Currently, I'm going through the Pokedex in order making teams that can be viable in the current OU metagame. First on the list is Rowlet's final evolution, Decidueye. Decidueye is a pretty neat Pokemon with a Grass/Ghost typing, a relatively wide movepool and a strong 107 Attack stat with a subpar base 70 Speed stat. I will admit that it was pretty hard making a team around this Pokemon or even finding a viable moveset for it in the first place. Many Pokemon have visited this team including:
Ribombee didn't synergize well with this team as it added a weakness to Fire plus it was incapable of fulfilling its role as a sweeper, Flygon didn't have enough damage output against bulkier Pokemon even after Dragon Dances. Celesteela in particular gave it issues, Passimian was too slow and too weak, Tapu Lele kept missing Focus Blast (yes this matters a lot) plus it got walled out by Celesteela and Thunderbolt couldn't be fitted on this set and Turtonator is just...bad
After 2 days, this is what I've come up with:
![[Image: decidueye.png]](https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/bw/decidueye.png)
Decidueye is the main star of this team. Originally I had it as a Defogger but then I realized that Swords Dance generally did more in the tier and that Defog not only limits its offensive impact but Decidueye's typing and speed makes it extremely hard to even get the move off
![[Image: scizor-mega.png]](https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/bw/scizor-mega.png)
Next, I chose Scizor. Scizor fit this team pretty well as it has access to priority and is able to pivot as well as remove hazards with Defog and wall out a huge chunk of the metagame with its typing and defenses. I originally had Swords Dance on this but Decidueye ended up being the better user of a Swords Dance set due to its coverage options. Scizor struggled with Swords Dance simply because a huge chunk of the metagame walls out its STABs so its much better to use Scizor as a pivot than a sweeper. Typewise, Scizor synergies with Decidueye as it resists Bug, Poison, Dragon, Ice and the list goes on. Sure it adds a huge Fire Weakness to my team but other than Salazzle, there haven't been many cases of Fire types this season except the occasionally Hidden Power Fire from Nihilego and Tapu Koko as well as the Flamethrower from Celesteela
![[Image: mamoswine.png]](https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/bw/mamoswine.png)
Mamoswine serves as this team's Stealth Rock setter. I choose it mainly because it has access to Ice Shard for priority which hits a good chunk of OU for super effective if not neutral and Icicle Crash and Earthquake together do a good amount of damage. Plus Mamoswine's base 80 speed is more ideal. It synergizes with Decidueye by being able to remove the Steel, Fire, Flying and Poison types which give Decidueye problems. Decidueye complements Mamoswine by taking out bulky Water types and Fighting types that don't carry super effective coverage for Decidueye
![[Image: tapukoko.png]](https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/bw/tapukoko.png)
Tapu Koko is simply just the best Electric type around at this moment in terms of being able to outspeed a majority of the metagame and hit hard. It serves as a pivot and a means of eliminating Dark types that bother Decidueye as well as removing walls such as Tapu Fini, Celesteela and Toxapex who give Scizor, Mamoswine and Decidueye a hard time. Tapu Koko primarily helps in taking out the disgusting defensive core of Celesteela + Toxapex which is a complete nuisance to this team
![[Image: greninja.png]](https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/bw/greninja.png)
Greninja was chosen due to it's ability to have STAB bonuses on all of it's moves, not to mention it has access to U-turn and can apply a decent amount of offensive pressure. Greninja is the go to option for taking out other Ghost and Psychic types that bother my team mates as well as Ice Beam to take care of the Ground types and Dragon types that stop Tapu Koko from Volt Switching freely. Hydro Pump is Greninja's strongest special attack with the least amount of drawbacks. Greninja has offensive synergy with Tapu Koko as they together create a fast VoltTurn core, it synergies with Decidueye as it removes the Fire types and Dark types which bother it and it synergies with my last member creating an offensive Fire Water Grass core
![[Image: arcanine.png]](https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/bw/arcanine.png)
Out of all the available fire types in the region, I just had to pick the best one. Yes, I've acknowledged Alolan-Marowak as the best but having two Ghost types would only make my team easier to break with opposing Ghost and Dark coverage so I had to stick with the next best option, Arcanine. Arcanine does just what it did last gen, Intimidate the opponent then 2HKO everything that isn't defensively invested with it's wide coverage of Flare Blitz, Wild Charge and Crunch. Crunch over Close Combat because otherwise this set gets walled out by Alolan-Marowak. Extreme Speed picks off weakened Pokemon quite easily and I'm running Intimidate over Flash Fire simply because it is good for cancelling out the Attack boosts the Ultra Beasts get when they KO one of my team mates
