Help with team

[rob_thijs]

I'm back with another OU team and I could use some help to improve it. I think it is put togheter very well and it is based around Sheer Force Feraligator and Mega Gallade.

Feraligator @ Life Orb
Ability - Sheer Force
Nature - Jolly
EV's - 28 HP / 252 Atk / 228 Spe
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch
- Crunch

Took Crunch over EQ cause of no recoil from Life Orb

***

Gallade @ Galladeite
Ability - Justified
Nature - Jolly
EV's - 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Psycho Cut
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
I did choose Psycho Cut cause it doesn't make contact (no Static, Flame Body, Cursed Body etc) and has a high crit rate and better accuracy than Zen Headbutt. Went for Close Combat to deal massive damage without the need of Swords Dance first and Knock Off for coverage and removing items.

***

Raikou @ Choice Specs
Ability - Pressure
Nature - Timid
EV's - 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
- Volt Switch
- Shadow Ball Ball
I did go with Choice Specs to hit even harder, took HP Ice so I can stay in against ground types like Garchomp, Landorus etc. Went for Shadow Ball to hit Ghost types hard for Mega Gallade.

***

Espeon @ Light Clay
Ability - Magic Bounce
Nature - Timid
EV's - 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Baton Pass
- Psychic

***

Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability - Pixilate
Nature - Bold
EV's - 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SpD
- Hyper Voice
- Wish
- Toxic
- Heal Bell
Sylveon is my special wall and Hyper Voice is preferred cause of substitutes popularity. I took Toxic over Protect to prevent pokémon from setting up. Wish support was needed to keep Gallade and Feraligator healthy and Heal Bell is a must because Will-O-Wisp is popular and I don't want to cripple my Gallade.

Source: Smogon
It is important to note that Clefable is typically a better choice than Sylveon. It has better abilities, higher physical bulk, similar support options, and greater versatility between Stealth Rock, coverage options, Thunder Wave, and sweeping capability with Calm Mind. Sylveon should only be chosen when the special bulk is an absolute necessity.

With 36 SpD EV's and Bold nature Sylveon got the same SpD (305) as a Calm 252 SpD Clefable (306). With 220 Def EV's and Bold nature Sylveon (243) will have more bulk than Calm 4 Def Clefable (183). They both pass the same Wish (394). I need a Special Wall and Sylveon fits that role more than Clefable.

Also thanks to Reflect and Light Screen Sylveon is extremly hard to kill.

252+ Atk Bisharp Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 135-160 (34.2 - 40.6%) -- 53.5% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 183-216 (67.2 - 79.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 132-156 (33.5 - 39.5%) -- 17.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

0 Atk Ferrothorn Gyro Ball (97 BP) vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 97-115 (24.6 - 29.1%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Heatran Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 36 SpD Sylveon through Light Screen: 102-121 (25.8 - 30.7%) -- 4.3% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Jirachi Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 106-126 (26.9 - 31.9%) -- 40.2% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ SpA Choice Specs Magnezone Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 36 SpD Sylveon through Light Screen: 168-198 (42.6 - 50.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Metagross Meteor Mash vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 207-244 (52.5 - 61.9%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
A 2HKO by the beast of OU

252+ Atk Technician Mega Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 117-138 (29.6 - 35%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery



***

Landorus @ Leftovers
Ability - Intimidate
Nature - Impish
EV's - 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-Turn
- Stone Edge

Let me know what you think and what can be improved.

 

[skyburial]

Man, you got that Sheer Force Feraligatr finished quickly. I still need to grab mine from the bank.

Would you be benchmarking Garchomp's base Speed for any threats? Because otherwise, you'd be much better off running a Relaxed nature on it so that Fire Blast can hit harder.

I'd swap Raikou out for Rotom Heat with a similar setup. It does well as both a Defensive or Offensive Pokemon, can levitate over Earthquakes, threatens Bisharp and just clicks well with Metagross altogether.

Last but not least, your Espeon has redundant weaknesses with Metagross and might not be the best for a balanced team. Eeveelutions are way cool and I'm a big fan myself, but since it's really there to help out your offensive mons, I'd recommend an Assault Vest user instead. Depending on who you decide to go with as a Hazard setter, I'd pick between either Goodra or Conkeldurr.

Edit: and with your changes, this post is moot. I'll post something else later.

 

[PlatinumDude]

Man, you got that Sheer Force Feraligatr finished quickly. I still need to grab mine from the bank.

Would you be benchmarking Garchomp's base Speed for any threats? Because otherwise, you'd be much better off running a Relaxed nature on it so that Fire Blast can hit harder.

