XY OU Don't Cross The Heracross (Current 1652 Showdown rating)

[F22/aRaptor]

Hi everyone this is the current team I'm currently working on and seemingly proving to be quite successful but i's appreciate any help that will help take it further.

TEAM BUILDING PROCESS



So I star with Mega Heracross as he's who I intended to build the team around. Simply put he's the wallbreaker. He's fast enough to outrun most of the common walls in OU and get at least 2HKO's on all of them all the while being able to stomach many of their most common attacks in return.



Next up was Heatran and he provides such good synergy with Heracross, resisting Psychic, Flying and Fairy, while Heracross shrugs of those Fighting and Ground attacks that Heatran despises.



I now needed a decent Keldeo and a water resist in general. So I went with Latios, who deals with Keldeo most of the time but can shrug off weaker water attacks as well.



Having realised the potential of Healing Wish Latias and how good it could work alongside Heracross I decided to use her over Latios, as she offers better bulk to take on Keldeo and weaker water attacks on the special side, at a cost of offensive power.



I now needed a decent pivot that could Stealth Rock and so I decided to use Landorus-T for it's physical bulk as well as Intimidate.




I wanted something that could dispose of the likes of the Lati Twins as well as other Psychic/Ghost/Fairy pokemon that limit Heracross' potential to sweep and I found nothing better than Bisharp to be used in this role.



Originally I have used both Greninja and Rotom-W to fill the last spot but I felt Greninja was more too vulnerable to priority and Rotom-W didn't reliably deal the likes of Greninja and Mega Gyarados quite as well as I had hoped. Instead I opted for Azumarill, who can tank most of what either of them can throw at me and retaliate whilst having it's own priority and access to decent bulk.


THE TEAM IN DETAIL

Heracross (SOLO) @Heracrossite Moxie/Skill Link
Adamant 24HP/252 Atk/232 Speed
Close Combat
Pin Missile
Bullet Seed/Sleep Talk/Substitute
Rock Blast

At first I didn't warm to Mega Heracross, but after deciding to use him I've come to regard him as one of my favourite mega pokemon. A devastating Wallbreaker that can 2HKO the likes of Skarmory and does 2HKO the likes of Hippowdon, Suicune (Scald burn dependent), Defensive Zapdos (It can also live if needed an offensive Zapdos Life Orb Heat Wave ), Defensive Rotom-W and Defensive Mega Venasuar. And basically it outright murders pretty much anything else that It can take hit hit from. The EV's were changed in order to outrun Defensive Zapdos and Jolly Tyrantiar (not Mega Evolved) purely to avoid taking unnecessary damage from either of those two pokemon. Close Combat is it's main STAB move capable of 2KHO'ing Skarm (I think this fact should make Brave Bird an essential move on Skarm tbh). Pin Missile is there to devastate things such as Tyranitar when Close Combat is not the best option, as well as 2HKO'ing Mega Venasuar and murdering Celebi's. Bullet Seed is used to destroy Rotom-W, Azumarill, Quagsire, Suicune, e.t.c and I feel it's a needed move on Heracross but I have used Substitue and Sleep Talk, neither are quite as effective though. Rock Blast decimates Zapdos, cocky Mega Pinsir players, Charizard (again prediction only), Dragonite (with SR/prior damage).

Heatran (T-90) @Choice Scarf
IV's: 0 Atk/30 Def
Modest 252 Sp Attack/4 Sp Def/252 Speed
Fire Blast/Overheat
Flash Cannon
HP Ice
Earth Power/Stone Edge

Scarf Heatran is often underestimated in the metagame. Used primarily for surprise against the likes of Mega Pinsir (who Heracross loathes as much as Talonflame), Mega Medicham, Mega Gardevoir, Defensive Landorus-T, as well as other pokemon. The choice of Fire Blast/Overheat annoys me. Back in Gen 4 when I first started to use Scarf Heatran I opted Overheat for the pure power but Fire Blast out-damages Overheat over two turns allowing for consistent damage (miss chance aside). Flash Cannon to eradicate most fairy pokemon in the current metagame. HP Ice is exclusively for Landorus-T, Gliscor, Garchomp (without Sash), Dragonite (after Multiscale) and finally Earth Power to defeat other Heatran's, although I'm tempted to pot for Stone Edge to deal with Talonflame (especially Bulk Up Talonflame)

Latias (DRAGONIA) Life Orb
Timid 72 HP/184 Sp Atk/252 Speed
IV's: 0 Atk/30Sp Atk/ 30 Speed
Draco Meteor
Healing Wish
Defog
HP Fire

My Defogger and potential saviour. Healing Wish can turn a lost game right back in my favour by fully healing any of my pokemon. Draco Meteor is the primary STAB move, HP Fire is used to lure in the likes Bisharp/Ferrothorn, although with Heatran and Mega Heracross both able to deal with both of those pokemon I might opt to revert to Psyshock to severly dent Assualt Vest Azumarill and Conkeldurr. Defog obviously eliminates hazards. 72HP to afford Latias some comfort switching into weak resisted attacks, 252 Speed is a given with the rest in Sp Attack.

