SM OU Balanced Nasty Plot Alolan Ninetales

Team is very Fire Weak



Alolan Ninetales

Ability: Snow Warning

Shiny: Yes

EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

- Freeze-Dry

- Nasty Plot

- Moonblast

- Hidden Power [Fire]

This is what the whole team is based around. This is one of my two main win cons the other being Mega Manectric I am not changing this set.

This Alolan Ninetales has good potential to sweep. It is a really big surprise factor as most expect Aurora Veil. It outspeeds and deals with most dragons. It Prevents outrage from opponents and breaks sashed with hail. One Con is that it is very frail on the defensive side.

Snow Warning is the best ability because it brakes sashes and sturdies, deals chip damage, and negates leftovers. Life Orb is the item of choice to boost the Alolan Nietales Power.

Timid is to get the most speed possible and max Special Att. is to get the most damage possible.

Freeze Dry is STAB and is super effective against bulky waters. It also has a 10% chance to freeze. Is 4X Super Effective against the Common Lando-T

Nasty Plot is the main focus of this set People expect Aurora Veil and now I am at +2 Which can be really good

Moonblast is even stronger STAB which is what you usually will click unless Freeze-Dry is the stronger move It also can lower Special Att. which can come in handy sometimes

Hidden Power Fire is preferred by me to hit Ferrothorn, Excadrill, Kartana etc. for super effective damage. HP Ground is also possible for Heatran and other Fire Types such as Alolan Marowak.

Problems
-Kartana
Kartana speed ties with Alolan Ninetales and can hit it with 4X Super Effective Smart Strikes. Plus Kartana is generally scarfed so I cannot outspeed it. If I am able to outspeed it however it gets blown back by HP Fire or Freeze-Dry
-Heatran
This set cannot touch Heatran. Heatran forces it to switch out which can stop sweeps. Even No HP Nod Spec. Defense Heatran is two shotted by HP Ground
-Stealth Rock
Alolan Ninetales is one of two Pokes on the team (Gyarados is the other) that takes 25% from Stealth Rocks. plus taking Life Orb recoil makes it die Quickly.
-Faster threats/Scarfers
Most things that outspeed Alolan Ninetales easily kill it. Scarf Kartana, Excadrill, Tapu Lele can all easily kill Alolan Ninetales

Jirachi


Ability: Serene Grace

EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 224 SpD

Careful Nature

- Iron Head

- U-turn

- Wish

- Stealth Rock

This is my Specially Defensive Wall. This deals with Steel types. I chose this over Heatran because it deals with Kartana better. It sets up rocks and is a wish passer. It also has Serene Grace which gives me a 60% chance to flinch. It pairs very well with Gyarados as there are no common weaknesses

Leftovers are for Recovery each turn

Careful makes it a Specially Defensive Wall

EV spread I do not know why is just what I have if I can get an explanation that would be great

Iron Head is for STAB ande has 1 60% chance to flinch

U-turn is for momentum and it allows me to pass Wish

Wish is for recovery and allows me to heal my teamated

Stealth Rock is to set uprock which causes chip damage from 3.125%-50% which can matter in calls. I also can give me momentum because the opponet has to get rid of them

Problems

-Lando-T
Lando T can OHKO me with EQ. Can set up in my face predicting me to switch or can use Knock Off my Leftovers
-Knock Off
Same reason as Gyarados except that it is also Super Effective
-Heatran
Can Taunt me, set up rcoks of its own and force me to U-turn out

Gyarados


Ability: Intimidate

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

Impish Nature

- Waterfall

- Roar

- Rest

- Sleep Talk

This Gyarados set is a defensive monster and is so hard to kill. It deals with weaknesses and common threats such as Kartana Lando-T Mega Lopunny etc. It pairs very well with Jirachi as there are no common weaknesses between the two. It also draws electric move for Mega Man and intimidate hinders a lot of physical attackers which increases my longevity. It also causes a huge surprise factor.

Intimidate is the best ability because it lowers attack stat and forces switches. Plus moxie is useless because I switch this in and out a lot

Leftovers is this Gyarados item for recovery after each turn

Now I will explain each move

Waterfall is just for STAB. I can hit decently hard and can cause very good chip damage. Also, I can flinch which can help a lot

Roar is a phasing move. It can weaken pokes if rocks are up and stops sweeps. Fairy also are not immune to it so I can Get rid of anything

Rest is for recovery which makes it really hard to kill. I also do not care about status because I sleep it off.

