XY OU Threat List [Compiling Entries]

Always!

WAGESLAVE
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Gyarados: Offensive
Type: Water / Flying
Base Stats: 95 HP / 125 Atk / 79 Def / 60 SpA / 100 SpD / 81 Spe
Ability: Intimidate / Moxie

Gyarados is known to be one of OU's most common and fearsome sweepers. Access to Dragon Dance and an Attack stat of 125 is quite scary, but with the ability to run Moxie, it can turn Gyarados from a setup sweeper into a steamroller. It has access to numerous moves to aid in its setup, such as Taunt and Substitute, which both shield it from status moves and greatly increase the number of Pokemon it can setup upon. In addition, it can also run Intimidate for a much easier time switching in on physical attackers and turning them into bait. It carries a plethora of moves, such as Waterfall, Earthquake, Bounce, and Ice Fang which provide it fantastic coverage, which is walled by very few Pokemon. Gyarados isn't exactly on the frail side either, sporting quite solid 95/79/100 defensive stats, making it even more difficult to take down as well. It can run Leftovers for longevity and to acquire more boosts, Life Orb for a large power boost, and it also carries the ability to create guessing games with opponents, as they'll often think to themselves "Is it a mega?", which can put them in very bad situations. Overall, with amazing stats, a solid movepool to draw from, and two amazing abilities, Gyarados has solidified itself in OU as a top choice, and one that every team should be prepared for.


Magnezone: Support
Type: Steel / Electric
Base Stats: 70 HP / 70 Atk / 115 Def / 130 SpA / 90 SpD / 60 Spe
Ability: Magnet Pull / Sturdy / Analytic

Magnezone was gifted with the ability Magnet Pull, which prevents all Steel-Type Pokemon from switching out, thus acting as the premier Steel-Type killer. It is used in conjunction with Pokemon who hate Steel-Types, most often Dragon-Types like Dragonite, which allows them to spam high power STAB moves like Outrage without much trouble. Ferrothorn is a common example of what Magnezone can trap. When running HP Fire, Magnezone can switch in, prevent Ferrothorn from switching out and trapping it, and then trade momentum for a guaranteed kill. Magnezone can also do this to Pokemon such as Skarmory and Scizor, two very important targets that it can take down using the aforementioned method. However Magnezone also carries critical moves such as Volt Switch to gain momentum of Pokemon like Skarmory and can get it out of bad situations, and its STAB Flash Cannon, which does massive damage to Fairy-Types, which are getting increasingly common and are often annoying to some teams. Ironically, Fairy-Types also gain from Magnezone's removal of Steel-Types, such as Mega Gardevoir and Clefable.
 
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SparksBlade

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Gyarados: Offensive
Type: Water / Flying
Base Stats: 95 HP / 125 Atk / 79 Def / 60 SpA / 100 SpD / 81 Spe
Ability: Intimidate / Moxie

Gyarados is known to be one of OU's most common and fearsome sweepers. Access to Dragon Dance and an Attack stat of 125 is quite scary, but with the ability to run Moxie, it can turn Gyarados from a setup sweeper into a steamroller. It has access to numerous moves to aid in its setup, such as Taunt and Substitute, which both shield it from status moves and greatly increase the number of Pokemon it can setup upon. In addition, it can also run Intimidate for a much easier time switching in on physical attackers and turning them into bait. It carries a plethora of moves, such as Waterfall, Earthquake, Bounce, and Ice Fang which provide it fantastic coverage, which is walled by very few Pokemon. Gyarados isn't exactly on the frail side either, sporting quite solid 95/79/100 defensive stats, making it even more difficult to take down as well. It can run Leftovers for longevity and to acquire more boosts, Life Orb for a large power boost, and it also carries the ability to create guessing games with opponents, as they'll often think to themselves "Is it a mega?", which can put them in very bad situations. Overall, with amazing stats, a solid movepool to draw from, and two amazing abilities, Gyarados has solidified itself in OU as a top choice, and one that every team should be prepared for.


Magnezone: Support
Type: Steel / Electric
Base Stats: 70 HP / 70 Atk / 115 Def / 130 SpA / 90 SpD / 60 Spe
Ability: Magnet Pull / Illuminate/ Analytic

Magnezone was blessed with the ability Magnet Pull, which prevents all Steel-Type Pokemon from switching out, thus acting as the premier Steel-Type killer. It is used in conjunction with Pokemon who hate Steel-Types, most often Dragon-Types like Dragonite, which allows them to spam high power STAB moves like Outrage with no repercussions since the Steel-Types who can punish them have been trapped and el. Ferrothorn is a common example of what Magnezone can trap. When running HP Fire, Magnezone can switch in, prevent Ferrothorn from switching out and trapping it, KO it with HP Fire and then simply switch out and let the Dragon-Types spam their STAB. Magnezone can also do this to Pokemon such as Skarmory and Scizor, two very important targets that it can take down using the aforementioned method. Magnezone also carries critical moves such as Volt Switch to gain momentum and get out of bad situations, and its STAB Flash Cannon, which does massive damage to Fairy-Types, which are getting increasingly common and are often annoying to some Magnezone has many different options, such as Magnet Rise+Air Balloon, which can be used to get a KO on one of the premier spinners in OU, Excadrill. HP Ground can also be used if Heatran is the Steel-Type that gives Magnezone's teammates troubles, and it can run a deadly Scarf or Specs set, meaning that despite Magnezone's simplistic role, it has all the tools it needs to be a top tier threat, and one that should be prepared for and have a gameplan against.
Gyarados looks fine, but mention along with dragons, fairies gain from removal for steel types as well. Rest looks fine to me.
 


Mega Scizor: Defensive

Type: Steel / Bug
Base Stats: 70 HP / 150 Atk / 140 Def / 65 SpA / 100 SpD/ 75 Spe
Ability: Technician

Although Mega Scizor is more commonly used for its offensive potential, its Mega Evolution also provides it with significant buffs to both defensive stats. With excellent 70 / 140 / 100 bulk, a great defensive typing with only a single weakness, reliable recovery, and an immunity to Toxic, Mega Scizor is difficult to take down without a Fire move, and can wall a significant portion of the OU metagame. Consequently, this make Mega Scizor an excellent user of Defog, as its Bug / Steel typing gives it lots of useful resistance, and thus many safe switchin opportunities. With base 150 attack, even an uninvested Bullet Punch will hit hard, and with a fourth slot to carry an additional coverage move, or U-Turn to escape trapping and create momentum, few pokemon are able to set up on Mega Scizor. While Mega Scizor needs to avoid all things Fire, including coverage moves and Hidden Powers, it is otherwise able to reliably support the team, making it worth the investment of both the team slot and the Mega slot.
 

SparksBlade

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That's exactly what I meant; it's colloquial, but it's not incorrect.
no offense, but maybe it should be like "While Mega Scizor needs to avoid all things that can carry Fire-type moves" or something on similar lines. "While Mega Scizor needs to avoid all things Fire" doesn't actually make sense.
 

Ash Borer

I've heard they're short of room in hell
It's using "fire" as and adjective, "Fiery" is what he's looking for I think. Anyways, isn't this article going to have to updated for like.. a fourth time for ORAS?

Also I just kinda want to chime in saying that I think the best way to write these entries is to try your best to not oversell the Pokemon. When I did the QC and GP implementation for this project some iteration ago I always though this was the best entry


Rotom-W
Type: Electric / Water
Base Stats: 50 HP / 65 Atk / 107 Def / 105 SpA / 107 SpD / 86 Spe
Ability: Levitate

Rotom-W is an important defensive threat for numerous reasons. Its good mixed defenses allow it to take advantage of its stellar defensive typing. The number of useful resistances Rotom-W has is impressive, but what makes it so useful is its ability, Levitate, which lets it avoid all the Ground-type moves that Ice-, Water-, Steel-, and Flying-type Pokemon use for coverage, and the fact that it only has a single weakness means that attackers will often not possess a coverage move to hit it super effectively. Possessing multiple semi-reliable methods of recovery, Rotom-W can be a pain to take down. In addition, Rotom-W has access to Will-O-Wisp, preventing many physical attackers from attempting to stay in and muscle past it. Finally, Rotom-W is one of the only defensive Pokemon with access to Volt Switch, which allows it to grab momentum on many of the switches it forces. These unique qualities combine to give Rotom-W an important place in the metagame.
I really like how it only says that Rotom-W is an "important threat" rather than a god. The only asset that it has that is praised with massive adjectives is its typing, which is by far Rotom's best trait. It then clearly explains the uniqueness and usefulness of the role it plays.

Compare that entry to this:


Ferrothorn
Type: Grass / Steel
Base Stats: 74 HP / 94 Atk / 131 Def / 54 SpA / 116 SpD / 20 Spe
Ability: Iron Barbs / Anticipation

Being one of the top-tier defensive threats in BW, Ferrothorn returns largely unchanged. It has an excellent defensive typing, which in conjunction with its massive base 131 Defense and great base 116 Special Defense allows Ferrothorn to wall a large amount of the tier. It also has Thunder Wave to cripple fast offensive threats, as well as both Stealth Rock and Spikes, which lets it easily set up entry hazards during the free turns it obtains from the switches it forces. With its ability Iron Barbs, Ferrothorn can wear down physical attackers quickly, and it can even heal itself in the process with Leech Seed. However, unlike most defensive Pokemon, it actually has a usable Attack stat, which means it can use Power Whip and Gyro Ball to deal hefty damage to foes. It can even use Protect to stall with Leech Seed and Leftovers, while a Rocky Helmet can rack up passive damage with Iron Barbs. It is still one of the best defensive Pokemon in the tier with a surprising amount of versatility, and it must always be prepared for on a serious team.
131 defense is big but refraining from calling it massive is best. We have some Pokemon that have over 200 defense that are viable in OU, 116 Sdef being great, again is contentious. Ferrothorn's attack is definitely usable, but certainly not unlike the rest of the meta. Pretty much every functional defensive threat has a means of damaging the opponent, Hippo, Lando, Gliscor, Clefable, Zapdos, Mega Scizor, Mega Venu, etc etc are all stronger or as strong off the top of my head. Iron Barbs is nice, but it's not a super powerful ability that can destroy physical attackers, you might catch a couple u-turns a game with it, it doesn't need to be marketed so heavily.

Most entries read like this claiming how "it is one of the best" and how "blessed" it is and how every single one of its merits makes is just S-rank tier stuff. When I read "colossal", "disgustingly powerful" and how every single wallbreaker, sweeper or whatever is the best at its role it makes the article very cheesy.

I'm not saying that every single writer here is doing this, or even that you're a bad writer for doing it. I know I did it quite a lot when I wrote some entries, and I understand that you want to make it known that the Pokemon you're writing for is good. But I think it's best if writers make an effort to not oversell.

I'm going to do a critique of a recent entry, don't take it wrongly, I'm just trying to be helpful


Magnezone: Support
Type: Steel / Electric
Base Stats: 70 HP / 70 Atk / 115 Def / 130 SpA / 90 SpD / 60 Spe
Ability: Magnet Pull / Illuminate/ Analytic

Magnezone was blessed with the ability Magnet Pull, which prevents all Steel-Type Pokemon from switching out, thus acting as the premier Steel-Type killer.

I don't much care for this adjective "blessed". Magnet pull is fine, but it's not such a universally amazing ability like Pure Power that instantly makes a Pokemon great. It is a good, but subjectively useful ability that can end up being useless game to game. You could say almost any OU pokemon is blessed with its ability if its half decent. When everything is blessed, nothing is.

It is used in conjunction with Pokemon who hate Steel-Types, most often Dragon-Types like Dragonite, which allows them to spam high power STAB moves like Outrage with no repercussions since the Steel-Types who can punish them have been trapped and el.

Great, but Fairy-types still exist and outrage spam really isn't that great because revenge killers are not in short supply these days. Even Mags' most typical partner Pinsir is very stoppable after Skarmory is killed.

Ferrothorn is a common example of what Magnezone can trap. When running HP Fire, Magnezone can switch in, prevent Ferrothorn from switching out and trapping it, KO it with HP Fire and then simply switch out and let the Dragon-Types spam their STAB. Magnezone can also do this to Pokemon such as Skarmory and Scizor, two very important targets that it can take down using the aforementioned method.

Great but I think this oversells the usefulness. Magnezone typically needs to be choiced, and the issue it faces is that it locks itself into HP fire against a couple of these targets, which forfeits a lot of momentum for the KO you earn. Often Ferro will set up Stealth Rock as you switch in too. This isn't the easy, free trade that you make it out to the be. Rewording this to say that "Magenzone is capable of trading momentum for clean KO of some important steel-types" is a more realistic way of putting it. It is worth mentioning that Skarmory is easily volt switched out of so momentum is retained here though.

Magnezone also carries critical moves such as Volt Switch to gain momentum and get out of bad situations,and its STAB Flash Cannon, which does massive damage to Fairy-Types, which are getting increasingly common and are often annoying to some teams. Ironically, Fairy-Types gain from Magnezone's removal of Steel-Types, such as Mega Gardevoir and Clefable. Magnezone has many different options, such as Magnet Rise+Air Balloon, which can be used to get a KO on one of the premier spinners in OU, Excadrill. HP Ground can also be used if Heatran is the Steel-Type that gives Magnezone's teammates troubles, and it can run a deadly Scarf or Specs set, meaning that despite Magnezone's simplistic role, it has all the tools it needs to be a top tier threat, and one that should be prepared for and have a gameplan against.

Again I think this is overselling Magnezone's abilities. Magnet rise and air balloon diminish MAgnezone's ability to deal damage or outspeed things, it can't switch into Excadrill and has a 70% chance of success accounting for Iron Head flinches. HP ground, even with specs is unable to OHKO heatran and you certainly cant switch in, so, it's not just a matter of slapping hp ground magnezone on your team if you dont like Heatran.

Finally this bit about "having a gameplan". I think you can say this about basically everything an entry is written for. Don't feel like you need a conclusion sentence, the entries are short and pragmatic.
 
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SparksBlade

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Ash Borer said:
Anyways, isn't this article going to have to updated for like.. a fourth time for ORAS?
that's what i was thiking as well, Jukain has been lazy so no word from him. I read in the ORAS thread the XY league and ORAS league will be different and all, does that affect Smogon too to create different metas?
 

Ash Borer

I've heard they're short of room in hell
Smogon has never done that with previous gens. XY should be phased out for ORAS eventually.
 

Jukain

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Yeah this has been going on for awhile, a big metagame shift and this had to be redone and ORAS will bring another one. I'd like to have entries done, only a few more are needed. Those can be QC'd, done with whatever updates are needed for ORAS (for a lot of mons not much of their role has changed, obviously some have), and then get it GP'd/HTML'd to go on-site.

Offensive:
- Mega Medicham

Defensive:
- Alomomola
- Cresselia
- Heatran
- Jirachi

These are all the ones that have to get done, if they can get done ASAP and we can move on to the next step that would be good. Sorry for being lazy with this, fall has been pretty busy on the whole until now.
 
rip no mega sprite

Mega Medicham
Type: Psychic / Fighting
Base Stats: 60 HP / 100 Atk / 85 Def / 80 SpA / 85 SpD / 100 Spe
Ability: Pure Power / Telepathy

Generation 6 brought Medicham a new toy to play around with - a mega evolution. Mega Medicham's good base 100 Attack stat in itself would already allow it to hit somewhat hard, but coupled with its ability in Pure Power, which doubles its Attack stat, it allows it to function as one of the best wallbreakers in all of OU. Medicham's wide movepool between a powerful STAB High Jump Kick and the elemental punches allow it to plow through different types of threats. Mega Medicham's decent base 100 Speed allow it to outpace threats such as Mega Heracross, and speed-tie with Pokemon such as Mega Charizard and Mega Gardevoir. Mega Medicham also is one of only a few physically-based Pokemon who can get rid of common walls such as Ferrothorn, Gliscor, and Chansey all by itself, which makes it even more threatening.



Heatran
Type: Fire / Steel
Base Stats: 91 HP / 90 Atk / 106 Def / 130 SpA / 106 SpD / 77 Spe
Ability: Flash Fire / Flame Body (Unreleased)

Heatran's amazing defensive typing, which grants it an immunity and only three weaknesses, coupled with its solid 91 / 106 / 106 bulk, make it an ideal defensive threat. Heatran's ability in Flash Fire also grants it immunity to Fire-type attacks, granting it an additional immunity as well. Most defensive Heatran run a specially defensive spread, allowing it to take special hits well, and allow it do what it wishes. Heatran also is a common user of Lava Plume, which with its base 130 Special Attack stat, allows it to deal damage and even potentially burn. Heatran also tend to run Toxic and Protect in conjunction with Leftovers to wear down the opponent with poison that stacks up, as well as slowly recovering health.




I do agree that this needs to be finished ASAP for ORAS. So I guess I'll take defensive Alomomola and Defensive Cresselia. ;-]
 
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Ash Borer

I've heard they're short of room in hell
I just wrote megacham now and noticed someone beat me by some minutes, you can choose whichever you like best jukain


Mega Medicham
: Offensive
Type: Fighting / Psychic
Base Stats: 60 HP / 100 Atk / 85 Def / 80 SpA / 85 SpD / Spe 100
Ability: Pure Power

Mega Medicham has by far the highest attack in OU. With sufficient Speed, movepool, and defenses to back up that Attack, it unsurprisingly takes on the role of wallbreaker and does it in a way few can match. A simple four attack set can easily 2HKO all but a small few of the metagame, while simultaneously requiring little guess work and no set up, making it very consistent. Conveniently most of Medicham's counters are Psychic types meaning that the occasional pursuit supporter seen with it can make it even harder to counter. Not to be too one dimensional Medicham's access to Bullet Punch, Fake Out, Substitute, and Baton Pass mitigate its predictability and ineptitude against faster offensive teams.
 
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Can I please do defensive cresselia please?
I would like to help out and get this finished for OR/AS, and I've never done one before
 

Jirachi (Defensive)
Type: Steel / Psychic
Base Stats: 100 HP / 100 Atk / 100 Def / 100 SpA / 100 SpD / 100 Spe
Ability: Serene Grace


Jirachi is a formidable tank in OU that shouldn't be overlooked when battling against it. Jirachi, first of all, has great defensive typing. It has 9 resistances and 1 immunity, allowing it to switch in on a variety of attacks. It also has balanced and well rounded stats, allowing it absorb hits from both sides of the spectrum. Unlike walls such as Chansey that offer little offensive prowess, Jirachi's base 100 attack stat is sure to leave a dent in a pokemon that doesn't resist its move. Jirachi also can offer support to its teammates by passing Wish and paralyzing and poisoning foes. Jirachi also has good ability in Serene Grace, that doubles the percent chance of secondary effects on all of its moves. It has good moves in its arsenal to take advantage of this, such as Body Slam and Iron Head. Body Slam / Thunder wave can be used in tandem with Iron Head to form the classic "Paraflinch" combo, which is a dangerous stall tactic that should be taken into account when dealing with Jirachi.
 
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I just wanna note that this is my first time ever doing this. I took into account what you guys where talking about earlier on the thread and read as much of the grammar rules as I could stand, just so I wouldn't screw up my first ever attempt. I would like to know your guys' opinion on this attempt. Thanks in advance!
 

Always!

WAGESLAVE
is a Tiering Contributor
I just wanna note that this is my first time ever doing this. I took into account what you guys where talking about earlier on the thread and read as much of the grammar rules as I could stand, just so I wouldn't screw up my first ever attempt. I would like to know your guys' opinion on this attempt. Thanks in advance!
Perhaps you should list the pokemon that it walls? For example, Latias and co.


Just a suggestion, as I don't see any examples in your paragraph.
 
Defensive


Alomomola
Type: Water
Base Stats: 165 HP / 75 Atk / 80 Def / 40 Spa / 45 SpD / 65 Spe
Ability: Healer / Hydration / Regenerator

Alomomola is an excellent defensive pivot because of its expansive array of supporting moves and decent base defenses that are backed by its gargantuan base 165 HP stat. Alomomola can reliably switch into most unboosted physical attacks without worrying about losing too much Health because it can easily replenish its own HP through Wish or its ability Regenerator. Regenerator heals Alomomola by 1/3 of its max HP every time it switches out, so Alomomola can constantly switch in to take hits and use Wish to heal itself or a teammate. Its ability to easily heal itself makes Alomomola difficult to wear down. Alomomola also has access to Magic Coat, which enables it to reflect non-damaging moves back to its opponent. Alomomola serves as an excellent defensive anchor that's fully capable of providing its teammates with healing through Wish.
 

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