Hello everyone, I would like to show off a couple of teams today that both involve a concept that I have been liking a lot recently:
This core takes advantage of Primal Groudon's weakness to Toxic Spikes due to its usual lack of recovery, and makes use of just how strong Toxic Spikes are in this metagame in general should they be supported well. Unlike Spikes, Toxic Spikes will usually have a lasting impression on the battle even after they are removed by Defog which makes them extremely strong if you are playing against bulky offense (the strongest archetype right now imo) should you play them right. I will say right now though, you need to play them right in order for them to be effective which makes these team not very beginner friendly, so keep that in mind when reading this. The teams themselves are built pretty linearly, though I will go over the process pretty in depth for the both. Nonetheless this is still a pretty fun archetype to play so instead of making you wait longer, let's get on with the teams.
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This is the first product of the Toxic Spikes + Fairyceus "core" that I attempted and it actualluy turned out being very solid in my personal opinion.
Preview:
This team is pretty heavily inspired by Hack's own Toxic Spikes based team he made for XY Ubers and a lot of the basic concepts still work pretty well.
I ended up starting with Greninja and Arceus-Fairy (pretend they are present throughout the process), and because of the nature f the archetype, the lack of Arceus-Ghost option basically means i need to utilize Giratina-O as my Extreme Killer Arceus stop. It works well with Toxic Spikes also, forcing in said Arceus when Shadow Force is used a lot of the time and being able to Dragon Tail my opponent's team around until Toxic Spikes have affected every one of my opponent's Pokemon I need them to. It gives me the option to Defog should Toxic Spikes have don there part also.
Because the team is pretty naturally going to be Ho-Oh weak, a reliable Stealth Rock user is needed. Primal Groudon is the most reliable Stealth Rock user in the game right now and its access to Stone Edge and Dragon Tail with the ability to soft check Xerneas in a moments notice. This mon is way too good to pass up.
For some reason, Shadow Force Refresh Extremekiller began to appear EVERYWHERE, for strange reasons I still don't understand, at the time I was building this team concept. The best way to beat this is to have a Normal-type Pokemon of your own along side Giratina-O and PP stall away and, luckily for me, there is a Normal-type that gets a whole lot stronger with Toxic Spikes support with the Pokemon in question being Mega Kangaskhan. She and her kid also threaten and weaken a lot of what troubles the existing members which made her that much stronger of a pick. Fake Out + Toxic Spikes is just very strong with the way the build is looking so far.
As I was looking at the team a few problem Pokemon look like they utterly Destroy the team as it stands with the biggest threats being Ho-Oh and Darkrai. At this point it was late and I wasn't thinking very clearly so I went with Terrakion without realizing just how abusable it was by my opponent (if you are forced to lock into CC, it is basically a free Defog which sucks massively).
After losing several times because of this, there was definitely a change that needed to be made and it actually came from shrang with his disgust at seeing Choice Scarf Terrakion. He legit said,"ew, use Genesect or something", so I did and it made the team run a lot smoother overall. Genesect can still scare out Ho-Oh with boom and easily revenge kill Darkrai after Dark Void while also buying momentum in the process, giving the rest of the team room to force in a particular mon on to Toxic Spikes.
Now for the mons:
Greninja @ Focus Sash
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Shadow Sneak
- Gunk Shot
- Taunt
Greninja is one of the better Toxic Spikes setters right now in my personal opinion, and naturally I wanted to try it out in ORAS because of its success in late XY. Protean is just so nice for a Toxic Spikes user and it also got a new toy Gunk Shot to play around with which I decided to use a couple of weeks after the team was built. It worked fantastically, giving Greninja a chance to Poison Mega Sableye, do a large amount of damage to the Eon Twins on the switch, and utterly destroy any Mega Diancie attempts at blocking Toxic Spikes. The only downside is its accuracy of course. Taunt keeps the Eon twins from using Defog while Greninja can also smack them around with Gunk Shot and Shadow Sneak. Unfortunately, Greninja does not offer much defensive utility on the team besides Toxic Spikes but this does not hurt how it plays with the team at all hardly. Shadow Sneak is weak but necessary for blocking Excadrill and breaking down Deoxys-A but outside of that it doesn't do much.
