alexwolf
lurks in the shadows
The Unspinnables
Hello everyone! This is my second Uber RMT, which presents an offensive spike-stacking team with two spin-blockers. One day I was looking the analyses in Ubers c&c and my attention was immediately drawn by a Froslass set that Poppy had posted. It seemed very interesting so I decided to make a team based around it. I built a very draft team in 10 minutes, and to my utter surprise it was working! I tested and changed some stuff, and after a few days the team reached its final stage. This team has had great success, having peaked multiple times at the PO Ubers ladder (here is the current record), and I am pretty satisfied with it, but I believe it still can be improved and here is where I need your help. On to the team:
(changes/additions in bold)
(changes/additions in bold)
The Team in Details
Froslass @ Focus Sash
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Trait: Cursed Body
Nature: Timid
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Icy Wind
- Shadow Ball
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Trait: Cursed Body
Nature: Timid
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Icy Wind
- Shadow Ball
The poke that this team was based around, Froslass, is quite rare in Ubers, but it has a very interesting niche. It is the only poke capable of spin-blocking the Spikes it sets-up, while also having her own Taunt to prevent set-up. So unlike Deoxys-S, Froslass doesn’t care at all if Forretress or Tentacruel leads, because they are simply set-up fodder, and the only things that prevent her from setting up at least one layer of Spikes are faster Taunts and Dark Void. It also beats one of the most popular hazard leads for offensive teams, Deoxys-S, with the combination of Icy Wind and Shadow Ball. By using Icy Wind the first turn, you can outspeed and ohko Deoxys-S the turn after with Shadow Ball, so if Deoxys-S had used Taunt, you prevent any set-up while still having your Focus Sash intact. If he used Stealth Rock, then you proceed to Taunt and then set-up 2-3 layers of Spikes. And finally, as if Froslass wasn’t good at her job, here comes the icing in the cake, Cursed Body. With this ability, Froslass is sometimes able to set-up on choiced mons that usually lead, especially Scarf Kyogre, which after having his Water Spout Disabled, must switch out, allowing me to get 2-3 layers of Spikes. As you can guess I lead with Froslass 99% of the times, so it is pretty much always my lead. All in all Froslass is good at what she does, and while if the opponent knows your moveset it becomes a bit trickier to use, it still never lets me down. The EV spread is very simple. Max SpA to 2hko Deoxys-S and generally dish out good damage, because Froslass can’t survive anything anyway, and max Speed to at worst speed tie with base 110s
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Groudon @ Life Orb
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 Atk (replaced 252 SpA) / 252 Spe
Trait: Drought
Nature: Jolly (replaced Adamant, which had replaced Naughty)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch (replaced Fire Blast)
- Dragon Tail
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 Atk (replaced 252 SpA) / 252 Spe
Trait: Drought
Nature: Jolly (replaced Adamant, which had replaced Naughty)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch (replaced Fire Blast)
- Dragon Tail
The land titan is my second hazards setter, and a very good at that. Guess why... While Froslass prevented the hazards from being spun with her typing, Groudon does the same with his attacking prowess. Groudon usually comes in immediately after Froslass dies, and goes for SR if possible. This Groudon isn’t meant to last long or win weather wars, so I will sacrifice him if I see that setting up SR is a must in order for my attackers to sweep (eg when I see Lugia). Even with no HP and Def investment, he still tanks most physical hits pretty well, so I will try to keep him alive if I see a strong physical attacker that is problematic for my team (Scarf Zekrom and Scarf Kyurem-B). Earthquake is a standard STAB move, that ohkoes Tentacruel and Excadrill, which are outsped due to the max speed investment, and Fire Blast ohkoes Forretress, which will already have had his Sturdy broken because of Spikes, and Ferrothorn. Dragon Tail was chosen as the last move to prevent any Arceus and Latias from setting up on me, while also hitting Giratina-0 very hard and racking up damage to the opponent’s team with hazards. While using Naughty with max SpA investment and Fire Blast, when Fire Punch exists, may seem weird at the beginning, it has its perks. First and more importantly max SpA LO Fire Blast does 76.27 - 89.83% to 252 HP Gliscor, which is a huge threat to my team, meaning that if I am faster, Gliscor won’t be able to create a Sub against me, and if I am slower then I will still break his Subs. Fire Blast also 2hkoes most support Groudon, which greatly helps my Zekrom at sweeping late game. And finally it 1-2hkoes any Xatu regardless of Reflect, which is useful some times. Naughty was picked instead of Rash, because even with max SpA, Groudon’s Atk is still higher, and his main STAB uses its Atk. Max Speed to outspeed any spinner and tie with neutral 90s.
Changed Groudon's set. Replaced Fire Blast with Fire Punch and maxed out Atk. Even with Fire Blast i wasn't faring that good against Gliscor, and a LO EQ already 3hkoes Groudon, so after eating a couple of EQs and hazard damage, it will be unable to wall my Zekrom.
