SS OU A team with Cinderace and Zeraora

Anak1n183

Hey guys! This is my first time making a competitive team for SS OU that is built around Cinderace and Zeraora. So far I like the team but I have problems against Pokemon such as Clefable and I'm unsure on Ninetales-Alola being a special attacker for my team.

Zeraora @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Play Rough

This is the first Pokemon I'm building my team around. Zeraora's role is to be a fast physical attacker with different coverage moves so I can have the upper hand on most Pokemon. Volt absorb helps deal with any electric damage to my defensive Pokemon who are weak to electric. The moveset with life orb is meant for maximum damage at all times and it helps deal with annoying walls such as Corviknight and Toxapex,

Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- High Jump Kick
- Iron Head
- Zen Headbutt

This is the second and last Pokemon this team is built around. Cinderace is another fast physical attacker with a great moveset to counter different pokemons. The item I use helps deal with hazard damage towards Cinderace. Cinderace comes in fast to deal quick and hard damage to most pokemons thanks to its moveset and ability libero for stab damage. I put iron head on the moveset to help deal with Clefable due to my lack of steel and poison coverage.

Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- Hydro Pump

Dragapult is my main and fast special attacker for spamming Draco meteor and shadow ball. Dragapult is used to be a fast special attacker against super effective types and anything else that is slower or has low special defense. I gave it choice specs to hit hard without suffering recoil from using a life orb. Its ability infiltrator helps hit against subs, any screens, or aurora veil. I added on fire blast and hydro pump for coverage against Pokemon such as Excadrill, Hippowdon, and Tyranitar.

Ninetales-Alola @ Expert Belt
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Ice Beam
- Dark Pulse
- Aurora Veil

Ninetales-Alola was put on the team last minute because I needed a somewhat fast special attacker with good coverage moves that hit a lot of the OU tier. I originally had Keldeo but I wanted toxapex as a wall and I didn't like Keldeo's small move pool. Ninetales-Alola is used as my special attacker to handle dragon and fighting types Pokemon such as hydrogen or Conkeldurr. Ninetales-Alola can also be used for aurora veil with hail if I need it in battle. Expert belt is used to give it extra power without using specs or a life orb. Snow warning works to help out aurora veil if I use it and its moveset gives me good stab coverage. Moonblast hits dragon, dark, and fighting types while ice beam hits flying and grass and dragon as well. Dark pulse was put for extra coverage against psychic and ghost types.

Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost

Corviknight is the physically defensive Pokemon that has a great typing in steel and flying. Corviknight's role is to take physical attacks, be immune to ground attacks, and defog away hazards to my team that can slow them down or damage them. Leftovers is used to health recovery and Its ability pressure helps stall out moves that have low pp and its moveset is used mainly to heal itself and get rid of hazards. U-turn is good for scouting out during the battle and body press helps combat potential steel types that wall it. I'm considering to replace body press or u-turn with iron head for steel coverage but I'm not sure yet.

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic

Toxapex is the specially defensive Pokemon for my team. Toxapex is used to take special attacks, get rid of toxic spikes during battle, and remove increased stats on opponents Pokemon. Black sludge is used as health recovery throughout the battle. The ability regenerator is great for it heal when not being used. Scald is very handy for burning to reduce damage or chip away at their health. Haze removes any changes in the opponents stats if they used calm mind or dragon dance. Recover helps me scout for certain moves or take hits as toxic damage increases. Toxic helps me weaken a lot of Pokemon and beats out many attackers by healing with recover.
 
I'd suggest a few things on your team right now:

Cinderace. It's a great Pokemon. But instead of using Iron Head, I'd suggest going for Gunk Shot instead. It's less accurate, but it does the same job of killing Fairies while also guaranteeing an OHKO on Clefable.

252 Atk Libero Cinderace Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Clefable: 468-552 (118.7 - 140.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Ninetales-A is good, but I'd suggest giving it Light Clay rather than Focus Sash so it could set up screens easier. Also give it and Dragapult 4 HP EVs as those are EVs which could mean the difference between surviving a near-death hit or not. It may not seem like much, but it's definitely worth it.

Corviknight is a mon I'd actually suggest giving a Bold nature and an Iron Defense + Body Press set, as that allows it to better resist things like Mandibuzz's Foul Play while also doing immense damage on its own. Thusly, it could counter Steel types not named Aegislash and Mandibuzz. Replace U-Turn with Iron Defense, give it a Bold nature, and shift those attacking EVs towards Speed, but that's more my suggestion. If you still want U-Turn, I'd suggest going for Bulk Up instead of Iron Defense so you have the utility of increasing your Defense for Body Press while increasing your general power.
 
Hi there! Your team looks like a pretty solid one, however there are a couple of things that could be added/changed that in my opinion make your team a better one! Feel free to ask anything if you don't understand something here. ^^

Moveset Changes:
My main suggestion is to switch up Cinderace's moveset a bit, first, Iron Head doesn't accomplish much, the most used Fairy type in the tier, Clefable, actually doesn't take much damage from it in comparison with Pyro Ball:

252 Atk Libero Cinderace Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Clefable: 312-368 (79.1 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Cinderace Pyro Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Clefable: 234-276 (59.3 - 70%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Both take out Clef in two hits, and while Iron Head is 100% accurate, meaning it's more safe to click, the main (and only) use for Iron Head in there is taking out Clefable, and considering how valuable Cinderace's moveslots are, it isn't recommended to run Iron Head just for that, Gunk Shot can OHKO Clefable, but again, Cinderace may need more valuable moves and it can handle the Clef matchup just fine without either Gunk Shot or Iron Head.
I would suggest adding U-Turn, since pivoting helps your team a lot and it can deal a bunch of damage to incoming threats that are weak to bug, for example, Hydreigon:

252 Atk Libero Cinderace U-turn vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 234-276 (72 - 84.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

My next suggestion is changing High Jump Kick for Sucker Punch, which stops opposing Zeraora and Dragapult from revenge killing you, here's a really important calc:

252 Atk Libero Cinderace Sucker Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 270-318 (84.9 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

And after stealth rocks:

252 Atk Libero Cinderace Sucker Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 270-318 (84.9 - 100%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

You could change Zen Headbutt for Sucker Punch but it looks like the damage against Pex really helps your team, depends on your personal preferences tho. ^^

Next is Ninetales, drop Dark Pulse and use Freeze Dry, as it does a lot of damage against bulky waters like Seismitoad or The Pex (On the topic of Ninetales, the only item change I suggest is switching Expert Belt for Light Clay, as 8 turns of Aurora Veil helps your team a bit more than Expert Belt.)

Pokémon Changes:
The whole team is fine, but you may want a Pokémon that can set up Stealth Rocks, since it really helps offensive calcs and prevents opposing Focus Sash from working.


Aside from those two changes, your team is really great, I hope you reach great heights and you grow a lot as a player, best of luck ^^ <3

PD:
PokefanGaming said:
Also give it and Dragapult 4 HP EVs as those are EVs which could mean the difference between surviving a near-death hit or not. It may not seem like much, but it's definitely worth it.
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Nope, it doesn't affect most calcs and 4HP EVs make your HP stat even, which makes Stealth Rock Damage higher by literally 1%, but that can make more of a difference, as situational as it is.
 
Zauka said:
Nope, it doesn't affect most calcs and 4HP EVs make your HP stat even, which makes Stealth Rock Damage higher by literally 1%, but that can make more of a difference, as situational as it is.
Click to expand...
Huh. That's the mechanics behind SR? Weird. If that's the case, those are still uninvested EVs, so invest those into either one of the defenses depending on what you expect to switch into.
 
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