ADV OU Aero SSS

Hello! Here's a team I've had decent success with on ladder and been wanting to publish for a while now. At first sight it seems as a standard Aero TSS, however I've added few twists that help it perform better in today's metagame. Post might get long since I'll try to explain even some basic stuff for people who aren't that familiar with current ADV.

Tyranitar



Indominus Rex (Tyranitar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 120 Def / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Focus Punch
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Rock Slide

Star of this team, personal innovation (until someone else claims it) and my new favorite set.
This Tar combines ability to stop Skarm laying down spikes and still hit hard on switch. It also pairs up well against two other common leads (Tar/Zap). Works like a mix of standard BKC Tar (4 attacks, max hp, max att) and a Toxic/Taunt Tar. I find it useful on this team where you don't need it to function as a DD cleaner, and with all Refresh Pert around getting Toxic on it usually ain't enough, and hitting it or Flygon after Taunting Skarm with an early unexpected max attack Focus Punch can go a long way throughout the game.
Ev's are set to outspeed Meta and fast Bliss while still maintaining Jolly Dugtrio bulk and great attack.
More bulk could be useful, however not being able to OKO Offensive Star makes Hp investment not that worthy, and speed comes in handy for finishing off unsuspecting slower Meta after prior Focus punch or EQ.


Skarmory



B52 (Skarmory) @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 208 HP / 248 SpD / 52 Spe
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Drill Peck
- Taunt

Most Aero teams need spikes. Skarm is prefered here over Forry since latter demands Pursuit pairing and I've already opted for different Tar set. Not to mention it's overall just a better poke. I've decided for Taunt/Drill Peck (for some reason it isn't illegal with Whirlwind anymore) combo here over Pro/Tox since this team doesn't bring Mag or a spinner, and with Tar already having Taunt it is usually enough to prevent early game spikes on your side. Drill Peck over Toxic helps with Hera and Celebi to an extent, and more importantly it chips off Gar, which is invaluable later in game for Aero. And I'll repeat myself again here, with Refresh + bunch of pokes that can't or don't care about being poisoned being used all around, Toxic just isn't that good anymore. Ev's give it as much special bulk as you can get with still trying to outspeed opposing Skarm.

Gengar



Dark Clefable (Gengar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Def / 8 SpA / 112 SpD / 96 Spe
Timid Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- Giga Drain

Gar with spikes was a no brainer so i won't further elaborate that. However, although i love 3 attacks + boom Gar, I've eventually decided for SpDef Gar here. WoW is a such a good move against so many pokes, and in combination with Blissey (which is for sure number one broken mon in ADV) that appreciates physical threats being crippled it can do a lot. Instead of going Bolt/Beam/Taunt I've gone with Fire/Grass and Ice Punch for a number of reasons. Firstly, 3 Taunts on a team is just a waste. Secondly Fire/Grass let's you hit Forry (which this team is a bit of weak to), other weakened Steel mons (Meta/Rachi), Pert (everything that helps Aero sweep is welcome), and Tar (Pursuit versions you WoW on entry, switch out, live, and finish off later after it steps on spikes), Giga Drain also hits Cune/Milo/Dol for less than TBolt would, but you can recover a bit of health in process and live subsequent attack. Thirdly Ice punch may be the least needed move but with phys bulk that lives +1 Mence Hp Flying it's a nice move to have around, especially with Pert set I'm running. Also not being able to hit Gon/Zap substantialy sucks, so here you go.

Blissey



Anorexia (Blissey) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 100 SpA / 156 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Sing

Premiere special wall, and bane of so many ADV teams. Basically, if you keep this mon around alive till late game, and gradually get rid of physical threats, most Mixed offense teams can just forfeit in the face of this pink blob. Now, after stating the obvious, cool thing about this set (not mine by any means) is Sing over Toxic. Sleep moves are broken. Yeah, it has 55% accuracy, but unlike Gar with Hypno this thing can force a switch from a special mon (let's say Zap into Meta or Tar), miss Sing, outspeed, miss again, live an non CB attack and hit on 3rd attempt. That's how annoying it is. Also, unlike Toxic, nothing is immune to it, can't be Refreshed off, and putting a mon to sleep is essentially getting straight off (even if temporary) +1 advantage.
Freeing Gar from needing to use Hypno for WoW is great. Softboiled and Ice Beam are self-explanatory, only kind of strange thing here is Tbolt. This is otherwise the new standard UD's fast Fire Blast Bliss, except this one doesn't have the Fire Blast, but if you don't reveal TBolt no Forry is staying in on you. With that set being kind of weak to Cune and Gyara i opted for Tbolt since it can check them, and also punish greedy Starmie that wants to rapid spin in your face. It is not ideal, but with the fall in usage of Forry teams i think it's worth it.
For a better Ev's explanation check UD's post, but premise is to outspeed Skarm and Meta (Pert too, but that is kind of irrelevant here) and hit them with Fire Blast, however you are doing that by Tbolt and Sing here.
Fire Blast Bliss might be better choice here overall with Gar having Tbolt over Fire Punch, but this approach has worked for me so long, so I'll stick to it, but i won't mind if you feel the need to change it