I'd swap Raikou out for Rotom Heat with a similar setup. It does well as both a Defensive or Offensive Pokemon, can levitate over Earthquakes, threatens Bisharp and just clicks well with Metagross altogether.

Last but not least, your Espeon has redundant weaknesses with Metagross and might not be the best for a balanced team. Eeveelutions are way cool and I'm a big fan myself, but since it's really there to help out your offensive mons, I'd recommend an Assault Vest user instead. Depending on who you decide to go with as a Hazard setter, I'd pick between either Goodra or Conkeldurr.

Relaxed is still a waste of Garchomp's Speed. Impish with 28 Special Attack EVs still 2HKOs the needed targets, like below:

28- SpA Garchomp Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 188-224 (53.4 - 63.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

28- SpA Garchomp Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Scizor: 292-344 (85.1 - 100.2%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

A Bold nature is better for Sylveon than Calm because of its physically-based resistances. Bold with 252 HP/220 Def/36 SDef is enough to let it take 2 Psyshocks from Latios while still having some special bulk.

Chesnaught gained Drain Punch in OR/AS, so you might as well have some more recovery. Wood Hammer isn't that necessary:
-Spikes
-Leech Seed
-Wood Hammer/Spiky Shield
-Drain Punch
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Bulletproof

What does Zapdos have over Raikou or Thundurus as an attacker? It's slower than both, and pretty much the only niche it offers over them is Defog support.

Assault Vest Raikou can still sponge special hits pretty well while providing some offensive presence. While it seems tempting to have Aura Sphere on it, Raikou is forced to run a Rash nature, which leaves it outsped by things like Mega Metagross, Mega Gallade, or Gengar:
-Thunderbolt
-Volt Switch
-Hidden Power (Ice)
-Extrasensory/Shadow Ball
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SAtk/4 SDef/252 Spe
Item: Choice Specs/Assault Vest

Outside of hitting Mega Swampert hard, Leaf Blade isn't that useful on Gallade. The optimal coverage option over that is Knock Off to remove non-Mega Stone items. Zen Headbutt also has a neat flinch chance, so I'd rather use that over Psycho Cut. Not too many Psychic resists run Rocky Helmet anyways.

 

[Nah]

Skyberries there's no Mega Meta on his list

Close Combat vs Drain Punch is purely personal preference. At +2 both attacks are shredding stuff anyway. It's more of if you want to shred without needing a Swords Dance first or if you want to give Gallade some longevity.

Between Zapdos and Raikou, I'd go with Raikou since your team is lacking priority and is slow overall. Scar Raikou gives you much needed Speed, especially when the OU meta keeps getting faster and faster. As for the HP type personally I'd say Ice so you can beat threats like Lando-T, Garchomp, Dragonite, Thundurus-I, etc. If you're that worried about Water/Ground pokes and the like you still have Leaf Blade on Gallade and could throw in Chesnaught. Though Rotom-H like Skyburial suggested is another but different option to consider.

It's kinda hard to decide between Sylveon and Clefable because they're both good mons and you're having them do the same role. The difference is really only between Hyper Voice and Unaware, which both have their uses.

 

[skyburial]

Skyberries there's no Mega Meta on his list

Thanks Elsa :3

Rub Thighs' original post had a Mega Meta in place of Megallade.

A Bold nature is better for Sylveon than Calm because of its physically-based resistances. Bold with 252 HP/220 Def/36 SDef is enough to let it take 2 Psyshocks from Latios while still having some special bulk.

Depends on what you're using Sylveon as a Cleric for. If I were a gambling man, I'd wager on Heal Bell's usefulness for curing burns and paralysis, and taking the Ice Beams, Thunder Bolts, Shadow Balls, Moon Blasts, and Hyper Voices that threaten a big swath of this team.

 

[PlatinumDude]

Thanks Elsa :3
Depends on what you're using Sylveon as a Cleric for. If I were a gambling man, I'd wager on Heal Bell's usefulness for curing burns and paralysis, and taking the Ice Beams, Thunder Bolts, Shadow Balls, Moon Blasts, and Hyper Voices that threaten a big swath of this team.

In that case, I'd rather use Clefable over Sylveon, as it can afford to use mixed bulk spreads: 252 HP/172 Def/84 SDef is the spread to balance out Clefable's bulk.

 

[rob_thijs]

Thanks for the information guys! This is the team going for:

Feraligator @ Life Orb
Ability - Sheer Force
Nature - Jolly
EV's - 28 HP / 252 Atk / 228 Spe
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch
- Crunch

Is it preferred to run Earthquake over Crunch?

