Without a doubt this is the most successful Uber team I've ever committed to. However due to the limited number of players active at any moment on the Smogon Uber ladder many regulars now know my team from the inside out; regretfully, this team's time is up and a retirement is in order. But before I forsake this team I'll make one more attempt at improvements through the colloquial advice of the community.
here is the damn team
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Darkrai @ Lum Berry
Ability: Bad Dreams
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
- Dark Pulse
- Dark Void
- Nasty Plot
- Substitute
As the metagame stands today, anti-Choice Scarf Darkrai leads a la Lum Berry Dialga / Groudon are arguably more common than the former itself. Thus Lum Berry Darkrai suits the lead role rather effectively allowing a simultaneous bluff of Choice Scarf as well as the safety of Lum Berry.
Ideally, my opponent leads with said Choice Scarf Darkrai and has enough balls to risk a supposed speed tie, upon which I Substitute forcing a switch; from here, it's textbook elementary tactics.
In the case of other anti-leads I am presented with the dilemma of predicting whether the opponent will Thunder Wave or Earthquake / Draco Meteor. Depending on the tingle in my balls at the moment I will either Dark Void twice to break both berries or run to an appropriate counter to take the hit.
Choice Scarf Mewtwo will Focus Blast -- go to Jirachi, etc.
Dialga @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 240 HP / 136 SpA / 120 SpD / 12 Spe
Nature: Modest
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Draco Meteor
- Aura Sphere
This is the Pokemon I have the most qualms about. It gives a solid switch into many Choice Scarf users -- Garchomp's Outrage, Kyogre's Water Spout, Palkia's whatever are all 3HKO -- but fails against Choice Band / Specs users. However, I can play around with Choice Specs Kyogre / Palkia, Choice Band Garchomp, etc. because much of my team can outran and effectively disable these threats (Darkrai's Dark Void, Garchomp's Dragon Claw, etc.).
Stealth Rock is standard, Thunder Wave / Aura Sphere catch Darkrai, Draco Meteor lol (12 EVs in speed to outrun most support Groudon while still retaining 401 HP).
The said qualms are manifested over the option to run a physical support set a la Adamant 240 / 136 / 120 / 12 with Outrage / Dragon Claw, Brick Break over Draco Meteor, Aura Sphere. A physical set retains the ability to check said Choice Scarf threats as well as Darkrai (at least to the extent the special set does) but allows me to beat Calm Mind Kyogre which can traditionally set up on Draco Meteor, not to mention Blissey, Latias, etc.
Also considering Shuca / Chople Berry.
Kyogre @ Life Orb
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
Offensive Calm Mind Kyogre is really only stopped by Blissey and faster physical Pokemon that can KO in time. I run Timid over my old spread of Modest 120 / 252 / 136 because I have balls and risk speed ties with Jolly Swords Dance Groudon (Dialga's Thunder Wave can't compensate for this one) which gives my team the shaft. Life Orb over Leftovers to be able to dish out plenty of damage if I can't get a Calm Mind in.
This is standard shit -- I can survive Choice Specs Kyogre's Thunder after a Calm Mind and KO with one of my own, does ~50% to most Blissey after a Calm Mind which means stall gets the shaft if Blissey is weakened, etc.
Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Toxic
In a metagame ridden with Choice Scarf Palkia, base 102 speed is truely a Godsend. Choice Scarf Garchomp is also my insurance against Rayquaza, outspeeding Jolly renditions after a Dragon Dance as well as surviving an Adamant Life Orb Swords Dance ExtremeSpeed.
