OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (2024)

Z-Glaciate Victini!

OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (1)

OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (2)

OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (3)

OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (4)

OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (5)

OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (6)


Thought I'd go ahead and show something that I've been playing around with recently - Icium Z-Glaciate Mixed Victini, and the accompanying team I've been using. :D

OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (7)
The main point of building this team. Victini is one of those mons with a movepool that nobody really looks into, I feel, so when I found this old XY post and noticed Glaciate Victini on there, I knew it would be fun, especially with the addition of Z-Moves in USM actually giving it a fighting chance of being vaguely decent. The first three moves are completely standard for Victini - V-Create hits insanely hard even when not at max Attack, Bolt Strike provides some much-needed coverage, and U-Turn I hope is obvious. Glaciate is the real standout here, though. Boosted by Icium Z, it reaches a respectible 120 BP, which is just about enough to score the KOs it needs to secure. The main targets for this are Landorus-Therian and Gliscor, along with Kommo-O. All three of them are decent enough answers to Victini, especially Scarf Landorus, who can switch in to tank a V-Create with Intimidate, and hit hard back with STAB Earthquakes. However, nobody expects the

Spanish Inquisition

surprise Icium Z-Glaciate! 64 SpA is the most you realistically need, as this allows you to secure the KO onto the odd 252 SpD Gliscor.

64 SpA Victini Subzero Slammer (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 444-524 (116.2 - 137.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO against standard defensive Landorus-T
64 SpA Victini Subzero Slammer (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 444-524 (139.1 - 164.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO against Choice Scarf Landorus-T
64 SpA Victini Subzero Slammer (120 BP) vs. 244 HP / 244 SpD Gliscor: 352-416 (100 - 118.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
against standard SD Gliscor (you technically only need 60 SpA for this, but you need 64 SpA to hit 64 SpA Victini Subzero Slammer (120 BP) vs. 244 HP / 252 SpD Gliscor: 352-416 (100 - 118.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO the one person in the world who runs 244/252 Glisc lol

An alternative option is 164 SpA, this hits obviously all the benchmarks above, but has the added benefit of killing that 244/252 Glisc if it has for example a Careful (+SpD -SpA) nature. Nobody runs that though, because Modest Heatran is too important to creep. Thus, I stick with 64 SpA.

OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (8)
My next thought was was "what other mons want Z-Glaciate Victini to remove their answers?" and the answer to that question was, obviously, Mega Mawile! Landorus and Gliscor are both stumbling blocks for this utter monster, because it really doesn't like facing down STAB Earthquakes from either of those two, and Victini removing one or both makes it much easier to sweep here. Mawile also appreciates Victini's ability to deal with stuff like Celesteela, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory, especially if you run into that dastardly Skarmory set Aurella did however many years ago. Mawile itself is completely bog-standard, I was running Thunder Punch but ended up dropping it in favour of the standard Knock Off. Not much else to say here, other than that Fire Fang is a decent option to catch Ferrothorn, who can otherwise be an issue if you've lost Victini.

OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (9) OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (10)
Tornadus and Fini came as a pair, considering that I figured they'd synergise pretty well with what I had. Tornadus bought more pivoting via U-Turn, meaning I was able to get Victini and Mawile in that much more easily, along with Defog support to clear away any entry hazards pointing at the team. Hurricane is standard, and so is Knock Off, though I'm considering dumping it in favour of Taunt - either are fine options, and really down to personal preference and playstyle.

Tapu Fini I judged would be a good option too, Mawile really appreciates Misty Terrain removing any Scald burns or random Thunder Waves being tossed around, and Fini here is also running the Whirlpool / Nature's Madness / Moonblast / Taunt set, which is one that I've been enjoying more and more recently, due to its ability to consistently deal with Toxapex - one of the only mons not already covered by the team that can somewhat answer Victini and Mawile. I was originally running Haze over Moonblast as a way to answer Volcarona (which is still a monster, btw. Do not give any free turns!!!), but Toxapex ended up being more of an issue, given that Victini can't guarantee the 2HKO with Bolt Strike. If it even hits. Other than that, nothing else much to say here. A reasonably solid defensive core to back up Victini and Mawile.

OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (11)
Next, I took a step back to look at the team and what I was missing. A Ground-type and Stealth Rock were the obvious answers, so Gliscor was a pretty natural fit. Not only does it give me another pseudo-status absorber if Misty Terrain isn't up, but I get a second Flying-type, an Electric immunity, Ground STAB, and Stealth Rock. Roost is a given, and Toxic came afterwards to punish things that think they can set up on this. Also Zapdos. Gliscor, ironically enough, tends to invite in opposing Gliscor, especially when they deduce I'm mono-attacking, so it's a good way to bring in Victini and click Z.

OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (12)
This is the final member, and the part I'm least confident in. At this point in the build, I wanted to complete the Fire/Water/Grass core that was going on, and I originally had Amoonguss here. However, a friend tipped me that the Spore / Misty Terrain interaction could be an issue, and the mon itself is a little too passive for my liking anyway. Choice Scarf Serperior was what I chose here instead, mainly because of one absolutely terrifying combination:
OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (13) OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (14)
Rain was basically the antithesis to this team at this point, considering Swampert outspeeds and OHKOs everything except Tapu Fini, who can't do anything meaningful back. Thus, a consistent way to deal with Mega Swampert was necessary; along with Ash-Greninja, who sweeps the team if Fini is weakened enough. Scarfed Serperior consistently answers both of these, being able to switch in from full vs either, and OHKO back with STAB Leaf Storm. It also offers Glare support, which isn't the best with Misty Terrain, but still can be useful against things beginning to get out of control (you heroically outspeed +2 Magearna and can cripple it with Glare), and a second (or third, depending on the Tornadus set) Knock Off option. Finally, it's a second Defogger, which has come in handy a couple of times. The only other thing of note here is that I'm running 4 HP as well as 4 SpD. This was a deliberate choice, as it improves Serperior's matchup vs Ash-Greninja quite significantly - the chance of dying to Stealth Rock + Dark Pulse is reduced from 43.8% to 37.5%.

248 SpA Serperior Leaf Storm vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Swampert-Mega: 540-640 (158.3 - 187.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO Serperior outspeeds Jolly Swampert by 11 points in the rain, and instakills it back, often leading to a full sweep.
252 Atk Swampert-Mega Ice Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Serperior: 192-226 (65.7 - 77.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock it ain't killing you.
248 SpA Serperior Leaf Storm vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Greninja-Ash: 390-458 (136.8 - 160.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO outspeeds and consistently kills Ash-Greninja. Or you can Glare it, I guess.
252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Dark Pulse vs. 4 HP / 4 SpD Serperior: 229-271 (78.4 - 92.8%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock Pray for the low roll! This did actually happen to me in a game, but I didn't save it unfortunately.

252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Serperior: 229-271 (78.6 - 93.1%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Dark Pulse vs. 4 HP / 4 SpD Serperior: 229-271 (78.4 - 92.8%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Not the biggest difference in the world, but I'll take it. You can also run 8 SpD if you really want to, but 4 HP gives you exactly the same result and slightly better PhysDef bulk, so I opted for that.

I do have a single replay to submit to the council, where I show how beneficial Icium Z-Glaciate can be. I do make a crucial misplay on Turn 10, losing Mawile to Kommo-O's Flamethrower, but a couple of turns later, I can predict my opponent's Ferrothorn staying in against Gliscor, and switch out into Victini. This forces them out again, and I'm free to click Z-Glaciate into Landorus, completely OHKOing it on the switch. Even without Stealth Rocks, it would be dead anyway. Glaciate then puts in a ton of work, enabling me to defeat Kommo-O without issue after it Clangorous Soulblazes into Victini. Without the two Glaciates there, I would have certainly lost, but Fini is able to outspeed the -1 dragon and kill. As it turns out, I do end up losing the game in the end anyway because of the Mawile misplay, but it's a good enough demonstration of how good the Victini set is, and the surprise factor it brings.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-1986274782-aspwrgqlu9vtlfd8t9bqqgq632ch56fpw

OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (15)

Well, there's the team! I hope it's been an enjoyable read, and I promise it's worth your while to test out Z-Glaciate - you won't regret it.
Thanks for reading! :D

EDIT: First update to this. I swapped to Final Gambit over Bolt Strike on Victini as I never really found myself clicking it, and needed a slightly better way to shut down Volcarona, which Final Gambit Vic gives me - if you do decide this, then run 132 HP, which takes you to 374 (one above max HP Volc's 373). It might sound really specific, but the situation has occured in a couple of games where I've been able to get Victini in vs the moth as it Quiver Dances, and in both of those I would have been able to win if I had Final Gambit.

EDIT 2: Update two to this! I've been rocking around more with it, and you really want to be running 164 SpA - turns out that Careful Gliscor is somewhat common, and being able to slam that is quite important. With Final Gambit, the EV spread should be as follows: 132 HP / 164 SpA / 212+ Speed - this gives you the ability to slam Gliscor instantly, while still allowing you to outspeed positive-natured Base 95s (the Tapu Lele matchup is very important here) and dumping the rest into HP for Final Gambit. You can always drop it back down to 92 HP, which then allows the full 252+ Spe if maxing it is important enough for your preferences.

OU - SM OU - Teambuilding Competition: (Week 5: Garchomp) (2024)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Rev. Leonie Wyman

Last Updated:

Views: 6160

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (59 voted)

Reviews: 90% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Rev. Leonie Wyman

Birthday: 1993-07-01

Address: Suite 763 6272 Lang Bypass, New Xochitlport, VT 72704-3308

Phone: +22014484519944

Job: Banking Officer

Hobby: Sailing, Gaming, Basketball, Calligraphy, Mycology, Astronomy, Juggling

Introduction: My name is Rev. Leonie Wyman, I am a colorful, tasty, splendid, fair, witty, gorgeous, splendid person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.