Swampert



Muddy Waters (Swampert) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Def / 56 SpA / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
- Surf
- Roar
- Refresh
- Protect

Your standard MonoPert with Refresh over Toxic. I've mentioned throughout the post how i feel about Toxic in current metagame so I won't repeat myself. This set is better explained elsewhere so i'll just stick to it's value to the team as a whole. Second phazer is much needed if you are facing Mag teams and/or you just want to utilize Spikes dmg as much as you can ergo Roar. Surf for attacking, Protect for scouting/healing up with lefties, and refresh to get rid of status. I didn't put any SpDef Ev's since i feel Aero/Tar/Bliss can deal with opposing Zap better than Pert and i wanted as much physical bulk as i could get. Some SpAtt Ev's to deal with Skarm/Tar/Dol/Meta better and a bit of speed to outspeed uninvested Special Tar and opposing Pert. Nothing really exciting, but much needed glue for the team, since every team needs a reliable rock resist.

Aerodactyl



Starscream (Aerodactyl) @ Choice Band
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Rock Slide

Your primary win con. Aero can do one thing, and one thing only, but it does perfectly, and that is finishing off weakened teams. All the previous mons are designed to chip away and remove defensive obstacles for this boys sweep. Yes you can switch it in on few weak attacks, or pivot and double around to get most value of it, but it is usually best kept unrevealed till the late game when it can wreck through opposing mons with STAB Rock Slide. Even if you get yourself behind in a game, few timely flinches can save your ass and turn a sure loss in a win. Max +Speed is the norm, don't mess around with adamant Aero if you aren't 100% sure what you are doing, Aero on Aero, or Jolt speed ties come up all the time, and you want to put yourself in best position possible for that. Moveset is standard, I've switched around from Hp Bug and Flying and they are both viable options, and you can choose the one off your preference. I've put Hp Bug here simply to be cool, and also cause it hits Celebi and Dol harder which this team doesn't have many answers too.

Spoiler: Importable

Indominus Rex (Tyranitar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 120 Def / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Focus Punch
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Rock Slide

B52 (Skarmory) @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 208 HP / 248 SpD / 52 Spe
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Drill Peck
- Taunt

Dark Clefable (Gengar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Def / 8 SpA / 112 SpD / 96 Spe
Timid Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- Giga Drain

Anorexia (Blissey) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 100 SpA / 156 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Sing

Muddy Waters (Swampert) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Def / 56 SpA / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
- Surf
- Roar
- Refresh
- Protect

Starscream (Aerodactyl) @ Choice Band
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Rock Slide

If you managed to read this, I sincerely thank you, if you are here just to copy paste the team that's ok too

Team is standard, proven, good for laddering (made 40:1 streak, and was aiming to dethrone Beerlover record and then UD conveniently stopped me with 2 losses), maybe in tour environment too, idk, i've been giving it away since i don't play tours myself but no one seems to use it :'(
Anyway, give it a shot, especially if you are a newer player and see for yourself Hf

P.S.
I've already mentioned some of this teams weaknesses, maybe I'll do a more complete threat list in future, however this took me good 2 and a half hours to make so that's all for now

 

i don't understand this part honestly
252+ Atk Tyranitar Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Starmie: 158-187 (60.5 - 71.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage and Leftovers recovery

Can i also ask you what is Blissey outspeedding?

 

Yeah i didn't clarify that enough, usually the BKC Tar set (252 hp, 252+ att can live Offensive Star Hydro pump (252 SpA Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tyranitar: 328-386 (81.1 - 95.5%), and OKO it with Hp Bug after spikes dmg (252+ Atk Tyranitar Hidden Power Bug vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Starmie: 198-234 (75.8 - 89.6%), this set doesn't carry that so you want to invest more in physical bulk (primarily to live jolly dug, but also helps with meta, mence and pert) than overall hp, which gives you extra Ev's to put in speed. I found this to be the most efficient way to do that, but you can rearange those Ev's in number of ways, for example:

Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 80 HP / 232 Atk / 76 Def / 120 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Focus Punch
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Rock Slide

Blissey outspeeds noninvested Skarm/Meta/Tar/Pert all of which are great Sing targets, and additionally TBolt target in Skarm's case since you don't want to allow it spike up freely.

