Projects National Dex Ubers Teambuilding Competition

[Jumpheart]

How it started:

How it went:

Band Ho-Oh Giramola


My team actually adheres to both prompts of the week! For the ghosting tour, my two teammates were Bumbo and R8. As such, we would be loading a lot of GHAZ and shitmons, respectively, so I took it upon myself to try and build something interesting and new using a known good mon. Upon remembering Banded Ho-Oh, I knew I wanted to take a crack at it, and built the first version of this team. After a few tweaks and a couple "it'll be fine"s, we got the final version above. We almost didn't load it but I went "fuck it we ball" and gave this team the showing of a lifetime, with Ho-Oh directly killing four mons and heavily chunking a fifth.

The primary idea of this team is using Alomomola as an entry point for Ho-Oh, as when holding a Choice Band Ho-Oh is not good at switching in on anything. With Wishes and a slow Flip Turn, you can get Ho-Oh in for free at full health, even with Rocks up, which you can see most notably in turn 9-10 (I didn't actually click Flip Turn here but I easily could have). The rest of the team is built to utilize this synergy. Giratina-O is a known Alo partner that picks up Defogging since our Ho-Oh cannot do it. Ditto appreciates the pivoting and Wish support as well, while significantly easing the HO matchup. Fast bulky Eternatus and Pdon round out the team, filling useful roles such as setting hazards, Toxic, and checking problematic matchups such as Yveltal and Primal Kyogre that would otherwise threaten this structure.

One final note is that Dual Wingbeat on Ho-Oh was originally for Smeargle, but is also useful vs. Dragon Dance Zygarde as seen in the replay.

 

[Cancel cult]

The Snowplow
(Props to anyone who understands the reference)

This team uses my patented TSpikes Etern + Chein-Pao core to pave the way for Chien-Pao to kill everything in the endgame, utilising loads of hazards to rack up damage every time the opponent switches while using pivots to constantly position them in a positive matchup to force more switches. Alomomola here helps the team live longer so they can rack up more damage. This team is designed to shut down as many threats to hazards as possible as well as those unaffected by hazards, including Yveltal, Ho-Oh, Necrozma Dusk Mane, Giratina-O, and Zacian. The rather uncommon tera types of the two pivots are to supplement a somewhat poor matchup against EKiller. I'm gonna be honest, I forget what the other purpose of Tera Rock was, but it probably had something to do with its Fire resist. If I had to guess, it was probably to resist Overheat.

 

[altifying]

https://pokepast.es/21039c1ea635ac39
oops made h-oh pressure no nature on zac as well

 

[bumboclaat]

Quite a few submissions this cycle, which given the history of Choice Band Ho-Oh in the teambuilding competition is great to see!

1. CB Ho-Oh BO by Sami
2. CB Ho-Oh balance by Jumpheart
3. Chien-Pao + T Spikes Balance by Cancel Cult
4. Legos by Altifying

The submission deadline is 27 May 23.00 GMT +1

https://pokepast.es/21039c1ea635ac39
oops made h-oh pressure no nature on zac as well

In the future you need to fix your pastes or they will not be considered for submission. Missing something is fine, but if you notice something fix it.

 

[AM]

1 (sami) > the rest. But please use a real Etern set.

 

[Cancel cult]

2>1>4

 

[unfuuny]

1>3>2>4

 

[bumboclaat]

Congratulations to Sami for winning with CB Ho-Oh BO! The last couple of cycles the voters have given us a more defensive focus, but we are now mixing it up with a pair of Steel-types!

Sample Set

Necrozma-Dusk Mane @ Solganium Z
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 236 Spe or 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Sunsteel Strike
- Earthquake
- Photon Geyser / Stone Edge

Despite the ladder's refusal to use it, Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM is a fearsome wallbreaker that scares many balance and bulky offense teams shitless! After a Dragon Dance, Searing whateveritscalled is a massive threat capable of OHKOing essentially anything that does not resist it including Coil Zygarde. Without Tera Water Coil Zygarde most balance structures are forced to use Primal Groudon to trade with Necrozma-DM which can get spicy quite quickly. Furthermore, Necrozma-DM is powerful enough to OHKO some key threats on hyper offense structures without a boost such as Zacian-C and Extreme Killer Arceus after some minor chip. While Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM is quite good, it can be hard to fit, slotting in best on bulky offense structures. I'm excited to see how y'all build with it!

