferrothorn like Heatran and eating Fighting or Fire coverage for it. With Toxic, it is incredibly effective at wearing down or forcing out common Stealth Rock users which Volcarona appreciates immensely.

For the last Pokemon of my defensive core, I chose Clefable. I was still lacking a way to deal with Hawlucha, Mega Medicham, and most Zygarde sets, and Clefable seemed like the best choice to deal with them because it appreciates having Heatran, Tapu Koko, Ash Greninja, and most offensive special Pokemon in the tier checked, which Ferrothorn and Gliscor provide for it. It also is able to support my team very well with a less orthodox set, which I will show & explain later.

Lastly, I chose Scarf Greninja. I needed a revenge killer that could take out or at least force out some of the Pokemon that threaten my team like Mega Pinsir, offensive Landorus T, Tapu Lele, Tapu Bulu, Choice Band Hoopa U, Ash Greninja, and the Mega Latis. I also wanted a U-turn user to help get Diancie and Volcarona in safely. Scarf Greninja seemed like the best and only option for this.

The Sets

Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Substitute
- Endeavor
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm

Just the standard Sub Endeavor Diancie set. Can't think of anything to add to what I've said about it already.

Volcarona @ Buginium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Ground]

Another standard set. Decided to go with Buginium and HP Ground over Psychinium because I think I have more trouble with Heatran, Zygarde, and Gastrodon than Toxapex.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
​

Once again, nothing too crazy. Decided to go with Gyro Ball in the last slot to better check Zygarde and Tapu Lele.

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 152 SpD / 112 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Defog
- Roost
- Toxic

Slightly weird set, the EVs let me counter Heatran the best (I speed creep it and easily eat Magma Storm) and Toxic is to stop Gliscor from being set up on by things like Zygarde and to make Diancie's breaking job easier by wearing down the opponent.

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

And now for probably the strangest set on this team. Flamethrower lures in Mega Scizor, a Pokemon that can be extremely hard to deal with otherwise. Healing Wish lets me throw around Volc early game to force out Steels without fearing losing my sweeper. I'm using it instead of Wish because it is incredibly hard to switch Volc in to a Wish safely and so I don't have to worry as much about Poison or Paralysis. Not running Rocks here and Spikes on Ferrothorn because I have to Defog so much and because I don't want to lose either Flamethrower or Hwish.

Greninja @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
EVs: 176 Atk / 80 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Gunk Shot​

Pretty standard ScarfGren set. Gunk Shot over Spikes to revenge the Tapus and because of the reason for not running Rocks Clefable and SpIkes Ferrothorn stated above.

Brief Threatslist

Hidden Power Fire/Z-Fightinium Tapu Lele

I have no switch in to this mon. It does have a hard time coming in though, as Dia, Volc, Gren, and Gliscor all pressure it pretty well. But usually, when it comes in it gets a kill.

Icium Z Kyurem Black

Once again, I have no reliable switch in. Ferro and Clef both fall over to Subzero Slammer, and everything else falls over to it's normal attacks. Diancie & Volcarona pressure it really well, however.

AV Stone Edge Bulu

AV Bulu carrying Stone Edge threatens both Diancie and Volcarona and weakens or kills my defensive core while I can't really do much back outside of revenge it with Scarf Gren. But, it still does not enjoy eating attacks from Diancie and can't come in on Volc, even with AV, and gets revenged by Gren.

Mega Scizor

Volcarona takes around 50% from +2 Bullet Punch so it can't really come in on it. It murderes Diancie with Bullet Punch as well, dents Clefable, isn't revenged by Greninja, and sets up on Ferrothorn and Gliscor. My main way to deal with it is doubling into Volc when it comes in or trying to catch it on the switch into Clef with Flamethrower.

Greninja-Ash

If Ferrothorn is weakened, I have to rely on revenge killing it with U-turn from Scarf Gren to get rid of this mon. If I can't do that, it straight up wins.

Weakness Policy Zygarde

If this mon gets a DD off, it's over. Clefable can't handle it because of Weakness Policy, Gren gets Extreme Speeded and dies if Zygarde has DDed once and Policy has been activated, and everything else gets completely blown away. My only hope against WP Zyg is that it isn't running E Speed or that I can make smart doubles and kill it with Gren, or Toxic it if it tries to come in on Gliscor.

