ORAS OU Lost In The Echo: Hyper Offense ft. Mega Absol (Peaked 1823 Elo, 81% GXE)

[Dirkhann]

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Hello everyone, and welcome to my RMT! ORAS is coming to its unevitable end and I wanted to share the most recent team I've built around my favorite mega, a pokemon that is often forgotten, often lost in the echo: Absol. It has gone through a rigorous process of reanse and repeat in regards of teambuilding, but I think it's safe to say I've finally achieved what I wanted, and that the team can hold its own against any playstyle with smart playing. Without any further ado, let's get into it:

Proof of Peak

Team Building Process

+

I started with this offensive core as they complement each other well. Lucario threatens the bulky Steel types that Absol has trouble with, while also OHKO'ing Clefable and other defensive Fairy types. In return Absol deals with Psychic and Ghost types (M-Sableye, Gengar) that give Lucario trouble. They also weaken each other's checks with their combined priority.

Next up came Garchomp to provide some role compression to soft-check some physical Fighting/Flying types and set up rocks. It can also stomach strong neutral attacks and retaliate back hard most of the time if need be, and for the most part is a decent M-Scizor check which the original core is very weak to.

The team still lacked a Dragon and Fairy switch-in so Jirachi was my immediate pick. However this isn't your typical Spdef Jirachi with U-Turn, as I found out that abusing Jirachi's insane movepool would be more useful for the team. Also, since the team is pretty lacking in terms of Keldeo/Grass switch-ins, it acts as a soft check, being able to tank a hit and strike back hard.

Dragonite came as a really improvised Water resist and Ground immunity which are always helpful, and despite not being the best Keldeo switch-in, it can still tank Scalds and Secret Swords and hit it extremely hard. I considered Latios at some point, but decided to stick with Dragonite due to the amount of work it put on the team, having all the tools it needs to be a terrifying wallbreaker. Plus, more priority was quite useful.

Finally Keldeo, the glue of the team, excellent revenge killer and late game cleaner, Dark/Ground/Fire check, and even acting as the main switch-in for opposing Keldeos. Overall a really solid mon to pair up with Absol due to the good offensive synergy they have.

Strategy​

Although the team revolves around supporting M-Absol in order for it to clean up weakened teams, there are several ways the team can win, depending on the match up. Do note that this isn't a fool proof team that guarantees the victory just by clicking buttons; this is hyper offense, you will more than likely need to make predictions, pull off doubles, tactical sacks, etc. As with any HO team, smart decisions and preserving win conditions are required to ensure the victory. Generally speaking the main idea is to punch holes with Dragonite's and Lucario's insane power and Jirachi's coverage, utilizing the teams' defensive synergy to pivot into attacks, and eventually cleaning up with Keldeo/Absol/Lucario/Dragonite.
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Sets

Absol-Mega @ Absolite
Ability: Magic Bounce (Justified)
EVS: 252 Atk/252 Spe/4 Def or 244 Atk/40 Def/216 Spe
Jolly Nature

Swords Dance/Iron Tail

Knock Off

Play Rough

Sucker Punch
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Moves explanation: Swords Dance is a great tool for offensive pokemon, and it allows Absol to increase its attack to very high levels. While it does struggle to set up against offensive and bulky offensive teams, SD can come in very handy vs some semi stall/balance builds to punish their defensive cores or even sweep once Absol's checks have been weakened. I slashed IronTail because being able to oneshot M-Diancie is just fantastic. Knock Off is the mandatory Dark STAB, and Play Rough is just for coverage hitting Keldeo, Tyranitar and M-Sableye really hard. Sucker Punch is essential as it allows Absol to hit faster threats, greatly aiding it to sweep.

EVS explanation: First spread is standard for any physical set up sweeper. Second spread does achieve some specific goals, like being able to stomach some powerful physical attacks even after Stealth Rock damage. Here are some calcs:

With Stealth Rock up:

• 0 Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 40 Def Mega Absol: 211-249 (77.8 - 91.8%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

• 252+ Atk Choice Band Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 40 Def Mega Absol: 209-246 (77.1 - 90.7%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

• 252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 40 Def Mega Absol: 192-226 (70.8 - 83.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

• 252 Atk Life Orb Weavile Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 40 Def Mega Absol: 114-136 (42 - 50.1%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO

No rocks up:

• 252 Atk Sharp Beak Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 40 Def Mega Absol: 244-288 (90 - 106.2%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO

• 252 Atk Life Orb Weavile Low Kick (60 BP) vs. 0 HP / 40 Def Mega Absol: 229-270 (84.5 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

• 252 Atk Life Orb Weavile Icicle Crash vs. 0 HP / 40 Def Mega Absol: 242-286 (89.2 - 105.5%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

• 252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 40 Def Mega Absol: 238-282 (87.8 - 104%) -- 25% chance to OHKO

*Note: Be wary that if running the second spread, you're no longer able to outspeed Serperior, Raikou and Scarf Magnezone

What this Pokemon does: Absol's main job on the team is to revenge kill fast offensive threats with a powerful Sucker Punch, deal with Psychic and Ghost types which Lucario hates, and if the opportunity arises, sweep weakened teams. It's also the team's main check to M-Sableye. Absol can ocassionally bounce back hazards from Pokemon like Chansey and Skarmory, both omnipresent on stall teams.

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVS: 252 Atk/252 Spe/4 Def
Adamant Nature

Swords Dance

Close Combat

Iron Tail

Extreme Speed
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Moves explanation: Swords Dance enables Lucario to wallbreak/sweep efficiently depending on the situation, and despite its mediocre bulk it may be able to set up on choice-locked opponents (i.e. Scarf Lando-T locked into Stone Edge). Close Combat is mandatory to dispose of bulky Steel types, doing a considerable chunk to M-Scizor, and most Pokemon that resist it are hit extremely hard by Iron Tail. Iron Tail is mostly there to vanish Clefable from this plane of existance and to threaten common stall cores in tandem with its Fighting STAB. Extreme Speed is a great tool for cleaning up late game as it bypasses Lucario's mediocre speed making it much harder to revenge kill.

EVS explanation: Pretty self explanatory EVS, max attack and speed with an Adamant nature to hit as fast and hard as possible. Life Orb is the item of choice to power up Lucario's moves. Inner Focus is chosen over Justified because reallistically you don't want Lucario to be switching into attacks, as its bulk is less than stellar, not to mention the possible loss of its Life Orb. Also Inner Focus allows it to comfortably set up on Scarf Jirachi (unless it's locked into Fire Punch) and ignore Fake Out.

What this Pokemon does: Lucario's role is to aid Absol offensively, dismantling bulky Pokemon with its strong STAB combination. However Lucario is more than capable of pulling off a sweep itself. Generally speaking it's both a sweeper and wallbreaker in one slot. As an added bonus it doubles as a Bisharp and Clefable check, two Pokemon Absol really appreciates gone.
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Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVS: 252 HP/164 Def/92 Spe
Impish Nature

Stealth Rock

Earthquake

Dragon Tail

Fire Blast
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Moves explanation: Stealth Rock because they're mandatory to keep dangerous Pokemon in check, and to provide useful chip damage on foes. Earthquake targets stuff Garchomp is supposed to check like Heatran and prevents it from being super passive. Dragon Tail helps Garchomp rack up entry hazard damage on enemies, while hitting most Flying types and Levitate users decently hard. Finally Fire Blast is mostly for M-Scizor, and the combination of Rocky Helmet + Rough Skin plus Fire Blast makes Garchomp a surprisingly effective Scizor check. Be mindful that sometimes it's just better to hit the incoming switch-in with the appropiate move rather than mindlessly setting up rocks, as most offensive Pokemon take considerable damage from Garchomp's moves.

