Ubers Spotlight and Suspect Coverage: Calyrex-S

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Introduction

Ever since the release of the Crown Tundra DLC, Calyrex-S has been a dominating force in the SS Ubers metagame, spooking away even the mightiest behemoths of the tier through its incredibly high base Special Attack, perfectly accurate 120 BP STAB Astral Barrage, and unique ability As One. It significantly impacted the tier immediately upon release, bringing a surge in popularity of bulky Dark-types, specially defensive Pokémon, and dedicated Ghost-type revenge killers. Its great combination of sheer power and utility moves makes it one of the best offensive tools in the SS Ubers metagame, and it has been able to keep up with the trinity consisting of Yveltal, Necrozma-DM, and Eternatus —also known as YEN— in terms of usage (as seen in the graph below). In fact, a non-negligible proportion of the playerbase have been vocal on how problematic Calyrex-S is ever since its release, resulting in roughly 58% of the non-qualified community already wanting it banned in the earliest stages of the DLC2 metagame. Remarkably enough, only 33% of the qualified players considered Calyrex-S to be problematic, showing already a clear separation and opening the gates to the debate about Calyrex-S. This article will cast a light on its key forces and weaknesses, as well as cover the suspect process around Calyrex-S.

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Sets

• / Calyrex-Shadow @ Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
• Ability: As One (Spectrier)
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Astral Barrage
• - Psyshock / Substitute / Protect
• - Trick
• - Aromatherapy / Nasty Plot

Choice items grant Calyrex-S a much-appreciated boost in its two best stats. Choice Scarf makes it the fastest revenge killer in the tier, even outrunning Xerneas after Geomancy. Its great base 165 Special Attack, combined with Astral Barrage, is especially strong against offensive teams, which lack Pokémon to absorb special attacks, while Grim Neigh boosts its already massive Special Attack and helps Calyrex-S sweep weakened teams. Psyshock deals massive damage to the likes of Blissey and specially defensive Eternatus, which could otherwise wall Calyrex-S. Trick is a great tool that cripples the commonly used specially defensive Yveltal, as it'll take Stealth Rock damage and can be overwhelmed after losing its Heavy-Duty Boots, and, in general, other checks such as Blissey and Tyranitar are heavily crippled if they receive a Choice item. Choice Specs sacrifices the Speed boost for more helpful damage against balance and stall teams in order to heavily threaten slow bulky threats such as Zygarde-C and Calm Mind Kyogre. Aromatherapy in the last slot offers cleric support to Calyrex-S's teammates, while Nasty Plot is useful if there is already a cleric on the team, allowing Calyrex-S to set up on a predicted Roost or Defog from Yveltal and threaten to KO it after a Trick. It works especially great on the Choice Specs set, as giving Yveltal Choice Scarf's Speed boost can backfire. Calyrex-S can also sacrifice Psyshock in favor of Substitute or Protect: Substitute offers a devastating weapon late-game, allowing Calyrex-S to reliably OHKO Shadow Sneak users such as Marshadow and Giratina-O without fearing much from them behind it. Meanwhile, Protect, paired with Nasty Plot, grants Calyrex-S a scouting move, which is extremely useful to see what a Tricked Yveltal does and proceed to freely use Nasty Plot if Yveltal uses a non-threatening move such as Defog, Roost, U-turn, or Sucker Punch.

• Calyrex-Shadow @ Focus Sash
• Ability: As One (Spectrier)
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Astral Barrage
• - Psyshock
• - Draining Kiss
• - Nasty Plot

This set, seen exclusively on hyper offense teams, leverages Calyrex-S's massive Special Attack and Nasty Plot to devastating effect. It's pretty straightforward and forces Yveltal into a crucial choice: either get rid of entry hazards or be 2HKOed by boosted Draining Kiss unless it is running great Special Defense investment. This set is particularly deadly against faster variants of Yveltal, as their lack of Special Defense means they will be easily 2HKOed by a +2 Draining Kiss, while the slower variants are forced into a particularly vicious mindgame if they have to prioritize removing entry hazards, forcing them to either rely on Sucker Punch or potentially grant Calyrex-S the opportunity to use Nasty Plot a second time and win the duel. Draining Kiss's recovery can also be useful to recover from Stealth Rock damage. As mentioned earlier, Calyrex-S can find many opportunities to set up Nasty Plot thanks to the immense pressure it applies to any foe that doesn't resist Ghost, which is where the Focus Sash finds its best use, as its revenge killers can all be OHKOed even by an unboosted STAB move. Focus Sash also enables a late-game cleanup, as it lets Calyrex-S set up a Nasty Plot on any foe without a multihit move. It fits particularly well on hyper offense builds that can prevent Stealth Rock setup, with suicide lead teammates like Aerodactyl and Excadrill that can either put a stop to Stealth Rock setters with Taunt or get rid of entry hazards with Rapid Spin.