MOVESETS THEORY
A Swords Dance set was chosen for Decidueye as it functioned the best when testing the team (better is a more fitting word since the only other set I tested is the Defog and I didn't want to explore into Nasty Plot). Leaf Blade and Spirit Shackle are Decidueye's strongest physical STAB options as well as overall STAB options if Z-Moves and Frenzy Plant aren't counted. Spirit Shackle at +2 2HKOs Celesteela on the switch which is a very important benchmark in my opinion due to how much of an annoyance it is for my team to deal with. Sucker Punch is on this set for priority and I find it necessary as Decidueye's abysmal speed makes it a most on offensive sets. Spirit Shackle + Sucker Punch is also nice as it prevents the opponent from switching so Sucker Punch will always pick them off
Notable Damage Calculations:
Scizor is running a Defog set alongside a Mega Stone just because of how good the set is and how superior the Defog set is to the Bulky SD set in the current metagame. I'm not saying Swords Dance isn't viable but lately it hasn't been very difficult to check (looking at you Alolan-Marowak). Hazard control is vital for my team's longevity and Scizor's access to a hard hitting Bullet Punch allows me to clean up the Pokemon that were chipped down by Stealth Rock damage, status and VoltTurn. U-turn is obviously for pivoting and a Bug STAB while Roost is to keep Scizor up and running. No calcs here, just read the Smogon description for Defog Scizor in XYs metagame, all credit to them for the set
Mamoswine is pretty standard and there really isn't any other moves it can run due to move tutors not being available at this time so RIP Knock Off and Superpower. Still, Ice Shard hurts a lot of Pokemon, doing ridiculous chip damage coming off Mamoswine's high attack stat. Seriously, it generally does 25-30% on every neutral hit. Icicle Crash and Earthquake are its best STAB options and Stealth Rock because in no dimension should you ever play a match without bringing hazards
Tapu Koko is running Thunderbolt and Dazzling Gleam for reliable STAB options and Volt Switch to pivot. Hidden Power Fire is especially for Scizor, Ferrothorn and Kartana. I will admit that Tapu Koko still gets walled out by Alolan-Marowak (I know I keep saying this but seriously, Marowak's defensive typing and ability make it a switch in to almost everything) but Hidden Power Ground/Ghost/Water aren't good options
I'll simply refrain from repeating myself as I explained Greninja and Arcanine's sets above in the team building process.
There aren't any significant calculations to show for the Generation 1-6 Pokemon simply because we've seen what they can and can't survive already and the new Alolan mons and formes don't bring much of anything new to the table
IMPORTABLE:
- Ribombee (the SubQuiver set I posted here
- Flygon (Dragon Dance + 3 Attacks)
- Passimian (Choice Band & Choice Scarf)
- Tapu Lele (Offensive)
- Turtonator(Offensive w/ Will-o-Wisp)
Ribombee didn't synergize well with this team as it added a weakness to Fire plus it was incapable of fulfilling its role as a sweeper, Flygon didn't have enough damage output against bulkier Pokemon even after Dragon Dances. Celesteela in particular gave it issues, Passimian was too slow and too weak, Tapu Lele kept missing Focus Blast (yes this matters a lot) plus it got walled out by Celesteela and Thunderbolt couldn't be fitted on this set and Turtonator is just...bad
After 2 days, this is what I've come up with:
Decidueye is the main star of this team. Originally I had it as a Defogger but then I realized that Swords Dance generally did more in the tier and that Defog not only limits its offensive impact but Decidueye's typing and speed makes it extremely hard to even get the move off
Next, I chose Scizor. Scizor fit this team pretty well as it has access to priority and is able to pivot as well as remove hazards with Defog and wall out a huge chunk of the metagame with its typing and defenses. I originally had Swords Dance on this but Decidueye ended up being the better user of a Swords Dance set due to its coverage options. Scizor struggled with Swords Dance simply because a huge chunk of the metagame walls out its STABs so its much better to use Scizor as a pivot than a sweeper. Typewise, Scizor synergies with Decidueye as it resists Bug, Poison, Dragon, Ice and the list goes on. Sure it adds a huge Fire Weakness to my team but other than Salazzle, there haven't been many cases of Fire types this season except the occasionally Hidden Power Fire from Nihilego and Tapu Koko as well as the Flamethrower from Celesteela