Arceus @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 248 HP / 76 Def / 8 SpA / 176 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Judgment
- Recover
- Calm Mind
- Refresh
The epitome of Ho-Oh bait, Arceus-Fairy is still quite nice to have on this team in particular due to its ability to bring in Primal Groudon on Toxic Spikes, roll over Mega Salamence and Arceus-Dark, and beat Klefki, one of the most popular secondary Geomancy Xerneas and Fairy-type check right now. I have been tempted to throw Stone Edge on here a couple of times but getting passed Klefki has proven to be too valuable when you have Giratina-O and Primal Groudon on your team without recovery. It is my status sponge and primary win condition. Its role on the team is very straight forward.
Groudon @ Red Orb
Ability: Drought
EVs: 248 HP / 56 Def / 172 SpD / 48 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Precipice Blades
- Dragon Tail
- Stone Edge
Groudon is here to be Groudon, being the metagame titan it is. It is the team's reliable user of Stealth Rock and Defog harasser. Seriously, Dragon Tail makes this thing so annoying to try and Defog against because of how much damage the Eon's take from it. Giratina-O shrugs it off pretty easy but it still doesn't like coming on on multiple, especially with the Kangaskhan I have on the team lying at wait. I am pretty much forced to run Stone Edge on Groudon due to Ho-Oh's impact on the team. I also Speed crept to what I am normally comfortable with using on Ho-Oh so Groudon will hopefully barely out run it. I do change the creep depending on the player I am facing in a tour setting though. Another nice thing about running Dragon Tail on this team is it has a chance of dragging in another Toxic Spikes weak Pokemon, only adding to its annoying but effective utility. 3 attacks Groudon with no investment and no Fire-type STAB may seem a bit strange but it works very well with this build and I urge you to at least try it before completely dismissing it for something like Thunder Wave or Lava Plume. I do use Precipice (or the newly dubbed "Aids") Blades over Earthquake purely for damage on Geomancy Xerneas. although its not like the team struggles with it, the extra damage may mean one less sac should something go wrong early game.
Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Download
EVs: 248 Atk / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- U-Turn
- Iron Head
- Ice Beam
- Explosion
This is my Darkrai check, potential Ho-Oh lure, way of getting Arceus-Ghost in on Toxic Spikes without losing momentum etc. I was really impressed with the way Genesect rounded off the team in place of Terrakion due to its revenge killing capability without allowing Defog to happen. Most important of all, it revenge kills Darkrai. Getting swept by this thing in the early developments of the team was extremely annoying considering it could come in on Giratina and begin its shenanigans. Genesect can also come in if Greninja's KO timing is off and Taunt ends up wearing out in order to scare of the Eon twin attempting to get rid of the Toxic Spikes.
Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Happiness: 0
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 128 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Frustration
- Sucker Punch
- Earthquake
Kangaskhan has been a savior in a lot of situations thanks to her tanking abilities, extremely strong un-boosted attacks, and Fake Out. She has the tendency to not be very crucial to winning games, but makes up for this by being a massive blanket and method of applying pressure to teams regardless. Her Speed makes her a super nice asset to have against weakened base 90s and Adamant Frustration just ruins everything that is not a Ghost-type. Earthquake hits Primal Groudon slightly harder which is nice should you not be able to force it into Toxic Spikes or should it be a Rest variant. She formes a Shadow Force E-Killer ruining team with Giratina-O, which was pretty big at the time I made this team but not so much now. Fake Out with Toxic Spikes is crucial in stopping some sweeps though and makes the team incredibly resistant to set up sweepers, especially those that rely on Life Orb. Although it may not seem like it immediately, mega Kangaskhan's presence is a very good one on this team.
