Introduction
Hello everyone! I'm 2sly4u, here to present my very first B/W Uber team. I was looking at the usage statistics posted in DST, and while perusing the Ubers I noticed that my favorite non-Kanto pokemon, Ho-Oh, was wallowing near the bottom in usage. In fact, the once mighty phoenix has fallen so far that he's used on less than 2% of 1337 teams. Seeing this, I decided to make a team proving that the king of the Tin Tower is still a potent and dangerous threat. There's just one problem... I'd never played Gen V Ubers before in my life. Despite my relative inexperience, the team I've constructed has been faring pretty well, as I've won a good deal of matches with it. However, I'm sure that there are some improvements more experienced Ubers battlers can help me to make. That's where you, the team raters come in. However, please remember that this team is meant to showcase Ho-Oh, so he's not replaceable (but his set is). Without further ado, here's my team!
Team Building Process
As I said in the intro, Ho-Oh is the basis of this team, so I obviously started off with him. However, the rainbow bird needs two very important forms of team support: Sun and Rapid Spin. So, I knew I needed Groudon and a Spinner, finally settling on Forretress for his ability to absorb the multiple Dragon moves in the tier.
With the addition of Forretress, I realized that he would probably get hazards up frequently. Even though this was an inadvertent bonus to my team, I didn't want my precious Spikes and Toxic Spikes to be spun away in vain. So, I added the bulkiest pokemon in the game, Giratina to block Rapid Spin.
Even with Giratina to tank Water Spout, any team would be foolish to go into battle with only one Kyogre counter. So, I decided to use Blissey, who's Wish support who pairs wonderfully with Forretress's Sturdy, while also giving Ho-Oh a relatively free switch should I fail to remove Rocks before he's needed.
For my last slot, I wanted another offensive pokemon since I can't create much pressure. I chose CM Arceus Electric so I could revenge Kyogre should Blissey and Giratina fall (I know, I know, I'm probably too paranoid about that), while also boasting terrific coverage with only two moves.
With the addition of Forretress, I realized that he would probably get hazards up frequently. Even though this was an inadvertent bonus to my team, I didn't want my precious Spikes and Toxic Spikes to be spun away in vain. So, I added the bulkiest pokemon in the game, Giratina to block Rapid Spin.
Even with Giratina to tank Water Spout, any team would be foolish to go into battle with only one Kyogre counter. So, I decided to use Blissey, who's Wish support who pairs wonderfully with Forretress's Sturdy, while also giving Ho-Oh a relatively free switch should I fail to remove Rocks before he's needed.
For my last slot, I wanted another offensive pokemon since I can't create much pressure. I chose CM Arceus Electric so I could revenge Kyogre should Blissey and Giratina fall (I know, I know, I'm probably too paranoid about that), while also boasting terrific coverage with only two moves.
Changes will be bolded and italicized
Groudon@Leftovers
Impish Nature, 252HP/4Att/252Def
Stealth Rock
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Roar
Groudon is my weather starter, used over Ninetales for obvious reasons. He's vital for this team since without him, Ho-Oh's main STAB move will most likely be completely nerfed from an opposing Kyogre's Drizzle. Stealth Rocks are also important, because my defensive core causes a lot of switches and needs Kyogre's Water Spout to be weakened in order to wall effectively. Earthquake is STAB and Stone Edge provides good coverage, but for the most part I just use Roar to rack up entry hazard damage whenever I have a spare turn, but that isn't often since keeping Groudon off the field and alive is a high priority until opposing weather starters are dealt with. Roar is being used over Dragon Tail since it pierces Substitute and has 100% accuracy...nothing sucks worse than losing to an Extremespeed Arceus because your phasing move missed.
Forretress@Leftovers
Calm Nature, 252HP/4Def/252SpD
Spikes
Rapid Spin
Toxic Spikes
Volt Switch
Forretress is my all-important spinner, clearing the field of hazards, which is important since Ho-Oh and Groudon both need to switch in frequently. He's also my Dragon resist, but I usually prefer to revenge opposing Dragons with other things since he can't do much to them in return and encourages opposing setup while he's out. However, when he has a free turn, he can set up Toxic Spikes and Spikes of him own, softening up the opponent for Ho-Oh's cleanup later. For my attacking move, I opted for Volt Switch as my attacking move since Forry isn't doing much damage anyways and it lets him maintain momentum should hazard setup seem unwise. He may seem like an odd choice on a Sun team, but realistically he isn't surviving a Fire attack anyways and he appreciates the added Water resistance.
