Roughly two weeks back, I made a RMT about a team I designed around a defensive core of an Eviolite Magneton and an Assault Vest Gyarados. It worked ok. However, I still felt there were several flaws and limitations holding it back. Since I got limited suggestions or feedback on changes to make for the original post, I wound up having to do a lot of blind trial and error on my own. Let me be clear that every pokemon in the old supporting offensive core was fairly good or better. But despite having several good smaller scale synergies, they didn't necessarily all fit with every other team member or everything I needed the team to do. Increasingly, I became frustrated with how the team was becoming more about the 4 offensive pokemon and that the defensive core was becoming an after thought. At that rate, you might as well use more conventionally strong walls like Toxapex/Magearna or something like that. To make my concept worth bothering with again, I knew I needed to make changes that better supported what my unconventional defensive core can do so that they would actually shine the way I knew they could.
The result? I wound up scrapping just about everything except the Magneton/Gyarados core and rebuilding it from the ground up. Unfortunately, small changes weren't enough to cut it. I feel the end result was pretty good, though. Here is the transformation:
Here is the link to the original post for the original team: https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/unconventional-magneton-gyarados-bulky-core.3653331/
It should be emphasized that even this team was the result of a lot of trial and era to get to this point. I tried many thing to get to that point and I still ultimately chose to scrap it. Also, there were some sets and synergies I really enjoyed here like Waterium Z Hydro Cannon Greninja and Retaliate Lopunny that I may use for different teams. They just don't really fit this one.
The Sets:
Magneton @ Eviolite
Ability: Analytic
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 236 HP / 96 Def / 176 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Rest
The idea behind this is the same as last time. I use Eviolite to get this pokemon to 300 HP and above 350 defense and special defense each. It's quite the mixed wall to anything that isn't super effective to it or heavily boosted. I'll also directly quote what I said before on its speed, "As a volt switcher, its 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." Basically, it's faster than most walls so it can often have momentum on them. Yet at the same time, it's slower than most of the offensive threats in the tier so it can often take a hit and then get a slow volt switch out.
The best way to use this pokemon is to fire off toxic, volt switch, and flash cannon in the ways that will be most destructive to the opposing team. Volt Switch is for momentum, toxic is to wear down certain walls and threats, and flash cannon is a good STAB move that does good chip damage to a lot of things. Obviously. Magneton has a surprisingly good 120 base attack and Analytic, which can make it a pain for your opponent on predicted switches.
Rest is the main form of recovery. It isn't entirely reliable, but it works great against stall and you can often get it in against many opposing walls. Sometimes even not against stall, you can get in a rest or two to keep Magneton fresh. Just be careful about becoming set up fodder. There are times where you may have to switch out before you wake up the first time.
Gyarados @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Waterfall
- Bounce
- Earthquake
- Avalanche
Again, the idea behind this is the same as last time. This set is meant to be extremely specially defensive. This pairs well with the Intimidate ability as it often forces a lot of switches when they expect it to be something else. It also really helps as an early switch in to a lot of Dragon Dance users. Yes, I sacrifice potential offensive ability like Moxie or my own potential Dragon Dance for better defense. But that's the point of the build. It's for defense. Gyarados will take a hit and does enough damage to hurt a lot of threats that aren't defensive and a few that are. Waterfall is the main STAB while Earthquake and Avalanche are coverage moves. Bounce is the surprise STAB that can be used to surprise certain grass types or fighting types like Hawlucha (Intimidate plus Bounce against an attempted Hawlucha sweep is hilarious.) if you pick your spot right.
One thing to be careful of is that it's not the best at taking unresisted physical attacks, even after Intimidate. So you may not want to wear down your wall, particularly if you need it to check something. Still, it's a good switch in to a lot of ground types, dragon types, fire types, grass types, and unboosted special attackers. You just need to pick your spots right and be wary of rock and electric coverage moves.
Tornadus-Therian @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Defog
A special attacker with the utility I desperately needed. As a flying type, it is immune to ground and is good against fighting. This helps out Magneton. Regenerator provides sustainability to be a go to switch in, Defog is necessary for the team, Knock Off can mess up the opponent's plans, and U-Turn makes this a nice fast pivot. Hurricane is frustrating to use out of the rain at times, but I found that this is one of the few pokemon that makes it worth it. Flyinium Z is a powerful nuke that can be a good surprise factor and the guaranteed hit eases the pain of what is otherwise 70% accuracy.
Pro tip: Defog can be used to also hit Hurricane just a little bit more if they don't switch out. It's not a huge difference but it does lower their evasiveness by a bit.
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 132 Def / 132 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Defog
The flying type makes it immune to ground and resist fighting while the ground type makes it an all important electric immunity. Poison Heal and Toxic Orb give it sustainability and make it a counter to status spam once it activates. Just be careful not to get status or a knock off before Toxic Orb activates. I made Gliscor to be more physically defensive than anything else. (It has much higher natural physical defense than special defense.) This make it a great complimentary physical wall to Magneton as it can take most of the physical attacks that it's partner can't. However, I also put in enough special defense EVs where it can take at least a little abuse combined with the HP investment. I honestly felt speed wasn't as important here and so I put the recommended speed EVs for this build into special defense instead. This is my second hazard clearer and that's obviously what Defog is for.
From an offensive standpoint, Earthquake is pretty much the best STAB move it can get and the ground coverage is great for my team. Ice Fang hits pretty much everything that is immune to ground type (which are usually part dragon and/or flying type) and most grass types (that also resist ground) for super effective damage. It also hits 4X weak mons like Landorus-Therian, which let's this be a direct counter and viable switch in. It generally has enough attack to significantly damage squishy opponents. Swords dance makes up for the lack of attack investment and allows it to be a slower paced wall breaker against tankier opponents or Lando-T.