***

Gallade @ Galladeite
Ability - Justified
Nature - Jolly
EV's - 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Psycho Cut
- Close Combat
- Leaf Blade
I did choose Psycho Cut cause it doesn't make contact (no Static, Flame Body, Cursed Body etc) and has a high crit rate and better accuracy than Zen Headbutt. Went for Close Combat to deal massive damage without the need of Swords Dance first and Leaf Blade for coverage.

***

Raikou @ Choice Specs
Ability - Pressure
Nature - Timid
EV's - 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
- Volt Switch
- Ghost Ball
I did go with Choice Specs to hit even harder, took HP Ice so I can stay in against ground types like Garchomp, Landorus etc. Went for Ghost Ball to hit Ghost types hard for Mega Gallade.

***

Espeon @ Light Clay
Ability - Magic Bounce
Nature - Timid
EV's - 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Baton Pass
- Psychic

***

Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability - Pixilate
Nature - Bold
EV's - 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SpD
- Hyper Voice
- Wish
- Toxic
- Heal Bell
Sylveon is my special wall and Hyper Voice is preferred cause of substitutes popularity. I took Toxic over Protect to prevent pokémon from setting up. Wish support was needed to keep Gallade and Feraligator healthy and Heal Bell is a must because Will-O-Wisp is popular and I don't want to cripple my Gallade.

Source: Smogon
It is important to note that Clefable is typically a better choice than Sylveon. It has better abilities, higher physical bulk, similar support options, and greater versatility between Stealth Rock, coverage options, Thunder Wave, and sweeping capability with Calm Mind. Sylveon should only be chosen when the special bulk is an absolute necessity.

With 36 SpD EV's and Bold nature Sylveon got the same SpD (305) as a Calm 252 SpD Clefable (306). With 220 Def EV's and Bold nature Sylveon (243) will have more bulk than Calm 4 Def Clefable (183). They both pass the same Wish (394). I need a Special Wall and Sylveon fits that role more than Clefable.

Also thanks to Reflect and Light Screen Sylveon is extremly hard to kill.

252+ Atk Bisharp Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 135-160 (34.2 - 40.6%) -- 53.5% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 183-216 (67.2 - 79.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 132-156 (33.5 - 39.5%) -- 17.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

0 Atk Ferrothorn Gyro Ball (97 BP) vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 97-115 (24.6 - 29.1%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Heatran Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 36 SpD Sylveon through Light Screen: 102-121 (25.8 - 30.7%) -- 4.3% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Jirachi Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 106-126 (26.9 - 31.9%) -- 40.2% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ SpA Choice Specs Magnezone Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 36 SpD Sylveon through Light Screen: 168-198 (42.6 - 50.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Metagross Meteor Mash vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 207-244 (52.5 - 61.9%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
A 2HKO by the beast of OU

252+ Atk Technician Mega Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 117-138 (29.6 - 35%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery



***

Landorus @ Leftovers
Ability - Intimidate
Nature - Impish
EV's - 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-Turn
- Knock Off
The reason I choose Landorus is because he works well with Raikou, has Knock Off so I can run Leaf Blade on Gallade and Intimidate is nice for my pokémon who are not that strong on the defensive side or forces switches. And Landorus has U-Turn that is key to my VoltTurnPass core.

 

[PlatinumDude]

Thanks for the information guys! This is the team going for:

Feraligator @ Life Orb
Ability - Sheer Force
Nature - Jolly
EV's - 28 HP / 252 Atk / 228 Spe
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch
- Crunch

Is it preferred to run Earthquake over Crunch?

***

Gallade @ Galladeite
Ability - Justified
Nature - Jolly
EV's - 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Psycho Cut
- Close Combat
- Leaf Blade
I did choose Psycho Cut cause it doesn't make contact (no Static, Flame Body, Cursed Body etc) and has a high crit rate and better accuracy than Zen Headbutt. Went for Close Combat to deal massive damage without the need of Swords Dance first and Leaf Blade for coverage.

***

Raikou @ Choice Specs
Ability - Pressure
Nature - Timid
EV's - 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
- Volt Switch
- Ghost Ball
I did go with Choice Specs to hit even harder, took HP Ice so I can stay in against ground types like Garchomp, Landorus etc. Went for Ghost Ball to hit Ghost types hard for Mega Gallade.