The oddball of the set, Toxic, is an underrated and once unexpected lol tool that allows Garchomp to cripple its paper counter, Lugia. Often against dedicated stall teams it's my lead move because all experienced players are guaranteed to carry Lugia on stall. Once Lugia is poisoned, Rayquaza because a bitch to handle (especially Bold 252 / 52 / 204 variations -- I'll cover it later).
late game sweeps with Outrage, etc. standard shit
Rayquaza @ Life Orb
Ability: Air Lock
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- ExtremeSpeed
- Overheat
I would run Swords Dance here if not for Bold 252 / 8 / 248 Lugia with Ice Beam. Dragon Dance Rayquaza takes said Lugia (the most common) down with Outrage after Stealth Rock damage. Even if Rayquaza is revenged by Scizor, etc. afterwards, Garchomp's easily has a clear shot at ravaging the opponent's team with 499 speed STAB Outrages.
I run Jolly over Adamant to outspeed +speed Kyogre before a Dragon Dance, a necessity for this team. However, Jolly Rayquaza only has ~66% chance of an OHKO on a Bold 252 / 52 / 204 Lugia with Outrage after a Dragon Dance and Life Orb while Adamant nets a guaranteed OHKO under said circumstances (both chances diminish greatly if Lugia is 252 / 176 / 80 or whatever). But this is where Rayquaza's key synergy with Garchomp comes into play -- a weakened, poisoned Lugia is easily dealt with, opening the rest of the team up to a Rayquaza sweep.
Overheat is for Forretress while ExtremeSpeed allows me to revenge weakened Mewtwo, etc. without a boost as well as pick off Choice Scarf Darkrai trying to end my sweep. Earthquake isn't a necessity as Metagross falls Overheat and Dialga falls Outrage; Jirachi and Heatran are bleh but uncommon.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 SpD
Nature: Careful
- Wish
- Protect
- Toxic
- U-turn
My ace in the hole. Aside from walling Choice Darkrai / Palkia, Latias, etc. left and right, Wish Jirachi keeps Rayquaza, Kyogre, etc. healthy from Life Orb and Stealth Rock. Toxic deals with said Latias (no Substitute please) and the rare Wobbuffet and Ludicolo lol. It also makes a solid switch into Choice Scarf Garchomp's Outrage, as it fails to 3HKO with given EVs (IIRC Earthquake doesn't OHKO either).
simple yet a real bitch to take down
yes I am weak to Rock Polish Groudon
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danke for reading ^_^
here is the damn team
----------
Darkrai @ Lum Berry
Ability: Bad Dreams
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
- Dark Pulse
- Dark Void
- Nasty Plot
- Substitute
As the metagame stands today, anti-Choice Scarf Darkrai leads a la Lum Berry Dialga / Groudon are arguably more common than the former itself. Thus Lum Berry Darkrai suits the lead role rather effectively allowing a simultaneous bluff of Choice Scarf as well as the safety of Lum Berry.
Ideally, my opponent leads with said Choice Scarf Darkrai and has enough balls to risk a supposed speed tie, upon which I Substitute forcing a switch; from here, it's textbook elementary tactics.
In the case of other anti-leads I am presented with the dilemma of predicting whether the opponent will Thunder Wave or Earthquake / Draco Meteor. Depending on the tingle in my balls at the moment I will either Dark Void twice to break both berries or run to an appropriate counter to take the hit.
Choice Scarf Mewtwo will Focus Blast -- go to Jirachi, etc.
Dialga @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 240 HP / 136 SpA / 120 SpD / 12 Spe
Nature: Modest
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Draco Meteor
- Aura Sphere
This is the Pokemon I have the most qualms about. It gives a solid switch into many Choice Scarf users -- Garchomp's Outrage, Kyogre's Water Spout, Palkia's whatever are all 3HKO -- but fails against Choice Band / Specs users. However, I can play around with Choice Specs Kyogre / Palkia, Choice Band Garchomp, etc. because much of my team can outran and effectively disable these threats (Darkrai's Dark Void, Garchomp's Dragon Claw, etc.).
Stealth Rock is standard, Thunder Wave / Aura Sphere catch Darkrai, Draco Meteor lol (12 EVs in speed to outrun most support Groudon while still retaining 401 HP).
