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Steven Snype · Aug 3rd, 2012, 3:01:09 AM

Hello, and welcome to the thread of one of my most consistent and dependable Ubers teams during Pre-BW2 Ubers. I’ve been using this team since September 2011, when I made the team with HSA. When I first began playing Ubers, it was Dream World Ubers, so I focused on Regen Ho-Oh + Forretress + Groudon cores, which I absolutely loved in early DW. With Substitute, I found that I needed a bit more damage, preferably residual to put things in KO range. Between weather, status, and hazards, I figured that a combination of status and hazards was ideal. Most teams were offensive, and I noticed with hard hitters, a little bit of residual damage was necessary to put most things into KO range, but I preferred durability over power with the style of team that I wanted to make, so I needed something that could constantly degenerate health over multiple turns. Enter status: Poison and Burn. I had a motive, now I needed a means.

Teambuilding Process

The simplest way to Poison would be Toxic Spikes, and since Rain Stall was quite good in OU at the time, I figured why not Tentacruel? I could use it to take Draco Meteors, act as my spinner, and be a general bitch like it always is. (Note: I wasn’t too into Ubers at this time as this was my team to get me used to Standard Ubers after a hiatus from DW Ubers, so I apologize if my backstories for each of these things seem nooby.)

Naturally, Tentacruel can’t heal itself very well unless it’s got Rain for its Rain Dish. Kyogre was a nice touch and a great Pokemon to clean up the enemy when its weakened. I also need a good weather changer to turn the tides against Sun teams (Sand wasn’t quite popular back then yet), preferably one that damages their weather inducer before it damages mine.

With a cleaner like this, I figured that I needed to give a bit more hell and needed something specially bulky. I opted for Ferrothorn here because I need hazards, and between Ferrothorn and Forretress, that Grass type was extremely important. Plus, it synergized well with the rain to weaken a Fire weakness.

With hazards, I figured that they would be spun away easily. I didn’t want a Ghost that couldn’t give an offensive presence (so that threw out Giratina). This one took a little while for me to figure out before settling on Gira-O, after watching Jibaku use it against someone (I think tito?) in a game. Dragon Tail Gira-O was perfect as it forced switches and gave some damage. Sneak was particularly important because Mewtwo could easily smash me. With a turn of LO and some help from further residual damage, it wouldn’t be too hard to kill. Draco Meteor was obligatory STAB. HP Fire and EQ didn’t really interest me much as opposing Ferrothorns would be a bitch to me. I figured WoW would be more useful to continue the degeneration that I needed.

Unfortunately, Ferrothorn didn’t cover all the hazards. Leech Seed is a must on something that I need to take Special hits, especially ones from Specs Kyogre. Spikes users are harder to come by, so I needed a Stealth Rock user. Dialga as a “second Steel” was useful for me as it meant one less mon for me to be afraid of Toxic, a great phazer, and under Rain, I could have it phase away Ho-Oh.

Five down, one left. Ferrothorn, Giratina-O, Kyogre, Dialga, Tentacruel. This team would EASILY be swept by a SD Arceus with Brick Break and Shadow Claw. Being paranoid about that and to another extent, Rayquaza, I needed a fast yet bulky WoWer. Both’s priority moves were Extremespeed, so I preferred something immune to it, and something who I could guarantee would force Arceus to not XSpeed (if necessary stalling it out of XSpeeds by switching) This left me with two options: Gengar (lol) and Arceus-Ghost. Needless to say who filled in the last spot.

This is the current team today, with one minor modification that drastically affects what I need to watch out for.

Giratina-O @

***** Shawn Spencer
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 Atk / 232 SAtk / 28 Spd
Naughty Nature (+Atk, -SDef)
- Will-O-Wisp
- Dragon Tail
- Shadow Sneak
- Draco Meteor

I’ve loved this set since I first saw Jibaku use it. Will-O-Wisp is for degeneration purposes. The only Pokemon that I actually use WoW against for the Attack drop are SD Arceus and Groudon, though I normally Draco Meteor the latter. Otherwise, I use WoW on anything that can’t be poisoned, namely Ferrothorn, Forretress, and Tentacruel. Dragon Tail is incredibly important as it deals a great chunk of damage to opposing Tentacruel, and the phazing it provides is important to force around switches and rack up hazards damage. Shadow Sneak makes Gira-O my foremost check to Mewtwo. After a couple of turns of Poison/LO residual damage, Sneak is able to put Mewtwo out of commission. Its natural bulk allows me to take on weaker hits such as Ferrothorn’s Power Whips and Forry's Gyro Balls and resisted hits such as Kyogre's Thunder, Dialga's Fire Blast. Draco Meteor is my STAB move of choice as I want the most damage to be done to general bulky Pokemon, such as Groudon and Dialga. The Speed EVs are there to Speed creep other bulky Base 90 Pokemon and hit them before they hit me. Naughty Nature is used to minimize the # of terms I need to wait before I can kill Mewtwo. Draco Meteor won’t mind missing a few Special Attack points, so I put it into Speed to ensure that I get the kill on other base 90s before they get the leap on me.