• Calyrex-Shadow @ Leftovers
• Ability: As One (Spectrier)
• EVs: 60 Def / 196 SpA / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Astral Barrage
• - Substitute
• - Leech Seed
• - Nasty Plot

This set takes advantage of Yveltal lacking Taunt and Snarl. While being more matchup dependent, when given the opportunity, Calyrex-S can use Leech Seed on a predicted Yveltal switch and spam Substitute until Yveltal is forced to Roost, giving it an opportunity to use Nasty Plot. With Leech Seed and Leftovers recovery, Calyrex-S can set up enough to muscle through Yveltal; Calyrex-S's physical investment also denies Yveltal from breaking its Substitute with U-turn without heavy Attack investment. The main weakness of this set is the low PP of Astral Barrage; Taunt Yveltal can PP stall it, specially defensive Eternatus can survive a +2 Astral Barrage and effectively drain half of its PP, and Normal-types such as Blissey are completely immune to Astral Barrage. It is also very weak to revenge killers like Choice Scarf Galarian Darmanitan and Marshadow if it doesn't have a Substitute up, not to mention Galarian Darmanitan always breaks Substitute with U-turn.

• / / Calyrex-Shadow @ Mental Herb / Leftovers / Choice Specs
• Ability: As One (Spectrier)
• EVs: 48 HP / 128 Def / 76 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Astral Barrage
• - Substitute / Protect
• - Disable
• - Nasty Plot / Trick

This new set which already has some results, notably in the recently concluded UPL X, takes advantage of any Yveltal set lacking dual Dark-type attacks that are not Sucker Punch. Due to its great offensive presence, Calyrex-S has no trouble forcing any weakened foe to switch out to Yveltal, which allows Calyrex-S to easily set its Substitute up. It can then proceed to safely use Nasty Plot after using Disable. Leftovers recovery can also lead to an additional Substitute. The given investment in HP and Defense allows Substitute to not be broken by Yveltal's U-turn unless it is heavilyinvested in Attack, while 48 HP and 4 SpD EVs allow Calyrex-S to never be 2HKOed by any defensive Eternatus's Dynamax Cannon. An alternative 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe spread, alongside Choice Specs with Trick and Protect, was used specifically to cripple any Yveltal variant, and in a late-game scenario, it will also force Yveltal out and start snowballing with As One. This set also has the good addition of bluffing being a standard Choice Specs set, which helps it break opposing teams even more easily once Normal-types such as Blissey and revenge killers such as Choice Scarf Galarian Darmanitan and Marshadow are down.

Other options

Calyrex-S has access to a wide variety of utility moves which can be used depending on the needs of the team; alongside Choice Specs, Pollen Puff can be used to OHKO specially defensive Zarude, as well as 2HKO specially defensive Tyranitar with minimum chip damage. Encore can be used over Psyshock on the Focus Sash set, shutting down an opposing Pokémon and potentially allowing a sweep for an incoming teammate. Will-O-Wisp can be used to cripple switch-ins like Yveltal, and Taunt prevents Whirlwind Ho-Oh and Roar Kyogre from phazing Calyrex-S.

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Best Partners

Necrozma-DM is, for several reasons, one of the best partners for Calyrex-S: it can provide Stealth Rock as well as paralysis and Knock Off support, which can be especially useful to cripple Yveltal and opposing Calyrex-S. On hyper offense builds, having Yveltal weakened is especially useful for Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM, which can set up more freely without fearing a KO from Foul Play. On more balanced builds, Necrozma-DM's paralysis spreading is helpful to cripple Yveltal, and, in return, Calyrex-S's Trick leaves Yveltal unable to switch in on Stealth Rock without taking damage. Having Yveltal paralyzed is also useful for SubSeed Calyrex-S, as it can set up even more easily on Yveltal with the full paralysis chance. In return, Calyrex-S threatens to KO many Pokémon Necrozma-DM can struggle against, such as Zygarde-C, Groudon, Lunala, and Zekrom. In particular, Choice Scarf Calyrex-S outruns Double Dance Groudon even after a Rock Polish and threatens to heavily damage it with Astral Barrage.

Marshadow + Calyrex-S is a well known offensive core for bulky offense and hyper offense builds, threatening many teams that usually lack Pokémon that resist Ghost besides Yveltal. Choice Band and Life Orb Marshadow can exploit this, threatening most Dark- and Normal-types used in the tier such as Yveltal, Tyranitar, Zarude, and Blissey thanks to its excellent Fighting-type STAB moves in Low Kick and Close Combat. In return, Calyrex-S can force physically defensive Eternatus out, which is Marshadow's best check. It can also cure any status Marshadow takes thanks to Aromatherapy.

