Rebellion of the Slums [OU]

[Chaos Jackal]

REBELLION OF THE SLUMS

XY isn’t exactly my favorite metagame, but until now I’ve been doing much better than I did in BW. This is definitely due to me being more experienced now than I was back then (considering I started playing competitively at the beginning of Gen V), but also due to some Pokemon that seem to fit my playstyle. While Fairies and Talonflame have caused problems to many of my old favorites (like Volcarona and Garchomp), the XY meta has offered me Pokemon like Mega Pinsir, Mega Gyarados and, while it lasted, Genesect. Pinsir in particular worked wonders in my previous team, Metal Massacre, and I very much wanted to use it again. However, this time I went a bit differently. Dropping the core of Pinsir and Black Kyurem, I opted for a different approach, while still following my rules (no Fairies, no Talonflame, no stall). This team is a gang straight from the slums, ready to exact a mean revenge on those who don’t care about their existence. Its Pokemon all fit a role you’d expect to see in a gang like that. The ghettoes are burning, people. The rebellion is here.

Stalker (Gengar) w/Levitate @Black Sludge
Timid Nature-252 SAtk, 252 Spd, 4HP
Sludge Bomb
Shadow Ball
Substitute
Disable
You’re certain that someone is following you around as you walk through the city. You keep turning back to check if that shady-looking guy is still there. He is, but what you don’t know is that he isn’t the real problem. He’s just a fake. The real trouble is coming straight at you.
This is the typical SubDisable Gengar set from older metagames. Adjusted for the arrival of Fairies, carrying Sludge Bomb over Focus Blast, Gengar functions as an anti-lead to common stuff like Breloom and Deoxys-D, as well as a spinblocker and a powerful special attacker. With its high Speed allowing it to set Substitutes and Disable to help it get rid of the coverage move that an enemy may be sporting, Gengar is a threat to any tricky Pokemon carrying special conditions or lacking an attack that can hit neutrally alongside its coverage.

Dealer (Excadrill) w/Mold Breaker @Air Balloon
Adamant Nature-252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 HP
Earthquake
Iron Head
Stealth Rock
Rapid Spin
This is the man who makes the deals and prepares the ground. He makes sure the exchange is always in the gang’s favor. His job means the gang is always treading on friendly ground, while the enemy on hostile.
Excadrill functions as a hazard setter as well as a spinner. The team welcomes Stealth Rock support, but at the same time doesn’t like it on its side. With Defog having the questionable side effect of removing my own hazards, I selected Rapid Spin this time as a means to keep opposing Talonflame, Zapdos and Thundurus at bay more easily. Next to that, Excadrill packs quite a punch with its two STABs, easily denting opponents.

Joker (Rotom-W) w/Levitate @Leftovers
Bold Nature-252 HP, 168 Def, 80 SDef, 8 Spd
Hydro Pump
Volt Switch
Will-o’-Wisp
Pain Split
You don’t consider him dangerous. You don’t even think he’s in the gang. You can barely understand how someone seemingly harmless has survived the slums. And you’re in for a bad surprise. For the guy is actually way more threatening than his looks. He’s the gang’s trump card. A joker.
I have grown bored of writing about this Rotom set. I must have used it to at least three out of four of my previous Gen VI RMTs. Maybe even all four. Functioning as a switch to many physical attackers and a counter to stuff like Talonflame and Mega Pinsir, Rotom-W is capable of taking the majority of physical attacks and reply by burning the enemy or putting them out. With Pain Split and Leftovers being a personal choice over ChestoRest, Rotom might find itself in a pinch sometimes, but even more often is capable of pulling out with personal gain in the process.

Orderkeeper (Latios) w/Levitate @Life Orb
Timid Nature-252 SAtk, 252 Spd, 4 HP
Draco Meteor
Psyshock
ThunderBolt
Roost
The gang is wild and strong, but is always in danger of falling under its own weight and extremism. There are always those who keep a relative order in the slums. Not liked, but respected and feared, they make sure things won’t get completely out of hand.
I had originally tried Specs Latios, but… well. I was never a fan of Choice items (I must have only used a Scarf Genesect in OU and a Scarf Palkia in Ubers) and while it did work when I was playtesting, it didn’t work well enough. Luckily, the Life Orb set is still very powerful, and although Fairies and the increased presence of Steel types are giving it a hard time, Latios still remains an excellent special attacker with good wallbreaking capabilities. Roost adds to its longevity, mitigating Life Orb and switch damage.