Golisopod @ Choice Band
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- Liquidation
- Leech Life
- Aqua Jet
The priority user. Choice Band is really necessary here to ensure KOs on everything you need to KO and do good chip damage on most everything else that doesn't resist you. The best way to use this is to bring it in clean or on a resisted hit to threaten a lot of the attackers in the tier or as a revenge killer. From there, you can either use the corresponding priority move or predict a switch and use a heavy damage Choice Band Liquidation or Leech Life on a predicted switch. Leech Life is also incredibly handy to out sustain certain opponents and/or potentially get more uses out Emergency Exit. Since you don't have a healing berry, Leech Life is really the only way you can accomplish this. Emergency Exit is usually great for getting a free pivot when the volt/turn spam slows to a stop or whatever. Like it's just another way to grab momentum.
Golisopod is secret counter meta. Yes, I'm talking about in OU (although not just in OU) and I'm 100% serious. You have to keep it clean (free of hazards and burns) and take out certain walls to really see it's effectiveness really shine. This may be the reason why it's relegated to lower tiers. But if you can do that, it is frighteningly good at checking most of the best offensive threats in the OU tier. And don't worry, I have examples:
Manectric @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]
The primary coverage attacker. It turns out powerful electric type moves are good. Surprise! Volt Switch is for the fast pivot role and Thunderbolt is just a more powerful STAB. Flamethrower 1HKOs Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Kartana while also being able to finish off some other steel or grass types types if they are hurt. Hidden Power Ice is used to 1HKO pokemon that are 4X weak to it like Garchomp, chipped Dragonite, Gliscor, and Landorus-Therian. But I mostly just like killing any non-scarfed Lando-T, as Mega Manectric outspeeds all other variants and KOs it with HP Ice. I guess the other stuff is cool, too. This combination coverage can do serious harm to many of the most annoying walls in the tier, including Ferrothorn, Toxapex, Tapu Fini, Celesteela, Gliscor, and also that one troll Azumarill set. This clears the way for the rest of my team.
Lightning rod on normal Manectric is for a gimmicky electric type move bait. It doesn't always work, but the threat of it sometimes even keeps my opponent using coverage moves instead of electric moves, which can be good or bad. Either way, my team appreciates just have something else to help mitigate the electric weakness, even if it's a bit of a wonky try hard method. Beyond that, this is just a fast electric type pivot with Intimidate and good coverage. Pretty self explanatory.
I was going to add some more sections on strategies and replays, but this is already getting ridiculously long. I think I have sufficient information for the time being. Let me know what you think.
The result? I wound up scrapping just about everything except the Magneton/Gyarados core and rebuilding it from the ground up. Unfortunately, small changes weren't enough to cut it. I feel the end result was pretty good, though. Here is the transformation:
Here is the link to the original post for the original team: https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/unconventional-magneton-gyarados-bulky-core.3653331/
It should be emphasized that even this team was the result of a lot of trial and era to get to this point. I tried many thing to get to that point and I still ultimately chose to scrap it. Also, there were some sets and synergies I really enjoyed here like Waterium Z Hydro Cannon Greninja and Retaliate Lopunny that I may use for different teams. They just don't really fit this one.
The Inspiration:
The main idea behind my team. These two were the only ones I didn't change. Except I decided to make Magneton shiny this time because I like its shiny and Gyarados was already shiny. Like I can't not have a red Gyarados. So I figured I might as well make both my main pokemon shiny to add a little emphases and style to it.
The Changes:
--->
The first major breakthrough I had was the realization that my team lacked sustainability and utility. Greninja had better coverage. But it didn't matter because Tornadus had much better utility for my team. Once I realized that I could sacrifice some of my offense for a better fit, it gave my team a better direction. Also, I was able to put the Z move on Tornadus and I found it worked really well.
--->
The next change I made was the Mega. As good as Mega Lopunny is, I realized I needed something with better coverage and utility. The first cool thing I realized about Manectric is it has Lightning Rod before it Mega Evolves, so you can sort of bait out the team's electric weakness to get a power up against a lot of opponents. I wanted something that could cancel out a Volt Switch and high power electric moves, even if it was a bit gimmicky and temporary. Then that becomes a powerful volt switcher with Intimidate. If you are wondering why I didn't use Tapu Koko, it's primarily because it can neither absorb an electric type move or get Intimidate. Also, I found out that powering up the very electric type moves that much of my team happens to be weak to is more than a bit counter productive here.
--->
With my special attackers out of the way, I knew I wanted my remaining two choices to be physical. This third change I made is the priority user. As much as I adore Scizor, I only had room for one primary priority user on this particular team. I needed something that was a more reliable check to some of the top offensive threats in the tier like Greninja, Volcarona, and Mega Alakazam. Golisopod has dual STAB priority and this makes it better as a counter meta pick and revenge killer.
--->
For my last change, I knew I needed something to help tie it all together. I still wanted a ground type to check electric moves since half my team is weak to it. But this time, I didn't have to force in a special attacking ground type (hard to find a good one for OU) since I needed something on the physical side anyway. Gliscor checked just about every box for me as far as what I felt my team could use. It's more sustainable than Lando-T and can even be used to check status spam. Plus, I think I would die to every Bisharp ever if half my team had Intimidate.
The main idea behind my team. These two were the only ones I didn't change. Except I decided to make Magneton shiny this time because I like its shiny and Gyarados was already shiny. Like I can't not have a red Gyarados. So I figured I might as well make both my main pokemon shiny to add a little emphases and style to it.
The Changes:
The first major breakthrough I had was the realization that my team lacked sustainability and utility. Greninja had better coverage. But it didn't matter because Tornadus had much better utility for my team. Once I realized that I could sacrifice some of my offense for a better fit, it gave my team a better direction. Also, I was able to put the Z move on Tornadus and I found it worked really well.