Bisharp (SHARPIE) black Glasses
Adamant 32HP/252 Atk/224 Speed
Knock Off
Pursuit
Iron Head
Sucker Punch

The Lati-Twin killer works wonders on this team. It can Knock off to take away a precious item, it can destroy fairies such as Clefable and Slyveon with Iron Head, It can pick of weakened pokemon with Sucker Punch and it can Pursuit trap the likes of the Lati's and Mega Alakazam and can take on pretty much all Defoggers and gain +2 Atk out of it. It can also act as a wonderful check to Scarf Landorus-T as well after it has taken SR damage because intimidate activates defiant. In short this pokemon isn't going anywhere and it probably this team's key player sans Heracross.

Landorus-T (CALRISSIAN) Leftovers
Impish 252 HP/4 Atk/252 Def
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Knock Off
Stealth Rock

My pivot and Stealth Rock setter, and a good one at that. Nothing too fancy with this set with the exception of a second Knock Off on this team. Dual Knock Off seems to have a pretty good effect against most teams. EdgeQuake provides exceptional coverage. This set can take on the vast majority of Physical Attackers such as Sand Rush Excadrill, Scarf Excadrill, Choice Talonflame (-Will-O-Wisp) and often force them to switch out.

Azumarill (AZURE) @Assault Vest
Adamant 16HP/252 Atk/240 Sp Def
Aqua Jet
Waterfall
Play Rough
Scald

My primary go to when taking on the likes of Greninja, Mega Gyarados, Keldeo and Special Attackers bar Thundurus/Raikou. The set is almost standard, Aqua Jet to pick of weakened pokemon, Waterfall/Play Rough are perhaps the two main attacks used here and finally Scald. Yes Scald, a special move that is pretty much useless on this pokemon, except the fact that I for one already have two knock Off users so I don't need that and Superpower is only there really for Tyranitar (Which Heracross can deal with anyway) and Ferrothorn( Which I wouldn't stay in on anyway and I have Heatran that can deal with it). The 30% burn chance is a good enough reason to keep it on there and is usually my go to attack on the switch, hope to vburn and potentially cripple a pokemon that would otherwise have an easy time.

Importable
AZURE (Azumarill) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Scald

DRAGONIA (Latias) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Healing Wish
- Defog

SHARPIE (Bisharp) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 32 HP / 252 Atk / 224 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit

CALRISSIAN (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off

HERA (Heracross) @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Blast

T-90 (Heatran) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power


THREAT LIST

For the sake of simplicity i'll write about how I deal with (or don't as cases maybe) certain playstyles and individual pokemon.

Playstyles

1)Dedicated Trick Room Teams: Yeah I'm not going to lie I don't really have any answers to deal with them, although I have admittedly only ever encountered two of them since I started playing Showdown and only one with this particular team.
2) Stall: Generally it depends on the team. Your typical Mega Venasuar/Chansey/Heatran core doesn't phase me one bit because Heracross wipes the floor with all of them. Heracross deals with Slowbro and Quagsire as well. Heatran and Bisharp can both be used to destroy/cripple Doublade, Unaware Clefable e.t.c.. Teams that have Sub/Protect/Toxic Gliscor can be somewhat annoying. Generally Stall is quite a favourable match up for me tbh.
3) Bird Spam: Scarf Heatran stops Pinsir cold, and if I opt for Stone Edge on Heatran, Talonflame isn't going to be much of a problem either. Maintaining SR on the field is usually the difference between winning and losing when against Bird Spam.
4)Hyper Offence: Keep SR up, predict and overcome. Not much more I can do as this isn't the bulkiest team in the world.
5) Dedicated Rain: Kill Politoed ASAP. Then use Azumarill to check both Kingdra and Kabutops. Ludicolo as a swift swimmer is a bit more tricky. Latias Draco Meteor is my only real bet. Toxicroak can be deal with by Heatran's Earth Power and Landorus-T after intimidate (barely). Again, it depends on the other team.


