Hi all,
So yeah, this is my first foray into Ubers in over a year, and it's been pretty successful, consistently winning 4 out of every 5 games on the PO server (Whether that's a reflection on the team or the opponents remains to be seen =P), so I thought I'd try and get some feedback to further improve the team [=
The Building Process
There was one Pokemon I knew I wanted to use on this team and that was my favourite new addition from the fifth generation, Reshiram. It was this Pokemon I decided to build the team around.
Groudon sprang to mind as the obvious teammate for Reshiram, bringing forth infinite sun and hitting hard on the physical spectrum.
Even without playing Ubers, there was one Pokemon that I knew would be an obvious menace to Reshiram and from my experience in 4th gen, a menace to pretty much everything- Kyogre. Ferrothorn became my next choice for its excellent typing and defences.
Next came a couple of sweepers capable of tearing holes in opposing teams, making Reshiram's role as a late game sweeper much easier. Rayquaza was chosen for its prowess as a dragon dancer and powerful priority attack, while Darkrai provided a much needed special-based threat and the ability to shut Pokemon down with Dark Void. Originally Mewtwo occupied this slot, but the fast sleep move from Darkrai has since proved far more useful.
Finally I needed a Pokemon to head up the team, with the sole goal of stopping Stealth Rock from being placed down. Deoxys immediately sprange to mind with its blisteringly fast Taunt, the question then came down to which forme to choose. After some playtesting Deoxys-A won out, specifically a Counter-Coat set after proving extremely effective.
@Focus Sash
Hasty (Pressure)
124HP/252Spe/132Att
IVs: 0Def/0SpDef
Taunt
Counter
Mirror Coat
Extremespeed
Comments: A very effective lead that can easily prevent opponents from setting up, and kill them quickly if they fight back. Most setup leads attempt to do just that, with very few anticipating Taunt from a Pokemon usually used as a straight-up attacking lead. From here it's a simple case of predicting either which side of the attacking spectrum they will retaliate from, or to which team mate they will switch too.
Maximum Speed EVs and minimal defensive IVs are obvious decisions, ensuring Deoxys outspeeds virtually everything it needs to while taking maximum damage to bulk up the power of Counter and Mirror Coat. The HP EVs yield a stat of 272, meaning that assuming Deoxys would OHKO'd by the opponent's attack, everything from Wailord and below is OHKO'd by the Counter-Coat moves. The only Pokemon sitting above this threshold are Wobbuffet, Chansey and Blissey. Wobbuffet is not capable of inflicting any damage itself, while Blissey and its prevolution succumb to Deoxys' high powered Extremespeeds. The remaining EVs are invested into Attack to increase Extremespeed's power against leads that cannot be dealt with using Counter-Coat, most notably Darkrai.
@Life Orb
Timid (Bad Dreams)
252SpAtt/252Spd/6HP
Dark Void
Dark Pulse
Thunderbolt
Ice Beam
Comments: Dark Void+three attacks has consistently proven more effective than a Nasty Plot variant on this team, primarily because of the super effective coverage granted by the BoltBeam combination rather than relying on Dark Pulse and Focus Blast. Dark Void and the EVs are a given, enabling me to quickly incapacitate and opponent. Also thanks to the new sleep mechanics, opponents are far more reluctant to switch their sleeping Pokemon out to avoid resetting the timer. This provides ample opportunities for one of my setup sweepers to switch in and gain a valuable boost, at which point they can proceed to tear chunks out of the opponent's team.
Darkrai also serves as my secondary lead if it looks to be an unfavourable match-up for Deoxys, namely Giratina and opposing Darkrai. Darkrai is far more qualified at taking them on, although speed ties with opposing Darkrai can be something to avoid.
@Life Orb
Jolly (Air Lock)
252Att/252Spd/6SpDef
Dragon Dance
Outrage
Earthquake
Extremespeed
Comments: DD Rayquaza rips shit up in a big way, easily ploughing through almost everything that isn't a dedicated wall at +1. It also does a decent job of drawing out opposing dragons which pose a threat to Reshiram, most of whom it outspeeds after a Dragon Dance and punishes with either Outrage or Earthquake. Air Lock also shuts down a multitude of weather sweepers who rely on the sun or rain for their speed. Finally Extremespeed allows Rayquaza to deal with a variety of faster, weakened threats, most notably extremekiller Arceus who seems to be on every team going these days.
