ORAS NU Getting Back into NU - Offensive Steelix RMT

[The tank is here]

Hi there! After about half a year of hiatus from PS, and even longer of a time from the NU tier, I've wanted to get back into it, seeing that a lot of cool Pokemon have shifted down in viability (namely all the Pokemon who's megas are in OU/UU). I posted a REALLY old team (back when Mega Steelix and Feraligatr were NU) a while back, and I've decided to revamp it to see if a variation of it could still be viable. It's been giving somewhat successful results, but I'm sure someone out there could patch up holes on it for me.

Btw, here's a link to the original team that this one was based off of, in case anyone was curious. It's gone through different iterations since that post was updated (e.g. RP Rhydon over Mega Steelix post-Steelixite ban, physically defensive Mesprit with Colbur Berry), but it's still a good reference to those who want to see what this team was inspired by.
http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/kinda-bulky-offense-new-to-oras-nu-rmt.3528610/

Steelix @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 88 SpD / 168 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head/Iron Tail
- Earthquake
- Thunder Fang
Ok, I know most of you will look at this and think "what is this trash set why is this guy allowed to build on PS," and I'm very aware that this isn't the optimal Steelix set. Really, this was more an experimental set I wanted to try, since Sheer Force seemed like a really cool ability to try out. This set gives me a physically defensive pseudo-tank, Stealth Rocker, and a decent offensive threat to Mega Audino and Musharna to prevent a stall-off, as well as a check for some Flying type sweepers like Scyther. Alongside STAB + SR, Thunder Fang is a Sheer Force boosted coverage move for Pelipper and Mantine, who straight wall my team otherwise. The EVs here are made to make sure Steelix can outspeed uninvested base 50s, not die to a single special attack, and still hurt. Opinions on this set is appreciated, although I'm always willing to switch to a tankier set.

Samurott @ Lum Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Megahorn
What was originally SD Feraligatr, then mixed Samurott for wallbreaking, is now SD Samurott to either punch holes, cleanup sweep, or do both. Water type seems to be solid in a tier where Rock, Ground and Fire types are at the top for viability, letting me check Pokemon like Rhydon, Magmortar, and Aggron. It synergizes well with Steelix too, who can take on Electric and Grass types. SD + Waterfall to hit hard, Aqua Jet to hit less hard but with priority, and Megahorn because Grass types like Shiftry and Ludicolo who exist in this tier can stop my sweep.

Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 160 SpD / 96 Spe
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Toxic Spikes
A good support Pokemon seemed ideal, since Steelix was still primarily an offensive member of the team. Garbodor is a Fighting type check because the Psychic and Flying type on my team are way too frail to switch in on a hit, and acts as a Spiker and Toxic Spikes absorber to provide pressure for a sweep and whittle down annoying stall Pokemon. Drain Punch is added alongside the other three moves so it can at least touch Steel types, or provide a form of sustain. The EVs are adjusted so that Garbodor can set up hazards faster than uninvested base 50s while acting as kind of a special wall. Rocky Helmet adds insult to injury to physical attackers who knock it out and take Aftermath damage, although Black Sludge is an option here as well (and might even be better, idk someone help me out here).

Charizard @ Choice Specs
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Fire Blast
- Air Slash
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Flamethrower/Focus Blast
RIP Typhlosion, forced up into the RU tier where it's practically useless and outclassed. After Magmortar, Pyroar, and even a cheesy offensive Combusken, I ended up having Charizard as the preferred placement. It acts as a strong special wallbreaker that can check Grass and Bug types, and is on the roster to (literally) melt down teams or burn them down (also literally) for others to sweep. Dual STAB + HP Grass for bulky Water types, and Flamethrower for more reliable damage. I put Focus Blast as an option, but it's not like Heatran runs around in this tier, so someone confirm for me whether it's a reasonable choice.

Mesprit @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Healing Wish
- U-turn
Seeing that my team wasn't too fast in general, I needed a way to keep up momentum and retain an offensive presence. Scarf Mesprit does that for me, while still dishing out reasonable amounts of damage and providing utility in Healing Wish so it's teammates can go for a round 2 of dealing damage before they go down. Mesprit also checks other Psychic that threaten Garbodor and Hitmonchan, in which the latter can keep Dark types at bay in return. Thunderbolt is the coverage move of choice, because Mantine and Pelipper won't be reliably checked by Steelix's Thunder Fang alone, and I don't have to worry about getting Scald-burned on Mesprit as much as I do on Steelix. Like Steelix, I'm open to making this a bulkier variant if needed, so send me your suggestions.