Giratina-O @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 244 Atk / 248 Def / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Tail
- Shadow Force
- Shadow Sneak
- Defog
Giratina-O is a very large blanket on this team, switching into Ground-type attacks and checking Normal-types. Shadow Force still a a chunk to even those that resist it and is still a very good move to be running on Giratina-O in my personal opinion. Shadow Force is particularly useful on this team in particular due to it plus Shadow Sneak putting 200 Def Geomancy Xerneas into Kangaskhan KO range and then some. Much like Groudon, Dragon Tail is given some extra utility due to the team's Toxic Spikes and dragging out certain Pokemon is extremely rewarding at times.Shadow Force also forces out Extreme Killer Arceus a lot of the time assuming it isn't already in which is great because of how much it hates Toxic Spikes. Defog can be used to get rid of Stealth Rock or Spikes stacking since my entire team is grounded for the most part and Klefki is a massive pain. It may seem counterproductive, but the lasting impression of Toxic Spikes make it worth running in my opinion.
A Final Look:
Threats:
Yeah, Big Bird is a threat to this team. Everything on the team can hit it for a very good amount of damage, besides Arceus-Fairy, though assuming Sacred Fire burns aren't caught on the switch and you only directly switch into it when you absolutely need to. Stone Edge, and Stealth Rock are bother carried on Groudon, so keep it alive so long as this bird remains or you insta-lose for the most part. There is a rather tricky manuever you can pull that I have had success with recently. After Dragon Tailing out an Eon and letting your opponent know you will not let Defog happen unless their Eon is dragged in, try using Stone Edge to catch the Ho-Oh since Ho-Oh LOVE to come in and sponge Dragon Tail because of Regenerator.
You must play extremely aggressive around Klefki in order to keep Spikes off, or accept the fact that Spikes will go up and slowly deal with it with Arceus. Everything that Klefki does strongly annoys this team particularly because my Steel-type is one that likes its Speed.
(decided to add this because of Hack's post)Other Notes:
Stall and balance are very hard match ups for this team because of bulky Steel-types and Ho-Oh are present. Stall is a match up that is pretty much un-winnable, so make sure your opponent is a persistent bulky offense or Hyper Offense. Balance is hard and although there is some variation depending on the structure, it will always be around the hard to un-winnable level. An option to deal with Steel-types is running Fire Punch on Kangaskhan over Sucker Punch or Earthquake with the set above being my preference since I myself will only bring this team if I am on a ladder run, or against a offensively based player.
Import:
Shoutouts:
Team 2 will be coming tomorrow, but here is a quick preview of what it entails:
______________
This is the first product of the Toxic Spikes + Fairyceus "core" that I attempted and it actualluy turned out being very solid in my personal opinion.
Preview:
Now for the mons:
Greninja @ Focus Sash
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Shadow Sneak
- Gunk Shot
- Taunt
Greninja is one of the better Toxic Spikes setters right now in my personal opinion, and naturally I wanted to try it out in ORAS because of its success in late XY. Protean is just so nice for a Toxic Spikes user and it also got a new toy Gunk Shot to play around with which I decided to use a couple of weeks after the team was built. It worked fantastically, giving Greninja a chance to Poison Mega Sableye, do a large amount of damage to the Eon Twins on the switch, and utterly destroy any Mega Diancie attempts at blocking Toxic Spikes. The only downside is its accuracy of course. Taunt keeps the Eon twins from using Defog while Greninja can also smack them around with Gunk Shot and Shadow Sneak. Unfortunately, Greninja does not offer much defensive utility on the team besides Toxic Spikes but this does not hurt how it plays with the team at all hardly. Shadow Sneak is weak but necessary for blocking Excadrill and breaking down Deoxys-A but outside of that it doesn't do much.
Arceus @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 248 HP / 76 Def / 8 SpA / 176 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Judgment
- Recover
- Calm Mind
- Refresh
The epitome of Ho-Oh bait, Arceus-Fairy is still quite nice to have on this team in particular due to its ability to bring in Primal Groudon on Toxic Spikes, roll over Mega Salamence and Arceus-Dark, and beat Klefki, one of the most popular secondary Geomancy Xerneas and Fairy-type check right now. I have been tempted to throw Stone Edge on here a couple of times but getting passed Klefki has proven to be too valuable when you have Giratina-O and Primal Groudon on your team without recovery. It is my status sponge and primary win condition. Its role on the team is very straight forward.