The next change I made was the Mega. As good as Mega Lopunny is, I realized I needed something with better coverage and utility. The first cool thing I realized about Manectric is it has Lightning Rod before it Mega Evolves, so you can sort of bait out the team's electric weakness to get a power up against a lot of opponents. I wanted something that could cancel out a Volt Switch and high power electric moves, even if it was a bit gimmicky and temporary. Then that becomes a powerful volt switcher with Intimidate. If you are wondering why I didn't use Tapu Koko, it's primarily because it can neither absorb an electric type move or get Intimidate. Also, I found out that powering up the very electric type moves that much of my team happens to be weak to is more than a bit counter productive here.
With my special attackers out of the way, I knew I wanted my remaining two choices to be physical. This third change I made is the priority user. As much as I adore Scizor, I only had room for one primary priority user on this particular team. I needed something that was a more reliable check to some of the top offensive threats in the tier like Greninja, Volcarona, and Mega Alakazam. Golisopod has dual STAB priority and this makes it better as a counter meta pick and revenge killer.
For my last change, I knew I needed something to help tie it all together. I still wanted a ground type to check electric moves since half my team is weak to it. But this time, I didn't have to force in a special attacking ground type (hard to find a good one for OU) since I needed something on the physical side anyway. Gliscor checked just about every box for me as far as what I felt my team could use. It's more sustainable than Lando-T and can even be used to check status spam. Plus, I think I would die to every Bisharp ever if half my team had Intimidate.
The New Team:
I see this new and improved team as composed of three two mon cores. There is the defensive core, the support core, and the offensive core. The defensive core is the same, just with teammates that better compliment them. Gyarados and Magneton still cover for each other's weaknesses type wise since Magneton resists electric and rock type moves while Gyarados resists fire and fighting and is immune to ground. I found the biggest problems with them is the lack of reliable recovery, Gyarados's weakness to stealth rock and strong physical attacks, and that some pokemon have overlapping coverage that can often hit both. So I put in teammate who I knew could cover for a lot of those weaknesses.
The support core is the bridge that ties the two other cores together. Regenerator and Poison Heal give my support core the sustainability that really helps out my defensive core. Gliscor can also defensively check a lot of the threats that Magneton can't because of his specific type weaknesses and that Gyarados isn't built to take, in spite of his Intimidate. Both are defoggers so that I can clear hazards for Gyaradods and Golisopod, as well as help me better take advantage of the volt/turn nature of my team. I find that it is far more important and productive for me to keep my side of the field clear and secure that than it is to set up hazards which I would likely clear out with Defog anyways. Finding chip damage really isn't much of an issue on this team.
You might find it a bit strange at first that the offensive core is comprised of pokemon from lower tiers. However, I found they actually work pretty well together and can deal with quite a lot of the meta. Manectric gives me a powerful Volt Switcher with Intimidate and coverage that wrecks a lot of the best walls and pivots in the tier. I have found Golisopod is actually one of the best priority users below Ubers, provided you have the support to keep it clear and take out pokemon that resist it's stabs.
Something else I should probably mention on this team is the speed control. It's honestly great. You have a two fast volt/turn users, a slower Volt Switch pivot, priority, and Emergency Exit. It all eases prediction and gets you a lot of clean looks.
It should be noted that you don't have to put both the Gyarados and the Magneton builds I have in the same team. I did because I wanted to do something a bit different. In theory, you could build a team with only one of either of these builds instead of both and it could still work.
I see this new and improved team as composed of three two mon cores. There is the defensive core, the support core, and the offensive core. The defensive core is the same, just with teammates that better compliment them. Gyarados and Magneton still cover for each other's weaknesses type wise since Magneton resists electric and rock type moves while Gyarados resists fire and fighting and is immune to ground. I found the biggest problems with them is the lack of reliable recovery, Gyarados's weakness to stealth rock and strong physical attacks, and that some pokemon have overlapping coverage that can often hit both. So I put in teammate who I knew could cover for a lot of those weaknesses.
The support core is the bridge that ties the two other cores together. Regenerator and Poison Heal give my support core the sustainability that really helps out my defensive core. Gliscor can also defensively check a lot of the threats that Magneton can't because of his specific type weaknesses and that Gyarados isn't built to take, in spite of his Intimidate. Both are defoggers so that I can clear hazards for Gyaradods and Golisopod, as well as help me better take advantage of the volt/turn nature of my team. I find that it is far more important and productive for me to keep my side of the field clear and secure that than it is to set up hazards which I would likely clear out with Defog anyways. Finding chip damage really isn't much of an issue on this team.
You might find it a bit strange at first that the offensive core is comprised of pokemon from lower tiers. However, I found they actually work pretty well together and can deal with quite a lot of the meta. Manectric gives me a powerful Volt Switcher with Intimidate and coverage that wrecks a lot of the best walls and pivots in the tier. I have found Golisopod is actually one of the best priority users below Ubers, provided you have the support to keep it clear and take out pokemon that resist it's stabs.
Something else I should probably mention on this team is the speed control. It's honestly great. You have a two fast volt/turn users, a slower Volt Switch pivot, priority, and Emergency Exit. It all eases prediction and gets you a lot of clean looks.
It should be noted that you don't have to put both the Gyarados and the Magneton builds I have in the same team. I did because I wanted to do something a bit different. In theory, you could build a team with only one of either of these builds instead of both and it could still work.
The Sets:
Magneton @ Eviolite
Ability: Analytic
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 236 HP / 96 Def / 176 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Rest
The idea behind this is the same as last time. I use Eviolite to get this pokemon to 300 HP and above 350 defense and special defense each. It's quite the mixed wall to anything that isn't super effective to it or heavily boosted. I'll also directly quote what I said before on its speed, "As a volt switcher, its 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." Basically, it's faster than most walls so it can often have momentum on them. Yet at the same time, it's slower than most of the offensive threats in the tier so it can often take a hit and then get a slow volt switch out.
