Introduction
With the stabilising of the Gen 9 NatDex OU metagame after the banning of multiple problematic Pokemon, I set out to create a balance-style team. After a bit of tinkering, this is what I've come up with: a balance team focused on the breaking power of Zamazenta along with the defensive utility of multiple less-used Pokemon, such as Volcarona and Mega Tyranitar.
Overview + Pokepaste
Specific sets
I choose Tyranitar as my mega to be able to check a plethora of special attackers in the metagame, along with being able to reset weathers like Drought from Torkoal and Mega Charizard Y and Drizzle from Pelipper, aiding me against these teamstyles. With its powerful Pursuit, it is able to strike and remove threats like both defensive and Nasty Plot Tornadus-Therian, as well as both physical and special Dragapult. This is complemented by Stone Edge, which deals massive damage to most non-resists, and provides EdgeQuake coverage with its other attacking move, Earthquake, which hits, in particular, Heatran while also not being a contact move to avoid Rocky Helmet damage if I use Superpower. With the multitude of switches that it forces, Tyranitar can also use Stealth Rock, which is a useful move in general, while providing role compression.
Interestingly enough, Bug is quite the useful defensive typing this generation, mainly due to how centralising powerful Fighting types Great Tusk and Zamazenta-Hero of Many Battles are. Thus, I choose to use Volcarona in this slot, using its useful defensive typing to check physical threats well and threaten them with a burn. These threats include the above-mentioned Great Tusk and Zamazenta, as well as some of the more useful Megas in the tier: Lopunny and Scizor in particular. Both Flamethrower and Quiver Dance are par for the course in any good Volcarona set, as well as Roost for its bulkier variants. For its last move, I choose Giga Drain, allowing me to attack while gaining some HP back, but more importantly, dealing great hits on Great Tusk, Gastrodon and weakened Rain teams in general. Also because of these rain teams, I elect to run Tera Grass to defensively Terastallise and check Pokemon like Mega Swampert and Floatzel in the endgame, after the weather has been removed.
Scarf Kartana, as always, is the fastest viable Scarfer in the tier aside from Greninja, reaching a massive Speed of 522. Combine this with its ability Beast Boost, and Kartana remains a powerful late-game sweeper and revenge killer in the tier, getting rid of chipped defensive Pokemon like post-Tera Skeledirge, along with fast, offensive Pokemon that cannot boost their speed; springing to mind immediately is non-Speed boosting Dragapult. I elect to run Leaf Blade for reliable STAB attacks against Water types like Rotom Wash, along with Sacred Sword to immediately do large amounts of damage to Chansey and Blissey. To hit Tornadus-Therian, I opt for Smart Strike, though I do consider Psycho Cut at times to do damage to Iron Moth and Toxapex. Knock Off is generally a good attack, removing Heavy-Duty Boots and Leftovers from more defensive Pokemon which needs their items; this ensures that Kartana is not completely hampered by defense. I choose Tera Fairy for Kartana in order for it to take a Fighting move or two, but perhaps Grass would be better.
This set for Zamazenta, though slightly worse than the Choice Band set, is very fun to use, since people usually play around Zamazenta by assuming it is banded and switching Pokemon around to handle the specific move that it uses. Though this set lacks the raw power behind Choice Band and is probably not as good, it still has its niches, for instance being able to unleash a Gigavolt Havoc based off Wild Charge on unsuspecting opponents, such as Gholdengo, which otherwise walls this BoltBeam set. Howl and Close Combat are both mandatory on a Howl Zamazenta, and for my last move, I chose Ice Fang, in order to destroy the Pokemon weak to Ice, such as Garchomp and Landorus-T.
The current best Defogger in the tier, this Pokemon checks large threats such as Great Tusk and, to a smaller extent, Zamazenta. This Pokemon is also quite fast, being able to outspeed Iron Valient without Quark Drive activated [which is not a guarantee]. The moves on this Pokemon are quite standard, with U-Turn, Knock Off, Bleakwind Storm and Defog all being quite standard. However, an interesting alternative option would probably be Heat Wave, in order to hit Gholdengo as well as Ferrothorn much harder; Knock Off is slightly redundant, since Kartana already has Knock Off, and most defensive opponents would be running Heavy-Duty Boots anyway; this is no problem to my less hazard-centric team.