Firium-Z Heatran

This mon takes out Gliscor on the switch with Inferno Overdrive, and then threatens my entire team. If Gliscor is gone, I have to rely on getting Volc to +1 and surprising it with HP Ground.

Some replays

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-743351508
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-741153961
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-741174402 (Quick note: In this replay I'm using a slightly different version of the team with Calm Mind Clefable and Psychium Volc.)

Thanks

mellowyellowhd for helping me test and refine the team, wouldn't be anywhere as good as it is now without you!
Ryomathekillers for the same thing. :)

Importable

Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Substitute
- Endeavor
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm

Volcarona @ Buginium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Ground]

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 152 SpD / 112 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Defog
- Roost
- Toxic

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

Greninja @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
EVs: 176 Atk / 80 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Gunk Shot

Proof of peak:

Thanks for reading, everyone! Let me know your thoughts, they will be appreciated. :)​

 

[Juan Carl0s]

Nice team there!
Personally, I'm thinking about using Scarf Kartana to beat Kyurem B, all Tapu Leles, finishing Heatran and RK Ash-Gren blocked on something else than Water Shauriken. Just wait for a better person than me to help you for your team!
Nice peak too

 

[vso]

hey GekkisaiDaiNi , nice team you have here. I also think Substitute + Endeavor diancie is underrated and Volcarona is an amazing partner to it. Supporting it with Defog was also nice as it keeps Volcarona healthy throughout the game. However, Toxapex seems like a huge pain to deal with as no Pokemon on either the offensive or defensive core can break it. In addition, Hawlucha can eat a Moonblast from Clefable and proceed to fire two Acrobatics to kill Clefable. Groundinium Zygarde also look a little annoying to handle.

The first thing that I would suggest is to run a Shuca berry Tapu Koko > Greninja.In addition to being the team's hazard removal, Tapu Koko can provide free switches into Volcarona when it is set to win on Pokemon such as Tapu Bulu and Ferrothorn, which are common checks to Tapu Koko. In addition, with Savage Spin Out at +1 dealing immense damage to Gastrodon at +1, Tapu Koko loses it's single biggest check and gets free Volt Switches off. Tapu Koko can also ease vs Hawlucha and set up it's own terrain, which can help beat Psychic Spam teams. With Sub Endeavor Diancie having the ability to severely weaken Assault Vest Magearna, Tapu Koko can pressure those teams far more with using HP Ice against ground types. Many of the targets listed for Scarf Greninja are either already checked or are not checked well by Greninja.However, the team loses some speed with the loss of Greninja which enabled the team to revenge kill Lopunny Mega.

With the addition of hazard removal in Tapu Koko, a Swords Dance set would further ease the matchup vs Toxapex and many balance teams utilizing Toxapex and stall teams. SD still lets Gliscor check Heatran well and becomes the primary balance breakers. A set with Ice Fang would allow Gliscor to ease against Zygarde and opposing Swords Dance Gliscor. Swords Dance Gliscor can also boost past SD Scizor which is a threat to the team.

Lastly, running Wish > Healing Wish would allow Clefable to keep it's teammates healthy without sacrificing itself and this fixes the Ash-Greninja matchup by continuously passing Wishes into Ferrothorn when it is getting weakened, help the Heatran matchup because of the ability to click Wish as Heatran comes in and go hard into Diancie without taking any residual damage and keeping potential Stealth Rock off. This will also heal up Volcarona, just like how Healing Wish did, but you will need to play more carefully around status effects.

You could also consider running Spikes >Gyro Ball to help Volcarona OHKO Gastrodon with a +1 Savage Spin Out without getting hit by a Toxic. however, this makes Tapu Lele, Zygarde, and Tapu Bulu considerably more threatening.

import

Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Substitute
- Endeavor
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm

Volcarona @ Buginium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Ground]

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Stealth Rock

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 44 Def / 68 SpD / 152 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Roost

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

Tapu Koko @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 104 HP / 12 Def / 176 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost

 

[Ryomathekillers]

I know that I already helped you build the team and all, But I do think it's a good idea for people wanting to test this team out for themselves to consider running a Different Defoger instead of clef, despite how good HW is on this team, I think that SD Gliscor is even better for it. I'd consider probably going mew or Zapdos (mantine also works so you have a chance against gren) instead of Fable and then SD scor. Since The team had a SD Scor at the start and that worked really well. Scarf Lando can also be used instead of The gren if you want another Defoger but tbh I find it less potent for the team.