Cutthroat (Pinsir) w/Moxie @Pinsirite
Adamant Nature-252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 HP
Frustration
Quick Attack
Earthquake
Swords Dance
There must always be someone in a gang to do the dirty work. Beating, killing, mugging, you name it, he does it. He’s not the brightest guy around, but he’s a cunning and devious mind. He’s dangerous and he knows it. It’s better to stay as far from him as possible.
Mega Pinsir is the team’s primary sweeper. With Swords Dance and great coverage, Pinsir can run through entire teams by wrecking through their defenses. At +2, even stuff like Zapdos and Rotom have to worry if they haven’t invested in Defense. With its major enemy, Talonflame, out of the picture and Stealth Rock support to break Sashes and deal the necessary damage to land KOs, Pinsir is an unstoppable force once it gets it going.

Ringleader (Conkeldurr) w/Guts @Assault Vest
Adamant Nature-252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 HP
Drain Punch
Mach Punch
Ice Punch
Knock Off
The big boss. Stands twice as tall as his subordinates. Knows nothing about business and has others take care of it. He upholds the reputation. He makes the gang sound dangerous. And he’s dangerous too. You don’t wanna mess with the gang, you don’t wanna mess with him. Because his right hook can mess with your face.
Conkeldurr is a bulky attacker who switches in to a number of special moves or stuff like Toxic and Will-o’-Wisp and wreaks havoc. With considerable defensive capabilities in both sides of the spectrum, Drain Punch to heal and priority in the form of Mach Punch, Conkeldurr literally punches holes in enemies as a physical attacker. Alongside these, it also carries the all-important Knock Off, an excellent tool to remove crucial items as well as severely denting common switch-ins like Aegislash, Lati@s and Espeon.


Thanks to my usual offensive playstyle, the team once again lacks a straightforward tank, meaning that its biggest problem are big attackers, especially enemies who carry Specs or Bands. With Excadrill being the best switch to Latios and still taking around 65% from Draco Meteor as well as losing its Balloon, you get a picture. Generally, with the lack of Fairies and a bulky Steel type, I find myself in the funny position of being threatened by the most nerfed type of this generation, Dragon. Guess I’m the classic type.

Spoiler: Importable

Orderkeeper (Latios) (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt
- Surf

Stalker (Gengar) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
- Disable

Dealer (Excadrill) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin

Cutthroat (Pinsir) @ Pinsirite
Ability: Moxie
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 HP / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Frustration
- Quick Attack
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

Joker (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 80 SAtk / 8 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

Ringleader (Conkeldurr) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off

 

[Cinesra]

If Dragons are giving you trouble then maybe you could try replacing Gengar with a Scizor or Bisharp. You say you have it as an anti-lead for stuff like Breloom and Deoxys and to spin block. Breloom is already taken care of by Latios and Pinsir while Deoxys can be killed with your own powerful attackers or just set up on by Pinsir. Bisharp and Scizor would also help you take care of Deoxys in Gengar's absence. Also spinblocking just isn't as useful with Excadrill and Defog(which Bisharp will discourage) running around. I think Bisharp would be the best option because of Pursuit and Defiant, but Scizor is a more reliable revenge killer and Dragon check/counter.

Also, how do you manage Mega Charizard X? Everything on your team is 1-2HKO'd after it gets up a DD, so it looks like your best bet is trying to pick it off with Mach Punch and Quick Attack and wear down Flare Blitz recoil, which isn't exactly the safest method of getting rid of something. Conkeldurr doesn't look like it does much besides revenge kill ( which Pinsir and Scizor/Bisharp and what I'm about to suggest can do) and absorb status( I guess you could use Excadrill for Toxic and T-Wave and Latios for burn). This is why I think Azumarill would be a good replacement and will further help you with Dragons. It can even run Assault Vest and Knock Off to tank some special hits and remove items like Conkeldurr.

This is just personal preference, but I've found Latias > Latios this gen because Latias can switch into things like Keldeo and Venusaur better and has Healing Wish to support your team. They're both total Pursuit-bait, and Healing Wish can let you fully heal a teammate instead of just get KO'd. However, Latios does have more power, so I would understand you keeping it, although I feel Latias is at least worth trying out.

Looks good overall, but the importable button isn't working for me.

 

[Chaos Jackal]

I've tried Bisharp, but it doesn't work well for me. Bisharp is slow, and same goes with Scizor. Plus, I could never use Bisharp properly. Gengar might sound a bit risky, but in fact it does more than just being an anti-lead. While certainly that's a great quality, Gengar's pranks with Disable are quite useful even if it dies in the process, and I've found it to be more useful than the aforementioned Bisharp. Scizor I honestly haven't tried, so I guess I could give it a shot.
Mega Charizard X is a problem indeed, but I can't carry a counter for everything. What you say is true, the only viable method for me to beat it is revenge killing. Most of the time, I simply try to keep SR up (same goes for Talonflame) and pull a setup first. I won't use Azumarill, however, for two reasons. First, it's a Fairy, and I have something against them (read: I hate them) so I only use a few and on rare occasions. Second, Conkeldurr does more than revenge kill and absorb status. With Assault Vest it is bulky both against physical and special, making it a viable switch in a great number of cases. Its Fighting STAB is something I can't overlook easily, and is way more reliable than Azumarill's occasional Superpower. Also, it packs great overall power with more healing capabilities than Azumarill thanks to Drain Punch.
I know perfectly well what you mean about Lati@s. This Gen, I've used Healing Wish Latias to great effect on a lot of teams. However, this time I wanted power, and a lot of it, so I decided to go for Latios instead, and up until now, I haven't regretted it.
Importable isn't working because I was writing this at 3am my time and I was too sleepy to remember to fill it. Thanks for pointing it out.

