SM OU 2 Bugs and 2 Frogs RMT

[Shmirko]

This is one of my first serious teams in OU that I made a month ago, and it started with an attempt to use Rotom-Wash. I want to specifically build around it because I'd heard people say that he was on the rise and that bulky waters pivots are the wave (pun intended), so I wanted to try that out. When I was done building and playtesting, I decided it would be a good idea to post it on the Smogon discord for advice.

Their, people helped shape the team more like it is now, but that wasn't enough for me. So, I changed the team based on the suggestions the people made there and posted that AGAIN on discord, but this time on the OU discord. And there, my frens, was where the final product was made. It has everything that you need in an OU squadron: a couple of pivots, a scarfer, a steel-type, a rocker, a defogger AND a niche pick that is not on the VR for some unknown reason.

I am not the best builder or player, but I'm willing to learn and improve.

S/O on the end of the RMT

Volcarona @ Buginium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 112 Def / 148 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Flamethrower
- Bug Buzz
- Roost

Our first mon is the matchup-moth him/herself! Volcarona is one of my favourite set-up sweepers in OU and it is able to put in work and win me games most of the time.
The basic defensive set is needed to check Kart, a mon that I find very scary to face. That might be because this team is kinda weak to it, but also maybe because I associate that mon with getting 6-0'd. This mon also just synergises well with my froggy since he gets demolished by any grass type in the metagame.

There is not too much to say about the moveset: Quiver Dance helps me win games, Flamethrower over Fiery Dance for extra PP and damage, bug buzz with a Z-crystal for big damage and Roost for 1v1ing Zam, Lati and all those dudes. The spread is just from the smogon dex, so the defence for Kart, Sciz, Bulu etc

Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Toxic

Now, let's talk about this threat, shall we? THE BILLDOZER on Discord suggested me to use this since it gave me a Heatran switch-in and gets my rocks up, so Lando could be free to run scarf and be a defogger. Now I am in love with this thing, mainly because of it's typing. Yeah, quad weak to grass sucks, but I feel this mon makes up for it by burning the opponent with scald, getting my rocks up, checking Heatran and spreading Toxic as well. Because I don't know a good spread for Seismitoad in OU, I've just put everything in bulk with a nice and relaxed nature. This mon also functions as Ash Gren switch-in, providing he gets Choice-locked into Water-Shuriken.

Greninja @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- Spikes

Speaking of which: Ash-Gren provides me with some speed and raw power, being able to wrap a game up by virtue of its strong moves and his good offensive stats.
However, this is the most expendable member, in my opinion, because even though it's a strong breaker, I feel like it gives the team the least role compression. It just gives me a fast boi, Spikes and Dark typing, but that's about it. I'm not saying it's useless 90% of the time, but If you guys want to have something else on the team, this mon is the one to be replaced (even though I know that you'll just kick Seismitoad out)



Edit: I thought quite a bit about this and played some more games, and actually Ash Gren helped me win quite a bit by just ploughing through the last mons on my opponents' team. Even if I make stupid misplays, Gren is a pokémon that helps me win anyway by just smashing through weakened mons that cannot revenge kill it. My opinion kinda changed on what I wrote here first.

Tornadus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Defog

Tornadus makes an amazing pivot, because of it's ability and it's utility options, like knock off and defog. The former helps me with the bulky match-ups, being able to get rid of lefties and black sludges from sponges alike, while Volcarona loves the latter because It gets destroyed by rocks, of course. This is just your basic Tornadus, pretty much the mon that is the most capable to blanket check special attackers on my team.

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Def / 244 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Roost
- Knock Off

Up next we have our second bug, Scizor. This mon is my check to Lele and Zam, which kinda scares me. SD Scizor is another wincon that 1v1's checks to my team, including, again, Tapu Bulu. I like it that you don't need to worry about any speed investment on this mon, since it BP's everything to oblivion. Just like my other bug, Scizor uses roost to help him 1v1 better. It also gives me a Toxic switch-in, which helped me bamboozle my opponents multiple times.

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 232 Atk / 68 Def / 208 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Defog

Here he is, the goat of OU, with his best set. Scarf lando is speed, bulk, utility and momentum in 1 flying, orange dog/cat/goat. I know I have defog on my Torn too, but I know that my Volcarona wouldn't mind that. I pretty much always lead this mon to get immediate momentum, so I don't need to to think that much about what to lead.
I don't really need to explain anything about this mon, you know damn well what this mon is capable of.

