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Metagame Pure Hackmons [Leader's Choice]
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wait someone actually responded :0
also what darkceus set would beat it?
The scary Darkceus set is the NGas PTrip set, which runs either Shell Smash or Victory Dance. This set typically run CGas and Spore to make it harder to check it defensively, because it will sleep you, remove your item, then 2HKO you. This has lead to most people using MBounce/Good as Gold pokemon that resist Dark as their checks.
The darkceus set seems scary D: but couldn't i just whirlwind it away with the drapion set? Without setup ptrip doesn't do much, and to the best of my knowledge I dont think darkceus can cgas/spore because I have magic bounce and ability shield.
The issue is that Drapion doesn't have the durability to actually sponge more than one hit, and with Jolly being required to outspeed PDon, you end up only being able to switch in once, and become unable to check Arceus after you revive Drapion, unless you also Lunar Dance to it.
Well, time for another sv ph post (cuz im bored) so give me feedback so I can improve :D
Click Here for Team
Regieleki @ Leftovers
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Taunt
- Sticky Web
- Revival Blessing
Just another eleki team. If it's a wg, taunt, and if not, then use knock off. Get webs up and use revival blessing when neccessary.
Regieleki @ Ability Shield
Ability: No Guard
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Corrosive Gas
- Fissure
- Zap Cannon
- Toxic Spikes
Double eleki :D. Fissure for non wg mons and corrosive gas to get rid of pesky items. Zap cannon for wetceus (also cuz funny) and tspikes because pain.
Arceus-Water @ Ability Shield
Ability: Wonder Guard
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Perish Song
- Revival Blessing
- Lunar Dance
Well I chose scald for pp (idk man) and also not to miss that 5% chance from steamy. Perish cuz sweepers are scawy, revival dance to heal :p. Tera Dragon because I heard it was good.
Audino-Mega @ Ability Shield
Ability: Magic Bounce
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
- Knock Off
- Revival Blessing
- Lunar Dance
- Shore Up
Ransei's favorite pokemon (I think), Maud. Good for predicting corrosive gas and taunt. Uhhh yea, basically a support mon
Calyrex-Shadow @ Ability Shield
Ability: Wonder Guard
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Torch Song
- Moongeist Beam
- Shell Smash
- Corrosive Gas
Calyrex is a goated mon as a pokemon with only two weaknesses. Torch song to get behind subs, and tera normal for moongeist (give me feedback on the tera guys!)
Groudon-Primal @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Headlong Rush
- Bitter Blade
- Shell Smash
- Magic Room
My favorite pokemon, Primal Groudon. Great sweeper, goated mon.
Click Here for Team
Regieleki @ Leftovers
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Taunt
- Sticky Web
- Revival Blessing
Just another eleki team. If it's a wg, taunt, and if not, then use knock off. Get webs up and use revival blessing when neccessary.
Regieleki @ Ability Shield
Ability: No Guard
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Corrosive Gas
- Fissure
- Zap Cannon
- Toxic Spikes
Double eleki :D. Fissure for non wg mons and corrosive gas to get rid of pesky items. Zap cannon for wetceus (also cuz funny) and tspikes because pain.
Arceus-Water @ Ability Shield
Ability: Wonder Guard
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Perish Song
- Revival Blessing
- Lunar Dance
Well I chose scald for pp (idk man) and also not to miss that 5% chance from steamy. Perish cuz sweepers are scawy, revival dance to heal :p. Tera Dragon because I heard it was good.
Audino-Mega @ Ability Shield
Ability: Magic Bounce
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
- Knock Off
- Revival Blessing
- Lunar Dance
- Shore Up
Ransei's favorite pokemon (I think), Maud. Good for predicting corrosive gas and taunt. Uhhh yea, basically a support mon
Calyrex-Shadow @ Ability Shield
Ability: Wonder Guard
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Torch Song
- Moongeist Beam
- Shell Smash
- Corrosive Gas
Calyrex is a goated mon as a pokemon with only two weaknesses. Torch song to get behind subs, and tera normal for moongeist (give me feedback on the tera guys!)
Groudon-Primal @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Headlong Rush
- Bitter Blade
- Shell Smash
- Magic Room
My favorite pokemon, Primal Groudon. Great sweeper, goated mon.
I'm going to make a quick and dirty post right now, with some scattered thoughts on the metagame. I will come back and do a more in-depth post eventually, once I actually take the time to properly collect myself.
First, I would like to submit a few teams to samples.
This more recent team, and my slightly older Triple Calyrex team, along with requesting that this replace my current Regenerator Eternatus sample, because I feel that the later team is better adapted for dealing with most of the meta shifts.
Secondly, I would like to make a few VR noms:
Kartana to S-/A+, i feel like the trend towards increased speed has not favored Kartana.
Add Wonder Guard to Arceus's listed abilities, because it is a very bulky pokemon that is immune to Moongeist Beam.
Arceus-Fairy to A, with Magic Bounce and Neutralizing Gas on its abilities. It is a faster, stronger Audino-Mega, which can be very valuable. Its Neutralizing Gas set can also threaten a lot of pokemon with STAB Fairy moves and strong coverage.
Beedrill-Mega to A-/B+, with Shadow Tag and possibly Wonder Guard as abilities. It's a fast Shadow Tag mon that can snipe a variety of key defensive pokemon for its team, and its speed plus fairly unique typing means it can probably get away as a fast Taunt WG.
Meloetta to B-, with Wonder Guard as its ability. It's a Moongeist immunity that has a different set of weaknesses than Audino-Mega or Arceus-Fairy, meaning they don't overlap when building a defensive core.
Anyways, that is all for now, Ninja signing off
First, I would like to submit a few teams to samples.
This more recent team, and my slightly older Triple Calyrex team, along with requesting that this replace my current Regenerator Eternatus sample, because I feel that the later team is better adapted for dealing with most of the meta shifts.
Secondly, I would like to make a few VR noms:
Kartana to S-/A+, i feel like the trend towards increased speed has not favored Kartana.
Add Wonder Guard to Arceus's listed abilities, because it is a very bulky pokemon that is immune to Moongeist Beam.
Arceus-Fairy to A, with Magic Bounce and Neutralizing Gas on its abilities. It is a faster, stronger Audino-Mega, which can be very valuable. Its Neutralizing Gas set can also threaten a lot of pokemon with STAB Fairy moves and strong coverage.
Beedrill-Mega to A-/B+, with Shadow Tag and possibly Wonder Guard as abilities. It's a fast Shadow Tag mon that can snipe a variety of key defensive pokemon for its team, and its speed plus fairly unique typing means it can probably get away as a fast Taunt WG.
Meloetta to B-, with Wonder Guard as its ability. It's a Moongeist immunity that has a different set of weaknesses than Audino-Mega or Arceus-Fairy, meaning they don't overlap when building a defensive core.