@Leftovers
Careful (Iron Barbs)
252HP/104Att/152SpDef
Power Whip
Stealth Rock
Thunder Wave
Shadow Claw
Kyogre counter extraordinaire and general Dragon Check, Ferrothorn holds this team together. Taking anything off the whale's traditional sets with aplomb, the Attack EVs guarantee that Power Whip inflicts a minimum of 88%, an OHKO with Stealth Rock (And occasionally without it). The remaining EVs are invested into maximising HP for overall bulk, with the remainder bolstering its SpDef which it more often relies on. Stealth Rock for the obligatory entry hazards, and Thunder Wave for crippling opposing sweepers. The last slot mostly goes unused, with the standard Gyro Ball being almost completely pointless. I chose Shadow Claw primarily to threaten Mewtwo, who often try to use Ferro as setup fodder, and it's been working well so far but I'm open to suggestions.
@Leftovers
Adamant (Drought)
252Att/252Spd/6HP
Rock Polish
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Dragon Claw
Comments: My second physical sweeper and sun setup, Rock Polish Groudon is a beast. Standard set is standard- Earthquake for STAB, Stone Edge and Dragon Claw for coverage.
@Flame Plate
Timid (TurboBlaze)
252SpAtt/252Spd/6HP
Nitro Charge
Blue Flame
Dragon Pulse
Draco Meteor
Comments: Reshiram never ceases to impress me, it's amazing. Kyogre is the only Pokemon I've come across so far that successfully stops this thing- even Blissey is 2HKO'd after SR damage. The plan is simple- switch into something that cannot threaten Reshiram, Nitro Charge as they switch, and proceed to sweep at +1 with dual STAB. Draco Meteor is largely filler and rarely gets used, so suggestions for the final slot are welcome.
Item choice is where my set differs from the standard NT sets. I didn't want to use a Life Orb, but found Leftovers largely inconsequential. After toying with the new Jewel items, in the end I settled for a Flame Plate, maximising the lethality of a sun-boosted Blue Flame without any negative drawbacks. It also allows me to feign a choice item, which has occasionally been useful.
Conclusion
So yeah, that's my heavy-offense Ubers team. General strategy is relatively simple. Deoxys keeps the rocks away, my three sweepers tear holes where ever possible, Ferrothorn stops Kyogre from ploughing through everything, and Reshiram cleans up whatever mess remains. So far it's been working out very well, if either of my setup sweepers gain any momentum it can be a very difficult team to stop. However there's one continual thorn in my side- extreme killer Arceus. While I can usually bring it down through Ferrothorn and Rayquaza, it can usually take multiple members of my team with it. Any suggestions on how to tackle this menace? That, and any other criticisms, are welcome [=
So yeah, this is my first foray into Ubers in over a year, and it's been pretty successful, consistently winning 4 out of every 5 games on the PO server (Whether that's a reflection on the team or the opponents remains to be seen =P), so I thought I'd try and get some feedback to further improve the team [=
At a Glance
The Building Process
There was one Pokemon I knew I wanted to use on this team and that was my favourite new addition from the fifth generation, Reshiram. It was this Pokemon I decided to build the team around.
Groudon sprang to mind as the obvious teammate for Reshiram, bringing forth infinite sun and hitting hard on the physical spectrum.
Even without playing Ubers, there was one Pokemon that I knew would be an obvious menace to Reshiram and from my experience in 4th gen, a menace to pretty much everything- Kyogre. Ferrothorn became my next choice for its excellent typing and defences.
Next came a couple of sweepers capable of tearing holes in opposing teams, making Reshiram's role as a late game sweeper much easier. Rayquaza was chosen for its prowess as a dragon dancer and powerful priority attack, while Darkrai provided a much needed special-based threat and the ability to shut Pokemon down with Dark Void. Originally Mewtwo occupied this slot, but the fast sleep move from Darkrai has since proved far more useful.
Finally I needed a Pokemon to head up the team, with the sole goal of stopping Stealth Rock from being placed down. Deoxys immediately sprange to mind with its blisteringly fast Taunt, the question then came down to which forme to choose. After some playtesting Deoxys-A won out, specifically a Counter-Coat set after proving extremely effective.
In Detail
Hasty (Pressure)
124HP/252Spe/132Att
IVs: 0Def/0SpDef
Taunt
Counter
Mirror Coat
Extremespeed
Comments: A very effective lead that can easily prevent opponents from setting up, and kill them quickly if they fight back. Most setup leads attempt to do just that, with very few anticipating Taunt from a Pokemon usually used as a straight-up attacking lead. From here it's a simple case of predicting either which side of the attacking spectrum they will retaliate from, or to which team mate they will switch too.