Groudon @ Red Orb
Ability: Drought
EVs: 248 HP / 56 Def / 172 SpD / 48 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Precipice Blades
- Dragon Tail
- Stone Edge
Groudon is here to be Groudon, being the metagame titan it is. It is the team's reliable user of Stealth Rock and Defog harasser. Seriously, Dragon Tail makes this thing so annoying to try and Defog against because of how much damage the Eon's take from it. Giratina-O shrugs it off pretty easy but it still doesn't like coming on on multiple, especially with the Kangaskhan I have on the team lying at wait. I am pretty much forced to run Stone Edge on Groudon due to Ho-Oh's impact on the team. I also Speed crept to what I am normally comfortable with using on Ho-Oh so Groudon will hopefully barely out run it. I do change the creep depending on the player I am facing in a tour setting though. Another nice thing about running Dragon Tail on this team is it has a chance of dragging in another Toxic Spikes weak Pokemon, only adding to its annoying but effective utility. 3 attacks Groudon with no investment and no Fire-type STAB may seem a bit strange but it works very well with this build and I urge you to at least try it before completely dismissing it for something like Thunder Wave or Lava Plume. I do use Precipice (or the newly dubbed "Aids") Blades over Earthquake purely for damage on Geomancy Xerneas. although its not like the team struggles with it, the extra damage may mean one less sac should something go wrong early game.
Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Download
EVs: 248 Atk / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- U-Turn
- Iron Head
- Ice Beam
- Explosion
This is my Darkrai check, potential Ho-Oh lure, way of getting Arceus-Ghost in on Toxic Spikes without losing momentum etc. I was really impressed with the way Genesect rounded off the team in place of Terrakion due to its revenge killing capability without allowing Defog to happen. Most important of all, it revenge kills Darkrai. Getting swept by this thing in the early developments of the team was extremely annoying considering it could come in on Giratina and begin its shenanigans. Genesect can also come in if Greninja's KO timing is off and Taunt ends up wearing out in order to scare of the Eon twin attempting to get rid of the Toxic Spikes.
Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Happiness: 0
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 128 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Frustration
- Sucker Punch
- Earthquake
Kangaskhan has been a savior in a lot of situations thanks to her tanking abilities, extremely strong un-boosted attacks, and Fake Out. She has the tendency to not be very crucial to winning games, but makes up for this by being a massive blanket and method of applying pressure to teams regardless. Her Speed makes her a super nice asset to have against weakened base 90s and Adamant Frustration just ruins everything that is not a Ghost-type. Earthquake hits Primal Groudon slightly harder which is nice should you not be able to force it into Toxic Spikes or should it be a Rest variant. She formes a Shadow Force E-Killer ruining team with Giratina-O, which was pretty big at the time I made this team but not so much now. Fake Out with Toxic Spikes is crucial in stopping some sweeps though and makes the team incredibly resistant to set up sweepers, especially those that rely on Life Orb. Although it may not seem like it immediately, mega Kangaskhan's presence is a very good one on this team.
Giratina-O @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 244 Atk / 248 Def / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Tail
- Shadow Force
- Shadow Sneak
- Defog
Giratina-O is a very large blanket on this team, switching into Ground-type attacks and checking Normal-types. Shadow Force still a a chunk to even those that resist it and is still a very good move to be running on Giratina-O in my personal opinion. Shadow Force is particularly useful on this team in particular due to it plus Shadow Sneak putting 200 Def Geomancy Xerneas into Kangaskhan KO range and then some. Much like Groudon, Dragon Tail is given some extra utility due to the team's Toxic Spikes and dragging out certain Pokemon is extremely rewarding at times.Shadow Force also forces out Extreme Killer Arceus a lot of the time assuming it isn't already in which is great because of how much it hates Toxic Spikes. Defog can be used to get rid of Stealth Rock or Spikes stacking since my entire team is grounded for the most part and Klefki is a massive pain. It may seem counterproductive, but the lasting impression of Toxic Spikes make it worth running in my opinion.
