SM OU Bulky Offensive VoltTurners

[Deleted User 91486]

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Introduction
This is a bulky offensive team built arount the VoltTurn core with Rotom W and Mega Scizor. Volcanion and Tapu Bulu are mainly for threatening strong hits after switched in against a pokemon they check vial VoltTurn, Volcanion also serves as a nice check to both sun and rain teams while Bulu checks most electric types like Tapu Koko as it survives at least one HP Ice and regenerates its HP with the powerful Horn Leech. Salamence is the team's late-game cleaner while Landorus-Therian is a scarfer for revenge-killing threats such as Mega Charizard, Greninja and others.

Team Building Process

This is a pretty standard VoltTurn core, providing slow Volt Switches and U-Turns to gain momentum and switch in other pokemon without getting them damaged and after seeing the opponent's possible switch.
Rotom also checks numerous threats of the current metagame and cripples the opposing mons with burns.

Air Balloon Heatran was added due to the quad fire weakness of Scizor, and as an offensive supporter with Stealth Rocks and Taunt. It also has great synergy with Rotom due to countering grass types which can hit Rotom for super-effective damage.

To have something against opposing electric types and to weaken Earthquake against Heatran, after its balloon popped, I chose Tapu Bulu. It also checks opposing water types like Tapu Fini and can act as a late-game cleaner, if the opponent lacks grass-resistances and faster poison type moves, due to healing itself with every Horn Leech hit.

Landorus-Therian was chosen as a scarfer to revenge-kill opposing sweepers after one of my pokemon faints. Its U-Turns also provide momentum and are very dangerous for opposing Hoopas, Mega Alakazams and Greninjas, as they're special attackers and Scizor doesn't have that good special bulk.

Salamence was added as a setup sweeper and late-game cleaner to finish the weakened opposing team after a Dragon Dance.

Finally I exchanged Air Balloon Heatran with AV Volcanion, because I realized that I don't need Stealth Rocks in my team, since I remove them with my own Defog just after setting them up. Volcanion checks fire types for scizor just as Heatran did, and also is a solid check against both sun and rain teams, since it quad-resists fire, is immune to water and can hit back with weather-boosted Steam Eruptions in rain or Overheats in sun and with super-effective earthpowers against most fire types. It also has good synergy with Bulu,which weakens Eartquake and removes opposing electric types.

The Team

Rotom-Wash @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
- Trick

Rotom forms the team's core together with Scizor. It has great bulk and is one of the best pivots in the game. It checks lots of threats and cripples even more pokemon with its Will-O-Wisp.
I chose a combination of a Choice Scarf and trick to cripple opposing mons, which makes handling Chansey, Toxapex, SubPunch Buzzwoles, and defensive mons in general, very easy. I also thought about using Pain Split for recovery, but when playing with Pain Split, I sometimes struggled against pokemon I otherwise could easily shut down with the Scarf.
Volt Switch provides momentum, giving me the possibility to switch in after seeing the opponent's action while Hydro Pump is the only water type move that Rotom learns, and hits opposing Landorus which are immune to Volt Switch and fire types for super-effective damage.

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn
Scizor has excellent synergy with Rotom W as it quad-resists grass and provides a slow U-Turn for gaining momentum and scouting opposing switches. I chose Defog over Swords Dance since I have two Stealth Rock weaknesses in my team, and using VoltTurn comes with many switches, so otherwise my team would accumulate hazards damage very fast. Due to its amazing bulk, Scizor can come in on many physical attackers and U-Turn away, giving momentum, or defog to remove hazards for Salamence.
Bullet Punch is a nice, 90 BP priority move which his fairies for supereffective damage and is a great tool for revenge-killing weakened opposing threats.

Volcanion @ Assault Vest
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Sludge Bomb
Volcanion counters oppposing fire types for Scizor, checks grass types and is my main answer to weather teams as it is immune to rain-boosted water attacks and quad-resists sun-boosted fire attacks while hitting back with its own boosted moves.
Assault Vest is the chosen item for increasing its already nice bulk even further, making it difficult to defeat without supereffective moves while giving me more freedom with choosing the right move.
Steam Eruption is its signature move and the chosen water STAB. It is an extremely hard-hitting scald, and makes switching in against Volcanion very dangerous due to the high burn chance.
Fire Blast is its Fire STAB which hits very hard too and doesn't lower its special attack unlike Overheat, which is a nice alternative, but may be better for a specs set.
Earth Power hits electric/rock types on the switchin and opposing fire types for super-effective damage while Sludge Bomb hits Fairies like Azumarill or Tapu Fini (who's switched into Volcanion everytimes) for great damage and carries a nice poisoning chance

Tapu Bulu @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Facade
- Stone Edge

This Ox hits incredibly hard and has great synergy with the other mons, especially with Volcanion and Rotom, since its grassy terrain weakens Earthquake, effectively negating Volcanion's (and Rotom's, if the Earthquake user has Mold Breaker) ground weakness, while it removes ground, rock and electric types who threat Volcanion.