 

[Draskk]

hey GekkisaiDaiNi , nice team you have here. I also think Substitute + Endeavor diancie is underrated and Volcarona is an amazing partner to it. Supporting it with Defog was also nice as it keeps Volcarona healthy throughout the game. However, Toxapex seems like a huge pain to deal with as no Pokemon on either the offensive or defensive core can break it. In addition, Hawlucha can eat a Moonblast from Clefable and proceed to fire two Acrobatics to kill Clefable. Groundinium Zygarde also look a little annoying to handle.

The first thing that I would suggest is to run a Shuca berry Tapu Koko > Greninja.In addition to being the team's hazard removal, Tapu Koko can provide free switches into Volcarona when it is set to win on Pokemon such as Tapu Bulu and Ferrothorn, which are common checks to Tapu Koko. In addition, with Savage Spin Out at +1 dealing immense damage to Gastrodon at +1, Tapu Koko loses it's single biggest check and gets free Volt Switches off. Tapu Koko can also ease vs Hawlucha and set up it's own terrain, which can help beat Psychic Spam teams. With Sub Endeavor Diancie having the ability to severely weaken Assault Vest Magearna, Tapu Koko can pressure those teams far more with using HP Ice against ground types. Many of the targets listed for Scarf Greninja are either already checked or are not checked well by Greninja.However, the team loses some speed with the loss of Greninja which enabled the team to revenge kill Lopunny Mega.

With the addition of hazard removal in Tapu Koko, a Swords Dance set would further ease the matchup vs Toxapex and many balance teams utilizing Toxapex and stall teams. SD still lets Gliscor check Heatran well and becomes the primary balance breakers. A set with Ice Fang would allow Gliscor to ease against Zygarde and opposing Swords Dance Gliscor. Swords Dance Gliscor can also boost past SD Scizor which is a threat to the team.

Lastly, running Wish > Healing Wish would allow Clefable to keep it's teammates healthy without sacrificing itself and this fixes the Ash-Greninja matchup by continuously passing Wishes into Ferrothorn when it is getting weakened, help the Heatran matchup because of the ability to click Wish as Heatran comes in and go hard into Diancie without taking any residual damage and keeping potential Stealth Rock off. This will also heal up Volcarona, just like how Healing Wish did, but you will need to play more carefully around status effects.

You could also consider running Spikes >Gyro Ball to help Volcarona OHKO Gastrodon with a +1 Savage Spin Out without getting hit by a Toxic. however, this makes Tapu Lele, Zygarde, and Tapu Bulu considerably more threatening.

import

Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Substitute
- Endeavor
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm

Volcarona @ Buginium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Ground]

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Stealth Rock

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 44 Def / 68 SpD / 152 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Roost

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

Tapu Koko @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 104 HP / 12 Def / 176 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost

Thanks for the rate! I'll definitely try these edits. I think I'll run Gyro over Spikes though since Lele, Bulu, and Zygarde are all pretty threatening to the team, and because I haven't had much of an issue with Gastrodon. Koko is a good idea and it was in here at first, so was SD Gliscor. Lately I've noticed that the team can have a hard time early game with breaking, and SD Gliscor helps that a lot. Wish also makes sense, especially if I run Koko as my Defogger.

 

[Draskk]

I know that I already helped you build the team and all, But I do think it's a good idea for people wanting to test this team out for themselves to consider running a Different Defoger instead of clef, despite how good HW is on this team, I think that SD Gliscor is even better for it. I'd consider probably going mew or Zapdos (mantine also works so you have a chance against gren) instead of Fable and then SD scor. Since The team had a SD Scor at the start and that worked really well. Scarf Lando can also be used instead of The gren if you want another Defoger but tbh I find it less potent for the team.

I've been considering running Mew over Clefable b/c it does a better job at checking Mega Medicham, Zygarde, Mega Scizor, Lando, etc. and gives me freedom to run something like Scarf Koko in the last team slot because Mew can be the Defogger and it deals with Lando so Shuca is no longer necessary. It would also free me to run Facade on Gliscor. However, it makes me weaker to Ash Greninja (though I do have Ferrothorn and, in theory, Scarf Koko) and also means I would lack Wish Support.

 

[ABR]

It's very possible that he happened to make the same 6 I did - no reason to assume he ripped the team.

Carry on