Hitmonchan @ Life Orb
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
- Rapid Spin
It didn't seem like Charizard was going to see any use if I didn't have a way to get rid of SR, and I lacked physical damage and a reliable way to check Dark types. So, enter Hitmonchan, the somewhat bulky spinner that still packs a punch (pun totally intended). Mach Punch is for priority on a slower team, and Ice Punch rewards me nicely if I can correctly predict Swellow, Xatu, Golurk, or even a cheeky Gourgeist on the switch. The Life Orb is there for damage, and because I can heal up with Drain Punch. However, I'm curious as to whether Fist Plate/Black Belt, Leftovers, or even Assault Vest could be better options.

There are a few issues I see with the team: no reliable check to Ghost types (though there aren't too many threatening ones in the tier from what I've seen), not a lot of speed, reasonably frail, and no reliable way to stop Tauros from bulldozing through the team, while being relatively weak to multiple coverage threats like Electivire and Magmortar. Feel free to go harsh on me and gut out this team: I'm primarily an OU/UU/Ubers player, so I may not have the best grasp on the NU tier meta and what works best for this team.

Importable

Steelix (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 88 SpD / 168 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Thunder Fang

Samurott (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Megahorn

Garbodor (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 160 SpD / 96 Spe
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Toxic Spikes

Charizard (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Fire Blast
- Air Slash
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Flamethrower

Hitmonchan @ Life Orb
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
- Rapid Spin

Mesprit @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt
- Healing Wish
- U-turn

 

[Louna]

Heya! That's a cool team you have there! But I thing one or two things can be optimized to help the team to works better.

Firstly the Steelix set isn't that bad, but regarding to your team, as it's your only normal and flying resist, as Garbodor isn't that reliable at this role, i would like to suggest changing the Steelix set and spread to a more defensive one. I feel like your team doesn't really need that lure. While defensive Steelix allow you to do better against Tauros and Kangaskhan who looks pretty threatening actually, even with Garbodor. And allow you to have an emergency button against Barbaracle if Hitmonchan is dead.

Another thing i'd like to suggest, is running Assault Vest Hitmonchan over Life Orb, as you don't have a fire or ice check, that can be actually helpful to your team, as Samurott don't like Magmortar's Thunderbolt. Assault Vest Hitmonchan allow you to have a semi reliable fire or ice check that looks a good addition to the team. While Hitmonchan also allow you to check some special things that can be annoying such as specs Swellow & cie.

In last, I would like to suggest you to change Garbodor's spread as his main role is as a spiker that can check the fighting type, but withtout a physically defensive spread, you can't take things like band Primeape or band Hariyama as much as needed for your team.

resume of the changes

Steelix's set and spread:

Steelix @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 244 HP / 136 Atk / 128 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Roar
- Stealth Rock

Hitmonchan's item and spread:

Hitmonchan @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 88 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
- Rapid Spin


Garbodor's spread:

Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Impish Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Spikes

Hope I have helped, have a good day :)

 

[Rapture]

^ Agree with the Garbodor suggestion but run this spread instead: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe. This with an impish nature is the more optimal spread for handling fighting and normal types. Between you and me I'm not a fan of the defensive steelix set so good job for making a team with a different spread that, for the most part, handles the majority of the meta quite well. I do agree however that ghost types kinda harass your team so here are some ideas to somewhat remedy that;

• 
  - On steelix I would suggest running an offensive special attacking set over what you have right now. With a set of Stealth rock / Flash cannon / Earth Power / Dark pulse and a modest nature you still have a decent lure for Xatu trying to prevent your hazards and have a set that isn't hampered as much by wisps from Rotom and Mismagius. I normally run a spread of max special attack and speed on this set but I'm sure you can optimize that somehow. The main downside of running this set is that you lack a way to hit defoggers like pelipper and Mantine but my next couple suggestions should be able to help.
  