Shawn Spencer… the most volatile of my men is arguably the most unpredictable Pokemon. Many people get the general idea that he’s a Psychic and will generally have a Dragon Tail and a Shadow Sneak in there, but most of the time, nobody knows what else this boy’s gonna have. Is it gonna be Hidden Power Fire? Draco Meteor? Outrage? Earthquake? Spencer’s versatility has helped him stay out of trouble and catching criminals, and his unpredictability has definitely earned him the spot as Giratina-O.

Tentacruel (M) @

***** Barney Stinson
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 248 HP / 236 SDef / 24 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Beam
- Scald

Tentacruel itself is important for the role of primary/backup Special Attack sponger. That Base 120 Special Defense and Rain Dish doesn't force it to be a suicide hazard layer. While the lack of Protect seems rather counter-intuitive, I don't consider Tentacruel to be that important offensively to maintain kills against other Pokemon. Toxic Spikes and Rapid Spin are the main reason I use Tentacruel, and the aforementioned Special Defense is the reason why I do not run Forretress instead.

Scald is mostly there as a STAB attack and another effect to burn Pokemon, particularly Ferrothorn who usually has no qualms setting up on almost everything else my team has. Once it's burned though, it becomes a lot easier to handle (and fortunately, Tentacruel's not my only burner, else this would make for a shitty strategy.) Still though, the chance burns are usually useful as I mostly manage to get one layer of Toxic Spikes up anyway and it's not until mid-late-game that I get up a second layer of hazards given how common opposing spinners and Tentacruel are. Most would wonder why there is no Protect. It used to be on this team until after I played a Rayquaza and realized how threatening DD versions could be. Ice Beam does 70%+ to most DD/SD Rayquaza. Then, LO variants will put themselves in KO range of Giratina's Sneak.

Tentacruel's role though is solely to set up Toxic Spikes and spin hazards away as necessary. Against more offensive teams, Tentacruel becomes Specially defensive absorber. Against teams with Darkrai, Tentacruel becomes dedicated Sleep bitch and sometimes isn't able to do much :( The price of using two Ghosts, but oh well.

Edits: 232 HP / 252 SDef / 24 Spe spread changed to 248 HP / 236 SDef / 24 Spd due to a tip from LizardMan for a more efficient EV Spread.

Barney, Barney, Barney… usually the most useless person ever. However, there is one important thing to remember about this man: he is deceptive with the ladies. Sure, he won’t mind lying a bit, here and there and then reveal some surprises. Likewise, with Tentacruel’s deception, its Toxic Spikes are absolutely useful, and that shocking Ice Beam for Rayquaza is also helpful. Come to think of it, every once in a while Tentacruel always gets some… burns with Scald too!

Ferrothorn (M) @

***** Adrian Monk
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Thunder Wave

Ferrothorn is my initial switch-in to Kyogre after it comes in on Dialga. It takes all of Ogre's attacks relatively easily and has amazing synergy with Tentacruel and Giratina-O. Leech Seed lets it recover most of the damage it has taken, and in the rain, Ferro can live one Fire Blast from support Dialga. Ferrothorn's main role is to Spike and Seed on anything that wants to try to set up on it. Power Whip is what I personally prefer for STAB to beat down bothersome Waters, particularly Tentacruel, Kyogre, and Palkia. If I am unable to get Toxic Spikes up because certain threats haven't been leaving (usually Mewtwo or +1 Rayquaza locked into Outrage), I have Thunder Wave to neuter them so that more members of my team can attempt to revenge kill.

Ahh Monk… generally the bitchiest of the lot I have and gets extremely irritated when things don’t quite go his way, like taking random Fire Blasts. Sometimes, his OCD tends to annoy people, particularly Arceus aiming to Brick Break this boy and Leech Seeding anything that generally wants to try to take advantage of it. Monk is usually paralyzed with his tendencies, which is fine facing opposing Ferrothorns. However, given time, Monk can always crack down the tougher cases to beat, such as opposing Lugia and CM Ogre.

Kyogre @

***** Michael Scott
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 52 HP / 252 SAtk / 204 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Water Spout
- Surf
- Thunder
- Ice Beam

Kyogre's main role is Drizzle. That's all. Without Drizzle, I'd actually have to worry about Fire Blast non-Rayquaza dragons, Tentacruel not getting enough HP, Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire being a bona fide bitch. Speaking of Ho-Oh, that's quite a bitch to this team; I need something to handle it. I'm not talking about Brave Bird because with Stealth Rock and two Ghosts, I prefer that residual damage. Once that thing lacks a Sub, Scarf Ogre outspeeds and KOs it. Scarf Ogre also outspeeds and KOes other things and it is a great revenge killer for stuff like CM Arceus (only if I get this thing in quickly), Giratina-O, Mewtwo, and Darkrai. Water Spout is the early-game spam move (sometimes this becomes Ice Beam to hit certain Dragons like Rayquaza on the switch). Ice Beam is for all the Dragons looking to come in hoping to take a resisted hit. Thunder is for opposing Ogres and Tentacruels. Once hazards and other damage has taken its toll, Surf becomes the STAB move of choice to clean up.

Known for being at the #1 position in Ubers, Kyogre’s developed an ego about itself, just like Michael Scott. Yes, he handles my Mewtwo problems, forces Arceus to ExtremeSpeed, and is just sometimes useful, but with something like #1, you’d think Michael would have a bigger role when he actively tries. Truth is, he doesn’t do that much when he actively tries. On his own, he can't OHKO stuff; that's why he must synergize with the rest of the team to weaken the enemies such that one Pokemon can sweep everything in the endgame. Usually, it's this guy.

Dialga @

***** The Doctor
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 32 SAtk / 200 SDef / 24 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Draco Meteor
- Aura Sphere
- Roar

In my opinion, Dialga is one of the most versatile Pokemon in the tier. In this team, its access to SR and key resistances, particularly to Water, Electric, and Dark make it the reason I want this thing on my team. Usually, Dialga is my preferred lead as it sets up Stealth Rock quickly and can Draco Meteor most of the metagame for good damage. Dialga used to have Fire Blast, but I found Aura Sphere more useful as it 2HKOes most opposing Dialga and doesn't conflict with rain very much, plus I don't mind a consistent 30% damage to Ferrothorn. It also makes a good answer to Tyranitar leads as it outspeeds all max Speed neutral nature Tyranitar and 2HKOes with Aura Sphere before they can kill me with Low Kick. I generally won't mind a Dialga in its 40-50% HP because Leftovers and Ferrothorn's Leech Seed will usually let it live a couple more attacks. Roar is there to phaze away Substitutes, particularly those that belong to Ho-Oh, who in Sun otherwise poses to be a dangerous threat to this team. I rely on Stealth Rock, Rain, and phazing to keep it in check.

It’s only fitting the time traveler is the Pokemon of Time… thingy. When people are lost, they generally look to The Doctor as a figure to fall back upon and the answer to any unknown threat; similarly Dialga is the Pokemon I go to for general purposes and does a smashing good job of helping me learn whatever something is running.

Arceus-Ghost @

***** Jack Donaghy
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Will-O-Wisp / Calm Mind
- Judgment
- Recover
- Focus Blast
Heh, the one mon that people claim to be the most broken was the filler of this team. Quite interesting that it’s worked out like this. WoW was necessary to stop Rayquazas, opposing SD Arceus, and Double Dance Groudon. Judgment is there for obligatory STAB, hitting Lugia, Mewtwo, opposing Arceus-Ghosts, and Giratinas for SE damage. Focus Blast seems odd given that I could use Fire Blast/ Flamethrower to kill Steels, but I need a backup move to hit opposing Dialga if my Dialga goes down too early.

Unfortunately, a big problem for this team was opposing CM Arceus, particularly Arceus-Steel. If it was last mon, then I couldn’t do anything. To minimize the changes, I sometimes run CM over WoW. Unfortunately, this means that I won’t be able to check hard-hitting physical attackers as well as I would like to, but this does mean that Arceus can be a bigger offensive threat.

Arceus-G is the BOSS of this entire team. The most recent addition of the 30 Rock crew is how NBC has managed to stay alive. Similarly, when desperate situations arise, Arceus can handle the job, no matter how daunting it is. The ability to mentor the team serves as with one simple change, I was able to cover the threats that once harassed this team.

Threat List!

Shoutouts!

One last look at the team!