Hi guys! This is my first ORAS OU rate my team.
I haven't played a lot of OU in a long time but recently started back after playing almost exclusively VGC for the last two years. I am not a fan of the 2016 format, so I began playing Doubles OU. I eventually came back around to singles because I wanted to try out some Pokemon that are not viable in doubles. That brings us to Pidgeot.
I was excited when Mega Pidgeot was revealed in ORAS, since Pidgeot has not been usable in any format throughout its entire existence. I wanted to build a team around M-Pidgeot, and the Volturn play-style appeals to me because of the aggressiveness and continuous momentum. This is what I ended up with:
Pidgeot @ Pidgeotite
Ability - Big Pecks -> No Guard
Nature - Timid
EVs - 4 HP 252 SPA 252 SPE
Moves
Hurricane
Heat Wave
U-turn
Hyper Beam
The Pidgeot I have been using is pretty standard. The main appeal of Pidgeot is No Guard Hurricane. PIdgeot has a very good 135 base Special Attack that makes a STAB Hurricane hit anything that doesn't resist it pretty hard. Heat Wave is a great coverage move for Pidgeot. Most Steel types would otherwise wall it. U-Turn combined with Pidgeot's high speed stat allows it to get a bit of chip damage on checks that switch in. Hyper Beam was originally Hidden Power Ground, because Heatran completely walls Pidgeot. I found that I did not use HP Ground because my team has some other ways to deal with Heatran. Hyper Beam helps against the Pokemon this team struggles most with: Rotom-W. Big Pecks is the only one of normal Pidgeot's abilities that has the potential to be useful. The EVs and Nature are to maximize speed and damage output. Timid nature is important for outspeeding things like Keldeo and Terrakion.
Landorus-T @ Rocky Helmet
Ability - Intimidate
Nature - Impish
EVs - 248 HP 244 DEF 8 SPD 8 SPE
Moves
Stealth Rock
Earthquake
Stone Edge
U-turn
I mentioned that Pidgeot is completely walled by Heatran. I needed at least a couple of ways to deal with Heatran, and I also wanted entry hazard support. Stealth Rock support is great for this team because of the number of switches that it forces. Rocky Helmet combined with Intimidate and the defensive bulk makes Landorus-T a very good check to a lot of physical attackers. This also forces switches and helps keep up momentum. Its high attack stat lets it hit hard even without investment. This Pokemon is a top tier threat in pretty much every format and is really solid overall. The EVs could probably be better since I just took them from the Smogon dex, but I feel like this Landorus-T has worked well for me so far.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability - Natural Cure
Nature - Timid
EVs - 252 HP 4 SPA 252 SPE
Moves
Rapid Spin
Scald
Ice Beam
Recover
Pidgeot is weak to Stealth Rock, and both Pidgeot and Landorus-T are weak to Ice type moves. Starmie is one of the top entry hazard removers in the game and also provides a Ice type resist. I prefered Starmie over Excadrill for its defensive typing and offensive coverage. Rapid spin gets rid of the entry hazards that can quickly wear down my team. Scald is a great move for the burn chance utility. Ice Beam is mainly for opposing Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Dragonite. Landorus-T and Garchomp are two of the most common Stealth Rock setters and Starmie can outspeed and get the KO in most cases. Ice Beam is used over Psyshock because this team has other options to deal with things that are hit by Psyshock. Pidgeot and Tornadus-T do well against Mega Venusaur and Keldeo so it is not really needed. Recover and Leftovers are to increase Starmie's longevity since it is not overly bulky even with max HP investment.
Magnezone @ Life Orb
Ability - Magnet Pull
Nature - Modest
EVs - 84 HP 84 DEF 252 SPA 4 SPD 84 SPE
Moves
Volt Switch
Thunderbolt
Hidden Power Fire
Flash Cannon
I felt pretty afraid of Steel types when I was making this team. Magnezone is capable of removing most Steel types with its amazing ability. Magnezone has a big Special Attack stat that lets its Volt Switch do a good chunk to most things on its way out. Thunderbolt is for when I don't want to switch out and deal some extra damage. Hidden Power Fire is for things like Scizor and Ferrothorn. Flash Cannon is a strong STAB that does good damage to Fairies. Life Orb is just for extra damage output to help deal with bulkier Pokemon. I was thinking of trying Air Balloon, since this Magnezone struggles with Excadrill. The EVs are my own attempt. The speed lets it be faster than uninvested Skarmory. The defense lets it survive some non STAB Superpowers from things like Dragonite and Landorus-T. I'm not entirely sure what I should be EVing for on Magnezone.