The best way to use this pokemon is to fire off toxic, volt switch, and flash cannon in the ways that will be most destructive to the opposing team. Volt Switch is for momentum, toxic is to wear down certain walls and threats, and flash cannon is a good STAB move that does good chip damage to a lot of things. Obviously. Magneton has a surprisingly good 120 base attack and Analytic, which can make it a pain for your opponent on predicted switches.
Rest is the main form of recovery. It isn't entirely reliable, but it works great against stall and you can often get it in against many opposing walls. Sometimes even not against stall, you can get in a rest or two to keep Magneton fresh. Just be careful about becoming set up fodder. There are times where you may have to switch out before you wake up the first time.
Gyarados @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Waterfall
- Bounce
- Earthquake
- Avalanche
Again, the idea behind this is the same as last time. This set is meant to be extremely specially defensive. This pairs well with the Intimidate ability as it often forces a lot of switches when they expect it to be something else. It also really helps as an early switch in to a lot of Dragon Dance users. Yes, I sacrifice potential offensive ability like Moxie or my own potential Dragon Dance for better defense. But that's the point of the build. It's for defense. Gyarados will take a hit and does enough damage to hurt a lot of threats that aren't defensive and a few that are. Waterfall is the main STAB while Earthquake and Avalanche are coverage moves. Bounce is the surprise STAB that can be used to surprise certain grass types or fighting types like Hawlucha (Intimidate plus Bounce against an attempted Hawlucha sweep is hilarious.) if you pick your spot right.
One thing to be careful of is that it's not the best at taking unresisted physical attacks, even after Intimidate. So you may not want to wear down your wall, particularly if you need it to check something. Still, it's a good switch in to a lot of ground types, dragon types, fire types, grass types, and unboosted special attackers. You just need to pick your spots right and be wary of rock and electric coverage moves.
Tornadus-Therian @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Defog
A special attacker with the utility I desperately needed. As a flying type, it is immune to ground and is good against fighting. This helps out Magneton. Regenerator provides sustainability to be a go to switch in, Defog is necessary for the team, Knock Off can mess up the opponent's plans, and U-Turn makes this a nice fast pivot. Hurricane is frustrating to use out of the rain at times, but I found that this is one of the few pokemon that makes it worth it. Flyinium Z is a powerful nuke that can be a good surprise factor and the guaranteed hit eases the pain of what is otherwise 70% accuracy.
Pro tip: Defog can be used to also hit Hurricane just a little bit more if they don't switch out. It's not a huge difference but it does lower their evasiveness by a bit.
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 132 Def / 132 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Defog
The flying type makes it immune to ground and resist fighting while the ground type makes it an all important electric immunity. Poison Heal and Toxic Orb give it sustainability and make it a counter to status spam once it activates. Just be careful not to get status or a knock off before Toxic Orb activates. I made Gliscor to be more physically defensive than anything else. (It has much higher natural physical defense than special defense.) This make it a great complimentary physical wall to Magneton as it can take most of the physical attacks that it's partner can't. However, I also put in enough special defense EVs where it can take at least a little abuse combined with the HP investment. I honestly felt speed wasn't as important here and so I put the recommended speed EVs for this build into special defense instead. This is my second hazard clearer and that's obviously what Defog is for.
From an offensive standpoint, Earthquake is pretty much the best STAB move it can get and the ground coverage is great for my team. Ice Fang hits pretty much everything that is immune to ground type (which are usually part dragon and/or flying type) and most grass types (that also resist ground) for super effective damage. It also hits 4X weak mons like Landorus-Therian, which let's this be a direct counter and viable switch in. It generally has enough attack to significantly damage squishy opponents. Swords dance makes up for the lack of attack investment and allows it to be a slower paced wall breaker against tankier opponents or Lando-T.
Golisopod @ Choice Band
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- Liquidation
- Leech Life
- Aqua Jet
The priority user. Choice Band is really necessary here to ensure KOs on everything you need to KO and do good chip damage on most everything else that doesn't resist you. The best way to use this is to bring it in clean or on a resisted hit to threaten a lot of the attackers in the tier or as a revenge killer. From there, you can either use the corresponding priority move or predict a switch and use a heavy damage Choice Band Liquidation or Leech Life on a predicted switch. Leech Life is also incredibly handy to out sustain certain opponents and/or potentially get more uses out Emergency Exit. Since you don't have a healing berry, Leech Life is really the only way you can accomplish this. Emergency Exit is usually great for getting a free pivot when the volt/turn spam slows to a stop or whatever. Like it's just another way to grab momentum.
Golisopod is secret counter meta. Yes, I'm talking about in OU (although not just in OU) and I'm 100% serious. You have to keep it clean (free of hazards and burns) and take out certain walls to really see it's effectiveness really shine. This may be the reason why it's relegated to lower tiers. But if you can do that, it is frighteningly good at checking most of the best offensive threats in the OU tier. And don't worry, I have examples:
Things Golisopod 1HKOs with Priority:
1. Ash-Greninja - First Impression does 227.3 - 268% and outspeeds priority Water Shuriken. And you know that if it one shots Ash-Greninja by that much, the normal one gets OHKO'd as well.
2. Mega-Alakazam - First Impression does 263.7 - 311.5% of its health. Alternatively, Aqua Jet is an amusing 2HKO at 58.9 - 69.7% where Alakazam can Trace Emergency Exit and not be able to fight back after the first hit due to being forced out. From there, it's in range of the second Aqua Jet. This one is niche, but worth remembering if you want to use Aqua Jet to threaten the opposing team instead of a one and done attack.
3. Mega-Latias - First Impression does 110.4 - 130.2% even with max HP investment.
4. Mega-Latios - First Impression does 156.1 - 184% of it's health and there's nothing it can do about it.
5. Mega-Medicham - First Impression does 102.6 - 121%. Another guaranteed unassisted 1HKO.
6. Volcorona - Aqua Jet does 96.4 - 113.8% on the offensive Quiver Dance set. 75% chance to OHKO becomes 100% after one pivot move, even U-Turn from Tornadus. The Bulky Quiver Dance set has a bit more survivability. Aqua Jet only does 68 - 80.9% to the bulky set. But even that is a guaranteed KO after either Volt Switch.
