CORONA BLAST!
Hello, I'm locoghoul. If you've read my other RMTs, you should know by now that I like to antimetagame. This means that in a generation filled with whales, hentai spikers and dead dragons I try to play the opposite. Kyogre is #1 in usage so there is no reason to boost its percentage, am I right? On the other hand, building sun teams is a little more challenging because some of the "abusers" (not really abusers imo) are SR weak and we all know how SR dependent is our metagame. I tried to build a balanced sun team and got moderate success with it. The problem I saw was that being a "counter team" (like sun is a rain stall counter, lol) it didn't do well against other offensive sun teams, for example (although they are rare, they do exist FYI).
But with the spike of Deoxys-S in usage I thought "hey, maybe I can prevent SR from being set up, set up my own hazards and then try to keep the hazard advantage by playing aggressively". So that is how I came up with this team. I've played against many, many rain teams (mainly rain stall or even full stall with Kyogre slapped on the team) and others and I'm happy with the results.
I think I could have gotten further up but my internet sucks and I've had many d/c that keeps me from getting above 1400 on the Smogon server.
TEAM BUILDING PROCESS
First of all, if you want sun you need the sun summoner: Groudon.
Then, based on the style of play I wanted I needed some sweepers that would benefit from the sun. As I was reading through January stats, I saw no "1337" players used Reshiram at all. That's a shame (no surprise since most of the "1337" players appear to run stall teams anyways). I hadn't used Resh myself so I decided to give him a try.
Now, no sun team would be complete without Ho-Oh. I've played with him many times and if SR are not up it walls all dragons not named Rayquaza or Zekrom.
I also mentioned I wanted to keep the momentum on my favor, so Deoxys-S was chosen as a lead.
Next, I needed a spin blocker that could also pose a threat. I went with Ghost Arceus because the physical version is somewhat unexpected as most spinblocker Ghostceus are support or specially oriented (CM sets).
Finally, I needed something against Kyogre. From my previous experience, Palkia worked fine, and imo is the best weather dragon being able to rip through most teams without a blob.
TEAM REVIEW
The Alien @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Def / 120 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Taunt
- Magic Coat
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
My usual lead. I've considering changing its nature to Bold so I can avoid getting 2HKO'd by lead Groudon. Magic Coat for opposing Deoxys-S, Taunt for slower leads like Dialga and Groudon. If I can I try to save him just so I can use him later as fodder. If against a scarf Kyogre then I leave him die so that Palkia can come in undamaged. Not much to say really, I sometimes lead with Reshiram against opposing Groudon leads if there is no Kyogre in their team (very rare tbh) or against Giratina-O leads.
The Behemoth @ Leftovers
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Atk / 200 Def / 24 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Roar
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
My physical wall and phazer. Swords Dance allows me to beat other support Groudon instead of playing EQ wars and can serve to kill 0 Spe Kyogres that try to CM on me. It forces Giratina-A and Lugia to phaze immediately as a +2 EQ or SE would hit hard. Also, depending on their pokes I'll try to keep Groudon healthy or use him as weather control. If I see a normal Arceus then I'd be more wary of him, if not I'd rather sacrifice him against other Kyogres if I can get the sun up for the rest of the match.
The One @ Wide Lens
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Spacial Rend
- Thunder
- Hydro Pump
The glitch in the matrix is back. Non scarf Palkia is the best set ever. I realize that 100 Spe makes a great revenge killer with a scarf but imo, the lack of coverage you get by being stuck in a move is not worth it. Palkia gets perfect coverage with Dragon, Fire, Electric and Water attacks. Although most of you are probably laughing right now at Wide Lens, it makes all the difference in practical play. I can't afford to miss a Fire Blast against Ferrothorn, I can't afford to miss a Hydro Pump against Extremekiller Arceus in rain who thinks can set up on me. If you think Lustrous Orb or Life Orb is much better, then I'm not gonna try to convince you not to use them. In my personal experience, this item pays off way more. The way I play Palkia is to punch holes in most defensive cores. 95% of my opponents think I'm choiced. By maiming his Ferrothorn, Giratina-A or Ground Arceus I've already accomplished my job. It also deters opposing Kyogres of spamming water moves as decent players will start using Thunder or Ice Beam for Palkia.