Changed Groudon's set. Replaced Fire Blast with Fire Punch and maxed out Atk. Even with Fire Blast i wasn't faring that good against Gliscor, and a LO EQ already 3hkoes Groudon, so after eating a couple of EQs and hazard damage, it will be unable to wall my Zekrom.
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Giratina-0 @ Griseous Orb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Trait: Levitate
Nature: Adamant
- Substitute
- Dragon Tail
- Shadow Sneak
- Earthquake
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Trait: Levitate
Nature: Adamant
- Substitute
- Dragon Tail
- Shadow Sneak
- Earthquake
Giratina-0 completes the trio that makes spinning impossible for any team, while also abusing the hazards that have been set to the fullest. No spinner is getting past this Gira, as Sub blocks any attempts to Toxic stall her to death, and her subs can’t be broken from any spinner that commonly carries Toxic. After safely setting up as Sub on something it forced out, or against a poke that tried to status her, hell begins to break loose. With Max Atk, Griseous Orb and a positive nature, Dragon Tail deals good damage to many pokes, while also racking up hazards damage. Also due to the max Speed investment, Giratina-0 will ‘’out-phaze’’ any other phazer such as Groudon, Giratina and defensive Lugia, which means that stall teams will have a very hard time to stop her as they can’t status her, they can’t phase her, they can’t spin against her, and many of their pokes can’t break her Sub. Shadow Sneak is a very useful priority move to have, as Mewtwo, Deoxys-A, Latios and Latias would give troubles to this team without it. It also allows Giratina-0 to kill a poke while having a Sub up sometimes, which is nice (eg i take an Ice Beam from Scarf Ogre, then use Sub, and the next turn I ko with Shadow Sneak.) and you can never get enough priority users. Earthquake is the final move, and it is Giratina’s strongest option against most Steels, 1-2hkoing many of them, such as Excadrill and Heatran(ohkoed), and Dialga and Ttar (2hkoed). It also gives to Giratina-0 a way to hit Ferrothorn without taking Iron Barbs damage which is nice. Max Atk to hit hard, and max Speed to phase any other phazers before they do, outspeed Tentacruel before he Toxic’s her, and speed tie with neutral 90s.
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Palkia @ Haban Berry
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Trait: Pressure
Nature: Timid
- Spacial Rend
- Hydro Pump
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Tail
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Trait: Pressure
Nature: Timid
- Spacial Rend
- Hydro Pump
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Tail
Which offensive team can do without Palkia? Almost none, thanks to the big fat whale, and my team is no exception. Palkia won a spot in my team due to her ability to switch into Scarf Kyogre and have awesome power, coverage and Speed. It also makes a good job at eliminating scarfed dragons, as with Haban Berry i am able to take a hit from all of them after SR (only Scarf Kyurem-B has a 6.25% chance to ohko Palkia after SR with Outrage), and OHKO back. This means that my Zekrom will have an easy time sweeping late-game without worrying about getting outsped. Spacial Rend is the main STAB move, which ohkoes most Dragons with the help of entry hazards, and can even 2hko defensive Dialga with SR and 2 spikes layers. Hydro Pump is Palkia’s strongest move in Rain and prevents most Arceus from setting up on me, while maiming anything that doesn’t resist it and isn’t Chansey/Blissey. It also 2hkoes any Ttar, which is invaluable, as keeping the sand off the field is a must if i don’t want to get swept by Excadrill. I can’t count the number of times that a Ttar switched into me, taking the Spacial Rend, only to be 2hkoed the next turn from Hydro Pump. Fire Blast allows me to 2hko Ferrothorn after SR + Spikes + Hydro Pump in the rain most of the times, and roast any steel type in Sun (so that Forretress can’t wall me in Sun, giving him no chance to even force me out). D-tail is there to prevent anything that could set-up on Palkia from doing so, and racks up hazards damage. It helps lot vs the Lati twins that think they can easily force me out and start CMing, and also racks up damage beautifully on the pink blobs. The ev spread is the standard for any Palkia.
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Arceus – Normal @ Life Orb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Trait: Multitype
Nature: Jolly
- Swords Dance
- Extremespeed
- Shadow Claw
- Brick Break
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Trait: Multitype
Nature: Jolly
- Swords Dance
- Extremespeed
- Shadow Claw
- Brick Break
Yeah i use Extremekiller Arceus, no surprises right? How can you ignore one of the deadliest sweepers in Ubers, when building a spike-stacking offensive team? Arceus comes in to set-up whenever i know that it will sweep, or that he will weaken the opponent’s team enough for Zekrom to sweep. Even with no HP evs he takes hits like a boss, and the max Speed with the Jolly nature enable him to beat most Arceus that rely on WoW to check him, as in the case of a speed tie, i have the advantage, due to WoW’s imperfect accuracy. It also allows me to ohko most Extremekiller Arceus at +2 without risking taking an ES, as most are Adamant. Life Orb is used to get some crucial 1-2hkoes, such as on Ferrothorn, 252 HP Arceus, and Giratina-0, after hazards damage. Extremespeed and Shadow Claw don’t need any explanation really. I chose Brick Break instead of Earthquake to ohko Ferrothorn at +2 and OHKO any offensive Normal Arceus after SR + Spikes at +2 (if i can take 1 Extremespeed of ‘course). The best sweeper in Ubers works wonders with Spikes, and he is often the mvp of the team, as expected, but when he doesn’t manage to sweep clean the guy below comes into play.