Anyways, that is all for now, Ninja signing off
Before this HPL my experience with SV PH was all within the first year of the gen (and briefly in PHPL), when everyone believed the metagame completely revolved around Revival Blessing + Last Respects. Since then, it's become abundantly clear that that's not the case – conventional Neutralizing Gas sweepers, which disable opposing items (and by extension Abilities) and break through with Shell Smash-boosted attacks, are recognized to be more effective due to being less conditional. I thought adding SV PH into HPL III was a terrible mistake (and still think so) but the tour led to me taking a deep dive of the metagame, because I was mildly curious and the teams I had seen seemed like hard matchup fishes and not at all consistent.
I've posted many of the teams I made throughout HPL below. First, some assumptions you should make. The metagame is indeed very matchup-fishy and while some teams are about as well-constructed as realistically possible there is a baseline level of inconsistency, stemming from the extreme diversity of Neutralizing Gas users, Huge Power coverage, etc. and the inability for defensive mons to answer all of them. Also, a lot of these teams don't carry redundancies (ex. multiple Ability Shield WGs) for some shakier matchups, so they place a lot of faith in the player to navigate matchups that are playable, but ambiguous or not necessarily advantageous. Finally, there are a LOT of sets (and even strategies) I've never seen anyone use that are effective, and a few of them are meta-defining on some level. Therefore, my teams have consistent tendencies that I actually think are just optimal. For example, I use a lot of Spore, Grass-type WGs, slow Good as Gold statpassers, and Toxic Spikes absorbers relative to other builders.
____________________________________________
:arceus-dark::arceus-grass::ting-lu::eternatus::regieleki::ogerpon-wellspring:
This is basically a BP chain with mons that are otherwise generally useful, collectively granting counterplay to almost all anti-setup. Unlike Zarude, Darkceus outspeeds Regieleki after Victory Dance, addressing one of the largest roadblocks to forcing Knock Off vs. opposing Magic Bounce/GaG. Good as Gold + Encore is nice for if the opponent has Shed Tailed to some offensive mon of their own (with 3 turns being enough to flip the gamestate so that they are forced out). Ting-Lu can slow pivot w/ Baton Pass even with Victory Dance boosts, which is nice to prevent the recipient from getting Taunted. Spore immunity and Surging Strikes/Scald resistances are worth the lack of Power Trip STAB on Grassceus. Tidy Up + Baton Pass is really useful for generating momentum to play on the forward foot, which is extremely important in a Taunt/Neutralizing Gas/item removal-centralized metagame. WG mons with Spore, Spore immunity as insurance vs. Magic Bounce, setup + BP, and an attack to threaten opposing BP recipients/weakened Bounce/GaG users make this Wellspring set a surprisingly effective and very underrated mon.
:arceus-dark::arceus-fairy::ting-lu::eternatus::regieleki::ogerpon-wellspring:
Although I haven't seen much Dragon Tail/Circle Throw, I think they have legitimate use cases and should be more common. Therefore, Fairyceus w/ Tera Ghost as the abuser is also an option if you want to be as safe as possible vs. those moves.
Some earlier versions:
:arceus-grass::arceus-poison::sceptile-mega::regieleki::kartana::arceus-fairy:
:arceus-dark::arceus-poison::aerodactyl-mega::regieleki::kartana::arceus-fairy:
:arceus-dark::arceus-fairy::arceus-grass::aerodactyl-mega::regieleki::kartana:
:zarude::arceus-dark::yveltal::regieleki::arceus-water::kartana:
:regieleki::regieleki::arceus-fairy::arceus::arceus::golisopod:
No Guard is pretty much the ultimate momentum-grabber as long as their Magic Bounce (and sometimes Good as Gold) user don't randomly block it, so I figured No Guard BP is worth testing. Boomburst + Power Trip Arceus is really solid, we brought it here but unfortunately got hit by Fissure after slightly misplaying. Tidy Up + Baton Pass is also cool, forcing reactive decisions from the opponent in a meta where slow WG mons are often forced to run one-dimensional sets.
:kyurem-black::regieleki::groudon-primal::ogerpon-wellspring::eternatus::deoxys-speed:
A couple weeks into the tour I made a collection of Neutralizing Gas sweeper sets that were strong enough to KO or almost KO Arceus after 1 setup turn (linked later in this post). Taunt Kyurem-B was particularly interesting to me because unlike Power Trip its Glacial Lance is already pretty strong from the get go, it resists Surging Strikes/Scald, and can somewhat self-Improof with Tera Ice (you OHKO Imposter Blissey with one Shell Smash after Tera). Torch Song Groudon forces out Kartana and most Magic Bounce users so it's pretty good at spreading Spore while not being harassed by Imposter. Clanging Scales Eternatus is actually pretty strong and Tera can OHKO -1 Imped Kyurem-B in addition to picking off random setup mons behind Substitute if they're low enough. Deo-S probably has a niche despite Regieleki's dominance due to not being Ground-weak.
:mewtwo-mega-x::arceus-flying::sableye-mega::dondozo::regieleki::eternatus:
Similar structure, less statpass-oriented. Improofed, "reliable" (having backup plans for Grass-types on the same set) Spore is very broken and MMX/Flyceus force out almost all Spore absorbers (Grass-types, Pokemon with functional Magic Bounce/Good as Gold), bolstering each other's progress-making capabilities. I like Scarf Regen Eternatus a lot. Dondozo is a solid alternative to Waterceus if you want to live +1 Bolt Strike from Primal Groudon and Flower Trick/Fusion Bolt from Huge Power MMX. Rest of the team is uninteresting. We brought this team in HPL Finals but unfortunately misplayed a playable matchup.
:groudon-primal::volcanion::sceptile-mega::kartana::arceus-water::blissey:
I think the popular Neutralizing Gas Groudon sets (esp. Magic Room/Smash or VD/Headlong/Bitter Blade but also most variations) are mediocre. You don't want to allow a turn for the opponent to Perish Song/Encore etc. when attempting to set up, and Magic Room/setup both necessarily take a turn, one of which is afforded to you by forcing them to switch to their support Ability Shield WG but the second turn allowing for a response by the opponent. Corrosive Gas removes the need for a Magic Room use later in the game, and Spore potentially allows for item removal and a sweep attempt at once while also being a relatively reliable click thanks to V-create's power vs. Grass-types and most Magic Bounce users. For reference, +4 V-create has an ~80% chance to OHKO +Spe Waterceus from full. Leppa Berry on Groudon is actually pretty useful since the mon is reliable enough in a variety of gamestates that you often risk running out of V-create PP, esp. if you miss at least once. The rest of the team aims to support Primal Groudon by passing Substitutes/Victory Dance boosts, removing hazards, etc. This backbone could be improved but it's a start.