Sleep Talk is so I can hit through Rest and possibly get good rolls

Weaknesses:
- Electric Types
Electric Types have 4X Super Effective Moves Against me and can easily kill me which ruins my core. Tapu Koko is the biggest electric problem of all
-Knock Off
Losing Leftovers can be really bad. It is my best form of reliable recover and spamming rest a lot is not healthy for this because I have two turns of no recovery
-Set Up
Set Up is still a problem because if I am asleep and get bad sleep talk rolls I can get swept. I also can't two shot very often with waterfall
-Stone Edge Lando-T
Stone Edge Landorus-T is a huge problem because of the Crit Chance and -1 Z move still does a lot. Plus it can set up if I am asleep and get bad rolls
-Taunt
-Taunt shuts this set down. It forces me to switch out and can allow set up or I can easily be predicted
-Takes 25% from rocks which can cripple its defensive ability

Starmie


Ability: Analytic

EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Hydro Pump

- Ice Beam

- Thunderbolt

- Rapid Spin

Starmie is such a great Pokemon. It is my favorite Rapid Spinner to use as it is faster than Most things. Anayltic causes it to hit things hard that are faster and don't kill it or switch ins. However it dies very quickly do to it being frail and that it is Life Orb.

Analytic is to hit things hard on the switch in. It can OHKO some things it would not be able to

Life Orb is so you are not locked into one move and you boost your power by 1.3

Timid is to be as fast as possible

Max Special Attack and Max Speed are for the most Speed and Power as Possible

Hydro Pump is Water STAB that hits pretty hard. It can kill things on the switch in.

Thunderbolt hits bulky Water types and anything that resists Hydro Pump

Ice Beam is to hit Grass types and has a 10% chance to Freeze

Rapid Spin is to get rid of hazard on my side

Problems

-Having to Use Rapid Spin multiple times
This is a problem because Starmies Fraility and Life Orb chip it down very much
-Gastrodon
Gastrodon may be rare but it completely walls Starmie being immune to two of its moves and can recover off Ice beam damage
-Faster Threats/Scarfers
Anything faster than starmie can easily kill it due to its fraility. However if it misses the kill it must watch out for ANalytic
-Anything Starmie doesn't kill
Since Starmie is so frail it relys on killing the opposing pokemon. If it does not it is easily killed
-Sticky Webs
Since Starmie is my spinner it has to spin Sticky Webs on its own. Since Sticky Web lowers speed it most likely will not get the spin off
-Mega Venusaur
Mega Venusaur Can easily wall this set because of thick fat and Kill it back with Giga Drain

Manectric-Mega


Ability: Intimidate

Shiny:

EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def

- Volt Switch

- Thunderbolt

- Hidden Power [Ice]

- Flamethrower

Mega Manectric is easily my favorite competitive. I do not have it on every team but on the teams I do have it always puts in the finest of work. It hits hard and is incredibly fast. Intimidate makes up for it lackluster defense as it lowers attack. It is a great counter to Tapu Koko in my opinion as it use its terrain to its advantage, outspeeds it, and absorbs any electric type moves

Timid is to get as much speed as possible

The EV Spread is to get as much Speed and Special Att. as possible

Lightning Rod for Pre Volve is to absorb Electric Type Moves and gain +1 Special Att.

Volt Switch is to Pivot out of a bad matchup and give an advantage into a good matchup as well as gaining momentum on switches. it can also hit decently hard because it is STAB

Thunderbolt is the main electric STAB and has a 10% chance to paralyze

Hidden Power Ice is to take things out such as Landorus-T, Garchomp, etc.

Flamethrower hits Grass types stronger than HP Ice and OHKO's Ferrothorn, Kartana, etc.

Problems:

-Mega Venusaur
Mega Venusaur completely walls this because of Thick Fat although it is not as bad as Starmie due to being able the Volt Switch
-Scarf Landorus -T
Scarf Landorus-T deals with this very and can OHKO this even at -1
-Gastro/Swampert
These two Water Ground types easily walls this and Mega Swampert can kill it back with EQ
Alolan Marowak
-Alolan Marowak has Lightning Rod which makes it immune to both Volt Switch and T-Bolt and takes resisted hits from evrything else

Scizor


Ability: Technician

EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 SpD

Adamant Nature

- Bullet Punch

- U-turn

- Pursuit

- Superpower


-Hits Hard

-Priority Choice Band Stab Technician BP

-Pivots

-Kill Things on Switches

This is my only form of Priority and a huge wall breaker. BP hits things so hard that do not resist. It gives me a third form of pivoting with U-turn. It also deals very well with Kartana. It only has 1 weakness, however it has a 4X Weakness to Fire.