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Zekrom @ Choice Scarf
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Trait: Terravolt
Nature: Adamant
- Bolt Strike
- Outrage
- Sleep Talk
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Trait: Terravolt
Nature: Adamant
- Bolt Strike
- Outrage
- Sleep Talk
I wanted a physical Scarfer to revenge kill threats such as Mewtwo, Lati@s, CM Arceus, CM Manaphy and CM Kyogre, while also being able to check SD NormalCeus, and who else is better suited for this job? Scarf Zekrom hits the Uber meta where it hurts the most (physical side), while also outspeeding anything without a Scarf and packs 2 wonderful STABs with crazy BP and nearly unresisted coverage. Usually the only things that can stop a Zekrom sweep after a bit of shuffling with entry hazards, are Groudon, Ferrothorn, Excadrill and opposing Scarfers. Groudon is taken care of my own Groudon, or weakened by Arceus, Ferrothorn is beaten or worn down by Palkia and Arceus, most Scarfers are beaten by Palkia so that leaves us with Excadrill and scarfers that can ohko Palkia. Excadrill is not such a big deal, because opposing Sand teams are not so hard to play against, as Ttar can’t come into anything on my team, and if it does, it can only do it once, due to entry hazards. Now against scarf Terrakion and any scarfer that managed to kill my Palkia, the game plan is to weaken them enough with entry hazards (D-Tail spam) so that Arceus can ohko them at +2. If I fail to do this, then Zekrom can take 1 hit from some scarfers, such as Terrakion and Mewtwo, and ohko back, but will fail against any other scarfed dragons. Adamant nature is used, because I don’t plan in outspeeding any other scarfer anyway, and the power boost is simply amazing. Bolt Strike and Outrage are both strong STAB moves, and usually Zekrom sweeps with one of them, and Sleep Talk is for Darkrai, which would royally screw me otherwise. I don't run a 4th move, such as Dragon Claw or Volt-Switch, because i don't want Sleep Talk to chose shitty moves against Darkrai. With only Bolt Strike and Outrage, Darkrai is almost guaranteed to get OHKOed by Zekrom, as Bolt Strike clearly ohkoes, and Outrage OHKOes 56.25% of the time. It's not like i miss Volt Switch or Dragon Claw though, as 95% of the time, Zekrom will come in only in late game, where both moves are useless, and if it comes in early, 95% of the time, it will be to take on Darkrai.
Biggest threats to the team
As with every team, this team also has flaws. My team in general despises Scarfers that can outspeed Zekrom (all) and survive a +2 ES from Arceus, such as Dialga and Terrakion. If i face a team with one of them, i have to make sure that i will shuffle the opponent's team enough, so that their Scarfer will have taken enough damage to be ohkoed from a +2 ES, or to keep Palkia healthy enough to survive a Draco Meteor from Dialga and cripple back with Spacial Rend, so that later Arceus can ohko. Darkrai also can be problematic, as it is the only poke that Froslass hates to lead against, which means that i will have to go to Zekrom to take the Dark Void. If the opponent goes for Sub instead of Dark Void, i am in for some serious pain though. Finally physically defensive Arceus-Fighting 6-0s this team.
So anyway this was the team, i would love some helpful comments, as i believe that the team still has room for improvement, and i am not the most experienced Uber player, so i may miss something. Oh and two things before this RMT ends. First of all half of my team was Poppy's idea, as the Froslass-Groudon-Giratina-0 trio are all sets posted by him. And second this team has lost twice to Princess Bri, because i was drunk :D.
Groudon @ Life Orb
Trait: Drought
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Dragon Tail
- Stealth Rock
Froslass (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Cursed Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Shadow Ball
- Icy Wind
Giratina-O @ Griseous Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Dragon Tail
- Shadow Sneak
- Earthquake
Zekrom @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Teravolt
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bolt Strike
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw
- Sleep Talk
Arceus @ Life Orb
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- ExtremeSpeed
- Shadow Claw
- Brick Break
Palkia @ Haban Berry
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Spacial Rend
- Hydro Pump
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Tail
Trait: Drought
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Dragon Tail
- Stealth Rock
Froslass (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Cursed Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Shadow Ball
- Icy Wind
Giratina-O @ Griseous Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Dragon Tail
- Shadow Sneak
- Earthquake
Zekrom @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Teravolt
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bolt Strike
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw
- Sleep Talk
Arceus @ Life Orb
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- ExtremeSpeed
- Shadow Claw
- Brick Break
Palkia @ Haban Berry
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Spacial Rend
- Hydro Pump
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Tail