Staraptor's Field Day: A Bulky Offensive/VoltTurning RMT
Hello, competitors and Smogonites, Touya here, once again, with a OU RMT. This team here, is like the first time, that doesn't have to do with weather. Now, when it comes to battling, most people have strategies and plans, right? After cruising through competitive Wi-Fi battle videos on Youtube, I came across some commenst that states, and quote by users named, ChaosJokerXtreme, and OnionRingFromSaturn: "So the secret to winning Wi-Fi battles.....is to CONSTANTLY use Volt Switch and U-Turn." "How to win OU battles Step 1: Constantly use U-Turn and Volt-Switch to obtain a 'Switch Advantage', Step 2: Possibly set up Hazards, Step 3: Bring in a Set up Sweeper or Choice Scarfer to clean up the rest of the team, Step 4: Enjoy your Victory." Now, after reading those, I thought of making a "switch advantage" team on PO, and to my surprise, the strategy actually worked. Alright, now, the goal of this team here, was to like, test out a team that doesn't have to deal with weather conditions, try out a strategy called: "VoltTurning", and last, but not least, my only purpose here for this team, besides, testing out VoltTurning like I stated, to test out a pokemon, that you rarely see or even mentioned in the OU Tier: which is Staraptor. So yeah, anyways, let's have an awesome field day with this epic bird from Sinnoh, shall we?
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Team At A Glance:
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In-Depth Look:
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Staraptor
Staraptor (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- Return
- U-turn
The heart of the team right here, and a psuedo lead. This predatory bird can certainly make an impact with its fearsome Attack, decent Speed, and high Base Power moves, with enough power to OHKO and 2HKO some of the most common threats in OU with little support. Equipped with a Choice Band, Starapter becomes a fearful pokemon, outspeeding most of the OU metagame, and 2HKO some of it's strongest physical walls, such as Vaporeon, Swampert, and Ferrothorn. Now, for the moveset. Brave Bird, is most likely a consistent, yet abusive STAB move, yet, any Pokemon weak or neutral to this move will take a hefty chunk of damage. Close Combat deals with Rock and Steel types, and Staraptor's weakness, Ice as well. Return is also for dealing with Electric types, however Double Edge, is much more powerful, but then, you would take recoil damage, so Return was much safer. U-turn is a fantastic utility move that can throw the momentum of the battle into the user's favor, making this a scout to see, what the opponent is gonna do.
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Alakazam
Alakazam (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Trick
Alakazam here has only one potential here, to throw tricks up it's sleeves, seeing how it has a lot of Special Attack. Although it has a tough time getting into play, but it still has the capability to to use Choice Specs very effectively. Psyshock is equally notable for being only slightly weaker, but it is able to nail specially defensive Pokemon Blissey and Virizion for greater damage, as much as Psychic is possibly a better STAB move. Shadow Ball, covers other opposing Psychic Types and Ghost such as Latios and Jellicent, both of whom it outspeeds and can KO after some previous damage. Focus Blast is given for excellent neutral coverage, by hitting Dark and Steel types, such as Tyranitar, and Scizor. Lastly, Trick is one of the many toys Alakazam has hidden up its sleeve. Tyranitar, Metagross, Weavile and even Blissey can't risk switching into an Alakazam's Trick. Physical sweepers like Tyranitar, Metagross and Weavile gain no benefit from it (barring unlikely Special Sweeper sets) but suffer the effects of being locked into a single offensive attack. Tanks like Blissey on the other hand are forced to choose between defensive moves (such as self-healing) or offensive moves, reducing their over all tanking viability.
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Scizor
Scizor (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Superpower
- Bug Bite
- Bullet Punch
Ah, Scizor, one of the top threats in today's metagame. Nice bulk, nice STAB moves, and lastly, an good example of a Bulk Offensive Pokemon. Swords Dance will boost Scizor's Attack to truly threatening levels, while the bulk this set enjoys will ensure easy setup, being able to set up on many common threats such as Ferrothorn, Reuniculus, and a Choice Specs Latios locked into Draco Meteor. Superpower can do some very serious damage to many Pokemon that otherwise wall this set, notably Steel-type foes such as Skarmory and Heatran; catching these threats on the switch-in can dramatically swing the game in one's favor. Bug Bite gives Scizor another STAB option to add to its arsenal and packs greater sheer power, letting it handily deal with slower, bulky Pokemon such as Reuniclus, as I stated before. Lastly, Bullet Punch is one of the main reasons why Scizor is used a lot, giving it's priority and tremendous power make it the main sweeping move for this set as well, plus being powered up by it's ability, Technician, Scizor is like a bulky sweeper.