Technician Is so Bullet Punch reaches a lot of damage

Choice Band is so Scizor hit Tremendously hard and it does not really

EV Spread I honestly do not know it is just what I have. Max attack is for Max Power and I guess the Speed EVs is for possible Speed Creeps of other Scizor

Adamant is so I can hit as hard as possible and I really do not care about speed

Bullet Punch is STAB, Technician Boosted Choicer Banded Prioroty from base 130 Attack. That can hit insanely hard. It also hits the common fairy type.

U-turn is Bug STAB and allows me to pivot out as I wish. It can do alot of damage to most things

Pursuit allows me to predict switches and hit them on the switch to kill certain things. It is a hard move to use however.

Superpower is for steel types such as Magnezone,Heatran, Kartana etc. It also hits Chansey for Super Effective damage. The opponent can gain momentum however as I am forced to switch out whenever I use it. I click this move the least.

Problems

-Magnezone/Magneton

These two can trap me if I am locked into Bullet Punch or Pursuit and easily kill me with HP Fire. However they do not want to switch into a Superpower

-Heatran
Same as Magnezone/Magneton except that it cannot trap me. It forces to switch 100% of the time as I cannot really touch it except for Superpower

-Skarmory and Opposing Scizor/Mega Scizor
These two pokemon completely walls this Scizor. They can take Superpower very well and roost off the damage. They also can Set Up Hazard or Swords Dances. Scizor can also Knock off my Choice Band

-Celesteela
Celesteela is the same as SKarmory except it can Leech Seed Flamethrower or Set up

Whole Team Problems

Tapu Koko
-Tapu Koko just rips through this team as it outspeed everything not Named Mega Manectric
-Gastrodon
Again I know this is not common but since I have two Water moves and it completely walls Mega Manecric and Jirachi that is more than half of my team. SCizor can deal decent damage but cannot spam BP and Alolan Ninetales has to go for Freeze-Dry
-Double Dance Rockium Z Landorus
I know this is very specific but Double Dance Landorus can Sweep me. It does not even need Rockium Z since Stone Edge can crit.

That is all in my opinion
Feel free to try it out and suggest some things

Open to suggestions except for Ninetales. I will allow changing HP Fire to Ground on Ninetales
 
Last edited:

IronBullet

Astronomy Domine
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis an Administrator Alumnus
Hi, welcome to Smogon! I'm locking your RMT for the time being as the forum rules require that you provide in-depth descriptions for each Pokemon to explain their roles. Please read the rules carefully and take a look at Team Showcase to see the level of detail we require. PM me with updated descriptions and I'll be happy to unlock this.

Edit: Reopened
 
Last edited:
Hey bro pretty interesting team but there does not seem to be any real synergy in what you have put together. For example this team gets blown away by Koko because your only 'resist' is Manectric. Ash-Greninja also sweeps this team as you have no good switch into the mon. I won't list everything but this team isn't very viable in SM OU metagame. Not to worry though as I will attempt to help you build around alolan ninetails but it isn't good unless using aurora veil. Also this isn't really balance as only two of your Mons look to actually stall something out, for this reason I am going to suggest a bulky offense oriented team which is sort of what you have going on right now.