***

Espeon @ Light Clay
Ability - Magic Bounce
Nature - Timid
EV's - 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Baton Pass
- Psychic

***

Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability - Pixilate
Nature - Bold
EV's - 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SpD
- Hyper Voice
- Wish
- Toxic
- Heal Bell
Sylveon is my special wall and Hyper Voice is preferred cause of substitutes popularity. I took Toxic over Protect to prevent pokémon from setting up. Wish support was needed to keep Gallade and Feraligator healthy and Heal Bell is a must because Will-O-Wisp is popular and I don't want to cripple my Gallade.

Source: Smogon
It is important to note that Clefable is typically a better choice than Sylveon. It has better abilities, higher physical bulk, similar support options, and greater versatility between Stealth Rock, coverage options, Thunder Wave, and sweeping capability with Calm Mind. Sylveon should only be chosen when the special bulk is an absolute necessity.

With 36 SpD EV's and Bold nature Sylveon got the same SpD (305) as a Calm 252 SpD Clefable (306). With 220 Def EV's and Bold nature Sylveon (243) will have more bulk than Calm 4 Def Clefable (183). They both pass the same Wish (394). I need a Special Wall and Sylveon fits that role more than Clefable.

Also thanks to Reflect and Light Screen Sylveon is extremly hard to kill.

252+ Atk Bisharp Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 135-160 (34.2 - 40.6%) -- 53.5% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 183-216 (67.2 - 79.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 132-156 (33.5 - 39.5%) -- 17.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

0 Atk Ferrothorn Gyro Ball (97 BP) vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 97-115 (24.6 - 29.1%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Heatran Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 36 SpD Sylveon through Light Screen: 102-121 (25.8 - 30.7%) -- 4.3% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Jirachi Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 106-126 (26.9 - 31.9%) -- 40.2% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ SpA Choice Specs Magnezone Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 36 SpD Sylveon through Light Screen: 168-198 (42.6 - 50.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Metagross Meteor Mash vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 207-244 (52.5 - 61.9%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
A 2HKO by the beast of OU

252+ Atk Technician Mega Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Sylveon through Reflect: 117-138 (29.6 - 35%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery



***

Landorus @ Leftovers
Ability - Intimidate
Nature - Impish
EV's - 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-Turn
- Knock Off
The reason I choose Landorus is because he works well with Raikou, has Knock Off so I can run Leaf Blade on Gallade and Intimidate is nice for my pokémon who are not that strong on the defensive side or forces switches. And Landorus has U-Turn that is key to my VoltTurnPass core.

Knock Off's utility of removing items outweighs Leaf Blade's power, unless you're afraid of Mega Slowbro, which Raikou can already check nicely. Knock Off also makes Mega Gallade not walled by the Latis; its current set is hard-walled by them. Mega Gallade also Speed-ties with the Latis, so it's better to risk the Speed tie against them to hit them hard with Knock Off rather than being forced out by them. And what if Landorus goes down? Who will be around to Knock Off items when that happens?

Keep Crunch on Feraligatr; using Earthquake means you take damage from Life Orb. All of Feraligatr's current moves benefit from Sheer Force; this means you won't take Life Orb recoil from using any of them.

 

[rob_thijs]

Knock Off's utility of removing items outweighs Leaf Blade's power, unless you're afraid of Mega Slowbro, which Raikou can already check nicely. Knock Off also makes Mega Gallade not walled by the Latis; its current set is hard-walled by them. Mega Gallade also Speed-ties with the Latis, so it's better to risk the Speed tie against them to hit them hard with Knock Off rather than being forced out by them. And what if Landorus goes down? Who will be around to Knock Off items when that happens?

Keep Crunch on Feraligatr; using Earthquake means you take damage from Life Orb. All of Feraligatr's current moves benefit from Sheer Force; this means you won't take Life Orb recoil from using any of them.

Sheer Force is Amazing 33% increase + Life Orb increase and no recoil damage.

OK, I finally understand the importance of Knock Off. Now I don't have any Grass or Fire type moves, I think I need one of those types on my team. Any advice without switching pokémon?

 

[KorpiklaaniVodka]

Keep Crunch on Feraligatr; using Earthquake means you take damage from Life Orb. All of Feraligatr's current moves benefit from Sheer Force; this means you won't take Life Orb recoil from using any of them.

Earthquake can deal with some threats considering +1 Waterfall won't always get the job done (MManectric, Tentacruel, Crawdaunt and Keldeo). The only notable thing that Crunch hits is Cresselia.

