Ubers Greninja

[PISTOLERO]

Greninja

turns out i am viable
PISTOLERO sucks

QC: Fireburn, Shrang, Edgar
GP: FrenzyPlant, GatoDelFuego

Overview
########

Greninja is an interesting case in the Ubers tier. While its ability and movepool might suggest offensive sets with Life Orb, Greninja is much better suited as a capable lead that can set up both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, with the latter in particular working particularly effectively against offensive and defensive teams alike. Greninja's base 122 Speed allows it to Taunt opposing Defog Arceus as well as other entry hazard removers. Lastly, Shadow Sneak gives Greninja a method of spinblocking on its own, as Protean and the priority of Shadow Sneak mean that Greninja can transform into a Ghost-type before the opponent can spin. Shadow Sneak is also useful to anti-lead Deoxys-A and to a lesser extent Deoxys-S. These traits allow Greninja to differentiate itself from another popular and effective dual Spikes lead, Scolipede.

Spikes, Spikes and more Spikes
########
name: Spikes
move 1: Toxic Spikes
move 2: Spikes
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Shadow Sneak
ability: Protean
item: Focus Sash
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly

Moves
========

Spikes and Toxic Spikes are fantastic entry hazards and are hard to come by in Ubers, with Greninja being one of only two Pokemon able to viably use both. Taunt allows Greninja to prevent Defog from support Arceus. Shadow Sneak allows Greninja to temporarily spinblock and lets Greninja anti-lead Deoxys-A. You can also use Night Slash alongside Shadow Sneak to limit Deoxys-S to one layer of hazards and also deal more damage than Shadow Sneak does. An interesting thing that Greninja can do is deal with slower Stalltwo (running 176 Speed EVs and a Timid nature), as it can outrun, Taunt, and deal heavy damage with Night Slash, being immune to Psystrike thanks to Protean.

Set Details
========

Max Speed and Attack investment allows Greninja to outspeed Arceus and deal as much damage as possible with its attack(s), with HP investment being useless. Max Attack investment allows Greninja to 2HKO 252 HP Deoxys-S with Night Slash + Shadow Sneak, as well as have a chance to 2HKO 0 HP Deoxys-S with Shadow Sneak. 4 Defense EVs allow Greninja to take priority hits slightly better. Focus Sash allows Greninja to survive any hit, allowing it to set up more entry hazards.

Usage Tips
========

You should usually lead with Greninja so that it has the chance to set up as many entry hazards as possible, as well as potentially anti-leading the opponent. If running Night Slash + Shadow Sneak, you can limit any variant of Deoxys-S to one layer, with Deoxys-A falling to two Shadow Sneaks. Taunt Defog Arceus that lead or come in to try and Defog Greninja's hazards away. Any Rapid Spinners that try to lead against Greninja can have their Rapid Spin blocked by Shadow Sneak.

Against Tyranitar leads that try to anti-lead Greninja and break its Sash with sand, you should set up Spikes first as Protean will change Greninja's type to Ground, which lets it avoid taking sand damage. Taunting slower Stealth Rock leads such as Dialga or Groudon so that they do not get it up on your side is also highly beneficial to your team, but you should watch out for U-turn Landorus-T, as it may try to break Greninja's Sash for free.

Analyzing your opponent's team to determine which kind of Spikes will be more beneficial is important. Spikes help to wear down bulky Steel-types such as Ferrothorn, Dialga, and Aegislash, while also dealing 12.5% damage to all other grounded Pokemon. Toxic Spikes can be very beneficial against opposing Geomancy Xerneas, Palkia, Darkrai, and Arceus, Pokemon that tend to come in for more than one turn, as well as doing consistent damage to walls such as Arceus-Water and Arceus-Grass, potentially pushing them into 2HKO range for your teammates. Against teams with multiple Pokemon that are immune to Toxic Spikes, it is better to set up Spikes as they will have more of an effect. Something to watch out for is Arceus-Poison, as it can absorb your Toxic Spikes for free—it is smart to look carefully at Team Preview and evaluate what the opponent's Arceus forme could be for this reason. Lastly, two layers of Toxic Spikes can ruin Calm Mind Arceus formes and other grounded Pokemon that try to set up without you having to Toxic them manually, but bear in mind that bad poison only starts to outdo the damage from regular poison on the 4th turn that the opponent is out.

Team Options
========

Dialga sets up Stealth Rock and smashes Giratina-O with Draco Meteor, preventing it from Defogging, as its Shadow Sneak can cause Greninja problems. Things that appreciate Toxic Spikes and Spikes wearing down their checks and counters work nicely too. For example, Choice Specs Kyogre likes it when Arceus-Grass has to come in on Spikes and get poisoned, as with all the residual damage Water Spout can OHKO, and an advantage is that such a powerful Pokemon forces the opponent to choose between Defogging but getting OHKOed, and attacking. Choice Scarf Kyogre works fairly nicely too.

Other Taunt users such as Mewtwo and Darkrai prevent your entry hazards being removed. Yveltal cannot prevent Defog with Taunt as it is outsped by Defog Arceus, but it does have the benefit of being able to trample Giratina-O, dealing considerable damage with Dark Pulse, which is further enhanced by the Poison damage. U-turn Yveltal can also U-turn off of Deoxys-S into Greninja. Lastly, Yveltal appreciates the poison damage, which limits things that try to avoid Sucker Punch. Darkrai works better if you run Spikes only on Greninja, as the poison does not interfere with Dark Void, which can be a huge boon to offensive teams, but Darkrai is still more than usable alongside Toxic Spikes, and can also beat up on Giratina-O.

