SM OU Mega Houndoom OU Team

Uncle Jemimah

Uncle Jemimah

houndoom-mega.gif
greninja-ash.gif
tapu bulu.gif
latias.gif
landorus-therian.gif
kartana.gif



So I went through quite a few changes based on everyone's feedback. Thank you everyone for your input so far. I haven't been able to test it that much yet since I've been busy, but I do feel the changes have improved the team. I also caved in and used Lando lol.



houndoom-mega.gif

Houndoom-Mega @ Houndoominite Ability: Solar Power EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe Timid Nature IVs: 0 Atk
Dark Pulse - Fire Blast - Nasty Plot - Hidden Power [Fighting]
So starting with Houndoom, I feel he is a very underrated mon and can do a great deal of damage to any team if able to set up. Able to outspeed most unboosted and unscarfed mons. I changed Sludge Bomb to HP Fighting as I do agree on not seeing Fini as much. After I do some more testing I may switch to Taunt or Wisp depending on what I'm playing against a lot and need help with.


greninja-ash.gif

Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs Ability: Battle Bond EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe Timid Nature
Water Shuriken - Hydro Pump - Dark Pulse - Spikes
My favorite starter evolution. Once he becomes Ash Greninja, he becomes an amazing damage dealer and revenge killer. A little meh before that, but still does ok damage. So I did end up switching U-Turn for Spikes. Think it does help more in the long run and I have Lando now to keep some momentum with U-Turn.


tapu bulu.gif

Tapu Bulu @ Assault Vest Ability: Grassy Surge EVs: 248 HP / 60 Atk / 56 SpD / 144 Spe Adamant Nature
Horn Leech - Wood Hammer - Superpower - Nature's Madness
This used to be Tangrowth. I think you all told me to use Bulu over Tangrowth so I went ahead with the change. I do like the added special bulk and being able to keep some momentum going with strong attacks or early game taking half hp off a mon with Nature's Madness.


latias.gif

Latias @ Soul Dew Ability: Levitate EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe - Nature IVs: 0 Atk
Draco Meteor - Psyshock - Healing Wish - Defog
This used to be Cresselia. I like having the faster Healing Wish as well as a mon that's not as passive. I went with Soul Dew over Scarf, because I have a scarfer already and this doesn't make me automatically lose a mon for nothing vs Pursuit if I have to Defog. While yes Latias will most likely die, I can at least fire off a Draco or Healing Wish before.


landorus-therian.gif

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers Ability: Intimidate EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe Impish Nature
U-turn - Stealth Rock - Earthquake - Hidden Power [Ice]
This used to be Garchomp. I caved and switched to Lando because I needed a bulky def mon with the switch from Cress to Latias. I needed to keep my Stealth Rocker though and the obvious choice was imo the best mon in the tier.


kartana.gif

Kartana @ Choice Scarf Ability: Beast Boost EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe Jolly Nature
Knock Off - Leaf Blade - Sacred Sword - Smart Strike
My main revenge killer before Greninja transforms. Hits extremely hard without any kind of boosts and can clean up late game with the help of Beast Boost. I removed Defog since I put that on Latias so it opened up to have 4 attacking moves.

Conclusion

So here is the updated team. This could still change as I'm going to test it some more. Been having fun with a few other teams I've made, but looking to use this one again. Let me know your opinions on this.

Houndoom-Mega @ Houndoominite
Ability: Solar Power
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Nasty Plot
- Hidden Power [Fighting]

Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Water Shuriken
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Spikes

Tapu Bulu @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Atk / 56 SpD / 144 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Nature's Madness
- Horn Leech
- Wood Hammer
- Superpower

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

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Kartana @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Smart Strike
 
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u have a little bit of a weakness to strong fighting types like conkeldurr given that half your team is weak to fighting type moves along with having no physical defense investment on the cresselia. other than that, its cool to see mega houndoom on a team although i think he is the best he can be with a sun team.
update: after some calcs everything on this team gets at least 2hkod by the standard guts conkeldurr
 
GanGstaPanda33 said:
u have a little bit of a weakness to strong fighting types like conkeldurr given that half your team is weak to fighting type moves along with having no physical defense investment on the cresselia. other than that, its cool to see mega houndoom on a team although i think he is the best he can be with a sun team.
update: after some calcs everything on this team gets at least 2hkod by the standard guts conkeldurr
Click to expand...

