SM OU Golisopod wants your love ! (Peaked 31)

[Haken]

WARNING: THIS IS JUST THE FIRST RMT FROM A FRENCH DUDE THAT IS IN LOVE WITH A STUPIDLY GIMMICK ISOPOD.

Ok guys, I know what you're thinking: "Aaaaaah, Golisopod ! Badass design, very interesting movepool for such a slow Pokemon, stats above average, but... Emergency Exit though".
It's fine, I've been there too. With no further ado, let's just get into the team.

Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunderbolt

When I started building this team, I first noticed that Golisopod really had a hard time dealing with mons such as Skarmory, Celesteela, Toxapex, Tapu Fini, Ferrothorn, or even bulky Mega Scizor, that would just come for free on my First Impressions, recover, and then force me out. With that in mind, Magnezone was an obvious first partner as I can very easily pull a double switch into Mag, and then trap the annoying Steel Types with HP Fire or threaten the bulky Water Types with Volt Switch/Thunderbolt. Choice Scarf is absolutely essential, as it enables me to deal with other Mega Metagrosses pretty easily (coupled with Rocky Helmet Landorus-T) which are some huge threats otherwise, as well as checking Mega Charizard Y more easily.

Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head (Do you feel my pain... ?)
- Ice Punch
- Zen Headbutt (Shit, no psycho cut...)
- Rock Polish

Magnezone being in the team, I wanted to use another sweeper that would benefit from having the Steel Types trapped. I originally opted for Mega Pinsir, but as the team was way too weak to Scarf Tapu Lele, I brainstormed a bit to find a way to deal with it without changing the whole team. Stratobodom (thank you bro) actually advised me to use Mega Metagross instead, which was an amazing idea. The set is pretty standard, but I chose to opt for a Rock Polish set as the team is pretty slow and relies a bit too much on priority.

Mimikyu (M) @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Claw
- Play Rough
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance

Mimikyu is a crucial member to the team. I initially picked this dude because I absolutely love its design because I wanted a pokemon that would be able to check some set up sweepers such as Mega Charizard X, Volcarona or even Dragonite, that Golisopod can't revenge kill easily with a First Impression. But it's also a very good wallbreaker that helps me dealing with stall teams (now that Pinsir is gone) and forces my opponent to go into his most physically defensive mons. Then Mimikyu can "surprise" them with a devastating +2 Never Ending Nightmare, enabling my Mega Metagross to sweep late game. Finally, Mimikyu can also act as a decent Antispinner versus Pheromosa or even Starmie, but I usually prefer keeping my disguise for some more evil intentions.

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 30 Spe
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock

Now do I really need to explain this set ? Ok fine. Stealth Rock is good as it enables me to... set up Rocks... U-turn makes it being an amazing pivot... Earthquake is a nice stab... And... oh yeah, Toxic, true ! I chose Toxic over Knock Off, Stone Edge, HP Ice, etc... in order to deal with Coil + Dragon Dance Zygarde that can pretty much 6-0 me as soon as my Mimikyu gets busted ! It's also a decent option versus the annoying Unaware mons that can immediately stop Mimikyu's sweeping otherwise.
(BTW: Relaxed nature with 30 Spe IV enables me to get a slower U-turn on other Landorus-T which is a must in my opinion.)

Latias @ Soul Dew
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Defog
- Healing Wish

Once again, very classic set. I needed Defog/Rapid Spin and also a switch into Rotom Wash, Charizard Y, or even Volcanion, so Latias was a very obvious choice. Healing Wish can also come clutch in some situations as it can heal one of my sweepers from a burn or a sleep for example, and enables me to make some more aggressive plays without chocking the whole game.

Golisopod (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 208 HP / 252 Atk / 48 Spe
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- Liquidation
- Leech Life
- Sucker Punch

And now we have the star of the show. I've tested absolutely every set that you can possibly think of (Insect Plate, Leftovers, Assault Vest, Spikes, Aqua Jet, etc...) but this is in my humble opinion the best set for this pokemon. EVs are pretty standard though, as I just give 48 Spe to outspeed the slowest Marowak or Conkeldurr, but going Brave with 0 IV is also a very nice option as it enables you to be one of the fastest mon on the field versus a Trick Room team. Then Sucker Punch is superior to Aqua Jet in my opinion as it is stronger than Aqua Jet when they both hit neutrally, plus sucker punch can also reck many fast mons that might think being safe after your First Impression, such as Mega Alakazam, Gengar, Jirachi, Metagross, Latios or even Kingdra, contrary to Aqua Jet that checks less fast sweepers (Excadrill, Volcarona, Scarf Landorus-T and Nihilego essentially). All of this really depends on the needs of your own team though.

