SM OU S H A R P n e s s — M-Sharpedo Setup/Cleanup

[lamojeru]

S H A R P n e s s ​

Introduction

Heyooo. I've never been a competitive battler until this summer (mostly looking from the outside in for the past few years) and after a few weeks of lurking around and messing around on Showdown, this is a Sharpedo build that I've been testing to some degree of consistent success. I'll continue updating the first post and archive the previous versions as we go!

Team Development

Sharpedo is my favorite 'mon! Most teams right now aren't able to deal with a late game M-Sharpedo after their members have been chipped down by the remaining members of this team. The list of mons that outspeed Sharpedo after one Speed Boost is quite short, and the only (common) things that outspeed after two Boosts are M-Diancie, Scolipede, and M-Alakazam, none of which have enough time to set up if you send out Sharpedo late and rack up speed on its own. Common knowledge, but she also benefits hugely from Psychic Terrain, which not only protects her from priority (the only reliable form of counter against M-Sharpedo) but boosts Psychic Fangs to the point where it outdamages what you'd expect to be Sharpedo's stronger STAB move, Crunch. All in all, she's a beaut'~

Shark + Lele is probably the most common M-Sharpedo core in OU. Most of the Leles I've seen when paired with M-Sharpedo are designed to smash through a wall through a Z-Move (which typically happens early in a game), but the Lele in this build is designed to come in mid-game and revenge kill with Scarf. This solves a really common issue I had where a wallbreaker Tapu would come in and set up Terrain too early, where Shark wouldn't be able to enjoy its full benefits.

Aaaaand to really reinforce just how good M-Shark is in Psychic Terrain, we go for a Mewnium-Z which fills in the wallbreaking that is now missing with Scarf Lele, but also benefits from a preset Psychic Terrain should you have to go for a revenge kill before Mew needs to come in.

Magnezone traps and removes Steel types, or at least severely dents them (re: SpD Celesteela) so that Shark can finish it off later with Crunch. Also carries Scarf to surprise and outspeed some Water-types that can get kind of tricky to deal with.

Physically tanky + Stealth Rock chip damage + completes the VoltTurn with Mangezone to let sweepers Shark, Lele, and Mew come in safely. Rocky Helmet over Leftovers to punish contact; we're ultimately trying to chip down the other team as much as possible to let Shark do its thing.

Spikes support, also helps remove Water-types (lookin' at you, Swampert) that can halt Sharpedo's attempt to sweep.

(Was playing with swapping Landorus and Ferrothorn out for Diggersby (Fire Punch) and Tapu Bulu (Grass). Also: Volt Switch/Fire Punch/Iron Tail/Plasma Fists Zeraora was a thought? Flash Cannon is more consistent for fairies, though).

In-Depth

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Sharpedo @ Sharpedonite
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk | 4 SpD | 252 Spe
Moves: Protect | Crunch | Psychic Fangs | Ice Fang

The trick here is to sometimes grit your teeth and send it out early if you have to, especially if the opponent seems to know what you're trying to achieve, and you need to whip out the Ice Fang ASAP; the team has enough Choice Scarfers to endgame on those grounds if it really comes down to it. If you're really in a pinch, try to go for Protect twice in a row or spam Ice Fangs for the flinch/freeze possibility. Jolly over Adamant lets it outspeed Unburden Hawlucha, which is a pretty common sight to see.

Sometimes I really wish I had Liquidation/Waterfall over Ice Fang, but the prevalence of Ground/Dragon + this team's lack of Ice make it very necessary!

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Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpA | 4 SpD | 252 Spe
Moves: Psychic | Moonblast | Hidden Power [Fire] | Focus Blast

As mentioned before, this is meant to be used as a revenge kill. It's pretty damn good at it; people usually expect a purely wallbreaking set off of Lele.

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Mew @ Mewnium Z
Ability: Synchronize
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpA | 4 SpD | 252 Spe
Moves: Psychic | Fire Blast | Nasty Plot | Rock Polish

The setup sweeper, and my god, is it good at it. A Nasty Plot- and Psychic Terrain-boosted Genesis Supernova will OHKO almost anything ever, even nuking some mons that resist it. Save it until after the Dark-types are dead, though! Fire Blast gives good coverage into a lot of the Steel-types that give this build a lot of trouble.

