Hello Smogon!
I decided to post this team is because I have had a lot of success using it, especially on the OU ladder. I can honestly say this is one most efficient Bulky Offensive builds I personally created. Due to all of that, I am not posting this team here because I want suggestions or replacements to Pokemon. This team has proven to be effective, and I want to share it with all of you because I believe the concept of Balanced Sand builds and Mega Garchomp have both been completely "under the radar" and would like to shed some light on it. Of course, I would be perfectly fine with basic changes, and I encourage you to suggest them to me if you have good reasoning for them :].
The concept of this team originated from my desire to use one of the most underrated wallbreakers in OU, Mega Garchomp. The best selling point for Mega Garchomp is its
Proof of Peak:
The reason my gxe wasn't that high was that this is my main alt which I usually test random stuff like Curse Snorlax on it.
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The Team:
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Teambuilding Process:
I started off with the star himself, Mega Garchomp. I induced that the SD set with Fire Blast was the most efficient in the meta game and decided to use that.
I wanted to utilize Mega Garchomp's ability, Sand Force, to even further wallbreak leaving almost no pokemon completely walling it. Thus, I added Sand in the form of hippo, which was a nice check to a plethora of Pokemon, including fast electric types which Mega Garchomp struggled with. HO was still a problem, so Air Balloon Excadrill was just the perfect mon here to patch up that weakness, utilizing the sand to eliminate fast threats, and the Balloon to get past Hippowdon and Landorus-T easier.
Latias, Latios, and general water spam was looking very threatening, so I added Ferrothorn which checks a lot of Pokemons in that field. Ferrothorn also provided Spikes support to help Mega Chomp further wallbreak and it even came with surprise magic, i.e yellow magic, i.e Thunder Wave. You can't get fancier than Thunder Wave, the best move in the whole metagame.
Next, Bulky Starmie was added since it checked a lot of threatening Pokemon with it's speed and typing alone, including Mega Metagross, Keldeo, and Gengar. Most importantly, it provided hazard removal to relieve a slot from Excadrill, and was a very nice status absorber and the team's Heatran all-time switch-in.
Finally, serving as another check to Keldeo, with powerful STABs and Healing Wish, Latias was added. At this point, the team functioned well, but it lacked immediate firepower outside of Mega Garchomp, was a bit stall weak, and was also pretty passive. Most importantly, the team was almost destroyed by HP Fire Latios and Gengar, having no real switch-in.
A lot of the team's issues were solved by Tyranitar, it provided Pursuit support for Mega Garchomp to deal with faster threats that immediately stopped it, mainly Latios and Latias. Fire Blast on Tyranitar also meant that the team can get past Ferrothorn and Skarmory much easier without having to rely completely on Mega Garchomp.
After experimenting more and more, I eventually leaned towards Klefki over Ferrothorn, and Slowbro over Starmie. This patched up a lot of the old team's weakness, but opened a wider door for Gengar and strong electric types such as Thundurus. Klefki was mainly used to check powerful physical attackers with Foul Play, still provide Spikes support, and also use that handy dandy prankster t-wave, which has the potential to stop a +6 anything from sweeping you :]. Slowbro was added as a much more reliable counter to Mega Metagross, Keldeo, EQ Spam, and strong physical attackers. Slowbro also served as a viable wincon through CM vs. Balanced and HO.
After a lot of experimenting with the team, I realized that Latias was a weak link and put me at a huge disadvantage vs. teams with Bisharp. Thundurus-T wasn't put immediately, I tried many different pokemons, such as Gengar, Alakazam, Keldeo, and Serperior. Thundurus-T was mainly put because it provided immediate fire power, put Rotom-W in some check, and easily tore through bulky mons with Nasty Plot. Keldeo, Alakazam, and Gengar all had their flaws, in the end I was torn between Serperior and Thundurus-T, in which I chose Thundurus-T due to an immunity to electric, and more surprise factor.
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A Closer Look:
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Garchomp
Item: Garchompite
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 32 Atk / 252 SpA / 224 Spe
Nature: Naughty (+Atk, -SpD)
- Draco Meteor
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast / Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
The star of the show, Mega Garchomp himself. After Mega Luc was banned, this thing was decently popular with Mega Venusaur, Mega Pinsir, and Mega Zards, all equally feared as the most powerful megas in OU that are tearing up the tier apart. Mega Garchomp quickly lost that title thanks to the enormous boost in usage of Greninja and HO at that time. Ever since then, it has been laying low, not easily slapped and used as other megas in OU, but not weak or useless enough to fall down to UU. Picking it up, I thought it was just going to be one of my fun teams, until it realized the hidden potential in this. With an Atk stat so high that doesn't need much investment, and a special movepool so versatile that it can catch most of its defensive checks of-guard, this thing is undoubtedly a threat.