EV Split, Nature and Choice Band are combined for maximum power and bulk, OHKOing nearly everything that doesn't resist the chosen move.
Horn Leech is the preferred STAB over Wood Hammer, because Wood Hammer's recoil wound wear down Tapu Bulu too quickly, while Horn Leech regenerates its HP and hits with Grassy Terrain boost very hard too. Due to the healing, late-game sweeps with Bulu are a nice option, if the opponent lacks bulky grass resistances and faster poison attackers.
Superpower is chosen to hit steels for supereffective damage on their switchin, and 2HKOes Chansey.
Stone Edge hits flying types, who resist both Horn Leech and Superpower and fire types.
The final move, Facade, is used if Tapu Bulu unfortunately gets burned to still deal great amounts of damage.

Salamence @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fly
- Dragon Dance
- Aqua Tail
- Outrage

Salamence is the main late-game cleaner and setup sweeper. A jolly nature was chosen to outspeed Scarf Lele and Landorus at +1, the Flyinium Z provides a way of OHKOing many mons after a Dragon Dance, netting an easy first moxie boost.
With Outrage and Aqua Tail, it has a great coverage, hitting nearly everything at least neutrally. Fly is mainly used for the Z move, but also hits grass types super-effective (Mega Venusaur) and perfects Salamence's coverage.

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpDef / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Superpower / HP Ice
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
Landorus is the team's scarfer to check opposing threats like Mega Charizard, Tapu Koko, Gyarados, Greninja...
Earthquake should be clear ;)
Stone Edge kills Charizards, Talonflame and other birds and U-Turn provides momentum against predicted switches.
I'm really unsure wether to use Superpower or HP Ice in the fourth slot, since both have their uses. Superpower kills Greninja, Kartana, Kyurem... while HP Ice allows revenge-killing SD Garchomp, Sceptile, Dragonite and other Landoruses but comes off its much weaker SpAtt stat, being only a 2HKO against the named mons despite their quad ice weakness.

Conclusion
For me, this teams seems to be relatively solid, but there are some weaknesses I found out:

• Alolan Marowak. It is checked, but only checked, by Landorus and Volcanion, but the first is hit hard with Shadow Bone or Flare Blitz (so it is only a good switchin into a Bonemerang/Earthquake), and the latter is weak to Bonemerang/Earthquake.
  
• Sand teams: Excadrill outspeeds all my mons in sand, hits Tapu Bulu super-effective with Iron Head and Volcanion with Earthquake, but maybe Volcanion can handle it on grassy terrain? If it gets a burn from Rotom or Volcanion, it becomes harmless.
  
• Mega Venusaur: Thanks to thick fat it is hit neutrally by Volcanion's Fire Blast, so that I have to chip it with U-Turns, as I completely lack a psychic move, or go for a (Z-)Fly with Salamence, but Fly is a 2-turn-move, allowing the opponent to simply switch to a (Rocky Helmet wearing) resistance the opponent may predict Z-Fly too and switch out, and wasting the Z move against, for example, Skarmory would be a fatal fail.
  
• Dugtrio: I have three flying/levitating mons, but volcanion can get trapped and OHKOed by Earthquake if there's no grassy terrain...
• SubPunch Buzzwole, if I can't burn it, trick it the Scarf or kill it with something like Volt Switch (breaks the sub) -> Volcanion Fire Blast.

I hope you can give me some suggestions for this team to improve it further ;)

Import

Rotom-Wash @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
- Trick

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn

Volcanion @ Assault Vest
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Sludge Bomb

Tapu Bulu @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Facade
- Stone Edge

Salamence @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fly
- Dragon Dance
- Aqua Tail
- Outrage

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
- Stone Edge

 

[Deleted User 91486]

bump :)

I also thought about running Zen Headbutt over Stone Edge on Tapu Bulu to have another super-effective move against Mega Venusaur and Buzzwole, but I'm not sure about this, since Fire or Flying switchins are common against Tapu Bulu and Mega Venusaur outspeeds Bulu and OHKOs it with any poison move.

 

[Deleted User 91486]

Thanks for your suggestions :)

I played with the new team bit, but I don't like Keldeo as a Scarfer and the defensive Lando that much in this team, because the new team is completely free for Mega Metagross. Keldeo can't hit the thing supereffectively and will be OHKOed by thunder punch/Zen headbutt, while Landorus will be OHKOed by ice punch before it can fire off its Earthquake. The "old" team had both scarf landorus and Volcanion (which quad-resists both Ice Punch and Meteor mash, and takes not too much damage from Thunder punch due to its bulk) to defeat an opposing metagross while the new team has only one chance: burn it with Rotom's Will-o-Miss.

Mega Charizard Y is a similar problem now, since it OHKOs Keldeo with Solar Beam while the sun weakens its water attacks, making the unreliable Hydro Pump only a 2HKO. With Volcanion, I could tank that Solar Beam easily and with Scarf Landorus I had a solid revenger who OHKOs Charizard with Stone Edge.
Also, Keldeo doesn't counter nor check SupBunch Buzzwole (Volcanion was even better, because it hits with fire for super-effective damage) and takes 80% or more damage when switching into Marowak's Shadow Bone. It's also hit supereffective by Lele's attacks and doesn't do anything against Mega VEnusaur.

Keldeo's ability is useless too, since it gets an attack boost while being a special attacker when switching into dark attacks.

Defensive Rotom is nice (altough opposing Chanseys are now a bit more annyoing since I can no longer scarf them), however, and SpDef Scizor is nice too, but without defog, the team is worn down by entry hazards very quickly, especially toxic spikes could be a problem against stall teams.