Hi everyone, Iridiscent here. Exams have kept me off Showdown! and Smogon in general for more than a month now, and it's taken me most of the past few days to assess all the titanic shifts in the metagame. To cut a long story short, I loosely based a team off the defining dragon (as always is the case with my Ubers teams) which today happens to be Mega Salamence. I was quite honestly surprised by the extent to which it carried me; I made it to ~1650 (no. 22) before I had to log off (and foolishly did not think to take a screenshot of the ladder). Since then I have fluctuated anywhere between 1250 and 1550 by a combination of team tests and inactive decay. I do have several issues which seek clarification, so here goes:
NB: My usual disclaimer, which I affix to all my RMTs; I recognize that similar teams
Team-building Process
The central and very obvious teammate. Sally is a fantastic dancer. Enough said.
The other obvious teammate. Primal Groudon is the quintessential Rock Setter: massively bulky, with great offensive prowess and an excellent typing and ability. Being able to take hits from Xerneas and Arceus also helps.
With every Rock Setter comes Hazard Control. There's a good reason why Giratina-O is so generic: It has an enormous HP stat, respectable bulk, impressive power and neutrality to rocks. It's also an almost surefire switch-in to Primal Groudon and helps mitigate many other threats.
Ho-oh is the primary wallbreaker of the team. Naturally, it's heavily reliant on hazard control, but it certainly pulls its weight by shutting down threats like Xerneas and Aegislash among others. It's also the sleep-absorber of the team.
Xerneas is the secondary wallbreaker of the team. If Primal Groudon is removed, it can have a field day spamming Moonblasts, punching massive holes for Sally to exploit. It also acts as a cleric, ridding Sally or Groudon of a status condition in a pinch.
Last and certainly not least is the oddball Klefki. It's important as it check Xerneas, the Latis, Yveltal and a bunch of others, while also spreading paralysis and poison to help out this team. As everything on this team except Sally is pretty average in terms of speed, paralysing a Mewtwo or an opposing Megamence can be immensely helpful.
As both Lemonade. and Steeljackal<3 pointed out, I have no great need for Xerneas as I have Ho-Oh for wallbreaking as well as an absorber for every kind of major status. I opted for Yveltal instead, the better to check Extremekiller and Mewtwo while also taking a little defensive pressure off Giratina-O.
Switched Yveltal for Dark Arceus after Edgar and others pointed out my lack of a stallbreaker. It works well to shut down Rock Arceus and Lugia, which were a pain.
A few final changes include swapping out Giratina-O for Ghost Arceus and then having to change Dark Arceus for Latios, as suggested initially by Lemonade. . I still switch between this and the earlier version from time to time, both working in much the same way.
The Actual Team
Mega Salamence (F) @ Salamencite
Ability: Aerilate (Intimidate)
Jolly Nature
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Speed
Moves:
-Dragon Dance
-Double-Edge
-Earthquake
-Roost
Sally is hands down the best Dragon Dancer and one of the strongest Megavolutions in the current meta. Sally is the primary win condition in this team; she aims to set up Dragon Dances and steamroll through the opposition with Aerilate-boosted STAB Double-Edge, which isn't too hard given her great bulk and access to Intimidate prior to Megavolution. The choice of Double-Edge over Return is largely for the sake of the additional power, which turns many half-decent checks, such as Support Arceus forms, into downright unsafe switch-ins. Earthquake is used as essential coverage against Dialga, Zekrom, Primal Groudon and certain Arceus forms. Roost is obligatory to prevent Sally from killing herself too early with the recoil from Double-Edge.
The set details are basic. Maximum speed investment with a Jolly nature allow her to outpace Lugia and the Latis, and speed tie with opposing Mega Salamence or Arceus forms. The rest is dumped into attack for maximum damage. After even a single Dragon Dance, the damage dealt by Double edge is so humongous that I personally don't find the need for an Attack-boosting nature. A few quick calculations for convenience:
Ability: Aerilate (Intimidate)
Jolly Nature
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Speed
Moves:
-Dragon Dance
-Double-Edge
-Earthquake
-Roost
Sally is hands down the best Dragon Dancer and one of the strongest Megavolutions in the current meta. Sally is the primary win condition in this team; she aims to set up Dragon Dances and steamroll through the opposition with Aerilate-boosted STAB Double-Edge, which isn't too hard given her great bulk and access to Intimidate prior to Megavolution. The choice of Double-Edge over Return is largely for the sake of the additional power, which turns many half-decent checks, such as Support Arceus forms, into downright unsafe switch-ins. Earthquake is used as essential coverage against Dialga, Zekrom, Primal Groudon and certain Arceus forms. Roost is obligatory to prevent Sally from killing herself too early with the recoil from Double-Edge.
