I've liked Parting Shot ever since it was introduced last generation. It is an awesome way to pivot into setup sweepers that leaves your opponent more handicapped than U-turn or Volt Switch and is more reusable than Memento. The one thing letting it down, obviously, was the pooooor distribution.
Enter generation 7! The distribution is... still shit, but considerably better than it was. And we got them Z-crystals, giving Parting Shot the very relevant and welcome bonus effect of healing the HP of your setup sweeper of choice once!
Distribution still being sub par, I spent a while contemplating whether or not Silvally or Alolan Persian would be worth using in OU, especially having noticed both did a poor job making it into the OU viability rankings. More than anything else, it was seeing Persian featured in this article, http://www.smogon.com/articles/z-move-do-dont , that pushed me towards actually making the following team.
Check how I made this team!
There, Persian is why I wanted to make this team in the first place, and if his role is to be a pivot for setup sweepers, I straight away decided to pair him with what I think is the best setup sweeper in OU, Dragon Dance Mega Charizard X. Between awesome Defense, Speed, Prankster immunity, Taunt and Parting Shot, Alolan Persian can cripple passive and offensive Pokemon alike, and with Mega Charizard X forcing switches himself and having access to boosted Speed AND Attack all in 1 move with no drawbacks, setup opportunities should be ample. And he's even unaffected by Will-O-Wisp.
To ease the work of my physical sweeper, I give you a physical wallbreaker! I have come to know Tapu Bulu as one, and his Grassy Terrain even helps Megazard X survive some Ground attacks, so that's ace. I tried a risky Swords Dance + Life Orb variant first, dunno, mostly because I felt having a second setup sweeper would let me get more value out of Alolan Persian as a supporter of setup sweepers, but the recoil was getting really annoying, and further testing taught me that the added power of the Choice Band gives this thing immediate power that makes him break walls without setting up.
Using Charizard, I knew I had to give myself some hazard control sooner or later. Turned to Latios to fit with the offensive nature of the team and to form some nice Dragon spamming duo with Megazard X to, much like Tapu Bulu, at the end of the day ease 'zard's sweep.
Scarf Magnezone! I felt I still needed a revenge killer, and I find Magnezone a particularly nice one for more than 1 reason. Firstly, access to a pivoting move is brilliant on a choiced Pokemon, as a way to keep momentum instead of losing it like choice wearers normally do. Secondly, his typing gives some resistances I was previously lacking, against Rock, Ice, Poison, Flying and Fairy no less. Thirdly, with Magnet Pull he is capable of trapping and hurting some Steel-types that both Tapu Bulu and Latios find themselves walled by, and effectively I have given myself a 2Drag1Mag team now. And Magnezone too likes Ground attacks being weakened.
What's offense without Stealth Rock? Heatran seemed a good option, adding some much appreciated resistances and immunities to the team, and being able to lead with Taunt to help stop hazards further. He'd also be a nice defensive backbone with Persian, between them handling many special and physical attacks nicely. And again, this thing loves Grassy Terrain dampening Ground attacks.
Tested the team, only to find opposing Heatran could wall me to hell and back. I looked at my own Heatran, my team's most recent addition and the one with the flimsiest reasoning, and found myself replacing him with something from the bottom of the OU viability rankings, Empoleon, who too fitted the role of Stealth Rock setter, specially defensive 'mon, also had a great defensive typing (also benefiting from Grassy Terrain!) and could even be my Defog user. This in turn made me rethink Latios's niche, and replace him with Dragonite, who could attract more specific Megazard X counters than Latios could for more effective Dragon spamming, who added priority with Extreme Speed, which is nice because Magnezone isn't fast enough to revenge kill everything, and who makes an absolutely perfect secondary Dragon Dance user that has an ability that helps it set up (and Z-Parting Shot reactivates it!), and therefor secondary target for Parting Shot. Both Empoleon and (Earthquake) Dragonite handle Heatran pretty damn well.
And here are all the sets...
Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Defog
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Stealth Rock's your almost mandatory support move, and really if you're using Charizard, so is either Defog or Rapid Spin. Toxic is a lovely addition to the team that just makes many opposing Pokemon easier to wear down, and is a decent opening move whenever I am reluctant to put up Stealth Rock knowing I will Defog later anyway, which happens fairly often. Scald is my best bet at doing damage, especially since Empoleon came to the team partly because I saw a weakness to Heatran. Leftovers over Shuca Berry as that gives more benefits over a longer time, which may come in handy should I wish to Defog late game.
I considered Yawn and Knock Off over Toxic, both have great utility in their own way, but Toxic seems to be more consistent at doing its job.
Tapu Bulu @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Stone Edge
Breaking walls! Wood Hammer nukes even some Pokemon that resist it when combined with Choice Band and Grassy Terrain. Horn Leech is an alternative that hits decently hard as well and also heals me. Superpower's there for Steel types, and Stone Edge for Flying types and to make sure that there's next to nothing that resists Tapu Bulu. And I can't stress enough how Grassy Terrain helps my Pokemon survive Ground attacks, especially the 3 that are week to them.
I used Life Orb+Swords Dance+3 attacks, and while I am now convinced this set with Choice Band is outright better, I still can't help but feel Swords Dance Tapu Bulu is perfectly viable.
Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Dragon Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake
Your standard Dragon Dance+Lum Berry Dragonite. The cool kids seem to give him Z-crystals now, but that's not an option with Z-Parting Shot being my ace. Adamant over Jolly to basically let Dragonite and Megazard X have different roles, Dragonite being more of a wallbreaker for this team, and the presence of Extreme Speed eases the lack of maximum Speed. Earthquake's there to kill Heatran, and what is absolute gold here is how Z-Parting Shot can reactivate Multiscale.
Persian-Alola @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 228 HP / 28 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Parting Shot
- Taunt
- Roar
There we go, the thing that made me make this team to begin with. I know he's niche and I've seen he's not considered viable, but man, have I had some fun with him. His Speed is well above average, and even a stray Taunt from a Prankster user can't stop him for he's Dark! Him and Empoleon, my supportive backbone, cover so many supportive rules together, I love it. Alolan Persian cripples attackers with Parting Shot and supporters with Taunt, helping create perfect conditions for my sweepers to sweep. Roar is there because phazing is great on just about any team, and with his Defense Persian can easily phase physical attackers at least. Foul Play then helps Persian shine against physical attackers even more. Do notice that most times, I end up playing Parting Shot without the Z-effect, and I time the activation of the Z-effect wisely, to restore a nearly deceased sweeper, or to reactivate Multiscale.
Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Roost
My #1 sweeper, this thing is tried and tested to the point where I barely know what to say about him. Flare Blitz and Dragon Claw are solid STAB attacks, Dragon Dance is what makes this thing rip through teams, Roost is what keeps it alive for longer.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
Choice Scarf isn't Magnezone's most popular item it seems, but I really want a dedicated revenge killer. Flash Cannon and Thunderbolt are the STAB moves of choice that, coupled with 130 Special Attack, hit things quite hard. Thunderbolt makes him counter Celesteela, Flash Canon is what hurts Fairy types, and Hidden Power Fire is for against them Steel types Magnezone loves to traps, especially Ferrothorn and Scizor. Volt Switch, then, makes Magnezone a momentum grabber, something not all Choice users can be.
THAT'S IT.
I really like this team. It takes setup sweepers and gives them a good deal of relevant support. And me being me, while not being a goal in and on itself, I like making use of Pokemon that are not seen as very viable, like indeed Empoleon and especially Alolan Persian.
Make suggestions all you want, really the only thing that's sacred for me here is Z-Parting Shot + setup sweepers, so even if you have ideas that involve Silvally using Z-Parting Shot, I AM interested. And obviously thanks for reading all of this.