A Giratina-O of your own works nicely for a secondary spinblocker and walls the most prominent Rapid Spin user, Excadrill, and it wear down teams by dragging them through entry hazards with Dragon Tail. Icy Wind Gengar helps anti-lead Deoxys-S if you want to run both types of Spikes on Greninja, and also traps things for your offensive teammates. Gengar also appreciates the ability to Mega Evolve early vs opposing Deoxys-S offense teams too, which is very nice for checking Extreme Killer Arceus in particular (watch out for Psycho Boost from Deoxys, however). Other means of offensive pressure such as Extreme Killer Arceus and Geomancy Xerneas are appreciated as it prevents the opponent from Defogging or spinning (if they do, you get to set up for free).

Lastly, a Choice Scarf user to deal with lead Darkrai is appreciated, as it can easily put Greninja to sleep and break Greninja's Focus Sash with Bad Dreams. U-turn Genesect forces Darkrai out, as well as being able to U-turn off of Deoxys-S into Greninja, limiting it to one layer even if you are not running Night Slash. Other Choice Scarf users such as Zekrom and Xerneas can also deal with Darkrai and, in the latter's case, can catch it by surprise. However, it is advised to watch what you lock your Choice Scarf users into during the game, as you do not want to give free turns to the opponent so that they can Defog. Genesect works better in this aspect as it is hard to pin down thanks to U-turn (unlike Zekrom, for example, which can have Giratina-O or Arceus-Grass switch into Bolt Strike and get a chance to Defog).

Other Options
########

Haze can be used so that if your Focus Sash is intact mid- or late-game and something like Geomancy Xerneas sets up, Greninja can get rid of any boosts in an emergency. Hidden Power Fire lets Greninja dispose of Scizor, which can carry Defog. Ice Beam deals heavy damage to Giratina-O that try to Defog on Greninja. Protect blocks Kangaskhan's Fake Out, scouts Choice Scarf users, and gives Greninja an immunity to Giratina-O's Shadow Sneak, as well as preventing Defog and Rapid Spin that turn. Extrasensory lets Greninja win against Rapid Spin Tentacruel and, alongside Shadow Sneak, means that it can limit Scolipede to one layer of hazards. Rock Slide can be used to mess up Ho-Oh that try to break Greninja's Focus Sash with a Sacred Fire burn. Lastly, offensive sets with Life Orb and three or four attacking moves might seem good at first but are bad in Ubers due to Greninja's low 103 Special Attack, frailty, and susceptibility to priority.

Checks & Counters
########

**Defog Scizor**: Scizor can either 2HKO Greninja with Bullet Punch as it Taunts or Defog as Greninja sets up more layers, then Bullet Punch Greninja for a KO.

**Giratina-O**: Giratina-O can play games with Shadow Sneak and Defog, easily 2HKOing Greninja with Shadow Sneak if it Taunts, while Defogging away your hazards if you try to set more up or switch out. Greninja's Night Slash and Shadow Sneak also do a depressingly low amount of damage to Giratina-O.

**Choice Scarf Users**: Choice Scarf users outspeed Greninja and limit it to one layer of either hazard and chip damage with Shadow Sneak. Genesect can U-turn into a priority user to limit the layers Greninja can set up, with Zekrom being able to do the same with Volt Switch.

**Priority Users**: Priority users easily limit Greninja to one layer of entry hazards.

**Mega Kangaskhan**: Parental Bond allows Mega Kangaskhan to break through Greninja's Focus Sash, and it is immune to Shadow Sneak.

**Ho-Oh**: Any variant of Ho-Oh can bring Greninja down to its Focus Sash with Sacred Fire and beat it if it gets a burn, limiting it to one layer of entry hazards.

 

[Expulso]

I feel like you could go Hydro Pump over Shadow Smeak to actually have offensive presence, as the teams using a Spikes-stacking lead like Greninja should have a spinblocker (Giratina-O, Arceus-Ghost, or Mega Gengar).

Also, Hydro Pump 2HKOs 252/0 Mega Scizor, idk if it does anything else but that's something lol

Finally, you only need 240+ Speed to outpace Timid 252 Speed Arceus; I don't how significant that is or whether the other 12 points would actually do anything (probably not)

edit: you can just ignore all these except like a mention about a spin blocker, see Hack's reply below

 

[Hack]

set is pretty stagnant, hydro pump is a dumb idea: losing out on the ability to anti lead deo-a is too costly- anti leads to deo-a and s are most often not analogous (think giratina-o which anti leads deo-s pretty well but takes considerable damage from deo-a to a point where it can't check that it's supposed to after. icy wind gengar is another example).

in practice, it has been a considerable advantage against the present ttar+exca archetype to have sneak. not only do you get off a solid 30ish % damage vs Exca, but it also forces mindgames in your favour, you have nothing to lose by sneaking a LO Excadrill. I dislike the notion about having to use a spinblocker- Giratina-O is a particularly good partner and Gengar works on any offense. those two are, however, aren't mandatory as with enough offensive pressure and considering the relative scarcity of spinners in the tier, as well as the fact sneak is a self sustaining spinblock in emegencies, you will be fine in most match ups anyway. Ghostceus is a downright horrible partner as it is mostly possible to defog on it (think a defog arceus combined with ho-oh or yveltal which checks ghostceus even if you threaten with cm or even sd in the case of the latter). It also manifests a darkrai weakness which is inherent from ninja's poor match up vs it in the first place. so no, the set doesn't need any slashes and all other options are all really bad, but for the sake of analysis, they will be kept.

2hko vs mega scizor is irrelevant and most Scizor invest much more in sdef too. With a standard spread of 248 hp/244 sdef (sorry for not updating that analysis), Scizor takes a measly 41 % max. Even with no sdef investment, hydro pump has an 8 % chance to 2hko. factor in accuracy and you will end up with probabilities so minimal the niche isn't relevant in any shape.

finally, there is no realistic application in sparing evs on this thing, it's a sash lead and any chip damage it can get off with sneak is at least something. no amount of hp or defense investment will avoid the fact that neutral hits 2hko this thing. i hope i adressed your points properly Expulso, feel free to PM me if you have some questions. As for LustKia, here is some more advice:

mostly team options for now, i will make a post about playing (although it's pretty straightforward).