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Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP | 252 SpA | 252 Spe
Moves: Thunderbolt | Hidden Power [Fire] | Flash Cannon | Volt Switch

Magnezone + Shark is an underrated core that covers each of their weaknesses very well; saving Magnezone for a little later so you can Volt Shark into a resisted Fire might give you room to earn two Speed Boosts, especially if it's a HP Fire. Magnezone + Landorus-T completes the VoltTurn and also serves as good bait-and-switch for the ever-popular Heatran, which gives this build trouble.

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

Wowza! Landorus-T in OU! As said before, Rocky Helmet over Leftovers to get the maximum amount of chip damage possible.

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Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Nature: Sassy
EVs: 252 HP | 92 Def | 164 SpD
Moves: Spikes | Leech Seed | Power Whip | Gyro Ball

I used to do a Ferrothorn + Toxapex duo and whittle people down through stall tactics before trying to sweep with Sharpedo. It was too susceptible to being broken by pretty common 'mons like Charizard, so the team got revamped. But, Ferrothorn remained.

Conclusion

A threatlist would normally go here, but I'm new to the game still, so I'm not confident in making an accurate one. Feedback would be very appreciated! I'll update the main post as we go, if this gets any attention ^^"

Importable

Sharpedo-Mega (F) @ Sharpedonite
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Protect
- Crunch
- Psychic Fangs
- Ice Fang

Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Focus Blast

Mew @ Mewnium Z
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Fire Blast
- Nasty Plot
- Rock Polish

Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch

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

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 164 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball

 

[asshole]

I really like this setup, it seems pretty viable on paper. The only thing I’m iffy about is having a sweeper Mew. Like sure, I know it can get the job done, but other special set up sweepers such as Volcarona could be a very good fit for your team as well.

For example, Volcarona is bulkier than Mew, has a bit more coverage, and has an ability that can shut down most physical attackers with a burn. I could even see a possible defogger Zapdos in place of Magnezone, maybe. It comes down to what kind of team youre looking for and how badly you’d want to get rid of field hazards or not. That’s just my two cents though.

 

[lamojeru]

Still testing the Volcarona instead of Mew (I guess the repeated Psychic type isn't ideal). Sometimes I kind of miss the second Terrain set, though. Thanks for the suggestion!

I want to avoid using Defog just because A) entry hazard damage usually doesn't matter for Shark, as if it gets hit by anything it'll get knocked out anyway and B) trapping opposing Ferrothorns is one of the most important things Magnezone does, as Ferrothorn is a huge problem otherwise. There is the option to go for a Spinner if that's the case, but none seem to have particular synergy with this team.

What do people think about a Mamoswine SR setter instead of Landorus? Sometimes it feels like Landorus doesn't have enough longevity to do what its supposed to do in relation to M-Shark, which is to survive long enough to dent opposing 'mons.

 

[Indigo Plateau]

Hey lamojeru! This is an extremely cool team that you have here. Mega Sharpedo is a very interesting Pokemon and one that I really enjoy using. You rarely see it used, which is why your team caught my eye and made me interested in rating it.

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Let's start by pointing out some specific threats to your team, which will make fixing it later on much easier.

Your lack of Fire-type resists means that Heatran gets to fire off a Magma Storm and deal huge damage to your team. Sharpedo is very frail and can't afford switching into it, especially considering that the whole point of your team is to eventually win late-game with Sharpedo.

Similarly, Ash-Greninja gets to freely spam either Hydro Pump or Dark Pulse. With Spikes up, Ash-Greninja poses a huge threat to Ferrothorn and gets nothing besides Sharpedo resists Dark Pulse. Hydro Pump can put in a ton of work once Ferrothorn is weakened. Choice Scarf Tapu Lele can beat it but can't really switch into it and is very easy to take advantage of.