As my final slot, I chose SpDef Gastrodon, which somewhat takes care of defensive staples that I would otherwise struggle against; springing immediately to mind are Skeledirge and Zapdos, which my team otherwise struggles with. For this reason, I run Toxic on this Pokemon, in order to put a timer on most Pokemon that are characteristic of more bulky playstyles. Earthquake is able to check Heatran well, and Scald has the chance to threaten a burn on Pokemon like Kartana that attempt to switch into Gastrodon. Recover is required for Gastrodon to stick around well and check Pokemon like special Iron Valiant [though shaky] multiple times.
Threatlist
Fat & Stall teamstyles: Though my team does well against more balanced and offensive team styles, bulky cores and especially stall threaten this team quite a fair bit. With a large amount of status flying around, my team can easily get worn down, especially by some of the newer defensive tanks, such as Clodsire and Garganacl.
Electric Terrain spam: Some of the most powerful breakers introduced in this generation are Future Paradox Pokemon, and even without Tapu Koko's Electric Terrain triggering their Quark Drive, they are hard to deal with. Therefore, one can imagine the carnage that even one of these Pokemon can deal to me; with immense coverage, both Iron Moth and Iron Valiant threaten this team especially hard, especially under Koko's screens support.
Hyper Offense: Hyper Offense is a teamstyle that my team really struggles against. Without elite Rapid Spinner Great Tusk on the team, I am almost unable to stop Glimmora's hazards from going up, and Grimmsnarl's screens make these teamstyles much worse to deal with. Dragonite on Hyper Offense, in particular, has a wonderful matchup against my team; most of them fall to an ExtremeKiller Extreme Speed coming from Dragonite.
Replays
Conclusion
In summary, my team, though quite solid, does have massive gaping holes in it that makes this team quite flawed. I'm interested to know your thoughts on the team, and any suggestions that you can make. Until then, see you!
With the stabilising of the Gen 9 NatDex OU metagame after the banning of multiple problematic Pokemon, I set out to create a balance-style team. After a bit of tinkering, this is what I've come up with: a balance team focused on the breaking power of Zamazenta along with the defensive utility of multiple less-used Pokemon, such as Volcarona and Mega Tyranitar.
Overview + Pokepaste
Specific sets
Tyranitar @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
I choose Tyranitar as my mega to be able to check a plethora of special attackers in the metagame, along with being able to reset weathers like Drought from Torkoal and Mega Charizard Y and Drizzle from Pelipper, aiding me against these teamstyles. With its powerful Pursuit, it is able to strike and remove threats like both defensive and Nasty Plot Tornadus-Therian, as well as both physical and special Dragapult. This is complemented by Stone Edge, which deals massive damage to most non-resists, and provides EdgeQuake coverage with its other attacking move, Earthquake, which hits, in particular, Heatran while also not being a contact move to avoid Rocky Helmet damage if I use Superpower. With the multitude of switches that it forces, Tyranitar can also use Stealth Rock, which is a useful move in general, while providing role compression.
Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Giga Drain
- Flamethrower
- Roost
Ability: Flame Body
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Giga Drain
- Flamethrower
- Roost
Interestingly enough, Bug is quite the useful defensive typing this generation, mainly due to how centralising powerful Fighting types Great Tusk and Zamazenta-Hero of Many Battles are. Thus, I choose to use Volcarona in this slot, using its useful defensive typing to check physical threats well and threaten them with a burn. These threats include the above-mentioned Great Tusk and Zamazenta, as well as some of the more useful Megas in the tier: Lopunny and Scizor in particular. Both Flamethrower and Quiver Dance are par for the course in any good Volcarona set, as well as Roost for its bulkier variants. For its last move, I choose Giga Drain, allowing me to attack while gaining some HP back, but more importantly, dealing great hits on Great Tusk, Gastrodon and weakened Rain teams in general. Also because of these rain teams, I elect to run Tera Grass to defensively Terastallise and check Pokemon like Mega Swampert and Floatzel in the endgame, after the weather has been removed.