 

drill peck + WW is still illegal.

drill peck skarm + fire punch gar is a waste, especially when paired w aero. Not like u have a problem w hera at all, u can definitely drop one of those two moves. 3 taunts on a team is not a waste btw, actually makes ur team less weak to skarm. As u lack a spinner (which is fine) u want most if not all of your mons to be as aggressive against skarm/forry/cloy as possible, or not bothered by spikes. Toxic is amazing on skarm, tbh. Idk, anyway, the 6 mons are fine but I would run different sets.

e: here's a version I just made that I like

 

DP + WW Skarm was legal at the time of posting, however few days ago it changed back to how it was before, along with some other stuff (thanks Asta xd). Roar is option over WW if you aren't expecting Mr Mime (read full BP teams) and i prefer it to Hp Flying/Drill Peck.
Hera is a real issue even to Aero teams, since it isn't a real switch in to Hera in the way Skarm/Gar are, and can pick up a kill if not countered immediately (for example lead Hera SD's up on my Tar or just straight up fires off a CB Focus Punch on Skarm or Rock Slide's predicting Gar doing massive damage) so i opted to hurt it from both sides. Also I've stated the benefits of Fire Punch on Gar for other various Mons however I did say it could be changed for Tbolt if Bliss had FB since a fire move is really needed on this team, and Skarm's DP helps vs Refresh Dol, DD Taunt Gyara, Forry (since it can't dmg you and you can Taunt DP it) and most off all it's a great chip on Gar which pays off immensly later in game for Aero sweep.
3 Taunts ARE a waste on a team, considering you aren't facing Mean Look + BP Umbreon everyday, in which case, yeah Gar having it is useful, otherwise there are better ways of dealing with Skarm. Offensive Pert is one for sure, it's a great mon, but it's more suitable for a offense team then here. I've tried it here and it just lacks longevity due to being teams only Rock resist and it getting statused hurts team more than middle game spikes. For a team with 3/6 mons not hurt by Spikes, and Bliss and Pert who can recover entry damage one way or another I think this is sufficient.
Toxic is still somewhat good on Skarm, especially on ProTox set but not as nearly as it used to be. Since i already talked about how i feel about it in original post i wont repeat myself.
This 6 mons are amazing, the changes i made to the vanilla version (you can't be too original with Aero spikes teams, although making it wasn't my original idea it was bound to happen) are what makes this team work for me and the reason why i posted it since they showcased some techs that aren't that common but can get you ahead. I've played over 200 games with it and took several alts to 1500+ while mixing up sets to see what is most suitable in current meta and this is the end product i got.
Your changes to the team are valid, and in certain match-ups they could do better, but i believe my team is more solid overall. I have issue with SpDef Gar that doesn't live Crunch/Pursuit, S Toss Bliss cause 252 Hp 252 Def Cune becomes even bigger issue to deal with, which this Bliss threatens more, as well as other mons and offensive Pert for reasons i stated above. Mix Lure Tar is fine, but it kind of defeats the purpose of me making this team, since Taunt/FP Tar is the main reason for my post. Taunt/Toxic Skarm is fine vs Dol, but I'm of belief that it doesn't synergize well as other two combos of moves, DP + Taunt or Pro + Tox, and it's usualy inferior to them. Your team as a whole seems to offensive for a semi-stall/balance to me but I'll give it a go nontheless. Anyway, this reply got too long, but I felt the need to further explain my reasoning for these sets.

P.S. One small update on the Tar set is it should have 16 Hp, so move one extra from speed since it slipped away from me and that is the optimal Dug bulk (thanks to baddummy for pointing that out )

 

The advantage of lots of taunts is not about beating cheese strats. It's about preventing spikes being set up, and preventing defensive pokemon from using recovery moves.

 

Even on a team team with 5 Taunts spikes will eventually get up against a good player, so will recover since it's a passive strategy that relies on surprise. The aim is to win games punishing you opponents plays, not prevent spikes. Keeping them off early game on this team is enough to chip away on certain mons and get spikes off your own for eventual sweep.

 

I mean... there are advantages to keeping spikes off for a larger part of the game, and you can prevent spikes entirely even. Obviously it's not the whole game plan, but it's ridiculous to ignore the importance of trying to keep your side of the field as hazard-free as possible...

 

Yeah, you can try to prevent them but at what cost. Even on a Mag + Spinner team you aren't guaranteed to get rid of them. Obviously I ain't ignoring them if i have 2 Taunts on a team, however I ain't satisfied just by preventing spikes, i want to also get rid of Skarm as a wall which you accomplish by hitting it and getting status on it instead of taunting, and by doing that, unlike with Taunt, you can damage other mons in process. Completely preventing Spikes sounds great in theory, but if that's all you are doing good players will use that to their advantage and punish you.
People keep forgetting that playing just not to lose doesn't win you games.