RMT Heaven and Hell

[Chaos Jackal]

Been a while since my last RMT. A lot has changed since then. For one, we got a new bunch of Pokemon and movesets thanks to ORAS release, forcing us to rethink our strategies and reshape the metagame. And to add to that one of the most prominent threats around before and after ORAS, Greninja, has left OU for better or worse. With this, I decided it was time to fulfill a promise to a friend and make Heaven and Hell. The final team turned out a bit different than we had initially imagined, but overall I feel the result is satisfactory. Probably the most offensively oriented team I've made since Code Chaos, Heaven and Hell is heavily influenced by Uralya, and I thank him for his ideas and help... you wouldn't have seen me use a Fairy type otherwise, I assure you. I think it's time you choose your path.

Spoiler: At a glance

Michael (Keldeo-Resolute) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Icy Wind

The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.

Specs Keldeo is an insanely powerful wallbreaker. Hydro Pump blows holes through anything that doesn't resist it, and Secret Sword completely destroys Chansey and most Water types that would. Hidden Power Flying and Icy Wind deal with the likes of Venusaur and the Lati twins, since they are the only viable option Keldeo has against them. In general, Keldeo exists to take out those Pokemon that could possibly halt a sweep with their defensive capabilities or utility.

Lucifer (Heatran) (M) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 12 HP / 252 SpA / 244 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Taunt

But by the envy of the devil, death came into the world.

Hazards are a must for offensive teams, and in the possession of Heatran are all the more easy to lay down and use. Offensive Heatran is blaze of destruction, and its great power and typing allow it to force many switches, giving it ample chances to set up Stealth Rock. Taunt helps Heatran deal with opposing hazard setters and walls, effectively crippling them and allowing for easier switches or forcing them. Fire Blast hits for serious damage, overriding its rather problematic accuracy, and Earth Power adds good coverage, allowing Heatran to defeat opposing Fire types, most notably other Heatran. Heatran's main reason to exist in the team, however, is to take out the Steel types that threaten Diancie's sweep.

Madonna (Diancie) @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Earth Power
- Diamond Storm

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Let me make something clear first. I do not use Fairies, and those of you who dare say so, your days are numbered. Now that we are past this... Mega Diancie. Great offenses, great Speed, great ability... all the good stuff together. With its good defenses before and after evolution as well as Magic Bounce, Diancie can easily come in on an opponent that it threatens and force a switch, allowing it to set up Calm Mind and sweep. Even at +1, Moonblast OHKO'es the majority of the metagame that doesn't resist it, turning Diancie into a killing machine. As long as some key targets, most notably Steel types and priority users, have been taken care of, there's nothing that can stop Diancie's reign.

Beast (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 24 Def / 232 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

No introduction is needed. This is a standard Scarf Landorus which functions as a lead and revenge killer. EdgeQuake and Knock Off allow for good coverage as well as utility through removing opposing items. U-Turn completes the set by allowing Landorus to switch out of danger gaining momentum and holding the advantage or allowing Diancie to come in and setup. Landorus can in cases even function defensively, being the most solid answer to physical attackers thanks to Intimidate as well as the best defense against setup sweepers that lack a Speed boosting move.

Uralya (Latios) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Surf
- Defog

Worldly Angel

Offensive teams need hazards, but not on their side of the field. Latios is here to solve this problem. Carrying Defog, it can clean my side of any pesky rocks and spikes, allowing for an easier game. Defogging is far from everything though. With Life Orb, great Speed and Special Attack as well as access to Psychock, Latios functions as yet another wallbreaker. Draco Meteor is the very definition of nuke, reducing the majority of offensive threats or physical defenders to ashes, while Psyshock deals with special defenders like Chansey. Surf complements the set, dealing good damage to targets like Bisharp and Scizor, as well as Heatran, all of which resist Latios' STABs. Combined with Keldeo and proper handling, Latios can sweep entire teams depending on raw power alone.

Chaos Jackal (Scizor) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off
- Superpower

I gaze also into you...

Scizor mainly functions as a revenge killer as well as an attacker with emphasis on the physical side. Bullet Punch, Knock Off and Superpower allow for coverage and utility, eliminating the likes of Bisharp, Chansey and Heatran as well as stopping many setup sweepers dead on their tracks and giving most Fairies loads of trouble. U-Turn is an additional hard-hitting STAB that takes advantage of the switches Scizor forces by doing severe damage as well as gaining momentum, allowing for better switches and easier setup in future rounds.

Spoiler: Importable

Madonna (Diancie) @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Earth Power
- Diamond Storm

Beast (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 24 Def / 232 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Michael (Keldeo-Resolute) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Icy Wind

Uralya (Latios) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Surf
- Defog

Lucifer (Heatran) (M) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 12 HP / 252 SpA / 244 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Taunt

Chaos Jackal (Scizor) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off
- Superpower

See my bio for image credits.