  • First of all I don't recommend running special Ninetails because it just can't sweep in this metagame as common Pokemon like heatran wall it indefinitely unless you have HP Ground, but running that means steel types wall you off too. Toxapex does the same thing which is another common Pokemon. That is why the aurora veil set is the only viable option as it sets both screens up at once, even then this set only works on HO. Though seeing as your insistent on using it then I will attempt to maximise its efficiency. In this case you are missing 4 evs which you should throw into SpD. The set can stay as I plan to find answer to Pex and Heatran etc. with a few changes. Also I don't think you should use snow warning because it just forces your team to take unnecessary chip as you aren't using Aurora veil, yes Snow cloak is pretty useless too but if you come against opposing A-Ninetails it may be useful.
  • First I am going to suggest using Ferrothorn > Jirachi because Ferrothorn is better in this meta as it is an answer to Tapu Koko and Ash Greninja to an extent. It can proceed to set up spikes to pressure heatran and other Pokemon helping Ninetails or Manectric sweep. It has leech seed so can net recovery for your team and itself. Power whip is standard to not be walled by the water types it switches into and I personally prefer knock off as items are pretty important and it can tell you if something has a Z-Crystal if nothing is removed. I will suggest max SpD set as you really hate special sweepers.
  • Now I recommend removing Gyarados for Landorus-T because as of right now you have nothing which effectively walls other Landorus and Zygarde. It gives you team an electric immunity making your opponent have to consider if he can spam electric moves or not though Ferrothorn is a good switch in. Landorus and Ferrothorn work well together covering many threats in SM, and it also forms a volturn core with Manectric. Landorus pressures the likes of Heatran and Toxapex if it comes in. It sets up SR which lets your team sweep easier and ofc HP Ice for Zygarde and opposing Lando.
  • Hazards are obviously a pain and Ninetails being weak to SR means you need hazard removal and Starmie just isn't that good anymore. I am going to suggest Latios because you really need something that can come in on Zard Y. For this reason I am not going to suggest the scarf set because you need to keep this Mon healthy for it. It is a standard offensive Latios set it is up to you if you want Psychium Z or Soul Dew. i just suggested Psychium Z to muscle through some Pokemon like Zapdos though it is up to you.
  • Finally I wouldn't use Scizor because it adds to your fire weakness and you need something that muscles through stall better. You are pretty limited so I will suggest using Alolan Marowak as it muscles through stall and acts as a check to Koko and Zapdos.
Importable of Changes
Latios @ Psychium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Recover
- Defog

Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Bone
- Fire Punch
- Swords Dance
- Bonemerang

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 24 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power Ice
- U-turn

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Knock Off

Alolan Ninetales @ Life Orb
Ability: Snow Cloak
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Freeze-Dry
- Nasty Plot
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Manectric-Mega @ Manectite
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Flamethrower


This is the best I can suggest with what you have given me to work with. Honestly I would suggest swapping Alolan Ninetails at the very least because the only reason for it's popularity is for Aurora Veil playstyle. Manectric also isn't that good but it isn't awful. Koko still outclasses it though. This team is obviously still weak to a lot of things mainly a lot of special sweepers in SM metagame but without changing your two core Pokemon I can't do too much. Hope these changes help regardless do consider swapping Ninetails out or at least building a HO team instead :)
 
Last edited:
Thanks a lot will definitely try it on showdown
And switching mega manectric is fine
After trying it out I have found that I am really bad at using Landorus and I personally hate Defog because it prevents hazard stack on my team

Any suggestions for that

I will consider Aurora Veil Ninetales, and HP ground and I did definitely see the synergy problems thanks
 
Last edited:
truevillany i love this team and I 100% agree with Twilight as he made really smart adjustments. If I were to make any changes I'd make his but I'd remove alolan Marowak as Imo i don't like using it and I like it when people personally give me options
Scolipede @ Focus Sash
Ability: Speed Boost
- Sworqds Dance
- Poison Jab
- Megahorn
Instead of Marowak try this scolipede it is a typical set but I left the forth move up to you. Really the idea is simple and goes really well with your team. The idea is when most of the treats to it are out of the way to come in and sword dance. The sash will allow you to set up and get the speed boost allowing you to sweep. It can run numerous moves that can support your team like earthquake (that lando can run but I'll throw it out there) rock slide, Aqua tail, superpower, and return to name most of the common moves. It gives your team unpredictability and can help you take out major threats in the meta. You could also run protect but I run sash cause Imo it is better and there are some other sets you can run like sub. That is my suggestion
 
truevillany i love this team and I 100% agree with Twilight as he made really smart adjustments. If I were to make any changes I'd make his but I'd remove alolan Marowak as Imo i don't like using it and I like it when people personally give me options
Scolipede @ Focus Sash
Ability: Speed Boost
- Sworqds Dance
- Poison Jab
- Megahorn
Instead of Marowak try this scolipede it is a typical set but I left the forth move up to you. Really the idea is simple and goes really well with your team. The idea is when most of the treats to it are out of the way to come in and sword dance. The sash will allow you to set up and get the speed boost allowing you to sweep. It can run numerous moves that can support your team like earthquake (that lando can run but I'll throw it out there) rock slide, Aqua tail, superpower, and return to name most of the common moves. It gives your team unpredictability and can help you take out major threats in the meta. You could also run protect but I run sash cause Imo it is better and there are some other sets you can run like sub. That is my suggestion
Actually, this change causes a big problem then without Alowak, the team has nothing to deal with Specs Koko and Zapdos, which was the original reason why Marowak was put on the team, while scolipede, even know it is nice and not too much seen, does not resolve this issue at all.