Enter generation 7! The distribution is... still shit, but considerably better than it was. And we got them Z-crystals, giving Parting Shot the very relevant and welcome bonus effect of healing the HP of your setup sweeper of choice once!
Distribution still being sub par, I spent a while contemplating whether or not Silvally or Alolan Persian would be worth using in OU, especially having noticed both did a poor job making it into the OU viability rankings. More than anything else, it was seeing Persian featured in this article, http://www.smogon.com/articles/z-move-do-dont , that pushed me towards actually making the following team.
Check how I made this team!
There, Persian is why I wanted to make this team in the first place, and if his role is to be a pivot for setup sweepers, I straight away decided to pair him with what I think is the best setup sweeper in OU, Dragon Dance Mega Charizard X. Between awesome Defense, Speed, Prankster immunity, Taunt and Parting Shot, Alolan Persian can cripple passive and offensive Pokemon alike, and with Mega Charizard X forcing switches himself and having access to boosted Speed AND Attack all in 1 move with no drawbacks, setup opportunities should be ample. And he's even unaffected by Will-O-Wisp.
To ease the work of my physical sweeper, I give you a physical wallbreaker! I have come to know Tapu Bulu as one, and his Grassy Terrain even helps Megazard X survive some Ground attacks, so that's ace. I tried a risky Swords Dance + Life Orb variant first, dunno, mostly because I felt having a second setup sweeper would let me get more value out of Alolan Persian as a supporter of setup sweepers, but the recoil was getting really annoying, and further testing taught me that the added power of the Choice Band gives this thing immediate power that makes him break walls without setting up.
Using Charizard, I knew I had to give myself some hazard control sooner or later. Turned to Latios to fit with the offensive nature of the team and to form some nice Dragon spamming duo with Megazard X to, much like Tapu Bulu, at the end of the day ease 'zard's sweep.
Scarf Magnezone! I felt I still needed a revenge killer, and I find Magnezone a particularly nice one for more than 1 reason. Firstly, access to a pivoting move is brilliant on a choiced Pokemon, as a way to keep momentum instead of losing it like choice wearers normally do. Secondly, his typing gives some resistances I was previously lacking, against Rock, Ice, Poison, Flying and Fairy no less. Thirdly, with Magnet Pull he is capable of trapping and hurting some Steel-types that both Tapu Bulu and Latios find themselves walled by, and effectively I have given myself a 2Drag1Mag team now. And Magnezone too likes Ground attacks being weakened.
What's offense without Stealth Rock? Heatran seemed a good option, adding some much appreciated resistances and immunities to the team, and being able to lead with Taunt to help stop hazards further. He'd also be a nice defensive backbone with Persian, between them handling many special and physical attacks nicely. And again, this thing loves Grassy Terrain dampening Ground attacks.
Tested the team, only to find opposing Heatran could wall me to hell and back. I looked at my own Heatran, my team's most recent addition and the one with the flimsiest reasoning, and found myself replacing him with something from the bottom of the OU viability rankings, Empoleon, who too fitted the role of Stealth Rock setter, specially defensive 'mon, also had a great defensive typing (also benefiting from Grassy Terrain!) and could even be my Defog user. This in turn made me rethink Latios's niche, and replace him with Dragonite, who could attract more specific Megazard X counters than Latios could for more effective Dragon spamming, who added priority with Extreme Speed, which is nice because Magnezone isn't fast enough to revenge kill everything, and who makes an absolutely perfect secondary Dragon Dance user that has an ability that helps it set up (and Z-Parting Shot reactivates it!), and therefor secondary target for Parting Shot. Both Empoleon and (Earthquake) Dragonite handle Heatran pretty damn well.
Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Defog
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Stealth Rock's your almost mandatory support move, and really if you're using Charizard, so is either Defog or Rapid Spin. Toxic is a lovely addition to the team that just makes many opposing Pokemon easier to wear down, and is a decent opening move whenever I am reluctant to put up Stealth Rock knowing I will Defog later anyway, which happens fairly often. Scald is my best bet at doing damage, especially since Empoleon came to the team partly because I saw a weakness to Heatran. Leftovers over Shuca Berry as that gives more benefits over a longer time, which may come in handy should I wish to Defog late game.
