I like using unconventional strategies for two reasons. First, I like doing something more original rather than cookie cutter. Second, there is often a really good surprise factor than can swing the momentum. The main core idea here is to use a Magneton/Gyarados tank core, which matches up surprisingly well against most of the meta, and then use that to gain momentum for more offensive builds. From there, I was looking for the best complimentary attackers with mixed results. I can confirm that at least the current iteration of the team team works pretty well in OU, at least according to my tests, because I was recently able to get it above 1300 on Smogon
Previous iterations of the team were a mixed bag. For instance, my original Mega was a Megasceptile for a special attacker speed and power and the grass stab. It didn't really fit, though, since the overall coverage wasn't good enough to justify it for what my team needed. I had an Assault Band Retaliate Intimidate Tauros as a revenge killer. It was good on switches, but I found it to be too underwhelming overall and I was carrying too much intimidation against teams with justify. I have since replaced that Tauros with Mega-Loppuny, which is amazing. I also had an intimidate bulky salamance with dragon dance that was more of a tank with minimal sweeping potential. While it paired really well defensively with the rest of the team, I found it to be sort of redundant and not worth carrying. Etc.
The modern version of the team is more streamlined. Less clunky bulk with limited payout. More purposeful offense to pivot off the defensive core. I'm still probably not done tweaking it. So any suggestions are appreciate it. Just know that I tend to do things a bit unconventionally and that I'm unlikely to change my main core since I'm happy with it.
Magneton @ Eviolite
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 236 HP / 96 Def / 176 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Rest
Reasoning: It's one of the original inspirations for the team. With eviolite, I can get it to 300 HP and well over 350 defense and special defense each. This mixed tank can absorb multiple hits of anything non boosted that it isn't weak to. It's seriously bulky. It's Electric/Steel typing makes a surprisingly good switch in for most situations. As a volt switcher, it's speed is sort of in an odd sweet spot where it was fast enough to outspeed most tanks and gain momentum on them while also being slow enough to bring in offensive teammates after absorbing the hit from offensive threats. Volt switch also gives it an out against most trappers. Toxic is to wear down all tanks who aren't immune to it or healers. Flash Cannon is a great stab that does good damage with Magneton's still high base 120 special attack and can punish certain switches with Analytic. I found that was ultimately more useful than Sturdy. The lack of reliable recovery is potentially a problem. Rest is situational, but baiting a rest can be used in certain scenarios to keep this pokemon going longer than it otherwise would. I have found this to be handy on occasion even with the two dead turns from rest.
Gyarados @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Waterfall
- Bounce
- Earthquake
- Avalanche
Reasoning: It's the other inspiration for the team. Mainly, this was to cover for the weaknesses of Magneton. It resists fire and fighting while being immune to ground type. At the same time, Magneton resists the rock and electric type moves that give Gyarados trouble. Bulky Gyarados builds have often been good. My unconventional slant on it let's me use it as more of a tank at the expense of offensive ceiling. The lack of moxie hurts a bit. It's worth it since this is for defense. It's intimidate ability forces a lot of physical attackers to have to switch. For those who don't, it's generally bulky enough to survive a few hits anyway and hit back. Assault Vest and Max Special defense makes this insanely good at countering non electric type special attackers, which is amazing when paired with intimidate and a resistance to fighting types. It isn't a damage build, yet it does enough more than enough to chunk nearly any squishy to moderate builds.
The main disadvantage with assault vest is the inability to set up. I don't find it's a problem in most cases since this can switch into most of what I face. However, it can be countered by certain bulky set up sweepers. This build counters most dragons, most grass types, most ground types, and can tank just about every non set up special attacker. No lie, this thing can straight up counters Mega-Swampert both in the rain and out of it. The real problem here is stealth rock. I find that while stealth rock keeps this build honest, it can still be effective as a switch in for awhile even in games where I can't get rid of it. Still, it turns this build from ridiculous to just good.
Nidoking @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
Reasoning: I needed a ground type to absorb electric attacks for Gyarados. I also needed a special attacker with good coverage to fill out my team. So I resorted to this. It can be a handy switch in for some cases. It's immune to electric type moves, toxic, and thunder wave and absorbs toxic spikes. I find that it has good enough natural bulk to survive most hits that aren't boosted or super effective. The damage is good. Not great. The coverage is great. The scarf makes it a little awkward to use at times, even if it is necessary for the speed. Sadly, I found the non-scarfed version was often too slow for my team.
Greninja @ Waterium Z
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Cannon
- Grass Knot
- Ice Beam
- Extrasensory
Reasoning: After a lot of searching for a special attacker that was a good fit for my team, I chose this. Greninja is fast, powerful, and fairly versatile. Protean is a really useful ability for getting much more versatile stab coverage than you otherwise could. This let's you get stab ice coverage without actually having to carry an ice type. And this is necessary with Landerous T running around in like half of everyone's teams. Grass Knot gives me the grass coverage I originally sought after with Mega-Sceptile and a better surprise factor. I found Gunk Shot wasn't remotely necessary with ice coverage for grass types and Nidoking and Magneton on the team for fairies. Extrasensory is the necessary psychic coverage for fighting and poison types. Hydro Cannon is the nuke. Part of the reason why I chose Greninja is that there aren't many water types who can run it and most water starters don't have the speed and special attack combo to justify it. With the Z crystal, I can fire off one for massive damage and still have another left in the clip before I have toreload recharge. At the point of resorting to using the first regular hydro cannon and having to recharge, I've probably punched enough of a hole in the opposing team to make it worth it. (And maybe sneakily set up a revenge kill.) For whatever it is worth, the initial dark typing also helps check cheeky prankster status.
Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Retaliate
- High Jump Kick
- Power-Up Punch
- Last Resort
Reasoning: The primary purpose was a revenge killer with retaliate. I like using retaliate because the power spike is sudden and can often even the score. While I have experimented with several retaliate users in the hopes of not having to use my mega on it, there really is nothing like Mega-Lopunny. It's fast, powerful, and covers almost all of the pitfalls from most retaliate users. The scrappy ability of the mega form means ghost types can't feel safe switching into this since they are no longer immune. Not much can resist a high power retaliate anyway. Anything that can is pretty much a rock and/or steel type, and will get wrecked by Lopunny's other stab moves since High Jump Kick wrecks pretty much anything that is weak to it. The only thing that really can switch into this Mega-Lopunny safely is a really bulky defensive wall that isn't weak to fighting type. The rest of the moves are for the threat of a potential snowball. If Mega-Loppuny can set up both a Power Up Punch and a High Jump Kick after a retaliate, it can then sweep with Last Resort at +1 killing just about anything that doesn't resist it and High Jump Kick taking care of the rest.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off
- Bug Bite
- Defog
Reasoning: I needed a priority user with some pop. Builds that could outspeed my Lopunny like Mega-Alakazam were becoming sweeping threats. Sometimes a dragon dance sweeper or an Unburden Hawlucha would get out of control in spite of my Gyarados or because it was taken out early. Some opposing priority users could pose problems and Scizor could often take a hit and dish it out. That's why I went maximum attack and defense EVS. If I could chunk them a bit, Scizor could often clean up the sweeping threat. Sometimes Scizor could even just straight up one hit them. Yeah, the primary reason was as a speed checker. The rest was just utility. Knock Off is a good general threat for switches. Bug Bite is just solid stab damage. Defog was added just because I needed some means to counter sticky web and stealth rock, even though it is a bit awkward to use on a choice set. If this seems kind of jumbled together, that's because it is. I was looking for a one size fits all solution to most of my problems. It fits pretty well even if it is a tad awkward.
Summary: Overall, the team is pretty good. Magneton and Gyarados are a great defensive core. I'm really liking how Mega-Lopunny and Greninja fit. I'm less sold on keeping Nidoking and Scizor long term. They are good. They just aren't as good as I feel it could be. I'm open to suggestions on improvements.
Previous iterations of the team were a mixed bag. For instance, my original Mega was a Megasceptile for a special attacker speed and power and the grass stab. It didn't really fit, though, since the overall coverage wasn't good enough to justify it for what my team needed. I had an Assault Band Retaliate Intimidate Tauros as a revenge killer. It was good on switches, but I found it to be too underwhelming overall and I was carrying too much intimidation against teams with justify. I have since replaced that Tauros with Mega-Loppuny, which is amazing. I also had an intimidate bulky salamance with dragon dance that was more of a tank with minimal sweeping potential. While it paired really well defensively with the rest of the team, I found it to be sort of redundant and not worth carrying. Etc.
The modern version of the team is more streamlined. Less clunky bulk with limited payout. More purposeful offense to pivot off the defensive core. I'm still probably not done tweaking it. So any suggestions are appreciate it. Just know that I tend to do things a bit unconventionally and that I'm unlikely to change my main core since I'm happy with it.
Magneton @ Eviolite
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 236 HP / 96 Def / 176 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Rest
Reasoning: It's one of the original inspirations for the team. With eviolite, I can get it to 300 HP and well over 350 defense and special defense each. This mixed tank can absorb multiple hits of anything non boosted that it isn't weak to. It's seriously bulky. It's Electric/Steel typing makes a surprisingly good switch in for most situations. As a volt switcher, it's speed is sort of in an odd sweet spot where it was fast enough to outspeed most tanks and gain momentum on them while also being slow enough to bring in offensive teammates after absorbing the hit from offensive threats. Volt switch also gives it an out against most trappers. Toxic is to wear down all tanks who aren't immune to it or healers. Flash Cannon is a great stab that does good damage with Magneton's still high base 120 special attack and can punish certain switches with Analytic. I found that was ultimately more useful than Sturdy. The lack of reliable recovery is potentially a problem. Rest is situational, but baiting a rest can be used in certain scenarios to keep this pokemon going longer than it otherwise would. I have found this to be handy on occasion even with the two dead turns from rest.