Hmm yeah, I didn't notice because I haven't played against a Conkeldurr with this team. The other fighting types I've played against I didn't have too much trouble with. I'll update the team a bit and give Cress Psychic and some more defense ev's. If it's assault vest Durr, than unless I paralyze him he can't 2hko Tangrowth with ice punch and if he's flame orb, Cress can take one knock off and still survive mach punch to get a psychic off which should be good to have him revenge killed by everything except Tangrowth, especially with any residual damage from flame orb and rocks if they're up. That's all I can think of doing unless you have suggestions?

Also I have a sun team around Mega Houndoom too, but I don't like any sun setters besides zard-y. I use Tangrowth as my sun setter in that team and shuckle as a back up and sticky web setter. It's a fun team, but not that good lol
 
Hi, cool team. Is there any particular reason you want to use Tangrowth over AV Tapu Bulu? With terrain Horn Leech it still has decent recovery and terrain can also help Houndoom out against Earthquake. If regenerator is your main attraction, then Toxapex is also an option as it checks a plethora of threats to Houndoom and you have Greninja, Kartana and Cressilia to threaten Ground types offensively and defensively.

Both these options give you an additional Fighting resist, however they are more specially defensively inclined as opposed to Tangrowth. However if you swapped Cressilia out for Bold Clefable you get a nice Physical Wall that can WishPass and also Calm Mind up to provide some good Special Bulk and offensive presence. Its a pretty decent soft Ground check too, but this may be more attractive when using Bulu. Clefable also has much better defensive typing than Cressilia and both carry Thunder Wave if that is something you deem important.

Just some suggestions I hope this helped here are the sets I'm refering to:
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- Protect
- Wish
- Knock Off/Calm Mind

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic

Tapu Bulu @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Atk / 56 SpD / 144 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Wood Hammer
- Superpower
- Stone Edge
 
This team looks like a pretty typical offence, which makes some of its more odd choices seem pretty suspect.

Firstly, why does Houndoom have Sludge Bomb? I guess it hits Fini, but realistically who's running Fini nowadays? HP Ground or Taunt would make it much harder for Toxapex or Chansey to cleanly switch in.

As the above poster says, Tangrowth is an odd choice. It's a great switchin, but so is AV Bulu, Offensive Magnezone, etc. Tangrowth's offensive presence is lackluster here.

Although TankChomp works here, it leaves the team basically unable to deal with Toxapex. Offensive Rocks lead would work better, I think. I don't think it's likely to work well as a sweeper check, as you're going to want to get rocks up ASAP with a team like this. You have good speed control in Kartana and Thunder Wave can cripple mosts setup sweepers anyway. In this case, I'd probably make Cress defensive rather than mixed, as your AV will be a special switchin, and you'll lack a good physical switchin.
 
Basically, Garchomp is just outclassed by either Landorus or Hippowdon as a Stealth Rocker or defensive Ground type. Cresselia stops momentum for an otherwise fairly offensive team, but if you want to use a defensive support mon, Toxapex covers your weakness to Fighting and Fire types and synergizes well with Tangrowth, and while it also halts momentum, it can Scald burn and set up Toxic Spike layers.
 
togkey said:
Basically, Garchomp is just outclassed by either Landorus or Hippowdon as a Stealth Rocker or defensive Ground type. Cresselia stops momentum for an otherwise fairly offensive team, but if you want to use a defensive support mon, Toxapex covers your weakness to Fighting and Fire types and synergizes well with Tangrowth, and while it also halts momentum, it can Scald burn and set up Toxic Spike layers.
Click to expand...
What do you think could work better in this case? Offensive Lando-T or Hippo for a bit more defense? Or just regular defensive Lando-T?
 
First of all, I'd change the Houndoom set. As TheTapDancer said, Sludge Bomb only realistically covers Tapu Fini, which is not too common in OU. He mentioned HP Ground or Taunt, both of which are viable options, but I think that HP Fighting can be useful for Tyranitar that may think it walls you.
+2 252 SpA Houndoom-Mega Hidden Power Fighting vs. 80 HP / 4 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 368-436 (101.9 - 120.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

I also agree with him in the sense that I feel like Tapu Bulu is a greater option that Tangrowth as it applies more offensive pressure while still giving you checks to Zygarde (non-Iron Tail), Greninja (Battle Bond) and Keldeo. Altervisi put the Tapu Bulu set.

Next, I suggest changing Greninja from having U-Turn to Spikes. U-Turning on a Keldeo/Tapu Fini/Toxapex/Tapu Bulu is less profitable for you than getting a Spike up as they switch in (I don't recommend Spiking on these mons though!), as you have switch ins to these counters. Houndom appreciates Spikes support as well, as do the rest of your team.