224 Spe was used to outspeed max speed Adamant Excadrill after mega evolving, while outspeeding 99.9% of stallbreaker Talonflames and max speed neutral nature Kyurem-B before mega evolving. Max SpA to hit Ferrothorn, Scizor, Skarmory, Quagsire, and a plethora of Pokemon as hard as possible with the combination of Fire Blast and Draco Meteor. The rest was put into Atk with a Naughty nature to boost its already ridiculous high Atk stat. The only pokemons that can wall this while still be viable in OU is Togekiss, SpD Mandibuzz, and SpD Zapdos.
Earthquake - The most powerful consistent Stab, especially inside Sand.
Fire Blast - Hits bulky Grass and Steel types not effected by EQ much super hard. Stone Edge is slashed because it is another option that while may not hit Skarmory as hard even in sand, hits Togekiss, Zapdos, and Mandibuzz super hard, especially in sand.
Draco Meteor - Inconsistent yet highly powerful STAB that tears apart physical walls such as Quagsire.
Swords Dance - Boosting its attack to a number out of its world, putting everything not immune to it at risk of an OHKO under sand, and most of the times, outside of it.
Calcs
252 SpA Mega Garchomp Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Quagsire: 283-334 (71.8 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
32+ Atk Mega Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Quagsire: 154-183 (39 - 46.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
32+ Atk Sand Force Mega Garchomp Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Clefable in Sand: 220-259 (55.9 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage and Leftovers recovery
32+ Atk Sand Force Mega Garchomp Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey in Sand: 331-390 (51.5 - 60.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Mega Garchomp Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 348-412 (98.8 - 117%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Mega Garchomp Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Skarmory: 302-356 (90.4 - 106.5%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Mega Garchomp Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Skarmory: 204-242 (61 - 72.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Mega Garchomp Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 24 SpD Slowbro: 235-277 (59.6 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage and Leftovers recovery
32+ Atk Sand Force Mega Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 232+ Def Slowbro in Sand: 171-202 (43.4 - 51.2%) -- 6.6% chance to 2HKO after sandstorm damage and Leftovers recovery
32+ Atk Mega Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Quagsire: 154-183 (39 - 46.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
32+ Atk Sand Force Mega Garchomp Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Clefable in Sand: 220-259 (55.9 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage and Leftovers recovery
32+ Atk Sand Force Mega Garchomp Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey in Sand: 331-390 (51.5 - 60.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Mega Garchomp Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 348-412 (98.8 - 117%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Mega Garchomp Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Skarmory: 302-356 (90.4 - 106.5%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Mega Garchomp Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Skarmory: 204-242 (61 - 72.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Mega Garchomp Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 24 SpD Slowbro: 235-277 (59.6 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage and Leftovers recovery
32+ Atk Sand Force Mega Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 232+ Def Slowbro in Sand: 171-202 (43.4 - 51.2%) -- 6.6% chance to 2HKO after sandstorm damage and Leftovers recovery
Tyranitar
Item: Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD
Nature: Relaxed (+Def, -Spe)
- Pursuit
- Thunder Wave / Stone Edge / Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
What is known to many "Brazilian T-tar". I'm not brazilian, I'm not mexican, but you shouldn't blame either me or them, T-wave is simply the most broken move in the metagame. Seriously speaking, it catches T-tar's counters or checks on the switch crippling them immensely. I also sometimes use it as a ballsy play when I have a pokemon that walls in the back (slowbro, klefki) for the pokemon inside, so predicting the opponent to predict my obvious switch, I just T-wave :]. Most importantly, T-wave is there to prevent a lot of passiveness that Tyranitar has, using T-wave on mons thinking they can set up on t-tar is very nice. T-tar is one of the most important members on this team, it provides two very important things: Stealth Rock, and Sand for 8 turns. Putting Chople Berry on this t-tar would help me handle Thundurus and Gengar a lot better, but Smooth Rock is just more important to get the maximum amount of sand turns.
252 HP / 176+ Def allow me to take 2 EQs from Dugtrio, giving me a slight chance vs. Dugtrio+Shedinja stall, while dumping the rest on SpD. Relaxed was chosen over Impish because the power from Fire Blast is nice.