Sample Set

Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted Sword
Ability: Intrepid Sword
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Tera Type: Ground
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough / Behemoth Blade
- Wild Charge
- Tera Blast

Tera Blast Ground Zacian-C remains a huge threat, but is nowhere near as common as it was during the Xerneas metagame due to the opportunity cost it imposes in the builder. Zacian-C has had some issues slotting in on balance teams for a while, but remains a staple on more offensive structures and near mandatory on hyper offense. That is where this set fits best as losing the defensive benefits of its typing is far more managable if you can continue to exert the pressure! The deadline is 1 June 23.59 GMT +1!​

 

[Cancel cult]

Choice Band Ho-Oh

This is my team submission for Choice Band Ho-Oh week. Was putting off adding this to my backup team doc, and now I guess I don't have to.

Scarftal here can guarantee a Defog, making it a pretty good teammate for Ho-Oh. It also compensates for Ho-Oh now not being able to consistently perform some of its usual roles, such as checking Marshadow and Zacian, and it's ability to pivot into it helps a ton.

Groudon here is... alright buddy, it's Groudon. Why do you think I added it?

Now, Yveltal is great at clearing hazards if you only need to do so once, but if the opponent is able to put down hazards multiple times, it starts to struggle. I need another Defogger, and I chose Arceus Fairy for its ability to check Specially Offensive Yveltal. With it, I have a great switch in to both of Marshadow's STABs.

DD NDM is here to provide a check to Power Herb Eternatus, as well as get some great resistances with the Steel typing and provide some good offense.

Lastly, we have Wallbreaker Primal Kyogre. I know Defensive is more standard, but I really want a stallbreaker here. Kyogre is another "check" LO Yveltal, and is also a switch-in to other Kyogre outside of Pdon. It also helps against Zygarde, which is really nice.

So, that's my Choice Band Ho-Oh team. I forgot to submit it for a while, but better late than never. And hey, someone else just made a post here, so I guess I'm not the only one who's late to the party. I haven't seen it yet, but I can't wait to check their team out.

 

[altifying]

The team I used for 1650 on main and laddering
https://pokepast.es/99a796574ecc7fca
Sturdy + White Herb, Sticky Web + SR is match up in heaven and why shuckle is the best webs setter.
E speed immunity and our own form of priority. I have lo over sash bc sash is very bluffable.
Post-Nerf Zacian is basically HO as a pokemon bc you need the one time intrepid sword boost to ohko p don with tera blast ground. Also has an unrivalled speed tier and amazing coverage which makes it a great lg clean up.
Specs chi-yu is an amazing wallbreaker able to 2hko pdon by turning its own sun against it. Webs helps it out speed would be revenge killers. You can run tera ghost to avoid e-speed.
Pretty much guaranteed hazard removal with tera shell and a good safety net for the same reason.
Our z-slot with stone edge for yvetal, taunt to 1v1 zygarde and a win con with dd.

 

[Sami]

Double Steel Bulky Offense

Decided to stack this round's Steel-types while trying not to be boring and using HO. Photon Necrozma-DM is needed for a better Stall MU while I don't think Stone Edge is necessary for this team. Zacian-C is Tera Blast Ground to punish Primal Groudon harder while also punishing Smeargle as it clicks Nuzzle, making that matchup a bit more feasible. Giratina-O is needed for Defog while handling Primal Groudon and Tera Water Zygarde; decided to use Dragon Pulse to not get completely stuffed by Dragon Dance variants and it's not like I need the extra Draco Meteor damage since our two Steel-types handle Eternatus and Arceus well enough. Primal Groudon helps against opposing Zacian-C and Primal Kyogre. Arceus-Fairy helps against Marshadow and Choice Scarf Yveltal; decided to use Will-O-Wisp instead of Taunt to punish reckless Zacian-C and Ultra Necrozma switch-ins, especially since you're probably thinking the latter MU is shaky even though its not entirely bad. Primal Kyogre helps beat Ho-Oh while just being a fatty in general.

Team is a bit annoying to pilot and the Sticky Web MU isn't the greatest, especially if its Spore Smeargle and not Nuzzle, but its okay since this team is kinda fat anyways and trades nicely with a lot of things. Ferrothorn is also quite annoying without Primal Groudon but again this is just outplaying the guy more than anything else.