7. Excadrill - The Sand Rush set is dealt 87.8 - 103.3% by Aqua Jet. You need a bit of chip to ensure a KO and/or counter the focus sash build. But you do still have the chsnce to OHKO it.
8. Reinculous - First Impression does 96.2 - 113.2% to the bulky defensive Calm Mind set. That's a 75% chance to 1HKO the set that has maxed defensive EV investment on a defensive wall. Even then, any chip damage makes that 100%. Less defensively invested sets are all guaranteed OHKOs.
9. Tangrowth - First Impression does 95.7 - 113.1% on the Assault Vest set. 75% chance to 1 shot it and obviously any chip should seal the deal every time. Even against Physically Defensive Tangrowth, First Impression still does 74.4 - 87.8%.. This can be very useful for finishing it off.
10. Tyranitar - First Impression does 113.3 - 133.6% against the OU Stealth Rock set with 136 EVS in HP. Against OU Assault Vest, it does 109.3 - 128.9%. That set has 224 HP EVs. But neither have defensive EVs. Even a Max physically defensive Tyranitar with 252 EVs in both HP and Defense and an Impish Nature will still get smacked for 78.7 - 92.5%. Even against the Mega, the OU Stealth Rock set still takes 86.6 - 102.3% from First Impression. I'm not going to go through every set and scenario. But many of them undeniably lead to OHKO opportunities.
11. Serperior - First Impression does 169 - 200% to the Choice Scarf set.
12. Weavile - First Impression does 235.5 - 278.2% to the Choice Band set.
13. Hoopa-Unbound - First Impression does a hilarious 462.1 - 543.6% to the Choice Band set.
14. Hydreigon - First Impression does 157.5 - 186.4% to the OU Darknium Z set. I'm pretty sure no set would live it, though.
15. Mew - First Impression does 111.2 - 131.6% to the OU Defensive set.
16. Venusaur - First Impression does 90.6 - 106.9% to the sun sweeper set I see run occasionally in OU.
17. Bisharp - First Impression does 86.7 - 102.2%, which is only about an 18.8% chance to OHKO. However, it becomes 100% after any chip from pivot users.
So I just pulled over 15 pokemon that are viable in OU and can get 1 shot by Golispod, and that's just with its priority. This does not even include OHKO's from Liquidation or Leech Life on predicted switches, things Golisopod can take out with priority after more than minimal chip damage, some favorable 2 hit KOs on Aqua Jet, or other good matchups. For example, Golisopod can counter Mega Swampert in the rain as most of its attacks do under 25% to Golisopod while Golisopod does over half with either of Liquidation or Leech Life. Leech Life also heals 28.9 - 34.2%, which is not too shabby for being a 2HKO. I could go on but this is getting long.
The point is that this thing counters a good deal of the current Meta Game.
1. Ash-Greninja - First Impression does 227.3 - 268% and outspeeds priority Water Shuriken. And you know that if it one shots Ash-Greninja by that much, the normal one gets OHKO'd as well.
2. Mega-Alakazam - First Impression does 263.7 - 311.5% of its health. Alternatively, Aqua Jet is an amusing 2HKO at 58.9 - 69.7% where Alakazam can Trace Emergency Exit and not be able to fight back after the first hit due to being forced out. From there, it's in range of the second Aqua Jet. This one is niche, but worth remembering if you want to use Aqua Jet to threaten the opposing team instead of a one and done attack.
3. Mega-Latias - First Impression does 110.4 - 130.2% even with max HP investment.
4. Mega-Latios - First Impression does 156.1 - 184% of it's health and there's nothing it can do about it.
5. Mega-Medicham - First Impression does 102.6 - 121%. Another guaranteed unassisted 1HKO.
6. Volcorona - Aqua Jet does 96.4 - 113.8% on the offensive Quiver Dance set. 75% chance to OHKO becomes 100% after one pivot move, even U-Turn from Tornadus. The Bulky Quiver Dance set has a bit more survivability. Aqua Jet only does 68 - 80.9% to the bulky set. But even that is a guaranteed KO after either Volt Switch.
7. Excadrill - The Sand Rush set is dealt 87.8 - 103.3% by Aqua Jet. You need a bit of chip to ensure a KO and/or counter the focus sash build. But you do still have the chsnce to OHKO it.
8. Reinculous - First Impression does 96.2 - 113.2% to the bulky defensive Calm Mind set. That's a 75% chance to 1HKO the set that has maxed defensive EV investment on a defensive wall. Even then, any chip damage makes that 100%. Less defensively invested sets are all guaranteed OHKOs.
9. Tangrowth - First Impression does 95.7 - 113.1% on the Assault Vest set. 75% chance to 1 shot it and obviously any chip should seal the deal every time. Even against Physically Defensive Tangrowth, First Impression still does 74.4 - 87.8%.. This can be very useful for finishing it off.
10. Tyranitar - First Impression does 113.3 - 133.6% against the OU Stealth Rock set with 136 EVS in HP. Against OU Assault Vest, it does 109.3 - 128.9%. That set has 224 HP EVs. But neither have defensive EVs. Even a Max physically defensive Tyranitar with 252 EVs in both HP and Defense and an Impish Nature will still get smacked for 78.7 - 92.5%. Even against the Mega, the OU Stealth Rock set still takes 86.6 - 102.3% from First Impression. I'm not going to go through every set and scenario. But many of them undeniably lead to OHKO opportunities.