Being the best Yveltal switch-in and Knock Off absorber in the tier, Eternatus is a great partner for Calyrex-S. Eternatus can also cripple Yveltal with Toxic or Sludge Bomb poison, which heavily reduces its ability to check Calyrex-S. It can also check Marshadow, which can easily OHKO Calyrex-S with Shadow Sneak. In return, Calyrex-S forces Necrozma-DM out with Astral Barrage and can cure Eternatus's paralysis, which terribly cripples it. On hyper offense builds, Eternatus can lure Yveltal in and severely damage it with Meteor Beam. Dragon Tail Eternatus can also rack up damage on opposing Yveltal once Stealth Rock is up and their Heavy-Duty Boots have been removed with Knock Off or Trick.

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Builds and Play with Calyrex-S

This first team, courtesy of Icemaster, was used successfully during Week 2 of UPL X during his game against Punny. It relies on the great pressure exerted by Ho-Oh + Groudon, combined with Choice Specs Calyrex-S, which puts immense pressure on bulky Pokémon that would otherwise be difficult to check for Groudon and Ho-Oh, such as Zygarde, Kyogre, and Rayquaza. Eternatus acts as a mixed defensive tank that helps further against Kyogre and checks menacing threats such as Life Orb Marshadow and Choice Band Dracovish. Necrozma-DM is the setup sweeper for the team; Lum Berry helps protect it from status such as opposing Necrozma-DM's Thunder Wave and Eternatus's Flamethrower's burn, while Dragon Dance is used to clean weakened teams.

During the game, Calyrex-S successfully forced Zekrom out and heavily damaged Yveltal, forcing it to Roost while offering a free switch to Ho-Oh. The latter put Yveltal in range for a 2HKO of Astral Barrage, forcing Punny to sacrifice Groudon in order to safely Roost. It opened a hole for Necrozma-DM, which was able to sweep later in the game thanks to its bulky Dragon Dance set.

This second team, courtesy of TJ, was used during Week 5 of UPL X against xavgb. It uses the combination of Spikes and Dragon Tail Zygarde, which racks up damage on a lot of Pokémon that resist Stealth Rock and don't use Heavy-Duty Boots, such as Necrozma-DM, Groudon, opposing Zygarde, and Ferrothorn. Draco Meteor Shuca Berry Eternatus is a key element against Groudon, which can be extremely tough to beat. Calyrex-S softens Yveltal and offers a great wallbreaking tool against the likes of Eternatus, Lunala, and Groudon.

Calyrex-S was able to OHKO both Groudon and Necrozma-DM during the game thanks to its Choice Specs, but where Calyrex-S really shined was the late-game; it used Trick on the opposing Eternatus, and, thanks to Protect, the opposing Calyrex-S was left with only one remaining Astral Barrage. Eternatus was left walled by Necrozma-DM, and the opposing Calyrex-S couldn't KO both Yveltal and Necrozma-DM, which means TJ had a guaranteed win with Necrozma-DM and led to xavgb forfeiting the game.

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Playing against Calyrex-S

Calyrex-S shines thanks to the plethora of sets it has, using the surprise factor to gain a decisive advantage over the opposing team. However, each of its sets has well-defined counterplay. Yveltal is obviously the best switch-in to most sets, and Snarl Yveltal can counter almost any Calyrex-S variant, even though it has very little usage. However, as mentioned earlier, Calyrex-S shines thanks to its superb offensive stats boosted by a Choice item, so Yveltal has to stay as healthy as possible to not be defeated by Calyrex-S. This is difficult if it is hit by Trick, so in order for Yveltal to not be exploited via Roost or overwhelmed by the repetitive hits + Stealth Rock damage, it's important to keep entry hazards off the field as much as possible. A notable weakness of Calyrex-S is its mediocre defenses, and it will often rely on double switches or a teammate's pivoting move to be brought onto the field. Predicting its entry and using an offensive move will cripple it greatly and make it think twice before switching in aggressively again. It also loathes paralysis and Toxic, which force it to use Aromatherapy. While Choice variants can be really annoying to deal with thanks to Trick, once it has given up its Choice item, Calyrex-S can be easily revenge killed by the likes of non-Tricked Yveltal, Marshadow, Choice Scarf Galarian Darmanitan, and Giratina-O. Astral Barrage, Calyrex-S's main STAB move, also has very low PP, which can be taken advantage of by Pressure users, mainly Eternatus, Palkia, and Dialga. Specially defensive Yveltal can reliably switch in on it at full, meaning Calyrex-S cannot mindlessly use Astral Barrage, which is the main weakness of mono-attacker sets like SubSeed and Disable + Trick. Meanwhile, its Focus Sash set is extremely vulnerable if it takes any kind of damage, meaning entry hazards and aggressive plays are the key to not letting it break through your team.