 

[bumboclaat]

Sorry voting is up a day late! I thought I posted this last night but apparently not

1. CB Ho-Oh revamp by Cancel Cult
2. Webs by Altifying
3. Double Steel BO by Sami

Get your votes in by 07 June 23.59 GMT 0

 

[bumboclaat]

3>1>2

 

[Bobsican]

3>1>2

 

[bumboclaat]

Congrats to Sami for winning with Double Steel BO!

Sample Set

Eternatus @ Leftovers / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
EVs: Either outspeed Marshadow or Yveltal / Chi-Yu
IVs: 0 Atk
Tera Type: Fairy
Timid Nature
- Recover
- Toxic Spikes / Toxic / Sludge Bomb / Flamethrower / Mystical Fire
- Toxic / Sludge Bomb / Dynamax Cannon / Flamethrower / Mystical Fire
- Dynamax Cannon / Sludge Bomb / Flamethrower / Mystical Fire

Eternatus dropping two subranks in the recent VR slate is probably a shock to anyone who has not followed the tier in recent times. While its offensive sets remain potent, especially on hyper offense, its defensive sets have been struggling for a while outside of stall. Part of this is due to Fezandipiti and the decreased value of Toxic Spikes, but another major factor is that being a generalist has finally caught up to Eternatus in a metagame that demmands specialization. Defensive Eternatus wants more moves, EVs, and items than it can generally afford to fit which leads to inconsistency. Will you be the one to crack the code and return Eternatus to its former glory? The deadline is 15 June 23.00 GMT+1​

 

[Cancel cult]

I didn't realize this was just defensive at first, and was dreading having to pick just one because uh,

but it just being defensive narrows it down a lot, although it also means I don't get to talk about the new core I made with bing lu. Now, your eyes probably went right to this,

and while I am dying to talk about this, it would probably guarantee me last place if I submitted it. So instead, I'm submitting this:
Permafrost Released

https://pokepast.es/1321aba98f99d2c5
This team started with an idea, something that doesn't happen very often. If Lopunny is annoying and wastes time, what would happen if I used it alongside Toxic Spikes? So I made this. Pretty similar to the snowplow, but the addition of Lopunny eases the matchup against NDM and Zygarde, as well as webs. It also can act as a cleaner to take advantage of hazards. Tera Steel Ho-Oh helps against Ultra Necrozma and EKiller. This team is really fun. For me that is.

 

[Sami]

Defensive Eternatus Offense

Defensive Eternatus is really weird because on paper it looks solid into Pokemon like Primal Kyogre, Yveltal, Marshadow, and Chi Yu. Unfortunately, its pretty passive and it isn't a fan of Terastalization making the middle 2 a bit too overwhelming to deal with. In my experience, I've always used Mystical Fire because it helps nullify Tera Dark on Yveltal, helps a little bit against Chi Yu, and it prevents it from being complete setup fodder for Tera Poison Calm Mind Arceus formes. It's not like Flamethrower is consistent into Zacian-C or Necrozma-DM anyways, so I don't see how the power is better than the utility that Mystical Fire gives. Toxic is preferred over Toxic Spikes because I don't think getting hard-walled by Ho-Oh is doing us any favours. The given EV spread allows Eternatus to outspeed neutral-natured 120s such as Mega Salamence, while the rest is dumped into Special Defense. Heavy-Duty Boots are essential on Eternatus to actually let it beat Yveltal under Sticky Web, while helping against Chi Yu as well. Tera Fairy is for these two, as well as non-Tera CM Arceus-Dark I suppose. The only other Defensive Eternatus variant I think is worth using is the Reflect Air Balloon variant that combines a Yveltal, Primal Kyogre, and Marshadow check into one, but I figured I'd build around a more... traditional variant for this round.

Anyways this guy folds completely against Zacian-C, Necrozma-DM, and DD Arceus-Ground so I figured Landorus-T would make a nice fit that helps pivot Eternatus in against stuff like Yveltal or Giratina-O, which is what it doesn't like dealing with. Ho-Oh offers hazard removal and an out into Dragon Dance Zygarde with Tera Grass. Arceus-Dark beats Ultra Necrozma and helps contain Necrozma-DM too. Deoxys-A is an interesting choice because it helps deal with faster foes like Wallbreaker Eternatus while having a good Stall MU which this team needs. Lastly, Primal Groudon offers as a strong wallbreaker since it can afford to run Swords Dance + 3A because of Landorus-T already having Stealth Rock; chose Stone Edge over Heat Crash because this team isn't a fan of Ho-Oh, and Dragon Tail prevents non-Tera Fairy Zygarde from getting out of hand. It also acts as a secondary check to Zacian-C.