11. Serperior - First Impression does 169 - 200% to the Choice Scarf set.
12. Weavile - First Impression does 235.5 - 278.2% to the Choice Band set.
13. Hoopa-Unbound - First Impression does a hilarious 462.1 - 543.6% to the Choice Band set.
14. Hydreigon - First Impression does 157.5 - 186.4% to the OU Darknium Z set. I'm pretty sure no set would live it, though.
15. Mew - First Impression does 111.2 - 131.6% to the OU Defensive set.
16. Venusaur - First Impression does 90.6 - 106.9% to the sun sweeper set I see run occasionally in OU.
17. Bisharp - First Impression does 86.7 - 102.2%, which is only about an 18.8% chance to OHKO. However, it becomes 100% after any chip from pivot users.
So I just pulled over 15 pokemon that are viable in OU and can get 1 shot by Golispod, and that's just with its priority. This does not even include OHKO's from Liquidation or Leech Life on predicted switches, things Golisopod can take out with priority after more than minimal chip damage, some favorable 2 hit KOs on Aqua Jet, or other good matchups. For example, Golisopod can counter Mega Swampert in the rain as most of its attacks do under 25% to Golisopod while Golisopod does over half with either of Liquidation or Leech Life. Leech Life also heals 28.9 - 34.2%, which is not too shabby for being a 2HKO. I could go on but this is getting long.
The point is that this thing counters a good deal of the current Meta Game.
Manectric @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]
The primary coverage attacker. It turns out powerful electric type moves are good. Surprise! Volt Switch is for the fast pivot role and Thunderbolt is just a more powerful STAB. Flamethrower 1HKOs Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Kartana while also being able to finish off some other steel or grass types types if they are hurt. Hidden Power Ice is used to 1HKO pokemon that are 4X weak to it like Garchomp, chipped Dragonite, Gliscor, and Landorus-Therian. But I mostly just like killing any non-scarfed Lando-T, as Mega Manectric outspeeds all other variants and KOs it with HP Ice. I guess the other stuff is cool, too. This combination coverage can do serious harm to many of the most annoying walls in the tier, including Ferrothorn, Toxapex, Tapu Fini, Celesteela, Gliscor, and also that one troll Azumarill set. This clears the way for the rest of my team.
Lightning rod on normal Manectric is for a gimmicky electric type move bait. It doesn't always work, but the threat of it sometimes even keeps my opponent using coverage moves instead of electric moves, which can be good or bad. Either way, my team appreciates just have something else to help mitigate the electric weakness, even if it's a bit of a wonky try hard method. Beyond that, this is just a fast electric type pivot with Intimidate and good coverage. Pretty self explanatory.
This team does really well against a lot of the most common and highest ranked pokemon in the OU tier. It's sometimes the lesser threats which give this team more trouble. I can work with that since most of them aren't run as often as the really scary stuff for my team.
Worst Counters:
Kyurem-Black - This one is just about coverage and bulk. Its too bulky for Tornadus or Golisopod to usually take it out in one hit. Same for Manectric since it resists electric moves. It's ice coverage isn't great for two of my 3 flying types. And most of my other pokemon can't check it because they usually carry electric coverage in the form of Fusion Bolt. So normally this is where Magneton would really shine. The problem is most of the Kyurem-Black sets I face lately have Earth Power for coverage. So I have nothing that can 1 shot it and nothing that can take all of it's coverage.
I found the best answer is to just bite the bullet and use Magneton anyway, hope it doesn't carry ground coverage, and return fire with a super effective flash cannon. If it does carry ground coverage than Magneton is often bulky enough to usually barely live on Earth Power and can do more than enough chip to set it up for a revenge kill or something. Magneton has to be healthy for this. Obviously, this is far from ideal. But it's the best this team has. Another problem is any item that boosts the damage of Kyurem's attacks (or at least Earth Power) will turn that into a OHKO on Magneton anyway. Choice can be played around. But the Life Orb set is pretty scary against my team. Luckily, I don't see it that much.
Victini - A similar problem to the example above, albeit not quite as bad. It's not too tanky. Yet it is bulky enough where Golisopod doesn't one shot it, except with Liquidation which is too slow. This creates problems for my team as nothing I have really wants to switch into V-Create. Obviously, fire type STAB means Magneton can't take it. But it usually carries electric coverage in the form of Bolt Strike or something. Gliscor is the best option for dealing necessary chip damage with Earthquake. But V-Create is so powerful that it still does roughly half it's HP, making a direct switch-in unwise. Sometimes I can play mind games and get Gliscor in relatively cleanly. Other times this forces me to sac a Pokemon or two.
Tyranitar - Following a similar vein of bulky attackers, this is once again a problem because of coverage and my inability to inherently know if I can one shot it. This time it's rock/ground coverage. Rock hits most of my team hard and ground hits nearly everything else. Gliscor is my best answer to it. But sometimes it carries ice coverage, which wrecks me. Still, Gliscor is the best bet for doing the necessary chip damage on it. This is probably where the lack of a fighting move on my team hurts the most. Even without that, First Impression can one shot many of the Tyranitar sets that aren't particularly physically defensive. But this can get risky with exposing it to rock type STAB if the hit isn't a 1HKO and many of them require prior chip damage, especially on the Mega. Sometimes, I'll be forced into sending Golisopod into Stealth Rock to check Tyranitar, and it will either wallop me on the switch in or switch out and turn me into stealth rock bait for no gain. So Golisopod is not the most reliable check for this one in every situation. Unfortunately, it usually takes a lot of maneuvering around Tyranitar to get into position to take it out with Golisopod.
Tapu Lele - As you can imagine, psychic terrain isn't good to a team where a priority abuser like Golisopod is such a staple. The worst thing is scarfed since it outspeeds my Manectric and Tornadus-Therian. However, both my defensive core pokemon (Magneton/Gyarados) have enough special defense to generally live a hit or two and return the favor. Flash Cannon is particularly good against it. Since Tapu Lele isn't usually very defensive, it can be brought down by my walls. The primary dilemma is figuring out if it is scarfed. If not, then getting chip damage so Tornadus or Manectric can finish it is sometimes preferable. If it's choiced, then using the wall that best counters the move it's locked into and attacking back is the way to go.