The most essential part of the set is the Life Orb, as the 10% recoil actually triggers your Emergency Exit if you are between 51% and 60%, which pretty much gives you a BP90, Life Orb boosted, +2 Priority stabbed U-turn. And I know it seems gimmick, but trust me, it actually happens more often than you might think. If you want to play around with this ability correctly, it will require you some time to get used to every defensive capabilities of Golisopod, but it really pays off in the long run.

Leech Life is also amazing on this mon in order to abuse Emergency Exit.
Example: You are now around 40% after doing what I previously described. Later on, you threaten a Pokemon with a First Impression. If you know that this is a win condition, go for a Leech Life instead, as he is more than likely going to sack a useless mon. Leech Life will now bring you back to:
- between 51% and 60% --> Leech Life hits, and then you get another automatic "U-Turn" thanks to the Life Orb recoil. Amazing.
- between 61% and 70% --> Leech Life hits, but you are going to stay on the field. Fine, you can just "Sucker Turn" next turn if you want.
- below 51% --> welp... crap !

And finally, Emergency Exit also helped me a few times trapping some steel types with my Magnezone.
Example: You fail your prediction and use Flash Cannon expecting Landorus, but the guy goes for Ferrothorn instead, and you are now locked into that. Fine. If the Rocks are up, switch into Golisopod, Emergency Exit will more than likely trigger, and will give you an automatic switch back into Magnezone before the end of the turn: you can now go for HP Fire next turn !


Now I know that this is not the best team ever, or even the best team I've ever builded, but I was truly saddened when I figured out that I was the only dude playing this bug in upper ladder (out of more than 300 games!). And this is exactly why I've decided to make this poorly written RMT: Golisopod truly deserves a bit more love ! It's such a cool, unique, and fun pokemon to play with, that definitely deserves a spot in OU, being able to revenge sooo many common threats such as Ash-Greninja and Mega Metagross, without fearing a Water Shuriken or Bullet Punch KO (yes Pheromosa, I'm talking about you...). With that being said, I really hope that you are going to give this giant isopod a second chance: you might deeply fall in love with it too.

 

[Ktütverde]

Rockpolish lando is a thing: hp ice or aquajet may help, contrary to mediocre toxic or sucker punch :)
Super cool team man!

 

[Haken]

Hey thank you buddy, I really appreciate ! :)
You're right, HP Ice is a superior option in order to check Rockpolish/SD Lando, but this mon is actually handled by this team surprisingly easily, as Mimikyu can just come in and check it with a free Z-Move + Shadow Sneak. Zygarde on the other hand is a huge threat, and after testing both HP Ice and Toxic, I just feel a bit safer with Toxic. But both are really good options, it's totally up to you if you want to try the team.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that, but Toxic is also crucial against stall, as Mimikyu can very easily destroy the whole team, but only if there's no Unaware ! Toxic really helps in those situations.

 

[streams]

Hey dude. First off I really like your team! Golisopod is really cool, and on my playthrough of the game Guzma kept giving me trouble cause I had no bug resists on my team haha. Its really neat that you were able to ladder this high with the team, however there are a few changes.

Metagross:
I really like it on this team as its a great offensive presence, and has the opportunity to sweep late game while also answering a lot of the psychic mons in the tier that would otherwise give you issues. This would be better acheived by running Meteor Mash > Iron Head. I understand how frustrating it is to miss moves, however meteor mash gives you the chance to get to +1 allowing to better sweep, and you already have zen headbutt for flinches if it comes to that point in a match.

Landorus:
Defensive landorus was extremely needed on your team. However, I would go HP Ice > Toxic. While the thought of beating coil zygarde is really cool, you are so weak to fast grounds (such as scarf lando). Hp ice will still do a nice chunk on zygarde (0 SpA Landorus-Therian Hidden Power Ice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde: 188-224 (52.5 - 62.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO) and give you the ability to take on other lando's. Also you said you were using toxic for stall, however only unaware mon you need to be afraid of would be quagsire, as you have 2 steels for clefable. Since you have Latias, you are doing a massive amount to quagsire (252 SpA Latias Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Quagsire: 267-315 (67.7 - 79.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery) enough to be comfortable without running toxic

Golisopod:
Time for the star. Really I just have another small change. Although sucker punch is stronger than aqua jet (by 10 base) I would recommend running aqua jet > sucker punch as it hits more of what your team needs it too. While it is true that sucker punch hits gengar and alakazam and jirachi better, it is really only gengar that you do not already have a good switch in to (zam as long as it doesnt go for shadow ball). Aqua jet also manages to hit volcarona, scarf drill, and scarf lando as you had mentioned, and these are much larger threats to your team offensively.

To sum it up:

Meteor mash > Iron head

HP Ice > Toxic

Aqua Jet > Sucker Punch

I really enjoyed rating your team =). Good luck with the team. Feel free to pm me on ps if you see me on.