• to solve the deoxys-s lead match ups there are a couple of ways to go, the first being a strong enough u-turn to bring it into sneak range. LO yveltal can provide this, and genesect can too. it is a pretty imperfect solution as ninjas sash will be taken out, so beware of that. the other way to go is a different anti lead. icy wind gengar works really well- it also gets to mega evolve early vs deo-s offense which is golden. magic coat giratina-o is a personal favourite- it negates any hazard advantage and gives you free rocks most of the time. kanga is an option as well.
• most things that apply pressure on defog users are good partners. you mentioned scarf kyogre, specs works equally as well if not better. ekiller and geoxern prevent defogs by courtesy of being very dead with free turns. if you use icy wind gengar, you can opt to use scarf zekrom as well. LO rp boom lando-t isn't a bad option either i guess.
• you mentioned darkrai. I do think it's viable but you will have to forgo toxic spikes to not conflict with freely sleeping things then.
  
• solving the darkrai match up is best done with scarfers like kyogre, zekrom or genesect. lum berry users like dialga work too. lastly mewtwo formes are faster and OHKO darkrai with the appropriate set. kanga helps somewhat.

ill add more things some other time

 

[shrang]

Maybe slash Dark Pulse with one of the Spikes to anti-lead Deo-S? Shadow Sneak cannot 2HKO bulky Deo-S, and isn't guarantee a 2HKO on 4/0 Deo-S. Some teams may not both need both types of Spikes.

 

[Fireburn]

Maybe slash Dark Pulse with one of the Spikes to anti-lead Deo-S? Shadow Sneak cannot 2HKO bulky Deo-S, and isn't guarantee a 2HKO on 4/0 Deo-S. Some teams may not both need both types of Spikes.

I would use Night Slash instead since you're primarily using Attack investment, but otherwise yeah I'd like to see this happen:

Spikes
move 1: Spikes / Toxic Spikes
move 2: Toxic Spikes / Night Slash
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Shadow Sneak
ability: Protean
item: Focus Sash
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly

Otherwise just make sure you get everything Hack said.

QC 1/3

 

[shrang]

qc 2/3

 

[PISTOLERO]

I would use Night Slash instead since you're primarily using Attack investment, but otherwise yeah I'd like to see this happen:

Spikes
move 1: Spikes / Toxic Spikes
move 2: Toxic Spikes / Night Slash
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Shadow Sneak
ability: Protean
item: Focus Sash
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly

Otherwise just make sure you get everything Hack said.

QC 1/3

qc 2/3

implemented both. Hack i somewhat disagree with Life Orb Yveltal as it is Defog bait in that any Arceus will outspeed and Defog on you, sure you can U-Turn off them into Gengar but then you can just use Gengar to anti-lead Deoxys anyway? Also added Haze into OO, if your sash is preserved and something (read: Xerneas) sets up you can Haze their boosts away which is nice.

 

[Punchshroom]

Spikes
move 1: Spikes / Toxic Spikes
move 2: Toxic Spikes / Night Slash
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Shadow Sneak
ability: Protean
item: Focus Sash
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly

Looking at the way this set is designed, Toxic Spikes is included on both variants. Why not just make Toxic Spikes a staple move? I mean it is one of the main reasons to even use Ninja.

Toxic Spikes(?)
move 1: Toxic Spikes
move 2: Spikes / Night Slash
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Shadow Sneak
ability: Protean
item: Focus Sash
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly

 

[Hack]

implemented both. Hack i somewhat disagree with Life Orb Yveltal as it is Defog bait in that any Arceus will outspeed and Defog on you, sure you can U-Turn off them into Gengar but then you can just use Gengar to anti-lead Deoxys anyway? Also added Haze into OO, if your sash is preserved and something (read: Xerneas) sets up you can Haze their boosts away which is nice.

I wouldn't go as far as to slash night slash. Sure it's an option but you stretch yourself thin. Dual spikes are generally much more threatening to balance and offense alike. Tspikes is good but chances are there exists an absorber or mons that aren't affected. Gengar, Poisonceus, Dialga, Klefki are all common enough to where only being able to set tspikes is way to unflexible. You are better off trying to fix Deo-S anti-leading elsewhere.

LO Yveltal can still work as a partner as it threatens modern defogers like Giratina-O very well. Toxic Spikes+LO Dark Pulse makes killing support Arceus an easy task. Even if they do defog is it worth it? You can always puzzle your build so that people will be very wary of spending a turn defoging. Since Yveltal forces out a quite large number of viable mon, U-turn works excellent in tandem with Tspikes because you can let your opponent switch around to spread the poison. If you manage to poison a number of your opponent's team, it doesn't matter so much that they defog, because they will still be crippled. Yveltal also deploys the use of sucker punch better with tspikes pressure. Mindgames or recover stalling are much harder to pull off when you are still taking residual damage every turn. You don't need to run Yveltal with Gengar either, U-turn Yveltal still has some use in bringing powerful breakers in (like Kyogre).

But yeah I would never consider not going dual spikes on this mon so I would advice unslashing night slash.

 

[PISTOLERO]

Well I wrote this up and looks like Hack and Punchshroom added their thoughts whilst I was doing so, IDK about Night Slash, it works nicely vs 176+ Stalltwo too if that's a big deal or not. shrang Fireburn your thoughts on Night Slash after reading what Hack wrote?

Edit: dropped Night Slash into Set Details and Moves, no slash for it as you can just use Gengar or U-Turn off of Deoxys anyways.

