ORAS OU The Serperior Squad

[lepton]

The Serperior Squad!

Introduction​

Hello there! I'm Gogurtgoat, and this is my RMT. I am kinda new to the forums, so I'd appreciate some feedback. I'm really not sure if this team is any good, but I've been able to have a little success on the Lando-I suspect ladder. Anyways, Serperior is always been one of my favorite pokemon, being my starter in BW. So when I heard Serperior was good in competitive, I had to give him a try.

In-Depth (changes in bold)​

Serperior @ Leftovers Coba Berry
Ability: Contrary
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpA | 4 SpD | 252 Spe
Moves: Substitute Hidden Power [Rock] thnx to Leftiez for gimmicky set| Glare | Leaf Storm | Dragon Pulse

Great speed tier, decent enough bulk (plus good looks lol) put this grass snake on my team. I chose to run the Sub + Glare set because it can surprise and cripple many things, such as Megagross, MAlt, and Excadrill. I set up subs on predicted switches, and then Glare or Leaf Storm the things that switch in. Dragon Pulse is for coverage on Dragons. EVs are very standard, maxing speed and power. Coba + HP Rock is a great lure for Flying types like Talonflame and Torn-T which are a huge problem to my team.

Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Nature: Timid
EVs: 132 HP | 160 SpA | 216 Spe 96 HP / 160 SpA / 252 Spe thnx to TDK
Moves: Hurricane | Focus Blast Heat Wave thnx to Leftiez| Knock Off | U-Turn

Keeping with the 5th gen theme, a great pivot, Tornadus-Therian enters the team. He is there to help beat the Bug and Grass types that Serperior struggles with. The EVs give Tornadus-T a guaranteed OHKO on Keldeo with Hurricane whilst allowing it to outspeed Choice Scarf Tyranitar more things with new EVs and still having some bulk. Focus Blast covers most Steel types that resist Hurricane. Heat Wave allows Torn to beat Scizor, Ferrothorn and Skarmory, which my team hates.

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
Nature: Impish
EVs: 248 HP | 44 Atk | 16 Def | 200 SpD
Moves: Swords Dance | Roost | Bullet Punch | Knock Off

Bulky SD Mega Scizor is hands down my favorite Mega Evolvo to use in OU. With crazy bulk it's able to wall and proceed to set up on almost half of the tier. I often use him as a win condition, as I only need to remove fire types and bulky waters. With just 248 HP and 16 Def EVs with an Impish nature, Mega Scizor avoids the 2HKO from maximum Attack Adamant Landorus-T's Earthquake. The SpD EVs allow him to live Clefable's Fire Blast, and make's sure he is never 2HKOed by M-Gardevoir's Focus Miss. I chose Knock Off over Superpower because I don't like the Atk and Def drops.

Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 160 HP | 252 Atk | 96 Spe
Moves: Aqua Jet | Waterfall | Play Rough | Superpower
Thnx to TDK for Azumarill
The physical wallbreaker and obligatory Fairy of my team is now Azumarill. Choice Band + Huge Power gives the bunny insane power, able to OHKO and 2HKO many common pokemon. Waterfall + Play Rough is great dual STAB coverage, with Aqua Jet for priority and Superpower for coverage.

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP | 164 Def | 76 SpD | 16 Spe
Moves: Stealth Rock | Dragon Tail | Earthquake | Fire Blast

TankChomp is becoming more popular and for good reason. Rough Skin + Rocky Helmet is a god, as it does a clean 27% to pokes who touch it. He is my phazer and my SR setter. Earthquake is STAB and hits things hard even without investment. Dragon Tail is good for phazing everything except Fairies, but I do have multiple things to deal with those. Fire Blast 2HKOs Skarmory and Ferrothorn. The EV spread gives Garchomp the Special Defense needed to survive powerful hits from Pokemon such as Mega Charizard Y, Landorus, Gengar, Keldeo, and Mega Diancie. The Speed EVs allow him to outspeed neutral base 70s and Jolly Tyranitar.

Starmie @ Life Orb Leftovers
Ability: Analytic Natural Cure
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpA | 4 HP | 252 Spe 240 HP / 16 SpD / 252 Spe
Moves: Rapid Spin | Hydro Pump | Ice Beam | Psyshock thnx to TDK for changes
Recover | Scald

Last on my team is IMO the best offensive rapid spinner in OU, Starmie. Starmie provides valuable water coverage for my team, dealing with fire types well. Analytic punishes switches well, dealing 1.3x damage when going last. Rapid Spin removes hazards from my side of the field, helping Tornadus-T (and not much else lol). Psyshock helps kill Gengar and Venusaur, as well as most fighting types. Natural Cure allows Starmie to be a status absorber and the defensive EVs maximise his bulk while not lowering his speed tier.

