First off, I'd like to thank the Smogon community and Showdown alike to be great. Awesome environment, help is readily found in the chat and on the forums, and has really made my return to Pokemon a great one.
Yeah, I said return to Pokemon. I have never battled competitively before finding this site a handful of months ago. Not only that, I hadn't played a Pokemon game since gen 2, so I had to learn quite a bit. A majority of the mons were unknown to me. The concept of abilities, the re-categorizing of special/physical attacks, the use of items were all a novelty to me. Oh, and again, I had never competitively battled, so I had no idea what a good team was, movesets, and was clueless about EV's, etc. I was just used to riding my starter on my game boy
But after months of learning and tinkering around, I built what is my first team, and I've been having some decent success. Outside of Latias, I had never used anybody from this team, ever (outside of randoms), so I'm still learning how to play with them.
Lets begin:
Bisharp @ Leftovers
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Substitute
Bisharp is literally why I decided to build this team in the first place. I had grown tired of sticky webs. I had grown tired of intimidate (90% of the time from Landorus-T). And lastly, I was disappointed that they reintroduced defog as a new method of removing hazards that I work SO hard to set up. Additionally, with the buff to knock off, Bisharp seemed like a great way to deal with ALL of these.
Defiant is of course to key to most of these, giving Bisharp plenty of opportunities to bolster his already incredible attack, particularly since this set is adamant. It is for that reason I chose to forego Swords Dance, which is another common move on Bisharp. I figured his attack is already phenomenal, and with adamant nature, I don't need to invest one of my four precious moves on SD. With defog being fairly predictable, as well as switches into intimidate users, and the relative frequence of sticky web, I find plenty of opportunities to get the attack boost. The dual stab is obvious, with knock off being an absolutely brutal blow to anything unresisted. Sucker punch is another vicious move which takes a small level of prediction, and gives Bisharp much needed priority, especially since he is my sticky web abuser. Ironhead completes the dual-stab, and is especially valuable against faires such as Calm Mind Clefable. It deals reliable damage to something if it has lost its item (thus reducing the blow of Knock Off). I used sub/lefties because everybody is so terrified of this thing. Switch into a Lati@s, and you can nearly guarantee you get a free sub. With leftovers, you can regen some of the health, and I still think he is plenty strong to go without a life orb or swords dance. He is my team captain.
Conkeldurr @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 136 Def / 120 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
When deciding what to pair with my Bisharp in my offensive core, I didn't have to think hard. This is my no means a very original set. AV Conk has been running wild in OU, and for good reason. Drain/Mach Punch, Ice Punch, and Knock off have great coverage. Ice punch can do solid damage on a predicted Landorus-T switch even after intimidate. Knock off can hurt Aegislash on a predicted switch as well. With rotom-w as common as ever, you can usually find a way to get yourself burned, which is why Guts is absolutely necessary. Mach punch is obvious. It can hurt other Bisharps, Tyranitars, and a Greninja provided it doesn't have shadow sneak. Drain Punch is obviously a key as it is your only form of recovery, and it hurts quite a bit if not resisted, especially after a boost from guts.
The EV set might look funky, and it sort of is. I originally ran Adamant with 252 Atk as well as 252 HP. However, due to some advice from the chat (ssbmgrimm), I was suggested to redistribute the HP EV's to defense and SpD. The result gives nearly identical bulk from both sides (slightly less on the physical side). The kicker is Drain Punch. Drain punch gives you HP, not HP%. By having less HP (but making each HP count more due to defensive investments), you can recover more health with drain punch with this setup. For this reason alone, I have won almost all of my Conk vs Conk 1v1 drain punch battles. It's pretty incredible.
Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Roost
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt
After I started off my team with the physical offensive core of Conkeldurr and Bisharp, I had to find ways to support them. Latias does great in this role. Bisharp is weak to fighting and ground, and Latias just happens to thrive against both, while also tanking psychic blows that would normally cripple Conk. Additionally, he can deal a world of hurt on the special attacking side. By investing in speed, you can outpace threats such as Landorus, the Mega Charizards, and most non-scarfed Dragon types. It might seem weird to carry defog at this point, since my team captain is Bisharp and he feeds off of sticky web, you have to be prepared for other hazards as well. Life orb Draco Meteor IS as vicious as it sounds, and it destroys pretty much anything that doesn't resist it. T-bolt is there instead of psyshock to deal with Megazard Y, Azumarill, and has been surprisingly useful. Roost is there to keep you around, as defog is handy and you are running life orb with no defensive investment. Attack IV's are set to 0 in order to slightly buffer foul play damage. Nothing special, but it couldn't hurt to save a couple of HP points.
because a mega-mon deserves a mega-sized picture:
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- SolarBeam
- Focus Blast
- Roost
At this point, I knew I still needed a special attacking presence, and I needed something to instill fear. I tried Mega Gardevoir here, which worked well, but still was lacking that umph I really wanted. I know special Lucario is great, but I can't use Lucario. It's my religion.
Megazard Y does what its supposed to do, punch holes through everything that does not want to deal with the Conkeldurr/Bisharp tandem. Stab fire blast in the sun is just wicked good, and will ohko darn near anything that doesn't resist it (outside the darn blobs of course). Even if Greninja comes in, you can take the water hit because the sun nerfs it, and you will ohko with SolarBeam. SolarBeam also deals with Rotom-W very well provided its taken at least rocks-level damage. Volt Switch would hurt, otherwise. Focus Blast is there to deal with T-tar. There is a special strategy I have used against T-Tar teams. When I first switch in my Charizard and I see they have a Tyranitar, I already know that switch is coming, because they want to set up the sand. So on my first turn after putting in Zard, regardless of what they have out, I do NOT mega evolve, and just focus blast. Even if it misses, its ok. By now, T-tar has switched in and set up sand (and may or may not have taken a focus blast hit). Then on the following turn I mega evolve, set up the sun (negating his sand) and pound him with a focus blast. If the first focus blast hit, a solarbeam would actually finish him off here. This of course fails if he also mega evolves and gets his sand in, which is why I recommend going with the focus blast again just in case, unless you already know what his mega is. Roost is there, because anything that is so terribly weak to rocks needs roost to ensure another trip. Roost if you sense an electric attack coming, or an obvious switch. Leave your HP EV's at 0 for favorable rocks damage.
Rotom-Wash @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Def / 8 SAtk / 44 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rest
So by this point, my squad had two special attackers and two special defenders, and I needed some good defensive pivots, and that is practically synonymous with rotom-w. Rotom does what rotom does. It's annoyingly frequent, I know, but I swear this is my first team I have ever used one. Will-o-Wisp is great as a parting gift to offensive threats such as Tyranitar or certain Mega's not to be mentioned. Be mindful of using it early in games, as guts Conkeldurr is EVERYwhere. I don't need to explain Hydro Pump or volt switch. I prefer resto-chesto as opposed to lefties-pain split for a few reasons. It is generally more reliable, it can cure status, and it can also help if you are leading against smeargle who might try to spore, in which case you can instantly wake up, volt switch, and break his sash. The interesting part about my Rotom-W is the EV spread, which is very specific, and for a reason. 248 HP instead of 252 gives you more favorable entry damage against stealth rock than going with 252. The 8 special attack gives you JUST enough mustard to ohko a gliscor that switches in after taking rocks damage. Its very specific, yes, but it doesn't hurt. Heck, your volt switch might do a little extra when you need it, and asking for 8 isn't that big a deal. The 44 speed gives you enough juice to outspeed Jolly Azumarill, which while not common, could be a lifesaver. By investing in speed, you will outdo most other rotoms, enabling you to volt switch out before he can touch you. Dump the rest in defense and you have yourself a nice specialist.
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Def
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind
- Slack Off
Since I had rotom as my designated physical wall, I needed a good special wall. While Hippowdon doesn't scream "special wall" due to its awesome defensive stats, it can work quite well. Hippowdon is a perfect counter to things like Klefki and Aegislash, and is your only hazard setter. Whirlwind is a must with calm mind/cosmic power clefable being a thing, as well as other predicted set up users. When you have a tank like hippo, and you have the option to get a recovery move, you take it. Slack Off is a godsend, and when you combine that with leftovers and sand that can chip away at an enemy, it can be the difference in a battle. I have seen some Hippo's with toxic instead of whirlwind, to make it some sort of a threat against things that resist/immune to EQ, but I find whirlwind to be generally sufficient. Hippo also gives me a cool dual-weather presence along with Drought from Zard Y. It's funny to switch in on a Talonflame trying to abuse my Charizard's fire, only to have it turned to sand, and watch him take recoil damage. They will of course try to roost it off, after which Earthquake is a nice prediction. Special hippo is also decent against Mega Lucario. If you switch in and he goes for a boost, I'm fairly certain you can take one hit and deliver ohko with EQ.
All in all the team has done well, except I have had trouble breaking through the infamous "Dreadnoughts" defensive core of Mega Venusaur, Chansey, Heatran, and Skarmory. With the lack of a stat booster (SD, Calm Mind, etc), I can't break through that set. Chansey walls Zard, Latias, and Rotom while Venusaur can handle anything from Conk/Bisharp and Skarmory handles whatever hippo wants to do. Outside of that core, this team has been successful, but I need to have that addressed somewhere.
If you all could let me know what you think of the team, or of any obvious tweaks you see, feel free to share. Special thanks to the crew in the OU Chat who helped me out a great deal.
and just for fun, here is this team winning thanks to a 6-0 sweep by Bisharp. enjoy (i know I did).
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-79815237
Yeah, I said return to Pokemon. I have never battled competitively before finding this site a handful of months ago. Not only that, I hadn't played a Pokemon game since gen 2, so I had to learn quite a bit. A majority of the mons were unknown to me. The concept of abilities, the re-categorizing of special/physical attacks, the use of items were all a novelty to me. Oh, and again, I had never competitively battled, so I had no idea what a good team was, movesets, and was clueless about EV's, etc. I was just used to riding my starter on my game boy
But after months of learning and tinkering around, I built what is my first team, and I've been having some decent success. Outside of Latias, I had never used anybody from this team, ever (outside of randoms), so I'm still learning how to play with them.
Lets begin:
Bisharp @ Leftovers
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Substitute
Bisharp is literally why I decided to build this team in the first place. I had grown tired of sticky webs. I had grown tired of intimidate (90% of the time from Landorus-T). And lastly, I was disappointed that they reintroduced defog as a new method of removing hazards that I work SO hard to set up. Additionally, with the buff to knock off, Bisharp seemed like a great way to deal with ALL of these.
Defiant is of course to key to most of these, giving Bisharp plenty of opportunities to bolster his already incredible attack, particularly since this set is adamant. It is for that reason I chose to forego Swords Dance, which is another common move on Bisharp. I figured his attack is already phenomenal, and with adamant nature, I don't need to invest one of my four precious moves on SD. With defog being fairly predictable, as well as switches into intimidate users, and the relative frequence of sticky web, I find plenty of opportunities to get the attack boost. The dual stab is obvious, with knock off being an absolutely brutal blow to anything unresisted. Sucker punch is another vicious move which takes a small level of prediction, and gives Bisharp much needed priority, especially since he is my sticky web abuser. Ironhead completes the dual-stab, and is especially valuable against faires such as Calm Mind Clefable. It deals reliable damage to something if it has lost its item (thus reducing the blow of Knock Off). I used sub/lefties because everybody is so terrified of this thing. Switch into a Lati@s, and you can nearly guarantee you get a free sub. With leftovers, you can regen some of the health, and I still think he is plenty strong to go without a life orb or swords dance. He is my team captain.
Conkeldurr @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 136 Def / 120 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
When deciding what to pair with my Bisharp in my offensive core, I didn't have to think hard. This is my no means a very original set. AV Conk has been running wild in OU, and for good reason. Drain/Mach Punch, Ice Punch, and Knock off have great coverage. Ice punch can do solid damage on a predicted Landorus-T switch even after intimidate. Knock off can hurt Aegislash on a predicted switch as well. With rotom-w as common as ever, you can usually find a way to get yourself burned, which is why Guts is absolutely necessary. Mach punch is obvious. It can hurt other Bisharps, Tyranitars, and a Greninja provided it doesn't have shadow sneak. Drain Punch is obviously a key as it is your only form of recovery, and it hurts quite a bit if not resisted, especially after a boost from guts.
The EV set might look funky, and it sort of is. I originally ran Adamant with 252 Atk as well as 252 HP. However, due to some advice from the chat (ssbmgrimm), I was suggested to redistribute the HP EV's to defense and SpD. The result gives nearly identical bulk from both sides (slightly less on the physical side). The kicker is Drain Punch. Drain punch gives you HP, not HP%. By having less HP (but making each HP count more due to defensive investments), you can recover more health with drain punch with this setup. For this reason alone, I have won almost all of my Conk vs Conk 1v1 drain punch battles. It's pretty incredible.
Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Roost
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt
After I started off my team with the physical offensive core of Conkeldurr and Bisharp, I had to find ways to support them. Latias does great in this role. Bisharp is weak to fighting and ground, and Latias just happens to thrive against both, while also tanking psychic blows that would normally cripple Conk. Additionally, he can deal a world of hurt on the special attacking side. By investing in speed, you can outpace threats such as Landorus, the Mega Charizards, and most non-scarfed Dragon types. It might seem weird to carry defog at this point, since my team captain is Bisharp and he feeds off of sticky web, you have to be prepared for other hazards as well. Life orb Draco Meteor IS as vicious as it sounds, and it destroys pretty much anything that doesn't resist it. T-bolt is there instead of psyshock to deal with Megazard Y, Azumarill, and has been surprisingly useful. Roost is there to keep you around, as defog is handy and you are running life orb with no defensive investment. Attack IV's are set to 0 in order to slightly buffer foul play damage. Nothing special, but it couldn't hurt to save a couple of HP points.
because a mega-mon deserves a mega-sized picture:
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- SolarBeam
- Focus Blast
- Roost
At this point, I knew I still needed a special attacking presence, and I needed something to instill fear. I tried Mega Gardevoir here, which worked well, but still was lacking that umph I really wanted. I know special Lucario is great, but I can't use Lucario. It's my religion.
Megazard Y does what its supposed to do, punch holes through everything that does not want to deal with the Conkeldurr/Bisharp tandem. Stab fire blast in the sun is just wicked good, and will ohko darn near anything that doesn't resist it (outside the darn blobs of course). Even if Greninja comes in, you can take the water hit because the sun nerfs it, and you will ohko with SolarBeam. SolarBeam also deals with Rotom-W very well provided its taken at least rocks-level damage. Volt Switch would hurt, otherwise. Focus Blast is there to deal with T-tar. There is a special strategy I have used against T-Tar teams. When I first switch in my Charizard and I see they have a Tyranitar, I already know that switch is coming, because they want to set up the sand. So on my first turn after putting in Zard, regardless of what they have out, I do NOT mega evolve, and just focus blast. Even if it misses, its ok. By now, T-tar has switched in and set up sand (and may or may not have taken a focus blast hit). Then on the following turn I mega evolve, set up the sun (negating his sand) and pound him with a focus blast. If the first focus blast hit, a solarbeam would actually finish him off here. This of course fails if he also mega evolves and gets his sand in, which is why I recommend going with the focus blast again just in case, unless you already know what his mega is. Roost is there, because anything that is so terribly weak to rocks needs roost to ensure another trip. Roost if you sense an electric attack coming, or an obvious switch. Leave your HP EV's at 0 for favorable rocks damage.
Rotom-Wash @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Def / 8 SAtk / 44 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rest
So by this point, my squad had two special attackers and two special defenders, and I needed some good defensive pivots, and that is practically synonymous with rotom-w. Rotom does what rotom does. It's annoyingly frequent, I know, but I swear this is my first team I have ever used one. Will-o-Wisp is great as a parting gift to offensive threats such as Tyranitar or certain Mega's not to be mentioned. Be mindful of using it early in games, as guts Conkeldurr is EVERYwhere. I don't need to explain Hydro Pump or volt switch. I prefer resto-chesto as opposed to lefties-pain split for a few reasons. It is generally more reliable, it can cure status, and it can also help if you are leading against smeargle who might try to spore, in which case you can instantly wake up, volt switch, and break his sash. The interesting part about my Rotom-W is the EV spread, which is very specific, and for a reason. 248 HP instead of 252 gives you more favorable entry damage against stealth rock than going with 252. The 8 special attack gives you JUST enough mustard to ohko a gliscor that switches in after taking rocks damage. Its very specific, yes, but it doesn't hurt. Heck, your volt switch might do a little extra when you need it, and asking for 8 isn't that big a deal. The 44 speed gives you enough juice to outspeed Jolly Azumarill, which while not common, could be a lifesaver. By investing in speed, you will outdo most other rotoms, enabling you to volt switch out before he can touch you. Dump the rest in defense and you have yourself a nice specialist.
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Def
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind
- Slack Off
Since I had rotom as my designated physical wall, I needed a good special wall. While Hippowdon doesn't scream "special wall" due to its awesome defensive stats, it can work quite well. Hippowdon is a perfect counter to things like Klefki and Aegislash, and is your only hazard setter. Whirlwind is a must with calm mind/cosmic power clefable being a thing, as well as other predicted set up users. When you have a tank like hippo, and you have the option to get a recovery move, you take it. Slack Off is a godsend, and when you combine that with leftovers and sand that can chip away at an enemy, it can be the difference in a battle. I have seen some Hippo's with toxic instead of whirlwind, to make it some sort of a threat against things that resist/immune to EQ, but I find whirlwind to be generally sufficient. Hippo also gives me a cool dual-weather presence along with Drought from Zard Y. It's funny to switch in on a Talonflame trying to abuse my Charizard's fire, only to have it turned to sand, and watch him take recoil damage. They will of course try to roost it off, after which Earthquake is a nice prediction. Special hippo is also decent against Mega Lucario. If you switch in and he goes for a boost, I'm fairly certain you can take one hit and deliver ohko with EQ.
All in all the team has done well, except I have had trouble breaking through the infamous "Dreadnoughts" defensive core of Mega Venusaur, Chansey, Heatran, and Skarmory. With the lack of a stat booster (SD, Calm Mind, etc), I can't break through that set. Chansey walls Zard, Latias, and Rotom while Venusaur can handle anything from Conk/Bisharp and Skarmory handles whatever hippo wants to do. Outside of that core, this team has been successful, but I need to have that addressed somewhere.
If you all could let me know what you think of the team, or of any obvious tweaks you see, feel free to share. Special thanks to the crew in the OU Chat who helped me out a great deal.
and just for fun, here is this team winning thanks to a 6-0 sweep by Bisharp. enjoy (i know I did).
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-79815237