Darmanitan @ Choice Scarf
Ability - Sheer Force
Nature - Jolly
EVs - 4 HP 252 ATK 252 SPE
Moves
Flare Blitz
U-turn
Superpower
Rock Slide
Darmanitan is a pure glass cannon. Do not let it's good HP stat distract you from its terrible defenses. Fortunately it has a huge attack stat and good speed. Scarf Darmanitan is very good for early game quick U-turns and can really chunk teams after certain Pokemon are gone. It, along with Tornadus-T, is my best answer for Chansey. It does well against some other things that wall Pidgeot, such as Heatran. Flare Blitz is a very powerful move and gets STAB from Darmanitan. Superpower is for Chansey and Heatran. Rock Slide benefits from the Sheef Force bonus and is takes care of Charizard-Y and opposing Tornadus-T. Darmanitan is a very strong Pokemon that should not be overlooked.
Tornadus-T @ Assault Vest
Ability - Regenerator
Nature - Hasty
EVs 96 HP 160 SPA 252 SPE
Moves
Hurricane
U-turn
Knock Off
Superpower
Tornadus-T is really the perfect Volturn Pokemon. Fast U-turn combined with Regenerator makes it very strong on this type of team. Hurricane is very strong from Tornadus-T. Knock Off provides good utility and can be remove those annoying Eviolites. Superpower makes it another answer to Heatran and Chansey. Assault Vest allows it to be a somewhat bulky Pokemon on a team that is lacking in that category.
I have a lot of fun playing with this team, and I have typically had success using it. I do know that it has weaknesses. The biggest of which is that I have absolutely no answer to Rotom-W. My only hope is to whittle it down with U-turns and maybe finish it off with Magnezone. I am not completely sold on having Tornadus-T and Pidgeot on the same team, as they are pretty similar. I haven't played a lot of OU singles, so I haven't experimented much with EV spreads. I would appreciate input on improving what I have. ANY input is welcome and appreciated. Thanks for reading!
Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-441027780
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-461985211 (this replay demonstrates my Rotom-W weakness)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-461991705
The last two replays are from one of the small OU chat tournaments and my name is FatHugs.
I haven't played a lot of OU in a long time but recently started back after playing almost exclusively VGC for the last two years. I am not a fan of the 2016 format, so I began playing Doubles OU. I eventually came back around to singles because I wanted to try out some Pokemon that are not viable in doubles. That brings us to Pidgeot.
I was excited when Mega Pidgeot was revealed in ORAS, since Pidgeot has not been usable in any format throughout its entire existence. I wanted to build a team around M-Pidgeot, and the Volturn play-style appeals to me because of the aggressiveness and continuous momentum. This is what I ended up with:
Pidgeot @ Pidgeotite
Ability - Big Pecks -> No Guard
Nature - Timid
EVs - 4 HP 252 SPA 252 SPE
Moves
Hurricane
Heat Wave
U-turn
Hyper Beam
The Pidgeot I have been using is pretty standard. The main appeal of Pidgeot is No Guard Hurricane. PIdgeot has a very good 135 base Special Attack that makes a STAB Hurricane hit anything that doesn't resist it pretty hard. Heat Wave is a great coverage move for Pidgeot. Most Steel types would otherwise wall it. U-Turn combined with Pidgeot's high speed stat allows it to get a bit of chip damage on checks that switch in. Hyper Beam was originally Hidden Power Ground, because Heatran completely walls Pidgeot. I found that I did not use HP Ground because my team has some other ways to deal with Heatran. Hyper Beam helps against the Pokemon this team struggles most with: Rotom-W. Big Pecks is the only one of normal Pidgeot's abilities that has the potential to be useful. The EVs and Nature are to maximize speed and damage output. Timid nature is important for outspeeding things like Keldeo and Terrakion.