:arceus-steel::arceus-dragon::eternatus::kartana::regieleki::dondozo:
Huge Power Steelceus is bulkier than Kartana and outspeeds Regieleki after a Victory Dance (and is somewhat more easily Improofed by Good as Gold Dondozo). Dragonceus resists both Surging Strikes and Flower Trick while having better matchup into Neutralizing Gas Groudon w/ Fire STAB. Being Fairy-weak isn't that annoying in most matchups because you kinda stomach Magical Torques from Zacian/Fairyceus anyway as long as you have a couple Victory Dance boosts up. Again, we see slow Good as Gold setup with Dondozo which effectively passes VD boosts to mons that only really need 1 Speed boost to function optimally. As mentioned before, it also Improofs Steelceus in the short-term.
____________________________________________
:sv/regieleki:
Best mon in the meta by a lot, pretty much every team greatly benefits from sticking Regieleki on because of how powerful fast Taunt, Shed Tail, a convenient Wonder Guard typing, and effective item removal collectively are. The current VR bunches Kartana/Primal Groudon/Mega Rayquaza together with Regieleki, but I find the latter to be incomparably more splashable and meta-warping.
:sv/arceus-dark:
Arceus-Dark @ Mental Herb / Leftovers
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
Tera Type: Ghost / Grass / Fairy / Poison / Dragon
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Magic Room
- Victory Dance
- Power Trip
By now it's clear that Taunt/Magic Room/VD/Power Trip is the most dangerous Neutralizing Gas sweeper set because of how much more useful 3 non-attacking moves are to such a set than 2 and the inability of almost anything to wall it, especially with Tera. Due to many attackers simply not being strong enough to muscle past VD Power Trip Neutralizing Gas users, you can literally just VD several times in their face to render the weak initial BP irrelevant. Furthermore, Tera can foil last-ditch options like Sacred Sword and Flower Trick/Surging Strikes, making it actually really easy to engineer a gamestate where Darkceus can 6-0 the opponent after the opposing Magic Bounce/GaG Ability Shield user is Knocked. The abuser is quite variable too – I've experimented with Poisonceus/Grassceus/Ghostceus/Dragonceus/Zarude and their defensive applications can easily be worth the weaker Power Trip. Of course, you really want a way to reliably remove Magic Bounce/defensive GaG users' items, but that's not unique to Darkceus.
:sv/arceus-fairy::sv/arceus-grass::sv/arceus-poison::sv/arceus-dragon:
You can also run the same set on Arceus formes with different defensive qualities, since Power Trip is strong enough at +6 that you OHKO everything anyway. Fairyceus is immune to Dragon Tail (with Tera Ghost providing a Circle Throw immunity, making you effectively immune to non-Tauntable phazing after dealing with their Magic Bounce/GaG user), Grassceus is immune to Spore, Poisonceus has pretty much the opposite defensive matchups as Darkceus to screw over purely type-based counterplay, and Dragonceus resists Surging Strikes, Flower Trick, and Torch Song/V-create/Bitter Blade.
Neutralizing Gas Sweeper Ideas
ReSolaris wanted sweepers that could OHKO Arceus after 1 turn of setup, so I came up with as many as I could that realistically have some potential. Obviously, there are many more that don't OHKO Arceus with 1 turn but do get close enough (or make it setup fodder via Taunt + Magic Room + setup) to also be serious candidates, so I encourage everyone to experiment.
:sv/groudon-primal::sv/rayquaza-mega:
Neutralizing Gas Headlong Rush + Bitter Blade Primal Groudon is very overused (check the Volcanion team description earlier in this post for my reasoning). I also think Neutralizing Gas Mega Rayquaza (Magic Room/Smash/Dragon Ascent/Headlong Rush) is pretty overrated for similar reasons, though that set has less issues with Choice Scarf users and running into matchups where an opposing defensive mon resists both attacks. In general Magic Room/setup/2a attackers are hard to build with because Magic Room and boosting together take 2 turns, one of which the opponent can use to Perish Song or whatever. Magic Room or Corrosive Gas/Taunt or Spore/setup/attack is much more self-sufficient from my experience. For example, Mono Dragon Ascent Mega Rayquaza (Spore/Magic Room or Corrosive Gas/Shell Smash/Dragon Ascent) is pretty scary as demonstrated in Eyeos' HPL Semis game.
:sv/mewtwo-mega-x:
Mewtwo-Mega-X @ Ability Shield / Mental Herb / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Huge Power
Tera Type: Grass / Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Corrosive Gas
- Victory Dance
- Photon Geyser
- Sunsteel Strike / Sacred Sword / Drain Punch / Double Kick / Mach Punch / Magical Torque / Earthquake / Bone Rush / Flame Charge / Bitter Blade
Huge Power users are rather centralized. Nothing else really comes close to Mega Mewtwo X in potency due to its very strong Photon Geyser, satisfactory speed for an offensive Pokemon (outspeeds Arceus at +0 and Regieleki at +1), and decent bulk (Huge Power Kartana's Sunsteel Strike is a roll, for example). Also noteworthy is the fact that MMX's second STAB complements Photon quite well and allows for interesting coverage options (Mach Punch/Drain Punch/Double Kick). Of course, Psychic/Fighting coverage leaves you walled by WG Mega Sableye/Muk and somewhat annoyed by WG Steels, but this isn't so debilitating when paired with a Neutralizing Gas sweeper. Obviously, you can vary the fourth move as is ideal for your team. The next best alternative is probably Huge Power Kartana, but being slower than Arceus is a very major drawback. As a result, I rate MMX over any individual Neutralizing Gas user and think its current usage is indicative of its viability. Just don't run 1 MMX as your primary way to win the game, since Innards Out is basically an unplayable matchup and you're often prone to getting walled by random WGs.
:sv/arceus-flying:
Arceus-Flying @ Sky Plate
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Corrosive Gas
- Shell Smash
- Judgment
- Spore
Incredible set. Most Spore absorbers are either weak to Flying (Ogerpon-Wellspring, Ludicolo) or otherwise cannot contend with Corrosive Gas + Shell Smash-boosted Judgment (Kartana, Ferrothorn to an extent, most Safety Goggles users). You also click Corrosive Gas into unrevealed mons without risk because your own item is unremovable. Tera Grass allows you to lock endgames where you Spore and break through whatever they have left if they have a Magic Bounce user that dies to boosted Judgment. You self-Improof with Flying-type Judgment, which means Flyceus is better than Mega Rayquaza at this particular role. The better bulk and not being 4x weak to Ice Shard also allows you to win out in many interactions you otherwise wouldn't, though you don't resist much either. Of course, Spore is way more broken when it's unblockable, so you want to pair this and any similar sets with teammates that can reliably remove Magic Bounce/Good as Gold users' Ability Shields (this is not that hard because of Taunt, Toxic Spikes, and sleep being extremely powerful). Magic Bounce Steel-types are a bad matchup but like with Darkceus, you just need a way to reliably remove their Ability Shield.