The biggest problem, though, is that seeing Tapu Lele on an opposing team basically forces me to keep my defensive core at high health until I can deal with it. Since they don't have reliable recovery, this drastically reduces their effectiveness because I'm pretty much required to be careful and keep both of them fresh just to prevent this thing from going wild.
Needs Caution:
Landorus-Therian - The ever present threat of OU. You simply can't build a team in this tier without factoring this thing into it. It's not that my team can't deal with it. It's that my team has to be very careful with it. Now I do have about 4 or 5 ways to deal with Landorus-Therian. Sometimes, my Tornadus-Therian can check it. But I have to be careful of rock type coverage. The best answer is Gliscor since one condition I required of that set is that it could specifically counter this pokemon. If it isn't scarfed, then Mega-Manectric can also outspeed and one shot it with HP Ice. If it's locked into moves that aren't rock type, then Golisopod and/or Gyarados can often check it. Golisopod can also finish it off with Aqua Jet after decent chip damage. Magnezone is often good bait, since ground types are attracted to blocking Volt Switch. Analytic boosted Flash Cannon or Toxic on a predicted switch can be good to help wear Landorus down to bring it in range of being more easily dealt with.
Bisharp - This thing has Defiant and Sucker Punch. I have two intimidate mons on my team. It's not a total counter. Gliscor can check it. You just have to be careful not to be baited by it. Also, Golisipod can OHKO it with First Impression, but it's less than a 20% chance. However, it can be 100% after chip from a single U-Turn or Volt Switch pivot into Golisopod. So there is that.
Zapdos - The pokemon really just walls my team fairly well and Tornadus and Golisopod can't really do anything to it. Since it normally carries Heat Wave, Magneton can't check it. Gliscor often needs more time to set up on it than it can get, as most sets are physically defensive and unlikely to be too bothered by unboosted Frost Fang. And while Gliscor is immune to electric STAB, it isn't specially defensive enough to take a million Heat Waves, either. Sometimes, Zapdos also carries HP Ice, which wrecks Gliscor. The key is to get this bird in range of my Mega-Manectric. Sometimes I do this with Gliscor and sometimes I try to scheme a Toxic onto it. Other times, I try to bait a Lightning Rod power up from Manectric to try to take it out that way.
Tapu Koko - It's a strong electric type that most of my team has trouble KOing in one move. Gliscor is too slow for it. Since half my team is weak to this typing, this can be a problem. So can electric terrain boosting the power. Luckily, I had the foresight to have the other half of my team counter electric type moves in some way. Gliscor is a good immunity to take a hit and force it out, but sometimes falls victim to Hidden Power and/or coverage moves. Manectric can sometimes hurt Tapu Koko by baiting a Lightning Rod power up and simultaneously taking advantage of the electric terrain power boost it's electric STAB while blocking Tapu Koko from doing the same. Then it can Mega-Evolve to finish it off. However, this can be risky since Manectric is made of glass and doesn't take chip from many coverage moves well. So timing for that is crucial. When in doubt, the safest option is to switch into Magneton. It won't block it from switching out. But it will take pretty much every hit. The funny thing is that sometimes my Manectric and Magnezone can take advantage of Electric Terrain with brutal Volt Switch chains.
Tapu Bulu - The main problem is just that it's bulky and most of my pokemon don't one shot it. Even things that resist it don't really want to take Choice Band Wood Hammer, which is the most dangerous set to my team. However, Tornadus does one shot it with Hurricane. Magneton can also generally live one and Flash Cannon back. So it more just requires decent planning and foresight.
Charizard - It can be a problem since Golisopod can't one shot the Megas. Main issue here is figuring out what it's running. Gyarados counters most Y sets while Gliscor is the best answer for most X sets. Sometimes you can predict it easily and sometimes it's hard to know. The Mega-X set is more dangerous because Dragon Dance gives it speed. Gyarados can be an ok switch into X, so long as you are wary of the speed upgrade. So it can be a decent scout before switching to Gliscor if it's X or staying in on Y.
Worst Counters:
Kyurem-Black - This one is just about coverage and bulk. Its too bulky for Tornadus or Golisopod to usually take it out in one hit. Same for Manectric since it resists electric moves. It's ice coverage isn't great for two of my 3 flying types. And most of my other pokemon can't check it because they usually carry electric coverage in the form of Fusion Bolt. So normally this is where Magneton would really shine. The problem is most of the Kyurem-Black sets I face lately have Earth Power for coverage. So I have nothing that can 1 shot it and nothing that can take all of it's coverage.
I found the best answer is to just bite the bullet and use Magneton anyway, hope it doesn't carry ground coverage, and return fire with a super effective flash cannon. If it does carry ground coverage than Magneton is often bulky enough to usually barely live on Earth Power and can do more than enough chip to set it up for a revenge kill or something. Magneton has to be healthy for this. Obviously, this is far from ideal. But it's the best this team has. Another problem is any item that boosts the damage of Kyurem's attacks (or at least Earth Power) will turn that into a OHKO on Magneton anyway. Choice can be played around. But the Life Orb set is pretty scary against my team. Luckily, I don't see it that much.
Victini - A similar problem to the example above, albeit not quite as bad. It's not too tanky. Yet it is bulky enough where Golisopod doesn't one shot it, except with Liquidation which is too slow. This creates problems for my team as nothing I have really wants to switch into V-Create. Obviously, fire type STAB means Magneton can't take it. But it usually carries electric coverage in the form of Bolt Strike or something. Gliscor is the best option for dealing necessary chip damage with Earthquake. But V-Create is so powerful that it still does roughly half it's HP, making a direct switch-in unwise. Sometimes I can play mind games and get Gliscor in relatively cleanly. Other times this forces me to sac a Pokemon or two.
