ORAS OU Balance Against Humanity (Peaked 1540)

[JTD783]

Hello everyone,

My name is JTD783, and this is my first RMT.

Balance Against Humanity, as the name suggests, is a balance team, and utilizes a fairly mainstream FWG core to sweep with Mega Charizard X. The nicknames reflect their destructive capability, and are explained in the attached videos.

At a Glance:​

I started with the well-known FWG core of Zard X + Serperior + Keldeo. They have decent type synergy defensively and excellent type synergy offensively. Serperior and Keldeo work to break walls and weaken offensive threats for Charizard, which can then set up a Dragon Dance and win.

This core is noticeably weak to birdspam and strong physical attackers, so I did what any sensible OU player would do: I threw in a defensive Landorus-T.

Next, I was clearly weak to fairies. Mega Gardevoir shredded me if it switched in safely and Clefable set up Calm Minds easily. To alleviate this, I added Jirachi. I originally used a specially defensive set, but due to its lack of offensive pressure, I changed it to the Choice Scarf set.

Lastly, it was clear that electrics and opposing Keldeo could blow past me without too much trouble. I also clearly needed a form of hazard removal to keep Charizard healthy. As such, Latias seemed like a solid choice for my final teamslot.

IN DEPTH​

Dresden (Charizard-Mega-X) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Flare Blitz

Named for the 1945 Dresden bombing during World War II. This is a relatively standard Charizard X, with full investments in Attack and Speed along with a Jolly nature. It's role is simple: wait for checks to be removed (it's not like any real counters exist), set up a DD, and sweep. Dragon Claw is the spammable STAB to be used on weakened threats, while Flare Blitz hits fairies and anything healthy enough to tank a +1 Dragon Claw hard. Earthquake primarily hits Heatran, which is otherwise a nuisance for the team.

Bhopal (Serperior) @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Glare
- Dragon Pulse
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Named for the pesticide plant disaster in Bhopal, India in 1984. This Serperior runs its usual Leaf Storm + Dragon Pulse + 2 Fillers, and is tweaked to suit my team. Otherwise, it uses the typical EV spread. I chose Glare to help counterplay Talonflame, specifically the specially defensive stallbreaker set (Lando beats most offensive SD variants). Lastly, Hidden Power Fire was chosen to easily beat Ferrothorn, Scizor, and the like. I opted for this over HP Ground since Charizard handles Heatran with Earthquake. Serperior is great for breaking bulky grounds and waters, as well as occasionally pulling off a sweep of its own.

Sumatra (Keldeo-Resolute) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Hydro Pump

Named for the most devastating tsunami in history, which struck Indonesia in 2004 after a massive earthquake. Keldeo completes the FWG core and threatens opposing fire-types, as well as checking darks such as Weavile, Tyranitar, and Bisharp. I chose a Choice Scarf to let Keldeo serve as a revenge killer, although this was made when Jirachi was still specially defensive, so a different item could be better. HP Electric helps deal with Slowbro and Gyarados, and Secret Sword is Keldeo's best fighting-type attack. Scald needs no explanation. Hydro Pump is nice for when extra power is needed. Max Special Attack and Speed, and Timid nature of course.

Shensi (Landorus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- U-turn

Named for history's most destructive earthquake, a magnitude 8 disturbance in 16th-century China. Here we have defensive Landorus-T, a staple of OU. It helps the team with getting rocks up and pivoting with U-Turn, and occasionally hitting foes with Earthquake or Stone Edge. More notably, it is an excellent punching bag on the physical side, beating such threats as Talonflame, Excadrill, Mega Lopunny, and opposing Charizard X. The Rocky Helmet is nice for the chip damage. Its EV spread is standard, using 8 in Speed and special defense for speed creep and the 2HKO from Mega Manectric's HP Ice, respectively, and the rest in HP and Defense.

Donora (Jirachi) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
- Fire Punch
- Iron Head

Named for the steel industry's smog crisis in Donora, Pennsylvania in 1948. This Jirachi is a standard scarf variant, and performs excellently in this meta. It serves as a revenge killer and fairy check with its spammable STAB Iron Head. It uses U-Turn to pivot and Healing Wish to provide team support, as most of my team otherwise gets worn down quickly. I opted for Fire Punch in the last moveslot to hit Ferrothorn, Scizor, and others (I clearly don't like to deal with them), which would otherwise wall Jirachi. Standard max Attack and Speed, rest in Defense.

(See 9:00)

Tenerife (Latias) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Roost

Named for the Tenerife Airline Disaster of 1975, history's worst airline accident. LO Latias is another offensive support for the team, and prevents electrics and Keldeo from slaughtering the squad. Psyshock and Draco Meteor are the standard STABs, hitting the likes of Rotom-W, Garchomp, and Mega Venusaur for massive damage. Defog clears hazards, which are otherwise annoying, and Roost gives longevity, adding to Latias' defensive capabilities tremendously. Standard "Offensive Support" EV spread.

