Hello all, this is a team I’ve been having a decent amount of success with, but at times it feels awkward to play in certain situations, and doesn’t have as many comfortable switch ins to fall back on. It must be played aggressively, as losing tempo is really bad with this set up. I also tried to deviate from some normal Meta choices, and tried to build a more gen4/5 style team without using the bog standard S-rank/A-rank pokemon like Metagross / Tyranitar / Celebi / Skarmory / Blissey / Snorlax. Swampert is an exception because he was the easiest fit on the team that could fix many weaknesses at once. Metagross > Tauros is a possiblity, but then my team would be severely lacking in speed.
Swampert (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 208 Def / 56 SpA / 4 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Roar
I like this as my lead because it beats most leads 1v1 unless they have HP grass, and Swampert is usually dealt with by another bulky water, Celebi, or Zapdos. While Zapdos is usually handled by Regice, bulky waters and Celebi usually do not do a lot of damage unboosted, so this allows my Gyarados to come in for very little hp loss to start firing away. Ice beam one-shots Salamence with 56 S-atk EVs, and 4 speed to outspeed other Relaxed Swampert.
Gyarados (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Earthquake
- Sleep Talk
- Double-Edge
Faster than Jolly TTar. I dislike Dragon dance on Gyarados because Zapdos walls it too hard, while Zapdos almost always takes 85%ish when you land the Double-edge. The advantage of Gyarados over Salamence is that it can switch in on bulky waters and start firing away. Double-Edge is pretty disgusting when Gyarados is almost dead, and knowing when to use it instead of just spamming it can really be the difference between a 1 for 1 and a 1 for 2 trade. There’s not a lot of moves to choose from, so Sleep Talk is there, but it does work because no one expects it usually, letting it take the sleep and fire off free shot usually.
Tauros (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Iron Tail
Once Skarmory is dead, it is hard to find something to switch into Taurus, especially if it comes in on a predicted switch. Iron tail is for Gengar, Tyranitar, and Aerodactyl all at once in situations where mispredicting and being locked into the wrong move could cost me the game. Double intimidate is useful for many situations, and can even be used as a pseudo Memento for getting Heracross in.
Heracross (F) @ Salac Berry
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 HP
- Megahorn
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Rock Slide
This thing is broken af. You can be down 4-6, 1-3, 2-4, even if you got outplayed in the beginning, this set can almost always make a reverse sweep a legit game plan. Sandstorm cuts into its longevity a bit, but at 26% and 20%, Heracross still gets to fire off 5 or 4 Megahorns respectively before it dies. If the opportunity presents itself, it can also be used as an early game wall breaker, in which case Tauros would take over its sweeping duties. If their team is sufficiently weakened, the SD boost isn't necessary. Simply sub down to 25% and let the Swarm-boosted Megahorn do the werk.
Magneton @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 68 HP / 252 SpA / 188 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunder Wave
- Toxic
This team obviously doesn’t work without Mag. Double status for max utility, enough speed for Adamant Tyranitar.
Regice @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 100 HP / 156 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Explosion
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
I originally had thunder wave instead of HP fire, but later I found the extra coverage against steels was more useful, since my S-atk is maxed out. This team is composed of mostly Pokémon that tank a few physical hits and dish back, so a designated special tank makes sense here.
Some changes I’ve considered making/have played around with are Self-Destruct/Shadowball/Earthquake/Return Snorlax over Regice + CB Metagross over Tauros, which definitely seems better on paper due to Metagross’ typing. However, having Snorlax over Regice makes the team a little heavy on the physical side. Jirachi is also a possibility, but I didn't find it easy to use. Toxic/Earthquake/Fireblast/Explosion Camerupt was useful too, though it isn’t as bulky as it appears.
Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-995929660 - Typical clean sweep with Heracross
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-996320198 - When Megahorn misses
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-995915887 - Camerupt/Snorlax > Regice/Tauros variant of the team
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-995919264 - Another game with Camerupt, but Jirachi > Tauros
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-994177824 - Sometimes Heracross will die from Sandstorm, but brings down 2 to 3 enemies ez
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-991800398 - Don't be afraid to use this Hera set in Sandstorm!