The Legend @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Substitute
The legendary phoenix is a huge asset on my team if I managed to keep SR out of the game. In the sun, it walls Palkia (unless it has Aqua Tail), Giratina-A, Giratina-O (unless it has Outrage), Dialga and Scizor. It is my only Ground immunity so I try not to be obvious when against a Groudon or Garchomp. It is also an excellent check against most CMceus (excluding the rare Rock or Electric), specially Fighting. Lugia can give trouble if sun is not up as it can just Roost off damage from Brave Bird.
The Boss (Arceus-Ghost) @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Force
- ExtremeSpeed
- Brick Break
My spinblocker sets up on most spinners (Scald burns are a pain sometimes) and procedes to sweep a damaged team. Shadow Force can be a liability sometimes but it gives me the guaranteed OHKO against defensive Groudons with hazards up. It also annihilates any Giratina-A and everything that doesn't resist it. Brick Break for coverage against opposing Dialgas, Ferrothorn, Terrakion and Extreme Speed is for scarfers. A +2 ES doesn't really OHKO Mewtwo after SR so I need to be careful when setting up because when I SD with Arceus I wanna make sure is almost gg. Opposing Timid Ghost Arceus are a problem and if I know they have one I'll try to take it out first with Ho-Oh or Reshiram. I can deal with most Extreme killers as I outspeed them and I'm immune to his STAB priority.
The Beast @ Wide Lens
Ability: Turboblaze
EVs: 252 SAtk / 60 SDef / 196 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Blue Flare
- Dragon Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Flame Charge
What a beast! Resh has a good 120 base SpDef already, but SR can cut off HP making him easier to kill. Enough speed to outspeed Timid Mewtwo after a Flame Charge, the rest goes to SpDef. Since he is neutral to Ice and Water, I can set up on opposing Kyogres under the sun. The item choice is so my opponent won't expect the Flame Charge set. Again, Life Orb may help you getting that specific kill and everything but imo, I've only missed Blue Flare once since I've tried this team and I really love that kind of reliability. I usually bring him twice, one to just nuke something (using either Draco Meteor or Blue Flare) and the second time I bring him in, depending on the opposing pokes I go for the Flame Charge as it allows me to sweep if the sun is up. Against other scarfers, I play safe and just use him as a nuker.
TEAM REPLAYS
coming soon
EDIT: Seems like aesoft's replay feature is down for now. If anyone knows of another way to post/watch replays then let me know.
FINAL COMMENTS
Once again I accept constructive criticism, if you have a question regarding my playstyle I'm happy to answer it but I think you can get the idea from the replays. Here is the imported version:
The Alien (Deoxys-S) @ Focus Sash Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Def / 120 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Taunt
- Magic Coat
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
The Behemoth (Groudon) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Atk / 200 Def / 24 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Roar
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
The One (Palkia) @ Wide Lens
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Spacial Rend
- Thunder
- Hydro Pump
The Legend (Ho-Oh) @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Substitute
The Boss (Arceus-Ghost) @ Spooky Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Force
- ExtremeSpeed
- Brick Break
The Beast (Reshiram) @ Wide Lens
Trait: Turboblaze
EVs: 252 SAtk / 60 SDef / 196 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Blue Flare
- Dragon Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Flame Charge
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Def / 120 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Taunt
- Magic Coat
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
The Behemoth (Groudon) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Atk / 200 Def / 24 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Roar
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
The One (Palkia) @ Wide Lens
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Spacial Rend
- Thunder
- Hydro Pump
The Legend (Ho-Oh) @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Substitute
The Boss (Arceus-Ghost) @ Spooky Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Force
- ExtremeSpeed
- Brick Break
The Beast (Reshiram) @ Wide Lens
Trait: Turboblaze
EVs: 252 SAtk / 60 SDef / 196 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Blue Flare
- Dragon Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Flame Charge