EVS explanation: Enough speed investment to speed creep base 70's with a positive nature (Bisharp, Breloom) and hit them with Eartquake/Fire Blast respectively. The rest is bumped into HP and Def to tank as many hits as possible, allowing Garchomp to take full advantage of its Rocky Helmet. Rough Skin is the ability of choice to further wear down the opposition.

What this Pokemon does: Garchomp is the team's first line of defense vs Talonflame, M-Lopunny, M-Medicham, M-Scizor, M-Pinsir and many other fast physical attackers, wearing them down and bringing them into priority range. Setting up Stealth Rock should be the first priority if facing dangerous Flying and Fire types. Additionally, Garchomp's raw bulk allows it to take strong neutral hits like Specs Hydro Pump from Keldeo and retaliate with Earthquake if need be. Garchomp makes for a decent death fodder once it has done its job.
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Jirachi @ Expert Belt
Ability: Serene Grace
EVS: 132 Atk/124 SpA/252 Spe
Hasty Nature

Iron Head

Energy Ball

Icy Wind

Thunderbolt
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Moves explanation: Iron Head is mandatory Steel STAB to keep Clefable and friends at bay. It can also let Jirachi beat many things 1v1 thanks to the flinch chance. Energy Ball is there to nail 4x weak to Grass mons like Quagsire, and even deals around half to Hippowdon which is always nice. Icy Wind is mostly there to lure Landorus-T, dealing around 75% to defensive variants which is always appreciated. Finally Thunderbolt forms a pseudo bolt-beam combo in tandem with Icy Wind, hitting a lot of things for solid damage. Some notable targets for Thunderbolt are Skarmory, Volcanion, Talonflame, M-Charizard Y, Tornadus-T, etc.

EVS explanation: 132 Atk EVS guarantee the 2hKO on standard Clefable, while the rest are put into SpA and Speed for more firepower and to at least speed tie with Charizard, Medicham, and other powerful threats. Expert Belt powers up Jirachi's coverage moves, allowing it to narrowly 2hKO Hippowdown, Slowbro, Skarmory, Landorus-T, and a plethora of mons that would otherwise be troublesome to deal with. Hasty nature ensures that Jirachi retains its awesome special bulk and solid speed tier. Serene Grace is the only ability it gets (and the only one it needs).

What this Pokemon does: Lure Rachi is honestly amazing because of how unprepared for it is. Its main job is to act as offensive support, being able to easily bluff a Scarf set and lure in Pokemon that would normally wall it, and then smack them with the appropiate coverage move. It's secondary purpose is to act as a sponge for Dracos and Fairy/Grass type moves, which none of the other team members appreciate taking.​

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Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale/Inner Focus
EVS: 252 Atk/252 Spe/4 Def
Adamant Nature

Outrage

Superpower

Iron Head

Extreme Speed
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Moves explanation: Outrage is the go-to STAB move for wallbreaking purposes, as its insane raw power puts a large dent onto even the sturdiest walls. Only 2 types can comfortably tank Outrages, thus making Superpower and Iron Head really important coverage moves for Dragonite. Usually Dragonite makes for a decent lead because its weaknesses are easy to cover by its teammates, and to fully abuse Multiscale should you be running it. Extreme Speed is a must on the last slot to revenge kill faster, frailer threats, greatly improving the match up vs hyper offense teams.

EVS explanation: Standard EVS for banded Dragonite, with an Adamant nature to make the most out of its offensive capabilities. Choice Band increases Dragonite's attack to a total of 604, which is ridiculously strong. Multiscale is the preferred ability to allow it to tank extremely powerful SE moves and fight back, however Inner Focus might prove to be useful in certain lead match up scenarios, especially vs Fake Out users such as M-Lopunny, as Fake Out will fail to flinch Dragonite and in return it can OHKO with either Outrage or Superpower.

What this Pokemon does : Dragonite is quite the powerhouse. It serves as the team's main wallbreaker and hole puncher vs balanced and bulky offensive teams, and it's nearly impossible for HO teams to switch into it. Even Landorus-T gets 3HKO'd on the switch which is quite impressive considering Intimidate. Dragonite often makes for a good lead and Keldeo check, and is able to demolish fat Grasses and Waters.
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Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability : Justified
EVS: 252 SpA/252 Spe/4 Def
Timid Nature

Scald

Secret Sword

Hydro Pump

Toxic
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Moves explanation: Scald is a reliable and spammable Water STAB and needs no explanations as I'm pretty sure we've all experienced its side effects. Secret Sword hits Steel types that might be able to tank Water moves, and also targets Chansey on its weaker defense. Hydro Pump is for when you need the extra power, for instance it OHKO's Thundurus after SR damage. Lastly, Toxic provides some really useful offensive utility crippling bulkier Pokemon, mostly fat Water types like Calm Mind M- Slowbro which can get out of hand really quickly. Some other noteworthy targets include Shedinja, fat Grasses and the rare Jellicent. Keldeo is generally really useful to keep for the late game for its awesome cleaning capabilities, however it can sponge some strong resisted attacks if the need arises.

EVS explanation: Straight forward EVS for a specially based offensive Pokemon, max SpA and Speed. Timid nature is a must to speed tie with opposing Scarf Keldeos at worst. Choice Scarf allows Keldeo to outspeed a plethora of Pokemon, including fast Electrics which are a big threat to the team.

What this Pokemon does: Keldeo is the glue of the team, providing much needed speed and offensive utility in the form of Toxic/Scald burns. Dark check, Ground check, revenge killer, late game cleaner, you name it. One big perk about Scarf Keldeo that I feel people really undervalue is its ability to beat Scarf Landorus-T and Scarf Excadrill, which are if I'm not mistaken, the two most popular scarfers in OU.
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Threatlist


As it's to be expected, due to the offensive nature of the team, it will lack appropiate switch-ins to a lot of dangerous Pokemon in the OU metagame. However this can be circumvented by pivoting around resistances and/or immunities, agressive doubles, or just sacrificing the least useful Pokemon depending on the match up. These Pokemon should be played around extremely carefully:
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Basically the game plan vs this thing is to sack Garchomp to force it to take recoil, then revenge with Absol. Extremely hard to switch into. Bullet Punch variants also force Absol to take heavy damage to be able to revenge kill it.

Lack of solid water resists can hurt a bit. Usually Dragonite and Keldeo can handle it but it's tricky to play around. Absol can also severely damage Specs variants with Play Rough, and 2 E-Speed users should finish the job, or viceversa.