Maximum Speed EVs and minimal defensive IVs are obvious decisions, ensuring Deoxys outspeeds virtually everything it needs to while taking maximum damage to bulk up the power of Counter and Mirror Coat. The HP EVs yield a stat of 272, meaning that assuming Deoxys would OHKO'd by the opponent's attack, everything from Wailord and below is OHKO'd by the Counter-Coat moves. The only Pokemon sitting above this threshold are Wobbuffet, Chansey and Blissey. Wobbuffet is not capable of inflicting any damage itself, while Blissey and its prevolution succumb to Deoxys' high powered Extremespeeds. The remaining EVs are invested into Attack to increase Extremespeed's power against leads that cannot be dealt with using Counter-Coat, most notably Darkrai.
Timid (Bad Dreams)
252SpAtt/252Spd/6HP
Dark Void
Dark Pulse
Thunderbolt
Ice Beam
Comments: Dark Void+three attacks has consistently proven more effective than a Nasty Plot variant on this team, primarily because of the super effective coverage granted by the BoltBeam combination rather than relying on Dark Pulse and Focus Blast. Dark Void and the EVs are a given, enabling me to quickly incapacitate and opponent. Also thanks to the new sleep mechanics, opponents are far more reluctant to switch their sleeping Pokemon out to avoid resetting the timer. This provides ample opportunities for one of my setup sweepers to switch in and gain a valuable boost, at which point they can proceed to tear chunks out of the opponent's team.
Darkrai also serves as my secondary lead if it looks to be an unfavourable match-up for Deoxys, namely Giratina and opposing Darkrai. Darkrai is far more qualified at taking them on, although speed ties with opposing Darkrai can be something to avoid.
Jolly (Air Lock)
252Att/252Spd/6SpDef
Dragon Dance
Outrage
Earthquake
Extremespeed
Comments: DD Rayquaza rips shit up in a big way, easily ploughing through almost everything that isn't a dedicated wall at +1. It also does a decent job of drawing out opposing dragons which pose a threat to Reshiram, most of whom it outspeeds after a Dragon Dance and punishes with either Outrage or Earthquake. Air Lock also shuts down a multitude of weather sweepers who rely on the sun or rain for their speed. Finally Extremespeed allows Rayquaza to deal with a variety of faster, weakened threats, most notably extremekiller Arceus who seems to be on every team going these days.
Careful (Iron Barbs)
252HP/104Att/152SpDef
Power Whip
Stealth Rock
Thunder Wave
Shadow Claw
Kyogre counter extraordinaire and general Dragon Check, Ferrothorn holds this team together. Taking anything off the whale's traditional sets with aplomb, the Attack EVs guarantee that Power Whip inflicts a minimum of 88%, an OHKO with Stealth Rock (And occasionally without it). The remaining EVs are invested into maximising HP for overall bulk, with the remainder bolstering its SpDef which it more often relies on. Stealth Rock for the obligatory entry hazards, and Thunder Wave for crippling opposing sweepers. The last slot mostly goes unused, with the standard Gyro Ball being almost completely pointless. I chose Shadow Claw primarily to threaten Mewtwo, who often try to use Ferro as setup fodder, and it's been working well so far but I'm open to suggestions.
Adamant (Drought)
252Att/252Spd/6HP
Rock Polish
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Dragon Claw
Comments: My second physical sweeper and sun setup, Rock Polish Groudon is a beast. Standard set is standard- Earthquake for STAB, Stone Edge and Dragon Claw for coverage.
Timid (TurboBlaze)
252SpAtt/252Spd/6HP
Nitro Charge
Blue Flame
Dragon Pulse
Draco Meteor
Comments: Reshiram never ceases to impress me, it's amazing. Kyogre is the only Pokemon I've come across so far that successfully stops this thing- even Blissey is 2HKO'd after SR damage. The plan is simple- switch into something that cannot threaten Reshiram, Nitro Charge as they switch, and proceed to sweep at +1 with dual STAB. Draco Meteor is largely filler and rarely gets used, so suggestions for the final slot are welcome.
Item choice is where my set differs from the standard NT sets. I didn't want to use a Life Orb, but found Leftovers largely inconsequential. After toying with the new Jewel items, in the end I settled for a Flame Plate, maximising the lethality of a sun-boosted Blue Flame without any negative drawbacks. It also allows me to feign a choice item, which has occasionally been useful.
Conclusion
So yeah, that's my heavy-offense Ubers team. General strategy is relatively simple. Deoxys keeps the rocks away, my three sweepers tear holes where ever possible, Ferrothorn stops Kyogre from ploughing through everything, and Reshiram cleans up whatever mess remains. So far it's been working out very well, if either of my setup sweepers gain any momentum it can be a very difficult team to stop. However there's one continual thorn in my side- extreme killer Arceus. While I can usually bring it down through Ferrothorn and Rayquaza, it can usually take multiple members of my team with it. Any suggestions on how to tackle this menace? That, and any other criticisms, are welcome [=
A Final Glance