 

[Uralya]

This looks great, and thanks for the Latios lol.

So, a few things about the team:

Focusing in on Diancie, you need ways to lure and snipe Chansey and Venusaur (and Amoonguss smh). You have Chansey somewhat covered with Knock Off on Landorus-T, but Venusaur will be hard to lure in with what you have (Specs Keldeo and Heatran). To make Venusaur an easier target to dispose of, an Expert Belt on Keldeo might help, as you can switch off a second Hydro Pump and bluff the Specs. This is a preference choice imo.

On Landorus-T, how is maximized speed faring? Standard opposing Scarf Landorus-T have no reliable way to kill you (and you them), so 232 Speed is as much as you would need in most situations (to outrun Adamant Megazard X) with 24 Def to help with bulk. This also gives you switch iniative with U-turn against faster Landorus-T. However, max speed Naive with HP Ice is viable to take out other ones after some chip damage (2-3 rounds of SR/U-turn iirc) and can be bluffed by U-turning the first few times.

On Keldeo, do you miss Scald at all? Just wondering.

For EVs/IVs, I'd move the HP on Heatran into Speed and put 4 in SpD in order to speedcreep Mew with Taunt and Megazard X, move the SDef investment on Latios into Def because of priority, and reduce the Atk IVs of Latios/Keldeo/Heatran/Diancie to 0 to minimize Foul Play and confusion damage.

As for threats, Azumarill variants look very troublesome. None of the team really likes to face Azumarill. To fix this, you could try out a Rotom-W over Scizor and put Psyshock on Diancie over HP Fire. Overall, Scizor looks like the weakest link on the team (though his priority is very useful for opposing Diancie >.>). Rotom-W handles a lot of Steel-types and Azumarill, taking pressure off Keldeo and Heatran in the process. Psyshock on Diancie can then be used to nail Venusaur with the lack of a need for HP Fire. Alternatively, a Magnezone could be used for handling what Rotom-W does better, but the Azumarill safeguard isn't as guaranteed due to that ~33% chance that it has Superpower. The problem as I said before is opening up a hole for other Diancie, though Latios can do something against HP Fire variants with Surf. Ferrothorn is also an option because it handles both Azumarill and Diancie well when they lack the respective move to deal with it (HP Fire Diancie really isn't too good anyhow), but your momentum is stunted by this. You should play around with this slot.

Hope this helps

 

[Chaos Jackal]

I haven't yet tried Expert Belt on Keldeo, so I can give it a shot alright. Scald I do not miss much tbh; Hydro Pump does miss, but Scald is very lacking in power compared to it and there are very few situations where I'd use it even if I somehow fit it in.

On Landorus, I really don't know how I managed to miss the EVs... you are right, there is no reason for maximum Speed investment. I will correct it. No HP Ice variant, I don't like it.

Heatran can already outspeed most Mew as it is, and the Speed is also enough to outspeed Adamant Excadrill and Jolly Heracross, both extremely important. Similar to Landorus, I do not believe it needs maximum Speed.

For IVs, I am indeed using 0 Atk IVs on Latios and Heatran. I cannot use 0 on Keldeo or Diancie, as it will mess up their Hidden Power.

My problem with Rotom-W is that it's yet another Specially oriented Pokemon, and I'm in kind of a tight spot with them. Same applies to Magnezone. On top of that, Rotom can't counter CB Azu; it takes up to 74% damage from Play Rough, and does a maximum of 56% with Volt Switch; if rocks are out, it pretty much trashes Rotom for the rest of the match. Scizor Bullet Punch hits Azumarill for the same damage. Ferrothorn was something I did try, but as you said it terribly stunts momentum. In general, Azumarill does stand as big trouble, and I have tried to fix it, but I really can't find any really viable solution except that I put the pressure on before I am pressured... which is what an offensive team should do anyway.

 

[Uralya]

On the Azumarill point, such is true, but the problem is nonetheless present. Scizor is probably your best option for this, even if Ferrothorn can handle it and Diancie well at once, due to the momentum it adds.

I don't think there are many more improvements to be made. The team is very solid. The only thing right off that I didn't cover before was moving the HP EVs off of Keldeo and Diancie to Def (Keldeo) and SpD (Diancie) so that they have odd HP stats (the importable needs fixing as well for the guaranteed edits).

 

[Professor Palutena]

I would like to suggest Diamond Storm on Diancie instead of HP Fire, mainly for Taunt variants of Talonflame that can use Heatran as setup fodder. Landorus-T is your only counter to a SD or BU boosted Talonflame and it can sweep you pretty easily when Lando is gone. Putting Diamond Storm on Diancie gives you another way to beat Talonflame and Hidden Power Fire seems pretty useless on it in my opinion because you don't struggle with Steel-types.