Gyarados @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Waterfall
- Bounce
- Earthquake
- Avalanche
Reasoning: It's the other inspiration for the team. Mainly, this was to cover for the weaknesses of Magneton. It resists fire and fighting while being immune to ground type. At the same time, Magneton resists the rock and electric type moves that give Gyarados trouble. Bulky Gyarados builds have often been good. My unconventional slant on it let's me use it as more of a tank at the expense of offensive ceiling. The lack of moxie hurts a bit. It's worth it since this is for defense. It's intimidate ability forces a lot of physical attackers to have to switch. For those who don't, it's generally bulky enough to survive a few hits anyway and hit back. Assault Vest and Max Special defense makes this insanely good at countering non electric type special attackers, which is amazing when paired with intimidate and a resistance to fighting types. It isn't a damage build, yet it does enough more than enough to chunk nearly any squishy to moderate builds.
The main disadvantage with assault vest is the inability to set up. I don't find it's a problem in most cases since this can switch into most of what I face. However, it can be countered by certain bulky set up sweepers. This build counters most dragons, most grass types, most ground types, and can tank just about every non set up special attacker. No lie, this thing can straight up counters Mega-Swampert both in the rain and out of it. The real problem here is stealth rock. I find that while stealth rock keeps this build honest, it can still be effective as a switch in for awhile even in games where I can't get rid of it. Still, it turns this build from ridiculous to just good.
Nidoking @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
Reasoning: I needed a ground type to absorb electric attacks for Gyarados. I also needed a special attacker with good coverage to fill out my team. So I resorted to this. It can be a handy switch in for some cases. It's immune to electric type moves, toxic, and thunder wave and absorbs toxic spikes. I find that it has good enough natural bulk to survive most hits that aren't boosted or super effective. The damage is good. Not great. The coverage is great. The scarf makes it a little awkward to use at times, even if it is necessary for the speed. Sadly, I found the non-scarfed version was often too slow for my team.
Greninja @ Waterium Z
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Cannon
- Grass Knot
- Ice Beam
- Extrasensory
Reasoning: After a lot of searching for a special attacker that was a good fit for my team, I chose this. Greninja is fast, powerful, and fairly versatile. Protean is a really useful ability for getting much more versatile stab coverage than you otherwise could. This let's you get stab ice coverage without actually having to carry an ice type. And this is necessary with Landerous T running around in like half of everyone's teams. Grass Knot gives me the grass coverage I originally sought after with Mega-Sceptile and a better surprise factor. I found Gunk Shot wasn't remotely necessary with ice coverage for grass types and Nidoking and Magneton on the team for fairies. Extrasensory is the necessary psychic coverage for fighting and poison types. Hydro Cannon is the nuke. Part of the reason why I chose Greninja is that there aren't many water types who can run it and most water starters don't have the speed and special attack combo to justify it. With the Z crystal, I can fire off one for massive damage and still have another left in the clip before I have to
Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Retaliate
- High Jump Kick
- Power-Up Punch
- Last Resort
Reasoning: The primary purpose was a revenge killer with retaliate. I like using retaliate because the power spike is sudden and can often even the score. While I have experimented with several retaliate users in the hopes of not having to use my mega on it, there really is nothing like Mega-Lopunny. It's fast, powerful, and covers almost all of the pitfalls from most retaliate users. The scrappy ability of the mega form means ghost types can't feel safe switching into this since they are no longer immune. Not much can resist a high power retaliate anyway. Anything that can is pretty much a rock and/or steel type, and will get wrecked by Lopunny's other stab moves since High Jump Kick wrecks pretty much anything that is weak to it. The only thing that really can switch into this Mega-Lopunny safely is a really bulky defensive wall that isn't weak to fighting type. The rest of the moves are for the threat of a potential snowball. If Mega-Loppuny can set up both a Power Up Punch and a High Jump Kick after a retaliate, it can then sweep with Last Resort at +1 killing just about anything that doesn't resist it and High Jump Kick taking care of the rest.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off
- Bug Bite
- Defog
Reasoning: I needed a priority user with some pop. Builds that could outspeed my Lopunny like Mega-Alakazam were becoming sweeping threats. Sometimes a dragon dance sweeper or an Unburden Hawlucha would get out of control in spite of my Gyarados or because it was taken out early. Some opposing priority users could pose problems and Scizor could often take a hit and dish it out. That's why I went maximum attack and defense EVS. If I could chunk them a bit, Scizor could often clean up the sweeping threat. Sometimes Scizor could even just straight up one hit them. Yeah, the primary reason was as a speed checker. The rest was just utility. Knock Off is a good general threat for switches. Bug Bite is just solid stab damage. Defog was added just because I needed some means to counter sticky web and stealth rock, even though it is a bit awkward to use on a choice set. If this seems kind of jumbled together, that's because it is. I was looking for a one size fits all solution to most of my problems. It fits pretty well even if it is a tad awkward.
Summary: Overall, the team is pretty good. Magneton and Gyarados are a great defensive core. I'm really liking how Mega-Lopunny and Greninja fit. I'm less sold on keeping Nidoking and Scizor long term. They are good. They just aren't as good as I feel it could be. I'm open to suggestions on improvements.
