Overview
Ubers always fascinated me, mainly because everything hit like a nuclear bomb there. As of late, I've been laddering with this team, and it had very god results. I soon reached 20th on the Ubers ladder, but sadly, after 4 losses in a row (hax ridden ;[) I plummeted to 28th. This team wasn't initially based around Swords Dance Rayquaza, in fact, I didn't even want to add Rayquaza in the first place! Still, I tried to make the team able to support its weaknesses and handle things that normally cause it trouble. The biggest one was obviousy Lugia, but this team handles the flying menace rather well; Metagross can Explode on a switch in, Dialga can set up on it, Groudon paralyses it, and Darkrai can sleep it and set up. Groudon was another problem that I admit isn't completely covered. Rock Polish Groudon is a major pain, but Scarf Mewtwo can outspeed it and either Selfdestruct or kill it while it's weak with Ice Beam. Darkrai sets up on the ParaDancer granted Sleep Clause hasn't been disturbed. The other threats, Scarf __ are covered entirely by Dialga, as it can bulk up on physical ones, and use its beefy Special Defense to take Draco Meteors and Ice Beams. The team is highly offensive, using Groudon as sort of a "barrier" for physical threats. Once the things such as Mewtwo and Deoxys-A are gone, then it's time to sweep with Darkrai and Rayquaza, which is very possible. In the end, this team has a very high win percentage, but I'm really open to suggestions.
The Lead
Mewtwo @
Naive
40 Atk / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
-Focus Blast
-Ice Beam
-Shadow Ball
-Selfdestruct
Comments: This ingenius lead was created by darknessmalice (located here). It works wonderfully in dispatching Scarf Darkrai, Rayquaza, and especially Palkia and such. Focus Blast is used to guarantee an OHKO on Darkrai, as well as doing more damage overall to Dialga and such (2HKOing all variants bar Bulk Up, which runs Max HP / Max SpD). Ice Beam and Shadow Ball hit nearly everything in Ubers that is seen commonly for super effective, while Selfdestruct is nice for taking out things such as Palkia, Kyogre, etc...It also is one of the more reliable Blissey killers on this team, which is good since she really messes up Darkrai's sweeping chances with his fat 255 HP / 135 Special Defense. Overall, it's a solid lead, props once again to darknessmalice. Of course, in order to demonstrate its effectiveness, I'll put it against the top 10 leads in Ubers:
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As you can see, Mewtwo handles a majority of the leads effectively, and for those who really threaten it, I can just BLOW it up in their face, and start the match off with a massive threat out of my hair.
The Special Sweeper
Darkrai @
Timid
6 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
-Dark Void
-Dark Pulse
-Focus Blast
-Nasty Plot
Comments: Darkrai is an excellent choice to clean up things in late game. STAB Dark Pulse hits a lot of things for hard damage, even common resists such as Scizor, after a Nasty Plot. Focus Blast gives near perfect coverage when used in conjunction with Dark Pulse, and it also lets Darkrai defeat Dialga and Tyranitar, two prominent Special Walls in Ubers. Dark Void is shaky in some cases, but it's great for getting free set ups, even against Blissey. Using Darkrai is ridiculously easy, and as of late he's been a personal favorite of mine. The only problems I've had lately with him are his vulnerability to being revenge killed, and inability to handle Scizor. Luckily, both of these threats are patched up with proper prediction and a sense of safe switching when obvious threats are about to switch in. Recently, I've noticed a growing amount of Giratina-O, which is perfect since Darkrai sets up on them really easily, as even Dragon Pulse fails to OHKO, while I outspeed and 2HKO it with Dark Pulse or simply sleep it then Nasty Plot up. Darkrai also covers many threats such as Lugia, Groudon, Kyogre, etc...all three are huge problems for Rayquaza, whom this team is based around.
