Hi everyone this is my first attempt to make a RMT. I've been battling on PS for quite a while now and I finally decided to give my favorite pokemon, M-Absol, a chance to shine in OU. So far this core has been working on an above average performance, thus encouraging me to make this RMT. Any constructive feedback is always appreciated.
Absol @ Absolite
Ability: Justified (Magic Bounce)
EVs: 252 Atk / 40 Def / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
M-Absol is the pokemon that this team was built around of. I chose him obviously because I love him, but on a more objective reason, he can punch holes through unprepared teams, giving my team the edge to win. It's also nice that people tend to forget the Magic Bounce and attempt to set up hazards and/or status Absol. Despite being the star, he is not the main sweeper of the team. His role is more of a late game cleaner, revenge killer and stall breaker thanks to Magic Bounce. This doesn't mean he can't actually sweep; after a Swords Dance boost he becomes a dangerous threat. The given EV spread allow it to survive hits from defensive mons, such as Earthquake from defensive Lando-T, in order to set up a SD. The speed is just enough to allow Sucker Punch to outspeed Bullet Punch from Jolly M-Metagross and other threats such as M-Diancie (which is heavily damaged if not KO'ed by a +2 Play Rough after Stealth Rock support). The key when using M-Absol is prediction and playing very carefully, because due to its frailty and bad defensive typing it dies to almost every strong STAB thrown at him. He should only be brought after a teammate has been KO'ed to finish off the enemy with SP, or after U-Turn. Once he's in, it is generally better to spam Knock Off so his common switch-ins get their items removed (like Choice Scarf on Tyranitar, which can outspeed and KO Absol with Superpower) until he can attempt a sweep. Knock off is better for slower/stall mons, while Sucker Punch is against faster threats, weakened foes, and pokemon that might carry a Choice Scarf. Play Rough for coverage against Fairy/Fighting/Dark types. Any of the previous moves becomes insanely powerful after a Swords Dance boost.
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- U-Turn
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
This pokemon is just fantastic on almost every team. His role here is to act as a lead and set up rocks as soon as possible, while also playing the role of an offensive pivot. It may seem redundant to run Choice Scarf with SR, but the reason is to allow Lando-T to check and revenge kill pokemon like M-Manectric, Raikou, and Thundurus, which otherwise would pose a huge threat to the team. After rocks are up, Lando-T is mostly used to switch into attacks that its partners can't handle (for instance Fighting moves aimed at Absol, Mold Breaker EQ from Excadrill aimed at Gengar) and afterwards provide momentum with U-Turn. Its worth noting that opponents might try to predict a Lando-T switch-in and use Ice Punch, so caution is advised. EQ and SE give Lando-T a solid coverage against many foes, and he can perform well as a late game cleaner.
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 120 HP/ 252 Atk / 68 Def / 36 SpD / 32 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
The main sweeper of the team. Fearsome counter to Fighting, Fire and Ground. The main objective of Azumarill is to break through the opposition and sweep mid-late game. The given EVs maximize its offensive potential while also retaining some mixed bulk which aids him in setting up a Belly Drum, especially when facing favorable match ups, like Conkeldurr, Lando-T, M-Sableye and such. Despite its average bulk, Azumarill should not be brought recklessly into attacks, because it greatly decreases its opportunities to successfully set up a Belly Drum. Getting his Sitrus Berry knocked off is something Azumarill does not appreciate at all. Once BD is set Aqua Jet should be spammed against everything bar Grass, Water and Dragon types. 32 Speed EVs allow Azumarill to outspeed walls such as Chansey and Jellicent (both of them being capable to severely cripple Azumarill with Burn from Scald and T-Wave/Toxic, respectively) and KO them with +4 Knock Off/Play Rough. Knock Off also takes care of Ferrothorn and Slowbro.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-Turn
- Bullet Punch
- Defog
- Superpower
Scizor is the team's solid answer to the fairies that threaten M-Absol. Max Attack and Choice Band to hit as hard as possible. Although BP easily dispatches most fairy types, Clefable can catch Scizor on the switch with a Flamethrower, so its often wise to scout for its moveset first. Scizor also acts as a solid revenge killer, momentum grabber, wall breaker, and even as support having access to Defog to remove entry hazards. Defog should be used carefully though especially when facing Bisharp due to the attack boost it gets from Defog. Because Scizor forces many switches, it's best used to grab momentum on the early stages of the game via U-Turn. Then in mid-late game it can be used to revenge kill fairies and weakened foes. 252 Speed EVs are preferred over bulk to outspeed specially defensive Heatran and severely damage, or even KO it with Superpower. Also Superpower lets Scizor hit Ferrothorn, Chansey and M-Lopunny extremely hard.
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
This guy is amazing in many ways. He is a good late game cleaner thanks to his great speed and SpA, while also being an effective counter to Grass and Fairy types. Substitute comes in handy to prevent stall pokemon from statusing him, making Gengar a somewhat effective stall breaker. Gengar can also defeat Bisharp with a combination of Substitute + Focus Blast, provided that Bisharp will go for the Sucker Punch straight away. Finally Substitute essentially gives Gengar a free turn to attack back common threats that like to switch into him. Focus Blast, Shadow Ball and Sludge Wave provide a solid coverage to clean up weakened teams. Black Sludge is the best item in my opinion, because the passive recovery allows Gengar to create more substitutes and somehow mitigate stealth rock damage upon switching.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 240 SpA / 80 SpD / 188 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power Fire
- Earth Power
Last but not least, Celebi acts as a bulky attacker and also provides extremely useful resistances to Water, Electric, Ground and Fighting attacks, walling threats such as Keldeo. He also makes for an awesome status absorber because of Natural Cure, as even Azumarill doesn't want to switch into a Scald with the risk of getting burned. Celebi's main role is to switch into something it resists and proceed to set up a Nasty Plot, giving him the chance to heavily damage a wide variety of mons. HP Fire allows it to deal significant damage to the likes of Skarmory, Excadrill and Ferrothorn, while Earth Power deals with Heatran. Giga Drain is for STAB and regaining some HP back along with Leftovers. The Speed EVs allow Celebi to outspeed Beedrill before it mega evolves and KO it with +2 HP Fire. Finally Celebi can stall out defensive Pokemon with Giga Drain.
Here are 2 replays:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-223039321
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oususpecttest-221878432
That's it for now guys, hope you comment and rate my team and remember, any suggestions are always welcome.