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Rotom-Wash
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 28 SAtk / 232 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder Wave
- Pain Split
Rotom-Wash, the pokemon from my other RMT, we meet again. Rotom-Wash is an excellent pokemon to be use in a VoltTurning Strategy. Alongside with Scizor, it can run circles around whole teams with little effort, making it a very annoying Pokemon to face. Rotom-W may not have a lot of options, but it does its job well, and has carved its own niche as a premier VoltTurn partner, handling pokemon such as Keldeo, Tyranitar, and a Sheer Force Landorus. With this set, Rotom-W is able to use its good coverage and power to check many dangerous Pokemon that are otherwise very difficult to face, retaining good bulk and longevity. Volt Switch is an awesome STAB move that scouts for potential checks and counters, scares away Water- and Flying-types, and deals respectable damage to most Pokemon that don't resist it, and one of Rotom-W's most spammable move in the early game, unless the opponent lacks Ground Type Moves. Hydro Pump is basically to complement Volt Switch, hitting any blocking ground type pokemon, that blocks it's electric move, and providing coverage for rock and fire types. Thunder Wave is for cripping the opponent's speed, and for Pain Split, one of Rotom-W's only means of recovery outside of Rest.
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Donphan
Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
Another example of a Bulk Offensive pokemon here has to be Donphan, which is function to be a Rapid Spinner, with it's ability, sturdy, allowing it to always survive an attack while at full health, which somewhat makes up for its measly Speed stat. Now, This is the only set Donphan should ever be using in the current metagame. The main purpose of this set is to take advantage of Donphan's above average physical bulk in order to take as many hits as possible, which in turn should hopefully keep Donphan alive for a majority of the match. Rapid Spin is the only reason to use Donphan, so it is obligatory on this set. As Donphan is surprisingly bulky and is quite capable of taking powerful physical moves, Donphan finds it easy to come into these attacks in order to use Rapid Spin. Earthquake is Donphan's only STAB move, and coming off of its base 120 Attack, hits pretty hard. For example, Donphan ends up being a great Terrakion check because of its ability to deal heavy damage to Terrakion with it. Donphan is also a really good check to Choice Band Tyranitar, and it is easily capable of 2HKOing Tyranitar with Earthquake. Stealth Rock is the most important move in the game, and Donphan is a great Stealth Rock user, since it's almost guaranteed to set up Stealth Rock due to Sturdy. Lastly, Knock Off is for causing problems for other pokemon, causing some other bulky pokemon to lose their held item such as leftovers.
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Hydreigon
Hydreigon (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast
- Flamethrower
- Dark Pulse
And now, onto the home stretch here, last but not least, we have the three-headed Dragon that is one of the threats in the OU metagame which is Hydreigon. A dangerous threat, thanks to its sheer offensive power and wide movepool, it can raze unprepared teams easily if given the chance. As much as this pokemon has the held item, Choice Specs, seeing how Hydreigon, has a speed of 98, Choice Scarf, solves this problem, by boosting it to 50%, making Hydreigon a much more threat than it is. Now, Draco Meteor, pretty much steamrolls anything that isn't a dedicated special wall or a Steel-type, and even then most Steel-types take heavy damage from this move, despite it lowering down stats. Focus Blast is the most important coverage move on this set, and knowing when to use Focus Blast is the key to being effective with it; it lets Hydreigon power its way through most of the Steel-types in OU in addition to OHKOing all variants of Tyranitar and Heatran, as well as 2HKOing Blissey most of the time after Stealth Rock damage. Flamethrower is also for KOing steel types as well, making it an excellent wallbreaker, targeting a Serene Grace Jirachi, or a hazard setting up Ferrothorn. Dark Pulse is a fairly strong and consistent STAB move, though it's similar to Fire Blast in that it's too easy for the opponent to abuse; however, it is particularly effective against Reuniclus and Jellicent, and opposing Psychic Types, similar to Alakazam.
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Importable:
Conclusion:
Ah, yeah, and here we are, the concluding and the end of my third RMT. Now, again, this is like my first one, that doesn't have to deal with weather conditions, as much as I like weather, I just wanted to try something different, like with me, using Staraptor here. I mean, it's a good pokemon to be used, and it's one of my favorites. Now, yes, I am aware of it's weakness to Stealth Rock, and also, aware as well, that I have like three pokemon weak to ice, like Staraptor, Donphan, and Hydreigon, Alakazam, being OHKO very easily, Scizor having a 4x weakness to Fire, and Rotom-W being walled by Toxicroak, due to it's Dry Skin ability in the rain. But, however, I do love this team a lot to say the least. I actually made like, 3 versions of this, because Bulk Offensive and VoltTurning is absolutely awesome. Eh, so, anyways, thanks again, for reading and viewing this RMT here. If you like, send me dat
please, if not, you can like PM or VM me on how I can like, make changes to this team here, so yeah.
