ORAS OU 1st RMT, Mega Gyarados

[TSTEF]

Hello friends, this is my First RMT, getting back into team building now that ORAS is out. I'm using Mega Gyarados since the thing is a monster now that it got crunch.

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Taunt

Mega Gyarados was what I wanted to build this team around. He's my favorite mega and I decided to go with the dragon dance set because I think it is his most powerful set. Waterfall and Crunch offer really good coverage as STAB moves and can break through most walls in the tier after a DD. I chose taunt as the fourth move because it helps avoid getting statused, and to force out some standard walls. Also, with mold breaker and taunt, Gyarados can taunt through M-Sableye's Magic bounce. The rest of the team is basically built for clearing the way for Gyarados to wreak havoc.

Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Roost Tailwind

The likes of Ferrothorn, Chesnaught, M-Venusaur, Conkeldurr, etc. tend to cause M-Gyarados problems, so I chose Talonflame to bust through those walls. I chose Band for the extra power since I wasn't looking to use another setup move just yet. Roost is a throwaway in the last slot, because there are honestly no moves worth using other than the first three on a band set. There have been a few select times where roost has actually come in handy, but I almost never use it. Standard physical attacking Adamant spread.

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 24 Def / 232 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Knock Off

I really like how Talonflame and Landorus-T play off of eachother with their high speed U-turns and powerful attacks. I Scarfed him to had to the high-speed, brute force style offense I've built. With these three pokemon, there is not much in the tier that they cant power through. Nearly every viable physical wall is weak to at least one of these three. I also dig the dual intimidate aspect, and also the fact that Landorus-T can cripple physical attackers while still being a powerful offensive presence.

Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Roost

With my fast physical core, I found that I had absolutely no answer to Rotom-W. I wanted to keep this team fairly offensive, but I needed something that can take damage and heal it off. I also needed a Defog/Rapid Spin user since I have a Talonflame on the team and he does not take to kindly to those pesky little rocks. Latias offers nice special bulk, while still being able to unleash a mean Draco Meteor. At this point, I would also like to point out that when Gyarados is pre-mega, all four of these pokemon are immune to earthquake. Take that, Excadrill.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Thunder Wave Protect

I wanted a hazard user, I also wanted a pokemon that is totally ok with taking hits. Azumarill could have potentially also caused a lot of problems with the rest of the team, so I needed a check at the least. Ferrothorn completes the FWG core that I had going with Gyarados and Talonflame, and he is the only status inflicter I currently have. I went with a fully bulky set with stealth rocks. I already have many answers to it's weaknesses, so it fits right in.

Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt

I chose Magnezone because I really think he can be very strong in the current meta, what with all the Steel types running around. I through it on this team because I thought it would be able to play pretty well into the fast U-turn/Volt Switch strategy. Typically magnezone is only useful when the opposing team has a Ferrothorn or a Scizor, but it has also been able to pull through on a few occasions against some Water and Fairy types. I Scarfed Magnezone because it gives his more chances to revenge kill.


So theres my team, I hope you like it. I have no real attachment to any of the pokemon other than Gyarados, since thats what I build the team around. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Problems:
Gardevoir
Bisharp Wrecks me <I just got outplayed
Azumarill can cause some problems
Tyranitar can be a nuisance
No Fairy, Fighting, or Ice type moves

 

[davidTheMaster]

Hey dude !, I you suggest this for your team

First of all on

run Earthquake over Crunch, Earthquake that can be used at inflict of damages on

and for don't take recoil damage at cause of Iron Barbs and that can be used for

calcs

252+ Atk Mold Breaker Mega Gyarados Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 88+ Def Ferrothorn: 92-109 (26.1 - 30.9%) -- 5.4% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Mold Breaker Mega Gyarados Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 212+ Def Rotom-W: 194-230 (63.8 - 75.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

For

run Tailwind over Roost, when your talonflame is on the point of die, you doing Tailwind for than the rest of your team benefits the boost offered by effects of Tailwind