:sv/eternatus:
Eternatus @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shed Tail
- Trick
- Clanging Scales / Tidy Up
- Baton Pass / Perish Song / Encore
Regenerator + Shed Tail is an underused strategy, and imo Eternatus is the best Regen Shed Tailer by a lot. Fast Taunt and Toxic Spikes are both incredibly powerful in this metagame if counterplay isn't present, and Eternatus (along with the mandatory Magic Bounce or GaG user) provides a solution to both. Eternatus is also a Water resist (can come in on Waterceus with minimal risk) and, with decent bulk, can come in on boosted non-SE attackers and Trick them as necessary. Clanging Scales bypasses Substitute and is actually decently strong, sometimes preventing GaG statpassers from doing their thing in addition to threatening +1 Neutralizing Gas sweepers. Easily a top 10 mon in the meta
:sv/arceus-ghost::sv/mewtwo-mega-y:
Speed Boost is underrated. Given how good Taunt Regieleki is and the momentum-based nature of the metagame, being able to outspeed that Pokemon after a turn without dedicating your move to Speed-boosting setup is really nice. Easily pairable with Tail Glow, which has the advantage over Shell Smash of not lowering defenses and thus making the user and recipients less vulnerable to priority. I didn't make any Speed Boost passer teams I'm truly happy with but ReSolaris' w4 team is a reasonably solid example of the concept.
I've posted many of the teams I made throughout HPL below. First, some assumptions you should make. The metagame is indeed very matchup-fishy and while some teams are about as well-constructed as realistically possible there is a baseline level of inconsistency, stemming from the extreme diversity of Neutralizing Gas users, Huge Power coverage, etc. and the inability for defensive mons to answer all of them. Also, a lot of these teams don't carry redundancies (ex. multiple Ability Shield WGs) for some shakier matchups, so they place a lot of faith in the player to navigate matchups that are playable, but ambiguous or not necessarily advantageous. Finally, there are a LOT of sets (and even strategies) I've never seen anyone use that are effective, and a few of them are meta-defining on some level. Therefore, my teams have consistent tendencies that I actually think are just optimal. For example, I use a lot of Spore, Grass-type WGs, slow Good as Gold statpassers, and Toxic Spikes absorbers relative to other builders.
____________________________________________
:arceus-dark::arceus-grass::ting-lu::eternatus::regieleki::ogerpon-wellspring:
This is basically a BP chain with mons that are otherwise generally useful, collectively granting counterplay to almost all anti-setup. Unlike Zarude, Darkceus outspeeds Regieleki after Victory Dance, addressing one of the largest roadblocks to forcing Knock Off vs. opposing Magic Bounce/GaG. Good as Gold + Encore is nice for if the opponent has Shed Tailed to some offensive mon of their own (with 3 turns being enough to flip the gamestate so that they are forced out). Ting-Lu can slow pivot w/ Baton Pass even with Victory Dance boosts, which is nice to prevent the recipient from getting Taunted. Spore immunity and Surging Strikes/Scald resistances are worth the lack of Power Trip STAB on Grassceus. Tidy Up + Baton Pass is really useful for generating momentum to play on the forward foot, which is extremely important in a Taunt/Neutralizing Gas/item removal-centralized metagame. WG mons with Spore, Spore immunity as insurance vs. Magic Bounce, setup + BP, and an attack to threaten opposing BP recipients/weakened Bounce/GaG users make this Wellspring set a surprisingly effective and very underrated mon.
:arceus-dark::arceus-fairy::ting-lu::eternatus::regieleki::ogerpon-wellspring:
Although I haven't seen much Dragon Tail/Circle Throw, I think they have legitimate use cases and should be more common. Therefore, Fairyceus w/ Tera Ghost as the abuser is also an option if you want to be as safe as possible vs. those moves.
Some earlier versions:
:arceus-grass::arceus-poison::sceptile-mega::regieleki::kartana::arceus-fairy:
:arceus-dark::arceus-poison::aerodactyl-mega::regieleki::kartana::arceus-fairy:
:arceus-dark::arceus-fairy::arceus-grass::aerodactyl-mega::regieleki::kartana:
:zarude::arceus-dark::yveltal::regieleki::arceus-water::kartana:
:regieleki::regieleki::arceus-fairy::arceus::arceus::golisopod:
No Guard is pretty much the ultimate momentum-grabber as long as their Magic Bounce (and sometimes Good as Gold) user don't randomly block it, so I figured No Guard BP is worth testing. Boomburst + Power Trip Arceus is really solid, we brought it here but unfortunately got hit by Fissure after slightly misplaying. Tidy Up + Baton Pass is also cool, forcing reactive decisions from the opponent in a meta where slow WG mons are often forced to run one-dimensional sets.
:kyurem-black::regieleki::groudon-primal::ogerpon-wellspring::eternatus::deoxys-speed:
A couple weeks into the tour I made a collection of Neutralizing Gas sweeper sets that were strong enough to KO or almost KO Arceus after 1 setup turn (linked later in this post). Taunt Kyurem-B was particularly interesting to me because unlike Power Trip its Glacial Lance is already pretty strong from the get go, it resists Surging Strikes/Scald, and can somewhat self-Improof with Tera Ice (you OHKO Imposter Blissey with one Shell Smash after Tera). Torch Song Groudon forces out Kartana and most Magic Bounce users so it's pretty good at spreading Spore while not being harassed by Imposter. Clanging Scales Eternatus is actually pretty strong and Tera can OHKO -1 Imped Kyurem-B in addition to picking off random setup mons behind Substitute if they're low enough. Deo-S probably has a niche despite Regieleki's dominance due to not being Ground-weak.
:mewtwo-mega-x::arceus-flying::sableye-mega::dondozo::regieleki::eternatus:
Similar structure, less statpass-oriented. Improofed, "reliable" (having backup plans for Grass-types on the same set) Spore is very broken and MMX/Flyceus force out almost all Spore absorbers (Grass-types, Pokemon with functional Magic Bounce/Good as Gold), bolstering each other's progress-making capabilities. I like Scarf Regen Eternatus a lot. Dondozo is a solid alternative to Waterceus if you want to live +1 Bolt Strike from Primal Groudon and Flower Trick/Fusion Bolt from Huge Power MMX. Rest of the team is uninteresting. We brought this team in HPL Finals but unfortunately misplayed a playable matchup.