Final Glance:
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Hello, competitors and Smogonites, Touya here, once again, with a OU RMT. This team here, is like the first time, that doesn't have to do with weather. Now, when it comes to battling, most people have strategies and plans, right? After cruising through competitive Wi-Fi battle videos on Youtube, I came across some commenst that states, and quote by users named, ChaosJokerXtreme, and OnionRingFromSaturn: "So the secret to winning Wi-Fi battles.....is to CONSTANTLY use Volt Switch and U-Turn." "How to win OU battles Step 1: Constantly use U-Turn and Volt-Switch to obtain a 'Switch Advantage', Step 2: Possibly set up Hazards, Step 3: Bring in a Set up Sweeper or Choice Scarfer to clean up the rest of the team, Step 4: Enjoy your Victory." Now, after reading those, I thought of making a "switch advantage" team on PO, and to my surprise, the strategy actually worked. Alright, now, the goal of this team here, was to like, test out a team that doesn't have to deal with weather conditions, try out a strategy called: "VoltTurning", and last, but not least, my only purpose here for this team, besides, testing out VoltTurning like I stated, to test out a pokemon, that you rarely see or even mentioned in the OU Tier: which is Staraptor. So yeah, anyways, let's have an awesome field day with this epic bird from Sinnoh, shall we?
------------------------------~--------------------------------------
Team At A Glance:
------------------------------~--------------------------------------
In-Depth Look:
------------------------------~--------------------------------------
Staraptor (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- Return
- U-turn
The heart of the team right here, and a psuedo lead. This predatory bird can certainly make an impact with its fearsome Attack, decent Speed, and high Base Power moves, with enough power to OHKO and 2HKO some of the most common threats in OU with little support. Equipped with a Choice Band, Starapter becomes a fearful pokemon, outspeeding most of the OU metagame, and 2HKO some of it's strongest physical walls, such as Vaporeon, Swampert, and Ferrothorn. Now, for the moveset. Brave Bird, is most likely a consistent, yet abusive STAB move, yet, any Pokemon weak or neutral to this move will take a hefty chunk of damage. Close Combat deals with Rock and Steel types, and Staraptor's weakness, Ice as well. Return is also for dealing with Electric types, however Double Edge, is much more powerful, but then, you would take recoil damage, so Return was much safer. U-turn is a fantastic utility move that can throw the momentum of the battle into the user's favor, making this a scout to see, what the opponent is gonna do.
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Alakazam (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Trick
Alakazam here has only one potential here, to throw tricks up it's sleeves, seeing how it has a lot of Special Attack. Although it has a tough time getting into play, but it still has the capability to to use Choice Specs very effectively. Psyshock is equally notable for being only slightly weaker, but it is able to nail specially defensive Pokemon Blissey and Virizion for greater damage, as much as Psychic is possibly a better STAB move. Shadow Ball, covers other opposing Psychic Types and Ghost such as Latios and Jellicent, both of whom it outspeeds and can KO after some previous damage. Focus Blast is given for excellent neutral coverage, by hitting Dark and Steel types, such as Tyranitar, and Scizor. Lastly, Trick is one of the many toys Alakazam has hidden up its sleeve. Tyranitar, Metagross, Weavile and even Blissey can't risk switching into an Alakazam's Trick. Physical sweepers like Tyranitar, Metagross and Weavile gain no benefit from it (barring unlikely Special Sweeper sets) but suffer the effects of being locked into a single offensive attack. Tanks like Blissey on the other hand are forced to choose between defensive moves (such as self-healing) or offensive moves, reducing their over all tanking viability.
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Scizor (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Superpower
- Bug Bite
- Bullet Punch
Ah, Scizor, one of the top threats in today's metagame. Nice bulk, nice STAB moves, and lastly, an good example of a Bulk Offensive Pokemon. Swords Dance will boost Scizor's Attack to truly threatening levels, while the bulk this set enjoys will ensure easy setup, being able to set up on many common threats such as Ferrothorn, Reuniculus, and a Choice Specs Latios locked into Draco Meteor. Superpower can do some very serious damage to many Pokemon that otherwise wall this set, notably Steel-type foes such as Skarmory and Heatran; catching these threats on the switch-in can dramatically swing the game in one's favor. Bug Bite gives Scizor another STAB option to add to its arsenal and packs greater sheer power, letting it handily deal with slower, bulky Pokemon such as Reuniclus, as I stated before. Lastly, Bullet Punch is one of the main reasons why Scizor is used a lot, giving it's priority and tremendous power make it the main sweeping move for this set as well, plus being powered up by it's ability, Technician, Scizor is like a bulky sweeper.