I considered Yawn and Knock Off over Toxic, both have great utility in their own way, but Toxic seems to be more consistent at doing its job.
Tapu Bulu @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Stone Edge
Breaking walls! Wood Hammer nukes even some Pokemon that resist it when combined with Choice Band and Grassy Terrain. Horn Leech is an alternative that hits decently hard as well and also heals me. Superpower's there for Steel types, and Stone Edge for Flying types and to make sure that there's next to nothing that resists Tapu Bulu. And I can't stress enough how Grassy Terrain helps my Pokemon survive Ground attacks, especially the 3 that are week to them.
I used Life Orb+Swords Dance+3 attacks, and while I am now convinced this set with Choice Band is outright better, I still can't help but feel Swords Dance Tapu Bulu is perfectly viable.
Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Dragon Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake
Your standard Dragon Dance+Lum Berry Dragonite. The cool kids seem to give him Z-crystals now, but that's not an option with Z-Parting Shot being my ace. Adamant over Jolly to basically let Dragonite and Megazard X have different roles, Dragonite being more of a wallbreaker for this team, and the presence of Extreme Speed eases the lack of maximum Speed. Earthquake's there to kill Heatran, and what is absolute gold here is how Z-Parting Shot can reactivate Multiscale.
Persian-Alola @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 228 HP / 28 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Parting Shot
- Taunt
- Roar
There we go, the thing that made me make this team to begin with. I know he's niche and I've seen he's not considered viable, but man, have I had some fun with him. His Speed is well above average, and even a stray Taunt from a Prankster user can't stop him for he's Dark! Him and Empoleon, my supportive backbone, cover so many supportive rules together, I love it. Alolan Persian cripples attackers with Parting Shot and supporters with Taunt, helping create perfect conditions for my sweepers to sweep. Roar is there because phazing is great on just about any team, and with his Defense Persian can easily phase physical attackers at least. Foul Play then helps Persian shine against physical attackers even more. Do notice that most times, I end up playing Parting Shot without the Z-effect, and I time the activation of the Z-effect wisely, to restore a nearly deceased sweeper, or to reactivate Multiscale.
Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Roost
My #1 sweeper, this thing is tried and tested to the point where I barely know what to say about him. Flare Blitz and Dragon Claw are solid STAB attacks, Dragon Dance is what makes this thing rip through teams, Roost is what keeps it alive for longer.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
Choice Scarf isn't Magnezone's most popular item it seems, but I really want a dedicated revenge killer. Flash Cannon and Thunderbolt are the STAB moves of choice that, coupled with 130 Special Attack, hit things quite hard. Thunderbolt makes him counter Celesteela, Flash Canon is what hurts Fairy types, and Hidden Power Fire is for against them Steel types Magnezone loves to traps, especially Ferrothorn and Scizor. Volt Switch, then, makes Magnezone a momentum grabber, something not all Choice users can be.
THAT'S IT.
I really like this team. It takes setup sweepers and gives them a good deal of relevant support. And me being me, while not being a goal in and on itself, I like making use of Pokemon that are not seen as very viable, like indeed Empoleon and especially Alolan Persian.
Make suggestions all you want, really the only thing that's sacred for me here is Z-Parting Shot + setup sweepers, so even if you have ideas that involve Silvally using Z-Parting Shot, I AM interested. And obviously thanks for reading all of this.
Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Defog
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Tapu Bulu @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Stone Edge
Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Dragon Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake
Persian-Alola @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 228 HP / 28 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Parting Shot
- Taunt
- Roar
Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Roost
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Defog
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Tapu Bulu @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Stone Edge
Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Dragon Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake
Persian-Alola @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 228 HP / 28 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Parting Shot
- Taunt
- Roar
Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Roost
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