Giratina@Leftovers
Impish Nature, 252HP/252Def/4SpD
Will-O-Wisp
Dragon Tail
Rest
Sleep Talk
With great hazards comes a great need for a Spinblocker. That's where Giratina comes in, making sure that Goudon and Forretress' hard work doesn't go for naught. He also serves as my main phazer, with a surprisingly powerful STAB Dragon Tail, and as my main check to physical threats like ExtremeSpeed Arceus. With Will-O-Wisp, he can more easily take on physical attackers such as Groudon as well. However, perhaps the biggest draw to this set is ResTalk, which prevents Dark Void from crippling something should I predict correctly, and lets me absorb status freely. Both moves that can be summoned by Sleep Talk dissuade opposing set up, as few thinks like being burned and Dragon Tail will remove all of my opponent's hard earned boosts. Right now, Giratina is the glue that holds my team together. Unless it's near the end of the match, Giratina going down means that the rest of my team isn't far behind.
Blissey@Leftovers
Calm Nature, 252HP/4Def/252SpD
Wish
Protect
Toxic
Seismic Toss
Blissey is my dedicated Special Wall and Wish Passer. She also serves as my primary SpecsOgre check after it has taken a bit of previous damage, as this lets me alternate between Wish and Protect to negate the Water Spout damage. Wish is perhaps the most important move on my entire team, keeping all of my pokemon healthy. Protect lets me scout choice users and heal reliably with Wish, while Toxic allows me to cripple opposing Walls such as Ghost Arceus. Seismic Toss provides consistent damage should Blissey have nothing better to do, but most of the times she's busy passing health to the rest of my team. Between her and Giratina, I can basically wall everything in the tier.
Palkia@Choice Scarf
Timid Nature, 252SpA/4SpD/252Spe
Spacial Rend
Thunder
Draco Meteor
Fire Blast
Palkia was suggested by BKC as a replacement to Arceus-Electric, and he's done a serviceable job. I'm now much less vulnerable to threats like DD Rayquaza, and his good overall coverage lets him revenge most of the metagame. Spacial is STAB, while Thunder handles Kyogre. Draco Meteor takes out almost anything that doesn't resist it if it's an emergency, while Fire Blast gets pseudo STAB in the Sun, and since it doesn't drop my Special Attack it's used for late-game cleaning alongside Spacial Rend. Palkia has quickly become a staple on my team, and I'm not sure how I ever managed without him.
Ho-Oh@ Leftovers
Adamant Nature, 192 HP/240 Atk/76 SpD
Sacred Fire
Brave Bird
Recover
Substitute
Ho-Oh is my main physical tank and the inspiration for this team. SubRoost Ho-Oh replaces the Scarf set. While I've lost a lot of cleaning potential, I make up for it in the ability to change moves from behind a Substitute, making me much more lethal mid-game. Ho-Oh is helpful against Stall, Pressuring the opponent out of all their valuable Dragon Tail PP and setting up on Ferrothorn, Forretress, and Skarmory. Brave Bird and Sacred Fire are the attacking moves of choice thanks to their high accuracy and Base power. At first, SubRoost wasn't all that effective for me so I went back to the Scarf set. I've now returned to the SubRoot set at basically every poster's recommendation, and it's been doing better as I've become a more competent Ubers battler.
Problems
This team is having less issues than it did before, but is still annoyed by SubSeed Shaymin and Dialga (until I know the set), while a slight weakness to Lugia has developed. However, none of these have completely stopped me cold during a match.
Conclusion
Ultimately, this this team has exceeded my expectations, especially since I'm still learning the ins and outs of Ubers. However, I'm sure there are ways to make it better. I'm looking forward to your improvements and comments, and thank you for reading!