Although uncommon, Volcarona can set up a Quiver Dance on Ferrothorn and proceed to sweep your team at +1 with a simple combination of Bug Buzz + Fire Blast. If at full, it can even afford to QD twice as you attempt to outspeed it with Sharpedo.

Shift Gear Magearna can also set up on Tapu Lele or a weakened Ferrothorn and sweep if it manages to nab a kill, since your whole team dies to a simple combination of Fairium Z + Focus Blast.

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Here are the suggestions that I think will make your team more effective:

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Although I think Shark + Lele is an awesome core, I believe that Scarf Tapu Lele is honestly pretty bad. It's very easy to take advantage of and doesn't do what Tapu Lele is best fit to do in the current meta imo: to hit things as hard as it can with Psychic and tear holes in teams. Instead, I think you're better off going with Choice Specs or Psychium Z over Choice Scarf. Choice Specs lets you be an immediate threat o offensive teams, while Psychium Z lets you Calm Mind against fatter builds that give you a chance to do so. Personally, I prefer Choice Specs, but I know some people don't like being locked so it's up to you here.

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I know that removing Magnezone from the team might seem questionable, but hear me out on why I feel Kartana is better. Tapu Lele already does a good job at pressuring Steel-types that attempt to switch into it, and it beats most of them after a boost: HP Fire beats both Ferrothorn and Scizor, and +1 Shattered Psyche also does around 70% minimum to Celesteela. This is enough damage for Sharpedo to sweep later on, and I believe your team benefits more from more Speed control and a secondary cleaner, especially since I removed Tapu Lele's Choice Scarf.

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This might also sound like a weird suggestion, but I think Mew stacks up your weaknesses. Toxapex provides an answer to Ash-Greninja and Volcarona, and also lures in Pokemon like Zapdos and Tapu Bulu so that you can Toxic them and wear them down for Sharpedo. It can still get damage off on Pokemon like Heatran to put it in Sharpedo range, and stops any Magearna that doesn't have Thunderbolt (which runs through your team and resists all of Sharpedo's moves). Overall, a more defensive change, but I strongly believe it prevents your team from being overwhelmed by a lot of threats in the current meta (and if you choose to run Psychium Z on Tapu Lele, you can't on Mew).

Optional:

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Your most recent post mentions Landorus lacking longevity, so you can try out Leftovers instead of Rocky Helmet for some passive recovery. I wouldn't recommend Mamoswine like you mentioned because then your team has no Ground-type resists.

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(click me!)

Although I did change two Pokemon, I think the team is more efficient at achieving its goal: eventually sweeping with Sharpedo. Toxapex helps you check things like Volcarona, Magearna, and Ash-Greninja, which were problematic for your team and could shorten Sharpedo's sweep, while Kartana provides better Speed control and is a better late-game cleaner than Tapu Lele. The team still is weak to some Pokemon, however.

is a bit harder to break since your team can't trap it, so try to lure it in with Tapu Lele to heavily dent it.

also becomes a bit more problematic, but you can play around it with Ferrothorn + Landorus-T. Lastly,

is a bit of a problem, but you should be able to Toxic it with Toxapex and live a Focus Blast with Ferrothorn worst case scenario.

Hope you enjoy the team; let me know if you have any questions!

edit @ below: fixed lol

 

[AlexTheo]

Why does your pokepaste include Leftovers as a move on kartana?

 

[lamojeru]

Hey lamojeru! This is an extremely cool team that you have here. Mega Sharpedo is a very interesting Pokemon and one that I really enjoy using. You rarely see it used, which is why your team caught my eye and made me interested in rating it.

Wow thanks! I'll try out all the changes. :)

Q: If I went the Specs route with Lele, what would any alternate avenue be on the team to deal with Celesteela?

 

[Flame from Heaven]

Wow thanks! I'll try out all the changes. :)

Q: If I went the Specs route with Lele, what would any alternate avenue be on the team to deal with Celesteela?

Toxapex hard walls Celesteela and can PP stall it and also try to burn it with Scald. It’s not the best matchup ever, but it’s workable.