Former Team Members​

Bisharp @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 248 HP | 252 Atk | 8 Spe 72 HP | 252 Atk | 184 Spe thnx to Mur for changes
Moves: Knock Off | Sucker Punch | Iron Head | Pursuit

More 5th Gen! YAY! Pursuit trapper, great power and utility with Knock Off. Second Fairy killer of the team, which is needed in this meta. Sucker Punch is priority, and also very powerful. He is my switch in to common defog users because defiant is a monster. Also, after Intimidate + Defiant, Sucker Punch OHKOs Mega Manectric and Scarf Landorus-T. Speed EVs allow him to speed creep Rotom-W
​

Importable​

Hide

Serperior @ Coba Berry
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Glare
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Dragon Pulse

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 240 HP / 16 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Recover
- Rapid Spin

Azumarill (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Superpower

Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 96 HP / 160 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 16 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 76 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Fire Blast

 

[Mur]

Hey man solid team and welcome to smogon! I think I have a few suggestions to help you out a little! First I would change sub to hp ground and lefties to life orb on serperior. While I see the purpose of sub+glare, lefties plus the poor coverage of leaf storm and dragon pulse does not let serp effectively preform it's role of a breaker as well as with life orb and a hidden power. I choose hp ground because it pressures heatran which opens up a hole for scizor to come through. The last slot I'd keep in glare since the few offensive checks to serp are very obvious switch-ins so catching them should not be a challenge at all and your team could really appreciate torn-t being crippled.

Next I suggest changing the bisharp spread to 72hp/252atk+/184spd. This spread allows you to outspeed the standard rotom-w spread and also creeps a little so you out speed rotoms that try to creep as well. Also another small change you can make if you hate relying on low accuracy moves you can swap focus blast on torn-t to either heatwave or superpower depending on what you are trying to target specifically in that move slot.

Pretty solid team hope I helped improve it a little :] Also again welcome to smogon! I'l leave my suggestions below

Changes

Bisharp @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Pursuit

Serperior @ Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Glare

 

[lepton]

Thanks Mur! I'll try out these suggestions!

EDIT: changed the OP

 

[Charles the Best]

Forget leftovers, as a fellow serperior runner, I can tell you the best item is lum berry, as the last thing you want is a paralyzed serperior

sub will be pointless without leftovers so like mur said, take that of for hidden power, hp fire is another great alternative to hp ground, but will cost you a IV in speed

P.S. I like glare, keep that

 

[kumiko]

yo,

This is a pretty decent team for someone newer to 'Mons. My apologies if you're not new; I just assumed from your join date. But anyway, solid team, but it has a few issues.

Firstly, a few of your sets are somewhat sub-optimal, namely Serperior, Starmie, and Bisharp. I'm not a fan of Leftovers Serperior, although it has been done. I think your team needs the fire power given from a Life Orb on Serperior. This allows you to kill Latios at +2 with Dragon Pulse, whereas it was a roll not in your favor after Stealth Rock damage without LO. Another thing on Serperior, which, in combination with Life Orb, gives you a big threat in the metagame, is using HP Fire > Substitute / Glare on Serperior. This prevents Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, and Mega Metagross from countering Serperior, and is the optimal coverage move on Serperior. HP Ground is workable, but with Knock Off Scizor and Starmie, you can wear down Heatran pretty easily during the battle.

I feel like your Starmie set isn't the best thing on your team; you need to switch it in often to things like Keldeo, Heatran, etc, and it will get worn down pretty faster, especially without recovery or good bulk. Going with a Bulky Starmie > Life Orb Starmie will help it out a lot, giving it reliable recovery, the ability to switch in often and safely vs threats you need to, and still beating things like Keldeo. Going with Psyshock over another possible fourth move is really needed for this team, as Starmie should be your primary Keldeo switch-in, and without Psyshock you'll autolose to Sub CM.

I don't think Bisharp is the best choice on your team; I get you want to pursuit trap the Eon Twins, but you don't struggle with them, really. Mega Scizor is a reliable answer, only fearing the not-so-common HP Fire, which can be scouted. You also give Mega Charizard X free switches everytime you bring in your Scizor, and you really have no way to deal with them. Changing Bisharp to CB Azumarill gives you a check to Latios/Latias and a reliable Charizard answer, only fearing Wisp, which isn't common. Azumarill is really unprepared for right now, especially Banded variants. This gives you an underrated threat that will be great wallbreaker for your team, while also checking the biggest threat to your team.