 

[Haken]

Haha thank you so much man, like I said to Ktutverde, any feedback is really appreciated ! :D

I 100% agree with you: usually, NOBODY should run Iron Head over Meteor Mash ! It's really just me getting paranoid of missing it (like Flamethrower over Fire Blast, etc...). Now running Iron Head in this particular team is not that stupid, as Metagross is not the wallbreaker but the set-up sweeper/late game cleaner with Rock Polish. It implies that I mostly use Metagross at the end of the battle, when I know that every Pokemon of my opponent is at the KO range of my attacks. But when I'm saying "KO range", I reasonably can't take a +1 boost into account ! And that's why I really prefer getting my sweep/win 100% of the time with Iron Head, instead of sometimes missing Meteor Mash (--> losing) or getting some useless late game boosts ! :)

Now I don't really agree on your Landorus part: this team really shits on any set of Landorus Therian ! SD/Rock Polish sets are checked very easily by my Mimikyu, and scarfed one can't lock themselves into EQ as I have 2 Ground Immunities plus a very solid Ground Resistance with Golisopod, and Magnezone or Metagross can very easily take their Flying or Rock type moves. I've never got swept by a Landorus T with this team (which means a lot as this thing is pretty much in 3/4 of the teams right now).
Furthermore, you are correct: Latias CAN do some massive damage to Quagsire. But in practice, the guy HAS a Chansey in his stall team, and has absolutely no reason to stay on my Draco when he can safely switch into his blob. Same goes for Unaware Clefable: it's not that I can't beat it 1V1, it's just that Mimikyu won't be able to sweep as long as the Clefable is alive. Said differently: I can't win versus stall as long as the Unaware mon is not dead.

Finally, I agree that Aqua Jet is also a very good option in some situations. Especially against Sand Rush Excadrill, that can very easily sweep my team as soon as my Landorus gets severely weakened and Mimikyu gets busted (no Mold Breaker if Sand Rush thankfully...). But then again, it's really up to you. I really feel like Sucker Punch has more versatility, but Aqua Jet can be appreciated in some games.
Plus it's not like "game changing": Excadrill can be handled by Golisopod even with Sucker Punch: 252+ Atk Life Orb Golisopod Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Excadrill: 160-188 (44.3 - 52%)

Then the Excadrill attacks: 252 Atk Life Orb Excadrill Rock Slide vs. 208 HP / 0 Def Golisopod: 164-195 (47.8 - 56.8%)
Which does not kill but Emergency Exit triggers. You can now revenge kill it later on with a 2nd Sucker Punch, as the Drill also took 10% with its Life Orb.

Anyway, thanks again for taking your time to read and rate the team, it really means a lot to me ! :D Peace.

 

[banmu]

love it very much！

have some relays？

and one question：Landorus-Therian is slower than Zygarde so toxic could be blocked by substitute，right？

 

[Haken]

Thank you sir ! :)
Welp, unfortunately I don't have any Replay... And you are absolutely right: Zygarde can very easily get his sub versus Lando. That's why Zygarde can become a huge threat if it is also using Dragon Dance, as my Latias won't be able to revenge kill it anymore. It always results in some mindgames, but as the guy doesn't know that you are packing Toxic, they usually go for Coil at first as they know for fact that EQ can break their subsitute before Coil. But yeah, it's always a tricky situation...

 

[Ktütverde]

A last word... there are little changes that could allow your team to deal with everything (imo):

1) I recommend using a Wallbreaker in your team:

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Soft Sand
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- stealth rock
- Knock Off

252+ Atk Earth Plate Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Quagsire: 186-220 (47.2 - 55.8%) -- 23.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252+ Atk Landorus-Therian Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tangrowth: 207-244 (51.2 - 60.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
if you run Knock off+SD you can destroy a shedshell.... and therefore sweep the team once skarmory is trapped!

2) Golisopod fantastic bulk+typing +synergy with mag allows him to do the role of tank. People don't realise you don't need rockyhelmet landorus in this meta as much as in ORAS. The offensive variants are surprisingly effective because EGDEQUAKE is the best combo ever: so let's wreck defensive builds.

-Proof of metagross unability to deal with magnezone+metagross+golisopod: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankou-521094920
-I would've lost with your team turn 3 without aquajet : http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankou-521101419


I hope I have been convincing, I did my best to contribute to this team! The more a team is rated, the most impressive it is, never forget it!!!

I encourage people to use Haken's new core consisting in Golisopod + Landorus + Magnezone as a RK tank/wallbreaker/trapper core. A good core is able to deal with every playstyle and Haken's does it with amazing synergy. Looking forward to see new achievements from you Haken ! :)

 

[Haken]

Omg man, thank you so much for your contribution to this RMT ! It really encourages me sooo much to make another one as soon as I'll get something both great and different from the OU standards ! Once again: thank you bro, I really appreciate ! :)