Outspeeds 5 out of 6 members on the team, and has the power and coverage to leave a dent on everything (Thundurus also enters this category). However Scarf Hydro Pump KO's after a bit of prior damage, which is not hard to get with 3 priority users. Getting a good lead matchup is key vs this thing. Leading with Dragonite is a smart choice since it can take any one hit and land a solid attack on it with E-Speed.

Again, close to zero switch ins. Fast versions are really annoying because they outspeed Dragonite and Lucario (pre-mega). On the bright side, after it Mega Evolves most Pokemon on the team can outspeed and land a heavy hit on it. If you're feeling lucky you can also attempt to flinch it with Jirachi.

Same case as above. Absol is the Shadow Ball switch -in which just shows how dangerous this thing is. Dragonite can tank any hit if its at a reasonable HP, and Absol outspeeds and KO's.

I'm pretty sure there are more notable threats but those are all I can think of right now.

The Team in action

That was a lot of speech, so here are some replays for you guys to watch (in ascending order of ranking on the ladder):
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Replays

Starting from 1599 to 1738 (alt: NormalTypeisDope)

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-457440937 vs Mega Medicham bulky offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-457445921 vs Mega Heracross bulky offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-457452275 vs Mega Alakazam bulky offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-457454885 vs Mega Diancie balance

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-457456532 vs Mega Metagross bulky offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-457459655 vs Mega Slowbro bulky offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-457463824 vs Mega Metagross offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-457484005 vs Mega Heracross bulky offense (somewhere around 1700's)

1630 to 1713 with alt TestSubject88

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-464759408 vs Mega Pinsir hyper offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-464761594 vas Mega Metagross hyper offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-464764510 vs Mega Tyranitar balance

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-464768186 vs Mega Scizor bulky offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-464769995 vs Mega Scizor bulky offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-464775456 vs Mega Diancie bulky offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-465175366 vs Mega Sableye balance

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-465180620 vs Mega Beedrill bulky offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-465192295 vs Mega Scizor bulky offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-465208049 vs Mega Medicham bulky offense

And now getting onto higher quality replays, alt is TestSubject06, ranking goes from 1658 to 1823

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-468472977 vs Mega Gardevoir balance

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-469734188 vs Mega Sableye stall

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-471529133 vs Mega Lopunny Balance

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-472115165 vs Mega Sableye balance

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-473114393 vs Mega Gallade bulky offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-473119681 vs Mega Alakazam hyper offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-473124491 vs Mega Alakazam bulky offense (somewhere around 1700's)

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-473134807 vs Mega Sableye stall

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-473142205 vs Mega Sableye/Shedinja stall

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-473170720 vs Mega Lopunny bulky offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-473175372 vs Mega Charizard Y balance

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-473187051 vs Mega Heracross bulky offense

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-473179435 vs Mega Manectric balance (PEAK)

Bonus replay

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-464787122 vs Mega Heracross bulky offense (Absol cleans up)

Try out the team yourself!
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Importable

Absol-Mega (M) @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Iron Tail
- Extreme Speed

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Tail

Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Toxic

Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Superpower
- Iron Head
- Extreme Speed

Jirachi @ Expert Belt
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 132 Atk / 124 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Iron Head
- Energy Ball
- Icy Wind
- Thunderbolt

Conclusion

I'm glad with what I've accomplished with this team and definitely had lots of fun using it. I sincerely hope people feel more encouraged to try out their favorite pokemon in OU no matter what tier they originally belong to, since the most important thing about this is having fun after all. Any constructive criticism is always welcome. Shoutouts to dusk raimon and Team Pokepals for the banner. If you read through all of this, thanks a lot, and I hope you liked the RMT! Bye bye~

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[dusk raimon]

hey i really like this team man and its also really nicely formatted and the banner is really cool great job Team Pokepals

The team itself incorporates a really innovative mon which i dont think is appreciated much in this meta, mega absol, and i really like what you have done with the team. Also thanks for the s/o man!

 

[Dirkhann]

No prob, and thanks I'm glad you like it! As usual, I'm open for suggestions/feed back as I know no team is flawless

 

[Tinberz]

Hi. Nice team you have got and congrats on your peak!

I really like the creativity in your team, whether it's the mons or the sets. Just some quick suggestions here that you might appreciate:

You might like Pursuit on

MAbsol as the first move. Pursuit allows you to trap annoying threats to your team, such as weakened MMetagross, Gengar and Latios so they don't get to come back in and piss you off even more. I don't think you really need SD since many things force you out anyway and Iron Tail is a pretty situational option anyway. It helps that Pursuit is a pretty unconventional choice on MAbsol, meaning your opponent will more than likely switch out thinking you are going to Sucker Punch or Knock him Off.

I think you should change

Dragonite to the DD set. My rationale for this change would be that your team might want another win-con. While Band Nite is often able to break down the things that could annoy Lucario's sweep, you would prefer having DD Nite, considering how Lucario hardly has any problem breaking defensive threats at +2. Band Nite is pretty unnecessary anyway since the defensive threats that can beat Lucario don't tend to stay in on Band Nite. Running DD Nite allows you to sweep with another alternative, letting you choose your win-con based on what mons are still alive. Also, your team supports DD Nite rather well, pressuring many of its checks such as Lando-T and Slowbro. I chose to run Lum and Dragon Claw as you don't exactly have any problems breaking defensive walls while you are really prone to status.

Here is your team after my changes:

importable

Absol-Mega @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Iron Tail
- Extreme Speed

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Tail

Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Toxic

Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed

Jirachi @ Expert Belt
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 132 Atk / 124 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Iron Head
- Energy Ball
- Icy Wind
- Thunderbolt

That's it for my rate. Hope I helped, thanks for reading and have a nice day! n_n

 

[Dirkhann]

Hi. Nice team you have got and congrats on your peak!

I really like the creativity in your team, whether it's the mons or the sets. Just some quick suggestions here that you might appreciate:

You might like Pursuit on

MAbsol as the first move. Pursuit allows you to trap annoying threats to your team, such as weakened MMetagross, Gengar and Latios so they don't get to come back in and piss you off even more. I don't think you really need SD since many things force you out anyway and Iron Tail is a pretty situational option anyway. It helps that Pursuit is a pretty unconventional choice on MAbsol, meaning your opponent will more than likely switch out thinking you are going to Sucker Punch or Knock him Off.

I think you should change

Dragonite to the DD set. My rationale for this change would be that your team might want another win-con. While Band Nite is often able to break down the things that could annoy Lucario's sweep, you would prefer having DD Nite, considering how Lucario hardly has any problem breaking defensive threats at +2. Band Nite is pretty unnecessary anyway since the defensive threats that can beat Lucario don't tend to stay in on Band Nite. Running DD Nite allows you to sweep with another alternative, letting you choose your win-con based on what mons are still alive. Also, your team supports DD Nite rather well, pressuring many of its checks such as Lando-T and Slowbro. I chose to run Lum and Dragon Claw as you don't exactly have any problems breaking defensive walls while you are really prone to status.