A Final Look:
Threats:
Yeah, Big Bird is a threat to this team. Everything on the team can hit it for a very good amount of damage, besides Arceus-Fairy, though assuming Sacred Fire burns aren't caught on the switch and you only directly switch into it when you absolutely need to. Stone Edge, and Stealth Rock are bother carried on Groudon, so keep it alive so long as this bird remains or you insta-lose for the most part. There is a rather tricky manuever you can pull that I have had success with recently. After Dragon Tailing out an Eon and letting your opponent know you will not let Defog happen unless their Eon is dragged in, try using Stone Edge to catch the Ho-Oh since Ho-Oh LOVE to come in and sponge Dragon Tail because of Regenerator.
You must play extremely aggressive around Klefki in order to keep Spikes off, or accept the fact that Spikes will go up and slowly deal with it with Arceus. Everything that Klefki does strongly annoys this team particularly because my Steel-type is one that likes its Speed.
(decided to add this because of Hack's post)Other Notes:
Stall and balance are very hard match ups for this team because of bulky Steel-types and Ho-Oh are present. Stall is a match up that is pretty much un-winnable, so make sure your opponent is a persistent bulky offense or Hyper Offense. Balance is hard and although there is some variation depending on the structure, it will always be around the hard to un-winnable level. An option to deal with Steel-types is running Fire Punch on Kangaskhan over Sucker Punch or Earthquake with the set above being my preference since I myself will only bring this team if I am on a ladder run, or against a offensively based player.
Import:
Arceus @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 248 HP / 76 Def / 8 SpA / 176 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Judgment
- Recover
- Calm Mind
- Refresh
Greninja @ Focus Sash
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Taunt
- Shadow Sneak
- Gunk Shot
Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Explosion
- Ice Beam
Groudon @ Red Orb
Ability: Drought
EVs: 232 HP / 56 Def / 172 SpD / 48 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Precipice Blades
- Dragon Tail
- Stone Edge
Giratina-Origin @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 244 Atk / 248 Def / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Dragon Tail
- Shadow Force
- Defog
Kangaskhan (F) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Happiness: 0
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 128 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Frustration
- Earthquake
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 248 HP / 76 Def / 8 SpA / 176 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Judgment
- Recover
- Calm Mind
- Refresh
Greninja @ Focus Sash
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Taunt
- Shadow Sneak
- Gunk Shot
Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Explosion
- Ice Beam
Groudon @ Red Orb
Ability: Drought
EVs: 232 HP / 56 Def / 172 SpD / 48 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Precipice Blades
- Dragon Tail
- Stone Edge
Giratina-Origin @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 244 Atk / 248 Def / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Dragon Tail
- Shadow Force
- Defog
Kangaskhan (F) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Happiness: 0
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 128 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Frustration
- Earthquake
Shoutouts:
Edgar for being Edgar and helping out the community whenever he can.
Haruno for being someone to talk to late at night in the Ubers PS! room.
James Jimmy for being ne of the coolest people in the Ubers community
shrang for being shrang and the same reasons as Haruno
steelphoenix rip jackal
Piexplode for being silly and the BAM dictator
Sweep for being a model user
Muk for being a model user of a model user
PISTOLERO for being fun
Joryn rip
absdaddy for playing some pretty consistent DPP games with me
Fireburn KACAW!.. I mean RAWR!
@ everyone who participates in BAM
@ the rest of the Ubers community because you guys are pretty amazing when you aren't being toxic or salty.xd
Haruno for being someone to talk to late at night in the Ubers PS! room.
James Jimmy for being ne of the coolest people in the Ubers community
shrang for being shrang and the same reasons as Haruno
steelphoenix rip jackal
Piexplode for being silly and the BAM dictator
Sweep for being a model user
Muk for being a model user of a model user
PISTOLERO for being fun
Joryn rip
absdaddy for playing some pretty consistent DPP games with me
Fireburn KACAW!.. I mean RAWR!
@ everyone who participates in BAM
@ the rest of the Ubers community because you guys are pretty amazing when you aren't being toxic or salty.xd
Team 2 will be coming tomorrow, but here is a quick preview of what it entails:
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