Edit 2: Changed mentions of Yveltal as Hack is right on that score too, although I'd still prefer to be able to outrun and Taunt Arceus.

 

[Edgar]

This is lookin like an ez snackwrap

QC: 3/3

 

[frenzyplant]

1/2 :)

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Overview
########

Greninja is an interesting case in the Ubers tier. Whilst its ability and movepool, as well as its 122 Speed, which allows it to outspeed Arceus, may suggest offensive sets with Life Orb and 3 or 4 attacks, Greninja is much better suited as a capable lead that can set up both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, with the latter in particular working particularly viciously, and effectively, (remove comma) against both offensive and defensive teams alike. Greninja's access to Taunt and its aforementioned base 122 base Speed allows it to Taunt opposing Defog Arceus as well as other hazard removers. Lastly, Shadow Sneak gives Greninja a method of spinblocking on its own, as Protean and the priority of Shadow Sneak means that Greninja can transform into a Ghost-type before the opponent can spin. Shadow Sneak is also useful also allows Greninja to anti-lead Deoxys-Attack and to a lesser extent Deoxys-Speed. (*) These traits allow Greninja to differentiate itself from another popular and effective dual Spikes lead, Scolipede.

Spikes, Spikes and more Spikes
########
name: Spikes
move 1: Toxic Spikes
move 2: Spikes
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Shadow Sneak
ability: Protean
item: Focus Sash
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly

Moves
========

Spikes and Toxic Spikes are fantastic entry hazards and are hard to come by in Ubers, with Greninja being one of only two Pokemon able to viably use both. Taunt allows Greninja to prevent Defog from Support Arceus. Shadow Sneak allows Greninja to temporarily spinblock and lets it anti-leads Deoxys-Attack. You can also use Night Slash alongside Shadow Sneak allows Greninja to limit Deoxys-Speed to one layer of hazards and also deals more damage than Shadow Sneak does.

Set Details
========

Max Speed and Attack investment allows Greninja to outspeed Arceus and deal as much damage as possible with its attacksing move(s), with HP investment being useless. Max Attack investment allows Greninja to 2HKO 252 HP Deoxys-Speed with Night Slash + Shadow Sneak, and as well as have a chance to 2HKO 0 HP Deoxys-Speed with Shadow Sneak. 4 Defense will EVs allow Greninja to take priority hits ever so slightly better. Focus Sash allows Greninja to survive any hit, allowing which will allow it to set up more hazards.

Usage Tips
========

You should usually lead with Greninja so that it it has the chance to set up as many hazards as possible, as well as potentially anti-leading the opponent. If running Night Slash + Shadow Sneak, you can limit any variant of Deoxys-Speed to one layer, with Deoxys-Attack falling to two Shadow Sneaks. Taunting Defog Arceus that lead or come in to try and Defog your Greninja's hazards away works nicely. Any Rapid Spinners that try to lead against you can have their Rapid Spin blocked by Shadow Sneak.

Against Tyranitar leads that try to anti-lead you and break your Greninja's Sash with sand, you should set up Spikes first as Protean will change Greninja's type to Ground, which lets it avoid taking sand damage. Taunting slower Stealth Rock leads such as Dialga or Groudon so that they do not get the hazard up on your side is also highly beneficial to your team, but you should watch out for U-turn Landorus-Therian, (comma) as it may try to break your Greninja's Sash for free.

Depending on the situation, analyzing your opponent's team to determine which kind of Spikes will be more beneficial is important. Spikes help to wear down bulky Steel-types such as Ferrothorn, Dialga, (comma) and Aegislash, whilst also dealing 12% damage to all other grounded Pokemon. Toxic Spikes can be very beneficial against opposing Geomancy Xerneas, Palkia, Darkrai, (comma) and Arceus, Pokemon that tend to come in for more than one turn, as well as doing consistent damage to walls such as Arceus-Water and Arceus-Grass, potentially pushing them into 2HKO range for your teammates. Against teams with multiple Pokemon that are immune to Toxic Spikes, it is better to set up Spikes as they will have more of an effect. Something to watch out for is Arceus-Poison, as it can absorb your Toxic Spikes for free - it is best to look at Team Preview and evaluate what the opponent's Arceus forme could be for this reason. Lastly, two layers of Toxic Spikes can ruin Calm Mind Arceus formes and other grounded Pokemon that try to set up without you having to Toxic them manually, but bear in mind that bad poison only starts to outdo the damage from regular poison on the 4th turn that the opponent is out.

An interesting thing that Greninja can do is deal with slower Stalltwo (running 176+ Speed EVs and a Timid nature), as it can outrun, Taunt, (comma) and deal heavy damage to it with Night Slash, whilst being immune to Psystrike thanks to Protean. (move to *)

Team Options
========

Dialga sets up Stealth Rock and breaks handles Giratina-Origin's face with Draco Meteor, preventing it from Defogging, as its Shadow Sneak can cause Greninja problems (it can cause Greninja problems due to Shadow Sneak). Things that appreciate Toxic Spikes and Spikes chewing apart wearing down their checks and counters work nicely too. For example, Choice Specs Kyogre likes it when Arceus-Grass has to come in on Spikes and get poisoned, (comma) as with all the residual damage, (comma) Water Spout can 2HKO. Choice Scarf Kyogre works fairly nicely too, and an advantage is that such a powerful Pokemon forces the opponent to choose between Defogging and but getting OHKOed, or and attacking.

