SM OU Mega Mawile+Ash-Greninja (Peaked 1400s)

[Chunjii]

First RMT ever, here we go!

INTRODUCTION:​

Hi all :]. I've been playing Pokemon Showdown for a month now using other RMTs, sample teams, and teams from Youtubers like pokeaim and emvee. I've played in the OU tier for quite a while (admitted mainly in the lower ladder since I'm such a noob :')) and I thought I try to create a team. This is my first team I ever made this gen. Help is appreciated and please be kind with the criticism lol.

TEAMBUILDING PROCESS:

I decided for my first team to be around this awesome core of Mega Mawile and Ash Greninja. I'm pretty sure everyone knows how potent this core is, as their offensive synergy is insane.

This was my first iteration of this team. I added Clefable as it is a great Stealth Rocker and has nice Wish support. Since I needed a check to Tapu Lele, I added Ferrothorn with its great stats, Leech seed recovery, and it also added a nice Tapu Koko resist. Rotom and Torn-T were also added since they formed a nice Voltturn core with each other. However, I struggled with setup sweepers, especially Flyinium Z Gyarados, which is quite common in the lower ladder.

I took out Ferrothorn and replaced it with Tangrowth since I liked Tangrowth's ability to regain health while still being a mixed wall with Assault Vest. I also removed Rotom-W for Toxapex with Payapa Berry because it had Haze and reliable recovery. However, Flyinium Z Gyarados became an even bigger problem and I was forced to rely on Mawile's Sucker Punch and Toxapex's Haze to remove it since there is no speed control on this team. Also, I never really used Clefable's wish anyways, so I decided to revamp the whole team...

This is my revamp and the current team. I added SpDef Heatran, as it dealed with dangerous special attackers. Tapu Bulu was added too since its Grassy Terrain helped deal with Zygarde and other ground types. Rock Z Garchomp pressures many Defoggers in the tier and Lando-T is there for speed control. Now onto the sets..

THE SETS:

Mawile-Mega @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Thunder Punch​

One of the main stars of this team, Mega Mawile is a fantastic wallbreaker, cleaner, and occasionally stallbreaker. Swords Dance raises Mawile's attack to terrifying levels, letting it OHKO mons that don't resist the rest of its moveset. Play Rough is the main STAB move and has great coverage. Sucker Punch allows Mega Mawile to hit faster Pokemon like Kartana and Landorus-Therian. Finally, I chose Thunder Punch instead of Knock Off as it makes the Toxapex matchup much easier and can hit Celesteela and Gyarados as well. I prefer Intimidate as the pre-evolution ability since it helps Mawile more likely to survive an Earthquake or any super-effective physical move.

Spread Explanation:​

This is a pretty standard EV spread for Mega Mawile. 252 Attack EVs with an Adamant Nature gives Mawile its insane power. 164 Speed EVs let it outspeed Sassy Mega Venusaur, Skarmory, and every Pokemon slower than that. The rest of the EVs go into Health to increase its bulk.

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

The other star along with Mawile, Ash Greninja is the main special wallbreaker and cleaner for this team. This moveset is very standard. Choice Specs is held to add increase the power of all attacking moves. Hydro Pump is the strongest attack, dealing massive damage to neutral Pokemon and pressuring bulk Pokemon once Greninja has transformed. Dark Pulse has great neutral or super-effective coverage on Pokemon like Ferrothorn and Latios. Water Shuriken's priority lets it kill weakened Pokemon and with Battle Bond activated, it becomes a brutally strong move that puts offensive teams under immense pressure. It is also an accurate alternative to Hydro Pump. Since Ash Greninja puts so much pressure on teams, it can set up Spikes on defensive Pokemon.

Spread Explanation:
Standard EVs for Ash Greninja

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 136 SpD / 120 Spe
Calm Nature
- Toxic
- Earth Power
- Lava Plume
- Taunt​

I added Heatran as a needed check to special attackers, especially Tapu Lele since its Psychic Terrain is very troublesome for Mawile and Greninja. I chose Lava Plume since it is more accurate than Magma Storm (doesn't piss me off xD), can hit other Steel types well, and possibly spread burn to dangerous physical attackers. Earth Power allows Heatran to hit Toxapex, Tyranitar, and other Heatran for super effective damage. Taunt can shut down utility mons like Clefable, Chansey, and Toxapex. Toxic lets Heatran cripple many offensive Pokemon.

Spread Explanation:​

252 HP EVs and 136 SpD EVs with a Calm Nature let Heatran survive a Focus Blast from unboosted Tapu Lele and Alakazam and handle other special attackers like Blacephalon and Magearna. The rest of the EVs are put into Speed to let it outspeed Adamant Choice Band Tyranitar and Modest Magnezone.