INDIVIDUAL POKEMON

Thundurus: The Defiant/Knock Off variant isn't much of an issue, Scarf Heatran outruns and takes it out after SR and Life Orb, Assualt Vest Azumarill can take a T-Bolt and use Waterfall/Aqua Jet to dispose of it, although admittedly it's more last ditch than anything. The T-Wave version is a lot more of a pain. Basically it's a case of finishing it off and using Healing Wish Latias to fully heal the pokemon that took it out. Full Health Azumarill can also be used last ditch as well if really needed.

Mega Alakazam: Quite an issue if Bisharp is down. Assault Vest Azumarill is again the only semi-check if it's not running Psyshock. If Azumarill is no longer available Latias can take a Shadow Ball above 75% health and then kill it off. No hope really if all those three are down.

Gliscor: Totally frustrating to deal with if it activates Toxic Orb. HP Ice Heatran can surprise it, but many would often scout with protect first and then switch out anyway. In many cases it's simply bludgeon to thing to death. The Toxic variant is probably the most difficult to overcome.

Mega Aerodactyl: I'm sure not outspeeding it. SR damage can greatly hurt it. Azumarill (again) can survive a hit and take it out. Landorus-T can intimidate allowing Azumarill to then check a potential Ice Fang e.t.c. Aqua Jet to pick off a weakened one. Heracross can deal with non Aerial ace versions while Heatran can check those lacking EQ (although it doesn't like Stone edge very much). Again, quite difficult for me to take down.

Anymore threats you can see feel free to suggest possible checks/counters to them.

 

[F22/aRaptor]

My bad I clicked it off accidently. Updated.

 

[pi3rate]

love the structure of the squad and dont see scarftran as much although you could replace bulky landorus scarf for you to allow with threats faster and put rocks and wisp on tran and scald wont help azu as much since it only switches into thing like ninja and keld so i dont see coming into as much especially for this team. those are just some suggestions and maybe pack taunt on tran to prevent rock from skarm 2 hit ko it with fire stab but these are just my opinions and I really like your team.

 

[F22/aRaptor]

love the structure of the squad and dont see scarftran as much although you could replace bulky landorus scarf for you to allow with threats faster and put rocks and wisp on tran and scald wont help azu as much since it only switches into thing like ninja and keld so i dont see coming into as much especially for this team. those are just some suggestions and maybe pack taunt on tran to prevent rock from skarm 2 hit ko it with fire stab but these are just my opinions and I really like your team.

I'll definitely try out Scarf Landorus-T and revert Heatran to SP Def version. I'll probably now drop Azumarill and replace it with Greninja purely for Gliscor.

 

[trc]

Hi there,

This team seems like it is built to be a bulky offensive team, but in reality it functions more like balance due to the lack of a solid win condition or late-game sweeper. Choice Scarf Heatran can be a late-game cleaner, and it works nicely with your strong wallbreakers in Heracross and Bisharp, but I think that there could easily be more effective ways of capitalizing on the holes that Mega Heracross leaves in teams. This team has some grievances with a few things, such as Belly Drum Azumarill, Nasty Plot Thundurus when paired with Choice Scarf Tyranitar, Greninja with hazard support somewhat, Freeze Dry Mamoswine, and Mega Aerodactyl. I feel like this team would be more effective if you managed to veer more towards bulky offense than balance. For starters, I would change Heatran for the regular Greninja set (Hydro Pump / Ice Beam / Extrasensory / Hidden Power Fire), as it still manages to revenge kill many of the things Heatran does (importantly, Landorus and Terrakion), while also being able to aid you against Mamoswine and still easily take on the defensive Pokemon Heatran does, such as Ferrothorn and Skarmory. This also gives you a much more reliable late-game cleaner due to its ability to switch moves, helping you much more against offensive teams which you struggle against somewhat; defensive teams aren't much of a bother due to Mega Heracross and Greninja can double switch into many typical Mega Heracross stops such as physically defensive Gliscor and Doublade. Now, I'd recommend changing Landorus-T to a Choice Scarf set with the moves Earthquake, Stone Edge, U-turn, and Superpower. This gives you some more speed on your team while allowing you to easily revenge kill things like Nasty Plot Thundurus and opposing Greninja, while also offering free momentum against Choice Scarf Tyranitar locked into exploitable moves. It also helps against troublesome Pokemon such as +1 Mega Gyarados and +1 Mega Tyranitar due to Superpower. Now you are somewhat weak to Fairy-types such as Calm Mind Clefable once Bisharp dies as well as Mega Gardevoir somewhat, so what I'd personally do is change Bisharp to a Focus Sash variant so it can be played more recklessly against things like Flamethrower Clefable and Mega Gardevoir. This is very nicely complemented by Latias with Healing Wish.