 

[Cinesra]

I've tried Bisharp, but it doesn't work well for me. Bisharp is slow, and same goes with Scizor. Plus, I could never use Bisharp properly. Gengar might sound a bit risky, but in fact it does more than just being an anti-lead. While certainly that's a great quality, Gengar's pranks with Disable are quite useful even if it dies in the process, and I've found it to be more useful than the aforementioned Bisharp. Scizor I honestly haven't tried, so I guess I could give it a shot.

Yeah, in hindsight, Scizor is a much more reliable check for dragons than Bisharp is due to its bulk and typing.

Mega Charizard X is a problem indeed, but I can't carry a counter for everything. What you say is true, the only viable method for me to beat it is revenge killing. Most of the time, I simply try to keep SR up (same goes for Talonflame) and pull a setup first. I won't use Azumarill, however, for two reasons. First, it's a Fairy, and I have something against them (read: I hate them) so I only use a few and on rare occasions. Second, Conkeldurr does more than revenge kill and absorb status. With Assault Vest it is bulky both against physical and special, making it a viable switch in a great number of cases. Its Fighting STAB is something I can't overlook easily, and is way more reliable than Azumarill's occasional Superpower. Also, it packs great overall power with more healing capabilities than Azumarill thanks to Drain Punch.

Also in hindsight, replacing Conkeldurr with Azumarill would make Ferrothorn a pain in the ass. Maybe you could try some sort of Heatran set over Gengar/Scizor? It would help you with Lati@s and Zard X. I'm curious as to why you have such a problem with Fairies and why you have max Speed on your Conkeldurr.

 

[UltimateInferno]

If Scizor is a bit slow, then maybe you could run a Choice Scarf:

Adamant Scizor @ Choice Scarf
252Atk 252Sd 4Hp
-Bullet Punch
-X-Scissor
-U-Turn
-Rock Smash
I've never seen or used a Choiced Scizor before so there would be a few flaws, Bullet Punch and X-Scissor for obvious reasons. Rock Smash to not be walled by Steel Types and Fire types, and U-Turn could always be a smart move to gain momentum and confuse the target.

Hope I Helped!

 

[Chaos Jackal]

I've tried Bisharp, but it doesn't work well for me. Bisharp is slow, and same goes with Scizor. Plus, I could never use Bisharp properly. Gengar might sound a bit risky, but in fact it does more than just being an anti-lead. While certainly that's a great quality, Gengar's pranks with Disable are quite useful even if it dies in the process, and I've found it to be more useful than the aforementioned Bisharp. Scizor I honestly haven't tried, so I guess I could give it a shot.

Yeah, in hindsight, Scizor is a much more reliable check for dragons than Bisharp is due to its bulk and typing.

Mega Charizard X is a problem indeed, but I can't carry a counter for everything. What you say is true, the only viable method for me to beat it is revenge killing. Most of the time, I simply try to keep SR up (same goes for Talonflame) and pull a setup first. I won't use Azumarill, however, for two reasons. First, it's a Fairy, and I have something against them (read: I hate them) so I only use a few and on rare occasions. Second, Conkeldurr does more than revenge kill and absorb status. With Assault Vest it is bulky both against physical and special, making it a viable switch in a great number of cases. Its Fighting STAB is something I can't overlook easily, and is way more reliable than Azumarill's occasional Superpower. Also, it packs great overall power with more healing capabilities than Azumarill thanks to Drain Punch.

Also in hindsight, replacing Conkeldurr with Azumarill would make Ferrothorn a pain in the ass. Maybe you could try some sort of Heatran set over Gengar/Scizor? It would help you with Lati@s and Zard X. I'm curious as to why you have such a problem with Fairies and why you have max Speed on your Conkeldurr.

What do you mean I have max Speed on Conk- wait, what the hell? A typo on my part, since the importable doesn't have a problem. As to why I hate Fairies, it's because I never liked the Pokemon much to begin with, the new Fairies I don't like either, Xerneas ruined my favorite metagame, etc. Heatran was something I've been testing, so I'll see if I'll replace Gengar with it or Scizor.

About Scizor, Superpower and Knock Off or Bug Bite would be much preferred on a Scarfed variant, since you proposed it.