Mamoswine serves as this team's Stealth Rock setter. I choose it mainly because it has access to Ice Shard for priority which hits a good chunk of OU for super effective if not neutral and Icicle Crash and Earthquake together do a good amount of damage. Plus Mamoswine's base 80 speed is more ideal. It synergizes with Decidueye by being able to remove the Steel, Fire, Flying and Poison types which give Decidueye problems. Decidueye complements Mamoswine by taking out bulky Water types and Fighting types that don't carry super effective coverage for Decidueye
Tapu Koko is simply just the best Electric type around at this moment in terms of being able to outspeed a majority of the metagame and hit hard. It serves as a pivot and a means of eliminating Dark types that bother Decidueye as well as removing walls such as Tapu Fini, Celesteela and Toxapex who give Scizor, Mamoswine and Decidueye a hard time. Tapu Koko primarily helps in taking out the disgusting defensive core of Celesteela + Toxapex which is a complete nuisance to this team
Greninja was chosen due to it's ability to have STAB bonuses on all of it's moves, not to mention it has access to U-turn and can apply a decent amount of offensive pressure. Greninja is the go to option for taking out other Ghost and Psychic types that bother my team mates as well as Ice Beam to take care of the Ground types and Dragon types that stop Tapu Koko from Volt Switching freely. Hydro Pump is Greninja's strongest special attack with the least amount of drawbacks. Greninja has offensive synergy with Tapu Koko as they together create a fast VoltTurn core, it synergies with Decidueye as it removes the Fire types and Dark types which bother it and it synergies with my last member creating an offensive Fire Water Grass core
Out of all the available fire types in the region, I just had to pick the best one. Yes, I've acknowledged Alolan-Marowak as the best but having two Ghost types would only make my team easier to break with opposing Ghost and Dark coverage so I had to stick with the next best option, Arcanine. Arcanine does just what it did last gen, Intimidate the opponent then 2HKO everything that isn't defensively invested with it's wide coverage of Flare Blitz, Wild Charge and Crunch. Crunch over Close Combat because otherwise this set gets walled out by Alolan-Marowak. Extreme Speed picks off weakened Pokemon quite easily and I'm running Intimidate over Flash Fire simply because it is good for cancelling out the Attack boosts the Ultra Beasts get when they KO one of my team mates
MOVESETS THEORY
A Swords Dance set was chosen for Decidueye as it functioned the best when testing the team (better is a more fitting word since the only other set I tested is the Defog and I didn't want to explore into Nasty Plot). Leaf Blade and Spirit Shackle are Decidueye's strongest physical STAB options as well as overall STAB options if Z-Moves and Frenzy Plant aren't counted. Spirit Shackle at +2 2HKOs Celesteela on the switch which is a very important benchmark in my opinion due to how much of an annoyance it is for my team to deal with. Sucker Punch is on this set for priority and I find it necessary as Decidueye's abysmal speed makes it a most on offensive sets. Spirit Shackle + Sucker Punch is also nice as it prevents the opponent from switching so Sucker Punch will always pick them off
Notable Damage Calculations:
Scizor is running a Defog set alongside a Mega Stone just because of how good the set is and how superior the Defog set is to the Bulky SD set in the current metagame. I'm not saying Swords Dance isn't viable but lately it hasn't been very difficult to check (looking at you Alolan-Marowak). Hazard control is vital for my team's longevity and Scizor's access to a hard hitting Bullet Punch allows me to clean up the Pokemon that were chipped down by Stealth Rock damage, status and VoltTurn. U-turn is obviously for pivoting and a Bug STAB while Roost is to keep Scizor up and running. No calcs here, just read the Smogon description for Defog Scizor in XYs metagame, all credit to them for the set
Mamoswine is pretty standard and there really isn't any other moves it can run due to move tutors not being available at this time so RIP Knock Off and Superpower. Still, Ice Shard hurts a lot of Pokemon, doing ridiculous chip damage coming off Mamoswine's high attack stat. Seriously, it generally does 25-30% on every neutral hit. Icicle Crash and Earthquake are its best STAB options and Stealth Rock because in no dimension should you ever play a match without bringing hazards
Tapu Koko is running Thunderbolt and Dazzling Gleam for reliable STAB options and Volt Switch to pivot. Hidden Power Fire is especially for Scizor, Ferrothorn and Kartana. I will admit that Tapu Koko still gets walled out by Alolan-Marowak (I know I keep saying this but seriously, Marowak's defensive typing and ability make it a switch in to almost everything) but Hidden Power Ground/Ghost/Water aren't good options
I'll simply refrain from repeating myself as I explained Greninja and Arcanine's sets above in the team building process.
There aren't any significant calculations to show for the Generation 1-6 Pokemon simply because we've seen what they can and can't survive already and the new Alolan mons and formes don't bring much of anything new to the table
IMPORTABLE:
