Hi
Since my OST "run" (3 activity wins...) is over, I just wanted to share my thoughts of some Pokemon and sets that I think are good in current SS OU and a couple of teams that I used.
Primarina (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 80 SpA / 44 SpD / 136 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Scald
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
Here's what I believe is Primarina's best set in SS OU. Primarina's niche is that it's the only Pokemon we have right now that naturally checks Hydreigon without going fully defensive. On paper this set is shut down by Haze Toxapex but in practice the Pex player will lose 1v1 when it gets burnt and if Black Sludge is knocked off which isn't hard to do. Because Pexes are PhysDef now, +1 Moonblasts and Scalds will pressure Pex significantly and force it to Recover more than it would like to. The EV spread is the key here. It has not only enough Speed for max speed Ada Conkeldurr, but a lot of special bulk so Moonblast from uninvested Clefable cannot break its Sub. There's not many counters to this thing, just Haze Pex with Black Sludge still equipped, non-burnt Ferro with STAB, Unaware Clef, and Snorlax. I went 3-0 using two different teams with Prima and I wanted to show them off.
Team was built around CM Hatterene, a Pokemon I wanted to try out because of a blunder vid a few weeks ago. The issue with running Hatterene has always been its massive competition with Clef. Defensively, Hat isn't a good check vs NP Hydreigon, and running both Hat and Clef never feels right as they do similar things and are weak to the same stuff. That's where I got the idea of Primarina as it covers Hydra for Hat. In turn, Hat can dissuade Toxapex from setting up T-Spikes and directly threatens it. Hat in practice rarely sweeps but can 1v1 a big threat every game. This team was fun for me mostly because no Clef. Speaking of Magic Bounce Pokemon...
Xatu @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 172 Def / 88 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Teleport
- Night Shade
- Defog
- Roost
It's a good time to be a Xatu right now. Think about it. What are the top rockers in the current metagame? Seismitoad, Kommo-o, Ferrothorn, Hippowdon. What do they have in common? Can't get 'em up vs Xatu. SR Drill outside of HO has kinda fallen off the map, so until it rises back in usage I think Xatu is an okay pick in SS OU. The key move for Xatu here is of course Teleport, which can immediately put the momentum back in your favor while putting the opponent in the awkward position. This EV spread avoids the 3HKO from Toad's Scald accounting for burn, but it is very customizable. I always thought Xatu had a place here since Pre-Home, but it was much tougher Pre-Home when it is so weak to Hydreigon. If there was only something that handles Hydra but not too passive, hmm...
This one is built around the matchup fossil, CB Dracovish. Xatu I felt was a good partner because the top Dracovish checks all happen to be hazard setters that struggle vs Xatu: Toad, Kommo-o, Ferro, and Pex. Prima was immediately added to patch the Hydra weakness. Ferro is the rocker, primary Fairy resist, and pretend Vish check. Court Change (!) was added as I needed a speedy Pokemon that can directly handle opposing Ferro. Together with Vish, they can potentially overwhelm defensive cores due to them having basically the same checks. Super Fang makes it easier for Court Change to whittle down its checks, but Sucker Punch helps vs a Dragapult or Chandelure matchup. Scarf Hydra is the main method of speed control and Ghost resist. Team looks fun and is fun to use. It is flawed though; no Flying resist means that it's very weak to NP Togekiss in particular. Love this one as it is a rare non-HO offensive build that I think is effective, especially vs defensive Kommo-o teams.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
- Moonblast
- Imprison
- Soft-Boiled
- Wish
I just slapped this on a random team to try it out, and it's surprisingly solid. The idea of Imprison is fully taking advantage of Clef's 101% usage to shut down opposing Clefs while you're still able to do your thing. Little bit iffy vs CM Clef but if you get SpA drops it should be fine.
Really really good...the perfect anti-meta Pokemon, shutting down trendy picks like Specs Kyurem and Chandelure. Honestly should be OU by usage. Moves are really customizable, maybe even EV spreads and Nature; there might be some merit in running more offensive Curse variants. Can auto-win vs a good amount of teams. It's admittedly difficult to build around, for me at least :(
But yeah, that's it from me. Thanks for reading and thanks to all my friends from r/stunfisk and Discord who helped me out :)