The said qualms are manifested over the option to run a physical support set a la Adamant 240 / 136 / 120 / 12 with Outrage / Dragon Claw, Brick Break over Draco Meteor, Aura Sphere. A physical set retains the ability to check said Choice Scarf threats as well as Darkrai (at least to the extent the special set does) but allows me to beat Calm Mind Kyogre which can traditionally set up on Draco Meteor, not to mention Blissey, Latias, etc.
Also considering Shuca / Chople Berry.
Kyogre @ Life Orb
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
Offensive Calm Mind Kyogre is really only stopped by Blissey and faster physical Pokemon that can KO in time. I run Timid over my old spread of Modest 120 / 252 / 136 because I have balls and risk speed ties with Jolly Swords Dance Groudon (Dialga's Thunder Wave can't compensate for this one) which gives my team the shaft. Life Orb over Leftovers to be able to dish out plenty of damage if I can't get a Calm Mind in.
This is standard shit -- I can survive Choice Specs Kyogre's Thunder after a Calm Mind and KO with one of my own, does ~50% to most Blissey after a Calm Mind which means stall gets the shaft if Blissey is weakened, etc.
Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Toxic
In a metagame ridden with Choice Scarf Palkia, base 102 speed is truely a Godsend. Choice Scarf Garchomp is also my insurance against Rayquaza, outspeeding Jolly renditions after a Dragon Dance as well as surviving an Adamant Life Orb Swords Dance ExtremeSpeed.
The oddball of the set, Toxic, is an underrated and once unexpected lol tool that allows Garchomp to cripple its paper counter, Lugia. Often against dedicated stall teams it's my lead move because all experienced players are guaranteed to carry Lugia on stall. Once Lugia is poisoned, Rayquaza because a bitch to handle (especially Bold 252 / 52 / 204 variations -- I'll cover it later).
late game sweeps with Outrage, etc. standard shit
Rayquaza @ Life Orb
Ability: Air Lock
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- ExtremeSpeed
- Overheat
I would run Swords Dance here if not for Bold 252 / 8 / 248 Lugia with Ice Beam. Dragon Dance Rayquaza takes said Lugia (the most common) down with Outrage after Stealth Rock damage. Even if Rayquaza is revenged by Scizor, etc. afterwards, Garchomp's easily has a clear shot at ravaging the opponent's team with 499 speed STAB Outrages.
I run Jolly over Adamant to outspeed +speed Kyogre before a Dragon Dance, a necessity for this team. However, Jolly Rayquaza only has ~66% chance of an OHKO on a Bold 252 / 52 / 204 Lugia with Outrage after a Dragon Dance and Life Orb while Adamant nets a guaranteed OHKO under said circumstances (both chances diminish greatly if Lugia is 252 / 176 / 80 or whatever). But this is where Rayquaza's key synergy with Garchomp comes into play -- a weakened, poisoned Lugia is easily dealt with, opening the rest of the team up to a Rayquaza sweep.
Overheat is for Forretress while ExtremeSpeed allows me to revenge weakened Mewtwo, etc. without a boost as well as pick off Choice Scarf Darkrai trying to end my sweep. Earthquake isn't a necessity as Metagross falls Overheat and Dialga falls Outrage; Jirachi and Heatran are bleh but uncommon.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 SpD
Nature: Careful
- Wish
- Protect
- Toxic
- U-turn
My ace in the hole. Aside from walling Choice Darkrai / Palkia, Latias, etc. left and right, Wish Jirachi keeps Rayquaza, Kyogre, etc. healthy from Life Orb and Stealth Rock. Toxic deals with said Latias (no Substitute please) and the rare Wobbuffet and Ludicolo lol. It also makes a solid switch into Choice Scarf Garchomp's Outrage, as it fails to 3HKO with given EVs (IIRC Earthquake doesn't OHKO either).
simple yet a real bitch to take down
yes I am weak to Rock Polish Groudon
----------
danke for reading ^_^