Other Taunt users such as Mewtwo and Darkrai prevent your hazards being removed. Yveltal cannot prevent Defog with Taunt as it is outsped by Defog Arceus, but it does have the benefit of being able to trample Giratina-Origin, whilst dealing considerable damage with Life Orb Dark Pulse, which is further enhanced by the Poison damage. U-turn Yveltal can also U-turn off of Deoxys-Speed into Greninja. Lastly, Yveltal appreciates the poison damage, which limitsing things that try to avoid Sucker Punch. Darkrai works better if you run Spikes only on Greninja, (comma) as the poison does not interfere with Dark Void, which can be a huge boon to offensive teams, and (period) Darkrai can also beat up on Giratina-Origin.

A Giratina-Origin of your own works nicely for a secondary spinblocker and walls the most prominent Rapid Spin user, Excadrill, and it can chew teams apart stall foes out with hazards damage + phazing, as well as walling the most prominent Rapid Spin user, Excadrill. (remove line breaks) Icy Wind Gengar helps anti-lead Deoxys-S if you want both types of Spikes up, and also traps things for your offensive teammates teammembers. Gengar also appreciates the ability to Mega Evolve early vs against opposing Deoxys-Speed offense teams too, which is very nice for checking Extreme Killer in particular (watch out for Psycho Boost from Deoxys, (comma) however). (remove line breaks) Other means of offensive pressure, (comma) such as Extreme Killer Arceus, Geomancy Xerneas are appreciated as it prevents the opponent from Defogging or spinning (if they do, you get to set up for free).

Lastly, a Choice Scarf user to deal with lead Darkrai is appreciated, (comma) as it can easily put Greninja to sleep and break its Focus Sash. U-turn Genesect works nicely as it forces Darkrai out, as well as being able to and can U-turn off of Deoxys-Speed into Greninja, limiting it to one layer even if you are not running Night Slash. Other Choice Scarf users such as Zekrom and Xerneas can also deal with Darkrai and, in the former's case, can catch it by surprise. However, it is advised to watch what you lock your Choice Scarf users into during the game, (comma) as you do not want to give free turns to the opponent so that they can Defog. Genesect works better in this aspect, (comma) as it is hard to pin down thanks to U-turn (unlike say Zekrom, for example, which can have Giratina-Origin or Arceus-Grass switch into Bolt Strike and get a chance to Defog).

Other Options
########

Haze can be used so that if your Focus Sash is intact mid- or late-game and something like Geomancy Xerneas sets up, so that you Greninja can get rid of its boosts. Hidden Power Fire lets you Greninja dispose of Defog Scizor, which might carry Defog. Ice Beam deals heavy damage to Giratina-Origin that try tries to Defog on you. Protect blocks Kangaskhan's Fake Out, scouts Choice Scarf users, (comma) and gives you Greninja an immunity to Giratina-Origin's Shadow Sneak, as well as preventing Defog and Rapid Spin that turn. Extrasensory lets you win against vs Rapid Spin Tentacruel and, alongside Shadow Sneak, means that you can limit Scolipede to one layer of hazards. Rock Slide can be used to mess up Ho-Oh that try to break your Sash with a Sacred Fire burn. Lastly, offensive sets with Life Orb and three or four attacking moves may seem good at first but are bad in Ubers due to Greninja's low 103 Special Attack, its frailty, (comma) and susceptibility to priority.

Checks & Counters
########

**Defog Scizor**: Scizor is no fun as it can either 2HKO you Greninja with Bullet Punch as you it Taunts or Defog as you set up more layers, then Bullet Punch Greninja you.

**Giratina-Origin**: Giratina-Origin can play games with Shadow Sneak and Defog, easily 2HKOing you Greninja with Shadow Sneak if you it Taunts, whilst Defogging away your hazards if you try to set more up or switch out. Greninja's Night Slash and Shadow Sneak from Greninja also do a depressingly low amount of damage to Giratina-Origin...

**Choice Scarf Users**: They outspeed Greninja and limit you it to one layer of either hazard + and chip damage with Shadow Sneak, which is sad. Genesect can U-turn into a priority user to limit your layers ton one.

**Priority Users**: Priority users easily limit Greninja to one layer.

**Mega Kangaskhan**: Parental Bond allows Mega Kangaskhan to easily breaks through Greninja's Focus Sash easily, and it is immune to Shadow Sneak deals no damage.

**Ho-Oh**: Any Ho-Oh with Attack investment can bring Greninja down to its Focus Sash with Sacred Fire and KO beat it if it gets a burn.

 

[PISTOLERO]

1/2 :)

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Overview
########

Greninja is an interesting case in the Ubers tier. Whilst its ability and movepool, as well as its 122 Speed, which allows it to outspeed Arceus, may suggest offensive sets with Life Orb and 3 or 4 attacks, Greninja is much better suited as a capable lead that can set up both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, with the latter in particular working particularly viciously, and effectively, (remove comma) against both offensive and defensive teams alike. Greninja's access to Taunt and its aforementioned base 122 base Speed allows it to Taunt opposing Defog Arceus as well as other hazard removers. Lastly, Shadow Sneak gives Greninja a method of spinblocking on its own, as Protean and the priority of Shadow Sneak means that Greninja can transform into a Ghost-type before the opponent can spin. Shadow Sneak is also useful also allows Greninja to anti-lead Deoxys-Attack and to a lesser extent Deoxys-Speed. (*) These traits allow Greninja to differentiate itself from another popular and effective dual Spikes lead, Scolipede.

Spikes, Spikes and more Spikes
########
name: Spikes
move 1: Toxic Spikes
move 2: Spikes
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Shadow Sneak
ability: Protean
item: Focus Sash
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly

Moves
========

Spikes and Toxic Spikes are fantastic entry hazards and are hard to come by in Ubers, with Greninja being one of only two Pokemon able to viably use both. Taunt allows Greninja to prevent Defog from Support Arceus. Shadow Sneak allows Greninja to temporarily spinblock and lets it anti-leads Deoxys-Attack. You can also use Night Slash alongside Shadow Sneak allows Greninja to limit Deoxys-Speed to one layer of hazards and also deals more damage than Shadow Sneak does.

