Oricorio-Sensu

[Sulo]

Base Stats: 75 HP / 70 Atk / 70 Def / 98 SpA / 70 SpD / 93 Spe
Ability: Dancer (After another Pokemon uses a dance move, this Pokemon uses the same move.)
Notable Moves: Quiver Dance, Revelation Dance, Roost, Hurricane, Defog, U-turn, Taunt

Pros / Good Qualities:

• Quiver Dance gives Oricorio newfound viability as a wincon with good sustainability, becoming immensely threatening in single turn with ease
• Revelation Dance and Terastalization have a unique interaction in that Revelation Dance will change based on Oricorio-Sensu's Tera Type, meaning it can tailor its Tera Type to fit the coverage it needs; most notably, Tera Fighting in order to bait and destroy Dark-, Rock-, and Steel-types like Naclstack, Copperajah, Umbreon, and Bisharp.
• Its initial typing lets it switch in freely on passive Pokemon like Toedscruel and Hippowdon and pivot in on popular picks like Tera Normal Boomburst Noivern, meaning it is given ample positions to set up freely.
• Changing to Tera Fighting means Bisharp and other Sucker Punch users cannot revenge kill you as reliably, giving Oricorio-Sensu more potency as a sweeper.

Cons / Shortcomings:

• Oricorio-Sensu, while strong, is incredibly frail, so it is unable to set up on most strong attackers and cannot come in on its own most of the time, requiring solid pivot support to do so.
• By utilizing Terastalization, this means that you lose out on the defensive value given from its three immunities, most notably losing out on its Ground-immunity; this mandates some sort of extra Ground-immune Pokemon like Talonflame or Noivern to fix its defensive issues.
• Status heavily hinders it in the long run, so it has to be wary of common Toxic users like Quagsire. Though, it usually prefers to be hit with burn than Toxic poison. Paralysis really messes with its potency as a sweeper, as well, preventing it from outspeeding the Pokemon it would at +1.
• MASSIVELY over-reliant on Terastalizing to function, meaning you're probably going to have to use defensive Pokemon that don't need to Tera to be effective or other offensive wallbreakers / wincons that can operate without needing it to bolster their power.

Set:

may i have this dance?

Oricorio-Sensu @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Dancer
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Revelation Dance
- Hurricane / Defog
- Roost

With this set, Oricorio-Sensu can function very well on balance and bulky offense teams as a wincon with solid defensive utility. Revelation Dance in conjunction with a Tera type of Fighting allows Oricorio-Sensu to beat would-be checks like Bisharp and bulkier Grafaiai sets. Hurricane is always difficult to switch into, destroying most of the tier at +1. Defog can be used on teams lacking immediate entry hazard control, letting it further compress roles as a bulky sweeper. The given EV spread allows Oricorio-Sensu to outspeed Kilowattrel at +1 (I think? I couldn't properly calculate it because statcalc wasn't working), with the rest dumped into Defense and HP to maximize its bulk. I expect this to be solid on the aforementioned team styles mentioned above, because this thing is actually threatening. I have no replays on hand ATM but there's no way this lands below B- tbh. I'd pair this with Pokemon that appreciate Steel- and Dark-types being baited; as such, Pokemon like Espathra, Hatterene, Slowking, and Naclstack are probably good additions to an Oricorio-Sensu team. You can discuss any other potential alternatives here, but I think this might be one of the main sets for a while.

Sample Team:



With all of points mentioned above, I had crafted a team consisting of Oricorio-Sensu and a solid defensive core backing it. The goal of the team is to wear down the team with status, entry hazards, and eventually overpower the opponent with two wincons in Naclstack and Oricorio. While Naclstack is more reliant on Tera than most other Pokemon on the team besides Oricorio-Sensu, it still fits well, as Oricorio and Wo-Chien can eliminate or heavily wear down would be checks like Gallade and Rotom-C to open up a late-game sweep. Scream Tail fits here as the Stealth Rock user, since it appreciates how well the rest of the team deals with problematic Steel-types like Copperajah and Bisharp. Wish passing also helps in keeping Wo-Chien healthy so it can continue to mess with Water-types like Rotom-W, Gastrodon, Drednaw, and Slowking. It's a very fat team, so expect to be playing longer games with it.

 

[Slip]

Sulo I'm so mad you took the bird from me but also I'm happy you gave it the attention it deserves. Oricorio is sick and a lot of fun to use. It can surprisingly set up on a lot of pokemon and the threat of ghost and flying is really rough on most if not all of the pokemon in the metagame. It is one of the stars on this SS lead influenced hyper offense team I have been running and it is a lot of fun. I think throwing it on fat is also a super cool idea so I want to get in some games with your team, but very good post I give it 2

My HO team: (click me!)

 

[Vegetal889]

this team is so damn fun. refreshing to play fat whilst OU is so offense oriented; great work on this

 

[KeystoneRecords]

thank you Sulo this team is awesome. i've been struggling to build a nice defensive team in this current UU climate. i've only tinkered with a few EVs on this team, otherwise i'm keeping it extremely close to your grand design. you rock

 

[STEELDRAGON]

Oricorio-Sensu isn't a bad pokemon, but it's not that good either. It has many weaknesses and weak to Stealth Rock/sucker punch and there are usually better pokemon to Tera Type. On the other hand it is a good spinblocker has many coveted immunities and takes care of Gardevior who might try to steal QD with trace. I have found running Substitute to be really helpful in avoiding priority and status moves.

 

[Sulo]

Oricorio-Sensu isn't a bad pokemon, but it's not that good either. It has many weaknesses and weak to Stealth Rock/sucker punch and there are usually better pokemon to Tera Type. On the other hand it is a good spinblocker has many coveted immunities and takes care of Gardevior who might try to steal QD with trace. I have found running Substitute to be really helpful in avoiding priority and status moves.

The Stealth Rock weakness isn't too huge mostly because you're not purposefully switching in on Knock Off users anyways and getting Heavy-Duty Boots removed isn't an issue in that sense. But yes, I think the hype has died down and it isn't the cream of the crop anymore.

 

[STEELDRAGON]

The Stealth Rock weakness isn't too huge mostly because you're not purposefully switching in on Knock Off users anyways and getting Heavy-Duty Boots removed isn't an issue in that sense. But yes, I think the hype has died down and it isn't the cream of the crop anymore.

Yeah I think it was better earlier on. It is largely overshadowed by other ghost types and the arrival of Tyrannitar certainly doesn't help ot either.