Pursuit - super important as it traps Lati@s and provides neutral, yet weak, coverage.
Fire Blast - more powerful than most think and can be used to catch Scizor/Bisharp on the switch, or destroy Skarmory/Ferro straight up. Also prevents Bisharp from setting up.
Stealth Rock - Very important for this team to help break certain threats.
Thunder Wave - Already explained above. Slashed with Stone Edge because Stone Edge is nice for neutral coverage with a high bp on stuff like Clefable/Thundurus. Same with Crunch but it's more consistent due to a 100% accuracy.
Excadrill
Item: Earth Plate
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
Sand Rush Exca is a very important member to this team, since it sweeps late-game, punches some wholes early/mid game, or can be used to eliminate fast and threatening mons such as somewhat weakened Manaphy. Since Starmie was the original one who provided hazard removal, I had to replace Rock Slide with Rapid Spin on Excadrill when I removed Starm. Sand Rush Exca without Rock Slide sounds crazy, and it is, since it makes it much harder to revenge kill Talonflame / Mega Charizard Y / Thundurus, but it is just really worth it or otherwise i lose hard against hazard stacking teams. This was originally Air Balloon, but as I went up the ladder, Manaphy was pretty much on every team, and Air Balloon, which was mainly used to make it easier to set up SD, wasn't as important as dealing damage on Manaphy. However, since I use Exca as a direct threat to many mons, keeping it until late-game is very crucial to stop potential late-game sweeps, and thus, Earth Plate was used over Life Orb.
Earthquake - Powerful STAB.
Iron Head - Powerful STAB mandatory for fairies.
Rapid Spin - Allows me to remove hazards giving me an easier time.
Swords Dance - Allows me to potentially sweep or slowly punch holes through the opponent's bulky Pokemons.
Klefki
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD
Nature: Careful (+SpD, -SpA)
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Foul Play
- Light Screen / Magnet Rise / Toxic
Klefki was not only added for nice Spikes support, but also to check a lot of Pokemons with Foul Play and Thunder Wave, including non-RD Manpahy, Mega Scizor, etc. Klefki was also added because it has one of the best typing in OU, a solid typing with the prankster ability allowed me to continuously check Latios, Weavile and Mega Gardevoir throughout the game, threatening with a Prankster T-wave.
252 HP was used because Klefki's HP is very low and maximizing it would be the most beneficial
Spikes - Hazard support.
Thunder Wave - Allows me to cripple and threaten a lot of pokemons that would otherwise easily beat this team.
Foul Play - Allowed me to prevent crucial Pokemon from setting up on me, including Mega Scizor and Lum Dragonite. It also punishes Exca on the switch.
Light Screen - Light Screen helps me take on powerful special attackers such as Thundurus and Gengar with my team better, it even allows it to take them on 1v1 thanks to Foul Play. It's slashed with Magnet Rise and Toxic because they can also be used. Magnet Rise helps me set up spikes on Hippowdon, Landorus-T, and non-Fire Blast Garchomp better, while Toxic helps me wear down threats such as Thundurus and Slowbro better.
Slowbro
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD / 4 Spe
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Scald
- Slack Off
Ah. Probably my favorite pokemon in OU. Simply amazing, naturally superior, Slowbro can easily and without a doubt, check over half of the meta, while counter a good portion of it. With a couple of CMs, it can be an immovable wall to HO/Balanced that lack Toxic or huge physical/special fire power. A lot of people go/think HUH?!?!? when they see Calm Mind on regular Slowbro, which is stupid, because Slowbro is a viable, consistent non-mega wincon against a lot of teams, mostly Bulky offensive and Balanced. It also allows it to take on a lot of Pokemon much better, such as Latios, Latias, Keldeo, and can even work take a hit from Thundurus or Gengar if firing off a +1 Psyshock is crucial.
248 HP for rocks, 176 Def with Bold Nature is a jump point and is enough to take on most physical hits, 4 Spe allows me to outspeed base 30s such as Amoonguss and other Slowbros and also allows me to outspeed up to parayzed Weavile, while the rest are dumped into SpD to take on special hits better before & after CM, such as avoiding 2HKO from Mega Metagross's GK at +0.
Calm Mind - Makes Slowbro a viable wincon and can turn the game upside down with 1 of those.
Psyshock - Consistent STAB that his on the physical side, helps with opposing CM users most importantly Keldeo.
Scald - 2nd most broken move in the game with a 80% burn chance. Consistent STAB.
Slack Off - Important for longevity.
Thundurus-T
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast
Say hello to the tryhard Rotom-W semi-check. Rotom-W is very annoying to Sand teams, completely walling them, hitting almost all of them super effectively, or crippling them with WoW. Not this team, sure you can cripple me with WoW, but that's not THAT bad thanks to Leftovers. Volt Switch for momentum? Not even once. Hydro Pump? by the time you actually hit two you'd be on the ground gasping for breath. Other than that, this is a very nice wallbreaker with a nice immunity to electric typing. This was originally Modest, as it held much more fire power, but slowly I realized that Manaphy was just too much of a threat, and decided to 100% check all variants (except random scarf????) with this. What's really frustrating, is that Thunderbolt is a actually a roll on Manaphy ... other than that, it's all good. Ferrothorn / Hippo / Heatran / etc. cores get demolished by this thing. It also breaks down cores with Zapdos, Togekiss, or Mandibuzz, which Mega Garchomp struggles against. All you really need is to hit Focus Blast once or twice, which is much harder than it sounds.
Nasty Plot - super important move that allows me to break walls.
Thunderbolt - Consistent powerful Stab.
HP Ice - Hits most electric immune/resist Pokemon Neutrally/Super Effectively
Focus Blast - Hits Heatran, Ferrothorn, Tyranitar, and Excadrill really hard.
Calcs
252 SpA Thundurus-T Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 216-256 (61.3 - 72.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Thundurus-T Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 192+ SpD Heatran: 206-244 (53.5 - 63.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 SpA Thundurus-T Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 84+ SpD Clefable: 288-340 (73 - 86.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 SpA Thundurus-T Focus Blast vs. 4 HP / 252 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 288-340 (44.8 - 52.9%) -- 28.1% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Thundurus-T Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Rotom-W: 150-177 (49.5 - 58.4%) -- 66.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 SpA Thundurus-T Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Rotom-W: 297-351 (98 - 115.8%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
+2 252 SpA Thundurus-T Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 176 SpD Mega Scizor: 268-316 (78.1 - 92.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Thundurus-T Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 192+ SpD Heatran: 206-244 (53.5 - 63.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 SpA Thundurus-T Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 84+ SpD Clefable: 288-340 (73 - 86.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 SpA Thundurus-T Focus Blast vs. 4 HP / 252 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 288-340 (44.8 - 52.9%) -- 28.1% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Thundurus-T Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Rotom-W: 150-177 (49.5 - 58.4%) -- 66.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 SpA Thundurus-T Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Rotom-W: 297-351 (98 - 115.8%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
+2 252 SpA Thundurus-T Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 176 SpD Mega Scizor: 268-316 (78.1 - 92.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Conclusion:
In the end, this team tries to have a good matchup or at least a decent chance vs. all playstyles. Mega Sableye + Chansey + Goth stall and complete HO are the hardest this team fairs against, but that's the downside of running something like Mega Garchomp. Aside from that, the ladder is filled mostly with Bulky Offensive to Balanced to Semi-Stall, which this team does pretty good against. I faced some hax on the high ladder then I went on Tilt so I don't have this high position anymore, so I need to take a break and resume laddering, but don't let that discourage you from using this team, it's pretty solid :]. Oh and also, teams like BC Wish Killer's just get destroyed by this team.
Threatlist:
Replays
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-273776498 - Dealing with Mega Sableye + Gothitelle stall with an early version of the team
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-273508309 - Against some innovative high ladder HO
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-273511897 - Against mid-ladder semi-stall. All of that for only 8 points. Thanks Showdown.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-273924495 - Managing against VoltTurn
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-273530383 - Hydreigon was a huge problem but managed to deal with it.
Importable
Garchomp @ Garchompite
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 32 Atk / 252 SpA / 224 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Swords Dance
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Pursuit
- Thunder Wave
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
Excadrill @ Earth Plate
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpD
Bold Nature
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Foul Play
- Light Screen
Slowbro @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Scald
- Slack Off
Thundurus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 32 Atk / 252 SpA / 224 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Swords Dance
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Pursuit
- Thunder Wave
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
Excadrill @ Earth Plate
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpD
Bold Nature
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Foul Play
- Light Screen
Slowbro @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Scald
- Slack Off
Thundurus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast
Enjoy :]
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