 

[Wargreymon]

Hey TSTEF! Cool team you have here. I have a few things to say regarding Gyarados;

First off, I disagree with David above me. I definitely wouldn't run earthquake over crunch. Crunch really is a true gift from Arceus. It deals with all earthquake needs to for the most part + more. It allows you to deal with pokemon who would otherwise cause Gyarados painful headaches, like Mega Venusaur, Slowbro and Mega Slowbro, Mew, etc. It manages to OHKO both of the Lati twins with ease, something a +1 mold breaker EQ can't accomplish. He mentioned Ferrothorn, but crunch actually hits Ferrothorn much harder than EQ and is capable of cleanly 2HKO'ing standard utility ferrothorn at +2.

I would also strongly suggest that you run a jolly nature over adamant. In ORAS with the speed creep Gyarados kind of needs the extra speed. At +1 with an adamant nature you are still slower than new threats like Mega Beedrill and Mega Sceptile who are capable of taking you out in one hit, however if you run jolly then you are faster than both of them at +1 and still pack more than enough power to OHKO both of them with crunch and continue with your sweep. You'll need to be running 252 EVs in speed though as opposed to 216.

 

[Alfalfa]

I personally think that Mold Breaker + Taunt is smart for handling Mega Sableye. Unfortunately, Wargreymon is right on how you need to run more speed - you lose some power, but being able to outspeed Mega Beedrill and Sceptile is really important for Mega Gyarados. So I yes to Jolly Nature + maximum Speed on Gyarados.

Mega Gardevoir can be a huge pain in the neck for your team, as but the only thing it can really come in on is Latias. Gallade is annoying, but you can scare it off if you manage to get Landorus-T or Talonflame in, so that should not be a problem.

To be honest, Ferrothorn would really appreciate Protect > Thunder Wave. Nothing on your team particularly needs Paralysis support, though being able to paralyze something like Charizard on the switch would indeed be very helpful. However, Protect allows Ferrothorn to get additional Leech Seed and Leftovers recovery, allowing it to stick around longer.

You said that Bisharp is a problem to your your team, but you already have two checks to it in Ferrothorn and (Mega) Gyarados (regular will only give Bisharp a Defiant boost), so if you just be smart and play carefully around it, you should not have that much of a problem with it. As for Tyranitar, Mega Gyarados sets up all over it, though if you really feel like you need a way to manage them, then something like Keldeo would allow you to check both of them, though I am unsure if Pony would fit on your team.

On Talonflame, David's suggestion of Tailwind > Roost can be used, you will probably will not use it often, but if you try it and it works for you occasionally, then keep it. It is not a bad suggestion, so you may want to try it (think Priority Tailwind from Gale Wings)

I really think this team is solid synergy wise, and aside from a few things that can be problematic, you should be good to go. Make the changes I suggested, and test some of the other options I have mentioned, and you should be good to go. Good luck!

 

[TSTEF]

Thanks for the rates!

I agree with Alfalfa, I definitely think that Crunch is a better alternative to Earthquake, since it allows Gyarados to break through things like Slowbro while still doing decent damage to Rotom-W and Ferrothorn. Without Crunch, my team would have no answer to Slowbro or Mew.

I did not even really consider Tailwind on Talonflame, and although it's still extremely situational I think it could be more beneficial than using Roost.

The spread I was running on Gyarados was used to hopefully add some bulk, but I can see now how max speed would be important. I'll go with Jolly and Max Speed.

Thunder Wave has been useful in a few situations, against Charizards or Talonflames, but I see where you are coming from with the Protect/Leech Seed combo, and I will try that out for sure.

I'll make the changes and see if they help out a lot!

 

[firehusky]

iirc gyarados only needs 248 speed to outpseed jolly mega beedrill.
Other than that, this team looks fine. Also, don't forget to take out the extra 4 EVs in HP to defense, as this allows it to only take 49% from rocks, allowing it to effectively switch in on SR twice. Same thing with gyarados.