As for Cresselia, I think that Latias does its job better while still keeping with the offensive theme you have going on. It gives you a quicker Healing Wish and also allows for speedy Dracos, which are never bad!
I would go with this set:
Latias (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Healing Wish

Next, I would change the Garchomp to a Landorus-Therian. It does the same job while providing an extra ground immunity and gives you the U-Turn option. Here's a set you could use.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Def / 24 SpD / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock

Lastly, we have Kartana. We could keep it as a Scarfed variant, which appreciates the Grassy Terrain from Bulu, but if you think having 2 scarfers is too many, we could change it either a Swords Dance variant with a Z-move or the Timid set. Here they are, feel free to experiment.
Kartana @ Grassium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Smart Strike
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Swords Dance

Kartana @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Smart Strike
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Swords Dance

Omaeo wa mou (Kartana) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 19 Atk
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword

I hope you find this useful. If you have any questions with anything, give me a shout! :)
 
If you change Cresselia to Toxapex, then probably Hippowdown, since Hawlucha and Tapu Koko can threaten your team otherwise.

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Toxic / Whirlwind

this also soft-checks / checks Magearna, Heatran, and Tyranitar, all of which are huge problems for Houdoom.

Also, he said he didn't want to use Lando :P

I'd change Sludge Bomb on Houndoom to Hidden Power Fighting, Taunt, or Wil-o-Wisp, which can help break through certain Houndoom checks, help vs stall, or cripple opposing pokemon, respectively.
 
togkey said:
If you change Cresselia to Toxapex, then probably Hippowdown, since Hawlucha and Tapu Koko can threaten your team otherwise.

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Toxic / Whirlwind

this also soft-checks / checks Magearna, Heatran, and Tyranitar, all of which are huge problems for Houdoom.

Also, he said he didn't want to use Lando :P

I'd change Sludge Bomb on Houndoom to Hidden Power Fighting, Taunt, or Wil-o-Wisp, which can help break through certain Houndoom checks, help vs stall, or cripple opposing pokemon, respectively.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I didn't get the Lando bit >.<

I guess Togkey's answer of Hippowdon works too.
 
Altervisi said:
Hi, cool team. Is there any particular reason you want to use Tangrowth over AV Tapu Bulu? With terrain Horn Leech it still has decent recovery and terrain can also help Houndoom out against Earthquake. If regenerator is your main attraction, then Toxapex is also an option as it checks a plethora of threats to Houndoom and you have Greninja, Kartana and Cressilia to threaten Ground types offensively and defensively.

Both these options give you an additional Fighting resist, however they are more specially defensively inclined as opposed to Tangrowth. However if you swapped Cressilia out for Bold Clefable you get a nice Physical Wall that can WishPass and also Calm Mind up to provide some good Special Bulk and offensive presence. Its a pretty decent soft Ground check too, but this may be more attractive when using Bulu. Clefable also has much better defensive typing than Cressilia and both carry Thunder Wave if that is something you deem important.

Just some suggestions I hope this helped here are the sets I'm refering to:
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- Protect
- Wish
- Knock Off/Calm Mind

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic

Tapu Bulu @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Atk / 56 SpD / 144 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Wood Hammer
- Superpower
- Stone Edge
Click to expand...

I went ahead with the Bulu change. Regenerator was the main thing, because I tend to make a lot of mistakes and that helps being able to just switch for HP lol these changes could help me improve and be smarter though. I decided to go all out with offense though now so I feel Pex and Clef might halt this too much, but I could be wrong. Let me know what you think of the changes.
 
TheTapDancer said:
This team looks like a pretty typical offence, which makes some of its more odd choices seem pretty suspect.

Firstly, why does Houndoom have Sludge Bomb? I guess it hits Fini, but realistically who's running Fini nowadays? HP Ground or Taunt would make it much harder for Toxapex or Chansey to cleanly switch in.

As the above poster says, Tangrowth is an odd choice. It's a great switchin, but so is AV Bulu, Offensive Magnezone, etc. Tangrowth's offensive presence is lackluster here.

Although TankChomp works here, it leaves the team basically unable to deal with Toxapex. Offensive Rocks lead would work better, I think. I don't think it's likely to work well as a sweeper check, as you're going to want to get rocks up ASAP with a team like this. You have good speed control in Kartana and Thunder Wave can cripple mosts setup sweepers anyway. In this case, I'd probably make Cress defensive rather than mixed, as your AV will be a special switchin, and you'll lack a good physical switchin.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. Yeah it was for Fini, but I guess you're right. I've switched this to HP Fighting for TTar since HP Ground and Dark Pulse do pretty equal damage to Pex. I could switch this to Taunt or Wisp in the future though. I made quite a few changes though to the team.
 