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-994183672 - This one is a bit long, won't spoil, but it was one of my few matches with an actual good player
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-995137440 - I get outplayed at the end :(
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-997780521 - You don't always need SD for the sweep!
I've included both wins and losses to allow you guys to see how this team runs both when it's ahead and when it's behind.
Swampert (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 208 Def / 56 SpA / 4 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Roar
I like this as my lead because it beats most leads 1v1 unless they have HP grass, and Swampert is usually dealt with by another bulky water, Celebi, or Zapdos. While Zapdos is usually handled by Regice, bulky waters and Celebi usually do not do a lot of damage unboosted, so this allows my Gyarados to come in for very little hp loss to start firing away. Ice beam one-shots Salamence with 56 S-atk EVs, and 4 speed to outspeed other Relaxed Swampert.
Gyarados (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Earthquake
- Sleep Talk
- Double-Edge
Faster than Jolly TTar. I dislike Dragon dance on Gyarados because Zapdos walls it too hard, while Zapdos almost always takes 85%ish when you land the Double-edge. The advantage of Gyarados over Salamence is that it can switch in on bulky waters and start firing away. Double-Edge is pretty disgusting when Gyarados is almost dead, and knowing when to use it instead of just spamming it can really be the difference between a 1 for 1 and a 1 for 2 trade. There’s not a lot of moves to choose from, so Sleep Talk is there, but it does work because no one expects it usually, letting it take the sleep and fire off free shot usually.
Tauros (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Iron Tail
Once Skarmory is dead, it is hard to find something to switch into Taurus, especially if it comes in on a predicted switch. Iron tail is for Gengar, Tyranitar, and Aerodactyl all at once in situations where mispredicting and being locked into the wrong move could cost me the game. Double intimidate is useful for many situations, and can even be used as a pseudo Memento for getting Heracross in.
Heracross (F) @ Salac Berry
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 HP
- Megahorn
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Rock Slide
This thing is broken af. You can be down 4-6, 1-3, 2-4, even if you got outplayed in the beginning, this set can almost always make a reverse sweep a legit game plan. Sandstorm cuts into its longevity a bit, but at 26% and 20%, Heracross still gets to fire off 5 or 4 Megahorns respectively before it dies. If the opportunity presents itself, it can also be used as an early game wall breaker, in which case Tauros would take over its sweeping duties. If their team is sufficiently weakened, the SD boost isn't necessary. Simply sub down to 25% and let the Swarm-boosted Megahorn do the werk.
Magneton @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 68 HP / 252 SpA / 188 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunder Wave
- Toxic
This team obviously doesn’t work without Mag. Double status for max utility, enough speed for Adamant Tyranitar.
Regice @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 100 HP / 156 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Explosion
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
I originally had thunder wave instead of HP fire, but later I found the extra coverage against steels was more useful, since my S-atk is maxed out. This team is composed of mostly Pokémon that tank a few physical hits and dish back, so a designated special tank makes sense here.
Some changes I’ve considered making/have played around with are Self-Destruct/Shadowball/Earthquake/Return Snorlax over Regice + CB Metagross over Tauros, which definitely seems better on paper due to Metagross’ typing. However, having Snorlax over Regice makes the team a little heavy on the physical side. Jirachi is also a possibility, but I didn't find it easy to use. Toxic/Earthquake/Fireblast/Explosion Camerupt was useful too, though it isn’t as bulky as it appears.
Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-995929660 - Typical clean sweep with Heracross
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-996320198 - When Megahorn misses
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-995915887 - Camerupt/Snorlax > Regice/Tauros variant of the team
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-995919264 - Another game with Camerupt, but Jirachi > Tauros
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-994177824 - Sometimes Heracross will die from Sandstorm, but brings down 2 to 3 enemies ez
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-991800398 - Don't be afraid to use this Hera set in Sandstorm!
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-994183672 - This one is a bit long, won't spoil, but it was one of my few matches with an actual good player
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-995137440 - I get outplayed at the end :(
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-997780521 - You don't always need SD for the sweep!
I've included both wins and losses to allow you guys to see how this team runs both when it's ahead and when it's behind.
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