This was it, but before I wrap this up, I wanna talk real quick about scary stuff. I think Ash-Gren has the potential to 6-0 my, because Seismitoad gets smacked if he locks himself into Dark Pulse. I am also still not sure about my matchup vs grass-spam, even though I've got my volc in the back.

Importable: < Click on me pls



Real quick S/O to everyone who helped with this team in the Smogon and the OU discord:

Social Justice Wario
THE BILLDOZER
stresh, for offering me the word expendable
spatula
Stagisolar77
curiosity
Ren

I think that is it, so thanks in advance for rating my team, and until next time!

 

[Bold School]

I think Ash-Gren has the potential to 6-0 my, because Seismitoad gets smacked if he locks himself into Dark Pulse.

The main potential problem I see related to this is no special wall. Not sure if you are trying to go more hyper offense or not. If you prefer to stay more hyper offense, than what I'm about to suggest may not work for you.

Maybe this might make your team more towards balance than you want, but I think I would replace Tornadus with something more bulky in special defense. Ash Greninja and Volcorona are already two of the best non-mega special attackers you can get. Maybe it would be better to go more defensive with the third one? If you are worried about dark type moves, a fairy wall like Tapu Fini, Magearna, or Clefable might work in your favor here. Although, Tapu Fini might not be ideal as it would be the third water type on your team.

Azumarill also can be used as a surprise factor tank using Sap Sipper, max hp and special defense, and a perish song/whirlpool set with supporting moves like protect and rest. This is admittedly a bit gimmicky, but I found it can counter many Greninja and Ash Greninja sets, not lose to grass moves, and also take out a stubborn opposing wall or two like Ferrothorn or Toxapex, which normally counter it. Just keep in mind that ghost types can't be trapped. It's normally a weird option to have 3 water types on your team, but it could have surprising synergy with Seismatoad because it's ground typing checks steal/poison/electric damage while Azumarill's sap sipper checks grass. Since you have two ground types on your team, including one of the water types, I don't think having 3 water types would pose an issue here if you used a sap sipper set.

I have another suggestion you may not like or be looking for and I'm going to say it anyways just because it is a potential option to consider: Mantine could potentially do role compression if you wanted to get rid of Seismatoad and continue to check water types.

However, this comes with notable downsides. It might be vulnerable to non-water physical attacks from mixed attackers or physical greninja and couldn't stealth rock for lando. Plus, it's passive. For role compression, you could theoretically give Lando back stealth rock instead of defog, give Mantine defog, and then give it toxic and scald from Seismitoad and also roost. So a boring max hp, max special defense, leftovers set with scald, roost, toxic, and defog might work. Although, it should be noted most flying defoggers aren't the best choice for it and the vibe from your team might not be what you are looking for with a passive mon. You could theoretically move defog onto something else like Scizor or add defog/rapid spin to a pokemon you replace Seismatoad with. That may also not be ideal, depending on what you do. Not sure if this is the direction you want to take your team considering you sort of made Seismatoad your mascot pokemon. But if you feel you could use some role compression to add something else, this could potentially work.

I am also still not sure about my matchup vs grass-spam, even though I've got my volc in the back.

Like half your team looks good against grass spam to me. Volcorona, Tornadus, and Scizor are all pretty strong against most grass types in one way or another. Your team as currently constructed should not lose to grass spam. Maybe reconsider it if you make changes.

 

[Shmirko]

The main potential problem I see related to this is no special wall. Not sure if you are trying to go more hyper offense or not. If you prefer to stay more hyper offense, than what I'm about to suggest may not work for you.

Maybe this might make your team more towards balance than you want, but I think I would replace Tornadus with something more bulky in special defense. Ash Greninja and Volcorona are already two of the best non-mega special attackers you can get. Maybe it would be better to go more defensive with the third one? If you are worried about dark type moves, a fairy wall like Tapu Fini, Magearna, or Clefable might work in your favor here. Although, Tapu Fini might not be ideal as it would be the third water type on your team.

Azumarill also can be used as a surprise factor tank using Sap Sipper, max hp and special defense, and a perish song/whirlpool set with supporting moves like protect and rest. This is admittedly a bit gimmicky, but I found it can counter many Greninja and Ash Greninja sets, not lose to grass moves, and also take out a stubborn opposing wall or two like Ferrothorn or Toxapex, which normally counter it. Just keep in mind that ghost types can't be trapped. It's normally a weird option to have 3 water types on your team, but it could have surprising synergy with Seismatoad because it's ground typing checks steal/poison/electric damage while Azumarill's sap sipper checks grass. Since you have two ground types on your team, including one of the water types, I don't think having 3 water types would pose an issue here if you used a sap sipper set.