Here is your team after my changes:

importable

Absol-Mega @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Iron Tail
- Extreme Speed

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Tail

Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Toxic

Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed

Jirachi @ Expert Belt
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 132 Atk / 124 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Iron Head
- Energy Ball
- Icy Wind
- Thunderbolt

That's it for my rate. Hope I helped, thanks for reading and have a nice day! n_n

Hi and thanks for the rate! Really appreciated. I'm kinda on the fence about DD D-nite but I've considered using it in the past since the team does support it well. It's just that D-nite is my main wallbreaker and its power may be missed. On the other hand Pursuit Sol sounds really wild and fun. With that being said I think I'm gonna test both changes for some matches and see how things go. Thanks again!

 

[ManaSamaSRK]

HI! I love this team. Tried it myself and it's quite the beast. Did notice that there were some other pokemon that did give it quite a hard time.
Weavile - Naturally outspeeds everything on the team except a scarf'd Keldeo (which heavily likely will knock off the scarf on an upcoming switch) . You don't see have any safe switches. Keldeo gets 3HKO'd by knock off. Icicle crash OHKO's both chomp and Dnite (even with multiscale), and everything else just straight up dies to its other moves (luc and absol lose to low kick/brick break, while rachi loses to knock off/sucker punch). It's not the biggest worry if you have rocks and have mid range damage, as you can easily revenge kill it off with extremespeed dnite or luc, but just wanted to put that out there.
Thundurus - Again, it basically 1 to 2hko's everything on the team. Best switch in is usually Chomp, but will just die off to a hp ice, which usually forces a double switch. Again, its not the biggest issue if you have rocks and can prio-revenge kill it or have keldeo kill it off, but it's just there.(Edit, keep in mind that i did try out the pursuit Mega Absol & DDance Dnite when using this team, as another user suggested below and found a lot of great success there, but im willing to try out the original sets too).
Outside of that, the biggest issue is that the biggest threat this team has is definitely Mega Hera. Thing is a monster vs this team and you really just have to get it low enough to revenge kill it off.
Regardless, this is a fun team! A very unique one! Glad I tried it out before the few days we have left of before sun/moon!

 

[Anime_Fan]

✧✧✧Hi Dirkhann, Anime_Fan here✧✧✧

Congrats on the ladder and team. It was fun to use and I appreciated the use of underrated Pokemon like Mega Absol in Hyper Offence (HO). When given the opportunity to set up this team becomes a force to reckon with. After reading your thread, I have some ideas that could help improve your team. In any case, your chosen playstyle with Mega Absol is fantastic so I'll be sticking with that, whilst suggesting changes that synchronise with the team. BTW thumbs up on utilising a mixed Jirachi. It's an underrated set but an excellent lure. So anyways, let's get started ^^

This Is Your Team:

Threats To The Team:

• A weakness to Ice, Flying, and Fairy-types.
• Lacks immediate power and needs to set-up to wallbreak.
• An opposing offence can overwhelm the team e.g. Mega Charizard X, plus Ghost-types are immune to your priority attacks.

Solutions You Can Try:

[Big Changes]
Conkeldurr (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 48 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spe
Adamant Nature

Mach Punch

Drain Punch

Ice Punch

Poison Jab

I recommend replacing Lucario for Sheer Force Conkeldurr. My reasoning for this is that it forms a great core with Mega Absol by luring and beating Fairies, while M-Absol KOs Psychics via Knock Off and Pursuit Trap. Conkeldurr has great bulk and a useful priority fighting-type move, which is effective against threats like Mega Lopunny, Excadrill, and Mega Gyarados. Anyhow the main perk to using Conkeldurr is its ability lure and KO fairies for Mega Absol (Poison Jab). The speed EVs is used to outpace BD Azumarill and Clefable, thus allowing Conkeldurr to one-shot them.

While Lucario is fragile and works in a similar, having to use Iron Tail can be risky. Furthermore, Lucario also needs to set up in order to wall break, plus Ghost-types like Gengar can end its sweep.

[Big Changes]
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature

Earthquake

Stealth Rock

Swords Dance

Stone Edge

Replacing Garchomp with Landorus-T will improve the teams match up against fairies, as well as physical sweepers like Mega Charizard X. I considered using U-Turn in order to give a teammate the upper hand against a switch in, however, Swords Dance was the better option as it compliments HO and gives Lando the means to handling Mega Venusaur.

A Yache Berry can be used against threats that held an ice-type move e.g. Mega Manectric, Thundurus. That said this option is very situational plus HO appreciates the chip damage from the Rocky Helmet. The EVs gives you the edge against opposing defensive Landorus-T.

[Big Changes]
Crawdaunt (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

Swords Dance

Crabhammer

Crunch

Aqua Jet

I'd replace Keldeo for Crawdaunt. This seems like strange option at first, but it will improve the team's match up against Ghost-types as well as Stall. Crawdaunt is a good replacement because it can function as a wall break and sweeper. Crunch is used because it doesn't interfere with Mega Absol's Knock Off. It also allows Crawdaunt to pressure and KO Mega Venusaur. Crawdaunt can be used to revenge kill dark and fairy-type Pokemon like Bisharp, and even Mega Gardevoir.

[Small Changes]
Absol-Mega (M) @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

Knock Off

Sucker Punch

Play Rough

Pursuit

I agree with Tinberz's suggestion on using Pursuit on Mega Absol. It gives the team a Pursuit Trapper which benefits your fighting type Pokemon. Furthermore, it gives Mega Absol surprise factor in smacking Ghost and Psychic-type Pokemon like Gengar and Mega Metagross. Something worth mentioning is that even though Superpower will see more use in OU, I believe your choice in Play Rough is very smart (due to the existence of Mega Sableye and Keldeo).

[Small Changes]
Dragonite (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature

Outrage

Extreme Speed

Fire Punch

Earthquake

Fire Punch is important for removing steel types from play, this includes Ferrothorn, M-Scizor and Skarmory. Earthquake is preferred for nailing grounded steels as well as electric types. It also provides respectable coverage with Outrage by hitting fairy-types like Azumarill for an impressive amount of damage! The set your using is innovative but it leaves Dragonite vulnerable to Mega Metagross and Mega Scizor, which may give them the opportunity to set up.

[Small Changes]
Jirachi @ Expert Belt
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 132 Atk / 160 SpA / 216 Spe
Mild Nature

Iron Head

Icy Wind

Energy Ball

Hidden Power [Ground]

You need the EVs in Sp. Atk because the lure set appreciates the extra power. Furthermore running max speed is a waste on Jirachi because a) it only has a 50% chance to outspeed the targets mentioned, b) the threats you mentioned 1HKO Jirachi, c) the wish Pokemon wishes it could 1HKO them back lol. Anyways, I believe the putting the EVs in Sp.Atk is much better, plus you could use your teammates to outspeed the threats you mentioned earlier :)

Your Team After:

With the changes made I believe the team will be better equipped for OU as it has more wallbreakers and a setup sweeper. Furthermore, with HO you want to be attacking and denting as many mons as possible so that a clean can sweep. This makes setting up second priority IMO.

