SM OU Euphoria (Peaked 1654)

[house of cards]

Hi, this is my first RMT so of course I'd appreciate any feedback or constructive criticism. I haven't played Pokémon for a really long while, although I used to play quite a lot during XY and ORAS. So imagine my surprise when I start playing again and the meta looks completely foreign and unrecognizable to me, there were so many new mons I've never seen before, items I've never even heard of like Z-Crystals, new mechanics like the mega evolution speed buff, the Tapu Terrains, etc. So it took me quite a while to adjust to the new metagame. Ever since I was eight years old, it was always the battling aspect that drew me so much to Pokemon. It was a huge component of what fostered my love for the franchise. I remember as a child that I had big dreams of becoming a Pokemon Master. Every single time I battled the Elite Four and the Champion, was an exhilarating experience. Battling was my high, it was my Euphoria. This team is a culmination of all my efforts to reach the goal I held as a young child, of becoming a Pokemon Master. Anyways, without further ado, here is my team.

Teambuilding Process

I started off with specially defensive Heatran. I wanted a stealth rocker and a check to the Magearnas and the scary Tapu Leles running rampant in the tier. Heatran also checks Psychium Z variants of Volcarona that don't carry hp ground.

One of the first things I learned after playing again was that Tapu Koko was literally everywhere and it was very annoying, so I added M-Venusaur to the team, forming the classic VenuTran core and setting up a solid defensive backbone for my team. Venusaur is my fat grass that helps me with the Greninjas, Keldeos, and Tapu Kokos that annoy my Heatran. Venusaur is also a solid check to most Tapu Bulus that don't carry Zen Headbutt or Megahorn.

Mega Medicham is the #1 serial killer of this core and many physical attackers like Excadrill, Garchomp, Lopunny, Landorus-T, and Zygarde to name a few would eventually overpower and outmuscle my 2 primarily specially defensive pokemon so I needed a physical wall that was resilient and self-sufficient and Slowbro fit the bill due to his solid physical bulk and Regenerator that allows him to switch out and keep coming back for more. I was wondering, was I gone for too long? What'd I miss? Cause last time I checked Slowbro was a top pick so imagine my surprise when I see it plummeted all the way down to NU. Despite its NU status, Slowbro did its job well so I kept it around.

Kyurem-B murders my fwg core so I added Clefable since my team also greatly appreciated wish recovery from a cleric and a blanket check to set-up sweepers. Clef also helped me cope with M-Latios better, whose mixed attacking set would maul Heatran, eat Venusaur for breakfast, and deal a shit ton to Slowbro if it carried Draco Meteor. Many times Clef has saved my ass when I would make wrong plays and let my opponent set up +2 or +3, examples would be a Mimikyu where if I made a wrong play, might get to +2 or +3 with its Disguise sometimes intact, which is a situation that Clef would be able to handle with no problem.

I noticed I had no form of entry hazard removal and flying types were annoying. Torn-T would keep pivoting out and gaining momentum for the other team, and M-Pinsir was a menace to face as it could break through my walls, 2HKOing Clef on the switch after stealth rocks and having a good chance of KOing Slowbro at +2 after rocks. Offensive Landorus-T was also a threat if it had Flyinium Z, as without Flyinium Z, Slowbro could easily wall it but sometimes they carry Supersonic Skystrike which is scary to switch into. In short, flying types were really annoying so I added Zapdos as countermeasure and a source of entry hazard removal. Many times Zapdos has helped me out a lot because the opponent would use a contact move and get paralyzed, which is why I prefer Static over Pressure.

As I was looking over my team, I realized my team looked really passive, and I know its bulky offense, but where's the offense? My matchup against stall would be horrible, so I added Bisharp to help me trap annoying pokes like choice item'd blace locked into shadow ball and he helps me knock off items like eviolites, lefties, etc. I just wanted a pokemon that had strength and power since my team looked very passive, but also reasonable bulk so I went with AV Bisharp who is deceptively tanky and helps me clean late-game with sucker punch. Sometimes he manages to snatch a defiant boost and starts punching holes in my opponent's team. His speed is a bit disappointing sometimes but eh.

The Team

Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 220 SpD / 40 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Toxic
- Protect
- Stealth Rock​

40 evs to outspeed adamant m-mawile and the rest is invested in its special bulk. I ran lava plume for a while but decided to switch to magma storm as it helps me trap annoying passive pokemon like chansey. There are times where I really wish Heatran had Taunt though, but I can't fit it into its moveset.