As for the team itself, you really need to use Knock Off over Leaf Blade on your Gallade - Knock Off is what makes Gallade one of the best stallbreakers in the game. It deals with a lot of stuff that would cockblock it otherwise. The move is called Shadow Ball, and I would rather use Life Orb over Choice Specs if I really wanted power over bulk (aka not wanting to use an assault vest.) Espeon is really outclassed in this meta, you're better off using Cresselia or Azelf as a dual screen user, since I don't think Magic Bounce is enough to save it. And as for Sylveon... if there's any reason to use it, it's the choice specs set. Lando-T really needs Stone Edge over Knock Off, the coverage is just too good to pass up.

So:
Earthquake > Crunch on Fera
Knock Off > Leaf Blade on Gallade
Life Orb > Choice Specs on Raikou (if you really don't want to use Assault Vest)
Azelf/Cresselia > Espeon
Kinda doubt the presence of Sylveon and would rather use something such as Clefable
Stone Edge > Knock Off on Lando-T

 

[PlatinumDude]

Earthquake can deal with some threats considering +1 Waterfall won't always get the job done (MManectric, Tentacruel, Crawdaunt and Keldeo). The only notable thing that Crunch hits is Cresselia.

As for the team itself, you really need to use Knock Off over Leaf Blade on your Gallade - Knock Off is what makes Gallade one of the best stallbreakers in the game. It deals with a lot of stuff that would cockblock it otherwise. The move is called Shadow Ball, and I would rather use Life Orb over Choice Specs if I really wanted power over bulk (aka not wanting to use an assault vest.) Espeon is really outclassed in this meta, you're better off using Cresselia or Azelf as a dual screen user, since I don't think Magic Bounce is enough to save it. And as for Sylveon... if there's any reason to use it, it's the choice specs set. Lando-T really needs Stone Edge over Knock Off, the coverage is just too good to pass up.

So:
Earthquake > Crunch on Fera
Knock Off > Leaf Blade on Gallade
Life Orb > Choice Specs on Raikou (if you really don't want to use Assault Vest)
Azelf/Cresselia > Espeon
Kinda doubt the presence of Sylveon and would rather use something such as Clefable
Stone Edge > Knock Off on Lando-T

Crunch also hits Mega Metagross a bit harder than Earthquake would. Sometimes taking recoil damage when you use Earthquake isn't ideal, as it isn't boosted by Sheer Force. It also hits (Mega) Slowbro for a solid amount of damage, especially when Feraligatr has boosted up.

 

[KorpiklaaniVodka]

Crunch also hits Mega Metagross a bit harder than Earthquake would. Sometimes taking recoil damage when you use Earthquake isn't ideal, as it isn't boosted by Sheer Force. It also hits (Mega) Slowbro for a solid amount of damage, especially when Feraligatr has boosted up.

But considering his Raikou can already deal with Slowbro, while not even +3 Crunch can OHKO regular Slowbro (and +6 cannot always OHKO MegaBro)... and both Crunch and EQ can 2HKO MMeta while neither have a small chance to kill it after rocks, i don't think Crunch is worth it. I guess you're right about the recoil part since bulk has always been one of Feraligatr's pros (85/100/83 is pretty good).

 

[rob_thijs]

Earthquake can deal with some threats considering +1 Waterfall won't always get the job done (MManectric, Tentacruel, Crawdaunt and Keldeo). The only notable thing that Crunch hits is Cresselia.

As for the team itself, you really need to use Knock Off over Leaf Blade on your Gallade - Knock Off is what makes Gallade one of the best stallbreakers in the game. It deals with a lot of stuff that would cockblock it otherwise. The move is called Shadow Ball, and I would rather use Life Orb over Choice Specs if I really wanted power over bulk (aka not wanting to use an assault vest.) Espeon is really outclassed in this meta, you're better off using Cresselia or Azelf as a dual screen user, since I don't think Magic Bounce is enough to save it. And as for Sylveon... if there's any reason to use it, it's the choice specs set. Lando-T really needs Stone Edge over Knock Off, the coverage is just too good to pass up.

So:
Earthquake > Crunch on Fera
Knock Off > Leaf Blade on Gallade
Life Orb > Choice Specs on Raikou (if you really don't want to use Assault Vest)
Azelf/Cresselia > Espeon
Kinda doubt the presence of Sylveon and would rather use something such as Clefable
Stone Edge > Knock Off on Lando-T

As for Crunch, I keep that on Feraligator, as taking recoil damage is not always ideal.
I already agreed that Knock-Off would be better on Galade.
Assault Vest is something that I will consider, I will however not replace Specs with Life Orb.
I keep Espeon -.- He is going to set screens and baton pass out anyway, unless I know I outspeed and can OHKO something with Psychic, what is rare.
As I did state before I need something that can sponge special hits and Sylveon does that job more than Clefable.
Replaced Knock Off with Stone Edge.