So yeah, the changes also cover the threats you mentioned before like Gengar, M-Metagross, and Heracross. I hope these changes help to improve your team's performance, and I wish you lots of luck when battling. Here's a replay for the team ^^

Threats To Watch Out For:

Available On Request.
_____

Team Export:

Hide

Absol-Mega (M) @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Pursuit

Conkeldurr (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 48 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Poison Jab

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge

Crawdaunt (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Crabhammer
- Crunch
- Aqua Jet

Dragonite (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake

Jirachi @ Expert Belt
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 132 Atk / 160 SpA / 216 Spe
Mild Nature
- Iron Head
- Icy Wind
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Ground]

 

[Dirkhann]

✧✧✧Hi Dirkhann, Anime_Fan here✧✧✧

Congrats on the ladder and team. It was fun to use and I appreciated the use of underrated Pokemon like Mega Absol in Hyper Offence (HO). When given the opportunity to set up this team becomes a force to reckon with. After reading your thread, I have some ideas that could help improve your team. In any case, your chosen playstyle with Mega Absol is fantastic so I'll be sticking with that, whilst suggesting changes that synchronise with the team. BTW thumbs up on utilising a mixed Jirachi. It's an underrated set but an excellent lure. So anyways, let's get started ^^

This Is Your Team:

Threats To The Team:

• A weakness to Ice, Flying, and Fairy-types.
• Lacks immediate power and needs to set-up to wallbreak.
• An opposing offence can overwhelm the team e.g. Mega Charizard X, plus Ghost-types are immune to your priority attacks.

Solutions You Can Try:

[Big Changes]
Conkeldurr (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 48 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spe
Adamant Nature

Mach Punch

Drain Punch

Ice Punch

Poison Jab

I recommend replacing Lucario for Sheer Force Conkeldurr. My reasoning for this is that it forms a great core with Mega Absol by luring and beating Fairies, while M-Absol KOs Psychics via Knock Off and Pursuit Trap. Conkeldurr has great bulk and a useful priority fighting-type move, which is effective against threats like Mega Lopunny, Excadrill, and Mega Gyarados. Anyhow the main perk to using Conkeldurr is its ability lure and KO fairies for Mega Absol (Poison Jab). The speed EVs is used to outpace BD Azumarill and Clefable, thus allowing Conkeldurr to one-shot them.

While Lucario is fragile and works in a similar, having to use Iron Tail can be risky. Furthermore, Lucario also needs to set up in order to wall break, plus Ghost-types like Gengar can end its sweep.

[Big Changes]
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature

Earthquake

Stealth Rock

Swords Dance

Stone Edge

Replacing Garchomp with Landorus-T will improve the teams match up against fairies, as well as physical sweepers like Mega Charizard X. I considered using U-Turn in order to give a teammate the upper hand against a switch in, however, Swords Dance was the better option as it compliments HO and gives Lando the means to handling Mega Venusaur.

A Yache Berry can be used against threats that held an ice-type move e.g. Mega Manectric, Thundurus. That said this option is very situational plus HO appreciates the chip damage from the Rocky Helmet. The EVs gives you the edge against opposing defensive Landorus-T.

[Big Changes]
Crawdaunt (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

Swords Dance

Crabhammer

Crunch

Aqua Jet

I'd replace Keldeo for Crawdaunt. This seems like strange option at first, but it will improve the team's match up against Ghost-types as well as Stall. Crawdaunt is a good replacement because it can function as a wall break and sweeper. Crunch is used because it doesn't interfere with Mega Absol's Knock Off. It also allows Crawdaunt to pressure and KO Mega Venusaur. Crawdaunt can be used to revenge kill dark and fairy-type Pokemon like Bisharp, and even Mega Gardevoir.

[Small Changes]
Absol-Mega (M) @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

Knock Off

Sucker Punch

Play Rough

Pursuit

I agree with Tinberz's suggestion on using Pursuit on Mega Absol. It gives the team a Pursuit Trapper which benefits your fighting type Pokemon. Furthermore, it gives Mega Absol surprise factor in smacking Ghost and Psychic-type Pokemon like Gengar and Mega Metagross. Something worth mentioning is that even though Superpower will see more use in OU, I believe your choice in Play Rough is very smart (due to the existence of Mega Sableye and Keldeo).

[Small Changes]
Dragonite (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature

Outrage

Extreme Speed

Fire Punch

Earthquake

Fire Punch is important for removing steel types from play, this includes Ferrothorn, M-Scizor and Skarmory. Earthquake is preferred for nailing grounded steels as well as electric types. It also provides respectable coverage with Outrage by hitting fairy-types like Azumarill for an impressive amount of damage! The set your using is innovative but it leaves Dragonite vulnerable to Mega Metagross and Mega Scizor, which may give them the opportunity to set up.

[Small Changes]
Jirachi @ Expert Belt
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 132 Atk / 160 SpA / 216 Spe
Mild Nature

Iron Head

Icy Wind

Energy Ball

Hidden Power [Ground]

You need the EVs in Sp. Atk because the lure set appreciates the extra power. Furthermore running max speed is a waste on Jirachi because a) it only has a 50% chance to outspeed the targets mentioned, b) the threats you mentioned 1HKO Jirachi, c) the wish Pokemon wishes it could 1HKO them back lol. Anyways, I believe the putting the EVs in Sp.Atk is much better, plus you could use your teammates to outspeed the threats you mentioned earlier :)

Your Team After:

With the changes made I believe the team will be better equipped for OU as it has more wallbreakers and a setup sweeper. Furthermore, with HO you want to be attacking and denting as many mons as possible so that a clean can sweep. This makes setting up second priority IMO.

So yeah, the changes also cover the threats you mentioned before like Gengar, M-Metagross, and Heracross. I hope these changes help to improve your team's performance, and I wish you lots of luck when battling. Here's a replay for the team ^^

Threats To Watch Out For:

Available On Request.
_____

Team Export:

Hide

Absol-Mega (M) @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Pursuit

Conkeldurr (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 48 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Poison Jab

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge

Crawdaunt (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Crabhammer
- Crunch
- Aqua Jet

Dragonite (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake

Jirachi @ Expert Belt
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 132 Atk / 160 SpA / 216 Spe
Mild Nature
- Iron Head
- Icy Wind
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Ground]

Hi! First of all thanks for the rate, you put a lot of effort and dedication on it and I appreciate that. I understand the reasoning behind your suggestions, so I decided to give them a try. Imma be completely honest though, out of 5 games played I only won 2 and lost the other 3, thus giving me a strange feeling that something wasn't working well. I feel like maybe having both Crawdaunt and Conkeldurr was not really optimal for the team's synergy.

The reasons why I didn't feel Crawdaunt and Conk work that well are mostly because my Keldeo match up becomes much worse, since Conk takes a ton of damage upon switch in and Daunt can straight up die or take a ton. Keldeo can semi-comfortably switch into Water moves from opposing Keldeos and Lucario does slightly more to them with E-Speed than Conk does with M-Punch. Two oher match ups that become significantly harder are vs Bird spam, since both mons you suggested lose to everything on that team barring Excadrill, and vs offense/hyper offense since well, both are pretty slow.