The Trapper
Metagross @
Adamant
210 HP / 140 Atk / 160 SpD
-Meteor Mash
-Earthquake
-Pursuit / Bullet Punch
-Explosion
Comments: Metagross is one of my favorite Pokemon, and he works amazing in Ubers thanks to his natural bulk, excellent typing, and powerful movepool. 210 HP / 160 SpD lets him take hits from the likes of Mewtwo, Deoxys-f, Latias, Latios, and even Darkrai (non-Nasty Plot). All of these threats fall to Meteor Mash, or Pursuit if they feel like switching (bar Darkrai). Earthquake is mainly filler, but it helps with Scizor, Palkia, Dialga, and Kyogre, who resist Meteor Mash and can hit back moderately hard. Explosion is just fantastic. It's really a great way to stop sweeps due to Metagross's ability to live nearly every unboosted hit found in Ubers. Metagross is my main switch-in on Outrages, and since Meteor Mash ruins Rayquaza and Earthquake ruins Dialga, I can safely call Metagross my "Dragon check". I really have no idea if I should replace him with Scizor, I doubt it'd fit my needs as well as Metagross, but I'd like to hear your input, guys.
The Tank
Dialga @
Careful
252 HP / 252 SpD / 6 Spe
-Bulk Up
-Outrage
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
Comments: Dialga is the main tank of my team, as with a great distribution of Defense and Special Defense, it can take hits well from both sides of the spectrum. Bulk Up has always been a staple on my teams, mainly since it counters Kyogre and stops most Choice Scarf users dead cold. This is especially important since Rayquaza is threatened by the aforementioned threats. Nothing short of STAB or boosted Fighting attacks truly can 2HKO him easily. Dialga sets up on all forms of Blissey, Cresselia, Kyogre, etc...Outrage is a god-send really. I used to have to rely on Dragon Claw, but Outrage deals much more damage over a shorter period of time. Although he has a few noticable weaknesses, Bulk Up patches them up to the point where only Swords Dance Groudon's Earthquake can truly OHKO me. Dialga certainly possesess nice resistences, and has the ability to stop many threats in their tracks, while also being a menacing physical attacker.
The Glue
Groudon @
Adamant
252 HP / 156 Atk / 32 Def / 60 SpD / 8 Spe
-Stealth Rock
-Thunder Wave
-Earthquake
-Dragon Claw
Comments: When the team falls back to offensive threats, Groudon is a god-send, truly. It is my answer to Dragon Dance Rayquaza, as it can paralyse it and make it ridiculously easy to stop. Dragon Claw also nails Rayquaza and hits it for a decent amount of damage (2HKO). Stealth Rock is essential to this team's success (Rayquaza's success really). I'm not certain about the EV spread; it's standard and I don't want to screw up my chances of having a successful component to my team. The only real concerns I have with Groudon is the fact that he invites Kyogre and to a lesser extent, Palkia, to come in and utterly destroy my team. Possible replacements are hard to find, since there is little that has Groudon's defensive capabilities that also learns Stealth Rock, and can also handle Kyogre and Palkia. Unless there is some sort of godly Pokemon that does this.
The Star
Rayquaza @
Adamant
252 Att / 252 Spe / 6 SpD
-Swords Dance
-Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Extremespeed
Comments: Here he is; the star of the team! I've always been fond of Rayquaza, especially in ADV. However, he wasn't as great as I thought he was when I tried him on Netbattle...Well, that changed in DPPt. I first started off with that Dragon Dancer, which was hard to use, however, I then decided to take a chance with Mixquaza, and got some pretty decent results. It wasn't until I looked on Smogon's Rayquaza analysis and saw the Swords Dancer (written by my tutor Articanus if memory serves me correct), and was blown away. SD Ray is a MONSTER, and its typing and already impressive Attack makes it all the better. After a Swords Dance, Rayquaza sits at 876 Attack, and with a Base 80 priority, it's pretty damn scary. I prefer Dragon Claw over Watefall solely to hit Lugia, Giratina, and Palkia. I don't see the need to really specifically kill Groudon when a boosted Dragon Claw 2HKOs it anyway. Well, enough candycoating, I'll present some calculations:
Dragon Claw vs. 252 HP / 32 Def Groudon: 74.50%-87.87%
Dragon Claw vs. 252 HP / 52 Def Lugia: 75.96%-89.66%
Dragon Claw vs. 252 HP / 80 Def Deoxys-D: 85.86%-100.99%
Extremespeed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Palkia: 86.29%-101.56%
Extremespeed vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Kyogre: 88.30%-104-09%
Extremespeed vs. 42 HP / 0 Def Mewtwo: 83.20%-98.07%
Overall, Rayquaza is the main physical threat on this team, and truly hard to stop with Stealth Rock support. With Stealth Rock up, almost all of those 2HKOs become OHKOs, which is very essential for a successful SD Ray sweep.