Set Details
========

Max Speed and Attack investment allows Greninja to outspeed Arceus and deal as much damage as possible with its attacksing move(s), with HP investment being useless. Max Attack investment allows Greninja to 2HKO 252 HP Deoxys-Speed with Night Slash + Shadow Sneak, and as well as have a chance to 2HKO 0 HP Deoxys-Speed with Shadow Sneak. 4 Defense will EVs allow Greninja to take priority hits ever so slightly better. Focus Sash allows Greninja to survive any hit, allowing which will allow it to set up more hazards.

Usage Tips
========

You should usually lead with Greninja so that it it has the chance to set up as many hazards as possible, as well as potentially anti-leading the opponent. If running Night Slash + Shadow Sneak, you can limit any variant of Deoxys-Speed to one layer, with Deoxys-Attack falling to two Shadow Sneaks. Taunting Defog Arceus that lead or come in to try and Defog your Greninja's hazards away works nicely. Any Rapid Spinners that try to lead against you can have their Rapid Spin blocked by Shadow Sneak.

Against Tyranitar leads that try to anti-lead you and break your Greninja's Sash with sand, you should set up Spikes first as Protean will change Greninja's type to Ground, which lets it avoid taking sand damage. Taunting slower Stealth Rock leads such as Dialga or Groudon so that they do not get the hazard up on your side is also highly beneficial to your team, but you should watch out for U-turn Landorus-Therian, (comma) as it may try to break your Greninja's Sash for free.

Depending on the situation, analyzing your opponent's team to determine which kind of Spikes will be more beneficial is important. Spikes help to wear down bulky Steel-types such as Ferrothorn, Dialga, (comma) and Aegislash, whilst also dealing 12% damage to all other grounded Pokemon. Toxic Spikes can be very beneficial against opposing Geomancy Xerneas, Palkia, Darkrai, (comma) and Arceus, Pokemon that tend to come in for more than one turn, as well as doing consistent damage to walls such as Arceus-Water and Arceus-Grass, potentially pushing them into 2HKO range for your teammates. Against teams with multiple Pokemon that are immune to Toxic Spikes, it is better to set up Spikes as they will have more of an effect. Something to watch out for is Arceus-Poison, as it can absorb your Toxic Spikes for free - it is best to look at Team Preview and evaluate what the opponent's Arceus forme could be for this reason. Lastly, two layers of Toxic Spikes can ruin Calm Mind Arceus formes and other grounded Pokemon that try to set up without you having to Toxic them manually, but bear in mind that bad poison only starts to outdo the damage from regular poison on the 4th turn that the opponent is out.

An interesting thing that Greninja can do is deal with slower Stalltwo (running 176+ Speed EVs and a Timid nature), as it can outrun, Taunt, (comma) and deal heavy damage to it with Night Slash, whilst being immune to Psystrike thanks to Protean. (move to *)

Team Options
========

Dialga sets up Stealth Rock and breaks handles Giratina-Origin's face with Draco Meteor, preventing it from Defogging, as its Shadow Sneak can cause Greninja problems (it can cause Greninja problems due to Shadow Sneak). Things that appreciate Toxic Spikes and Spikes chewing apart wearing down their checks and counters work nicely too. For example, Choice Specs Kyogre likes it when Arceus-Grass has to come in on Spikes and get poisoned, (comma) as with all the residual damage, (comma) Water Spout can 2HKO. Choice Scarf Kyogre works fairly nicely too, and an advantage is that such a powerful Pokemon forces the opponent to choose between Defogging and but getting OHKOed, or and attacking.

Other Taunt users such as Mewtwo and Darkrai prevent your hazards being removed. Yveltal cannot prevent Defog with Taunt as it is outsped by Defog Arceus, but it does have the benefit of being able to trample Giratina-Origin, whilst dealing considerable damage with Life Orb Dark Pulse, which is further enhanced by the Poison damage. U-turn Yveltal can also U-turn off of Deoxys-Speed into Greninja. Lastly, Yveltal appreciates the poison damage, which limitsing things that try to avoid Sucker Punch. Darkrai works better if you run Spikes only on Greninja, (comma) as the poison does not interfere with Dark Void, which can be a huge boon to offensive teams, and (period) Darkrai can also beat up on Giratina-Origin.

A Giratina-Origin of your own works nicely for a secondary spinblocker and walls the most prominent Rapid Spin user, Excadrill, and it can chew teams apart stall foes out with hazards damage + phazing, as well as walling the most prominent Rapid Spin user, Excadrill. (remove line breaks) Icy Wind Gengar helps anti-lead Deoxys-S if you want both types of Spikes up, and also traps things for your offensive teammates teammembers. Gengar also appreciates the ability to Mega Evolve early vs against opposing Deoxys-Speed offense teams too, which is very nice for checking Extreme Killer in particular (watch out for Psycho Boost from Deoxys, (comma) however). (remove line breaks) Other means of offensive pressure, (comma) such as Extreme Killer Arceus, Geomancy Xerneas are appreciated as it prevents the opponent from Defogging or spinning (if they do, you get to set up for free).

Lastly, a Choice Scarf user to deal with lead Darkrai is appreciated, (comma) as it can easily put Greninja to sleep and break its Focus Sash. U-turn Genesect works nicely as it forces Darkrai out, as well as being able to and can U-turn off of Deoxys-Speed into Greninja, limiting it to one layer even if you are not running Night Slash. Other Choice Scarf users such as Zekrom and Xerneas can also deal with Darkrai and, in the former's case, can catch it by surprise. However, it is advised to watch what you lock your Choice Scarf users into during the game, (comma) as you do not want to give free turns to the opponent so that they can Defog. Genesect works better in this aspect, (comma) as it is hard to pin down thanks to U-turn (unlike say Zekrom, for example, which can have Giratina-Origin or Arceus-Grass switch into Bolt Strike and get a chance to Defog).