Threats:​

If it sets up and Keldeo is sufficiently weakened/already KO'd, the game is over. Even with Keldeo's help, the bane of offense (or balance in this case) can always find a way.

This goes for any form of birdspam really, but Talonflame is the biggest threat among them. It can OHKO damn near everything at +2 if it's offensive SD, and specially defensive talon can burn Lando as it comes it to eat a hit. Don't let Landorus die.

Replays:​

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http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-340913026 (also the peak)

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Importable:
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Version 1: The Original

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Dresden (Charizard-Mega-X) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Flare Blitz

Bhopal (Serperior) @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Glare
- Dragon Pulse
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Donora (Jirachi) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
- Fire Punch
- Iron Head

Shensi (Landorus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- U-turn

Tenerife (Latias) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Roost

Sumatra (Keldeo-Resolute) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Hydro Pump

Version 2: Nedor's Suggestion

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Dresden (Charizard-Mega-X) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Dragon Claw
- Flare Blitz

Bhopal (Serperior) @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Glare
- Dragon Pulse
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Donora (Jirachi) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
- Heart Stamp
- Iron Head

Shensi (Landorus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 212 Def / 36 SpD / 12 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- U-turn

Tenerife (Latias) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Healing Wish

Sumatra (Keldeo-Resolute) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Icy Wind
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Hydro Pump

Thanks for reading! Please let me know your suggestions to improve the team.

-JTD783

 

[Nedor]

hey JTD783, this is a pretty straightforward offensively based charizard-x build, but solid nonetheless. after looking at the team in-depth, you really don't have any wallbreaker that instantly threatens your main sweeper's checks, but that can be fixed fairly easily. healing wish is fantastic on these types of teams to provide a second chance at cleaning, or even help the backbone with threats that are otherwise hard to manage; in this case set-up 'mons like bisharp and talonflame. there are a few small optimizations that would help a ton in the long run, but other than that there aren't too many major changes required.

first off, you'd definitely prefer specs keldeo as opposed to scarf on this build. you already have a solid form of speed control in scarf jirachi and glare serperior to provide a secondary momentum generator, but having nothing to abuse that to apply pressure honestly sucks. looking at charizard-x's main checks these days, its essentially offensive pressure preventing it from setting up (including revenge killers like scarf keldeo / np thund / sand drill as examples), as well as bulkier 'mons along the lines of landorus-t, hippo, azumarill, slowbro. as you can probably tell, specs keldeo would get a multitude of free switches on your team with the combination of u-turn landorus-t + scarf jirachi, meaning you immediately pressure its checks, cripple them, or double to gain momentum which your team does fairly well. you can also consider the resttalk set if you're finding sd bisharp, weavile, and getting worn down too quickly problematic, but they're definitely manageable and can be played around.

as for smaller ev spread / set changes, i'd go 0 atk ivs on serperior, keldeo, and latios to minimize foul play / confusion damage. on defensive landorus-t, 248 hp / 212 def / 36 spdef / 12 speed is advised to live a draco meteor from latios at full, as well as tank hp ice's from a few offensive electrics which can be useful in certain scenarios, while minimizing stealth rocks damage. on scarf jirachi, definitely opt for heart stamp > fire punch for helping your match-up with stuff like offensive electrics, mega venusaur which can honestly cut a lot of the teams momentum, keldeo, mega lopunny, etc. not to mention, fire punch isn't necessary with specs keldeo / zard-x / hp fire serperior breaking down steels. this is not mandatory, but roost > eq on charizard-x is something i definitely find more consistent because it finds many more set-up opportunities, and keeping it healthy to deal with notable threats is always nice; heatran would get slightly annoying although its not too difficult to wear down and pressure, but hp ground serperior would help with that slightly if you choose to go with roost on zard-x. lastly, the team can definitely afford healing wish > roost on latias as you have a few other 'mons to help alleviate pressure from the stuff it beats, and double healing wish would definitely throw off your opponent (i'm suggesting a bulkier spread to help lower rolls on lo thund's hp ice and a few other attacks).

sets

Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind
- Scald

OR

Keldeo-Resolute @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 24 HP / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 212 Def / 36 SpD / 12 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Heart Stamp
- U-turn
- Healing Wish

that's all from me, the team should perform more consistently and effectively with specs keldeo + serperior being capable of crippling and removing the majority of zard-x's checks, with the help of healing wish in case you make a misplay. hope i could help and have a good day! (◕ᴥ◕)

 

[JTD783]

Thanks Nedor! I'll give your suggestions a shot and see how things go.

 

[JTD783]

I've been playing with Nedor's suggestions and like how the team works. I've added an extra importable for Nedor's version of the team.

Also bumping in case anyone else has suggestions :)