The set details are basic. Maximum speed investment with a Jolly nature allow her to outpace Lugia and the Latis, and speed tie with opposing Mega Salamence or Arceus forms. The rest is dumped into attack for maximum damage. After even a single Dragon Dance, the damage dealt by Double edge is so humongous that I personally don't find the need for an Attack-boosting nature. A few quick calculations for convenience:
- +1 252 Atk Aerilate Salamence-Mega Double-Edge (Flying) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Arceus: 288-340 (64.8 - 76.5%) - Guaranteed 2HKO
- +1 252 Atk Aerilate Salamence-Mega Double-Edge (Flying) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Arceus: 352-415 (92.3 - 108.9%) - Guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock damage
- +1 252 Atk Salamence-Mega Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Groudon-Primal: 200-236 (49.5 - 58.4%) - Guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock Damage
- +1 252 Atk Salamence-Mega Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Groudon-Primal: 236-278 (69 - 81.2%) - Guaranteed 2HKO
- +1 252 Atk Aerilate Salamence-Mega Double-Edge (Flying) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Yveltal: 307-363 (67.4 - 79.7%) - Guaranteed 2HKO (and Foul Play doesn't OHKO at full health)
- +1 252 Atk Aerilate Salamence-Mega Double-Edge (Flying) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Lugia: 247-292 (59.3 - 70.1%) - Guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and deactivated Multiscale
Ability: Desolate Land
Impish Nature
EVs: 248 HP / 56 Def / 164 Sp. Def / 40 Speed
Moves:
-Stealth rock
-Precipice Blades
-Lava Plume
-Roar
Groudon is the usual lead and Rock Setter of the team, and hence has the generic support moveset. Precipice Blades is the main STAB attacking move, and deals hefty damage despite the lack of investment. Lava Plume gets STAB and a boost from the sun, hitting for respectable neutral damage while also demolishing Skarmory and threatening incoming Salamence, Giratina-O or Landorus-T with a nasty burn. The last move is rather flexible, but I've chosen Roar as it helps get rid of Mega Salamence, Arceus or Xerneas if they try to boost, while also racking up hazard damage. Groudon is therefore usually able to act as a reserve check for Xerneas or Arceus, but its purpose is to sponge stray attacks, set up Stealth Rock and more importanly counter Primal Kyogre.
The EVs in HP and Defense grant it very good odds of avoiding the 2HKO from Jolly Life Orb Extreme Killer's Earthquake at full health, while also keeping an odd HP number to minimize hazard damage. 40 EVs in Speed give it a good speedcreep on opposing Primals and other base 90s in general. The rest is dumped into Special Defense to better absorb attacks from Xerneas, support Arceus forms and other special attackers.
Arceus-Ghost @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Speed
Timid Nature
Moves:
-Judgment
-Will-O-Wisp
-Recover
-Defog
Replacing Giratina-O, Ghost Arceus performs much the same role minus Levitate but with access to slightly better bulk, significantly better speed and above all, a means of healing itself. Its job is straightforward: switch in multiple times if needed to clear the field of hazards with Defog for Ho-oh to breathe easy, and also to put an end to Swords Dance Ground Arceus's and Extreme Killer Arceus's shenanigans with a swift Will-O-Wisp. Judgment is the only attacking move, carrying STAB and hitting for respectable neutral damage, especially against Giratina-O, weakened Latios and Latias, and non-Mega Gengar. Additionally, Arceus-Ghost can escape the trap of Mega Gengar with impunity.
While it does miss out on Levitate (or any useful abilty, for that matter) and has to sacrifice an item slot, the biggest pluses in favour of Ghost Arceus over Giratina-O is Recover and greater speed. This makes all the difference when it comes to consistent Defogging and being a much more reliable check to Swords Dance abusers, particulary Ground Arceus and Extreme Killer. As such, the EV spead is optimized to provide Ghost Arceus with as much speed and bulk as possible while keeping an odd HP number.