Landorus-T @ Rocky Helmet
Ability - Intimidate
Nature - Impish
EVs - 248 HP 244 DEF 8 SPD 8 SPE
Moves
Stealth Rock
Earthquake
Stone Edge
U-turn
I mentioned that Pidgeot is completely walled by Heatran. I needed at least a couple of ways to deal with Heatran, and I also wanted entry hazard support. Stealth Rock support is great for this team because of the number of switches that it forces. Rocky Helmet combined with Intimidate and the defensive bulk makes Landorus-T a very good check to a lot of physical attackers. This also forces switches and helps keep up momentum. Its high attack stat lets it hit hard even without investment. This Pokemon is a top tier threat in pretty much every format and is really solid overall. The EVs could probably be better since I just took them from the Smogon dex, but I feel like this Landorus-T has worked well for me so far.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability - Natural Cure
Nature - Timid
EVs - 252 HP 4 SPA 252 SPE
Moves
Rapid Spin
Scald
Ice Beam
Recover
Pidgeot is weak to Stealth Rock, and both Pidgeot and Landorus-T are weak to Ice type moves. Starmie is one of the top entry hazard removers in the game and also provides a Ice type resist. I prefered Starmie over Excadrill for its defensive typing and offensive coverage. Rapid spin gets rid of the entry hazards that can quickly wear down my team. Scald is a great move for the burn chance utility. Ice Beam is mainly for opposing Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Dragonite. Landorus-T and Garchomp are two of the most common Stealth Rock setters and Starmie can outspeed and get the KO in most cases. Ice Beam is used over Psyshock because this team has other options to deal with things that are hit by Psyshock. Pidgeot and Tornadus-T do well against Mega Venusaur and Keldeo so it is not really needed. Recover and Leftovers are to increase Starmie's longevity since it is not overly bulky even with max HP investment.
Magnezone @ Life Orb
Ability - Magnet Pull
Nature - Modest
EVs - 84 HP 84 DEF 252 SPA 4 SPD 84 SPE
Moves
Volt Switch
Thunderbolt
Hidden Power Fire
Flash Cannon
I felt pretty afraid of Steel types when I was making this team. Magnezone is capable of removing most Steel types with its amazing ability. Magnezone has a big Special Attack stat that lets its Volt Switch do a good chunk to most things on its way out. Thunderbolt is for when I don't want to switch out and deal some extra damage. Hidden Power Fire is for things like Scizor and Ferrothorn. Flash Cannon is a strong STAB that does good damage to Fairies. Life Orb is just for extra damage output to help deal with bulkier Pokemon. I was thinking of trying Air Balloon, since this Magnezone struggles with Excadrill. The EVs are my own attempt. The speed lets it be faster than uninvested Skarmory. The defense lets it survive some non STAB Superpowers from things like Dragonite and Landorus-T. I'm not entirely sure what I should be EVing for on Magnezone.
Darmanitan @ Choice Scarf
Ability - Sheer Force
Nature - Jolly
EVs - 4 HP 252 ATK 252 SPE
Moves
Flare Blitz
U-turn
Superpower
Rock Slide
Darmanitan is a pure glass cannon. Do not let it's good HP stat distract you from its terrible defenses. Fortunately it has a huge attack stat and good speed. Scarf Darmanitan is very good for early game quick U-turns and can really chunk teams after certain Pokemon are gone. It, along with Tornadus-T, is my best answer for Chansey. It does well against some other things that wall Pidgeot, such as Heatran. Flare Blitz is a very powerful move and gets STAB from Darmanitan. Superpower is for Chansey and Heatran. Rock Slide benefits from the Sheef Force bonus and is takes care of Charizard-Y and opposing Tornadus-T. Darmanitan is a very strong Pokemon that should not be overlooked.
Tornadus-T @ Assault Vest
Ability - Regenerator
Nature - Hasty
EVs 96 HP 160 SPA 252 SPE
Moves
Hurricane
U-turn
Knock Off
Superpower
Tornadus-T is really the perfect Volturn Pokemon. Fast U-turn combined with Regenerator makes it very strong on this type of team. Hurricane is very strong from Tornadus-T. Knock Off provides good utility and can be remove those annoying Eviolites. Superpower makes it another answer to Heatran and Chansey. Assault Vest allows it to be a somewhat bulky Pokemon on a team that is lacking in that category.
I have a lot of fun playing with this team, and I have typically had success using it. I do know that it has weaknesses. The biggest of which is that I have absolutely no answer to Rotom-W. My only hope is to whittle it down with U-turns and maybe finish it off with Magnezone. I am not completely sold on having Tornadus-T and Pidgeot on the same team, as they are pretty similar. I haven't played a lot of OU singles, so I haven't experimented much with EV spreads. I would appreciate input on improving what I have. ANY input is welcome and appreciated. Thanks for reading!
Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-441027780
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-461985211 (this replay demonstrates my Rotom-W weakness)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-461991705
The last two replays are from one of the small OU chat tournaments and my name is FatHugs.