I have another suggestion you may not like or be looking for and I'm going to say it anyways just because it is a potential option to consider: Mantine could potentially do role compression if you wanted to get rid of Seismatoad and continue to check water types.

However, this comes with notable downsides. It might be vulnerable to non-water physical attacks from mixed attackers or physical greninja and couldn't stealth rock for lando. Plus, it's passive. For role compression, you could theoretically give Lando back stealth rock instead of defog, give Mantine defog, and then give it toxic and scald from Seismitoad and also roost. So a boring max hp, max special defense, leftovers set with scald, roost, toxic, and defog might work. Although, it should be noted most flying defoggers aren't the best choice for it and the vibe from your team might not be what you are looking for with a passive mon. You could theoretically move defog onto something else like Scizor or add defog/rapid spin to a pokemon you replace Seismatoad with. That may also not be ideal, depending on what you do. Not sure if this is the direction you want to take your team considering you sort of made Seismatoad your mascot pokemon. But if you feel you could use some role compression to add something else, this could potentially work.



Like half your team looks good against grass spam to me. Volcorona, Tornadus, and Scizor are all pretty strong against most grass types in one way or another. Your team as currently constructed should not lose to grass spam. Maybe reconsider it if you make changes.

Thanks for the rating! I am going to tinker around a bit with replacing the torn with AV mage, which should probably deal with ash-gren. I am tbh not really sure on what type of team this needs to be, but it's certainly not HO. I was more thinking of a BO approach with this team. I don't mind it being more on the passive side, and it always nice to have some bulk on your squad, but don't want to call it full-fletched balance.

I am happy that blunder liked the team! Someone gave it to him and he said he 6-0'd someone with it, so that's amazing. I'll keep the OG team in the back fo sho, but I'll try using different versions of this team and maybe even the Mantine one.

I am a big fan of seismitoad, but I will always keep using the OG version. I'll tell you how it went!

Edit: I tried the Mantine team, but it was dog shit! I also don't understand how people can run sr on a scarf lando, it's total garbage.

 

[Bold School]

I was more thinking of a BO approach with this team. I don't mind it being more on the passive side, and it always nice to have some bulk on your squad, but don't want to call it full-fletched balance.

Now that I know more of what you want, I think I have a better solution for you. Magearna is the the one I would pick to face special attackers. Only major change I would make to your original posted team is to replace Tornadus with Assault Vest Magearna. So everything else can go back to how it was when you posted.

Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 248 HP / 224 SpD / 36 Spe
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Fleur Cannon
- Focus Blast
- Ice Beam/Iron Head/Flash Cannon

It can counter most special attackers. Keep in mind it's not a full tank since it has no recovery and can get worn down easily. But it can check most of the feared special attackers in the tier except for Volcorona, including opposing Ash-Greninja. So it should provide you with more initial bulk to counter certain threats. Volt Switch gives it the ability to switch out of most undesirable situations and gives you a slower pivot to switch in your attackers from a clean slate. You can also use it to predict Magnezone trap and get out of dodge. This allows you to have more balance on your team while still keeping a second pivot.

The original build had iron head suggested as the fourth move to mess with Calm Mind Alakazam and certain opposing special walls. Flash Cannon is also an option for a special variant. I listed them because they were recommended options, but honestly, I don't think either of those is really worth it for your team. Just take ice beam to punish ground types like Lando and Gliscor on predicted switches. Against Mega Alakazam, just Fleur Cannon twice and you should be good enough to take it out. If it uses calm mind then just Volt Switch instead for the second attack into a priority user to finish it off.

If that doesn't work then we can go back to the drawing board. The one major downside is it doesn't have regenerator or recovery, so it won't be as spammable as Torn is. If this becomes a problem then you can replace it with something with more recovery. That said, I'm pretty confident it will balance out the rest of your team well and set up your offensive mons to come in cleanly. Let me know if you find anything in particular that counters your team.

Edit: I tried the Mantine team, but it was dog shit! I also don't understand how people can run sr on a scarf lando, it's total garbage.

Well the main purpose of it would be if you had something to fit instead of Tornadus/Seismatoad, you would instead run Mantine and something else. It was about role compression. That said, I suspected it might not fit your playstyle based on the team comp you had. If you liked Mantine decently for it's role then I would have followed up better ideas with transforming the team around that. We won't bother now since you don't like it.

 

[Shmirko]

Blunder actually just used the OG team, lol. Didn't even give me a shoutout, tb!
Here is the vid