In terms of sweeping capabilities, I think Lucario has more set up opportunities than Daunt (virtue of its better defensive typing) while retaining good wallbreaking potential, and its E-Speed is slightly better at cleaning up than Aqua Jet since there are a lot of Water resists that outspeed Crawdaunt, but there aren't many Normal resists that outspeed Lucario. Lucario still hits pretty hard right off the bat without an SD and is much faster, and while not being as good vs stall as Crawdaunt, at +2 it OHKO's a lot of mons on stall, 2HKO'ing Quagsire on the switch and OHKOing Clefable (the two Unaware users). You have to consider that the whole team helps vs Stall, it doesn't solely rely on one mon to beat it which is something every team should seek to accomplish, since no mon can single handedly 6-0 a well built Stall team. The proof is in the pudding; the team has a current Win/Loss ratio of 7-1 vs stall, despite being only 3 replays on the RMT that showcase the team against this playstyle (I didn't save the rest). So I think the squad actually has a pretty solid match up vs said teams, because yet again, the whole team contributes in beating it.

Now making a comparison between Keldeo and Crawdaunt, I also think Keldeo is better at cleaning up than Daunt since it has two STABS to pick from to sweep, whereas Daunt can only use Water moves to sweep for most of the time. But overall they provide vastly different roles, Keldeo being an offense breaker, and Crawdaunt being a stall/balance breaker.

Moving on to Conkeldurr, while it's decently bulky and very powerful, it's not really a stellar Fairy answer since it loses to more Fairy types than Lucario does, for instance max speed Azumarill and Togekiss (note that Conk's priority against a Belly Drum Azu is almost useless, whereas Luke's priority helps a lot vs it). More importantly, like I mentioned, Conkeldurr makes the team much slower and provides worse defensive synergy to the team. Similar to what I said above, there are more Fighting resists that outspeed Conkeldurr than Normal resists that outspeed Lucario.

However I do like Landorus-T on the team as it provides me with a much better Zard X and Sand Rush Drill check, giving me much more room to play around physical threats overall. And I like the way Pursuit Absol has been working on the team since while it is risky, if executed well it helps Lucario and Keldeo sooo much. So I made an alternate team with Lando-T and Pursuit Absol on it.

As for the minor suggestions: Fire Punch is OK on D-nite, dealing with Ferrothorn and M-Scizor in one slot, and can be easily implemented over Superpower. I like that suggestion. However I don't like dropping Iron Head for Earthquake, mainly because Dragonite tends to lure in many dangerous Fairy types, especially Togekiss, and it's much harder to deal with them than dealing with Heatran which is I believe the main reason of running Earthquake. Plus Heatran/Magnezone still take a lot from banded Outrage anyways, and in the case of Heatran, it's not like its a super threatening mon to switch into having Keldeo and Lando T/Garchomp on the team.

Lastly for Jirachi, the speed tier is actually super important especially for a HO team, since it's better having a 50% chance to deal some damage or even finish the opposing Pokemon off if they're weakened, than flat out losing to it and having to send another teammate. Potentially winning with Jirachi on such scenarios I mentioned means that in the late game I could have more sacks than my opponent does, thus improving my chances to win, especially in HO vs HO matches. This replay perfectly illustrates how important the speed is on Jirachi: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-480783950 . I would have lost my Jirachi turn 3 if I wasn't running max speed. My point is that having a 50% chance to attack first, while not being the optimal situation, is still much better than a 0% chance.

I sincerely feel HP Ground is too situational as I already have solid Heatran answers, literally anything on the team barring Jirachi can deal massive damage to it. So I think I'd rather run Thunderbolt to help vs Skarmory which can be really annoying (and a lot more threats). I just don't think Heatran and Magnezone are worth a whole moveslot on Jirachi.

I don't want you to think that I flat out rejected most of your suggestions. But those are really my honest feelings about them after testing them out. Like I said I made an alternate version of the team with the Lando-T set you suggested and Fire Punch D-Nite and Pursuit Absol and it's been working pretty well.

With that being said, I thank you again for the deep and detailed rate, I very much appreciate it. Best of lucks!

 

[Anime_Fan]

Hi Dirkhann,

Thank you for the reply and compliment, I couldn't agree more. Looking back, those were some "shaky" suggestions I made as I didn't given the team's type-synergy much thought (I'm sorry, lol). That said, my reasoning for that is mainly because HO team's rarely switch out and often prefer sacrificing a Pokemon. So yeah, thanks for the reply Dirkhann, it explained a lot, which helps me to revise my previous rate into this one:

Solutions You Can Try

(Update)
Lucario (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature

Close Combat

Swords Dance

Extreme Speed

Iron Tail / Crunch

I really liked the inclusion of Lucario on the team, however, I've just realised that keeping the dog with the pack has its many merits! The first of which is that it forms a great core with Latios as both members cable of beating each other's counters. Furthermore Lucario makes an excellent revenge killer by virtue of Extreme Speed, what's more it KO's problematic fairy-types with ease such as Clefable, Togekiss, and Mega Gardevoir. At +2 Lucario becomes a dangerous threat that is stopped by a few walls. Crunch has great coverage with Lucario's fighting STAB, it also stops Slowbro from being a nightmare as well. At +2 Extreme Speed, Crunch, and Close Combat 2HKO's everything Iron Tail threatens. By weakening Slowbro M-Absol can Pursuit trap it.

(Update + Small Change)
Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

Scald

Hydro Pump

Secret Sword

Icy Wind

Another Pokemon that pairs well with Latios is Keldeo. It has an excellent typing in water and fighting, which is far more efficent that my suggestion on using Conkeldurr and Crawdaunt (lol). Anyhow my advice here would be to use Icy Wind over Toxic. The reason for this is to discourage Dragonite and Mega Altaria from setting up on Keldeo. What's more speed reduction is great for deterring dragons like Latios, as well as other threats from switching in. Keldeo's resistance and ability to pressure fast teams was a smart option on your part ^^

(Big Change)
Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

Draco Meteor

Psyshock

Surf

Roost

I recommend replacing Dragonite and using Latios instead. This gives you team a well rounded wallbreak that isn't Choice-Locked and sports amazing coverage for the team. The changes I've mentioned so far provides your team with the type coverage of Dragon/Steel/Fairy and Fight/Dark/Psychic. The perk of using Latios is that it can attack on both forms of defence, furthermore its great coverage allow it punish its usual counters like Heatran and Tyranitar. Another thing to note that since Latios often lures T-tar and Tran, this provides Lucario with the chance to either set up or KO something.

Note: I thought about using Hidden Power Fire over Surf, but it didn't seem worth it since SD Landorus-T can already pressure Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, and even Skarmory (lacking Whirl Wind). Furthermore the use of Surf allows Latios to weaken its switch ins and support Lucario by beating Gliscor as well as Hippowdon.

(Big Change)
Clefable (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 6 Spe

Calm Mind

Moonblast

Soft-Boiled

Thunder Wave

Finishing off I'd add Clefable to the team due to its ability, typing and versatility. This set allows Clefable to absorb status for the team, which ironically compliments Mega Absol's Magic Bounce ability. Anyhow this biggest perk to using this set is that it can be used to stallbreak, Heatran and M-Venusaur are some of the core members used on stall teams to counter this set, however they are completely destroyed by Latios (lol). The 6 IVs allow Clefable to set up on Ferrothorn by avoiding the 2HKO. Thunder Wave deters poison and steel types from switching in e.g. M-Metagross and Gengar. The ability to cripple fast threats is appreciated by Lucario as well.

