Team Showcase- Redbone [OU]
Redbone - by écarlate.
![[Image: xqw.png]](http://i.magaimg.net/img/xqw.png)
amazing photoshop skills i know
Hey peoples, today I'll be showcasing one of my most successful and fun teams SM OU teams. It is one of my first balance teams of this generation and it turned out to quickly become one of my favourite teams. The team was named after this song by Childish Gambino, one of my favourites from him, which I recommend you listen to!
(warning: contains a small amount of bad words (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!))
The goal of the team is to support Suicune to allow it to potential sweep, so my other Pokémon support it in different ways to try to make it shine as well as possible. Let's get into this.
Teambuilding Process
I wanted to build a Suicune team for the longest time but never really got to it, so one day I decided to actually stop procrastinating and make one, which I am showcasing right now. Decided to use the Vincune set (Scald/Calm Mind/Protect/Substitute) since it is generally considered to be the most efficient set in the OU metagame. From the start, I knew I wanted to have Toxic Spikes on my team since it helps Suicune a lot; by playing carefully with Protect/Substitute, you can easily wear down bulkier threats that got poisoned form the Toxic Spikes. There are only 4 Toxic Spikes users in OU; Scolipede, Nihilego, Toxapex and Greninja. Scolipede mostly seen on offensive teams, and Suicune is a Pokémon that is mostly used on balance so I didn't want to go that route. Nihilego isn't that great of a Pokémon, and it's only good sets are Choice Scarf and Specs. Finally, Toxapex wouldn't be that great of a pick since I would have two defensive Water types which would be redundant. So, I decided to go with Greninja, which also provides some decent speed control and also gets access to Spikes in addition to Toxic Spikes. It can also pressure most hazard removers such as Zapdos and Mew.
The core of the team was obviously weak to Electric types, such as Tapu Koko, and to Grass types, such as Tapu Bulu. Because of this, Mega Venusaur was kind of an obvious pick since its one of the best checks to Electric and Grass types while also helping with Tapu Fini which was pretty threatening to my core due to Nature's Madness being annoying for Suicune and Defog removing my hazards. It is also a good Mega evolution to have on balance as it can provide utility with Knock Off and has access to Synthesis, which is useful for longevity and also helps against Spikes and Stealth Rock since it is prone to hazards. It also absorbs Toxic Spikes, which is crucial to keep Suicune, which is the main win condition for the team, healthy. Overall a very helpful pick.
I lacked a Ground resist and I was weak to Psychic types such as Tapu Lele since Greninja can't really take a Moonblast at all, and since I already had a way to deal with Fire and Electric types, Celesteela was looking like a good pick. Not as much to explain here; I really just added it to form a better defensive core with Suicune and Venusaur and to patch up some weaknesses.
While building, I realized I was pretty weak to some physical wallbreakers such as Choice Band Zygarde and Mega Medicham, and I also didn't have any way to get up Stealth Rock, so Clefable was once again just a good pick to patch up said weaknesses and to provide some decent utility. It can also bait in Ferrothorn and heavily weaken it with Flamethrower to pave the way for a Suicune sweep which is useful, and the fact that it is immune to hazards and status conditions is amazing for a balance team since you'll want to keep your Pokémon healthy for a long time, since this playstyle makes for longer games.
Finally, to round up the team, I needed some speed control, my only fast Pokémon being Greninja, and a way to revenge kill things like Volcarona after a Quiver Dance, so Garchomp was just a perfect fit since it can outspeed a +1 Volcarona when holding a Choice Scarf and KO it with Stone Edge, even if said Volcarona is holding a Charti Berry. It also helps versus Charizard-Y, which I am pretty weak to. It is also a good backup check to Electric types since my only check is Venusaur, even though it is a very sturdy answer to them.