Another thing; I really, really hate 216 Speed Tornadus-T. I know it's the standard, but speed kills. You need max speed for things like Alakazam and Adamant Mega Lopunny. You also are then able to speed tie opposing Torandus-Ts, as they all run max speed, or they should, at least. If they don't, you get to outspeed them easily.

tl;dr

Leftovers SubGlare -> Life Orb HP Fire

Life Orb Spin -> Bulky Spin

->

216 Spe -> 252 Spe

Sets

Serperior @ Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Glare / Substitute
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 240 HP / 16 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Recover
- Rapid Spin

Azumarill (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Superpower

Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 96 HP / 160 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- Knock Off
- U-turn

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! n_n

 

[Leftiez]

Hey there, that's an interesting team you got there, you chose to build a team around serperior and you managed to cover its weakness as much as possible, however i have some tips that can help your team to fite better in my opinion.

• As i said to you lately, i can notice that Serperior has some troubles in term of sweeping, i mean if your plan is to build around Serperior then you should be able to clean with that as much as possible, while here i can see that Talonflame and Tornadus-T can give you a hard time as you lack of solid flying check, they can abuse of their respective stab and deal heavy damage to your team without any issue. That's why i'd suggest to swap your actual Serperior set with Coba Berry plus Hidden Power Rock, this might sound a bit gimmick but it provides a solid lure to flying types which are pretty dangerous for your team, assuming you can paralyze Tornadus-T with glare you will now be able to kill it with Leaf Storm + Hidden Power Rock after Stealth Rock's damage while Talonflame will die to Hidden Power Rock after Leaf Storm's boost, however make sure you're not in KO range so it might be better to keep Serperior healthy as long as you didn't lure these threats. Plus Hidden Power Rock make you safer against Thundurus-T as it can threaten your team easily.

• After that i'd suggest to use Heat Wave instead of Focus Blast on Tornadus-T, this is simple, you're pretty weak to Scizor as your only reliable check is Garchomp and it doesnt have recovery which means your opponent can weaken it and then sweep with Scizor, whereas Heat Wave allows you to hit it even if Garchomp is gone, then not like your team struggles against Heatran with Azumarill, Starmie, and Garchomp.

I hope I helped and good luck with your team.

Serperior

Serperior @ Coba Berry
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Glare
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Dragon Pulse

 

[teal6]

Hi gogurtgoat,

Very interesting team. As someone who has built a Serperior focused team recently (for the Aegislash suspect), I am always glad to see it getting more use, especially as a focal point of a team.

My first suggestion looking at the team would be to remove Dragon Pulse from Serperior in favor of Substitute. I see that you had this earlier, and frankly I recommend keeping it as Substitute can be a life savor in many situations for Serp. Most notable for me, it allows you to dodge Brave Birds when you set one up on the switch, fixes the guessing game component of the Bisharp matchup, allows you to avoid faster mons outright revenging if you can keep one up and allows you to still strike even if the opponent has priority (the one I was worried about most was MLopunny). Dragon Pulse has relatively poor coverage in my estimation in OU. While it hits the Latis harder, they actually only have one switch in in the first place, as the second one, if they eat a Leaf Storm on the switch they will die to a +2.

My second suggestion would be to run Meadow Plate over Life Orb. If Serp is acting as your sweeper, you are going to want to make sure you can take at least one hit along the way. Life orb diminishes this possibility, and if you run it in conjunction with Substitute you will be dying much more quickly than you'd like. Glare remains a great tech option due to the popularity of Tornadus-T, hitting it with a stray Glare is a great move that really can make the rest of your game much easier. Leaf Storm is, of course, obligatory. Hidden Power Fire remains the better option for your team, as your other members have an easier time dealing with Heatran in comparison to Ferrothorn, those two being of course the best stops to a Serperior sweep.

The set would look like this at completion:

Serperior @ Meadow Plate
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Glare
- Substitute

The above change works and keeps your team relatively similar. However, I have one suggestion that I think would help your team more, but changes the momentum of it a bit more drastically.

Currently, one of the bigger weaknesses I see if Choice Scarf Kyurem-Black, who (when running Mixed, which is by far the most common set), run through your entire team aside from Scizor. This is a lot of pressure to but on MZor, as he can easily be worn down over the course of a match, especially if he were to catch stray status moves, in particular a burn.

In order to help answer this, I think a strong option for your team will be Clefable. Not only does Clefable help check one of the few mons that outspeeds Serperior (MLop), but it also has the option to carry Heal Bell which is fantastic support for your two win conditions in Serperior and MZor, both of whom will have their sweep ruined by status (Para and Burn respectively). I would switch out Azumarill for Clefable with the following set:

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Protect
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Heal Bell

Let me know if you like any of these changes! As I said before, interesting team and good luck

 

[lllg17]

I know this isn't a rate and please don't flag me for spam, but where do people get their sprites? Not sure where to ask this but you have cool sprites so... but after the changes your team looks real solid, really. Though an Alt item you might run could be Wide Lens to not have LeafMiss become a thing

 

[lepton]

http://www.pokestadium.com/tools/sprites this is where i get my sprites

Oh, and I think I will keep Azumarill because Charizard-X exists