• 252 SpA Tapu Lele Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 136+ SpD Heatran: 200-236 (51.8 - 61.1%) -- 94.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252 SpA Alakazam-Mega Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 136+ SpD Heatran: 248-294 (64.2 - 76.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• +2 252 SpA Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 136+ SpD Heatran: 222-262 (57.5 - 67.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252 SpA Magearna Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 136+ SpD Heatran: 200-236 (51.8 - 61.1%) -- 94.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Tapu Bulu @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Protect​

The team so far has a pretty big weakness to Ground types, especially Zygarde. In order to remedy this, I added Tapu Bulu instead of Tangrowth because I liked the fact that Grassy Terrain provides passive recovery and lessens the power of Ground-type moves. It also has great defensive synergy with Heatran. Swords Dance lets Tapu Bulu break through passive Pokemon like Clefable and Reuniclus. Horn Leech is the main STAB move, having a nice damage output and providing nice recovery for Tapu Bulu. Superpower lets Tapu Bulu deal super-effective damage to Steel types, like Kartana and Ferrothorn. Protect lets Tapu Bulu scout moves from offensive Pokemon like scarf Greninja and gain additional recovery. Leftovers provides more passive recovery when paired with Grassy Surge

Spread Explanation:​

248 HP EVs and max SpD EVs with a Careful Nature lets Tapu Bulu live strong super-effective hits like Heatran's Magma Storm and Torn-T's Hurricane.

• 0 SpA Tornadus-Therian Hurricane vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Tapu Bulu: 192-228 (55.9 - 66.4%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery and Grassy Terrain recovery
• 252 SpA Heatran Magma Storm vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Tapu Bulu: 246-290 (71.7 - 84.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery, Grassy Terrain recovery, and trapping damage
• 252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Tapu Bulu: 113-133 (32.9 - 38.7%) -- 96.6% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery and Grassy Terrain recovery

Garchomp @ Rockium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock​

I needed a Stealth Rocker on the team, so I decided to use my favorite pseudo-legendary: Garchomp! Rock Z Garchomp is a great Stealth Rocker because it can offensively pressure many common Defoggers like Zapdos and Torn-T. Stealth Rock makes it easier for Mawile and Greninja to wallbreak since it passively damages the other side. Swords Dance lets Garchomp boost its attack to damage physical walls more. Stone Edge hits Flying type Pokemon very hard and has pretty good coverage. Earthquake is the main STAB move, letting it hit many neutral mons hard, although I have to be aware of Grassy Terrain from Tapu Bulu though.

Spread Explanation:
Standard max Attack and Speed EVs to maximize its power and speed.

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 244 Atk / 68 Def / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Defog
- Explosion​

Finally, we have our last mon, Landorus-Therian, the king of OU himself! I chose Landorus-Therian as speed control for the team since I don't want to lose to setup sweepers. Earthquake is the main STAB move that hits hard on any mon that doesn't resist it. U-turn lets it bring in other Pokemon safely into the field and gain momentum. Defog is for hazard removal and Explosion OHKOs setup mons like Volcarona and Gyarados before they get too dangerous.

Spread Explanation:​

196 Speed EVs with a Choice Scarf let Landorus outspeed Mega Alakazam by one point. 68 Def EVs let Landorus survive a +2 Acrobatics from Hawlucha. The rest goes to Attack to maximize damage.

THREATLIST:

This core can be pretty annoying to play around since my team is threatened by their STAB moves.

Bulky pokemon can be really annoying to play around, especially if it is stall. The two above are just examples of these Pokemon.

I'm pretty sure there are other threats I don't know about, though.


CONCLUSION:​

Overall, I'm pretty happy with this team, especially since it's my first attempt at making a competitive team. I peaked with this team in the 1400s though lol. I also forgot to save replays (I hope this doesn't get taken down because of that lol). Anyways, if you made it all the way to the bottom, thank you for reading and I really do want some advice on how to improve the team :).

​

 

[Diophantine]

Hey there Chunjii, this looks like a really solid team. There are a few small things I would change, however.

I would personally change the Tapu Bulu set to Bulk Up instead of SD. This is so that other Tapu Bulu do not cause you too many problems, as you can't really switch into them easily. It still lets you overpower Clefable (non-Cosmic Power), and for Reuniclus you have an Ash Greninja.

An optional change is Synthesis over Protect on Tapu Bulu. This is to be able to live longer to be able to check opposing Ash Greninja. Over the course of the battle, Greninja players can outplay their check by getting spikes up and chipping the Bulu over time. Synthesis helps you with this kind of stuff.

Another thing to think about is the counter-productive Grassy Terrain + two Earthquake users. Some other people have started to use Stomping Tantrum (only Earthquake is affected by Terrain, not other Ground type attacks) on Garchomp over Earthquake if they have a Tapu Bulu on their team. While the power drop (outside of terrain) is very noticeable, this means that you aren't self-limiting your Garchomp. With Swords Dance, you are still able to hit hard with it. This is an optional change, but is one worth considering. This may even help you out against Mega Aggron, as you aren't beating it in Terrain otherwise.

I think your team isn't TOO bad against stall. Greninja is able to get Spikes up on non-Sableye stalls and Mawile pressures Sableye stalls itself. If you wanted a better matchup, you could change Mawile to Substitute + Focus Punch over Sucker Punch and Swords Dance, though that would make you weaker to Alakazam (which you are already kind of weak to).

Not much else I would change, to be honest. This is a nice, standard and solid team. Nice one.

 

[Chunjii]

Hey Diophantine,

Thanks for the awesome suggestions! I did notice two Earthquake users + Tapu Bulu would be weird, but I had no other better ideas. I never considered using Stomping Tantrum before because I thought its power would drop as well, so I'm gonna use it. The changes in Tapu Bulu's set look really nice as well.

Since I am in the lower ladder (1100s :[), there are a quite a number of teams using Flyinium Z Gyarados, which becomes a massive threat to my team even at +1 (or at least I think so lol). I was thinking of using Phys Def Zapdos since it could also defog, but I wouldn't have speed control anymore. Should I change something to remedy this?