Introduction
So I've always loved playing Offense. It's an incredibly versatile playstyle, and it's just so aggressive that I end up loving how it plays in general. It forces me to think fast and hard, drive home the point, and go for the kill quickly. But with age comes experience, and I realize I can't always play so forthright, making ballsy plays to get the job done. I need more finesse. So naturally what I did to complement my new thought processes in playing was to create a new playstyle. I call this Hyper-Balance.
Being serious now, the entire point of this team is basically hard-hitting offensive pressure backed up by a couple of decently tanky mons. Entei and Nidoqueen are complementary breakers, both serving as aggressive wallbreakers with decently high-powered stabs. Both check Fairies, Nidoqueen helps to break down fat physical walls and Entei does the inverse. Hydreigon and Metagross both serve to check Dragons and new drops such as Xurkitree and Buzzswole, as well as provide a half-decent wincon late-game for when the mess can be cleaned up. Scizor is a mandatory hazard removal that facilitates a second decently strong priority, and can pivot in and out with Hydreigon to help whittle down things and potentially get dangerous pokemon into position to go for damage. The final addition is Mega Aerodactyl, which serves as a form of some speed control, outrunning the two new megas and Xurkitree wholesale, while being able to handle itself nicely with Hone Claws.
The Team
Entei @ Choice Band | Pressure
Adamant | 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Sacred Fire
• Flare Blitz
• Extreme Speed
• Stone Edge
Hey, I'm writing the Analysis for this thing. I wanted to get more practice with it, so I decided to make a team that could play to its strengths over things like Darmanitan and Infernape. The difference it distinguishes itself with is not just a great 50% burn chance, but also has fairly good bulk for an offensive wallbreaker, and as a tertiary characteristic it has access to in my opinion the best priority in the game in Extreme Speed. The EVs are nothing special, and as everybody is aware Entei is forced to be Adamant through event restrictions.Adamant | 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Sacred Fire
• Flare Blitz
• Extreme Speed
• Stone Edge
Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf | Levitate
Timid | 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Draco Meteor
• Dark Pulse
• Fire Blast
• U-turn
Originally, I'd been planning to use Specs Hydreigon. It just had such a high-powered draw to it. But then I realized that this team would benefit from more speed that wasn't a single mega, and I needed a hit-and-run Pokemon that could do good in almost every game. So I turned to my ORAS days and came up with Hydreigon. It might not be the best dragon in the tier, and it might not be the fastest, but carrying a ground immunity, a knock off resistance, and an all-around general offensive check to anything that isn't a fairy is pretty good for this particular team.Timid | 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Draco Meteor
• Dark Pulse
• Fire Blast
• U-turn
Metagross @ Assault Vest | Clear Body
Brave | 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
• Pursuit
• Zen Headbutt
• Meteor Mash
• Grass Knot
Around here, I was searching for a part of a defensive backbone. I wanted something that could pivot in on Latias and co, take a hit, and Pursuit it out. Krookodile was out since it dies to a Z-Draco, and I wanted a way to at least halfway check a Swampert trying to set up rain in front of this thing thinking I'd switch out. So I went to an older fallback and ran Grass Knot on it to at least somewhat hit bulky waters, while carrying the dual stabs that would hit some of the things it'd love to check fairly hard.Brave | 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
• Pursuit
• Zen Headbutt
• Meteor Mash
• Grass Knot
Nidoqueen @ Life Orb | Sheer Force
Modest | 168 HP / 252 SpA / 88 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
• Stealth Rock
• Earth Power
• Sludge Wave
• Ice Beam
Around this point I'd been joking that this was beginning to look like ORAS Offense, but Nidoqueen has always been a favorite Pokemon of mine to use as a rocker. I run just enough speed to outpace neutral-natured base 55s such as Crawdaunt, and dump the rest in Special Attack and HP. Now, Nidoqueen can multitask pretty well. It checks things like Cobalion, can take a hit from non-adamant Gliscor and kill with Ice Beam, does the same with Sceptile and Beedrill, stops Xurkitree if it hasn't set up, maims offensive Scizor, murders Primarina, you get the point. Overall a great offensive and defensive glue which sadly doesn't get the usage it used to.Modest | 168 HP / 252 SpA / 88 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
• Stealth Rock
• Earth Power
• Sludge Wave
• Ice Beam
Scizor @ Leftovers | Technician
Impish | 248 HP / 124 Def / 136 SpD
• Defog
• Roost
• U-turn
• Bullet Punch
When I made Rules of Nature_ all those moons ago, I'd been a big fan of just hitting things until they died. Unfortunately, I saw the issue when hazard stacking caught up to me, and I made it a goal to never die as horrendously as I did to Life Orb Galvantula and Swords Dance Zoroark. Now, UU has a nice new toy in Scizor, which has fun in the tier already. Serving as a nice priority user and Mega Aerodactyl check, this covers a general hazard coverage, since Entei already gets worn down quickly and that's my main breaker.Impish | 248 HP / 124 Def / 136 SpD
• Defog
• Roost
• U-turn
• Bullet Punch
Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite | Unnerve
Jolly | 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Hone Claws
• Stone Edge
• Aerial Ace
• Aqua Tail / Earthquake
Mega Aerodactyl has fun in the tier when it's the fastest unboosted pokemon around. The Speed Buff also helped it immediately check things such as Sceptile and Beedrill post-mega, and they would otherwise run rampant. Sorely lacking a true dedicated wincon, I opted to go for Hone Claws as that boosts an impressive attack and more importantly, makes it much harder to miss its main stab in Stone Edge. 107% harder, actually. I also elected to run Aqua Tail to handle some annoying bulky grounds such as Krookodile, Gliscor, and Hippowdon, though if you really have issues with bulky steels for some reason Earthquake is an option.Jolly | 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Hone Claws
• Stone Edge
• Aerial Ace
• Aqua Tail / Earthquake
Conclusion
So this is my Bad Luck Charm. Almost immediately after making this team, I managed to climb up to 1400 in ~15 games, which is unheard of success for me, so either I was on a hot streak or the team just functions effectively.
One big issue is I have an issue with bulky waters. I've considered Trick Band Metagross, but that somewhat neuters the ability to check some things it would otherwise, so I'm stuck on the issue. Overall though, I've been enjoying the team, and of course want to improve it.
Until next time,
Nightingales
Entei @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Flare Blitz
- Extreme Speed
- Stone Edge
Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- U-turn
Metagross @ Assault Vest
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
Brave Nature
- Pursuit
- Zen Headbutt
- Meteor Mash
- Grass Knot
Nidoqueen @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 168 HP / 252 SpA / 88 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Ice Beam
Scizor @ Leftovers
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 124 Def / 136 SpD
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hone Claws
- Stone Edge
- Aerial Ace
- Aqua Tail
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Flare Blitz
- Extreme Speed
- Stone Edge
Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- U-turn
Metagross @ Assault Vest
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
Brave Nature
- Pursuit
- Zen Headbutt
- Meteor Mash
- Grass Knot
Nidoqueen @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 168 HP / 252 SpA / 88 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Ice Beam
Scizor @ Leftovers
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 124 Def / 136 SpD
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hone Claws
- Stone Edge
- Aerial Ace
- Aqua Tail