As for minor changes, I'd optimize some of your movesets and EV spreads. I'd ensure the Bullet Seed Mega Heracross slot stays Bullet Seed, as otherwise bulky Azumarill may get a free Play Rough on Mega Heracross, which you don't want. I'd also swap Hidden Power Fire on Latias for Thunderbolt; it helps against Azumarill switch-ins while also doing damage to Keldeo, immensely important if it manages to Scald burn Azumarill. You already have a free switch into Ferrothorn, Heracross, while you also have a safe lure to it (Greninja). Finally, Azumarill definitely wants Superpower over Scald in order for it to completely bait in Ferrothorn, which can be helpful if it doesn't fall for the Greninja lure.

Good luck and I hope I helped.

 

[F22/aRaptor]

Hi there,

This team seems like it is built to be a bulky offensive team, but in reality it functions more like balance due to the lack of a solid win condition or late-game sweeper. Choice Scarf Heatran can be a late-game cleaner, and it works nicely with your strong wallbreakers in Heracross and Bisharp, but I think that there could easily be more effective ways of capitalizing on the holes that Mega Heracross leaves in teams. This team has some grievances with a few things, such as Belly Drum Azumarill, Nasty Plot Thundurus when paired with Choice Scarf Tyranitar, Greninja with hazard support somewhat, Freeze Dry Mamoswine, and Mega Aerodactyl. I feel like this team would be more effective if you managed to veer more towards bulky offense than balance. For starters, I would change Heatran for the regular Greninja set (Hydro Pump / Ice Beam / Extrasensory / Hidden Power Fire), as it still manages to revenge kill many of the things Heatran does (importantly, Landorus and Terrakion), while also being able to aid you against Mamoswine and still easily take on the defensive Pokemon Heatran does, such as Ferrothorn and Skarmory. This also gives you a much more reliable late-game cleaner due to its ability to switch moves, helping you much more against offensive teams which you struggle against somewhat; defensive teams aren't much of a bother due to Mega Heracross and Greninja can double switch into many typical Mega Heracross stops such as physically defensive Gliscor and Doublade. Now, I'd recommend changing Landorus-T to a Choice Scarf set with the moves Earthquake, Stone Edge, U-turn, and Superpower. This gives you some more speed on your team while allowing you to easily revenge kill things like Nasty Plot Thundurus and opposing Greninja, while also offering free momentum against Choice Scarf Tyranitar locked into exploitable moves. It also helps against troublesome Pokemon such as +1 Mega Gyarados and +1 Mega Tyranitar due to Superpower. Now you are somewhat weak to Fairy-types such as Calm Mind Clefable once Bisharp dies as well as Mega Gardevoir somewhat, so what I'd personally do is change Bisharp to a Focus Sash variant so it can be played more recklessly against things like Flamethrower Clefable and Mega Gardevoir. This is very nicely complemented by Latias with Healing Wish.

As for minor changes, I'd optimize some of your movesets and EV spreads. I'd ensure the Bullet Seed Mega Heracross slot stays Bullet Seed, as otherwise bulky Azumarill may get a free Play Rough on Mega Heracross, which you don't want. I'd also swap Hidden Power Fire on Latias for Thunderbolt; it helps against Azumarill switch-ins while also doing damage to Keldeo, immensely important if it manages to Scald burn Azumarill. You already have a free switch into Ferrothorn, Heracross, while you also have a safe lure to it (Greninja). Finally, Azumarill definitely wants Superpower over Scald in order for it to completely bait in Ferrothorn, which can be helpful if it doesn't fall for the Greninja lure.

Good luck and I hope I helped.

I'm definitely going to now use Scarf Landorus but I feel I do need a hazard setter on though rather than get rid of Heatran, which I could easily convert to one.

 

[trc]

The thing is, the way your team is structured, fitting in a Stealth Rock user would require a lot of shifting around. You could convert Landorus-T to a Choice Scarf set and make Heatran a SpD version with Stealth Rock, and while that patches up the CM Clefable weakness, you still have problems with Focus Blast Mega Gardevoir while many of the mentioned threads such as Mamoswine and Greninja aren't dealt with much better. You could try Choice Scarf Tyranitar and Stealth Rock Sand Rush Excadrill over Heatran and Bisharp which can work since it doesn't make you more Breloom weak because you're replacing your two biggest Breloom weak Pokemon, while adding more speed again for you and Excadrill helps a lot against Clefable and Mega Gardevoir (when in sand obviously). This does stray from your team's original idea but it does offer marked improvements. SR Smooth Rock TTar is a third option which frees up Stealth Rock on Excadrill which makes the speed sacrifice worthwhile somewhat, since you get eight turns for Excadrill, which is now your new late-game win condition if you choose to use these optimisations over the ones in the previous post, which use Greninja as that instead.