XY OU Sun God Rising (Volcarona Team)

[Jayd]

(Image by an artist named Nekogarasu I think)

Introduction
​

Hello and welcome to my first Rate My Team thread. This team was constructed because Volcarona is one of my favourite, if not my favourite Pokemon and I wanted to commit myself to using it at its full potential. I'll be the first to admit that the OU metagame is a nasty place for Volcarona right now and its C+ rating in the viability thread is pretty accurate. While it is an amazing Pokemon by its own merits, it has great difficulty maneuvering in an environment dominated by threats and counters like Talonflame, Azumarill, both Mega Charizards, Keldeo, Mega Pinsir, Heatran, and the list continues. But that makes the project a challenge, not an impossibility.


So far I have fairly comfortably risen from about the mid-1600s to 1802 in the OU ladder using this team. I'm sorry to say that I don't have replays, but I only decided to make this a RMT recently. I thought some criticism from the community could help out. So with no further ado, let's get into it.

Teambuilding Process​

This explains my thought process in building the team step-by-step:

Teambuilding Process

The premise of the team, so not much to put here. I'm just glad someone at Game Freak had this awesome idea for a Pokemon.

The first problem that comes to mind when you think Volcarona might very well be "birdspam". One thing this team definitely needed was a counter to Talonflame and Mega Pinsir. Rhyperior fits the bill perhaps better than any other mon in the tier. It also beautifully handles Mega Charizard-X, which is as big of a problem.

For the Mega Pokemon on the team I knew I wanted something that would have a crazy offensive presence without multiplying any of Volcarona's liabilities. Mega Mawile just felt like a comfortable inclusion that could do a great amount of work independently and smash apart walls or other mons that might give Volc headaches. The great defensive typing is nice, especially the rock resist.

Hazard control please! Got to keep those rocks from smushing my moth. Latias is one of the best support mons in the game right now in my opinion. Apart from defogging, it can also revive a win condition like a half dead and paralyzed Volc or an ailing Mawile with Healing Wish. It provides a nice ground immunity, an answer to Keldeo and Charizard-Y, and some nice special offensive presence.

To be honest with you, my thought was, why not use Aegislash? It's so good at smashing mons that can be massive threats, and its synergy didn't seem bad, the only problem being doubling ground and fire weaknesses with Mawile. But I already had two fire resists and a ground immunity. So I decided that once I don't make the problem worse with the last slot I should be fine.

At first I chose to go with Rotom-W because it added another ground immunity and fire resist and another answer to birds while being a great pivot and having the ability to spread burns potentially giving Volc setup fodder.

But then I was like, damn, I really hate that obnoxious ass washing machine. I'm building this team to use a Pokemon I really like, remember? Oh yeah, and Charizard-Y takes massive dragon-sized dumps all over this team as it is, with only Latias being anything like an anwer. Latias is also the only Pokemon with any pace, so fast threats hurt bad. So this version never saw action, I just thought it was worth mentioning as there are good things to say about Rotom-W with Volcarona.

This is the first version of the team that I rolled with. I added ScarfChomp because of the number of threats it could check, including the ones that Rotom left me vulnerable to. A nice, pretty bulky, extremely fast hitter was what I needed in a pinch.

The previous version of the team definitely wasn't bad, but I realized I was struggling against strong users of Earthquake (especially LO Mamoswine, who ripped the team apart and is still a big threat), could use more speed, and would really like to burn some stuff. Importantly, Breloom leads had their way with me in the most frustrating way. I wanted something to deal with those kinds of tricky utility Pokemon. Gengar fit the bill well, adding another ground immunity, crippling physical threats like opposing Mega Mawiles especially, and generally causing havoc which could get Volc or one of the other guys in to do serious damage. This is the best version of the team I have as I write this.