Venusaur (F) @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 248 HP / 100 Def / 160 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis
- Earthquake​

I chose to run giga drain over leech seed so that it can threaten the bulky waters its supposed to check and for the last slot I ran hp fire initially, for Ferrothorns and Kartanas, but most people already know Venusaur usually carries hp fire so they don't let their ferros stay in, I usually prefer Earthquake now so that Heatrans can't switch in for free. The problem with Venusaur is that it gets worn down so easily and its forced to use synthesis, which is her only form of recovery, with 8 pp, making me play very conservatively with her. This is slightly remedied with Clef's wish-passing but usually Venusaur is really easy to chip and wear down that I was even considering replacing her with Amoonguss at one point. And also against pokemon like tapu koko that its supposed to check, koko just volt switches out into a pokemon that forces her out, meaning she is forced to take like 24 volt switches per game, she's bulky but that'll take a toll on her eventually. I have to play smart with her cause she's easy to wear down, if I play her well she does her job just fine.

Slowbro (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Slack Off
- Thunder Wave​

24 evs in special defense to avoid the 2hko from specs keldeo after rocks. Slowbro is very resilient and self-sufficient because of Regenerator, which is why I was so surprised to discover that he is NU now. Like, what'd I miss? I guess I was gone for too long cause last time I checked he was a top pick. He takes care of most physical attackers that don't carry super effective stab although sometimes when he's not near full health powerful z-moves like supersonic skystrike overwhelm him, so I have to play him well and keep him relatively healthy.

Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell​

Clef is a blessing to my team, passing Wishes when the opportunity presents itself, doing her cleric duties with heal bell, and serving as my blanket check to any threat that's set up. Sometimes I make wrong plays and the opponent's sweeper gets to +2 or +3, which is where she comes in. Because of this, I have to keep her healthy and make sure she has enough health to check those threats.

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Roost
- Heat Wave
- Defog
​

Zapdos is a holy grail, he keeps rocks and spikes off the field and checks m-pinsir who otherwise could murder my team after a couple boosts. Pretty standard spread, 20 speed evs to outspeed adamant bisharp and anything slower. I prefer Static over Pressure as Static has helped me a lot of times, for example when I predict a U-turn correctly and I switch Zapdos in, and my opponent's pokemon gets paralyzed before u-turning out. Heat Wave to destroy those ferrothorns and kartanas.

Bisharp (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 36 HP / 144 Atk / 144 SpD / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
​

I added Bisharp to my team after feeling like my team lacked offensive presence, Bisharp helps me knock off items like lefties, eviolites, easing my matchups. He also helps me clean late-game with priority in sucker punch and he helps me pursuit trap annoying pokemon, allowing me to play sucker punch/ pursuit mind games with my opponent. The spread looks a little weird but it allows Bisharp to live 2 hp fires from latios if it came down to it, that way I don't have to risk the 50/50 with sucker punch and 184 speed evs allows him to outspeed adamant banded Ttar and iron head it. With assault vest, he is surprisingly quite tanky, allowing me to easily pivot him into resisted attacks but its important not to overestimate his bulk.

And that is my team. It isn't perfect obviously so I'd appreciate any feedback or constructive criticism. I noticed my team has a bit of a harder time against really heavy offensive pressure, especially those that relentlessly keep up momentum against me, as my team lacks any form of volt-switching / u-turning, but if I play smart it isn't too big of an issue. I also hate stall, the chansey/skarm/m-sableye kind, with those, matches take over 200 turns, I get so bored I end up forfeiting anyway. Thank you for your time reading this.

Importable

Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 220 SpD / 40 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Toxic
- Protect
- Stealth Rock

Venusaur (F) @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 248 HP / 100 Def / 160 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis
- Earthquake

Slowbro (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Slack Off
- Thunder Wave

Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Roost
- Heat Wave
- Defog

Bisharp (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 36 HP / 144 Atk / 144 SpD / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit

​

 

[house of cards]

It's been almost a year but still no one has rated or given any feedback so... bump. Just bumping this thread in the hopes that someone will see this and finally rate this. Does anyone want to leave a critique? I still use this team sometimes. I believe this team has aged really well and is better now with the current metagame than how it fared 11 months ago. The Zygarde ban has definitely helped Zapdos a lot, the ban of Zygarde has also helped Clefable, who can now afford to run more special defensive investment and can run more sets, even a LO set. Venusaur-M I still use although I'm starting to see that other fat grasses that more consistently check Ash-Gren like Amoonguss and AVTangrowth do its job better and without using a mega slot either. I feel like Slowbro is a lot better now than at the time this was posted, with virtually almost every Medicham set running Zen Headbutt over Thunder Punch for Toxapex, its shut down completely by Slowbro. I know this RMT was posted a year ago and the metagame was very different but can someone still rate this team? Using this current metagame as the standard/ measuring stick? I still use this team. Pls rate.