:groudon-primal::volcanion::sceptile-mega::kartana::arceus-water::blissey:
I think the popular Neutralizing Gas Groudon sets (esp. Magic Room/Smash or VD/Headlong/Bitter Blade but also most variations) are mediocre. You don't want to allow a turn for the opponent to Perish Song/Encore etc. when attempting to set up, and Magic Room/setup both necessarily take a turn, one of which is afforded to you by forcing them to switch to their support Ability Shield WG but the second turn allowing for a response by the opponent. Corrosive Gas removes the need for a Magic Room use later in the game, and Spore potentially allows for item removal and a sweep attempt at once while also being a relatively reliable click thanks to V-create's power vs. Grass-types and most Magic Bounce users. For reference, +4 V-create has an ~80% chance to OHKO +Spe Waterceus from full. Leppa Berry on Groudon is actually pretty useful since the mon is reliable enough in a variety of gamestates that you often risk running out of V-create PP, esp. if you miss at least once. The rest of the team aims to support Primal Groudon by passing Substitutes/Victory Dance boosts, removing hazards, etc. This backbone could be improved but it's a start.
:arceus-steel::arceus-dragon::eternatus::kartana::regieleki::dondozo:
Huge Power Steelceus is bulkier than Kartana and outspeeds Regieleki after a Victory Dance (and is somewhat more easily Improofed by Good as Gold Dondozo). Dragonceus resists both Surging Strikes and Flower Trick while having better matchup into Neutralizing Gas Groudon w/ Fire STAB. Being Fairy-weak isn't that annoying in most matchups because you kinda stomach Magical Torques from Zacian/Fairyceus anyway as long as you have a couple Victory Dance boosts up. Again, we see slow Good as Gold setup with Dondozo which effectively passes VD boosts to mons that only really need 1 Speed boost to function optimally. As mentioned before, it also Improofs Steelceus in the short-term.
____________________________________________
:sv/regieleki:
Best mon in the meta by a lot, pretty much every team greatly benefits from sticking Regieleki on because of how powerful fast Taunt, Shed Tail, a convenient Wonder Guard typing, and effective item removal collectively are. The current VR bunches Kartana/Primal Groudon/Mega Rayquaza together with Regieleki, but I find the latter to be incomparably more splashable and meta-warping.
:sv/arceus-dark:
Arceus-Dark @ Mental Herb / Leftovers
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
Tera Type: Ghost / Grass / Fairy / Poison / Dragon
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Magic Room
- Victory Dance
- Power Trip
By now it's clear that Taunt/Magic Room/VD/Power Trip is the most dangerous Neutralizing Gas sweeper set because of how much more useful 3 non-attacking moves are to such a set than 2 and the inability of almost anything to wall it, especially with Tera. Due to many attackers simply not being strong enough to muscle past VD Power Trip Neutralizing Gas users, you can literally just VD several times in their face to render the weak initial BP irrelevant. Furthermore, Tera can foil last-ditch options like Sacred Sword and Flower Trick/Surging Strikes, making it actually really easy to engineer a gamestate where Darkceus can 6-0 the opponent after the opposing Magic Bounce/GaG Ability Shield user is Knocked. The abuser is quite variable too – I've experimented with Poisonceus/Grassceus/Ghostceus/Dragonceus/Zarude and their defensive applications can easily be worth the weaker Power Trip. Of course, you really want a way to reliably remove Magic Bounce/defensive GaG users' items, but that's not unique to Darkceus.
:sv/arceus-fairy::sv/arceus-grass::sv/arceus-poison::sv/arceus-dragon:
You can also run the same set on Arceus formes with different defensive qualities, since Power Trip is strong enough at +6 that you OHKO everything anyway. Fairyceus is immune to Dragon Tail (with Tera Ghost providing a Circle Throw immunity, making you effectively immune to non-Tauntable phazing after dealing with their Magic Bounce/GaG user), Grassceus is immune to Spore, Poisonceus has pretty much the opposite defensive matchups as Darkceus to screw over purely type-based counterplay, and Dragonceus resists Surging Strikes, Flower Trick, and Torch Song/V-create/Bitter Blade.
Neutralizing Gas Sweeper Ideas
ReSolaris wanted sweepers that could OHKO Arceus after 1 turn of setup, so I came up with as many as I could that realistically have some potential. Obviously, there are many more that don't OHKO Arceus with 1 turn but do get close enough (or make it setup fodder via Taunt + Magic Room + setup) to also be serious candidates, so I encourage everyone to experiment.
:sv/groudon-primal::sv/rayquaza-mega:
Neutralizing Gas Headlong Rush + Bitter Blade Primal Groudon is very overused (check the Volcanion team description earlier in this post for my reasoning). I also think Neutralizing Gas Mega Rayquaza (Magic Room/Smash/Dragon Ascent/Headlong Rush) is pretty overrated for similar reasons, though that set has less issues with Choice Scarf users and running into matchups where an opposing defensive mon resists both attacks. In general Magic Room/setup/2a attackers are hard to build with because Magic Room and boosting together take 2 turns, one of which the opponent can use to Perish Song or whatever. Magic Room or Corrosive Gas/Taunt or Spore/setup/attack is much more self-sufficient from my experience. For example, Mono Dragon Ascent Mega Rayquaza (Spore/Magic Room or Corrosive Gas/Shell Smash/Dragon Ascent) is pretty scary as demonstrated in Eyeos' HPL Semis game.
:sv/mewtwo-mega-x:
Mewtwo-Mega-X @ Ability Shield / Mental Herb / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Huge Power
Tera Type: Grass / Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Corrosive Gas
- Victory Dance
- Photon Geyser
- Sunsteel Strike / Sacred Sword / Drain Punch / Double Kick / Mach Punch / Magical Torque / Earthquake / Bone Rush / Flame Charge / Bitter Blade
Huge Power users are rather centralized. Nothing else really comes close to Mega Mewtwo X in potency due to its very strong Photon Geyser, satisfactory speed for an offensive Pokemon (outspeeds Arceus at +0 and Regieleki at +1), and decent bulk (Huge Power Kartana's Sunsteel Strike is a roll, for example). Also noteworthy is the fact that MMX's second STAB complements Photon quite well and allows for interesting coverage options (Mach Punch/Drain Punch/Double Kick). Of course, Psychic/Fighting coverage leaves you walled by WG Mega Sableye/Muk and somewhat annoyed by WG Steels, but this isn't so debilitating when paired with a Neutralizing Gas sweeper. Obviously, you can vary the fourth move as is ideal for your team. The next best alternative is probably Huge Power Kartana, but being slower than Arceus is a very major drawback. As a result, I rate MMX over any individual Neutralizing Gas user and think its current usage is indicative of its viability. Just don't run 1 MMX as your primary way to win the game, since Innards Out is basically an unplayable matchup and you're often prone to getting walled by random WGs.
:sv/arceus-flying:
Arceus-Flying @ Sky Plate
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Corrosive Gas
- Shell Smash
- Judgment
- Spore
Incredible set. Most Spore absorbers are either weak to Flying (Ogerpon-Wellspring, Ludicolo) or otherwise cannot contend with Corrosive Gas + Shell Smash-boosted Judgment (Kartana, Ferrothorn to an extent, most Safety Goggles users). You also click Corrosive Gas into unrevealed mons without risk because your own item is unremovable. Tera Grass allows you to lock endgames where you Spore and break through whatever they have left if they have a Magic Bounce user that dies to boosted Judgment. You self-Improof with Flying-type Judgment, which means Flyceus is better than Mega Rayquaza at this particular role. The better bulk and not being 4x weak to Ice Shard also allows you to win out in many interactions you otherwise wouldn't, though you don't resist much either. Of course, Spore is way more broken when it's unblockable, so you want to pair this and any similar sets with teammates that can reliably remove Magic Bounce/Good as Gold users' Ability Shields (this is not that hard because of Taunt, Toxic Spikes, and sleep being extremely powerful). Magic Bounce Steel-types are a bad matchup but like with Darkceus, you just need a way to reliably remove their Ability Shield.
:sv/eternatus:
Eternatus @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shed Tail
- Trick
- Clanging Scales / Tidy Up
- Baton Pass / Perish Song / Encore
Regenerator + Shed Tail is an underused strategy, and imo Eternatus is the best Regen Shed Tailer by a lot. Fast Taunt and Toxic Spikes are both incredibly powerful in this metagame if counterplay isn't present, and Eternatus (along with the mandatory Magic Bounce or GaG user) provides a solution to both. Eternatus is also a Water resist (can come in on Waterceus with minimal risk) and, with decent bulk, can come in on boosted non-SE attackers and Trick them as necessary. Clanging Scales bypasses Substitute and is actually decently strong, sometimes preventing GaG statpassers from doing their thing in addition to threatening +1 Neutralizing Gas sweepers. Easily a top 10 mon in the meta
:sv/arceus-ghost::sv/mewtwo-mega-y:
Speed Boost is underrated. Given how good Taunt Regieleki is and the momentum-based nature of the metagame, being able to outspeed that Pokemon after a turn without dedicating your move to Speed-boosting setup is really nice. Easily pairable with Tail Glow, which has the advantage over Shell Smash of not lowering defenses and thus making the user and recipients less vulnerable to priority. I didn't make any Speed Boost passer teams I'm truly happy with but ReSolaris' w4 team is a reasonably solid example of the concept.
(Rough, I might be 1-2 subranks off for some mons)
S Rank
:regieleki: Regieleki (Wonder Guard, Neutralizing Gas, Good as Gold, Magic Bounce, Shadow Tag, No Guard, Regenerator, Comatose)
A Rank
A1
:arceus-water: Arceus-Water (Wonder Guard)
:kartana: Kartana (Wonder Guard, Huge Power, Arena Trap, Good as Gold, Speed Boost)
:mewtwo-mega-x: Mewtwo-Mega-X (Huge Power, Good as Gold, Shadow Tag, Arena Trap, Wonder Guard, Regenerator)
A2
:arceus: Arceus (Good as Gold, Neutralizing Gas, Magic Bounce, Wonder Guard, Regenerator)
:arceus-dark: Arceus-Dark (Neutralizing Gas)
:groudon-primal: Groudon-Primal (Neutralizing Gas, Good as Gold, Magic Bounce, Wonder Guard)
A3
:arceus-flying: Arceus-Flying (Neutralizing Gas)
:blissey: Blissey (Imposter, Wonder Guard, Innards Out, Good as Gold)
:calyrex-shadow: Calyrex-Shadow (Wonder Guard, Good as Gold, No Guard)
:eternatus: Eternatus (Regenerator, Magic Bounce, Good as Gold)
:rayquaza-mega: Rayquaza-Mega (Neutralizing Gas)
:sableye-mega: Sableye-Mega (Wonder Guard, Magic Bounce)
A4
:arceus-fairy: Arceus-Fairy (Neutralizing Gas, Wonder Guard, Magic Bounce, Good as Gold)
:arceus-poison: Arceus-Poison (Neutralizing Gas)
:audino-mega: Audino-Mega (Magic Bounce, Wonder Guard)
:dondozo: Dondozo (Wonder Guard, Good as Gold, Magic Bounce)
:muk-alola: Muk-Alola (Wonder Guard, Magic Bounce, Good as Gold)
:ogerpon-wellspring: Ogerpon-Wellspring (Wonder Guard)
:regigigas: Regigigas (Good as Gold, Huge Power)
:slaking: Slaking (Good as Gold, Huge Power)
B Rank
B1
:arceus-grass: Arceus-Grass (Neutralizing Gas, Speed Boost)
:kyurem-black: Kyurem-Black (Neutralizing Gas)
:mewtwo-mega-y: Mewtwo-Mega-Y (Speed Boost, Neutralizing Gas, Good as Gold, No Guard)
:ting-lu: Ting-Lu (Good as Gold, Magic Bounce)
:zacian: Zacian (Wonder Guard, Good as Gold, Comatose)
B2
:aerodactyl-mega: Aerodactyl-Mega (Regenerator, Comatose)
:arceus-ghost: Arceus-Ghost (Speed Boost, Neutralizing Gas)
:beedrill-mega: Beedrill-Mega (Wonder Guard)
:forretress: Forretress (Wonder Guard)
:golisopod: Golisopod (Wonder Guard, Magic Bounce)
:ludicolo: Ludicolo (Wonder Guard)
:sceptile-mega: Sceptile-Mega (Regenerator)
:scizor-mega: Scizor-Mega (Wonder Guard)
:solgaleo: Solgaleo (Magic Bounce, Good as Gold, Wonder Guard)
:swampert-mega: Swampert-Mega (Wonder Guard)
:volcanion: Volcanion (Good as Gold, Magic Bounce)
:yveltal: Yveltal (Magic Bounce, Good as Gold, Neutralizing Gas, Wonder Guard)
B3
:celesteela: Celesteela (Wonder Guard, Magic Bounce)
:kyogre-primal: Kyogre-Primal (Neutralizing Gas, Good as Gold, Wonder Guard)
:giratina: Giratina (Magic Bounce)
:guzzlord: Guzzlord (Imposter)
:magearna: Magearna (Magic Bounce, Good as Gold, Wonder Guard)
:meloetta: Meloetta (Wonder Guard)
:pheromosa: Pheromosa (Wonder Guard)
:zamazenta: Zamazenta (Wonder Guard, Comatose)
:zoroark-hisui: Zoroark-Hisui (Wonder Guard)
B4
:aegislash: Aegislash (Magic Bounce, Good as Gold)
:arceus-dragon: Arceus-Dragon (Neutralizing Gas)
:arceus-steel: Arceus-Steel (Good as Gold, Huge Power)
:deoxys-speed: Deoxys-Speed (Wonder Guard)
:ferrothorn: Ferrothorn (Wonder Guard, Magic Bounce, Good as Gold)
:flutter-mane: Flutter Mane (Wonder Guard, Speed Boost, Regenerator, Neutralizing Gas)
:koraidon: Koraidon (Magic Bounce, Good as Gold)
:ogerpon-hearthflame: Ogerpon-Hearthflame (Wonder Guard)
:necrozma-ultra: Necrozma-Ultra (Neutralizing Gas)
:zarude: Zarude (Neutralizing Gas)
C Rank
:avalugg: Avalugg (Magic Bounce)
:charizard-mega-x: Charizard-Mega-X (Neutralizing Gas)
:gengar-mega: Gengar-Mega (Speed Boost, Neutralizing Gas, Wonder Guard)
:greninja-ash: Greninja-Ash (Wonder Guard, Huge Power)
:gyarados-mega: Gyarados-Mega (Neutralizing Gas)
:hoopa-unbound: Hoopa-Unbound (Wonder Guard, Neutralizing Gas)
:kingambit: Kingambit (Wonder Guard, Good as Gold, Magic Bounce)
:lopunny-mega: Lopunny-Mega (Neutralizing Gas, Wonder Guard, Good as Gold)
:lucario-mega: Lucario-Mega (Good as Gold, Wonder Guard)
:marshadow: Marshadow (Neutralizing Gas)
:melmetal: Melmetal (Magic Bounce, Good as Gold)
:palkia-origin: Palkia-Origin (Neutralizing Gas, Wonder Guard, Good as Gold)
:pidgeot-mega: Pidgeot-Mega (Regenerator)
:registeel: Registeel (Magic Bounce, Good as Gold)
:reshiram: Reshiram (Neutralizing Gas)
:roaring-moon: Roaring Moon (Neutralizing Gas)
:slowbro-mega: Slowbro-Mega (Wonder Guard, Magic Bounce, Prankster, Good as Gold)
:steelix-mega: Steelix-Mega (Good as Gold, Magic Bounce)
:zekrom: Zekrom (Neutralizing Gas)
S Rank
:regieleki: Regieleki (Wonder Guard, Neutralizing Gas, Good as Gold, Magic Bounce, Shadow Tag, No Guard, Regenerator, Comatose)
A Rank
A1
:arceus-water: Arceus-Water (Wonder Guard)
:kartana: Kartana (Wonder Guard, Huge Power, Arena Trap, Good as Gold, Speed Boost)
:mewtwo-mega-x: Mewtwo-Mega-X (Huge Power, Good as Gold, Shadow Tag, Arena Trap, Wonder Guard, Regenerator)
A2
:arceus: Arceus (Good as Gold, Neutralizing Gas, Magic Bounce, Wonder Guard, Regenerator)
:arceus-dark: Arceus-Dark (Neutralizing Gas)
:groudon-primal: Groudon-Primal (Neutralizing Gas, Good as Gold, Magic Bounce, Wonder Guard)
A3
:arceus-flying: Arceus-Flying (Neutralizing Gas)
:blissey: Blissey (Imposter, Wonder Guard, Innards Out, Good as Gold)
:calyrex-shadow: Calyrex-Shadow (Wonder Guard, Good as Gold, No Guard)
:eternatus: Eternatus (Regenerator, Magic Bounce, Good as Gold)
:rayquaza-mega: Rayquaza-Mega (Neutralizing Gas)
:sableye-mega: Sableye-Mega (Wonder Guard, Magic Bounce)
A4
:arceus-fairy: Arceus-Fairy (Neutralizing Gas, Wonder Guard, Magic Bounce, Good as Gold)
:arceus-poison: Arceus-Poison (Neutralizing Gas)
:audino-mega: Audino-Mega (Magic Bounce, Wonder Guard)
:dondozo: Dondozo (Wonder Guard, Good as Gold, Magic Bounce)
:muk-alola: Muk-Alola (Wonder Guard, Magic Bounce, Good as Gold)
:ogerpon-wellspring: Ogerpon-Wellspring (Wonder Guard)
:regigigas: Regigigas (Good as Gold, Huge Power)
:slaking: Slaking (Good as Gold, Huge Power)
B Rank
B1
:arceus-grass: Arceus-Grass (Neutralizing Gas, Speed Boost)
:kyurem-black: Kyurem-Black (Neutralizing Gas)
:mewtwo-mega-y: Mewtwo-Mega-Y (Speed Boost, Neutralizing Gas, Good as Gold, No Guard)
:ting-lu: Ting-Lu (Good as Gold, Magic Bounce)
:zacian: Zacian (Wonder Guard, Good as Gold, Comatose)
B2
:aerodactyl-mega: Aerodactyl-Mega (Regenerator, Comatose)
:arceus-ghost: Arceus-Ghost (Speed Boost, Neutralizing Gas)
:beedrill-mega: Beedrill-Mega (Wonder Guard)
:forretress: Forretress (Wonder Guard)
:golisopod: Golisopod (Wonder Guard, Magic Bounce)
:ludicolo: Ludicolo (Wonder Guard)
:sceptile-mega: Sceptile-Mega (Regenerator)
:scizor-mega: Scizor-Mega (Wonder Guard)
:solgaleo: Solgaleo (Magic Bounce, Good as Gold, Wonder Guard)
:swampert-mega: Swampert-Mega (Wonder Guard)
:volcanion: Volcanion (Good as Gold, Magic Bounce)
:yveltal: Yveltal (Magic Bounce, Good as Gold, Neutralizing Gas, Wonder Guard)
B3
:celesteela: Celesteela (Wonder Guard, Magic Bounce)
:kyogre-primal: Kyogre-Primal (Neutralizing Gas, Good as Gold, Wonder Guard)
:giratina: Giratina (Magic Bounce)
:guzzlord: Guzzlord (Imposter)
:magearna: Magearna (Magic Bounce, Good as Gold, Wonder Guard)
:meloetta: Meloetta (Wonder Guard)
:pheromosa: Pheromosa (Wonder Guard)
:zamazenta: Zamazenta (Wonder Guard, Comatose)
:zoroark-hisui: Zoroark-Hisui (Wonder Guard)
B4
:aegislash: Aegislash (Magic Bounce, Good as Gold)
:arceus-dragon: Arceus-Dragon (Neutralizing Gas)
:arceus-steel: Arceus-Steel (Good as Gold, Huge Power)
:deoxys-speed: Deoxys-Speed (Wonder Guard)
:ferrothorn: Ferrothorn (Wonder Guard, Magic Bounce, Good as Gold)
:flutter-mane: Flutter Mane (Wonder Guard, Speed Boost, Regenerator, Neutralizing Gas)
:koraidon: Koraidon (Magic Bounce, Good as Gold)
:ogerpon-hearthflame: Ogerpon-Hearthflame (Wonder Guard)
:necrozma-ultra: Necrozma-Ultra (Neutralizing Gas)
:zarude: Zarude (Neutralizing Gas)
C Rank
:avalugg: Avalugg (Magic Bounce)
:charizard-mega-x: Charizard-Mega-X (Neutralizing Gas)
:gengar-mega: Gengar-Mega (Speed Boost, Neutralizing Gas, Wonder Guard)
:greninja-ash: Greninja-Ash (Wonder Guard, Huge Power)
:gyarados-mega: Gyarados-Mega (Neutralizing Gas)
:hoopa-unbound: Hoopa-Unbound (Wonder Guard, Neutralizing Gas)
:kingambit: Kingambit (Wonder Guard, Good as Gold, Magic Bounce)
:lopunny-mega: Lopunny-Mega (Neutralizing Gas, Wonder Guard, Good as Gold)
:lucario-mega: Lucario-Mega (Good as Gold, Wonder Guard)
:marshadow: Marshadow (Neutralizing Gas)
:melmetal: Melmetal (Magic Bounce, Good as Gold)
:palkia-origin: Palkia-Origin (Neutralizing Gas, Wonder Guard, Good as Gold)
:pidgeot-mega: Pidgeot-Mega (Regenerator)
:registeel: Registeel (Magic Bounce, Good as Gold)
:reshiram: Reshiram (Neutralizing Gas)
:roaring-moon: Roaring Moon (Neutralizing Gas)
:slowbro-mega: Slowbro-Mega (Wonder Guard, Magic Bounce, Prankster, Good as Gold)
:steelix-mega: Steelix-Mega (Good as Gold, Magic Bounce)
:zekrom: Zekrom (Neutralizing Gas)
I built 2 teams for this HPL and both got used! I think they could use a bit more polishing, but from testing they seem pretty solid.
:sv/Calyrex-Shadow: :sv/Mewtwo-Mega-X: :sv/Yveltal: :sv/Arceus-Fairy: :sv/Arceus: :sv/Mewtwo-Mega-X:
https://pokepast.es/8831d82a60b4f393
Stag is pretty great this gen as most teams dont have the item slots to easily fit Shed Shell, and there isn't really any HO. I wanted 2 stag mons that can realistically take on all the major threats in the tier and I... somewhat did that. The STAG Caly and MMX can OHKO most sweepers in the tier, with the exception of Arceus, but the MU for those guys is okay. The major problem is tera which there isn't much you can do about in general so whatever. An edited version of this team was used by Siphonaptera in a HPL game, but it sadly lost (mainly because Siph changed Aura Sphere and then lost to VDance Darkceus). It had a good shot of winning if not for that.
:sv/Calyrex-Shadow: :sv/Yveltal: :sv/giratina: :sv/Arceus-Fairy: :sv/Groudon-Primal: :sv/Mewtwo-Mega-X:
https://pokepast.es/2feec1f7bd26b468
Now this MIGHT look similar at first but the team plays pretty diferentlly than the last, although it did start off as the first team. I think this one is a bit better since it doesn't overrely on stag to do stuff, and the sweepers are pretty solid. People tend to forget how powerful even a +1 HP MMX can be. Like this thing OHKOS Pdon after only 1 boost, pretty crazy. It does kinda suck that basically two sweepers on the team are walled by WG Yveltal, but improofing is tough in this economy what can I say. I used this team in HPL once and it won pretty well against a person who I'm pretty sure had never played the tier before, awesome!
Thanks to ReSolaris and Aerobee for all the tests
:sv/Calyrex-Shadow: :sv/Mewtwo-Mega-X: :sv/Yveltal: :sv/Arceus-Fairy: :sv/Arceus: :sv/Mewtwo-Mega-X:
https://pokepast.es/8831d82a60b4f393
Stag is pretty great this gen as most teams dont have the item slots to easily fit Shed Shell, and there isn't really any HO. I wanted 2 stag mons that can realistically take on all the major threats in the tier and I... somewhat did that. The STAG Caly and MMX can OHKO most sweepers in the tier, with the exception of Arceus, but the MU for those guys is okay. The major problem is tera which there isn't much you can do about in general so whatever. An edited version of this team was used by Siphonaptera in a HPL game, but it sadly lost (mainly because Siph changed Aura Sphere and then lost to VDance Darkceus). It had a good shot of winning if not for that.
:sv/Calyrex-Shadow: :sv/Yveltal: :sv/giratina: :sv/Arceus-Fairy: :sv/Groudon-Primal: :sv/Mewtwo-Mega-X:
https://pokepast.es/2feec1f7bd26b468
Now this MIGHT look similar at first but the team plays pretty diferentlly than the last, although it did start off as the first team. I think this one is a bit better since it doesn't overrely on stag to do stuff, and the sweepers are pretty solid. People tend to forget how powerful even a +1 HP MMX can be. Like this thing OHKOS Pdon after only 1 boost, pretty crazy. It does kinda suck that basically two sweepers on the team are walled by WG Yveltal, but improofing is tough in this economy what can I say. I used this team in HPL once and it won pretty well against a person who I'm pretty sure had never played the tier before, awesome!
Thanks to ReSolaris and Aerobee for all the tests
Audino-Mega
Ability: Magic Bounce
Tera Type: Ghost
- Last Respects
- Lunar Dance
- Revival Blessing
- Tidy Up
Chansey @ Ability Shield
Ability: Innards Out
Tera Type: Ghost
- Lunar Dance
- Revival Blessing
- Transform
- Whirlwind
Regieleki @ Choice Scarf | Air Balloon | Ability Shield
Ability: Comatose | Wonder Guard
Tera Type: Normal
- Blazing Torque
- Heal Bell
- Last Respects
- Lunar Dance
- Magical Torque
- Noxious Torque
- Revival Blessing
- Sleep Talk
- Spikes
- Stone Axe
- Tidy Up some
Ability: Magic Bounce
Tera Type: Ghost
- Last Respects
- Lunar Dance
- Revival Blessing
- Tidy Up
Chansey @ Ability Shield
Ability: Innards Out
Tera Type: Ghost
- Lunar Dance
- Revival Blessing
- Transform
- Whirlwind
Regieleki @ Choice Scarf | Air Balloon | Ability Shield
Ability: Comatose | Wonder Guard
Tera Type: Normal
- Blazing Torque
- Heal Bell
- Last Respects
- Lunar Dance
- Magical Torque
- Noxious Torque
- Revival Blessing
- Sleep Talk
- Spikes
- Stone Axe
- Tidy Up some
imagine having an item