The Team

Uriel (Volcarona) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 192 Def / 68 Spe
Bold Nature
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Quiver Dance
- Roost
(In the Judeo-Christian tradition, Uriel is the name of an archangel associated with the sun.)
​

The main question with Volcarona was whether to use a bulky Quiver Dance set or a Timid offensive one. The bulky set would be able to set up on a greater variety of Pokemon and act as a pivot, while the Timid set would be frailer but stronger and able too outspeed and KO certain weakened threats, as well as carry Giga Drain to not be walled by Keldeo. In the end I decided on the bulky set. The perfectly valid competetive reason for this is that it allows me to tank Knock Offs and the like from set-up bait like Scizor. The real reason is that I want to have the experience of going for four Quiver Dances in my opponent's face while they desperately try in vain to scratch the burning deity that's about to steamroll their team and make them question their life's worth. 68 Spe EVs outruns Greninja at +1 and Deoxys-S at +2. The rest goes into bulk.

Prometheus (Rhyperior) @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Rock Blast
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Stealth Rock
(Prometheus is my favourite titan from Greek mythology. Rhyperior's original nick was "Titan".)​

Goodnight sweet birds. This fella is pretty standard. Max bulk allows it to take hits you wouldn't believe. Stealth Rock is obviously just a move you should have, but specifically for this team it's great for breaking sashes that might otherwise stop Volc's sweep, and for punishing Talonflame, Pinsir, and Thundurus-I with his annoying Pranskter T-waves. I chose Ice Punch over Toxic so that I could hit Landorus, Gliscor, and others pretty hard as lots of players get cute and think an Earthquake will do a lot to this guy.

Fortitudo (Mawile) @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 128 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
(Fortitude is a virtue and the name of an angel. The Latin sounds nice. In the game Beyonetta, Fortitudo was the name of an angelic dragon boss with two heads.)​

The Focus Punch set is a must here as it acts as a beautiful lure for Heatran, one of the more major thorns in Volcarona's side. The speed EVs are meant to outspeed Azumarill, another one of Volc's foes. He can also do some damage to Mega Gyarados under the right conditions. Other than that, you know what Mawile does. This guy blows holes in teams.

Suriel (Latias) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Healing Wish
(In the Judeo-Christian tradition Suriel is an archangel of healing and has command over death.)​

The obligatory rocks removal and highly appreciated cleric. It's my answer to Keldeo and (on shakier grounds) Charizard-Y, plus it has the power to take out some threatening slower threats, like Lando-I under the right conditions. What can I say? This guy is indispensible.

Beelzebub (Gengar) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
(Depending on your source, Beelzebub is either a name of Satan or one of his dastardly companions.)
​

This guy can thrash some nasty threats, especially leads like Breloom. It frustrates defensive and utility Pokemon and burns serious threats like Mega Mawile. It adds a further ground immunity to the team which helps a lot with switching around and gives it a better chance to screw over the mons it needs to screw. I chose not to run any bulk because I'm not worried about Clefable (Volc sets up on it) nor Venusaur too much, so I'm not too concerned if they can break my sub. I'm more concerned with having more power for when I need it.

Raguel (Garchomp) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Dual Chop
(In the Judeo-Christian tradition Raguel is an angel of vengeance. This guy is a big revenge killer.)
​

Garchomp helps this team a lot by removing some nasty threats in a pinch, like Charizard Y, Charizard X (even at +1 if not max speed) Thundurus and its T-Wave (watch out for HP Ice!) and so on and so forth. I decided to go with Adamant instead of Jolly because Rhyperior has Jolly Charizard-X covered, so the priority is making sure I have the power to KO what I need to KO.

Selected Threat List
​

Mamoswine is a nasty, nasty fella. I basically have to use some combination of these options: Burn with Gengar/tank Shard with Latias and hit/be behind a Sub with Mawile, or Sucker Punch a weakened one/tank with Rhyperior/Be set up with Volcarona. As you can see, most team members can do something against it, but in most actual situations one must be sacrificed to it, and another will likely be weakened.

Azumarill is rough. Garchomp usually has to EQ a weakened one. Mawile can be depended on in the right situations, but not all. It's pretty much a scramble to beat this thing down.

Keldeo can be beaten by Latias, and Garchomp checks it. Gengar can also kill a weakened one.

Charizard-X is taken care of by Rhyperior+Garchomp. Getting burned by a bulky varient is probably the biggest problem for Rhyp, but it still wins 1v1. Charizard Y is worse, but Latias, Garchomp, Mawile (Sucker Punch) and sometimes Gengar can come through.

Crawdaunt can be scary. Garchomp, Latias, sometimes Mawile can pull through.

Mega Venusaur: if something's already asleep Volc should be able to set up on this. Latias does damage, and Gengar can troll a bit.

Tyranitar/Mega Tyranitar: Rhyperior's stance. Garchomp helps a lot too. Also Mawile in the right condition. Volc needs to be at +3 to OHKO with Bug Buzz with no prior damage.

Importable
​

Sun God Rising

Uriel (Volcarona) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flame Body
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 192 Def / 68 Spe
Bold Nature
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Quiver Dance
- Roost

Prometheus (Rhyperior) @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Rock Blast
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Stealth Rock

Fortitudo (Mawile) @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 128 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Substitute
- Focus Punch

Suriel (Latias) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Healing Wish

Beelzebub (Gengar) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt

Raguel (Garchomp) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Dual Chop

Conclusion
​

This team is pretty solid. Like I said I went from mid-1600s to 1802 with it (and I haven't tried to rise above yet really, I just felt like doing this RMT). I lost a bit, but a few were definitely my stupid errors; more losses were also surely because of the limits of my ability and not that of the team. It's won a good deal more than it has lost, obviously. I'd really like to hear what other community members think, especially those with more experience than I have.
Thanks for reading.

 

[eden]

A suggestion I'm giving everybody :P Use HP:Fighting Latias/Latios becaus it nails Defiant Bisharp and even Tyranitar on the switch netting OHKO/2HKO's repectively and opening the door for a sweep! Eh I might get shouted at for suggesting it...but ever heard of McGar? From the Adv era? You may want to try a variant of that. I think there's an EV spread that will render your Substitute(Gengar) unbreakable by MVenusaur's standard attacks, use that along with enough EV's To KO Blissey w/ Focus Punch and maybe a set of Will-O-Wisp/Shadow Ball/Substitute/Focus Punch? Even a SubSplit set would be nice...just throwing some stuff out there!

 

[I AM THE JAMAICAN BOBSLED TEAM]

Bulky volcarona still isn't living the hits in this meta. Might as well use max speed max satk modest.

 

[Jayd]

Bulky volcarona still isn't living the hits in this meta. Might as well use max speed max satk modest.

You'd be surprised what it can do once you pick the hits you take.

252+ Atk Mega Scizor Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Volcarona: 183-216 (58.6 - 69.2%)
252+ Atk Mega Scizor Knock Off vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Volcarona: 124-146 (39.7 - 46.7%)

252+ Atk Mega Scizor Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Volcarona: 130-153 (34.8 - 41%)
252+ Atk Mega Scizor Knock Off vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Volcarona: 87-103 (23.3 - 27.6%)

252+ Atk Huge Power Mega Mawile Sucker Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Volcarona: 234-276 (75 - 88.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Huge Power Mega Mawile Sucker Punch vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Volcarona: 165-195 (44.2 - 52.2%) -- 17.6% chance to 2HKO

The bulk turns certain threats into setup fodder and thwarts possible revenge kills.

 

[Jayd]

A suggestion I'm giving everybody :P Use HP:Fighting Latias/Latios becaus it nails Defiant Bisharp and even Tyranitar on the switch netting OHKO/2HKO's repectively and opening the door for a sweep! Eh I might get shouted at for suggesting it...but ever heard of McGar? From the Adv era? You may want to try a variant of that. I think there's an EV spread that will render your Substitute(Gengar) unbreakable by MVenusaur's standard attacks, use that along with enough EV's To KO Blissey w/ Focus Punch and maybe a set of Will-O-Wisp/Shadow Ball/Substitute/Focus Punch? Even a SubSplit set would be nice...just throwing some stuff out there!

Sorry to respond late. I thought I had for some reason. I prefer the Psychic STAB on Latias for Venusaur and the consistent damage that doesn't weaken it. Bisharp and Ttar don't bother me much. I really can't afford to change any one of Gengar's moves; they all do vital roles for the team. Chansey can't touch it anyway and I have other ways to manage it. I also mentioned in the set analysis that I decided to go with max Sp.Atk instead of the fatter subs purposefully because I thought it'd be more useful overall.

Thanks for the comments.