Tyranitar - Following a similar vein of bulky attackers, this is once again a problem because of coverage and my inability to inherently know if I can one shot it. This time it's rock/ground coverage. Rock hits most of my team hard and ground hits nearly everything else. Gliscor is my best answer to it. But sometimes it carries ice coverage, which wrecks me. Still, Gliscor is the best bet for doing the necessary chip damage on it. This is probably where the lack of a fighting move on my team hurts the most. Even without that, First Impression can one shot many of the Tyranitar sets that aren't particularly physically defensive. But this can get risky with exposing it to rock type STAB if the hit isn't a 1HKO and many of them require prior chip damage, especially on the Mega. Sometimes, I'll be forced into sending Golisopod into Stealth Rock to check Tyranitar, and it will either wallop me on the switch in or switch out and turn me into stealth rock bait for no gain. So Golisopod is not the most reliable check for this one in every situation. Unfortunately, it usually takes a lot of maneuvering around Tyranitar to get into position to take it out with Golisopod.
Tapu Lele - As you can imagine, psychic terrain isn't good to a team where a priority abuser like Golisopod is such a staple. The worst thing is scarfed since it outspeeds my Manectric and Tornadus-Therian. However, both my defensive core pokemon (Magneton/Gyarados) have enough special defense to generally live a hit or two and return the favor. Flash Cannon is particularly good against it. Since Tapu Lele isn't usually very defensive, it can be brought down by my walls. The primary dilemma is figuring out if it is scarfed. If not, then getting chip damage so Tornadus or Manectric can finish it is sometimes preferable. If it's choiced, then using the wall that best counters the move it's locked into and attacking back is the way to go.
The biggest problem, though, is that seeing Tapu Lele on an opposing team basically forces me to keep my defensive core at high health until I can deal with it. Since they don't have reliable recovery, this drastically reduces their effectiveness because I'm pretty much required to be careful and keep both of them fresh just to prevent this thing from going wild.
Needs Caution:
Landorus-Therian - The ever present threat of OU. You simply can't build a team in this tier without factoring this thing into it. It's not that my team can't deal with it. It's that my team has to be very careful with it. Now I do have about 4 or 5 ways to deal with Landorus-Therian. Sometimes, my Tornadus-Therian can check it. But I have to be careful of rock type coverage. The best answer is Gliscor since one condition I required of that set is that it could specifically counter this pokemon. If it isn't scarfed, then Mega-Manectric can also outspeed and one shot it with HP Ice. If it's locked into moves that aren't rock type, then Golisopod and/or Gyarados can often check it. Golisopod can also finish it off with Aqua Jet after decent chip damage. Magnezone is often good bait, since ground types are attracted to blocking Volt Switch. Analytic boosted Flash Cannon or Toxic on a predicted switch can be good to help wear Landorus down to bring it in range of being more easily dealt with.
Bisharp - This thing has Defiant and Sucker Punch. I have two intimidate mons on my team. It's not a total counter. Gliscor can check it. You just have to be careful not to be baited by it. Also, Golisipod can OHKO it with First Impression, but it's less than a 20% chance. However, it can be 100% after chip from a single U-Turn or Volt Switch pivot into Golisopod. So there is that.
Zapdos - The pokemon really just walls my team fairly well and Tornadus and Golisopod can't really do anything to it. Since it normally carries Heat Wave, Magneton can't check it. Gliscor often needs more time to set up on it than it can get, as most sets are physically defensive and unlikely to be too bothered by unboosted Frost Fang. And while Gliscor is immune to electric STAB, it isn't specially defensive enough to take a million Heat Waves, either. Sometimes, Zapdos also carries HP Ice, which wrecks Gliscor. The key is to get this bird in range of my Mega-Manectric. Sometimes I do this with Gliscor and sometimes I try to scheme a Toxic onto it. Other times, I try to bait a Lightning Rod power up from Manectric to try to take it out that way.
Tapu Koko - It's a strong electric type that most of my team has trouble KOing in one move. Gliscor is too slow for it. Since half my team is weak to this typing, this can be a problem. So can electric terrain boosting the power. Luckily, I had the foresight to have the other half of my team counter electric type moves in some way. Gliscor is a good immunity to take a hit and force it out, but sometimes falls victim to Hidden Power and/or coverage moves. Manectric can sometimes hurt Tapu Koko by baiting a Lightning Rod power up and simultaneously taking advantage of the electric terrain power boost it's electric STAB while blocking Tapu Koko from doing the same. Then it can Mega-Evolve to finish it off. However, this can be risky since Manectric is made of glass and doesn't take chip from many coverage moves well. So timing for that is crucial. When in doubt, the safest option is to switch into Magneton. It won't block it from switching out. But it will take pretty much every hit. The funny thing is that sometimes my Manectric and Magnezone can take advantage of Electric Terrain with brutal Volt Switch chains.
Tapu Bulu - The main problem is just that it's bulky and most of my pokemon don't one shot it. Even things that resist it don't really want to take Choice Band Wood Hammer, which is the most dangerous set to my team. However, Tornadus does one shot it with Hurricane. Magneton can also generally live one and Flash Cannon back. So it more just requires decent planning and foresight.
Charizard - It can be a problem since Golisopod can't one shot the Megas. Main issue here is figuring out what it's running. Gyarados counters most Y sets while Gliscor is the best answer for most X sets. Sometimes you can predict it easily and sometimes it's hard to know. The Mega-X set is more dangerous because Dragon Dance gives it speed. Gyarados can be an ok switch into X, so long as you are wary of the speed upgrade. So it can be a decent scout before switching to Gliscor if it's X or staying in on Y.
I was going to add some more sections on strategies and replays, but this is already getting ridiculously long. I think I have sufficient information for the time being. Let me know what you think.
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