Other Options
########

Haze can be used so that if your Focus Sash is intact mid- or late-game and something like Geomancy Xerneas sets up, so that you Greninja can get rid of its boosts. Hidden Power Fire lets you Greninja dispose of Defog Scizor, which might carry Defog. Ice Beam deals heavy damage to Giratina-Origin that try tries to Defog on you. Protect blocks Kangaskhan's Fake Out, scouts Choice Scarf users, (comma) and gives you Greninja an immunity to Giratina-Origin's Shadow Sneak, as well as preventing Defog and Rapid Spin that turn. Extrasensory lets you win against vs Rapid Spin Tentacruel and, alongside Shadow Sneak, means that you can limit Scolipede to one layer of hazards. Rock Slide can be used to mess up Ho-Oh that try to break your Sash with a Sacred Fire burn. Lastly, offensive sets with Life Orb and three or four attacking moves may seem good at first but are bad in Ubers due to Greninja's low 103 Special Attack, its frailty, (comma) and susceptibility to priority.

Checks & Counters
########

**Defog Scizor**: Scizor is no fun as it can either 2HKO you Greninja with Bullet Punch as you it Taunts or Defog as you set up more layers, then Bullet Punch Greninja you.

**Giratina-Origin**: Giratina-Origin can play games with Shadow Sneak and Defog, easily 2HKOing you Greninja with Shadow Sneak if you it Taunts, whilst Defogging away your hazards if you try to set more up or switch out. Greninja's Night Slash and Shadow Sneak from Greninja also do a depressingly low amount of damage to Giratina-Origin...

**Choice Scarf Users**: They outspeed Greninja and limit you it to one layer of either hazard + and chip damage with Shadow Sneak, which is sad. Genesect can U-turn into a priority user to limit your layers ton one.

**Priority Users**: Priority users easily limit Greninja to one layer.

**Mega Kangaskhan**: Parental Bond allows Mega Kangaskhan to easily breaks through Greninja's Focus Sash easily, and it is immune to Shadow Sneak deals no damage.

**Ho-Oh**: Any Ho-Oh with Attack investment can bring Greninja down to its Focus Sash with Sacred Fire and KO beat it if it gets a burn.

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Overview
########

Greninja is an interesting case in the Ubers tier. Whilest its ability and movepool may might suggest offensive sets with Life Orb, Greninja is much better suited as a capable lead that can set up both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, with the latter in particular working particularly effectively against offensive and defensive teams alike. Greninja's base 122 Speed allows it to Taunt opposing Defog Arceus as well as other entry hazard removers. Lastly, Shadow Sneak gives Greninja a method of spinblocking on its own, as Protean and the priority of Shadow Sneak mean that Greninja can transform into a Ghost-type before the opponent can spin. Shadow Sneak is also useful to anti-lead Deoxys-A and to a lesser extent Deoxys-S. These traits allow Greninja to differentiate itself from another popular and effective dual Spikes lead, Scolipede.

Spikes, Spikes and more Spikes
########
name: Spikes
move 1: Toxic Spikes
move 2: Spikes
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Shadow Sneak
ability: Protean
item: Focus Sash
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly

Moves
========

Spikes and Toxic Spikes are fantastic entry hazards and are hard to come by in Ubers, with Greninja being one of only two Pokemon able to viably use both. Taunt allows Greninja to prevent Defog from support Arceus. Shadow Sneak allows Greninja to temporarily spinblock and lets it Greninja anti-lead Deoxys-A. You can also use Night Slash alongside Shadow Sneak to limit Deoxys-S to one layer of hazards and also deal more damage than Shadow Sneak does. An interesting thing that Greninja can do is deal with slower Stalltwo (running 176 Speed EVs and a Timid nature), as it can outrun, Taunt, and deal heavy damage to it with Night Slash, whilst while being immune to Psystrike thanks to Protean.

Set Details
========

Max Speed and Attack investment allows Greninja to outspeed Arceus and deal as much damage as possible with its attack(s), with HP investment being useless. Max Attack investment allows Greninja to 2HKO 252 HP Deoxys-S with Night Slash + Shadow Sneak, as well as have a chance to 2HKO 0 HP Deoxys-S with Shadow Sneak. 4 Defense EVs allow Greninja to take priority hits slightly better. Focus Sash allows Greninja to survive any hit, allowing it to set up more entry hazards.

Usage Tips
========

You should usually lead with Greninja so that it has the chance to set up as many entry hazards as possible, as well as potentially anti-leading the opponent. If running Night Slash + Shadow Sneak, you can limit any variant of Deoxys-S to one layer, with Deoxys-A falling to two Shadow Sneaks. Taunt Defog Arceus that lead or come in to try and Defog Greninja's hazards away. Any Rapid Spinners that try to lead against Greninja you can have their Rapid Spin blocked by Shadow Sneak.

Against Tyranitar leads that try to anti-lead Greninja and break its Sash with sand, you should set up Spikes first as Protean will change Greninja's type to Ground, which lets it avoid taking sand damage. Taunting slower Stealth Rock leads such as Dialga or Groudon so that they do not get the hazard it up on your side is also highly beneficial to your team, but you should watch out for U-turn Landorus-Therian, as it may try to break Greninja's Sash for free.