Ps: I wouldn't recommend using scolipede without aqua tail, earthquake and waterium Z, as it is otherwise walled by a large amount of threats in OU, namely Toxapex, Landorus-Therian (which is by the way played on almost 1 team out of 2), Zapdos or also Scizor.
 
Actually, this change causes a big problem then without Alowak, the team has nothing to deal with Specs Koko and Zapdos, which was the original reason why Marowak was put on the team, while scolipede, even know it is nice and not too much seen, does not resolve this issue at all.

Ps: I wouldn't recommend using scolipede without aqua tail, earthquake and waterium Z, as it is otherwise walled by a large amount of threats in OU, namely Toxapex, Landorus-Therian (which is by the way played on almost 1 team out of 2), Zapdos or also Scizor.
true I don't run z I do however run Aqua tail (not that by no means that it isn't a great and wonderful set) maybe he could run eq for koko and couldn't alolan ninetails take on zapdos??? And really the whole idea behind the set is to sweep late game when threats like these are removed.
 
true I don't run z I do however run Aqua tail (not that by no means that it isn't a great and wonderful set) maybe he could run eq for koko and couldn't alolan ninetails take on zapdos??? And really the whole idea behind the set is to sweep late game when threats like these are removed.
Sry if I didn't expressed myself properly, I meant that the team had no counter to those mons, nothing that could stop them from dismantling the defensive core and allow a cleaner to finish the game.
 
Sry if I didn't expressed myself properly, I meant that the team had no counter to those mons, nothing that could stop them from dismantling the defensive core and allow a cleaner to finish the game.
I'm not gonna lie I am not the best you clearly know what your talking about I just wanted to give an alternative honestly everything you made is really good And I didn't see you say earthquake nah bad I am blind
 
true I don't run z I do however run Aqua tail (not that by no means that it isn't a great and wonderful set) maybe he could run eq for koko and couldn't alolan ninetails take on zapdos??? And really the whole idea behind the set is to sweep late game when threats like these are removed.
Yeah ninetails can kill Zapdos but this team currently lacks a good switch into it so I chose Marowak. Ferrothorn can come in on Discharge but then zapdos just uses heat wave so most cores struggle to wall this Pokemon. The scolipede is a pretty cool suggestion which could work well though i think without marowak there is less pressure applied to some steel types like celesteela or scizor which Marowak deals with. Also Marowak walls most Magearna sets with its best move to hit it being ice beam or fleur cannon both of which it does resist.
 
Last edited:
Thanks a lot will definitely try it on showdown
And switching mega manectric is fine
After trying it out I have found that I am really bad at using Landorus and I personally hate Defog because it prevents hazard stack on my team

Any suggestions for that

I will consider Aurora Veil Ninetales, and HP ground and I did definitely see the synergy problems thanks
Hmm I'll have to look at any more changes later but if you replace Manectric you need something to pressure bulky water types which is why it wasn't too bad with this team.the best alternative would probably be koko. I wouldn't use aurora veil ninetails on this team as nothing benefits from it. It is for HO where Pokemon just set up and try to overpower walls with that. Either keep the same set, swap the Pokemon out or build a new team based on HO.

Landorus is probably the best Mon because of how versatile it can be, and is never detrimental to a team. If you struggle to use it I can make changes later but you should try getting better as it's such a good Pokemon. Also I see what you mean, in instances where it's a suicide lead rocks or you kill the rock setter Defog is fine as you can set up hazards again later. The only decent rapid spin user is Excadrill though I guess state can be used.

I will make any changes later but landorus is something you should consider keeping. Same with the Defog user as the number of Pokemon that remove hazards are limited. If you really don't like them I'll be glad to make any more suggestions :)
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top