Diophantine said:
First of all, I'd change the Houndoom set. As TheTapDancer said, Sludge Bomb only realistically covers Tapu Fini, which is not too common in OU. He mentioned HP Ground or Taunt, both of which are viable options, but I think that HP Fighting can be useful for Tyranitar that may think it walls you.
+2 252 SpA Houndoom-Mega Hidden Power Fighting vs. 80 HP / 4 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 368-436 (101.9 - 120.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

I also agree with him in the sense that I feel like Tapu Bulu is a greater option that Tangrowth as it applies more offensive pressure while still giving you checks to Zygarde (non-Iron Tail), Greninja (Battle Bond) and Keldeo. Altervisi put the Tapu Bulu set.

Next, I suggest changing Greninja from having U-Turn to Spikes. U-Turning on a Keldeo/Tapu Fini/Toxapex/Tapu Bulu is less profitable for you than getting a Spike up as they switch in (I don't recommend Spiking on these mons though!), as you have switch ins to these counters. Houndom appreciates Spikes support as well, as do the rest of your team.

As for Cresselia, I think that Latias does its job better while still keeping with the offensive theme you have going on. It gives you a quicker Healing Wish and also allows for speedy Dracos, which are never bad!
I would go with this set:
Latias (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Healing Wish

Next, I would change the Garchomp to a Landorus-Therian. It does the same job while providing an extra ground immunity and gives you the U-Turn option. Here's a set you could use.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Def / 24 SpD / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock

Lastly, we have Kartana. We could keep it as a Scarfed variant, which appreciates the Grassy Terrain from Bulu, but if you think having 2 scarfers is too many, we could change it either a Swords Dance variant with a Z-move or the Timid set. Here they are, feel free to experiment.
Kartana @ Grassium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Smart Strike
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Swords Dance

Kartana @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Smart Strike
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Swords Dance

Omaeo wa mou (Kartana) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 19 Atk
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword

I hope you find this useful. If you have any questions with anything, give me a shout! :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback! I made quite a few changes. I caved and went with Lando, but went a little more defensive. As far as Latias, I like Kartana better as the scarfer and decided to go with Soul Dew over scarf. I feel this doesn't screw vs Pursuit if I have to Defog, as while it'll die I can at least gain something from it. Let me know what you think!
 
togkey said:
If you change Cresselia to Toxapex, then probably Hippowdown, since Hawlucha and Tapu Koko can threaten your team otherwise.

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Toxic / Whirlwind

this also soft-checks / checks Magearna, Heatran, and Tyranitar, all of which are huge problems for Houdoom.

Also, he said he didn't want to use Lando :P

I'd change Sludge Bomb on Houndoom to Hidden Power Fighting, Taunt, or Wil-o-Wisp, which can help break through certain Houndoom checks, help vs stall, or cripple opposing pokemon, respectively.
Click to expand...

Thank you for you're feedback. I did end up going with Lando as it's unfortunately just way too good and fit right in with the changes I made. I did end up going a lot more offensive with my changes, so let me know what you think.
 
Uncle Jemimah said:
Thanks for the feedback! I made quite a few changes. I caved and went with Lando, but went a little more defensive. As far as Latias, I like Kartana better as the scarfer and decided to go with Soul Dew over scarf. I feel this doesn't screw vs Pursuit if I have to Defog, as while it'll die I can at least gain something from it. Let me know what you think!
Click to expand...
Hmmm. I think Latias is great as a scarfer, though I can see your reasoning for keeping Kartana as your designated Scarfed mon. I don't think there's a right answer to this. Alternatively, you could make this into a Chansey offense team and switch the Cresselia/Latias for a Chansey with Healing Wish
Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Healing Wish
- Soft-Boiled
- Stealth Rock / {Toxic / Thunder Wave} (if you want Landorus to remain defensive)
- Seismic Toss
. This then gives you more lee-way to use a more offensive Landorus without Stealth Rocks. Some sets could include
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fly
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Gravity

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Groundium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Gravity
- Hidden Power [Ice]
 
Diophantine said:
Hmmm. I think Latias is great as a scarfer, though I can see your reasoning for keeping Kartana as your designated Scarfed mon. I don't think there's a right answer to this. Alternatively, you could make this into a Chansey offense team and switch the Cresselia/Latias for a Chansey with Healing Wish
Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Healing Wish
- Soft-Boiled
- Stealth Rock / {Toxic / Thunder Wave} (if you want Landorus to remain defensive)
- Seismic Toss
. This then gives you more lee-way to use a more offensive Landorus without Stealth Rocks. Some sets could include
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fly
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Gravity

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Groundium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Gravity
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Click to expand...


Hmm you don't think Chansey is too passive?
 
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