I played this on ladder and it was a clunky experience, probably because SpD Etern is really passive and folds into as many things as it soft-checks. The main two issues were against niche attackers like Mega Diancie and Galarian Darmanitan. The latter isn't TOO bad because you can use Tera Water Landorus-T but the former is just praying you can get Deoxys-A into it safely and nuke it.

 

[jjjnkn]

Uh, I don't know if this counts but I guess this is super defensive stall eternatus on balance. https://pokepast.es/fa4eabc7893a8792

The team is centered around CM Lunala breaking all the high defense mons in the tier. DD Zygarde and Necrozma is letting the team have some amount of speed. Arceus is there to have removal and beat hyper offense. Groudon gives us rocks, a decent Ho-Oh check, and some unreliable speed control.

The main man Eternatus does what Gothitelle does but differently. I was inspired by Gen 8 Ubers crit-me-not Eternatus. I replaced Meteor Beam with toxic to beat Ho-Oh and stall most CM sweepers. With tera it stalls Groudon and some Zacian. It most struggles with Arceus-Dark but generally if you can get Arceus-Fairy in it can serve as a solid check. Dragon Pulse gives us more pp stall. If you get this in against most CM sweepers late game it will often win on the spot.

When testing on ladder it did surprisingly better than expected. Idk even know if this counts this Cycle but it is a Defensive Eternatus.

 

[bumboclaat]

Hi all, I forgot yesterday again:

1. Chien Pao + Mega Lopunny by Cancel Cult
2. T spikes offense by Sami
3. Cosmic Power Eternatus by jjjnkn

 

[Cancel cult]

1>2>3

 

[jjjnkn]

3>1>2

 

[bumboclaat]

Congrats to Sami for the threepeat with Defensive Eternatus Offense! I'm a bit busy right now, but the next cycle will be one of the lower ranked Arceus formes!

Short write up probably coming in the next few days as I'm a bit busy atm. The deadline is 23 June 13.00 GMT+1​

 

[Cancel cult]

The title of the thread didn't change, but I'm assuming I can still submit.
Prometheus

https://pokepast.es/10ec8d1303f8c7a6
I was told people often don't prepare for , so I experimented with it. Looking to have a strong defensive core, I slotted in and . Now, I forget my exact build process, but there were some things I was struggling with. I needed a webs answer, and I wanted a priority option, but there was a third condition that I was struggling to meet.

THIS FUCKING CAT THAT I HATE!!!
In basically every draft, the team ended up as fodder for one of 's STABs. If I remember correctly, this was what caused me to out the original third member (which I think was Eternatus) to have room to slot in the last three Pokemon. and give me a resistance to both of its STABs, while also giving me a nice pivot core, and doing well into . can also switch into , something very valuable on this team. can also stop from setting webs by using Taunt and then U-turn. Tera Poison is chosen over Tera Ghost because I don't really care about on this team. Lastly, has a solid priority move, can switch into , and has the big dumb button to press. Having a pivot option on three Pokemon also brings a smile to my face. I chose Earthquake over V-create because this team cares more about getting than nuking the steel types that realistically probably already outspeed it by the time it's in a position to use it. As much as I wanted to have two Pokemon with big dumb Flying double STAB, this team kinda needs Tera Fairy to answer Dragon Dance . While this team doesn't take advantage of 's ability to allow a partner to set up, its ability to check , , and , absolutely goob , do well against , set Stealth Rock, and slow down offensive Pokemon with Will-O-Wisp makes it do well on a balance team that prioritizes longevity such as this.

 

[Bobsican]

This team is a bit old but it doesn't seem there's going to be much competition anyways.

Psyspam Offense

As a HO team there isn't much to explain, Tapu Lele comes in and then the game is about bringing something else into the field to take advantage of Psychic Terrain, with a ton of setup sweepers being checked by priority, this enables this branch of HO well as usual. Arceus-Water may stick like a sore thumb, but it makes a decent offensive core with Zacian-C to put into KO range stuff like Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh while also having less passivity to act as a bulky win condition in more slow-paced games compared to bulky Primal Kyogre by having direct access to Recover, as well as a better Speed tier to make the most of Sticky Web, notably not being outsped by Yveltal or Rayquaza.

 

[bumboclaat]

A bit late, but

1. Arceus-Rock Balance by Cancel Cult
2. Psyspam offence by Bobsican