Kartana @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Smart Strike
- Knock Off
Ability: Beast Boost
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Smart Strike
- Knock Off
Scarf Kartana, as always, is the fastest viable Scarfer in the tier aside from Greninja, reaching a massive Speed of 522. Combine this with its ability Beast Boost, and Kartana remains a powerful late-game sweeper and revenge killer in the tier, getting rid of chipped defensive Pokemon like post-Tera Skeledirge, along with fast, offensive Pokemon that cannot boost their speed; springing to mind immediately is non-Speed boosting Dragapult. I elect to run Leaf Blade for reliable STAB attacks against Water types like Rotom Wash, along with Sacred Sword to immediately do large amounts of damage to Chansey and Blissey. To hit Tornadus-Therian, I opt for Smart Strike, though I do consider Psycho Cut at times to do damage to Iron Moth and Toxapex. Knock Off is generally a good attack, removing Heavy-Duty Boots and Leftovers from more defensive Pokemon which needs their items; this ensures that Kartana is not completely hampered by defense. I choose Tera Fairy for Kartana in order for it to take a Fighting move or two, but perhaps Grass would be better.
Zamazenta @ Electrium Z
Ability: Dauntless Shield
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Howl
- Wild Charge
- Ice Fang
Ability: Dauntless Shield
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Howl
- Wild Charge
- Ice Fang
This set for Zamazenta, though slightly worse than the Choice Band set, is very fun to use, since people usually play around Zamazenta by assuming it is banded and switching Pokemon around to handle the specific move that it uses. Though this set lacks the raw power behind Choice Band and is probably not as good, it still has its niches, for instance being able to unleash a Gigavolt Havoc based off Wild Charge on unsuspecting opponents, such as Gholdengo, which otherwise walls this BoltBeam set. Howl and Close Combat are both mandatory on a Howl Zamazenta, and for my last move, I chose Ice Fang, in order to destroy the Pokemon weak to Ice, such as Garchomp and Landorus-T.
Tornadus-Therian (M) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Bleakwind Storm
- U-turn
- Defog
- Knock Off
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Bleakwind Storm
- U-turn
- Defog
- Knock Off
The current best Defogger in the tier, this Pokemon checks large threats such as Great Tusk and, to a smaller extent, Zamazenta. This Pokemon is also quite fast, being able to outspeed Iron Valient without Quark Drive activated [which is not a guarantee]. The moves on this Pokemon are quite standard, with U-Turn, Knock Off, Bleakwind Storm and Defog all being quite standard. However, an interesting alternative option would probably be Heat Wave, in order to hit Gholdengo as well as Ferrothorn much harder; Knock Off is slightly redundant, since Kartana already has Knock Off, and most defensive opponents would be running Heavy-Duty Boots anyway; this is no problem to my less hazard-centric team.
Gastrodon-East @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Storm Drain
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Scald
- Recover
Ability: Storm Drain
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Scald
- Recover
As my final slot, I chose SpDef Gastrodon, which somewhat takes care of defensive staples that I would otherwise struggle against; springing immediately to mind are Skeledirge and Zapdos, which my team otherwise struggles with. For this reason, I run Toxic on this Pokemon, in order to put a timer on most Pokemon that are characteristic of more bulky playstyles. Earthquake is able to check Heatran well, and Scald has the chance to threaten a burn on Pokemon like Kartana that attempt to switch into Gastrodon. Recover is required for Gastrodon to stick around well and check Pokemon like special Iron Valiant [though shaky] multiple times.
Threatlist
Fat & Stall teamstyles: Though my team does well against more balanced and offensive team styles, bulky cores and especially stall threaten this team quite a fair bit. With a large amount of status flying around, my team can easily get worn down, especially by some of the newer defensive tanks, such as Clodsire and Garganacl. Electric Terrain spam: Some of the most powerful breakers introduced in this generation are Future Paradox Pokemon, and even without Tapu Koko's Electric Terrain triggering their Quark Drive, they are hard to deal with. Therefore, one can imagine the carnage that even one of these Pokemon can deal to me; with immense coverage, both Iron Moth and Iron Valiant threaten this team especially hard, especially under Koko's screens support. Hyper Offense: Hyper Offense is a teamstyle that my team really struggles against. Without elite Rapid Spinner Great Tusk on the team, I am almost unable to stop Glimmora's hazards from going up, and Grimmsnarl's screens make these teamstyles much worse to deal with. Dragonite on Hyper Offense, in particular, has a wonderful matchup against my team; most of them fall to an ExtremeKiller Extreme Speed coming from Dragonite.Replays
Conclusion
In summary, my team, though quite solid, does have massive gaping holes in it that makes this team quite flawed. I'm interested to know your thoughts on the team, and any suggestions that you can make. Until then, see you!
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