Team Export:

Hide

Absol-Mega (M) @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Pursuit

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Iron Tail

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge

Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Surf
- Roost

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 6 Spe
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave

P.S. This concludes my updated rate, what do you think? My apologies for earlier on the previous rate, they really weren't the best. I woke up this morning with the recent ideas for the this rate and it seems to work well with the mons previously used. Again, congrats job on the team, I really like it and plan to use it for laddering lol. It's very innovative and fun to play with ^^

 

[Dirkhann]

Hi Dirkhann,

Thank you for the reply and compliment, I couldn't agree more. Looking back, those were some "shaky" suggestions I made as I didn't given the team's type-synergy much thought (I'm sorry, lol). That said, my reasoning for that is mainly because HO team's rarely switch out and often prefer sacrificing a Pokemon. So yeah, thanks for the reply Dirkhann, it explained a lot, which helps me to revise my previous rate into this one:

Solutions You Can Try

(Update)
Lucario (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature

Close Combat

Swords Dance

Extreme Speed

Iron Tail / Crunch

I really liked the inclusion of Lucario on the team, however, I've just realised that keeping the dog with the pack has its many merits! The first of which is that it forms a great core with Latios as both members cable of beating each other's counters. Furthermore Lucario makes an excellent revenge killer by virtue of Extreme Speed, what's more it KO's problematic fairy-types with ease such as Clefable, Togekiss, and Mega Gardevoir. At +2 Lucario becomes a dangerous threat that is stopped by a few walls. Crunch has great coverage with Lucario's fighting STAB, it also stops Slowbro from being a nightmare as well. At +2 Extreme Speed, Crunch, and Close Combat 2HKO's everything Iron Tail threatens. By weakening Slowbro M-Absol can Pursuit trap it.

(Update + Small Change)
Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

Scald

Hydro Pump

Secret Sword

Icy Wind

Another Pokemon that pairs well with Latios is Keldeo. It has an excellent typing in water and fighting, which is far more efficent that my suggestion on using Conkeldurr and Crawdaunt (lol). Anyhow my advice here would be to use Icy Wind over Toxic. The reason for this is to discourage Dragonite and Mega Altaria from setting up on Keldeo. What's more speed reduction is great for deterring dragons like Latios, as well as other threats from switching in. Keldeo's resistance and ability to pressure fast teams was a smart option on your part ^^

(Big Change)
Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

Draco Meteor

Psyshock

Surf

Roost

I recommend replacing Dragonite and using Latios instead. This gives you team a well rounded wallbreak that isn't Choice-Locked and sports amazing coverage for the team. The changes I've mentioned so far provides your team with the type coverage of Dragon/Steel/Fairy and Fight/Dark/Psychic. The perk of using Latios is that it can attack on both forms of defence, furthermore its great coverage allow it punish its usual counters like Heatran and Tyranitar. Another thing to note that since Latios often lures T-tar and Tran, this provides Lucario with the chance to either set up or KO something.

Note: I thought about using Hidden Power Fire over Surf, but it didn't seem worth it since SD Landorus-T can already pressure Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, and even Skarmory (lacking Whirl Wind). Furthermore the use of Surf allows Latios to weaken its switch ins and support Lucario by beating Gliscor as well as Hippowdon.

(Big Change)
Clefable (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 6 Spe

Calm Mind

Moonblast

Soft-Boiled

Thunder Wave

Finishing off I'd add Clefable to the team due to its ability, typing and versatility. This set allows Clefable to absorb status for the team, which ironically compliments Mega Absol's Magic Bounce ability. Anyhow this biggest perk to using this set is that it can be used to stallbreak, Heatran and M-Venusaur are some of the core members used on stall teams to counter this set, however they are completely destroyed by Latios (lol). The 6 IVs allow Clefable to set up on Ferrothorn by avoiding the 2HKO. Thunder Wave deters poison and steel types from switching in e.g. M-Metagross and Gengar. The ability to cripple fast threats is appreciated by Lucario as well.

Team Export:

Hide

Absol-Mega (M) @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Pursuit

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Iron Tail

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge

Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Surf
- Roost

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 6 Spe
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave

P.S. This concludes my updated rate, what do you think? My apologies for earlier on the previous rate, they really weren't the best. I woke up this morning with the recent ideas for the this rate and it seems to work well with the mons previously used. Again, congrats job on the team, I really like it and plan to use it for laddering lol. It's very innovative and fun to play with ^^

Hi hi :] I see you're quite persistent hehe anyways onto your suggestions, I'll try not to write another bible this time:

- Agree on the Latios suggestion. Latios is definitely a solid alternative option to Dragonite with different perks over it, like providing a much more solid Keldeo check for instance. I think it's not necessarily better than D-Nite on this spot but it obviously brings a lot of things to the table that benefit the team (looking at M-Heracross lol).

- Agree on the Keldeo suggestion. This one mostly for M-Altaria since that thing is a huge threat to the team.

- Don't agree on the Clefable suggestion. While Clef is a great Pokemon and is extremely splashable, I do not think it fits on the team for several reasons. First it makes my match up vs Fairy types much harder since I lose my only Fairy resist, as Clef gets 2HKO'd by M-Gardevoir on the switch whereas Jirachi can switch in once and avoid the 2HKO from Hyper Voice. Another thing that gets really annoying to deal with is opposing Clefables, since Jirachi directly threatens them, and the worst thing it fears from them is T-Wave which despite being annoying, doesn't prevent Jirachi from dealing huge damage to Clef. Having my own Clef would need to set up first to kind of deal with opposing Clefables, and if the foe happens to be CM as well, it will come down to whoever crits first... Second reason is, Clefable is kind of passive for such an offensive team. Jirachi has the offensive pressence to threaten a lot of things that might want to switch into Iron Head, either hurting them with the appropiate coverage OR flinching them to death as shown in this replay: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-475677706. Whereas Clefable is hopelessly walled by Clear Smog Amoonguss, Taunt Heatran, Spdef Skamory and other annoying things. Third, Togekiss becomes extremely annoying since as nothing bar Jirachi resists Flying on the team, and Clef just can just get flinched to death without even being paralyzed beforehand.

- Don't agree on the Lucario suggestion. Mostly bc of the same reasons as above, especially the Clef match up becomes a lot harder. Without Iron Tail on Lucario, and without Jirachi and Dragonite on the team I have no real way to kill Clefable.

Thanks again however! I hope you have lots of fun laddering :] and on a side note now M-Sableye is gone I think I might need some updates for the megas that are gonna be used on stall now (Zard X, Scizor, Altaria, Venusaur and Slowbro are the main ones that come to my head). Perhaps you could give me some ideas?

 

[Anime_Fan]

Hey Dirkhann,

It's great to hear from you and not to worry as I enjoy reading your long texts lol! Anyhow, fantastic! I'm glad my second rate helped and I couldn't agree more on all the points made ^^

Mhm, Clefable does seem very passive on the HO team, that said, adding Jirachi increases the weakness to Pursuit (Latios+Jirachi). I think mixed Jirachi is a good replacement as well, particular because of its excellent coverage. I'll try these changes out as well ^^

Oh and regarding the use of crunch on Lucario, I think it's a decent option as your team will have trouble facing Slowbro. M-Absol doesn't hit hard enough, plus if it manages to set up then even Latios and Jirachi can't stop it. Could Toxic be an option on Landorus-T? Swords Dance helps fend of M-Venusaur, M-Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Clefable, however, the rest of the team can handle those Pokemon pretty well. What do you think, is using Toxic on Lando-T a good replacement over SD? Mega Slowbro, as well as regular Slowbro, are sometimes used to handle Lando-T, so Toxic might come in handy for crippling it.

DW, and thanks for the reply Dirkhann, much appreciated ^^

P.S. Omg, I've only just realised M-Sableye's been banned! This is excellent news for the meta since M-Sableye is usually annoying lol. Anyhow, there are a few Megas I can think of that could be used on stall teams. Examples include the ones you've already mentioned plus M-Steelix, Ampharos, Altaria, and Latias. Oh and maybe even Mega Swampert hahaha, but that's a terrible idea...or, is it? ( O_O ) DUN-DUN-DUUUUN

*To be continued...*

 

[Dirkhann]

Hey Dirkhann,

It's great to hear from you and not to worry as I enjoy reading your long texts lol! Anyhow, fantastic! I'm glad my second rate helped and I couldn't agree more on all the points made ^^

Mhm, Clefable does seem very passive on the HO team, that said, adding Jirachi increases the weakness to Pursuit (Latios+Jirachi). I think mixed Jirachi is a good replacement as well, particular because of its excellent coverage. I'll try these changes out as well ^^

Oh and regarding the use of crunch on Lucario, I think it's a decent option as your team will have trouble facing Slowbro. M-Absol doesn't hit hard enough, plus if it manages to set up then even Latios and Jirachi can't stop it. Could Toxic be an option on Landorus-T? Swords Dance helps fend of M-Venusaur, M-Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Clefable, however, the rest of the team can handle those Pokemon pretty well. What do you think, is using Toxic on Lando-T a good replacement over SD? Mega Slowbro, as well as regular Slowbro, are sometimes used to handle Lando-T, so Toxic might come in handy for crippling it.

DW, and thanks for the reply Dirkhann, much appreciated ^^

P.S. Omg, I've only just realised M-Sableye's been banned! This is excellent news for the meta since M-Sableye is usually annoying lol. Anyhow, there are a few Megas I can think of that could be used on stall teams. Examples include the ones you've already mentioned plus M-Steelix, Ampharos, Altaria, and Latias. Oh and maybe even Mega Swampert hahaha, but that's a terrible idea...or, is it? ( O_O ) DUN-DUN-DUUUUN

*To be continued...*

Thanks for the kind words much appreciated. And Slowbro is always painful to face wether be its base or Mega form which is why I initially had Toxic on Keldeo. But I think I can fit it on Landorus perfectly seeing as how Lando tends to lure Slowbro often. And the team already has stuff to pressure Scizor with F.Punch D-Nite, Lucario and Scald burns from Keldeo. Smart suggestion :]

Regarding the M-Sab ban it kinda hurts Absol in terms of viability. Bc it's a mon that contributed to Absol's viability. But guess we'll just have to adapt. Thanks again for everything!

P.S: Cursepert stall is fire I have a team with it

 

[starb0yy]

Hello Dirkhann this is a very nice team however there are a few weaknesses to common threats which can be annoying. First off you are very weak to mega lopunny as your best check is chip damage with garchomp on switch-in or revenge killing with scarf keldeo. Both of these are unreliable versus a levelheaded player. I would recommend changing jirachi to specially defensive skarmory with defog over spikes, as 1. not only does this allow you to clear hazards to preserve dragonites multiscale it also checks gardevoir-mega and clefable, the first of which your team does not have a solid switchin for. This set also still checks lando-t and and can switch in reliably on mega lopunny well because of its high natural physical bulk uninvested. Now that rocks can be more reliably removed I would recommend changing dragonite to the dragon dance set as it can set up a dd easier to sweep late game. This then allows you to run pursuit over swords dance on mega absol as you have another late game cleaner.

pokemon changes:

-->

smaller tweaks: band dragonite to dd dragonite, swords dance mega absol to pursuit mega absol

hope this helps have a nice day! n_n

will edit the sets on later

 

[Ktütverde]

Great team man :)

Imo pursuit absol is not that great, and you should keep SD because magic bounce provides many set up opportunities vs amoonguss and willO users! It is an amazing sweeper vs balance! Lucario 2hkos both unware users so you also have a wallbreaker. Your rachi set is amazing vs stall so a DD nite may be a better partner, since you have more trouble vs offense.
Again, your team is very cool and well-presented, and that was a pleasure to read it:)

Absol+Lucario+LureRachi <3

 

[Dirkhann]

Great team man :)

Imo pursuit absol is not that great, and you should keep SD because magic bounce provides many set up opportunities vs amoonguss and willO users! It is an amazing sweeper vs balance! Lucario 2hkos both unware users so you also have a wallbreaker. Your rachi set is amazing vs stall so a DD nite may be a better partner, since you have more trouble vs offense.
Again, your team is very cool and well-presented, and that was a pleasure to read it:)

Absol+Lucario+LureRachi <3

Thanks for the kind words man much appreciated! Been trying DD Dnite and sometimes I miss the power from Band. Anyways glad you liked the team :] and well yeah I think both SD and Pursuit have their uses. I'll be uploading some more replays soon

 

[Asp Regent]

I tried out this team and I keep getting rekt by Serp. How do deal with him?

 

[Dirkhann]

I tried out this team and I keep getting rekt by Serp. How do deal with him?

E-Speed spam + scarf secret sword jirachi can take a +2 hp fire and iron head

 

[Dirkhann]

Hello Dirkhann this is a very nice team however there are a few weaknesses to common threats which can be annoying. First off you are very weak to mega lopunny as your best check is chip damage with garchomp on switch-in or revenge killing with scarf keldeo. Both of these are unreliable versus a levelheaded player. I would recommend changing jirachi to specially defensive skarmory with defog over spikes, as 1. not only does this allow you to clear hazards to preserve dragonites multiscale it also checks gardevoir-mega and clefable, the first of which your team does not have a solid switchin for. This set also still checks lando-t and and can switch in reliably on mega lopunny well because of its high natural physical bulk uninvested. Now that rocks can be more reliably removed I would recommend changing dragonite to the dragon dance set as it can set up a dd easier to sweep late game. This then allows you to run pursuit over swords dance on mega absol as you have another late game cleaner.

pokemon changes:

-->

smaller tweaks: band dragonite to dd dragonite, swords dance mega absol to pursuit mega absol

hope this helps have a nice day! n_n

will edit the sets on later

Thanks, Skarmory might work in some situations but it's too passive and therefore I don't think it can fill Jirachi's spot