• 
  >
  
  - Next up, I would try Pyroar over Charizard. The Pyroar set I have in mind is Fire Blast / Hyper Voice / Substitute / Endeavor with a Salac Berry. What this does is give you a fire type that again, doesn't mind switching into ghost types as much. Sub Endeavor Pyroar is also a really good lure to Water types like Lanturn, Mantine, and Pelipper. Something that SD Samurott really appreciates so it can spam its water stab more freely. Activating the salac boost safely also means that Pyroar can function as a sweeper late game if need be.
  
• 
  - With Hitmonchan, something worth trying is Stone edge > Ice Punch. This lets you hit both spinblockers and bulky fighting resists like Pelipper which like to use hitmonchan as an opportunity to defog. You miss out on Gourgeist with stone edge but special lix and your fire type handle that well enough.

Hide

Steelix @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock

Pyroar @ Salac Berry
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Fire Blast
- Substitute
- Endeavor

That's about all I got, good luck with the team bro.

 

[PrinceLucian]

Quickly dropping few changes, as I got sniped by rapture and holiano but I still have few suggestions of mine that will help you improve the team, and ill also drop my opinion on their rates.

-Offensive Steelix is a really cool set on teams like this, and Rapture gave you great suggestion in running a special set which is the set I like and allows you to lure standard steelix checks like weezing/gourgeist and xatu which lets you put hazards more easily. However, CM psychics after a boost seems like an issue so I still like the physical LO set as i have experience with it and it did great in the past for me, Iron Tail > Iron head is always the best option regardless of miss chance and power boost is significant, it easily 2 Koes xatu and deals massive damage to musharna, I also like the EV spread that outspeeds non Evd pokemon like Torterra and rest in HP.

Set

Steelix (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Tail
- Earthquake
- Thunder Fang

- Not much else to say here, moveset is standard and physically set is already suggested by rapture/holiano as its the best option to run on garbodor ,since its automatically better normal/fighting check.However im gonna suggest the spread that allows you to outspeed Aurorus which is an issue to this team while still maintaining enough bulk to check threats and outspeeding base 55s in general.

Set

Garbodor (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 248 HP / 140 Def / 120 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Toxic Spikes

+

• I generally always combine the sets depending on team, so this is why I think these sets are a must have here.This team Definitely appreciates more bulk than it has now, and basically if you dont run AV hitmonchan ,youre forced to sack pokemon every turn whenever(example:manectric,aurorus) comes in, with that being said holiano gave you good suggestion in AV chan, but with AV as item ill pass you the EV spread that allows to check special attackers a lot better while outspeeding neutral base 55s
• With Hitmonchan being the AV set, your mach punch priority becomes weaker than LO . I usually always run life orb since its easily the best set Chan can run but on teams like this bulk is more appreciated to support the team and Zard better. With that being said, LO Zard > Specs Zard is a better option for this team, hitmonchan is a shaky check to shell smashers if you lock yourself into air slash/fire blast and AV set even weakens your priority, which is why its important to be able to change up the moves on Zard. It will still hit hard enough to wallbreak and wont allow setup sweepers to run through your team. Your option for moveset is still 4 atks and Focus blast is better option that flamethrower since it allows you to hit aurorus and usual fire checks like miltank,while HP Grass hits smashers and gastrodon.(roost is also a cool option over focus blast if you hate missing)

Sets

Hitmonchan @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 88 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
- Rapid Spin

Charizard (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Fire Blast
- Air Slash
- Focus Blast/Roost
- Hidden Power [Grass]

0 atk Ivs mesprit isnt a good option on u-turn mesprit. Foul play is a Rare sight to see anyway,as only thing that runs it in NU is mostly gourgeist , youre also weak to malamar and only moves that hit it on this moveset is u-turn so having more power is always useful. Ice Beam/Energy ball > thunderbolt are both good options since they both hit ground types and actually check DD rhydon, first option hits xatu for bonus while killing torterra and weakening rhydon to the point where hitmonchan can finish it off while energy ball kills it right away and hits pokemon like phys def gastrodon and lanturn and deals neutral damage to steelix,energy ball makes you more vulnerable to skuntank so playing around it is very important.

Set

Mesprit @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psyshock
- Ice Beam
- Healing Wish
- U-turn

-Cool team and gl in future