Depending on the situation, Analyzing your opponent's team to determine which kind of Spikes will be more beneficial is important. Spikes help to wear down bulky Steel-types such as Ferrothorn, Dialga, and Aegislash, whilst while also dealing 12.5% damage to all other grounded Pokemon. Toxic Spikes can be very beneficial against opposing Geomancy Xerneas, Palkia, Darkrai, and Arceus, Pokemon that tend to come in for more than one turn, as well as doing consistent damage to walls such as Arceus-Water and Arceus-Grass, potentially pushing them into 2HKO range for your teammates. Against teams with multiple Pokemon that are immune to Toxic Spikes, it is better to set up Spikes as they will have more of an effect. Something to watch out for is Arceus-Poison, as it can absorb your Toxic Spikes for free—it is best to look at Team Preview and evaluate what the opponent's Arceus forme could be for this reason. Lastly, two layers of Toxic Spikes can ruin Calm Mind Arceus formes and other grounded Pokemon that try to set up without you having to Toxic them manually, but bear in mind that bad poison only starts to outdo the damage from regular poison on the 4th turn that the opponent is out.

Team Options
========

Dialga sets up Stealth Rock and breaks smashes Giratina-O's face with Draco Meteor, preventing it from Defogging, as its Shadow Sneak can cause Greninja problems. Things that appreciate Toxic Spikes and Spikes wearing down their checks and counters work nicely too. For example, Choice Specs Kyogre likes it when Arceus-Grass has to come in on Spikes and get poisoned, as with all the residual damage Water Spout can OHKO, and an advantage is that such a powerful Pokemon forces the opponent to choose between Defogging but getting OHKOed, and attacking. Choice Scarf Kyogre works fairly nicely too.

Other Taunt users such as Mewtwo and Darkrai prevent your entry hazards being removed. Yveltal cannot prevent Defog with Taunt as it is outsped by Defog Arceus, but it does have the benefit of being able to trample Giratina-O, whilst dealing considerable damage with Life Orb Dark Pulse, which is further enhanced by the Poison damage. U-turn Yveltal can also U-turn off of Deoxys-S into Greninja. Lastly, Yveltal appreciates the poison damage, which limits things that try to avoid Sucker Punch. Darkrai works better if you run Spikes only on Greninja, as the poison does not interfere with Dark Void, which can be a huge boon to offensive teams; Darkrai can also beat up on Giratina-Origin.

A Giratina-O of your own works nicely for a secondary spinblocker and walls the most prominent Rapid Spin user, Excadrill, and it wear down teams by dragging them through entry hazards with Dragon Tail. Icy Wind Gengar helps anti-lead Deoxys-S if you want to run both types of Spikes on Greninja, and also traps things for your offensive teammates. Gengar also appreciates the ability to Mega Evolve early versus opposing Deoxys-Speed offense teams too, which is very nice for checking Extreme Killer Arceus in particular (watch out for Psycho Boost from Deoxys, however). Other means of offensive pressure such as Extreme Killer Arceus and Geomancy Xerneas are appreciated as it prevents the opponent from Defogging or spinning (if they do, you get to set up for free).

Lastly, a Choice Scarf user to deal with lead Darkrai is appreciated, as it can easily put Greninja to sleep and break its Greninja's Focus Sash with Bad Dreams. U-turn Genesect forces Darkrai out, as well as being able to U-turn off of Deoxys-S into Greninja, limiting it to one layer even if you are not running Night Slash. Other Choice Scarf users such as Zekrom and Xerneas can also deal with Darkrai and, in the latter's case, can catch it by surprise. However, it is advised to watch what you lock your Choice Scarf users into during the game, as you do not want to give free turns to the opponent so that they can Defog. Genesect works better in this aspect as it is hard to pin down thanks to U-turn (unlike Zekrom, for example, which can have Giratina-O or Arceus-Grass switch into Bolt Strike and get a chance to Defog).

Other Options
########

Haze can be used so that if your Focus Sash is intact mid- or late-game and something like Geomancy Xerneas sets up, Greninja can get rid of its the boosts. Hidden Power Fire lets Greninja dispose of Scizor, which can carry Defog. Ice Beam deals heavy damage to Giratina-O that try to Defog on Greninja. Protect blocks Kangaskhan's Fake Out, scouts Choice Scarf users, and gives Greninja an immunity to Giratina-O's Shadow Sneak, as well as preventing Defog and Rapid Spin that turn. Extrasensory lets you Greninja win against Rapid Spin Tentacruel and, alongside Shadow Sneak, means that you it can limit Scolipede to one layer of entry hazards. Rock Slide can be used to mess up Ho-Oh that try to break your Greninja's Focus Sash with a Sacred Fire burn. Lastly, offensive sets with Life Orb and three or four attacking moves may might seem good at first but are bad in Ubers due to Greninja's low 103 Special Attack, frailty, (AC) and susceptibility to priority.

Checks & Counters
########

**Defog Scizor**: Scizor can either 2HKO Greninja with Bullet Punch as it Taunts or Defog as Greninja sets up more layers, then Bullet Punch Greninja for a KO.

**Giratina-Origin**: Giratina-O can play games with Shadow Sneak and Defog, easily 2HKOing Greninja with Shadow Sneak if it Taunts, whilst while Defogging away your hazards if you try to set more up or switch out. Greninja's Night Slash and Shadow Sneak also do a depressingly low amount of damage to Giratina-O.

**Choice Scarf Users**: They Most Choice Scarf users outspeed Greninja and limit it to one layer of either entry hazard and chip damage with Shadow Sneak. Genesect can U-turn into a priority user to limit the layers Greninja can set up your layers to one.

**Priority Users**: Priority users easily limit Greninja to one layer of entry hazards.

**Mega Kangaskhan**: Parental Bond allows Mega Kangaskhan to break through Greninja's Focus Sash, and it is immune to Shadow Sneak.

**Ho-Oh**: Any Ho-Oh with Attack investment can bring Greninja down to its Focus Sash with Sacred Fire and beat it if it gets a burn, limiting it to one layer of entry hazards.

2/2

 

[MMII]

shits done

 

[MMII]

shits done