SM OU Jet Fuel and Steel Beams (Sun Balance)

Every once in a while, I get the urge to try something stupid. Today, I loaded up a set for a mon that couldn't possibly work as part of a traditional defensive core.
But oh, it did, spectacularly.



The Defensive Core

Gotcha (Salamence) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Draco Meteor
- Toxic
- Defog

I've always loved SpDef Megamence in ubers. But unable to check Greninja, surely it wouldn't be able to do work in the current OU metagame?
This is the ultimate anti-bulky lando mon. Defogs the hazards off, gets reliable toxics, and lures them in to find their HP Ices don't even 4HKO after lefties. I originally had Wish/Protect, but found it wasn't necessary, and Draco Meteor is a nice addition that lets you faster chip mons like Hawlucha. With Intimidate, this guy handles most of the physical metagame as well. Just keep him far away from Kyurem.

Fun and Interactive (Chansey) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Soft-Boiled
- Seismic Toss

As I said, you can't just have a SpDef wall that loses to Greninja, so I added Chansey to fill in the holes. Mence can happily take the Fighting attacks Chansey can't, and together they can toxic the entire metagame, while Chansey can Toss down every Magearna variant. This just leaves the core weak to very fast physical attackers, Tapu Lele and Mega-Mawile.

Steel Beams (Celesteela) @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Leech Seed
- Heavy Slam
- Protect
- Flamethrower

Enter the Mawile/Physical check. Flamethrower lets it beat most mawile sets 1v1, especially if you can predict with Leech Seed. I moved away from the typical Smogon set as this helps so much with the physical threats that can prove a problem, and helps it to eat Lele's Psyshock.

The Offensive Core

Tapu Smackyou (Tapu Bulu) @ Buginium Z
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Megahorn
- Nature's Madness

With Naga gone, Tapu Bulu is the best bulky attacker in this metagame, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. Nature's Madness lets us hit celesteela when they expect a switch, and Savage Spin Out lets us slaughter Bisharp, Mew and other physical switchins. This guy pivots in off of Celesteela and Mence like nothing else. He struggles with Scizor, but the next two picks will deal with that.

Jet Fuel (Charizard-Mega-Y) @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Solar Beam
- Fire Blast
- Air Slash
- Roost

What's balance without a ridiculous wallbreaker? I ran Mawile at first, but found the team a little Physical-heavy. With Bulu's terrain up, Solar Beam hits hard, and Fire Blast cooks everything not named Toxapex or Chansey, neither of which appreciate the double to Bulu.

GGEZ (Blacephalon) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Shadow Ball
- Trick
- Foul Play

Top tier speed control? Excellent cleaning potential? Brutal as hell in the sun? Why not.
Trick lets us handle Pex/Clef cores, and Foul Play means we can pick off physical sweepers like DD Gyarados without having to sac someone, although it does weaken our cleaning potential a little.

Threatlist

Ice/PUP Lopunny shits on us really really hard. Our only answer to this is to bluff Specs Blacephelon, sac zard for chip and finish it with Flamethrower. If we can get in before it sets up then Zard can normally eat a return without rocks chip, but this also hard stops our defogs. It's overall a massive pain in the ass, as we just can't grind it out.

We can handle most Koko builds, but Specs Nature's Madness is a massive headache, as is anything mixed. Even just physical koko can catch us off guard, which is why I like to counter lead with Steela and hit protect.

Again, we have great answers to the traditional Landorus set, but I live in constant fear of Scarf Stone Edge, which just decimates us.

Kyurem will always take a kill against us. Bulu can't handle it, and without Focus Blast on Zard we have nothing which will OHKO it. I dont expect it to clean us out, but its not pretty to deal with.


Strategy
When this team wins, it tends to win 5-0. Bulu is a safe sac to bring in Blacephelon, but you can also sac Zard if you think you're about to win. Never let Steela get knocked off. We dont have the best KO switchins, but Mence cares the least about his lefties on the defensive side. Just dont bring him in on a Bisharp if you want to live.

Against a huge number of teams, Zard takes a kill every time it comes in. It's often worth clicking Fire Blast even if they have resists, just to weaken things for Blacephelon. Try and work out if opposing Toxapex are Defensive or SpDef asap and plan Zard plays accordingly. Pex may look like a problem, but with Natural Cure, two flying types, two burn immunities, a swords dancer and solid defog options, it really doesnt do a whole lot to the team.

The game isnt over if Blacephelon dies. If you can wear down the physical attackers enough, Chansey has a good chance to clean up with Toxic/Toss. Mence isnt a good cleaner, but it can get a late toxic on things like Keldeo and then rack up chip with doubles.

Bulu doesnt clean well, and is weak to common offensive strategies like Hawlucha. However, it eats Swampert's Ice Punch, so it can be a decent answer to rain, despite it really being here to harass bulkier teams.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top