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Ban Reasoning

In late June, many players indicated a declining satisfaction with the metagame in the community survey and indicated Calyrex-S as problematic, resulting in a suspect test. While Calyrex-S's support options such as Trick and Substitute + Leech Seed meant that Yveltal was never an ironclad counter, the advent of Protect + Disable, which reliably defeated most Yveltal sets, combined with the aforementioned support options, meant that using Yveltal alone became insufficient for checking Calyrex-S. In order to keep it in check, it has never been uncommon for teams to run both Yveltal and a secondary special wall such as Ho-Oh, possibly along with a revenge killer such as Marshadow. In addition to Calyrex-S's ability to break past checks with its support options, the pro-ban side noted its extreme snowballing ability with As One as well as its immense strain on teambuilding. Unnerve is specifically useful to prevent any form of lure involving a Payapa Berry or a Kasib Berry, while its sky-high base 150 Speed limits revenge killing options to a very small pool of viable Pokémon. Meanwhile, Grim Neigh boosts Calyrex-S's already excellent base 165 Special Attack to absurd levels, allowing it to OHKO almost any foes that does not resist Astral Barrage. As a result, keeping it at bay is mandatory, which restricts both teambuilding and counterplay options. What really pushed the pro-ban voters over the edge about Calyrex-S is its wide variety of set options; while Focus Sash Calyrex-S is usually seen on hyper offense structures, every other set is absolutely viable in any balanced or bulky offense team. While it can't usually 6-0 entire teams, the surprise factor combined with 50 / 50s around which set is used was considered uncompetitive and unhealthy by the pro-ban side.

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Anti-Ban Reasoning

The anti-ban side pointed out the positive impacts Calyrex-S has on the metagame such as its ability to keep dangerous setup sweepers such as Dragon Dance Zekrom and Geomancy Xerneas in check with its Choice Scarf set. They also noted its relative lack of defensive utility, which severely limits its staying power, as Calyrex-S can't take several strong neutral hits and is, for example, 2HKOed by defensive Kyogre's Scald and almost always 2HKOed by an uninvested Dynamax Cannon from Eternatus. Astral Barrage also possesses limited PP, which highly limits Calyrex-S's threat level. In fact, it was stated that it rewards well-executed gameplay, as a blindly clicked Astral Barrage can be easily PP-stalled out by both Yveltal and Pressure users, particularly specially defensive Eternatus, which only has a 77.3% chance to be 2HKOed after Stealth Rock damage and can effectively drain half of Astral Barrage's PP. Finally, many prominent players argued that the Ubers tier should have a much higher threshold for banning Pokémon, which they contend Calyrex-S does not meet: Zacian, with its Choice Band set, could 2HKO physically defensive Necrozma-DM with Close Combat after Stealth Rock damage, while Assurance Zacian-C could 2HKO Necrozma-DM if it was switched in on Stealth Rock, forcing defensive cores consisting of Necrozma-DM + Regenerator users such as Rocky Helmet Tangrowth and defensive Ho-Oh to check it effectively. On the other hand, Calyrex-S has to give up a number of moveslots to simply have a chance to beat Yveltal with no guarantee to achieve this; for example, Disable + Mental Herb Calyrex-S is a massive compromise and still loses to Yveltal if it has Knock Off + Foul Play, and it is also completely walled by Blissey. As a result, anti-ban players thought Calyrex-S was promoting skillful gameplay, while in comparison Zacian and Zacian-C seemed to turn the game into a guessing game that could instantly lead to a defeat if they predicted the correct switch-in.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, Calyrex-S is a dominant force in the SS Ubers metagame, one which every team should be prepared for, and its wide variety of sets and its unique role compression make it an excellent Pokémon in the tier. Its suspect test concluded with it remaining in the tier, resulting from a 57% pro-ban majority, far from reaching the 66.66% super majority required to ban it. Regardless of the outcome of the suspect, it is likely that the feared YEN (Yveltal, Eternatus, Necrozma-DM) core will continue to dominate the metagame. Many strong players believe that Calyrex-S's ban would not result in a strictly better metagame nor solve its current issues anyway. This suspect also shed light on the philosophical nature of Ubers in terms of whether it should be treated like a standard tier and how strong a Pokémon needs to be to get banned from Ubers; in other words, should Ubers have a higher standard for banning things? The result of this suspect seems to suggest that Ubers players believe that the tier should indeed uphold a more stringent tiering policy in this regard, and that bans should be reserved for truly egregious cases such as Mega Rayquaza, the aforementioned Zacian, and Dynamax.

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