The Sets
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 24 SpD / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Substitute
- Protect
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 24 SpD / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Substitute
- Protect
The Pokémon which I built the team around. It is the main win condition of the team, being able to use Substitute to avoid status from most defensive Pokémon thanks to its surprisingly good 85 base speed, and then proceed to use Calm Mind to potentially sweep. Scald is the only attack on this set, being able to do decent damage after some boosts while having a nice 30% to burn its target, and passive damage is always appreciated. Protect is very useful here since it can allow Suicune to scout potential coverage moves that could put it in a bad spot, but it can also allow it to PP stall opposing Pokémon in combination with Pressure. The EV spread allows it to outspeed max speed Adamant Zygarde, while also outspeeding some stuff like Adamant Landorus-T and most defensive Pokémon.
Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Spikes
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam
Like I said in the Teambuilding Process part of this thread, Greninja is crucial to this team because of Toxic Spikes being a great tool that can make Suicune sweeps much easier to pull off. Spikes is also very useful since it is passive damage versus opposing teams, which is always nice, and Greninja is very good at keeping them on the field due to pressuring most hazard removers with its very nice coverage. For this team, the best coverage options were Ice Beam and Dark Pulse since they allow it to pressure Mew, Latios and Zapdos, some of the best hazards removers in the tier, while also dealing good damage to other threats such as Zygarde and Landorus-T.
Venusaur-Mega @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 248 HP / 88 Def / 156 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis
- Knock Off
Mega Venusaur is an important part of the team, checking Pokémon like Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele that could be threatening to Suicune because of its good bulk and nice typing. It also has access to semi-reliable recovery in Synthesis, which allows it to stay in the field for much longer, something that is very useful considering that balance teams often cause games to be longer due to their somewhat passive nature. Knock Off is a nice utility move that is helpful for Suicune since it can remove Leftovers from Pokémon that could check Suicune, making them easier to stall out. The EV spread allows Venusaur to outspeed max speed Adamant Mawile while being able to take two Dark Pulse from pre-transformation Ash-Greninja after damage from Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes.
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Celesteela forms a very good defensive core with Suicune and Venusaur, checking a lot of threats like Tapu Lele that could be annoying because of its amazing Steel/Flying typing. It also has pseudo-recovery in the form of Leech Seed + Protect, which is also very useful to whittle down the opposing team while healing itself or its teammates when switching out. Flamethrower is also very nice to deal with Ferrothorn, a big obstacle for a Suicune sweep. The EV spread isn't too complicated here; just wanted it to be able to take as much special hits as possible from the likes of Latios, Tapu Lele and Mega Alakazam.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Stealth Rock
- Soft-Boiled
- Flamethrower
Clefable is the Stealth Rock user of the team, something that is necessary on any OU team, and is also very helpful as it can check dangerous wallbreakers such as Mega Medicham, Choice Band Zygarde and Mega Heracross. Flamethrower is useful coverage since it prevents Ferrothorn from spiking up on Clef, and Soft-Boiled allows it to be a consistent check to the Pokémon I previously mentioned. Much like with Celesteela, very simple EV spread; Clefable needs to check physical attackers, so obviously it needs as much defense as it can possibly get.
Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Stone Edge
- Fire Blast
The scarfer of the team; most teams in OU need a Choice Scarf user with at least 101 base Speed with a Rock move to check a +1 Volcarona, unless they have stuff like Tyranitar, Mantine or Chansey, though those don't fit on all teams. Since I didn't have any of those and also needed some cushion against Electric types, Garchomp was a perfect fit. Dual STABs for power, Stone Edge for Volcarona (and Charizard-Y), and Fire Blast hits some of Garchomp's checks such as Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn. The EV spread makes it as fast and as strong as possible, allowing it to revenge kill effectively.
team importable:
Conclusion
This is a very solid team in my experience, pretty fun too. Not going to lie, I wouldn't exactly recommend using this team to ladder up since balance teams make for longer games, while stuff like bulky offense could give you some quicker games, but if you are into longer games then knock yourself out. Don't have much else to say, hope you enjoyed this. k thx bye.