Giratina-Origin @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Levitate
Rash Nature
EVs: 72 HP / 108 Atk / 152 Def / 176 Sp. Atk
Moves:
-Draco Meteor
-Shadow Sneak
-Will-O-Wisp
-Defog
Due to its neutrality to Stealth Rock and immunity to all other entry hazards courtesy of Levitate, Giratina-O has no trouble acting as Hazard Control for the team. It also has the ability to beat almost every common Taunt user one-on-one, as well as escape the trap of Mega Gengar. Aside from removing Stealth Rock (which itself is crucial for Sally and Ho-oh) Giratina is also this team's switch-in to Extreme Killer Arceus and all forms of Primal Groudon. As such, Draco Meteor is its main move, landing a 2HKO on them, as well as on physically defensive Yveltal (after Stealth Rocks) and a clean OHKO on Darkrai. Shadow Sneak is probably the best tool Giratina-O can employ, 2HKOing Mewtwo and picking off weakened opponents. The combination of Draco Meteor and Shadow Sneak is deceptively powerful with the boost from Griseous Orb, 2HKOing Mega Mewtwo X and offensive Dialga. The last slot is accorded to Will-O-Wisp, the better to cripple the dangerous Swords Dance Ground and Normal Arceus forms and other physical attackers that try to set up on Giratina-O.
The EVs are customized to give Giratina-O as enough bulk to avoid a 2HKO from Jolly Life Orb Extreme killer's Shadow Claw while still packing enough punch to OHKO opposing Giratina-O and 2HKO offensive Groudon with Draco Meteor
Ability: Levitate
Rash Nature
EVs: 72 HP / 108 Atk / 152 Def / 176 Sp. Atk
Moves:
-Draco Meteor
-Shadow Sneak
-Will-O-Wisp
-Defog
Due to its neutrality to Stealth Rock and immunity to all other entry hazards courtesy of Levitate, Giratina-O has no trouble acting as Hazard Control for the team. It also has the ability to beat almost every common Taunt user one-on-one, as well as escape the trap of Mega Gengar. Aside from removing Stealth Rock (which itself is crucial for Sally and Ho-oh) Giratina is also this team's switch-in to Extreme Killer Arceus and all forms of Primal Groudon. As such, Draco Meteor is its main move, landing a 2HKO on them, as well as on physically defensive Yveltal (after Stealth Rocks) and a clean OHKO on Darkrai. Shadow Sneak is probably the best tool Giratina-O can employ, 2HKOing Mewtwo and picking off weakened opponents. The combination of Draco Meteor and Shadow Sneak is deceptively powerful with the boost from Griseous Orb, 2HKOing Mega Mewtwo X and offensive Dialga. The last slot is accorded to Will-O-Wisp, the better to cripple the dangerous Swords Dance Ground and Normal Arceus forms and other physical attackers that try to set up on Giratina-O.
The EVs are customized to give Giratina-O as enough bulk to avoid a 2HKO from Jolly Life Orb Extreme killer's Shadow Claw while still packing enough punch to OHKO opposing Giratina-O and 2HKO offensive Groudon with Draco Meteor
Ability: Regenerator
Adamant Nature
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Atk / 52 Sp. Def / 40 Speed
Moves:
-Brave Bird
-Sacred Fire
-Earthquake
-Sleep Talk
Ho-Oh serves three main purposes on this team: It acts as an insanely powerful wallbreaker, demolishing the opposition with Brave Bird and threatening switch-ins; It checks Xerneas, and last but not least, absorbs sleep for the team. To that extent, it relies heavily on Hazard Control to keep the horrible rocks off its side of the field.
The main move is Brave Bird, which it can spam heedless of recoil since Regenerator allows it to recuperate each time it switches out. Its power is so humongous that almost everything in the game that doesn't resist it is at least 2HKOed by it. Sacred Fire is also very strong, demolishing the steel types that resist Brave Bird, and more importantly dissuading Arceus and other physical attackers from trying to switch in. This is also one of the best checks to Ghost Arceus' shenanigans in my experience, while also dealing with Yveltal pretty well. Earthquake rounds it off by providing good coverage against weakened Primal Groudon and the rare Rock Arceus. Sleep Talk exists purely to give Darkrai the royal finger (talon?) as Ho-Oh can decimate it with any of its attacks whilst taking negligible damage from it, even if it is at +2.
The set aims to give it maximum power along with bulk. 248 HP EVs (for minimising Stealth Rock damage) and 52 Special Defense EVs allow it to tank even a +2 Thunder from Xerneas if Stealth Rock has been cleared. The 40 Speed EVs likewise allow a healthy speed creep on opposing Primals, easing Ho-oh's job of demolition. The rest is dumped into attack for power. Choice Band is a natural choice for Ho-Oh's hit-and-run style of play, while also compounding its damage output despite the lack of full investment in Attack.
Latios @ Soul Dew
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Satk / 4 SpD / 252 Speed
Timid Nature
Moves:
-Draco Meteor
-Psyshock
-Calm Mind
-Roost
With Soul Dew back in his grasp, Latios once again becomes a supremely threatening hit-and-run wallbreaker with the speed and power to nuke half the tier with Draco Meteors, while also acting as a very important secondary check to both Primals. Calm Mind gives it even more formidable power, easily allowing it to defeat many Arceus forms in a Calm Mind war as well as allowing it to OHKO standard offensive Primal kyogre with +1 Psyshock, and setting the stage for a potential sweep as a secondary win condition. Draco Meteor is for those cases when I want some particular opponent (not named Xerneas or Fairy Arceus) to be wiped off the face of the earth. Roost is essential for obvious healing purposes. The set is therefore optimized to provide Latios with as much speed and power as it can muster. Of course, Latios hates status of any kind, but I am not that worried about it, since I have an absorber for every kind of status on board.
The choice of Latios over Latias is a small but important one. While Latias does have better bulk, being able to live the random Stone Edge or weak Judgment better, this is largely necessary only if I desire Healing Wish or Defog or similar support. In any case, the boost granted by Soul Dew propels even Latios's special bulk to very high levels, while his offensive power is significantly ahead of Latias's.
Arceus-Dark @ Dread Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 Speed
Timid Nature
Moves:
-Judgment
-Calm Mind
-Recover
-Refresh
The replacement to Yveltal, Dark ARceus performs a different role: stallbreaking; hadn't realized how much easier it gets when dealing with things like Mewtwo, Ghost Arceus, Lugia, the Giratina formes, and the rare Scizor. As such, Calm Mind boosts Dark Arceus's Special Attack and Special Defense, staging a late-game sweep with Judgment. Recover ensures Dark Arceus stays healthy as it stallbreaks with Refresh and accrues boosts. Refresh also proves very useful in Calm Mind wars with other Arceus using Will-O-Wisp, or with the frequent Toxic being thrown around everywhere.
The set is slightly different from standard. While max HP investment is obvious, and 112 Speed EVS is used to outrun positive-natured base 100s, as well as the rare Garchomp. Instead of investing in special bulk (which should ideally be boosted by Calm Mind anyway), the 144 EVs if put in Defense go a long way in helping Dark Arceus stall out Life Orb-boosted physical attacks such as Extreme Killer Arceus's Extreme Speed as well as Primal-Groudon's Precipice Blades with Recover, and eventually pick them off with Judgment.
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 Speed
Timid Nature
Moves:
-Judgment
-Calm Mind
-Recover
-Refresh
The replacement to Yveltal, Dark ARceus performs a different role: stallbreaking; hadn't realized how much easier it gets when dealing with things like Mewtwo, Ghost Arceus, Lugia, the Giratina formes, and the rare Scizor. As such, Calm Mind boosts Dark Arceus's Special Attack and Special Defense, staging a late-game sweep with Judgment. Recover ensures Dark Arceus stays healthy as it stallbreaks with Refresh and accrues boosts. Refresh also proves very useful in Calm Mind wars with other Arceus using Will-O-Wisp, or with the frequent Toxic being thrown around everywhere.
The set is slightly different from standard. While max HP investment is obvious, and 112 Speed EVS is used to outrun positive-natured base 100s, as well as the rare Garchomp. Instead of investing in special bulk (which should ideally be boosted by Calm Mind anyway), the 144 EVs if put in Defense go a long way in helping Dark Arceus stall out Life Orb-boosted physical attacks such as Extreme Killer Arceus's Extreme Speed as well as Primal-Groudon's Precipice Blades with Recover, and eventually pick them off with Judgment.
Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Careful Nature
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Sp. Def
Moves:
-Play Rough
-Thunder Wave
-Toxic
-Spikes
Klefki may look underwhelming, but it is in fact one of the most important memebrs of this team. Klefki can utilize Spikes to great effect with Prankster and all the switches it forces, stacking multiple layers of the entry hazard quite easily to turn Sally's 2HKOs into OHKOs. Thunder Wave is crucial to check all kinds of Xerneas and anything else that relies on speed to succeed, such as Rayquaza, opposing Salamence, Darkrai or Mewtwo to name a few. Toxic is likewise effective for smacking Lugia, Ho-oh, Groudon and the common support Arceus or Giratina that try to switch in or Defog on Klefki. Play Rough ensures that Klefki doesn't become complete Taunt bait and also allows it to break a substitute of Geomancy Xerneas as well as do some damage to Yveltal, both of which Klefki can check.
The set is simple; 248 HP EVs and maximum Special Defense EVs with a Careful nature help Klefki check Yveltal and Xerneas, deal with weak Judgments from support Arceus forms, as well as keep an odd HP number to minimize hazards damage. The 8 Attack EVs give Play Rough the power to break a Substitute from Geomancy Xerneas, so Klefki can cripple it with Thunder Wave. Leftovers just increases longevity.
Ability: Prankster
Careful Nature
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Sp. Def
Moves:
-Play Rough
-Thunder Wave
-Toxic
-Spikes
Klefki may look underwhelming, but it is in fact one of the most important memebrs of this team. Klefki can utilize Spikes to great effect with Prankster and all the switches it forces, stacking multiple layers of the entry hazard quite easily to turn Sally's 2HKOs into OHKOs. Thunder Wave is crucial to check all kinds of Xerneas and anything else that relies on speed to succeed, such as Rayquaza, opposing Salamence, Darkrai or Mewtwo to name a few. Toxic is likewise effective for smacking Lugia, Ho-oh, Groudon and the common support Arceus or Giratina that try to switch in or Defog on Klefki. Play Rough ensures that Klefki doesn't become complete Taunt bait and also allows it to break a substitute of Geomancy Xerneas as well as do some damage to Yveltal, both of which Klefki can check.
The set is simple; 248 HP EVs and maximum Special Defense EVs with a Careful nature help Klefki check Yveltal and Xerneas, deal with weak Judgments from support Arceus forms, as well as keep an odd HP number to minimize hazards damage. The 8 Attack EVs give Play Rough the power to break a Substitute from Geomancy Xerneas, so Klefki can cripple it with Thunder Wave. Leftovers just increases longevity.
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So that's it, the prototype team that had a surprising success. I have included here a brief list to cover those particularly annoying or troublesome:
So that's it, the prototype team that had a surprising success. I have included here a brief list to cover those particularly annoying or troublesome:
- Stealth Rock: Any team which uses Ho-oh and/or Mega Salamence hates this. I agree that Ghost Arceus exists, but I have to naturally be careful not to lose it before the opponent's rock setter is gone, and that clashes badly with its dual role of checking certain threats. Annoying sash leads like the Deoxys forms are annoying.
- Extreme Killer: This is always dangerous. Given that Ghost Arceus and Groudon already have a lot of defensive pressure put on them, it's not difficult for a clever opponent to wear them down and proceed to sweep with Arceus.
- Primal Kyogre: This isn't such an issue with Primal Groudon and Latios, but it still does hefty damage to both with Ice Beam, making switching in difficult.
- Opposing Ho-oh: Switching in to opposing ho-oh is always fraught with peril; woe betide me if I don't have rocks up.
- Arceus-Ground: The rise of Primal Groudon has made this much more common than it once was. I have no way of knowing whether this thing will Swords Dance, Calm Mind or simply be a support variant, so my current best bet is Ghost Arceus...adding to the poor thing's already enormous defensive pressure.
- Mega Diancie: I just realized I have nothing that can safely switch in to this. Magic Bounce makes Klefki useless, while the standard combination of Diamond Storm, Moonblast and Earth Power ruins everything on this team bar Ghost Arceus, which will not win any Calm Mind wars; I can only hope to have a healthy Sally already at +1, or to have a very healthy Groudon that can live an Earth power, to KO it back with ground moves.
EDIT: Forgot to add an importable, so here it is:
http://pastebin.com/VDbkEd8q
That's it, people. I hope the honourable among you would help me correct my flaws and meet the threats listed above. I await your criticism and suggestions.
Yours always,
Iridiscent
SHOUTOUTS: Enormous thanks to Lemonade., Steeljackal<3, PISTOLERO and Edgar as well as WreckDra and the others of the Ubers room on PS! for helping me catch up on all that I've missed, as well as for ratifying my sets and helping me to test them out. Thanks very much, people!
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