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Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 28 SAtk / 232 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder Wave
- Pain Split
Rotom-Wash, the pokemon from my other RMT, we meet again. Rotom-Wash is an excellent pokemon to be use in a VoltTurning Strategy. Alongside with Scizor, it can run circles around whole teams with little effort, making it a very annoying Pokemon to face. Rotom-W may not have a lot of options, but it does its job well, and has carved its own niche as a premier VoltTurn partner, handling pokemon such as Keldeo, Tyranitar, and a Sheer Force Landorus. With this set, Rotom-W is able to use its good coverage and power to check many dangerous Pokemon that are otherwise very difficult to face, retaining good bulk and longevity. Volt Switch is an awesome STAB move that scouts for potential checks and counters, scares away Water- and Flying-types, and deals respectable damage to most Pokemon that don't resist it, and one of Rotom-W's most spammable move in the early game, unless the opponent lacks Ground Type Moves. Hydro Pump is basically to complement Volt Switch, hitting any blocking ground type pokemon, that blocks it's electric move, and providing coverage for rock and fire types. Thunder Wave is for cripping the opponent's speed, and for Pain Split, one of Rotom-W's only means of recovery outside of Rest.
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Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
Another example of a Bulk Offensive pokemon here has to be Donphan, which is function to be a Rapid Spinner, with it's ability, sturdy, allowing it to always survive an attack while at full health, which somewhat makes up for its measly Speed stat. Now, This is the only set Donphan should ever be using in the current metagame. The main purpose of this set is to take advantage of Donphan's above average physical bulk in order to take as many hits as possible, which in turn should hopefully keep Donphan alive for a majority of the match. Rapid Spin is the only reason to use Donphan, so it is obligatory on this set. As Donphan is surprisingly bulky and is quite capable of taking powerful physical moves, Donphan finds it easy to come into these attacks in order to use Rapid Spin. Earthquake is Donphan's only STAB move, and coming off of its base 120 Attack, hits pretty hard. For example, Donphan ends up being a great Terrakion check because of its ability to deal heavy damage to Terrakion with it. Donphan is also a really good check to Choice Band Tyranitar, and it is easily capable of 2HKOing Tyranitar with Earthquake. Stealth Rock is the most important move in the game, and Donphan is a great Stealth Rock user, since it's almost guaranteed to set up Stealth Rock due to Sturdy. Lastly, Knock Off is for causing problems for other pokemon, causing some other bulky pokemon to lose their held item such as leftovers.
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Hydreigon (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast
- Flamethrower
- Dark Pulse
And now, onto the home stretch here, last but not least, we have the three-headed Dragon that is one of the threats in the OU metagame which is Hydreigon. A dangerous threat, thanks to its sheer offensive power and wide movepool, it can raze unprepared teams easily if given the chance. As much as this pokemon has the held item, Choice Specs, seeing how Hydreigon, has a speed of 98, Choice Scarf, solves this problem, by boosting it to 50%, making Hydreigon a much more threat than it is. Now, Draco Meteor, pretty much steamrolls anything that isn't a dedicated special wall or a Steel-type, and even then most Steel-types take heavy damage from this move, despite it lowering down stats. Focus Blast is the most important coverage move on this set, and knowing when to use Focus Blast is the key to being effective with it; it lets Hydreigon power its way through most of the Steel-types in OU in addition to OHKOing all variants of Tyranitar and Heatran, as well as 2HKOing Blissey most of the time after Stealth Rock damage. Flamethrower is also for KOing steel types as well, making it an excellent wallbreaker, targeting a Serene Grace Jirachi, or a hazard setting up Ferrothorn. Dark Pulse is a fairly strong and consistent STAB move, though it's similar to Fire Blast in that it's too easy for the opponent to abuse; however, it is particularly effective against Reuniclus and Jellicent, and opposing Psychic Types, similar to Alakazam.
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Importable:
Code:
Staraptor (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- Return
- U-turn
Alakazam (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Trick
Scizor (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Superpower
- Bug Bite
- Bullet Punch
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 28 SAtk / 232 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder Wave
- Pain Split
Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
Hydreigon (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast
- Flamethrower
- Dark PulseConclusion:
Ah, yeah, and here we are, the concluding and the end of my third RMT. Now, again, this is like my first one, that doesn't have to deal with weather conditions, as much as I like weather, I just wanted to try something different, like with me, using Staraptor here. I mean, it's a good pokemon to be used, and it's one of my favorites. Now, yes, I am aware of it's weakness to Stealth Rock, and also, aware as well, that I have like three pokemon weak to ice, like Staraptor, Donphan, and Hydreigon, Alakazam, being OHKO very easily, Scizor having a 4x weakness to Fire, and Rotom-W being walled by Toxicroak, due to it's Dry Skin ability in the rain. But, however, I do love this team a lot to say the least. I actually made like, 3 versions of this, because Bulk Offensive and VoltTurning is absolutely awesome. Eh, so, anyways, thanks again, for reading and viewing this RMT here. If you like, send me dat
Final Glance:
