RU Spotlight RMT: Daenerys Storm

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Introduction

While really being only popular in OU because of Magnezone, the "DragMag" playstyle is thus nearly nonexistent in lower metagames. However, Magnezone's pre-evolution, Magneton, exists as a solid RU Pokémon, and Oglemi resurrects the playstyle by using it in tandem with forgotten NU Dragons. The strategy works so well because Magneton can remove almost every relevant Steel-type in RU, and Dragon-types excel at beating common Fire / Water / Grass cores. The two Dragons on this team are quite unique. The first is Fraxure, whose Attack stat rivals that of Druddigon's; the major difference and advantage is that Fraxure learns the renowned Dragon-type move: Dragon Dance. Fraxure's formidable wallbreaking abilities allow the next Dragon, the forgotten Dragonair, to sweep the rest of the opponent's team. The remaining members of Oglemi's team are all strategically placed to support its Dragons. Despite hail being so common at the time this team was made, Oglemi's DragMag still managed to succeed due to the great synergy between its teammates.

The Team

Aside from Magneton, the number one supportive option that Dragon-types desire is entry hazards. The team almost always uses Crustle as the lead, as it has no trouble setting up Stealth Rock and at least one layer of Spikes thanks to Sturdy and Custap Berry. Hazards are a crucial part of this team, as they allow Fraxure and Dragonair to attain more KOs and clean up late-game. Even if Magneton faints before taking out a Steel-type, hazards might wear something like Escavalier down to the point where Fraxure can KO with Outrage. As Dragon-types are generally difficult to switch into in RU, the damage from entry hazards adds up more quickly as the opponent is forced to switch more and fumbles to find an answer to Fraxure or Dragonair. Besides providing invaluable hazards, Crustle also benefits the team as a weapon against hail. With Rock Blast, it can bypass Snover's Focus Sash and beat SubProtect users. Crustle plays a critical role in giving its team momentum early-game and pressuring the opponent.

Rotom plays so many roles in this team that it's hard to believe it can survive throughout the match. However, with Volt Switch, Rotom can act as a pivot and easily escape from trouble as well as provide the team with instant momentum. Almost every RU team needs some sort of backup plan or alternate win condition, which usually means a fast Choice Scarf user that can sweep the opponent's team after the main sweeper has gone down. Rotom does exactly that, as its unique base 91 Speed lets it outspeed much of the tier, even the most common Choice Scarf user, Rotom-C. Combined with entry hazards, Rotom makes for a great late-game cleaner and revenge killer after the Dragons have weakened the opponent's team. More importantly, Rotom is the team's spinblocker, protecting the hazards that Crustle lays down. Without Rotom, this team would have a much more difficult time achieving its goal if the opponent could spin away Stealth Rock and Spikes. It's one of the only spinblockers that can reliably deal with Kabutops since Thunderbolt OHKOes, and Rotom also does a good job at crippling Cryogonal with Trick. Trick also serves as a backup to deal with threats such as Quagsire and Tangrowth to limit their attacking options. Aside from that, Rotom is the team's best answer to Fighting-types, so keeping it alive is absolutely crucial until these threats are eliminated. Luckily, the task becomes somewhat easier thanks to Volt Switch and its synergy with the rest of the team.

What really makes up the strategy of this team is—you guessed it—Magneton. Oglemi puts Magneton's best traits to use with the lesser-seen Choice Specs set: Speed and power. Magneton can outspeed most of the Steel-types in RU (Escavalier, Aggron, Steelix, and opposing Magneton due to the Timid nature). The remaining two Steel-types are Klinklang, who is straight up walled by Magneton, and Durant, who loses unless it has Superpower, in which case Rotom counters it. With Steels out of the way, Fraxure and Dragonair are free to wreak havoc. What's commonly overlooked is that Magneton has the third highest Special Attack in RU. With a Choice Specs set, Magneton is able to 2HKO most of the tier with the right move, including bulky Pokémon that might give the Dragons trouble. Uxie, Spiritomb, and Tangrowth are among the threats it can wear down. With its great resistances and being part of the dual Volt Switch core with Rotom, Magneton is an irreplaceable member of the team.

Named as "the glue" of the team, Kabutops really does hold it together with its resistances, ability to sweep, priority, and of course Rapid Spin. As Fraxure is somewhat frail and Dragonair doesn't want to take too much damage early in the match, Kabutops is the team's primary answer to Fire-type threats such as Entei and Emboar, who will usually come in to revenge kill Magneton. Priority is almost a necessity in RU, as there are tons of fast, frail Pokémon that can sweep your team if unprepared. Aqua Jet picks off things like Moltres, Cinccino, and Galvantula. Being the best spinner in RU, Kabutops is extremely beneficial to the team, as keeping hazards off the field will help the Dragon-types take more hits, allowing them to set up more often. If spinning isn't needed, Kabutops can just set up a Swords Dance and further break the opponent's walls or even proceed to sweep.

The final slots on the team are the two Dragon-types. Dragonair is certainly surprising to see, as most people think it would be outclassed by Druddigon. Oglemi takes advantage of Dragon Dance not in an offensive way, but a defensive one. Despite its low stats, Dragonair is in fact bulker than Druddigon with Eviolite. This allows it to set up easily on Pokémon found in common Fire / Water / Grass cores, such as Typhlosion, Magmortar, Slowking, Alomomola, Rotom-C, and Amoonguss. Fire / Water / Grass cores are extremely popular and effective in the current metagame, so Dragonair can be considered an anti-metagame threat. Dragonair also acts as a sleep absorber with Sleep Talk, allowing it to set up on most Grass-types in the tier. It can also set up on some physical attackers more easily when asleep due to Marvel Scale, which boosts its physical defense when Dragonair is afflicted by a status condition. As you can see, it is very simple for Dragonair to get a setup opportunity, and it can often sweep entire teams without a problem. The best weapon against Dragonair is, unfortunately, critical hits. Fraxure is the final piece to the DragMag and dual Dragon combos. It reaches insane power even after just a single Dragon Dance. Every Pokémon in RU, except for Steel-types (who should already be out of the way thanks to Magneton), gets 2HKOed by Outrage after Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes. Fraxure's superb wallbreaking capabilities combined with hazards, Magneton, and Dragonair will just purely overwhelm the opponent. In most games, if Dragonair can't sweep, Fraxure will, and vice-versa.

The teamwork displayed here is incredible. Crustle sets up hazards early-game, which benefits each and every team member, Rotom and Magneton form a dual Volt Switch core to wear down the opponent and take out Steel-types, and Kabutops provides great utility by ridding the field of hazards and further denting walls—this all leads up to either of the two Dragon-types being able to overcome what's left of the opponent's team and sweep. The most replaceable member of this team is probably Fraxure. Druddigon can be a substitute as it too hits hard and has a bit more bulk behind it, which would help against certain threats like Hitmonlee and Tauros. Nevertheless, the team is able to show off an excellent display of offensive power.

Threats

Of course, no strategy is perfect. Though this is a heavy offense team, opposing heavy offense can do a number on it. Fighting-types and fast Normal-types in particular can ruin the team's strategy, as it only has Rotom to deal with them. Gallade especially is a threat as it can KO Rotom with Shadow Sneak so another Fighting-type teammate like Hitmonlee can sweep. Offensive BlizzSpam as well can be used to overwhelm Magneton and Kabutops and clean up the rest of the team. A Choice Specs Ice-type can 2HKO both of the team's Ice resists, and a Choice Scarf Blizzard user can follow up and KO the remaining teammates. As for defensive struggles, Quagsire is troublesome. Rotom will usually be forced to Trick it so it can be worn down, and even if successful, Rotom's sweeping and revenge killing abilities will be gone. Lanturn with Ice Beam and Tangrowth wall a lot of the team's Pokémon, and thus require some extra time to defeat through good play.

Conclusion

Daenerys Storm demonstrates a playstyle that hasn't really been seen in RU yet. It has some unique and creative sets that are proven to be effective in this metagame. Aside from being a very solid team, it's also really fun to use, as although it requires some thought in order to win, a sweep with Dragonair or Fraxure feels really rewarding. Oglemi has successfully executed a devastating OU strategy in RU, and I can definitely see it becoming more popular after the showing of this team.

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